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"How goes it, huntsman?" The barkeep asked me. Neo pulled up beside me on a stool at the bar.
We found a town called Mideel. And in that town we stumbled across a bar. It had running water so I was able to shave. My face burned in a few places where I had nicked myself doing so but it wasn't bad and the tingling pain felt pleasant.
"It's going well. And yourself?"
The bar was mostly open with a few booths along a wall opposite the actual bar which was lined with a few stools on which Neo and I sat. It was lit by lanterns rather than having electric lights. The dark wood walls were made of pine that same pine which surrounded the town in a dark wood.
"Not so bad. What can I get for you?"
There was an oil painting on the far wall but it was grimy and I couldn't make out what it depicted in the dim light. Behind the bar ran a mirror the length of the whole room nearly.
"Three shots of something strong and something cute and sugary for my friend here."
"You got it," he set about working behind the bar pouring drinks for us. The bar keep was short, maybe five-eight. But he was broad at the shoulder with dark blue lucid eyes and black hair. "So what brings you to town?"
"I'm on my way to Vale. I'm also looking for someone. Maybe you've heard something and can help me out with it."
"What's their name?"
"Merlot," I answered. The barkeep dropped a shot glass and it shattered on the floor. He looked at me with a bit of shock and revulsion.
"So you know of him, then." I looked from the shattered glass and liquid on the floor back to the man's grey eyes.
"The hell do you want with a man like that?"
"He's an enemy of mine. I want to put a stop to him. His experiments, if you know about those, have gone on long enough. It's high time he met a permanent end if you catch my drift."
"He has a laboratory near here. He used to come into town before we knew what he was really like. He pulled the wool over our eyes. We thought he was decent people. Well except me. I know people's character and saw through him from the beginning. He does wicked things to monsters. It is known. He twists them."
I know. I was one of his twisted things. I was well versed in that sort of thing.
"I need to know where his laboratory is. I need to kill him. Can you help me?"
"Aye. You got a map?"
I pulled from one of my deep pockets a tightly folded sheet of paper. Carefully I unfolded it into a wide map of the region.
"It's here. Or about there. You won't be able to miss it if you go there. You'll start to see his pets. Most people don't go near it. It's the sort of place one likes to avoid."
"Thank you. His monsters don't concern me at the moment. I can slay them."
"You'll be doing this town a kindness. And perhaps a kindness to the beasts as well."
"The Grimm don't deserve pity. They aren't animals. That's a common misconception. They have no real emotions and should be destroyed in all their forms. They are always monsters. Merlot just tweaks them a little. Don't get turned around. And I'm not doing it for the sake of your town. I have a vendetta against him. Don't forget that either."
"All the same we will be in your debt. I used to serve him drinks in this very bar. Of course I knew that there was something off about him. I can always tell."
I didn't say it but I knew he couldn't tell there was something off in me and Neo as well. The barkeep was just boasting. It was nothing to pay attention to - bar talk and nothing more.
"I'm sure. He's a shady character. When was the last time you saw him?"
"Months ago. Must have been."
I was close on his trail then. Or closer than I had ever been. I had always been too far behind him to actually catch him. This time I would get him. Those things that he deserved were finally catching up to him. I was finally catching up to him.
"So you plan on killing him?"
"I can't take him prisoner. And he's got to go down. So that's an affirmative there, chief."
"Most sane people want nothing to do with Merlot and his creations. They tend to avoid it at all costs."
"Maybe there's something wrong with me. Maybe I'm nuts."
"A normal fellow like you?" The barkeep laughed. "Nah not you. You're normal for a huntsman. Doin' your duty and all that."
I chuckled a little back and I slammed down a shot. The barkeep laid before me and Neo and set about cleaning up the mess he made. I watched him work as I slowly savored the strong whiskey. It burned fantastic going down and it blended with my high into a cross-fade. The vertigo of it all was delicious and I relished the motion sickness. It was delectable.
I hammered another one of my shots while Neo sipped her drink in all her typical muteness. Rosé decided to stay back in her room this time. Drinking wasn't for her or so she had decided and hey, the last thing I wanted to be accused of was getting a minor drunk for who knows what purpose. So it was all for the better if she decided she wanted to skip it. It certainly saved me a little Lien. Not that that matters all too much to me.
My last shot I savored and drank slowly. I felt the buzz of the alcohol in my brain and I thought about Merlot and his laboratory. The last two had dangers inside of them. The one in Atlas had been trapped such that my step-father could set loose a creature on me in an arena. The gods only knew what I would find in this next one. Some fresh horror would await me inside, I was sure. And perhaps a madman as well.
"Son my precious child. Why do you resist me? Surely you can't keep this up."
"Neither can you. So shut up. I'm not in the mood to talk."
Mother reached out into that chasm between us and spoke to me. I answered back. I was getting better at the mind magic involved. I was getting plenty of practice.
"You rebel against yourself. You could be at peace."
"Not with you. Not ever. Do I need to bring out my fear?"
I had it ready like a weapon to strike. At a moment I could give in to a jaw dropping terror. It would lash at us both and cause my Mother's tentacles to feel back. It was easy to do while I was high. There was the ability to let it consume me and have my heart race. I liked it a little. It was like an old friend.
"I just want to talk to you. Can't a mother speak to her child?"
"If that was all you wanted you could do so. But it isn't. You want my obedience and servitude. I rebel against that as you well know. You have nothing new to torment me with so now you think to try reason is that it,? I am prepared to be unreasonable. You'll find me ready."
"Very well. I shall depart. But you will do my bidding. You will put a stop to Merlot."
My breath hitched in surprise. Neo looked at me. I waved a finger by my head in a 'I'm crazy' manner.
