Mission:The Golden Spider-Black_Cat

Shadow strode briskly down the streets of Lernae, one hand in his pocket, the other holding the briefing for the mission that he was about to undertake. (A bug catcher huh?) He thought to himself. (And a golden spider....most interesting.) Despite his casual demeanor, he kept a hand on the hilt of his sword, ready to defend himself if necessary. If there was one thing that he had learned from living in a place like Remis, from being chased by The Gaia, it was that one could never be too careful in a crowded city. As he rounded a corner he noted his client. It was pretty obvious, the man was standing in the middle of the street with a bug net, several containers of various spiders nearby, and a satisfied look about him. He stretched, approaching the bug catcher. "Excuse me." he said as he reached the man. "My name is Zachary Blackheart. Nice to meet you. I've been assigned by Sentou Gakuin to assist you in any way that I can, so just tell me what to do!" He extended his hand for a handshake and gave a confident smile.

Zack smiled when the boy handed him a cage instead of his hand in greeting. Then again, he was just a kid, what more could he expect. "Alright, nice to meet you Ethan." He took hold of the cage, listening to the boy's explanation of his target. A small golden spider huh? "I see." he said with a curious smile. "Sounds like a tough target. Well, don't worry about it, I'm on it." He gave a thumbs up to the boy. "Don't worry about it, I'll be back in no time." And with that he walked off into the city. Once he was a short way away from the boy, he leaped up onto one of the roofs, giving him a near perfect few of the city streets, which stretched out below him like a grid. "Alright, I've got four days to pull this off. Well, better get started." He pulled a pair of binoculars from his personal bag and looked through them, scanning the darker alleys below for the flash of gold which could give him a hint as to the spider's location.

Shadow was getting a bit frustrated. "Gah," he grumbled, lowering the binoculars from his face, "There're so many jewels sparkling around here, it's nearly impossible for me to find....wait a minute." A glint of gold from an unusual location, a tree, had caught his eye. He raised the binoculars to his face again, focusing them on the branch. His heart rate increased. That could be it! Still, it didn't seem to be moving, and everyone was ignoring it. However, being golden in color would serve as excellent cover. After all, who would bother what looked like a gold piece just sitting around? Especially in a town like this, where everyone seemed to be well off, who would care about a single gold piece? It was worth checking out. He stood, making several handseals. A small tornado of fire appeared around him, and then he was gone, leaving only a small scorch mark on the ground where he had been. He reappeared behind the tree, which, to his luck, had been just shy of 20 meters away. The object, whatever it was, was two branches above him. Silently he made several more handseals, disappering. He reappeared on the branch above the branch where the gold object was situated. He looked down. It was definately the spider. (hm...) He began thinking. (How can I capture it? If it's as fast as Ethan said, no way I'll get it from a direct approach. And, most of my moves are deadly. Maybe I could redirect Pheonix Whorl...no I can only do that on myself, and even if I could, the fire might kill it. If I took its oxygen, it's small body might not last long enough for me to get it, and again, the heat might kill it. Alright, what if I used Flametongue? I could create a wall of fire around it, that branch is thick enough so that it couldn't just jump off and if I Pheonix Stepped in I could trap it. Plus if it gets too close to one of the walls I can deactivate the ability. That looks like my best bet. He took his sword, running his hand silently along the blade. It glowed red, before becoming a tongue of flame. He quickly and silently Pheonix Stepped onto the branch below, behind the spider. He flicked his wrist, and the whip of fire arced out, quickly forming a box of fire around the spider. He smiled. The walls had landed well. The spider wouldn't be burned. He quickly opening the cage, attempting to scoop up the object.

Zack blinked for a second, disbelieving. (Wow....he is fast....and strong at that..for a bug anyway.) He quickly Pheonix Stepped off of the branch as the tree came crashing down, narrowly avoiding the fall. As soon as he landed he took off full sprint, which was pretty fast, after the spider, who he had kept his eyes on even as it ran off. He followed the trail of holes marking its path of travel. he realized the spider was travelling horizontally straight through the buildings in a line. That gave him an idea. Based on its path of travel, he determined the next building in its path, and Pheonix Stepped to the side that it would come out of, and measuring the angle, he placed the cage down door open where the spider would exit the wall. He heard a soft clicking sound. The spider had enterred the wall. He Pheonix Stepped to the other side of the building, and, locating the entry hole, he ran his hand along his sword. Then, with a flick of his wrist, he sent the fiery whip through the hole after the spider. With the spider's speed and at the speed that he had launched it, the spider would easily be able to outrun it. But the spider wouldn't know that. All it would know would be that it was being chased, which, hopefully, would cause it to exit the wall without paying attention to the cage at the other end when it exited. He muttered "Therma," stabbing his sword hilt into the ground. The high heat would ensure that no one stole his sword. He then Pheonix Stepped to the other side and stood by the cage, ready.

Zack smiled as the spider took off with the cage off of it and took off full sprint to keep up with the cage. He Pheonix Stepped back and grabbed his sword. He gottem. He ran off at full sprint, keeping the cage in site. He rounded a corner, and found a building with golden coins and gems at its base. (Aha!) The spider must have been hiding in the gems. But it was still in the cage. In all the commotion, the door had swung shut. Now all he had to do was to get the cage. The spider was afraid of fire, so it wouldn't run through it. It could burrow with the cage around it and the door shut. (Gotcha.) He took out his sword, using flametongue once again. He created another cage of fire. The walls were higher this time, and it encompassed a smaller area, coming very, but not too close to the cage walls. With that he stepped forwards, and swiftly grabbed the cage, taking the handle in a firm grip. "Got you!" He said, holding the cage at arm's length and admiring the spider within.

ooc: If this is no good let me know, I'll fix it

OOC: Once this is over, you have to write the mission report.

IC: The spider tried to squirm away as Zack lifted the cage, but it was no good. As strong as the spider was, it couldn't break through the steel of the cage. After moments of struggling, it stopped completely and gave up. It simply stood there and walked around in the cage, covering every corner of it. This spider had no web so sticking to the top wasn't possible. It was captured.

ooc: Gotcha! ^_^ Woo! Mission Complete!

Shadow smiled triumphantly as the spider gave up, stopped crawling and sat still. "Well, it took long enough but I finally got you. Pretty sneaky thing you are." Shadow made a handseal with his free hand, and he and the cage were caught up in the spiralling flame of Pheonix Whorl. He cooled the flames as much as he could, ensuring that the heat would not kill the spider. He then focused his mind on the bug catcher, disappearing. Shadow and his catch reappeared, the spider still intact, on the street where the bug catcher stood, eagerly awaiting Shadow's return. He approached, holding the cage up high. "Gottem Ethan!" he said with a smile, holding the cage out to him. "Here you go!"

Zack accepted the yen, a smile on his face. He rubbed the back of his neck, handing over the cage. "Thanks a lot." he said, giving a small chuckle. "It was no easy catch I'll tell ya that." He lowered his hands back to his sides, sheathing his sword. "Well, it was nice meeting you Ethan. And I'll be glad to help you again anytime!" He smiled again, then turned, walking towards the acadamy through the crowded streets. Once he was out of earshot he muttered, to no one in particular, "Geez, he could have told me that anytime! I ran my feet off after that thing." He still smiled though, his hands behind his head. He'd helped someone, and that was good. Zack pulled out a clip board and a pencil, checking off the mission and beginning his report. Yup, all in all a good day. And that would keep him smiling, all the way back to Sentou Gakuin.