The Quest For Peace

She wasn’t sure whether this was a good idea at all but the pink haired requip mage had decided to go for it anyway. A flyer had been put out for mages to help protect the peace during the talks between Pergrande and Bellum with Cierra thinking that it would be a perfect opportunity for her to show her new love for life. The legal mage was concerned that she’d be recognised for her heinous deeds that she’d done in the past and her eyes were constantly shifting from left to right but for the most part, the Joyans seemed to be rather friendly. They were quite happy to chat with her and Cierra soon found her shields going down just a little. The human hybrids seemed to have a gift for that and as she stood by a stall and spoke to a pretty cat girl, a smile was starting to grow across her features.

“It hasn’t been this packed for ages.” The brunette shopkeeper cheerfully said, her tail swishing with joy. “I’ve made so much cash lately that I don’t know what to do with it all. I know that everyone’s a bit on edge because of the treaty but I can’t lie, it’s been great for business. It’ll be a shame when all of these folks disappear again back to their own countries.”

“I’m glad that things are working out so well for you.” Cierra replied with a smile. “I don’t know if this treaty is going to actually hold or anything but it really does seem important. It’s kind of weird that they’d choose here of all places to sign it but if it’s profitable for your people then I guess that’s enough reason to let them do it. Not sure I trust Pergrande though, they’re shifty.”

“I get that.”The shopkeeper answered. “I saw a group of their diplomats yesterday walking through here. All they did was look down their noses at us and talk about how poorly made our produce was. They’re not a nice bunch and as nice as we Joyans try to be, I was quite tempted to slash them once or twice. Pompous buffoons. No wonder they have no real allies.”

“Yeah, they asked me to help them out in their battle with Bellum but I turned them down. Just couldn’t stand the attitudes that they all seem to have. I’d have ended up just hitting them. Scumbags. I didn’t side with anyone and just let them get on with it as I wasn’t really bothered about either nation. Let them fight and see who comes up on top. From what I heard, it was Bellum, thankfully.” Cierra smirked at the thought, happy with the results.

“They seem a nicer bunch and I’ve done quite a lot of business with them. I’ve even made a long term agreement with one of their traders, an exchange of sorts, which should bring in a steady supply of new merchandise. I just hope things don’t get out of hand here, as not everyone is quite so open to these trade talks happening here as I am.” The shopkeeper frowned slightly at that point, looking a little more gloomy.

“What do you mean?” Cierra asked with a raised eyebrow. “Are you expecting trouble from some of your kin?”

“Possibly. There are groups who aren’t too fond of the other countries using our home in such a way. They think that we’re being treated as second class by everyone else. I can kind of see where they’re coming from as up until now, none of the other nations have really bothered with us. We are kind of a joke in the eyes of others and there’s already been a couple of protests going on about it. I’m concerned that things will turn violent and that this oh so important treaty will end up starting something else, something terrible for my own people. Most of us don’t want war but there’s so much anger around at the moment within certain groups that I could see it happening, either a civil one or with other nations.”

“If there’s one thing I’ve learned it’s that if someone wants to cause violence then that’s what’s going to happen. I get why these groups would feel that way and I suppose that’s what I’m here to try and stop. I’m not going to lie. A short time ago, I probably would’ve been causing trouble myself and might have even teamed up with these troublemakers of yours. Not any more though. I’m here to stop fights, not start them.”

“I’m glad to hear that and the fact that the authorities have taken such a keen interest in stopping any hooligans is a comfort to me. I hope that you don’t have much to do but I just have this feeling that things are going to get bad, fast. The tension is rising by the minute and it’s like they’re just waiting for the chance to…Oh no.”

Nodding her head, the shopkeeper would direct Cierra’s attention to what was going on in the square behind them. A group of protestors had started to pile in and were setting up shop right in the centre, holding up signs and shouting out vile chants directed at Pergrande, Bellum and anyone else who wasn’t Joyan. It wasn’t a great start and what was worse? A crowd was starting to form around them, which was only going to end up in a mess.

