Flash_Guardian hides from the approaching figure ... then heaves a sigh of relief after he leaves.

Flash_Guardian peers out from behind a garbage barrel at the new figure in the alley ...

jade123 appears in a flash, she screams "no! please!" and she fainted.

Flash_Guardian seems uncertain what to do at first ... he looks around the alley one final time before sighing resignedly. He quickly jumps into the garbage barrel.

[Flash_Guardian] There is a burst of light and magic which emanates from the garbage barrel for a second, then is gone.

jade123 lays there unconcioues.

Flash_Guardian a different figure climbs up out of the garbage barrel, rushing over to the fainted figure's side.

Flash_Guardian studies the figure carefully to see if she is injured in any way. Well isn't this an odd scenario ... oh well, my other goings on was boring anyway, he thinks.

jade123 's body starts to glow bright light.

Flash_Guardian 's eyes go wide in surprise and concern. He quickly realizes that there's quite a bit more going on here than he first thought. He brushes his face with the fingers of his right hand, and his eyes begin to glow a light blue color. All magic in his field of vision is revealed to his sight.

Flash_Guardian was unable to gather much from his magical divinations, other than the fact that whatever magic was affecting her seemed to be fueled by her unconciousness. He attempts to reach over and grab the woman's arm to shake her awake. "Hey ... hey, wake up!"

jade123 wakes up screaming, she looks at flash, scared. "don't hurt me.....please" she lifts her hands in protection.

Flash_Guardian holds up his hands and backpedals away from the woman, a startled and apologetic look on his face. "It's okay! I won't hurt you, I promise," he said quickly, trying to calm the woman's fears.

jade123 takes down her hands and looks at him, starts to calm down. "ok...."

[Flash_Guardian] "Are you alright?" he asks the woman, concerned.

jade123 nods "yes....i'm fine, i guess..." she shakes a little from cold and fear.

Flash_Guardian kneels next to the woman, a hand on his knee. He doesn't seem to believe what she says, but is trying to be helpful. "You appeared in a flash of light just now ... you were screaming," he states, looking at her inquisitively.

jade123 looks at him surprised "was i glow when i was unconcioues?"

Flash_Guardian nods. "Is that bad?" he asks, growing ever more curious about this woman's plight.

jade123 nods "oh no! they will be here soon.....they after me....i must go..."

Flash_Guardian blinks at the woman, startled again. "Wha ... wait! Who's after you? What's going on?"

Flash_Guardian blinks again ... and suddenly finds himself alone in the alley.

Flash_Guardian whirls around, looking for the mystery woman ... seeing no one, he panics. What on earth ...?

Flash_Guardian thinks for a moment ... finally sitting down cross-legged as before. Taking a deep breath, he calms and steadies his thoughts.

Flash_Guardian gradually extends his awareness outwards, searching for the presence of the woman.

Flash_Guardian appears to be in some kind of deep meditation, a strained look on his face.

Setine walks into the alleyway. Seeing the man dressed so unsually for this area, she slinks int othe shadows...

Flash_Guardian cocks his head to one side slightly in response to Setine's movement, but seems to take no other action.

Setine stays silent....

Flash_Guardian at last seems to break out of his reverie, sighing in utter disappointment. His eyes at last open, and he looks around the area, looking for something.

Flash_Guardian seems confused about what he sees ... or doesn't see ... "Hello? Is someone there?" he calls out into the alley, still sitting cross-legged on the ground.

Setine narows her eyes. What was he doing there, she wondered?

Setine steps out from the shadow...

Flash_Guardian notices the girl stepping out of the shadows and looks her over. "Hi ... I thought I sensed someone here just now," he says, a mixed expression on his face.

Setine 's face remains blank, but curious. "What are you doing here?"

Flash_Guardian shifted to a more casual sitting position, leaning his back against the building behind him. "I could probably ask you the same question," he said, his eyes looking to one side, trying to avoid answering her question. "This is no place for an unprotected youth," he informs the girl, concern on his face.

Setine furrows her brow slightly. "Yes, but what are you doing here?" she asks again...

