*It was the fourth day of Jin’s one-week trial. After arriving back in the capital after his mission with Raika, they spent the rest of the day as well as the third day training Jin’s senses, reflexes, and hand to hand combat. Suffice to say it was a hellish period for Jin as the basement of the Internal Affairs building echoed with screams of pain and terror from him training with Raika. However, despite the hellish training, Jin could definitely feel himself getting stronger and Raika could see his improvement as the training progressed. Today was no different as Raika was training Jin in the basement once again where she blindfolded him to test his reflexes. Standing in the middle of the silent room, Jin stood still with bucklers on his arms awaiting Raika’s attacks. A gun soon gets fired at Jin*
(Jin): Left!
*Jin throws up his left hand to block the bullet. Soon multiple gunshots could be heard and Jin responds appropriately*
(Jin): Right! Forward! Right! Backward! Left! Backward! Duck!
*Jin blocks the first bullet with the buckler on his right hand, sidesteps the bullet coming from the front, blocks the third bullet with the buckler on his right hand, sidesteps the fourth bullet coming from behind, blocks the fifth bullet with the buckler on his left hand, sidesteps the sixth bullet coming from behind, and ducks the slash from Raika’s energy saber attack*
(Raika): Well done.
*Jin removes the blindfold and stands back up*
(Raika): You managed to sense and predict all of the attacks. Up high.
*Jin goes to high five Raika only for her to punch him in the stomach and he kneels over clutching his stomach*
(Raika): You left yourself wide open. Never let your guard down.
(Jin): *Cough* Right.
*Footsteps can be heard coming down the stairs as Zia reaches the bottom and approaches the two*
(Zia): Sorry to intrude on your training, Raika, but I’ve come to get Jin at the request of Master Amarti. He has a task for him.
(Raika): Sure, he’s all yours.
(Jin): *Inner thoughts* Oh thank the gods, an angel has been sent to save me.
*Jin straightens himself up and begins to follow Zia out of the basement to the main floor where Jin could feel that all of the men in the lobby were looking at Zia. Jin admitted to himself that Zia was the most beautiful elf he’d ever seen, but at the same time there was something different about her as she had a presence that felt different from the other elves he had met in his life. Zia gave off a divine presence as if she was a being sent from the heavens and it was impossible not to get swept away by her. Zia and Jin exit the building where Amarti and Dust are in a black van waiting for them. Zia and Amarti enter the backseats as Dust drives off*
(Amarti): Hello Jin, how’s your week been so far?
(Jin): It hasn’t been boring. I’ll say that much.
(Amarti): Good to hear. I’ve heard you’ve been doing some good things out there.
(Jin): Thanks. So, what are we doing today?
(Dust): Today, we’re going after an elf by the name of Callis.
(Amarti): A few weeks ago, mob bosses Kenta and Elbereth were busted for a drug deal Zia interrupted.
(Jin): Hey, I heard about that back in the academy. That was you guys?
(Dust): Well it was really all Zia. We just got the intel.
*Zia slightly blushes at her achievement*
(Amarti): Kenta and Elbereth were found guilty and put in jail, but now Elbereth’s second in-command Callis is trying to restart her operation. We have intel that he’s hosting a party tonight at Club Diamond Dust with other mob bosses to sell the Fleur Fantasy to them. The Fleur Fantasy is an addictive drug that sends people into dream-like states, but if it’s used too many times it creates nightmares that destroy the mind.
(Dust): Keeping the Fleur Fantasy off the streets has been one of our biggest concerns as of late. We finally managed to stop the source and weed out suppliers one by one, but if this deal goes through tonight then we’ll be back to square one all over again.
(Jin): We can’t have that. What’s our plan?
(Amarti): A frontal assault on the club would be too dangerous, so instead we’ll be sneaking you in the old fashioned way, the back door. Once you and Dust are inside, you will disrupt the meeting and arrest Callis.
(Jin): Easier said than done. During all this commotion there’s no doubt he’ll be the first one to escape.
(Zia): Leave that to me. I will take down Callis myself.
(Amarti): Over the last few weeks Callis has been coming by Le Garden to see Zia. Apparently, he’s become smitten with her, taking her out on dates, and bringing her into his operation. Little does he know that Zia is our mole on the inside. She’ll be with him at the club tonight to keep him company and to make sure he doesn’t escape.
(Jin): You sent her to infiltrate a mafia gang? That sounds way too dangerous for my taste.
(Amarti): It was the only way we could figure out what Callis was up to. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in life it’s that if you put booze and beautiful women in front of men their lips and morals become quite loose.
