Jaeger came to as he crunched into the side of a stone building, blood flooding his mouth. As he struggled to understand, he felt himself slide down the wall. He landed in something that made him sneeze and sent a searing pain radiating from his side. As he tried to steady himself, his right arm simply would not respond and his left landed on something familiar. He looked down and a plan came to him, not a good one, but good plans were for better situations.

“Alright that time he almost had me. Good job Slowfist, now let’s make sure he’s dead, get paid, and see a fucking healer.”

“I got it boss, I’ll go and put me hammer through him. He’ll be done like dinna.”

Slow, plodding steps and a grinding sound were all the warning Jaeger had. Pushing himself to focus, he felt a draining sensation run through him, down his arm and into a vessel. He slowly opened his eyes, and as his blurred vision came into focus, he saw the tall man in front of him. He'd raised his hammer high and started to bring it down with a roar.

With the razor-sharp focus of a life-or-death moment, Jaeger's working arm shot up, revealing the bright light of his overcharged pistol. With a quick squeeze of the trigger, a blast of energy shot something as thick as a wooden cask through Slowfist. The blast was here and gone in a flash, but as the light faded, everything above the man's midsection was gone, including parts of the building behind him, leaving nothing but black edges on his body. The body swayed once, a leg lifted as if to regain its balance, and then it fell; the fall seemed to trigger something, as a rush of blood and guts erupted.

His arm fell, his breathing heavy and fast as he sat against the wall. He was tired, the feeling was similar to the one he'd gotten after chasing a former army messenger on foot, but besides the physical exhaustion, there was a mental one as well. He struggled to think for a moment, and it almost cost him everything.

“Just die already!”

A voice shouted before a sword came at his heart. With his dwindling strength, he managed to roll and the sword pierced his shoulder instead. The pain helped sharpen and focus him long enough to search for Xorro, the likely culprit. The man was staggering, having managed to withdraw his sword, on his feet and bleeding profusely. For a moment, it was tense but even, both badly wounded and exhausted.

“The pay wasn't enough to cover this, but I feel like you made it personal, so I don't mind.”

With that, Xorro planted his sword in the ground, reached into a pocket and pulled out a wax-sealed pill bottle. Using his teeth, he tore off the seal and dumped a thick pill into his hand. Now, Jaeger had seen a few pills in his time, most of them were ugly and smelled too much like poultices, but he'd never seen a pill like this. It was a pulsating thing of black, red, and yellow. It looked less like a pill and more like a poisoned organ, which made Xorro's next move strange.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

He had been prepared for Xorro to try to force it down his throat or throw it at him or do something to him. He was not prepared for the man to throw it back and swallow it dry. For a moment there was silence, but then Xorro began to wriggle and convulse. His body somehow remained on its feet, but wracked with spasms, involuntary movements, painful contortions, all while his eyes rolled madly; then he began to swell.

His muscles grew, but unlike the dead Slowfist, these muscles were grotesque and misshapen. An audible popping sound could be heard as his bones lengthened and shifted, the man growing at least half again, but his spine also curved into a slight hunch. His skin tore in places, revealing glistening raw muscles oozing yellow blood. Finally, he stopped twitching and his eyes settled before focusing on Jaeger, a guttural voice rumbling out.

“These pills are painful and temporary, I’d never use one normally but with this I’m going to be able to enjoy the pain and suffering I bring you. I’m going to dig through you, ripping and tearing my way to your sweet meats.”

The monstrous Xorro stretched and bent before moving toward him. When he reached Jaeger, he was about to reach down when someone else spoke.

“I’d never have taken this job if I knew you had those pills. You disgust me and I won’t tolerate working with trash.”

Jaeger couldn't see much behind Xorro, but he saw a cloak flutter to the ground. Then a pair of thick blades erupted from the man-monster's chest, then separated with a ripping sound, one ripping up as the other tore down. With a spray of yellowish blood, the mangled body of Xorro fell, almost in three pieces, revealing his savior.

A woman, slender and tall, with long limbs and pale skin; hair dark as a midnight gathering. She wore a dark crimson outfit, all swirls and sinister patterns made of some kind of scale; her head was uncovered. Her face was set in a scowl, and her large oval eyes, copper pools, held nothing but contempt as she stared at the fallen Xorro. She stepped over his body, kicking it deliberately as she moved toward Jaeger. Even in those few steps, he could tell she was a skilled killer.

“Now, what to do with you?” She held one of her wicked-looking blades to her chin, twirling the other effortlessly. “I have saved your life, as an unintended side effect, to be sure, but I have saved you nonetheless. However, you have revealed the treachery of this fool, so I'm at a loss and indecisive. Normally I'd kill you and be done with it, but a debt has been incurred, what to do.”

She moved, her pace feline. She paused once, bent down and nudged him, causing him to stifle a grunt of pain, a look quickly flickering across her face. She stood up again and stopped pacing, her face changing to a sneer.

“I have decided to kill you, debt is only a matter between equals, and you are not my equal. The payoff will be good, even if it means having to deal with this fool's employers.” She spun her blades before gripping them tight. “Rest assured bounty hunter, your death will fund a noble hunt.”

She faded for a second and then flickered toward him, blades poised to take his life. With nothing left in him, Jaeger barely managed a sneer of his own as he looked into the copper eyes of his death.