“Guess I’d better see to it then. Might be best if you shut up shop for the day, Miss.”

With that, Cierra rotated her shoulders, allowing her clockwings to activate and lift her into the sky, before she made for the centre of the square, right into the thick of things. The lead protestors saw her coming and a few members of the crowd began hurling bottles and other items at her but Cierra was swift and she was soon hovering above the growing group, her voice loud enough to be heard but she tried not to come off as threatening.

“Alright folks, move along here.” She commanded. “Riling everyone up is not going to help anybody and all you’re going to do is make things worse. I understand the anger and frustration that you feel towards the other nations but is violence and war with them really what you want? That’s not the Joyan way, is it? Your people are the most cheerful and friendly of all the nations and that’s a trait that all people, no matter where they come from, admire you for. Please don’t throw all of that away by starting something now. Not after the Pergrande and Bellum conflict has only just ended. Let these feelings go and allow the treaty to be signed in peace.”

“They don’t admire us at all, Mage.” A large fox eared male spat in response. “They treat us like animals. They come here, exploit our generous hospitality and then abduct us in the night. We’re the joke of the entire region and I nor any of my allies are willing to put up with it any longer! We will stand here and protest all night long and if that doesn’t work then we will will head for where the treaty is being signed and force those idiotic diplomats to give us the respect our nation deserves. We’re not prepared to take any more of their garbage, pinkie.”

“You’re trying to start a war that you can’t win and all that’s going to happen is that more people are going to die. Is that what the people of Joya really want? Do you guys want to be as pig headed and stubborn as those in Pergrande are? I don’t bloody like them either but for the sake of peace, I’ll put up with their bullshit. For now, anyway. You guys should do the same.”

“That’s not an option and if you try to stop us then you’ll be the first to go.” The protestor replied before hurling a large rock directly at the mage.

With that the protestors, as well as the more boisterous members of the crowd took that as a call to arms and began to hurl even more rubbish at the pink haired mage. At first, she simply tried to avoid the projectiles, hoping that perhaps by letting them get out their frustration that way, they’d simply turn and go home but unfortunately it didn’t seem to work and more than that, it was starting to bother her. She could feel the anger start to build up inside, which was more worrying to her than being hit by any of the items. The teenager knew that she had to keep control because if she didn’t, Hell would follow and all of her hard work trying to follow the straight and narrow might just be for nought. What should she do though? Should she fight? Should she try and scare them off or should she just keep dodging and dancing around their projectiles?

(1510 Words)

In the old days, she’d have just wiped them all out but that wasn’t who she was anymore. She’d promised both herself and Gaia that she’d never go back to being the monster that she’d once been and it was that promise which kept her from panicking. She was better than that now and as she continued to dodge and weave, one hand slowly moved towards the shoulder part of her wings. Cierra didn’t have to wipe them out, she didn’t have to. The pink haired young woman could surely control her powers enough to simply scare them off, right? Not every attack had to be filled with killing intent. She could almost feel her mother’s voice screaming at her for saying such a thing and there was a sense of wrongness to such passive thoughts but she knew it only felt that way because her own flesh and blood had brain washed her. Sarisha had corrupted her from such a young age and had warped her into something else. Not anymore though. She’d broken away and would now follow her own path, one that didn’t revolve around mindless slaughter and blood.

Pressing a button with her reaching hand, Cierra would then start to spin in the air, releasing a large amount of spare parts and pieces of metal that rained down on the protestors. She didn’t aim for anyone in particular and as soon her attack was launched, the majority of the crowd dispersed without a moment of thought, running away. The protestors themselves tried to protect themselves with their banners although there was little chance of that happening. Her rain of metal shredded through the wood and caused the troublemakers to run for cover too. The group didn’t seem to have any mages in it either and seemed to be able to do little more than throw objects.

As soon as the group dispersed, Cierra stopped spinning and simply floated in the air, before turning around and looking down at the leader of the protestors. “I didn’t want to have to do that but you forced my hand. Now, tell me if you have any other little schemes up your sleeve that could cause problems during the treaty signing. I don’t want to have to hurt anyone else but I can’t let you guys start any more trouble.”