(Jin): *Sigh* I can’t argue with that logic, but I still think it was wrong to put Zia in such a dangerous situation like this.
(Zia): I appreciate your concern Jin, but I assure you I can take care of myself and followed every precaution to make him not suspect a thing. Master Amarti’s plans have always worked in the past and this one should be no different.
*Dust pulls into the back of Le Garden and everyone gets out*
(Zia): If you’ll excuse me, I have to get prepared for tonight.
*Zia bows and heads inside to get ready*
(Jin): And what will be your contribution to the mission, Amarti?
(Amarti): I shall provide support from the shadows. I can’t let them see me otherwise my cover as just a business elf will be ruined.
(Dust): Not to mention he’s the weakest member of Shadow Eye.
(Amarti): This is true. Combat was never really my strength. I prefer diplomacy and forming schemes to increase our finances. I know you two will be able to handle yourselves tonight. Plus, this’ll finally give us a chance to see the results of Raika’s training. I’ll be right back, I’m going to check to make sure everything is alright inside.
*Amarti walks off into Le Garden leaving Dust and Jin alone outside where Jin kicks a nearby dumpster out of frustration*
(Dust): Sounds like the rookie’s upset?
(Jin): I’m really not in the mood for this, Dust. How could you allow him to put Zia in such a dangerous position like this?
(Dust): Zia knew what she was doing. Believe me, she’s been in more dangerous situations than this one. Besides, there’s no way she would object to Amarti’s plan. That woman is dedicated to Amarti.
(Jin): Why is she so dedicated to him?
(Dust): It’s because Amarti gave her a reason to live. You’ve heard of settlements, right?
(Jin): Yeah, villages outside of the kingdoms and empires trying to establish new places for people to live. Unfortunately, they don’t last long with all the Eclipses.
(Dust): Zia was a part of an elf settlement which was attacked by Eclipses. Everyone in that settlement was killed including Zia’s parents and little brother. Zia is the sole survivor thanks to her dad who threw her down a well to keep her safe. Me and Amarti came across the village after the attack where we found Zia who was fine physically, but her mentality was bad. Losing her family was a traumatizing experience for her, she would have night terrors and panic attacks whenever she came across Eclipses.
(Jin): Woah. How did she get better?
(Dust): Amarti forced her to face her fears and conquer them. Once she got her revenge she was lost until Amarti became her guiding light. To Zia, Amarti is a god and she is dedicated to him. Whatever he needs her to do she’ll do it without hesitation. I’ll admit it’s a little messed up that she has that mindset, but it’s better than what she was like before. She was so sad back then; I’ve never seen anyone look so lost and alone in the world.
(Jin): I just hope he’s not taking advantage of her.
(Dust): He’s not. Trust me, Amarti cares about her more than anyone in the world. He wouldn’t let her do something he wasn’t convinced she could handle. It’s times like this where you just have to trust your teammates and hope for the best.
*Amarti comes back out*
(Amarti): Alright guys, let’s head to the club.
*Dust, Amarti and Jin get in the club and drive off to Club Diamond Dust*
***
*A few hours later, it was nighttime and Dust, Amarti, and Jin were staking out Club Diamond Dust on top of a building across the street where the blue and white neon lights on the club showed a hammer smashing a diamond into dust while house music could be heard coming from inside. By the entrance of the door, elves in suits were standing guard making sure nobody got into this private affair*
(Amarti): *Sigh* I really should have invested into buying a club. I could see so much money in the making.
(Dust): There’s always time to build one.
(Amarti): All the hotspots have been taken. Trying to build a new club in the kingdom is next to impossible now.
*A limousine soon pulls up to the club where the first one out is an elf with green eyes and short dark blue haired that matched his suit and tie which were complimented by his black shirt and shoes*
(Amarti): The guest of honor has arrived.
(Dust): Oh man, he even dresses like a douchebag. The man is just begging me to punch him.
(Jin): He looks a lot younger than I thought he’d be.
(Amarti): Well he is only 56 years old. He’s practically an infant trying to make a name for himself. He’s far too young to date someone like Zia.
*Callis extends his hand to help Zia out of the limousine where her long-skirted dress matched Callis’s suit and her hair was done in a ponytail. He kisses her hand causing her to blush and turn away from him. Jin stared at Zia in amazement as she looked so beautiful to him. He began to blush as he became lost admiring her beauty until Dust snapped him back to reality*
(Dust): Hey! Mind on the mission rookie.
(Jin): Dah, sorry! I’m focused!
