RTE: The First Strike

(Please do not post under this topic unless asked to do so.)

The tireless chatter of the Black Flag Tavern's usual guest sounded like sweet music to the locals. Though some unruly fellows made their way there every now and then, for the most part it was treated as if it were Esperanza City; A Neutral and War Free territory.

Most of the time, fighting was not tolerated in the Black Flag Tavern even though brawls and scraps did break out every now and then. It was in some people's natures, especially those of the pirate nature. But even after a brawl or two, the same patrons would return to their lively watering hole for drinks and merriments, sometimes even with the person they got into it with to begin with.

The bar tender for today was a well spoken gent. Tall, slender, and wearing a fancy vest and dress shirt, he looked almost out of place. But he was accepted like everyone else and could hold his own in a fist fight or two. Though he only worked Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, he saw all types of people come through the bar. He knew the regulars, he knew the foreigners, and he knew the trouble makers. He knew the con artist and the law men.

So it vexed him quite a bit to find a group of four people wrapped in cloaks sitting in the farthest booth at the back of the bar. He immediately pegged them as some sort of trouble makers, though they just ordered food and talked amongst themselves like any other patrons. He could not see any of their bodies or faces, and their hands that handled the food were gloved up to the elbow.

It was his job to keep an eye on suspicious folks...well, as suspicious as it gets in a tavern that catered to low life's and pirates. The group didn't seem as out of place as one would think, but they were just so...organized was it? They weren't dirty and had all ordered pretty expensive meals at that. If they were planning to rob the place, he expected they would have done so when they finished eating. However, they didn't and simply paid for their meals. Afterward, they just sat there conversing as far as he could tell.

Nevertheless, besides their choice of attire, there shouldn't have been anything else to bother the bar tender. But...there was a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. Something wasn't sitting right with him.

"Oi, barkeep! Let's get another drink here, would ya?" A somewhat inebriated guest dragged his attention for literally only a moment.

And in that moment, when his eyes found the table of cloaked men again, it would be to the sight of them all brandishing guns and blades.

(4 Hours Later...)

One would be surprised that this was the first time he had ever been in this situation. Though the Black Flag Tavern saw many ruffians and pirates, never had anyone taken over like this.

In the short four hours in which the four people had effectively subdued each and every patron in the tavern, the man had been privy to one of the most interesting times of his life. The people in the red cloaks hadn't used their weapons on anyone, handling the people professionally and only knocking out anyone who didn't cooperate. The bartender had been smart enough to do as they said, though he did curse himself for not being able to stop them.

As it stood, he had his hands tied behind his back, along with the fourteen other patrons. They were all held up in the wine cellar beneath the store. It was quite relaxing honestly. He probably wouldn't have minded if his shift wasn't supposed to be over about an hour ago. He would forsake the thought of overtime however, knowing it would be a miracle if he didn't lose his job. He had put on his application that he was a Special Jonin when in truth he was just a pretty strong Genin. Ah well, he did his job better than most, so if the owner of the tavern suspected anything, he at least respected his work ethic.

With a glance towards a hidden exit on the Eastern wall, hidden behind full, heavy wine barrels, the bar tender decided it time to start doing something resourceful. All he had to do was escape his bonds...

(Upstairs...)

The four cloaked figures seemed bored as they stood and sat about the bar. Very few words had been spoken between them, even when the news arrived. They had garnered a crowd after knocking out a Naval Officer and tying him up. They had officially blown their covert take over.

One of the red cloaks, wielding an energy shotgun, sighed. The little girl whom had told them to do this now was extremely powerful. She proved to them she could rip them to pieces without lifting a finger, which is why they had pulled off the sloppy mission in the first place. They would have tried for Esperanza first, but the little hellion explained why it was a bad idea. So here they were, taking over a bar...

She had wanted them to put a little fear into the town by over running it, but the other two thirds of their group had moved on to an abandoned city somewhere near there for some reason. So it was left with the four doing what they could, and apparantly this was it. Luckily for them, no shinobi or magician over chunin level had approached the bar. They were safe for now, but the shotgun cloaked person was starting to wonder what to do next.

He could sense the little girl from before approaching them. Her power was that high, even without sensing abilities. Maybe she'd let them know what to do next...

(The RTE is now open to the public...)

Previously...

