1x1 Old Town Road

Bursting into the room Alex found Patty looking over Tom who was laying in bead with a bandage wrapped around his head but seemed otherwise unhurt. The duo however seemed to lighten up as they saw Alex and Patty came in for a hug. "Alex?! What are you doing back?"

"Didn't expect to see you for a few more weeks." Tom groaned as he tried to get out of the bed only for Patty to go back and push him back to the bed.

"Didn't we tell you to rest? You're lucky you only got that bump on your head and nothing worse. What were you thinking?"

"Couldn't just let them take anything they wanted..." Tom murmured.

Patty let out an exasperated sigh and turned to Alex as if to wait for him to chew her father out for being reckless as well.

@Yun Lee
 
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Okay, good. Tom wasn't doing nearly as bad as Alex thought, which was a relief. Seeing him and Patty alone was more than enough to calm him down...a little. He was still pissed off and worried as hell, but he wasn't so upset no more. "I got a ride from some folks and turned out the road brought us here," he said, giving Patty a hug before she ran to her dad. He followed her, arms crossed as he stood over Tom's bed with a disapproving frown. "Good thing, cuz you mighta gone off and gotten yourself killed next! Jesus, Tom, the Hell happened to you, huh?"

@Jeremi​
 
Tom mumbled some excuses under his breath.

Patty had a stern look on her face. "That's what I'd like to know too."

"Fine. Fine!" Tom finally replied. "There was a thief in the storage house, and you know these guys don't have much food or anything to begin with so I tried to stop them and...you should've seen the other guy though."

"The only reason not else happened," Patty added. "Was because some of the villager ended up coming to his rescue." She sighed having a concerned look on her face as she patted Tom's head. "You think you're way younger than you actually are, you know that?"

"I got a good punch in," He replied sheepishly. "But they were fast, really fast. Managed to grab some food before vanishing out the window again. First trouble we'd had here and the village has been so good to us I just wanted to pay them back somehow."

"Still..." Patty seemed to soften up a bit after having heard her fathers explanation. "You shouldn't have walked in there alone."

Tom nodded. "I know, I know...but these guys aren't fighters. I didn't want them to get hurt."

As they were talking the trio was interrupted with a knock on the door. "Excuse me, Alex? I saw you running and had to come and ask if- oh hi there." As Tifa noticed Patty and Tom she gave them both a wave. "Is everything alright?"

@Yun Lee
 
"Jesus, Tom." Alex sighed, rubbing his temple with his thumb. "I can't fault ya for tryin' to do good by these folks, but you gotta watch it! You guys need me to stick around a while and make sure those thieves stay out? Tell me where they went and I'll make sure they never show their faces 'round here again."

Though as Tifa walked in, he turned to her. "Hey Tifa. Yeah, things are fine. Remember that family of mine I was talkin' about? This is Tom and Patty." He looked to them and nodded towards the bartender. "Guys, this is Tifa. She's one of the folks who gave me a ride."

@Jeremi​
 
"Hi! I'm Tifa Lockhart. Pleasure to meet you both." She waved to Patty and Tom who returned the gesture. "Are you alright?" She then asked Tom who winced.

"Yeah, you should have seen the other guy though." Patty would again give him a stern look so instead Tom would switch topics. "Unless they aren't long gone by now...maybe they're hold up in that cave outside of town?"

"There's been a theft?" Tifa asked.

"Yeah, and my dumb dad tried to stop it." Patty patted Tom on the head.

"Well I'm glad you're alright." Tifa turned to face Alex. "So when are we heading out? We got to stop that thief obviously! I'm sure Sodom's happy to help too!"

@Yun Lee
 
"Headin' out right now," Alex replied. It was bad enough Tom got roughed up by these assholes, but for the folks in this little town to get caught up in it, too? Nuh-uh. These guys were going DOWN. "Patty, make sure Tom doesn't do anything else stupid. We're takin' these guys out."

Ruffling Patricia's hair as a farewell, Alex headed out the door, looking out to the stand. "Ey yo Sodom! Wanna help us take out some thugs?!"

@Jeremi​
 
Oh, that was fast. Tifa could only give a quick wave to Tom and Patty as she followed after Alex. They could hear Patty shout out a warning as they left "Be careful!"

Well outside they'd spot Sodom trying to sell his goods to some of the locals. As Alex shouted his attention turned towards the two. "Thugs huh? There a reward or somethin'?" Sodom didn't seem exactly keen on the prospect, but Tifa gave a sly wink to Alex before she spoke up.

