That next week, Vio was quick to grab an apartment for both Terra and herself, thanks to the newfound pay from becoming a Plague Doctor.
With a bi-weekly salary, and knowing their situation, Pierce was sure to compensate the siblings with worthy price. Enough to grab an apartment, as well as some decorations to spruce it up.
Terra was thankful for his new residence. However, showering that morning was horrible. That lukewarm water flowing against his bruised skin made him wince in pain, carefully cleaning his body. With every scrub, he had to dodge hotspots of pure pain.
After his shower however, Vio was quick to use her fae magic, mending his wounds as long as she could, before it was time for them to head out. With the magic of a fae, just about any physical mending and illusory power, was possible to her, albeit to mild impact. Such is the power of an Azure Fae: to support in time of need.
As the two of them began their trek to the precinct, Terra rolled his shoulder around to stretch it, sighing with relief.
"Thank goodness you're an Azure..." he said with a grin, "That's two times now that you've saved my life!"
Vio crossed her arms with pride, standing on his shoulder.
"It is my pleasure! After all, to watch over my brother can be fun!" she simply stated, sitting down carefully.
It didn't take long for them to make it there, quickly heading to their posts. Vio, back to Pierce's side. Terra... back to hell itself.
. . .
Before Bubbles could say a word to Terra, he immediately started his routine, dropping down and beginning to do push-ups. The olympian-looking man stared down at Terra. Staring... until a grin suddenly appeared on his face.
"Doing four-thousand, right?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes sir!!" Terra quickly answered, continuing his push-ups at a steady rhythm. He was... surprisingly consistent. Bub's grin turned to a smile, excited to see his progress.
"Go on then. Remember your routine!"
It took an hour and a half, but the push-ups completed. Next, it was sit-ups. Then, it was squats. Then, to jog around the block... one-hundred times. Such a workout would be brutal for the average man, even a Plague Doctor recruit. As Bub watched on at Terra's consistent physical performance, he was feeling inspired.
"Just a week ago, this maggot was getting beaten into the ground... Now he's running laps around some of the others. Just what is he...?" he thought to himself, watching closely at Terra's body. Sweat was trickling down the recruit's body made it clear he was still feeling fatigue, however... his eyes remained as determined as always.
"If this keeps up, he may even be as strong as..."
With a sudden shout, Bub called out to Terra, signalling him to run back to him. Terra briskly jogged over to his trainer, wiping the sweat off of his forehead and panting faintly.
"Y-Yes sir?" Terra said curiously, using his shirt to wipe his cheeks. As he did this, Bub quickly reached out, forcing Terra's shirt up still while staring at his abdomen. "W-What—?"
Bub hummed to himself lowly, narrowing his eyes to inspect the progress.
"It's... astonishing." he thought to himself, recognizing the drastic change from before. "In just a week, he's dropped three sizes. Even as he runs, it's clear that his clothes barely fit him. His abdominal area is practically fat-free. Does his body have this much potential...?"
As Bub spoke in his thoughts while scratching his chin, Terra awkwardly stood there with a blush, getting increasingly flustered from having his stomach showing out in the open for so long. Long enough for bystanders to gawk at him, it looked like. Eventually it was too much for him, stepping back away from Bub while covering his stomach, despite it being covered by the shirt already.
"H-Hey, what's going on...?" Terra asked, frowning a bit. Bub smiled, crossing his arms.
"You've got the highest potential I've ever seen." he simply stated, looking at Terra with a glimmer in his eyes. "Today, I want you to fight against the others again. See if you notice it for yourself."
Terra looked up at him with an eyebrow raise, curious. Just what did Bub have planned?
. . .
He stood calmly, looking at the group of five in front of him, armed to the teeth with weapons. A polearm, a sword, a bat, a staff, and tonfas.
They stared at each other closely. The tension felt as though like gravity pushing down on them, slowly but surely.
Bub smiled slowly, raising a whistle to his mouth. After one more pause... he blew against it, starting the fight.
"FIGHT, MAGGOTS!!"