The overwhelming power of the young girl that had come to them earlier was starting to feel a bit oppressive. However, almost as soon as it had risen, it faded to absolutely nothing. In the next instant, some teenager walked into the bar calling for a bartender to give him a drink. Immediately, all four of the red cloaks took up arms and either aimed at the teen or prepared for a fight.

"You've got balls, kid. I don't know what you think you're going to accomplish here, but whatever it is you're sadly mistaken. Drop all of your weapons and then show us your hands or we will use force."

As the red cloak spoke, the others watched the intruder with their weapons at the ready, in case he tried to do anything while their self-appointed leader was speaking. Should he make a move, he would suffer the consequences.

By then another person would have entered the tavern...

Ceodore went into the tavern already prepared for a fight. When he entered, he was greeted with the boy who hopped over the crowd and the standoff of rifles pointed at the two of them. His hand remained on the hilt of his blood and the aura of darkness that exuded from him stained the very air. Ceo was ready for a fight, but he wasn't going to try to start a fight just yet.

"You guys have failed your mission. Your boss would rather you all give up now, rather than fight through this. Trust me, she's sent me to clean up. This can end in one of two ways. You all let me come and handle everything or..." His voice was a lot deeper and serious than anyone could have ever recognized. No one could see behind the darkened slits of his mask, yet Ceo could account for everyone and everything in there. "...Or we can do this the hard way. It's not too late to put down your weapons." Ceo finished crafting his lie, but he spoke with enough seriousness and conviction to make it sound truthful. The fact of the matter is, he crafted a lie from small truths concerning Kaitlyn's involvement with these people. Should his convincing get through to these people, the easiest way to diffuse the situation would present itself.

Clyde sighed in a very exaggerated tone and slowly raised his hands into the air. He felt a powerful presence behind him and shuddered, feeling the spark that shot up his spine in response to the power of the menacing threat behind him. He looked away from the guys who pointed the guns at him and managed to get a look at a masked man, whose very presence seemed to thicken the air in an ominous way. A bead of sweat dropped down his forehead and he turned his head back to the guys with the guns pointed at them

"Uh... Listen, I just came to get a drink. I wasn't expecting all this shit." Clyde spoke and finished with a yawn. He kept his hands up just in case and knew that he was definitely caught between a rock and a hard place. Not only were these two potential hostile murderers, but the guy behind him definitely spoke and reeked of one.

The four red cloaks all came into view as a the setting sun sent a glaring ray of light through one of the slightly shuttered windows. Besides their obvious state of dress, being the crimson red cloaks, the four people were all of distinct shapes and sizes. The so called leader of the group was a moderate height male, being around 5'11 and wielding the energy shotgun. Two paces to his left and slightly behind him was a slender person of about 5'8 wielding a bladed ring the size of a beach ball, a large chakram.

A larger figure stood brandishing a steel handle with a hole in its top. It was obviously an energy weapon, yet it hadn't been activated. One wouldn't be able to tell what it was until then. However, the person stood at an astounding 6'4, with broad shoulders indicating a muscular build. The last person was small, seeming only about 5'2 or so and wielded a pistol with a glowing stock, indicating the chakra running through it.

The shotgun wielding cloak growled under his breath as the second person entered. He wondered what had happened to that little girl...

The second person's words snapped him from his thoughts instantly. "She sent you? Why? 'Who the hell are you?" He demanded, now pointing his shotgun at Ceo. The other gun wielder kept their weapon aimed at Clyde. It was a wonder no blood had been shed yet.

"Fuck this already, let's just blow out of here while the getting's good. I don't want to run into that chick or fuck with someone who works with her." The chakram wielding cloak revealed themselves to be a very vulgar woman. Proving the notion, the woman slung the chakram over her shoulder with one hand and placed her opposite hand on her hip. Beneath the cloak she wore a thin, gold painted copper breast plate that covered her entire torso, and crimson red hip hugging slacks.

"This guy just threatened us though! And I always see my missions through to the end! If the boss said we should listen to that little Kusanagi brat, then we should just listen to her! Screw this tavern, let's take the town before they do send ninja or magician we'll really have to worry about!" The biggest of the group called out. He stood his full height and let a bit of killing intent flow over Clyde and Ceo to gauge their reactions. He couldn't feel any significant strength from either one. At least, nothing to be worried about with the four of them together.

"..." The last cloak member with the pistol said nothing, simply keeping the pistol trained on Clyde.