"I don't know about a reward, but I bet the locals would be very happy that you got rid of some bad guys for them."

Sodom seemed to lull over that for a moment before handing a takiyaki stick to one of the denizens of the town and putting a we're closed sign down before going after them. "So where we headin'?" He asked the two.

"A cave outside of town? Sounds pretty vague but shouldn't be too hard to find, right?" Sure enough it wasn't. A short walk to the outskirts of the town they'd spot a cave conspicuously sticking out at the start of the desert. On top of the fact that the coloring of the rock was a sharp grey compared to the more red and yellow hues the rest of the area had. "That kind of looks out of place, doesn't it? But at least we found it."

Sodom grabbed his sais from his belt and gave them a twirl. "So how many are we expecting? We got a fight on our hands or what?"

@Yun Lee
 
"I don't care who we're fightin', or how many of 'em are in there." Alex was doing his damnedest to keep his composure, but within the young wrestler was a powder keg ready to go off any minute. "Those bastards beat up my old man, so once I get in there, I ain't stoppin' til they're all wiped out." Though the cave itself looked weird. What, they make it themselves that fast? Or was this some sort of Melding thing? Bah, who cared at this point?!

"C'mon." That was the last thing Alex said as he ventured into the cave, ready to give these unknown goons a taste of their own medicine.

@Jeremi​
 
"Hey hold on! I can't let you go in first! I'll kick the behinds of these crooks! Trying to stop my business will they?!" Sodom shouted after Alex leaving Tifa behind.

"I think we should have a plan," Tifa replied after them before sighing and heading after the two. As they stepped inside the trio would find that the cave was no cave at all.

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It seemed to be a mine of some sort, though if the Tostarenan had mentioned something about working the mines Alex couldn't remember. Right now it seemed to have been just another reaction from the Melding.

"The lights are on at least," Tifa mentioned making her way past the two. "That should make things a bit easier I'd say."

"Why?" Sodom replied twirling his sais in his hands. "It's still a mine and we don't know where our thieves are."

"Because," Tifa pointed towards the two paths in front of them. One pitch black the other a lit with lanterns. "Don't think our thieves can see in the dark."

"Unless they can." Sodom added which caught Tifa off guard for a moment.

"I...guess they could...well our best bet then is to just look for tracks. Even if the thief could fly there's bound to be something."​

@Yun Lee
 
"Or," Alex said, teeth practically gritting together from having to listen to this back and forth for far too long for his liking, "we do THIS." He grabbed a lantern from the lit path and shone it into the darkened one. Honestly his first instinct upon entering the mine was going straight down whatever path got him to his targets as soon as possible, but if this would get Tifa and Sodom to shut their yaps then so freaking be it.

@Jeremi​
 
His voice echoed in the quiet corridors as Alex raised the lantern to illuminate the path. As far as the lantern shone the area seemed to be untouched except for...

"What's that?" Tifa pointed a bit further into the dark to a round item on the ground. Sodom went up and stabbed it with one of his sais.

"An apple a day keeps the doctor away, they say." An apple...it appeared their little thief wasn't as nimble as they thought.

"Seemed like they tried to cover their tracks but not well enough." Sure enough as they continued down the dark path, now with two more lanterns in hand, they'd start to find footsteps in the sand. "Did Tom say there was only one thief?" Tifa asked as Sodom bit down on the apple making her give him a look.

"What?" He took another bite as it vanished under his helmet. "Can't waste food."

@Yun Lee
 
"I only remember him sayin' one guy, yeah." Course, he started seeing red after that so it was hard to recall. He took a moment to down at the footprints, raising an eyebrow. "What, there more than one or somethin'?"

@Jeremi​
 
"No," Tifa reiterated as she looked over the tracks. "It all seems to be from the same person so it checks out."

They continued on down the tunnel following the tracks with not much but a few bats flapping overhead. "I feel bad," Sodom replied as they walked having dropped the now eaten apple awhile back. "Just one guy against three of us? Ain't a fair fight. I should know, I've been in a lot of those unfair ones. Three guys on one? Don't have to be a sicko scientist to figure that out."

"Well maybe we don't have to fight," Tifa added. "We can try to talk it out. I'm sure we can re-" Suddenly Sodom's massive hand went over Tifa's mouth startling her and cutting her off mid sentence.

