run, my dog! run!

"Could be worse honestly." Which was an optimistic way to look at it. "’Considering things’ is… All of this, I’m guessing. I can’t say I like this place too much either.” Who would? A huff escaped her.

It certainly something for Lucas to have been in this place for so long, but what concerned her more was, why she wasn’t here with him sooner? Lucas and her other companions were strong and could handle themselves just fine, but she’d learned from experience that all of them being together in times of trouble was often for the best. Hopefully, they had been hanging on until now.

“Er well… I kinda thought that was another one of those happy boxes the magypsies warned me about, so I covered my ears and looked away.” Never having seen one before, she wasn’t so trusting to any form of technology. It seemed that this time though, she had missed out on rather important information. 

Simply put, the happy boxes hurt his ears. He whined his agreement, twisting a paw into the earth in a sort of shrugging gesture. There was still an issue at hand that Lucas would probably address too.

"Aroo?"

Boney circled her once more before sitting next to his bag of things, tongue lolling out. The way the housing accommodations worked never ceased to amuse him. He wasn't sure where Kumatora was staying, but if they weren't going to sweat the details, then he might as well ask and offer.

“I dunno, I guess? Not sure what you mean by experiment, but if you’re here for that reason then I guess I am too.” 

Hearing her words, he gave a snuffly sigh, scratching at one of his ears as he tried to arrange what he wanted to say. Boney didn't often speak but when he did, it tended to be somewhat important. Conversation was a human thing. 

Whoah a dog? A dog! She’s naturally inclined to approach this animal. the idea of him being a stray comes to mind, but Ana had a gut feeling that this certain one wouldn’t attack like any others would.

Tame? Perhaps that’s the word for it. She adored Mick, him being the only dog the girl has ever had a decent conversation with. They were lovely animals when they weren’t attempting to beat anything up.

She smelled like...flowers. Probably from shampoo or something. She wasn't hurt though, so that was the most important thing. It wasn't a gesture he had to do, but he did anyway, just...because. He had a soft spot for kids.

He sat down and regarded her with a friendly, doggy smile.

And just then, as if her inner thoughts had been heard, Kumatora felt a familiar presence. Though she couldn’t exactly explain it, whenever a familiar presence was near, she could feel it. This instance was just the same as the rest, as she walked she caught a glimpse of a four legged figure. Though it could have been any other creature, that alone did not stop her from quickly approaching it. A wide grin grew on her face, it seems her wish to see a familiar face had come true. 

He'd just reached up to bat a paw against the crosswalk's light when he head someone quickly approaching. He'd been on guard for trouble, but instead it was something much more pleasant! Dropping the plastic bag he'd been clutching in his jaws, Boney scurried around her in energetic circles barking happily.

Lucas continues to cry out, and Connor understands well that this boy had been a friend. Someone dear. Or maybe, maybe the similar appearances, had he been his…?

…What this boy was to him, it had been like what Grand Master Templar Haytham was to Connor, had it not? Nearly killed him, yet Connor…Connor would never—

He’s family.

"Lucas. Lucas, you are wounded. Speak to him when he is unarmed—not now.”

I trust your judgement. It was a foreign phrase to him.

He hastily bolts up within a matter of seconds, and proceeds to haul Lucas up and into Ezio’s arms.

"Do not run. Not yet. The boy—he can fly. I must disarm him. And then, you may go."

He unsheathes his hidden blade, and proceeds to…pull it out of his cuff entirely. He gestures it towards Ezio, beckoning him to take it.

"Lucas—I will not harm this boy. I promise you."

He stands in front of them both, as if to shield them, poising himself in a defensive stance. He looks down at the pup.

"You are a faithful warrior." he says, as if the canine would understand. No—the canine would understand. He knew this well.

He would not act, but simply stand. He knew what he had to do.

And it seemed it would be his job to help them do so. He agreed with Connor’s decision easily, as this was what he too would have decided. Connor would best at holding the other boy off, while Ezio could escape the quickest. That… made it sound as if hewa sbest at running away, but it was just that he was best at running in general! That’s all!

He shoved Connor’s blade into his robes, luckily having enough room to carry it since he had been stripped of his other weapons.

