It was a beautiful day on the outskirts of Mistral, the birds were chirping, not a cloud in the sky, and even the temperature was a toasty 22 degrees.
It was the pastel image of serenity, until a death stalker trampled all over it.
The hulking behemoth charged across the grassy ground, its eight legs pounding against the dirt. The clacking of its mandibles ripping through the air as Jackie and Nate ran away from the imminent fate of being crushed by its pincers.
"Nobody said anything about a death stalker!" Nate exclaimed as he bounded over the ground with his rifle clutched like a teddy bear.
"Well clearly nobody knew about the death stalker!" Jackie exclaimed as matched Nate's speed, arms swinging like a pendulum as the death stalker got closer. A quick glance back and Jackie came face to face with the 10 crimson beady eyes of the giant killer scorpion.
"It's gaining on us!"
"Gods damn it, what are we gonna do? Think we can lose it?"
"We sure can try! Come on Nate, let's bounce!" Jackie exclaimed as he and Nate ran for their lives.
Running over grassy hills, verdant meadows, and a dense forest. The trees not slowing the death stalker down, as it trampled each one as though they were made of paper.
"Forget death stalker, they should've called this thing a death tank!" Nate exclaimed as he turned around and saw the beast behind, relentlessly plowing through trees like a lawnmower from hell.
"Less talking, and more running!"
They ran, and ran, and ran so far away.
They couldn't get away.
The sun had neared the apex of its climb by now as Nate and Jackie continued their marathon, heaving heavily as their lungs burned with the agony of an overworked organ. Their legs screaming for release, and their feet weeping tears of sweat that soaked their collective boots.
The death stalker was unfazed, a demon train with legs for wheels, and powered by an energy far stronger than steam, dust, or electricity. Something primal, and ancient.
"Hey Jackie…" Nate said in between rapid breaths that could give a hyperventilating dog a run for its money. "…we need a plan… you got a plan?"
"Run and hide… maybe?" Jackie asked as he looked at Nate, and shrugged.
"Run and hide?!"
"Well… why don't you come up with a plan? You… killed one of these things before".
A dry, painfully nervous chuckle cackled out of Nate's voice box, "Yeah uh… about that…"
Jackie lightly tilted his head while looking at Nate, egging him onto elaborate with a raised brow.
"I uh… didn't actually kill a death stalker… more like finish a fight that someone else started… a long time ago".
Jackie threw his head back, and screamed. "Gods damn it!"
"Yeah…"
Jackie closed his eyes, 'this is bad' he thought. Finding it hard to breathe. Each breath being a struggle to take as his nostrils flared with an infernal sensation, like being water boarded in a bucket of Scotch.
"Nate… on that map… is there anywhere near here we can hide?"
Nate fumbled out his scroll, only to drop it when he ran over a rock and nearly tripped. "Shit!"
Jackie sighed, and hung his head low while running. An angry groan escaping his lips as Nate pulled out his map, only for a strong gust of wind to send it slamming into his face.
"I guff ik" Nate said, his voice muffled as he grasped the edges of his map, and managed to pull it back. "I got it".
"Nate… tell me you've got something!"
"Uh… uh…" Nate said as he scanned the map frantically, looking for anything they could use as refuge from their present plight.
"Oh, got one! There's an abandoned settlement not that far from where we are… I think", Nate glanced around adding "I'm not entirely sure where we are but…"
"Which direction?!"
"West, I think?"
"You think?"
"It's west, I'm sure of it".
"Alright, you run east and I'll run west".
"What?"
"You distract this thing for a while, then slip away as a shadow and come back to the settlement. I'll meet you there".
"Oh come on, why am I on distraction duty?"
Jackie snapped at Nate and glared, "MY LEGS ARE ON THE VERGE OF FALLING OFF! So you distract, and I bounce. Got it?"
Nate nodded vigorously and gave a stern military salute, "You got it boss".
And just like that Nate spun a straight 90 degrees left, and ran for the hills while Jackie beelined in the opposite direction.
It took nearly half an hour's worth of running to get to what looked like a bundle of wooden buildings, all happily dying together as a part of a structural suicide pact.
'Thank gods… I'm here…' Jackie thought as he dragged his body across the grass, and over to the border of the rotting town. The feeling in his legs having long since gone, and once he felt the oddly comforting sensation of soppy wood. He lapsed onto the ground, face buried in a carpet of grass, muttering into the ground, "Finally… I can stop…"
The air had gone eerily silent in the death stalker's absence, the decaying buildings an eternal reminder of the ever present danger of Grimm. Jackie watched from inside the confines of what was once a two story house, home to a family or a delightful couple. Hard to tell with how dilapidated everything was. Tattered bedframes, decaying mattresses, drawers filled with washed out photos, and moldy fragile papers. Broken apart by time.
