Wanderer

Agatha hurried down the hallway, heading toward the kitchen. It was that time of the month and there was something in the kitchen that she absolutely needed. She rounded the corner and nearly nearly fell over, tripping over her feet in her haste.

“Well Gatta? How’s it look?”

The male Irisviel twin looked up from a stack of papers on the table and gave his sister a once-over, choosing his words carefully before speaking. He waved his sister over and let her lean over his shoulder. Gatta knew his sister wouldn’t want to sit down anyway. He rearranged the papers laid out in front of him and pointed to a few lines on each.

“Pretty good, if you’ll look here, here, aaaaaand there. Taxes are just fine this year. The rookies are paying their guild dues, job income is steady, the proceeds from Jubilee’s huge charity event got cut a lot of slack, and we’re due for a hefty tax return.”

The words were scarcely out of Gatta’s lips before Agatha was prancing around the kitchen, firing off a list of items like a machine gun. She wanted shoes, fabrics, rare materials, the newest menu items from that quaint little bakery the next town over, the list went on and on.

Gatta stood up and took his twin’s hands, guiding one to his shoulder and twining with the other. He led her in a slow waltz and smirked as she quieted down like a doused flame. The motions were all too familiar with the siblings, and one often pulled the other into a quick dance in order to calm down and refocus their thoughts. Old habits died hard. Gatta released Agatha and gave a slight bow, to which he received a pantomimed curtsy.

“So I take it you want to go shopping, dear sister?”

“Oh hearts, yes, isn’t just so obvious? Like, weren’t you listening to me for the past few minutes?”

Gatta shook his head and patted Agatha on the hair. She pouted, like she always did when reminded that she’s the shorter of the two. She was technically the eldest Irisviel, but only by twenty minutes. Perhaps that really shouldn’t count as much, but she believed it did. The male twin grabbed a notepad and handed it to the other.

“Write down what you want, and I might get one or two things for you. You’re not allowed to go shopping til the end of the month, Otogi’s orders. I’m honestly surprised you managed to hurt the waiter that badly before security came.”

Agatha rolled her eyes and took the notepad. After a few minutes the notebook was being flapped in Gatta’s face. He took the list, gave it a quick glance, then turned away.

“Right then. I’m off to get things for us. Be good, sis.”

Agatha stuck her tongue out at her brother’s retreating back before flouncing off to find some other source of amusement. She knew that Gatta wouldn’t get everything on the list, especially since he was so good at keeping on budget, but she really, really hoped he would bring back some cheesecake.

The female Irisviel wandered around the guild, finding nothing particularly interesting. Chiki and Rook were playing in the yard, the other blondes were booked for shows this afternoon, and Otogi was too old to hang out with. She passed by the lobby door and heard some voices.

Peeking in, Agatha saw Ixlan talking to a stranger. The man looked to be somewhere in his thirties, though the weariness in his expression made it hard to tell. He was wearing a tattered military uniform and had a dark blue jacket tied around his shoulders like some sad excuse for a cape. He looked on the verge of tears talking to Ixlan, who kept shaking her head at the poor guy.

Agatha couldn’t really blame her. the guy looked like a deadbeat who’d just wandered in trying to bum a free meal off some kind soul. Ixlan was by far one of the least caring people Agatha had ever met, so she felt a little sorry for the guy. Deciding to intrude and get a better handle on the situation, the blonde entered the lobby, strutted over to the front desk behind Ixlan, and perched on the surface. The lobby occupants stopped their conversation and stared at Agatha, who waved at them to continue.

Ixlan tightened her scowl and glared down at the man groveling at her feet. The riff raff had breezed in and, upon spotting Ixlan cleaning up the tables along the wall, cornered her and started begging for a job. The poisoner explained at least five times that the Bittersweet guild only gave out jobs to members, and that the man could fill out a formal application if he chose. The man ignored her and persisted in his pleads. Ixlan had had enough.

“Shut your mouth if you wish to live.”

The man found himself face to face with a swirling gaseous orb and wisely kept silent, though his expression didn’t change much. Ixlan had to hand it to the guy, it was rare for people to not have that deliciously satisfying look of wild-eyed terror whenever she pressed a toxin bomb into their faces.

