It was a ballsy move.

Wolf was the one who initiated it, running over and whispering about how they needed to escape while Dark Cobra was slowly going crazy. Even though nobody knew who he was, Honey recognized Dominic, and the group was able to escape. The run out was long, but they hit the treeline unmolested.

For the most part, none of these people had much trust between each other. But even still, as they charged down the grassy field and towards the streets, there was a sense of solidarity. Anything was better than staying back with those people.

“W-we need to go to the police,” Dominic said, breathing heavy. Out of everyone, the only person more winded then him was Mick. “We...need…”

“No, that’s a bad idea,” Honey said. She fixed her hair. “We can’t do that.”

“Why?”

It was Mick who asked.

Out of the people standing there, in the tree covering right next to the street, only one of them had any idea why Honey would say something like that. And that person was in the worst shape out of the group.

“She’s right,” Lance said, coughing out blood. His hands were shaking, and he looked quite pale. He had even lost his trademark hat back during the fight. “Do what she says. I hate to say it, but I trust her.”

“Why?”

“Dark Cobra,” Honey started. “Is what they said. That’s what they called that asian woman. I can’t say I’ve ever met her before, but I’ve definitely heard the name before, in my work. She’s a member of Black Viper, and as far as professional assassins go, they’re good. Not as good as Jackal, of course, but close. Though I can’t say I’ve heard of ‘Bear God’ before.” Upon saying Bear God’s name, she glanced at Wolf. He nodded.

As they continued into the empty streets, Wolf explained.

“Bear God is an anarchist extremist. I’m a member of his group, or I was, until yesterday. They believe in liberating society and other good things like that, but sometimes Bear God takes things too far. Once he learned Loren was coming into the city, he wanted to meet him. But then, when he learned Loren advocated against political violence, something Bear God thinks is the only solution, he decided to beat the sense into him. Into you, excuse me.” Wolf said that to Loren, who had removed his mask during the run. Loren smiled in response.

“He doesn’t kill people like that. That was why I was never really against it before. But what he does do is beat them within inches of their life, and usually they come away from his beatings with permanent damage. I...I couldn’t let that happen to someone actually fighting for our values. I didn’t want you to change your mind.”

Though he wanted to stay as detached from Loren as possible, Wolf eventually came to be apologizing directly to the violinist, as if he were the one who planned the attack.

But Loren didn’t seem to care about any of that.

“Well, I can’t agree with being violent,” Loren said. “But at the very least, I’m sure he has good intentions at heart. Nobody is a bad person.”

“Ha,” Mick laghed. “As if. Those people were psychos.” Then as if realizing something, he turned to the other person who had disguised themselves. “Ms. Lenz, are you alright?”

“I-I...I’m fine…”

“That’s good to hear,” Mick said. They rounded a corner and went down the alley. These weren’t the types of areas Mick was used to, but he trusted Lance, who was limping alongside Honey. None of this had gone as he expected. But they were still alive, which was the only important thing. “But anyway, why can’t we go to the police? If you’re worried they’ll arrest you, we could just part ways, or pretend you’re someone else.”

“Huh? Oh, none of that matters to me,” Honey said, turning her head. The sudden movement made Lance wince. “The problem is influence.”

“Influence? You don’t mean…”

“That’s exactly what I mean,” Honey replied. “Black Viper have people in the police. I thought that was pretty obvious, though. I mean, come on, think about it. Why wouldn’t they help guard the concert? I’m sure you contacted them, and they probably gave some excuse as to why they couldn’t help. Then, during that entire showdown, nobody showed up. Even now, as we creep around, there isn’t a single blue uniform in sight.”

She said this without much emotion. As if it were just a matter of fact.

“Those are the big assassin groups. The untouchable ones. Of course, if you have professionals like me and Lance over here, they can’t do much.”

“Didn’t do much in that fight,” Mick muttered, which earned him a dirty stare from Honey. “Nothing. I said nothing.”

“Uh-huh,” she said. They were in a small square in the alleys, right next to a dumpster. Overhead was a metal covering, and the only light came from streetlights in the distance. She dropped Lance off there and pulled a pistol from her pants. “Hey, Lance. Anyone in particular you need to change into to deal with this?”