The feeling in his legs had returned, so that was something, but the strain still persisted. His legs burned with the fury of lactic acid, just oozing beneath the skin.
"Nate's right, it should've been called a death tank" Jackie muttered as a stream of knocks echoed across the room. Jackie managed to pick himself up off of the wall he'd been using as support, and walk over to the door. Pressing his shoulder against the door's edge, Jackie called out "who is it?"
"Jackie is that you?"
Jackie rolled his eyes, "No, it's the lovely young chap who lives here".
"Is the door unlocked?"
"It's been at least a decade since this place was occupied, given the fact that the bed is 90% mold. I doubt the lock even works".
The door opened, and Nate came hobbling in. Breathing rapidly as he used his rifle as a walking stick before closing the door, and leaning against it.
"So I lost manage to lose it…" Nate said as he inhaled a huge amount of air, and let out a long exhale.
"…so we should be good now…"
Jackie snorted, "Far from it. It'll pick up our trail and scuttle its way here".
Nate blinked, "Seriously?"
Jackie blinked, "Dude, it's called a death stalker. It's exceptionally good at tracking, that's kind of its thing".
"Oh and here I thought that the people who called it that were just being dramatic".
Jackie rubbed his forehead, "You know, I think I understand how you couldn't kill a death stalker – much less an ursai".
"As if you could do any better".
"No, but then again I never claimed that I could", Jackie flashed Nate a wry smile as Nate sighed and shifted his weight onto his right leg. Tightening his grip on the barrel of his rifle turned walking stick. "So, what now?"
"For now, we rest up and we come up with a plan".
"Any signs of the death stalker yet?" Jackie asked, his back leaning against a structurally questionable wooden wall.
"Nope. Come up with a plan to deal with the death stalker yet?" Nate asked as he looked back at Jackie from his sniper position with his rifle poking out of a window.
"Nope".
Nate sighed and returned to keeping an eye out on any death stalkers. Jackie glanced up at the ceiling, a snarky chuckle escaping his lips while nodding his head dismissively.
"What's so funny?"
"Nothing…"
"Nothing's funny", Nate chuckled, "Doesn't make much sense, so what's up?"
"Ah well, this exact situation just reminds me of a something me and my team ran into way back when… with a death stalker".
"Oh, so you fought a death stalker?"
"More like being bait".
Nate blinked and glanced back, "Bait?"
Jackie nodded, moving his eyes over to Nate.
"Oh this I've got to hear", Nate pulled his weapon to his side and turned around to face Jackie. Giving the brunette his complete, and undivided attention.
"Nate…"
"No, no. Go ahead, I wanna know how you became death stalker bait".
"Shouldn't you be keeping an eye out for the death stalker?"
"Man, if that thing came charging through here I doubt we'd be able to do much. Let alone lose it a second time, so come on. Spill".
Jackie blew out a puff of air before running a hand through his hair, "Well, we were in our third year at the time and our original mission was to clear out some beowolves. A fairly low risk assignment, all things considered. That was until we woke up a sleeping death stalker, just hiding beneath the sand. And let me tell ya, that thing was pissed…"
"As pissed as the one we have on our tail?" Nate asked.
"About as much, though I'd take the one we fought was more pissed since half of its eyes were accidentally blown up".
Nate blinked, "Accidentally?"
"Yeah… one of my team mates got a little too trigger happy".
"Ah".
Jackie nodded as Nate asked, "So did you guys get chased around like us? Trying desperately to get away?"
Jackie snorted, "Nah, one of my guys could turn invisible so he made us all disappear".
"Neat trick".
Jackie scoffed, "Yeah. He's fun at parties".
Nate smirked, "I bet. So what happened next?"
"Well we couldn't just leave the thing behind, especially not when it was in close proximity to a town with no real means of defending themselves against a giant nihilistic scorpion – so we kept tabs on it and hatched a plan".
"There was a cliff not that far from where we was, and there was a really good vantage point for the heavy hitter of our team so…"
"The plan was to bait the death stalker to fall off the cliff, and then hammer it into oblivion".
Jackie smirked, "Exactly".
All of a sudden, a silence fell over the two as Nate processed every word of Jackie's tale.
"Actually… that's not a half bad idea".
"What's not a half bad idea?"
"Sending it off a cliff, and pulverizing it".
Jackie blinked, "Okay, first off… where are you gonna…"
"I saw a spot on the map, back when it was pressed against my face by the wind, where there's a steep drop off", Nate pulled out his map from one of his coat pockets and unfolded.
"Aha, found it" Nate said as he showed Jackie the place he was talking about. A cliff not that far from here.
