“It looks like they have guards patrolling the entire dock.” Says Nina as they watch the swarm of guards sweeping across the area.

“The boats just over there.” She adds, pointing to a nearby part of the dock. By the boat are the other people Ara had met in the house earlier. She can see them having what seems to be a heated discussion with a few of the guards.

“I think we’re going to have to fight our way out of here.”

“I don’t know how to.” Responds Ara.

“Don’t worry, cover your face and stay behind me.”

They both stand up as Ara covers her face once again and they start walking towards the boat. Ara flashes her eyes to the left and right to see a few of the guards noticing their excursion. The guards point to her and chat to one another as they find themselves approaching the boat.

“We have no idea what you are talking about” Ara hears Matsuko saying as they draw nearer to the boat.

“We are in a hurry and just want to get out of here” She adds.

“You’re supposed to have a permit to leave the docks. I cannot allow you to depart without it.” Responds one of the guards before he looks over to Ara and Nina as they arrive at the boat.

“Then what are we supposed to do? The office is closed already and we need to leave as soon as possible.”

“Are these two traveling with you?” The guards asks Matsuko whilst scanning Ara’s demeanor.

“Yes, this is my little sister.” Responds Nina, now standing at the boat with the others.

Ara looks around and notices that her brother has not yet arrived. The guards continue staring at her, causing an unnerving state of body as she tries to avoid eye contact.

“Remove the scarf please.” The guard directs to Ara.

“Huh?” She stumbles.

“We are looking for an escaped prisoner. We’ll need to confirm whether or not your description matches.”

Shit.

Ara looks over at Nina and Matsuko with extremely concerned eyes, advising them that she cannot take the scarf off under any circumstances.

"Is that really necessary?" Asks Matsuko

"She's just a kid."

"A kid? I'm not so sure about that." Utters the guard

"Please remove the scarf."

Ara pauses, looking over at Nina who subtly nods her head and then Matsuko who seems to be reaching for her sword.

She raises her hands up to her face and slowly peels the scarf covering her mouth down to her chin.

The guard's face lights up and Ara realizes she's been recognized.

"You-"

Before the guard says a word, the business end of a blade comes bursting through the front of his throat. Sprinkling droplets of blood over Ara's uncovered face.

She looks up to the sight and sound of the guard choking on his own blood with an expression of fear and pain plastered on his face.

She looks beside Nina to see a second guard undergoing a similar treatment by one of Nina's arrows.

The sight creates a pit of discomfort in Ara's stomach when suddenly she's spewing her last meal on the pavement.

"Shit, this is bad." Says Kimi as she draws everyone's attention to a handful of approaching guards.

Each of them draws their guns to the ready, and Nina draws the bow that was strapped to her back.

"We will fire if you take another step!" Yells Matsuko, attempting to draw a line in the sand.

It works, and the guards stop in their tracks a few metres away from them.

"Get on the boat." Nina directs Ara, prompting her to step behind them and run towards the boarding bridge.

Backup starts coming in droves as more of the patrolling guards approach the mess with weapons at the ready.

Where’s Chaung? Wonders Ara

"Where's Chaung?" Asks Nina.

"Causing problems." Replies Matsuko.

"Do we leave him?" inquires Kimi

"No need. His dumbass just arrived." She replies, pointing to the top of the nearby scaffolding when Chaung can be seen sprinting towards the group with his blade drawn.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Ara takes cover on the boat, peeking over the railing and noticing Chuang on his way.

"I've got two." Announces Yasuke as he shifts his mechanical arms into a different setting in which the rest of his arm is fully covered in metallic armor.

"Alright, we only need one." Smirks Matsuko as though she's itching for a little combat.

"This is the Imperial guard." Yells an officer from the front of the guards.

"Surrender your weapons or we will use force." He demands.

"Pfft. Force." She utters, raising her two flintlock pistols.

Gun fire suddenly erupts towards the scaffolding that Chaung was running atop. He leaps to the ground, drawing his marble pistol and returning fire middair. The shot zips through the wave of guards connecting with the center of one's head before Chaung rolls onto the ground with flair.

Nina fires an arrow at the officer in front of his guards whilst they are all distracted by Chaung's appearance. The arrows whips silently through the air and pierces the officers shoulder before he even looks back in their direction. His scream echoes through the docks as the rest of the guards turn their attention back to the rest of them and raise their weapons in response.

"Now!" Matsuko yells before Yasuke raises his revolving rifle and fires a large round into the front line of the guards.