Because nobody knew what she was doing, when Honey pressed the barrel of her gun to his forehead, their eyes widened.

“Yea...good morning...Hippolyta…”

Wolf reached out to stop her, but the deed was done.

Everyone jumped at the sight of Lance’s brains being blasted against the wall behind him. Mick was the quickest to regain his composure as Dominic ran over to the headless man.

“What the fuck!? Why did you kill him!?”

He grabbed her by the collar, but she blew at his face, and something got stuck in his eyes, like dust. Mick suddenly felt his energy sapped. Dark thoughts overcame him...but he felt good. That whatever was happening wasn’t bad.

“Just relax,” Honey said. She looked at Wolf, who was standing in front of Loren in a fighting pose. “Relax~ I’m not doing anything bad. Just watch.”

Before she finished, Dominic leapt backwards and screamed.

Lance’s head was slowly regrowing. A dozen small orbs, connected by tentacles, had started climbing out of his brainstem, and were poking and prodding at the world around his skull wound. Inside each small orb was a brain, and they seemed to be wrapping around each other and fighting. However, in the end, it looked like one won out, and the others started slinking back. That sole brain began expanding, and the blasted skull that was leaking fluid started sealing itself up.

And as that happened, Lance’s heavily damaged body began curling up. Flesh started growing perversely, covering his body and building over his wounds. After a few seconds of growth, the flesh blob covered his entire body,and it started pulsing.

“Huh? Did none of you know he could do that?”

Even though she was asking, Honey’s face made it clear she knew they didn’t know. She just wanted to watch them squirm in confusion.

“What…”

“Uh…”

“What the hell…”

Everyone just stared. The man named Lance Gordon suddenly became very mysterious. Suddenly, the earlier change from his enlarged head to a regular person made sense, and Mick was beginning to piece things together as his stupor ended. Loren and Ms. Lenz, on the other hand, couldn’t make heads to tails of this.

“Pay him no mind,” Honey said. “Lance is a special little boy. You just gotta shoot him and he’ll wake up one hundred percent better. But...I have no idea how long this’ll last. Hmm. Okay then. Lance, I’m not sure if you can hear me in there, but we’re gonna go to the Hawk’s Nest for the time being. We’ll meet you there.”

“We’re going where?” Upon hearing the name of his workplace, Dominic’s face went white.

“Lead the way, Dominic!”

***

While it was probably a bad idea to just leave Lance there, defenseless, there wasn’t much else they could do. If he didn’t heal, he would die, and Honey knew that Lance would make the best decision as far as transformations went. With Wolf and Loren’s help, the group managed to throw his mass of flesh into the dumpster, then closed the lid on top of him.

After that, they took the slow journey to the Hawk’s Nest.

Because they didn’t know where they might run into either the Bear God Army or the Black Vipers, they stuck to the side streets and alleyways. The dark was good for cover, but they also made sure to grab clothes and fix basic disguises for themselves. Anything to help from being seen.

Which fortunately, didn’t happen.

The underground clinic sat alone on a street, the two lots next to it demolished long ago. It was late night, but the service was open 24/7, and a glowing neon sign on the top of the building read out: Hawk’s Nest, and there was a crummy fading plastic sign with a picture of a bird in a doctor’s coat.

Sitting at the front desk, reading the newspaper, was Lyle, and as he heard the bell on the door ring, he looked up.

“Hey, welcome to-”

Then he froze.

Dominic was looking weak, followed by a whole slew of people Lyle didn’t recognize. Actually, on second thought, he knew Honey and he knew the rough looking man who’d been healing on their beds earlier.

“Dom…” Lyle started to say.

Before he could, Dominic clapped his hands together as if in prayer. “Please! Lyle, please! You gotta help us!”

“What the hell is going on bro?”

“I can explain,” Honey said, stepping up next to Dominic. She paused, thinking about her words. “Actually, no, I probably can’t. It’s kind of complicated. All that matters is we need to stay here for a bit while I call Hanson. Hawk owes me, so he shouldn’t have a problem with this.”

