"Get down!" Alexios yelled, sheltering his sister from an oncoming blast.
"How the hell did they get his many enforcements in such little time? Belac was found yesterday!" Alvar snapped, sheltering Mansi and shooting his crossbow and at an incoming attacker.
"I have no idea, but we are still finishing the contract!" Sophie yelled over the chaos. Sophie spotted their target, some official tax collecter, running from the scene, his tail in between his legs and his stolen coins falling out of his pockets.
"Cover me!" Sophie yelled to Ruy. Sophie sent a transmission to Alexios, who nodded and prepared to run.
"Why the hell do I need to cover you-" Ruy shut up after Sophie and Alexios ran into the onslaught, their speed and dexterity allowing them to weave and dodge through the crowd of attackers.
"Damn it, Soph!" Ruy yelled as he shot down multiple attackers that were going to block her path. Sophie glanced at Alexios, who was already shifting into his Pancras form. Sophie looked in her core and started to transform into her Pancras form quickly. Sophie needed to go all out to catch up with their target. Sophie's honey-blond hair turned crystal white, her canines enlarging into fangs, her nails growing into claws, and her copper-brown eyes turning gold. Sophie felt her senses tingle and roar, overwhelmed with all the new smells. Sophie's endurance increased, and her speed doubled. Alexios also had a similar look like Sophie when he transformed, with fangs and claws, but his navy blue eyes had a silver sheen instead, and his hair only grew a tad lighter. The two blood siblings soared through the streets and roofs, their legs as fast as the wind. Alexios picked up the scent of the tax collector and pointed him out to Sophie, who realized he was on her side of the street. Sophie nodded and pushed her legs faster than ever and jumped from the roof, never taking her eyes off her target. And as quick as death, Sophie landed on the target and plunged her blade into his back. The people on the street saw and started running in terror, getting the attention of the constables*.
"Wonderful." Sophie groaned. Alexios dropped from the roof and plunged his claws into a man's chest, then pulled his sword out of its sheath and met blades with another constable. Sophie drew her sword out and swung at an incoming officer. Sophie's sword was polished silver that was designed for only her hand, it was made by Maria for Sophie's 17th birthday.
Sophie changed her wrist blade into its gun option and shot it at two oncoming attackers, watching them drop.
Alexios pushed away his attacker nad moved to protect Sophie's back.
"Amalia!" Alexios yelled, pointing to someone behind them, who was throwing a smoke bomb into the street. Amalia and Alexios couldn't cover their mouths fast away, and they felt the tangy gas fill through their noses and mouths. Their Pancras forms melted away as they limped away, coughing through their arms. Sophie saw a small army of constables watching as she and Alexios fell, the gas knocking them unconscious.
Alexios regained conscious in a wooden cart, next to his cousin.
"Damn." Alexios cursed, holding his head. Even years later, the withdraw from the Pancras form shakes his head, and the gas they hit them with didn't help. Sophie was mumbling next to him, slowly regaining consciousness. Alexios quickly gathered that they were in a prison cart from Cariana. Alexios remembered how sideways their recent job went, and now their team was separated and the two team leaders were in a prison cart. Alexios couldn't gather where they were, and all they could do was sit and wait.
Alexios glanced at his sister and smiled. He grew up with her, and when she disappeared, Alexios grew into a hollow shell of himself. He barely ate, and he never talked, he only murmured to his mothers. He eventually grew out of his shell of a Vatarian and realized he had to contribute to help protect his mothers and the few living members of his guild. He always wore a brown stripe of paint on his forearm though, commemorating her and his uncle. But when he saw he huddled around his mothers three years ago, he thought fate was taunting him. Torturing him with images of his dead sister, but she really was there. He couldn't hold her tight enough, and he couldn't cry enough tears. Amalia was just as happy to see him, and she never lost her humor or her fieriness. She rebuilt her father's guild and grew into a spitting image of him. Sophie shook awake and blinked around, gaging what was happening.
"Morning la bella addormentata." Morning Sleeping Beauty, Alexios joked, smiling at his sister's messed blonde hair. Amalia smiled and pressed her hair flat against her head and quickly gathered where they were. She put her hands in her hands and groaned.
"We got caught, didn't we?" Amalia groaned through her hands.
"They cheated, they had sleeping gas." Alexios reasoned. Sophie looked at him through her fingers.
"We use smoke bombs too. We aren't exactly in the moral high ground. Plus they think we just came in running and murdered one of their innocent tax collectors. They don't know what he has done." Sophie spat. Alexios quickly realized she was right and felt the cart urk still. Sophie and Alexios were rushed out of the cart and had all their weapons confiscated.