The fox-eared fellow snapped back in return. “Oh, don’t you worry, we have a lot more going on here than simply a peaceful protest. We’re going to prove to everyone why Joya should be respected and we have allies who are far stronger than us. The Master will deal with you soon enough and now that you’ve messed with us, they’re going to be more than a little pissed off with you. In fact, they might just speed things up a little because of your interference.”

That being said, he and his cronies would quickly scatter, leaving a slightly bemused Cierra behind. Just what was he talking about? His words still in her head, she’d begin her patrol, leaving the square and heading through the streets, remaining airborne as hopefully a sign of comfort and protection to the innocent people below.

(531 Words)
(2041 TWC)

Unfortunately, that sense of comfort was burned away rather quickly as the sounds of screaming soon reached the ears of the pink haired mage. Increasing her pace, she’d dart forwards, tapping into the power of her wings to enhance her mobility. It appeared that the protesters had been right and there would indeed be more trouble and as Cierra reached the end of the street and turned the next corner, she rather swiftly saw the issue. The people in front of her were all trapped, covered by earthy structures that looked like prison cells. They didn’t seem to be in any physical pain but just being imprisoned could leave mental scars. She knew that better than most and as she soared across the sky and her gaze fell upon the attacks, her eyebrows rose.

They were goat women by the looks of them and as soon as they saw Cierra coming towards them, the three began hurling earth type projectiles at her, hoping to capture her as they had done with the other folks. They weren’t all that accurate though and the pink haired girl had little issue with evading their attacks. Unlike with the protestors, there was no reason at all for her not to fight back and so she tapped into her requip magic and summoned a pair of magical pistols into her hand. It’d been a while since she’d had to fight with them but with her slayer powers now gone, her requip was all she had and so with that in mind, she began to open fire, the sound of bullets soon ringing out across the courtyard.

The goat women hadn’t expected such an attack and the trio quickly tried to find cover in order to avoid the powerful bullets. The pink haired teenager fired at pretty much anything that moved and the first of the three was just a little too slow. A bullet caught her in the back, followed by another in the leg, knocking her to the ground and out of the fight. They didn’t seem to be too powerful and Cierra merely continued to fire at the other two, who besides hurling the occasional earth based attack didn’t seem to have much to answer her. They fought to the best of their ability but once the requip mage had them close enough together, she tapped her guns together and unleashed a powerful volley of bullets that removed the pair from the fight and knocked them clean out. It’d been a short and simple fight thankfully and no one had died but why had they been doing this in the first place? That was the question.

The imprisoned natives began to approach her at this point, having been freed from the goat women’s spell and one of them looked up at her and spoke, a blonde haired dog girl. “We appreciate the help, Miss Mage and we’ll quite happily hand these three over to the authorities. They were talking about some kind of plot that they are working on which has something to do with the other side of the city. It sounded important so it should probably be your next port of call. Thanks again.”

With a thankful nod, Cierra would turn around in the air and do just that, leaving the locals to handle the unconscious troublemakers.

(556 Words)
(2597 TWC)

It seemed that the other side that the helpful dog girl had spoken of was the seedier one as the atmosphere became rather more tense. It felt as though there were always eyes upon her as she flew through the streets and the people she passed didn’t seem too happy to see her either. They all simply scowled and made rude gestures which she would have responded to in kind if she wasn’t busy. It was weird to see Joyans act in such a way though and she wondered if maybe those who lived here maybe agreed with the protestors. It would explain a lot and a frown crossed her face as she flew. The problem was that she didn’t really know just what she was looking for. A plot? How vague. Anyone she passed could be a part of that and so she had to try and focus on the worst of the worst, the people who just seemed to scream the word trouble at her. She’d certainly seen plenty of them in her time although that thought didn’t really comfort her any more. Another reason for her to dwell on her shameful past.

