Another day, another ambush

An hour later, John pulled the door to Felicity’s closed behind himself. The kind shop clerk had given him an odd look when he came in, apparently it wasn’t really appropriate for a single guy to walk into the store, but when he showed her the package slip, her demeanor had changed considerably. She was suddenly kindness incarnate. She had given him a box, wrapped in black paper, nothing indicating what was inside of it. When John had cast observe on it on the sly, all it had said was:

Cynthia’s package
Look smartass, I’m not going to show you something your girlfriend is trying to keep a secret. Shame on you.

So John was resigned to keeping it closed until he delivered it to Cynthia. When he rounded the corner and was sure no one saw him, he put the box into his inventory, freeing up his hands. He then took a look at his cellphone, seeing that it was still early and thinking that he had nothing to do today except maybe grind a bit in a barrier, and that being something he did not want to do on his own due to an encounter with a certain unicorn, John decided to go to the Treasure Cove to browse some of the games and merchandise they sold there. He had been looking for a certain Fonku Pip for ages, and the nice store owner had told him she’d keep an eye out for him.

As John made his way through town, seeing a few people that like him had the day off milling about the streets, he just let his mind wander to what his girlfriend and his mom might be doing right now; knowing Cynthia, she would take her time, see how susceptible Brenda was to her advances, but there was no way to really know until he got home again.

While he was thinking, John felt something pulsing from his inventory, when he opened it again, his arrow badge fell out of it right away. It seemed to be guiding him. John’s mind turned serious as he sensed what way it was pushing him. He ducked into an alleyway and saw the world shift around him, dropping him in the same street, but as with any barrier, it looked… off.

You have entered the ‘capture this bitch’ trap barrier, you can only leave when the owner has been defeated.
Owner: Amon Babu

John’s eyes turned cold. Another trap barrier. In the distance, he could hear the sounds of a hunting horn and the clatter of combat. So he also deduced that this barrier was not meant to capture him. He swiped his clothes around, soon finding himself with his bow in his hand and his gear on; the green cloak did little to camouflage him in this urban environment but it was better than nothing. He also summoned Jack and Toph, both of them were now fully capable of combat, and he had no idea what he would be facing, so it was best to be prepared.

He put his index finger to his lips, indicating Jack and Toph to be quiet, then walked around the corner, keeping his body low and behind cover as he step by step made his way closer to the sound of combat. John remembered the rules that Arnold had drilled into his head. Be quick, be silent, be deadly, and don’t go in blind. So when he heard the sound of battle come from one street away, John pulled out his grappling hook and fired it onto the roof of a building, wanting to get a good look at the situation before he took any action. He gestured at his pets to go around the block, telling them to be quiet and only act when he told them what to do. Toph saluted him and Jack gave him a soft mew as the duo ran off. Nyxx was still in her tattoo form on his back, too young and valuable to John to be put out there in combat.

After inserting a bit of energy into the grappling launcher, he felt himself get pulled up, soon reaching the roof, and while crouched, walked over to the other side. From there, he peeked over the the edge and saw a true battlefield. Two people, dressed in Egyptian robes were lying dead on the asphalt, their arms in unnatural angles and blood covering their caved in faces. A bit further, a human looking girl was standing opposite of an elderly looking man smoking a small pipe. The girl had brown hair, a blue streak down the middle of her forehead and was currently wrapped in flaming chains, her face was covered in soot and part of her clothes were singed, at her feet a wooden staff was lying next to a bronze hunting horn. The chains originated from the elderly man’s hand, the other was clutching a black collar. The older man’s chest showed signs of fractures, bone sticking out of it. John’s eye was then caught by a shadow on the ground. He looked up to see that a winged person was circling above them, a staff firm in his hands. John realized the person was covered fully in feathers and armor, not human in any sense of the definition.

John cast a quick observe on the three humanoids, already having a suspicion of what was going on, but he needed to be sure.

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Just as John expected, the thing that had called him in here must have been the horn at Serena’s feet. He looked at the two enemies, knowing he would have to take care of them if he wanted to help her. After all, the Wild Hunt and the Hunters were allies, even if they were competing right now. If both of them were being targeted, they would need to work together to fight this enemy.

After thinking a plan through as quickly as he could, not liking one bit how the old man was approaching Serena with the collar, John communicated mentally with his pets, sending them a rough outline of the plan he was coming up with. When he got a confirmation in the form of a peep and a growl, he sprang into action.

John took an arrow and imbued two skills onto it while he nocked it on his bow. After he aimed, he yelled, "Oi! Birdface! Over here!" as he let loose the arrow, sending it whistling through the air.

Mordekai looked up clearly pissed. “What did you call me, you little shit?” he asked only to be greeted by an arrow straight through his wing. He flinched, looking rather surprised to see that tendrils were sprouting from the hole the arrow had punched. Before he had any real idea what was happening, the tendrils wrapped around his wing, preventing him from moving it, which, as any bird could tell you, caused gravity to kick in. The Avian plummeted to the ground, trying to glide partly by using his other wing, but the armor on him coupled with the fact that he was a tad exhausted from the fight with Serena proved too much. The moment his legs hit the ground, a sickening crunch could be heard as his legs gave in.

At the same moment that John called out to Mordekai, Jack and Toph sprung into action too. Toph came rolling at Amon’s legs, covered in a thick layer of bricks and cobblestones, forcing him to jump out of the way to avoid getting his legs flattened. While Toph went for Amon, Jack used his newfound powers and with a lunge clawed straight through the fiery chains keeping Serena captured.

Serena had looked up at John when he called out to the others, a flash of relief washing over her face upon seeing his green cloak. “The Hunters do keep their word,” she mumbled to herself, then when her chains disintegrated, her eyes turned to Amon.