Chapter 15
Once everyone was inside and sitting down in the living room, Bootstilla began her story. "I was a foster kid that no one wanted and by the time I was fifteen, I was tired of being treated like an unwanted pest, so I left and took a job as a bounty hunter. A bit young, yes, but I was desperate to get out of the foster system." She paused as memories came back to her. "It was only a few months after I had become a bounty hunter that I found myself in this realm...,"
Ten years ago...
A teenage girl knelt down, examining the area and nodding. "You're not escaping me, criminal," she said to herself, following the trail carefully. Her first bounty was waiting for her and she took a deep breath, steeling herself to be careful. One wrong step and she could lose the suspect.
She heard a sound ahead of her and followed carefully, soon finding her target caught in a net trap. "Well, not sure if that is luck or coincidence, but I'm not complaining," she said to herself as she carefully walked up to her target, checking to make sure there were no other hidden nets.
Finding none, she looked up at the trapped criminal. "Time to get you to where you belong," she said, making sure he was secure in the net before calling her boss on the radio. "I have the suspect. Arriving soon."
The criminal tried to escape, but she got him to the side of the road where a truck was waiting with some other bounty hunters, who looked impressed that she had caught the criminal. "You really caught him," one of them said.
"Yes," she said, not giving away how she caught him as she hauled the criminal into the backseat with a couple of the other bounty hunters, both men, helped her.
"Well boys, looks like the rookie won this one," the driver said.
"I'd say she's earned it," said the bounty hunter beside him. "She didn't talk a big game, but let her actions prove she's capable."
"Alright, let's go tell the boss."
The boss was shocked and not only handed the teenager all the bounty money on the criminal she caught, but also some extra cash from a small basket on his desk. "Me and boys had a bet going that you wouldn't be able to pull this off, but you surprised us," he said. "Good job. Check in tomorrow in case more bounties come up."
She nodded and went to a motel, checking into a room and sighing. "Well, this will keep me going for a bit," she said. "But I got to keep up with them too."
In a few months, she had successfully completed five bounties and it was during another case that she followed her target to a strange house, going inside and finding herself in another world.
Her sharp eyes kept note of her trail so that she wouldn't lose her way, but suddenly, she heard squeaking and turned to see a bat was caught in what looked like a net. It struggled to get away and squeaked. A quick check that she did on instinct revealed there were no obvious traps, but as soon as she stepped towards the bat, a ring of fire lit up around her.
Startled as she hadn't sensed a trap, the teenager hunkered down and immediately began trying to free the bat, who looked up at her with worry. "Don't worry, I'll get you free so you can fly out of here," she said.
She soon had him free and held him up in her hands. "You better go now," she said, trying to encourage him to fly, but surprisingly, he flew to her shoulder and sat down, squeaking and nuzzling her shoulder. Seeing as he didn't want to leave her, she looked around to see if there was a way out.
Suddenly, a vine shot out of the ground near her and opened up, revealing a strange character. He was tall and had a pumpkin for a head with a jack-o-lantern face, but his clothing was a black cloak with a old straw hat that had holes around the brim, a dark green button up shirt, black jeans, and black cowboy boots. The teen looked up at him in surprise. "What the...?!" She asked in shock. "Zombies aren't real!"
The being, which she decided had to be a scarecrow of sorts, chuckled. "Actually, they are here," he said. "You got that palisman with you?"
She blinked. "Palisman? You mean this little guy?" She asked, pointing to the bat on her shoulder.
"That one," the scarecrow said before quickly grabbing her. "Hold on! We have to go underground!"
"What?!" She asked, struggling to break free of his grip, but before she knew it, they were underground and had popped up on the other side of the ring of fire, which died down after a moment. The teenager was frozen for a moment before she shook her head and stepped back from him. "What...happened?" She asked, stunned.
"You got caught in a fire trap trying to rescue that palisman that had been caught," the scarecrow said.
The palisman squeaked, nuzzling his face against the girl's face. The girl turned to the scarecrow, still a bit in shock. "Why did you help me?" She asked.
"You were trying to save that palisman," he pointed out. "He doesn't have an owner, which is why he was out here. Probably went flying to explore and got tangled in that trap."
The scarecrow looked at her right then. "And what are you doing in this forest?" He asked. "You're not a witch nor are you from here." He came closer and gently grabbed her arm, one gloved hand gently squeezing the flesh of her arm.
The teenager squirmed at little as it tickled slightly and pulled her arm away from him and he let her. "Well, I'll be, you're a human," he said. "You must have found a portal to here, right?"
"How do you know that?" She asked.
"Only way for a human to get here," he replied. "Which brings me back to my question as to why you're here."
She drew herself up tall. "I'm a bounty hunter and my target escaped to this place," she said.
"You look kind of young for a bounty hunter," he remarked.
The girl glared at him. "I'm fifteen, but I can take care of myself," she said.
"Whoa, easy," he said, holding his hands up placatingly. "Never said you couldn't."
He took a deep breath. "Tell you what," he said. "How about I help you find your target?"
The teenager was suspicious. "Why?" She asked.
"Just wanted to help in case there are more fire traps," he said.
Though she didn't want to say it, she couldn't argue that he had a good point. "Alright, but it's my bounty, so I cuff him," she said firmly.
"Deal."
Just then, a scream rang out and they turned to see a human man running towards them. And it turned out to be the very target the girl was after. The scarecrow moved and caught the guy by his shirt, lifting him up to keep him from running. "Well, well, lookie what we got here," he said.
The teenager quickly went up and cuffed the man. "You know, you'd have gotten some leeway had you not run," she said. "To my understanding, your parole officer is really upset at you."
"I'll go with you to him! Just get me out of here!" The man pleaded.