The bum backed up a few paces, then spread his arms out. A pair of large, ethereal arms took form above his shoulders. They hovered there, looking far too formidable compared to the scrawny man controlling them. Ixlan narrowed her eyes and concentrated the toxins in her bomb while Agatha got to her feet.

Instead of an assault, the arms wrapped in front of the man, shielding him from the two female Taggers.

“I, uh, I don’t want any trouble or nothin’. I just need a job. Can’t ya give me a job? Or at least some cash? Guy’s gotta eat yanno… I’ll take anythin’, please.”

Agatha started chuckling, and within minutes she was full on cackling.

“You want a job here? I’ll give you five bucks to come over here and lick my boots, you dirty street rat, haha~”

Both women were shocked when the large arms dissipated and the man practically flung himself at Agatha’s feet. She squealed and hopped back, sparks leaping off her fingertips on impulse.

“Ech, no, I didn’t actually mean it! Eww you are seriously gross, when was the last time you had a shower?”

The blonde retreated behind the lobby desk and made shooing motions at the man as if that would make him go away. Of course, the man just knelt on the floor looking nonplussed. He looked back to Ixlan like he might have better luck with her this time.

Before the bum could speak again, Ixlan twirled around and kicked him hard in the chest. He stuttered and wheezed, but held his composure remarkably well. The poisoner kicked him hard enough to knock the wind out of him, yet he was back to normal in a matter of seconds.

“D-do you have any need for a sparring partner? Punching bag? Throw me a bone here, I haven’t eaten in two days.”

Ixlan and Agatha shared a look. Both pairs of green eyes were equally concerned. Clearly this man was more hardy than he looked. Ixlan stood back and waited for the man to get back on his feet. Minutes passed and it was clear that the man had made himself comfortable sitting on the floor. Agatha scoffed and sat back on the desk.

“So who exactly are you? Like, where did you even come from, and why come here of all places? There are other guilds around the city with lower standards and more loose open door policies.”

The man shrugged and picked at a loose thread on his sleeve.

“Well, for starters, the name’s Ash. If you want more ‘n that, you can call me Brigadier Ash. Doesn’t matter to me. And as for why I’m here, the other guilds kicked me out. Couple of ‘em gave me an odd job here or there and a room for the night, but I overstayed my welcome at all of ‘em. Last guild that gave me the boot told me to come here, an’ that’s all she wrote.”

Ixlan made a face of disgust and made like she was going to kick him again.

“Brigadier? That’s not a very low rank. Explain yourself.”

“Didn’t like how strict everything was. Went AWOL.”

Ash sighed like he was tired of dealing with all the small talk.

Ixlan turned slowly and stalked over to Agatha, death in her eyes. It was clear that she wanted to kill the ex-military simply for abandoning his duty. The armed forces weren’t as much of a superpower these days, not since guilds started popping up like weeds, but they were still an important part of homeland security. Agatha knew that Ixlan held personal duty and responsibility in very high regard, so Ash must be really grinding her gears now. The poisoner sat down behind the desk and all but slammed her fists on it.

“We have nothing for you. Leave now before we forcefully remove you from the premises.”

Ash rose to his feet and scratched at his back. He stared back at the two women, obviously preparing to make yet another bid for their mercy. The front doors slammed open, mildly startling everyone present. Chiki barreled into the lobby with Rook hot on his heels.

“Master! Maaaaaster!! The maaaaaaaiiiiiiiiil caaaaaaaaame!!!”

The catboy was flailing around a fistful of envelopes, puttering around the lobby to avoid being tackled by Rook. The little mouseboy gave up the chase quickly, opting instead to cozy up to Agatha in order to make Chiki mad. Rook made it halfway across the lobby then froze, gaping at Ash like a frightened deer.

“HEEEEEEEEEY!!”

Chiki screeched at Rook and Ash with his hypersonic voice, knocking both males to the ground. Ixlan was quick to stride over to Chiki and slap him hard across the face. The brunette actually spun around once before falling over face first into a pile of mail. Ixlan walked back to the desk and sniffed disdainfully as she wasn’t about to pick up the mess on the floor.

