Jack was eventually able to go to the bathroom, and not a moment too soon, after having carefully moved the others without waking them. He was finally alone with his thoughts as he sat on the throne.
Well last night had certainly been eventful. Scratch that - the whole of the last day had been eventful!
He was more grateful than ever for his new friends, both his housemates and the others he had met during the day. He certainly looked forward to getting to know them all better.
And speaking of, he had a date!
Well...sort of...kinda…. maybe….ish.
He had planned on exploring the various districts of their 'town' while everyone else did their own thing anyway. Therefore he was glad Sephy was happy with the idea of accompanying him, even though the arrangement of the 'date' wasn't on her own terms. Besides, if anyone knew the hidden secrets of the city, it would likely be her, and Jack would be lying if he said he wouldn't be too unhappy spending some alone-time with the Skritta…
His arms and legs were stiffer than yesterday as he started going through his morning exercises, though he found that his pushups and sit-ups were a little easier this time despite the not-so-healthy food he had yesterday.
"I figured you'd be up nice and early," Nika whispered from behind him as he poured himself a cup of water from the kitchen. "The alcohol doesn't work as much on you either, it appears."
"Yeah." Jack grinned. "It was nice and sweet but we’ve got stronger stuff back on earth. I wasn't legally allowed to try it but I snuck a beer or cider to my room once or twice. My brother once gave me a dram of whiskey but my mum found out…” Jack stopped as the memory of his family threatened to overwhelm him.
“Whiss…keeey” Nika mulled the strange word over in her mind, coming to a blank. She’d probably have to see if Chiyo knew that one.
"Up for some sparring?" Nika asked casually. "I've got khal-cha practice in a few hours so I should get a warmup in. I may as well see how I match up against you," she added with a smile. "Think you can take me on?"
"We'll see," Jack smirked. His 'official' martial arts training left something to be desired in an actual fight, but he had found his induction into 'street fighting' by his brothers overruled that in a pinch. He couldn't do that to Nika and risk hurting her though, so he'd stick to practised techniques.
He followed Nika to her room, her tail swaying from side to side in tandem with her hips as she led Jack to a ringed mat in the centre.
"Fist. Activate force walls." Nika spoke clearly, as a translucent red dome phased into view. "Consistency of padding," Nika added to Jack. "Somewhat soft, but I wouldn't hit it all the same."
"Sure," Jack replied hesitantly. "So what are the rules here?"
"Try and defeat your opponent!" Nika grinned as she rushed at him.
Jack didn't have too much time to react as Nika feinted low and aimed high, using her tail to push herself forward to try and get a grip on Jack's head. Jack dodged to the side and grabbed one of Nika’s ankles as the Kizun lost her balance and put her hands out to steady herself on the floor.
"No you don't." Nika grinned as she quickly twisted her body, the sweaty ankle slipping out of his grip as she rolled away.
Jack wasn't going to let her get away though, as he quickly rushed forwards to grab the Kizun around the waist as she jumped to her feet. Nika squirmed a little, unable to break the grip, but having just barely enough strength and room to slip out of it.
Quickly using her speed to slip under his legs, Nika jumped up with her tail and wrapped her arms around Jack's neck in a choke hold.
"Tap on me with your hand when you want to give up!" Nika grinned in elation. "I have you!"
Jack started to pitch back as Nika suspected he would as he ran out of breath; however, she was taken completely by surprise as he quickly pitched forward with a jerk, throwing her over his head. She recovered enough to quickly turn to face him as he tackled her, pinning her to the ground.
Nika quickly wrapped her legs around Jack's stomach, preventing him from getting too much control as she grabbed at his hands, just as he grabbed at hers. He was much stronger than her, she knew, but she could blunt his momentum.
"Not bad." She grinned. "But you lack technique!"
"Good enough to have you pinned though," Jack cheekily smirked.
"Oh?" Nika smirked back in kind as Jack felt a gentle tap on his shoulder, where Nika’s tail pointed at him before grabbing his head and pulling him closer to the Kizun.
"You don't have me beat and I don't have you beat," Nika spoke softly. "Though I will concede to a draw."
"Fair enough." Jack smiled, but Nika didn't let go.
"Hey…" the Kizun whispered. "Our faces are rather close together, don't you think?"
"Yeah…" Jack agreed softly, as they slowly began to get closer…
A sudden *click* came from somewhere to the side, taking them out of their moment. Turning to face the noise, both of them could see Vanya crouching in the corner with the widest grin Jack had ever seen.
And she had a camera.
