“Cease or we will shoot!”

Freakshow laughed and flipped off the PC’s pursuing him before leaning forward, his hands twisting on the handles of his brand new, shiny white Lightning, making it go even faster, weaving to avoid the gun blasts hitting the ground around him.

He rode through the dry fields outside the city, kicking up dust. The tails of his white headband fluttered in the wind behind him and the wind slipped under the popped collar of his jacket, puffing it up. The PC’s fell further and further behind him, their wailing sirens getting drowned out by the wind whipping around his face. But the dusty, wide-open plain made it hard for Freakshow to truly lose his pursuers.

The zipper on his jacket started to slide down and Cyclops, Freakshow’s one-eyed gray cat, stuck his head out of Freakshow’s jacket. Freakshow took a hand off the handles of the Lightning to gently push Cyclop’s head back into the jacket and zip it back up. After a short while, Freakshow had gotten out of shooting range and once he had finally gotten out of view of the PC’s chasing him he redirected towards Lieri city...

“Well... fuck.” Freakshow’s hands loosened on the Lightning’s handles, slowing down to a stop as the city came into view.

Towering over even the tallest buildings were 6 Knights. In the far corner of the city, fires raged, “We’re nowhere near the front, what the hell is happening?”

As he stared, dumbfounded, one of the Knights engaged another, clumsily pushing with its arm out and stiff, stumbling like a drunken man. “Traitors?” Freakshow muttered the question before swallowing hard and shaking his head. He gripped the handles again, turning the front wheel away. Only before he could hightail it out of there the nearest Knight was knocked to the ground. The crash was so big, so loud, that it shook the ground, knocking the Lightning, and Freakshow with it, over.

Freakshow’s back hit the dirt and his breath left his lungs with an audible whoosh. Cyclops spooked, wriggling out of Freakshow’s jacket and bolting for the city gate. “Hey, wait!” Freakshow called out after him, scrambling to right the Lightning and get back on.

“Cyclops! Cyclops come back!” Freakshow screamed, choking on debris as he raced along the streets on the Lightning. As he leaned into a turn pebbles kicked up to mark and dent the shining white coat of the Lightning. Freakshow slowed down as he caught up to and overtook Cyclops, scooping him up off the pavement. He immediately curled up in the crook of Freakshow’s elbow, shivering. “Well maybe you shouldn’t be an idiot and run away.” Freakshow muttered sourly under his breath. He took a sharp left turn toward the center of town so he could get his bearings. After another turn the Lightning sputtered to a stop. “Fuck you!” He snapped, stepping off the Lightning and shoving it to the ground.

Freakshow held Cyclops closer as he shook and continued down the street on foot, leaving the Lightning where it was, half vaguely hoping it would still be there when he got back with gas and half already making plans to steal a new one.

A stomp of a Knight’s foot resonated through the city, the closeness of the sound sending a chill up Freakshow’s spine. Cyclops nearly jumped out of his arms again but he held him tighter as he quickened his pace. Freakshow reached his free hand to the back of his head and untied the white band around his forehead to expose his third eye. Just in case.

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As the sound of Knight’s battling grew closer Freakshow broke into a jog. Out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of a black and gold Knight towering over the short buildings to his right. He broke into a sprint. The building to his right crumbled under the weight of a Knight’s foot. Freakshow turned his shoulders away from it to protect Cyclops from any flying debris.

A child’s scream stopped Freakshow in his tracks and made him turn around. A little girl ran along the street behind him as the buildings around her collapsed in the battle between two Knights. As he paused to watch, the little brat tripped on her own feet and was sent sprawling out on the dirt. He sighed as debris started to rain down, threatening to crush her. He focused his third eye on her, covering her with a forcefield. She stared up at the chunks of concrete and brick above her without moving.

“Hey kid! Come on! I can’t hold this shit up forever!” Freakshow shouted to her. She didn’t move. Using his third eye’s power, he glanced into her mind. Her mind was completely blank in shock.

Freakshow jogged towards her, wrinkling his nose at the smell of urine clinging to her as he approached. As he attempted to close the distance between them the battle between the Knights turned in the favor of the black and gold Knight. The black and gold Knight shoved the other, blue and white, Knight to the ground… right on top of the child. Unsure if his forcefields were strong enough to stop a Knight, Freakshow bit his lip and held his left arm out in front of him. He pulled the girl to him with a telekinetic tug releasing the forcefield when she was clear. He caught her shirt in his left hand and tucked her under his arm, sprinting away from the scene quickly.

After a few moments she started to squirm. Freakshow looked down at her, “You come back to your senses?” Her face tilted up and her eyes locked onto him. Her mind was filled with his face and fear. He knew the word was coming before her lips even started to form it.

He dropped her. She let out a cry of pain as her butt hit the ground. “Run you ungrateful little shit.” She scooted away. He took a threatening step towards her. “I said run.”

She did as she was told.

He shot a depressed glance to where the Lightning used to be, now crushed. Another Knight, this one white and gold, showed up to block a final, crushing blow from the black and gold one. The new one seemed stronger, not even denting with the strongest blow from the black one. The black one recoiled from the force of its punch being blocked and the new one took aim, a gun sliding out of a compartment on its arm and firing at the black one’s cockpit. While the black one didn’t fall... it also didn’t move.

With the fight decided, Freakshow glanced around for his fallen headband and, upon spotting it in the rubble a few feet away, pulled it towards him with his third eye. He plucked the white strip of cloth out of the air then started back on his way to the center of town.

“Wait! Come back!” Someone called behind him. He looked over his shoulder as a blonde woman in a shimmering green dress crawled out of the cockpit of the white and gold Knight. She dropped to the paved road and ran towards him. A Cerun man in black with light blue hair crawled out after her.

Freakshow tied his headband around his forehead again, covering the third eye, before turning to her. She stopped in front of him and paused to get her breath back. Her Cerun shadow stopped a few feet behind her drawing knives from his sleeves and watching Freakshow coldly. Freakshow stared at the knives before tugging on a tail of the headband and pulling it off once more.

The woman straightened her back and looked him in the eyes, a confident smirk on her lips. “How would you like to join a royal Knight squad.”

“Yeeeeaaaaahhh….. no.” Freakshow rolled his eyes.

Her smirk disappeared, replaced by a cold glare, “Kathan” she barked. Freakshow turned his gaze back to the man and his knives but for once he wasn’t fast enough. One of the thin knives embedded in his shoulder. His head grew heavy and with its weight he sank to the ground. As he failed to fight off the wave of unconsciousness he heard the woman say, “So sorry to give you the illusion of choice.”