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<01/17/1972 – 11:50 | Tilsit Port, Gulop Region, Sprawn Valley>
A long fought breath, one deep and lasting as loud as the clash of one ocean wave. Danny could sense that both were one and the same given enough focus and concentration. If you shut out everything else but the sound, and keep your mouth closed with a long deep breath, the noise is quite similar. It's as if the world itself has developed lungs the size of continents, and the ocean is its air. The thought of the Tidal Max was recalled immediately, since he could remember how it felt then.
The time of day here was not the same though. As similar as he wished it, Danny knew that the beach and the cruise were entirely different. How long has he been standing here quiet and motionless? Calming as it was, he allowed another long awkward silence endure between himself and Taylor... Then again, after studying how much she was trying to relax in the same way he just was, perhaps she didn't think this awkward at all... But this is getting boring regardless.
Despite how much free time he had here at Tilsit Port, and despite how new the place was to him, boredom still caught up and worked out the kinks in his earlier disturbance. Going somewhere new for the very first time is in itself exciting, just as much as it is frightening. Fun as it can be, this day is already getting ridiculous!
How long is Jane going to rot her day away in that library? Maybe he should have come along after all. Computer terminals here must be totally different than the ones he had back home; they must be a great opportunity of research. Still, he couldn't help but feel rushed all the same. Jane made it to Tilsit in much less the time they planned out together before parting from Fronas. This would be a good thing regarding the availability of credits, thus how long they could span out their MRE supplies, but it doesn't change how Jane has been acting strange. In some ways, she is still herself, more so when it comes down to battling, but outside of that, she's just off lately. How could losing a few fights be that poisonous to someone's mental state of mind?
Great! Now he's worrying for nothing too. Last time, Taylor was the one doing this. Why should it even matter? Jane will eventually find nothing and cool down, and that's because there is nothing to find on that terminal.
"Can't decide what to do?" Taylor was bored too, but Danny seemed like he didn't know what to do at a beach, despite all the fun they've had earlier. There really wasn't much else they could do that was different from before. He recently announced that he would go track Jane down and tell her to get back into the sun, but instead, he ended up here. Taylor just followed him over to figure it out, and instead joined him in the relaxing serenity at this spot. There weren't many people around, not this close to the shoreline near the lighthouse. Thus, the sound of the calming ocean and flying breezes seemed more dominant for the moment. "Didn't you say you were going to get Jane?"
"I did, but..." Why even bother at this point? Jane either refuses to have fun and relax, or she will only pretend to do so, and after her last defeat, Jane won't likely be focused on anything but that stupid curse. Whether it's real or not, there is no way to prove or disprove the very idea. Jane did some energy scan earlier, and it showed up negative, so there you go. Sadly, with a hard head like hers, that won't mean anything.
"Want me to go instead? I'll make her come out if she doesn't want to." She can pout later. There's still so much Jane could be doing here, perhaps show everyone around to other places she might know about.
"Well, if you insist, go on ahead then. It won't take but two minutes, and I'm not going anywhere." Danny glanced Taylor in her blue eyes for assurance. "Promise."
Taylor nodded with a smile and was off with little delay. As she went to fetch Jane, she glanced back at Danny to make sure he would stay put, which he did. Though if he was in a deep thought, what could it even be about?
Danny waited for Taylor's return, which seemed to last a bit longer than he wanted it to. In what felt like several minutes, Taylor finally returned to give Danny the short version of the news. Since Jane wasn't with her right now, it meant that even Taylor couldn't drag Jane from that place. Taylor thus delivered the response. Despite Jane looking somewhat down, she'll be back out soon.
Danny accepted the answer, but paraphrased one part in his mind. Coming from Jane, soon could last up to ten long minutes. "Let's meet her by the other shore. I'm up for a walk."
Taylor strutted by his side in agreement with her arms behind her. The sun had just gone behind several harmless clouds, easing off the heat and making the chilling wind feel that much better on her skin. "So what do you make of Gross City?"
Interesting, Danny thought. Here we are at the beach, and she chooses to talk about the city we've already passed? "Well it was different, but we didn't get to enjoy it all that much. As expected, Jane went and got herself into another battle, which was fine for a moment, but her passing out like that forced us to call it in. Then Jane wanted to speed up things again."
