August 30, 2051
A bump startled her, and she awoke. Just like she had been told in the preliminary briefing, she had woken up on the transport speeder, already on its way to the job. Before she did anything else, she closed her eyes and recalled the basics. Her name… Lana. Her birthday-- she stopped to slapped herself for using her real name. She was on the job; her name was Artemis. There was a stirring around her as the others woke up, but she continued in spite of it. Her birthday… May 2nd, 2021. Her weapon… She reached out and her hand brushed against the cold metal of the gauntlets on the bench in front of her. Today’s mandate… Retrieve the book from the tomb. She took in a deep breath and opened her eyes.
The other three were now fully awake; one on her left, two across from her. She didn’t recognize any of them and, if all went well, she would never have to see them again. ‘A good bounty hunter doesn’t gain attachments, but rather, lets go,’ she told herself. Artemis leaned on her knees and folded her hands in concentration; she didn’t want any distractions before the mission. As if to challenge her determination, the man to her left spoke up.
“Well, looks like the princess is finally awake! Didn’t even need a kiss, though I’d be happy to oblige.”
A gruff man from across the transport coughed. He was built, and his simple grey body armour did little to hide it. “I don’t know what kingdom would house a princess as scruffy-looking as her.”
The other man waved a hand, his lanky arm slicing through the air in dismissal. “Scruffy-looking is my type. Not a whole lot of lookers in the guild these days. And anyway, the pretty ones don’t last as long, do they?” He laid his eyes on the one beside the gruff man, a petite girl with short dark hair. Her eyes darted away as the thin man’s gaze poured over her. “Must be your first job, huh? How’d you score a job like this? Cavorting around with the higher-ups? Connections on the inside, maybe?”
Still looking anywhere but at him, she responded in a small voice, “S-sensei took me on. And it’s my third one. Third job, I mean…”
The built man rested a hand on her leg and muttered an insult under his breath. “She may be young, but what she lacks in age, she makes up for in skill.” The man reached forward and took the metal sheath that was leaning on the bench. “If you care to disagree,” he challenged, pulling the katana part way out to reveal a dragon etched in the shiny metal, “then only my blade will settle it.”
The man across from him leaned forward and took his own weapon, a blaster pistol, and cocked the hammer, the device making a high-pitched whine as he clicked off the safety. “If you’re cocky enough to fight a gun with a sword, be my guest.”
There was a squeal as a set of loudspeakers came to life from the ceiling, and a stern voice came from within. “Midas, you’ll put that blaster down if you know what’s good for you.” The two men continued to glare at each other. “I chose you all for your skills, meaning you’re all as important as the other. Say you kill someone on the way there, like Atlas here, and you can’t finish the job? No reward.”
After a few more seconds of intense eye contact, Midas lowered the gun. “Alright, if you say so, Hermes. But I’m gonna keep an eye on him, just in case.” He picked up a leather holster from the bench, and he began to attach it to his belt. The other girl looked up at Artemis, but her gaze gave her no comfort.
Midas’ eyes flicked over to the girl again. “Not sure how I feel raiding alongside a freshie. What did the report call you, again? Camilla? No, it was something… Eclipse? Ellipses?”
Still maintaining her position leaning forward, Artemis, piped up, “Calypso. Or maybe you didn’t take Ancient Greek in kindergarten?”
Midas scoffed and slapped a hand on his thigh. “She's got moxie, this one. Of course I took Ancient Greek, it was part of the dozen semesters required to get a PhD in Archaeology.” He was unsatisfied with Artemis’ lack of fascination, so he continued. “You should be glad I’m with you in this; if they try to sneak a fake in its place, I’ll know in an instant.” He gave her a confidently smug grin, but her face didn’t change. Instead, she looked forward once more. He chuckled. “Playing hard-to-get, huh? Acquiring things that are hard-to-get is my job; shouldn’t take long.”