As soon as the officers took one step forward, Terra suddenly darted at them at a breakneck speed, seemingly appearing right in front of them. Their eyes just barely were able to process his swiftness, but it was too late for their bodies to react. With one heavy palm strike, Terra sent the man with the staff flying, striking directly into his stomach hard enough to ripple the air behind his torso. The man breathlessly gasped out what air and spit he had in his mouth, tumbling away into the wall.
In one fell swoop, Terra grabbed on to the staff, spinning it around, and holding it horizontally in front of him to block their reactive strikes, holding his ground against the four in front of him.
"WHAT THE—?!" one officer said with a gasp, shocked to see Terra's speed.
"ALL OF THIS WITHIN A WEEK'S TIME?! WHAT ARE YOU?!" another growled out, pushing down his tonfas against the staff more.
Terra's eyes sharpened. "I have to get stronger... so make this a challenge for me, guys. Can you do that?!"
Needless to say, they took the bait. Breaking free from the struggle, the four officers suddenly dashed toward Terra, who was spinning the staff in the air above him, before resting it on his hip with one hand, while his free hand reached out in front of him clenched in a fist.
Terra had begun to weave around every attack they threw out, before having to clash his new weapon against some of the strikes as they got more aggressive. Their clashing persisted, as if like a dance, methodical and smooth, despite their desperate assault.
From the window, this time it had been Celeste who was watching on, her eyes following along Terra's movements. Despite being simply an outsider... someone from the streets... he moved as though he had seen endless battles.
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The way he could wield blunt weapons seemed unmatched against the other officers. Even Celeste herself couldn't see an opening in his form. It was... perfect. She leaned in closer, wanting not to miss a single moment of the fight.
Terra quickly dodged a quick sword swing coming from above by leaping to the side, before quickly jabbing the officer who swung it in the kidney, making him keel forward to the ground.
"What a precise impact..." Celeste thought to herself, watching Terra grab the hilt of the sword, and blocking a strike from a polearm. "At the boat, I couldn't get a good view of his combat. Now... this is more than I expected. Not that it was much to begin with..."
The two clashed against one another time and time again, filling the room with a hollow wooden percussion, followed by their cries of strength. After four more clashes, Terra's eyes narrowed, lunging down in the blink of an eye. With two blindingly fast slashes of his staff, the officer staggered back, trying desperately to gain his footing once again. Just before he could however, the tip of the pole was dug into their palm, yanking the polearm away from their hold. To the air it went, and into Terra's free hand it came. He had now two weapons in each hand, but stood sturdy, prepared for anything.
Celeste's eyes widened, surprised from his finesse. "Are we sure..." she thought, "...that this person is just some common thief?"
All that was left was two more. One with a bat, and one with tonfas. Terra's presence alone seemed to shift, now that he was dual-wielding a staff and polearm. He stood with his feet at shoulder-width, firm. It was as if he were an immovable wall, just from glances alone.
The officer duo gulped, before getting a determined look in their eyes. They slowly trailed forward, surrounding Terra, and beginning to circle around him. He glanced left, to right, to left again, keeping an eye out for their positioning. However... he grew impatient.
With one dip forward, he launched himself toward the officer with the tonfas, going in for a sudden jab to their stomach. Just before it could connect however, they blocked the attack, forming a cross over their vital area. Breaking free from the assault, the officer ducked down, dodging the fanatical swings of two staves, and landing a left forearm strike, into a heavy right upper, causing Terra to stagger back.
"G-gh—!!" he grunted out, planting his heel back into the ground to hold his footing. With the advantage, the two officers riposted Terra's broken stance at once, striking him in both the stomach and head respectively. He growled in pain, watching closely at their movement once again. Hearing the step of the officer behind him, he dodged their bat swing by falling back on his back, then catching himself with the bottoms of the staves, using them to push himself forward towards the officer in front of him, kneeing them in the chin with both of his knees. Such an impact made them fly into the air for a brief moment, falling back on the ground, unconscious.
Terra slid back down to his feet past the now out-cold officer, snapping his gaze towards the last fighter left: the bat-wielder, blindly charging at him. They raised their arms as if to swing down at him, but just as he went to counter the attack, the officer feinted the swing, opting to swerve around the double jab from Terra and land a sudden shoulder-check, causing Terra to fly back. He was quick to catch himself, flipping back to his feet and beginning to pant for air.