Flash_Guardian opens his mouth to reply ... and no words come out. His head falls forward in frustration. "I'm trying to break into the slave market so I can find out where the owner of a certain slave is so I can go there, find whatever contract binds the woman to slavery and tear it into small, illegible pieces," he says all too quickly, sounding very flustered. He wasn't sure why he just told this total stranger so much ...

Setine arches an eyebrow "It's called cash. If you have enough if it, there is no longer a contract. Now get out of this alleyway, it isn't safe."

Flash_Guardian 's eyes are narrow slits, but there's a grin at his mouth. "I told you first."

Setine shrugs at his words "It's true though."

Flash_Guardian gave Setine a curious, bemused look. "So what are you doing here?"

[Setine] "Nothing..."

Flash_Guardian cocked his head to one side, raising an eyebrow. "So you like dangerous places?"

[Setine] "It's safer then a lot of places I can think of...." she replies quietly.

[Flash_Guardian] The last statement makes the young man laugh, a pleasant sounding laugh. "True enough," he admits, nodding in agreement. He looks down the alley in both directions thoughtfully. "Come to think of it, it is rather nice to be out of the public eye for a moment." He stretches, placing his hands behind his head casually.

Setine blinks "You are in the public spotlight a lot?"

Flash_Guardian takes an audible breath, grinning. "Nah, not really. I'm too new around here, most people probably couldn't care less about me being in the same room." He chuckles at the thought. "Actually, I'd rather not be in the spotlight at all ... but I don't want to go completely unnoticed. You know what I mean?"

Setine shrugs "I think so...."

Flash_Guardian gave a tiny shrug. "Hmm." He looked back over at the girl, who couldn't be older than 17 by the look of her. "Name's Flash," he said with a nod.

Setine folds her arms and nods to him "Setine."

[Flash_Guardian] "There we are," he said with a smile. "One less stranger in the world." He thought for a moment, then asked Setine, "So that's all it takes to null a slave's contract, is it? Enough cash?"

[Setine] "Thats what I heard..."

Flash_Guardian frowned slightly. "Hmph. Well that's a bit of a problem. I'm not exactly the richest homeless monk in the Realm."

Setine looks around, feeling unsettled "Well good luck with whoever it was...." she replies, and turns to leave...

Flash_Guardian watched Setine leave the alley. "Yeah ... thanks."

Flash_Guardian stands and prepares to leave himself.

Flash_Guardian looks at the newcomer.

Chiharu_Seiken walks into the alley with caution. She tries tio sense her surroundings for any threat, a common instinct for a ninja like ker...

Flash_Guardian watches the woman cautiously enter the dark alley. He can't help but laugh at the situation. "Well, this alley is certainly popular today," he says sarcastically.

Chiharu_Seiken walks like as normal but she grips at her ShiraiKen. She can't help it. It's been days since the mercenaries, who wants the sword and her. She sees a man not too far from him.

Flash_Guardian stands there with his hands on his hips, watching the woman. "So what's your reason for being here? Nothing, just like the last girl?" He shakes his head and grins.

Chiharu_Seiken smiles. "Well, your right. Just passed here. How about you?"

Flash_Guardian looks around. "Actually, I came here trying to find my way into the slave market ... but I guess that didn't happen." He shrugs, with an 'oh well' expression on his face.

[Flash_Guardian] A different, more gruff voice comes from up above. "Hey boys, this one looks like she may have something worth sellin'. Grab her!"

[Flash_Guardian] Out of nowhere, several thugs invade the alleyway ... jumping off roofs, popping up out of crates and barrels ...

[Flash_Guardian] Four mechanical clicks can be heard from four separate rooftops up above. Two other figures step out into the alleyway ... one is a large, musclebound monstrosity of a man, the other is dressed in all black garb with a white sash around his forehead, wielding two pipes.

Chiharu_Seiken looks back at the thugs raising one brow. "Hey! Fo i look like a slave material?" He pulls out her sword ready to fight.

Flash_Guardian grins. "The plot thickens ..." he turns to regard the thugs in the alley with a cold gaze.

[Flash_Guardian] "We don't want ya for a slave," says the black-clad pipe wielding thug. "We just want yer valuables. Now hand 'em over, or somebody gets hurt!"

[Flash_Guardian] The larger muscleman cracks his knuckles, his face completely unemotional.