Atlas grunted, still holding the sheathed blade in his hand. “You know that’s not the real her, right? None of us are the real us. So you can stop it with this mask you wear; the real you is probably a shut-in who pours over his books.”
Midas leaned back and propped his legs up on the metal bench. “What you see in front of you, all except in body, that’s who I am. Ain’t no changing me. I’ll always be a charmer.” He winked at Artemis, who was still looking ahead of her. He changed his focus back to Calypso. “Now, I’ll bet you’ve mostly done the run-of-the-mill headhunts so far. You’ve never robbed a tomb before, have you?” She slowly lifted her eyes to briefly meet his, then shook her head. He smiled and looked down as he handled his revolver. “Not even once, huh? Then you’ve never had to watch out for ghosts.” Her eyes widened, and he continued.
“The walls of the great tombs are meant to keep raiders out, but they’re made of a special material that keeps the spirits of the dead locked in. And we’re going straight into the heart of one.” She looked away, but it did nothing to conceal her fear. “What’s the matter,” he asked mockingly, “afraid the obake’s gonna get you? Afraid you’re gonna pick something up, and the yōkai inside is gonna haunt you?”
Atlas rubbed Calypso’s leg reassuringly and glared daggers at Midas. “You had better watch your tongue, scholar, or you might soon find it in your lap.”
Hermes’ voice crackled over the speakers, and the speeder jostled a bit. “Settle down, children, or I’ll have this speeder turned around.” No one said a word, so he continued. “We are nearing our destination. There’s no need to run over the full briefing again; you all know it well enough. But I will remind you of the important bits.” The vertical slits for shutters opened behind them, filling the chamber with the bright light of dawn. As far as the horizon in every direction were hills of golden sand, glimmering with the new day’s sun.
“You must remember that the asset is your number one priority. You may take whatever you’d like from the tomb, but if you leave without the book, the consequences will be severe. Of course, you won’t be able to keep the artifacts you take, but the guild will measure its value and pay you accordingly. Secondly, do not take your time. The government crew in charge of transporting goods have already been gone for about half an hour at this point, and your window will be fairly small; anywhere from an hour to two hours, if you take into account the rotating guard shift.” Midas raised his eyebrows, and everyone else seemed to have stirred at the notion. A normal raid took half a day, if not more. “Lastly, and I don’t mean to sound like your mother, but be careful. I know most of you know how to rob ancient temples, but the security on brand spanking new ones is a completely different matter.”
Outside, the ground began to level out, and a massive structure came into view, signaling their arrival. They flew around the back of the Gills of Alerons, a giant, ribbed structure designed to protect against the raging sandstorms the seasons brought, and on the other side of it was a valley where a small village laid, and a large building stood. The tomb of the recently deceased Emperor Reiwa stood at the edge of the town, and as they quietly traversed around the outskirts, Artemis noticed that every road seemed to lead toward it. Finally, they stopped in front of the tomb, and the back hatch opened, a sudden rush of warm, dry air filling the cab. Calypso was already fastening her defense, a metal arm guard, and Artemis reached forward and placed her hands inside her weapon of choice: two oversized metal fists. The armoured hands fit like a pair of gloves, and the metal moved up her wrists and secured itself autonomously. They were surprisingly lightweight, but she knew how strong they could be in a pinch. She pulled up her bandana as she turned to the exit.
“One more thing, before you go,” said Hermes’ voice over the speakers. “Don’t let anyone know what you’ve stolen. Doesn’t matter that you’ve got your cover masked with avatars, you are to make sure this operation stays secret. If anyone sees you, make them take it to their grave.”
