ACT 1: HAINO CITY
CHAPTER 3. DREAMS AND NIGHTMARES
Wone and Song sat across from each other, the sole patrons in the lantern-lit room Song had rented out for the evening. Aside from empty tables, a bar sat lit up in the center of the room where servers waited to take orders. The way the room was lit made it seem like Wone, Song, and the servers at the bar were floating in darkness. Occasionally holograms of fish would dance across the darkness and then disappear, as if swimming in the void. The city lights below could very faintly be seen through the windows, like licks of flame around a nearly pitch-black box.
Wone found it strange but didn’t mind since it accentuated the shining stars on his gown.
“I didn’t expect you to be so early,” said Song after Wone took his seat.
He had been early enough to see the room before the lights went out, which allowed him to find his way across from Song without tripping over the empty tables.
“And that gown…” She paused. “You look… well you look like a walking constellation.”
Thanks,” replied Wone unsure and uncaring if she meant it as a compliment. “You look beautiful this evening, I must say.”
Her outfit was obscured from the darkness, but he could see the silhouette of her golden face covered in makeup, as well as the gleaming white pearls of her headdress. It wasn’t too extravagant, just a pearl laden band that went across the crown of her head and dangled above each of her shoulders. Sometimes, the lanterns and the holograms would shine upon the two of them allowing Wone to get a better look, but it was never quite bright enough.
I suppose I could just use my night vision, Wone thought. But that would ruin the ambiance and the mystique Song had set up. He would play ball with Song for the evening.
“Thank you,” Song said. She raised her right hand and waved it, moments later a servant appeared beside the table with a pitcher of water and two cups.
Wone poured himself some water and took a deep drink from his cup, waiting for Song to steer the conversation towards business.
“To be able to speak to a hunter twice in just as many days, I must be lucky,” said Song pouring water into her own cup. “Tell me, how often have you worked for the same client?”
“Not often,” answered Wone. “But that isn’t a bad thing, just means people don’t often run into monsters twice.”
“So then, would this be the first time you’ve seen someone for a something other than monster slaying?” Song leaned in as she asked the question, placing her chin into her hands as she rested her elbows on the table.
“Are you implying,” Wone declared slowly, pausing at his final word. “That I’m incapable of working in the real world?”
Song eyed him skeptically, turning her chin up at his response.
“Are you,” she asked.
That depends, Wone thought. He didn’t want to believe he’d do everything she said no matter what for money, but he’d never been in a situation where he might have to compromise his morals for personal gain either.
“No,” he answered in a tone more determined than he actually was.
“So, if I asked you to say…” Song dragged out the last word, tapping her fingers against her water cup. “Kill someone for me tomorrow, would you?”
“Maybe,” answered Wone folding his arms. “Who would it be and how much would you be paying me?”
“It could be anyone, I have many enemies and few friends,” said Song. “But compensation would be no issue. I just wanted to know if you’d be willing to kill a person, since that’s something you’d very likely have to do if you work for me.”
Wone’s mind shifted to Blast and Myrah, their desks filled with crossed out wanted posters and vests full of dents from catching bullets. His world might shift from hunting dangerous monsters to assassinations and criminality. It was strange to Wone, but not entirely foreign for a Hunter.
I’ll be doing both, Wone thought. No need to lock myself into a box with Song just yet.
“I could protect you,” answered Wone. “For a nice sum of course, but as a matter of ability, I can do as you need.”
Song nodded. “That’s good to hear.”
She waved her hand and servants appeared from the darkness once again and placed menus on their table. Wone picked his up and began to scan it, grabbing one of the waiters by the arm and pointing to what he wanted.
“I’ll take that, that, and this,” he said gripping onto the server.
The frightened man looked to Song for help, but before she could do anything Wone pulled him in close and seethed: “If you don’t hurry up and take my order now, I swear I’ll put you through that window.”
Wone released the server and smiled as he nervously nodded and scurried off with Wone’s order. Song gave him an annoyed look and he shrugged. He had succeeded in his goal of breaking her composure, some revenge for the way she seemed to be lording over him.
“Please don’t abuse my staff,” she said in an annoyed tone.
“Relax,” Wone said leaning back in his chair. “I’m just messing with you.”
He gave her a wolfish grin and she rolled her eyes.
“Well please stop that, you’re far too intimidating to be playing games with.”
The mood had shifted, the servers looked nervous as they came out with Wone and Song’s food and Song herself seemed slightly more on edge, small glances off into the distance and secret looks at Wone betraying her anxiety.