“Ah, you say he owes you, and I’m sure he’d like to pay it back,” Lyle said. “But he’s also pissed as hell right now.”

“What? Why?”

“Because these two dumbfucks over here stole his car. I didn’t see it come back...Dom...please don’t tell me…”

Oh no.

Dominic couldn’t even comprehend the amount of trouble he was going to be in, and the horrible yelling that would greet him. The man fainted and slumped down on the ground.

“Well, now you’ve got no choice but to help us.”

***

It just so happened to be a stroke of luck that Dr. Hawk and Rico were out drinking. A common occurrence. Lyle brought the group inside to the kitchen on the second floor, where Lisa was watching tv. She blanched upon seeing Honey, but when Dominic explained how they needed to stay there for a short time, the practicing healer submitted. Because none of them had really eaten anything, they found a stash of mashed potatoes and shared them around the table.

“So, Loren, what made you become a violinist, anyway?”

“Hmm,” Loren started. “Well, I guess I just always liked making music. Not just violin, but all types of music. There’s something about it that makes it incredible. Like, no matter who you are or what you do, you can appreciate music. When I realized that, it all just sort of made sense to me. If this was what I could do to make the world a better place, wouldn’t it be wrong for me to do anything else?

“And so that’s why I want to share what I create. Not just because I love it myself, but because I want people to feel the same as I do. If I can inspire a single person out there, doesn’t that mean someone else will do just as much good as I? The overall amount of good in the world will grow and grow and grow. There’s no upward limit.

“But just inspiring people isn’t enough. I can’t just pretend that music alone can save the world, and that’s why I decided to try and teach people about how to be good instead of just playing violin. If everyone just opens their heart, and if we as humans decide to just be good to each other, can’t we change the world for better? Even with devils and demons and all that to the south, I believe if we just open our hearts and try to understand them, the world could be made better.”

“That’s my noble Loren,” Mick said, patting his musician on the back. “Always doing good.”

“Haha, well, I certainly couldn’t do it without you,” Loren said. “And thanks to all of you. If none of you helped out tonight, in your own way, there wouldn’t have been any way I got out of there safely. For that, I can’t help but feel like I’m blessed. Proof that good things can happen, just so long as you open your heart.”

The sheer innocence and good nature of the man made everyone at the table blush. It was naivety, but it also made them want to protect this fully grown man and prove him right. Loren was the kind of person who made people better.

“Damn it,” Honey said, setting the phone down. “He isn’t home. Okay, well, for the time being, we probably can’t fight against those two freaks, so we’ll need to come up with a different plan. Any ideas?”

“Wait, aren’t you supposed to be the one to figure this out?” Mick asked. “Isn’t that what I’m paying you for?”

“I haven’t gotten paid yet!”

“That’s because we haven’t all survived yet,” Mick replied. “Anyway, we haven’t had a chance to grab any cash. How could we pay you when we’ve been on the run the entire time?”

Honey growled, knowing she couldn’t say anything.

“As far as plans go, there probably isn’t much we can do. I guess run for it. Get on a train and leave the city, or maybe a car. It’d be dangerous, but if you don’t think the police are going to help, that’s probably the only thing we can do, right?”

“Probably,” Wolf said. “That’ll at least work for Bear God. He may be dedicated, but his memory is short. If you’re out of sight long enough, you’ll go out of mind for him.”

“The Black Viper has no such compulsions,” Honey said. “They’ll hunt you down to the ends of the UE to fulfill a contract. They’ve got an obsession with professionalism, and so long as someone wants Loren’s head, they’ll be coming.”

“Damnit,” Mick said, rubbing his chin. “But they don’t control the cops everywhere, right? We can just go to another city or district and get protection?”

“Or, you could just let Loren die,” Honey whispered. The opportunity for her to suggest that as an option was perfect, while the three of them had been talking about the plot, Ms. Lenz, Loren, and Dominic got distracted by Lisa and were playing a board game. It was nice that they could relax in such a tense situation. “I can’t imagine anyone would have such a massive hit on your head as well, but who knows? Perhaps you’ve been naughty…”

“I…” Mick started. “No. I don’t want Mr. Dam- Loren, to die. I’m a shitty manager, but my job is to make sure he makes money. If he goes, all my income vanishes.”

