The Last Straw: A Call to Arms

The Final Straw
Utopia was ablaze. The outskirts of the city had been besieged by an unknown assailant, and the Phantom Breakers had only just been dispatched to deal with the problem. Though the city was quite large, their guild ace raced through the city towards the disaster area. Finding it proved no problem, as the smoke could be seen from clear across the capitol, however how they where going to deal with such a large disaster area proved to be a problem. While jumping between rooftops, the tall red skinned man thought over the situation, and the more he thought, the more it didn't sit right with him. He had never heard of an earthquake affecting this large of an area, especially this close to the city. And he was sure they still had some time leftover from when the guild master had used the Grand Shogun to quell the activity in the area.

He bounded off another rooftop and saw a ruined landscape stretch as far as he could see. He was stunned for a moment, before he heard someone calling his name."Konoha." He looked around, seeing very little through the smoke, before looking down to see the guilds resident medical expert Kolter Porand in the midst of clearing the ruble of a building away with his String Glove Magic. "Give me a hand with this."

Konoha summoned up his lightning as he created multiple clones of himself as they went to help clear a path of rubble for some of the other victims as Konoha directed them to a safe zone. Kolter ran inside a small crevasse formed by the fallen rubble, only to return moments later with blood coating the bottom of his shoes. "Damn it, where did this come from?" He asked, though he wasn't speaking to anyone in particular. "I thought the Master quelled the area only a bit ago."

"He did, but something like this couldn't have been an earthquake, the lines seen on the ground where the cracks are don't seem to match" He said lifting another heavy piece of rubble.

"What else could it have been then?" Kolter asked as a few more people came towards them. As he directed them to a safe zone, it occurred to him that Konoha wouldn't know any more than he would about the situation. after taking a moment to bandage a dew minor injuries, he glanced back at his companion. "Where is Master Jayapura now?"

"Last I heard he as at the guild hall working on some stuff, I don't think he knows about this" He said getting another piece of rubble away.

"Well, we can get him after we clear out any survivors." As Kolter spoke, a handful of other Phantom Breaker mages arrived on the scene. He looked them over, then began directing them. "You three go back a few blocks and sett up a shelter in the shopping district. I want the four of you to fan out and get people to safety, and you go alert the Master about this." He was about to follow Konoha into the ruins, before he seamed to remember something and called back. "And steer clear of any damaged buildings. We don't exactly know what this is, and an aftershock could make everything come crashing down."

They all nodded in response, and the two mages headed farther into the wreckage. Helping people when they could, stepping over many more they couldn't, until Kolter saw a very strange sight. Amongst piles and piles of rouble stood a single building, a sporting arena build only a few years ago. "Do uh, do you see that?" Konoha looked back at him then followed his line of sight until he too saw the building. "Earthquakes don't just miss buildings, do they?"

"No, they go and destroy everything in their path, not just one thing" Konoha said looking at the cracks that went upward to the hills.

"Something's not right." He mumbled, before shaking the thought away. "Ether way, if the place is still standing, someone will probably be inside. Even if their aren't, it's the perfect place to set up a medical camp." Konoha half followed Kolter towards the mysteriously standing building, glancing around at the destruction throughout the capitol.

"I can feel electro aura's nearby, some of the people are still stuck inside of the buildings, Kolter, get Minerva on the line and have her sent up more of our teams, we will need all the help we can get" Konoha said starting to help out by breaking apart rubble with his lightning.

"Will do boss." Kolter replied while the guild ace worked. He retrieved a lacrima from his pack and activated it with a flick of a switch. There was static for a moment, before they ehard someone on the other line respond. "Minerva? It's Kolter." Some muffled voices came though the artifact, to which Kolter responded. "The shopping district, I think. Anyways, there's a sports arena in the area that I'm going to use as a checkpoint. It doesn't look damaged, so meet me there and I'll fill you in." More muffles, then the device fall silent.

"Konoha, I'll see you in a bit. Direct people to the arena as you find them." He said as the red skinned man brushed aside a large rock like it was nothing. "God help us." he muttered, before running to the arena like he said he would.

Konoha nodded as he jumped through building after building at lightning speeds, grabbing any person trapped in them, and landing them safely. "Go to the qutis arena, there will be temporary shelter's waiting along with medical treatments and warm food" He said as they helped each other towards the arena. Konoha then felt another electric aura as he went to go investigate it only to find a small stone on the floor that showed to have the symbol of the nature hunters.

Before he had the chance to think on his discovery, a red flash shone through one of the buildings broken windows. Konoha recognized it as the Phantom Breakers disaster signal, something they developed if anyone needed assistance while working a disaster area. Though upon closer inspection, he realized that the flair had been fired from the arena where Kolter was suppose to be.

Konoha used his lightning form to get there, helping out some of the other people along the way, before he arrived at the spot and saw where it came from and bolted into the building, finding Kolter there.

