Chapter 40: The Reverberations of Scarlet Steel
The stunned silence in the shopping corridor following Erza's precise strike was broken by a collective gasp from the onlookers. Roberto, Joey's father, cradled his shoulder, his face a mask of disbelief and pain. The brief, numbing shock was rapidly giving way to a fresh wave of sputtering indignation.
"You... you attacked me!" he managed to exclaim, his voice hoarse. "Assault! I'll have you arrested!"
Erza stood firm, her expression stern, her scarlet hair seeming to crackle with residual tension. "You accosted me, sir," she retorted, her sense of justice flaring. "I acted in self-defense and to protect my honor and that of my guild, which you so casually insulted." She wasn't one to back down when she believed she was in the right, especially when Fairy Tail's name was involved.
The electronics salesman, seeing his chance, scurried back into his shop and frantically dialed the police. The other shopkeepers whispered amongst themselves, some looking frightened, others slightly impressed by the armored woman's display.
Kael, the Tracker, observing through his remote sensors, noted the escalation with detached interest. The "scarlet warrior" was indeed formidable and not prone to passive reactions. This would undoubtedly draw more official attention to the unusual activities in Healdsburg.
Meanwhile, inside Himeko's probe, the atmosphere was one of cautious planning. Himeko, using her tablet, was cross-referencing local maps with her energy readings. "The industrial zone Pip is likely heading towards has several restricted areas," she commented, her brow furrowed in concentration. "And Kael, the observer, if he is indeed an agent, will have his own protocols. We need to be prepared for multiple variables."
Mirajane, ever attuned to the emotional undercurrents, noticed Joey's renewed pallor. "Joey, are you feeling alright?" she asked, her gentle voice a contrast to Himeko's more analytical tone. "This is a lot to take in."
Joey nodded, though he was far from alright. The talk of agents and restricted zones only amplified his baseline anxiety. Lyra, sensing his distress, subtly shifted closer to him, her silent presence a small comfort.
"It's just..." Joey began, "what if Pip gets hurt? Or Kael... what if he's dangerous to more people?" His dream of a world without conflict felt like a distant, naive fantasy in the face of these complex threats.
"We will assess the risks, Joey," Himeko reassured him, her maternal side showing through her scientific demeanor. "Our priority is understanding the situation and ensuring the safety of those who mean no harm."
Back in the shopping corridor, sirens wailed in the distance, growing closer. Erza heard them and knew her time for gathering information this way was running out. "I have no quarrel with your local enforcers," she stated, addressing the now more cautious Roberto. "But I will not be unduly detained. My mission to find my friends is paramount." Her loyalty to her guild was her driving force.
Roberto, still smarting and now hearing the approaching police, merely scowled. "Friends as crazy as you, I suppose," he muttered, but he made no further move to confront her.
As the first police officers arrived at the scene, their expressions hardening at the sight of an armored woman and a clearly agitated group of citizens, Erza made a swift decision. She would not engage in a pointless conflict with local authorities in an unfamiliar world. She needed to go back to the movies, the last known location of the "redhead" and "white-haired woman."
With an agility that belied her armor, Erza turned and moved, not fleeing, but executing a tactical withdrawal, disappearing into the maze of service corridors at the back of the shopping center before the officers could fully assess the situation and block her path.
"Stop her!" Roberto yelled at the police, but it was too late. Erza was gone, leaving behind a scene of confusion and a very irritated local businessman.
Pip, under the dimming sky, scaled a rusty water tower on the edge of the industrial district. From this vantage point, her portal locator had a clearer signal. The energy nexus near the old cinema pulsed erratically. But there was another strong, controlled energy signature now approaching that same area – Kael. He was moving towards the cinema, likely drawn by the same readings Pip was following, or perhaps investigating the earlier gathering. This complicated her plans significantly. She needed to reach the nexus, but a direct confrontation with Kael, whose capabilities were unknown, was too risky.
Zylar, in his cell, had made progress. The guard's tablet, surprisingly, had a port that, with a few improvised connections using wires carefully stripped from his bedding, he believed he could interface with the cell's door mechanism during the next power flicker. It was a long shot, but the drive to escape and find a way to communicate with his own people was overwhelming.
As night began to cast its shadows over Healdsburg, Himeko announced, "I'm picking up increased activity near the cinema. Kael's energy signature is moving towards it, and there's another, less stable one – Pip, I presume – also in the vicinity. And..." she paused, a new reading flashing on her screen, "the scarlet warrior's signature is also converging on that location."
Mirajane looked concerned. "It seems the old cinema is about to become a very crowded place."
Joey's heart sank. The cinema, their fragile sanctuary, was about to become a flashpoint. And Lyra, who had just begun to feel a sliver of safety, tensed beside him.
"We need to decide our next move carefully," Himeko said, her eyes fixed on the complex dance of energy signatures on her holographic display. "Intervention might be necessary, but it must be strategic." Her adventurous spirit was tempered by her scientific prudence and her responsibility for her unexpected charges.
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