Noctis had spent his time lounging around the Ninth District's less reputable blocks, keeping a keen eye on those who passed him by. It was a still day with almost no activity on the streets, which was odd for the Ninth District. Noctis couldn't help but feel something was amiss, but opted to shrug it off; it was better this way. As the sun began to quickly set, Noctis took a few quick bites out of one of the apples left in his burlap sack, before tossing the core onto the streets. There was work to be done.

With a brisk pace, Noctis worked his way toward the Lord's Castle, the cover of night quickly descending upon him. However, as he arrived, the darkness seemed to fade and be replaced with the lights of casinos and other gambling halls. The area around the castle was more lively than Noctis had anticipated, people shoving past each other to make their way from one location to the next. Finding his companion was going to be a pain, but just as Noctis was about to reach up to his Baby Den Den Mushi, some static came through, Devroux's voice coming swiftly behind.

"Yeah, I'm here. Where's the rendezvous?" Noctis asked, moving back into the transition between the Ninth District and the Lord's Castle. Scanning around, Noctis paid keen attention to the darker areas concealed from the light from the strips that lay ahead. There, tucked away off onto the side of the road, Noctis spotted a familiar figure, clad in darkness and almost invisible to those not actively searching. Noctis approached casually, waving his hand to great his partner. "Yo yo yo, are we ready to kick things off?" Noctis asked, shoving both hands into his pockets. He was more than ready, a bit excited even.

Looking back, Noctis could see the Lord's Castle situated in the center of the district. Guards acting almost as a police force were stationed at various points around the perimeter of the estate, interacting and disciplining the more devious members of the crowds. It was a busy night here, explaining why the Ninth District seemed so desolate. The top of the estate seemed sparsely populated, only a few flood lights beaming down onto the streets. Devroux's plan to infiltrate from above seemed more promising by the second. Noctis tapped his the toes of his feet on the ground in preparation, readying himself for what lay ahead. "Let's do this."

Noctis' momentum was halted by the dilemma that Devroux presented. It was true, they had very little information regarding the Bank's actual location, and Adder remained an unwelcome variable. Frustrated with his own over-zealousness, Noctis calmed himself a bit, listening intently to his partner in crime. Noctis had a suspicion that the bank would be located underneath the Lord's Castle itself, almost too cliche to entertain, but it was possible. The people here were already walking caricatures of rich, naive, and out of touch nobility; cliches would fit in just fine. Still, there was no hard evidence to act on, and a hunch wouldn't cut it.

Placing his index and middle finger to his temple, Noctis signaled his agreement as Devroux took to the skies. As their method of ground surveillance, Noctis moved quickly and steadily. The district itself wasn't overly large, but was incredibly dense. Noctis could make his way around the outskirts and observe in a short period of time, no more than five minutes or so. With each lap, he could narrow down his circle until he efficiently observed all the Lord's Castle had to offer.

As Noctis paced, he kept his glance trained inward into the busy streets. Among the nobility, someone such as Adder or Taylor would stick out like a sore thumb. The two criminals were simply cut from different cloths compared to the carefree lives of those born into power. Along the outskirts, things were uneventful. Those who had retreated from the overactive center stumbled drunk, high, or sick into the more sparse areas along the perimeter. Men angrily grumbled at their losses, some cried, and some were physically ill, vomiting into alleys as if they had never drank a day before in their lives. All in all, it seemed like a great time, but nothing of importance to Noctis or Devroux.

"Outskirts are clear. Moving in. Let me know if you see anything." Noctis relayed in a hushed tone, casually tightening his circle around the district. Lights and exotic figures became more prominent as he moved closer to the center of the district and the Lord's Castle itself. Even he, a longleg, garnered no additional attention as he moved along the streets. Of course, this would make it a bit harder to find men such as Taylor or Adder, but that's why it was a two man job. Quickening his stride, Noctis continued to survey the area, waiting for an update from his flying friend.

Noctis stopped in his tracks when a voice came through the Baby Den Den in his ear, bringing himself to the side of a walkway along the strip of casinos so he could hear more clearly. Devroux quickly relayed his thoughts to Noctis, before announcing he was going back to their rendezvous. "Understood. I'm already pretty close by, so I'll meet you there." Noctis replied into the Den Den, making a U-turn along the sidewalk to make his way back. Things were relatively quiet on the streets, all things considered. Or rather, Noctis couldn't identify anything out of the ordinary or unexpected.

