Ataraxia
Mistral
Daylight tore through the tiniest of cracks in the sky, casting a bleak glow upon the cobblestone streets of Mistral. The 5th ring, lined with dense buildings on either side. Often stacked on top of one another.
Nate marched down to Ataraxia, stepping back to avoid a fight that brewed on the streets. It didn't last long mind you, the two stragglers having their fight broken up an officer of the law. Doing so in brutal fashion.
Inside, Nate stepped onto the hardwood floor and briskly looked around. His eyes darting from the gamblers handing off their lien to lady luck to the breakfast crowd that took swigs of their beer while listening to the band.
After doing a single pass, Nate let out a distressed sigh thinking 'no sign of him here either. Where the heck did he disappear to?'
Behind the bar counter Nate spotted Hex and walked over to her, "Hey Hex, have you seen Jackie lately?"
Hex looked up from the glass she was cleaning and wore a wry smile, "Funny you should say that". Before pointing to the man of the hour, sitting right in front of her. Shoulders slumped, and head hunched over.
Nate blinked, "Oh, hey there you are. I've been…"
Upon getting a closer look at Jackie, Nate leaned back from the ghastly sight that lay before him. A man who'd so clearly been tossed into a meat grinder and then flattened by a road roller. From his sunken eyes that sat on a mountain of bags to the lines that outlined his sagging jawline. Misery just oozed out of every pore on his skin.
"Gods be damned, what happened to you?" Nate asked.
Hex sighed, "No clue. All I know is that he started coming in the morning pretty regularly the past couple of days. I asked him the first two times, but he wouldn't say. Just that he was 'waiting'. Whatever that meant".
Nate snapped his fingers in front of Jackie's eyes before waving, "He's gone catatonic. How many drinks did he have?"
"Six… in the past half-hour".
"By the gods…"
"Yeah… I think it'd do him some good to get out for a bit. Think you could do that for him, since you're here and all?"
Nate chuckled and replied "can do, in fact I came here to get him for a little job".
Hex smiled and nodded before tending to one of the customers. Leaving Nate to get to work in trying to get Jackie out of Ataraxia.
He moved to pry Jackie from his empty glass, an act that reached Jackie and summoned forth a visceral response.
"No" Jackie grumbled out, tightening his grip around the glass and pulling it closer.
"Jackie, Jackie… let the glass go…"
"Glass good".
"I know it's good, but you've been binge drinking here for…" Nate looked at Bella for confirmation, who responded with "four days".
"Four days…" Nate continued while thinking 'yikes'.
"And contrary to your dulled sense of reason, it's not good for you".
"If this not good… then nothing is…"
Nate threw an arm around Jackie's shoulder, and grabbed his wrist – the one that gripped the empty glass.
"Ah, but I know something that's a whole lot better".
Jackie nodded his head sideways, "I don't believe you".
Nate grabbed Jackie's face and moved it to face his, "how about hunting some Grimm?"
A flicker of interest sparked into Jackie's despondent eyes, "Grimm?"
"Yeah, a whole bunch of them. On the outskirts of Mistral".
Jackie's gaze lingered on Nate, his intrigue firmly in Nate's grasp.
"Will there be beowolves?"
Nate nodded.
"And ursa?"
Nate nodded a second time, "and maybe even a beringel".
Jackie perked up at the mention of fighting Grimm but realization quickly sobered him up, "A beringel?"
Nate blinked at the sudden agency on display, "Uh, yeah… there's been reports of a beringel along with some Grimm on the outskirts. Saw it on a Grimm clearance mission, pay's not bad. Figured I could use the extra muscle and came looking for you. So you in?"
"Yeah, yeah I'm in just…" Jackie said before looking to his empty glass and realizing that it was empty.
"Never mind, let's go".
"Ha-ha, now that's the spirit" Nate said excitedly as Jackie got up and left the bar counter behind.
The two made their way down the cobblestone roads past the miserly faces that sought refuge in the shade, and over to a tunnel that led deeper into the mountain. One of many that connected the 5th ring of Mistral from all around, stretching deep into the mountain and expanding into a burrow of houses, local businesses, and everything in-between. All snugly, and haphazardly embedded into the rocky walls and perpetually lit up by light poles scattered about, empowered by the burning glow of fire dust.
