The pavement was littered with bodies and blood, a majority of both from the office Foreigner had come looking for assistance. Oh how the tables had turned on that situation.

“A moment for our brother who was reclaimed by the Circle! May his return give us strength!” Shouted the behemoth in the center, its trunk sounding a war horn for the others to rally behind.

“They’re a bunch of zealot fucks, comrades! Hold fast! We’ve got some unexpected assistance.” The gruff Fixer looked at Foreigner and gave him a nod of acknowledgement before winding back his grey hammer. The hammers core crackled with a spark of electricity before a blue pulse strobed from within. The beasts positioned themselves to handle their opponents with a new outlier in Foreigner on the battlefield, displaying an acumen for pack tactics and field control not suggested by oversized brutes. Foreigner was being properly sized up by two individuals, the assumed leader with the elephant trunk and tusks, and another individual with rows of large fangs and a mane of orange and yellow. The leader entered into a runner’s stance while the feline fighter bared their fangs and claws, waiting for an opportune moment to strike. Foreigner transitioned his cement borer into its needle form and held it in front of him, providing him with the distance he needed to keep them and bay as well as potentially use their momentum against them should they charge full throttle.

“Burgeoning predator,” The leader asked, not shifting from its runner’s stance, “Do you fight for the thrill like we do or do you associate with these grubs?”

“What does it matter? I killed one of your men so it’s pointless to discuss motivations.” Foreigner was curt, avoiding the conversation that was clearly meant to distract him from the lethal pounce of his partner-

The ground quaked with a bone crunching snap and a sickening squelch of viscera and sinew. The gruff Fixer had brought the hammer down on his own opponent, the scorpion monster with meaty pincers and bulbous stinger and the bear beast that was more meat than man. Neither of them had suffered fatal injuries but one of the scorpions pincers-

“Raaaaaaaa!” The feline fighter pounced at the opportunity Foreigner had given them. Although he was prepped with his borer in hand, his grip was slack enough to have his weapon fall to the wayside. He felt pain radiate from his bicep and chest as the monster’s claws gashed his skin, suddenly disoriented with his head banging on the pavement. The feline fighter jabbed their head forward with fangs bared.

“Get off!” With his free hand, Foreigner punched the creature in the nose, causing them to let go and recoil. He ran towards his weapon but was greeted with a tremble in the earth. Without hesitation, Foreigner leapt towards his weapon and made a roll away from the leaders stomping charge, mechanical movements from a body familiar to violence taking over. Once more, Foreigner heard the chirping of electricity cut through the air but he dared not turn around this time to watch the aftermath. His opponents were separate enough to take the offensive without immediate worry. Foreigner propelled himself towards the feline fighter, the beast pouncing backward from being impaled to the ground.

“Keep out of this, Sha! This is my prey! I will prove myself superior to the Circle!” The feline fighter went into a four legged sprint in a zigzag pattern, their muscles sending them at an intense speed towards Foreigner in a disorienting motion. He shook his head and focused on the point of contact, waiting for the beast to make its pounce. Foreigner got his wish but was not expecting the outcome; the creature leapt towards his legs with claws outstretched and mouth agape instead of up in the air. He pivoted his leg but his flank was caught by another claw swipe. While in his sphere of influence, he brought down his cement borer on the creature’s shoulder, the pavement beneath and the creature’s bone shattering at the impact. The feline fighter panicked, ripping into their muscle further to try and grab at the weapon.

“If you wanted to get it out, all you had to do was ask.” Foreigner yanked the spear upward, transforming it into its pick form and tearing the limb off of the fighter. The leader, Sha, watched with their arms crossed as the feline fighter cried out in pain. They scrambled away from Foreigner, blood running down their skin and sides like webbing rivulets. Their breathing was heavy and their eyes were dilated, their vision transfixed on Foreigner’s held weapon. Their muscles bundled for a moment before performing an explosive leap towards Foreigner. Foreigner waited for the trajectory to reveal itself, waited and there-

“Crrrr-snap.” With mouth agape, the feline fighter had leapt into his readied spear, the momentum impaling him with a grinding of teeth on metal and a sickening snap of their neck as the body went limp. Even in death the creatures’ eyes were fiery.

“Gal has been claimed by the Circle and this burgeoning predator has taken their place! Brothers,” Sha called out with their long trumpeteering trunk, “This Hunt may end in failure but the Circle has provided us a bounty! We reclaim our dead in spirit and live to fight again! Take this experience and become the apex!” The remaining two enemies, both moderately wounded, withdrew from their fight with the gruff Fixer without pomp or ceremony. The Fixers at the Turned Stone Office, what few remained anyway, let out a sigh of relief and lowered their guard, the gruff Fixer the only one among them waiting for the second shoe to drop. Sha looked at the gruff Fixer and then turned over to Foreigner, “You both are predators in the eye of the Circle. You have proven worthy, your pack of brothers in the Beast of Burden await for you to answer its call. And should we meet on the battlefield again, I will make sure to assert myself as the apex.” Sha and the others ran from the area, leaving the outside of the dilapidated Turned Stone Office an open graveyard, a puddle of crimson, a feast for maggots.

Foreigner’s muscles suddenly dropped, his breathing hard and clamoring for air. An overwhelming fatigue took hold of his arms and legs. He looked down at his arm and chest caked in cooled crimson. Nothing grievous but he’d spilt a lot of blood.

“Hey,” the gruff Fixer approached Foreigner with a hand extended for a handshake, “I don’t know who you are but I appreciate the help out there.” A closer look at the Fixer revealed a stark height difference and muscle density difference. He was taller with well defined muscles versus Foreigners less defined frame. His eyes were a warm blue, face peppered in gray and black stubble mirroring the short gray and black hair on his head. “Now come on in. I know you didn’t help outta the kindness of your heart.” He waved his hand and Foreigner followed along. Foxtail wasn’t far behind him, taking a closer look at the aftermath of the battle she had only watched in hiding from a distance.

The few Fixers remaining were separating their friends from their opponents, lining them up on the pavement to perform a ritual she was painfully familiar with.