Taylor figured one simple idea would lead back to Jane Venn. It always does. Everything they do these days is somehow directly linked to her. Nobody ever does anything on their own for some reason. Still, regarding the last thing he just said, there was some reason for concern. "Yeah, about that..."
Danny noticed her discomfort immediately, and stepped in front of Taylor facing her to prevent her thoughts from going there. "Nothing to it." Danny grabbed both of her arms downward for comfort. "I told you, nothing bad is going to happen. Jane is speeding things up, but I'll just think faster instead." After letting go of her arms, Danny noticed how entranced Taylor was. Did she believe in him that much without a solid plan? He was assuring her though. No way is she becoming a Banshee slave!
"Listen, we can just—"
"Out of the way!"
Nearly being pushed aside, Danny was bumped by some tall tan guy in white shorts and a green colored long sleeve, but stood out from the magic staff he was carrying. Spotting the guy instantly, Danny's attention was diverted from Taylor, hers too towards the ill-mannered moron. "Watch where you're going! Ahw!"
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Chapter Theme Shift: Oath Brand ~ FFXIII-2 OST
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Noticing the commotion further behind Taylor, Danny's eyes lit up with alertness, forcing Taylor to read his expression and turn around to figure it out for herself as well. The guy who just passed them was running towards the lighthouse, but further off to the shore, a large and tall wall of fire separated the beach line from the pier. That fire was defiantly started by magic just based on how unordinary its physical properties seemed, and it soon died away too. Further on the pier, someone was suddenly taking off high speed on a motorized boat. And on the other side, another figure was shooting bolts of fire towards—
"Get down!" Danny ducked Taylor's head and himself crouching, just as a bolt of fire slammed into the guy who passed them. He didn't get very far, so that bolt of fire was very close to their own proximity. As Danny got to see, the mage in front of him actually deflected the magic Fire Bolt using the end of his crystal staff as if were an absorbent shield. There wasn't much protection from that staff, but his aim with hitting that Fire Bolt away was impressive, and it saved himself and Taylor from any immediate harm. What the hell is going on here?!
"We have more on the way! Surrender now, heathen!" The mage was calling out towards his opponent, but it didn't sound like a battle cry, much more did it simulate actual distress in his voice. This isn't good! An intruder is blocking the lighthouse, and there is no external communications from inside right now.
Danny couldn't be certain what was happening, but it didn't look good. A Leray match here? No! The stance and situation are all wrong. No dome shield was in place, and these two were facing off without any intention to play nicely. "Taylor! Stay behind me!" Danny rushed up in front of Taylor, while cautiously bending his knees to prepare himself should he suddenly come under attack from magic too. The only logical thing to do right now is to help this guy. "Sir! I'm helping you!"
What is this kid thinking? "No you're not! Get away from here before you get hurt!" The unidentified mage wasn't having a civilian help him out, not even a Leray wielder. This criminal in front of him is dangerous, and it hasn't been confirmed yet if he can use dark magic as his source of energy.
"This isn't up for a debate," Danny argued. His stance prepared himself too, while the mage to his left didn't do anything in particular to stop his intentions. How could he? Both of them would have to focus on this intruder.
"You fools won't stop us!" The obvious criminal calling himself out only made a stand between himself and that lighthouse structure behind him. "Shadow Wave!"
Just as the enemy launched a Shadow Wave spell into the ground, Danny ended up reacting with a counterattack that was quick and well thought out, while his helper beside him just stood there waiting. "Hammer of Might!" While spawning the large magical hammer into his hands, Danny counted his strength and angle of projection, just as he threw his hammer from a sideways angle. The man beside him reacted with some surprise, but everyone just stopped then to see if his trick would work, whatever it turned out to be. Danny's hammer had no possible way of traveling all the way to the other side of the field and hitting the attacker, but it didn't have to.
