A Buy In

**Date Completed:** December 27, 2020‎
**Users Involved:** User:KontonMan, User:Lemasters30, User:BQD
**Setting:** Knox-07
**Characters Involved**:
* **Equinox: Draco D. Zephyr**
* **Hound Pirates**: Maurier Harlan, Pars Luna, Go D. Sal

## Purchases

It was a cloudy afternoon. The seas were tranquil, the sky was gloomy yet something about it felt peaceful, just a vast, mostly silent expanse of water. The sound of the ocean in the open sea and the rare rumble of a sea creature were the only noise to be heard for miles on end. Coursing through the infamously treacherous seas of the New World was a young man who had essentially just entered this second part of the Grand Line. Having made its mark on the first half, he now set his sights in the extremely dangerous New World, the stretch of sea ruled by the Yonko and the Great Pirates.

Adjusting his scarf as he sighed, a tired look on the face of Draco D. Zephyr, as he sat atop his trusted companion, Kinto, a fox that ate an artificial logia, giving it the ability to create and control clouds and their various types. They soared through the air, their confident trajectory signaling that their destination would not be a random one. He exhaled a cold breath, the environment of their destination already affecting the sea that surrounds it.

A black orb suddenly burst from the inside of Zephyr’s pocket, enlarging itself into the size of a small ball.

“Destination, Knox-07. Inbound arrival, minus 20 minutes.” It stated in its female, robotic voice.

“Oh!” Zephyr’s sleepy eyes suddenly burst wide. “Finally! It’s been a few days of non-stop travel since I arrived on this damn place. Storm after storm, after weird freakin phenomena!” He exclaimed with a frown. “This “New World” is kinda annoying...”

After his various adventures in Paradise, Zephyr now ventured into the New World, his first stop, to meet an Underworld Broker which Maxwell had managed to contact via various underworld channels, arranging the meeting that was set to occur today between Zephyr and this person. And thanks to DATA’s various advances, it could operate similar, and in many cases, better than a log pose, using the electromagnetic energy produced by the islands in order to guide itself in these waters.

Even as the temperature continued to drop, Zephyr’s demeanor didn’t change. He didn’t shiver nor complain about the increasing coldness, his eyes simply focused on the silhouette of the island nearby. As they approached even greater, merely two minutes remained until landing, and Zephyr noticed a particular flag, one with a fierce and electrified looking wolf, glaring fiercely at whoever laid eyes on it.

“DATA...analyze that.” Zephyr said as he pointed at the flag in the distance.

“Data received. This flag is the Jolly Roger of a New World crew known as the Hound Pirates, a notoriously powerful and large crew, whose influence is matched by few. Its captain is known as a person that seems to cheat even death, and leave a trail of blood and destruction wherever he goes.”

“Uhh...” Zephyr stared blankly into space. “That guy sounds like a “wacko”...”

“This is an inaccurate description, as my information comes from the published newspaper and information on the media.” The device stated. “Here is an image of him, and his wanted poster, for reference.”

Zephyr raised an eyebrow, as if expecting whatever he would see and not be surprised. Yet the moment DATA used its hologram creation to produce a hologram of Harlan’s bounty, Zephyr almost chocked on his own saliva.

“A pirate worth 1.-“

“Woah...Woooaaahh...WOAAH!” Zephyr interrupted Data. “THAT GUY IS INSANE!”

Data remained silent for a few seconds, before finally responding. “Yes.”

Arriving at the island, Zephyr grabbed hold of his staff, glancing down at the coast before him. He leapt from Kinto, who was floating several meters into the air, landing straight at the island’s coast. He inhaled deeply, his “scent” picking up the aroma left by machinery and weapons, smelling the metallic nature of them, and even perceiving something...deeper. Yet he shrugged whatever thoughts he had away, spinning his staff in a circle by twirling it on his fingers, Zephyr began to whistle and walk around, his eyes taking in the scenery surrounding him.

“So...when do we meet this broker?” He asked Data.

“I assume he or she comes to you.”

“Ahh well...I’ll just walk straight towards the center of the island. Kinto!” Zephyr glanced at the moving and live cloud above him.

“Stay around, this should not take too long!”

"She does come to you, you are correct." Pars Luna spoke. At least, her voice did. It was difficult to discern where the voice was coming from, though describing the voice’s location as unbelievable may have been more likely. The snow had rumbled when the voice had been heard. “I’m only a few seconds away. I had to convince my brother that he can not waste our funds building a third castle. Two is enough…” the snow shook once more. Was her voice coming from the ground, being projected through it somehow. Was that even possible?