Agatha collected Rook off the floor and dusted off imaginary dirt from his shirt. She cuddled the mouse splice to her chest and rubbed his ears. Her poor rescued splice didn’t deserve to have his ears blown out like that, and she made a mental note to punish Chiki more after Ash left.

Speaking of Ash, where’d he go? Agatha glanced around and spotted the Brigadier crouched near Chiki, sorting through the guild’s mail.

“Whoa, back off, Ash! That’s private stuff, get the heck away from our mail!”

The ex-military held up a single envelope with an eerie gold wax seal on it. He raised an eyebrow and skimmed the address.

“Looks like somebody sent you guys a pretty important request. Can I join? Like mercenary work, yeah. I’ll do whatever you want, just promise me you’ll give me, I dunno, two meals and a room for the night.”

Agatha’s expression went from annoyed to completely offended. She tried to snatch the envelope away, but Ash had quick fingers and evaded her at each turn. The blonde detached Rook from her side and gently pushed him toward Ixlan while she geared up to throw a fit.

“Now you listen here you two-bit, has-been, sorry excuse for a dirtstain! You could never pass for a mercenary. I would know because I am one myself! Don’t think you can waltz on in here and play the ‘I’ll do merc work’ card because it won’t work! And where are your standards anyways? You’re unwashed, starving, and you didn’t even name a price! Even the local thugs have a flat rate for jobs and you just come in here pretty much saying you’ll do anything for next to nothing?! You are such a disgrace to mercenaries, military, and HUMANITY.”

Ixlan put a hand to her mouth to cover a small smile. She couldn’t help it, watching Agatha lose her temper and act all high and mighty while Ash sat there and took it without so much as a flinch was just too funny. The pyro wasn’t bad at telling people off, but she was lacking in point-blank brutality in Ixlan’s opinion. Ixlan stood up and nodded toward the envelopes scattered on the floor.

“Cute, Irisviel. Done wasting your breath? Good. Now somebody bring me the mail.”

Chiki, being the closest, gathered up the mail and deposited it on the desk. Ixlan sorted through them in a flash. Bills, fan mail, small jobs, large jobs, magazines, and junk mail. There was one missing, being held hostage by the intruder. She flung a small, hydrogen cyanide-filled bomb at Ash’s feet, noting with mild discomfort that the man did not even try to move out of the way.

“Ash. Letter. Now.”

The man regarded the letter and then Ixlan, weighing his options carefully. He wisely decided to hand over the letter. Running off with the mysterious mission might have been an attractive option, but he really didn’t want this guild to put out a headhunt order on him.

Ixlan took the envelope and sliced it open with a letter opener. Her eyes skimmed over the words rapidly as a dark expression formed on her face. Agatha, now with two splices vying for her attention, struggled to get close enough to the desk to see what was the matter. Ixlan saved her the trouble.

“It seems the mailman delivered this to the wrong address. This was meant for the Viscera Guild. It details a very large reward for the successful assassination of Jubilee. Apparently somebody thinks that she’s getting too popular for her own good. Again.”

Ixlan set the letter down on the desk and sat back, thinking. Agatha merely chuckled and flipped her bangs out of her eyes.

“Tch’yeah, right. When will these losers learn? Our little Jubjub is going to be a chart topper for a good long time whether they like it or not. Jealous freaks, all of them.”

The poisoner slid the letter toward Agatha and shook her head. She watched at the blonde read over the job details with widening eyes.

“Are they serious? Fifteen million gems? Seriously? For Janet?! That’s...Hey Ix, wanna go raid the Viscera base?”

Ixlan shook her head and stood, pushing her chair back into its original position. She waved over the three Taggers, and after a moment’s thought, Ash as well.

“We’ll punish them later. For now we should go check up on Cherui. It’s possible that the job was conveyed through multiple mediums, and we need to ensure they don’t get their kill. Ash, you may accompany as our distraction and shield. In recompense I shall allow you a one night stay in our guest wing and two meals.”

Agatha put her hands on her hips, and scoffed.

“Can’t you just say ‘let’s go save our friend’? It won’t hurt you.”