With Lucas in his arms now, he tried to be gentle, though it had been a long time since he had carried a living body. He didn’t understand the situation necessarily, and there wasn’t much he could say. His actions would have to speak for him then and whatever he needed to do to keep this boy safe. But safe was not exactly a black and white subject matter. He could keep him safe technically and hurt the other boy, but in another way he wouldn’t be safe. Ezio would be betraying him, as well as hurting another whom he could have helped. Neither he nor Connor had any intention of doing this, and hopefully Lucas believed them.

"I’m sorry, Lucas, but Connor is right. We must get you to safety, but you can trust that he will not harm him. You can trust me as well. I… do not know what is happening or why, but I am here for you regardless."

For now, he waited, backing away from the masked man but still keeping within in range. He held Lucas close in his arms, ready to follow Connor’s orders.

But judging how Ezio moved and swiftly dodged his attacks proved that he had some sort of combat experience, presumably the other man probably had experience as well. That wasn’t his concern though, the only thing that mattered was the elimination of Lucas and he was going to achieve that one way or another. Although these pests were standing in his way, they weren’t his target. Without any forms of artillery or weaponry, simply killing the group standing before him wasn’t an option. The chances of success were shrinking drastically as time ticked, but though the success rate was low, the chance of success was still there, if he were to do anything he’d need to be extremely quick and strategic about it. This was no problem, he was not some mindless drone that attacked without learning it’s mistakes and surroundings, right now it was clear that facing the three of these interlopers with brute force wasn’t an option.

Connor and the dog standing before him were now well guarding Lucas, forming some sort of figurative protective barrier with their bodies, the man and the dog were most likely was expecting to be charged by the commander straight on. Considering the size of Connor’s build and the speed of the dog he knew in the past, making that move would be a fatal mistake, possibly incapacitating him and making him unable to battle further. The commander eyes the dog and the man standing in a defensive position carefully, selecting his next move was crucial to the success of this mission, if he were to get near Lucas he’d need to make it past these two somehow.

Then within seconds the Masked Man makes his move, making a short hop as the rockets in his jerk pack activated, with a quick jerk to the back he aims his jetpack along the dust and debris scattered all across the ground, sending it back into the air into Connor’s and Boney’s eyes, during the confusion while leaving no seconds to spare, his wings quickly unfold back into his body and he quickly chrages to where Lucas was being held, using his size and agility to literally pass through Connor’s legs in an attempt to break through this wall the dog and Connor had formed. The reason the commander chose the risky path between the assassin’s legs was if the dog wasn’t affected by the smoke-screen he would lunge right towards Conner in mistake to attack the commander.

If successfully breached he then almost literally flies towards Ezio and Connor, the speed he was showing was inhuman. Lucas and this man were not going to escape, he wasn’t going to permit that even if the boy’s protector had combat experience— no matter what experience or abilities he had, this man alongside the boy was still human, fragile and easily broken if hit with a strong attack.

As he made the space between Lucas and the man to zero, the masked man then strikes, swinging his wooden blade at Lucas and the man holding him. He was attempting to strike either one or the other with many swings with the blunt object in hand, after each consecutive swing, the commander threw a powerful punch leaving little to no room to fight back. Direct contact with each hit wasn’t necessary, he wasn’t aiming for that, he wanted to keep the assassin moving in a pattern. Clearly he wasn’t able to defend, attack or flee easily with a child in hand, all he could do was dodge and be quick on his feet— counting on that, the Masked Man finishes his combo with an unsuspected sweeping kick in an attempt to throw the man off his feet onto the ground.

But he stopped, staring at Connor when he heard those words. The boy’s eyes darted between him and Ezio, and though he continued to struggle in futility, it seemed less severe.

He knew he hadn’t told Connor anything in the past that would’ve helped the situation, but he’d been sharp enough to pick up on it. Thank God for that. Lucas wanted to trust him on this, beyond badly.

"Please," he answered, emphatic. "Please don’t hurt him—"

The plea was cut off by his brother’s further movement; they weren’t out of the doghouse yet. No pun intended, Boney.

"Guys!" he shouted, flinching. Much as he hated it, he knew that like this, Claus would be utterly tenacious; he’d been like this himself once, after all. Once he began his attack, there was no stopping him until one party or the other was on the ground in defeat.

Or, well… the alternative, but that was the last thing Lucas wanted to think about.