The guards panic, bracing for an explosion but they quickly realize it'ss a dud. No- The round quickly spins in place, bursting a waft of smoke in all directions. Creating a wall of blindness that prompts the group to begin firing blindly into the crowd of guards.

Chaung sprints in their direction, using his sword and pistol in tandem to eliminate oncoming guards. He dives in and out the edge of the smoke to briefly mask his position and avoid being spotted by the majority of guards.

Yasuke and Kimi step forward, drawing their katanas and attacking the few guards positioned on the near side of the smoke.

Matsuko opens the butt of both her pistols, revealing a slot on the inside which she then places a new magazine into before sealing them and continuing to fire.

"Time to head out!" Yells Chaung as he dips out of the smoke, passing both Matsuko and Kimi who follow behind him.

Nina fires an arrow that whizzes within earshot of Chaung's head, connecting with the sternum of a guard who had his weapon raised at his back.

"You missed." Quips Matsuko as she turns to make her way across the bridge and board the boat.

"I'm waiting for his bounty to grow before I cash in." Returns Nina as she clips her bow onto her back and follows behind Matsuko.

"Clever, can we go fifty-fifty on that?" Adds Kimi as she arrives at the boat.

"You have to deal me in, too." Says Matsuko, now stood on the boat and drawing her pistols again to continue firing into the smoke alongside Nina.

"Collecting my bounty may cause you more trouble than it's worth." Chaung laughs as he too begins boarding the boat whilst Yasuke removes the tie down rope.

With a sudden jerk, the entire boat slowly starts distancing itself from the dock.

"Hey, you made it too." He chuckles, looking over at Ara.

"You're bleeding." Ara responds, looking at his hip where a large gash has made its way through his armor.

The boat jerks heavily this time as she notices Yasuke landing on the boat after what she can only assume was one hell of a jump.

"Yep, that happens sometimes. Yasuke, get to the bridge and steer us out of here."

"On it."

Chaung walks over to where Ara is taking cover and sits beside her, clutching the wound on his hip.

"Do you still know those healing techniques Ma'ma taught you?"

"I do." She responds dismissively.

"Think you could use them to help me out?"

"I could."

The boat violently erupts as the engine revs to life. Steam starts plummeting out of its exhaust and it picks up speed as it drifts from the dock.

"That is definitely one of our cleaner getaways." Remarks Matsuko as her and Nina cease firing.

The smoke at the dock starts to dissipate as it is revealed to the rest of the guards that they are out of reach.

"Do you think they're going to follow?" Asks Kimi.

"I hope not." She responds.

"I'm going to give Yasuke some assistance." Kimi adds before leaving to the bridge.

"Fine. I'll need you to expose the wound." Ara grunts to Chaung.

"Thanks, little sis."

He removes his armor and raises his shirt over his shoulder revealing a deep cut from his waist up to his ribcage.

"Don't call me that. You stopped being family a long time ago." She says, reaching for the wound.

She holds her hands apart, and slowly starts to focus her energy on the space between her palms. A subtle vibration phases through her body, directed towards her hands.

A subtle glow of orange tinges in the space and slowly stretches into a thread made out of energy. The intensity of it increases, beaming brighter in her hands and casting an orange accent on the boat.

"This is going to hurt." She says before placing one of her hands below the wound.

Nina and Matsuko watch as the glowing thread slowly weaves its way underneath his skin, causing him to jolt from the pain.

"Fuck! That hurts more than I remember." He exclaimed as the thread passes underneath the wound.

"It's a deep wound." She responds.

"But I am making this painful on purpose."

The thread stitches between each wall on the wound, slowly making its way to the top of the wound. Once it's thread, Ara raises her hand over it, creating a ball of energy between her hand again.

It reaches the size of a fist before she lowers it on top of the wound.

Chaung yells in response to the pain, as steam starts rising from the wound. A scab starts developing at the base of the wound and slowly creeping up as it continues to burn the wound closed.

"You should never have left us." Ara says, still concentrating on the wound as she feels the vibrations throughout her body rising with intensity.

The orb moves deeper into the wound, causing Chaung's body to flinch in an attempt to escape.

"I could kill you like this, you know."

It reaches the top of the wound, where it has almost entirely dissipated and right before it reaches his ribs, the rest of orb forces its way into his body.

Chaung yells out again as Nina quickly grabs Ara's arm.

"Relax, I'm done now."

Nina drops her arm to see the wound sealed in a burn-like fashion. Where the wound once was is now a fresh scar welding the skin and muscles together.

"We're even." Says Ara, as she stands up and walks away.

"The stars will guide us beyond the seas of Luná."

- Prophet DeGarr