“Okay, where is that female dog?” Rave exclaid, glaring at each of the leaving students as they passed them by. She and John waited at the gate. Inevitably, Moira would have to walk by them.
“I don’t think you should be throwing potential curses around just yet.” John tried to calm down his disguised girlfriend.
“In my head, she is guilty already!”
“Yes, but in your head Fairy Tail is also better than If The Emperor Had A Text-To-Speech Device.”
“That’s because that is so nerdy it transcends being nerdy and becos just plain unattractive.” Rave jabbed right back at him, “I have already complied with your request to not barge into her classroom.”
“And I am very thankful for that.” John sighed. He did not want to step into the school proper, in case the Trap Barrier had been reused. Rave was hell-bent on seeing this through. ‘Oh well, the worst that can co of this is that the biggest organization in town puts us on their wanted list…that is not reassuring in the slightest, what the hell ?’
His thoughts were, thankfully, interrupted when he saw her. Moira stuck out from the masses with her red hair. She wore it open, framing her attractive face and bringing out her green eyes. He hadn’t seen much of her since he had made his choice, for reasons of mutual avoidance no doubt. Observe would help tell him where they stood at the mont.
And what he learned told him that she was a very unlikely suspect. Not that telling Rave that would have changed anything.
“Moi-Moi, would you co here for a second.” Raising her voice was all Rave needed to do to make the honour student adjust her course. From the mont he had spotted her, she had been staring back.
“Rave… no, I guess I should call you by your na Jane Holly,” Moira returned the greeting in a frosty tone. “What do you want?”
“You tried to kill us yesterday, didn’t you?” Rave returned a question, one that was as sudden as it was heavy.
While Moira was still busy blinking in confusion, John took a step in. “Okay, Jane, take things slow.” He wanted this situation to unfold as calmly as possible. If they were too aggressive about this, Moira would just storm off and he would be left with one extra-certain girlfriend and no answers.
Rave twisted her mouth into a displeased frown, but kept quiet for the mont. Taking the chance, John addressed Moira. “Would you mind if we took this sowhere less public?” A daring question surely but having a talk about the Abyss in broad daylight was awkward.
“…Sure,” Moira reluctantly agreed.
Ten minutes later, they sat on opposite benches inside a little park. The little breezes that would have kept them cool were gone, only the copied trees inside the Illusion Barrier made sure that they weren’t cooking in the sumr sun.
“This seems good enough,” John stated and then explained the situation to the redhead. “Here is the thing: Sobody tried to attack Collide, all of us, yesterday. I don’t want to go and throw accusations around but…”
“BUT I think you did it,” Rave interrupted him and crossed her arms with a daring expression.
“Just you?” Moira asked, “Are you telling that those friends of yours kept a cool head unlike you?”
“They are all too busy looking into other people, just tell did ya do it or not?”
“I didn’t.” Moira stared at the techno lover with intensity, “I have no reason to and neither does the Order. We are here to save people, not harm them, and starting a war with the Bloodfallen is outside our current interests. If we did, we wouldn’t do it by attacking you. You’re not important enough.” Which was exactly what John thought she would say.
Rave however still didn’t seem convinced. “Oh yeah? Are ya just going to deny that we have bad blood?”
“No. I don’t like you, Jane.” Moira said straight out, “But I am not out to kill you and I would never put a grudge over my mission.”
The two won stared at each other for a few monts then Rave said. “I still don’t believe you.”
Moira audibly clenched her teeth. “Why ask questions when you will not heed the answers given? Fine, let’s do this your way and duke it out. Talking to you gives a headache.” Just like that negotiations had failed.
“Now you’re speaking my language.” Rave jumped up from the bench, while Moira rose in a bit more dignified manner. They both seed ready to throw down, but neither of them moved.
John wasn’t particularly enthusiastic about how things were going but with Rave’s temperant maybe this had been the only way. “A second please, let’s lay down so rules first.” he stepped in. “So first we make this one on one, okay?” They both nodded.
“Like I need your help to punch Moi-Moi in the face.”
“At least one of you has dignity.”
John sighed, these two were polar opposites in most regards and that manifested in them being willing to tear each other’s heads off. “Okay, and just so Jane gets her wish you will tell us everything you know in case you lose?” he asked Moira.
“Sure.” She willingly accepted, “In case I win Jane will address like a normal person in the future. No more of that Moi-Moi stuff.”
“So cute of you, but fine.”
“Okay, in that case, Moira get ready. You need your armour and weapons, right?”
“That is no problem.” Moira grabbed a small dallion hanging from her neck. It detached from the chain without issue. A flash of light later, the ever so radiant silver and gold shield was attached to her arm. The golden rose insignia faced John and Rave, while Moira did sothing behind the shield. A mont later, she produced a less radiant warhamr, holding it in one hand.
‘Neat’ he thought. ‘Is there an inventory in her shield or how does that work?’ The question was left unanswered. John took a few steps aside. “On my mark,” he told them, once he was at a safe distance. “Three – two – one – Fight!”
Rave leapt forwards imdiately, engulfed in the blue aura that boosted her physical abilities even beyond their already impressive Stats.
