"Help me!" I turned and spotted a small girl trapped under a large metal beam. She extended a broken hand out to us, and I felt my spirit collapse in my body. I did this. Gods, we're monsters, aren't we? The worst part is: we have to leave her. The authorities are bound to show up, and we can't make a difference if we're behind bars, or dead.

"Move it!" Wikolia urges and grabs my arm. She knows it too, and I square my shoulders.

"We can't just leave her," Esilea demands. I shake my head and force myself to swallow. This, or worse, will happen again if we stay here. We can't let one girl compromise us...even though we shouldn't have to choose.

"We have to go," I insist. Wikolia helps me drag Esilea away, and the Amazon is too tired to fight.

"I'm sorry!" Esilea shouts. We hear the small girl let out a heart-rending scream from behind us. My knees buckle, but Esilea manages to support me, and the Wyvern helps us continue walking. We keep walking until we can't hear the screams anymore; we were walking for a while.

||||||||||

Esilea lowers Icarus to the ground and props him against a bag of trash. My throat aches for water, and I can tell the others are equally as parched. We just have to make it back to the Jungle and we should be clear. If we're not at the Burnt Rice Tavern by the end of the night...I don't like to think what will happen to us. Inari's agents will hit hard tonight, looking for any leads on the Ismar Trading Co. bombing. However, not even Kitsune normally patrol the Jungle.

"What are we going to do about this?" I ask and squat next to Esilea. "You lost your satchel, Wikolia's whip was crushed. Alarice might not even pay us."

"She owes us," Wikolia says. She flicks her tongue out and looks around us, nearly turning her head 180-degrees. "Debts have to be paid."

"Indeed they do." The Wyvern turns and swipes at Dickwed with her claws, but she's blasted back by a screeching slash of sound. It slices off her left hand in the process, and sends her crashing into the side of a building. Scales scrape off her skin and clink to the ground like dark emeralds.

Piper drops down off an awning and lashes out with a quaking thunderous blast that launches Esilea through a window. I raise up both my hands and step in front of Icarus.

"You ruined my life!" Dickwed shouts, his veins popping purple near his forehead.

"You did the same to others," I reply. I keep my voice calm, despite my pounding heart. Piper's murderous glare isn't helping either.

"I don't give a shit!" the hairy manager shouts. "My reputation is completely shattered, and it's all your fault." My eyes flick between Dickwed, Piper, and my incapacitated companions. I could try and take them both on, but Dickwed somehow managed to find Esilea's satchel in the rubble. And Piper is a walking sonic cannon. Of course, there is one other thing, but I really don't want to do it. I see Dickwed's eyes skitter from the satchel, to Icarus, and linger for a moment. Ah shit, I have to do the thing.

I recklessly lunge at Dickwed, who lets out a surprised shout. Piper steps in and slams her knee into my chest, and cracks her elbow against my back, throwing a bit of sonic force in there for good measure. I collapse on the ground and look up, my vision beginning to darken.

"You'll pay for that,"Dickwed sneers, and spits on me. Which means I'm going to get kidnapped. Again.