He was close. Only one fighter left.
Celeste leaned even more forward, watching the two eye each other down. She felt her heart race— something she generally never feels. True excitement. Her generally carefree or cold expression was met with one of entertainment.
Terra let out a shaky laugh, pointing one of his staves towards the opponent, and scowling meekly.
"I didn't... think I'd do this well..." he admitted, not daring to take his gaze away from the last officer. "Guess some training... was all I needed... to catch up some, huh...?"
The officer growled, pointing his bat at Terra with a frustrated grimace.
"Don't you dare give me that! We've been training for years, and here you are, fighting us in a fraction of the time!! Someone like you isn't normal, and you know it!!"
Terra faintly smiled.
"To be frank, I don't think I've ever been normal." he said lowly. "If I could ever avoid scrapping with someone, I wanted to take it. Seeing the consciousness fade from someone's eyes is terrifying to me, every time I do it. Though, someone once told me..."
His eyes shimmered like golden stars, but softened with a nostalgic melancholy.
"...Sometimes, I'll have to fight, if it's to protect those I love."
The officer stared at him with... discontent. Was he cringing? Such a response seemingly made them hesitant to reply, taken aback by such a cliche. Terra was quick to notice, making him snort and giggle it off.
"Ah, well... don't worry about all that. After all..."
In a flash, he suddenly leapt toward the officer, lunging the two wooden staves forward like spears. They tried to avoid the attack, jumping back as fast as they could, but it was too late. All they could do was stare at Terra, who's expression suddenly shifted to a cold, almost careless demeanor.
"I just need to pass this stepping stone, is all."
The officer quickly grew limp, falling back on the ground. It looked as though they were on the receiving end of two vital pressure points being hit with a sudden precise strike, however... not a physical single indication of physical contact was seen by the onlookers. Terra dropped the staves on the ground, and bowed politely to his opponents, letting out a long sigh.
"What a stressful duel..." he said to himself, then smiling happily. "Looks like I finally won."
He felt eyes prying down on him. More than the instructor. Sweat ran down his temple as he slowly glanced over to the side, seeing seemingly the entire precinct spectating the display.
A reddish hue adorned his now innocent face, gulping slightly. He never was great with being watched, to say the least.
Bub passed his combat with flying colors, seeming as proud as a trainer can be. Walking through the hordes of people was stressful, especially with so many piercing eyes looking down at him. Being recognized for such violence— he didn't like it. Not one bit.
His eyes silently fell to a solemness. Earnest, yet sad.
As he finally passed through the crowd of people, he unknowingly bumped into Celeste, snapping out of his trance and gulping.
"C-Celeste!" he squeaked out, quickly bowing with respect to her. "Sorry!!"
She simply stared at him like the others. However, as he looked back up at her, those eyes of hers weren't so filled with spectacle and shock. They were... almost relieved.
"Your style is very familiar." she said, her gaze softening slightly before she turned away from him. "...It's not hard to notice that you hate it, though. To fight."
Celeste crossed her arms, sighing.
"Are you sure you have what it takes to be a Plague Doctor?"
Terra scoffed.
"I meant what I said before, y'know. I can tell you're hiding your true feelings too. I'm not the only one that wears their heart on their sleeve." he stated, pointing at himself with his thumb. "Just leave it to me! I'll show all of you that I'm perfect for this."
"I will hold you to that."
The two stared at each other for a moment longer, before Terra couldn't help but wink, taking Celeste off guard.
"So... how's about a date, huh?" he asked, grinning cheekily with a blush on his face.
". . ."
Celeste was silent, getting a slight rosy hue on her cheeks as well, however she was discontent with his approach.
"No."
The silence after... was horribly long.
. . .
The evening finally arrived, and a depressed Terra trekked his way back home through the ever-busy streets of New Baltin. Vio was sat comfortably on his left shoulder, looking at him with an understanding sadness.
"So, she turned you down...?" she asked, sighing slightly as she looked up at the cracked blue moon above them. "Well, there is always next time, right?"
All Terra could muster was a long exhale, unlocking the door and entering their house. He immediately went over to his room, kicking his shoes off, and falling on to his bed face first. Seeing him so adamant on taking a restless sleep, Vio thought it best to join him, resting in her usual hammock next to the bedframe.
