〘Date: 2/13 - Wednesday〙
〘Time: 7:30 PM〙
〘Location: Texas, Royal Creek - Royal Creek Arena〙
Momo barged into the room I was being held in, panting heavily as she searched around, noticing me sitting on a seat while I watched over Matt's recovery. Momo hurried toward us, checking on Matt first to make sure he was okay and let out a relieved sigh.
"Ry...are you okay?" Momo asked, gently placing a comforting hand upon my back, rubbing it in slow, gentle circles.
"I was right there...the fall of the King was right there. Then...they ambushed me, and broke my arm. You were right...I shouldn't have showed up, I should've just stayed with you..." I said softly, my hair shadowing my eyes as I looked down.
"Now Matt's gotten hurt because of me, all because I let my pride get in the way," I continued, touching my broken arm and let out a deep sigh.
Momo's gaze softened as she heard my defeated tone, holding me close and gently rubbing my head. She didn't know what to say, only staying silent and giving me the comfort I needed at the moment.
Allie, Jade, Karin, Wendy, and Desiree hurried into the infirmary as well, the five of them witnessing my defeated state as well. Momo turned around, meeting the girls gaze and watched as Desiree and Allie approached me.
"How's your arm? Are you okay..?" Desiree asked softly, crouching down to match my level and gently placed her hands on my thigh.
I glanced at Desiree, letting out a soft exhale and closed my eyes with the sense of failure. "I'm fine...just thinking about how I could just let all of you down. I was so focused on Fredrick that I didn't think his allies would jump in as well. Now my best friend is concussed...and I'm left broken."
Desiree let out a soft exhale, closing her eyes and leaning her head gently against my good arm. "That's just how life goes, little brother...We all win some and lose some, but what matters is you live to fight another day."
"Trust me, I know the feeling of thinking that just because I'm also a Moji, I think I can beat anyone I come across. I had to learn that the hard way as well, but in the end, I never stopped. And neither should you," Desiree said, her voice a soothing mix of encouragement and sweet care.
I looked at Desiree once again, her words echoing in my head with gentle clarity. I turned my gaze toward Allie, feeling her gentle hand upon my shoulder. Allie smiled at me sweetly, her fingers running smoothly through my hair.
"You were amazing out there... probably your best fight I've seen to date. You and Matt may have lost the battle, but I guarantee that you've heard respect from people out there tonight," Allie said, giving me her signature uplifting smile that I've known since we were little.
"Yeah, plus, this is still only the beginning! You know what to expect for next time, and next time you won't be alone," Jade added, gently patting my back with reassurance.
"As much as I knew this would happen, for your first time against Fredrick, you did better than I had imagined. I want you to know that you've inspired me and showed that Fredrick isn't as untouchable as he seems," Karin gently praised, giving me a small smile of respect.
Hearing the praises of the women around me slightly lifted my spirits, but the humiliating defeat, especially after my declaration of who I was...it sat with me. I voiced out my tribe's name, dedicated my victory to them and lost. Even if they knew the loss wasn't in my control, I still failed to Slay the King.
Matt gently placed his hand on top of mine, looking over at me with a smile. "Cheer up man...you did something most wouldn't even think of doing and came out alive.."
He grabbed my hand, holding it tightly with a firm grip. "You even had people cheering for you... Actual citizens of the city, cheering your name. Do you understand the star power you have now? You can make a change like you've been dreaming about."
I smiled at Matt's words of encouragement, holding his hand firmly as well and let out a soft sigh. "Yeah...but now I have a broken arm and you have broken ribs. We aren't getting cleared until the next few weeks."
"Shii, more time for me to relax and hang around the old stomping grounds. It's about time we took it a bit slow, don't you think so?" Matt asked, his boyish smile still radiant on his face.
I snickered lightly, a soft chuckle rumbling in my throat. "Yeah, I guess so. It would be nice to take a small break for now. To regroup and plan out a better strategy."
Matt nodded, grunting softly as he sat up on the bed and looked over at Momo. "Hey, you think you can sneak me on outta here? I ain't hurt too badly, this is just football to me."