"Fuck off. One more word and I bring out my razor."
She retreated from my thoughts. The tentacles drew back in their oily and slimy fashion. I was alone in my own head once more. But I was all the more puzzled. Did Mother really want Merlot dead or was this another mind game? I couldn't be certain. I felt myself. My will seemed to be my own but isn't that what I would think if I was indoctrinated? It probably was. My sisters all seemed to be their own masters even though I could tell looking in that they were not. They belonged to something greater. It was only I who rebelled. But should I rebel against this too and spare Merlot? Mother always knew how to get under my skin it would seem.
How bothersome.
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I knocked on the door to Rosé's room three times. Nice and hard such as to be loud for her inside.
"I'm coming!" She called from within. She opened the door and saw that it was I.
"Rosé I found that laboratory I mentioned. I'm going to head out and investigate it," I lead with my new business. No reason for delay. She stepped aside and I paced into the room so that we could talk. She shut the door behind me and Neo.
"Right now? After drinking? All by yourself?" She had to wonder about my condition. Was I fit for the task? Because if I died then what would happen to her? She would be in great jeopardy and lost and alone on an enormous continent.
"That's the plan," I answered briefly. "I'm just letting you know. I'll be coming back. No worries. It's just Grimm in all likelihood."
"No way. Huh uh. I'm going with you," she protested in an insistent manner. She wanted to be there and I was sure that not even she knew what for.
"I'm going with intent to kill. You don't want to be there for that. Or have you changed your mind?" I asked rhetorically.
"Does Merlot really need to die?" She asked me imploringly. She was concerned for my welfare, the state of my soul, I suppose.
"Yeah he does. He really does need to be killed and I have to be the one to do it. Or else his experiments will go on and he'll remain a danger to everyone. He really does need to die.
We were in an inn room with wood paneled walls and floors and a decently sized feather bed in one corner. Rosé had laid out some of her clothes but it was in a tight fashion because she knew we wouldn't be staying long. The place was lit up by a three candles in every corner except the one which held the doorway. It gave the room a soft flickering quality of light from the little torches. There was a window by the far wall opposite the door and near the bed and it looked out into the dark night. It was too bright in the room to see out and there was a curtain which could be drawn over the window.
"Plus I don't need to be looking after you at the same time I'm dealing with gods know what else."
She looked away and frowned. She didn't like being treated as helpless but she realized she realistically was just that.
"I'm not a dumb kid. I can help."
"This isn't an argument. You're not getting your way on this one. This something I have to do and I can't bring you along. You're not ready. It's not time for this sort of thing. I'm trying to look out for you."
"So this is about me, then?"
"A little. You're my responsibility so I can't fling you off into danger. I'm just letting you know what I'm doing as a courtesy. You are a kid. And you don't know how the world really works. Those aren't the reasons you're staying but they are reasons you can't come. Merlot is dangerous. I don't know what I'll find and I don't need to be babysitting while I'm dealing with that." She looked away and wouldn't meet my gaze. "I'm sorry. That was unbecoming. You're not an infant. You're not helpless, not anymore. But it's true that I can't guarantee your safety."
"You can't guarantee my safety the rest of the time either and you'll have to let me go eventually. You can't be there forever."
I sighed heavily again. I stared at her hard. I thought deeply about it.
"You can come-"
"Yes!" She pumped a fist in the air. "I mean- um- I'm glad that you saw reason."
It's too late to try and be modest I saw you, you rascal. You're such a scamp.
"But you can't come inside the laboratory. You will wait outside. That's the compromise. No deviations. No following me inside. I need you to be on your guard in case I need to beat a retreat. Can you handle that?" I asked her. I knew how she would respond. She tried to do it elegantly but it was failing.
"Of course. Don't worry. I've got your back," her excitement shone through like a star. It twinkled and winked at me and was on the whole just too much. It was more trouble than it was worth at times.
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We set out after that.
The Grimm were small and mutated a dull purple where they should have been white. Rosé was shocked and appalled at the creepers' transformation.
"You see? You see why he has to be stopped? Someone with real power has to do it and it falls on me," I explained as I crushed a monster under my boot.
"That isn't why you're doing it though. You have a special reason for it. But you won't tell me. Don't you. I see through you, Cloud. You've let me get to know you a little too well for you to disguise this from me. This is personal."
"So what if it is? If you must know… if you must know some of his experiments got my team killed. So yeah. It is personal. He started this mess. He started this whole thing. Now I'm going to deal with him. He deserves what he's going to get. Don't try and stop me, don't get in my way."
We made our way through the dark pine forest. The Grimm would normally have an edge but these monsters were bright and glowing. That made them easy to spot and to kill. Purple fluids leaked from their bodies when they resolved in organless piles. The ash and fluid mixture was straight of disgusting and it smelled so bad that Rosé wretched. It was a fairly gross combination. Neo looked none too pleased either to be looking at this sort of thing. It was nasty. My father's creations usually were gross and horrible. The grotesque was his calling card.
Still we marched on until we arrived at a big grey and white bunker just like the one in Atlas and Mistral. It was half buried under the ground with a large set of sealed double doors to the front of the structure.
I activated my semblance and let the soft blue glow wash over me. Rosé looked on in awe at the sight of the pale blue wisps of smoke like fire. I sliced forward and tore into the doors and ripped my way inside with my titanic blade and an expenditure of my semblance.
I examined the footprints near the entrance. They were fresh in the dirt. Merlot was here. I had found him at long long last. It was time. I could feel it.
"Rosé, wait here. Come on Neo. It's time for some pay back. It's time for Merlot to get what he deserves."
I descended into the darkness.
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-WG.
