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Jinjo

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"When you live the life of a criminal, there is no happy ending."

My newest writing that is a spin-off of Mystic Guardians, taking place in the same jjsverse as that, Storm Racers and Pirate Legends. This will be a 10 part miniseries.

Chapter One: Mission Accomplished

Out in a desert, two men are ready to engage in a final standoff. Those two men are Vexacus, a feared bounty hunter, and Tobias Beckett, a fast thief and mercenary. Tobias was responsible for derailing Vexacus’s bounty hunting career and inflicted several wounds on him, such as the loss of an eye and arm. The thief had also casted a curse upon him due to the power of two magical blades in his possession, adding more bad luck to Vexacus’s life. During their fight leading up to this moment, Vexacus had destroyed the only remaining blade, freeing him of the curse thankfully. But it wasn’t enough to be truly free yet. This final shootout would guarantee his freedom. Both are staring at each other, leaving a fair distance between them. They give each other one last, deadly stare, knowing this was it. They both reach and fire their guns at once. There is a pause. Tobias then looks at his chest to see a blast through it, shocking him. Not so fast now. Vexacus is unscathed, the blast barely missing him and striking the ground instead. Today was his lucky day. Tobias falls to the ground, dead.

“Goodbye.” Vexacus said bitterly to him, genuinely happy something went his way for a change.

It’s cathartic after over a year of pain and defeats. Vexacus saw Tobias as the final obstacle to escaping his recent torment. Now he could finally do what he wanted. No more Federation or magical adversaries to get in his way. Getting roped into fighting magical enemies truthfully was not what he was cut out for. Dealing with grounded criminals was always his true familiar territory. Vexacus begins to walk through the desert plains, hoping to find civilization somewhere. He realizes he’s not even sure if he’s in Posidonia right now. Who knows where that magical portal took him. He looks at the sand and realizes it looks similar to the Pyrite deserts, so he assumes he may not be far from there. He then remembers the train he fought Tobias on which lead him here. He finds the railroad nearby and decides to follow it, hoping it takes him to a train station so he can escape. Vexacus runs and runs along the railroad for what feels like hours. He’s exhausted, tired and in need of nourishment. Suddenly, he approaches what appears to be an obscure village nearby. Finally. The railroad leads to a train station there. He enters the village, with a large sign detonating the place as “Stowenside.” The villagers look at Vexacus as if he were a stranger from beyond. Vexacus then meets a group of four bounty hunters in the village, who are wearing fancy and specialized gear. They were clearly skilled at adapting to the environments around them. Vexacus could sense promise in this team.

“What brings you here, stranger?” one of the bounty hunters named Daisy asked, taking a fascinated note of his mechanical arm.

“I can tell someone’s been doing some soul searching for somethin’.” another one of them said, named Sarge, having a drink.

“Indeed. I am Vexacus. I know you are bounty hunters like me. I would like to join your group, if I am worthy. If not, I will continue on my path with nothing lost.” Vexacus said, offering his service to them.

The four think it over, looking at each other. They hadn’t been looking for new additions to their team in a long time and were very selective on who they associated with. None of them were familiar with him, either. However, something about this Vexacus stranger peeped their collective curiosities. He felt different and special. They sensed promise in his capabilities. One of the hunters takes a while to process it, giving Vexacus an unsure stare as if he’s being judged by a detector.

“Sounds like you just had a kill from that noise we heard over yonder. You’re in. You look like you got the stuff to me, friend.” the bounty hunter finally spoke, named Clay, as he shakes Vexacus’s hand.

Vexacus could tell Clay carried the aura of a leader to this group. It must have been an honor to get his seal of approval. The bounty hunters welcome Vexacus into their group. For the first time in what felt like ages, Vexacus was finally free. He had a golden ticket to at long last escape anything related to Posidonia and Karmania. This was his chance to return to a normal life of bounty hunting, one devoid of magical otherworldly nonsense.


“Thank you for accepting me in, especially someone you’ve only just met. I’ve had a rough streak of bad luck lately to put it lightly. I suppose that’s what happens when you’re a lone wolf like me and don’t have a support system. I’ve never been able to fit in anywhere, not with the Guild or the various other organizations I’ve worked for.” Vexacus said, hesitant to tell them he’s banned from the Bounty Hunters Guild.

“We’re not affiliated with the Guild, so don’t worry about their bureaucratic policies dictating what you can and can’t do. We prefer to go our own way.” Clay replied, pleasing Vexacus.

“I can relate to that very much.” Vexacus replied, knowing he’s going to like this group very much.

“Vexacus is quite a name you got there. Can’t say I’ve ever heard anything like it before and I’ve heard many oddball names from the seediest in the underworld.” the last hunter said, named Kara.

“I was born with the name Vera, but for my work profession, I legally changed it to Vexacus. It sounds more menacing and a hunter deserves a feared name.” Vexacus explained.

In his mind, adding the “cus” to the end of his name made him sound more menacing. Vexacus wanted to be feared and respected. To be at the top of the food chain is what Vexacus wanted most all his life. With his new team, he had a chance to fulfill that dream once more.

“Never thought of hunting in that way. Y’know, maybe I could use a work name…” Daisy wondered, thinking of monikers to call herself.

“Speaking of names, does your team have one? It’s always helpful to have a powerful name that inspires confidence like mine.” Vexacus asked.

“Yes: The Tidal Nova. I came up with the name years ago when I founded the group. My thought process was our team crosses the seas and stars.” Clay replied, confirming what Vexacus thought earlier.

“I like the name, it’s powerful.” Vexacus replied.

“While we’re asking questions, care to share who you whacked back there?” Kara asked curiously.

“They were someone from my past I needed to settle a score with. A nasty thief who conned many of his employers. They are who took my eye and arm from me. Believe me, the world is better off without him.” Vexacus explained, pointing to his implant eye and mechanical arm, waving the latter.

“Continuing this line of work even after those disablements takes true courage. Since we’ve gotten to know a few bread crumbs about you, I figure it’s time to introduce ourselves. I’m Clay, the de facto leader though I don’t like to paint myself as that. Everyone leads the group in their own unique way. I was once a cop but got sick of the system, let’s say that experience didn’t end on a particularly good note. Those skills didn’t all go to waste though, it’s helpful when dealing with all sorts of criminals. That fellow is Sarge, our trained sniper who has rarely missed his shots thanks to his sharp eyes. Has a bit of a drinking addiction but it’s never impaired his sight. Some say it even helps him.” Clay introduced.

“You bet it does.” Sarge interjected, taking a sip from his drink.

“That lady is Daisy, she was our latest recruit before you came along. Don’t let her innocent looks deceive you, because she’s a skilled swordswoman that can slice her way out of any tight situation. Last but certainly not least is Kara Dume, our pilot and an experienced assassin who prefers to go by her full name.” Clay finished.

“A full name draws attention and respect, just like you view your name. Look forward to knowing more about you, mate.” Kara said to Vexacus, who understood why he chose the name he did for this profession.

“Now then, if you’re serious about joining our crew, we’re going to be leaving Posidonia in our jet plane. If you have anything here you’d like to take with you, now would be the time to say so. If not, we’re moving on.” Clay explained.

“No, there’s nothing left here for me.” Vexacus replied, not needing to think that over more than needed. He wanted to get as faraway from Posidonia as possible.

“No offense intended Mr. Vexacus, but you look a little…how shall we say, worse for wear?” Sarge said bluntly, pointing out Vexacus’s rough state due to his time in Wishy Joe’s captivity.

“I am aware. I’ve been through…a lot lately and my appearance has not been on my top priority list, to say the least. That’s what happens when you’re in captivity for months.” Vexacus said, feeling his rugged attire.

“Don’t mind Sarge. He always tends to say the first thought on his mind, no matter how rude. Some of it is probably the alcohol talking.” Kara said playfully.

“No, he’s right. I look filthy, it’s about time I changed into something superior. Got any wardrobe I can temporarily wear?” Vexacus asked.

“Maybe they have something over there.” Daisy said, pointing to a local clothing store.

The hunters head inside the establishment, as Vexacus looks around at their attire choices. His eye is caught by a sleek biker jacket and shirt combo. Before Vexacus can reach for money, Daisy stops him, taking out her wallet.

“I’ll cover that for you, on the house. Consider it a thank you gift to the newcomer. Don’t expect this again though.” Daisy said, paying for Vexacus’s new clothes.

“I have to say, I am surprised you’ve been this kind to someone you just met.” Vexacus said.

“Despite out gruff exteriors, I’d like to think we’re kind people deep within.” Kara said.

Vexacus wears the clothes and they fit him well.

“Ready to go now?” Clay asked.

“Yes. But before we go, there is one last part of my past I need to leave behind.” Vexacus said.

He then unsheathes a special sword, one he had used to counter magical enemies. Unfortunately, as novel as this sounded, it didn’t help him against magical enemies as he had hoped. Where he’s going, he won’t need it anymore. Vexacus swings the sword and then smashes against a medium sized moss rock several times. Several villagers look at him in bewilderment, wondering what this crazy shark is doing, as they keep hearing the clash of the blade against the stone. The Tidal Nova team have a mix of bewildered looks too, but there’s a tint of understanding there as well. The sword blade finally shatters, pieces flying into the sand. Now he holds the sword’s handle without a blade. He buries the handle in the sand, never wanting to see it ever again.

“What was that about? Letting off some pent up anger?” Sarge asked.

“Letting the past die.” Vexacus declared.

Vexacus Is now finally ready to depart. The team arrives at the Tidal Nova’s jet, impressing Vexacus. They get inside, as Vexacus makes himself comfortable on a couch and sees they have snacks on the table. He deserved a well needed rest after what he’s been through. The plane takes off, leaving Posidonia airspace. Vexacus had finally left anything related to Karmania behind him for good. Vexacus looks out a jet window, seeing Posidonia fading further away into the distance, becoming a spec.

2 Years Later…

The Tidal Nova team continued to carry over several successful jobs. Over the past two years, Vexacus had enjoyed his time settling in with them and worked well as a team member. For once, he finally fit into a group and almost treated it as his real family in a way. Vexacus managed to jell with the rest of the team, even helping them successfully save a few missions that almost went awry. He got to experience the world in ways he hadn’t before. He had decided not to tell any of them about his exploits with the Federation and Karmania. He did not want to dwell on the past any longer and figured they wouldn’t believe him on what he encountered anyways. In May 2019 however, the team would receive a mission that would forever change the trajectory of their goals and question their loyalties on who they work for.

Their plane approaches the country of Nalabar. In recent years, the country has fallen into disrepair and chaos under the brutal regime of its leader, Moses Pashir. Pashir had contracted Tidal Nova for a special assignment. The five weren’t exactly sure what they were in for, but were aware of Pashir’s dictatorship. They had their reservations, but as far as they were concerned, a job is a job, regardless of who it comes from. That was what they had to accept as bounty hunters. As Clay would say, they’re in the game, so they’re aware their employers are not all moral. The plane lands at a designated spot after seeing several of Pashir’s soldiers signaling them from below. The team gets out of the jet, and are then frisked by the soldiers for anything beyond the expected weapons.

“They’re clear. Come with us this way.” one of the soldiers said, escorting Vexacus and his team to meet their leader.

They are taken to Pashir’s palace. The hunters stop and stare at amazement in it, but Vexacus has an uncomfortable feeling from this. He recalls the last time he set foot in a seemingly beautiful appearing structure of power and what followed. He had enough of working for psychotic rulers of a country for a while, to say the least.

“A dictator giving bounty hunters the red carpet treatment. That’s new.” Daisy noted.

They enter inside the palace, looking around at the beautiful interior. More familiar bad memories came back to Vexacus, but he tried to suck it up and just do the job they’re contracted to do.

“If he can afford these digs, then there’s no excuse for him to skimp on our pay.” Sarge said greedily.

One of Pashir’s aides approaches the team.

“Welcome hunters of Tidal Nova to Nalabar. You have been blessed by President Pashir to receive the honor of stepping foot in his humble abode. He has prepared an honorary feast for you before assigning your mission. Do not speak to him unless spoken to. Understood?” she explained to them.

They nod in silent understanding. The aide escorts them into a lavish dining room. Moses Pashir is sitting at the end of the table in a chair fit for a king. The rest of the table is filled with food and drinks set for the hunters.

“Come on in. Sit and enjoy the feast, my friends. You are honorary guests in my paradise.” Pashir welcomed kindly, holding a glass of wine.

The hunters take their seats, settling in. They hesitate to speak given what the aide said earlier. They dine in on the cuisine, enjoying it.

“Is it to your satisfaction?” Pashir asked them.

“Yes, it is delicious.” Clay replied to him, as the rest of the hunters nod in agreement.

“Thank you, some of the most talented chefs in Nalabar made what you see here. They use traditional recipes native only to this land.” Pashir explained, as one of the chefs walks nervously by, trying not to make eye contact with Pashir. “Once we have finished the delicacies, I’ll brief you on your mission.”

The team continues eating and drinking what they can.

“Hey, can I get more of this wine?” Sarge asked to the aide, who looks annoyed that he spoke first given the rule, but Pashir gives a glare to an aide instead of Sarge.

“Well? You heard him. Give the man his refill.” Pashir commanded to the aide, who nervously takes the glass and heads off to refill it.

She hands Sarge more wine, who is pleased. Moments later, the team has had enough to eat. Pashir is also done, wiping his face.

“I presume you are ready. No need to be shy, you can speak freely. Forget what my aide said, that was simply for show.” Pashir said.

“Alright, cool. The meal was five stars, but we’ve had enough, don’t want to hunt on a full stomach. What’s our mission?” Kara asked him.

“I need you five to wipe out a cell of terrorists, or insurgents, whatever term you prefer to call them by. They are a threat to my government’s order.

“With all due respect sir, but why do you need bounty hunters to put them down for you? Can’t you use your army for that? It’d save you the trouble of paying us for our services.” Vexacus asked suspiciously.

The aide is stunned, acting as if he had just insulted her dear leader, but Pashir isn’t offended.

“Keen observation, hunter. I am glad you asked. Normally I would, but this cell is…different. They have backing by one of our largest parties and it wouldn’t be good public relations wise for my army to execute them. They’re difficult for us to take out for that reason alone. My government is in enough hot water for controversies that are overblown by the media and Oceanic Nations. Payment is not an issue under these circumstances, we humbly welcome your service.” Pashir explained.

“In other words, an unidentifiable third party terminating them clears your government of any involvement and provides plausible deniability. Clever.” Clay realized.

Vexacus wasn’t sure how to feel about them being used as patsies. He knew an ulterior motive was at play here.

“Nothing will happen to you once the job is done. We’ll make it as unclear as possible who the attackers were. Trust me, despite what you may hear, these insurgents are not good people. They’re brute savages that have ulterior motives beyond “liberating the country.” Pashir insisted.

“We’re not really in this for the politics, just the money.” Daisy said, making Pashir let out a laugh.

“That’s the spirit. Here are coordinates to their current base site. Good luck on your mission, I believe in you.” Pashir said, passing the paper across the table to Clay.

The team is seen trekking through the jungles, following the coordinates in Clay’s GPS device to where the insurgent base is located.

“Does anyone else have reservations about this? We’re being used as patsies so a government doesn’t have to take responsibility?” Vexacus questioned.

“As long as I get paid, I can’t complain.” Sarge shrugged.

“It’s unorthodox to be sure, but this is how the game operates. Bounties can take all sorts of forms, even threats to a government, regardless of who’s in the right or wrong. I don’t like it much either, but this is what we signed up for.” Clay said.

“After the job is done, we probably won’t have to come back here.” Kara said, admittedly unsure if Pashir had more in store for them after this, which at that point she may agree with Vexacus.

The team hears chatter from the west, which they realize is right where the base camp is supposed to be. They carefully follow the trail, camafloucging themselves with the forests so they aren’t spotted. They reach a ledge overlooking the camp below, as they hide. Clay looks through his binoculars to scout the area and see what they’re dealing with. He spots two wooden outpost towers used as sniper lookouts. Below them are several tents, weapons and supplies lying around. There are a total of eight insurgents in the area. He takes note of one standing in the center giving orders, who he assumes must be the leader of this cell. They begin to coordinate their attack plan through hand motions, as they do not want to make noise. Element of surprise is best. Clay gives Vexacus a look that asks if he’s ready for this, to which Vexacus nows, though both knew that likely wasn’t true.

Sarge holds out his sniper rifle and has one of the insurgent snipers in his view, locking the crosshairs onto him. Sarge waits for Clay’s signal. Now. Sarge snipes the sniper, as they go falling out of the outpost. The other insurgents panic and open fire in return, looking for their enemy. Sarge stays hidden in his position, as the other four jump out to attack the insurgents. The other sniper fires into the trees, as Sarge quickly moves to avoid. He finds another spot and opens fire, taking the sniper out. Daisy clashes her sword with an insurgent’s own blade. She catches him off guard and slices her sword right through their torso. They fall to the ground, bleeding out. Kara fires both of her pistols at two insurgents, sending them down. A blast hits her back, but her bulletproof vest stopped it. She gets out of the line of fire, ducking for cover behind a crate. Clay fires his revolver at the insurgent, taking them out. Vexacus is shot at by an insurgent, but they miss. He hesitates for a moment, and then shoots the insurgent, making them fall against a tent. Only the leader remains, who sees he’s outnumbered. The leader makes a run for it into the thick forests. Vexacus chase after them and fires. The two stop at a cliff. All that’s below the chasm is a large drop into a river bank. Dead end, literally and figuratively. Vexacus thought this man would have to be a fool to jump, it’s suicide.

“You don’t have to do this. I can let you go.” Vexacus said genuinely, bargaining a chance for him to live.

“The revolution will always live on, with or without us.” the insurgent spoke solemnly, looking at the river bank below.

“Wait, don’t!” Vexacus yelled, lunging forward to stop him, but it’s too late.

The leader makes the noble jump, startling Vexacus. He sees him plummet downward to the river, and then disappears from his sight in the blink of an eye. Vexacus hears the others coming, so he pretends to open fire at the leader.

“You shootin’ for clams?” Sarge joked.

“I tried to chase him, but he jumped to his death.” Vexacus said, admittedly unsure, but he doubted he could’ve survived such a fall.

“Not the most flattering way to go.” Kara said, looking below.

“Well then. Mission accomplished, team!” Daisy said cheerfully, despite carrying out mass executions.

The team heads back to the base site, seeing the deceased insurgents on the ground. Vexacus feels shaken up by it, not a fan of what he just did. Several disguised fixers arrive at the site, bagging up the bodies to clear out evidence. The team regroups with Pashir and his soldiers outside the palace.

“Excellent job. My judgment was correct in choosing you. My clean up crew is taking care of the rest. As promised, your payment.” Pashir said, as a soldier hands them a briefcase filled with a stash of dollars.

“Oooh, I can feel a lot in here...” Sarge said happily, shaking the case.

“Happy trails. If I ever need someone to covertly take out another cell, I know who to call.” Pashir said, chuckling. This makes Vexacus and Kara uneasy.

The team heads back to their jet, escorted by Pusher’s soldiers. As the jet leaves Nalabar, Vexacus sits uncomfortably in his thoughts. He had killed people before, but being used in this way felt different. It bugged his conscious. Vexacus arrived at an unfortunate realization: He wasn’t truly free. He still remained a slave to the cycle all this time. He went from working under one psychotic ruler to yet another. When he wanted to return to a normal life of bounty hunting, he truly wanted to be free to pursue the work he wanted to and bring those in who deserved it. Executing a bunch of insurgents who aren’t in the game isn’t what he signed up for. It’s not a bounty hunter’s job to be caught in a country’s political crisis, this had strayed too far from the original purpose. Perhaps part of this is because it brings back bad memories of how he got roped into Karmania nonsense through an eerily similar means. What worried him most is if it would end here as more regimes could request their services. He then reflects on his days working for the Bounty Hunters Guild, trying to understand how he got from there to his current position. He has a flashback to one particular day that stuck out in his mind…

In New Kelp City, a Bounty Hunters Guild building is seen in a distant country. After receiving his bounty hunting license, a younger Vexacus had been working at the guild for six months mostly doing menial office work. Not what he hoped for, but he had to start somewhere. Bikini Bottom was one of the only countries where he could legally get a bounty hunting license and the closest guild building was here. Vexacus enters the building, heading to the front desk to sign in. The receptionist is named Lloyd, who has headphones on and is reading a newspaper.