Maybe she’s thinking she’s bit off more than she can chew, wondered Wone.
“What’s got you so down,” asked Wone as the servers finished setting their food on the table.
She looked at him for a while, her brown eyes gleaming from the light of the lantern hanging above them. She broke her stare and began to pick at her meal. She had ordered curry chicken over rice, Wone had ordered steak, rice, and sweet wine.
“Who can say,” she sighed.
The two of them sat in silence for a while, Wone munching away diligently at his steak and rise while Song elegantly brought bites of her curry to her mouth with her chop sticks. Finally, after a few bites, she broke the silence.
“You know, of all of the mercenaries wandering about, Hunters are by far the deadliest,” she began. Wone nodded, awaiting her next words.
“And I don’t just mean when it comes to monster hunting, I mean in general,” she continued. “More deadly than any warlock, more dangerous than most magicians.”
Wone cocked an eyebrow, confused by Song’s new train of thought. Where is she going with this, he wondered. Is she calling me dangerous? A liability?
“Confused? I thought you might be, since worrying about the affairs of us regular people isn’t something most of you hunters do,” Song was smiling at Wone now, as if to reassure him despite her offhanded criticism. “But not all hunters are satisfied with just killing beasts. Some turn to crime, taking what they please and eliminating anyone that gets in their way.”
Wone gave Song a quizzical expression. He’d heard of such things but never in very good detail. He hoped she didn’t think he was a criminal.
“Oh yes, believe me, the families have had multiple instances of police standoffs turning into heated gunfights and complete massacres,” said Song. “Hunter’s shed bullets, resist spells, and dole out punishment better than any warlock, and they can avoid detection as good as even the best magicians.
“A rogue hunter is always a threat to the state. And yet,” she paused looking Wone over. “Here I am sitting across from one with intentions to employ him, to make him my enforcer.”
It did seem somewhat crazy to Wone who began to understand her anxiety, but he couldn’t quite empathize with her, he was too selfish.
“Well,” Wone began searching for the words to express his feelings. “That’s life, you gotta make sacrifices to get what you want.”
Song stared at Wone, her expression unreadable. He continued to eat and drink under her gaze, unbothered by its intensity.
“I suppose that’s true,” she said finally breaking the silence. “Dreams rarely come to life the way we want them to.”
“Oh, don’t be like that,” said Wone finishing the last of his wine. “Not everything is meant to be held onto so tightly. Some things you just need to let rest in your palm to prosper.”
She looked at him, intrigued at his words, yet still Wone could sense she was skeptical of him.
“I’m willing to work for you and bring your dreams into fruition, but I’m not going to give you full control of my life like these servants, or this room,” said Wone motioning toward the floating lights and the servers at the bar. “And I’m doing this not for you, but for myself. I have my own dreams of being something someday. You’re my best shot at getting there.”
Wone examined Song’s face, still lost in unreadable thought. The two sat there for a while, staring at each other in the dark, Wone’s expression growing more impatient as Song’s slowly grew more confident.
Finally, she smiled at Wone and asked: “Would you like to try some mango cake?”
Wone looked at her, unamused. “What, I can’t choose my own dessert?”
“Nope,” she said grinning childishly. Wone shifted in his chair annoyed.
“I suppose I could go for some mango cake,” Wone drawled. “But it better be good, or I’ll toss you through the window.” His expression turned sinister.
“I thought I told you to stop messing with me~,” sang Song motioning for her servants to bring out the cake.
Two servants emerged from the darkness a few moments later with two pieces of cake on two plates. They placed a plate in front of both Wone and Song then disappeared back into the darkness.
“This is honestly so strange,” muttered Wone chuckling to himself. He grabbed a fork and scooped a piece of cake from the plate, biting into it and savoring the sweet flavor of the creamy dessert. “That’s good.”
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Song began to dig into her own cake, silently chewing away. The mood had calmed, Song’s expression softening as they sat enjoying their dessert.
Look at this little tyrant, Wone thought as he watched her eat. My ticket to fortune.
“Here take one of these,” said Song offering two blue marbles in the palm of her hand. Wont took one and rolled it between his fingers.
“Miniature crystal balls,” Wone mused.
“Don’t lose that, its hard to come by, even for me.” Song dabbed at her mouth with a napkin, gently cleaning her lips. “I’ll be using this to personally contact you. Only call me to let me know your availability, since I doubt, you’ll be able to just up and leave the order.”