In a corner nestled between two miserly looking bungalows, Nate led the way into a freight car. A metal box with rust clinging to the corners, and sides. Warping the reds into a vomit inducing brown, and swallowing the once intricate pattern work that some craftsmen spent an unenviable amount of time putting down.
The doors closed of their own volition, and at the push of a button they were off. Descending down the mountain on a system of rails. Around them the sights shifted to the mountain interior of the lower rings, the 4th, the 3rd, and so on. Each one looking worse than the last.
Soon they hit the final ring, the rock bottom of Mistral. From the moment the doors slid open, and the two stepped outside. They were hit with a foul stench that was nearly incomprehensible to the mind. Were it not for their constitution, it could've knocked them out.
All around them were shabby looking folks huddled outside, in corners, or meandering on the streets. The one commonality among most of them being that they were faunus.
"Nothing like hunting Grimm to get your mind off things. No moral quandaries, no ethical dilemmas. Just some evil soulless monsters that you can pulverize without a care in the world" Nate spouted as they marched over to the end of the tunnel network that was straight ahead.
Narrowly ducking out of the path of a petty squabble that came tumbling out of one of the buildings, a bar by the name of "Blood Hound".
"Yeah, they sure are a great way to get over stuff" Jackie replied, right as the sound of a muffled gunshot rang out through the walls of a distant building. All while a small group of police ran past the duo post haste.
"Speaking of which, where exactly are we going?"
"It's a small settlement several kilometers east of Mistral. Some rural town called Skota".
"They live that far away and don't have a resident huntsman?"
"They have a population of 150 and get by on agriculture. Given the rates of Mistrali huntsman I'd be surprised if they could hire a drop out".
Jackie nodded, "Fair enough".
Outside beyond the low glimmer of dust powered light poles, Jackie and Nate were embraced by the warm glow of the sun. But not the distant sight of the vast lands of Mistral, no forests or verdant meadows. Just a thick metal wall with watch towers breaking up the monotony, and large guns on top that were armed and ready.
On the way to the aerial port they passed by a ram faunus atop a soap box, a man in his mid-40s who shouted into a rolled up newspaper at an impressive crowd consisting of four kids, a grandma, and a confused turtle.
"The other kingdoms have looked down on us faunus for far too long. But no more! Starting today, we will finally be heard! For our brothers in the White Fang have pulled off what many thought would've been impossible. Hit Atlas hard when they are most vulnerable, and take control of one of their manufacturing sites!"
The kids looked blissfully stupefied, though whether it was because of the ram's message or the fact that he was standing on a box was unclear. The grandma meanwhile shouted "what?!"
"The White Fang took over one of Atlas's manufacturing sites!"
"What?!"
"The White Fang… Ah whatever. Forget I said anything".
"Oh, okay. Sure thing dearie" the grandma replied before smiling earnestly. Much to the ram faunus's visible annoyance.
"Finally moving up in the world, eh Bunji?" Nate called out while passing by.
"Oh screw you Nate" Bunji said before moving to flip Nate off, before stopping himself halfway when he remembered that there were kids in his microscopic audience.
Nate chuckled, "I wonder if he'll ever get the memo that his words are falling on deaf ears. Quite literally in the case of the half deaf grandma".
"Though you gotta appreciate the hustle – he's out there trying to rally the faunus 24/7, 7 days a week".
"Yeah well… here's hoping he doesn't get shanked".
"Yeah…"
Outskirts of skota
The mountain city of Mistral loomed in the distance as Jackie and Nate found themselves traipsing over blades of grass. Carefully moving forward with Nate clutching his rifle, while Jackie kept his hands buried in his coat pockets. Eyes scanning his surroundings while his mind was left to wander.
The trees, and grass waxing away into an arid land with dunes in the far distance. A land where Jackie saw himself walking across with a blue haired faunus walking up beside him, "Gods, did we have to walk all the way to Narad?"
"We could've taken up Cabala's offer to get a ride on their dune sailor" Cole said as he walked up from Jackie's right. His curved locks of green hair turning a dark shade against the infernal gaze of the sun.