Before that question could be answered, the snow around Zephyr began to be pushed away violently, the sound of scaly wings cutting through the air being heard despite the muffling snowfall. Hundreds of feet up in the air was Luna, riding on the back of a Nidhogg. These creatures dwarfed even the Giants in height, acting as the mounts for the Elbafian military. On top of its back, Luna seemed like an ant.

The creature landed, the heat coming from its scales quickly melting the snow around them. Even the snowflakes that descended from the clouds turned to water before they got too close. By simply being near the Nidhogg, it had created a passive clearing where the vicious snowstorms of Knox-07 could not harm them. Luna slid off the creatures back, approaching Zephyr.

Luna herself had two swords attached to her waist, the hilt of each unique. Luna had her blades commissioned a while ago by Firescale, sending one off later for a special modification under the eyes of Umori Kenshiro. The day she had managed to pick both of them up, there had been a battle in which everything went to hell.

But none of those thoughts were important. Right now, Luna was Selene, infamous Underworld broker and buyer. Purchaser and provider of unique items; a mad scientist. “Now, Dracovi Zephyr.” she began, her voice no longer being amplified through whatever means earlier. “How may I help you?”

The young man’s eyes drifted to above, following Selene and her mount as they descended on the ground. “Could that be?” He wondered to himself, focusing on the massive winged beast that seemed all too familiar to him. He gulped and shook his head briefly once Selene addressed him.

Zephyr tried his best to answer Selene, keeping in mind the warnings Maxwell had tried to hammer unto him days before. He was in front of an influential broker, he had to act professional, courteous...Yet he simply couldn’t keep his eyes off of the Nidhogg, as he bent his knees and began running in place excitedly.

“Yo, yo! Umm...” He stuttered. “C-Can we ride that? Pleeeeeaaaseeee??!”

His eyes glimmered and widened, yet he remembered his purpose for even being here in the first place, Maxwell’s words resounding in the back of his mind.

“Sigh...Sorry I got uh, distracted.” He blew air from his mouth. “Yeah I uh...So you’re Selene huh? Yeah I...I want a weapon! And that drag-no...just a weapon, yup!”

He scratched the back of his head. “Yeah I had this idea for a cool weapon, but Maxy said it was dumb and unrealistic, but I kept insisting so he said he was gonna find someone who can make my “stupid dream a reality” and well...here I am! Zahaha! Ha...” His eyes drifted back fo the Nidhogg behind Selene.

"Yeah, I'm Selene. And no, we can't ride the Nidhogg." Luna said, her mind flashing back to her childhood. Zephyr's behaviour was too similar to *his* for her liking, she didn't want to imagine another person with that sort of outlook on life to be here. However, her opinion didn't matter. What did was that the man in front of her was a client.

She crossed her arms. "What sort of weapon do you want?" she asked. "A regular one, or would it be a commissioned design? The latter is more expensive, to be quite frank. However, I guarantee you it'll be made to your exact needs."

“Aaah...bummer...” Zephyr looked to his side with disappointment, puffing his cheeks. He then wondered about the woman, what she mentioned about some “third castle”. He was surprised for sure, someone that could casually desire such a thing when he had to struggle to even get a modest house somewhere. He then let himself fall back, his body tilting as almost instinctively, the “cloud” that was swirling above rushed towards Zephyr, stopping behind him as he fell on its fluffiness. He then placed his hand on his face, crossing his legs as he tried his best to put on his “business” face.

“I see, I see. Well...” He plunged his arm into the cloud he now sat on, pulling out his trademark staff from within it.

“I want something like this...but cooler, more durable, more awesome, fit for me! Zaha-Erh uhm...” He coughed, adjusting his scarf and looking away for a second.

“Yeah I uh...basically want a commissioned design. I got the details written here.” He pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket, a list written on it as he extended his arm towards Selene. The paper said:

“Specs for Zephyr’s super awesome dream weapon.
-A staff that can extend and expand to incredible lengths and size.
-Immensely heavy, only to be carried by those worthy.
-Durability off the charts
-Somehow able to expand and contract at will
-Other awesome stuff if necessary”

With an innocent-looking smile, he waited for Selene to study the contents of the paper, awaiting anxiously her feedback and response.