Just like that, Wone was now in the employ of Lady Ying Song.
“Nice,” exclaimed Wone, holding the little blue marble up to his right eye to examine it. “An enforcer, right? What is it you want to accomplish with me?”
“I was hoping you’d help me rule the world,” said Song. “But for now, I’d like you to help me with some beast trouble’s I’ve been having lately.”
She waved her right hand, then placed her chin into her left. Moments later servers arrived to clear the table of dirty dishes and refill their water before disappearing. She leaned in towards Wone smiling.
“That arachnid you killed for me was not the start of my monster blues,” said Song. “No, I suspect that someone sicked that creature upon my people in hopes of extorting or intimidating me. I’ve also had to deal with other creatures like ghouls and thrashers, but the arachnid was the most dangerous.”
She paused and began pouring herself a cup of water then continued, “You and I shall work together for the next few weeks to catch our culprit and discover who they’re working for.” Song took a sip from her cup. “Any questions?”
“Nope,” said Wone letting out a contented sigh. “That was good, thank you for dinner.”
Wone leaned back into his chair and patted his stomach, relishing the good food he had just eaten. Song shook her head in disbelief.
“Hey, stay still for a moment, be still won’t you.” She turned her head to the bar and made a signal with her hands and suddenly the lanterns dimmed until they no longer shined, and the floating holograms faded into the darkness.
Then, Wone noticed it. The stars on his Gown were moving, twinkling as they flew around like real shooting stars. It was a beautiful sight that captivated both Wone and Song. They watched as the stars on Wone’s gown formed into different shapes and constellations before scattering apart into thousands of tiny flickering lights across his body.
“Wow,” uttered Wone astonished.
“Where did you get that gown,” asked Song now almost completely obscured by darkness.
“A clothing store called The Jade Fox,” answered Wone.
The two of them sat in darkness admiring the stars until finally Song clapped her hands together and all of the lights turned on, completely illuminating the room. Wone blinked, his eyes burning from the sudden change in brightness.
“Warn me next time, heavens,” he blinked the stars out of his eyes and shook his head.
“Well, this has been very productive, I’m glad to have you on my team,” said Song.
She rose from her seat, displaying her full outfit for the first time. She wore a royal blue dress that fit snugly around her torso and opened into a wide and flowy skirt at her waist. A silver tiger symbol adorned her dresses stomach, and more of them danced across her skirt. The fabric traveled down to her feet which wore a pair of slippers that matched the scheme of her dress. Her shoulders and arms were completely bare, save for a white pearl wristband she wore on her left wrist.
“It looks like you’ve been outdone, my lady,” remarked Wone as he examined her in outfit.
“You are a silly man, Wone.” She pointed towards the entrance he had entered the meeting room from. “You’ll hear from me soon.”
Wone gave her a nod and rose to his feet. “I hope so, my pockets are running a little dry.”
She gave him a tired sigh and shooed him off with her right hand. He turned and strode out of the meeting room and headed into the elevator. He pressed the ground floor button and leaned back into the elevator wall, sighing.
“What a night.” The elevator doors slid shut and he began to descend.
He poked around in the small box, making the most of the rare opportunity to ride in the piece of rare technology. He laughed at himself when he realized how silly he must have looked. A genetically modified killing machine excited about riding in an elevator.
We’re all human I suppose, he reasoned.
The elevator came to a stop and opened to his destination, the ground floor of the Yi tower. Wone walked into the foyer, treading over the red carpeted marble floor and passed the reception desk to leave the building. Outside was Song Plaza which was a collection of tall buildings and businesses owned by the Song family. If Wone and Song’s relationship held, he’d be here quite often in the coming days.
Maybe one of these towers will be mine one day, Wone thought looking up at the old buildings and renovated skyscrapers that made up the plaza.
He was one step closer to his goal now, a foot soldier in the Song family’s dominion. He played a minor role now, but in the future his importance would most assuredly grow, and people would come to meet him at the top of towers.
And from there, Wone thought. More.
He took one last look at the bay, its dark waters reflecting the lights of the city as its surface shifted back and forth. He turned and headed to the street to hopefully find a ride home at this hour, it had to have been at least midnight.
“Look at you, trying his luck on the wild side,” teased Blast.
It was the morning after Wone’s meeting with Song. He, Blast, and Myra were standing in the living room of the duo’s apartment discussing Wone’s proposal, to join them on a bounty hunt.
