Manson remained still, desperate to stay away from the battle, getting more blazing than ever. Sparks from the fire pillars were able to reach the saloon roof. He really wished that he had passed through the fountain area before getting blocked off by opposing gangs, notably in a place as dangerous as Harmist Lane.
He once again peered through the roof ledge hole and saw electric guitar rocker girl, Ashlee, totally rocking out with her melody at the same time she mystically somehow summoned pillars of flames as large as the buildings around the fountain. They burned so bright, especially in the night background of the smoky sky.
"Ha ha ha ha!" Ashlee maniacally laughed at the Snapcrack runners. "Looks like the Snapcrack Gang should rename themselves as the Snapcrack Frauds, rock off, you losers—while I get a rock on!"
The poor Snapcrack Gang members that followed Eustelle and the others were scrambling away in fear, each of them trying to figure out how to dodge and reach the enemies before they got burned to ashes. The flame pillars rotated around the fountain as though their trajectories were set when the melody was heard.
Manson looked in the other direction, where the continued exchange of punches between Eustelle and the guy with the sharp blue clothes, Axel Galen. Their offensive flurry was hard to keep track of with Manson's eyes, only their limbs appearing as blurs.
Eustelle, while maintaining a steady form so as not to get herself overwhelmed, noticeably took a step back, sweating from her arms. Meanwhile, Axel didn't slow down his assault at all; in fact, he was probably getting even faster with his punches.
"What's the matter?!" he cackled through the fight. "Need a moment to cool off a bit?! That's cool! You can always stop for a breather!"
Eustelle stays sharp at his relentless pursuit, parrying every attempted strike with quick precision of her wrist.
"I still have enough juice to handle a guy like you!"
They continue their onslaught with punches, but even Eustelle's cry of battle wasn't enough as she continued to be backed into a corner. After a few more seconds, the upper hand from Axel came down like a mountain and struck right into her chest. Eustelle violently coughed from the impact and flew backwards into the saloon Manson was in.
Manson was in disbelief over the whole fight once again. The woman was down on the ground floor while Axel grimly walked towards her for who knows what.
Her friends, Moris and Zach, were at the side nearby, trying to get up from their surprise attack by Axel, stumbling on their feet as they went forward to assist Eustelle in every way they could. As though they were in synchronization, both of them went towards each side of Axel, with Moris delivering a kick and Zach throwing a punch.
But that was the last of two that Manson saw, because he rushed downstairs to see if Eustelle was really that badly injured, and sure enough, she was there with broken tables and chair parts scattered all over. He went over and saw that a bruise had appeared in the middle of her stomach, with the torn shirt from Axel's punch stained with blood. Eustelle's breathing was shallow, and her eyes remained closed, not even when Manson was right beside her.
"I... know I've said that I moved on from Phil's death, like you guys have told me before... But I can't, I really can't—not until I know who was responsible and what made them do the killing. So, I have to—"
Her hands shook slightly as her breathing faltered, making Manson check for her pulse with a finger on her wrist. He even tried to look for any first aid supplies hidden at the bar, but no luck was there with that.
"H-hey, you're not gonna die right here, right? Hey, hey—don't sleep now, I'll... I'll get help, I'll call for an ambulance here," he said despite the woman probably not listening right now. Manson climbed up the counter and dialed for help, but there wasn't even any ringing, just the silence indicating a broken phone. "No... no way..."
He slammed the phone back into the wall in frustration. Even if the phone was working, there was no way someone from the hospital would voluntarily come here, and Manson knew that fact from the beginning. Harmist Lane was a place of deception and dangerous gangs; only a hospital with the backing of the military could accept going here to retrieve Eustelle.
"Damn it! I can't connect at all!"
Manson went back to Eustelle and took off his jacket to place it on her stomach, hoping for a chance to at least mitigate the damage, but he knew it was a futile effort that at best could probably provide little warmth.
He didn't know why he was doing this. This woman was a stranger to him, yet the way he saw her and the Snapcrack Gang fight off the Red Punchers made them worry about how outnumbered and outmatched they were, but they persisted anyway. It was definitely stupid to try to be in the middle of their conflict, but there he was, in the middle of trying to take care of Eustelle's injuries.
Manson pressed his jacket, wishing that a miracle would happen at that moment.
Eustelle was coughing up blood, and her skin was incredibly pale. He knew the injuries she sustained from the fight were life-threatening if she didn't receive instant medical care right now. Limited amount of signs that life was present in her body.
"I'm sorry," Manson gasped out. "I really let someone die, and I couldn't do anything."