So lost did she fall into such thoughts that she was almost hit by a bottle of some kind, whizzing past her ear and hitting the ground behind her. Shaking her head, she focused once more on the task at hand and looked up to see the thrower waiting for her, along with a friend. These two were rat people, who looked rather nerdy judging from the glasses and had wasted no time in launching what looked like potions at her. Forced to try and dodge them in an enclosed space such as the alley they were in wasn’t and so Cierra simply tried to shoot the bottles out of their hands with her pistols. She had no idea what the concoctions could do and she really didn’t want to find out. The rats seemed to panic then and as the pink haired mage scored a direct hit on one of the bottles, it released a nasty poison that seemed to infect the duo.

Angrily shouting at each other rather than her, the two would droop over, their faces turning white due to the poison. One of them turned and shouted spitefully at Cierra. “Stupid child. You’ve not only ruined our experiment but infected us with our own poison. The shame of it all. Do you even know what you’re getting yourself into? The Master will make you suffer for interfering in our work and you’ll regret every step that you take from here on it. Behind us lies a creature who is just waiting to turn you into a bloody stain. Go on, get going.”

Both her and his partner fell unconscious at that point and as Cierra flew above them, she sighed and tapped into her magic once more. Her pistols would be replaced by a staff and with a swift twirl of it, she’d release a cloud of energy that would cure them of their disease. She didn’t know why she did it but perhaps there was just the tiniest amount of pity for them? Was her nicer side starting to emerge? She hoped so and placing her staff away, she’d proceed with her quest, mentally preparing for whatever this next foe was.

(561 Words)
(3158 TWC)

Darting through the alleyways at an even faster pace, Cierra kept all of her senses on high alert, waiting for the moment for her next foe to strike. The rat had made it all too clear that this next enemy was something else and the pink haired mage had enough fights under her belt to know that he wasn’t exaggerating. So far, her opponents had been weak but surely they had someone with some strength if there truly was a plot? Some monster or demon to protect it from being uncovered and besides that. Just who was this Master? A Joyan who wanted freedom? A foreigner who wanted to cause trouble? A being from another realm? They were all possibilities and as she turned what seemed to be the thousandth alleyway and headed for the light at the end of it, she’d find out just what this next opponent was.

Falling from the sky and blocking her path was an enormous lion-like male, wielding a powerful looking axe and a crossbow at his belt. He sure looked like he’d been in his fair share of fights and without so much as a word, he drew his mighty weapon and charged forwards, powering up his body with some kind of spell in order to boost his strength. Cierra didn’t want to get hit with that and had to desperately avoid it by flipping herself vertically, her wings mere centimetres from the ground. It was a little close to call and as she came out of the alleyway into the street, she now had a lot more room to manoeuvre. Without another word, she’d deactivate her wings and drop to the ground.

As he came towards her again, she summoned a pair of massive gauntlets onto her hands and sprinted forward herself, dodging his attack and connecting with a powerful blow with her right gauntlet. His head flew upwards from the blow and as she tapped into her magic in order to boost her own strength, she followed up with another mighty blow with her left, catching him in the stomach and hurling him backwards. She couldn’t help but remember the love she had for close combat and as the lion roared and scrambled back to his feet, the requip mage dived back in for another round. They exchanged powerful blows. His axe and her gauntlets clashing again and again. His wounds did occasionally heal which extended the contest but in the end, the result was fairly conclusive. Cierra had killed far more powerful and dangerous foes than him and eventually her ferocity overwhelmed him. A finally crunching blow to the face put him on his back and that was the end of it. She managed to stop herself from killing him though and left him where he lay for the authorities to deal with.

It was then that she turned around and saw a device which definitely took her by surprise. Sitting there in the middle of the street was an enormous bomb and in front of it, a cat girl, who’d seemed to have watched the entire fight. Was she the Master?