"Ugh, screw that guy. If I had to spend a whole half hour in a cramped space with him – I think I might've bashed my head in with Summer" Sable said, briskly walking forward and motioning to her weapon – a hammer that was presently in its canon form and strapped onto her back.
"He does love to ramble" Jackie mused out loud.
Sable scoffed, "That's the understatement of the century. And really, what's his obsession with secretly making everything about his wild conspiracy theories about where Grimm come from? Like each time a conversation starts, it inevitably ends with…"
Sable tapped into her inner mimic and spoke in a mocking tone, "I think the Grimm were made by an evil witch over a tiff with her ex-husband. Like seriously, what even?!"
"Not the worst theory I've heard about where Grimm come from. Certainly better than the idea that they were a science experiment by an ancient race that came from beyond the stars" Cole added while adding air quotes to that last bit.
Sable blinked, before burying her face in her palms and groaning.
"Gah, who cares? All this walking is going to kill me. If we get there and my legs stop moving – I'm going to blame you for this" Klyde said as she threw her head back and complained, while pointing an accusatory finger at Jackie.
"If walking for a really long time can take you out, then I think we have to answer the very real conspiracy of how you passed initiation" Jackie began before turning to face Klyde adding "there's no way you were able to make your way back academy grounds before Sable or Cole".
Cole uttered a mock gasp, "That's a good point. I vote aliens".
Sable's groans grew louder from behind her palms.
Klyde threw her head forward, and hunched over.
"Aliens? Really? Couldn't you be a little more creative?"
"Seriously? Foreign beings from another planet aren't creative enough? Okay then, what do you propose oh fearless leader?" Cole asked as he turned to face Jackie and defying human anatomy by walking sideways.
"How about magic? Maybe she magicked the Grimm away or something".
Cole scoffed, "And magic is more creative than aliens? In what world?"
"In this one. Aliens have been all the rage in the conspiracy circles, but not magic. Not for a really long time".
"I wish I could magick myself from this conversation" Klyde muttered, loud enough to be heard by Sable who chuckled.
"Me too" she said as she pried herself from her palms, and locked eyes with her teammate. The two sharing a smile as Jackie and Cole continued their inane argument.
Suddenly something catches Klyde's ears, and she snaps forward to see something distressing.
"Jackie, I found it".
A sudden descent pulled Jackie out of the sands of history, and into the forest of the present. He glanced around in a temporary panic, before finding the face of Nate right beside him.
"Nate what the—"
Nate shushed Jackie before whispering "we found it. The Grimm nest".
Jackie blinked before taking a look for himself, peering slightly above the bush he was kneeling in front of. Ahead of them, beyond the chest height hedge was a cave. Guarded by beowolves who were roaming around, taking care not to drift too far away from the mouth of the cave.
"The beringel's probably inside, like that hunter in the town said" Jackie surmised.
"No doubt surrounded by a crapton of beowolves, and a handful of ursai" Nate added.
"Fighting a beringel in a closed space like that is going to be a nightmare, especially since it's a brawler. Surrounded by gods know how many beowolves and ursa, it's going to be suicide".
"Agreed, we need to draw it out but keep most of the beowolves and ursa inside".
It was obvious what the plan would have to be, such that they both said it unanimously.
"We have to set up a trap".
Nate pulled out one of the many cartridges he carried for his rifle, taking it out of a satchel that was wrapped around his waist.
"This is all the fire dust I have at my disposal" Nate said as he handed Jackie the munitions, which he emptied and counted. Running some basic math in his head regarding the amount of dust in each round and how much would be needed to create a small explosion.
The answer was 50 bullets.
"Alright, this should be more than enough" Jackie said as he poured the bullets into a small sac that at one point carried a handful of lien from one of Nate's previous jobs. Tying the end closed with a knot, Jackie handed the volatile bag over to Nate. Holding it by the rope that the sac came with.
"Hook this up to the top of the cave's entrance. Then go inside and confirm the beringel's position, once you've done that. Draw it out, and I'll seal the cave's entrance once it's out in the open".
"Question. How exactly are you going to do that? On account of the lack of a proper weapon?"
Jackie smirked slightly before reaching into his inner coat pocket, and pulling out James's revolver.