The teen cocked an eyebrow at that, but accepted him from the scarecrow. "Thank you for helping me," she said to the scarecrow.
"Anytime," he said with a nod.
She turned to the palisman on her shoulder. "You better go with...um," she turned to the scarecrow. "I never got your name."
"Calabaza," he replied.
"Right," she said, turning back to the palisman. "You better go with Calabaza."
The bat squeaked and leaned into her neck, not wanting to leave her. She looked at him before taking a deep breath. "I won't be long," she promised.
The palisman nodded and went to the scarecrow, who held him protectively as the teen hauled the criminal off to her world. Once she turned him in and collected the bounty, she went back to the house and entered it, finding the portal still active.
And Calabaza and the palisman were there waiting for her. "He wanted to wait for you," said the scarecrow. "By the way, we never got your name."
She narrowed her eyes. "I don't tell anyone my name," she said before her face fell. "I...I actually can't even remember if I ever had a name."
Calabaza looked worried. "Your parents have never spoken your name?" He asked.
"I never knew them," she said. "I've been an orphan/foster kid ever since I can remember."
The scarecrow sighed. "Come with me then," he said.
"Why?" She asked.
"You're a bounty hunter, right?" He asked and she nodded. "You've got raw skill, but you need to be able to sense traps like the one earlier. And I know just the person to train you."
The teenager fell into thought for a moment. "Well, the guys keep calling me a rookie, though I've been able to keep up," she said before looking at him and nodding. "Alright then, but you try anything and I'll make you regret it."
He chuckled. "Oh, Dad's going to love having you as a student," he said.
He took her to see Nabo, who was also a bounty hunter. Impressed with the teen's raw skill, he helped her to hone it better and taught her everything he knew.
He even gave her a new name: Bootstilla.
"I noticed you like to where boots and you know how to be still before you pounce," he said.
"Bootstilla," she said, trying out the name and she nodded. "I like it."
Nabo smiled. "Now, let's get you ready to be a top bounty hunter," he said.
Every day, Bootstilla trained with Nabo and Calabaza, even battling Belos' guards more than once, but she knew she had no good defense against magic, so one day, while exploring a new town, she came across a blacksmith, asking if she could help him with chores in return for a strong shield that could protect her against magical attacks.
The blacksmith, having heard of her reputation as a good bounty hunter, agreed and got to work. A week later, the shield was ready. "It's a magical shield," he said. "The material it is forged from will repel any magic, making you immune to it. You'll be unstoppable."
Bootstilla put the shield on and gave it a test run. Sure enough, the blacksmith was true to his word and she was very pleased with it, paying him for it, though he tried to refuse. "You went through great lengths to make this for me," she said. "It's only fair I compensate you well for your time."
The blacksmith accepted the payment and vowed to be one of her contacts in case he heard anything about bounties in the area or otherwise. The Bat Queen, having heard from the small bat palisman about how Bootstilla had rescued him, granted the girl permission to have the palisman as her own. "What will you name him?" She asked the teen.
Bootstilla smiled. "Batty," she said. "Because he is a gift from you, Bat Queen."
Her reputation grew over the years and she was always called upon for bounties. Nabo had taught her to see if a bounty was real or fake and thanks to his training, she was successful in capturing any bounty she took. When Nabo retired, he gave her a new outfit. "They are sturdy against the elements," he said. "They'll also work with your magic shield."
Bootstilla suited up and stood proud. "I won't let you or Calabaza down, Nabo," she promised, seeing the elder scarecrow as a father figure.
"I know you won't, Little Pumpkin," he said affectionately.
Present time...
Bootstilla took a deep breath. "And now you know the whole truth," she said. "Why I'm immune to magic and who I learned bounty hunting from."
"Nabo and Calabaza, along with Batty, became your family," Mila said in realization.
The bounty hunter smiled at the child. "Yes, they did," she said.
"And you saved a palisman that became your own too," Solana said, her eyes bright.
"Palismans are usually carved and given to witches in training, but sometimes they can be adopted too," Alador said. "In fact, Bat Queen has been working with the school here to have the students adopt palismans once they reach that part of their training."
"So most of the rumors were true, but there was more to it," Luz said.
"Essentially, yes," Bootstilla said. "Still, despite my reputation, I do have morals. I nearly refused your mother's offer, Amity, but when she was insistent, I knew she'd stop at nothing to get your daughters, which is why I 'accepted' the job, but called Calabaza not long after."
Amity nodded before standing up. "Odalia has to be stopped," she said before turning to Bootstilla. "You said she has a bounty on her head, yes?"
"She does," the young woman said.
"Get her to leave my family alone and I'll pay you double the bounty," the purple-haired woman said.
Bootstilla smirked. "I'll do that part for free, Amity," she said. "You and your family are under my protection, which means if Odalia steps foot here, I'll make sure she gets no farther than the front steps."
Nabo smiled. "You might want to brush up a bit on your training, Little Pumpkin," he said gently. "Odalia is gaining powerful magic. Even with your shield, you may have a tough time."
"He's right," Calabaza said.
The bounty hunter nodded. "I did notice that the magic that hit me last time wasn't as strong as usual, but that doesn't mean she can't find a way to change that," she said before looking at Nabo. "How about it, old man? Feel up to a spar?"
Nabo smirked. "Get ready to eat those words, whippersnapper," he said.
Calabaza laughed. "Odalia better watch out," he said. "With Dad training Bootstilla and you guys using your magic, that Belos-wannabe doesn't stand a chance," he said.
"Let's hope so," Luz said, hugging her daughters and Amity close.
She knew the battle would come soon and this time, it was a bit closer to home than the last battle she had gone into against Belos all those years ago.
Things are getting tense now. Next up, we see what Odalia is up to.
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GoldGuardian2418
