Cheshire took the lead as she saw arrows fly over the buildings. She motioned her hand. The others hid with her at the corner. She took a peek. There she saw the Sirens, Kayden, Maddie and Jacob. Kayden shot his Jacob-enhanced arrows. Maddie scryed the area around the Iron Will Tree.

"This is our chance," Cheshire whispered. "There are four of us against the three of them. We can easily get them."

As the hot-blooded man that he was, Mike didn't listen. He stepped out of the corner and introduced himself to the Sirens. He was smart enough not to mention the others with him.

Cheshire sighed in defeat. Houston guided her and Bella to another route, hopefully to ambush the Sirens.

"Hey!" Mike called, beginning his provocation. "Why don't the three of you take me on? Easy enough ain't it?" His pointer taunted them.

Ignoring Mike, Kayden shot a couple of round into the air above him. Jacob took a step back and continued his enchantments. Maddie was the only one who returned the attention.

"We don't need your pity handicap," she spoke with her fist to her waist. Her eyes rapidly blinked as water streamed over her eyelashes. "Gaddammit!" She roared. "I hate the rain so much right now!" She shook her head to get the water off.

Mike began to walk towards them. "How about getting closer to me?" He said in an almost flirtatious tone. "My Heated Body will keep you dry."

That is when Maddie noticed that he was not getting wet. The rain around his feet slowly evaporated. He was leaving a trail of dry land.

Maddie tugged on the other two. "We should go. He seems like big trouble, literally and figuratively."

"We'll be fine," Jacob responded. "Plus, if there are more of them, we will keep them here." He nodded his head. "I got under control."

Meanwhile, Houston told Cheshire to hide. She needed to save her ability for another battle. There was still more people missing, and Houston believed the current three did not have extraordinary abilities to steal.

"If you want," he said, "you can go on without us. These three seem easy enough for me and Mike." He detached a tiger mask from his waist chain. Wearing the mask, he suggested the girls to scout the area for other enemies. He, then proceeded to say, "Raid on!" transforming his body into a large tiger. He stood on his hind legs and his clenched his clawed hands to test his comfort. The rain made him instinctively shake his black striped orange fur. As the girl's left, he entered the fight.

The girls discussed their course of action.

"I'd rather search for a strong opponent," Cheshire said first. "I'm not going to waste time soaking in the rain."

Bella chuckled. "Come on now. Your ability can be really useful if we manage to face a single Siren. But what are the chances of that?"

Cheshire glared at Bella. "You mean two... Since there are two of us."

"But like I'm not that useful... My power that is," Bella spoke timidly.

Cheshire conceded her attempt to persuade Bella. Instead, she grabbed Bella by the wrist and dragged her along. Bella cried as she continued to reject the decision, and also from the slight pain the rings on Cheshire's finger from being pressed against her delicate skin.

~§~

Gerald and Heather took shelter along the pillars that held up the Skytrain rails. Heather checked her legs. Small wounds bled. Gerald was also injured, but on his arm.

An arrow landed right next to Heather's foot. Alarmed, she jumped closer to Gerald.

"That sniper is quite annoying," Heather grumbled. She turned her head to Gerald. "I placed a few talismans along our trail. We should be fine as long as they don't tear apart."

Before she could continue, a flurry of arrows rained down. Gerald pulled her in. They twirled around the pillar, placing the obstruction between them and the ranged attacks.

"I know," Gerald spoke. "There is no need to tell me everything that you do. I already understand how you will protect us."

Heather blushed. Her face warmed. "Then, I suppose we shall plan our steps from here."

Gerald nodded. Despite their planning, they both worried about everyone's condition. Nonetheless, they agreed that they needed to stop their Raindancer. The rain gave the Siren more than enough field and number advantage despite the Sakura's advantage in skills.

"Another way, though riskier option, is to lead the Sirens to us," Gerald said.

"No!" Heather immediately rejected. Her throat closed as she felt rude for blurting an abrupt answer. "What I mean is..."

"I know what you mean," Gerlad consoled her. "And it is okay. You are allowed to have your opinions." He reached out his hand to pat her on the shoulder when, suddenly, he saw her from a distance. His eyes widened as he saw an unknown person next to her. And from the side of his eye, he spotted a hammer swinging towards him.

Both he and Heather parried the attack. Heather hopped back and then slipped, falling to the ground. Gerald ducked, letting the hammer strike the pillar behind him.

"Not done yet!" The male Siren with the hammer roared. "Volume Up!"

The sounds from the impact and crumbling cement amplified, sending out a shockwave. It pushed Gerald forward as it damaged his ears. Gerald felt another wave. This time, he fell forward onto someone. It was Heather. With a blurred vision and ringing ears, he searched for the enemies. They stood far away. Gerald's spinning mind couldn't grasp what was happening. 'Was I hallucinating? What happened?'

As if Heather read his mind, she answered his questions with deep breathes, "The one with the hammer seemed to be able to increase the output of sound waves. The one with the daggers has some sort of displacement ability." With an exhaled, she groaned in pain. Her hands pressed on a fresh wound at her waist.