Cross Conviction

Forcefully, Sturm inquired, "You must be around my age. Why aren't you in the academy?"

"Was going to be. But they don't let 'my kind' in anymore," the thief scoffed, his usual cocky grin giving way to a look of disappointment for the first time. 

Sturm's jaw shifted with discomfort. He was unsure how to respond. "Oh…"

With the rise of the Nazi Party to power in Germany, there came a slew of new regulations for the Iron Knight Academies. The entrance of various demographics was forbidden, including Jews, Roma, and homosexuals, to name a few. The policies reflected the greater ideology of the new Reich and its leadership as a whole. This boy, however talented, was likely a target of such legislative changes. 

"It's their loss, you know?" said the thief, struggling to crack a shaky smile and pointing his right fist and spiny claw toward Sturm in a fabricated display of bravado, "I'm the real deal. I'd be the Reich's top-scoring knight, no doubt about that!" 

Suddenly, Gustavo and Magnolia arrived on the scene, blocking their target from behind. The boy glanced back, turning his head just enough to catch a glimpse of the two from the corner of his eye. 

"Three knights, all for me? What an honor…" he groaned sarcastically. 

Firmly, Sturm announced, "I've got it under control."

Gustavo nodded in response and took a step back. Magnolia, however, tolled her eyes and pointed her ruby-nailed index finger at Sturm. 

Magnolia retrieved her violin and bow from behind her back, where it had been held by a long leather strap around her shoulder. "Glory hog! The first victory of our team will go to me, no one else." 

Just as Magnolia drew her bow across the violin to begin her nauseating sonata, the boy shot her a knowing glare. Aware that this had to be part of the pompous blonde's ability, he immediately flicked his right wrist, ejecting the shovel-like claw from his sleeve as a projectile, sending it crashing through Magnolia’s violin, and splitting it into several shattered pieces. Accompanied by the forceful, vibrating hum of severed metal chords, Magnolia shrieked as her splintered instrument clattered to the ground. 

"Bastard!" she cried, her face immediately going red.

With a triumphant grin, the boy exclaimed, "Nice try, princess! Obviously, I know you're not just gonna serenade me in the middle of a fight!."

Without warning, Magnolia leaped up and lunged toward the boy, her razor-sharp violin bow glistening in the sunlight. He quickly retaliated, swatting the bow out of her snow-white hand. The weapon flipped through the air before tumbling over the railing. Magnolia scrambled to retrieve it but was unsuccessful as it dropped over the edge and was lost in the River Spree.

"You damned…" Magnolia hissed, grabbing the thief by his coat's collar before slamming him against the railing. 

The boy, though several inches taller than her, simply looked down at Magnolia with surprise. Sturm observed him curiously as his face shifted to a blue hue. Was he blushing?

"How about I send you down to fish my bow out, you cretin?!" Magnolia raged on, forcing him back harder against the railing and threatening to shove him over the top.

"Magnolia, that's enough," Gustavo urged, "You're making a scene."

Sure enough, a quick look around revealed that a crowd had begun to gather. A few dozen people had started to swarm around the roadside, vacating nearby restaurants and stores to find the source of the commotion.

"We're arresting him, Magnolia, not drowning him. Calm down," Sturm chimed in. 

"Don't belittle me, Arthur Sturm! Didn't your father-" Magnolia's tirade was cut short as the boy slipped out of his long coat and ducked down, sidestepping her. 

Surprised, Magnolia was left holding the empty jacket against the railing. The boy attempted to take off down the cobblestone path along the river once more but was stopped when Gustavo stepped in his way. 

Gustavo calmly attempted to avoid further conflict. "Don't make this harder than it has to be."

The thief shifted uneasily. "Look…" he started, "I know you guys are just doing your job and all, but you know what they do to guys like us when we're arrested. You're not bringing me in."

What's he talking about? Sturm thought to himself.

"Here…" the boy continued, tossing the wallet to Gustavo, "You can have that back. No harm done, right?"

Gustavo glanced across the thief's shoulder to meet Sturm’s eyes. 

"We can't just let you walk away." Sturm explained, "Just come with us and we can get this situation straightened out with the captain."

The boy pleaded quietly with a nervous smile, careful to keep his words quiet enough to avoid reaching the crowd. "Why, so you can tell him I'm Jewish and I can disappear? I swear, I've taken less than a thousand marks in the entire time I've been at this. I'll beat it and you won't have to deal with me again!"

"He already told you, fool. You're under arrest, and you're lucky we don't execute you ourselves for attempting to assault us," Magnolia snarled, her face still red.

The boy's eyes flicked between Sturm and Gustavo, observing their body language for any indication that they might oppose Magnolia’s aggression. Seeing no opportunity to talk his way out of the situation, he finally took a step back toward the railing and sighed deeply. Another spiny spade tore forth from his right sleeve, replacing the one he had jettisoned into Magnolia’s violin. 

"I didn't want to hurt anyone…" he started softly, his voice becoming louder and more resolute as he spoke, "but you're not getting me killed over this!"

Sturm readied his saber once more as Gustavo drew his P08 handgun from its holster and aimed it at their adversary. 

"Get back!" Gustavo shouted over his shoulder toward the now larger crowd of onlookers. 

Noticing the firearm, they quickly began to disperse in every direction. 

"Just turn around and put your hands behind your back…" Gustavo commanded, "and drop the claws!"