"Okay, but how are we gonna…" Jackie began when an idea flashed into his mind.
"Yeah, I'm still not fuzzy on the 'pulverizing' part, but maybe we could just drop it and be done with it?"
Jackie snapped his fingers and shot an index finger at Nate, "How many fire rounds do you still have?"
"Uh…" Nate said as he checked his remaining ammunition cartridges, did some mental math, and got back to Jackie with "About 150".
Jackie closed his eyes for a moment, and retreated into the confines of his mind to run numbers. "The death stalker that gave us chase. Did you happen to see if its tail was armored?"
Nate blinked, "Kind of a random question but no".
"No it wasn't armored, or no that you didn't see if it was armored?"
"The first one".
Jackie slowly nodded before opening his eyes. Watching Nate in complete silence for a bit before Nate asked, "So? You got a plan or what?"
In response, Jackie smirked, "Well buddy boy…"
He walked over to Nate and pat him strongly on the shoulder, "It looks like we got ourselves a plan".
"Stupid rock, paper, scissors…" Jackie grumbled as he pushed past some bushes and crept his way past some trees.
The plan was simple, take Nate's fire rounds and extract the fire dust powder from them to make home-made grenades. Then one of them will set them down on the bottom of the drop off to set the trap, while the other will go find the death stalker and lure it to the cliff.
Jackie had expected Nate to play the part of bait, but both Nate and fate had other plans. And so, a quick game of rock, paper, scissors later and Jackie was on the prowl for danger.
He stepped over some foliage, and moved through a thicket of trees like a shadow. Eyes peeled for the first sign of danger, be it from a large arthropod with an unending desire to wipe out humanity or something else. Another Grimm, or some vengeful soul hiding out in the wilderness.
Suspense oozed from every step Jackie took, with danger lurking every corner. But now, after nearly half an hour of traipsing across a fuzzy green carpet, the suspense had dried up. Leaving only abject boredom behind as an unsightly precipitate in a long since defunct chemical reaction.
'Never thought in a million years I'd actually want to run into a death stalker, and yet here I am' Jackie thought as he moved in the general direction that Nate had pointed him in.
After peering around a tree, and finding nothing but an empty clearing up ahead, Jackie sighed and leaned against the dark bark. The irony of being used as bait for a monster that was a relentless tracker, and being unable to find it not lost on him.
There was a quaint breeze that brushed on by, the ambience hushing down to a near palpable silence. He glanced up at the sky, cloudless and blue. Running his fingers through his hair and letting out a sigh. No death stalker, no rush of adrenaline, nothing to keep his mind distracted from the sobering reality that awaited him.
'I only have a couple days left' Jackie thought, feeling his heart pound with trepidation at the thought. The window of opportunity was closing in and the invisible noose around his neck grew tighter. Instinctively, he adjusted his collar, loosening up the buttons to give his neck some room to breathe.
'I could really go for a distraction right about now…' Jackie thought when a distant shriek rattled his ear drums.
"Great, instead of finding the death stalker…" Jackie began as he jumped onto his feet and ran like mad. "The death stalker finds me!"
The large eight legged monstrosity trampling across the ground like a living gargantuan menace to humanity, charged towards Jackie. Its eight eyes honing in on the huntsmen as he ran like mad.
"Alright Nate, I'm coming to you! I just hope you've gotten the trap all set up!"
The jog to where Nate's cliff face resided was a long one, but it wasn't further than the distance he'd run before. And unlike that marathon, this one was going to end with one dead death stalker…
…hopefully.
Beyond the tree line, the edge of the cliff came into view. 'This is it' Jackie thought as he shouted at the top of his lungs, "NATE I HOPE YOU'RE READY CAUSE HERE I COME!"
"I'm good!" Nate shouted from somewhere off to the side, likely hiding as a living shadow.
Jackie grinned as he put everything he had into sprinting like a mad man with a death wish towards the cliff edge, "Alright ya mangy oversized scorpion! I hope you like falls from great heights!"
Jackie would've kept going were it not for the fact that the earth shaking rumble of the death stalkers march grew abruptly silent. 'What the?' Jackie thought as he stopped right as he reached the cliff border, and spun around to face the Grimm menace.
It had stopped its eternal march of destruction and was now watching him, clacking its pincers and waving its tail around.
"Uh… Jackie, why'd it stop moving?" Nate called out from wherever he was, watching the scene unfold from a safe distance.
Jackie glanced over to the tail, it wasn't armored. Not even in the slightest, and as far as he could tell… that meant this death stalker was still fairly young, all things considered.
"Gods damn it…" Jackie muttered as he engaged the death stalker in a staring contest.
"Jackie?" Nate called once more.
"I uh… I think we might've gotten a smartie on our hands".
"What? Seriously?"