By the time the hammer hit the ground while spinning, the Shadow Wave aura plowed right into its path, creating a sudden obstacle in its wave. A metal hammer is normally not strong against a Shadow Wave aura, but this hammer is large from its generation while made of special metal material, and Danny threw it in the opposing direction, giving the device more force. Because of the properties of a normal Shadow Wave, it advances until the very moment it contacts another physical object or person. In this case, the hammer called out from phase just struck the Shadow Wave, and that just forced the spell to expand its wave and begin attacking with magical slashes at the hammer.
Whether the hammer takes damage or not, it didn't matter at that point. Once the Shadow Wave spell is done attacking, it explodes into a mist and disappears. This happened at quite a distance away from everyone, dispersing the immediate danger to himself and his mage partner.
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Chapter Theme Shift: Beautiful War Heroes ~ FFXIII-2 OST
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The mage glared down at Danny, who had sharp focus on the criminal and his movements. He's not just some random boy after all. Naturally, anyone would have to exert extra MP energy to throw something that heavy so far like that, but he aimed for the magical wave knowing what would happen to it on contact. Leray wielder and a heavy analyst! And the kid isn't following instructions from his authority... It will have to do for now, since it cannot be helped. "Fine! I'll back you up kid! We take him together, you hear?"
Right as Danny was about to nod, a sharp piercing arrow zoomed by his right ear from behind, visually flying at a fast speed across the field until it struck the enemy on the other side, who panicked and yelled out in pain as a response. The enemy failing to dodge that arrow was justified; it's still sunny out, and arrows in this world are very fine and thin like thread needles. But never mind that! Who fired the shot?
"Don't forget," Taylor added. "I'm fighting too!" She stood beside Danny now after stepping up, keeping her bow out and ready with another tip loaded and held back for potential energy. The bow is the same one she bought earlier, and she had been practicing a few additional spells related to this weapon too. Three against one won't be so bad, and Danny isn't fighting all by himself.
"Surrender now or face three against one!" Another threat from the mage, but it of course wasn't going to work.
"Hahaha! Try blocking Hell Fire!" Just as the enemy invoked his spell of Hell Fire, several dozens of Fire Bolts shot out around him, all heading for the general vicinity of their location.
Taylor reacted immediately by running up several paces, against the mage's noticeable denial in his body language. "I got these. You both attack!"
"Will do," Danny agreed. He already had a good enough idea in mind for hitting this enemy at such a long distance. Just because there are special spells that have properties of traveling through the ground, it doesn't mean they have to start at the position of the user. However, making this work in his way would require more MP energy. So be it! "Earth Glave!"
Before the effects of Earth Glave could begin to show up noticeably, Taylor released her stored magic, generating a vortex of visible wind around her, one that was wider than the usual size. "Whirlwind!" The generated wind became overbearingly louder than any other force around her, but the mage was standing just far away enough not to get caught up in its powerful vortex. For a simple Whirlwind attack, it was quite a powerful show, but Taylor wasn't anywhere near the range to hit the enemy!
His jaw dropped when realizing the intention behind Whirlwind. The mage suddenly spotted several dying bolts of fire being whipped around in the sand storm Taylor created around her. Since the Fire Bolts are homing, they chose her body since she was the closest target to reach, but in attracting them all here, Taylor's Whirlwind was destroying the flight path of each Fire Bolt using the power of her magical gusts, while simultaneously diminishing the power of each bolt. Nothing as far as projectile attacks with a low power level can touch Taylor, and it simultaneously protects everyone at the same time. Such genius work for a young kid!
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Just as the Whirlwind spell faded away, the absence of Fire Bolts filled the air, while the ground began shooting up right before the enemy intruder, shoving rocks and boulders into his body hard enough to send him flying back. This was Danny's specialty. With all eyes diverted to that Whirlwind gust, his Earth Glave would trigger in a location much closer towards the enemy unit, given that it normally has an effective range of 30 meters, but this guy was at least 110 meters away instead. By forcing the magical aura to spawn in another location further away, the spell's range can be improved, but it was a big gamble, since Danny didn't know if that would work. In doing so, it cost about three times the normal MP amount since he had to control the aura the entire time to make it happen. Still, his spell scored a direct hit!
Who are these people? They fight so impressively for their age, and they know how to take full advantage of spells in ways I wouldn't think of on the spot. These should be Tilsit's agents!