Without a word, Ixlan swept out of the room. Agatha huffed and stormed after her, knowing that it was useless to be angry, but she was anyways. Chiki scampered after Agatha, leaving Rook and Ash in the lobby. Rook shook slightly and edged toward a wall, keeping Ash in his sight the entire time. Ash took one step closer to Rook, and the mouse splice went skittering up the wall and onto the ceiling. The brigadier blinked as a moment passed, then chuckled. Ash went through the door leading further into the base, hoping that the girls hadn’t gotten out of sight just yet. Rook followed on the ceiling at a distance, assuming the duty of keeping tabs on the intruder. If only Otogi weren’t away visiting Patros, everything might have been a little easier.

Ash came upon the main living room and whistled. It was an impressive room on its own, but the inhabitants had decorated the place like a fancy sitting room, and furnished it with all manner of comfortable seating and games. He made for the plush white couch in the center, but was stopped by Rook’s soft voice overhead.

“Don’t...please don’t sit on anything. Agatha will get mad. You’re not...um...you’ve got some…”

“Alright kid, don’t hurt yourself. I’m a little too dirty to sit down on the clean furniture, s’that right? By the way, mind tellin’ me everyone’s names? They didn’t exactly introduce themselves.”

Rook poked his head out from the bright halo of light cast from the crystal chandelier in the center of the ceiling.

“The scary one dressed in all black is Ixlan. She’s daughter of the founder, and, uh, kinda, I guess, de facto leader. The other one, black hair and blonde bangs, that’s Agatha. She’s, ah, like fire. Don’t mess with her if you can help it. The cat splice is Chiki, and I’m Rook. There are others, but you don’t really need to know about them. And...um...we’re gonna go rescue Jubliee. That’s...all…”

Rook squeaked and tried to hide behind the large chandelier again. Ash politely slouched near the door he came in from. He didn’t wait by himself for very long until Ixlan emerged from the corridor to his right. He didn’t think it was possible, but she looked even more depressing than earlier, dressed in what he presumed was a ‘mission outfit’.

Ixlan scowled and checked the clock in the room while flexing her fingers. Every minute that went by was a minute wasted. It was common knowledge that Agatha took the longest to gear up for missions because she was an accessories user, but it still didn’t excuse her for taking as long as she did.

Ten long minutes passed before Agatha graced the others with her presence. She’d taken the time to change outfits, fix her hair, re-apply her makeup, and pile on far too much jewelry. She looked like she’d just come from a bank robbery, she was so decked out. The blonde waved to Rook and pointed down the hall she came from.

“Rook, dearie, you and Chiki watch the guild while we’re gone. He’s in his room right now in case you didn’t know. If anything happens, just call somebody. I think Gatta should be home soon, too. Bye~”

Ixlan rolled her eyes and yanked Agatha’s collar, cutting off her sickeningly mushy goodbye and hauling her off to their garage. The pyro struggled free and fussed over herself, straightening everything out perfectly. Ash followed a few paces behind, not really knowing what else he should do.

They entered a modest garage with a single car inside. Ixlan caught Agatha eyeing a shiny motorcycle in the corner and pulled the blonde’s hair to keep her on track. The pyro blew a raspberry at Ixlan and whipped out her excessively jingly keyring. Agatha insisted that she kept the bell on it so she would never lose it, but everyone knew it was to annoy Ixlan. Ash looked equal parts confused and impressed with the vehicle in front of him.

“So uh, what’s this? I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Agatha grinned and patted the gold car proudly. She pressed a button to open the garage door and explained while it was opening.

“Of course you wouldn’t recognize it, it’s a custom model. I have connections, you know. It’s fast, sexy, and most of the mods are totally street legal. Now get in the back and try not to touch anything. I swear to hearts if you leave fingerprints on anything I’ll burn your fingers off.”

The pyro walked around and got in the driver’s seat while Ixlan took shotgun. Ash climbed into the back seat and buckled in, looking around the interior. Whoever had built the car did a good job- the entire structure looked exceptionally safe. Ixlan seemed to have other ideas and was gripping her armrests so hard her wrists were shaking. Ash had exactly five seconds to wonder why before they were careening wildly down the drive, going from zero to sixty in the blink of an eye.

