Rain pounded against the battered, razed landscape; leaves, limbs, and other tree litter blocked the road. That wasn't all however. Getting soaked alongside the upturned nature was the remnants of civilization that was torn asunder by the storm – pieces of buildings, cars, lampposts all lay in ruin. Only a single light shone in the community plunged into the darkness.

"Alright girls, ready?" "Ready!"

"Famiglio Incendio, Moderato!"

In the circle of Taika, Pacifica, and Rebecca a healing attribute fox appeared. Shouri cast in tre corde nine more times, with each call bringing a new rhythm beast into existence until their numbers reached ten total.

"Okay, each one has three shots of La Bella Vita or higher levels if needed. They're small enough to get into a tight space if we need them to," he told the group.

"I've never seen this done before…" Gabriel gasped, looking over the healing attribute rhythm foxes. "Didn't know this was a thing," Tyson agreed with his Maestro. "This is revolutionary," he added. "Yeah, all search and rescue teams need this kind of magic!" Gabriel nodded in agreement.

"You think so?" Shouri asked. "Definitely! Can you do this with other spells?" questioned the storm chasing Maestro. "Basics only, but we've been able to make smoke, ice, water, and shadow foxes this way," said Shouri. "There's tons of uses for that kind of flexibility," Tyson hummed, considering the possibilities.

"We can talk about that later, tell us what we need to do," Shouri urged.

Gabriel nodded and focused on the task at hand. From a storage compartment in the vehicle he drew out rain gear and passed out the coats to the crew sans Rebecca.

"I'll keep your tuner on, let us know if you sense anything from the foxes," Shouri instructed his fire Resonator, who flashed a thumbs up in acknowledgment.

"Rilevare l'intenzione, Rubato, keep us updated," instructed Shouri of Taika. She nodded and tightened the grip on her medical bag's strap while focusing on the spell requested of her.

"Where are the other chasers?" asked Pacifica over the roar of the storm. "Still chasing the storm. We got this area for now. Mostly we're here to be of immediate help before emergency services get here," Gabriel replied.

The trek was rough. It was still raining and lightning only offered small flashes of visibility. Shouri and Taika could see fine, while the others carried flashlights. The rhythm foxes spread out into the devastated neighborhood, glowing as they dove into the wreckage.

"Sho!" Taika called out.

Then there was the other complication to their search and rescue efforts: Scherzando.

The beasts were on the prowl, looking for the remains of life that may have been clinging to survival.

"Pacifica!" Shouri called.

"I'm on it!" The otter rushed towards a group of beasts who were pawing at the wreckage of a once proud home for a possible tasty treat. With the massive volumes of water surrounding her, Pacifica was armed and dangerous. As she ran, she pulled more and more water into her rhythmic grasp, rending and tearing the Scherzando who hadn't expected the one otter army.

"Taika, Fissare la Ombra, Piano Staccato – these should fly further than you can throw Luce Lunares," he instructed. "Si!" Taika confirmed, firing off shadowy arrows into the straggling Scherzando.

Gabriel and Tyson watched as the two Resonators tore through the ranks of Scherzando that the storm had attracted.

"What do we do now?" Shouri asked, snapping the two from their awe.

"Sorry, you're really good at this," Tyson admitted. "Rianima il Bullone, Rubato – let's be ready to heal anyone we find," Gabriel told his Resonator.

Shouri wasn't too familiar with lightning magic, so it was surprising to hear the lightning element possessed a healing spell.

Now wasn't the time to question it, they had to focus, and Rebecca's voice was just the focus he needed at that moment.

"Sho! The house near you has someone trapped!" she called out from her tuner. Sure enough, he spotted the glow of a healing fox nearby. The home itself was standing, just barely. While it didn't take a direct hit from the tornado, it did take a severe beating from all the debris churned up when the funnel passed by.

Shouri took off towards the structure. "Rebecca, send the fox in and have it keep the people inside calm." "Got it!"

At its summoner's behest the fox dove into the structure while Shouri arrived nearby to take in the extent of the damage and figure out what they could do.

"Do they have a basement? Or did they hide in the interior rooms?" Shouri wondered. Based on how Rebecca's fox jumped through the broken window it must have been the latter. Even over the roar of the rain, he could make out the strained creaking of the building.

"Taika! Pacifica!" he called out.

Though, that may have been unneeded as the two were already on their way, alongside Gabriel and Tyson.

"There's people in here according to Rebecca," he apprised the group of the situation. "Gabriel, can you and Tyson keep the Scherzando off our backs while we try to get them out?"

"How? It doesn't look stable," Tyson pointed out. "Both Taika and Pacifica have their ad-Libs. We can use that to force our way through while holding it up," Shouri explained. "Wait, you're going in with them?!" Gabriel exclaimed.

"Of course I am," Shouri said as if it should have been obvious. "We couldn't stop him if we tried," Pacifica said with a shrug. "If anything it'll make us try harder," Taika added.

Without another word, the trio made their way through the front door.

Taika and Pacifica were at their maximum alertness, eyes darting around, ears twitching as they listened for any change in their situation. Water circled around Pacifica and Taika's beads rattled at the ready.