Momo chuckled softly at Matt, walking over to the door and cracking it open, checking to see if the coast was clear. "Alright, the coast is clear...but I doubt after tonight we won't make it out the building without facing off against the Royal Hearts."
"True to that. This chick speaks from experience," Karin agreed, pointing at Momo with her thumb and gently nudging Jade.
Jade chuckled softly at Karin, turning over to Momo and watching her walk back toward us. "Is the coast clear?"
Momo nodded, grabbing her fingerless gloves from her back pocket and put them on. "Alright, Lil Bro...We are breaking out of here and this ain't like eight years ago. These guys actually know some alchemy."
Matt tossed the covers off him and carefully got himself out of the bed, staggering a bit as his feet hit the floor. "Damn...I guess they hit me harder than expected.."
Desiree walked over to Matt, placing her hand upon his shoulder and awakening a bit of her Tengoku Energy, the silver-blue aura gently washing over him like an angelic layer. Matt looked at his hands and feet, his body rejuvenated within seconds.
I rose an eyebrow with curiosity and awe, watching as Tengoku's Energy healed Matt flawlessly. "We can do that?"
Desiree giggled softly at my awe, walking toward me and stroking my chin gently then placed her hand on my arm. "Only us women can heal with Tengoku's Energy. We are the Maidens of Peace, so it's a passive skill. Men unfortunately can't heal, but their combat ability is greatly increased."
I looked at my arm, Tengoku's Energy wrapping around my arm and healing it gradually. I grunted softly as I felt my bone popping back in place, stomping my foot down in slight irritation. "ʻAha..! What the hell..?!"
Desiree gave a cheeky giggle as she walked away, making her way toward the door. "You're welcome, Ry~ Now that we're all recovered, let's break out of here. I can tell this place is infested with Rich Scum."
Momo watched as Desiree walked out of the room, an intrigued hum rumbling in her throat. "I like that girl's style~ I need to know more about her!"
"Momo—" Matt began, letting out a soft sigh as he knew he was going to have to chase his sister.
I stood up and tossed my arm cast onto the ground, rolling my shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll catch up to our reckless sisters."
Matt smiled at me, nodding with agreement and smacked his fist against his palm. "Yeah, I trust you bro. Now, how about we get some early payback before our temporary vacation?"
I smirked at his suggestion, awakening my Ocular Flair, the brilliant blue energy emitting from my eye. "Yeah...we can't just let them ride off without a proper goodbye."
Momo chased after Desiree, watching as she ran down the halls of the medical wing. She couldn't believe how fast Desiree actually was, pushing herself to try to keep up with her. Desiree looked back, noticing Momo gaining to her and smirked.
The nurses and doctors jumped out of the way as Momo and Desiree raced down the halls, letting out panicked sounds. The began moving out of the way as the rest of us came charging through, with me walking behind the group with The Mask of The Ace equipped.
"Matt, I am beyond what you know... I've told you all about my bloodline, how my father is Shiro Moji, but now you see that I am...The Ace of Sanctuary Agency," I said, dark energy flowing around me to form my split tail longcoat and equipment.
Matt walked beside me, hopping up and down with slight excitement in his voice. "Oh shiit! What the fuck..?! You're an agent my guy..?! Nah, who are you bro? You're like a Batman, Assassin mix!"
"Calm yourself, man..." I sighed, shaking my head and chuckling lightly. "I can see I can't take you on any missions already."
"Do the others know? Like Allie and Jade?" Matt asked, crossing his arms and stopped walking as I halted at the windows.
"I'm assuming they do taken they went training with a fellow agent earlier today. However, although you now know, this is just another secret you must keep. I trust you with my life, Matt," I said, turning toward Matt, my brilliant eye glowing through the mask's eye.
Matt met my masked gaze, glancing down and noticed me holding my fist out to him. He smiled and bumped my fist, meeting my gaze again. "And I trust you with mine as well. Now, let's go kick some ass!"