"Sure looks like it".
"How?! How the hells that possible? I thought you said this thing was a juvenile!"
"Maybe we just missed the cut off, or maybe it's smarter than the average Grimm, I don't know man…"
'Damn, talk about déjà vu' Jackie thought as he found himself in a picture perfect dilemma of the past slotting neatly into the present. A problem that had a solution, which Jackie reached into his coat pocket and pulled out.
The stolen weapon that didn't belong to him. It felt alien in his grip, just like all weapons he'd ever touched since graduation. The sensation of gripping it's handle feeling odd, telling every fiber of his being that it was deeply wrong.
"If only this was a dream" Jackie muttered, wishing he could manifest a light bulb over his head to throw at the death stalker. But alas, this was real life and there were certain immutable laws he had to follow, like logic and the laws of physics.
"Well, what's the plan?" Nate called out from afar.
"We've gotta piss it off, and make it charge at me" Jackie responded in kind, when an alternative idea dawned on him. One more tantalizing than shooting the death stalker himself.
"Nate, you got a shot from there?"
"Uh… possibly, but why?"
"Then you take the shot".
"What, are you crazy? It'll probably target me next!"
"And then you can lead it off the cliff! You can literally turn into a shadow, fall damage is just a rough Monday to you!"
"For the love of gods, you have a pistol-sword thingy, just shoot the damn thing, you're RIGHT there!"
The death stalker started to move, its legs slowly moving its hulking body backwards.
"Hurry it up man, I think its learning!"
Jackie closed his eyes, and sighed before pushing out his personal feelings on the matter of using a weapon ever again to take aim at the death stalker and fire off a single fire round.
The fire dust infused round struck one of the death stalkers eyes, and set it on fire. Burning the sensitive retinal fluids, and causing the behemoth an immense deal of pain. Shrieking into the air as it stumbled in place right as another round tore a path through the air. Slamming into another eye, and setting it ablaze.
Any apprehensions the Grimm scorpion might've had about turning around and leaving, or doing anything else was blocked out of its mind. Forced into the nebulous depths of its beautifully unfathomable mind by a raging inferno of pain. And like a train with the brake lever jammed, the death stalker charged towards Jackie with the drumming of its legs against the ground like thunder, and screeching like a banshee.
Muscle memory took control as Jackie ran towards the death stalker, meeting it face to face right as the beast neared the cliff's edge. With a hop, and a skip Jackie ran up the back of the death stalker as it fell to its demise. Landing on the grassy ground, and glancing back to see the death stalker descend with all the grace of a misshapen boulder.
Jackie watched as it slammed into its side, and shrieked in pain. The weight of its body crumpling from the force of impact, sending minor tremors across the ground. It continued its symphony of shrieks, while it scrambled to try and regain its balance. Thrashing around wildly with its tail, and legs moving like a storm of limbs. Were it not for the bony armor, Jackie might've had trouble trying to make sense of where its body began and ended.
It writhed in a typhoon of pain, confusion, and anxiety. Struggling to orient itself in a way that mattered, and watching it be so overwhelmed was deeply comforting. Like watching someone you hate get their head stomped against the curb.
"Enjoying the show?" Nate asked as he popped up beside Jackie, rising out of his shadow.
"Yeah, but I think this scene's gone on long enough. Don't you think?"
Nate smirked and said, "Let's put this oversized insect out of its misery".
"Arthropod".
"Huh?"
"Death stalkers look like scorpions, which aren't insects but arthropods".
"Why does it matter?"
"Look, if you're going to say shit at least make sure it's correct".
"Alright, fine. Whatever, let's just light up the fire dust and get all of this over with" Nate said before gesturing to Jackie to do so by poking his shoulder with the butt of his rifle.
"You want me to do it?"
Nate nodded.
"But you have a rifle, all I have is a pistol".
For which Nate responded with a nervous chuckle, "Well uh… you see, the uh… death stalker's just a little out of range".
Jackie blinked, "You're joking…"
"Does this look like the face of a joker?" Nate asked while pointing to his anxious, yet puzzlingly bemused mug.
Jackie was about to open his mouth when Nate cut him off with, "Don't answer that".
Gripping his stolen weapon, Jackie took aim at where all the fire dust makeshift grenades were placed as guided by Nate. For a moment there was a hint of trepidation, a millisecond of hesitation as his index finger touched the trigger. Unsettling his nerves at the prospect of using a weapon again, which Jackie stuffed in a mental drawer and pulled.
Firing a single incendiary round which kick stared a chain reaction that engulfed the death stalker in a bright, orange inferno. It's agonizing shrieks, and shrills filled the air as Jackie watched the death stalker flail about in desperation. Whipping about, becoming a burning black amalgam of appendages and a golden stinger. Flopping about in excruciating anguish, until finally death claimed it. Its body going limp, and letting the flames turn it to dust.
