Leo carried a stack of papers towards his office, pulling his keys out as he approached the door. He’d gotten some resources from the library and had taken some notes, anything he could find about these gifts from Daianha that could be helpful to him and Nick since Lior was unwilling to speak on the subject. Needless to say, any texts on the topic seemed subjective at best, with more vague information than the reports in the lab.

There were some texts on the "Apostles of Daianha", humans given powers to defend against the signa that run rampant on their world, and those seemed promising- but it read as so farfetched to Leo- a fairy tale…but Nick and Lior seemed to be living proof of such. Why Nick was picked up as a signa remained a mystery. 

As he unlocked the door to his office a young female Nightingale jogged up to him, hastily saluting him as she panted. "Commander Rothstein-!"

Leo waved her to ease, the keys jingling in his hand. "What is it?"

"We got a call about a large level three, we think it may be the signa that's been evading us-"

"Good, send Check and his squad to handle it, Yvette as well."

"Well," she stumbled for a moment, her hands mingling in front of her nervously, "the call sounded important- they called for you directly, it came from a flower shop on the corner of Second and Cross-" She was unable to finish her sentence as Leo shoved the stack of papers into her hands, running past her. "Commander Rothstein?!"

"Put those on my desk! Squad One will handle it!" As he dashed down the hallway he checked his phone, seeing the three missed calls from Meg- it had been on vibrate as he was in the library, and he cursed himself for forgetting to turn it back on. The calls were now roughly twenty-five minutes old and he couldn’t help but worry what could have happened in the meantime. He dialed Jack, weaving past the other officers in the hallway as his heart raced. If a band of Nightingales wasn’t enough to stop this signa, who knows what it could do to the three at the shop? Nick couldn’t possibly handle such a feat on his own, at least without his powers.

The ringing stopped. “Hey-”

“Get to Meg’s shop- Second and Cross, now!” Leo ordered quickly, skidding around a corner. “Grab my weapon; get Maria- Lior as well!” He didn’t give his friend time to answer before he hung up. Luckily the shop wasn’t too far- just a few blocks- he could run it.

Nick just had to hold out a little longer.

-

Nick was panting, his body working tirelessly to keep up with the signa. He’d lost to the pure speed and power of the beast two times now- blood running down his right side, seeping through his shirt- the back of his head would have a nicely sized goose egg within the hour from hitting the pavement. The monster seemed unphased, full of energy, and Nick had given himself a break a few times, letting the signa wander the immediate area while he caught his breath- until it would begin to wander off and so the dance would begin again.

Where the hell was Leo?

He was in the middle of a break when a rubber kickball, red and dirty rolled towards his feet and bumped him, grabbing his attention- and small footsteps hurried towards him. Nick cursed and looked behind him, a small girl grabbing the ball- and as her head turned up and noticed the beast nearby, he begged her with a single quiet gesture for silence, and Nick was sure she was about to give herself away.

But instead it was her mother, calling for her daughter as she ran up to scoop her up. “Emma, don’t run off like that- look at that thing! What were you think-”

The signa dashed towards the sound and Nick’s instincts worked quickly to produce the shield, bringing it up to cover the three of them. So much for stealthing this out. He grit his teeth as he looked back towards the mother and her child, focused on using his strength to keep the signa at bay. “Go- run the other way! I’ll keep it here-”

The next bash on the shield broke the material and Nick was shoved back next to the girls, who for a moment were frozen in fear-

“Go!”

The woman hesitated for a moment longer then made her move, once again gaining the signa’s attention. Nick’s hands moved on their own, as if from his memory of the other day, summoned a long chain that wrapped itself around the beast, pulling it back towards him and away from the mother and child. The signa was tossed back the other way down the street where it had been before, rolling and skidding on its back down the road.

“You’re stuck here with me!” Nick quipped, the chain disappearing as he cracked his knuckles- there was no point in trying to hide it anymore, and he couldn’t help the rush of adrenaline at the fight to come. His stance widened and he wondered just what else he was able to do- these powers weren’t something he experimented with before, but if chains and shields were an option…

Were swords?