For the moment, the boy ceased his struggling, allowing Ezio to move as freely as possible with him in his arms. He could only hope that these two’s skills were sufficient to keep them all as safe as possible. Boney, he was aware knew exactly what Claus was capable of in this guise, but he could only hope that Connor and Ezio wouldn’t make the mistake of underestimating him. For all of their sakes.

And so--

The Masked Man was a cunning opponent and he demonstrated that now, kicking up dust and dirt with a great sweeping arc of his rocket-pack. Boney shut his eyes, shaking his head in order to clear debris from his nose and ears. It was a distraction suitable for only a couple of seconds, but it was all the cyborg needed, it seemed. By the time he opened his eyes, the Masked Man was once again zeroing in on Lucas.

He almost lunged after Claus as he passed the unfamiliar man and headed for the other equally unfamiliar man, but realized at the last second that doing so would surely trip up his sudden ally. Boney dug his paws into the ground instead, skidding to a halt and changing his course, but the maneuver was clumsier than he'd have liked.

Now...what to do? 

Boney paused a moment to survey the scene, and as the Masked Man completed that sweeping kick, he pounced with a ferocious snarl, aiming to clamp both his jaws and his front paws down on that extended limb. Should that succeed, it'd hopefully throw him off-balance for a few moments. 

Ken opened a paper bag holding food inside of it, and pulled out a peanut butter sandwich from it. Right when he opened the plastic bag and attempted to open his mouth to eat, he noticed a dog next to him, begging for food, it seemed like.

"Woof!"

He squinted his dark eyes in thought, glancing about the area before looking back at Ken curiously. There was a familiar scent in the air, very faint...on the boy's clothes.

And then within an instant, it disperses, denizens shrieking as two young boys emerge from the ground. They had—crashed through the ceiling of District Beta it seemed.

A flash of blond hair, a familiar form—had…had that been…

"Ezio."

He motions towards him, his facial expression grave. Striped shirt. It had to have been—

"Lucas!"

He bolts towards the scene, not another exchanged with Ezio. Who had that other boy been? The two were essentially identical, if not for the boy’s attire. The boy proceeds to attack Lucas once again, launching himself at him. Lucas lay there, bloodied and wounded. As he begins to cry out, a conflict Connor had known nothing of, Connor approaches him from behind, crouching as he grasps at his arm. Had this been the one who robbed him of his pin? Who sent him the challenges?

He does not say anything initially, instead pulling the boy against him without a forewarning, shielding him with his body.

"We need to leave.”

But this opponent, this boy does not seem as if he will cease anytime soon.

He quickly followed after Connor, rushing to the two. While Connor took to Lucas, he stood in front of them, staring the other down. It… seemed to be a boy. One around the same age as Lucas, although clearly equipped differently. His body seemed to be of the same technology of the city, or at least of a similar time. He hadn’t thought such a thing possible, but this boy stood in front of him nonetheless. Ezio popped out his hidden blades, with no intent of using them. He felt bad even doing this, but he hoped that the slight threat may do something to end this fight. If it came to it, he would never use them on him, since after all he was still a child. Even if… even if all this was happening, there had to be another way.

"One of us should take Lucas to the nearest hospital."

Or safe house. Connor was stronger and could better protect and carry Lucas, but Ezio was faster and could get him to the location quicker. Meanwhile…

He looked to the masked man.

"The other will handle… the other one."

How they would do that he still wasn’t sure. But running right now wasn’t entirely wise. He could chase after them and hurt Lucas more, and if he didn’t, he would likely return some other time to do so. They needed to end this now, although neither of them could truly end it.

"Connor, I trust your judgement. Whatever you think is best, I shall follow. Lucas, I promise… I promise that it is going to be alright."

And other guy. He had no idea who you were so you didn’t get any quick words before anything went down. Sorry.

As Lucas spoke towards the Masked Man, asking something about ‘memories’ and that name ‘Claus’ yet again, he clearly mistook him for somebody else, for someone he knew. The commander said nothing return, keeping his cold, murderous glare over the boy. Perhaps it was all part of his Master’s plan to confuse him, torture him through the identity of someone else and to use that as an advantage; to eliminate the target through the element of surprise and confusion. 