“Hey Lloyd, lovely day, is it not?” Vexacus asked, trying to make conversation.

Lloyd doesn’t hear him due to his headphones, making Vexacus sigh. He signs in as “Vera”, indicating he had not adapted the name of Vexacus at this point yet. He arrives at his office, where a calendar hangs from the wall, marked to July 2006. He found it tough to fit into the atmosphere here. However, there was one person here he managed to form something resembling a bond with: another hunter named June who started around the same time he did. Like him, she had yet to go on an official hunting assignment, but they got along well as co-workers. He sees June approaching and waves to her.

“Hey Vera, I almost didn’t see you. Got your favorite coffee flavor!” June said happily, handing him it.

“Why thank you, I didn’t even ask.” Vexacus replied, surprised.

“I had extra cash to spare and was in the mood of being generous, you’re welcome.” June replied, settling down in her office.

Vexacus had felt a special attachment to June in his time here. She was the only person he could call a friend here. He knew how badly she wanted to become an official hunter just like him. Suddenly, a worker approaches the two.

“Vera and June, Guild Leader Hershel would like to see you in his office.” the worker said, surprising them.

Both are unsure and nervous as to what this means. They hadn't done anything wrong, as far as they knew. They get up and enter Hershel’s office, seeing he has two seats in front of his desk. He gestures for them to sit down.

“Don’t worry, you’re not in trouble. You two have proven to be dedicated workers over your time here. I’ve decided you two are finally ready for your first field mission. And you’ll be doing it together, if you accept it.” Hershel revealed, surprising the two.

“Sir, I don’t know what to say…” June replied.

"We're in." Vexacus declared.

“Your target goes by the nam of "Hopper", a Soprano mafia hitman. He skipped his bail hearing and there’s a warrant out for his arrest. The police are having difficulty tracking him down, so you’ll be assisting. There’s a hefty cash reward if you both succeed. This contains the location of his apartment if there’s any clues you can find there. Best of luck.” Hershel said, handing them his portfolio, which also includes his apartment address.

“We won’t let you down, sir.” June said confidently.

The two enter Hopper's apartment, noticing it's a trashed mess. Either his mafia associates or the police were here before them. Still, they decide to look around for any hints on his whereabouts. June scans his files for a lead Vexacus notices there's a lot of philosophy books on the bookshelf. 

"Didn't expect someone like him to be a deep ponderer." Vexacus said, showing June the books.

"Sometimes you can never really know who you're chasing. But these could also equally just as likely be for show." June replied, scoffing them off.

They keep searching every inch of the apartment, but are unable to find a lead. There must be something they're missing. Vexacus then spots an obscure paper behind the fridge and shows it to June. It shows a bank transaction with a phone number written on the bottom. June reaches for the apartment's phone and dials the number.

"Hello, this is Kelp Motel, how may we help you?" a woman on the other end asked.

"Wrong number." June replied, hanging up.

They have their lead. The unmarked Guild boatmobile drives into the mostly empty motel parking lot, as the two quietly walk around. Hopper peers through a window from the second story, and suspects the two are after him. He then kicks open his motel door and jumps over a railing, landing in front of the day.

"I-I'm June and this is my partner Vera. As members of the Bounty Hunters Guild, we're bringing you in. Please cooperate, we don't want to hurt you." June introduced nervously.

"I must say, I'm impressed you two were able to identify my domicile when none of the dumbass cops could. But this is where your trail ends, friends. I ain't going in." Hopper said, pulling out his gun and firing it at their vehicle, shattering the window-shield. 

The two draw their weapons, but Hopper then points his gun to he motel entrance. The receptionist, the same one June spoke to over the phone, is standing there with her hands in the air. She tried to come outside after hearing the commotion. 

"No moves or the innocent bystander to our eternal conflict shall meet a grim demise." Hopper said poetically.

"Fancy vocabulary, but nobody needs to get hurt, pal. Just accept you've lost and turn yourself in. We'd like our first bounty to go smoothly." Vexacus offered.

"First time on the job, I see. I am truly honored the gods have chosen me to be your first bounty. But what you see as a loss I see as a new beginning. I'm a brave traveler, going from one world to another. My time in the mafia came to an end, which opens me a door to another world, a superior one. You have to believe-" Hopper was rambling.

While distracted, June disarms his gun, sending it flying across the lot. Hopper tries to run but Vexacus tackles him to the ground. He puts him in handcuffs, capturing him. Instead of being angry though, Hopper laughs.

"I knew it...you two are the scholars that will change me. The three of us…we’re destined to be in this cosmic cycle forever, brother and sister.” Hopper said ominously, smiling to Vexacus and June, who feel creeped out.

“What the hell are you talking about? Lay off the drugs.” Vexacus asked, standing him up.

“The cycle of slavery. You serve one side of the esteemed “law”, while I serve the opposing side. But it does not have to be that way forever. We want the same thing in the end, I can see it. I promise, someday, we'll see each other again and you'll understand what I mean.” Hopper replied.

June does a motion with her hand indicating Hopper is a lunatic. Vexacus and her laugh, not taking the madman seriously and promptly forget about him. Hopper is later taken away by authorities, as the receptionist is interviewed by them. Vexacus and June are seen back in Hershel’s office reporting their success. 

“Mission accomplished. Good job, Vera and June. I knew you two would make a great team. You're passed your final test in becoming official bounty hunters.” Hershel congratulated, updating their licenses.

“We sure did.” Vexacus said, as he and June smile at each other.

"It was scary at first, but once I absorbed what was happening, I got over my fears." June said, feeling confident.

"Hopper's bounty was $700,000, so you two will receive $20,000 in each. Rest goes to the Guild, sorry, that's the rules." Hershel explained.

A price to be paid, but money is money. Vexacus looked forward to going on more missions with June.

There is an awkward silence on the jet. Vexacus lets Hopper’s last words sink into his mind, along with the insurgent leader mentioning a “revolution.”

“Is that what we are doomed to be servants to? An endless violent cycle where we kill or capture people deemed by our “superiors” to be the prey?” Vexacus broke the silence.

“What’cha talking about?” Daisy asked, confused.

“For too long bounty hunters been disrespected by their employers. I believe it’s finally time we the people took control of bounty hunting.” Vexacus said determinedly.

“What are you proposing, exactly?” Clay asked.

“A revolution of bounty hunting.” Vexacus said boldly, surprising the rest of his team at this proposal.

Notes/Trivia:

-Character Debuts: Clay, Sarge, Kara Dume, Daisy, Hopper, June, Lloyd, Hershel, and Moses Pashir

-Flashback Timeline: The first flashback in the beginning is an extended retelling of “Temple of Destiny” from Mystic Guardians Season 5; Second flashback is 9 years before the events of Mystic Guardians.

-Nalabar is a country first seen in Pirate Legends.

-It is revealed Vexacus’s real birth name was “Vera” but took the moniker of “Vexacus” for his bounty hunting career.

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Chapter Two: The Revolution

As the jet plane still soars through the skies, the Tidal Nova team sits there inside, shocked at Vexacus’s proposition. Kara puts the plane on autopilot and turns around from her chair in the pilot’s room.

“Am I hearing you right? You want us to revolutionize bounty hunting?” Kara asked, stunned.

“Yes. I know it sounds crazy, but at least hear me out. Aren’t you tired of being told what to do? Having to hunt what the Guild, a criminal organization or a corrupt government dictates, all serving the same crooked system in the end? Outlaws chasing outlaws. Does any of it even matter? Does it feel like anything is truly accomplished when you’re merely a slave to their whims? Why are we only restricted to hunting what society wants us to? We the hunters need to take control of our own destinies so we cannot be shackled to this system of slavery anymore.” Vexacus explained poetically.

“Since when did you become a brave revolutionary, comrade?” Sarge asked half-jokingly but also half-seriously.

“Since I’ve realized how unfulfilling the current state of bounty hunting is. I’m sure you all feel it deep within. I love this group, but when I joined it to escape my past, I had hoped we wouldn’t fall into the same pitfalls. It’s grown almost repetitive and monotonous. Our experience with Pashir made me realize how disrespected of an art form bounty hunting has become. I don’t know about you, but I am tired of working for morons that nearly get us killed.” Vexacus added.

While the Tidal Nova team is moved by his speech, they aren’t quite sure how to feel about actually going along with this idea.

“I would like to have control over my own destiny, yeah. But I don’t know if what you’re proposing is even possible, all due respect Vex. How would you get all of the other bounty hunters to be on board?” Daisy asked.

“As with any revolution, we need to reach far and wide, about cause. We’d have to get our names out there and it may take a lot of persuading, but I am sure many will come around when they realize they’re mere pawns.” Vexacus suggested.

“Clay prefers our group stay under the radar. I don’t think being the face of a revolution is the type of attention he would want, but I’ll let him speak for himself.” Kara added.

“That is not particularly the type of attention I’d like, no. There is a textbook of reasons why everything about this can go south. I’m sympathetic to your distaste of a system, and I agree the way it’s set up isn’t always fair to us. But I don’t think just five obscure bounty hunters can convince everyone else to happily go along with this. Yeah, we’ve attracted some attention, good and bad, but not enough to spark a revolution. Even if we assembled an army, we wouldn’t be able to stand up to the Guild, governments and crime families all at once.” Clay said, not having much faith in the idea.

“I’m with Clay on this. I admire the passion, but this sounds like a fool’s errand, sorry dude. This is way above my pay grade. The only outcome I see is this ending with us dead.” Sarge replied bluntly.

Vexacus can’t say he’s surprised by Sarge’s lack of confidence, but at least he was honest.

“…However, you’ve been in our team long enough for us to not outright dismiss your proposal yet, I’ll give you that much benefit of the doubt. We’ll discuss this further when we return to the base and tell you when we reach a full consensus.” Clay added.

The rest of the team agrees to this, even though Sarge doubts his mind will be changed. Vexacus figured they wouldn’t be on board right away, especially given how long they had been content going their own way together. He knew they’d need time to think this over and hopes they choose what is right.

“I understand. I’ll respect whatever decision you decide on, but I still think it’s worth reconsidering who we work under nonetheless.” Vexacus replied.

“Noted. Let’s get back to the base and relax for a bit, I could sure use it.” Kara said, getting back into the pilot’s chair and setting course.

Their base, or home rather, was located in the country of Cymada. Bounty hunting is illegal in the country, so having their base there seemed naive on the surface. However, their location stayed under the radar and out of sight because it sat on the outskirts of an obscure forest. A group of bounty hunters having their home in a country where the practice is illegal. It was a perfect contradiction.

As the jet plane flies to Cymada, Vexacus reminisces back to the day when his Guild career completely fell apart, putting him on the road he’s been on since.

Vexacus had been a New Kelp Bounty Hunter Guild member for two years. He continued to work alongside June well, the two were truly in sync as inseparable partners. However, Vexacus had also begun to show off occasional reckless behavior and disregard for the Guild’s rules. He did not like being confined to their limitations in how he should do his job. Hershel has called Vexacus and June into his office for yet another task. Both were ready as ever.

“Hello, Vera and June. I hope you’ve been having a fine day-“ Hershel was saying.

“Actually, I go by Vexacus now, we’ve been over this.” Vexacus corrected, as he’s started to go by this name in the past two years.

Hershel is somewhat annoyed by his attitude and commitment to this schtick, but decides to let it slide. Vexacus had done more disobedient actions than that over the past two years worth more scrutiny anyway.

“Okay, Vexacus and June, your job is to search for an escaped felon named Russo Bell. Last we’ve heard he was attempting to flee the city.” Hershel ordered, handing them Russo’s portfolio.

“This should be a breeze.” Vexacus said arrogantly, leaving the room.

“June, I’d like to speak with you before you go.” Hershel said to her before she leaves.

“What is it?” June asked.

“I want you to keep a close eye on Vera. He’ll listen to you. You know how daring and stubborn he gets as of late, I don’t want him doing anything that will jeopardize the mission. He’s nearly let several bounties get away thanks to his carelessness and we need to bring this Russo in.” Hershel explained.

“I’ll do my best to keep him in line, sir.” June promised.

Vexacus and June drive their Guild boatmobile along a road leading to the outskirts of New Kelp. They’re expecting him to have tried crossing state lines toward Bikini Bottom. Through the mirrors they see Russo making a run for it on the side of the road, heading for the hills. The two get out of the vehicle and chase after him. As they keep chasing, they see a long metal fence surrounding what appears to be a military base. Russo runs for it and climbs over the fence. June hesitates if they should continue seeing the “Restricted Area” warning sign, but Vexacus doesn’t care.

“We shouldn’t go in there, let’s find another way. Worst case scenario, they get him before us, but he’s still captured.” June suggested to Vexacus.

“No, we’re so close! He’s our target, not theirs! We can do this!” Vexacus said boldly, as he jumps over the gate and chases his prey.

June sighs, knowing Hershel would not be happy, as Vexacus gets closer to Russo. He throws a tripwire around Russo’s legs, making him fall to the sandy ground. Vexacus approaches him, when suddenly, footsteps approach. He is then surrounded by several black armored soldiers who point their guns at both.

“Don’t take another step!” one of the soldiers ordered.

A sharply dressed agent wearing black sunglasses emerges from the crowd of soldiers.

“I’m Agent Bishop of the Ocean Protection Force. This is a military property you’ve trespassed on.” Bishop introduced, holding up his badge.

“I’ll have you know I’m a bounty hunter who was chasing my target!” Vexacus boasted.

“I don’t care who you are, I’m not bending the law for a bounty hunter. You’re not allowed here. Kindly leave the premises or you'll be forced off. We’ll take care of the other intruder for you.” Bishop replied.

Vexacus refused to let them deny him the glory of this capture. Imaginary laws written on paper meant nothing to him. He grabs Russo and tries to run for it, but the OPF soldiers begin firing. Vexacus attacks the OPF soldiers, knocking some to the ground and smashing helmets in. Bishop manages to sneak up on him and stuns him with a taser, knocking Vexacus out. Russo is grabbed by soldiers and taken away. Bishop takes note of June observing on the other side.

"I assume he's with you." Bishop said.

"Yes, I am so sorry about the trouble. I warned my partner not to go there, but he really wanted to bring this guy in." June explained awkwardly.

Vexacus and June are seen back in Hershel’s office. Vexacus rubs the spot where he was tasered. Hershel is not happy with Vexacus at all.

“You’ve created a messy situation for us. Trespassing, assaulting agents of the Oceanic Protection Force. They’re threatening charges against us unless I comply. I’m afraid this is the final straw.” Hershel said.

“I accept what’s coming for me. Get it over with.” Vexacus replied.

“You are indefinitely suspended from the Bounty Hunters Guild. It's a shame as I saw potential in you, but you've cut too many corners for me to let fly." Hershel announced regrettably.

Vexacus doesn't feel much from this, as truthfully, he wanted out of here for a while. He would miss having June as his partner however. June feels bad, as she too would miss working with him, but could tell this was not the place for him. Vexacus turns over his Guild items.

“This is nothing personal, but I have to respect the Guild’s rules. I hope you understand this will make it difficult for you to get legitimate work now, unless you ever decide to apply again. I wish you the best of luck on your future endeavors.” Hershel said, shaking Vexacus’s hand.

“Thanks for everything, I guess.” Vexacus replied apathetically, as he and June leave the room.

"I'm sorry it didn't work out, but we can stay in touch if you'd like. I'd still like to be your friend." June said, handing him her contact information.

"I'd like that, thank you. I will truly miss working with you and I hope you succeed here. Don't let them blame you for what I did. Hopefully you get along with your new partner." Vexacus replied.

As Vexacus heads toward the exit, he gives a farewell wave to Lloyd, who still has his headphones on and doesn’t notice. Whatever, Vexacus didn’t need any of them. Perhaps that crazy Hopper fellow was right about him being a slave to the Guild. Now he was hopefully free to bounty hunt the way he wanted. Before leaving, he gives one last look at June. 

The jet lands outside their private residence in Cymada. The team heads inside and goes to their rooms to relax. Clay stashes their pay from Pashir's government into a vault. Vexacus heads inside of his room, which feels empty in comparison to the other members, mainly because they all had something from their pasts to display. Vexacus had no mementos from his to display because he did not want reminders of the past. One picture sits on the shelf, showing the team together posing for a group photo after capturing a bounty. This was the first mission Vexacus did with the team. He stares at it thoughtfully, happy about the new memories he's made with them. He waits around as the rest of the team discusses Vexacus’s proposal. He continues sitting in his room for a while, deciding to put the television on to pass the time. He then hears a knock on his door and opens, seeing the rest of the group outside. 

“We’ve reached a decision. It took a lot of convincing and thought, but in the end, we’ll help you with this goal. It will be difficult, so we'll take it slow and not do anything stupid if we want the slightest chance of pulling this off." Clay concluded, pleasing Vexacus.

"And we're doing it together as a team, hot shot, so don't try planning without us." Daisy said.

"Of course, this is a revolution by the hunters for the hunters. But how did you convince Sarge?" Vexacus asked.

"They made a good argument that I should make money the way I want which I can't argue with." Sarge replied, taking a sip from 

“We’re not the only rogue group of hunters out there. I’ve got a contact in Enhalas who can point us to one of these other groups. I suggest it would be our best starting point, since no way in hell are we convincing official Guild members right away.” Clay suggested.

“Very well. Let’s see who we can recruit from your contact.” Vexacus approved.

“Sounds like a plan.” Kara said, ready to chart course for Enhalas.

Enhalas is a good starting point, Vexacus figured. He knew of the area’s history as a pirate and scoundrel haven. It may be more civilized in the modern era, but it was still a ripe hideout for criminals on the run which attracted the occasional hunters. He heads back inside his room to get his weapons and turn off the television, when a news report catches his attention.

"Several members of Nalabar’s largest revolutionary group have been found mysteriously executed. President Pashir's government denies any involvement and no evidence has tied them to the massacre despite suspicions. Several sources are pointing to another country's involvemen-” the news reporter was saying, but Vexacus turns it off, not wanting to hear more.

Vexacus is mortified by this. This makes him look back to when he worked for another corrupt ruler, a memory he did not want to revisit, but it also contributed to his current path.

Two years after being kicked out of the Guild, Vexacus is seen arriving in Posidonia. As Hershel had warned him, he found it tough to get legitimate work now that he isn’t a Guild member, but still did what he could. Most of his work was from sketchy people, putting him on a questionable path. On the bright side, his disbarment allowed him to travel worldwide and see new sights. He had occasionally kept in touch with June since he left New Kelp who was doing well. He heads toward the castle in Posidonia Fields. The recently elected king put out advertisements seeking help, as he holds up a poster reading “Bounty Hunters Wanted!” He heard this king was quite an eccentric personality. He approaches the castle entrance, looking up at its shining glory. He did not have a high opinion of royalty, seeing their snobbiness reflected onto this castle. The guards prevent him from moving forward, putting their spears in his way.

"State your business." one of them said.

"I am one of the bounty hunters responding to your king's request." Vexacus said, showing the poster.

"You may proceed." one of the guards said, as they allow him through.

Vexacus walks through the castle, as soldiers walk around. He sees King Ramos Lannister’s fancy artwork, statues of himself, and the fancy castle decorations. Vexacus is not amused. 

"What a pompous show-off. But if this job makes me money, I'll have to put up with him." Vexacus said.

He then makes his way to the throne room, seeing the doors are open. He walks into the room, seeing Ramos on his throne, with Skipper by his side. Vastacoar and Tobias are also in the room, who are holding the same ads Vexacus has. Vastacoar looks over at Vexacus annoyed, confusing Vexacus.

"These fools must be bounty hunters as well. Hopefully I don't have to work with that fellow..." Vexacus said to himself, seeing Vastacoar, and giving a nasty look back to him.

"You there! Are you the last bounty hunter? About time you got here!" Ramos called out annoyed to Vexacus.