Both of them broke the hold at the same time as Nika yelled, "Vanya! I'm smashing that fucking thing!" in an angry warcry, disabling the force walls and rushing to get her shotgun.
"Oh hi! Morning Jack!" Vanya grinned as she quickly made it to the door. "Maybe I could go a round with you nex-"
A cock of Nika’s shotgun shut her up.
"Uh .. never mind, maybe another time!" Vanya called as she hurriedly ran away.
"She better not post anything on MyFace," Nika growled as she slowed her approach to the door.
"Are you ok?" Jack asked Nika smoothly. "Maybe we co-"
"No it's fine." Nika sighed. "Let's hit the showers. If that didn't wake everyone up I don't know what will. Besides, I have to ready up for practice, and you have a date!" She winked.
"Yeah…" Jack sighed and headed off to his bathroom.
******
"So, shall we go?" Sephy asked Jack as the Skritta excitedly vaulted the sofa to sit next to him. She was wearing the exact same clothes she wore last night, though Jack thought better than to ask if she'd slept in them. She did however look somewhat different, her purple skin somewhat...sparky?
Was this the Skritta equivalent of makeup? Jack assumed it was.
"What's that sparkly stuff Sephy? It looks nice!"
"Oh that?" Sephy smiled and waved a hand to dismiss the compliment. "It's nothing, just something my species uses when going out from time to time."
That would be 'yes' then. Good to know.
"Fair enough," Jack replied as he got up. "I'm ready if you are!"
*******
"I don't suppose you have any lightsabers in stock?" Jack asked the flabbergasted sales assistant.
He and Sephy had spent several fun-packed hours exploring the town, the Skritta showing him how to use the map on his commlink to better orient himself. They hadn't gone too far, having explored many of the basic shops and notable landmarks, before taking a detour to the cineplex. Apparently Sephy shared his and Nika’s love of action films, since that was what she treated them both to. It was a little short, and the plot left something to be desired, but it was the experience that really stood out to Jack, as the theatre streamed hot air and sprinkled a little rain to help set the scenes, among other things.
He really wished he had brought a coat at least.
There was also a bitter undertone to the trip, as several missing persons posters had been plastered around the district gates and on any vidscreen people could walk by, looking for loved ones who had been involved in the Killer Klown’s attack.
After showing Jack where several of the food shops were, Sephy decided she really needed to make this more exciting, and since they would need to kit Jack out for the trip anyway, it only made sense to go weapon shopping!
“Sir, I don't know what a lightsaber is?" The assistant replied in confusion.
"Um …" Jack continued, the wind thoroughly taken out of his sails. "A fusion blade? Something that makes a blade of hard light that can cut through anything and block gunfire if you're like, really good with it! If you have one in Samuel L Jackson purple that'd be sweet!”
“Jack!” Sephy called to him with barely suppressed laughter. "Just pick a gun! You're already a badass up close, why would you even want something like that?"
"Just because!" Jack smirked, but relented on seeing Sephy facepalm. "Alright, what do you recommend?"
"Well Nika is more the expert, and I think she wants the final say in what we all pack, but this looks good!" She pointed at a shiny looking rifle on the wall with two barrels.
"Ah, yes!” The assistant spoke up, very eager to move the conversation away from the utterly insane. "This is the Shil-Kill 169 Assault Rifle. Twin-Barrel for double damage with a Quad-Core Battery to keep it powered for several hours of continuous fire before recharge. Klingling-fur grip for stability and comfort, and triltium dipped metal insulation to prevent excessive overheating.”
"Oh, that sounds great!" Jack perked up. "How much?"
"Well we're currently offering a 50% discount in light of the recent attack, so you're looking at the low, low price of 130,000 Bastile Credit or equivalent exchange in Temple of Hope trusted currencies."
"Wow, that sounds awesome!" Sephy jumped up excitedly. "How much do you have Jack?"
Jack made a few calculations and referred to his commlink exchange tool Sephy had shown him before…
"I have 6.73 credits." Jack looked up in embarrassment.
"I have to ask that if you are not paying customers to please leave," the assistant replied curtly, eager to get rid of the two nutters. "Though we do have some grenades in the bargain bucket!"
*****
"Well that went well…" Sephy finally grinned after they had escaped the guards sent to run them out of the area. They hadn't stolen anything, but Sephy's attempt to negotiate a better price didn't exactly go down well.
It didn't help that they were pretty much now broke, barely having enough to order a teapot for the both of them to share. They had decided to hang out at Kritch's tea garden from the previous day while they planned their next move, happy to hear that the owners had done well to protect the place and their patrons who sought shelter with them.