"...Hopefully he does not take it too hard." she thought to herself, watching on as Terra tirelessly tried to rest, tossing and turning. "There is always next time, after all."
It took hours, before Terra could finally fall into a deep sleep, soundlessly snoring away into the calm night.
. . .
The next morning, they went on to their usual morning routines. Getting cleaned up, and ready for another day at the precinct. However... Terra was lean and toned in such a way that his usual clothes were now far too baggy for him. Looking in the mirror, it was as if he was a kid wearing adults clothes.
"Ah."
The realization set in. Going through outfit after outfit, nothing seemed to work. In the end, it seemed he was out of luck. Vio on the other hand, noticed his desperate attempt to find fitting clothes, and called to him from inside the room.
"Why not try to wear 'that' outfit?" she asked from the door.
"You mean 'that' outfit?"
"Yes, the very same!"
Terra sighed, walking over to the closet and opening one of the drawers, revealing a neatly folded set of very... exotic looking clothes.
"I haven't worn this since I first arrived in this city..." he said aloud for his sister, scratching his cheek. "It's a bit too ceremonial. Are you sure I won't look like a weirdo going to work dressed like this?"
Vio let out a laugh, brushing off his worry.
"Do not worry! You work with a skeleton, remember?"
Terra meekly chuckled, taking the clothes out.
"Well, if you say so."
After a minute of getting dressed up, he opened the door with a shy laugh. Vio was quick to look, and gasped in awe at seeing such an old fashion.
"Oooooohhh!~ Look at you! It fits perfectly again!" she exclaimed with a clap of her hands, looking at Terra happily. "I knew it would fit! It is just right!"
Standing there with a misplaced contentedness, Terra looked at himself in the mirror with a slight grin. Tight black pants that was embroidered with streaks of gold and linen, tucked into a pair of high-top black boots. Two orange belts formed a golden "X" over his waistline, with enough pouches and sheaths to hold many tools. His shirt was form-fitting, completely sleeveless, smooth as silk, and designed with a golden print of an ancient pattern of what resembled a laughing fox, chasing the moon. Lastly, a pair of sleek gloves that went up to above his elbows, and an awkward smile to boot from the man wearing it himself.
"Do I... look good in this?" he asked, looking at himself in the mirror with a worried pout. "Last time I wore this was... well, after that ceremony. I could still fit in it back then..."
Vio fluttered up to his shoulder, landing on it, and looking up at his face with a grin.
"Of course you look good! It was made for you, after all!" she said, crossing her arms. "The Laughing Fox of Burunzia... I still wonder why they gave you that name."
Terra was quick to brush it off, shrugging while stepping out of the room.
"Whatever the reason, they make some comfortable-ass clothes. I feel like I'm wearing a cloud!" he exclaimed, grinning cheekily. "After all that training, I feel like I deserve to wear this after so long. Free from Basilis, and looking at a new future ahead... You ready to see it with me, sis?"
Vio let out a laugh, phasing into his body through a poof of light.
"Of course! Let us see what is to come!"
. . .
They were arriving late to the precinct. With every yard they got closer however, a police cruiser would pass by with blaring lights and sirens. After the first two or three, things only got more tense, making Terra feel a sharp pain in his instincts. Then, another police cruiser passed by, this time followed by three others. All in the direction of the building.
Terra narrowed his eyes, feeling a chill run down his spine. Without another moment to wait, he quickly began to dash through the busy-bodies on the sidewalk, trying to make it as soon as possible to the corner of the block. With every person passed or bumped into, Terra only got more worried, seeing the flashing lights blare through the thick fog of morning dew.
Finally, upon sliding out from the crowd of citizens, he was met with a horrible sight. Police cars filled the entire front of the precinct, making a deafening siren pierce the air, making even the chatter of the witnesses seem as though silence in comparison. Forensic officers laid out tape, canine units searched the perimeter, and even Pierce himself, was stood in the center of it all, with an almost ominous stillness. A massive hole was blown into the front of the building with smoke still flowing from out to the sky, and bodies strewn out to all the public eye to see, painted with a deep red hue.
It was a massacre.