Nate blinked as his eyes fell on the firearm, "Whoa, since when did you get your hands on something like that?"
"Stole it from a criminal. Only thing I got from that damned Atlas job" Jackie said before setting the weapon to fire dust. The side of the barrel glowing red.
"Silver linings right?"
Jackie chuckled sarcastically, "Silver linings".
Looking ahead Nate held the sac in the palm of one of his hands, and gave Jackie a thumbs up. Slinging his rifle over the shoulder, Nate activated his semblance. Shadows began trailing off the edges of his body before consuming him entirely. Before long Nate slinked into the ground, losing dimension and detail to become a shadow.
Nate slithered across the ground, a shadow of his former self running undetected to the mouth of the cave and climbing up to the top of the cave's entrance. He materialized the sac of fire dust bullets, and tied it to a jagged piece of rock overlooking the grassy ground. After that Nate disappeared into the cave, stopping shy of reaching the center of the cave. Halted by a well of darkness where the light of day didn't reach.
Nate's shadow self-loomed overhead, clinging to the top of the cave from which he lowered his head to get a better look. The cave's interior was circular, and teeming with beowolves and a handful of ursa. Near the middle was the hulking brute that was his target, the stark form of a beringel. Towering over the beowolves, and ursa with bulging muscles that stretched across its arms and legs. Fierce crimson eyes glowing through the orbits of its bony face.
From the looks of things the beringel was sitting on its rear, and milling about. Clearly bored out of its mind.
'Looking for some excitement in your life? Well look no more' Nate thought before slinking out his torso, and pulling out his rifle. Squinting with one eye, Nate took aim and open fired.
A dust-infused bullet tore a path to the beringel, and struck it right between the eyes. In a burst of fire, and a bright red flash. That sure got the beringel's attention alright, along with the rest of the Grimm horde. Before long Jackie saw Nate rush out of the cave, throwing caution to the wind as he fired shot after shot at the Grimm that gave chase.
The beowolves outside snapped to Nate who was a green blur, back stepping while firing a barrage of bullets at the beowolves that came charging out. The two outside quickly closed their distance to Nate, but right as they lunged at him. He turned into a shadow and let the Grimm wolves slam into each other. Before popping back up, and transforming the butt of his rifle into an axe that Nate used to hack open the two beowolves necks.
Letting the beowolves fall to the ground, Nate spun his rifle around to resume his offensive against the Grimm that came pouring out of the cave. A handful of beowolves, and a couple of ursa. The latter shrugging off a handful of Nate's fire-dust rounds.
The bulkier ursa managed to get close, making swipes at Nate who dodged each one.
'Damn it, the beringel is still not out' Nate thought as he spun his rifle, and slashed upwards at an ursa. Before pulling the trigger, and firing an explosive round at the beowolf behind him.
Jackie took aim from behind his bush, and fired several shots at a couple of beowolves. Peppering them in the back, and giving Nate the opportunity to put an infernal bullet through each of their heads. In the brief chaos an ursa managed to get the jump on Nate, and slashed him right in the stomach. Sending the hunter stumbling back before skidding to a stop.
The beowolves, and ursa around Nate were starting to take notice of Jackie's once hidden position.
'Crap…' Nate thought as he looked to the cave's entrance and at the Grimm that came charging out. If the cave isn't sealed off soon, they'll be overrun by the creatures of darkness. Which was when the ground quaked, and with an ear shattering roar emerged the beringel.
The bulky humanoid charging out of the cave, running on all fours and making a beeline towards Nate. A proverbial fire in its eyes as it trampled across the ground.
Nate grinned as he ducked from an ursa's swipe, and hopped to the side before retaliating with an incendiary blast that set the ursa's head on fire. "Alright Jackie, seal that sucker up!" Nate exclaimed when the beringel lunged at him from a far. Crossing the distance in seconds, and appearing before him in the span of a second.
The muscle bound demon reared back to punch, and with a fraction of a millisecond to react. Nate just barely bobbed to the side, watching the fist fly past his head.
One after another the beringel unleashed a barrage of punches, its fists becoming a black blur that put Nate on the defensive. Barely dodging each strike before jumping back to avoid a downward punch that shattered the ground beneath.