"Interesting, er. List?" Selene murmured, though it was mostly to herself. Of course, the requested traits would have seemed impossible to have brought to reality. However, Selene was no ordinary individual. With direct connections to Elbaf and Firescale both, through her alias, she was confident that she'd be able to accomplish this.

Selene looked up towards Zephyr, no longer looking at the list. "Easy enough," she nodded. "But of course, the material I'm going to need to turn into an alloy for this isn't cheap. Titanstone is a material we don't have to utilize often, since not a lot of commissions require them. Plus, I'm sure the Emperor of Elbaf doesn't want this special mineral to be everywhere in the world, you know?"

She looked up for a moment, her brows furrowed as she processed some calculations almost instantaneously in her mind. Selene faced Zephyr once more. "The alloy would have to be 46% composed of Titanstone, the remaining 54% would have to be a mixture between a immensely durable metal and an expansive substance. I can finalize the calculations back at my lab." Selene ranted. "And with Firescale doing the...I can have it done in 2 weeks."

Selene pocketed the piece of paper. "Now," she began. "What are you willing to offer? I am giving you your dream weapon, after all."

“O-Offer...yes.” Zephyr’s eyes drifted, glancing at every point before him before stopping at Selene once more. He was new to this whole Underworld dealing stuff. “I uh...Maxy told me these sort of deals can be done with things other than money...” He sighed and tried to concentrate his thoughts, removing all distractions of his mind.

“I can offer you some things in exchange. It depends on the sort of power you or...your Emperor is looking for.” His mind quickly analyzed the little information he had acquired on these people minutes prior to arriving.

“I can offer some technology...” He glanced at the floating black orb beside him. “But I guess with your resources, hmmm, it may be not of your interest.” Zephyr sounded like a completely different person. “I can offer you more military power...” He recalled stories of the nearly unmatched army of Elbaf. “But would you require that? I can help though...” His eyes focused on Selene.

“Or...well...” Suddenly he began to sweat, his eyes once again glancing around nervously...”Uh...what? What is it that you want?” He giggled anxiously.

Zephyr spoke, and Selene stayed silent. Her expression didn’t falter, no changes as her eyes glared into Zephyr’s own. While he spoke, she calculated. Each new word, everything Zephyr revealed was new information for Selene to crunch down upon. Data manipulation simply made sense to her, life was nothing more than binary repeating itself through various algorithms.

The boy stumbled on the word “offer”, quickly alerting to Selene that he was nervous. The pause between the two first words of his reply signalled something else; that this was almost certainly one of, if not his first time making a deal with someone in the Underworld. His mention of a Maxy, who had told him that all deals didn’t necessarily require money. An advisor of some sort? Then came the glance at the orb. Was the orb "Maxy"? Some sort of artificial technology? It could’ve simply been a communication device to reach out to this Maxy, but Selene kept her mind open to the possibility of the former. She glazed over his mention of technology, having assumed he would offer something of the sort. That had been the main purpose of glancing towards the floating orb next to him, she knew. The military offer was stretch, as Selene noticed he had quickly realized that she had access to Elbaf.

The moment Zephyr asked for what Selene wanted, she had already calculated her conditions. Without missing a single beat, Selene spoke.

“Simple,” her voice was gentle. “You’ll meet the Emperor, and you’ll owe me a favour.”

She smiled, tilting her head to the side with glee.

“T-The what?” Zephyr’s nervousness dissipated, instantly replaced with confusion, maybe a tinge of excitement, but mostly curiosity at the request. The favor he was okay with, just another one to the list. But this deal had already taken him for quite the ride.

“You mean the uh...Kaien Uraran?”

“Maurier Harlan.” DATA corrected.

“Mhm! Woah...you want ME to meet HIM?! Uh...WHY?!” Zephyr placed his hands inside his pocket, the question mostly being for himself as he jumped from the cloud, and began pacing around.

“Can I ask what is your intent?” He questioned sternly, a calm look on his face.

Luna's head returned to it's upright position. "Oh, can you ask?" she repeated, her mouth making a slight 'o'. It curved into a smile as she answered. "No."

Zephyr glared at Luna, taking a step closer to her. He was wary, he’s an experienced martial artist, he has the innate skill of feeling the strength and intent of others...”You’re strong, huh?” He judged Luna’s power, while great, she kind of reminded him of Maxwell, that apart from physical skill, their minds are their true strength. He had nor ill intent no anger, and judging by how he “felt” her, he knew this confidence wasn’t without basis.