"SSH! I hear something. Up ahead." Sure enough if Tifa and Alex listened in they could hear some faint mumbling coming further into the tunnel.

Tifa gently, if with a bit too much force, removed Sodom's hand from her mouth and they continued on in silence. Soon enough the tunnel opened up to a larger area with lanterns all around illuminating the area. In the center they could see a small pile of different foods scattered about as well as a humanoid figure with pale skin, orange hair and a very revealing black outfit that made it quite clear that it was a woman. The trio could surmise that this was their thief and whoever she was seemed to not have noticed them just yet.

@Yun Lee
 
So, this bimbo was the one who messed with Tom, huh? That was really all Alex could think about, not any sort of strategy for facing off against said bimbo. But who needed plans when you had a hours-old family vendetta? His plan was this, and only this: beat the ever-loving crap outta whoever roughed up Tom.

So, that in mind, Alex started off towards the girl, not saying anything just yet. If Tifa or Sodom were to stop him, this would be their only chance.

@Jeremi​
 
Neither Tifa or Sodom went to stop him and instead seemed to join up with him on the side and try to flank the thief in case she tried to escape.

They seemed to be moving quietly enough since she hadn't reacted yet. "Maggots should really know their place," The woman suddenly spoke aloud causing at least Tifa to stop in her tracks. "Like I said. Maggots should know their place and eat the dirt they squirm in." She got up brandishing a sword in her hand.

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"And not try and attack the bird that's going to devour them whole."

Tifa didn't know if the woman was just foolhardy or actually serious as she looked over to Sodom and Alex to see what they were going to do next. "Hahaha, is that right?" Sodom just laughed straight in her face. "What are ya going to do? Make a balloon animal?"

The only reply she gave was a sinister smirk.​

@Yun Lee
 
"Look, I ain't one for riddles," Alex said, stepping forward into the room, stopping about halfway between the exit and the strange woman. "But I am one for makin' sure punks who mess with good people get what's comin'." He cracked his knuckles, glaring at the scantily-clad stranger. "I'll only ask ya once. You the one who stole from Tostarena?"

@Jeremi​
 
"I can tell." Came the woman's reply to Alex before she chuckled. "Of course it was me! I have to eat after all, and those creatures weren't going to miss them. Shame about that old man though. I was really close to cutting his throat."

"You're a real tough gal, aren't ya?" Sodom asked as he twirled his sai's. "Not going to feel bad bout beating you up."

Again she laughed. "You think you three are enough to take me on? You really are some fools."

"If we are fools," Tifa spoke up. "We're fools together." She went into a defensive stance. "Three fools is always better than one thief."

"Spare me your drivel." The woman reversed the grip of her sword and charged towards Alex. "Time for some pest control!"


@Yun Lee
 
"You're askin' for it, sister!" Alex was more than happy to charge this mystery bimbo head-on. Normally, he would be utilizing his wrestling skills, but right now all he could do was see red after she confessed to attacking Tom and not even appear even the slightest bit remorseful over it. Ugh, it made him sick! She needed to get taken down, big time. So, he brought his arm back, and went for a punch aimed right at her head!

@Jeremi​
 
The woman smirked as she gracefully ducked bellow Alex’s blow. “Too slow!” Her sword came very close to hitting before something came in the way of the blade causing sparks to fly.

“Who’s slow?” Tifa replied as her gauntlet had blocked the blade from hitting Alex. She proceeded tp deal a swift kick but the woman managed to leap back before in connected.

“Tch, it’s just like bugs to swarm together.” As the woman continued ranting, Sodom took the opportunity to lounge at her from behind his sais ready to sink into her back.

Even there the woman seemed fast enough swiping back with her sword to knock Sodom away. “There may be more of you,” She twirled around to face Alex and Tifa who now stood ready to face the thief down. “But you’re still not worthy to cut me down!”

“Is that really true?” Tifa asked her fist clenched ready to go on the offensive. “Looks to me that you’re having a hard time going against all of us.”

“Shut up,” She snapped charging towards Alex and Tifa again. “You’re just where I want you to be!”

@Yun Lee
 
Alex would step in front of Tifa as the thief got closer, paying back the favor of blocking an attack if it came for his companion. "You talk too much," he hissed through gritted teeth, attempting to grab the woman and shoot for a takedown. If basic melee wasn't doing the trick, maybe he needed to wrestle her into submission after all.

@Jeremi​
 
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