Raid on Dandelion

[jigokumods]

Who ⬤ Aerith and Busy Bees
What ⬤ Something's going down at the flower shop...
When ⬤ During the bombing panic
Where ⬤ Dandelion
Content Warnings ⬤ There may be some violence in this.

While there weren't any buildings suitable for hiding the fire bombs in nearby Dandelion, that was never really the point. Emerging from the shadows, dressed in ragged black leathers and what appeared to be gas masks of some variety, wielding all manner of nasty looking, improvised weapons, they made their move.

The job was simple. Get the flower girl, and get out. Kill anyone that got in the way. It wasn't unlike the last job, really, and they were feeling fairly confident they could pull this off. They had their notes on who could be at the store at this hour, came prepared for a potential fight, ready to torch the whole place to the ground if they had to...

This was a Holy Mission. Failure was not an option.

The largest of them gave a silent signal to begin surrounding the building. Cover all entrances and exists. With another signal, a crossbow wielding member of the group raised a big boot and began to attempt to kick the side entrance in.

Comments

[everblooms]

[ It happens so fast that the fire alarm goes off almost instantly. It melts just as quickly, as flames crawl up the walls and eat away at the foundation of the shop. The flowers burn, going up in powerful, strong, unnaturally colored flames, and she hears it, feels it… it’s agonizing. The blast from the grenade has her ears ringing, her head pounding and her body still adjusting and the smoke now filling her lungs doesn’t help. She feels the heat like she’s being cooked.

Aerith, then, steps back, coughing as she tries to clear her airways. The men who intruded upon the shop are dead, gone, finito, and she doesn’t feel a lick of sympathy or guilt for them. They had come to collect her, and had aimed to kill the rest of them. Associating with Aerith put a bounty on their heads. It shakes her to her core, and she feels guilt for that, and nothing else. The Mythril Rod starts to burn in her grip, retaining the heat, but she kicks the doors behind them open and cries out, ] Run! Now!

[ Her chest burns. She thinks of Cloud, of Tifa, of Zack… Goodness, a number of names come to mind, their faces all mixing together in the haze of her panic and upset. Kim, Andy, Eula, Emily… Musashi, too— She needs to make it out here alive. Her grip tightens, and she raises the staff over her head. Immediately, raindrops sprinkle to the floor. It’s a small, tiny little rain cloud… it blooms in size, slowly but surely, as Aerith focuses more and more. As the drops fall, they leave rivulets that heal in their wake. Enough, she hopes, to help.

She smiles, looks at the rest of them, and pushes. The cloud grows. ]

C’mon, don’t I look like I know what I’m doing? Just go.

[ Her vision is already straining. She can’t let them know. ]