Holding the shotgun with one hand pointed at Ceo, the first cloak held out his other hand to silence the room. "All of you shut up! Let them talk. Like I asked, who are you both and how do you know the Kusanagi girl? What is it that she truly wanted us to accomplish here? Why does she strike fear into our boss?"

The sky was beginning to set, perfect enough for Ceo's wind to go unnoticed, should the sun set completely before the fighting began. Ceodore also took the time to analyze each and every red cloak member among them. He managed to spot out the leader, who was the second tallest among the group and wielded a shotgun with some sort of modifications to it. The third tallest held a chakram behind her back and had the voice of a female, when she spoke about leaving while the getting was good. The third member was the largest of the two. He seemed to pull his weight around almost as much as the leader, but clearly wasn't. Lastly, the smallest and quietest of the Red Cloak's didn't say anything and just kept his sights on the boy in front of him.

Ceodore felt the killing intent from the largest member of the group. After all of his years of fighting corrupted leaders, demonic rulers, and even a god, Ceo wouldn't dare allow himself to be intimidated by a person who was just a thug that followed orders. His reaction to the evil intent remained neutral and his mask only offered a blank stare to the four.

"One question at a time and I'll address them all. Unlike my partner, I am more willing to let people in on what's going on. Now, the Kusanagi girl felt like it was about time I started heading over the missions. This mission right now is merely a test to see if I've lost my edge. She knows of your failure to take over the port town and has sent me to finish that job. As for who I am, I am her right hand. Know me as, Nightingale, The Masked One." Ceo explained and kept his cool all throughout the talk. "Let me be clear, I do not threaten any of you, nor your lives. I simply state the outcome of two situations that can occur. As you have said, yes, you can see the mission through to the end, but you have already failed. Retreat now to fight another day. Don't throw your lives away for something that has already been lost." He urged and the concern he held for the lives of these four made itself apparent.

Being trained as an assassin and in its ways, Clyde remembered to take in the image of each of his targets. Not only that, but to clear his mind and allow himself to focus, rather than living in the heat of the moment. The peace talks lasted a lot longer than he first thought, which renewed his hope of having to diffuse the situation without really having to do anything. The young Kusanagi was inclined to let the man in the mask who introduced himself as, Nightingale, continue with the talking since he was so good at it. But a key name was thrown around too often for him to keep quiet any longer. This name was a lot more important than the larger figure trying to throw his intimidation game around.

"Wait... Kusanagi brat? Does that mean Reiji had something to do with this? No, no that can't be. First of all, Reiji isn't a girl and secondly, I was with him the entire time this was more than likely going down. Hell, I just departed ways with him if anything... There's another Kusanagi still alive?" Clyde sorted his thoughts through his head and because he had firsthand knowledge of how the Kusanagi worked, he knew how to add to the peace talks of this situation. "Hold on, Kusanagi? You mean like the Kusanagi Zaibatsu, right? Damn, hadn't done a mission for them in quite some time, ya'know? But hold on, where are my manners? I am Clyde Kusanagi, a fellow member of the Zaibatsu, who has taken a bit of leave from the clan business." Clyde chuckled lazily and kept his hands up, to further show that he wasn't thinking of any underhanded tactics. "Your boss is more than likely frightened of this brat, because she holds all the keys to his success. You know, weapons, money, so on. She's probably feeling a little bit generous towards you guys, so she sends in her right hand to sort of cover up your failure. More than likely, she's operating under her own gain and doesn't want the stain of failure to touch her record, so she's sending Masky over here to tell you all to take a hike. While you guys are taking said hike, Masky will essentially take over the port town himself and send word on how you guys actually helped him, thus saving your asses from any further trouble. See how that works?" He asked and allowed them all to let that sink in, before he continued. "That way, your boss isn't angry with you all, he reports on the success to this brat you're referring to, and she overlooks this failure she already knows about. This is her way of giving out a second chance. She must be one of the nice ones." He stated calmly.

"Fucking Christ, do any of you ever shut the fuck up?" The presence everyone had been feeling before made itself known all at once as it enveloped the room. It would take the breath out of everyone present before fading to a withstanding amount.

"All this talking isn't solving anything now is it? Suzaku, what are you going to do?" Kaitlyn addressed the leader. "Like Mighty Mask said, if you leave now you won't suffer any casualties. Besides, I'd hate to hurt just two of you."

Kaitlyn's hand was still on the hilt of her blade. She eyed all four red cloaks, but none would know which two she was referring to.