The beringel halted its assault momentarily when a loud explosion reached its ears, the mouth of the cave closing up from a blockade of rubble. Courtesy of the pouch of fire-dust rounds detonating once Jackie fired at it.
Nate used this moment of relief to get some much needed distance from the beringel. Right as Jackie jumped out of cover, and made a beeline for the beringel.
"I'll keep the ursa and beowolves busy – you take the beringel!" Nate shouted as he engaged the surrounding Grimm.
"Always making me do that hard stuff" Jackie remarked as he gripped the top his stolen revolver with one hand, and steadied his aim while firing a barrage of infernal rounds at the beringel.
"You've got one Grimm, I've got a small army" Nate replied while sniping a dozen beowolves in quick fashion.
The beringel blocked Jackie's shots before fixating on him fully, and lunging towards him.
Jackie's heart pounded, sending rapid thumps reverberating across every fiber of his being. The beringel punched left then right, its movements a blur. Nearly impossible to track, even for Jackie. But he managed to avoid its savage blows, gritting his teeth and smirking while doing so.
'You're fast, but you're predictable' Jackie thought as flashes of his time spent sparring with Klyde popped into his mind. Briefly overlaying over the beringel making it feel as though Jackie was in a blast from the past.
He bobbed, and slashed. Bobbed, and slashed.
Putting innumerable gashes in the monster's armored chest, the wounds cauterized, having melted through its armor. Thanks to Jackie's semblance heating the transformed revolver's blade.
The speed, the rush, the excitement. Chills rippled down Jackie's spine as he danced on the razers' edge, inches away from being comboed into oblivion. It brought back feelings of excitement and adventure that Jackie didn't think he still had.
The beringel kept pushing Jackie back, for an outsider looking in, it might've seemed like the Grimm had Jackie on the ropes.
In reality nothing could be further from the truth.
A swift step to the side, and Jackie set the beringel up to punch the tree that was once behind him. Driving its fist through the bark and getting it stuck.
In a flash, Jackie slashed up and right through the beringel's arm.
Severing it from the base of its shoulder.
The monster let out an agonizing roar, and quickly threw out a swing from its left but Jackie ducked beneath.
It's speed having slowed now that it was one arm short.
Before the beringel could follow up with another attack, Jackie removed the remaining arm.
Sending the beast stumbling back, and looking at its arm-less stumps before bearing its fangs at the scarlet eyed hunter.
"Time to say goodbye, monkey face" Jackie remarked before running at the Grimm to finish the fight.
By driving the purple short sword, and its superheated blade through the beringel's head before firing off a dust round that reduced its head to a black explosion.
Jackie stepped back as he watched the muscular form of the Grimm fall back onto the ground, right as a beowolf lunged at him from the left.
Only to be sent flying with an infernal blast, courtesy of Nate who lowered his rifle to give Jackie a thumbs up.
All around them, the remaining bodies of downed Grimm turned to black mist.
Disappearing into the air leaving only bits of their bony armor behind.
Jackie let out a sigh as he deactivated his semblance, the fiery glow of his revolver-short sword returning to its shade of dark purple.
Nate walked over to the last still alive Grimm lying on the ground, a beowolf with both its legs blown off. The agent of darkness tried to crawl away to some manner of safety, only to have its lights turned off permanently by Nate driving the transformed axe end of his rifle into the beast's skull.
"Aaand that's the last of them".
"Correction, that's the last of them outside. We still have to deal with the rest in the cave" Jackie replied as he transformed his stolen revolver-sword into its revolver form before tucking it away into his coat.
Nate looked at the sealed up cave entrance and sighed.
Ataraxia
Mistral
The mid-day sun cast a warm glow over the worn down streets of Mistral's 5th ring, the wretchedness outside being stopped at the door to one of the better off bars the 5th ring had to offer.
"Man, the look on that beringel's face when you took off its arms was priceless" Nate remarked as a handful of chuckles tumbled out of his mouth.
"Now if only you could've taken that thing instead of me".
"Oh come on, are you still hung up on that?"
"No, but I find it funny that Mr. I-can-take-on-a-death-stalker, wants me to take on the beringel".
"Hey, death stalkers are slow. Beringel's are not".
"You're joking right? Death stalkers can catch up to an armored convoy".