If the long set of stairs leading up seemed daunting, then it was nothing compared to the massive set of double doors at the top. The deep red contrasted with the sandy bricks the temple was made from, and made for a spectacular sight. Beside the grand doors, however, was an easy-to-miss numberpad, coloured tan, apparently to blend in with its surroundings. It was Artemis’ first time dealing with security tech as old as this on the job, but she had no doubts. Walking up to it, the others watched as she removed a plate from the back of her gauntlet, still attached to it by a ribbon of wires. Artemis placed the plate overtop of the numberpad and pressed a button on her wrist. There was a rapid succession of blips and beeps before a satisfying sound of confirmation, and a heavy click indicated its unlocking. Atlas and Artemis heaved the doors open, and the group set foot inside.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
Beyond the threshold was a large atrium, presumably where people could leave tokens and pay their respects. There were two long pools of water surrounding a small set of stairs that led up to a large stone slab covered in elaborate inscriptions. A guard stood on either side of the stone, and they put their hands on the hilts of their swords. “Who are you? What brings you to the tomb of His Majesty the Emperor?”
Midas took the lead and stood in front of Artemis, raising his hands in a shrug. “The… next guard shift?” There was a stunned silence as the sentries looked them up and down. Assuming their odd choice of clothing gave it away, they unsheathed their swords and ran down toward them. Lightning fast, Midas pulled the blaster from his hip and released a shot, which chinked the guard’s armour near the chest. He shut one eye in concentration and let off a second shot, which hit the newly created hole, sending the guard toppling to the floor.
The second one pulled a radio from his belt, and pressed the call button, raising it to his mouth. Before he could get a word out, there was a silver blur, and the radio shattered in his hand. Artemis looked behind her. Calypso stood stoic, her hand stretched outward with a menacing shuriken resting between her fingers before she pulled her wrist back, the throwing star automatically receding into her arm guard. The man rushed her with a sudden burst of speed, but was cut short by the swipe of another blade. Swiftly, his arm was severed, throat cut, then kicked in the chest, away from the raiders. Atlas knelt down with his katana and muttered a prayer, apparently an apology to their former emperor for defiling his resting place. “Next time, let us try not to spill any blood in such a holy residence.”
Midas theatrically twirled his pistol before shoving it back into its holster. “Should have let me put a bolt between his eyes if you wanted to be clean about it, sensei.” He looked around the room from where he stood, then scratched his chin. “Doesn’t seem to be any other doors besides the ones we came through. Any ideas where the booty might be?”
Artemis looked straight forward. “I think I have an idea.”
She walked up the steps to the stone plaque and began to inspect it. She knelt down and traced a large metal finger along where the wall met the floor. At last, she stood up and gripped the side of the stone slab, both gauntlets tightening to a vice grip. Her hands slid out of them, and she pressed a couple of buttons on the back of them before stepping back. Suddenly, thrusters emerged from the back of each metal hand and fire spit out of them. At first, it seemed to do nothing, but after a few seconds the large stone began to slide to the side, revealing a tall open doorway. Artemis pushed a button on her gauntlets, and the thrusters died out, retreating back into it. As she slid her hands back into them, Midas made his way up the steps, meaning to pass through the doorway, but she placed herself in front of it.
“You really are as stupid as you look, aren’t you?” Artemis glanced at him, feigning pity. “Going through a hidden door without checking it. Looks like trigger-finger needs to go back to school.”
Another push of a button, and she ran a finger along the frame of the door. There was a ping, and she looked at a small screen on her wrist. “Figures,” she said, nodding her head upwards. “Motion sensors along the side, hidden spikes up top. They sense you going through…” She took a finger and firmly tapped Midas on the top of the head. She turned around and held her palm out toward the opening. A brief high-pitched beep emitted from the gloves, and she lowered them. “Should be safe now. After you, Trigger.” She waved a hand toward the door, and he gave her a smirk before gingerly stepping through.
Past the opening was a short and narrow hallway with two open doors on each side, and one straight ahead. Before anyone moved forward, Artemis scanned each door frame before deeming them all safe, no disarming required. The side rooms were filled with treasures, some belonging to the late emperor, along with relics of the past. As Midas began to fill a sack, Artemis made her way into the main room. The stone casket was embellished with intricate designs of dragons and fire. Calypso bowed and placed a simple origami bird on top of it before heading to another room. Something at the head of the sarcophagus caught Artemis’ eye. Resting on an equally embellished stone pedestal was a leather-bound book. It was polished, most likely by some royal artifact handler, and held no dust, meaning it had been recently placed there. She called Midas in to inspect it.
