Mimi dropped Alyx off a few blocks away from the storage warehouse where the Trepidor brothers were allegedly sighted. A few passersby spotted Mimi traipsing through the district earlier at inordinate speeds, chalking up the strangeness of seeing the tall woman carrying a petite woman in her arm as just another day in the city.

In situations like this, “hunter business” typically became the convenient excuse for civilians to write off the novel happenstances which would have otherwise drawn their insatiable curiosity. In Necronova, however, hunter activity skirted the active policy set by the district which prevented the conducting of any hunts while within the district borders. These days, the average residents are smart enough to adhere to the city’s guidelines and, appropriately, stay the hell away from ongoing hunter activity within their vicinity, lest they find themselves caught in the crossfire of the hunt. However, a few wary individuals decided they were going to report what they’ve seen to the local Auditor’s office.

Mimi understood this, but paid it no heed. The pair would be in and out of their intended destination in no time. As Mimi began walking cautiously through the streets, Alyx trailed behind. Neon signs and lights covered the pavement beneath them in an ambient cyan glow. The two moons above them, hidden behind the dark amber clouds of dust which littered this wasteland planet, shone brightly overhead. Twin full moons in particular – a rare day indeed. Focused on the task at hand, neither woman paid it heed.

“Keep your eyes sharp”, Mimi warned. It was close to midnight at this point, and there didn’t seem to be any traffic or people in this part of the district, save for the occasional drone passing by which scanned the streets and walls of nearby buildings. From what it was focusing on, namely wall piping, home meters, asphalt integrity, and every streetlight it passed, this probably wasn’t an Auditor’s drone, but rather one of the local city maintenance drones documenting things for repair the next business day. Mimi breathed a sigh of relief, though she didn’t relax her level of alertness.

She spoke, “From what Reina gathered, it doesn’t seem like anybody had been seen leaving the building since the first sighting of people entering. I can only think of a one or two reasons why, and if my guesses are right, I suggest that you let me take the lead first.”

“You’re the hunter. You know best,” Alyx said somewhat dryly, feigning nonchalance, though her increased heart rate conveyed otherwise.

They crossed the street and approached the warehouse’s front entrance. It was an older type of security door, outfitted with voice recognition scanner as well as a few scan locks for authorized ID chips. As expected, the door was locked from the inside. Though the measures were secure, older doors like this didn’t have a silent alarm feature like the newer models do.

“Should we find another way around?” Alyx asked. Mimi just stared, and pulled off one of her two cyan bracelets, and placed it vertically against the lock. A moment later, a Johrei blade pierced the metallic lock, and the door swung in ajar.

Blades could be hidden in everything at this point, Alyx surmised.

“We could be seen”, Alyx whispered loudly.

“Don’t worry. I’ve kept my eyes open. The closest person is at least several blocks away from here now,” Mimi responded, walking in first. “This isn’t my first gig you know,” she said with a wink.

As the pair stepped into the building, a hallway with several unused rooms on the left appeared, as well as a large window several steps ahead which faced the interior of the storage grounds. Neon luminescence glowed through the windows as the pair approached and turned around to look through it. And that’s when Mimi noticed it.

It was chaos. Boxes and broken wood lined the warehouse floor, scattered about along with its various contents. Lying on a floor next to the boxes, Mimi could see blood traces strewn about the floor. Though difficult to notice, a few bodies could be seen up strung from the railings of the mezzanine above. Their bodies appear half-dissolved. Several limbs dangled from a few boxes above them.

Hunter’s Curtain, Mimi thought. This was shoddy cleanup work. The brothers must have been in a hurry, or maybe they were just here a moment ago. Either way, they needed to investigate further before the bodies completely dissolve.

Mimi pulled out her other bracelet, holding one in each arm. Alyx saw the scene as well and was mortified at what she was witnessing. Though she felt like running, or puking, she steeled herself and focused on the path in front of her.

“I think you should stay back for now. This could be an ambush. Let me investigate first. I’ll let you know when it’s clear,” Mimi warned.

Alyx looked like she was about to say something, but stopped herself, instead nodding slowly.

“Be careful, okay?” Alyx said.

Mimi smiled, “Always am. Once we get back and this is all over, let’s get that bed head of yours fixed, okay? There’s a level of professional decorum one expects when going in for the hunt.”