He grumbled as he took a step back, turning around and petting the cloud behind him. “Hmmm...I guess it can’t be helped, I’m really in no position to negotiate...yet.” He sighed, turning back around to face Luna.

“I’m taking Kinto with me, and I won’t accept a “no”. That good?” He stated sternly.

"Of course!" Luna exclaimed. She simply placed a few fingers onto her charm bracelet. "But we won't need to leave, just give them a second..."

Moments afterwards, there was an explosion of snow and earth. The heat from the Nidhogg seemed to pale against the sudden blue that trailed from above the explosion, crackling and turning the snow into water. Even the dust that rose from the impact had heat of its own, turning the snow by Luna and Zephyr’s immediate proximity to droplets of water. Whatever that had been, it had travelled at such a speed that a creature that exuded heat more volatile than magma to feel cold in comparison.

The dust and blue faded, eventually revealed a bright-haired male with wolf ears sticking from his head. He wore a purple shirt, with black robes and dark pants. One of his arms was completely artificial, purple wiring being visible from the shifting plates of metal. “Sal! Harlan spat. “I said kick me! Who the fucking fuck told you to punch?! CAUSE IT WASN’T ME!”

Following in the blue, was a blur of yellow. Shockwaves escaped from nearly every direction, the elements in the area changing in state. Snow was melted, earth turned into dust, and more importantly, like a rocket, the blur of yellow tore through the area like a meteor, clashing against a nearby mountain, and in the immediate vicinity of Luna and Zephyr.

“Don’t fuckin’ tell me what to do!”

From the snow, a white robe could be seen, golden, cropped hair and eyes, and an everlasting scowl that refused to leave Sal’s face, even as he pushed out snow from his lips.

Harlan flickered, his body becoming solid once more around Sal. "Dude!" he exclaimed. "It's cause EVERYONE EXPECTS A PUNCH THEN! IF YOU KICK 'EM, YOU'RE KICKING THEM IN THEIR METAGLORIGAL BALLS TOO! THINK ABOUT IT!"

His anger quickly faded as he turned towards Luna, smiling. "Hey Luna!" he yelled. Harlan's eyes spotted Zephyr. "OH! ITS THE WIND GUY! SAL! SAY HI TO THE WIND GUY!"

"I don't care about their metaglorigal balls! They should bow down regardless of their balls don't ya thin-" Sal stopped himself, placing both hands on his pockets as he nodded over to Zephyr and Luna, slowly beginning to approach them.

The hairs on Zephyr’s skin prickled up, signaling him of sudden, incoming presences. His connection to the wind and the slight vibrational changes in the air signaled him of more than just their presence, but also certain aspects about them. Their stature, weight, muscle density, strength, even emotional state. Yet one of the two was a blur, quite literally. His eyes were accustomed to being able to even keep track and react to things moving even faster than lightning, yet one of the two presences evaded even this.

A vein slightly bulged on his forehead. A yellow trail, he could follow how it moved, with speed that impressed him immediately. It was strenuous, rarely would he ever encounter individuals moving at such speeds, but he could adjust. But the purple trail...he couldn’t keep up with at all. It was frustrating to him, it had never happened before. It was as if his body flickered in between realities, something like that was completely out of his league. His body tensed up, his aura spiked, as he instinctively put his guard up. But it was a natural reaction to something he couldn’t explain...something threatening. However, when both individuals became visible, and Harlan addressed them, Zephyr relaxed, two drops of sweat falling from his forehead.

“Damn...” He grumbled to himself, wiping the sweat from his forehead. He took a glance at Luna, and then back at the approaching duo, recognizing that due to her expression, one of them was the person she wanted him to meet, and it was obvious who it was...but how? How? That guy was not much older than himself?! How could he...

“Yeah...” He straightened himself, placing his staff on his back. “I’m Zephyr...” His eyes switched between the two individuals.

“I’m Harlan!” The half-Mink exclaimed, spreading his arms as he approached Zephyr. One of his arms accidentally smacked Sal against the top of his head, but Harlan ignored it and trudged onwards. “Maaaan! Luna read me the papers about you. You’re a cool fucking dude! Some wacky wind shit? The Gyro Souvlaki style, right? Wind Melody or something? I was gonna try and learn that, but I fought Sekibro, and took the Earth version. Now THAT, is some good shit.”