I nodded, turning on my heel then grabbed Matt's wrist, using a burst of speed to catch up with the others. Matt groaned as he moved at speeds beyond his current limits, his eyes lighting up with more wonder than before as his body slightly adjusted to the new speed.
Momo bursted through the front doors, hearing police sirens and helicopters around us. She looked ahead, noticing Desiree fighting a group of Heart Cops, rushing ahead and striking a cop with a fiery blow to his cheek.
Desiree grunted as she countered another cop, grabbing his baton and tossing it toward Momo. "Think fast!"
Momo caught the baton, twirling it around quickly and struck a cop in her midsection with the baton, her smirk widening as she entered The Zone. "Oh yeah...I'm back baby~"
"Keep your eyes peeled, Diana!" Karin called out, leaping over her and awakening her aura, generating a wave of water to wash away a group of K9 units.
Momo scoffed at Karin, grabbing her leg and pulling her back down to avoid a bullet zipping through the air. "And you keep yours peeled, North!"
Karin and Momo grinned at each other, a familiar spark crackling between them. The two of them began to clear out the next wave of police forces, their combined forces seeming better than ever.
Just as Momo went for the finishing blow, a blast of lightning surged toward her, but Wendy quickly rushed to Momo's aid, nullifying the lightning with a burst of wind. Momo turned her gaze to Wendy, peeking around her and noticing Leona walking forward.
"You thought Fredrick was going to let you all waltz out of here free? You have to pay for your blasphemy against his name and his wife's name," Leona said, readying herself for a fight against Momo specifically.
Momo stepped forward, her eyes glowing with blazing determination, her Love Sigil faintly glowing upon her back. "Hmph...I guess it's always gonna come back to this huh?"
Leona moved her shoulder, her gaze remaining militant and firm. "Say what you will, Momo. This isn't four years ago...this is the Present and it's time you give up your dream!"
"Never!" Momo yelled, stomping down her foot and her fiery energy beginning to spark around her body. "I won't give up on you! I will bring you back no matter what!"
Leona glared at Momo, yellow lightning crackling around her body. "Tch..."
Leona dashed forward, swiping her hand down at Momo for a lightning chop, but Momo blocked the attack, countering with a jab to Leona's nose. Leona stumbled back, her eyes watering slightly but she wiped it quickly, ducking under Momo's kick.
The two began to block and counter each other's strikes, their synergy still as strong as it was four years ago. Leona parried each of Momo's quick punches, palming her next strike down then delivered a powerful right hook to Momo's jaw.
Momo stumbled backwards, holding her jaw and rubbing it with a soft chuckle, panting softly. "Heh..~ I guess you still hit like a child.."
Leona scoffed at Momo's taunting, shrugging her shoulders with a smug smirk and shook her head. "If you're getting hurt by a child's strength, you're honestly more pathetic than I remember. The Momo I knew wouldn't be so affected."
"Nice try, pal! You can't rage bait the master baiter!" Momo retorted, holding a thumbs down at Leona.
"Nah, that ain't it," Karin said, shaking her head in slight disappointment.
"Yeah, that one is uh...an interesting way to say it," Wendy chuckled softly, rubbing the back of her neck.
"Oh, I dunno about that one girl..." Allie said, holding a cop in a Full Nelson and grunted as Jade spartan kicked the cop, blowing her away as well.
"Oops! Sorry, I didn't know you weren't ready!" Jade gasped, covering her mouth in shock and tried to hold in her laughter.
"I thought it was pretty good," Desiree shrugged, dodging a cops strike and sending her crashing into her car with a powerful blow.
"M-Moving on! Leona, when will you realize that you're on the wrong side here? My brother betrayed Tony and is still alive, you can too! So why won't you join me?" Momo asked, seeking a reason for why Leona won't betray Fredrick.
"You already know why... It's all because of Karin! She destroyed everything, and you want me to side with the same woman who ruined our lives?! No, I won't betray Fredrick until I have what I want and that's Karin's head!" Leona yelled, her gaze meeting Karin's with a combative glow.