"Not a bad idea." the boy answered with a sly grin.

Suddenly, he snapped his left hand forward, launching the spiked claw toward Sturm, who swiftly deflected it onto the cobblestone with his blade. Gustavo opened fire in response, letting out two deafening shots at close range in quick succession. Faster than the human eye could hope to track, the thief raised his right hand and deflected both bullets with a swipe of his claw.

In shock, Gustavo cried out, "What?!"

The boy then hastily replaced his ejected left claw, as he had with the right before, and charged at Sturm. Hopping back to give himself room to counter, the young swordsman parried both claws before shoulder-checking the thief backward once more and readying his own weapon to strike. Sturm then swung his saber downward, intending to rend his opponent's right shoulder, but his attempt was thwarted when his target caught the blade between his crossed claws. The spiny, calcified surface of the biological blades ground and cracked against the strain exerted by the shining sword. Clutching his saber with both hands, Sturm forced downward with all of his might, but his adversary matched his strength with an upward push that left the two locked in a grinding stalemate. 

The thief grunted with great exertion, "Just… give it a rest!", his desperate eyes meeting Sturm’s predatory glare.

Sturm then twisted his blade in an attempt to break the deadlock, but the boy pressed his crossed laws together with even greater force, like a pair of biological sheers. The pressure became too great for the long metal blade to withstand and, with an ear-splitting clang, it snapped in two. The tip flipped high into the air until its sparking gleam was obscured by the bright sunlight. The energy behind the break was so great that Sturm stumbled back and dropped the remaining portion of his saber on the ground.

"Gotcha!" the boy cried out with a wide, victorious smile.

Taking advantage of his enemy's freshly disarmed state, the boy leaped forward, claws ready to deal a decisive strike. 

"Arthur!" cried Magnolia in sudden shock.

With mere centimeters between him and the thief's jagged right spade, Sturm ducked underneath the sweeping attack and countered with a vicious uppercut. The blow lifted the boy from his feet and planted him firmly onto his back several meters away. Dazed, he looked up at Sturm, who struggled to sheath his shattered sword. Though the boy was seeing stars, he swore that in the final split-second before impact, he witnessed a bright blue flash of light.

Groaning in agony and disappointment, the boy mumbled, "Y-yeah… figures you're good without the damned sword, too…"

Without missing a beat, Gustavo rushed the defeated thief and hastily rolled him on his stomach. Magnolia soon followed, stomping down on the boy's upper back. 

"Ow!" he cried out in pain and surprise. 

"Unnecessary, Magnolia," Gustavo added firmly.

"T-that's okay…" the boy sighed with a crooked grin, "I like her fire."

Gustavo gave Sturm a puzzled, perhaps somewhat disturbed look before handcuffing the boy and hoisting him to his feet. The captured exceptional hung his head. His thick, spiked hair obscured his eyes, leaving only a defiant smile visible under its shadow. 

"Identify yourself," Gustavo spoke up from behind the boy as he held him in place.

The thief spat in front of Sturm’s boot. "Adolf Hitler," he said with a chuckle. 

Magnolia rolled her eyes before grabbing the boy by his shirt collar and shaking him violently. 

"Do you think this is a game?!" she growled. 

A gruff voice interrupted from behind Sturm. "Max Allemann."

The group turned to see Scharf, holding his one hand behind his back. The boy looked up at the officer with apparent surprise. "How do you-"

Scharf cut Max off. "I took your identification off of you the last time you tried this stunt," he explained, quickly flashing a paper card between two fingers before returning it to his jacket pocket.

Max groaned. "You guys have been stalking me?"

Sturm gave Scharf a confused look, tapping the hilt of his sheathed, broken saber. "I don't understand what's going on here, captain."

"And you don't need to," Scharf snapped back, seeming to look past Sturm rather than at him.

Magnolia stomped over between the two, the block heels of her boots clicking loudly against the cobblestone, before getting just underneath Scharf's nose. The girl peered up at him from annoyed, narrow eyes. 

"Nice of you to finally show up, captain."

Scharf glared down at her with his single deep blue eye. "I thought the three 'prodigies' could handle a hoodlum. Was I wrong?"

Jaw grinding, Magnolia took a step back. 

"Hoodlum?!" Max piped in, "I gave your gang of rejects a run for their money!"

Scharf, ignoring his protests, surveyed the surrounding area. His eye snapped back and forth between key details in an almost mechanical fashion.

"Two spent nine-millimeter casings and a pile of wooden splinters conspicuously reminiscent of Ms. Wald's violin," Scharf spoke without the slightest hint of approval or disappointment, "I suppose that gives me some idea what 'level' we're at, here…"

The group said nothing, unsure of what exactly the captain was getting at.

"Well then…" the grizzled captain started once more, "collect the prisoner and your belongings immediately. We're returning to the academy."

Max stumbled as Gustavo ushered him forward.

"With haste, peon!" Magnolia growled as she shoved him in passing. 

Through a winded chuckle, Max groaned, "Sorry, I'm working on it..."

Though Magnolia didn't speak, the hateful look she shot him conveyed her lack of respect for the prisoner. Sturm returned the trash can to its original position, allowing the girl to dump an armful of wooden violin splinters into it. With that resolved, the Third Hunter Team started their way back to the academy grounds. Their first mission, however unexpected, had ultimately succeeded.