"Hey! Hands off my dagger stronzo*!" Alexios snapped as one of the constables confiscated Alexios's stiletto*. The guards didn't know about their hidden blades at their wrists and dragged the two of them on top of a wooden stage, where a small crowd of people gathered in front wooden platform, a large wooden pole with chains dangling near the top. Alexios sighed.
"Cariana is always so extra," Alexios mumbled as they were attached to the chains.
"Two minutes! Maybe three! And they got themselves discovered and captured by the constables*!" Ruy ranted, the team watching as Alexios and Sophie were attached to the pole in the middle of the wooden stage.
"Ruy slow down! Sophie is known for coming up with plans on the spot!" Nour said, eyeing everything and looking for weaknesses. Mansi flipped up onto the roof and ducked down with everyone.
"Our Cariana contact can't help these two; they are accused of murder, plain and simple." Mansi sighed. Nour, Alvar, Ruy, and Mansi felt Sophie's telepathic powers enter their mind.
"This is a fun twist of events, huh?" Sophie joked. Ruy took a deep breath and was ready to start yelling but was cut off by Nour.
"Do you have a plan?" Nour quickly asked.
"Something along those lines. Meet Alexios and me at the entrance to the jungle. After that, we can make our run to the seaport." Sophie explained, cutting off their connection.
"She needs to learn how to elaborate more," Alvar mumbled as they all moved to the jungle.
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While the leader of the police was ranting on about how they were going to give 'these two murders peace' Sophie glanced around the beautiful surroundings. Cariana was sticky and humid; the heat was always beating down. Even then, the colors were always vibrant and lively. The palm trees and soft sands always seem to wrap you in a delicate hug.
Sophie noticed that her robes were gone and all she was in a loose white shirt that fell off one of her shoulders at all times. Sophie adjusted it, so it hid her family crest on her right shoulder. She was also in a pair of filthy brown pants that were ripped all across the hem. And her boots were missing.
How the hell did her boots go missing?
And why is Alexios still in his full robes.
"What the fuck happened to my clothing?!" Sophie whispered to Alexios.
"Don't worry; they just wanted to take it in the 'analyze' it. But they made me change you into the clothing, seeing as how we are siblings. They are probably holding it with our weapons aswell, but we both know that by analyzing it they just wanted to try it on. Our robes are pretty cool-"
"That doesn't mean they could take them!" Sophie snapped. The police captain was finishing up his speech.
"Lia, focus! Are you ready?" Alexios said, the chains clinking from his squirming.
"Yeah, yeah! Give me a minute." Sophie said, wrapping her hands around the chains. Sophie took a deep breath and felt her Froster power's crawl up the chains, making them frozen to the touch. She spread the ice over to Alexios's side of the chains.
"- So now you all are here to stand watch to witness as we end the lives of these murders!" The Captain roared.
"Now, Alexios! I'm almost done," Sophie said.
"Mensen van Cariana! Wij zijn niet je vijand! De man die we hebben vermoord was een hebzuchtige belastingontvanger die jullie al maanden blind berooft! We besloten de zaken in eigen hand te nemen, omdat de regering het extra geld dat hij van je aannam graag in ontvangst nam!"People of Cariana! We are not your enemy! The man we killed was a greedy tax collector that has been robbing you all blind for months! We decided to take things into our own hands since the government was happy to take the extra money he was taking from you! Alexios bellowed over the crowd. Alexios was Vatarian as well, so he also had Polygot powers and easily spoke to the Cariana people in their native language.
"Laat hem zijn mond houden!" Shut him up, the Captain demanded.
"Got it!" Sophie exclaimed, feeling the metal turn cold enough to snap. The two cousins yanked their arms forward, and the metal chains snapped, causing the two of them to slump to the ground.
"Catch them!" The Captain roared.
"Time to go!" Sophie said, dragging her brother up and pushed their way through the crowd. People moved out of their way as if touching them will cause a plague.
"Are you ready?" Alexios asked about to break off from her.
"Yeah, we got caught, right? Might as well kill two birds with one stone!" Sophie said, stealing a horse from a stable and throwing her leg over the horse, rushing the horse forward. Sophie saw all the constables turn the corner and saw her on the mounted horse. Alexios ducked behind a stack of hay as Sophie lured them towards her.
"Come on guys, can't catch some rowdy teen?" Sophie taunted, flicking the horse's reins and galloping away.
Stilletto- No, not the killer shoe. It is a traditional Italian knife.
Constable- A officer associated with the area's official government
Stonzo- Italian for Asshole :)
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Man, these chapters are getting hard to write! I hope you enjoyed chapter 2 and please remember to vote, follow, comment, and share!
_Sibylline_