(Amarti): *Chuckles* Go easy on him Dust. It’s only natural he’d be amazed by her beauty. It’s not every day you see a celestial elf.
(Jin): Celestial elf?
(Dust): Never heard of them, huh? That’s understandable.
(Amarti): Celestial elves are in a league of their own. Beautiful, strong, and smart. It’s believed that they’re the direct descendants of the goddess of light herself. They have the power to crush an entire army single-handedly if they wanted to. This is why I’m not worried for Zia’s safety as I know she’ll be okay in there. What worries me is the safety of everyone else. I hope they don’t say anything to offend her. She tends to go overboard when she’s angry.
*Callis and Zia enter the club*
(Amarti): Okay, time to start the show gentlemen. We have five targets to capture, I’ll be on lookout if you need me. Good luck.
*Dust shoots off a grappling hook to the roof of an abandoned building behind Club Diamond Dust, grabs Jin by the arm and flies over to the building unnoticed by the elves below. Dust lands on his feet while Jin rolled and almost fell off the roof before he regained control of his body. Dust looked down below to see that the backdoor of the club was heavily guarded by two big muscular tiger demihumans down below as Jin crouches down next to Dust to see what he sees*
(Dust): Fighting these guys would only just alert everyone else. We’ll have to find another way in.
*Jin begins to scan the building looking for another entrance into the building unnoticed where he spots light coming from the second floor on the right side of the building*
(Jin): Hey look, there’s light coming from over there. I bet there’s a window we could use to get inside. With the loud music playing I doubt anyone will hear us break in.
(Dust): Smart move.
*Dust and Jin hop from rooftop to rooftop until they reach the right side of the building where they could see the window Jin was talking about. They look inside and see a few men walking around but nothing too dangerous for them to handle*
(Dust): Alright, let’s do this.
*Dust fires a grappling hook above the window, grabs Jin and swings over where Dust crashes through the window while Jin hangs from it. Once Dust regains his footing, he sees that he’s inside the men’s restroom and there are three elves inside startled by his presence. One of them is using the urinal, one is by the sink, and the other was about to enter a stall. Moving quickly, Dust runs to the elf about to enter the stall and punches him in the face to send him flying into the stall where he lands face first in the toilet. Dust than runs to the elf by the sink where he takes a swing at Dust only to miss as Dust sidesteps the punch to deliver a punch on the jaw of the elf which dazes him. Dust grabs the dazed elf by the hair and throws him face first into the mirror cracking it and knocking the elf unconscious as he slides off the counter and onto the floor. The elf by the urinal quickly tried to zip his pants up so he can fight during the commotion, but it’s too late as Dust runs toward him and delivers a dropkick which forces the elf to tumble backwards toward the broken window, where he gets grabbed from behind by Jin who pulls him out of the window and causing him to fall in the dumpster below. Dust goes to the window and pulls Jin into the restroom just as the elf that was in the stall comes back out. Dust and Jin deliver a double punch to send him back into the stall where he lands knocked out on the seat. As Jin starts to make his way out of the restroom, Dust stops him*
(Dust): Wash your hands rookie, you just punched a man whose face was in the toilet.
(Jin): Oh, gross!
*Dust and Jin quickly wash their hands before exiting the restroom and making their way into the club. They’re on the second floor where the floorboards are black and down below is a dancefloor where the panels are changing colors randomly and the lights are blue and white. The two see Callis at a booth with Zia by his side talking to the four mob bosses he called in today. The first one is a chubby woman with tied-up orange hair and purple eyes that match her dress. The second is a tiger demihuman with long curly orange hair, orange eyes and a black beard sporting a black suit with orange stripes. The third is a merfolk who is short and has a greenish-yellow hair that offsets his tropical shirt and white pants. The final mob boss is a tall chubby man who is bald with brown eyes wearing a green kimono. All the mob bosses are examining packs of the Fleur Fantasy*
(Callis): So what does everyone think of my Fleur Fantasy? Join up right now and I’ll make you guys exclusive suppliers. Nobody else but you four will have distribution rights to the Fleur Fantasy in your areas. What do you say?
*Hearing enough, Dust jumps down and lands on the dance floor getting the attention of Callis and the others*
(Dust): I say this deal is a bust.
(Callis): What! Where did you come from? How’d you get in here?
(Dust): Funny story, I’ll tell you about it sometime later. As for now, you’re all under arrest.
*Dust reaches into a pocket and pulls out a badge just as Jin got done taking the stairs to stand by Dust*
(Tiger demi-human): It’s the knights! Let’s get out of here!