Wone eyed Blasts mask covered face with curious skepticism. His wild eyes and black hair were the only things he could see from behind the tan cloth he had tied around his face. It knotted at the back of his head, leaving the back of his jaw and head exposed, it made him look like a bandit, his crazy looking eyes reinforcing this image.
“Yeah, I figured I needed some experience dealing with regular people,” said Wone shifting his gaze to Myra.
Her veil was folded over her head, exposing her dark skin and brown eyes. She gave him a look like he was in over his head, her arms folded over her chest.
“Have you ever even shot a regular person,” asked Myra.
“No,” Wone admitted. “But that’s more reason for you guys to take me along with you.”
Blast tilted his head, his expression hidden behind his veil. He really was a strange man, Wone wondered how Myra managed to work with him.
“Well, I suppose this would be a good learning experience for you,” said Blast. “And even more importantly, it’s a teachable moment for Myra!”
Myra turned her head towards Blast, confused. “Teach me? He’s the one who’s green!”
“No, no, that’s not what I mean,” Blast said waving his hand. “I mean you’re the one going to teach him, I’ll guide you from the terminal!”
Myra’s eyes narrowed and she began to say something but was interrupted by Blast: “Ah, I don’t want to hear it, do as I say.”
Myra shook her head before relaxing, her posture still clearly annoyed.
“Okay, I suppose I can take this greedy goofball on a mission.” Myra looked at Wone annoyed then sighed to herself. “Take me to your apartment, you’ll need to take some different gear with you when you deal with people.”
Wone nodded and walked out of the apartment with Myra in tow. Blast followed behind them and waved as they walked into the hallway.
“Have fun, talk to you on the line~,” called Blast before shutting the door.
“Haah, I can’t believe that guy,” said Myra as they walked to Wone’s apartment.
Wone shrugged her off and unlocked his apartment door, then opened the door, and led Myra to his room and showed her the wardrobe he kept all his equipment in. He opened the wardrobe and stood aside to allow Myra to pick out what she thought Wone would need in the field.
The wardrobe was filled with a repeater, a semi-automatic rifle, a shotgun, a few replacement pistols, gun belts, bullet vests, and an assortment of knives, all above a row of boots. It was assorted neatly, and everything was clean, despite the wear and tear of multiple years of usage.
“Not as nice as I thought it’d be,” Myra mocked as she examined the wardrobe’s contents. “Now, the first thing you need to know before you gear up is what type of job this is going to be, loud or quiet? This determines the type of gear you’re going to need.”
Wone nodded his head.
“This job involves some gangsters who abducted someone they shouldn’t have,” continued Myra. “They messed with some guy from the families and now they want revenge, and we’re the ones who’re going to get it for them.”
Wone nodded again, Myra had yet to specify if the job was quiet or loud.
“So, for a job like this, you’re going to want a mixture of both quiet and loud,” she finished.
“Well, what was the point of that,” said Wone shaking his head.
“The point,” said Myra leaning into Wone’s face, her expression serious. “Is that you always leave with everything you need.”
“Alright, alright, get outta my face,” said Wone turning his head and pushing Myra’s face away from his.
“Hahaha,” she laughed as Wone forced her away from him. “But seriously, always be prepared. People are a lot less predictable than most monsters and they’re dangerous when they work together.”
She reached into the wardrobe and pulled out a bullet vest, a belt, the semi-automatic rifle, and a lower caliber pistol.
“This should do, plus some knives,” she said handing the gear to Wone.
He picked out a few throwing knives and his combat knife then put on all of the gear that Myra had given him.
“No saber?”
“Why in the world would you need that,” she said. “Unless you can use it to deflect bullets, I don’t think it’ll be necessary.”
Wone shrugged and decided not to strap his saber to his hip. It remained resting in its sheath a top his nightstand.
“Alright, that should be everything. Let’s go,” said Myra.
The two of them left the apartment complex and traveled a few blocks on foot until they reached a shady looking neighborhood. The roads weren’t being kept and graffiti and grime covered most of the buildings. It was not the worst Haino City had to offer, but it seemed suspicious, nonetheless.
“The hell are we doing here,” asked Wone looking around at the rundown neighborhood.
“Getting a ride,” replied Myra without looking back at Wone.
It wasn’t normal for the hunter cell they were a part of to have vehicles, which meant Blast and Myra had probably stolen whatever Myra was about to show Wone. He shook his head at the situation and continued to follow Myra.