The man got himself back up, but his stance seemed to change quite a bit since being blasted with the last earth-based spell. "You think I care about fighting you filth? My objective has already been completed." While talking over his own voice, it filled the empty space enough to be heard by the others.
Taylor nervously glanced at the mage for answers, since Danny couldn't possibly have them. "What's he talking about?"
The stranger tensed his muscles and cringed at the immediate realization. "He's after the data in the tower!"
With that, the criminal suddenly created a strange glyphring on the ground below him, one attached vertically to his feet as it began to light up. Afar ten more seconds, the man totally disappeared into a bright pixilation effect along with the light show on the ground.
The mage snapped in anger. "He just teleported away!"
"What?" Danny faced forward again turning his eyes, making sure the bad guy wasn't just hiding. "To where? He can just do that?" The only other person who supposedly tried this was that one criminal who stole crystal shards. They weren't the same people, were they?
The older male suddenly pulled out a radio communicator, and used the device to identify himself and the situation. "Kelly to all agents. You're needed at the lighthouse eight minutes ago! Move it on the double!" He put the radio way, but lowered his staff and eased his muscles.
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Chapter Theme Shift: Parallel World ~ FFXIII-2 OST
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Danny felt strangely at ease, but it was because his new partner suddenly was. Kelly, he wasn't going to head towards the lighthouse? What was that he said about data in the tower? "Hey, Kelly? What's happening here? What was all of that, and why aren't we checking the lighthouse? He was guarding that spot, right?"
"Calm down," he ordered. "They're already gone. So feel free to relax. In fact, if you don't want to spend all your day being questioned by agents, may want to stay away from here as well."
Taylor put away her bow upon realizing that something odd has happened, likely something that the agents here failed to get right, but where was Jane in all of this? She's usually the expert getting things done, especially non-official things like last time... Wait, she failed to stop the crystal thief too. Still, she should be here to know about this. "Come on," Taylor tugged at Danny's shirt. "Let's go find Jane."
Danny turned around, finally agreeing with Taylor with certainty that it was better than staying here. Right now, his curiosity was burning his every senses, but if Taylor doesn't want to be a part of that investigation, then that wish should come first! "Right. Good idea." Danny took off alongside of Taylor towards the research institute she visited earlier, hoping Jane would still be there in plain sight.
But as they both searched the entire facility splitting up for over five minutes, Danny and Taylor checked just outside again. "Find her?"
Taylor replied with a defeating answer. "No. I don't know where she went."
Danny crossed his arms and anchored his legs. "Well this is just a fine mess we're in. Now Jane is somewhere else." Even if he can't find her right now, this matter wasn't going to will itself away. That mage is still over there now, accompanied by two new agents he had never seen before.
Taylor noticed how threatened Danny suddenly seemed in his expression as he uncrossed his arms and side stepped closer to her. She turned around quickly to that side again, realizing that one of the agents in a white robe was heading straight for them. Are they going to be questioned? No, how would they know who they are?
"You two," the agent projected. "Over here please."
Danny didn't even get a chance to protest, as the agent was turning around again while expecting himself and Taylor to follow. That sure didn't take long. Did that mage give these guys a description of who they were? Danny sighed and held his tongue, deciding to walk forward and signaling Taylor to do the same. By the time he and Taylor were standing beside Kelly and the two unidentified agents, they were in for a long talk as it would seem.
"These are the two suspects helping you?"
The question came from the male agent, directed towards Kelly, but Danny answered before him. "Yes. We were both helping Kelly fight against that mad man, but we're not suspects."
"I'm asking mage Kelly a question young man. You will hold your tongue!"
Why are they being like this? Do agents in Tilsit just harass everyone who tries to help? This isn't Kelly's fault! He didn't do anything wrong!
Kelly swallowed and gave him the full report. "They are the ones who assisted me in battle. Though it was very short-lived, these two youngsters insisted on joining that mess despite my warnings for them not to get involved."
"And then you just let them walk away without any question?" The female agent was bombarding Mr. Kelly with a harsh rhetorical sounding question, though he still answered back.
"They said they would be back with a friend of theirs. Naturally, I trusted they would return as they are here now."