By the time Agatha pulled into the parking lot of the outdoor stadium where Jubilee was performing, Ixlan’s entire face was eerily pale and Ash had passed out twice. Agatha stepped out of her car and secured it while her passengers all but spilled out of the death trap in a boneless heap. Ixlan truly hated it when Agatha was the only available mode of transport. She led the way to the staff entrance and presented her VIP pass to the guard. The three of them were let in without any fuss and they found a good spot backstage where they could keep an eye on Jubilee.

Ash’s eyes widened and he had a lopsided grin spread across his face. Agatha raised an eyebrow at the brigadier.

“I just, you know, didn’t think that you guys were friends with the Jubilee. Thought one of your friends just used the same nickname as the pop star.”

“We’re not peasants like you, of course we’re friends with the real deal.”

Ixlan waved a hand back at them, gazing intently out at the writhing mass of cheering fans at the stadium. Agatha peered over Ixlan’s head and Ash came up behind Agatha, or he would have if the pyro hadn’t freaked out and nearly knocked all of them over.

“You still smell like a gutter! Get back, back!”

Ixlan reached over and smacked Agatha on the forehead. The murderous look in the poisoner’s eyes said that now was not the time to be prissy and distracted. There was danger out in the audience, and they needed to be on their guard. Three pairs of eyes scanned the crowd, but nothing happened. The set ended and the performance moved into intermission. Jubliee came fluttering down the backstage aisle and did a neat double take at her friends.

“You guys! Wow, when did you get here? Why are you backstage? If you wanted to see me perform, I could’ve given you guys front row tickets for free, sillies.”

“You’re in danger. Somebody contacted the Viscera guild and put a hit on you.”

“Yeah, fifteen mil, aren’t you flattered?”

Ixlan looked ready to strangle her guildmate. Jubilee was understandably worried. She kneaded her fluffy white scarf in her hands and looked from face to face. A stagehand ushered the group into Jubilee’s dressing room and everyone sat down. The starlet gave a small start and pointed at Ash.

“You’re new! Did you join the guild recently?”

“His name is Ash and he’s just street trash along for the ride. He wants some food and shelter, so this is how he’s paying for it.”

Jubilee made a cute frowny face and waved a finger at Agatha.

“Don’t call him street trash, that’s not nice. I bet he’s a good guy, just a little rough around the edges, right?”

“So what do we do about the Vis--”

Ash’s ethereal arms came out and covered the three girls just as the dressing room door exploded in a flurry of splinters. People were screaming outside and Jubliee nearly started screaming too. A tall person wearing a bone mask walked in and moved to attack Ash. I

Ixlan was having none of it, and chucked a high impact, chlorotoxin-filled bomb at their attacker. The assassin was knocked off balance, but not affected by the neurotoxin in the least. Ixlan swore quietly and built up a dark smoke bomb. She glanced up over Ash’s large arms, but instead of seeing the masked Viscera member, she saw Agatha leaping at the person’s throat. The two fell to the ground, fighting for the upper hand. Ixlan grabbed Ash’s face and turned his attention to her.

“Push them out, we need to keep Cherui safe in here.”

Nodding dumbly, the ex-military shifted one of his large arms and shoved both fighters out of the room, keeping the arm in the doorway to act as a barricade. He looked back at Ixlan like he was awaiting further orders.

Jubilee grabbed onto Ixlan and started crying onto her shoulder. She was permitted all of three sobs before being shoved away by the poisoner.

“Is Ags gonna be okay? Ixlan? Ash? D-Do something! I could just fly away, I’d be fast enough! Help her!”

Ixlan put her hands on Jubilee’s shoulders and pressed her into a sitting position on the floor, effectively shushing the near-hysterical starlet. She leveled the performer with a stern glare.

“Irisviel has been doing this sort of thing for years. She can handle herself.”

Outside, Agatha had dealt with the first attacker and sized up the Viscera’s strike squad. The rival guild had sent out a team specializing in detainment. There were two with abilities related to whips, one wielding a large hammer, and a fifth member who controlled a small electrical force field.

Agatha dug out a jeweled ribbon from her pocket and tied back her hair, annoying her opponents with a blatant show of haughty indifference. She took a small step forward, and the semicircle of assassins took a step back to match. Smirking, she walked out onto the stage, out of the shadows and into the sunlight. The Visceras apparently thought that she had given them an unexpected boon by putting herself in a well lit place like a sitting duck. She’d prove them wrong, so very wrong.