But the words Lucas said had no effect on the commander, he was a living weapon that couldn’t be reasoned with through words, he wasn’t going to stop until his task was complete. Orders were orders, and that order was the eliminate the target, unfortunately the ‘quick’ and ‘simple’ plan had to be discarded, far too many complications had happened and the boy before him was still leaving and breathing, though at this rate, one more strike to lethal point on his body should finally end this.

The Masked Man was ready to charge at the boy yet again, literally happening within second intervals as the other child pleaded for ‘Claus’ to remember. But before he was given the chance to attack once more, something small, brown and quick darted from behind jumping at him.

"…!!"

He felt a strong sense of discomfort coming from his left arm, quickly turning his head towards the source, it turns out that dog he previously encountered earlier was now attacking him. Suddenly, pieces began to fall into place.. this dog, it was the same dog that assisted ‘Lucas’ and the two others during the Seven Needle Conquest. As the dog released it’s jaw, it quickly dashed and rammed it’s head into the commander’s hip causing him to lose his footing for a second. Soon after, the dog now stood before the boy in a petty attempt to defend him. The commander glared at the animal, it turns out that this fight was no longer going to be one sided.. the Masked Man’s attention was now on both Boney and Lucas, it was already apparent by the dog’s snarling that it wasn’t going to back down and flee like the mongrel it was. Assisting the target and standing in the way of direct orders only meant the dog was now in the same boat as Lucas, he was now another target to eliminate. 

But before he was given the chance to attack them both, even more complications happen. Two unidentified men in what seemed to be robes stood in his path as well, one of them tended to his wounded target and seemed to be planning escape while the other stood before him beside the dog, he seemed to have a weapon in hand and looked he was intending to use them in battle.

The ‘Lucas’ child had plenty of allies it seemed, so the information and intel he retrieved was wrong? This was extremely tedious and made the killing of the target far more difficult than it need to be, facing three to two targets at once without his weapon artillery and his energy blade was a challenge. Though it certainly wasn’t impossible, though the dog had faced him before and was aware of what he could do, it was a mere animal.. facing him would clearly result in death, as for the two men? They were completely unidentifiable and were most likely new to the situation altogether, they weren’t aware of what to expect so they could easily be terminated alongside the dog. But perhaps the wooden object given to him upon arrival would be useful now, unstrapping the wooden blade side and holding it in his left hand, he’d was ready to charge again. 

The visor over his eye began to target both the dog and the man standing next to it, if these two were incapacitated quick, this would leave no time for ‘Lucas’ and the other man to escape. The Masked Man without warning then charges at both Boney and Ezio, leaping off the ground and aiming an extremely strong kick towards the dog’s nose, a canine’s most sensitive spot next to it’s ears. After the attempt the commander leaves no seconds to spare, quickly swinging his wooden blade at the side of the man’s head in an attempt to either disorient him or completely knock him out with a head trauma. 

This battle although with many people facing him was far from over. 

No… from afar, the urgent scurry of four legs bounding for the scene. Boney—?! That would mark yet another of the countless times that dog’s loyalty had saved Lucas’ hide. But he shivered at the sight of the defense—Boney was family, Claus was family, and to see them hurt one another did no favors to the psychic boy’s heart.

He looked up in surprise when yet another familiar face came into sight, and another. Connor? And Ezio? When did they get here? Limp in Connor’s grasp, Lucas shook his head slowly, dazed.

Wrong. This was all wrong… he could only watch as Ezio stepped forward to face Claus. Wait—no, he couldn’t leave! What if he—what if he lost him again?! What did he mean, ‘take care of’? No, no…

And then there was his brother, viciously attacking again; Lucas tried to struggle forward, crying out. What was making Claus do this? He wasn’t supposed to be like this anymore! The boy clutched at his bleeding nose, protesting against everything that had been said by the others, the situation as a whole, pleading pathetically.

"Stop! Let me go!" he cried out, red-faced in shame and pain. "I don’t want to go! Claus, please! Please! Stop it!”

For a moment, Boney's hackles rose at the other men who had arrived, since they were no one he recognized. Yet they were clearly attempting to assist Lucas as well, so he kept his attention on Claus, and good thng too--

That kick at his nose was just barely evaded. He'd been braced for a retaliating attack! He made a lunge, jaws snapping at the Masked Man's sword-hand, generally heckling him though he refused to stay still for long. Boney hopped to the side, circling around and barking ferociously, throwing his full weight at those extended wings as he kept aiming to unbalance Claus.