"Well, ya shouldn't have!"
What is wrong with this man? Danny could see both these agents lighting up with anger, but the reason behind it wasn't clear at all. The adult male continued his insulting abrade for answers.
"In a confusing situation, you don't know who the enemy really is. These kids could have just been part of the show to buy the real enemy more time, and by letting them walk off, they're free of investigation. You've broken several protocols in just under a few minutes. You're lucky you still have a job."
Danny twitched in the sudden realization he just felt. Now it does make sense as to why these agents are upset with Kelly. What that agent just surmised was intelligently accurate. Though he and Taylor are innocent, there would not have been any way for Kelly to know that. Whether he was powerless to stop himself and Taylor from entering the battle or not, by letting them leave his presence, it would make Kelly seem suspicious. Danny and Taylor are both unknowns right now, and if Danny were a criminal stalling for time to help that mage who teleported out, Kelly would have made a critical error in judgment. But that doesn't mean this is his fault either!
Kelly retorted, "And where were you two during all of that commotion, where I had to deal with that crazy wielder all by myself? Were you even made aware that one of your other agents got blasted away by an unknown teleportation symbol belonging to the primary suspect? Of all things, your security is what has failed here."
Danny knew this would last forever if he didn't blunder this charade down to the bone himself. He cleared his throat for attention, and changed the subject slightly. "I think we should at least introduce ourselves. I'm Danny Mason." Holding out his hand as a sign of good faith, the agent shook it reluctantly, while Taylor followed in his footsteps.
"I'm Taylor Feer. Sorry about this."
Shortly after shaking both of their hands, the silent agent then glared at Kelly again for more input. "You let kids take over the battle for you?"
Kelly shook both his hands with a denying nod, defending his claim as best as he could. "I didn't want them to, but they were actually quite skilled in helping out. They deflected most of the enemy's powerful attacks and counterattacked all without taking any damage themselves. They are quite the skilled wielders, as far as my eyes tell me."
The agent glanced back at Danny and Taylor again for a quick study, but the more he thought about it, the more mysterious they seemed to be. "I am agent Sarbone. And my partner," he pointed to the other female agent about the same age and height as himself, "is agent Reed." The girl Taylor - was looking a bit surprised or nervous as expected, but the boy had such focused eyes right now. "I'll get right to the point. You will both be required to come down to the station to give us a testimony of what you saw and did, as it may help further our current investigation."
"That won't do," Danny denied. "Because I have questions for you as well. Neither one of us understand what is going on right now. I at least expect an explanation."
"I don't have to explain anything to you," Sarbone phrased.
Danny commented back in solidarity. "And I don't have to report the truth about what happened here at your station, nor will I, if I'm missing information. But I'm asking you directly instead, because it's the most efficient way to figure out what happened and where our friend has gone."
"Danny," Taylor interjected. "Jane might be somewhere on the beach still."
"We'll still search for her," he promised.
Agent Sarbone interrupted between them, intrigued by Danny's sudden behavior. "Why is it you want to make things difficult? Do you really think that you will achieve some sort of result with me that you wouldn't with some other agent?"
"Want to find out?" Danny tested. "I bet with your information and my own put together, it wouldn't take you very long at all."
"You really have a wish to be locked up, don't you kid?"
Sarbone ignored Reed's comments for now with a silent sigh. So that's how it is. This Danny character seems to have some sort of mystery solving complex, and a natural disposition towards unknown agents. Though his bravery is also something quite impressive given what just happened, and if he were serious about that transfer idea to the station, the investigation efficiency time would be cut into a fourth of what it could be now. Even though it goes against certain protocols... "Very well then."
Reed winced at what that might have meant. "Sarbone? What are you going on about?"
He replied swiftly. "I'll share what I know with Danny and Taylor for now, but if I find their information in return inadequate, I'm calling your parents, and you will be in trouble for resisting to help us in the investigation."
"Sarbone?"
"Enough Reed. I'll handle this from here."
Checkmate! Danny didn't bother mentioning that his parents were too far away to contact, nor would he be capable of getting sent home without a home to go to in this country. Still, he did have every intention of figuring this out, so now that there are no strings attached, "Deal."