Then suddenly, a black flash appeared from his jacket to his hands. The flash was enveloped in shadow-like energy that swirled in Eustelle's body.
Startled by what appeared, Manson tried to steer back, but his arms were locked into place. The sensation in his hands was draining and felt like dull needles pricking his palms. Unable to move because of the dark shadow flash that appeared, he looked away to feel the pain, but there was strangely no more sensation. He opened his eyes and steadily took off the jacket, and saw that Eustelle's bruises on her stomach were no more, clear of impending passing.
Extremely shocked by what his body did to heal the injured Eustelle, Manson backed away slowly, trying to process what happened, and left the area. In his mind, something like that being so fictitious for that instance to appear in real life, it was mind-boggling for any ordinary person.
He slowly looked at the side alleyway to look for anyone nearby. After a short confirmation, Manson went out and bolted as fast as his legs could carry. Only facing forward without thinking, not even turning back to look, it was only to leave what happened in Harmist Lane behind.
* * *
"Uh..... huuuuuuhhhh."
Moris finally let out before his eyes closed from getting too many hits on him.
Zach, on the other hand, was still fighting but was all bloodied up. He tried to pull a final punch on Axel, but he seemed to read Zach's move and went for a kick to the head. Zach flew to the side and landed inside the fountain, his feet dangling out from unconsciousness.
"Since I am in a merciful mood today, in a cool way, of course, we'll let you off with a light warning this time," Axel coolly said, the remaining Snapcrack members that were awake hearing his quiet words.
"Huh? You serious, Axel?" exclaimed Ashlee. "I wanted to burn those guys up to the bone! At least this time I can do this once.
Axel glanced at her with such annoyance that she immediately understood his intentions.
"Right, got it—no on that, maybe next time that I rock on, I can burn everything to the ground," she stated.
The two enforcers of the Red Punchers exited the fountain area, leaving only the Snapcrack Gang totally beaten up on the ground. Moris and Zach in particular were left unconscious because of facing off against the superior Axel.
Eustelle limped over, clutching her stomach with her dusty hand, and went over to her blacked-out friends. She looked at her healed-up stomach and then knelt down to her friends.
"You guys... You got beaten up?"
* * *
Manson speedily wriggled his body through the bustling crowds of the street, and it was insane how many people from all over the city were flocking over to the first-day opening of a restaurant in such a corner where the heaviest traffic came to life.
However, this type of thing wasn't really interesting to him, as he was mainly more focused on getting back home and getting past the prologue level in Hypercosmic Battleground.
Manson snuck inside from the front door and surveyed the area around him. The building was filled to the brim with so many people that the overlapping voices were so loud it muffled even his own thoughts. He tried to find Aunt Maren and her friend, Abigail, until he spotted them right at one of the corner tables with only two chairs. He quickly went up to them.
"Mare, look over there, it's your nephew right there," Abigail said, pointing to him.
Aunt Maren's face filled with delight. "Oh, Manny, I knew you would make it. I thought you would ignore me and stay at home."
"Not even I would do something that petty," Manson stated. "And what's with the nickname that you just called me? Manny? That was the first time you called me that."
Aunt Maren smiled. "Doesn't the nickname sound good on you? I think it does. And Abbie does think it's cool, too."
"I feel it isn't out of the ordinary, which is kind of a bad thing," he admitted.
"But this tiny talk within a small talk, it was kind of to ease you into the fact that I found some cash in my boots. I first felt them inside, and my foot was aching, so when I took it off to massage it, and there it was, green rolls of moolah right there the whole time. So... sorry you had to travel all over to give me the money I left at home."
Manson stared without much emotion, except for the fact that exhaustion crept up on him earlier than it should. All he had in his mind was to go back home and take a look at Starnis Wrath and Sheri Fruit inside the extra menu materials.
"Never mind that. Do you have my money pouch on you right now? I could go for another round of shopping after eating my fill here."
Manson tried to pull out the dark maroon money pouch, but the empty pocket from behind was filled with emptiness. He froze in dread, trying to process why there wasn't anything in his pockets at all.
"No... it can't be... I swore I had it with me earlier..."
"What?" Aunt Maren asked. "What's the holdup? You feeling a bit sick or something? If you want, we have some medicine at home."
"Mare, you're right, his face is really pale, like he's seen a ghost, or maybe he is a ghost," Abigail said, with her face affectionately surprised and her hands pressed between her cheeks.
Manson turned towards her aunt, trying not to let signs of anxiety prance on his face for everyone to see.
"I—um... I forgot to bring it with me, sorry."