If those other men intended to help him fight, then good, maybe they'd have better luck getting in a damaging blow. Boney was far from useless in a brawl--he'd certainly wrestled with the deranged wildlife of Nowhere before--but there was only so much he could do against cold steel. He concentrated on avoiding any more kicks, still growling deep in his throat.

Hearing Lucas's cries, Boney was distracted for just a second, turning his head toward Lucas and whimpering.

The dog quickly yelped, hurrying to (hopefully) dodge another blow,

Still… he couldn’t attack back. Absolutely not. Just stare on, crouching defensively, staring disbelievingly. Even when his brother came flying straight at his face, fist-first, all he could really do was grimace and take it.

An incredible pain streaked through Lucas’ head as Claus’ literal iron fist hit him dead-on. He grunted a muffled cry as he went flying backwards, tumbling backwards and overhead, scraping along the pavement.

Lying prone facedown for a few seconds, the boy peeled himself off the ground, wincing. Blood flowed freely out of his nose, pain in the bridge intense; it didn’t take a genius to figure out it was broken. His eye wasn’t feeling so hot, either; doubtless, he’d have a shiner shortly.

He looked up, breathing heavily between clenched, bloodstained teeth. This felt like such a repeat of that confrontation a single year ago… mercifully, sans the usage of the sword and that arm cannon. Likely the scientists’ doing, there.

…They must have brought his brother here, somehow. Were they responsible for the way he was acting? Porky? Or was it both? The deeply buried, festering rage in the boy was beginning to bubble up—though he couldn’t truly look Claus in the eye and say he wanted to take it out on him.

Mask or no mask, his brother was still in there.

It took a while to get around the city when one was a dog and the trains were so very picky at times. Boney had nonetheless gone off in an attempt to cheer up his master, believe it or not, intending to bring the bag of candy to him and see if he could coax him into going on a walk. Really...it wasn't too different from their years in the changing Tazmily.

But then, as he was padding through the acrid-scented tunnels of Beta, a rumble shook the place so violently that he felt a tremor in the concrete, distantly. A bad feeling was rising in his stomach...Letting out a distressed whine, he dropped his bag and took off in a streak of brown fur.

Boney soon came upon the scene, and he barely had time to take anything in before he acted. It didn't matter that it was Claus. As much as he wished it did, it didn't, because Claus was not Claus and he didn't understand why--

But he understood danger when he saw it. Boney's usually docile face contorted into a ferocious snarl as he sprang at the Masked Man from behind, teeth aiming to clamp down on the arm that did not bear the cannon. Speed was the only thing he possessed in greater amounts than anyone else, and so Boney didn't pause even as his paws hit the ground. He whirled around, slamming his head into the cyborg's side to unbalance him, putting himself between Lucas and his aggressor and growling a warning.

He didn't bother speaking, because words were a waste right now. Boney didn't dare take his eyes off of Claus, muscles tensed, ready to evade should it come down to that. 

     Well, it wasn’t Bec, but it sure was a dog — she wasn’t complaining. Clasping both hands against her lap in an amiable beckon, Jade would begin to fawn over the ruddy hound from afar, the creases of her mouth splitting into a gaping smile. 

“aww! aren’t you a cute doggy?? c’mere!”

He turned, and promptly, stared, uncertain how to take this development.

It was a girl, yes, that much was clear--but she had dog ears, and carried a scent sort of like one, and she didn't smell entirely human--in fact, he was picking up on something abstract; sort of like what he imagined stars to smell like?

As if he’d comply to helping an animal achieve it’s task, he was a weapon, not some simple little trinket or toy. Though— if he did provide assistance, this dog would surely leave him alone, right?

"What do you want? Do you hunger? Are you lost? Troubled?"

Another low whine, wordless save for the distress the sound was meant to convey. He sniffed the air around the Masked Man--machinery, synthetics, fake, fake, fake. It told him nothing of the boy being made to live via such technological means.

The dog lifted his head and spoke again, his cordial voice somewhat hesitant.

"…."

So why was he still...synthetic? What time oddity was occurring here? Boney remembered seeing the Commander struck by the final lightning bolt, and--the final Needle--

He shook his head, ears flapping.