The red cloaks did lose their breaths, all of them taking in a massive gasp of air. The smallest one finally lowered their weapon and fell to a knee gripping their chest. With Kaitlyn's presence the red cloaks turned their full attention to her. They all moved back slightly, all visibly shaking with a little fear, though the biggest three tried to hide it a bit more successfully than the little one.

"L-Lady Kusanagi!" The leader called as she spoke. He didn't bother asking why she was there. With her appearance and her words, he knew they had truly failed. Damn their leader, they didn't want to piss this little girl off. With their true leader MIA, she was the closest thing to true death any of them knew. In all actuality, he truly believed this young girl was stronger than their TRUE boss.

When addressed as Suzaku, the man swallowed. He didn't know what to say as fear gripped his heart.

"What was the point of this shit then?" The female shouted as she gripped the handle of her chakram tightly. "What was taking over this stupid little port town supposed to accomplish anyway? Most people here were civilians so we didn't have a reason to hurt any of them! For fuck's sake, we just tied up a bunch of people and put them in the basement! This was pointless!"

"Of course it was pointless. The little bitch probably gets off on giving us the run around!" The big one shouted. "Besides, the Kusanagi Zaibatsu was wiped out hundreds, maybe even thousands of years ago! There's no way this liars could be part of them!"

The big one clicked a button on the side of the rod he held and a chain of energy extended out. The energy formed a spiked ball of energy on its tip, showing that it was an energy mace.

"I say fuck this bar, fuck this town, and fuck these brats! Let's just kill em and get back to the others!" The man made to attack Kaitlyn, though Kaitlyn didn't move an inch. In the next moment, as it seemed as if the weapon would strike right through her skull, a 'BANG' was heard in the tavern, followed by a deep howl of pain.

"Fucking idiot." The young girls voice was extremely light this time, barely above a whisper. The smallest of the red cloaks stood over the newly downed man. The man was still howling in pain at the charred hole in his left calf leg. As he groaned, the now known little girl stepped on this wound drawing even larger howls of pain.

"Seiryu, what are you doing?" The woman with the chakram called and brandished her weapon. Seiryu aimed her pistol at the woman without question while still grinding her heel onto the downed man.

"..."

"Seiryu, Byakko, stop this bull shit right now!" Suzaku shouted out. They were making him look bad in front of Kaitlyn, as if it even mattered anymore.

"AGH! SHE FUCKING SHOT ME! SUZAKU, THAT BITCH FUCKING SHOT ME!"

Suzaku walked over to the downed man and immediately stomped his face, knocking him unconscious. Seiryu took her foot off of him and moved away, though she kept her gun aimed at Byakko.

"Genbu..." Byakko whispered as her grip tightened even more on the chakram. "What the hell is wrong with you two? Why are you turning on us?"

"Didn't you just say we should get while the gettings good?" Suzaku asked. "This idiot was going to attack the one person in this room who could kill us without batting an eye. Is such a pointless mission, as you called it, worth your life?"

Byakko's agitation was clear in her body language even if no one could see her face. After a few tense moments, her grip lessened on her chakram and she sighed in defeat. "But what about Genbu?"

"He's no longer Genbu. He endangered all of us just now. We will find a different forth. Someone more deserving of the name."

"All this talk and the only action is a bullet wound and broken nose." Kaitlyn called with a sigh. "This was a lot more boring than I expected. Oh well, at least I can see that three of you will be fun to watch. If your decision is to be done here, then I will let you leave her today. Only..."

Kaitlyn's chilling smirk bored into the three remaining red cloaks. "Only if you join me, and leave the red cloaks. Join me in reestablishing the Kusanagi Zaibatsu. We will still bring about a new world order. However, your pathetic goals of separating Magician and Shinobi will not be tolerated."

The three red cloaks gave pause at that. The little girl just made light of their ambitions, one they were willing to blindly follow her orders for. Or perhaps, they had blindly followed her out of fear. If so, then that would be no different than doing the same thing now. They would have to give up what they had always believed in just to live another day. In that regards, their faith in their dreams and goals weren't strong to begin with. All three of them...if they said yes, they would have nothing. They would be nothing. Nothing but the scum trash they had thought they were better than.

They didn't give an answer immediately. If Ceo or Clyde had anything to add to influence them, they would have a brief moment to do so.