"Yes, I saw your mediocre ad." Vexacus replied, holding it up.

"Mediocre? Hey, I'll have you know I put a lot of time and effort into that poster, you inconsiderate jerk!" Ramos ranted, as Skipper approaches with his tea.

"I'm sure he didn't mean to speak in a hostile peak, my king." Skipper assured, as Ramos takes the tea and drinks it.

"Ehh...if you say so, but I still don't like the looks of that guy..." Ramos replied, sipping his tea and looking at Vexacus suspiciously.

Suddenly, Barron von John barges into the throne room on his seahorse, riding it around carelessly, annoying everyone in the room. Vexacus could tell right away whoever this buffoon was, they weren’t cut out for the job.

"Bonjour my friends, my apologies for being late! I'm ready for the wild hunt!" Barron said, getting his bow and arrow ready.

"Who is this idiot!?” Ramos boomed, viewing Barron as a clown, while the hunters laugh at him.

"Hey, I am no idiot! I am Barron von John, one of the best hunters in all of the ocean! I saw your beautiful request and would like to help you, ohoh!" Barron said, holding the ad.

"Are you a bounty hunter or some dork roleplaying?" Tobias asked smugly.

"Ohoho, I do not bounty hunt, my fine friend! That sounds scary! I am a hunter of animals though, which I'm sure you'll need my skills for!" Barron said, winking.

“No! I already have three perfectly good bounty hunters who hunt actual people, I don't need dead weight like you! Also, your ugly seahorse is getting mud all over my floor! Guards, get them out of here!" Ramos demanded, seeing the mud on the floor, as the seahorse gives an irritated neigh at him.

Two guards approach Barron and his seahorse, escorting them out of the throne room by force.

"No no no, mark my words, you will miss having my amazing skills! You'll regret this! Seriously though, call me if you need me! Anyways, au revoir!" Barron said, waving farewell as he is thrown out of the castle, along with his seahorse.

Vexacus had seem some lousy hunters over the past few years, but that guy took the cake.

"Alright, that's enough. You three claim to be bounty hunters, right? You better leave a good impression on me..." Ramos said, getting back on track, and eyeing them suspiciously.

"Please my king, allow me to introduce myself first. I am Tobias Beckett, the best, skilled and smartest bounty hunter in the ocean, for I have mastered the art of speed. Yes, I am one of the fastest fish alive. Whoever you want hunted down will never be able to outrun me." Tobias introduced, speaking pompously and arrogantly, which annoys Vexacus.

"Hmm, very promising. I see some of me in you, and that's great! Anyways, as for you?" Ramos asked, looking at Vastacoar.

"I am Vastacoar. I like using my chainsaw to cut my prey to pieces. But I can also keep them in as many pieces alive as you need. I know this is an awkward introduction, but I'm not...good at speaking publicly." Vastacoar said awkwardly, holding out his chainsaw.

"Meh, passable. And lastly, how about you, shark number two?" Ramos asked, looking at Vexacus suspicious.

"I am Vexacus, a great and powerful warrior. I will not let you down, King Ramos. I will serve this country however I can." Vexacus exaggerated, putting on his best performance.

"Eh, sure. You three seem capable enough, though that Beckett guy might just be the best of you three, we'll see! I sure like his potential!" Ramos said, as this annoys Vexacus.

"Thank you, honorable King Ramos. I promise I'll be the best hunter of this lot, and you won't even have to pay me, that's how generous I am to accept." Tobias said smugly.

"No payment? Works for me! As for you two sharks, eh, we'll figure something out with payment! Now then! You may be wondering who I want you to hunt? I want you to hunt down some enemies of ours in Central Karmania..." Ramos was saying, confusing the three.

"...Karmania, you say?" Tobias asked curiously.

"Isn't that place, uh, a legend?" Vastacoar asked, confused.

“That's what I thought as well..." Vexacus replied, curious. He hadn't signed up to hear fairytales.

"No, it's real! The Federation has gained a foothold there, and we're trying to drive off the scum that oppose us there! Skipper, prepare your magic slideshow thing, so these normies know what they're dealing with..." Ramos said to Skipper, as Vexacus looks at them interested in the story behind Karmania.

Vexacus had no idea what he was in for, but he had to admit his curiosity peaked.

Ramos and Skipper have finished explaining everything to the three bounty hunters.

"Alright, to prove your worth, you three can go to Karmania right now and help catch some jerks! Tobias can take the area closest to the castle, Vastacoar can take the north, and

Vexacus...you can help my inferior brother Brak in Western Karmania. I'm sure the Battlestar would love the assistance. Got it? Good, now get out!” Ramos demanded at once to the three, as Vexacus walks out annoyed with Tobias and Vastacoar.

"Put a smile on that face, Vex. I'm sure you'll do fine..." Tobias said condescendingly to him, as the three head for the Ancient Seal.

Vexacus is seen in Western Karmania, approaching a Battlestar campsite. He found this world to be quite the strange detour from what he’s been used to. Part of him still couldn’t believe he was actually in a magical dimension. Brak and several beasts walk out of the tent, wearing battle gear. Brak is wearing red battle armor.

"Greetings, I am Vexacus, a bounty hunter your brother Ramos sent to help." Vexacus said, shaking Brak's hand.

"Welcome. I did not exactly want help, but so be it, you came this far. There are some irritating pests hiding in the mountains up ahead. You may help me snuff them out." Brak explained to Vexacus.

"With pleasure." Vexacus replied.

Several rebels Karmanians are seen running through the mountains in panic. Vexacus and Brak run around the area, chasing them down. Brak strikes one down, capturing them. The remaining two try to run up a hill, but Vexacus jumps down, startling the two. The rebels hold out their wooden swords, which Vexacus breaks with his own. He then captures the two, bringing them to Brak.

"Job well done. You know, I could use your help at a few other areas, if you're willing..." Brak said.

"Indeed, this was fun. You did well yourself, you certainly seem better than your foolish brother." Vexacus replied, as the two laugh. It was truly a mystery to him why Ramos was allowed to be king.

"How I wish I could be king, but duty calls. Now then, let the hunt begin." Brak said, smiling.

Vexacus and Brak continue to hunt down more rebels throughout Western Karmania. Vexacus and Brak work together well, forming something of a comradely. By the end of the day, Tobias has captured the most rebels, while Vexacus takes second place, and Vastacoar takes third place. After Tobias smugly brags about his count, the three return to the castle late at night.

"Tobias, you're a great hunter. In fact, you are now my #1 general! Congratulations! As for you two sharks, eh, you're just extra muscle, don't expect much payment." Ramos announced, annoying the two.

"Thank you, thank you, it's an honor..." Tobias replied, bowing before Ramos.

Vexacus is walking down a castle hall, when he overhears Tobias from a room. Vexacus leans against the door. Tobias is inside, looking at a map of the castle.

"Ah, so that spot is where that moron Ramos keeps all of his precious gold. I'll rob him when he least expects it, but first I need to get those two nuisance sharks out of the way, so nobody suspects anything. During our next hunt, I'll finish those two...forever." Tobias said to himself smugly, as this startles Vexacus.

"That sneaky devil...so that is why he took the job, just to get rich. I care little for Ramos, but he will not end me. I will show him..." Vexacus said.

Later at night, Tobias is walking home to his mansion, as Vexacus carefully follows behind. Tobias looks around carefully, and heads inside his mansion. Vexacus then pours some gasoline outside of the mansion, and plants a few explosives. Vexacus detonates them, as the mansion starts to burn. 

“No, my beautiful mansion!” Tobias yelled.

Tobias sends a chair right through a window, as he escapes the burning mansion. Vexacus then charges up to him, swinging his sword, but Tobias counters back with his own daggers. The two get into a fight while the mansion keeps burning behind them.

“You! Why have you set ablaze to my beautiful home!? I thought we had no hard feelings!?" Tobias asked, putting on an act.

"I know your plan. You wanted to rob Ramos, and kill me!" Vexacus replied, swinging his sword.

"Heh, you're smarter than I expected, but not smart enough!" Tobias replied.

He catches Vexacus off ground, and quickly strikes one of his daggers at Vexacus' left eye. Vexacus yells in pain, feeling his slashed eye. Tobias then quickly runs off, heading back toward the castle. Vexacus struggles to see, but he gives chase. Tobias barges into the throne room, startling Ramos and Skipper. Vexacus follows in not too long after, breathing heavily.

“Help! My king, that shark burned down my entire mansion!" Tobias said to Ramos, ratting Vexacus out.

"You what!?" Ramos asked, looking at Vexacus angrily.

Skipper walks away, trying to stay out of this.

"Wait, no, don't listen to this fool! You don't underst-" Vexacus was protesting.

"He was clearly jealous you made me #1 instead of him, and he wanted petty payback. Plus, I heard he was planning to steal your treasures!" Tobias lied, angering Ramos.

"You idiot, you're fired! And not just fired, but you're banned from Posidonia too! I never want to see you in my country ever again! Guards, get this jerk out of here!" Ramos demanded.

The guards grab Vexacus, as they forcibly drag him out of the throne room. Vexacus knocks both out, sending them to the ground. More guards come to surround him, pointing their spears. He knew when to fold.

"So be it then. This was a terrible country anyways, but mark my words, Ramos and Tobias, I will be back..." Vexacus said, as he throws a smoke bomb, and disappears.

Vexacus runs for his life, not looking back. He hears the footsteps of Federation soldiers in pursuit, but manages to lose them. Great, his big comeback to bounty hunting ended with him being banned from a country. While what happened was Tobias's fault, he's angry at Ramos for taking his side. Thankfully Tobias's ruse would later be exposed and he too would be banned. Karma always finds its way. Vexacus knew this ban was not a good look for future international travel, so he knew he’d need to lay low. Another thing’s for certain: he needs eye surgery fast, as he covers his wounded eye and heads off. 

Part of Vexacus had wondered deep down what became of Ramos after he left, but ultimately, was content not knowing. He had moved on from that life, but viewed him as another prime example of what goes wrong when you let world leaders control bounty hunters. This was what lead to him wanting to overthrow the fool in the first place, which now that he thinks about it, was his first step in wanting to be a revolutionary. The news report deeply disgusted Vexacus. He would not let someone like Pashir get away with war crimes using bounty hunters again.

The team gets into the jet plane. It sets off for Enhalas, where their revolution’s seed will be planted.

Notes/Trivia:

-Character Debuts: Russo Bell

-Area Debuts: Cymada

-Flashback Timeline: First flashback is 7 years before the events of Mystic Guardians; Second flashback is the same ones from “The Tale of Vexacus” (albeit slightly altered), taking place 5 years before the events of Mystic Guardians

-Cymada is based on Canada and is named after the Cymodoceaceae sea plant.

-Bishop from Storm Racers makes a cameo in the first flashback.

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Chapter Three: Connections

The jet plane arrives over Enhalas, as the Tidal Nova team peers from their windows down at the tropical island archipelago below. They see several boats sailing across the crystal blue water.

“This place looks as beautiful as ever. You know, my ancestry supposedly dates back here.” Kara commented, admiring the view and feeling a special connection to this place.

“This paradise makes for a perfect vacation spot. If we ever get downtime, we know where to have good R&R.” Daisy said, fantasizing.

“They got some of the best rum in the sea. Shame that ain’t why we’re here though.” Sarge said, sighing.

“Who exactly is this contact of yours?” Vexacus asked Clay.

“They go by “Sneed.” They’re on the island of Sabaco.” Clay explained.

Vexacus knows this is only the first step of many. If they make a fantastic impression on the group of bounty hunters here, they can get connections to other rogue bounty hunter groups, and it’ll keep snowballing from there. Connections are an important factor in getting a revolution rolling.

The jet plane descends closer toward Sabaco, as Kara presses a button on the controls. It makes float hangers extend down from the sides, allowing the plane to land into the water near several docked boats at the port. Residents on the island look on at the jet plane in fascination.  The team gets out of the plane, walking onto the pier and heading for the village center, admiring the scenery. Many artistically designed hut houses are spread across the village, the architectures of which dating back to over a century ago. A few modern households had also been built in the time since. At the center of the village is a statue built in honor of Captain Mack Stark and his sea slug companion only known as “Treasure.” Legends whispered that Treasure was still alive today, grown into a giant serpent that lurks the seas, but nobody knew for sure. Sabaco was primarily known for its bustling, lively marketplace. Merchants from far and wide across the sea set up shop at Sabaco’s marketplace. Sabaco was closest to the border of the Enhalas regions, making it convenient to access for shoppers and merchants. The team walks forward to the village center, seeing children playing frisbee with an amoeba dog. They then notice a sign which points three ways: to the right are hot springs, upwards is more homes, and to the left is the marketplace.

“If I had to guess, he’s at the market.” Clay said, so they head to the marketplace to find Sneed.

“Not lucky enough for him to be in the springs, huh. It’s a shame we’ve on job, as I’d love to relax in one of those.” Daisy said, looking over at the hot spring baths envious.

As they walk along the path, Sarge eyes an alcohol stand, even with bottles of rum, but reminds himself that’s not what they’re here for. Daisy eyes clothing stands, but like Sarge, reminds herself that’s not what they’re here for. Clay looks around for Sneed in the marketplace, then finally notices him at a food stand ordering a pretzel. He walks off to see the Tidal Nova team approaching him.

“Hey Clay, been a while since we’ve met in the flesh! What brings you out here to this paradise? Finally retiring?” Sneed greeted jokingly, taking a bite out of his pretzel.

“It’s bad manners to talk with food in your mouth.” Clay said, not offended by the insinuation  he’s old.

“Sorry.” Sneed muffled.

“Greetings, I am Vexacus.” Vexacus introduced.

“Ah, you’re the latest member Clay’s told me about. I’ve heard high praise. Pleased to meet you in the flesh, mate.” Sneed said, shaking his hand.

Vexacus is honored that Clay has spoken positively of him to his friends.

“We hear you know a few bounty hunters on this island. Can you direct us to them?” Kara asked.

“Yep, follow me right this way.” Sneed said, still eating his pretzel.

He leads them up a hill toward the northernmost buildings on the island. As they follow Sneed, Vexacus then reminisces on where his life went after his scuffle with Tobias in Posidonia.

Several months after the Posidonia incident, Vexacus is seen walking through the streets of New Kelp City alone, wearing an eyepatch over his wounded eye. Before escaping, he managed to get into a hospital just in time before the Federation began their hunt. The doctor treated his eye before it got worse, though his vision from that eye remained impaired hence the eyepatch. Vexacus then made his way to the docks and bribed a sailor to hitchhike a ride on board his ship. Ever since he returned to New Kelp, he had been keeping a low profile, not wanting to attract any unwanted attention. Back to square one. Wherever June was up to, he knew she was doing better than he currently is. He hadn’t contacted her lately, not wanting her to see him in this state. His bounty hunting career had come down to a pause thanks to the stupidity of Tobias and Ramos. It frustrates him that even when he tried to do everything “the right way,” he still suffered. It’s almost as if the divine beings above refused to let him succeed as a bounty hunter. He knew karma would eventually come for the two though, it always does. Vexacus had resorted to drinking lately to drown out his sorrows, holding a bottle in one of his hands. He takes a quick sip. He then takes a quick look behind him, spotting a mysterious vehicle nearby that he suspects has been following him for a few blocks now. He wasn’t sure if he was being paranoid or if Ramos had sent someone to hunt him down. He keeps walking down the street, as the vehicle slows down. Two mysterious men are seen inside, with “1” and “3” insignias on their outfits.

“Do you think he’s onto us?” The man with the 3 insignia asked.

“Maybe. Best to take this slowly now, like a shark would. Know your enemy.” The other man with the 1 insignia replied.

Following Vexacus and Tobias’s betrayals, on advice from his top generals, King Ramos hired ten of the best soldiers from the Federation military to form a special group tasked with hunting down specific threats. The group is known as the Federation Hunters. Since Ramos couldn’t trust outside help, he had to seek help from his inner circle now. 1 and 3 were tasked with hunting down Vexacus. They had done investigations into his personal life, which lead them to New Kelp City. They figured he’d come back here, assuming he had nowhere else to go. Their assumptions were correct 1 i holding a portfolio with all of their necessary findings on him.

“Why is the king so obsessed with whacking this guy again? He’s nobody.” 3 said, unimpressed.

“King Ramos fears he may hold a grudge and run his mouth about the Karmania business. You know what they say, 3: loose lips sink ships, can’t have that leaking out anywhere. 9 and 10 are out on Beckett’s tail.” 1 explained.

“You know Simon, we can just call each other our real names here, we don’t have to be labeled by numbers.” 3 replied awkwardly.

“Jeez Victor, at least pretend to have fun with this. We’re basically undercover assassins, always useful to have codenames. Besides, I like hearing you call me 1, because I am number one! Anyways, apparently if we succeed in this mission, I’ll get a sweet promotion to that coveted “#1 General” title that Ramos keeps parading around.” 1 replied.

“I hear they’re developing these awesome laser swords for us to use. Hopefully we live to see them and he doesn’t give us trouble though, guy is still a bounty hunter and all.” 3 said, tempting fate.

“He’s not a threat, look at him.” 1 said, noticing how Vexacus is stumbling around ahead, trying to keep his balance.

“It seems he had a wee bit too much to drink.” 3 noticed, looking at his bottle.

This gives the two a clever idea, as the car slowly moves closer to Vexacus. In reality however, Vexacus decided to act drunk to lure the two into a trap. 1 rolls down his window, seeing Vexacus.

“Hey lad, you look a little lost. I think you’ve had too much of a swig tonight, yeah? Let us help you get home.” 1 offered to Vexacus.

“No, that won’t be necessary, but thank you for the kindness, strangers.” Vexacus replied, faking his drunk personality..

“We insist, we’re worried for your well being.” 3 acted.

“Ah…well, I guess it couldn’t hurt.” Vexacus replied, opening a door and stumbling into the backseat.

“There you go, wasn’t so hard.” 1 replied.

1 and 3 smile, thinking they have him in their palms. Vexacus is in their backseat, continuing to play drunk.

“So many stars visible out tonight…which one is your favorite?” Vexacus asked, trying to distract them.

He then notices a Posidonia Fields air freshener hanging, confirming his suspicions on where the two are from.

“Ramos sent you two bozos, huh? You’d think he has better things to worry about like conquering Karmania instead of trying to see what I’m up to…” Vexacus mumbled to himself.

Neither of them say a word. They figured he was onto them anyway, but now they needed to silence him. They drive the boat to an obscure empty lot where no witnesses are around. They get out of the vehicle, and open the backseat for Vexacus, who pretends to stumble out.

“There you go big fellow, easy.” 3 said, helping him out and stand.

While 3 isn’t looking, Vexacus frisks him and steals the gun from his belt. Vexacus stares off, his act still managing to fool them. 1 readies his gun, preparing to execute Vexacus.

“The poor guy couldn’t handle it. Between his family disowning him, the Guild kicking him to the curb, getting banned from Posidonia and losing an eye, Vexacus here decided to eat his gun. It’s tragic, but anyone could’ve seen this coming. He’s drinking himself to death. We’re doing him a favor.” 1 rehearsed with 3, working on their cover story.

“Clever. That’s what I would’ve done.” Vexacus spoke, catching the two off guard, as he aims 3’s gun at them.

There is an intense standoff between the three. 3 then tries to draw his gun, but realizes too late it’s gone. Vexacus opens fire on 3 with his own gun, striking him several times as he collapses to the ground, dead. 1 returns fire, striking Vexacus’s left shoulder. Vexacus fires back, striking 1 down. 1 crawls across the ground, as Vexacus walks up to him. He then pulls out his own gun and fires one last shot at 1’s head, finishing him off. Vexacus is shaken, taking a few moment to let it sink that he killed people for the first time in his life. He shakes off the uncomfortable feeling when he knows it was inevitable given his line of work, and this was purely in self-defense. Vexacus scoffed at the thought of these being the best of the Federation military. What a joke.