Karin stared at Leona, walking forward and rubbing her neck gently, awakening her Sigil and surrounding herself in water energy. "You know why I did what I did, but that was also four years ago. It's time to move on, you're dragging this entire ordeal."
"Oh and here comes the Queen...trying to preach something to me when you didn't keep your oath! You broke the oath we shared and you think you can avoid the consequences?! You left us to die!" Leona argued, her gaze becoming more battle hungry as she stood in front of her real target.
Karin glanced at Momo, gesturing for her to step back so she could fight Leona. Momo nodded, stepping back and giving the two space to face off after four years.
"This will be our actual first fight in four years... Let's hope you can keep up," Karin said, getting into her stance with a calm, still gaze.
Leona scoffed at Karin, getting into her stance as well. "It's you who needs to worry about keeping up. You're washed up, just like your District!"
Leona sprinted forward with a lightning enhanced strike, but Karin evaded her strike, countering with a knee strike to her midsection. Leona grunted as she stumbled back, holding her torso and looking up, rolling out of the way of Karin's blast of water energy.
Leona stood up quickly, charging forward and feinted her attack, causing Karin to guard her face but Leona quickly shifted her body, sweeping Karin off her feet and onto the ground. Leona's finger's twitched as she was on the ground, booming thunders sounding above Karin.
Karin looked up, her eyes slightly widening as she noticed a large thundercloud forming above her. Leona snapped her fingers, releasing a bolt of lightning down upon Karin, but Momo quickly charged forward and pushed Karin out of the way.
Karin grunted as she hit the ground, her body jolting from the sound and crash of the deadly bolt of yellow lightning striking the ground with huge impact. She gulped lightly, slowly standing to her feet and panted softly. "So, you were going for the kill.."
"Just as I said before...you're washed up! A hasbeen, nothing more than a backstabbing ant needing to get squashed! If it weren't for you—"
"If it weren't for me, you all would be dead at Fredrick's feet so shut the fuck up!" Karin exploded, a huge wave of pure dominance washing over body, her arms shaking with genuine anger she didn't know she still had.
"You, Momo, Matt, Me, Everyone we all loved would've been nothing but bodies in a graveyard because no one decided to actually fucking think of consequences?! Why do I have to be the only logical one here huh?!" Karin continued, striking Leona with a devastating cross to her face, taking her down to the ground.
Leona grunted as Karin mounted on top of her, using her arms to protect her face and head from Karin's heavy blows. Karin grunted heavily as each of her strikes began to increase in strength, attempting to break Leona's guard.
"Why does my name have to be smeared through the mud because I saved your lives! Why am I getting ridiculed for being the only logical one?" Karin yelled, throwing another slugging blow toward Leona.
Leona caught Karin's fist, pushing her fist away then swung up with a crashing headbutt against Karin's skull. Karin groaned as her head whipped backwards, allowing Leona to kick her off and get back onto her feet.
Leona rushed toward Karin, striking her with a lightning fast uppercut, suspending her in the air with a series of lightning chops before sending her crashing backwards with a spinning kick. Karin grunted as she rolled backwards along the ground, recovering onto one knee.
"You weren't logical! You were a coward! Just another weakling who couldn't fall through when the pressure was just too much!" Leona retorted, taking an Earth and Water capsule to fuse them into Plant Energy.
Leona struck the ground with her hand, a large root quickly erupting from the ground and wrapping around Karin's body. Karin grunted heavily as she couldn't move her hands, rendering her useless in the roots.
"And now...this will all end and only then...will I feel satisfied," Leona said, taking out a Fire Capsule and held it over the line of roots. "You will be like Spade University... Burned down, reduced to a memory."
"Leona, don't do it!" Momo yelled out, stepping forward in a desperate attempt to reach Leona.
Karin grunted as she tried to break out of the roots, mustering up her reserves to try to move at least one limb, but the more she struggled, the tighter the roots coiled around her body. Karin groaned in pain, feeling her bones cracking and her air thinning around her.
"It's time for you to wash away!" Leona yelled, throwing the capsule down at the roots with murderous intent.