”In the na of the Lady!” Moira shouted and slamd her hamr into the ground. The swing resulted in a golden shockwave that threw Rave back. The techno lover tumbled through the air, then over the ground. Rapidly, she jumped to her feet. Still orienting herself, she was barely able to see the hamr coming for her shoulder. Twisting, the direct hit turned into a graze. Moira imdiately followed up by kicking the feet away underneath her opponent.
Now on the ground, Rave rolled to the side before Moira was able to hit her with the edge of her shield. The technolover got on her feet again and rolled her left shoulder with a pained expression. “Not bad, princess,” she admitted and then threw a wave of blinding light at Moira.
The Warden was hit full-front by the attack. Rave tried to engage in lee combat again, but her opponent had other plans. Eyes narrowed, Moira raised her weapon to the sky, “Lady, lend your light!” A wave of gentle, golden energy washed over the redhead’s body. Suddenly, she was able to see clearly again and her raised hamr ca down on Rave mid swing.
Sothing odd happened. Rave’s body twisted near instantaneously, without her raising a single foot. The hamr flew by, leaving Moira’s side wide open. She tried to pull her hamr back up, but Rave was faster. Her shin slamd into Moira’s side.
For a mont, Rave seed content with herself. The smile dropped a bit. Moira was not budging. With or without armour, the Warden was an immovable object. Not letting this ss with her flow, Rave backed off, escaping a retaliatory strike. Imdiately she charged back in, shoving her hand in Moira’s face. “How about ya try my light?”
An explosion of brightness and heat seared itself into John’s retina and consud Moira’s head for a flash. Hairs singed and certainly blinded, Moira stumbled back, incapable of dealing with the roundhouse kick that followed.
Moira was sent flying this ti and Rave gave chase, ready to consolidate her victory. “I ask you for your blessing,” the Warden’s mumble was inexplicably audible even where John stood. Her flight path corrected itself, the burning on her face healed over, and she fixed her eyes once more on Rave. “Lady, smite my foe!”
A torrent of golden light ca down on Rave mid charge, slamming her into the ground. The attack kept descending, slowing Rave too much for her to move out of the way, until Moira ramd her shield first. Rave barely kept on her feet, then the warhamr slamd into her ribs.
Rave let out a pained wheezing sound and fell to the floor. Not giving her any breathing room, Moira followed with a kick that sent Rave onto her back. Then the Warden’s foot descended on Rave’s chest. Unable to roll away, Rave could only stare as the redhead brought the warhamr down one more ti.
The attack stopped short of a protective layer of earth that arched over his girlfriend’s head. From the look of it, she would have stopped anyway and she did back off. Rave took in a pained breath, when the foot was off her. “I thought you trusted ?” Moira asked John, one eyebrow raised.
“Trust is a strong word… I just don’t believe you are the type to go around murdering people,” John clarified and had Gno undo the protection.
“Do we have a winner?” Moira asked.
“Yeah… yeah,” Rave hissed, a hand on her, likely broken, rib. “Two to zero for you, Moira.” She physically cringed after saying the redhead’s actual na. “If ya wanted dead, ya would’ve done it there.”
“Combat is about the only thing that gets through that thick skull of yours, isn’t it?” Moira’s warhamr vanished inside her shield, which then shrunk down to the dallion again. “However, I will tell you what little I know despite winning. I dislike seeing ambushes of such nature.”
“Thank you.” John said in earnest, “What can you tell us?”
“As I said, very little. Travolta decided that you would hitch yourself to the Bloodfallen. Many guilds that made that mistake previously have dropped off the map. Those that didn’t inevitably turn fiercely loyal to the guild. Unnaturally loyal,” Moira clarified.
“That only happens ‘cause it's either you or them,” Rave comnted.
“Then it should be dawning on you that you have made the wrong decision,” Moira stated, looking at John as she said that. “In the Abyss you have three choices. Follow justice, pay tribute to a tyrant, or beco an individual of unparalleled might. You forsook justice and whatever you may beco, you are not mighty now. Travolta will never be. He likely entered into this bond only for the elixir the Bloodfallen offer.”
“The Blood of Thana,” John mumbled.
Moira shrugged, “If you can put a na to it, you know more than I. They’re very secretive of it. The Order knows little about the Bloodfallen at this ti. I cannot aid you further either. The Lord-Protector has decreed our interactions with them be minimal at this ti.” She gave them a few monts for questions. “I will be on my way… if you ever see the wisdom of acting in the na of justice, seek out again.”
The redhead was gone a mont later, leaving John to help his girlfriend up. “You fine?” he asked.
“Physically? Nothing Gaia won’t fix.” To prove that, the two of them left the barrier. Imdiately she seed a little chipper. “Gotta stay out of barriers for a day, that ought to let it heal,” she stated and rolled her shoulder. “ntally, I’m beat. Pissed. Worst birthday ever.”
“I can belie- wait, it’s your birthday?!” John hadn’t heard of that. He hadn’t asked either, but he would have thought she would have dropped so hints at least.
“Yup, you’re now dating a gal in her twenties. Hope you don’t mind a cougar,” Rave joked.
“I don’t have any present,” he apologized.
“Good, I don’t celebrate anymore… too many annoying moms telling about all the things I didn’t get done this year.” She shook her head to chase the annoying mories away. “But I guess I’m taking a gift today… there’s a way I can get stronger.”
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