Vexacus opens the driver’s seat and sees their portfolio on him. He wonders why exactly Ramos was so interested in hunting him when he had no intention of coming back to Posidonia anyway. He then figures it out looking further into the notes: he feared he would rat about Karmania. He had no interest in doing that, so this was futile and his soldiers died for nothing. However, he was not done here yet. If the Federation found out he killed two of their soldiers, they would want blood and send more of these guys after him. He had to make it look like someone else killed them. He grabs a cloth from the dashboard and wipes fingerprints off of 3’s gun, then disposes it into a dumpster. He begins firing his gun at their vehicle, shattering the windows. He leaves as many bullet holes to make it look convincing as possible, reloading his gun a few times. He then places 1 and 3’s dead bodies into the front seats, making it appear as if they were ambushed in a drive by shooting. He figured Ramos would be stupid enough to fall for it and blame a local gang here. Vexacus holds his wounded shoulder and limps away from the scene. He needed this taken care of, but didn’t want to attract any police attention to the murders he just committed. He needed to find another way to get this wound taken care of and he couldn’t do it alone this time. He walks along a sidewalk, seeing only a few people out this late at night. He hails a taxi boatmobile nearby. He gets inside and looks at the driver.

“You know this area well?” Vexacus asked to him.

“Yeah.” The cab driver replied.

“…How well?” Vexacus asked shadily, as if he’s giving a code.

The cab driver responds to Vexacus with a shifty, knowing look through the mirror. He notices his shoulder wound. The taxi drives off to a part of New Kelp that Vexacus had never visited before. The taxi driver drops him off at a seemingly normal bar on the surface named “The Crescent Lounge.” Vexacus goes inside, seeing shady patrons around. He goes to the bar counter, and the sharply dressed, mustachioed bartender comes to him.

“Welcome to the Crescent Lounge, sir. My name is Irving. How can I help you on this fine night?” Irving greeted.

Irving is wearing a fancy suit, glasses and a bluetooth earpiece.

“Call me Vexacus. I hear you can help me with a…special situation.” Vexacus said, showing his shoulder wound, and Irving immediately understood what he’s asking.

“Uh huh. Follow me to the back, Mr. Vexacus.” Irving said, walking aside.

Vexacus follows Irving down a hall, taking him into a kitchen miming a doctor’s room. Vexacus sits on a table. Irving puts on latex gloves and examines the shoulder wind. He then feels his pulse.

“Alright, well, I’m no doctor but it doesn’t look too bad. Your pulse is fine for now, but you definitely want this taken care of sooner than later, or you’ll die. I’ll do the best I can.” Irving promised.

Irving then performs surgery on his shoulder, using whatever tools at his disposal. It’s better than nothing, Vexacus thought.

“This may sting.” Irving warned, as he takes out the bullet and Vexacus flinches.

Irving then begins to patch up the wound. He pours alcohol on a towel and rubs it against the stitched up spot. He then hands Vexacus several medicine bottles.

“Alright Mr. Vexacus, you are good to go. I gave you a broad spectrum of antibiotics. Hopefully some of those will help with the pain. If you’re unsure, talk to a real doctor.” Irving explained.

“Thanks for helping a total innocent stranger. That’s it then. No questions on how I got that?” Vexacus asked, surprised.

“Nope. I have a don’t ask don’t tell policy with my clients.” Irving replied.

Clients? Vexacus wondered what kind of service this guy had going on. Vexacus then pays Irving for his services.

“One more thing: If possible, can you give me a new eye?” Vexacus asked, lifting up his eyepatch to show his scarred eye, and holding out an extra tip.

“Uh huh. I’m no eye doctor, but I’ll see what I can do.” Irving replied, happy to help.

Irving starts performing eye surgery on Vexacus. He does his best to not feel disgusted, taking several deep breaths. He looks around at what he can use to replace his eye with. He steps out of the room into the hallway, noticing a golden ball decoration on a table. He uses tools to turn the ball into a prosthetic cybernetic eye. He finishes the eye surgery on Vexacus, replacing his wounded eye with the golden eyeball he has today. Irving is done, taking off his latex gloves.

“Done. See for yourself. I think it looks kind of cool.” Irving said, holding up a mirror.

“I like it. It’s menacing. Thank you for everything.” Vexacus said, impressed by the golden eye, and paying him the bonus tip.

“No no, thank you.” Irving replied, happily accepting the bonus tip.

Vexacus thinks over what he’s gotten himself into. He looked around at Irving’s shady kitchen setup and based on everything else, reasonably assumed Irving was a criminal. However, he wasn’t quite sure what his purpose was.

“What are you exactly?” Vexacus asked, questioning his job.

“I am your hot line into the ocean’s murky depths, my friend. You’ve entered the abyss and there’s no way out now. If you’re looking for under the radar work, I’m the guy for it.” Irving said ominously.

Vexacus realizes what this bar is now: it’s a front for “clients” to request illegal jobs and services.

“What kind of work's available?” Vexacus asked, wanting to know more.

“I connect interested clients to a variety of services ranging from but not limited to: bodyguard jobs, burglary, theft, obtaining military-grade hardware, obtaining certain illicit substances, bounty hunting, and assassinations of non high profile targets. Although when I put it like that, that does sound like everything most customers are here for. I’m sure one of those genres will tickle your fancy.” Irving explained.

Vexacus finally had a way of getting steady work again, but at the cost of diving into the criminal underworld. Oh well, he had tried to do things “the right way” and it got him nowhere. He would have more freedom to do what he wanted, not bound by the law’s restrictions. Vexacus had accepted he was now a criminal bounty hunter. Ironic.

“I’d like to see what bounties you have.” Vexacus said, making his decision.

“Sure thing. Welcome to the underworld, Mr. Vexacus. I’ve got a lot of good jobs for ya.” Irving said, shaking his hand and escorting him out of the room.

Sneed takes the team to the Sabaco Inn, overlooking over the marketplace, houses and hot springs below.

“They’re in room 3.” Sneed said, finishing his pretzel and leading them inside the inn.

The team knocks on room 3’s door.

“Allow me to do the introductions, I’m quite persuasive.” Daisy said, taking charge.

The lead hunter of that group opens it, confused.

“Yes, hello? Who are you?” The hunter asked suspiciously.

“Hi there, your friend Sneed directed us to you. We hear you are bounty hunters like us. We’re the Tidal Nova crew, and we’d like your help in something we’re planning, that is if you’re interested. We’ll totally understand if not.” Daisy greeted happily.

“Alright, come on in. I’m Pingas of the Tropical Triad and these are my partners, Sierra and Tim. We’ve been an Enhalas based group for years, since outlaws have tended to flee here.” PIngas introduced, allowing them into the room and pointing to his two allies sitting at the table.

Sierra and Tim are overlooking over a map, plotting strategies for something.

“What’s up?” Sierra greeted.

Vexacus explains their revolution plan, intriguing the team.

“That’s a lot to take in.” Tim replied, unsure.

“We know it’s quite bold, but we think this will help every hunter in the end.” Daisy said.

“I have wanted more freedom…hmm. Admittedly, your timing is impeccable because we have a bit of a problem we could use help with. Three aren’t enough to handle this.” Pingas said.

“Who’s the bounty?” Kara asked.

“Well that’s the thing: we’re not after a person. We’re after a treasure.” Tim spoke.

“The problem is a local gang out here, the Dusk Raiders, has taken over the shipwreck as their own hideout. They aren’t letting anyone take a lick of that loot. Tell you what, if you can help us show ‘em a lesson, we’ll dedicate ourselves to your cause.” Pingas promised.

“Deal.” Vexacus said, shaking his hand.

“Uh, but before we go, we do get a cut of the treasure…right?” Sarge asked, unable to resist, and Kara hits him for that.

“Of course! This fellow knows how to make a bargain, I like him!” Pingas replied with a hearty laugh, giving Sarge a pat on the back, and Kara has an apathetic look.

Both teams are seen on board the Tropical Triad’s boat, sailing toward the shipwreck. It’s located on a spit of sand, stretching out from an island that was inhabited by many Dusk Raiders.

“There it is.” Pingas said, pointing to the shipwreck as they get closer.

Clay looks through his binoculars, assessing what they’re dealing with. He sees several Dusk Raider grunts wearing skull bandanas walking along the sand, keeping lookout. He sees others on board the shipwreck, drinking rum and having a good time.

“I see four on ground, and who knows how many on the ship.” Clay reported.

“I’ll take ‘em out. These Dusk Losers or whatever they’re called should be a breeze, I ain’t scared.” Sarge said, holding his sniper rifle.

“Never get too cocky.” Tim warned.

“Don’t worry about his cockiness because Sarge never misses!” Daisy assured eagerly.

Sarge snipes one of the grunts, taking them out.

“I stand corrected.” Tim admitted, impressed.

The other grunts on the ground panic and look out to see the incoming boat. They open fire, but Sarge snipes another one of them. The remaining two begin yelling to their allies inside of the ship, as they go inside. The boat gets closer to the land, as both teams are ready to go in. Several grunts are seen lined up on the deck, ready to attack the intruders. Kara then flies up using her jet-pack, getting closer to the shipwreck and shoots at the grunts, taking two out. She avoids gun shots from others, flying around.

“I wish I had a jet-pack.” Sierra said jealous.

The boat reaches shore, as the rest of the team storms onto the shipwreck, fighting their way through the Raiders. Clay goes down a seemingly silent hallway, seeing skulls painted on the room doors. He then stands behind a corner. A grunt shouts and goes running, but Clay pops out from the corner, shooting them with his pistol from behind.

“You’re not getting our treasure alive!” one of the grunts shouted on top, as Daisy stabs him and throws him overboard.

She slashes at two other grunts. With Kara and Sierra’s help, they are able to clear the top deck. Inside, Clay, Sarge, Vexacus, Pingas and Tim make their way through the floor and rooms, narrowly avoiding shots. A grunt peers through a shattered wall and fires at Vexacus, which barely misses his shoulder. Vexacus fires at a grunt’s left shoulder similarly to the flashback, injuring them, and they fall to the ground. He takes their gun and picks the grunt up, throwing them through the broken wall. The women jump down from above, regrouping.

“Top deck is cleared. I’ll keep a lookout if any reinforcements come.” Kara reported, flying above.

“We’re cleared too. All that remains now is their treasure hold.” Pingas said, pointing to the last door, and ready to go.

Pingas kicks the door in, as a group of six Raiders begin firing. They see money and treasures scattered in a large pile beneath a chair, which acts as a “throne.” Daisy throws a dagger at one of the grunts, disarming their gun, and then slashes through him. Pingas, Sierra and Tim get into a formation, shooting at three grunts, taking them all out. Clay is hit by a blast, but his bulletproof vest protects him, and he shoots back at the grunt. Vexacus uses both guns to shoot multiple times at their leader, making him fall over.

“We did it! We worked so well together!” Daisy said happily.

Both teams begin taking what they can from the treasure pile. They then hear shouting, vehicles and rumbling footsteps in the distance.

“We’ve got company!” Kara shouted, as she flies back to the boat.

“Sounds like the calvary, so grab what you can and get out of here.” Clay urged.

After grabbing what treasures they can, both teams rush out. They get onboard the boat with their treasures. They see vehicles carrying more Dusk Raider grunts approaching, and they’re not ready to fight an army. The boat sails off, evading the gunshots from the remaining angry grunts. Sarge flips them off, and the boat sails further away.

“Ha, we sure showed them! What did I tell you? A breeze.” Sarge reminded, counting his loot.

“It was a pleasure working alongside you.” Vexacus said, impressed by the Triad’s coordination.

“We’ve done a huge favor for the residents of Enhalas. They’ll no longer be afraid of those punks after they hear about this.” Tim said.

"We're gonna redistribute half our treasures to the people." Sierra said.

"We're both revolutionaries in our own ways." Clay realized, admittedly touched by the notion.

“Thank you for everything, Tidal Nova gang. You ignited a spark we haven’t felt in years. This is what bounty hunting should be: helping those who can't protect themselves, which is why we sympathize with your revolution. We’ll do what we can to help. I’ll put in a good word to friends about what you’re planning, hopefully they're convinced.” Pingas promised, giving them his contact information.

Vexacus is happy to have at least one team on their side and soon the word will spread. The boat sails back to Sabaco, as Pingas, Tim and Sierra walk back to the inn with their treasures. The Tidal Nova team gets back into their jet plane, ready to take off. As Kara walks to the controls, she stops when she smells smoke. She turns to see Daisy smoking a joint.

“…Are you smoking on my plane?” Kara asked her.

“Yeah. Got it from the marketplace when nobody was looking.” Daisy said, sounding happier than usual.

“Nope, not here. My plane, my rules.” Kara said, taking it away from her, and throwing it out the window, making Daisy sigh.

The jet plane sails across the ocean, and then takes off into the sky. Sneed sees them taking off from below and waves farewell.

“Alright, where to next?” Sarge wondered, looking over his treasures.

“I have my own contact who might be able to help us, but first, let’s deposit our treasure.” Kara said, charting course back to Cymada.

Vexacus is happy their revolution had its first spark. He hoped to keep this momentum up.

Meanwhile, out in the Posidonia desert, a scavenger is scanning their metal detector along the sand for any hidden treasures. Their scanner goes wild at something at a peculiar spot, so they begin digging. They stop upon seeing a hand holding onto the remains of a blade shard, terrifying them. They hesitantly brush off more sand, hoping it’s not what they think. They are horrified to see it is what they think, as they unravel Tobias’s corpse, deteriorated after two years. The person gets out their cell phone and makes an anonymous call to the Stowenside police since it's the closest town.

“Yeah, hello officers? Um, I was out in the desert this afternoon and found a dead body. It’s out south, not too far from the train tracks. I was out with my metal detector looking for treasure. What? Uh, no, I don’t want to give my name, I was trespassing. I have no idea how long he’s been there, you better send someone out there before the animals get it.” The scavenger reported.

Officers are later seen out at the spot, examining Tobias’s body in wonder. This loose end could spell trouble for Vexacus.

Notes/Trivia:

-Character Debuts: Irving, Sneed, Pingas, Tim, Sierra, Federation Hunter 1 (Simon) and Federation Hunter 3 (Victor)

-Deaths: 1 and 3

-Area Debuts: The Crescent Lounge

-Flashback Timeline: 4 years before the events of Mystic Guardians

-We learn how Vexacus got his golden eye.

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Chapter Four: Dead Freight

The Tidal Nova team is seen storing away their treasures at their Cymada base. Vexacus takes take to himself, standing outside on a balcony and looking at the forests before him. He is happy they recruited one team to their cause, and soon, more would have to follow. He feels more confident that this seemingly crazy idea could actually have a chance. However, he then begins to look sad. He still missed June deep down and wished she could be a part of this revolution somehow. He then hallucinates her standing right next to him, and she disappears. Regardless of how they last left off, he knew she was strong and was probably doing well wherever she was. He then heads back inside to their meeting room, as Kara is ready to discuss the information she learned from her source.

“Alright Kara, what information do you have?” Vexacus asked her.

“A friend informed me there’s a bounty hunter group in need of a specific rare iron ore so they can forge material. They’ve had no luck finding it until now. In a few hours, there will be a train running right through Cymada that’s carrying this ore.” Kara explained, as this proposition interests Vexacus.

“You’re suggesting we rob this train.” Clay realized.

“Bingo. I know it won’t be easy, and I don’t want anyone to get hurt. I’ve been planning out how to pull this off, and I think we can make this work. There is a specific railroad where they’re in a dead zone with no communication, so they won’t be able to radio for help if they spot us, providing a perfect opportunity to strike. The ores are kept in this specific hopper car near the end. If we pull this heist off, it would really up our credibility and add more sympathizers to our cause.” Kara explained, showcasing maps of Cymada’s railways on the table and a blueprint showing which car holds the ore.

“It’s easy to talk a big game plan, but execution is what matter most. In my experience, there are two types of heists: those who get away with it…and those who leave witnesses.” Clay warned.

“I’m aware, I don’t want anyone to get hurt. It needs to be a quick in and out stealth mission.” Kara replied.

“If we get caught, we can always knock ‘em out.” Daisy suggested, holding out a tranquilizer dart.

“Let’s prefer to avoid that scenario. We don’t want to hurt anyone not in the game. Now Kara, I’m impressed with your planning, it seems like you have this all figured out. How do you plan to stop the train so we can get in?” Vexacus questioned.

“I’ve thought that over, and the simplest, most effective way would be to have someone pretend their car stopped on the tracks. They’d need it there far in advance so the train doesn’t go blasting right through obviously. That sounds like a job for Sarge to me.” Kara suggested, seeing if he’s on board.

“Yeah, I can do that. Sounds like a role I was born for.” Sarge replied.

“You’ve got it all figured out. But there’s one remaining hole I’m seeing: When the train company goes to check their cargo and notice if the exact ore count does not match, they’ll know they’ve been robbed.” Clay noticed.

“I admit I hadn’t thought about that, so glad you brought it up. Any ideas?” Kara asked, as they ponder ideas.

“This may sound weird, but maybe we could replace them with fake ores? I doubt anyone would be looking too hard to see if they match, just as long as the count adds up.” Daisy suggested.

“Good idea. This is what the ores look like. My friend says the group needs at least 15 pieces. It's not a lot which will help us convincingly replace them.” Kara explained, showing what the real ores on a computer, and Clay is impressed.

“Alright, that shouldn’t be hard to copy. Hopefully my time at art school finally paid off.” Daisy said, shaking a spray can and putting on goggles to protect her eyes.

The team begins mapping out the rest of their plan, discussing potential vulnerabilities and how tor prevent them. All while Daisy spray paints fake ores to match the ones in the train.

“Looks close enough, nice job.” Kara said, inspecting the fifteen fakes.

They put the fake ores into a bag. The team has finished planning and has all of the equipment ready to pull off the heist.

“It appears we have everything we need. If there’s any other concerns, now is the time to speak. Everyone ready?” Vexacus asked, as they nod.

“Alright then, let’s rob a train!” Sarge said pumped, ready to go.

Meanwhile, in the country of Ruppia, the International Police’s headquarters is shown. An office belonging to one agent is shown, who has several files and pictures of Tobias Beckett scattered around. The agent’s name tag identifies them as “Jacques.” Jacques had been investigating and tracking Tobias for years, for he was one of the most wanted criminals throughout the Coraluope continent. He stole countless priceless jewels and artifacts, leaving a trail of murder and destruction in his path. Unfortunately, Interpol had no luck catching him and Jacques had been about ready to give up on the case. Another agent named Dominique approaches his office, holding a folder.

“Jac, you won’t believe this: someone finally croaked your guy.” Dominique said, as she shows him the report detailing Tobias’s death.

“Sacre bleu…the slippery bastard’s finally dead.” Jacques exclaimed in disbelief.

Jacques had been trying to catch Tobias for years, and now he turns up dead. While he was happy he’s out of the picture, he wanted to be the one to bring him in. He felt he let down Interpol after years of investigating this thief. He lacked proper closure, especially due to one looming question: Who put him down?

“His body was discovered by a random scavenger’s metal detector in Posidonia. Turns out he died about two years ago and was buried out in a desert. My guess is it was a deal gone wrong or an old enemy finally caught up to him.” Dominique theorized.

“Thank you for informing me, Dom. We may never know who finished him off, but I’m glad Ruppia and the rest of Coraluope can rest easier knowing one thief is put to rest.” Jacques replied.

Jacques felt he couldn’t let this go, however. He needed full closure. He looks through the files for any lead on who could’ve killed him. He then realizes there is one person that could be responsible for it, as he thinks back to a time…

Vexacus is seen in The Crescent Lounge, sitting at the counter and waiting for Irving’s next job. Jacques approaches him, wearing a casual outfit.

“This seat taken?” Jacques asked, wanting the seat next to him.

“No, go ahead.” Vexacus replied, as Jacques sits down.

“Thank you. Ah, New Kelp. I’ve heard many tales of this fabulous place, but seeing it in person feels unreal.” Jacques replied.

“It’s fine, I suppose. Nice sights, there’s a lot more in the world to explore.” Vexacus replied.

“Yeah, like Ruppia’s coveted Heifel Tower. How good are the martinis here?” Jacques asked.

Vexacus suspected something was off about this guy. No other visitor here was interested in small talk. Was he with Ramos?