A quick whistle grabbed the signa’s attention and it dashed, Nick ducking underneath it as it passed over him, watching it roll a short way down the street. It stood straighter and shook its head, ruffling itself out, and listened for Nick’s queue again. Another whistle, but this time the signa phased, disappearing into the ground and Nick furrowed his brow. Was it leaving? Did it grow bored? He focused intently, trying to use his powers to gain a sense of where it had gone.

Under him-

The signa phased quickly back into view directly behind him, grabbing his leg on the way up with one of its many hands, and Nick struggled- now upside down- wondering how the hell he was supposed to create a weapon and use it; because now, inches from the beast's maw, was a really good time. As it lifted him above its head, mouth open as if to swallow him whole, he forced a shield to separate them, using his free leg to kick at the clawed hand that held him. It finally relinquished its hold on him and he hit the pavement- hard, the wind leaving his chest as his back slammed into the ground. 

Nick rolled over breathlessly, wheezing and trying to force the air back into his lungs. The shield now gone, the signa brought all six of its hands up, ready to slam down on him when an arrow pierced its left shoulder, interrupting the attack. Nick looked for the source and found Leo, bow raised with another attack ready- another hit, this time in its leg, causing it to buckle just for a moment. His mind more clear and lungs full of air, Nick scampered out from under it towards Leo, seeing his team ready behind him.

Jack- he remembered Jack, vaguely- had a pistol raised, firing three shots that pierced the beast’s head. Maria joined them- a woman he had yet to meet face to face- running in confidently with a sword, and Nick couldn’t stop himself from watching her intently as she dropped to slide, the sword slicing through the signa’s right leg, causing the monster to falter once more. 

It was Lior’s turn now, running in with the chains he’d used before, wrapping around the signa with the intent of holding it in place while the others acted offensively. Leo shot another arrow that knocked the beasts head back- but it seemed unphased yet, if not just more aggravated now as it struggled in the binding.

“So this is it?” Leo asked, eying the signa. “A level three, this is the one that’s been giving us so much grief?”

“Guess so.” Jack replied, snapping his head towards Lior as the other barked at them to focus.

“Yeah, a level three that’s really hard to hold down!” He struggled against the signa’s thrashing, his feet trying to find a grip on the pavement. “Could you three figure this out-” The signa’s struggling and strength then broke through the chains, causing Lior to lose his balance and fall back, now laid flat on the ground. The beast dashed for him and Nick reacted quickly, stepping between them with the sword he’d finally materialized- from thin air-

This was amazing!

He grit his teeth as he pushed the signa back with the teal colored blade, Maria making work to attack it from behind, slashing across it’s back as a bullet slammed into its skull, an arrow piercing it’s right shoulder- and now Nick, running up to deliver the final blow-

But the signa phased, disappearing in thin air, aware of it’s disadvantage. Nick stumbled a bit as he’d swung at nothing, teetering on one foot before balancing himself and looking around, trying to sense where the beast had gone.

Nothing.

“It’s gone.” Lior confirmed with a sigh, walking up towards Nick with a glare. “You should have been quicker!”

Nick stared at the Hinvese man for a moment before glaring back at him, turning to him with a point of his finger. “I should have been quicker? Maybe don’t get yourself knocked on your ass next time! Speaking of, a ‘thank you’ would be in order, don’t you think?”

Lior squared his jaw as he ground his teeth, obviously irritated with Nick’s request for pleasantries. “I don’t owe you shit, beansprout-”

“Alright.” Jack was quick to intervene, jogging up between them and placing a hand on Nick’s shoulder. “You’re both fine- we’re all fine. Right? Are Meg and Teno okay?”

Nick nodded, gesturing back towards the shop as the two emerged, looking at the damage. “I did what I could to distract it until you guys could show up.”

Leo arrived at the group now, Maria as well from the opposite side. “I’m so sorry, Nick- I should have been here sooner, I’m sorry-” 

“It’s fine, really.” Nick replied with a tired smile, but even now the adrenaline was quickly wearing off and his wounds were becoming more noticeable to him. “I handled it. Mostly.”

“You look really hurt-” Leo got closer and moved Nick’s arm to get a look at his side, pulling the shirt, now sticky with blood, away from the wound to assess the damage. “We need to get you somewhere we can get this taken care of.”

Maria looked to Lior, sheathing her sword to her side- her tone seemed more serious than Leo had once described her. “Lior, are you sure it’s gone?”