"I meant reflex wise, a death stalker can catch up to a speeding vehicle sure. But it's got the reflexes of a dense sloth".
Jackie sighed and shrugged, "Whatever you say".
Nate grabbed the door handle to Ataraxia, and said "regardless, you gotta admit – it was hells a lot of fun".
Jackie smiled, "Couldn't agree more". That smile came with a deep sense of longing, one which echoed in the very depths of his being. Like an old friend that hadn't been seen in a long time.
Inside Jackie's old haunt, and the old haunt for a great deal of folk trying to forget about the dreariness of life. The melodies of an acoustic guitar drifted into his ears, along with some slurred singing from the tables close to the stage. The band was playing, and the people near them were getting absorbed by the music.
As the two huntsmen approached the bar counter, Hex looked at them and smiled warmly. Especially when she saw Jackie sauntering in with a bit of pep in his step, and his shoulders at a respectable height. Unburdened by anguish nor lifted by accomplishment.
"Well, look how's in better spirits than the past couple of days".
Jackie wore a wry smirk as Nate pat him strongly on the back.
"He just needed a good old Grimm hunt to get his mind back on point. The best way for a huntsman to clear one's mind".
"I thought whiskey was the way for a huntsman to clear one's mind" Hex asked.
"That's when a Grimm hunt fails" Nate replied before hopping onto one of the empty bar stools.
"It also helps that the reward was pretty sweet – a solid 1500 lien".
"Enough to cover a bar tab for a week" Jackie added rather dryly.
"Bingo. So let's get one started and have some fun".
Hex chuckled before pulling up two glasses and setting them down on the counter, "And I take it you two are gonna tell me all about your mission?"
"Oh you bet" Nate affirmed as Hex pulled out two bottles from the liquor rack behind her.
"Scotch for Jackie, and Schwarz Ale for Nate", Hex filled the respective glasses before sliding them over to the two hunters.
Jackie picked up his glass, and sent its spirits into his gullet while Nate spun his yarn on how their recent mission went. The details floating into the air, and drifting off into the horizon alongside their drinks. One by one, they kept coming as Nate kept rambling. Adding flair where it wasn't needed, like always.
But hearing him recount their tale plucked some unseen strings in Jackie's heart, enough so that by the 6th glass when Nate wrapped up his tale. Jackie found himself staring at his scroll.
"And after we killed off the remaining beowolves, and ursa in the cave. We headed back to Skota. Got our reward, and made our way back to Mistral" Nate said before swallowing the last of his Schwarz Ale and letting out a satisfied exhale.
"Further lending credence to the idea that you were lying about that death stalker debacle earlier".
Nate sighed, "Seriously, this again?"
"If you could take on a death stalker, then a beringel should be easy".
"We just had this conversation. Beringel's are lightning fast. Death stalkers aren't. End of story".
"A giant armored scorpion that can catch up to an off roader is slow?"
"Reflex wise, not speed wise. Complete difference. You know what? Next time I happen to fight a death stalker, I'll take picture of it afterwards. That way I'll have definitive proof".
"And the day I see such definitive proof, I'll believe you".
Nate smirked, "You're on". Before turning to Jackie, and asking "hey Jackie. What'd you say we go find a death stalker for me to kill, and you to gather photographic evidence?"
Jackie's eyes were fixed on his scroll, his half full glass in one hand and the other limply touching the counter's wooden surface.
"Jackie?"
Hex leaned forward, and snuck a glimpse of what was on his scroll.
"Cute faunus" the bartender said, snapping Jackie back to reality.
"Ah" Jackie exclaimed before closing his scroll, the curved rectangular top and bottom sliding closed.
"Who was the girl?"
"Nobody important" Jackie said swiftly and without hesitation as he shoved the scroll into his coat pocket. Before occupying his mouth with what was left in his glass.
"Really? Cause you sure were in a hurry to get rid of your scroll when I saw what you were looking at".
"And hey, if you're into faunus then no judging. You do you man".
Jackie wore a blank expression as he looked at Nate, "What year are you living in? Before the great war?"
"I sure hope not. For last I heard, that time was one filled with great strife" spoke an all too familiar voice that all three of them recognized.
