//------------------------------// // V - Ake Ari Kowareta // Story: Moeru Tengoku // by KukriRyuTsukino //------------------------------// Canterlot City, Earth  3rd POV A demonic creature with dark green eyes and pale red irises held up a young woman with light harlequin green eyes, light violet hair streaked with mulberry, and pale grayish amber skin by the throat, a dull bluish aura seeping from the young woman before a flare of golden light formed into an arc, shearing the arm of the creature off just above the elbow as a shadowed form stands in the mouth of the alleyway shrouded in the moonlight. The only visible part is a dark golden copper arm with a dark red glove sheathing the hand. The armored form looks almost like the classical ninja, though the helmet looks slightly elongated almost like that of a samurai’s near the shoulder pads. The weapon it holds is a long, slightly curving blade that has embers and wisps of smoke rising from the blade.  The girl drops to the dirty alley’s ground, barely conscious. She moans from energy drainage. “Sky Slash, Star Reaver,” a low, deep voice whispers as the armored form vanishes with a sharp crack before materializing behind the creature, an arc of light flaring suddenly from left shoulder to right hip before a second slash materializes, crossing the first in the opposite direction as the armored form spins, the blade shearing through as golden fire trails from the blade as steam rises from the twin fatal wounds before the creature, trembling, stills as its form shifts into silvery dust before dissolving into a pile of fine, glittering moondust. A darkened gemstone no larger than a human thumbnail shatters in amongst the moondust before the semi-conscious girl groans as flashlights shine on her before she realizes the armored form of her savior has vanished as if it had never existed. The rooftops of Canterlot City The armored form of the warrior lands with a soft metallic clicking sound, having employed the fire escapes evading detection. The figure’s right forearm pulses with golden light as the armor begin to crack and fracture before dissolving into motes of golden fire that stream into the armored arm, the blade fading into tendrils of light before being consumed by the arm as the male youth collapses to his knees, then flat on his face. A soft groan escapes him before his eyes flutter.  Tomas FPOV    “Ugh… where… am…. I? Damn it… not again… this is the third time this week…. and more irritating, I have no idea how I got here or… well… where ‘here’ is,” I thought wryly, grimacing before gagging at the odors of old paint mingling with grease. My crystalline golden amber eyes drift around before spotting the lights of the nearby theater. Unfortunately, in the recent five days, I haven’t had much chance to acclimate and explore Canterlot City, so I don’t know it very well. Homework is a real pain in my ass… and the Dazzlings seem…. drawn to me… I wonder if it has to do with what I am sensing from them. I’d prefer if they got rid of those amulets… to me, they feel like the moon between the sun during a solar eclipse. At the same time, though, whatever energy that seems to filter through them… from within the Dazzlings… feels corrupted and foul, unnatural… nothing like what their auras feel like from around the ‘crystalline moons’ that those amulets are to my senses. I darted towards the edge of the rooftop, my eyes sliding half-lidded before snapping alert before my arm reared back, the iris within the palm opening, protracting, and igniting in the space of half a second as I shoved off the edge of the rooftop, the added thrust shoving me in a high arcing leap before I tapped three points on the opposite bracelet, the bracelet expanding into a mid-forearm length gauntlet, though the pads of my fingers up to the first knuckle remained exposed as a second crystalline sphere opened and protracted within my palm before it too ignited with a clear ruby-orange flame that turned my uncontrolled vaulting leap into a hover before I touched down several dozen yards beyond the theater, fortunately deep in the shadows. “This is at least the fifth time this has happened. I black out and come to in a different location, sometimes hours later. Ugh, it’s irritating. I got this bracelet that can apparently link to the prosthetic arm and the gemstone heart within it several days ago. I can practically feel the darkness seeping off those amulets, but where they came from is a mystery still, as the Dazzlings have no idea where they came from themselves. But the logo they referred to… I’ve been seeing it recently… potentially a new company or a gang trying to go active and dangerous? I will have to figure that out… eh?” I muse warily, cocking an eyebrow as I notice ‘Bacon Girl’ and her boy-toy. I sigh softly, shaking my head slightly as I turn away before my eyes widen fractionally, seeing a glimpse of golden fire flaring up at the corner of my sight before I grimace, as I get the strong sense that whatever that fire is is linked to the blackouts. “What are those blackouts and what’s behind them?” I thought as I took a deep breath as I started walking. My eyes narrow slightly as I turn away. A slow breath is drawn in before I whistle out a few sharp notes that fade into the air before a distant rumbling growl sounded before he half turned as his bike pulled up into an idle. I knew even if someone could impersonate the whistle, the bike would analyze their energy the moment they straddled it, and if it didn't match what was in it already,  the bike would shut down.