Alyx returned the smile with a halfhearted one. Her face still bore an expression of worry, but Mimi only turned around and began moving forward.

Mimi ran and rounded the corner of the hallway. A double-door, implemented with the same outdated security measures, barred entrance into the warehouse floor. Mimi gently broke open the doors. Cautious, she peered around the area and, when she saw nothing, she began to walk slowly towards the warehouse floor. A few paces in and the curious sound of broken glass suddenly touched her ear. She looked down but saw nothing.

What was that?

Mimi moved towards where the bodies were sprawled and found…nothing. Where were the bodies? She scanned around her. No sound, nothing.

This smelled of a trap. She needed to regroup with Alyx and figure out what in the hell is going on. Just as she looked towards the window where Alyx was standing, she noticed the silhouette of a figure too tall to be her friend.

In the next moment, the glass shattered outwards as bullets rained through the room towards her. She quickly jumped out of the way, expending some of her armor’s Johrei reserves to accelerate the dodge. The metallic crates in front of her began chipping away under the pressure from the gunfire on the other side.

What did this bastard do to Alyx?

She pushed away her thoughts for now. She needed to find a better position. It was rare to see a hunter use actual bullets. The reason being was that most Standard-Grade hunter armor could withstand a volley of shots before the shielding gave way. This is why modern gun users typically imbue Johrei onto their individual bullets, making them more likely to pierce armor, or opt for heavier artillery like grenade launchers. However, this came with its own drawbacks.

Johrei weaponry is typically made to operate as a reusable asset. Even without the vials to recharge a blade for example, a Johrei blade will naturally recharge over time, although at a slower rate, so long as the Bastion metal it was synced to was still intact. For this reason, most hunters keep a backup sword hilt on them. But guns are different. Because most of the bullets break upon impact, the Johrei imbued into them dissapear as well, making it a costly expenditure for hunters. Except for the rare occasions where guns operated as the perfect counter for targeting specific points of an Enthipid’s body out in the Fringe, you almost never see hunters use guns anymore for a bounty hunt.

That’s what made this such an unexpected threat. A shower of bullets continued to chip away at her cover, and Mimi was forced to move to the next box. She could see the shimmering glow of Johrei from each bullet that whizzed by her. A stray bullet hit the shielding on her leg, causing it to shimmer and crack. The impact caused her leg to go numb for a second.

“Shit”, she said. There had to be a way to close in on him. She wished she brought in better defenses for this. She didn’t have a lot of cover in this position to work with.

Think, Mimi, Think.

She looked at the stacked boxes above her and had an idea.

The assailant reloaded, all while keeping watch. The target’s cover was limited, the back entrance was blocked, and she could only make a run in two directions from where she was. Right as the assailant readied to chip away at what little cover she had left, he saw a something blue escaping out from behind the boxes to his right. He fired, pelting Mimi with a barrage of bullets. Only…

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That wasn’t her. A distraction? He didn’t see her make a run in the other direction. Right as the riddled blouse dropped to the ground, he lugged his gun back to fire at Mimi’s cover, believing her to still be hiding in the same spot. In that moment however, he noticed a silhouette leap from the top boxes, grabbing the railing of the mezzanine and dashing across the top floor towards the large stack of crates in the center of the room. She was fast.

An agility user?, the assailant thought. She looked familiar. It couldn’t be. He turned his gun to fire at her, but she leaped from box to box, each shot missing her by a hairsbreadth as she utilized the limited cover she had in between.

Damn rat.

She got closer with each jump. He needed a perfect moment where she was airborne. The only way out was through him, and she had to reach him eventually. Dodging to and fro wasn’t going to cut it, and she would have to put herself out in the open eventually. He saw a glimpse of a dark object peeking out from the box to the left - a Bastion armor piece.

“I’m not falling for that again!” he said, raising his gun above the boxes in anticipation as the dark object Mimi threw flew left out of the cover in an arch. It was then that the assailant realized something. Armor abilities could only be utilized when you have the full set. Having any part detached or broken off would cause you to lose access those abilities after a few seconds, unless you were an Augmentor. There was no way she could make that leap like she did earlier.

She tricked me.