*The mob bosses quickly get up and head for the exit leaving Callis and Zia. Callis gets up with an angry look on his face*
(Callis): Do you have any idea what you’ve just done!? You just cost me the biggest deal of my life! You guys are dead!
*With a snap of his fingers, ten elves come in with guns and swords. The five elves with guns begin shooting at Dust and Jin. Dust quickly runs behind Jin who used his metal manipulation abilities to create a giant shield to protect himself and Dust as he held his ground. The elves with the swords slowly began to approach them and circle around them*
(Dust): I’ll take care of the gunmen; you take care of the swordsmen.
(Jin): Okay.
*Using his grappling hooks, Dust flies into the air toward the gunmen where he grabs a wine bottle from Callis’s table using his wires and throws it at the head of one of the gunmen who falls to the ground tossing his gun into the air which Dust manages to catch as he dropkicks another gunman when he lands. Dust fires at the gun arms of the three remaining gunmen which causes them to drop their guns as they scream out in pain. Dust hits the three gunmen he shot with a roundhouse kick which knocks them all out. The two remaining gunmen get back up only for Dust to flick his wrist resulting in the gunmen getting their bodies tied up in wires and falling to the ground unable to move. Back on the dance floor, Jin is surrounded by the swordsmen where he remains calm and waiting for them to make the first move. The first swordsmen takes a slash at Jin from the left where he blocks the attack with his shield, followed by a second attack on the right, third attack at the front, fourth attack from behind, and fifth attack from the left. Jin managed to block and deflect all attacks with his shield. After the shield absorbs enough attacks, the middle part of the shield lights up red and Jin points the shield to the ground*
(Jin): Impact Wave!
*This releases a powerful sonic boom attack which launches Jin into the air and sends the swordsmen flying throughout the club except for the swordsmen behind him who instead just got knocked to the ground. The swordsmen who went flying collide into pillars, the wall, and bounced off of tables. Jin let out a sigh of relief that he defeated his opponents, but the swordsmen behind him got back up and quietly approached Jin for a sneak attack only for Jin to quickly turn around and shoot him in the face with his wrist cannon. The swordsman flew backwards with burn marks all over his face and his eyes rolled to the back of his head*
(Jin): Never let your guard down.
*This just left Callis who holds out his right hand with a ring on the index finger that starts to glow red and a giant white snake that breaths fire appears. The snake lunges toward Jin who blocks the attack with his shield but gets pushed back a few inches*
(Jin): Snakes. I hate these things.
*Callis holds out his left hand with a ring on the index finger that glows red as well and this summons a large red bird that also breathes fire. The bird shoots a fireball at Dust who jumps out of the way. The bird begins to chase after Dust all while shooting fireballs at him, but Dust keeps dodging and ducking the attacks all while leading the bird into a trap. When the bird tries to do a dive attack it gets tangled up in Dust’s wires hanging in midair. Unable to move, Dust takes out a wire whip and slices off the head of the bird to kill it as it evaporates into red magic particles. Jin was having his hands full dealing with the snake that kept lunging at Jin trying to bite his head off. At first, Dust was about to help him, but didn’t see a look of worry on the face of Jin. When the snake lunged at Jin again, he leapt into the air where he transformed the shield into a large metal mallet that completely covered his left arm. Jin drove the mallet into the head of the snake crushing its skull and shattering the dance floor as the snake evaporates into red magic particles. With his two fire beasts defeated, Callis was starting to get worried and a look of fear soon appeared on his face as Dust and Jin slowly approached him. In an act of desperation, he grabs Zia as well as a knife and holds it to her neck*
(Callis): Back off! Come one step closer and I’ll slit her throat.
*Jin stopped in his tracks worried for Zia’s safety while Dust just stood there and smiled*
(Dust): You just made the biggest mistake of your life.
*Zia kicked him in the groin which caused him to scream out in pain. Zia used this chance to disarm Callis by twisting his arm and slamming his head on the edge of the table to render him unconscious. His head bounced off the table and onto the ground as he bled profusely with Zia standing over him*
(Zia): Spineless coward! Using me as a shield.
(Jin): Wow, I guess I really was worried for nothing.
(Dust): First rule of Shadow Eye: Don’t talk about Shadow Eye. Second rule of Shadow Eye: Don’t mess with the women of Shadow Eye. They are the scariest women you will ever meet.
*As Dust and Jin walk over to put handcuffs on Callis, they begin to walk out of the club while carrying Callis when Jin came to a startling realization*
(Jin): Oh crap I just remembered, we let the other mob bosses escape.