“Enough small talk. Who are you?” Vexacus asked.

“Ah well, no point in hiding it now.” Jacques replied, flashing his Interpol credentials to Vexacus. “Bonjour, I’m Agent Jacques of the International Police. We specialize in investigating crime across Coraluope. Don’t worry, you’re not in trouble, I promise.”

“How did you find me?” Vexacus asked suspiciously.

“I found the apartment you’re staying in through records, then I merely covertly followed you to this place. I hope you don’t feel creeped out, but you may be a lead in a case. I’ve been hunting one of the most notorious jewel thieves in the sea: Tobias Beckett, a name I’m sure you recall. I read you two years ago, you and him were banned from Posidonia after a dispute. I’m not interested in that, though I’m sure that’s a fascinating story on its own. What I am interested in is if you know of his whereabouts.” Jacques explained.

Vexacus thinks it over. He hated law enforcement, but he hated Tobias more for what he did to him. He had no idea if he was being set up here. Regardless, he had no information to give him.

“I truly wish I could help and would love to see him behind bars, but alas, I have not seen him in years. Haven’t heard any gossip or chatter either. That’s all I know.” Vexacus replied, and Jacques could tell he was truthful.

“That is unfortunate, but thank you for your time.” Jacques replied, as he leaves a tip despite not purchasing anything, and heads off.

Vexacus is relieved he didn’t catch onto this bar’s true purpose and continues his day. Jacques walks down the street and vowed he’d catch Tobias someday, whatever it takes.

Jacques figured Vexacus was responsible. Only issue was: he had no idea where he currently was at either, he could be dead too for all he knew. He began investigating at once on his possible whereabouts. He combs through sensitive files on the Federation and Karmania, learning Vexacus was once on their payroll. He realizes where he can get a lead.

In Cymada, the Tidal Nova team is walking through a forest, heading for the dead zone railway. They are wearing gloves so they leave no fingerprints. Daisy is carrying the bag of fake ores, while Vexacus carries an empty bag they’ll put the real ones in. Clay has a tranquilizer ready in case anything goes south. Sarge gets into a truck and drives it off to the nearest crossing for his part. They walk near the tracks and see part of it going over a small wooden bridge, serving as a perfect hiding spot.

“We’ll hide under there until it stops.” Kara said, as the four hide under there.

“You’ve done a great job coordinating this, Kara. I hope it pays off.” Daisy said.

“So do I.” Kara replied.

Vexacus had faith as well, not seeing any other potential issues. Now they had to wait and see. This mission makes him think back to when he pulled off a heist during his time working for Irving.

Nearly a year after meeting Irving, Vexacus had become a regular patron at The Crescent Lounge. He had successfully completed many illegal jobs and it paid well. He never needed the Guild again after this. He felt like he could truly live his own life and do the work the way he wanted to. However, bounty jobs were harder to come through this way, so he had to make do with what he could. One day, he is seen at the bar and sitting at the counter, waiting for his next request. Irving is on a bluetooth call with someone.

“No, how many times do I have to tell you people: we do not deliver. We are a real, authentic bar experience. If you’re already too drunk to drive, then you probably shouldn’t be drinking more, understand?” Irving spoke to the customer, ending the call, and then turns to Vexacus. “Can you believe that guy? Anyway, what can I do you for, my most loyal customer?”

“Show me the jobs.” Vexacus requested, sipping his drink.

Irving looks over his recent job requests.

“Alright, let’s see…I got a loan shark in need of a bodyguard.” Irving read.

“Pass.” Vexacus quickly replied.

“How about this: Guy needs help smuggling meth.” Irving read.

“No, I need something more…daring. Any bounties? I miss the thrill of those.” Vexacus replied, missing the bounty jobs.

“Daring, eh? Uh huh, I see. Unfortunately, I don’t have any bounty jobs for you at this particular moment, but I may have something for ya. There’s a daring heist on the docket that nobody’s been interested in claiming yet.” Irving said, looking through his requests; this catches Vexacus’s attention.

“What kind of heist?” Vexacus asked interested.

“Ah ha, there we go. Some New Kelp socialite has amassed quite an extensive collection of treasures, kept locked safely in his mansion. The interested party wants to specifically steal his prized jeweled egg, but if there’s anything else that catches your interest there, finders keepers. The geezer hired a swarm of trained security guards though, so the client seeks someone sneaky enough to break in.” Irving explained.

Vexacus thinks it over. A heist sounded thrilling and it was different from his recent work. He wanted to give it a go and hoped it’d fill a void. However, he needed a partner to pull this off.

“This is not a one person job, I will need help.” Vexacus requested.

“Not to worry, I got just the guy for this.” Irving said, pulling out a black book.

Irving begins combing through the pages, searching for a suitable contact who will fit this mission. Multiple symbols are written on every page, as if it’s written in a secret code. This is Irving’s book containing his contacts in the undersea criminal underworld. Irving’s contact book had its names all encoded so in case it was ever seized by authorities, they wouldn’t be able to identify anyone. Vexacus had looked it over a few times, but was never able to crack the code.

“Hi there, Mr. Wilson. How is your day? Great. I’ve got a heist mission and the contractor would like your assistance in breaking into this place. Are you in? Uh huh, I see. Yes, the place has a few weapons in there if that interests you. Alright, swell. He’s in.” Irving said, speaking to the person through his bluetooth.

“How good is he?” Vexacus asked.

“He’s a freelance mercenary with a talent of getting into places. That fat cat won’t even know he got robbed, I trust you two can pull it off. Here’s the address.” Irving said, writing it down on a notepad.

Later that night, Vexacus meets with “Mr. Wilson” across the street from the collector’s mansion. "Mr. Wilson” is wearing a black jumpsuit.

“Hi. Name’s Slade. Cool eye.” Slade introduced, looking at Vexacus’s golden eye.

“I’m Vexacus, a bounty hunter.” Vexacus introduced.

“Bounty hunter, eh? You’re in the Guild?” Slade asked.

“I was. Let’s say it didn’t work out.” Vexacus replied, not wanting to share further details.

“Ah. I can relate to a partnership not working out.” Slade replied bitterly. “Anyway, I’m here for whatever weapons the geezer has. Let’s find out if you’re a good partner in crime or dead freight.”

“I won’t let you down. First of all, we can’t kill any of them or that’d draw too much attention. Unless that’s a problem?” Vexacus explained.

“I’m a mercenary, not a sadist. Fine with me.” Slade replied, shrugging.

“Okay, next we need to see who’s guarding the entrance.” Vexacus said.

The two carefully head to the gate entrance, and stay along the wall connected to it. Vexacus peers through the gate and eye’s enhancement to scan the area for intrusion points. He spots five security guards patrolling the garden.

“Five guards.” Vexacus reported.

“We won’t be able to take them all at once. We need to distract some of them.” Slade suggested.

Vexacus then looks to two boats parked outside the mansion, which must belong to some of the guards. He throws a rock at one of the boat’s windows, which bounces off. It’s enough to trigger its alarm. Two of the guards go to investigate, while the rest stay in the garden. Vexacus and Slade use this opportunity to climb over the wall and land into the garden undetected, looking at the mansion before them. They carefully sneak through the garden, as the remaining guards keep looking around. The guards who went to investigate the alarm return.

“False alarm.” one of them said.

One of them flashes a light near Vexacus, which he fears caught him, and he quickly runs by.

“Did you hear that?” one of the guards asked, shining their flashlight.

Vexacus carefully hides behind a bush, hoping the guard didn’t spot him. The guard gets closer to the bush, pointing their flashlight at the area around. He peers behind the bush, but Vexacus isn’t there, who managed to escape behind another bush just in time. The guard moves on relieving him. Slade is impressed by that close call, as the two regroup behind a statue closest to the mansion.

“Not bad at all. Now we need to get inside.” Slade said.

They climb up a wall and Slade is able to jimmy open the window with a tool, allowing them to enter into a hallway. The two then hear snoring, as they carefully walk to the source of it. They arrive inside a master bedroom, and see the collector sleeping. This helps their plan, as they carefully walk around the room and not make a noise. They go into another room, which displays his collection in glass cases. They see various treasures and weapons on display. Slade eyes a peculiar mask and blade which he likes. Vexacus sees a sword that catches his eye. The description reads that it’s allegedly a magical sword which can absorb any energy. This had him think of Karmania and felt it would be useful if Ramos went after him again. This indeed would be the sword he’d eventually use against the guardians. Slade holds out a device that carefully cuts through the glass cases, allowing them to take their interests and the jeweled egg. They are able to escape, as they are seen walking away from the mansion with their loot. Vexacus has the sword seethed on his back.

“Wow, we hit the jackpot. You made good partner in crime. I’d like to do this again someday.” Slade offered, wishing Vexacus the best.

“As would I.” Vexacus replied, holding out the jeweled egg.

As decent of a partner that guy was though, he was no June. He truly missed her deep down. Vexacus returns to the Crescent Lounge, handing the egg to Irving. Irving pays him his share for the work.

“Another job well done. You know, you’ve been connected to me for a year now, so it’s finally time for this. You earn the prestigious honor, depending how you look at it, of being inducted into my little black book. I’m so proud of ya.” Irving said, writing Vexacus’s encoded name into his contact list.

In a way, this symbolically represented Vexacus’s induction into the criminal underworld.

“Thanks Irving, it’s an honor.” Vexacus replied.

As Vexacus sits there drinking, suddenly, a familiar person taps his shoulder. He turns to see June, surprised.

“Whoa, you finally decided to visit my hangout. Welcome.” Vexacus greeted awkwardly, since he just committed a burglary.

“Hey, been a while. Nice place, I see why you’re attached.” June said, checking out the decor, as she takes the seat right next to him.

“Irving, this fine woman would like to order.” Vexacus signaled to him, as she blushes.

“What can I get you, miss?” Irving asked June, as he wipes a glass.

“I’ll take a martini.” June said.

“Good choice.” Irving replied, making it at once.

“How have things been at the Guild?” Vexacus asked her.

“Very good, I got another promotion and I’ve been helping train new recruits. I’ve had a couple of dangerous cases lately, but nothing I couldn’t handle. The way I handled the latest one prompted Hershel to give me an award for my work. Actually, that’s why I decided to visit you now. You can apply to the Guild again if you want to. They’re willing to give you a second chance. I’d like to be partners again, just like old times. But I understand if you decline.” June offered.

Vexacus immediately knew his response, since he was done with the Guild. He was content in his current position.

“Nah.” Vexacus quickly replied, surprising June.

“Are you sure?” June asked.

“Yep, I’m fine without them. Sorry, I would like to be partners again, but I’ve found a new line of work I am satisfied with. The Guild may bring back bad memories and I wouldn’t want to make the same mistakes.” Vexacus replied.

“I understand. Sometimes our paths aren’t meant to intertwine and it’s best to leave the past behind. I’m glad this current direction is working out for you though.” June replied, as Irving hands her the martini and she takes a sip. “What do you do?”

“I’m a freelance bodyguard.” Vexacus lied.

He felt bad to lie to her, but he knew she wouldn’t approve of the truth and didn’t want to bring her into the game.

“That’s sweet of you, since a lot of people could use the protection here.” June replied.

The two spend time talking over their lives and having a few laughs. They go upstairs, leading to the bar’s rooftop where a few patrons are seated. Vexacus and June look at the beautiful night sky together, standing together in a way similar to Vexacus’s hallucination in the opening. He wished more nights could be like this between them.

Returning to the present train heist, Sarge parks the truck onto the crossing, and shuts it off, pretending as if he’s stuck there.

“I’m in position.” Sarge said to them through communicator.

“Good. We’re ready back here.” Kara replied.

The four are still under the bridge, when they hear rumbling. The train is finally coming. It passes over the bridge, as the ground around them vibrates. The train engineers look ahead, seeing Sarge’s truck stuck there. They immediately begin to slow it down, as the train comes to an abrupt halt. The engineers get out and approach Sarge, who gets out of his truck.

“Thank goodness you weren’t dozing in there or I would’ve been a pancake. So sorry about this.” Sarge stalled.

“What’s the problem?” The first engineer asked.

“No clue. I took the ol’ thing for a ride down the road, when it suddenly died on me here. Unfortunate timing, I know. You two are engineers, so maybe you can take a look?” Sarge asked.

“Sure, we’ll see what we can do.” The second engineer responded, as they pop open the hood.

While they are distracted, the rest of the team enacts the heist. They carefully walk to the hopper car carrying the ore and climb up the ladder. Kara pries open the lock on the car, allowing them in. Below them, they overlook the huge pile of ore.

“Wow.” Daisy said in awe.

They begin taking the real ores, putting them in the bag. Clay keeps lookout on the ground below. Back at the crossing, the engineers are confused about Sarge’s issue, unable to figure out what’s wrong with his vehicle.

“Looks fine to me, no idea what happened.” The first engineer said.

“Maybe we can try pushing it.” The second engineer suggested.

“You’re welcome to try, but I wouldn’t want you guys to hurt your backs.” Sarge replied.

“My back’s been through worse, I’ll manage.” The first engineer replied, as the three get to the back of the truck and try to push.

As much as they try, the truck won’t budge.

“We know it’s out of your control, and we’re not mad, but we have a schedule.” The second engineer said, getting impatient.

“I know, I know. I deeply apologize guys, I wish I could do something else…” Sarge was saying.

Suddenly, a Good Samaritan pulls up behind Sarge’s truck and honks their horn. Uh oh.

“What happened here?” The Good Samaritan asked.

“Car trouble, been unable to get it running again, sorry.” Sarge replied.

“Hey buddy, I’ll help you move that.” The Good Samaritan offered.

“Oh no, I wouldn’t want you to damage your ride or anything.” Sarge replied, trying to stall more time.

“Don’t worry, I’ll go slow and there won’t a dent.” The Good Samaritan replied.

“But you’ll scratch that beautiful shiny bumper.” Sarge replied, still trying to stall.

“Hey, we’re running late because of you, dude. He’s said it’s no problem.” The first engineer said, getting annoyed at Sarge.

“You’re right, I don’t wanna waste anymore time. Go for it.” Sarge said, allowing them to move it.

The Good Samaritan gets into their vehicle, as Sarge contacts the rest of the group.

“There’s a last minute wrench in the plan.” Sarge told Clay.

Clay looks down with his binoculars, seeing the Good Samaritan about to push Sarge’s truck off the tracks.

“We have a problem: a Good Samaritan.” Clay told the group.

“Dammit, I didn’t think anyone else would be driving out here.” Kara replied, disappointed her plan didn’t go as flawlessly as she hoped.

“Not an issue, we’re almost done.” Vexacus said, putting the last two ores in the bag.

Daisy and Kara then begin to plant the fake ores. While they do that, the Good Samaritan pushes Sarge’s truck off the tracks, clearing the rails. The engineers go back inside the train and start it up.

“They’re back inside the locomotive. Get out or we’re gonna get busted.” Clay warned, as h rushes for the forest.

“Done!” Daisy said, putting on the last fake ore just in time, as the train begins to roll.

The train begins to head off, as Vexacus, Kara and Daisy make a jump, safely landing on the ground. They head to the forest, meeting with Clay and Sarge. They feel ecstatic that they pulled it off, holding the bag of ores.

“Yeah bitch!” Daisy exclaimed, giving Kara a slap on the back and cheering for her.

“That got a lil’ close at the end, but luckily we pulled it off. I can also now check off “robbing a train” my bucket list.” Sarge said, proud.

“Planning that out was fun. I’m honestly surprised it went as well as it did even with the Good Samaritan, but it wouldn’t have worked without your help. Dinner's on me tonight!” Kara said eagerly, raising her hands triumphantly.

“If we ever need to pull off another heist, I know who to count on.” Vexacus said.

Kara sends the ores to her friend, and the team heads to a nearby restaurant for dinner. As promised, Kara pays for it. After that, they return to the base to relax. 

“I heard back from my friend. They said the group is impressed by our ore haul and is in our debt. They’re fully committed to our cause, along with another group they’re associated with.” Kara said to the team.

Vexacus is pleased another group has joined them. The revolution’s spark slowly keeps growing brighter.

Elsewhere, Jacques is seen undercover at a Ruppia airport. His flight is called and he boards it, taking a seat. Its destination: Posidonia. He hoped he’d get information on Vexacus’s whereabouts there.

Notes/Trivia:

-Character Debuts: Jacques and Dominique

-Flashback Timeline: Both flashbacks are 3 years before Mystic Guardians (concurrent with Storm Racers’s first three seasons)

-Vexacus’s run-in with Jacques was mentioned in the MG chapter “A Taste of Poison.”

-Slade from Storm Racers makes a cameo in the second flashback.

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Chapter Five: The Breadcrumb Trail

The Tidal Nova team is seen sitting inside of their base, still in disbelief and amazement they pulled off their train heist. Vexacus sits in his empty room, still looking dismayed he doesn’t have any good memories to display in there. Outside of the casual furniture and decorations, all he has are his weapons. He looks at one of his guns in contempt. What he once saw as a warrior’s weapon, he now saw as a reminder he’s been a mere soldier and slave to the world’s desires. He then exits the room and meets with the rest of the team in their meeting room, since Clay has a tip from Sneed.

“Thanks to his friends, Sneed made contact with another bounty hunter group interested in joining our cause. They wish to remain anonymous due to safety reasons related to their employer, who has been threatening their families if they don’t do their dirty work. Our message has made them want to finally get out. If we take out this gang for them, they’ll join our cause.” Clay explained.

“Who is this group?” Kara asked.

Clay looks at Daisy concerned, knowing this name means something to her, but also knows he can’t hide it.

“It’s the Shadow Wind Clan out of Thalassia. I know Daisy won’t be joyed to hear that name again.” Clay revealed, as this lights up a pained look on Daisy’s face and surprises everyone else.

The team hoped not to ever cross that group, for it was one of the most powerful and influential criminal empires across the seas. They had several Thalassian politicians and police in their pockets making them almost untouchable. They also knew why Daisy did not like them. Daisy was born in Thalassia and grew up there in her younger years. One day while walking through the streets, her parents were unfortunately caught in the crossfire of a Shadow Wind Clan robbery. Daisy was taken in by her uncle after the incident and moved out of Thalassia, but the scars of that day would never heal. This incident helped harden her into the warrior she is today. She vowed to get revenge on them someday and as if by divine fate, the chance finally appeared to her.

“They’re the ones who killed my parents. I can finally avenge them. This could be our moment to make a huge difference and show bounty hunters everywhere what we’re truly capable of. Taking them out would send a message to the whole underworld!” Daisy said pumped.

“Sounds swell, but don’t let revenge blind ya from the bigger picture here, Dais. We don’t wanna too cocky and end up leaving a breadcrumb trail.” Sarge warned, having a drink.

“…Breadcrumb trail?” Daisy asked.

“Well yeah, we don’t want to put ourselves out there too openly or we’ll leave a trail of crumbs for someone to follow.” Sarge explained.

“We haven’t yet. All we’ve done is attack a gang in Enhalas which will be shrugged off as a rival gang dispute, and robbed a paltry amount of ore from a train that nobody will notice.” Vexacus noted.

“Still, Sarge has a point that we need to be cautious. Those are small scale compared to this mission: attacking a large crime ring head on. We don’t want to slip and get sloppy now. Someone could end up sticking their nose where it doesn’t belong and the trail will point back to us, especially if this goes south. Both “the man” and the crime empires wouldn’t like to see this revolution take off. All it takes is for one mistake to douse our revolution’s spark.” Clay warned.

“Clay’s right. I can’t let emotion cloud my decision making here or it could mess up all we’re building towards. If you think this is too risky and want to try another path, I’ll understand.” Daisy said, willing to forego the chance for revenge.

“We’ll still do this, for you and the hunters. But we’ll have to be smart and swift. While taking out a gang’s leadership head on is higher stakes than what we’ve recently done, I’m sure to them we’ll be nothing more than mercenaries. However, I concur we need to plan this carefully if we want to hit them hard, we can’t just go in guns blazing.” Vexacus said.

“Since they have the Thalassian government under their thumb, they would be hellbent in hunting us down if they knew who we are. We’ll need stealthy disguises so they can’t ID us.” Kara said, heading off to get clothes.