Everyone watching gasped in shock as Leona threw the capsule, Karin's struggles only making the roots coil tighter around her. Suddenly, a rushing forward ran forward, catching the capsule and rolled forward, throwing the capsule at a police car and setting it ablaze.
Leona looked at the figure, her eyes slightly twinkling with recognition. "Matt..?"
Matt stood up slowly and turned around to face Leona. "This...this isn't the way, Leona. I know how you feel, but I also understand Karin's situation! You killing her won't fix anything and it certainly won't fix you!"
Leona's gaze hardened as Matt spoke, his words sinking harder than any insult ever could. She grit her teeth and turned away from Matt, staring at Karin with a spiteful glare. "You just don't understand...you don't know how it feels to be right at the edge of victory and to have it all thrown away because someone couldn't think straight!"
"I told you, I did it to save you and Momo! I saved the entire district! If you killed Fredrick—" Karin began, her Sigil shining and generating saliva in her mouth to make it harder to speak.
Leona noticed the Sigil on Karin's neck glowing, her eyes slightly widening as she realized her Sigil was broken like hers. "What..?"
Suddenly, the sound of clapping began approaching us from the distance, each of us looking at the figure walking toward us. Immediately, we all recognized the man as Tomi Geto, the same man who ruined my victory against Fredrick.
"Alright, it's time that you all settled down and give up the act. Leona, Fredrick is calling for you so it's best if you leave now. Tony and I will clean up around here," Tomi said, staring at Leona with a smug gaze.
Leona glared at Tomi, seeing through his charming persona and balled her hands into fists. She didn't try arguing, releasing Karin from her rooted hold before walking away toward her squad car. She silently grumbled to herself, another moment for her ruined by Fredrick.
Wendy looked back at Allie and Jade, stepping backwards toward them. "Allie, Jade...you two head back to Amelia's house. Don't let them spot you..."
Allie and Jade nodded, glancing around their surrounding before sneaking off from the cops field of view. I watched as the two began sneaking their way toward the parking lot, making sure they didn't get spotted.
"Now, let's see who we have here...Momo, her little brother, a beautiful islander woman, a masked man, The Dragon of the Wind, and most importantly, my beautiful ex," Tomi chuckled softly as he walked toward Karin, picking her up from the ground by her arm.
Karin grunted as she pushed Tomi off her, getting away from his side and back toward Momo's. "Don't touch me and definitely don't ever speak to me again you snake!" Karin barked, spitting out her excess saliva in a still glare.
"Snake? That's rich coming from someone like you, The Big One. You're the same woman who sold out your entire district, framing it to look like an honorable move to save it, but all you did was destroy it more. You are a failure of a Queen," Tomi insulted, laughing in Karin's face and clapped his hands together.
Karin growled lowly at Tomi, each of his words striking straight through her heart. Momo scoffed at Tomi as well, holding Karin close as if to protect her from Tomi's venomous words.
〔Phroa: Master, I'm detecting Angelic Energy from Tomi Geto. I don't know how that's possible taken he's 100% Human.〕
I adjusted my mask, keeping my gaze upon Tomi's every step. I hummed lowly as I began thinking of logical conclusions, but none of them made sense to me. 'That's a strange one...Phroa, collect data on this guy. I want to send this to Charlotte after this.'
〔Phroa: Roger that!〕
〔Now recording...〕
Tomi finished laughing at Karin and Momo, letting out a soft exhale and turned around to wave Tony forward. "Alright, enough with the jokes and laughs. It's time for you all to either make our jobs easy and you all can spend your days in a cell until court...or we can just beat you all down."
"That's right, and Matt let's go. You've had your fun with this split loyalty thing, but it's time for you to come back to us," Tony said, looking at Matt with his usual snarky grin.
Matt sighed softly at Tony, walking back toward him with an annoyed gaze. Momo and Karin gasped as Matt followed Tony's order, their faces etched with confusion. I watched Matt walk toward Tony, subtly giving him a signal with the flash of my eye.