Clyde's throat tightened as he felt the immense power of the one referred to as "Lady Kusanagi." She caused him to take in a nervous deep breath and the sweat on his head seemed to pour almost. He tried his hardest to keep his cool, because he didn't want to end up like the big, lumbering fool, who was just taken down by his own comrade. On the topic of that, Clyde no longer paid any mind to the four red cloaks and their problems. There was something more important to him than those four and it took the form of that little girl with a mouth as foul as his.

"That raw energy... She's stronger than Reiji, she's stronger than any of us! Her blood... I can feel it too. Almost as if her veins are just showing themselves to me! She's related to him! This foul energy is probably one of Kyo's minions or something!" He cursed under his breath. Clyde had the chance to take some revenge against Kyo, but ultimately felt powerless before this girl. His hands slowly lowered themselves and he just stared at the blonde, while she tried to coerce the remaining three red cloaks to joining her own cause. He wasn't going to say anything on the topic. Clyde knew he was in a no-win situation, so he merely had to go with the flow. He would do so, but silently.

Ceodore felt the encompassing power of Kaitlyn and held in a deep breath. Once she toned down her influence, Ceo found it easier to breathe. Looks like the situation was handled in a better light than he had first envisioned. Nonetheless, he was still shocked on the inside, that the red cloaks were so easily persuaded to turn against one another. However, whether this was out of fear or not, Ceodore knew that if these two tried to leave without joining, Kaitlyn would have them killed. Just from watching the little girl with the pistol, the oratory skills of the leader, and the passion from the chakram wielding woman, Ceo knew how to convince these people to join for a better cause.

"Have to pick the best option of a worse situation." Ceo said to himself and turned his attention to the three red cloak members. "I can see commitment and resolve in your hearts and eyes. You all joined this cause to change something with this world that would fit your beliefs. However, this path is the slow and painful path, where you all might not be able to realize your goals and dreams in a timely manner, if at all. This girl here, this young Kusanagi, offers you a chance to make a real difference in this world! A real chance to harness your inner strength and bring out change for the new world we seek to craft! All you have to do is follow us with the same amount of resolve and passion, that I know each of you have. Join us and I promise your impact on this world will be a lot greater, than any impact you could make with the Red Cloaks." Ceodore finished. His voice held a calmed tone, but it was filled with legitimate belief in the strengths of the three youngings before him.

Kaitlyn awaited an answer, giving the three time to weigh their options. She could feel the anger and hatred radiating off of Clyde and her smirk only grew. Her attention was a bit split. Mainly, she wanted to speak with this Clyde Kusanagi fellow. She wanted to know how another Kusanagi had survived in their timeline. She figured his reason for sending hate her way was because of her fathers blood in her veins. Though she shared a very similar aura to Clyde himself due to their family bond, she shared a powerful essence with Kyo due to being directly blood related as father and daughter.

Ceo's speech registered with her and she closed her eyes, shaking her head sadly. "You four were known as the Grand Beast before you even joined the red cloaks. I know for a fact that at least two of you are not simply a magician nor shinobi. The abilities that you hold made you feared among many bandit communities and even some military groups. However, you joined the Red Cloaks in name only. Do not lie to yourselves and think that your faith was anywhere but where you wanted it to be. If you join me, do it with your heads held high and with a goal you truly want to accomplish."

She gripped the hilt of her blade this time. "Or I can take your heads off." With blinding speed, Kaitlyn did the deed. The sound of a sword being unsheathed and sheathed in a split second permeated the air for only that same brief moment. Only after everyone would be sure that nothing at all had happened would the sound of a head hitting the ground and blood gushing over the wooden floor reveal what Kaitlyn had done.

The downed Genbu was now truly downed, for good. His head rolled over the floor to the small girl of the Red Cloaks. The girl looked down before putting a bullet into one of the eye sockets.

Both Kaitlyn and Ceo's words had an effect on at least two of the Red Cloaks. Suzaku and Byakko seemed to relax upon listening. It wasn't that they were letting their guards down, they were just resigning themselves to the truth that Kaitlyn spoke. They had all wanted a new world order for one reason or another, but they lied to themselves by saying they wanted to separate Magician and Shinobi. Maybe they had joined the Red Cloaks to find out what they truly wanted to change with the world?

The elder two Red Cloaks musings were brought to a halt as the sound of Kaitlyn's blade made them tense again. However, when nothing happened, the two really did relax with sighs. They were confused as to what she had just done though. Their confusion wouldn't last long as Genbu's head was cleanly separated from his body and rolled over to Seiryu. As usual the young girl showed no emotion and needlessly put another bullet into the mans head.

