Steve And Anna's Fallout

"It is beautiful" Steve said in reply to the question Joaquin asked him when he came

"Long before the mages discovered the Infernal realm, only fiends lived here and this same beautiful purple sun was once the colour of blood, the grasses and trees were the carcasses and blood of the weaker fiends that were hunted on by the stronger ones and the fresh breeze now was once filled with the pungent smell of blood and decay…"

Steve couldn't help but frown at the picture that Joaquin painted for him

"…beauty is but a mask that we wear to hide our true selves. A man's true worth can only be grasped during difficult times" Joaquin finished and pointed to the sun as it pushed forth it's last rays of light.

Steve looked and gasped softly in amazement. It was beautiful to watch as the purple sun transitioned to red, orange, green, indigo and finally black as darkness descended upon them.

"It…." Steve trailed off as he noticed that Joaquin was not with him 

'What was that about?…..his words….he speaks with so much wisdom that sometimes I find it hard to believe that he's so young'

"Haa…" He took a deep breath and closed the book that was open on his laps. He still had up to three hours before bedtime from then.

Suddenly, there was a rustle in the bushes behind the tree on which he sat, the rustle continued becoming louder till a beautiful slender female around 5'4 in height stepped out of the bushes and looked up to Steve, "Mind if I join you?"

She eventually settled down beside Steve and took a few deep breaths before talking, "So you were here after all" 

"How'd you know I was here?" Steve asked her quizzically

"Your friends told me that you often train here so I came to find you"

'Trygve…. Susan… What if it was an enemy that wanted to hurt me?'Steve thought and face palmed in his mind, "Why?"

"I wanted to thank you for today" She said

"Oh…that, it's nothing really" Steve said, his facial expressions difficult for her to read in the darkness

"Why did you help me? Aren't I your opponent?" She asked assertively

"It's simple…..I help people in need of help regardless of whether they're my opponents or not" Steve said nonchalantly

"I don't remember telling you that I needed your help" She said, a new sharp edge to her voice

"If I hadn't saved you…. Would you still be here now?" Steve's calmness unnerved her, she had wanted to come to thank him but here she was losing her cool because of this arrogant man. 

"Did I tell you that I want to be here?" She snapped, "I'm only here because of that…."

She paused and Steve stared at her, she could almost see his amber brown eyes in the darkness,

"….you know what? Forget it… Thanks for saving me" She said and was about to jump down from the branch when she felt Steve's hard palm on her hand, his touch was warm.

"Is something bothering you?" He asked, his voice was so soft that it almost felt like cotton candy to the ears

She forcefully removed her hand from his soft touch, jumped down and began to stomp away. 

She seemed to be a fast healer because her leg didn't show any signs of her ankle still sprained.

"Why am I reacting like this? He didn't say anything to warrant this reaction?…" She said in her thoughts as she walked away 

"If you need someone to talk to… You know where to find me" She heard Steve's soft voice as she walked away and her cheeks flushed scarlet.

Now she knew the real reason why she came to find him, she wasn't really obligated to thank him for helping her back then, she just wanted to meet the man that was able to make her body react differently, something it had never done before in all her life's experience with other men.

Floating high above the forest, Tristan watched the exchange between the two youngsters,

'Stupid, shameless child…. i knew that you couldn't do it… So weak willed and fragile, allowing yourself to be rescued by a lower level swordsman, at this rate you'll be disqualified anyway, I'll just have to find another pawn to finish the job'

…..

Graylon City Bank

Another ten minutes had gone by since I killed the blonde haired mother and son, he was itching with excitement to kill another person when the doors flew open and Grandpa Matt walked in…. alone.

"Ho ho ho ho… Just the man I've been waiting for" I said while smiling broadly as he spread his arms wide open.

"Oh God…" Grandpa Matt said devastatedly as he saw the amount of blood and gore that was splattered everywhere. 

His eyes went from the maniacs to the quiet cloaked man behind them and finally, to the hostages that lay on the ground shivering like rain drenched chickens.

"How'd you see my work….. Do you like it?" I asked playfully

"You….you will pay for this" Grandpa Matt said and brought out his sword.

"Nuh uh uh…. Oh it seems that you don't remember me right?" I said and used his hands to hold his chest as if he was hurt

"Ha! He should…. Seeing as he made us useless back then" II interjected

"If it wasn't for I's orders, I would've pounced on him by now…. The mere sight of him makes my skin crawl" V added tauntingly

'They're talking as if we've met before but I can't remember meeting any fiends like this and I thought Ebun consumed all the fiends..then who are these? And the guy behind him, if I'm not mistaken, he was the one that was there during Tobijulo's resurrection…. What's going on here?'

"Sorry…Do I know you?" Grandpa Matt asked I

"Ah….it seems that your memory needs to be refreshed…" I said and put his hands behind his back and began to speak discerningly,

"…Let me tell you a story, fourteen years ago in this very bank, I was on a heist with my men, and I ordered everyone to lie down. Everyone obeyed me….well everyone except for a certain old man and a kid…"

It was then that Grandpa Matt realized that the man with the abnormally powerful fiendish aura standing before him was a belligerent criminal that he had helped catch back then when Steve was still a child with his gang by cutting off their right arms.

"But their arms…. How?" Grandpa Matt thought as he looked shockingly at their two complete arms 

"….This old man ended me and my gang's criminal career by cutting off our arms and sending us to jail. But now, Lord Ebun has granted us power and I'm here to take my revenge…. So do you know who that old man is?" He asked Grandpa Matt as his eyes glowed red and claws shot out from his fingers.

Grandpa Matt sped forward with his sword behind him, he planned to end I in one blow by severing his head but I dodged it and knocked him to the side.

"You're right…. You're right! That old man is you! Motherf*cker" I said with an evil grin on his face as he brought his hand down for a strike.

"Damn… He's fast!" Grandpa Matt thought as he spun around, dodging I's clawed hand and made a wide swing for I's head, making I to jump back to avoid been hit by the sword.

The other swordsmen had already began to attack the other members of I's gang.

Meanwhile, the cloaked man brought out a white orb from his pocket, a suction orb.

A suction orb is an orb that when broken, opens a portal to anywhere the breaker wishes. It is called a suction orb because when the portal opens, it sucks everything around it into itself before closing. It can only be open for around 30 seconds.

I and Grandpa Matt were exchanging attacks and the other members of I's gang were occupied with Grandpa Matt's men that they didn't notice when the hostages escaped from the building to avoid been caught in the crossfire.

The cloaked man saw them escaping but he didn't bother with them because he had already gotten what he came here for….. Mr Matthew Heracles.

He smashed the suction orb on the ground and a huge white portal appeared with a whooshing noise and began to suck everyone into it. The dead bodies, the fighters, even the bank equipment, everything was sucked into it and after 30 seconds, it vanished just a few moments before Kelvin and his squad burst into the room.