Evie was heading through Camelot's outer gates when a pang of anxiety hit her. Dud had given her plenty of jobs before where she simply had to rough up a few deadbeats that either refused to pay or tried selling in his territory, but this was different. This was the first job she had received where Dud needed her to kill someone. Sure she'd maimed a few people here and there, her axes had tasted blood quite a few times before, but as far as she knew none of her victims had died... As far as she knew...

She'd even taken up a few quests for extra money from guild halls that self proclaimed Adventurers hung around. But even those were simply killing some animal that was annoying a village or two. She'd never liked having to take those quests, she hated the thought of being lumped in with the adventurers.

"They're nothing but weirdos trying to act out some bullshit fantasy story they read on the internet," she thought of them.

Truth was, however, that those adventurers were more important than even they had probably realized. One factor stopping colonization of most of the planet was it was simply too dangerous to stray too far from the capital or its surrounding villages. Researchers and explorers couldn't focus on one single planet over another. As a result, little was known of the planets that didn't have existing, contacted, intelligent life such as Ryke, aside from what could be seen by satellite.

Camelot's police force – named the Camelot City Guard, because of course it was – refused to go out further than just outside the outer walls. They insisted that they weren't paid enough to bother with things outside the city, leaving each village to police themselves.

Adventurers, then, were not only the main way people learned of their planet, but also protected villages from outside threats. To them, though, they were just killing monsters and bandits, making money, and honing their skills.

As Evie neared the end of the clearing surrounding the city, she turned down the road toward her destination. As she entered the forest of massive coniferous trees, she was happy knowing she was alone, aside from the people she passed heading the opposite direction. The walk would be a boring one, so she pulled her playlist up on her ocular implant and played it through the implants in her ears.

Her neural implants – being mainly used for entertainment purposes - were a handy little secret she enjoyed. Being the type of planet she was on, implants were usually frowned upon. They also made people feel inferior as they were relatively expensive, usually reserved for the elite, and you could only have them implanted on the capital planet of the Solar Government.

So along she walked, psyching herself up with heavy metal for her fight ahead. No firearms were brought from Earth after its first arrival. The people in charge of the DEPART system refused to let any through. Laws were eventually made against the production and owning of anything that could be considered a firearm. Most people were fine with it, many didn't need one to kill, their power was enough. A widespread adoption of various melee weapons ensued, and surprisingly was accepted by the Solar Government. Those who couldn't kill with power alone sometimes used it to enhance their use of a melee weapon, or support those they were with. Evie was the one known occasion when a Null took part in any fighting at all.

Most of the Null families kept to themselves and their vast wealth, making sure not to cause trouble for anyone. Any who didn't join Evie's grandfather in Earth's disappearance were publicly scorned as if they had something to do with it.

Gone were the days when the Null families were revered among all as the ones who gave them their power, and brought them to this new solar system of wonder and adventure. Not to mention, they had big fans among those who had a certain thing for Aliens, particularly the humanoid looking ones. There were some Tarnans as good as Dud in shape shifting. A few took up prostitution and were paid heavily to become their client's fantasy.

The most well known Tarnan on Ryke, and one of the few people Evie might consider anything close to a friend, was Kiida. Where Dud preferred people not knowing his true identity – for both reasons of business and pleasure – Kiida preferred people knowing who she was and that she ran the best damn brothel in the solar system. Evie met her one day, a few months before Dud, when Evie paid a little visit to Kiida's home and business. Unfortunately for Evie, she wasn't rich enough for Kiida, but a normal Human or two was good enough for her.

While Evie was at the bar chatting up one of her favorite girls, a few assholes decided to get drunk and make a bit too much trouble. It happens often enough, and Kiida can handle herself, but when they started pissing Evie off as well... Kiida was surprised and delighted to watch Evie in action. She'd never seen someone knock out three men so fast. Two found themselves out in a ditch with fractured arms, and another woke up three days later in a hospital. Kiida was sure to give Evie a call when she was around, and hands needed dirtying. For some money and a house discount, of course.

With the deals she brokered with Kiida and Dud, Evie decided the business of fighting for money might not be a bad idea. After the countless drunks, goons, and dealers she had beaten for the two of them, along with the odd arena match she took part in, Evie's skills as a fighter grew exponentially. She didn't have a power like others, and she took a bit of pride in that. She enjoyed the look on her opponent's face when they found the energy leaving them, and realizing they had no chance fighting with their own, unenhanced, fighting skill alone.

All of that led to this day, this trip to the town of Platshire – named for the platinum mine nearby – for her first kill job. She was nervous, it was a bit of a step up from the good beat downs she was used to. At least she could stop by and see Kiida at her Cat's Honor Brothel when the deed was done, and unwind. Evie never thought she'd be this anxious about taking a person's life, she usually tried hitting people in non-vital areas when her axes were required, just so they'd get the point and give up. She was tough and confident in herself, but this... She really wasn't sure how she'd feel afterwards.