Chiharu_Seiken secretly chants a skill, a commonly used tactic od their clan.

[Flash_Guardian] There is 1 muscle man behind Flash, 1 wanna-be ninja behind Chiharu, 5 thugs blocking the exits on either side, and from what you can guess ... 4 snipers on the rooftops.

[Flash_Guardian] One of the thugs near Chiharu gets a confused look and tries to listen to what she's chanting. "What's she sayin'?"

Flash_Guardian squints at Chiharu, trying to make out the words of her chant ...

Chiharu_Seiken whispers, "Seikenryuu first stance.. Izakuchiken". Her feet glows with a faint blue. indicating the energy flow. She winks at Flash then she vanished at extreme speed.

[Flash_Guardian] The alley full of thugs cry out in surprise, looking around to see where the woman had gone to.

Flash_Guardian too looked around ... he could sense the woman was still nearby, but was probably moving at very great speed. This was a ninja tactic ...

[Flash_Guardian] Nice ... very nice, he thought to himself with a grin. "Save some for me, yeah?" he called out into the alley.

Chiharu_Seiken takes out the snipers from the roofs in just a split second. She only put them to sleep. After that, she appeared on Flash's back. "I'd already taked out the gunnies"

[Flash_Guardian] "There she is!" shouted the black-clad hooligan. "Take her apart!" With that, the thugs all charged the pair.

Chiharu_Seiken takes a fighting stance. "Keep it coming!"

[Flash_Guardian] Flash looked to the woman on his back, then back at the rapidly approaching thugs. "Forgive me for this," he said apologetically. In one swift motion, he crouched and sprang up 6 feet into the air, throwing Chiharu off of his back and even higher. On his way down, he managed to plant his foot into one of the oncoming thug's faces.

[Flash_Guardian] The muscled thug walked slowly towards Flash. The demi-ninja swung his pair of pipes in rather wicked looking circles, awaiting his chance to attack.

Chiharu_Seiken rushed towards the thugs. Using the blunt side of her Shiraiken, he takes them out one by one.

[Flash_Guardian] Four thugs converge on Chiharu, trying to stab her with their knives or hit her with crude wooden clubs. THe other three thugs all circle Flash, trying to keep him occupied. Flash tucks himself into a little ball for a moment, then hops up and delivers a spinning kick, taking out all three. "Whirlwind Kick!"

Chiharu_Seiken concentrates her Ki energy on her blade. A combination of sword pressure and Ki energy blows out her enemies. "Seikenryuu Third Stance. Raisho Futeki!"

[Flash_Guardian] The remaining thugs are all knocked out, leaving the pipe-ninja, and the muscle. "Well, well," says the man with the pipes. "You're better than we first thought. But you'll need to do better than that to take us down. Right Bruno?" he shot the larger man a look. The larger man simply grunted, not changing his facial expression in the slightest.

[Flash_Guardian] The muscled man comes up behind Flash and attempts to grab him. Without even looking, Flash dodges out of the man's grasp and whirls to face him. The pipe-ninja charges Chiharu, a whirling mass of metal swipes and swings.

[Flash_Guardian] Also, from somewhere above the combat, a deep voice chanting can be heard ...

Chiharu_Seiken blinks. "Swishing me with pipes? Maiden Swords!" One by one, the pipes splits into two as the wanna-be ninja swings but it was so fast the thug did'nt notice it.

Chiharu_Seiken suddenly hears a voice chanting a familiar language. Though it's not clear to her, she's sure she heard it somewhere.

Sasha_Seruka walked over to Chiharu.."whats going on?"

[Flash_Guardian] "YEOW!!" the ninja thug cries out, shaking his hands in pain as his cleaved pipes fall to the ground. Flash cocks his foot and lets forth with a mighty kick to Bruno's gut ... Bruno doesn't budge an inch. Flash looks very startled and sweatdrops.

Maso - With an accoustic ker-thump! a simple shockwave expands outward from some point high up in the air 'tween the two buildings, doing little more than ruffling one's hair or scattering and dishevelling a few stray pieces of litter. Within the epicenter of such a wave, the air curdles and intensifies, flashing with streaking bolts of corruscating lightning. The ammassed energy coalesces, quickly forming into the being of Maso, who simply exists, making itself known in this time and place.