After carefully handling it, he was able to conclude that it was, in fact, the real deal, and slipped it into a protective sleeve before placing it into a separate satchel on his back. “Sorry, love, can’t trust this to anyone but the leader of our pack.” Artemis rolled her eyes and began searching through the rooms for anything that looked valuable. There was an abrupt screech, then she heard Calypso scream. By the time she rushed into the room, Atlas had Midas pinned to the wall, katana next to his throat.
Midas stammered at the angry samurai, “I didn’t mean to scare her, honestly! It’s just… I saw that ceremonial vase, and I couldn’t hold myself back. It’s Kamakura period; well over five hundred years old! You don’t see loot like that in any old temple!” A pathetic grin that did nothing to hide his fear was plastered on his face, and after a few seconds of Atlas deliberating with himself, he dropped Midas. Relief washed over his countenance, and he clutched his pounding heart.
Atlas sheathed the sword, and spat back at the man, “This is the final time I let you go. One more wrongdoing to her, and I will not hesitate.” He knelt in the corner where Calypso had cowered to check on her. They rapidly spoke their language, and stood up when they had settled down.
A timer on her gauntlet beeped, and Artemis made a short whistle through her teeth. “Let’s go, people. Time’s up. Shift rotation will be here soon.” The group gathered their last items into the large duffel, and Atlas hauled it behind his back with one hand. The self-proclaimed leader led them to the end of the hall, vase in hand, and turned around before addressing the company.
“You all live by the ‘honour among thieves’ rule, right? It’s not just me?”
Atlas spoke up from the back of the line. “I live by the Bounty Hunter’s Creed.”
Midas brushed his comment aside. “Yeah, yeah, ‘honour among thieves’ is a part of the Bounty Hunter’s Creed. Sort of. In a roundabout way. Anyhow, all that to say... you all will keep your mouths shut if I take this with me as a sort of… personal reward for a job well done?” He pointed at the vase securely tucked in his arms.
This time, Calypso piped up. “You can’t… you can’t do that. Hermes said we can’t keep anything we find.”
Artemis nodded her head and frowned. “Isn’t the compensation from the Guild, along with the base pay of the job itself, good enough on its own?”
Midas smirked and cocked his head to the side. “Well, sure, the money from all the goods will do just fine, but being able to say I found a Kamakura vase will be a big boost to my name in the underworld. It’s a status symbol. I don’t mean for any of you to fall behind, it’s just that, well, I can get so far ahead with this baby.” Hope, glee, and a hint of mischief was etched into his face. “Come on, give me your word that you won’t tell. I mean, you could, but you might just find your name on a Wanted poster…”
“Whatever happened to ‘honour among thieves’?” growled Atlas, shuffling his weight from side to side. “Let’s just go, I grow tired of your antics.”
Hands up in resignation, Midas turned around. “Alright, I see how it is. I’m just warning you guys, because the last thing I’d want is for any of you to get hurt.” He took a step past the threshold.
Suddenly, there was the sound of scraping metal, and a sickening crunch as spikes erupted from the bottom of the doorway, lifting Midas to the ceiling, impaling him as well as the jar in his hands. A look of horror was frozen on his face, his blood dripping down onto the ashes that was spilling from the broken vase. Alarms began to sound throughout the building, and the huge set of double doors began to slowly swing shut. Artemis shook the iron bars, but they held strong. She cursed, blaming herself for her forgetfulness. “I was careless; of course there were safeguards!” Calypso held onto Altas’ arm as Artemis wound her hand back, and set the thrusters on her gauntlets. There was a loud clang as she punched the bars, and it certainly made a dent, but she could see the doors of opportunity closing in front of them, so she began mercilessly pounding on the metal spikes with both hands, throwing caution to the wind.