“Are you sure? I’d bet the sales of his records post mortem are astronomical.”

“You…”

Honey smiled.

“I’m joking,” she said, though you couldn’t tell whether it was a lie or not from her tone. “Just wanted to make sure that you’re actually on our side.”

“W-what!?”

“The thought just occurred to me,” Honey said. “About this entire thing. It seems strange that the Black Viper would send a letter claiming to be Jackal. That doesn’t make sense. And I’m assuming Bear God wouldn’t do something like that either, right Wolf? As I suspected. That limits the possible sender down quite a bit. The way the assassins found you so quickly, and how you just so happened to end up in the changing room, just minutes before they showed up, without seeing anything...well, I don’t want to make any random accusations, but from my perspective, as someone hired to protect the three of you, I gotta say you’re the most suspicious person. You don’t happen to be a trained killer, are you?”

“How dare you?”

“Again, I’m joking. Gotta lighten the mood up a bit, right? Anyway, your idea about running could work, but if we can get a hold of my brother, then he’ll be able to kill all of them. He nevers loses a fight.”

She said it with such confidence that both Wolf and Mick couldn’t help but wonder what kind of incredible strength her brother must have.

***

--That very same moment, across the city--

Hanson landed on the ground and rolled. There was blood on his hands and he was breathing heavy. He looked back, horrified to see his pursuer standing at the top of the building he had just jumped off of.

“Oh Hansoooon~,” Luise sang. “Slow down! Just try a bite! There’s nothing weird that Honey gave me in it, I swear!”

In her hands was a pie that smelled god awful and looked burnt.

***

Ahem.

Back to the important people, shall we?

***

“Yes,” Honey continued. “If we can get him to help us, there won’t be any problems. We just need to wait it out.”

The sound of a bell ringing downstairs was an omen that made everyone freeze. Had they been caught? Who was it?

Their worries were quickly resolved as two older men appeared from the stairway.

The first was the younger of the two, probably in his later 40s; a tanned man with short black hair and a lazy face. He was holding in his hands a bag of food and a bottle of half drunk whiskey in the other.

The second man was older, with grey hairs and a stern beard. The owner of the Hawk’s Nest, Dr. Hawk. His expression was already dark upon entering the room, and as he gazed over all the unwelcome intruders, eating his food and dirtying his floor, then got to Wolf and Dominic, who both looked away sheepishly, his face got darker and darker until it looked like a shadow with white dots for eyes.

“Why…” even his voice was full of barely restrained anger. “Are these people all in my house...Lisa..?”

“Ah, Dr. Hawk,” she started. Her awkward voice made it clear that even though she could normally control the man, it probably wouldn’t work in a situation like this. “Well, you see, they came here, and Honey said you owed her a favor. Yeah, that’s it.”

Clever girl, Honey thought. Shift all the blame onto me. I will repay you for this slight.

“I’m just gonna make it simple, Rowan,” Honey started. “We were being chased by dangerous assassins. This man here.” She put her hand on Mick. “Hired us to protect him. And he said he would graciously pay for any damages we cause, as well as anything we take. So, if you need to blame anyone for this, it would be him.”

“W-what!? How dare you?”

“Ha. Hahaha. Hahahahahahahahahahaha.”

Oh fuck, everyone thought. He’s losing it.

“Ha. Well, if that’s the case,” Dr. Hawk said, smiling lethally. “I think my payment will be organs. I expect some from all who ate at my table.”

Awkward silence reigned as Dr. Hawk stepped forward, walking directly through all those who were sitting. He walked over to the kitchen counter, and grabbed a kitchen knife from its holder, twirling it in his hand the way only a trained knife fighter could.

“Rico, if you could,” Dr. Hawk started, reaching his hand over to open a window to let in the breeze. “Make sure none of them escape as I take my payment.”

As the window shuttered open, the wind pushed away the curtains, and from across the way on top of a building, a glint could be seen. Of course, nobody noticed. Not until there was a distant pop as Dr. Hawk’s ear got sliced in two and Mick took a bullet directly in the chest, killing him instantly.