With Devroux's aerial view, it gave him a much greater field of vision. Noctis' presence on the ground was more for security than anything. It was actually a great relief that Devroux had a lead, as Noctis wasn't too keen on spending anymore time on the streets than necessary. Every second he was in view was an opportunity for him to be found. After a quick walk through ever thinning numbers of Casino patrons and drunks, Noctis found himself back at the outskirts of the district, where he found Devroux waiting just as he had before, along the side of a dark road.

With a brief wave, Noctis approached his companion. "Things are so busy down there, I couldn't see shit. That place is designed to keep you so distracted, you don't know when you're out of money until it's too late." explained Noctis, who rubbed the back of his head for a moment, as if he had failed. "So, what's the situation?" Noctis continued to tap the toes of his feet onto the dirt below. It was prudent that he keep focused, especially if Devroux had what the pair needed. Conflict was more than likely, so it was best to be prepared at all times.

Noctis recalled his past life as a slave, and compared it to Devroux's description of the women. It added up. Clothing was usually the hand me downs of past slaves, if you were lucky enough to get clothes at all. Noctis was truly fortunate that his talent had taken him as far as it did. "Seems as good a lead as any." Noctis responded before sending a quick glance behind him, just to make sure no one was watching the pair. "Slaves of any kind have a decent chance of being related to Taylor in some capacity. The man has his hands everywhere, or rather, he did..."

Noctis trailed off, not eager to revisit his past encounter with the Kingpin. Instead, he let Devroux take control of the situation, as the bat mink let his wingspan free. It only took the mink a few strong flaps to hover a couple inches above Noctis' head. Motioning for Noctis to take hold of his clawed feet, Devroux made his decision. Nodding silently in agreement, Noctis reached up carefully, grabbing the mink by his ankles.

With a bit of resistance from the added weight, Devroux lifted Noctis off the ground, and began to climb vertically, gaining altitude at a fairly quick pace. Noctis simply hung in silence, as the awe of the view kept him speechless. He had never seen the world from such a viewpoint, and it struck him how small the Lord's Castle really was. After a few minutes of gliding, the pair began to slowly descend. Just below them was an unassuming building, covered in worn brick in a state of disrepair. Large vents with steam billowing out from within dotted the top of the structure. It didn't seem quite residential in nature, but it was no warehouse or factory. It was likely that it had been re-purposed for some kind of shady activities, but the specifics were a mystery.

As soon as Noctis felt he was at a comfortable altitude, he released his grip on Devroux's ankles, dropping onto the roof from above, tucking his shoulder down and rolling to his feet to break his fall. Brushing himself off, Noctis awaited the arrival of his companion.

Pacing along the edge of the roof, Noctis watched as Devroux faltered for a moment from the sudden weight lifted from his feet. Rather than meeting on the rooftop, Noctis looked on as his mink companion barreled through a closed window, glass shattering in his wake. "Alright, guess we're just doing this." Noctis sighed under his breath, hopping off the roof and grabbing hold of the ledge to break his fall. With the broken window just a few feet below him, he aimed for the wall of an adjacent building, in order to propel himself through at top speed. Swinging back to build momentum, Noctis released his grip to fling himself backwards onto the parallel wall of the nearby building, planting his feet as he landed, only for a moment. In that moment, he pressed off with all of his might, launching through the open window in a blur.

Not having much time to inspect the interior, Noctis had to improvise for the lack of flooring on the upper level window, as he arced downwards towards the hard floor below. Bracing himself for yet another fall, Noctis rolled onto his feet before sliding clear across to the opposite end of the meeting hall like interior. Turning to face Devroux, the scene caught his attention immediately. Slaves left against the wall, limp and motionless. Fresh and old blood covering the floor beneath them. Noctis' brow folded downward as he struggled to contain his anger, instead moving slowly towards the five men. Rather than being blinded by his rage, he took note of every detail that he saw, paying attention to every movement and action, yet he couldn't hear any of the words that came after.