A chilling breeze seemed to flow through the room, and the pile of ash was picked up by an eddy, whirling around in a small, dark cyclone. Then, unexpectedly, the breeze stopped, but the ashes stayed suspended in the air. The black granules shifted around until they formed something hideous. In shape, it resembled a man, but its hands were long, curved claws, and glowing red orbs hung in its head.
With a loud cry and a final punch, the bars broke, and the trio clambered through, ignoring the dusty spectre, and they rushed to the exit. Atlas dropped the bag and made a run for it, now unencumbered by the weight, but the ghostly figure dashed toward him. Finding an opening, it hooked its claw-like hands into his nose and began seeping up into him. The man immediately collapsed, wheezing for breath. Calypso turned around and stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes wide in terror. “Kenta-Sensei!” she screamed, and she ran toward him. Artemis grabbed her arm tightly and pulled her back. Atlas squirmed as he struggled for breath, but it didn’t take long for the life to fade from his eyes, and he fell limply to the floor. The monster wasted no time and withdrew its hand from his nostrils, lurching toward Calypso with terrifying speed.
There was a booming sound, and the ashen ghost dispersed as waves of air pulsed from the outstretched gauntlets. Artemis guarded Calypso as they methodically walked back toward the still closing doors, but as much as the sonic waves disrupted the ghost, it consistently reformed between each burst. Finally, its glowing eyes surged in anger, and it swept up behind her. Calypso ducked, and the stream of ashes began to enter Artemis from every opening it could find; nose, ears, mouth. Her body twitched and spasmed violently as a muffled scream caught in her expanding throat. A moment later, her eyes rolled back into her head, and she hit the ground.
Calypso put a hand over her mouth, tears streaming down her face. Then Artemis’ body shuddered and jerked as ashes began to slowly pour out of her orifices. Calypso felt a tug at the back of her head, and a sharp pain in her neck caused her body to go rigid; she couldn’t move. The world seemed to get darker and darker, and the pain became so unbearable, she could no longer think of the situation at hand. It felt as though her soul was being torn from her body. She screamed at the top of her lungs, but her ears didn’t pick it up. She was enveloped by darkness.
A shock sent her eyes wide open. Everything looked blurry, but she could immediately tell she was somewhere else; the environment around her was an industrial grey and blue. She heard a faint voice calling to her, “Miyuki, are you okay? Miyuki?” She blinked her eyes, and felt her lungs instinctively take in a deep breath. Her vision came back, and Miyuki saw a man in front of her, holding a defibrillator in one hand, gripping a metal rack with the other. She looked down and saw the wires of the small machine leading to her own chest. Attempting to speak, only a cough came from her throat. The man apologized profusely. “I’m sorry. I knew the risks of unjacking you while you were still connected, but I didn’t know if you would be next…” He trailed off as he ran to a nearby sink and haphazardly filled a paper cup with water.
Miyuki struggled to recall the situation through the pain-- it felt like her heart was pumping needles through her body instead of blood-- and the memory finally dawned on her as she guzzled the cold water. She was forcibly removed from her avatar, the life-like stand-in bounty hunters used to evade certain dangers, as well as maintain secrecy of identity. It was common knowledge that you could die if you were disconnected from you avatar while still conscious. The water went down too quickly, and she coughed hoarsely as Hermes’ words bounced around in her mind. “What do you mean ‘I’d be next’?”
The man swallowed grimly and waved his hand in front of him. He was gesturing to the semicircle of upright metal slabs, with Miyuki currently sitting in front of the one in the middle. Surrounding her were three other people with various nodes and monitoring equipment attached to their heads and torsos. Their eyes were closed, and their bodies lay limp. Miyuki tried to process all this information, but was interrupted by Hermes. He held out his hand to her. “Come on, we need to get out of here. Tell me everything that happened back there.”