"You know… it's funny, how something devoid of a soul can cling desperately to life" Nate remarked as he watched the death stalkers form dissolve into nothingness. The crack of thunder cutting into their morbidly somber observation followed by the downpour of rain, putting out the fires and leaving Jackie and Nate a sopping wet mess. Staring at the remaining bones and stinger of what was once a death stalker.
"Guess you don't need a soul to want to live" Jackie replied as Nate covered his head with his coat.
Nate nodded as Jackie turned around to leave, "Alright. Let's go get our reward money".
Before Jackie could go any further Nate said, "Sure, just give me a sec".
Jackie stopped and blinked before spinning on his heel to look back, "Nate, it's pouring out here. Why would you…"
Nate transformed into a shadow, and was off. Running down the cliff side in his void form.
'How he could become a shadow when it's this under cast is beyond me' Jackie thought before wondering out loud, "Wait, what's he going down there for?"
Peering over the edge Jackie found his answer, "You've got to be kidding me".
Nate came up the side of the cliff, and next to Jackie with two hands carrying the golden stinger that the death stalker left behind. Rising out of the ground while grasping the golden stinger securely within his arms.
"There, now we can go".
Jackie blinked and flashed Nate a look of incredulity.
"Hey, we actually took down a death stalker this time for real. From beginning to end. No bullshit in between. So I'm taking some proof with me this time" Nate said as Jackie rolled his eyes, and led the way back with Nate scurrying on after him.
Ataraxia
Mistral
The dark hours of night was when the seedy lower rings of Mistral were largely abandoned, only occupied by those heavily armed or were police.
The lights of Ataraxia were an inviting beacon to those who were creeping in the shadows with the promise of drink, and merriment to escape from the reality of being stuck in the shadow of the luxurious upper rings.
Filled to the brim as always, with the chatter of people getting hammered filling the air.
Hex poured out a glass for one of the bar goers, when the doors came flying open and in came Nate with bravado behind each step. "Ladies and gentlemen!" he announced loudly to everyone in the bar, instantly pulling everyone's attention to the sight of a hunter in a green overcoat lifting a golden stinger into the air.
"Nathan Green and Jackie Velvet nabbed ourselves a death stalker!"
The general melancholy of Ataraxia died down into a momentary silence, a sense of awe washing over every grizzled and downtrodden sap that made regular visits to one of the local watering holes. And then, like a hurricane hitting the coast, everyone erupted in applause and excitement. The lead singer of the Ataraxia's band, tipped his hat to the two huntsmen before speaking into his microphone, "And give it up for these two brave souls for their victory!"
Whoo's, Yeah's, and the occasional "nice" bounced into the air. Hex putting down her glass, and clapping in lieu of Jackie and Nate's accomplishment. "Wait a go boys".
"And drinks on the house courtesy of our lovely bartender" Nate said as he shook the golden stinger while the crowd turned rabid with an even greater degree of excitement.
Hex stopped clapping, and glared daggers at Nate. Sitting on the cusp of denouncing the whole thing, were it not for Jackie, who's pleading eyes softened the harshness in her heart.
"Alright fine, drinks on the house – but only this once, since these two whack jobs actually went ahead and killed a death stalker".
Ataraxia reached a level of rowdiness that towed the line between 'family reunion' and 'starting a revolution'.
Hex plopped down two dark green bottles, the caps long since lost to the dustbin, and sloshing with an even darker drink. "Two bottles of Forest Beer".
Jackie picked up his one and raised it up as a gesture of goodwill to the bartender, "Thanks for the drink".
"Yeah, keep it coming" Nate said as he absent mindedly picked up his while keeping his eyes trained on the long haired brunette who sat across from him. A head of curls going down past her shoulders, and black tank top that cut off just below her chest. Leaning in and twirling a strand of hair, while listening intently to Nate's every word. "And then, after back flipping our way across the death stalker's back, I slashed it right across the tail – sha-zam!" Nate sliced the air, much to the girl's awe.
Jackie and Hex watched with a mix of disbelief and amazement.
"You just gonna let him run away with that?"
Jackie blinked before glancing over to the shapely brunette Nate was thoroughly captivating with his obviously exaggerated tale, "Eh, I've always been into girls with jet black hair".
"I meant his story. He's making it sound like you guys faced a death stalker head on and just brute forced your way through it. All flash and no plan".
Jackie shrugged, "Like I said, I'm more into raven haired girls".
Hex planted her elbows on the counter and leaned in, brushing some locks of black hair aside and saying "well then, since I'm clearly your type. Why don't you tell me what really happened?"