Luna rolled her eyes. “Daiki Sekiro. The Blinding Glow.” She spoke, knowing that Zephyr may have been confused by Harlan’s sudden rant.

Harlan gave Zephyr a once-over. “You look pretty real for a guy from a fake place.” he said. “That Paradise place sounds like a sham, ya know? No way there’s people with no Haki, right? So where are ya really from?”

Zephyr’s eyes widened in slight disbelief, he blushed and chuckled. “Puhaha! Wait, wait...” He wiped a small tear from his eye. He began scratching his head in slight embarrassment at someone so renown even knowing about him.

“I’m glad you like what I do! I can show you later! And dude, same! I learned about you just before arriving here and I gotta say, you’re quite amazing yourself!” He exclaimed excitedly, addressing Harlan as if they had been close friends for a while.

“So you’re the guy that fought Master Sekiro?! YOO! You must be pretty insane!! He taught me for a few years before he left the order!”

He paused for a second, remembering what Harlan said last. “Wait, you think Paradise is fake? Nah dude, there’s a whole stretch of sea before this one! I’ve meet dozens of people using that “haki” thing over there, but its not commonly known apparently!”

"Tch." Of course, no words needed to escape Sal's mouth for both Luna and Harlan to recognize them. They had grown used to him, to his constant insulting of other members of the crew, the troubles he had caused and the infamy he had developed , all in the name of the Hound. It was for this very reason, that perhaps they'd knew what would come next.

"Harlan. You done talkin' with this peasant?" He adjusted his shoulder, as if he was warming up.

"Bro. What?! Paradise? It's real?! That's so stupid! Why have an entire area meant for weak people? Ugh, thats so...dumb." Harlan ranted, genuine disappointment on his face. But his face quickly lit back up as he began to talk about a different topic.

"Dude! Sekibro was sooooo fucking strong! He broke my long dangly back bone like twice in our fight! And he broke my, uh. Everything, I guess. And he threw me into the clouds! Dude! That was cool. He and I are basically homies now. I learned that weird, uh. Like if I get punched now, I can like, make it not hurt me. And then hit the person who hit me with the power behind their punch! It's pretty cool, I'm kinda overpowered because of it."

Harlan turned to Sal. "Hey!" he yelled. "He's not a, uh. Whatever you said. He's a kinda cool dude! He's gotta be! He's got that, er. I don't know what its called, but he can talk to everything! Plus, he's got Haoglabaku."

“Mhm! I’m cool man, sheesh! Calm down blondie.” Zephyr shook his head as he placed his arms on his waist.

“But damn yo, you got so injured and still survived, you’re a monster! You even learned Earth Melody? Man! You gotta show me how you do it, I can use it too!”

He then passed his fingers through his hair, approaching Harlan even more, almost whispering. “Yeah uh, about that stuff...I don’t really understand shit about it. Gigi and other guys have told me its a big deal but I really don’t get it. It just...happens...” He leaned back, crossing his arms with a perplexed look on his face.

"Sal." a vein bulged once more on the teen's forehead, "Don't you call me 'blondie' again."

“Woah...” Zephyr tilted his head slightly to glance at Sal. “That’s a boring ass name Zahaha!” He wiped a tear from his eye. “Sorry, sorry...Maxy says I gotta improve my manners so uh...”

Zephyr lowered his head slightly. “Nice to meet you, Karl.”

"What did you say, peasant?!" Sal now stood next to Harlan, his gaze glued on the Super Rookie.

“Oh shit...” Zephyr’s eyes widened, glancing at Harlan and back at Sal with a worried look on his face. He then leaned towards Harlan again, speaking softly yet Sal would still be able to hear him.

“Oh man, I screwed up. I think he’s kinda deaf but I don’t know how to do sign language...”

"Oi...Luna, do we really need this trash?" Sal asked. That he could hear the voices of everything, possessed the qualities of a ruler, or had stormed through the seas, even if they were the weaker ones. That didn't matter to Sal. He was sure he possessed those same attributes too.

"Harlan. I'll bash his damn head in."

"Garororo! Calm down you two!" Harlan exclaimed. "Sal, ya know what I've said. We can't be dicks to Luna's guhlients. That's bad for busy-ness. And Z, my man!" he continued. "Sal is, uh. Angry a lot. Don't whisper things to me about him."

He paused, the ground cracking by his feet for a second. "Got it, you two?" Harlan spat, each syllable containing enough killing intent to make one feel nauseous.