(522 Words)
(3680 TWC)

The cat girl slowly started to walk away from the bomb and towards Cierra, her form changing to become far more beast like. The pink haired mage recognised it well enough, a takeover but was slightly reluctant to attack due to the bombs vicinity. The last thing she wanted was for this woman to achieve her goal, which was presumably to set the explosive device off. So, she waited until her, hopefully final, opponent reached her. The tension in the air was quickly spiking and both Cierra and her foe knew what was going to happen next. There was only one way that this was going to end, with one of them face down on the ground. Up until now, the teenager had been merciful but she wasn’t sure if she should be here. If the woman before her was so willing to sacrifice innocent lives, should she be allowed to live? It was a question that made Cierra think.

“I suppose this must mean that my men have been defeated.” The cat girl hissed. “You made a grave error coming here and when this bomb goes off, you’ll be the first to experience its wrath. There’s enough power in this baby to blow half of this city to pieces, including the precious delegates of Felidae City. Perhaps then my country will have the respect it deserves with I, The Grand Inquisitor, in charge. A fitting title, don’t you think?”

“I’m not sure how killing hundreds of your own people will earn you anything other than scorn.” Cierra replied. “You’re just another lunatic who wants to rule the world. Believe me, I’ve seen enough of them in my time and you’ve as much chance as any of them, zero. That bomb’s not going off and if I have to put you down here and now then I’ll do it. I have plenty of blood on my hands already, Kitty, I can take one more.” Could she though?

“You’ve got guts, Kid, I’ll give you that but you’re not beating me here.” The Inquisitor snapped back. “I’m not a villain, just a patriot who’s willing to do anything to make sure her country is treated with dignity. Yes, many Joyans will die but it’s all for the greater good. You’ll see, well, you won’t but I digress. I’ll give you the honour of losing to me here though. Defend yourself, Pinkie.”

With that, the cat girl hissed one more time and lunged towards Cierra, her takeover causing her to change into a werecat of sorts. Darting to the left, the mage would dodge and launch a powerful left handed punch with her gauntlet, catching the takeover as she passed her and causing her to shriek in pain. A powerful blow but not one that seemed to be much damage. It was, however, first blood and that was all Cierra needed. The two would then proceed to engage in a brutal close ranged fistfight, forgetting all about technique and relying on their physical might. Neither remained unscathed for long and soon enough they were both bleeding, the crimson liquid soaking the ground. It was savagery of the worst kind and Cierra finally lost the control that she’d so deeply wished to keep. She lost herself to the fight and in doing so amplified her own strength. A smile crossed her features, one that was mirrored in the face of the cat girl. They were both enjoying it so much and the pain did nothing but push them onwards. Strike after strike, blow after blow, it never seemed to end, the bomb ticking away in the background.

They were pretty evenly matched for the most part but unfortunately for the cat girl, she made a critical mistake. She disengaged and took a large jump backwards, wanting a moment to breathe and that was the last thing that she should have done. For as much as Cierra adored close combat, she was just as competent from a distance. As the Inquisitor took her moment and lunged in once more, Cierra summoned her shock pistol and fired a burst that caught the cat girl in the chest, paralysing her for long enough so the requip mage could fly in and connect with the perfect uppercut from her gauntlets. A fight ended to end all fight enders and more than enough to send the Inquisitor to the ground and out for the count. It was all over.

Tired and aching, Cierra would deactivate her requip items and walk over to the fallen Inquisitor and gaze down at the woman, her foot briefly resting against the villain’s throat. The old her would have just pressed down and killed her right there but as she took a few deep breaths, she remembered that her life was not one of violence anymore but peace or at least the search for it. No more mindless bloodshed, no more.

Soon enough, the authorities arrived and hauled off the Inquisitor, as well as deactivated the bomb. Cierra meanwhile was treated as a hero by the locals and treated to a night that she’d never forget. It was an experience that had shown her what life was like on the side of good and although she had once or twice slipped, when it mattered most, she had stayed on the path that a Sabertooth mage should and that filled her with more pride than she could have hoped for.

A job well done.

(910 Words)
(4590 TWC)

(4000/4000 Event)
(500/500 D rank freeform)