"Oh great, two freaks. Alright boys, mess 'em up!" the man that Devroux had seen earlier admonished, holding up a blade that had been recently bloodied. Two of the men held up their blades defensively, with one moving toward's Noctis and the other toward's Devroux. Rather than waste a single moment entertaining the possibility that the men present were of any threat, Noctis rushed forward with his Nagare at the man closest to him, an unarmed goon that had simply been around, either watching or supervising the atrocities that had occurred. The man didn't even see Noctis as he moved, instead hearing the pop of his movement as Noctis slid behind him, sending a sharp kick down into the back of his knee, causing him to collapse onto the floor, howling in pain. At that moment, the knife wielding man realized the error of approaching Noctis slowly and cautiously, as he rushed in the direction of his crippled cohort. With a quick and firm grasp, Noctis wrapped his arm around the injured man's neck with his face buried in Noctis' elbow. In less than a second, Noctis yanked upward, severing the man's spine as he fell limp in Noctis arms.

Turning his glare to the now far more hesitant man who had been running at him, Noctis held the fresh corpse in his hand before tossing it at the knife wielding man who clearly hadn't signed up for this. As the body flew at the man, Noctis used the man's now narrowed and obscured vision to move behind him with another Nagare. As the body hit the man, Noctis arrived, swinging his open hand down onto the elbow that held the knife, the wind generated from the movement coming to a sharp head around his hand, carving into the man's joint with relative ease. The movement wasn't strong or harsh enough to cleave straight through the arm, rather just enough to leave it loosely dangling, useless. Blood spilled onto the floor as the man struggled to muster up a scream through the pain, instead gripping his severed arm instinctively. Letting the man wallow in the pain for a moment, Noctis turned his eye to their target, who looked on in a mix of horror and astonishment, feet planted with fear.

With all the bravado that the slave killers had now destroyed, Noctis keeled down and palmed the side of the grievously wounded man's head right onto the ear, knocking him unconscious while he bled to death. Standing up, Noctis let out a quick sigh in fatigue, both mental and physical. His rage now quelled, Noctis could finally take a moment to think clearly. During Noctis' dispatching of the two men, the man who had been tasked with attacking Devroux with a knife as well as the second unarmed man was nowhere to be seen, either having taken off or been taken care of by Noctis' mink friend. All that remained was the man in charge, their person of interest, who was locked in place with an expression of defeat and regret. The man's knife clattered onto the ground as Noctis approached him.

"Aw, come on now, it's far too late to feel regret." Noctis mused, leaning down to pick up the man's knife. "After all, I'm sure you felt real bad when you cut them up, right?" Running the knife gently across the target's neck, Noctis was careful to not cut him. Motioning for Devroux to approach, Noctis no longer content with simply interrogating the man, plunged the knife into the now hostage's thigh. Turning away, Noctis made his way to a nearby wall and leaned against it, closing his eyes and tapping his foot. "I'll leave the rest up to you. If I do it, I know we won't get much from him." Noctis informed his comrade, confident that if he continued to deal with scum like this, they'd be quick to expire. It was best to leave matters like this to more discerning and meticulous hands, such as Devroux's. Humming a tune, Noctis relaxed for a moment while his buddy got to work.

Noctis hadn't been listening as Devroux extracted the location from the man in charge, rather he had simply been humming and winding down in order to think more clearly and rationally. By the time Noctis opened his eyes, Devroux had already taken care of the man, ensuring no one would be left to perpetuate this travesty. Pulling himself off the column he was resting against, Noctis turned to his mink companion. "Sorry about the mess. I'm not so well versed in keeping things clean. And when I saw the slaves, well..." Noctis apologized, letting Devroux connect the dots behind his statement.

Unsure of where exactly the two were headed, Noctis worded his next question carefully, hopefully trying to extract the answer he wanted from Devroux without letting him know that he was in no way paying attention to the interrogation. "So, do you have any idea how to get there?" questioned Noctis, who began to walk steadily towards Devroux and the exit.

Not at all falling for Noctis' ploy, Devroux decided it would simply be easier to go along with it, letting Noctis know that it was on the border of the 8th district, marked by two hands holding. "Oh. Well that makes things easier." Noctis said holding open the door for Devroux, a habit of his from his days as slave help. "If I remember correctly, that's gonna be adjacent to the Ninth District, just to the west." Realizing that Devroux had left his weapon behind, Noctis rushed back to retrieve it from the hand of the corpse it was embedded into, putting the blade horizontally into his back belt loop to keep it in place for the moment.