The two of them continued through the neighborhood until they came upon a tan brick garage with graffiti running along the side of it. Most of it was gibberish and symbols, with some occasional profanities woven in.
“Help me out with this,” asked Myra crouching down in front of the garage doors and grabbing onto the handles of the garage.
Wone squatted down beside her and with their combined strength, folded the garage doors up into the building. Inside was a red engine powered car, small and able to seat five people. Myra walked over to the driver’s seat and stepped inside, leaving Wone to climb into the passenger seat. He began to strap himself in and Myra punched him in the shoulder.
“Don’t do that, you might need to fly out of this thing if we get shot at, understand,” she said giving him a soft smile.
He nodded then she started the engine and pulled out of the garage.
“We’re headed out to the industrial park in Crystal Bar,” said Myra as they pulled out of the old neighborhood and onto the main road that led into the city.
“Down by the docks,” drawled Wone thinking about the busy port.
“So, what you been up to lately,” asked Myra. “We don’t get to talk often; I worry about you.” She snickered at the words.
“Been thinking about you.” Wone put on his best heart-stricken face. “You remind me of the girls I fell in love with back in the day, you’re always on my mind.”
“The only thing on your mind is money,” Myra quipped. “I feel bad for anyone that ever does fall in love with you, they’ll always be second place.”
“Hmm, it seems like you already know what I’ve been up to then, so why bother asking,” Wone asked. “Is there something you want to tell me?”
“Yeah, that you’re kind of a jackass,” she said flatly. “Anyone ever tell you that? Well, I’m saying it now Wone, you’re kind of a jackass.”
The two of them broke out into laughter.
“How far out are we, I’m already getting sick of you,” joked Wone.
“Still a while, sorry to say.” Her face grew serious. “You really haven’t killed anyone yet?”
Wone shifted as the mood between them suddenly grew tense. He had not killed anyone, nor had he ever had any reason to. During his time as an apprentice, he and his master spent most of their time in solitude travelling. He was a prodigy at slaying beasts, better than everyone within his cell, but he had no experience fighting people.
“I’m kinda jealous,” she said before he could answer. She had a faraway look in her eyes, her gaze focused on the horizon. “I feel like a monster sometimes.”
Wone struggled with finding the words to say. He hoped he wouldn’t feel that way when he inevitably had to take the life of another person, but you never know.
“Well, that’s life,” Wone said finally. He sighed, “damnit Myra.”
He laughed thinking about how naïve he was about his deal with Song and ambitions to be rich and powerful. Then he laughed again because he didn’t plan on quitting over his own misgivings about potentially disliking killing people.
“Are you alright,” Myra asked as he finished.
“It’s just funny is all,” Wone replied. “My greatest goal, is to be a piece of shit.”
Myra smirked, “You might actually be pretty good at this.”
They continued down the main road until they reached the traffic of the inner city, and their progress came to a halt. Myra let out a soft growl in annoyance and the two of them sat silently in the car as they slowly waded through the congested road.
“If you’re really serious about whatever it is you decided you needed to do this for,” began Myra. “Then don’t let anything like morality get in your way, you’re a hunter after all.”
Wone nodded considering her words. He didn’t necessarily agree, but he understood where she was coming from.
“This damn traffic,” she muttered under her breath.
The two of them were stuck in traffic for twenty minutes and didn’t end up at Crystal Bar until Noon. Myra had parked her car in a secluded spot in a parking lot the dock workers used.
“Alright, like I said we’re hunting some gangers,” said Myra. “Blast’ll talk to us when he gets word from our client. In the meantime, we’re going to sit here and watch the docks for anything suspicious until we get a timetable.”
“I understand,” said Wone.
The two of them exited the car and walked around the docks until they found a building with a nice overlook over the freight area. It was a shipping company building, where freight companies handled the bureaucracy of incoming and outgoing goods. It didn’t look like they’d let Wone and Myra in for their stakeout.
“Let’s sneak around the back and climb up to the roof. Might be a ladder back there,” said Myra circling the building.
It was three stories and had a stairwell that led to a fire exit and a ladder beside it that went up to the top of the building. Wone and Myra walked up the stairs and climbed onto the roof when no one was looking and took up positions on the edge of the building where they could see most of the port.
“This’ll be a while,” said Myra.
Wone shrugged and began to come up with ways to poke fun at Myra while they waited, he had to pass the time somehow.