"I'm sure Chiyo has some house funds saved away to prepare us for the trip to the oracle," Sephy continued. "So we should be prepared enough for that. I guess we got a little too carried away with the Cineplex, huh?"
"Nah it's fine," Jack replied with a grin. "That was great fun, it was a good idea to show me!"
Sephy flushed a little at the compliment before getting back to business. "So what do you want to do now? We can't exactly pay for anything anymore, so we could always head back.”
Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.
Jack shook his head. He was honestly having fun and didn't see a reason to stop. "We could always see if we can find a few more of those symbols from before?"
Sephy shrugged. "Can do. It's mostly stuff I see while doing other things, I don't normally go out of my way to…" She stopped in thought before grinning conspiratorially. "There's a tower with a great view a few districts from here. I went climbing a little while ago and noticed one of the marks there, wanna check it out?"
"Sure," Jack replied with a smile. A good view sounded good, and he really didn't have any better ideas on what to do.
*****
"Pretty great isn't it?" Sephy grinned, sat next to Jack at the top of the tower. They were both alone, though there was evidence that the place was often used as a lookout post.
"Yeah…" Jack had to agree. This had to be the highest point around for miles. The busy streets below may as well have been a tunnel of ants passing to and fro. Over in the distance to the North-East Jack could see the decimated ruins where the Killer Klown had attacked, and further west he could see the overgrowth of forests and ruins reclaimed by nature, where they would be travelling tomorrow. Jack felt the anticipation as he wondered what that would be like….
"Oh yeah!" Sephy added. “Here's the mark I wanted to show you!"
She got up and led him to the central concrete pillar supporting the roof of the building. Etched on the floor was a simple square with an incomplete triangle above it.
That got Jack thinking.
"Sephy, have you seen this mark anywhere else?"
"Yeah I've seen it a couple of times. Why?"
"Do you remember where?" Jack asked, wanting to check if his guesswork was in the right place
"Even better, I have pictures!" The excitable Skritta jumped up to show him.
"Wait, you couldn't have shown me a picture of this place?" Jack asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Um…" Sephy blushed a deeper purple. "Well…This is also a good place to hang out!"
"Right…" Jack replied, not quite believing the explanation, but didn't have time to think about it as Sephy showed him the photos.
One seemed to be in an alleyway, another on a district wall tucked behind a bush, and another in what looked like an abandoned metro station.
Ok, looking promising so far….
"All of these locations seem to be out the way, where most people aren't going to travel." Jack slowly reasoned out loud. "While I have no idea what the other symbols mean, this square could signify an object, while the 'hat' on top could be some kind of cover. Have a look around, this might be a dead drop of some kind."
"Here!" Sephy perked up, pointing at a small crack in the concrete. Jack followed the finger closely, spotting a little tab of cloth on the bottom. There was no way anyone could really notice it unless they knew to look out for a dead drop, but following the cracks indicated a latch.
Jack approached cautiously, ready to jump back if there was any trap, Sephy having the smarts to keep a lookout. He yanked on the fabric hard, immediately backing away.
But nothing came.
"Awe come on!” Sephy pouted. "Empty! I was so hoping for cash!"
Though the compartment was empty, it was still clearly a dead drop, as the metal safe stood out in the rough tower. The dust imprints left also showed signs of objects being placed and later removed, a theory which Sephy agreed with as she sat down on the edge, feet dangling in the air.
"I've been trying to work out pieces of the puzzle for a few years now," Sephy said seriously as Jack sat next to her, overlooking the morning cityscape. "And here you come in and figure it out within a day. Guess I really am the dumbass of the group…" She sighed, her wings slumping as she refused to meet Jack's gaze
"You're not dumb at all!" Jack argued, putting his arm around her shoulders. "Sometimes you just need a fresh perspective, and honestly we've found more questions than answers at this point."
Sephy sighed as she nodded.
"Like, why couldn't there have been any money?" Jack grinned, trying to lighten the mood with some humour. "Seriously, how anticlimactic was that?"
Sephy sniggered at that. "And the way you were bracing for something as well," she added with a laugh. “You looked ridiculous!"
She sighed as she leaned more into Jack's embrace as they both took in the view.
"I just wanted to figure this out on my own, come back to the others and show them that I can do things under my own power too, y'know?" she continued sadly. "Prove myself instead of being looked down upon"
"I don't think the others look down on you?" Jack replied, confused. "I certainly don't."
This was completely true. While Sephy was a bit of a joker that didn't mean she was below anyone in the group. Maybe she was a bit insecure?