Following close behind, Noctis made sure to shut the door tightly, just as a small precaution. While it wasn't likely that anyone would care about the deaths, it was possible that some reputable people still existed on Baltigo. Devroux took to the skies, citing his ability to scout from above while remaining unseen. Content with that arrangement, Noctis nodded and began to walk west in the direction of the 8th district, mentally reminding himself that he still had a weapon tucked away that didn't belong to him. Sticking along the edge of the Lord's Castle district was relatively easy, and kept him away from the hustle and bustle deeper within.

The borders between the districts wasn't marked in the sense that someone had gone out of their way to do so, but it was still visible just from the state they were kept. While the Ninth District was heavily commercialized relatively clean, the 8th district was dingy and beaten down. It definitely fit the bill as a district for slaves, maximum function and no comfort. Every building seemed fitted for maximum capacity, regardless of the safety. In that way, it was quite similar to the Ninth District's warehouse sectors. Keeping along the border of the 8th District and the Lord's Castle, Noctis continued along, keeping his eyes peeled for symbols of hands holding. Just as he was prepared to ping Devroux and ask for an update, Noctis spotted something out of the corner of his eyes.


Graffiti'd onto the side of a dirty building like a mural, it caught Noctis' attention immediately, though only because he had been looking for it. To the average passerby, it would be indistinguishable from any other building that had been tagged. Yet, this subtlety wasn't what surprised Noctis. It was how small the building was. It couldn't possibly fit more than a single room, yet it was supposed to be the bank where black market goods were held in passing. Holding his hand up to the den den mushi in his ear, Noctis called into Devroux. "Hey, I think I got it." Noctis said, looking for a landmark that Devroux could see easily from the air. Nearby, a streetlight flickered ominously, dumping the street into complete darkness when it was off. "It's near a flickering streetlight, along the border like you said."

Taking a moment to scout out the area while he waited for Devroux's arrival, Noctis looked around the building. There were no windows whatsoever, and only a single rusty door bound by a lock and chains. Yet, there were no guards to speak of. While it was possible the man Devroux tortured has lied in an attempt to keep the pair away, it felt unlikely. All in all, it gave Noctis an uneasy feeling.

Descending down with grace, Noctis' mink friend gave two large wing-beats to slow his fall before landing on his feat, covering his body with his wings. Noctis nervously tapped his foot to maintain his technique as he waved Devroux over. Surely by now he was aware of the lack of security as well, so Noctis cut to the chase. "This is almost guaranteed to be the bank..." Noctis mentioned, folding his arms and looking around slowly. "We're not gonna get out of this clean. I'm guessing the bulk of storage is underground and this is just the entrance. But, to leave it unguarded like this... Something's off."

Noctis sighed as Devroux forced his way into the building. While Noctis was sure he'd have done the same, he wasn't too keen on the only option being to proceed. Yet, that was the reality of the situation. Reluctantly, Noctis entered behind Devroux into an empty room, save for the elevator doors within. Pressing the single button on the wall, the pair waited for a moment as the elevator traveled up to meet them before opening with a small chime. Strolling in, Noctis couldn't help but feel a bit cramped as Devroux pressed another lone button within the elevator. With a whir, the elevator began to descend, as uncomfortable music hummed in the background.

While it couldn't have taken more than a minute or two, the ride felt like an eternity. Not only was the situation tense as they were on a direct path into almost guaranteed conflict, but the bank itself must have been placed incredibly deep underground. When the doors finally opened, the sight of the bank was unexpected to say the least. It was an immense room of plain concrete, with two large bay doors on each parallel wall. Likely to move cargo directly from ships, or perhaps the cargo was the ships themselves, the amount of work put into the inner workings must have been immense. Yet, the room was entirely empty, save for the few people within.

Frustration. It was the only feeling Noctis could describe for the situation. He had come for a single purpose, to slight Garrolt Taylor, and that too was denied from him. Noctis was speechless as he wrestled with the circumstances, and he could feel Devroux felt much the same. As Noctis' attentions refocused, he could see that Devroux's gaze was locked onto a single figure within. Adjusting his own sight in that direction, Noctis realized what, or rather who, it was. Clovis Adder. The man who had handed them a swift defeat and almost swifter death was stood in the center of the bank, directing at least twenty armed men throughout the room.

