Chapter 25: Stand Still

"What are we going to do about them?" Sebastian asked, his voice in a whisper as he gently nudged on Thaddeus' shirt.

"What do you mean what are we going to do about them? Absolutely nothing," Thaddeus responded, slowly raising his hands in the air and complying with the supposed robbers.

"What do you mean we'll do nothing? They're threatening to kill innocent civilians," Sebastian rebutted, raising his hands slowly as he glanced at Thaddeus wearing an expression of disapproval.

"And that's not our problem now is it? We're in the Vampire Hunter's Association, not the Criminal Hunter's Association. This is a police matter that we won't get involved in."

Sebastian glanced over to the people who had just entered the restaurant, locking eyes with one of the perpetrators as he nudged his gun upwards, signalling for Sebastian to raise his hands higher. He sighed and complied, nervously glancing around the room for something, anything that could serve as a distraction. Though he understood what Thaddeus told him, it just didn't sit right with him standing by and watching as innocent people around him get hurt.

"Don't do it," Thaddeus said with a slight growl, catching on to what Sebastian was internally planning, "Make one wrong move and the bullet will pierce through your body before you have a chance to react. So what if some people get hurt? You need to come out of this unscathed."

"Why is it that way then? What makes me more important than all the other people in here?" Sebastian asked as the sounds of footsteps echoed through the room. The robbers slowly got closer to the line, pushing through the crowd that had been gathered there while the bigger person of the group remained at the door, observing his surroundings carefully.

"That's a tad bit complicated to go through right now... Save it till after this whole situation okay?"

Two of the robbers inched closer to where Thaddeus and Sebastian stood, pulling down on the ski mask that covered their facial features as their guns were pointed at both their backs.

"You look like rich boys," one of them chuckled, "Just make this easier on all of us and empty your pockets, Aight?"

Sebastian glanced over at Thaddeus who rolled his eyes when their gazes met.

"I'm sorry but my friend and I aren't that well doused," Thaddeus replied, "We barely have anything to give at all, unfortunately."

"Empty your pockets and let us see then," one of them said, gently nudging their gun, "If you don't have anything, then it shouldn't be that much of an issue."

With a heavy sigh, Thaddeus lowered his right hand as he reached toward his pocket. Sebastian glared at him once more in disapproval, but he didn't care for it. He highly disliked getting involved in any acts of violence that he didn't deem worth the hassle, so he complied with their requests, his hand now rustling through his pocket to find something worth giving.

Before Thaddeus could complete his treasure hunt, one of the robbers was sent flying out of the crowd, a yelp leaving his mouth before he crash-landed onto one of the occupied tables, breaking it upon impact.

Reinhardt walked out of the now separated crowd, cracking his knuckles as he wore a sinister smile on his face,

"Oh boy," Thaddeus muttered, pulling his hand out of his pocket and using his now raised elbow to hit the gun's tip, forcing it out of the robber's hand and into his face, a slight shriek escaping his lips just before Thaddeus covered his mouth.

Sebastian grinned as he followed Thaddeus' lead. He locked eyes with the supposed robber before him.

"Don't even think about it!" the robber groaned, swinging his gun towards Sebastian's head, however, the boy had already ducked and positioned himself in a tackling stance just before he leapt at him.

Despite his various attempts at wiggling free, he couldn't escape Sebastian's grasp as he now had his entire body weight pressed against him.

"Sebastian!" Thaddeus yelled, pulling the gun away from the person before him who was gripping onto his nose and writhing in pain, "We need to evacuate the civilians."

"On it!" he replied, repeatedly hitting his attacker in the head until he was left unconscious.

Reinhardt walked through the panicking crowd, his nails elongating while he twisted and turned his head, ensuring that all tension in that region is released in one way or the other. He glared at the man behind the group small group of robbers that came with him, his lips curling into a slight smile.

In an instant, Reinhardt faced him with his arm drawn back. He sent his flying fist toward him at such speeds that one would mistake the sound for a bullet passing by. Upon collision, a large gust of wind travelled through the room accompanied by the loud sound of two heavy objects crashing into each other.

"I knew you'd be the strongest one of the bunch," Reinhardt smirked as he looked up at the man before him. He had caught his hand just before it was capable of hitting his face, however, his shades suffered because of it. The cracks on the lenses formed spiderwebs, deeming it useless from this point on which prompted him to take them off and throw them to the side, allowing Reinhardt to look into his dark eyes.

"I must admit, mutt. That was a good hit, but unless you can hit much harder than that, you don't stand a chance," he said, his deep, coarse voice rumbling through the air.

Paying little to no attention to his words, Reinhardt jumped and turned his body in a way that allowed him to kick at the man before him, however, his leg was caught, suspending him in mid-air.

"A stubborn one I see. I'll just have to beat some sense into you then," with that said, he released Reinhardt's fist and used his free hand to grip tightly onto the leg he grabbed earlier. He flung the boy over his shoulder just before swinging him like a bat and releasing his grip in a random direction which happened to be where Thaddeus stood, sending them both tumbling over on the floor.