As she walked she began fidgeting with her long red hair that was tied back in a braid. She wore her usual attire, usually not trying to stand out too much despite her preference for leaving a null bubble around her. She did keep it away for now, though. She didn't want to draw attention to herself before she found the target. Her outfit consisted of black boots, dark grey pants, and a black leather cuirass formed comfortably to her thin, muscular physique. The cuirass hid a T-shirt underneath, usually of whatever band or videogame she was currently obsessing over.

Evie was fair skinned and stood at around six feet tall, though she wasn't entirely sure, it'd been a while since she'd actually measured herself. She had many tattoos on her body, most concealed by her clothing. The only noticeable ones went from her right shoulder to her wrist. It was mostly a pattern like you'd see on a circuit board in black, twisting around various symbols. One of the more prominent symbols was on her upper arm. It was the symbol designed to represent dark energy.

It had been about an hour of walking when she came upon the outskirts of Platshire. There were still a few people still out, though most were inside hiding from the high heat of the day. She began moving through the town looking for someone who fit the description of the man she was looking for. Luckily it hadn't taken long to find him. He stuck out from the small crowd gathered in the market.

He was about half a foot taller than Evie, big, tough, and mean looking. He was clad in full plate armor aside from his head, and carried a large axe on his back.

"Yep, definitely him. Can't think of too many people who'd want to wear that shit and not be ready for a fight."

She started moving slowly toward him, waiting to see where he'd go. He was standing outside of a store looking in through its front window. It was a bakery full of sweets.

"Big guy has a sweet tooth..."

Her heart dropped as she saw a short, young looking girl in white run out, up to the big guy, and hand him a donut from the bag she was holding.

"Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck," Evie started panicking. "Dud didn't say shit about a girl. Am I going to have to kill her too!? How fuckin old is she anyway!?"

Evie had only accepted the job because it was just to kill some big mean bastard, and it paid well. It also helped he was apparently rich and liked to carry a lot of physical money with him like some kind of moron.

"Maybe...Maybe I can just ignore her, deal with him, get the money, and run. If she's a fighter, though, I may have to knock her out. No way I'm killing a kid."

The two of them started traveling down the street, looking at the stores as they went. During the next hour they slowly moved closer and closer to the outskirts of the town. Evie followed every step of the way, waiting for an opportunity. She was getting increasingly impatient though, and waiting didn't do any good for her nerves.

She thought they may be heading out of the town toward the farms. Maybe they lived on one, she thought. That's when they stopped. She watched anxiously as they talked to one another. Evie was too far to hear, but she stayed where she was hidden. They turned and started heading back toward Evie, toward the center of town. Evie looked around, she saw nobody else.

"Fuck, time to get this over with then."

She pulled a flask out of a pouch at her side, took a couple long gulps, then put it back. She pulled up her black hood and mask, and stepped out of the shadows. She stopped a dozen meters away from them and stared the big man down. They the pair stopped and stared back.

"Uh, greetings?" Came a booming voice from the armored man. The girl next to him took a step toward him.

"Are you..." Evie sighed "... Are you.. Romulus Orcbane?" Evie couldn't stand the names these damned adventurers came up with. "Orcbane!? What orcs!?"

"Aye, I am. Romulus Orcbane, the Warrior Shaman! And this is my sister, Elena, Priestess of the Light!" Romulus said in a haughty manner.

Evie rolled her eyes. "This shit is ridiculous."

"Well, Mr. Orcbane, you ended up killing a couple friends of some important people. Some important people that pay very well for someone to enact their revenge. I'm very much looking forward to that money."

Romulus looked Evie up and down. "Ah, a dark assassin. I should have known your ilk may come for me."

"A what? Never mind, lets get this shit over with." Evie pulled her axes out of her belt.

"Axes? What strange weapons for an assassin." Romulus pulled his great axe from his back and held it in front of him while stones lifted from the ground around him. "Well mine is much bigger, puny assassin."

"I'm not an assassin! Fuck, I hate you people."

Elena took a few steps back away from her brother and the Dark Assassin that threatened him.

"Well at least there's that. I won't have to deal with her... poor girl."

Evie was happy to see that Romulus seemed to be yet another person that relied on their power, though he did have brute strength at least. Apparently, of the two mafia men that were found dead, one's head was crushed by a rock, and the other was cut nearly in half. If he wasn't dumb, and did it in broad daylight with people around, then they wouldn't be in this situation.

Evie would do the same thing she always did to someone who'd probably never met a Null before. Grow her bubble out around her, making sure no power could be used, then rush in for the first strike while they were confused.

Evie twirled one of her axes in her hand and pushed the bubble out. The stones started to drop. A sinister smile grew under her mask as she saw the confused look on Romulus' face. She was ready. She could do this. She stepped her left foot behind her and readied to charge as the last rock that floated above the man's head dropped. She heard an audible THUNK as it bounced off his head and fell to the ground.

She was just about to charge in when... Wait. Something wasn't right. In a split second she noticed. Romulus didn't even flinch when the large stone hit him... The look on his face... The look on Elena's face... it wasn't right. Nobody had made that face before. She heard a slightly confused sounding growl coming from directly behind her.

Evie snapped into action. She turned on her heel and twisted her body as she swung her right axe around at whoever had snuck up behind her.