The tense square-off was broken in a flash, and the two whip bearers lashed out at the blonde. Agatha stood there and took the blows. Though their faces were obscured, the Viscera members were honestly uncomfortable at the pyro’s indecent writhing. She allowed herself to be tangled in their whips and had an entirely unnecessary blush dusting her cheeks. The assassins pulled their whips tighter, squeezing the air out of their enemy.

“D-Darlings... you’re going to have to...do better than that~”

Agatha didn’t have enough air to laugh, but she did have enough wiggle room to brush her fingers against one of the whips. The ruby rings on her fingers glinted in the bright sunlight, and that was all the warning one man got before his whip burst into flames. The man dropped his weapon and threw himself on the ground, rolling around to extinguish the flames that threatened to consume his body. The pyro batted her eyes at the other whip user, forcing him to hesitate. A single moment was all it took for him to join his guildmate on the ground, covered in raging fire.

Agatha rounded on the unarmed Viscera, striding forward menacingly. The blonde’s hair rose up and crackling filled the air as the assassin thrust their hands forward to summon an electric field. The pyro found herself caged in a small dome with barely enough room to move a single pace in any direction. The masked foe focused their energy on increasing the power of the field, and sparks began to fly off the dome at an alarming rate. The walls were closing in on Agatha, yet she looked more angry than frightened.

The pyro tried to pat down her wild, flyaway hair, but to no avail. Agatha’s ponytail had turned into an uncontrollable bush of dark strands, and it made her see red. She didn’t even try to conceal her intentions as she knelt, slamming both palms on the carpeted stage floor. Slowly, the space beneath her hands began to glow orange, growing rapidly in radius and emitting intense heat. The burning floor disrupted the electric field, and with less area to ground to, the edges of the dome were forced wider and wider. Agatha thinned out the dome’s charge enough to pass through with only a light shock, and took the first chance she got to lunge at the masked person. Suddenly the world went black and Agatha faintly registered a searing pain in her back before passing out.

Meanwhile in the dressing room, Ixlan was growing impatient. The three of them had heard sounds of fighting out on stage, accompanied by the odd scream of pain that suggested some of them weren’t expecting to spontaneously combust. In the lull, the poisoner had positioned herself and Jubilee on the room’s couch with Ash standing guard at the door. Or rather, with him standing in the doorway acting as a human barricade since there was no door any more. Jubilee kept fidgeting and looking at the door, breaking the silence with her fussing. Ixlan glanced at the singer and sighed quietly.

“What are you so restless about? It’s not like you haven’t seen Irisviel fight before.”

Jubilee practically yelled in Ixlan’s face, just barely reigning herself in.

“But I’ve never seen her fight alone! She’s always got Gatta with her!”

Ixlan turned away and rested her arm on the back of the couch. Jubilee was practically beside herself just because the two Irisviel twins weren’t attached at the hip like they always seemed to be. That shouldn’t be an area of concern, and the poisoner actually preferred the two blondes to be separated. They were much easier to deal with when one wasn’t compensating for the others’ weaknesses…

“Shit.”

Jubilee stopped mid-fidget and gaped at the poisoner. Ixlan never swore unless something really, really bad happened, and even then she probably wouldn’t say anything like that. The pop star jumped up off the couch and wrung her scarf nervously. Ixlan rose to her feet and made a beeline for the door, but was stopped by Jubilee. The starlet grabbed a fistful of Ixlan’s coat and it was obvious she wouldn’t let go unless she got an adequate explanation.

“Wh-What? Ixlan? WHAT’S WRONG?!”

“The reason Agatha always fights with Gatta is because she never watches her back. I’m going to have to save her if it’s not too late.”

Jubilee screamed out of pure concern, a high pitched wail of panic.

“Of course! Oh gosh why didn’t we realize it sooner? We should have never let her run off on her own, why did we let her?! Oh my gosh, oh oh ohhhhh.”