"Scratch?!" Jackie exclaimed as he turned to face the pale faced man who managed to sneak up on the three of them.
"The hells are you doing here?" Nate asked.
Scratch smirked as he climbed gingerly onto the empty barstool next to Jackie, "Can't a man walk into a bar to grab something to drink?"
Jackie scoffed, "You have your own private liquor collection in your office. Since when do you go gallivanting in bars?"
"Since I decided to go out on a stroll to enjoy this nice weather, and also to give you a message, personally" Scratch replied before turning to Hex and ordering "whiskey, two ice and shaken".
Jackie blinked, "A message?"
Hex's ears were primed as she prepped Scratch's drink.
Scratch's grin turned dark as Hex filled a crystal glass with whiskey, "Someone from Atlas's military responded to your proposal".
Jackie was glad that he wasn't drinking from his glass right now, but the same couldn't be said for Nate. The man choked on his own drink for a bit, before managing to put down his glass and cough.
"I'm sorry what?"
Hex finished making Scratch's drink, and slid it over to the head of the Black Tower.
"I tossed your job offer into the sea of the Atlesian military, and someone threw it right back with an answer – a resounding yes. So congratulations, it appears there's someone within their ranks who's just as insane as you are, apparently", Scratch took a sip of his whiskey before turning to face Jackie with a sardonic smile.
Jackie blinked, his heart nearly jumping out of his chest from all the excitement.
"How much is the reward?"
"140,000 lien".
Nate spat his drink, much to Hex's flagrant annoyance.
"Dude, what the hells?!"
"Sorry!" Nate apologized before snapping to face Scratch, "140,000 lien? As in a quarter million?!"
Jackie quickly did some basic math in his head and snapped to Scratch with a flabbergasted expression, "140,000 lien? That's it?!"
Nate blinked, "The hells you mean, that's it?"
Scratch shrugged, "They were unwilling to negotiate any higher – it was very much take it or leave it".
Nate looked quizzically at Jackie, while the aforementioned hunter rubbed his temples in frustration. All while Hex dried herself up with a towel while glaring at Nate the entire time.
"The details of the job offer had already been filled in with you as the taker. So without further ado, I wish you good luck".
Scratch got up from the barstool, finished his drink, and tossed a couple of lien cards onto the counter before heading out.
Scratch got a couple of steps away before Jackie snapped to him and asked, "You came all this way just to tell me that?"
Scratch stopped for a moment before turning around to face Jackie, his dark hazel gaze lingering for a bit too long before turning to face the door. "Actually, I was on a little errand run. Figured I might as well tack this onto the list. After all, it's not every day you see Atlas so… agreeable".
Jackie blinked as Scratch walked to the door, and disappeared. Leaving Ataraxia, and descending into seedy cobblestone outside.
"Gods damn it…" Jackie muttered as he hung his head low, and rubbed the side of his neck. Feeling the muscles in that region tense up after learning about the reward.
Nate scoffed, "What do you mean 'gods damn it'? You're getting paid 140,000 lien if you pull this off! Even split three ways, you'd still end up with 80,000 lien. That's exactly how much you owe to Miss Malachite!"
"Yeah, if it wasn't for the fact that Scratch is gonna take a 40% commission from the total reward".
Nate had just taken a mouthful of ale when Jackie spoke, and immediately he spat it all out. Spraying Hex a second time.
"Dude!" Hex exclaimed as she swiped Nate's drink from him and emptied it into the sink.
"40%! What the hells were you thinking?"
"Clearly I wasn't… I don't know I was just desperate at the moment… it was also really late, and there was still some alcohol in my system…"
'And that's not even counting the share I promised Molly' Jackie thought, shoving that little detail into the deepest depths of his cranium. If only because Molly somehow more flexible than Miss Malachite and Scatch.
Hex rubbed her hair with her towel and said, "You could always go solo".
Nate laughed, "No way. Unless your semblance was invisibility, which it isn't, you're gonna need at least one other guy".
Jackie nodded, "Not to mention that place is crawling with White Fang. A two man team isn't going to be enough to deal with that kind of opposition. This is definitely a three man operation".
A localized dome of silence fell on Jackie as he stared into what was left of his drink, when Hex chimed in with her own words of encouragement.