CRUNCH

She felt liquid hit her face as her head came around, she went blind. She heard a body crumple to the ground and her axe was pulled from her hand.

"What... the...FFFUCK!?" She screamed. She frantically started wiping the liquid, no, the blood from her eyes.

As she wiped away the last of the blood, her elbow hit something metal. She jumped back and looked up as her eyes opened. Romulus was standing beside her. Axe back on his back. Staring at the ground. "When did he get there?"

"What the fuck, indeed," He said.

Evie looked down. Below them in a heap on the ground was a creature. Humanoid. Her axe stuck in the side of its skull, deep through where one of its two eyes used to be. Greenish blood was everywhere along with what looked like bits of skull and... brain?

Evie's knees felt weak. She couldn't breath. She pulled down her mask and hood, and turned to walk. Instead, her remaining axe dropped as she fell to her hands and knees and puked on the ground.

Romulus gave a deep chuckle. "First time killing someone?"

Evie fumbled trying to find her flask. When she did, she drank down every last drop she could. She struggled to her feet and turned back toward Romulus and the body.

"Huh? Ye... Someone? Is that even a someone? What the fuck even is that thing!?"

Romulus scratched his lip with his thumb. "It looks like an elf, a panther, and a...tree? had a three way and somehow that popped out of one of them."

Evie slowly turned her head up to look at Romulus and gave him a weird look with an eyebrow raised.

Romulus coughed. "Yes well... Whatever this creature may be, you sure did quick work of the poor thing. And you, you're a Null. And very quick. Hmm."

Evie stared down at the body in confusion. "How did it even get there?"

"Well, when you used your Null ability on me, it suddenly appeared behind you. It must have had an invisibility power of some sort. Amazing... Well, I'm sure glad we didn't fight or that may have been me down there."

Evie stepped away from him and quickly grabbed her axe from where it fell. "No no no no, we're not done here. I have a job, and I'm going to finish it."

Romulus bent down over the body, yanked the axe out of its skull, wiped off the blood, and tossed it to Evie. She caught it and gave Romulus a confused look.

"What are you doing? I just said we're not done here. Do you want me to kill you or something?"

Romulus was ignoring her, though. He was busy staring at the body and scratching his lip again as he pondered. He finally bent down and rolled the body over. Under it was a short sword.

"Not my style of weapon, you want it? You killed it, your loot I guess."

Evie groaned and put her axes away. "This isn't a game, you know." She reluctantly walked over and picked up the sword. The hilt was a black wood, and the blade seemed to have a long straight leaf pattern of sorts. It seemed black at first, but as the light bounced off of it, it seemed more like a very dark blue... Or was it green... red?

"Hmm. Looks pretty damn cool. Maybe I can sell it for a lot." She slipped it into her belt. "Does that thing have anything in any pockets? Is that even clothes its wearing?" She shrugged and started searching the body. She peeked over her shoulder at Romulus and pocketed something.

Again, Romulus wasn't paying attention "Where did it come from? Why was it watching us?"

Suddenly a high pitched yelp came from behind them. They quickly spun around to witness Elena vanish in front of their eyes.

Romulus started to run toward where she was standing a moment ago, "Sister!!"

Evie grabbed his arm and held him back. "Wait! We don't even know how many more of them there are, and they're obviously pissed. There's no way we can kill these things alone. We need to help each other so we can survive. So I can, uh, kill you and collect my money..."

Romulus turned and grabbed Evie's shoulder with a big gloved hand, bent to her level, and stared her in the face. "Help me get my sister back and I'll pay you more than this mafia of yours can."

Evie smacked his arm away. "Fine, but don't be surprised if you find an axe in your back after I get my payment." She pulled her axes out

Romulus chuckled. "Yeah, you act tough, but I know that was just water in your flask."

Evie's face went red. "I-Its... Well obviously I'm not going to get drunk before a fight..."

Romulus turned back toward his sister's last location. "Lets do this, assassin."

Evie groaned. "Its Evie. And wait."

Evie's Null bubble had fallen back during the confusion. She breathed and concentrated on the energy. In an instant she shot the bubble out farther than Elena's last location. One of the creatures appeared off to her right. It was already beginning to swing its weapon at her. Its loss of power surprised it, giving Evie an opening to cut a deep gash in its arm. It turned and started to run. Evie was able to get one last slash into its shoulder, but it wasn't enough to fell the creature.

Romulus was staring down the other five creatures standing about twenty meters away, one of which held his sister. The next moment, Evie had pulled the bubble back enough for the energy to come crashing back toward her. Romulus was ready, the creatures were not.

A large rock that had been deep in the ground beside Romulus' left foot launched toward the creature holding his sister and hit it directly in its face. It toppled down, letting go of Elena. She tried to run, but another of the creatures grabbed her and started to run away. The others followed, one stopping to pick up its fallen friend. The one Evie had bled lagged behind, losing blood along the way. It was the last to return to invisibility, but seemed to flicker in and out of existence.

Romulus was after them, Elena's screams could be heard in the distance.

Evie stood for a moment, let out a long sigh, then ran toward the screams.