Before he could make any inquiries however, Konoha stopped dead in his tracks. Body's lined the floor in all directions, and a thin layer of blood covered the entire pitch. His mouth hung agape as he surveyed the massacre, as Kolter rose from the ground after unsuccessfully searching for any signs of life. He glanced over at Konoha, but his eyes caught something behind the guild ace, and his normally pail skin turned a sickly white. He pointed past Konoha with a shaking hand and said. "This was no earthquake." Konoha turned around to see the mark of the dark guild of Nature Hunter drawn in blood across the arena's big screen.

Konoha had a look of shock on his face, in the entire life he was here, never had he seen such a display of pure evil. He started to feel electricity rush through his body as it physically manifested himself, even though he was doing his best to keep it under control. "Finish whatever you have to do, then head back to the guild and find the old man, we need to talk to him after we finish this...." He said in a low voice before going to grab each body to properly place them outside.

After a quick look around, Kolter sighed. "Damn it Konoha, I'm a doctor, not a necromancer. Only thing I can do at this point is pray for them. Pray, and hope there are still survivors elsewhere." He prayed for a moment, then turned on his heel and headed for the door, stopping Minerva just as she arrived at the arena's entrance.

"What happened here?" She asked looking at the horror in front of her.

"It was Nature Hunter.... Those freaking bastards did this..... I'm gonna gut them all!!!" Konoha roared as the sound of lightning could be heard outside.

The sun was only just rising in the far off land of Bantia, and a single man stood outside of the mage guild Blazing Soul. His name was Jon Harben, or more recognisably the guilds resident cook. It was early enough in the morning that the guild was all but empty, and all Jon was doing was sweeping off the pathway to the main entrance. Though seemingly deep in thought as he worked, his attention was drawn to the main road once he heard the guilds front gate creek open. He looked up to see a pair approaching; one an average height man with shaggy blond hair, and the other a young girl with white hair tied back in pigtails. "Hello there." He called. "How can I help you today?"

"Hello, my name is Tori Akahada and this is my cousin, Taichi Marsh, we need to speak to the guild master immedialty" She said bowing in respect as the other did the same.

"March?" Jon repeated, stroking his chin. "Now where have I heard that name before?" Realising he was keeping his guests waiting made him abandon his train of thought however. "Oh, my apology's. Please come inside." He opened the door and allowed them to pass, before resting his broom next to the entrance and following them inside himself. "Sorry to say though, but the Master isn't in quite yet. He should be along shortly though." Jon rolled up his sleeves while Tori and Taichi took a seat at one of the guilds many tables. "Would the pair of you like something to eat while you wait?"

The two nodded as Jon began to cook as Tori looked around to find that the area wasn't as filled as she thought it would be, "Where is everyone?" She asked looking over to Taichi as he simply shrugged and looked over to Jon.

"Many of our members reside in the city." Jon said though a small window leading from the main hall to the kitchen. "Generally, I'm the first one to arrive." After a short while, Jon emerged with a pair of omelet plates in hand and placed them in front of his guests. "So, if I may ask, what brings you to our little guild?"

Before he got an answer however, they heard the door creak open and a young redheaded girl walked in, followed closely by a small dog. "Hey Jon, I-." The dog barked, and she spun around to see the three of them looking at her. She backed away instantly from the strangers, but calmed a bit when she got a better look at Tori. "Tori? Is that you?"

"Carra?! It is you!" Tori said running to Carra as she hugged her tightly and spun her around, "I can't believe it's really you, How have you been?!" She said smiling at her.

"F-Fine." She said a little surprised. She gestured at the little dog who was now running laps round the both of them. "Chico's doing ok too." Soon enough, Carra overcame the shock of her friends surprise visit, and hugged her back. "What are you doing here though? I thought Genosha was too far away to just visit?"

"Genosha." Jon repeated again. "Oh, March, that's where I know that name from. Your related to a friend of our Guild master." He patted Taichi on the shoulder, though despite sitting down, Jon was still having to reach straight out to do so because of his hight. "Should have told me so boy, I'd have sent out after him for you."

"It's fine, we found this place after a while anyway. But the reason we're here is something that needs to be told to the guild master immediately" He said looking over to Carra and Tori as they were talking with Chico barking happily.

"Yes, yes of course." Jon turned and entered into the kitchen, returning just a moment later with a small lacima in hand. He pushed a small button on it's base just as the frond door opened again, and a dull ringing droned though the near empty guild hall.

They both looked to the door to see a man younger that Taichi look back at a much larger man following behind him, who reached into his pocket and retrieved a similar device. "Hello?" His voice echoed though the two devises, repeating a couple times before Jon switched his off.

"Someone here to see you Master Davin." He side while gesturing to Taichi. "He's related to one of your old friends. A Mr. March, I believe." The younger man eyed Taichi for a moment before making his way to the guilds job board, also keeping an eye on Carra and Tori in the guilds far corner.

"It's Marsh.... Hello Master Davin, I am Taichi Marsh and this is my cousin, Tori Akahada, we bring news from Master Jayapura of Phantom Breaker" He said bowing in respect as Davin looked at him with a curious look on his face while the other guy went elsewhere.