Even now is he so unchanged by the threat. These kids are stronger than they look. Sarbone quickly detailed the summary as he now understood the full situation. "First of all, what do you both understand about our lighthouse facility?"
"Is there something to it?" Taylor questioned. Her response seemed to upset Sarbone rather quickly though.
"You don't even have any clue why you were fighting. How pathetic!"
"We did what felt right," Danny defended. "Kelly looked like he could use the extra hand, and the criminal struck first from his distance."
"Well since you don't know this already, I'll tell you because it is not classified knowledge anyway. The lighthouse we have here at Tilsit is not just a lighthouse." That much they should have already guessed. "It serves as Gulop's primary source of information and data storage. At the same time, it remains the only primary selection of a communications center. All of these extra facilities are underneath the structure, and as I would hope you've already understood by that bit of summary, you should assume the facility to be highly secure, the data collected hidden from the public."
A data storage facility underground? A communications center in the same system? Danny had never heard such an amazing thing in the Gulop region. Did Jane know about this? Not likely. If she did, wouldn't she have made him and Taylor aware of it by now?
"That facility, as restricted as it was, suddenly came under siege while numerous unauthorized suspects entered through the main gate, got full access to use the underground elevator, and held all of the workers there hostage."
Danny felt like he was losing control of his thought process fast. The criminals were sieging the entire underground section? The short memory entered Danny's mind from what Kelly yelled over earlier, about having data stolen. That must be it! "They were after the hidden data?"
"My, you certainly catch on quick."
Though Danny was being rewarded some praise from Ms. Reed, Taylor felt somewhat left out. Danny is doing that thing of his again. In his own way, he's trying to figure this out as if he were some sort of detective, and now that he has the temporary trust of both agents on his side, it's working!
"What about the people still trapped inside," he concerned.
Sarbone lifted the warning early. "By the time I got here, radio communications were restored by the workers. Apparently, all known criminals inside of the facility vanished using teleportation symbols. The structure is still in full lockdown until the situation is resolved."
"Teleportation? And that guy did the same thing too. It's just like before..."
"What was that?"
Danny forgot to mind his words, realizing that he just referenced another situation. Now, both of these agents would be demanding to know a little more about his past. It's too late to deflect on that now, but he did have a deal to uphold in either case. "Some thief in Fronas apparently made off with crystal shards about a week ago. I'm sure you would already know about that, but I was unfortunately dragged into visual range of the incident. The person who got away did so by teleporting out."
Danny was part of that incident? What has fate been doing these days? "Teleported? My word. I must ask if you have any information on—"
"I do not," Danny replied. It was true. Danny knew not the identity of that criminal, nor did the face of the last brute he saw ring a bell. Sarbone seemed defeated immediately, which would make sense if to assume solving that case would give him promotions. "All I know is that he used a teleportation symbol too, unexpectedly. Also, I think he belonged to some organization called Scarlet something."
Noticeably, agent Sarbone and agent Reed froze up. Danny didn't know what he said to set them off like that, but he had to wait for the sudden connection.
"So that was their doing as well?"
"Wait a minute..." Finally picking up the pace, Taylor figured that their testimony and Danny's analysis could only mean one thing. "Are the ones who attacked the tower the same group?"
Sarbone admitted, despite this being confidential information. "The Scarlet Syndicate. Those are indeed the parties that sieged our facility a few minutes ago. Their very intention was to steal an unknown source and amount of classified information from the underground facility, as they have done so successfully."
"I can't believe it!" Danny stamped. "The Scarlet Cult is behind this too? Who the hell are those people?"
"Our workers have reported seeing special emblems and colors on the clothing and armor of those inside of the facility, while our suspect outside was wearing a close imitation to that of our normal tower guardian to blend in. That's why we didn't know who was behind this at first."
A red crimson colored emblem, and a fiery outfit of passion. Taylor recalled very well that this was similar material or artwork that the crystal shard thief was wearing.
Danny changed his stance immediately, though without proper prompt to do so. "Wait a minute! Who was that person running towards the pier?"
"What are you talking about?" Sarbone requested. This might be the break in the case he needed. "Speak up boy!"