"Rebecca sent one of the foxes in to mark where they're at and heal anyone," Shouri informed his pair. "They're gonna need more than the fox can give, hurry!" Rebecca urged from her tuner.

Taika scanned the building with Rilevare l'intenzione. It took only a second for her to lock onto their targets. "This way." She took the lead, guiding them deeper into the rapidly crumbling home.

Sparks of electricity arced from the broken lines, water poured in from the holes in the roof and ceiling, rubble got in their way, necessitating a careful and methodical approach. They reached the inner part of the house. Taika's ears twitched.

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"H-help! Please!" a child's voice cried.

Their advance towards the trapped was halted. A huge slab of drywall that barred the way and from initial inspection it didn't appear that there was another way to get to the spot where the child was trapped.

"You think we could get through it with a spell?" Pacifica wondered. Shouri shook his head. "It doesn't seem stable. We could make it worse," he grunted in frustration.

The creaks of the structure above them informed of the limited time they had.

"Sho!" Taika cried out.

The boy gulped, his heart pounding. They didn't have the luxury of time. If they hesitated anymore, they might need rescuing themselves and the ones trapped here would be…

Pacifica's tuner began urgently beeping.

"Manga de Agua, Fortissimo!

Manga de Agua Pianissimo – Piano – Forte – Fortissimo (NEW!)

A second tornado struck the house this evening as Pacifica moved, a massive water spout forming in the space to suck up the rubble that blocked their way and punch a hole in the roof.

Taika's tuner beeped in turn.

"Onda Mentale, Moderato Staccato!"

Onda Mentale Presto – Allegro – Moderato (NEW!)

Taika guided the telekinetic force provided by her Maestro to push out the walls that wanted to fall on them.

Shouri rushed into the newly cleared hallway, Pacifica and Taika on his tail. The glow of the healing fox led them to a crumpled door. Without a word, Taika's beads flew out and yanked the destroyed door off its hinges, revealing two.

A young Resonator, a little girl with feline features clung to her Maestro, an unconcious elderly woman, precious red life dripping from open wounds. "H-help… Gramma won't move…" the Resonator girl whimpered.

"What should we do?" asked Pacifica, pressing a hand on Shouri's shoulder to keep him calm. "We shouldn't move the injured," Shouri ground his teeth. "Unless they're in immediate danger," Taika finished his thought, her eyes darting around the still crumbling structure. Her gaze briefly dropped to her side where her medical bag rested underneath her raincoat. Their little stunt to clear the hallway did no favors in the stability department, there wouldn't be time to properly triage the woman – they needed to get out now.

"Can you walk on your own?" Shouri asked the cat girl. "Y-yes…. But Gramma…" the little Resonator whimpered. "We're gonna get you both out of here," Pacifica smiled confidently. "Just trust us," Taika added.

The cat nodded and stepped out of the closet.

"Paci, help me lift her," Shouri instructed. "Rebby, have the fox burn its last spell," he instructed. "Right!"

The glow of the healing fox faded as it expended its last La Bella Vita on the unconscious woman and vanished. Shouri gently moved them out of the closet and immediately changed spots with Pacifica. The Maestro whipped his belt off and crossed the elderly woman's legs and tied them and secured the belt, wrapping the rest of length around his left hand. Pacifica meanwhile sat the victim up, reaching under her arms and folding her arms, grasping by her wrists.

Without a word spoken between the two, they stood in unison. The little cat watched in awe, the vibrant glow of yellow in Shouri's eyes, and the calming blue in Pacifica's.

"This way." Taika took the cat girl's hand and led the way. Her beads flew about the remains of the home, batting away any rubble that threatened to hit them. Thankfully only small pieces threatened them and the group of five made it out safely.

Just in the nick of time, as not seconds after they were a safe distance away from the structure, it gave way completely and collapsed.

Gabriel and Tyson were busy fighting opportunistic Scherzando.

"Taika, can you handle looking her over? Me and Paci will go help keep the Scherzando away," Shouri requested.

The vixen nodded and dropped to her knees in the wet grass. "Go," she waved him off. "You're the best, love – come on Paci!"

"I-is Gramma gonna be okay?" asked the cat, unable to stop herself from crying. "Si, I'll make sure of it," Taika smiled, gently patting the girl's head.

Shouri and Pacifica rushed behind Gabriel. The otter gathered water as she ran and swept through the Scherzando, breaking their ranks.

"Are these always this fun?" asked Shouri, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "For an EF3? 'bout average honestly," Gabriel chuckled. "Ghiacciolo-!"

Gabriel's eyes widened. He realized something was odd. Pacifica was surrounded in ice already, despite Shouri not finishing his spell.

"-Rubato!"

The ice was mid-flight already, a wall of deadly needles claiming their marks as they shredded through the opportunistic predators.

"We should work to clear them away from the damaged homes," Shouri advised.

Right on time, the lights of the emergency service vehicles lit up the night. It was a practical army of them descending upon the once peaceful neighborhood.

"They're probably gonna need the cover," grinned Shouri, looking back at the storm chaser. Despite everything that he had done already, the Maestro was shining, brilliant. A beacon of hope in the midst of devastation.

It inspired the two storm chasers like no other had before. They had a feeling they had met some extraordinary people that evening.

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