With the position pinned in my brain from my skill, I made headway for the location, Myri and Asabela following closely behind. 

As we dashed along, I off-handly noticed our surroundings getting shabbier and shabbier.

Trash littered the streets, the buildings looked beat up and run down, and numerous people sat on the roads, with no home to go to. Children could be seen starving, begging for something to fill their stomaches

‘It makes me so angry every time I see it. Nobody should have to live like this. Nobody. This is exactly what we were striving to avoid…If only those two never got injured. Maybe we could’ve done it.’

“Tch,” Asabela sucked her teeth in frustration as she sprinted past the scene. “I hate this. This powerlessness to not even be able to support the people of this small town. Just because those scumbags were  greedy and couldn’t bear to let out plans be carried out.”

In the usual fashion, Bela vocalized my thoughts. It’s almost eerie how she was on the same train of thought as me so frequently. 

“I feel the same,” Myri replied. “But hopefully with the help of a certain little angel…we’ll be able to make sure nobody in our kingdom has to live like this again.”

“That’s right,” Asabela responded, resolution seeping into her voice. “So let’s go save the little riot, scold her for getting kidnapped, spoil her rotten, and make sure she never gets in a situation like this ever again!”

“Pfft…I don’t think those all match,” I giggled at my friend’s remark. “But I agree with the sentiment, let’s go!”

—⁕🎕⁕—

Soon after, we arrived at the location given to me by my ability. A shabby-looking warehouse, but significantly less broken down than the other buildings surrounding it. A dead giveaway.

“Isn’t this a bit too obvious?” Bela said observing the state of the building, again speaking my mind. 

“Definitely,” Myri agreed. “Seems like we're dealing with novices. Nothing that we probably have to worry about…even with Bela and I weakened. I’m not too sure about my little angel. She doesn’t seem like the strongest person in the world right now…even some random thugs might be too much for her right now. Though on the other hand, from the state of the building, it seems like they’re working under someone with at least a bit of capital, which is a bit worrying.”

“Assessment seems spot on to me sis,” I replied. “Except for the one about my little student. I’ve been training her personally for weeks. I find it hard to believe that she got caught off guard by some random goons.”

“So what’s that mean?” My sister asked, still observing the exterior of the building. “Should we assume that the kidnappers are more capable than they seem?”

“No, I don’t think so, something is telling me that’s not the case. Smells like a certain pupil of mine is in for some intense training.” I smiled.

“Ugh, I got shivers down my non-existent spine looking at that. Don’t tell me that you consider that evil facial expression a smile?” the vampire squid lady said.

“Hey, squidface. What do you mean by that evil facial expression? Of course, it’s a smile.”

“So you do…my condolences, my little riot.”

“Enough with the banter you numbskulls,” Myri scolded. “While it seems pretty obvious they want her alive…we can’t assume that they won’t do anything else to her. So we need to plan quickly.”

“Ah, I got it!” Asabela replied, sprinting towards the warehouse’s entrance. 

“What’s your idea?” My sister asked her whimsical wife.

Asabela swung a fist towards the door.

“Brute force, of course!” She turned her head and declared with a smile as the door exploded.

She proceeded to walk into the now open entrance. 

“This idiot,” My sister grumbled as she and I rushed in behind the door destroying octopus lady.

I readied my weapons as we entered the room, expecting some sort of attack. An attack that didn’t come.

“Okay…Nobody here. Rua, I thought that your skill was like GPS, what gives? ” Myri asked.

“It starts getting finicky when I get close, sorry. But she must be around here somewhere.”

Well, there's nothing we can do about that. Let's search the place for clues as to where they might have gone.”

The room itself was dirty, bits of food and empty bottles of alcohol littered the floor, and grim could be seen. A holding cell with rusted bars that seemed like they would have trouble containing an infant was tucked off in the corner. There was a card table with two chairs a few feet away from the cell, and it caught my eye. 

I walked towards it to examine it further.

It seemed to be splattered with a red liquid, that looked like either blood or wine from afar.

On closer inspection, it was obvious what the substance from the corpse on the floor beside it.

A man, an eel-kin if I had to guess, was laid out on the floor with a hole from the back of his head through his mouth. 

It seemed like someone had killed him instantly.

Quite the gruesome sight, but not one I hadn’t seen before. 

“I think I found something, you two.”

They made their way over to me and took a look at the cadaver.

Asabela began panicking, probably thinking about someone doing that to her daughter.

“RIOT!” she screamed. “WHERE ARE YOU?!”

“I’m here, Mama,” the girl in question replied, stepping out from the doorway to what seemed to be a coat closet.

Asabela dashed at the little spirit, scooping her in a hug. 

“Are you okay?” the vampire squid asked as she scrutinized her daughter.

“I-I’m fine,” my student replied nervously.

“What happened here, my angel?” Myri asked.

“Umm…” Riot hesitated.

Her apprehension aside, it was obvious what happened. From the bruise on her cheek to the blood splattered on her hair and clothes.

Yet she was nervous about saying as much?

Is she scared that she’s going to get scolded or something?

That thought led to a rabbit hole of questions.

‘She can kill without mercy, yet is still scared to get reprimanded by her mother? Is that too much contrast of personalities? That’s impossible…but then which is truly her?’

Lulla

Boo! Spooky chapter. Howdy folks. Been a little while. I had some big test to study for, ending up crushing them...96 and 95 . With those out the way, I found a bit of time to whip something up. Also I got a new chair...so hopefully that helps in the long run? Not much progression in this one...sorry, but it does open up a very important question moving forward...who is Maua/Riot really?  We'll be diving into that later...and I may even ask for you guys' input at some point...so look out  for that. Otherwise, thanks for reading as always!