Each guard that was being ordered around by Adder seemed at least marginally more competent than the goons that Noctis and Devroux had dispatched earlier. Each one paced diligently with rifle in hand, scanning around as if they were searching for something. Not only that, but they were uniformed and organized, indicating that they were a unit of some kind. Either hired independently, or working directly for Adder or Garrolt Taylor himself. It was clear that regardless of Noctis and Devroux's intent, revenge would only come after the armed guard was handled. At their current level of strength, fighting a battle on two fronts would only hasten their downfall. Not only that, but the pair only had moments to react and act before they were seen.

At a quick liberal estimate, Noctis reasoned he could take out maybe two to three of the guards before being spotted. The room was simply too large and the manpower too spread out to hope for much more than that. It was going to take more than strictly brute force this time. Yet, it was the disadvantaged battles of finesse that Noctis was most adept at. Such struggles were reminiscent of his organized fights in servitude. Nudging Devroux, Noctis positioned himself to move. Things from this point on were going to move quickly and every action needed to be decisive. "Follow my lead."

Rushing forward with his Nagare, Noctis closed the distance between himself and the closest guard. Quickly swinging his pointed hand up, Noctis punctured the man's throat, kicking the gun back at Devroux as it clattered to the ground. Leaving the guard grasping at his neck, Noctis didn't have time to wait as he moved forward to the nearest target. In the heat of the moment, Noctis' temples started to tense up much like the early onset of a headache, and time seemed to slow around him just briefly. It was an odd and fleeting sensation, but it felt familiar to him. As Noctis gripped the rising rifle barrel of the guard who by now had spotted him, he was reminded of his struggle against the Kingpin, and the sensation he had felt then. It was something still just out of reach, but it was far more tangible and coherent now than it was then. As Noctis forced the gun up, the guard squeezed the trigger, sending a bullet into the ceiling.

With attentions now focusing on the noise, Noctis slammed his elbow down into the guard's arm, forcing his hold of the rifle to open. Throwing the gun down with one arm, Noctis used his free arm to wrap around the neck of the guard, kicking down at the man's feet to break the firm stance the guard had taken in response. With the man's legs now too wide to support himself, Noctis hoisted him up and pivoted just as more gunfire rang out. The dull thud of bullets impacting his makeshift human shield, Noctis ran forward huddled down to make himself as small as possible while moving. The hail of bullets seemed to pause for a moment, as the men who remained needed to reload. Taking this opportunity, Noctis tossed the man down and ran for the next one. Glancing over to the side, Noctis couldn't help but notice Adder's expression. It was as if he were disappointed in a child. It was certain that he had noticed the pair and was simply choosing not to act, instead letting his men struggle. While it was this narcissism and condescending attitude that infuriated Noctis, it was something that once again worked in his favor. As long as Adder removed himself from the fight, he and Devroux could handle the guards and focus their attentions on the main threat.

Swinging his foot out horizontally, Noctis aimed a blade of wind into the chest of a guard as he passed, hoping to take out as many men as he could in the reload period. Not halting in the slightest, Noctis continued his sprint, guards now panicked at the shitshow their operation had become. Their hands fumbled at their pouches of ammunition, some even dropping rounds as they watched their comrades get dispatched. Noctis began to take note of their numbers thinning, Devroux clearly pulling his own weight in the fight, as he used his fully empowered Hakai on the abdomen of a guard, sending a powerful force through his body, killing him instantly. The body of the guard was propelled by the force, incapacitating a number of his peers as they were impacted and carried along with it before colliding with the concrete wall with an incredible bang. Only after Noctis' adrenaline levels began to lower did he begin to feel the pain from the scrap. He had taken a few glancing blows on his arms and torso from rounds fired by the panicked guards. His leg was sore from the sudden expenditure of long built up energy that Hakai requires, Noctis paused for a moment to hold his thigh before realizing that no more of the security detail remained.

With a sigh, Adder finally brought his snake-like stare onto the intruders. "Really..? Taylor makes me spend all this cash on a team and this is the performance I get?" Adder admonished, sending an angry kick into one of the bodies of his employees. "And you two. You get a second chance and what do you do? Come here and immediately throw it away. I swear I'm cursed to be surrounded by degenerates... I bet you don't even know what Haki is, let alone how to use it." Adder shoved his hands into his coat pockets and stood with no concern in his demeanor whatsoever.

"All right then, I'm gonna take my time. Let me show you just how badly you kids have fucked up." Adder warned, gas slowly oozing out from beneath him. Closing his eyes, Adder stood open and waiting for the pair's next move.