"Dope!" he exclaimed, without waiting for a response.

Luna sighed. "We do need him." she said. "Anyways, Zephyr. Forgive my brother and Sal for being...them. Are you ready for the first part of our deal?"

“Uuhgghh...” Zephyr shook his head and took a step back, not because of what Harlan said, but because of the ominous aura oozing from him. It made his senses tingle and his body was almost forced into “attack mode”, simply due to the many years as a martial artist, his body instinctively reacted to a threat. Yet he kept himself controlled, he felt these people were not his enemies at the moment. But it was even worse for Zephyr because he felt Harlan’s intent almost “speak” to him. A childlike demeanor, but a monster within, he understood Harlan was the type of person who could snap and turn into a murderous beast in a second, and them back to being a nonchalant guy the next. Similarities, more similarities...

“Uhh man, chill.” He finally spoke. “You made me feel all woozy, and not the good way...” He sighed and crossed his arms.

“Fine, I’ll stop messing around too, not just cause you told me too, okay? Like you said...” He adjusted his scarf. “This is business!”

He turned to Luna, crossing his arms once again and glaring at her sternly. “Sure...what’s it about?”

Harlan simply smiled, but Luna rolled her eyes. Her brother was a pain in the ass to deal with...

"My favour is simple," she began. "One day, I will call on you. On that day, you'll fight alongside me."

She paused, crossing her arms. "That's it from me. Harlan?"

Harlan looked over. "Yeah, Luna?" he asked.

"Your bit. The reason you wanted to see Z?"

"Oh. OH! YEAH!" he yelled, grinning.

Luna groaned in annoyance.

Harlan turned to face Zephyr. "So, hear me out bro." he said. "There's this dude. Right? He told me about you, and that's why I had Luna read me your paper schmapaper shit. This guys cool, and his guys already work for me. But he's a lazy guy who just stays all the way up there. ANYWAYS, he said he'd fight for me on two conditions. If I beat him in a fight, which I did. And secondly, he wants to meet you! Apparently you guys are like, old friends!"

Silence. Luna coughed, and then spoke. "Er, Harlan." she whispered sharply. "This dude's name?" she prompted.

Harlan's eyes widened as he came to a realization. "OH! True, true." he mumbled. He stared into Zephyr's eyes.

"His name is Mozart. You know him, right?"

Zephyr simply nodded as Luna spoke. “Sure, that doesn’t seem like much trouble. You guys give me a nice vibe so I wouldn’t mind offering a hand one day.”

He then turned his attention to Harlan as the Hound Captain declared his interest in Zephyr meeting a mysterious figure from his past. The young man’s mouth dropped and his eyes widened, for he knew this individual by another name, but of course he knew all too well of who Harlan spoke of.

He began to have shivers along his body, his mind suddenly remembering that fateful night may years ago. A scream from the deepest realms of his spirit. Beasts that descended from above and razed the area with destructive power. Memories that are cut short, blurry, and without much context...Yet he had managed to connect the dots later on. For some reason or another, this “Mozart” and him connected in the past on a transcendental level.

“Y-You mean...” He finally began to speak after a moment of silence, his eyes watery. “You know Shao-Lao, err, Mozart?” He wiped his face with his hand, bending his knees to the point he squatted, and clenching his fists as he began to throw uppercuts in the air excitedly.

“FOR SURE!! WOAH MAN! THIS IS SUCH A SURPRISE!!!! I ‘VE BEEN WANTING TO SEE HIM AGAIN! LETSGOOOOOOOOOO!!!!”

“Hold on tight, turds!” Harlan exclaimed. He leaned forwards, the snowfall stagnating in his eyes. He could see the breathes of everyone around him, their twitching muscles. Harlan was gone, and Zephyr and Sal had vanished with him. In the blink of an eye, Harlan had grabbed onto them both and began to run, far off away from Knox-07.

Selene sighed with annoyance, used to Harlan’s impulsiveness. She flicked her wrist, one of the charms on the bracelet opening up like the unfolding of origami. It revealed a circle within, with two arrows pointing at different directions. The time. Another flick, and the charm closed back in on itself, returning to normal. “My second meeting of the day…” she mumbled. “A CP-0 agent requesting information. That’s always fun.”

She hopped onto the back of her Nidhogg, wings flapping once and the beast took off. Soaring in the opposite direction of where Harlan and the rest had gone, off to her second destination for the day. A remote island with no civilians; Nunario.

*Fin*