"My people, the Skritta, are considered nuisances amongst the galaxy," Sephy softly whispered. "Our home planet originated somewhere in the vast, so most of my people don't even know where it is, or if it still exists. Despite that, we refused to die, families settling where they could with other species willing to put up with us, until we were forced to leave because of war or persecution."
Jack was silent as he listened.
"So that is the lifestyle many of my people adopt. Constantly travelling the known galaxy and never settling for long, so our people were often associated with various nuisances. Stealing, scavenging, kidnapping. While some of my people probably did, it was nowhere near the extent of my people's reputation."
Jack just nodded as his embrace became a little more intense.
"Eventually they must have appeared here because I was apparently dumped at the Temple of Hope as an infant," she whispered. "You heard the rest when Cornelia decided to say 'hi'."
Jack nodded. "Sounds like you and your people have been through a lot, I'm sorry to hear that. But you don't have to worry about proving yourself. I'm an outsider that had no idea what your situation was, and yet…."
"Yet here we are." Sephy finished for him, finally turning to stare at him intently with watery eyes.
"Yeah …" Jack managed to say, as both of them went silent, just looking at each other, unsure of what to do next.
Instincts screaming at him forced Jack to do something. Anything.
So he kissed her.
It was quick, nothing more than a quick peck that lasted just as long as his confidence before he pulled back in a panic, seeing Sephy's shocked expression, just looking at him with wide eyes.
'Oh shit' Jack thought to himself. Had he somehow read the situation wrong? Did he just do something taboo to Sephy's species? Was he going to get '#MeToo'd'?
Sephy's momentary grin of realisation was all the warning Jack got…
Before she lept on him.
*****
How is your search for jobs going? Chiyo asked Nika as she unpacked the books and reagents she had brought back from the magic shop. Anything interesting?
"Only got back a few minutes before you did, I'm just checking now. Alora got back before me but I think she's working on her garden. Apparently, regular services at the Temple of Hope are suspended to focus on helping those affected by the latest attack and they’ll contact her if they need her help. On the plus side, the basic bounties for Killer Klown Kabal members has gone up to 900 each, double if alive and coherent for Temple-affiliated inquisitors to mind crawl, with a bonus if any information obtained leads to the elimination of high-priority targets."
Probably best we don't go searching for them, it's risky enough that we're taking a trip out with no preparation and a new companion.
"Preparing is what we'll do this afternoon." Nika rolled her eyes at Chiyo. "I can vouch for Jack's fighting ability up close, but I'll check how good a shot he is when he actually turns the safety off!”
How was practice? Chiyo asked, changing the subject as she sat down next to the Kizun, keeping an eye on the bounty boards as they were being updated.
"Not too bad, my kata form is better though I went in pretty exhausted."
Totally the party and not your unsubtle playtime with Jack, right? Chiyo grinned as Nika playfully flicked her with her tail.
"I was just testing his skills for the trip. I was about to beat him, but we conceded a draw"
Suuure you di-wait, what is that?
Chiyo was pointing at one of the thumbnails on one of the more local bounty boards and saw that the entry had many recent contributions to the overall pot.
Nika clicked on the bounty, and both girls immediately panicked on seeing the full-size picture.
"ALORAAAAAAAA!" Nika yelled as she ran to grab her guns.
*********
Carefully moving backwards so as not to fall off the tower, Jack gently pried the excitable Skritta's face off of his before finally being able to breathe again.
"Oh shit, you ok?" Sephy finally asked as she calmed down. "I've never really tried kissing a guy before so I wasn't sure what to expect?"
"It's cool." Jack laughed as he got his breathing under control. "Your mouth is a little bigger than mine so you got my nose too and I couldn’t really breathe, but we can work on that. Edge off a high drop probably wasn't a good spot for it though, my bad. It just felt right in a way.”
"Yeah," Sephy sighed dreamily. “Honestly that wasn't why I even tried to get you up here, but I'll take it! What do we do now?"
"Well …" Jack thought for a bit. As tempting as 'carrying on' was, the tension between them had died down enough that he was able to think a bit more rationally. He had wanted to ask Sephy something else though, and now was as good a time as any now they were calming down from ...whatever that was.
"Actually I was curious about something you kept mentioning that the others kept shooting down," Jack said thoughtfully. "What's the Prefect’s Lockup? You said that could earn us some money, right?"
Sephy beamed from ear to ear. "Oh, this day just keeps getting better and better! That's why I wanted to bring you here, look!"