"Assuming you can even get a squad. Don't know who'd be willing to break into a highly secure Atlesian facility".
Almost as to highlight Hex's point Nate brought up his arms in defense, "I'm out. Sorry man, but I think I'll stick to clearing out Grimm and the occasional mook".
Jackie responded with a dry chuckle, unsurprised by Nate's response. "That's fine. Guess I'm just gonna have to hit up the list".
Hex lightly smiled before taking Jackie's glass and filling it back up, "Good luck man. You're gonna need it".
Nate watched Hex refill Jackie's glass and asked, "How about giving me a refill?"
Hex simply responded with a searing glare, and Nate nodded before hopping off the barstool. "Right, yeah… I think that's enough booze for me. I'm just gonna… go do some other stuff…"
Nate shelled out some lien for his drink, and left. Leaving Jackie to drink and contemplate how the next couple of days will go. Uncertainty looming in the distance.
Luck of the mountains
Mistral
Even during the day, the Luck of the Mountains was bustling with life. Though the people hitting the dance floor, or the bar were a lot more focused than they would've been at night. Since the golden blonde who sang her heart out was currently off the stage, letting the band that accompanied her take the spotlight instead.
It meant that Scratch didn't have to cover his ears when he stepped inside.
His cloaked presence went unnoticed by the usual bar goers, but had been the center of attention for one lavender haired ex-huntress ever since he stepped foot in the club.
"Mr. Scratch" Mauvish said, turning to face the older gentleman with a strained smile.
"I'm here to see Miss Malachite. I hope she's not too busy".
Mauve took a swig of her drink, a dark brown ale, and sighed. "She's free at the moment".
Scratch nodded, and put the bar behind him.
Approaching Malachite's office, Scratch knocked on the door and was met with silence. "It's Scratch. I have a job for you".
There was a tense moment of silence, before the sound of several locks coming undone echoed down the door. Terminating at the door knob which twisted before the door opened.
"Mr. Scratch… What a pleasant surprise" Miss Malachite began, her southern hospitality echoing through the air. Hitting Scratch like a dull knife.
Scratch was led in by one of Malachite's two purple clad goons, who closed the door behind him before returning to their leader's side.
"I'm sure it is" Scratch replied as he was let in by one of Malachite's two purple clad goons. One of whom closed the door behind him, before they returned to their leader's side.
"So, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Malachite asked, holding her grin as Scratch sat down across from the head of Spider.
"I need you to find someone for me" Scratch said as he pulled out his scroll. The machine expanding to reveal its luminous rectangle once he pushed the golden diamond.
"I see…" Miss Malachite said, the words being shot out with a sharpness that could split rock.
"I received an encrypted message on a secure channel. I need to know who sent it, and I want a full background on who they are", Scratch placed his scroll on the desk and touched its screen once. Sending a ripple across the table's surface, and activating the screen that was hidden beneath the surface.
Malachite glanced down at the contents that appeared, highlighting a variety of information regarding the message in question. All of which appeared in a plethora of different boxes that appeared around the scroll with lines connecting to it.
Among the different information boxes, the one that caught Miss Malachite's eye was the message itself.
We accept your proposal.
An intriguing flash zipped through the heavy set woman's mind before Scratch asked the obvious question, "So… how much is it going to cost?"
Malachite ran her tongue over her teeth, "Well… consider this a freebie".
A curious smirk worked its way onto Scratch's face, "My, my… I didn't think Miss Malachite was the generous type".
"Ah well, there ain't no getting if you don't give a little".
Scratch pursed his lips, just a little, before shrugging and picking up his scroll. The device sliding into its smaller more compact form before being slipped into one of his coat pockets.
"I just hope you remember that generosity works both ways" Scratch said as he got up, and adjusted the cuffs of his suit.
Malachite smiled brightly, "So long as the world keeps on spinning".
Scratch nodded before taking off his top hat, and bowing.
"Now then, I bid you farewell".
Scratch left the spider's nest, and marched on out. Walking past the people that were dancing to the beat, or filling their bellies with alcohol. He pulled out his scroll, and opened up his messages. His eyes staring at the text conversation he had with the faceless member of Atlas's almighty military.