Flash_Guardian looked up and down the alley, scanning it thoroughly. His left eyebrow stuck out from his forehead at an odd angle, and the corner of his mouth was contorted upward. He looked obviously confused or lost. Maybe both.

Maso remains floating mid air, that sheathe of otherwordly energy crackling about it's figure dissapating into the air from whence it arose. The levitating creature spins slowly around, glossy crimson eyes scanning the nigh abandoned alley as well, before it's attention befalls the pseudo familiar figure of Flash.

Flash_Guardian lets out his frustration in a quick puff of breath, placing his hands angrily on his hips. He continued scanning the walls, as if his gaze would eventually pierce through the brick after a sufficient amount of time.

Drizzt waves and slips into the shadows from whence he came.

Maso tips it's feline head to one side curiously, staring down at the man. It's ears perk forth, shifting gently against the soft fabric of it's simplisticly elegant hat, and the unusual creature began it's slow decent towards the paved ground below. With nary a sound of impact, soft booted feet were set to rest against the solid surface, and the creature rose to stand as any normal thing would; rising only to a height of 3'11 or somewhere thereabouts. Crimson eyes rose to stare up at the man now, then over towards the brick wall which he observed so closely.

Flash_Guardian sense a new presence approaching him from his left. Still scowling, he turned his head to address his forced company ... and was startled to see no one there. That set him aback. Then he tilted his head down and noticed the short form of Maso, and half-smiled in remembrance. "Oh, it's you again. Hi."

Maso blinked those big eyes up at him, and the faintest of smiles made itself apparent across the feline's appropriately cat-like features; obvious amusement to the man's antics. Both hands remained idly by it's side as it inclined it's head in a nod to him, acknowledging his greeting.

Flash_Guardian turns his attentions back to the wall that lay before him. "You know," he spoke to no one in particular, "you'd think they'd make Slave Markets a little easier to find. An ad in the paper. Posters on streetposts. Public displays and free trials. Marketing campaigns. You know. Not likethis!" He flings his arms at the walls before him to demonstrate.

Flash_Guardian looks very frustrated.

Maso blinked once more, confusion evident 'pon it's features as it looked off towards the wall. Perhaps the little creature here was ignorant, oblivious maybe, or just downright naive, but it appeared as though it had no understanding of what the man spoke of. Looking back towards Flash, Maso tipped it's head lightly to one side, and remained as eerily silent as ever.

Flash_Guardian slumped over bodily, falling forward slowly until his head came into contact with the wall in question, bringing the man to a stop. "How on earth am I going to find this woman's masters?"

Flash_Guardian turned his body to put his back to the wall, letting his feet slide slowly out from under him, his back sliding down the wall until Flash was in a sitting position. "I really want to help that woman if I can, but I've got to ... 'speak' with her owners before I can do anything to help her."

Maso continued watching the man, and at long last it inclined it's head in a shallow nod of understanding. Nothing could be done now by the mysterious feline to help the man, whom in all honesty was the only one about here's that he could consider a 'friend', or at least an acquaintane.

Flash_Guardian sat there, slumped lazily against the brick, his head lolled back and to one side. "Maybe I'm going about this too strongly," he reasoned. "You know. Trying too hard. I mean, I do have a tendency to make things too hard on myself ..." His gaze became distant as he reflected on his actions of late.

Flash_Guardian blinked a few times. "Maybe I should take a more direct approach," he thought out loud, turning to look back at Maso. "You know. Get right to the heart of what I'm looking for. Not try and sneak up on it or take the long road. I mean, how many castles owned by spellcasting families can there be around here, eh?" He grinned, quite pleased with his reasoning.

Maso smiled that little smile again, watching the man. One hand rose, and twirled an articulate gesture, that oh so familiar glow of white energy corruscating from it's fingertips, before the milky substance sped forth to simply grace the man, before fading away. That touch, however, caused a mental image to flash through the man's mind should he choose to accept. 'Twas him, Flash_Guardian, garbed in a tattered cloak, making his way through the rafters of the pub with what seemed to be evil intent. He'd eventually come upon the ebon-clad figure of one Katt, the scythe-baring maiden and request she give him directions to the slave market. After the image fades away, Maso simply shakes his head, that hand rising to give him the 'Tsk, tsk, tsk.' gesture with the waggle of one slender finger.