(Dust): I wouldn’t worry about that. Callis was our main target. Besides, I’m sure Amarti took care of them.
*Once Dust, Zia, and Jin exited the club, they looked out into the streets to see Amarti was standing there waiting for them. The mob bosses who ran away earlier were all unconscious and tied up along with the elves and demihumans who were guarding the club from the outside. Blade marks were visible on the faces, clothes, and bodies of the criminals*
(Zia): They never stood a chance.
(Amarti): What took you guys so long? I finished these guys ten minutes before you came out.
(Zia): Apologies for the delay, Master Amarti.
(Amarti) *Smiles* D’aww you know I can’t stay upset with you when you look so beautiful.
*Zia begins to blush*
(Jin): You beat all of these guys by yourself? I thought you said you were the weakest member of Shadow Eye?
(Amarti): I am. When compared to you, Dust and the others.
(Zia): Master Amarti is way too humble. He is very strong and capable of doing amazing feats. This doesn’t come close to showing how powerful he is.
(Amarti): Thank you Zia, but no. If I were to fight against everyone in Shadow Eye I’m sure I would lose. I’m sure that even you could beat me, Jin.
(Jin): So that title of you being the weakest only applies to when you’re compared to members of Shadow Eye?
(Amarti): Indeed. Still, it’s a title I hold with pride. After all, if the weakest member of the order can do this, then what does that say about the rest of the order?
***
*The next morning, Jin was eating some eggs and bacon for breakfast with Ryuuji and his family at his house where they were watching the morning news*
(Anchorman): Our top story this morning is the arrest of crime bosses. Late last night, a number of crime bosses were arrested for causing a disturbance at the local night club Diamond Dust. When the knights arrived onto the scene they found the crime bosses and their associates tied up and handcuffed out in the streets. During their investigation, the knights discovered traces of the drug Fleur Fantasy in the club and they suspect a drug deal was about to go down. The crime bosses will be charged with holding and handling of illegal drugs. The owner of the club said he had no idea about the drug deal and at this moment has not been charged with anything, but the knights are still investigating*
(Le Fey): Wow, I wondered what happened there last night?
(Ryuuji): A wild party that got too out of hand. The good news is those crime bosses will be off the streets for good. Hopefully, this will serve as a good lesson not to get involved in drugs. Well, we should be heading to work. I’ll see you all later. Love you, have a good day.
(Jin): Thank you for the meal.
*Ryuuji and Jin get up to leave as Le Fey and the kids wish them a safe trip and good day. As Ryuuji and Jin drive off in Ryuuji’s car, a thought occurred to Jin*
(Jin): You know, there’s one thing I don’t get.
(Ryuuji): What’s that, Jin?
(Jin): Zia infiltrated Callis’s gang weeks ago, she had to have known about this deal going down a lot sooner as well as who Callis was going to be meeting with. So, why did we hold off on getting him until last night?
(Ryuuji): Hmm~, a good question. I’m sure there was a tactical reason why, but something tells me Amarti had his own agenda he was working on.
*Meanwhile, inside of club Diamond Dust, the owner was inspecting the damages caused by the fight last night*
(Owner): Oh man, between the knights and all this property damage I’m gonna be in the red.
(Amarti): It’ll be worse when they find out you knew about the drug deal going on last night, Cesar.
*Cesar turns around to see Amarti and Zia standing in the doorway of the club with Amarti holding a briefcase. Amarti and Zia enter the club to see all the damage done from the fight last night*
(Cesar): You, you’re the Elf Merchant. Why are you here?
(Amarti): I’m here to make an offer. . .in cash.
*Amarti opens up the briefcase to reveal stacks of cash for Cesar to see. Cesar’s eyes bulged at the briefcase full of cash before Amarti closed the briefcase*
(Amarti): Shall we discuss business in MY office?
*Amarti gave a mischievous smile as Cesar shook his head and led him to his office to talk*
Author’s Notes: And thus ends chapter 5. We got a good mixture of action, character interaction, and exploring the characters. I am a little mad at myself for not having more action scenes involving Amarti and Zia but don’t worry, their time will come. I did enjoy showing off more of Amarti’s business tactics and how he used this whole situation to benefit himself in the end. I also got a chance to explore Zia’s past and her connection to Amarti which I look forward to showing you guys more of as the series continues. Next week we’ll be focusing more on the action as Jin spends a day with Morgan and Jade. Thanks for reading as always and I’ll see you next time.