Byakko gripped her chakram again, more at Seiryu's action than at the shock of what Kaitlyn had done. "WHAT WAS THAT FOR?" She shouted at the younger girl, whom once again aimed her pistol at Byakko.

Before the situation could escalate again, however, Kaitlyn appeared behind Seiryu and bent her gun arm behind her back. She kicked the back of her knee so that she fell to one knee and had her arm bent upwards in an uncomfortable angle. She dropped her weapon in the process.

"As much fun as your actions are to witness, I'm tired of being here. If I have to rip your arm off for you to stop being such a little bitch, I will. I know why you're acting the way you are, as much as they do too." Kaitlyn's voice was bone cold. Seiryu had let out a painful yelp initially and was now whimpering at the pain her arm was in. Not only that, her body was shaking uncontrollably. Beyond the pain she was in, everyone could see her desperately reaching for the gun that had fallen with her opposite hand.

"You find security in that toy of yours. I wonder what would happen if I took it away?" Kaitlyn whispered into the girls ear. The girl's entire body stiffened for a moment before she fell limp in Kaitlyn's grasp. The young Kusanagi rose and eyebrow before sighing and letting the girl go, watching as she crumpled to the floor unconscious. "I think I broke it."

After the short exchange, Suzaku would sigh. "You did not need to kill him, Lady Kusanagi. We were going to properly release him from the Grand Beast." He said remorsefully.

"He would not have gone quietly. A fight would have ensued between you four and your already failing bond would have been completely tattered. Your women are already split on their feelings for the Turtle." Kaitlyn shrugged the mans comment off.

"Genbu...Genbu was a bastard, but he didn't deserve that. Especially from you..." Byakko spat at Seiryu's unconscious form.

Suzaku folded his arms as the situation finally seemed to start leveling out. He glanced over Clyde and Ceo, only briefly wondering about why the second person to proclaim Kusanagi was glaring so heatedly at Kaitlyn. He dismissed it anyway as he knew he still hadn't given his answer.

"Byakko. Go and release the captives from the basement."

Byakko didn't question him. She was happy to be away from the grizzly scene of her former comrades body along with the two people she was truly starting to hate. She made her way into the cellar behind the bar. When she was gone, Suzaku faced Kaitlyn.

"We will join you, Lady Kusanagi. We truly don't have a choice, regardless of what you say about joining with our heads held high."

"You do have a choice. Join me or die. If you truly believed in what the Red Cloaks were doing, you would have died for your cause. I do not think you are cowards for what you are doing right now. I just think you were mislead and naive. Though, you are still going to be mislead. I have no intentions of keeping any of you alive longer than I see necessary."

Suzaku looked down at her words. "Our titles belly a lot of pride, Lady Kusanagi, one that you have trampled on in our short time knowing each other..." He paused. "No. You have trampled our ego, in which I should thank you for."

"Like I said, you'll only live as far as I see necessary. Kiss someone else's ass." Kaitlyn dismissed his heartfelt moment by turning her back on him and walking towards the exit. "We will be heading to the docks after this. The arrival of my father is at hand. Meet us there and be prepared for a long journey by boat." Kaitlyn said and motioned for Ceo to follow her. "As for you...Clyde Kusanagi. If you want your answers, you are more than welcome to come as well." With her words, she exited the tavern.

Just after she was gone, Byakko rushed from the cellar. "Suzaku! They...they're gone! Everyone in the cellar is gone!" She shouted.

Suzaku looked at Byakko with shock. However, it slowly turned to mirth. Suzaku began to chuckle. Then the chuckles turned to full blown laughter. "How pathetic of us. We were holding a bar with no hostages as well as no reason. Grand Beast? What a joke." He called with a shake of his head. He slowly moved towards the downed form of Seiryu, letting his chuckles die down. He gazed upon the headless corpse of Genbu and gave a silent prayer before scooping Seiryu into his arms and placing her weapon in her hands. She cradled the weapon in her sleep and held it to her chest. He would miss Byakko turning her head away in disgust. "Come, Byakko. We will start changing the world by first changing our selves. Back into what we were meant to be."