"Yikes, that would be so bad news if you didn't have that cash on you, Mare. We woulda need to wash the dishes if we ate the food before paying," Abigail admitted with a horrified look on her face.
"No worries," Aunt Maren freely exclaimed; not a hint of worry was on her face. "I have the money right here with us, and it's not like you lost my money on the way here, right, Manson?"
"Uh, yeah, for sure..."
While he put on a relaxed exterior for the girls to react with calmness, Manson was wildly in his thoughts, to the point where he must've dropped in his trek from the trailer park to Brastini's. Frantically, he was only focusing on his own mind when he felt a nudge at his shoulder from his aunt.
"Hey, you did good out there regardless, kiddo. Next time, though, try to remember to pick the money pouch up with you. Funny how you should be saying this to me."
"What are you talking about?" Abigail intervened in the conversation. "I think you have the most wonderful memory out there.
Manson breathed suddenly, "Right..."
"Go home, Manson, let me have some girl time to ourselves. Hope that you return home and play with that video game you recently bought," Aunt Maren said before returning to their table to continue to chat with her friend.
Manson exited the restaurant, completely baffled and covered in dread about how he lost the pouch of money that was on him. He looked in the past, thinking about what point in time it was most likely for him to have been pickpocketed. The possibilities were right in the trailer park, rushing through the bustling streets in the commercial district, or while walking carefully in Harmist Lane.
He pondered the last one, vividly remembering having an eerie feeling when he heard something snap near him, causing Manson to swiftly turn around to find no one there. As he went deeply in the matter, his eyes widened as there was a high possibility someone was there with him at that very moment. Likely someone who disappeared, known by everyone to not have a house in his name.
* * *
The television in the corner of a worn-down room flashed bright colors, the channel showcasing an odd variety of beings gathered around in a circle. One figure rose up and greeted himself physically; his clothes looked like they were from a pirate out in the seas.
"Yarr, we are the Cuddly Jumblings, and me name is Captain Cuddlesnug. And what I like to do is always have a good time and build long-lasting friendships with each other!"
The video widened as each of the characters of the show became fully visible, all lined up horizontally.
An anthropomorphic dolphin lady in a dress was shown on the screen, with her name "Stephanie Dolphanie" appearing in a box in the corner.
Stephanie only clicked and whistled with jubilation like a normal dolphin would say during her screen time.
Up next is a dapper-looking guy with a huge hat. The name in the corner box said "Hudson Hurrah".
"Hurrah! Hurrah!" he shouted, sounding like it was the only word he could utter at all.
The television switched to another channel, transforming the children's show into the middle of an advertisement of people in with a helmet, trying out slick skateboards in an abandoned park.
"—find the new razor-sharp skateboard at X-treme Sports Gear only at Honoway Mall. Currently offered at a discounted price, no less."
The television then changed to another show, flashing to an interviewer sitting across from an arrogant-looking and pudgy man in a superhero costume.
"Globalizer, what are your thoughts regarding how a large number of people idolize you?"
"You know, it's funny, as a member of the Superhero Stars, it really made me feel like I was needed everywhere, so I would have to say that I, for myself, should be stationed in every place available so that people would feel comfort that there is a fellow do-gooder nearby, with superpowers even—"
The television screen finally faded to black instantly, only showing the dark reflection of the watcher sitting on the dreary couch in front of it. The dark hair showed only a few strands of white hair; the clothes were not in the best condition, and wrinkles formed on the surface of the skin.
That was the description of Pallnem, the local homeless guy that dissapeared from Standart City's public view.
"That kid, Nate Elfirm, ehh...?" Pallnem choked on his own spit. "The way he has that sword with him, and he killed those Fadens too?! Because he is a high schooler in that school, I will hunt him down, and the rest of the people who go there. But before I could do that, I need an army so strong that it would pale in comparison to the ones I made before. Not like the ones in the huge mall, the pond in the forest, the mechanic garage, or even at the gym where those strong muscle guys go."
He uncovered the cloth containing a dimly shining green crystal next to the armrest of the chair. It periodically pulsed visually, like it was alive but in a dormant state, like sleeping. The green crystal, the physical but unrefined material called theomin, was still in Pallnem's grasp.
"My green crystal, theomin or whatever they call it, is my only hope for revenge to take place against Standart High. After so many years, all who made my life utter trash would soon be crushed by my awesome power."
Breathing heavily with his mouth open, his eyes showed no mercy or any rational thought.
"Next stop, Morkiss Museum, a place with vibrant history, enough to fuel the monster into being strong..."