Jackie took a sip of his bottle and tapped the side of the golden stinger sitting on the counter, Nate's hand perpetually sitting on top of it. "We originally went hunting beowolves, then accidentally awoke a death stalker. After running for a bit, we found some shelter inside the ruins of an abandoned settlement nearby and we hatched a plan".
Jackie took another swig of his drink and said, "There was a cliff nearby and Nate had a lot of fire rounds left so… we made improvised grenades using the fire dust in those bullets, and we split up. Nate went to go set them up at the base of the cliff and I went to go lure the death stalker over to the cliff".
Hex blinked, "You used yourself as bait?"
Jackie lightly chuckled and waved his bottle around, "Not by choice mind you. I lost a game of rock, paper, and scissors fair and square".
"You lost a game rock, paper, and scissors to Nate? Really?"
Jackie shrugged, "Guess today was his lucky day".
Hex snickered, "Right when he was up against a death stalker too".
The night went on as the bar grew livelier, and livelier by the minute. Some of the people started to sing along to the band's song, while others started straight up dancing. Very poorly mind you, but there was an attempt. A visible disconnect between expectations, and reality. Jackie glanced back at Nate, and saw the number of girls around him increase as the hour of darkness progressed. The passage of time measured in the number of women that threw themselves at Nate.
By his sixth bottle, Jackie saw that Nate had a flock of brunettes, blondes, and a couple neon's, emeralds, and the always illusive monochrome. He was now reciting all manner of other tales, ones where Nate fought Grimm that Jackie knew for sure he'd never even seen.
"Aaaand now he's bragging about having taken down a nuckelavee…" Hex remarked as she downed a bit of whiskey straight from the bottle. "Does he even know what that is?"
"Doubt it. He didn't even know why a death stalker was called a death stalker".
"Why is it called a death stalker?"
Jackie glanced over at Hex and raised a brow, "Seriously, you don't know?"
"I'm not a huntsmen, and live mostly within the walls of Mistral. So sue me".
"Fair enough" Jackie said as he scratched the side of his chin-adorning stubble, "Well, it's called that because it's relentless and is a real good tracker. It has an almost supernatural ability to find you once it set's its sights on you. Some unfortunate folks make the mistake of trying to run all the way back home, thinking that it'll just give up the chase like some other Grimm".
Jackie looked down at the counter and gripped his bottle tightly, "Unaware that the death stalker only stops once it got what it was after".
"Huh, so it's a literal stalker…" Hex said before taking a swig of her bottle and letting out a raspy sigh. "Makes sense".
"Now why do they call it a 'beowolf'?"
Jackie chuckled, "Actually, that one has a bit of history to it".
"Oh really?"
"It's a bit of a long yarn".
"Well, I've got the rest of the night".
Jackie shrugged, "Alright. Since you're so curious…"
Hex hunched over, paying attention to Jackie's tale of old. Time and space losing all sense of meaning and perspective as Jackie unraveled the story of how beowolves got their name.
"… and after that, the village immortalized the warrior for saving them by naming the Grimm he fought after him. And so beowolf came to be what they were called".
"Bullshit, he didn't kill an entire mountain full of beowolves by himself. Much less in one whole night".
Jackie shrugged, "Like I said, it's an old story. No one even knows if it's real – all I got from history classes was that a whole bunch of smart people are forever arguing about whether he was real or not".
"You forgot to add that they're also arguing over, if he was real, then what parts of that fable are actually true".
Jackie flinched as he snapped to the new face that had manifested to his right. Hex hard swallowed her whiskey down the wrong pipe, and started coughing. Her head facing the counter as she cringed from the burning sensation that ran across her windpipe.
"Scratch?! What the devils are you doing here?" Jackie asked before snapping over to Hex, "You alright?"
"I'm good…" Hex uttered out in a hoarse voice as she glanced forward at Jackie, and flashed him a sheepish smile.
"More importantly… how'd you sneak up on us?" Hex asked as she rested her head on the counter.
Scratch simply smirked, "I am a man of many talents". Before glancing over to the shiny golden stinger that Nate kept a firm hand pressed down on, "Oh ho, so that's what the occasions for".
"Yup, we killed a death stalker".
"Good job" Scratch complimented before snapping a finger to Hex and saying, "I'll have a bottle of Red Sands Absinthe".
Jackie did a double take, "You drink that?"
Hex rose up and pulled out a bottle, not from the rack behind her, but the liquor cabinet off to the side. A bottle as tan as the sands of Vacuo.
"It's an acquired taste, admittedly, but yes", Scratch offered a couple chips of lien in exchange for the bottle but Hex declined the offer.
"It's on the house".