Danny faced Taylor though when addressing the conflict, since it pertained to himself and her more than it did to the agents. "That guy was attacking one of the civilians while they tried to run away on the pier, and that wall of fire must have been started to help them get away. Then they took off on that motor boat. That's when we were attacked next."
"He swapped targets?" Taylor suggested.
"When was this? We need to look into this last suspect as well as the whereabouts of the vessel that was taken." Reed didn't expect this turn of events.
Danny now faced Sarbone directly, hoping to maximize his concern. "Agent Sarbone? I need you to help us figure out who exactly it was that took that boat away. We might know her."
"Her?" Taylor repeated. She sucked in air with shock. "You mean Jane? It couldn't be her!"
Danny nodded to agree with his own claim instead. "But we were facing away from the lighthouse when this all started. Jane was supposed to come back out for us. Given the physical location of the facility and its angle, the first thing Jane would have seen was the lighthouse, and if there was more of that commotion that we missed, maybe Jane was the one who was attacked. She could be the one on that boat going anywhere."
Taylor lowered her expression and relaxed. "That doesn't sound like her though."
Sarbone inhaled while processing the bumbling of their words. "Well I can promise you that we will both be looking into that. Agent Reed? I'll need a vessel out to sea. It may be possible that the civilian took one of the damaged vessels, and thus would be trapped out there. As for you two, we'll need to question you some more officially, but I'll let you both find a place here to change." It felt odd enough questioning civilians like this, but both Danny and Taylor knew a great deal about something else they missed, something Kelly missed as well.
Still, it's quite impressive the way he thinks. Danny considered the location of the building, the angle of the exit, the field of view opportunity, and the most likely reaction from their supposed friend in under a few seconds. His battling style is probably just as interesting. Such an analytical mind must explain his odd behavior, while giving the lad such a position towards solving out problems in his head. Why, Danny might even have the natural skill it could take to become a Leray agent of his own someday.
Sarbone shook the thought away, realizing that he was just distracting himself now. "I'll show you where we should meet up in several hours from now, the spot where we work on these details. Reed, I trust you to head inside of the lighthouse and resolve the situation there?"
"Of course sir. I'll be back soon." Reed began walking off already, heading towards the lighthouse structure to put everything back together there.
Danny was left with his own silent thoughts in the meantime. He felt a little strange after all he got to talk about, and with Taylor's concern noted, it would be that much harder to pinpoint Jane's location. She could still be on the beach somewhere, totally oblivious to what just went down. If she was, then that would be a very long conversation to have later. Still, what the hell were the Scarlet criminals doing back here? What sort of data were they after anyway?
Taylor could sense that Danny was now disturbed by all of this, as he should have been several minutes ago. "I just wish I knew what was going on," she flushed. Taylor could only think backwards now. That Whirlwind trick she pulled off seemed too automatic for her even now, but in thought, it was such a great defensive strategy she had been practicing. How well it worked out for her case! But then what about Danny? What is he thinking right now?
This is what Kain meant about random dangers, wasn't it? Do criminals in Sprawn Valley just run around doing these things all the time? It wouldn't be that big a deal, unless they can actually use dark magic to fight. That means with enough energy, they can actually kill people. It had not occurred to him until now that he was in serious danger if that last guy had the capacity, but it looked all like normal Leray magic to his eyes. There would have to be a way to discern the difference... I'm hungry again.
"Hey Danny?" Taylor called. When Danny found her attention again, she made her offering. "I think we should search the beach for Jane, and maybe get something to eat on the side?" Her stomach was lower than empty. After all, she only had a scoop of ice cream to eat earlier.
Food sounds good, but searching for Jane on the beach would be paramount for answers. "You read my mind. Let's go search for her."
Sarbone noticed that both of them were about to take off in search for their friend, which he didn't mind given the circumstance of missing data. "You two watch yourselves out there. And don't forget our meeting!"
Danny didn't bother wasting time turning around. Instead, he lifted his right arm upward and open to wave from behind, then continued walking alongside Taylor to start the hunt. If Jane was that suspect taking the boat for her own safety though, it would be bad. They have to find her!