Flash_Guardian 's cheeks flushed a hot shade of red, and Flash was forced to look away. "Oh ... err ... yeah. You knew about that, huh?"

Maso tipped it's head, noticing that flush of color in the man's cheek, and the creature inched forward towards him. That gesture had stopped, and with a nod of it's head, it went to cast another simple spell, a subtle manipulation of time and energy. A prediction? Perhaps, perhaps not. But, if he allowed it, another mess of images would swirl forth into his mind. Quite a simple one, really; Again it was him, though this time the sleek figure of Flash simply trod a lonely rode, that lead to an immense medieval style castle. The home of the SpellBinders. Knocking, and through action or inaction, the images fades away, leaving the lingering sense of success on one's mind. Now then, a broad grin seemed evident upon the feline's features and both it's hand rose from their idle resting, to join together in front of the cat in a prayer-like fashion.

Flash_Guardian recognized the workings of a subtle temporal manipulation just before the vision hit him. Catching a glimpse of a potential future made Flash smile, especially the images that he could use to help him find the location of the castle. A road, an image of the castle, the name Spellbinder ... the vision inspired a great sense of confidence and hope anew in Flash, and in Maso's many mysterious abilities that Flash had yet to discover. A smile of wonder and gratitude slowly spread over Flash's lips. "That's just what I needed. Thanks, Maso!"

Maso 's grin remained, unfaultered or phased at it stared down 'pon it's own two hands. That familiar glow of subtle white energy begain encroaching about the two appendages, consuming it's entire arms from the elbows down in the ethereal power. Slowly, the feline pulled it's hands apart, and left in their passing wake was a glowing, glittering sphere of the milky white energy. Big glossy eyes rose to look up at Flash, and with a gentle motion, slender digits fanned outward and pressed the orb to him.

Flash_Guardian 's eyes widened as Maso built his power up to levels Flash had not yet seen him use before. The energy formed into an orb now floated before him, clearly being offered as a gift of some sort. Flash's magic detection spell still lingered from earlier. He puts forth a hand to take the glowing sphere, trying to figure out just what it is supposed to be or do.

Maso - The orb, as soon as contact was made, would seem to sink into him, the energy dispersing. It might be a bit disorienting at first, a warm and fuzzy feeling expanding through every bit of him, but in time it subsides as the magic takes affect. The feline smiles, and with a gentle kick off, rises into the air and floats away from him. Glossy red eyes flashed for a moment as it stared down at the man, and another glow of vibrant energy became visible, surrounding the creature's right hand. Maso pulled that hand back, then let loose in a 'pitch', flinging that fiery red energy at him. For detection purposes, the magic was harmful, invoking extreme temperatures and heat, and traveling at speeds that were downright ungodly, despite the languid, casual toss given it by the cat-creature. This is where the gift comes into play. Without Flash's help, a flickering barrier field would erect, summoning into existance as though some automated defense, and the red streak of incandescent energy would impact with that.(c)

Maso - The man's newly acquired shield would use it's own ample powers to negate the effect of the harmful magic, tearing apart to the otherwordly substances constitute elements; shredding and dissapating it until there wasn't a trace of danger from the spell. Only then would the barrier flicker away, leaving sight and mind.

Flash_Guardian blinked at the display Maso just showed to him. Flash was resistant to magic before, but not in the specific manner he had just witnessed. The harmful magic had collided with some sort of barrier and the magic was unwoven right before his eyes, without him having to react or even think about it. Not at all the manner he was familiar with considering his own innate resistance. Flash looked first at the spot on his chest that would have been incinerated, then back up at Maso with an enormous grin, speechless. His smile said volumes, though.

Maso watched, and nodded it's approval at the display. The vibrant glow of hellish red energy corruscating about it's right hand fades away into nothingness, giving way to the delightfully delicate and slender limb there was before. Slowly, the feline lowered itself back down to the ground before him, where it touched softly booted feet against the hard ground with nary a sound of impact. Hands were kept idly by it's side as it looked up towards the man, and a brief, fleeting smile of it's own was given in return.