Clyde watched and even jumped a bit when he saw the Kusanagi girl quickly unsheath her blade and place it back within the same time frame. He watched her closely and soon heard the rolling noise of the one known as, Genbu, had his head severed from his body. His head was then shot through by the small pistol wielding girl. Clyde gritted his teeth at the gory mess and just looked away from the whole scene. It wasn't the fact that it was gory that got to him, but how cruel these people could be. He expected nothing less from the Kusanagi girl, but the other young one was something else to him. Clyde couldn't believe the cold, unflinching look in her eyes.

That was when the two females began to feud again. The confrontation was cut short as Clyde watched the blonde run forward and subdue the pistol shooting girl with ease. That was also the same moment when Kaitlyn revealed the sheltered nature of the gun wielding girl and the attachment to her weapon. Intuition struck Clyde as he felt like the girl must have had a traumatic experience, if she so desperately tried to reach for her fallen weapon. But then just like that, the girl had fallen unconscious.

"What did she do to her...?" Clyde wondered and he found himself furrowing his brow even more. From there on, Clyde listened to the conversation between the leader of the former four and the Kusanagi girl. The girl forced the remaining three to join her cause, lest she take their lives. She really did share the same ruthlessness as the man who is in charge of her.

After their conversation, the girl started to leave him. When she passed by Clyde, his own feeling of hatred and anger seemingly froze, thanks to her presence. He watched her go form where he stood, but was roused from his fear, by the offer of information from the Kusanagi girl. He smirked a little and cursed under his breath again.

"It's a trap, more than likely. However, if it's like the choice she gave to those three, then I don't really have one, do I?" He asked himself and put his claws away. Clyde then shoved his hands into his pants pockets and walked behind the masked guy and the blond Kusanagi girl.

Ceodore remained quiet after his speech and watched as Kaitlyn worked her message. She was a cold and very blunt person, but she was truthful nonetheless. The situation had been solved without so much as one of them having to lift a finger. Casualty-wise, only one person died, but that was good enough for Ceo. After the entire ordeal and letting the boy known as, Clyde Kusanagi, to make a decision, Ceodore left at Kait's beckon. He followed closely to her side, his serious air remained.

"I see your edge hasn't dulled and you're still the natural ruthless leader your father made you into." He stated and the thought of Kyo made Ceo follow up with a question. "You said his arrival was at hand. Were you lying or telling the truth?" More and more questions arose, but Ceo knew to keep them coming one at a time.

Kaitlyn bristled at Ceo saying she was as her father trained her. Her fist clenched on the butt of her swords hilt as he said that. A quick sigh calmed her down, however, and she kept a neutral gaze as they headed towards the docks to acquire transportation.

"No, I wasn't lying. I can feel my fathers presence, even from a separate dimension. However, there's something strange about it. It's a bit...off, and slightly more powerful than I ever remember it being." She trailed off to her thoughts.

'If it's stronger than before, that makes what I'm planning that much harder...' She thought with a growl.

"Plus, he hasn't contacted me at all. For all intents and purposes, he was not supposed to arrive for some odd more months. Something must be happening that has drawn his attention here sooner than later. But what..."

She paused in her step as a jolt of power made her eyes flash red. The heat immediately intensified in their immediate area and all plant life nearby burst into flames. Kaitlyn gripped the hilt of her sword and her eyes were wide with fear. "That...wasn't me. That was him! But how? From another dimension?"

When the heat died down and the fire began to put itself out, Kaitlyn would only seem to relax for a moment. She looked at Ceo with a deadly frown. "He's not going to be on an island. I can feel him emerging as we speak somewhere near here. Maybe a bit out to sea..."

Clyde came out of the tavern some time after Ceodore and Kaitlyn left. He went towards the docks of the port town, wondering if what he was doing was the right thing to do. For all intents and purposes, he felt as if he shouldn't trust the masked man and the cold, murderous girl. While Clyde approached the port that smelled of sea-salt, he felt a startling presence that seemed to cause everything to intensify around him. Not only the startling presence, but Kaitlyn's own power seemed to resonate with his and he felt his stomach tighten severely.

"G-Gah! Goddammit, what is with all of this power?" He asked himself and he felt his own power fall out of whack. Lightning crackled around his body and he began to ignite even more wildlife around the area. However, the feeling eventually passed and Clyde brought himself back up. "Whatever it was..." He looked towards Kaitlyn and Ceo, walking over to them with a raised eyebrow.

"I know you felt that... What was it?" He directed his answer towards Kait, but expected he wouldn't get a straight answer out of her.