Mimi jumped left out of cover and caught her pauldron mid-air, regaining her speed boost. As the assailant rounded his gun to fire at her again, bullets fracturing the surrounding area, Mimi threw the pauldron directly at him. He fired at it, but realized it was soaking up the bullets with its remaining Johrei, giving Mimi an opportunity to move. As he sidestepped to avoid the impact of the Bastion metal, he saw Mimi propped horizontally against one of the metal crates, and realized what she was about to do.

He pulled the trigger before she jumped, but then realized he was out of bullets again. Mimi began to squat against the crates, utilizing the few precious seconds of speed she had left, keeping her knees primed. He quickly pulled out a magazine as Mimi jettisoned from the crate, and propelled in a straight line towards him – one last burst attempt to close in. His magazine clicked back into place when she was a few feet from him and he raised his gun, firing off another hail of bullets. She was wide open.

Mimi pulled up her bracelets, and extended two hidden blades from them, creating a cross. She reduced her body’s vulnerable zones when she decided to make a direct beeline at him. It meant the bullets have a low chance of hitting her so long as the blades maintained to protect her face. However, the improvised Johrei shield barely lasted against the barrage and the blades shattered almost instantly. A few stray bullets began to push their way through towards her. Just as the assailant was assured of his victory and smiled inside, he reeled back at what happened next.

Mimi knew the blades wouldn’t protect her. In fact, she planned for it. She only needed enough defense from the blades to get her within range of him. Additionally, the blades shattered much too quickly, which is something the assailant seems not to have noticed. All of the Johrei which the assailant thought was being routed into her blade, was instead routed into her core’s ability.

As the assailant’s eyes widened, Mimi screamed.

A sonic screech emitted from her mouth, blasting a wave of destructive force that launched the assailant backwards, repulsing the bullets that had nearly reached her. The rest of the window shattered as the assailant slammed hard against the concrete wall behind him, glass pieces slicing against his face and arms. He reeled from the recoil as several of his bones snapped, and he coughed up copious amounts of blood, struggling to get up.

Mimi landed on the ground outside the large window in front of him, protected from the fall damage by the pushback momentum of her siren’s scream. She looked at him, and he looked back.

“A…Supplementor…I never [cough] knew, you had such a card…”

Despite the victory, Mimi was far from ok. She staggered momentarily but tried to stabilize herself as she stepped closer to the assailant. A few stray bullets caught her on her left leg, and one on her right arm. She looked at him, eyes full of murder.

“Siegren Trepidor. I didn’t take you for a fool, coming back to the scene of the crime.” Mimi growled in seething rage.

Siegren slumped back against the wall, unable to stand. A large glass shard caught on his leg and he was spent. He chuckled wryly, “The Valkyrie herself. I knew they’d send someone, but I didn’t think it would be you.”

Siegren couldn’t move. All he could do was process what he was seeing in front of him. Was this who Tor was referring to? Perhaps. But I shouldn’t assume. I need to inform Brother of this though, Siegren coughed up blood again, straining to breathe.

“You better stay alive long enough. I have some questions for you before your date with the devil”, Mimi said, hopping briskly through the now-shattered window in front of him. Even with part of her armor set missing, she still had some agility to her.

She’s been diligent with her training it seems.

“You know how this goes Mimi”, Siegren lectured, tone amused. “From one [cough] argh… Division hunter to another, you know I would choose death over disclosure.”

Siegren reached into his coat pocket, and before he pulled his hand out, Mimi caved in his chest with her boot, and his heart stopped. Siegren died on the spot. Whatever he was planning to do, he wasn’t going to get the chance to do it.

It was then that Mimi’s eyes began to dim. She was losing a lot more blood than she expected. The puncture in her leg began to throb heavily.

Have to find Alyx. Have to call…Reina…

Mimi succumbed to her wounds as well.

After an indefinite period, her eyes opened. She was lying on the ground, with Alyx knelt down at her side.

“Mimi! Thank goodness. What happened?!” Alyx was teary-eyed. Mimi smiled at her friend.

“I’m glad you’re okay Alyx”, she said, reaching up to squeeze Alyx’s cheek. It was soft and squishy, comforting to Mimi. “Siegren…he was here. I…” She was at the spot where the window was earlier. However, it was perfectly intact.