Tony chuckled at Karin and Momo, shrugging his shoulders. "Did you honestly think you would still have any control over Matt after he came and rose to stardom my city? No! Every big star in Trinity Valley is a member of my—"
Matt interrupted Tony's speech with a powerful Superkick straight to his jaw, his alliance fully set in his head. "I don't care about the fame anymore! It's about family and who to really trust when it comes to it!"
Momo gasped with glee as Matt made his ultimate choice, hurrying toward him and pulling him away from Tomi's reach with a protective hold. "You made the best choice possible, Matty! You had me scared!"
"As if I would betray my real family for some stuck up phonies!" Matt said, flipping Tony off as Momo pulled him away.
Tony held his cheek, looking up at Matt with a glare and rose to his feet with an angry huff. "You bastard!"
"Oh, you wanna box? Let's run it, my boy!" Matt said, pushing himself off Momo and began pulling up his pants.
Tony pushed himself off the ground, grunting as he launched a wild haymaker toward Matt, but Matt ducked under it, taunting him with a jab to his face. Tony shook off Matt's strike, hurling a flurry of punches toward Matt with intense ferocity.
Matt weaved around each strike, shuffling his feet before countering with a mean slugging punch to Tony's jaw, causing him to stumble backwards. Tony held his hand out to create space as he tried to recover onto his feet, groaning heavily as Matt kicked his stomach.
"Aye I'm not gonna lie, you getting your ass beat! You suck!" One Royal Heart instigated, laughing in the background while clapping her hands.
"On Gaia, You some ass Tony! I'm glad Fredrick ain't here bro!" Another laughed, gasping for air to catch his breath.
"Nuh-uh, that's so messy," Desiree chuckled softly, shaking her head in disbelief.
Tomi chuckled softly, lowering his head and shook it lightly. "I can't lie, Matt is on you bro.."
Tony coughed lightly and held his stomach lightly, spitting out a bit of saliva and growled lowly with slight embarrassment. Without hesitation, he sprang back onto his feet, catching Matt off guard with a powerful back hand fist.
Matt hit the ground with a light grunt, but bounced back to his feet with a kip up. He laughed in Matt's face, lightly tapping his own jaw with his fist. "C'mon, Tony! You know me, I've faced worse than this!"
Tony grit his teeth, glancing over at Tomi and back at Matt. Soon, his lips curled into a cool smile, a light chuckle rumbling in his throat. "I almost forgot that I'm a King myself...Why do I need to handle a pawn like you. Silas!"
With that singular call, a dark force began to echo around the parking lot, goosebumps riding along the skins of Momo, Karin, and Matt. I turned my gaze ahead, my expression turning serious as I saw the familiar betrayer of Anastasia.
Silas rushed ahead, appearing in front of Matt before he had any chance to process his presence, striking him with a dark energy palm strike. Matt coughed a bit of blood, feeling one of his ribs fracture from the impact before getting sent flying backwards.
I caught Matt in my arms, looking down at him with tribal anger, my tattoos beginning to glow a deep red. I shook Matt's body gently, but the impact of Silas's strike knocked him unconscious. "Matt..."
Momo rushed toward us in a panic, taking Matt from my arms and looked at his unconsciousness, her first instinct to take him to safety. As she ran toward her car, Silas stopped her by firing a dark energy blast along her path.
"None of you will leave here without handcuffs! There will be order set back to Royal Creek and Trinity Valley!" Silas declared, sensing an attack and turning his head.
Before he could react, a burst of volatile winds struck him, Tony, and Tomi, blowing all three away in one fell sweep. The three recovered quickly, looking up at me and the glow of Jigoku's Energy within the dust.
My mask shifted into The Mask of The Fool, my attire shifting into The Fool before the smoke cleared. I adjusted my mask, my hair spiking up to become more beast like. "Three targets...one hunter. The rules of Cat and Mouse has changed, and I will be your Game Master..."
Within the distance, Leona watched the fight atop of her squad car, noticing The Fool standing in the distance then took out her phone to record. 'Let's see why Val thinks The Fool is so amazing...'