Scratch smirked, "Ah, but I am the house". He pushed the lien towards Hex and she accepted happily saying, "Can't argue with that logic".
Jackie watched Scratch take a good long sip of the Red Sands Absinthe, the trademark drink of the Red Sands Brewing Company. If not the only drink they served that people outside of the sand covered cesspool of heat and death that was Vacuo actually liked.
Scratch pulled back the bottle from his lips and let out a satisfied exhale before offering Jackie a sip, "Want some?"
Jackie scoffed, "Ha, hard pass".
"Really?"
Jackie closed his eyes and sighed, "Not every Vacuan likes having their throat ground up with sandpaper, and then water boarded in a barrel of rubbing alcohol – believe it or not".
Amusement washed over Scratch's face as he put down the bottle, "And here I thought all Vacuan's were natural born risk takers – on account of the death stalker stinger and all".
"Okay that was a spur of the moment situation, and anyways what are you doing here? I never pegged you as the 'bar hopping' type".
"I'm not. But since I had somewhere to be on this fine night, I decided to drop by so I could speak to you personally".
Jackie blinked, "Personally? What's so important that you had to see me in person for?"
Scratch nodded, "To tell you that my contact in the Atlas military got back to me".
"Oh" Jackie said dismissively before blinking, and doing a double take. "Wait, what?"
"And that there's someone who's interested in your proposition, so much so they messaged me with an offer. 100,000 lien if you can take back the Atlas manufacturing facility".
"What?!" Jackie exclaimed, raising his voice and briefly bringing some eyes to him from a far.
"Dude, do you mind?" Nate complained as he spun around to face Jackie before leaning in and whispering, "I've got a really nice thing going on". That was when he spotted Scratch who raised his bottle to the hunter.
"Oh, hey Scratch. What are you doing here?"
Scratch's charcoal eyes moved onto Jackie's face, an expression of shock immortalized on his face. "Oh just… delivering some news is all".
Scratch slid off the barstool and pat Jackie on the shoulder before smiling, "Anyways, I think it's high time I made tracks. The night maybe young, but time sure isn't". But before he turned to leave, Scratch leaned in close and whispered into Jackie's ear, "I already hammer out the paperwork for the job, all you have to do is accept it".
Jackie was still for a second, before managing to pull off a nod. Moving with all the grace of a rusted bicycle.
Scratch leaned back and smiled wistfully, "Perfect. I'll send you the details to your scroll". After one last firm shoulder pat, Scratch spun on his heel and walked away. "Good luck Jackie" Scratch began as he stopped halfway, and glanced back with a narrowed gaze.
"You're going to need it".
The red head of the Black Tower disappeared into the shadows outside, leaving Jackie a statue of his former self.
Nate blinked, looking at Jackie and then at Hex asking "uh… what happened to Jackie?"
A finger tapped Nate's back, when a brunette latched onto his right arm. Finishing her 3rd bottle of whiskey and slamming it on the counter. "Enuff chit-chat. I want you to show me how to use that gun of yours…"
"Yeah" one of the blonde's said.
"Me too…" another one added.
"You promised".
The gaggle of girls that Nate had drawn in now dragged him off, whisking him into the night.
"Good night Nate" Hex said as she waved good bye while taking a swig of her bottle. Nate grinning haplessly as he was dragged out by the horde.
"So…" Hex began as she turned to face Jackie and put down her bottle before tapping him on the shoulder.
He was still catatonic so Hex had to get a little creative, sticking one finger in her mouth, she shoved it right in his left ear.
"Ah, what the hells Hex?!"
Jackie covered his violated ear immediately as Hex pulled back her hand, and chuckled. "Well you were all frozen up, and nothing else was working so I had to improvise".
Jackie slightly glowered at Hex as he spun around to face her, and the bar counter.
"I mean, wow, you actually managed to get the Atlas military to fund your suicide mission. That's genuinely impressive".
Jackie chuckled as he picked up his bottle and smirked, "Eh. I always knew it would work out".
Hex scoffed, "Liar".
Jackie shrugged as he offered his bottle for a toast, "To a brighter future".
Hex chuckled, "A little early to be toasting isn't it? You got the job, doesn't mean it'll work out".
"Oh don't be such a buzzkill".
"I'm just saying".
"Just toast my damn bottle Hex".
Hex sighed and relented, before clinking her bottle against Jackie's. Downing their drinks and what remained afterwards in full.
Luck of the Mountains
Mistral
The Luck of the Mountains was always active, even in the darkest depths of midnight. Honey Wine, in a regal red dress, took the stage and spun a hauntingly beautiful melody. Her voice bouncing throughout the room, twirling the hearts of every man and woman who danced on the floor to around her fingers.
Their common sense taking a back seat to a song so alluring that nothing beneath the heavens could ever compare.