Alyx was gasping between breaths, panicked for her friend. “I was here waiting like you asked, but after you rounded the corner, I heard a thump and saw you collapsed at the entrance. I thought someone got you and tried to pull you back in. I don’t really know how to fight, but I wasn’t going to let them get you.” She hugged Mimi tightly.

Mimi’s eyes began to focus. “Entrance? What do you mean? I was fighting Siegren. He removed the bodies somehow. He…”

Alyx looked confused. Mimi thought about it for a moment before asking, “How long was I out?”

“About ten minutes or so. Your heart rate slowed, and your eyes looked…blank. I thought - I thought…Well, I’m just glad you’re okay now. Don’t ever scare me like that again!” Alyx said.

Mimi sat upright. Alyx tried to help her, but Mimi put up a hand.

“It’s alright. I’m okay now”, Mimi said reassuringly. Her neck ached as she stood up and stretched her back. “I think the Trepidor brothers set some kind of trap for us.”

“Trap?” Alyx wondered.

“Yeah. Alyx. Siegren knows I’m a Supplementor now…I thought I killed him, but now, I’m starting to suspect otherwise. I had a whole fight with him, right on the warehouse floor. He was here behind the window. I thought he had done something terrible to you.”

“I never saw anyone,” Alyx said.

“I know that now.” Mimi’s head hurt and she was still feeling the effects of waking up from a stupor. “Alyx, I think he’s also a Supplementor. A perception-type most likely. Those who can manipulate perception are particularly dangerous. Taking in what you’ve told me, I think an hour in that false place he trapped me in is no more than a moment here.” She paused, chiding herself for underestimating the enemy.

“I guess I’m still a foolish one,” Mimi stated, sighing audibly, eyes closed.

“What?” Alyx said, worried.

“It’s nothing. I’m just disappointed. Siegren knows my powers now, and I only suspect his. That was a bad tradeoff. I’m guessing the brothers knew they weren’t going to be able to hide all these bodies in time and set a trap instead.” She remembered his words.

I knew they’d send someone, but I didn’t think it would be you.

“Alyx, were you the only person who marked Cadmi originally?” she asked.

“From what I could tell. The hunter boards didn’t register any active public bounties for him,” Alyx responded.

“And Reina didn’t catch any private bounties either. What are the chances someone would put out a personal request?”

“Impossible,” Alyx started, but then thought about it for a second. “Well, improbable. I can’t really tell you why right now, but there are…reasons why no one would go after the brothers.

“Well, I guess no hunter worth two Mon would want to go after someone of their caliber. At least no logical hunter,” Mimi replied. Alyx didn’t bother to correct her. This wasn’t the real reason why clients lacked incentive to put out a hit on the brothers. Alyx just nodded in agreement without saying anything, knowing Mimi could tell if she lied.

Mimi wanted to investigate into this matter further. Something bigger than just Alyx’s personal grudge might be involved with the brothers. Their history, their recent rise to power, all of it reeked of duplicity.

“I-” Mimi started, as the doors burst open behind them. Mimi turned quickly, readying herself, although part of her was still recovering from the aftereffects of her unconscious state earlier. However, she felt relieved when she saw that it was just Caz and Mari.

“Woah, what reeks in here?” Mari said. As if those words triggered something, Mimi finally paid heed to the smell of the rotting corpses on the other side of the wall. Alyx, surprisingly, didn’t seem to be fazed. It was an almost palpable, gut-wrenching scent.

“Bodies”, Caz said. He figured it out quick. “I’m surprised. Shoddy cleanup work. The brothers must have been in a hurry.” He had the same thought as Mimi originally.

“And we should be hurrying up too. Auditor drones are starting to pick up traction in this area due to reports of hunter activity from some local civilians. Let’s not stay here longer than we need to,” Mari stated.

Mimi agreed and helped catch Caz and Mari up on the events they had missed. Mari looked perplexed, and Caz, well, she couldn’t tell what Caz was thinking behind his veil.

“Wait,” Mari said, after the recap. “So you’re saying you went through all that and couldn’t even get to investigate the bodies in the end? The door’s right there.” She pointed.

“Well, yes. But like, I was – what are you trying to say, Mari?” Mimi scolded. She pouted again and Mari laughed. Caz interrupted them.

“Enough. We can discuss all this later. For now, we need to find out exactly what the hell happened here and what the brothers were trying so hard to hide.”