Ixlan calmly strode to Ash and moved him aside with the intensity of her glare. The brigadier shuffled to the side to let the poisoner pass, then took up his post again. Ash felt sorry for Jubilee, but couldn’t help but wonder just how much charity he could get from her. He figured a celebrity could afford enough food for twenty lifetimes. He shrugged to himself and decided to focus on the situation at present. If anything happened to this girl, the other two would probably see to it that he starved to death.

The poisoner kicked over the burnt form of a Viscera on her way to the stage, hiding behind a curtain and peering out into the sunshine. She internally groaned, spotting two masked figures standing over a prone pyro, discussing something and kicking the woman intermittently.

It would be so much easier to deal with the assassins if Agatha wasn’t in the way. An impact bomb probably wouldn’t do much good and a poison cloud would just make things worse. Luckily, Ixlan was prepared for such a possibility. She peeled off her black gloves and stuffed them in a coat pocket, then removed another pair from a different pocket. The poisoner slipped on a pair of white gloves with metal spikes on the knuckles. Her toxin bombs now lost the ability to knock others over with force, but gained a vicious shrapnel effect. With the change, she knew she’d be able to take down both assassins before they could inflict further harm.

Ixlan created a large orb between her hands, drawing in deep breaths and letting it inflate to roughly the size of a soccer ball. She let the bomb drop and burst on the floor, flooding the stage area with a dense fog of white smoke. The fog would dissipate in moments, so Ixlan had to move fast.

The poisoner kept low, rushing forward with a toxic shrapnel bomb held in one hand. Upon reaching a large, cloaked body, Ixlan thrust her loaded palm forward into the Viscera. She allowed herself a small grin at the sound of splattering flesh and gurgled screaming.

The air was crackling with electricity now, the other assassin was up again and projecting forcefields around the area willy nilly in an attempt to pin down the poisoner. Ixlan nearly stumbled over Agatha’s body on her way to the other assassin. It wasn’t hard to find the last masked foe. The white fog had was thinning rapidly and random lances of electricity lit up the stage. Ixlan loaded her hand with another bomb and darted forward, bouncing from left to right so she wouldn’t be an easy target. The remaining Viscera saw Ixlan too late, turning just in time to receive a bomb to the face.

Ixlan breathed a deep sigh of contentment and took a moment to appreciate how the Viscera’s mask had shattered along with the shrapnel blast. If that one somehow managed to live, he would definitely be blind, if not also mute. Someone moaned softly to her side, and Ixlan turned around, another explosive at the ready. It was Agatha, still unconscious but nonetheless alive after being so foolishly blindsided. Ixlan left the blonde lying on the stage, opting to go back and check on Jubilee. They all needed to get back to the guild before anything else could happen.

Ixlan found Jubilee perfectly safe in the room, curled up on the couch and wringing her scarf so much that the ends began to fray. Ash was still guarding the doorway, but was voraciously preying on a bowl of walnuts that had been in the room for the starlet to snack on.

“It’s done. We need to get back to the guild now. Ash, go to the stage and collect Agatha. I’m also assuming you can drive us back. Let’s go.”

Without any further explanation, the poisoner did a neat about face and left to pillage the car keys from the pyro’s pockets. Ash stuffed the rest of the walnuts in his pants pockets before following after the stoic girl. Jubilee ran past him to the stage, screaming for Agatha as if that would somehow make everything better.

After a brief incident with convincing Ixlan not to stuff Agatha in the trunk, the four were on their way back to the Bittersweet guild. Fortunately, Ash still had a valid license and was a significantly safer driver than the blonde. Ixlan took shotgun again to give Ash directions, and Jubilee was in the back with Agatha, who was still out cold. It was probably for the best, or she would be causing a ruckus over Ash sitting in her driver’s seat.

The sun was beginning to set when the gold car pulled into the Bittersweet’s garage. Ixlan made a beeline for the door. She had to report the day’s events to Otogi, make some memos about compensating Jubilee’s contacts for damages, and planning a mission to punish the Viscera guild. It was really just business as usual.

Jubilee dashed inside after leaving Agatha in Ash’s care. The starlet had so many important calls to make now. Ash, carrying the pyro at arm’s length, followed at his own slow pace into the guild. He was received by the other guild members with mixed emotions, but at least he was ensured a few meals now. All things considered, everything had turned out alright.