The bartender served drinks to the blissfully unaware as Mauve nursed her own, watching the people talk, laugh, and dance the night away with nary a care in the world.
The black door that was always guarded by one of Lil Miss's men, which led to the game tables in the back, invite only, where the wealthy and courageous could try their luck with the house.
Mauve couldn't help but snicker to herself at all the fanciful attire, and wealth that surrounded her. How far below their ornery status the Luck of the Mountains was, and yet they actively chose to descend into the depths of despair in search of this place. In search of the audible euphoria that spilled out of Honey's vocal chords, and the thrill of dealing chips and cards with crooks and killers.
"The rich are a hypocritical bunch, aren't they?" Scratched asked as he walked up beside Mauve, his wits still about him.
Mauve faced the blood haired man, "Mr. Scratch. What a surprise, I didn't think you'd be out at this time…"
Scratch nodded with one hand buried in his pants pocket, "Well, my legs got a little restless so I decided to go for a midnight stroll".
Mauve nodded as she asked, "Here to see Lil Miss?"
"She isn't busy is she?"
"Not at the moment, no".
Scratch smirked and said, "Perfect". Before moving past the lavender haired enforcer, and making a beeline right to Miss Malachite's office.
Her two personal guards stood right outside, donning the typical purple color schemes, and arm bands blazoned with a black spider web – the mark of Malachite's group.
"Excuse me but—" began one of the guards, a fresh face Scratch hadn't seen before. When the other, a long haired brunette, a face he has seen before, cut her compatriot off.
"Mr. Scratch, please right this way. Miss Malachite is currently not busy at the moment".
Scratch nodded, his hands buried in his pants pockets as the brunette opened the door and all of its different locks. She held the door open as Scratch walked through and into Lil Miss's private domain. Right before the door closed, the brunette glared daggers at her colleague. Right on the cusp of saying something that vanished as the door closed shut. Blocking out the noise of the Luck of the Mountains, and isolating Scratch and Miss Malachite in a world of their own.
"Scratch, well ain't this a surprise" Malachite began, the southern mountain of a woman planting an elbow on the table, and cupping her chin curiously. "What brings you into my domain at this late an hour?"
Scratch nodded as he walked over to Lil Miss's desk and pulled out his scroll, "I am in need of your services".
"Oh?"
Scratch tapped the screen of his scroll a couple of times before putting it on Malachite's desk. The discrete holographic screen that made up the table's surface lit up, and showed an SMS thread with only one message.
Your proposal to have a third party recover our Atlesian manufacturing facility has been accepted. The reward for the endeavor is 100,000 lien, non-negotiable.
Lil Miss's lilac eyes darted across the words of the message that appeared on her desk. "My, my… a job to recover what the White Fang took control of? How, ever did you manage to pull that off?"
Scratch smirked, "You're not the only with friends in high places. Anyways, I need you to run a background trace on the identity of whoever sent this message. I need to know their name, where they worked, anything and everything you can find".
Malachite's eyes flicked up onto Scratch's face, "Well, if you have friends knee deep in Atlas. Why not fall back on them?"
Scratch chuckled bemusedly, "You and I both know how Atlesian's are like. I'd probably lose an arm and a kidney trying to get that information from them, when I'd much rather lose some lien to get the same information".
Miss Malachite smiled slightly and said with a blasé attitude, "It's gonna be a lot of lien. You're asking me to spy on someone who's…"
She tapped the screen of her desk, bringing up a keyboard and typing on it a couple of times before hitting 'enter'. A series of boxes popped up with lines of code running across them before closing, and opening up a report of some kind. Skimming through it briefly, Malachite turned to Scratch and added "…exceptionally trained in cyber security. Most likely someone from Atlas's Internal Securities Commission. That's gonna take a bit more time, and stretching my agents in Mantle. So it's gonna cost you".
"Fine, name your price".
"How about…" Lil Miss glanced up in thought for a moment, before turning to face Scratch with a sly grin. "…1,000 lien?"
"Deal".
Malachite blinked, her grin vanishing as she tilted her head to the side. "You're… huh, okay then… consider it done".
Scratch nodded as he picked up his scroll, tapped its screen a couple of times and tapped the desk again. It beeping to signify that the transfer of funds has completed.
"Give me a call when you have what I need".
"Sure thing, Scratch" Miss Malachite said as Scratch pocketed his scroll, turned around, and left.
In the vacuous silence that followed, Malachite glanced down at the information she got from Scratch's scroll, the anonymous number that sent that message. Pinged off of a dozen proxies to mask its original location.
"Now I need to know who you are, to get Scratch willing to pay a premium…" Malachite muttered as she eyed the message in question. Wondering who it was that was behind the ordeal.