“How will we get to their base?” Daisy asked.

“According to the informants, they own a firework warehouse that they use as a front for their operations. If we carefully follow one of the shipments, it’ll take us right there.” Clay explained.

“Sounds like a plan that might work.” Sarge said, somewhat optimistic.

The team strategizes and maps out their plan to invade the Shadow Wind Clan’s base. Kara gets stealthy disguises for them to wear, which they put on. Daisy is seen in her room looking at one of her swords. She slashes at a test dummy with it, using it to sharpen her skills. She takes a moment to look at her reflection shining in the sword. Everything in her life since that tragic day had lead up to this moment. Clay knocks on her door’s room, as she answers it.

“We’re ready to go. Are you sure you’re up to this? If this brings back a lot of trauma, you can always sit it out.” Clay offered.

“No, it’s about time I finally got closure. I promise I’ll keep my emotions in check and follow the plan accordingly. I’m ready.” Daisy affirmed.

The plane sets off for Thalassia. Vexacus is in his seat and looks at Daisy, who is determined to see this through. Vexacus understood the concerns, he hoped Daisy wouldn’t let her personal grudge get in the way of the mission. This would also be their first time taking on the belly of the beast head on. This makes Vexacus think back to a similarly risky job he took for Irving…

The Crescent Lounge is shown. A calendar on the wall notes it is June 2015. Vexacus had been working for Irving for four years now and he had mastered the routine. He still enjoyed the work and pay, but part of him still sought something bigger. He still occasionally ran into June, who was still in the dark on his real work. Vexacus enters in to see a commotion going on. An angry customer known as Ziggy is being dragged away by Irving’s bouncer.

“I think you’ve had one too many drinks, pal!” The bouncer said

“Hey, you can’t deny my request, I was told you’re the guy for this type of work!” Ziggy shouted angrily, trying to break free, but the bouncer restrains him.

“No, get out! That is too hot for my services! No hits on high profile targets!” Irving complained, trying to escort Ziggy out of his bar, and other patrons look at him bewildered.

“What is this job, if I may bother indulging?” Vexacus asked, approaching.

“This yahoo wanted me to assassinate a senator. That’s one easy for me to get arrested and tumble my grid. The feds would be on a manhunt for the perp and leave no stone unturned.” Irving revealed, as Vexacus scoffs, agreeing Ziggy is a complete fool to suggest this.

“But Peter Buomo is dangerous! He’s having a rally later tonight, it’s the perfect time to strike!He is infecting our children with disgusting propaganda and is part of a secret organization that wants to take over the world!” Ziggy rambled.

“And where did you learn this?” Irving asked.

“The internet.” Ziggy replied confidently.

“Uh huh. There’s a couple of good mental institutions I could recommend.” Irving said, about to write several addresses down.

“No, I am not crazy, I swear! The people will know the truth! We must save this amazing country!” Ziggy yelled, as the bouncer drags him to the door.

Vexacus didn’t believe a word of this lunatic, but he did know a liability when he saw one. If this guy blabbed about what he was doing here publicly, Vexacus’s work would cease. He refused to let this be taken away from him.

“Wait, I will take his job.” Vexacus said, confusing Irving and the bouncer.

“Pardon?” Irving asked, confused.

“Yes. I will help this fool if it shuts him up.” Vexacus said.

The bouncer is confused, but Irving gives him a signal to let Ziggy go, and he does.

“…You will? Thank you so much, sir! My name is Ziggy! Together we can save the world!” Ziggy introduced to Vexacus, wanting a handshake, but he does not return the gesture.

“Sure, whatever. Stay there and try not to do anything stupid.” Vexacus commanded.

Ziggy aloofly spins around and tries to talk to other patrons, who are weirded out by his presence. Vexacus then speaks to Irving and the bouncer out of Ziggy’s hearing distance.

“I’m not actually going to help this poor lost soul carry out the job, that’s too extreme even for me. But what I do know is he has a big mouth and he could end up saying something to the wrong people.” Vexacus noted; Irving gets what he’s saying now.

“Ahh, I see. I taught you well. You’re right, loose lips sink ships. We can’t let that nut-job loose. Alright, but make sure however you dispose of him, I want your promise it’s completely untraceable back to me.” Irving said.

“I promise. But I need to make this look convincing so he’s not suspicious. I’ll need the right gun to sell the illusion.” Vexacus requested.

“There’s a black market arms dealer I can set you up with. He may take a while to show, he’s a busy man. I know by now I can count on ya, but if it gets ugly, let me know. Doesn’t hurt to get help.” Irving said, opening his black book and dialing a number.

“Alright looney, come with me. We have work to do if we’re going to pull this off.” Vexacus said, escorting Ziggy out of the bar.

Later, Vexacus and Ziggy are in an alley near a parking lot, waiting for the arms dealer to arrive.

“Come on, where is he? The rally is soon!” Ziggy said, growing impatient, as he keeps tapping his feet.

“He’ll be here. Keep your mouth shut, okay?” Vexacus demanded to Ziggy, who nods.

A figure then walks out of the shadows, revealing a batfish in fancy get-up.

“Hello, you must be the interested party. I’m Broodwing, and if you need anything illegal, I’m the guy to go to. I provide the best weapons.” Broodwing introduced, when suddenly, he gasps upon recognizing Vexacus. “Hey…you’re Vexacus, that bounty hunter Ramos hates!”

Dammit, Vexacus had hoped to keep Poisdonia in the past, but 5 years later it finds its way back to him.

“You got me.” Vexacus sighed.

“Don’t worry, I won’t rat you out. You’re a customer to my business. He doesn’t have to know about this…for the right price of course.” Broodwing greedily bribed, and Vexacus sighs.

“Fine, show me what guns you have.” Vexacus said.

Broodwing opens a container, showing his guns.

“I’ll take that.” Vexacus said, pointing to the sniper rifle.

“What are you using this for?” Broodwing asked suspiciously.

“I thought merchants like you had a don’t ask, don’t tell policy.” Vexacus replied, as he pays.

“Touché.” Broodwing replied, accepting the money.

Vexacus and Ziggy get into their vehicle and head off. Broodwing couldn't shake off his curiosity though, so he flies off and discreetly follows them. Vexacus and Ziggy are later seen high up in an abandoned building room. The building is faraway enough to not attract suspicion from Buomo’s security, but also close enough for the sniper. Buomo’s rally is being held at a park nearby. Vexacus takes the sniper out of a bag and sets it up, pointing it near the window. He did not load any bullets into it.

“Today we'll make history…” Ziggy said excitedly

Vexacus looks around, seeing his security patrolling around. He has Buomo in the crosshair’s sights. For a moment, he almost sympathizes with the lunatic’s cause. Why should he help save a politician who doesn’t care about people like him? However, he can’t do it. He knew Ziggy was unwell and wasn’t going to assassinate a politician for him. He had a mission to complete. Protecting his work was more important.

“Hey uh…are you gonna shoot him or…?” Ziggy asked nervously.

“Working on it. Gotta do it right.” Vexacus replied.

“You set me up! I know you didn’t put any bullets in!” Ziggy revealed, dropping his act and catching Vexacus off guard.

Ziggy jumps for the sniper. He takes a bullet from his pocket and puts it in the gun, about to shoot Buomo, but Vexacus pulls out his handgun. He fatally shoots Ziggy in the head, as his body drops to the floor. Vexacus takes a few moments to reflect, horrified at what he’s done, but knew it had to be done. Ziggy knew what he was getting into, he was “in the game.” He would’ve tried finding another way to attempt this ridiculous scheme. He considered this a mercy kill. Broodwing then enters the room, shocked at the sight, and Vexacus is startled.

“How-“  Vexacus was asking.

“I followed you since I suspected you were up to something interesting, and if I can find you, then someone else can. What the hell happened here!?” Broodwing asked.

“This guy wanted to assassinate a senator, but Irving refused. I lured him here to silence him. The sniper was to sell the act, but as you can tell, this got too close for my liking.” Vexacus explained.

“Lot of commitment to an act. I’m going to help you dispose of him, only because he jeopardizes Irving, which jeopardizes my business.” Broodwing said, helping him drag the body.

Broodwing then rolls out a tarp, and they place Ziggy's body on top of it. He's rolled up, as the two awkwardly carry the body together down the building. They toss it into the trunk of Vexacus's vehicle and begin driving. They arrive near a riverfront, and wait for civilians to pass by. When the coast is clear, they quickly drag the body out of the trunk and toss it into the river, sinking to the murky depths. Vexacus feels nothing from this, as mortified as he should be. 

“Cutting it close, but we handled it. Alright, bye-“ Broodwing was saying, about to leave.

“You can have this back, snipers aren’t my thing.” Vexacus said, handing him the sniper.

“No refunds!” Broodwing refused, but Vexacus grabs him.

“Oh yes, you owe me.” Vexacus replied, threatening him with his sword; Broodwing relents, giving him the money back.

“Fine, but you still need to buy something if you don’t want me telling Ramos!” Broodwing blackmailed.

Broodwing opens his cape, showing more of his merchandise. Vexacus looks and spots something of interest. He notices a high tech bracelet.

“What’s that?” Vexacus asked.

“It’s a device that makes you invisible for a few moments, developed by my best team from The Under.” Broodwing said.

Vexacus felt he could use the element of stealth on his side. Technology is evolving and he needs to get with the times.

“I’ll take it.” Vexacus said, paying up, and Broodwing hands the bracelet to him.

“Thank you, our debt is settled. Now understand this: After I leave, I hope we never cross paths again. Never.” Broodwing emphasized, leaving the area.

The feeling is mutual for Vexacus. Little would he know though, they would meet again. He later goes back to the bar, looking exhausted from today’s events.

“Is it dealt with?” Irving asked.

“Yes.” Vexacus replied darkly.

“Good. Thanks for the help, but be careful with your kills. Someday you might slip up.” Irving warned forebodingly.

Vexacus takes a drink, trying to forget about what happened. This experience left a bad taste in his mouth and further made him question what types of jobs he takes. The criminal life is starting to show its issues and constraints. He wanted more.

A few months later in September 2015, Vexacus is in the bar again. Irving is reading one of his latest jobs in bewilderment.

“Alright, this one has to be a joke. Come on guys, stop yanking my chain.” Irving said embarrassed, about to throw the job request away.

“What is it?” Vexacus asked curiously.

“The client wants…a sea unicorn. Spotted in Posidonia Fields. Total joke, right?” Irving read in disbelief.

Vexacus thinks this over. After what he experienced with Ziggy, Vexacus had been more hesitant with the jobs he takes. Perhaps something otherworldly is what he needed to freshen up bounty hunting. He knew sea unicorns were real given his Karmania experience, but obviously he knew he’d sound like Ziggy.

“I’ll take it.” Vexacus said, making Irving sigh.

“Come on, I admire your dedication, but you know this is a prank.” Irving replied.

“Meh, I don’t have anything else on my agenda. It’s probably a hoax, but who knows, there’s always that 1% chance.” Vexacus said.

“Well if you do catch one, credit me when you get famous. Seriously though, remember what happened when you tried taking that conspiracy nut’s request? Got a tad messy, so be careful.” Irving reminded.

Maybe Vexacus was getting too arrogant and reckless by taking more crazy assignments, but he needed to shake up the status quo. However, he’s using this job for a secret reason: he was ready to return to Posidonia after all these years and confront his demons. He would get revenge on Ramos. Vexacus gets in contact with Irving’s dock smuggler, who sneaks him on board a ship. The ship sets sail for Posidonia, where his life would change forever.

Meanwhile, Jacques exits an airport in Posidonia. He then goes to a train station and gets a ride to Stowenside. He looks out the train window, pondering. He assumes that after killing Tobias, Vexacus must have tried to find the closest town to get away. The only one nearby would be Stowenside, which had its police alerted to the body. He could’ve asked the Federation, but he figured they wouldn’t tell him anything as they had enough to deal with, knowing that after the castle explosion, they couldn’t keep their Karmania business and other shady dealings under wraps forever. The train stops at Stowenside. Jacques exits the station and walks around the dusty town. He wasn’t sure how good his chances of finding a lead were given it’s been two years, but he had crazier miracles in his career. He makes his first stop at the bar, assuming a few shady figures would be there. He flashes a photo of Vexacus around to the patrons, asking if they’ve seen him, but gets no useful responses. He then begins visiting around other residences and stores, but again, nobody knows anything. He then enters the clothes store. He looks at the cashier, who is the same one that was there two years previously. Jacques approaches the cashier.

“Hi, what can I help you with, sir?” She asked.

“Hi there, miss. I’m Agent Jacques of the International Police. Don’t worry, you’re not in trouble, at least to my knowledge. I’m investigating something and you might be able to help.” Jacques explained, showing his credentials.

“I’ll gladly help however I can, officer.” The cashier replied.

“Do you remember anyone like this visiting here around two years prior?” Jacques asked, showing a photo of Vexacus.

The cashier looks at the photo carefully and remembers.

“Now that you mention it…yes, I did. He was with a group of people who I’ve never seen around here before. A woman from the group helped him purchase clothes, and they left. He looked to be in really bad shape, as if he walked through the desert. Haven’t seen them since.” The cashier recalled.

The confirms to Jacques’s mind that Vexacus did indeed kill Tobias, but now he needed to know about his present whereabouts.

“These people he was with…did they look like bounty hunters?” Jacques inquired.

“I wouldn’t know for sure, but maybe. It sounded as if he was the newest member of their group.” The cashier replied, and Jacques ponders this over.

“Did they say anything about where they were going afterwards” Jacques asked.

“I don’t think so. That’s about all I can remember, sorry I couldn’t be of more help.” The cashier replied.

“No, thank you ma’am, that was very helpful.” Jacques replied, leaving her a tip despite not paying for anything again, and walks out of the store.

The cashier is confused by this gesture, but takes the money.

Jacques leaves Stowenside and thinks to himself. He briefly tossed around the idea of interrogating the magical heroes who had a few scuffles with Vexacus before, but realized they wouldn’t be able to provide him anything useful. He could tell based on what the woman told him, Vexacus likely escaped Posidonia and hasn’t returned since. He assumes the team used a private airplane to get out of the country, but would check public airline flight records to be sure. He waits for the next train ride.

The Tidal Nova team lands in Thalassia. They walk through the bustling marketplace dock into a city, as electronic lantern lights are strung everywhere to illuminate the path.

“Lovely, you can feel the history here.” Kara observed.

“I’ve never visited here before, but if I know my history right, this country also once was a pirate haven. Its roots never truly faded away.” Vexacus said, seeing the Shadow Wind Clan’s symbol graffitied over a building.

Daisy looks around, impressed to see how the place has changed since she was last there, but uncomfortable knowing the Shadow Wind Clan lurks beneath this beautiful scenery. They turn around a corner, seeing several workers loading boxes into a firework company truck, and it drives off. They carefully follow the delivery truck, which takes them to the firework warehouse just as they were told. They stand on a nearby rooftop, carefully observing the area and getting into positions like they planned. The truck stops at the entrance and two purple hooded figures approach the driver. They are wearing creepy masks over their faces. Sarge has his sniper crosshair locked onto one of the Shadow Wind Clan members.

“Are we sure we’re dealing with a crime ring and not a cult?” Sarge joked, slightly creeped out by their attire.

The grunts clear the driver, allowing them into the warehouse. Sarge then snipes the grunt on the left, causing the other grunt to pull out their gun in a panic. Clay sneaks up from behind and throws a wire around the grunt, strangling them to death. Sarge stays on rooftop lookout while the rest of the team goes in. Boxes of fireworks are brought into the Clan’s main room, put on a table. A grunt opens the boxes and under the fireworks are packs of drugs. They are taken out and put with the rest on the table. Suddenly, the lights go out, confusing the grunts. Daisy jumps down with night vision goggles on, hacking and slashing at the grunts. One of them tries shooting in the dark, but can’t see. A bullet hits Daisy’s armor, and she grabs the grunt, sending him flying over a drug table. Vexacus, Clay and Kara emerge from the darkness with night vision goggles too, attacking the grunts. Grunts shoot at them from the balconies, and one throws a chain. Vexacus grabs it and throws the grunt over, then shoots him, as he falls on the drug table. Kara and Clay open fire on the other balcony grunts, taking them out, as debris flies everywhere. Outside, Sarge snipes several reinforcements, who shoot around, wondering where their target is. Sarge takes them all out without breaking a sweat. Inside, one of the grunts runs into an office, seeing the boss standing around worried.

“Who are these intruders!?” The boss asked angrily, hearing the commotion.

“I do not know, Honorable Galus, but we’re taking care of it.” The grunt insisted.

Suddenly, the door is kicked open and the grunt is stabbed through the chest. Daisy reveals herself and closes the door, confronting Galus.

“So you’re the head honcho.” Daisy said.

“You’re fools to invade our sacred domain and think you will come out alive!” Galus said, grabbing his sword and dueling her.

Daisy clashes her sword against Galus’s. The duel intensifies, as Daisy sees Galus trained himself well, but not enough to match her skills. She blocks one of his slashes, bringing them to a stand still, impressing Galus. He slashes at her armor and trips her to the ground. He is about to finish her, but Daisy kicks his leg and throws him into his desk. She then slashes his sword at his right hand, cutting it off. Galus yells in pain on the ground, struggling to move. Daisy isn’t going to do a cliche scenario where she asks if Galus remembers who she is, because they aren’t worth it. She then slams her sword down into his chest, finishing him. Part of her is surprised she pulled it off. She leaves the office, seeing the rest of the grunts are taken out by the team.

“Their leader is finished.” Daisy said content.

“Let’s go before reinforcements arrive.” Clay said.

“I know how we could clear our tracks here.” Vexacus said, looking to the firework boxes.

The team lights several matches and tosses them into the firework boxes. They run for it, getting as far away as possible.

“We’re done?” Sarge asked, seeing them escaping, as he follows.

“Yeah, and we left them a parting gift.” Daisy said smugly.

As they reach the dock, the warehouse explodes, setting off fireworks into the sky. Thalassian civilians cheer upon seeing the lights blasting in the sky. The warehouse is completely scorched. Police sirens are heard in the distance.

“Pretty and crazy.” Sarge said, admiring the fireworks, as they make it back to the plane.

“Satisfied?” Clay asked Daisy.

“Yes. But I didn’t do it just for them, I did it to help prevent anyone else in the world from suffering under people like them.” Daisy replied, feeling she avenged her parents.

Clay shows a look indicating he’s proud at how far she’s come.

“I’m glad you have closure.” Kara said, proud of her as well.

As the plane heads back to Cymada, Vexacus reminisces on when he toppled another crime gang, right after he infiltrated the Federation.

Vexacus is seen waking up in a Posidonia desert. He’s covered in sand, and smoke rises off of him due to the powerful elemental attack that sent him flying out here. He reaches out onto the ground, lifting himself up. He feels his head and looks around at his surroundings, realizing where he is. He’s not happy. He was so close to successfully usurping Ramos, but those guardians and knights ruined his plan. They weren’t “in the game” and most were dumb teenagers, but they were in his way. Getting the sea unicorn’s blood inspired him to seek revenge on Ramos by joining his forces so he could backstab him and become king. The power deserved to be his. He furiously kicks sand around and slashes at it with his sword. He tries to use his invisibility bracelet, but it was damaged in the ensuing fight, and it only sparks. He would get revenge, but first, he needed to find civilization, so he runs off.

Vexacus keeps trudging through the desert aimlessly for what feels like hours, the sand not falling off his skin anymore than when he first landed. Perhaps this Karmania business was too much for him and he should’ve left Posidonia after the hunt. He never had experience fighting magical entities before, but he refused to concede defeat. His pride wanted to destroy Ramos. On the bright side, fighting the guardians gave him an excuse to finally use his absorbing sword. He then spots what appears to be a cactus in the distance. He hopes it was not a mirage, so he rushes toward it. He slashes the cactus in half and is surprised to see it’s real. He begins drinking juice from the remains, revitalizing him. He continues walking and passes by a statue of Dead Justice on his seahorse, noting him as “Posidonia’s #1 Sheriff.” He then sees a sign noting Pyrite Town is nearby. He knew Pyrite was home to many of Posidonia’s seediest figures, so he could get help there.