She pointed at some kind of industrial compound a few blocks away from the tower. Upon focusing, Jack could see a few warehouse buildings, with many containers littered around the courtyard and…
Barely anybody guarding it! A trio of Korrigans at the entrance and the very occasional prefect walking a repeated path.
"The asshole prefects in our school keep confiscating things and most of the time people don't get them back. I learned that they’ve built up such a stockpile that starting at least several millennia ago they started buying or renting premises off-site to stash it all. Found out this was one of them when I hacked the database to get myself out of detention about a week ago."
"And it's just sitting there," Jack considered. Yes it was stealing, but technically this stuff had been stolen first by those asshole prefects, of which the drow were members….
"The owners of the goods are long gone, too," Sephy added. "I have no idea how good the prefect cataloguing and inventory checks are, but considering there's a lot of stuff we should be in the clear once I hack the security."
"How come the others keep shooting you down on this?" Jack asked cautiously.
"Had a lot of busts recently." Sephy sighed. "I swear I did as much legwork as I could, but sometimes things go wrong. But I've been up this tower a lot and I think there's a good chance this could be a hit, maybe more than once too! The weekend is the best time to hit it since it's non-school days, you have a few volunteers there but if you look at them up close they don't seem that alert."
Jack could well believe that. One of his brothers had worked part time in a supermarket to save up for university, and certainly never had any intention of going above and beyond for minimum wage.
"Okay," Jack started, having made a decision. "If we hit this place we're going to need a plan."
"But it's a really good idea when you cons- wait you said yes?" the Skritta asked excitedly, to which Jack answered with a nod.
"This is the best day ever!"
******
Svaartal couldn't remember having a worse day. His defeat at the hands of the deathworlder had heavily compromised his plans to get him and Svaarti a fresh start with the Red Legion. His warband had blamed him for their humiliation in Master Kull's class, though Svaartal argued that, in fact, he had come the closest to killing the human.
The argument had escalated, the blame game had continued, and Xharl had kicked him out of the group.
Only for something in Svaartal to snap.
He defiantly blamed Xharl and the others. Xharl, he pointed out, had fallen in a single strike, accomplishing nothing except failure. Another had fallen moments later to a follow-up strike in surprise, whereas the other had fallen to the Kizun, Nika.
That enraged his former band. Xharl had even tried to attack him. But Svaartal would no longer be cowed. His razor sharp tongue had lashed out and broken him free of the grip, and his acid-spit follow up overwhelmed his attacker.
Though that wasn't the end of it. Master Kull, an old blood-brother and comrade of his discharged father, had told his friend everything, and his father had tried to beat him thoroughly as a result. He then yelled at Svaarti in a hate-filled tirade, before Svaartal forced the attention back on him, to another beating.
Svaarti was never touched, not in an act of kindness, but because she needed to be an 'unspoilt' bride for a suitable Red Legion suitor, though Svaartal knew it was only a matter of time before his father broke that promise in his drunken rage. His path into the officer corps of the Red Legion was now in question, so he would need to turn to other means to gain a good income.
Fortunately, a certain bounty had presented itself.
Despite everything his father had told him, Svaartal was highly intelligent. He made sure to preserve the blood he had drawn from the human that wasn't lost in the fight, more than enough for several doses worth...
It would be worth a considerable sum to others hunting the human, among other underworld figures. He had timed the bids to start and deliver just right.
Svaartal would kill Jack Frost first. That bounty alone could get him and his sister away from his father for good.
His clairvoyance was mediocre but sufficient. He had set up a sniper position on top of a block of shops central to the district that gave a good overview of the area and a clear line of fire down any of the streets. It only took an hour for the human to show, being accompanied by Sepherina Hawker. He had no idea what that nuisance was doing with him, but he would aim carefully to avoid her. Annoying as she was, she had done nothing to earn a sniper round to the skull.
Svaartal had worked on this special round for the past several hours. There was no way he would miss the shot, as he had cursed the overcharged concussive sonic round with another drop of Jack's blood, almost guaranteeing a magically guided hit.
But Svaartal knew he wouldn't miss. Everything was on the line. This was for him and his sister.
Eyeing up the sites and steadying his breath, he squeezed the trigger…
*****
The plan was solid and they were ready. Sephy clearly had a good head for these things, but Jack had to make several amendments and suggestions that they could both agree with.
They turned into a main street and lost themselves in the busy crowd, keeping their nerves steady as they got closer and closer to their mark.
Jack was suddenly snapped out of his thoughts when he felt his hair suddenly puff and mess up out of nowhere. Mildly annoyed, he flattened his hair back down and briefly thought about what that was
Meh. Must have been the wind…