In Pyrite, a gang of cowboy bandits are bullying the townsfolk. They are lead by Wallace the Kidd, one of Posidonia’s most notorious criminals, who occasionally terrorized the town. Mirta, Charlie and Moe look out from a house, wishing they could do something to stop them.

“Come on, where’s the love!?” Wallace yelled, bugging civilians.

The sheriff comes out to put a stop to this, but Wallace punches him in the face, knocking him out. The bandits cheer, as they keep kicking the sheriff. Wallace takes the sheriff’s hat.

“I’m the one who makes the rules now, partners!” Wallace decreed.

The bandits drag the sheriff away, throwing him into the jail. Suddenly, they hear footsteps echoing from the distance. The bandits and townsfolk look to see a stranger coming from the desert, getting closer. Vexacus enters the town, looks at Wallace and scoffs.

“Who the hell are you?” Wallace asked Vexacus.

“Your doom. You think you’re at the top because you run a bunch of wannabe cowboys, but you have no real power.” Vexacus said ominously to him.

Wallace and his group laugh at this, not intimidated by what they perceive as Vexacus’s empty threats in the slightest.

“You don’t scare me, sharky boy.” Wallace taunted.

“I challenge you to a duel. If I’m no threat as you claim, then you have nothing to fear.” Vexacus decreed.

“I accept! This will be over so fast you won’t even be able to reach for yer gun, partner.” Wallace begged arrogantly.

The two stand across from each other in the center of the town. Wallace’s gun is holstered to his belt. There is an intense stare-down, as the civilians watch on.

“You ready?” Wallace asked smugly; Vexacus only nods.

They ready their hands, as Vexacus notices a bandit’s twitchy arm movement. One of the bandits raises a flag. Wallace and Vexacus draw their guns, when suddenly, another bandit pulls out their gun. Vexacus knew Wallace wouldn’t play fair and had anticipated this, so he ffirst ires on the bandit, surprising Wallace. Vexacus then shoots Wallace in the head, as he collapses to the ground dead. The townsfolk and bandits are speechless.

“Now who's in control?” Vexacus asked smugly.

Wallace’s gang submits their loyalty to Vexacus. They hand Vexacus the sheriff’s hat.

“This town belongs to me.” Vexacus said, smiling and declaring himself the new sheriff.

For once, Vexacus felt he was on top of the food chain.

The team returns to their base in Cymada. Daisy immediately gets a warm shower, washing the blood off of her. A news report comes on the television, detailing the warehouse explosion in Thalassia and that several surviving Shadow Wind Clan members were arrested. The team cheers with a toast.

“Let’s not do that again anytime soon.” Sarge said, beat.

Clay is seen talking on the phone with a concerned look. The team can tell that call isn’t good news. Too soon to celebrate.

“Just got off the phone with Pashir’s middleman. He has another insurgent cleanup job for us.” Clay explained, still holding the phone.

The group is unsure how to respond to this call. That was a name they didn’t want to hear again anytime soon. They knew they couldn't say no to someone with his power, however.

“Tell him we’re unavailable at the moment. Busy with another job, but we’ll get to it when we have time.” Vexacus said, giving Clay a cover story.

He’s now planning to take down Pashir. He refused to let him hurt anymore innocent people. If they could tear down the Shadow Wind Clan, he felt they were ready to tear down a dictator too.

Notes/Trivia:

-Character Debuts and Deaths: Ziggy, Peter Buomo, Wallace the Kidd and Galus

-Deaths: Ziggy, Wallace and Galus

-Flashback Timeline: First is a few months before Mystic Guardians; second is set during Mystic Guardians, right after “Checkmate” into early Season 2

-Thalassia is a country first seen in Pirate Legends.

-We learn the origin of Vexacus’s invisibility bracelet.

-Broodwing, Charlie, Mirta and Moe from Mystic Guardians make flashback cameos.

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Chapter Six: Something Beautiful

The country of Itolis is seen. Seen as the origin of many inventions and discoveries in the seas, Itolis has long been a central hub for arts, theatre, and cuisine. It also houses the Soprano Mafia’s top leadership, one of the most notorious mafias worldwide. A pizzeria restaurant known as “Brillante Pizzeria” is seen, which serves as a front for the mafia and is their central headquarters. The Soprano Mafia is seen on an upstairs floor, all sitting at a large table. The mob don, Tony, has called a meeting with his top capos. Meals and drinks are laid out on the table for the mafia members to dine on while discussing. Tony takes a sip from his wine and taps it, calling the meeting to order.

“Ladies and gentlemen, this ain’t easy to say, so I’m gonna cut right to the chase: There’s a problem brewing beneath our noses. I’m sure you’ve heard the Shadow Wind weirdos’s headquarters went up in flames and fireworks. Lovely show. The group is now effectively sleeping with the fishes.” Tony explained.

“Yeah, somehow no witnesses left behind. The attackers were complete ghosts. It’s like those freaky ninjas got whacked by other ninjas.” A capo spoke.

“Who could have done this?” another capo asked.

“That’s what I’m curious about. First I hear talk of the cartel, one of their homeland rivals, then a government op, traitors, and…somehow us, which would be news to me. Those stronzos had the audacity to accuse us!” Tony said, laughing, as everyone else laughs too.

“It’s that type of braindead thinking that gets ya whacked.” another capo spoke.

“But don’t let that fog the forest view here, folks. Normally, I wouldn’t give a shit about something like this cause it wipes out our competition, but it is concerning their home got blown to smithereens, snap, like that. Hit em right in the heart, eh?” Tony rambled.

“With all due respect, what are you getting at here?” Another capo asked, annoying Tony.

“I guess I gotta spell it out: There’s a dangerous new player in the underworld, and they could get us next. Sure, this could end up being one-off and nothing to worry over, but we can’t take that risk. A strike of that magnitude…it’s nothing to sneeze at. They wanted to destroy the Clan, which means there’s no telling who else they’ll go after.” Tony said, concerned.

“We’ll triple security around the restaurant.” A capo suggested.

“We need more. If there’s a rival rising up to take us out, I want their flame snuffed out now before it gets bigger. Find out who’s responsible for this. Contact every informant and lead we have everywhere.” Tony demanded.

The capos understand, leaving the room at once and begin digging for information. Tony gets out of his chair and heads downstairs to the main pizzeria, where several customers are blissfully dining. He then steps outside, standing there and pondering at what’s going on in the underworld.

At Tidal Nova’s base in Cymada, Vexacus explains his plan to take down Pashir.

“For the record, let me just state now: This is a terrible idea. You’re getting in over your head here.” Clay warned.

“Takin’ down petty criminals is one thing, but takin’ down a world leader? I don’t know partner, this ain’t exactly what I signed up for.” Sarge replied, iffy.

“Duly noted. I know it’s risky, daring and foolish. But I made a promise to not have us or any other bounty hunter become his slave again. We know he’ll keep bothering us until we comply…and if we don’t, we know what happens.” Vexacus explained.

“Vex has a point, if we won’t take him out soon, he’ll take us out first. Especially if he wants to silence witnesses.” Kara agreed.

“We’re pretty much in a rock and hard place either way. Damned if we do, damned if we don’t. So sure, let’s try to whack him. How would we go about doing that though?” Daisy asked.

“We’re certainly not doing it. Breaking into a criminal base is one thing, but we’d be caught in seconds with government security. Even if we take Pashir out, they could replace him with someone worse as history has taught us.” Clay replied, not feeling this.

“Posidonia’s government was overthrown even though they won’t tell you that publicly and the country seems to be doing fine. Maybe the citizens can make it work, I have faith. Either way, if we don’t do something, people will suffer and we’ll be on his target list when we outlive his usefulness.” Kara replied.

Clay ponders her argument over. He’s still not on board with the plan, but can sympathize with her arguments.

“Clay’s right. We can’t do it, but somebody else can. I suggest we hire an unidentifiable third party and make them completely untraceable back to us.” Vexacus replied, having their interest.

This suggestion makes Vexacus think back to the Ziggy incident, but he’d make it a lot cleaner than how that turned out.

“That’s a start, but who would we hire? The few hitmen I know most likely wouldn’t take this assignment, no matter how much I bargained.” Clay questioned.

“There’s an old friend in New Kelp City who may be able to help us with this task.” Vexacus said, peeking their curiosities.

“Wait, are we visiting that Irving guy you used to work for?” Daisy asked, recalling Vexacus briefly telling them about him before.

“Correct. He has a book of criminal contacts everywhere. I’m sure there’s someone he can connect us to. This would be a good chance for us to reconnect since I haven’t visited him in two years.” Vexacus explained.

After escaping Posidonia with the team, Vexacus called Irving and told him everything he had been through lately. Irving was taken aback and probably didn’t believe it deep down, but heard Vexacus out. He was happy to hear he was okay after the radio silence and admitted he didn’t want to cross him out of his black book. Vexacus wanted a break from the criminal world and preferred being a freelancer hunter again, hence why he hadn’t revisited him since.

“Now this plan is sounding less stupid, but if you really want to make us untraceable, we need a fall guy. Should one of the assassins get captured for questioning, have them blame a criminal organization. Kill two birds with one stone, yeah?” Sarge suggested.

The team is surprised Sarge suggested such a brilliant idea. Vexacus thought that using this plan to take down another crime group was a great unintended bonus. He had to give Sarge props for this idea.

“Sarge, that’s genius! Didn’t think you had any bright ideas left up there after all that drinking.” Kara teased.

“Haha, very funny, but thanks. If we want to do this, the story has to make sense. It has to be a crime group that would have reason to hate Pashir. Are there any of note over there in Nalabar?” Sarge asked.

“Hmm… well, there’s the Obsidian Axe, one of the most brutal groups in that region. They’ve sometimes been used by politicians there to carry out their dirty work, but they have no true loyalty to anyone. They would be believable patsies at face value to the public.” Clay explained.

“They’ve committed many atrocities, so we’d really be doing that entire country a favor.” Kara said.

“Perfect! We gotta fully commit to this though. Coach the assassins to say they were hired by them. Hell, generate false payments while we’re at it. Gotta make it look real, right?” Sarge noted.

“Good attention to detail. Now let’s head to New Kelp City to kick this in motion.” Vexacus said, as they head to the plane.

The thought of taking away a leader’s power makes Vexacus reminisce to what happened after his stint as Pyrite Town’s sheriff didn’t end well.

Vexacus is seen sitting alone in the Pyrite Town jail. Sadly, his reign as the town’s sheriff had come to an abrupt end thanks to the green knight defeating him. He had been caught off guard, not expecting any of them to find him here. He was making a lot of money by controlling the nearby algae farms, but now that plan was a bust too. He’s been stuck here for months now, wondering about how Irving and June were doing in the interim. He was sure Irving had questions on his whereabouts, but was unable to reach him. As he sits inside the cell contemplating, suddenly, he hears a struggle. The sheriff is seen lying on the floor, knocked out. He looks up to see someone approaching, wondering who this could be. His savior is Brak, Ramos’s brother who he worked with nearly six years ago.

“…Brak? What are you doing here?” Vexacus asked, confused.

“I’m your get out of jail free card. Offer expires in thirty seconds, and then I’m out that door. Think carefully.” Brak offered.

“I’ll take it. I’d rather be anywhere but here.” Vexacus replied, tired of this cell.

Brak opens the cell, releasing him.

“Thank you. But how did you know I was here?” Vexacus asked, still confused.

“The Federation knows who is imprisoned everywhere plus a tip from a few spies in the criminal underground here. I could use your assistance in something I’m planning. I know my brother has it in for you, so that’s a bonus. You did well capturing those rebels the first time we met.” Brak replied, remembering how they worked together.

“A plan, you say? I’m listening…” Vexacus replied curiously.

“I’m crafting a plan that will defeat the guardians and knights forever. However, I’ve been keeping a low profile lately and not even my family knows about my whereabouts. I can’t have anyone interfering with this plan, but I trust you to help me. I’m still surprised my brother let you join his general team after everything.” Brak offered.

“What can I say, I can be quite persuasive? As are you. I’ll do it, I’d love revenge on those magical fools.” Vexacus replied, shaking Brak’s hand.

He decided not to tell him about how he planned to overthrow Ramos for obvious reasons, but assumed that would’ve only gained Brak’s respect more. They walk out of the station and get inside a plain vehicle nearby, which is Brak’s.

“Where are we going?” Vexacus asked in the passenger seat.

“My private mansion, faraway from Posidonia Fields. As a prince, I get my own esteemed privileges such as that. It’s a relaxing place that lets me think and plan. Consider it an honor to be invited here, very few are.” Brak explained.

As the vehicle drives off, Brak turns the radio on and begins singing along with a song. Vexacus just stares out as Pyrite Town becomes a spec behind him, another location he’d never visit again. He’d have to try somewhere else if he wanted power again. Brak arrives at his private mansion, as the two get out of the vehicle. A fountain rests near the entrance, spraying water. Brak’s gardener, Arthur, is neatly trimming the hedges surrounding the building.

“Hello Prince Brak, how are you on this fine day?” Arthur greeted, happy to see him.

“Doing fine. Keep up the great work on those hedges yourself, Arthur.” Brak complimented.

“Looks nicer than the castle.” Vexacus complimented, observing the mansion.

“Tell me about it, I despise what my moronic brother did with its decor.” Brak replied, as the two enter inside.

As they walk into the foyer entrance, several other mansion workers of Brak’s greet them. Brak’s housekeeper, Olivia, hugs him.

“Prince Brak, welcome back! Who’s your shark friend?” Olivia asked curiously.

“An old acquaintance, he’ll be staying here for a while. Make sure the guest room is shining clean and not one spec of dirt is missed.” Brak ordered Olivia.

Olivia nods and heads for the guest room to make sure it’s clean. Vexacus feels somewhat jealous by this, knowing Brak had a group that cared about him, while he didn’t. He could tell Brak cared more about his mansion workers than his own royal family, and he can’t say he blames him. Brak then escorts him into a library, where tons of books on Posidonia and Karmania are stored. The library keeper, Warren, is shown arranging books on a shelf.

“Ah, Prince Brak and…friend, welcome.” Warren greeted, looking at Vexacus confused, but not questioning it.

“That old fellow is Warren, our librarian. Make us tea would you?” Brak asked Warren.

“I’m actually a historian, but yes, I shall make the best tea to quench your thirst.” Warren said, heading off to make tea.

Brak takes him to a table and they sit down. He notices Vexacus’s busted invisibility bracelet.

“Here, let me fix that for you.” Brak offered, taking Vexacus’s bracelet, and looks for tools to fix it with.

Vexacus sits there, looking around at the library. He’s surprised at how much lore on Posidonia and Karmania there was, eyeing some of the books. Brak hands Vexacus back his bracelet, having fixed it.

“Thank you.” Vexacus said, as he tries out the invisibility bracelet, and it works again.

Warren returns, placing their tea on the table.

“I’m not a tea person, but not bad. Better than cactus juice.” Vexacus said, drinking it.

Brak lays out a map of Karmania on the map along with three gemstones. Three kingdoms are marked with “x”, indicating Brak already went to them.

“What’s your plan?” Vexacus asked.

“Ahem, technically, it’s my idea…” Warren bragged.

“Yes, I must give credit where it’s due. Without Warren’s historic knowledge, I wouldn’t have been able to craft it. There ’s another realm beyond Karmania inhabited by a magical wish master. You can only reach him using seven royal jewels, which very few have ever accomplished.”  Brak explained.

“A wish master? I’ve been through enough ridiculous magical fantasies so far, but you expect me to buy that?” Vexacus scoffed.

Brak opens one of Warren’s Karmania books, showing a page that details Wishy Joe and the legend of how to access his realm. Vexacus looks in disbelief.

“It’s true. With your help, I can wish to rid the guardians and knights of their magic, neutralizing that threat. I’ve already obtained three of the gemstones needed thanks to the Battlestar remnant’s help, but the other four will be harder to steal, which is where you come in. Let’s do something beautiful together.” Brak offered, pointing to the gemstones on the table.

“I’m in.” Vexacus said, making Brak happy.

“Good. We’ll strike the next kingdom tomorrow, you can rest up here in the meantime.” Brak said, showing Vexacus to a guest room.

Olivia had cleaned it well as promised. Just when it seemed like he was out of the Federation, they pull him back in. Deep down, part of him loved the thrill the Karmania business gave him. It’s an addict feeling he had been missing for a while. It was also equally frustrating given it landed him in situations like where he was before Brak released him, but being a mercenary is never risk free. The thought of having any wish come true enticed Vexacus. He wished he could change a lot about his life.

At Ruppia’s International Police headquarters, Jacques is seen in his office looking through Posidonia flight records from two years ago. A rolling service robot delivers him files, neatly arranged in a folder.

“Merci.” Jacques thanked, handing the robot money, which it grabs with its mechanical claw and rolls off.

Jacques through the papers to find out if Vexacus and his team had left the country using public airlines. No luck so far. It was becoming increasingly likely to him they escaped through a private plane owned by one of the team members. Dominique then approaches him.

“What are you doing?” Dominique asked, looking at the flight records.

“I’ve been trying to track an old lead. It might answer who killed Beckett.” Jacques explained.

“I understand you want to know who beat you for closure, but maybe some mysteries are best left unresolved. All I need to know is whoever pulled the trigger did us a favor.” Dominique replied.

“I know, but vigilantes shouldn’t do our job for us. Beyond that though, my intuition senses there’s something bigger at play. Trust me, Dom.” Jacques said.

“Well I hope it pays off into something interesting, or else the boss won’t be happy you’re wasting time on a wild chase.” Dominique warned.

“Mr. Reese likes me so no worries there, I know how to appease his good side. I’m close to something though, I can feel it. I’m going to check in with my CI and see if he has anything to help me.” Jacques explained, done looking through the flight records.

“Good luck with that. Just don’t get your nose too deep into something you’re not prepared for, and remember, we’re always here to help.” Dominique advised.

“I know, and if I do unearth something big, you’ll know. Don’t worry about me, I always know how to keep a low profile.” Jacques promised and gets up.

Jacques meets with his informant named Jesse in a private interrogation room.

“No offense guy, but I have stuff I’d like to do today…” Jesse said, annoyed.

“We all have “stuff” to do. You know how this works. If you want to continue being our CI, you gotta give me something juicy to chew on or I’m leaving you out to dry. So spill, s'il te plaît?” Jacques said.

“Okay, jeez, I might know something. Friend of a friend told me that the Dusk Raiders had a shootout the other day in Enhalas. At first I thought it was a rival, but allegedly a group of bounty hunters attacked them. They stole their loot which they redistributed across the islands. Sounded pretty wild.” Jesse revealed.

“Was a shark among these bounty hunters?” Jacques asked.

“Don’t know, but it sounded like two different groups partnered. My friend said he saw a jet plane land near Sabaco and took off again. That’s all I know.” Jesse revealed.

Jacques knew that he was shaking the right trees now. The jet plane descriptor would narrow his search down a lot. He knew there had to be record for its purchase, and all he had to from there was follow the buyer.

“Thank you for your information. That helps a lot.” Jacques replied, handing Jesse a tip for his help.

“Why do you always do that? I mean, I like free money and all, yo, but it’s weird.” Jesse questioned.

“I’m a nice guy and I love redistributing wealth to those who need it more than I do.” Jacques replied sincerely.

This makes him think about how the bounty hunters were seen redistributing treasure and wondered what their goal could be. He returns to his office and starts phoning plane manufacturers.

At Nalabar, Moses Pashir is seen looking out from a balcony in his palace. A soldier approaches him.

“Sir, Tidal Nova are unavailable for the request at the moment. Should we seek another team?” The soldier asked.

“No. I'm a patient man. The insurgents do not have to be dealt with right now. I understand the Tidal Nova team have many clients. That will be all for now.” Pashir replied.

The soldier nods and leaves. Pashir stands there, staring at the rest of Nalabar before him. He felt something wasn’t quite right about the team cancelling on him, but his mind pushed the thought aside. He grabs his glass of wine on the balcony and drinks it.

The Tidal Nova team lands in New Kelp City. Vexacus looks around, noticing the city is more or less looks the same as it did when he was last here three a half years ago. They approach The Crescent Lounge and Vexacus is relieved to see it’s still standing. They enter inside and Vexacus automatically notices the place is empty. Irving is wiping bottles behind the counter, and looks up eagerly to see Vexacus.

“Hey, long time no see! I see this is the Tidal Nova team you spoke of, nice, looking professional. Glad they’ve been working out for you.” Irving said, shaking their hands.

“Sorry for not visiting in years, I’ve been busy rethinking my life and doing jobs with them.” Vexacus explained.

“Not a problem. You admittedly haven’t missed much around here, traffic’s died down a lot for both sides of my business. How about drinks for you and your pals, all on the house?” Irving offered, getting glasses ready for the five.

“Oh no, that won’t be necessary-“ Kara was saying.

“No, I insist. Esteemed hunters such as yourselves earn my respect and toast.” Irving said, handing them their drinks at the counter.

“Who am I to argue?” Sarge asked, taking his drink.

“How the police haven’t discovered your little operation is a true enigma to a former one. You earn my respect for that.” Clay said, drinking.

“What can I say, I do a great job of keeping a balanced profile. Nobody bats their eye to a casual bartender.” Irving replied.

“Thank you for the drinks, but the main reason we came here was to ask about your contact book. We could use it to hire someone for a plan.” Vexacus explained.

“You know, I’ve actually been looking for someone to pass this book to, and there’s nobody else I trust more than Vexacus. You can have it for yourselves.” Irving said, surprising the team and hands them his contact book.

“You’re retiring?” Daisy asked.

“Uh huh. Truth be told, I’m tired of this life. After a while, there’s only so many times you can do this dance, you know? As the old saying goes: When you live the life of a criminal, there is no happy ending. I’d prefer to avoid that fate. My true passion has always been alcohol. I’ve been thinking about closing up shop and evolving to selling my own brand. Try it out.” Irving said, handing them an alcohol bottle with his face on it.

“Ooh, I like.” Sarge said.

“I respect that, you know what you truly want most. Live out your remaining days to the fullest.” Vexacus accepted.

“I wish you lot the best of luck in your future endeavors as well.” Irving said.

Irving hands Vexacus the book and a decoder sheet for his symbols.

“Is this written in an alien language?” Sarge asked.

“I’m not gonna have all of my underworld contacts written in plain English.” Irving noted, to which Sarge can’t argue with.

The group flips through the pages, as Vexacus notices quite a few names have been crossed off in recent years. Vexacus is sad that Irving had moved on from the criminal life, but he knew nothing lasts forever. Some people eventually move onto better ventures. Vexacus then decodes a name as “Russo Bell”, an assassin whom Irving has ranked highly. Vexacus recalls that name. Russo was the bounty he tried to capture over a decade ago at the Ocean Protection Force base, indirectly costing him his Guild career. Although he held no animosity towards Russo since he didn’t need the Guild, in some ways, he should be thanking him. He’s willing to bury the past for this cause. Vexacus says his farewells to Irving and leaves the bar for what may be the final time. He thought about checking in on June, but had no idea where to find her and didn’t have the time. The team is back inside the plane and calls Russo, explaining their plan. He is hesitant to accept due to who it targets, but thanks to Sarge’s patsy suggestion and what they’ll pay, he comes around.

“Alright, you know how to persuade a guy. It’s dangerous, difficult and we may lose many men, but I believe in your cause. My middleman will contact you when we’re ready.” Russo spoke on the other end.

The team forges false Obsidian Axe transactions that will be sent to Russo’s men.

“Are you more optimistic about this plan now?” Kara asked Clay.

“Not particularly, but maybe it won’t be a total disaster now.” Clay replied, shrugging.

“That’s the spirit! Have faith in my ideas for a change, they can be as deadly as my snipes.” Sarge bragged.

Much later in the night, around 2am, Pashir’s palace is shown. He is trying to sleep in his master bedroom, but a feeling is keeping him up. Russo and a squad of seven hitmen are seen in the trees nearby. They arrived at Nalabar through the New Kelp City dock smuggler. The hitmen’s costumes have the Obsidian Axe’s symbol on them to sell the illusion.

“Remember, our primary target is Pashir. If any ordinary employees get in the way, only incapacitate them.” Russo reminded.

They carefully scout the area and enact their plan. They head toward the right side of the palace, planning to climb into a window. Four soldiers are keeping lookout on the ground, when one of them hears a branch snap. They go near the trees to investigate, but are grabbed by Russo and killed. The other three soldiers look around confused, readying their weapons. They are jumped by the hitmen and taken out with silencers, but one of the hitmen is killed in the ensuing fight. Russo and his team climb up the wall using a grappling hook and break in through the open window.

They carefully creep down a hallway and split up. Russo and another hitmen head toward a kitchen, trying not to make noise. Russo spots a frying pan left on the stove, so he decides to create a distraction. Russo puts water into the frying pan and turns on the stove, boiling the pan. Russo and the other hitmen hide in the shadows. Smoke blows from the stove and sets off a fire alarm. Pashir’s aide is frustrated by the beeping and goes into the kitchen, confused by the smoke. She removes the pan and turns off the stove. Outside, a soldier notices the massacre where the hitmen entered and contact the others. Pashir enters the kitchen, wondering what the commotion is about

“I cannot sleep with that racket! What happened here?” Pashir asked annoyed, as the fire alarm stops.

“I have no idea, nobody should be cooking at this hour, but the stove was on.” The aide replied, just as confused as he is.

Russo and the other hitman jump out, opening fire. Pashir’s reflexes kick in and he uses the aide as a human shield, so she takes the bullets for him. They keep firing, but Pashir ducks in time and the kitchen materials scatter everywhere. Pashir makes it back to his master bedroom where two guards are. Pashir obtains a pistol from a drawer. In other parts of the palace, Russo’s hitmen are engaged in fights with the rest of Pashir’s soldiers, as bodies drop on both sides. Pashir carefully leaves his bedroom, seeing his guards have been killed. He fires at an approaching assassin, wounding them. He grabs the assassin.

“Who sent you!?” Pashir asked him.

“It was the Obsidian Axe!” The assassin yelled.

Pashir senses he’s lying. He knew they weren’t to be trusted, but this team’s coordination is unlike the Axe’s.

“That’s okay, I know who truly did.” Pashir confided, piecing together the Tidal Nova team betrayed him.

Pashir is furious and shoots the assassin in the head, finishing him. Pashir goes into his balcony room and keeps hearing gunfire from everywhere. Russo then surprises him, shooting Pashir fatally multiple times. Pashir is sent tumbling over the balcony and falls to the ground below. Russo is surprised their hit succeeded, and quickly gets out of there with one other surviving hitman. They run for lives through the forest, heading back to the boat. The aftermath of the massacre is shown, as bodies from both sides are scattered across the palace. The once beautiful decor is stained and destroyed. The remaining soldiers reach the balcony room, seeing Pashir’s body below and signal a code red.

In Tidal Nova’s base, Clay is awaken in his room by Russo’s call. He wakes up the others to inform them what happened.

“It was difficult, but they got Pashir. The government has not officially said anything, but by the morning it’ll be all over the news.” Clay reported, after talking to Russo.

“Hell yeah!” Daisy said, half-awake.

“Nalabar is finally free.” Kara said, impressed they pulled off another seemingly impossible task.

“Y’all should turn to my think tank more often.” Sarge replied, making a drink.

“No way this will blowback on us, our tracks were covered well.” Vexacus said confidently.

“Russo also informed me five more bounty hunter groups have joined our cause after this.” Clay added.

“This revolution is shaping up to be something beautiful.” Kara said.

Clay isn’t as celebratory as the others, but is content the plan succeeded. Vexacus wonders if they went too far with this plan. Was it really their job to police the world and cause regime change? But he pushed the thoughts aside and saw it as part of the greater good since it gained them more support.

Jacques is seen in his office, putting together a bulletin board connecting his leads. After hours of research, he combs through old CCTV footage for Ruppia’s airspace, when suddenly, a recording from June 2018 catches his eye. It shows a peculiar jet landing in a secluded area, and the Tidal Nova team gets out of the plane. He zooms in and notes the jet plane’s serial number, writing it down. He finally gets in touch with the plane’s manufacturer, who confirm a plane with that number was purchased by a “Kara Dume.” He pulls up her registered pilot license in Interpol’s database. He compares her photo to the footage, realizing she’s in their team. The company is unable to track the plane, so now he needed to locate her.

The next morning in Itolis, Tony and his capos reconvene in their meeting room.

“Bad news, boss: Turned up zilch, snake eyes, nada. No source could point us to anything useful.” A capo reported.

“I’m sure you’ve seen the news by now that the Obsidian Axe croaked Nalabar’s president.” Another capo said.

"I did, and somethin’ don’t add up. Why would they turn on him? His government practically let them do whatever.” Tony questioned.

“The assassins wore the Axe’s symbol.” Another capo noted.

“A clear red herring, no self-respecting hitman is that stupid. You bozos may not be able to put two and two together, but I see what’s going on now. Earlier today I learned one of my most loyal bounty hunters abruptly quit on us. Gone in the wind!” Tony said furiously, smashing his fists down on the table.

“What does it mean?” A capo asked.

“At first I thought, okay, they wanted out of the game. But the timing made me realize the truth, fellas. You may see me as a tinfoil hat wearer with this claim, but hear me out: I believe someone is trying to turn all bounty hunters against their masters.” Tony explained, as the capos think it over.

“I don’t know…bounty hunters forming a revolution, really?” A capo asked, in disbelief.

“I know it sounds like cazzate, but think about it, don’t it make sense? Who else but trained assassins could have the talent to take out the Shadow Wind Clan or Pashir? They wanna take control of the underworld for themselves. I gotta hand it to those cheeky bastards, brilliant idea.” Tony explained.

“Even if this is true, how would we go about dealing with them?” Another capo asked.

“Thankfully, I have the solution to this problem. They worked for us before and happens to be very familiar with bounty hunters.” Tony revealed ominously.

Footsteps are heard, as a familiar person approaches the room.

“This guy can help us?” A capo asked, unimpressed.

“My brother, only the north stars of the cosmos can truly help talented visionaries such as us. But yes, I can help shine a light from the darkest corner of my mind.” the person philosophically spoke.

“…What? Who are you?” A capo asked, confused out of their mind.

“I’m just…the brave traveler, who’s finally come home.” Hopper replied happily, revealing himself.

Notes/Trivia:

-Character Debuts: Tony, Arthur, Olivia and Jesse

-Area Debuts: Itolis

-Death: Moses Pashir

-Flashback Timeline: Before the events of “Brak Is Back” in early Mystic Guardians Season 3

-Itolis is based on Italy and named after the Amphibolis seagrass.

-Warren from Mystic Guardians makes a cameo in the flashback

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Chapter Seven: Adapt or Die

In the morning, Jacques goes into work. He was immediately alerted about Moses Pashir’s death. He walks into the Interpol headquarters, seeing the place is chaos due to them trying to figure out the circumstances behind the assassination. Several robots and agents rush by, nearly tripping Jacques. He approaches Dominique.

“Good morning. I heard the news, looks like we got our work cut out for us.” Jacques greeted.

“Can’t say I feel bad given everything he did, but as you can imagine, leadership is in a panic right now trying to make sense of it. Surprisingly though, his military is more willing to cooperate with the rebels now, so maybe there’s a silver lining.” Dominique explained.

“Fingers crossed Nalabar doesn’t fall into even more chaos. Still, this is very messy and completely out of nowhere. Why would the Obsidian Axe whack him? There’s a motive missing here.” Jacques asked.

“Maybe he ripped them off and they wanted payback.” Dominique theorized, shrugging.

Jacques senses something isn’t right with Pashir’s assassination. Between that, the Dusk Raider attack and the Shadow Wind Clan’s demise, he’s starting to connect the dots. Only the best of the best would be able to pull off these strikes unscathed. He wondered if Vexacus and his friends are plotting to completely wipe out the underworld’s competition, although couldn’t quite piece together why they would target Pashir yet. Perhaps he hired them as assassins to take out a few rebel groups, which he wouldn’t put past him. Still, all he had right now was speculation and no hard proof. He couldn’t bring this case to leadership until he had something solid. He continues trying to snuff out information on Kara’s whereabouts, but is unable to find here whereabouts. She covered her tracks well, he’d somehow need to lure her out. Suddenly, he has a genius idea. If they are trying to take out criminal groups, he could lure them to Ruppia to attack one of its own notorious crime families. This would allow him to test his hypothesis. He could also plant a tracker on their plane to find out where they really reside. He gets in contact with Jesse again, meeting him outside a cafe where he’s smoking a cigar.

“Yo man, what do you want now?” Jesse asked, annoyed and puts out the cigar.

“This won’t be long. You still have ties to the Petiot Gang, correct?” Jacques asked.

“Yeah, why?” Jesse replied.

“I want you to make contact with a member and ask if they’ve heard the rumors about the recent rumblings in the underworld.” Jacques requested.

“Is this about what happened to those ninja dudes?” Jesse asked.

“Yes, I see word spreads fast. I have reason to believe someone is attempting to take down every crime syndicate. Moses Pashir’s death may also be connected somehow.” Jacques explained.

“I’ll see what I can do, but I’m charging extra for this.” Jesse said.

“Duly noted.” Jacques said, handing him another tip.

Jesse calls his Petiot Gang contact and talks with him for a few minutes.

“They said they’ve heard whispers, but aren’t sure of anything yet. However, the Soprano Mafia suspects bounty hunters might be responsible.” Jesse revealed.

Jacques thought it was interesting they’d come to that conclusion. Maybe they started to see similar patterns he has.

“Very interesting. Are you in contact with any bounty hunters?” Jacques asked.

“I know a guy who knows a guy.” Jesse replied.

“Alright, good. Here’s what I want you to tell them…” Jacques was saying, kicking his plan to find Vexacus’s elusive team into action.

The Tidal Nova team are in their base watching the news about Pashir’s assassination. Kara makes coffee for herself and takes a sip.

“The remnants of Pashir’s government have responded by raiding the Obsidian Axe’s base and executing their leadership, who continually denied involvement in the assassination despite proof otherwise. Surprisingly, the military is now trying to compromise with the rebel groups to restore peace. There may be hope for Nalabar yet. We’ll keep you updated as the story progresses.” The news reporter said.

“We really did it, we’re helping the whole world.” Daisy said eagerly.

“See Clay? We’re no politicians but we did a better job than them at paving way for peace.” Kara bragged, taking another sip of her coffee.

“Taking out one guy won’t solve all of the country’s issues, but what’s done is done. We got our victory, now let’s not meddle with a government again.” Clay said.

“Agreed, we will not attack anymore governments. Pashir was only necessary because he directly threatened our interests. I know it was dangerous, but I weighed the consequences carefully and determined it was best for our survival. It was either we kill more innocent people for him or we take a stand. If another dictator tries to request us, we’ll stand our ground and refuse. That will be the end of it.” Vexacus promised.

“Aside from that, I don’t know about this revolution anymore, with all due respect. I worry it’s gonna get bigger than any of us anticipated and backfire. We should take a break before taking on any other crime groups. I fought one losing battle trying to change a system and I don’t want to fight another one.” Clay said, still having bitter memories of fighting the police system which ended up being futile.

“I understand that fear. If it gets too risky, you all have the right to back out, I won’t stop you. We’ve been lucky in our progress so far, but there is much that could go wrong if we act too brashly. I agree with Clay our best course of action is to rest and let the dust settle for a few days. A revolution can never be accomplished in an instant.” Vexacus declared.

“Thanks for hearing me out.” Clay replied gratefully.

Vexacus was open to hearing their criticisms as he wanted to command this revolution through respect instead of fear. Clay respected that about Vexacus, even though they didn’t see eye to eye on how to achieve this plan, he could still speak freely on how to compromise.

“Taking on the cartels and mafias would require a lot more strategy and resources, so I agree we should wait before making our next big move.” Kara said.

Daisy and Sarge also agree to relax for a while. Sarge is in his room flipping through Irving’s book and decoding names.

“There’s so many people in here I’ve never heard of before.” Sarge said, fascinated b how deep the underworld goes.

Sarge then receives a phone call and he answers. The more he hears it, he grows concerned.

“Whoa, uh…guys, an acquaintance of mine told me something you may want to hear.” Sarge said to the team, holding his phone.

“Is it your old military buddy again?” Kara asked.

“Yeah, and he wasn’t just a military buddy, we go way back to middle school. He’s heard from a source that the Petiot Gang suspects bounty hunters are responsible for the recent underworld attacks. That means someone is onto us, uh oh.” Sarge explained.

“Who’s the Petiot Gang?” Daisy asked curiously.

“I’ve heard of them. The Petiot Gang are some of Ruppia’s most notorious jewel thieves and extortionists.” Clay explained.

This reminded Vexacus of Tobias and wondered if he had been linked to them in any way.

“I’m not sure how they’d suspect us though, we cleaned up our tracks well.” Daisy said, confused.

“Probably a general hunch given how professional the attacks have been from their point of view. At the moment they could be suspecting any group of bounty hunters.” Clay replied.

“We should investigate to see if they’re onto us.” Sarge suggested.

“It’s a valid concern, but we agreed to lay low. However, we can stealthily infiltrate their den and take back the riches they’ve stolen. We’ll have to avoid killing so we don’t attract Interpol’s attention there. We’ll leave the gang bruised but standing to throw them off of our scent.” Vexacus suggested

“I like it. Petty thieves are a nice breather after taking out a dictator. If we succeed, my friend will try to recruit more hunters to our cause.” Sarge approved.

“Since we agreed for R&R, we should take a few days to nail down this plan. There’s no rush since they aren’t even sure who they’re after.” Clay said, and Vexacus agrees.

“If you wanna rob thieves, then Kara is the gal to come up with a plan.” Daisy suggested, given how her train heist plan went.

“Gladly. I know how to pull off a heist without casualties, and I have already an idea.” Kara said.

The team carefully plots out their plan to rob the Petiot Gang over the next three days. Once they’re ready, the jet plane later flies off toward Ruppia. As they sit down, taking down these groups piece by piece makes Vexacus thinks back to the final days of the Federation.

Vexacus is seen inside of a Poisdonia warehouse. In the time since his previous flashback, he was defeated several more times by the guardians, considered overthrowing Brak, and was eaten by a rock dragon. The substance in its stomach burnt off half of his face, but he was able to escape with his sheer determination, albeit not without his scars. Needless to say, this Karmania business was wearing out its welcome. Recently he ran into Tobias again after six years and lost their ensuing duel. He took away one of Vexacus’s arms, yet another scar inflicted. He was struck with one of the Dutchman’s Blades, which is said to lay a curse on whoever it strikes. Vexacus wasn’t sure If he believed it, but given what he's dealt with so far, it’s not impossible. Next to him is a white mechanical robot known as “TV Bot”, which he stole from the Federation before abandoning them. TV Bot is using its tools to perform surgery on his arm and replace it with a metallic one. This soulless machine was the only friend Vexacus had right now, and that was sad to think about. He stretches his arm and tries out the mechanical hand, impressed by it.

“Thank you, friend.” Vexacus said to the robot, which gives a salute with its claw.

Suddenly, Vexacus hears a commotion outside. He hears running footsteps and what sounds to be a gun blasting. He wondered if the Federation had found him.

“Stay put.” Vexacus ordered to the TV Bot, as it shuts itself off.

He carefully exits the warehouse, holding his gun. He sees a narwhal mafia member climbing up a ladder to a roof, being chased by a masked bounty hunter. A Guild badge is on their uniform. Vexacus gets closer, wondering who this is. The hunter shoots at the narwhal, but they make it to the top and break the ladder, causing it to fall. The hunter stops dead in their tracks upon seeing Vexacus.

“…Vexacus?” The hunter asked.

The bounty hunter takes off her helmet to reveal June’s face. Both of them look at each other shocked, wondering what they’re doing here.

“June…what are you doing here?” Vexacus asked.

“I was chasing a bounty, but he got away.” June replied sighing, as the narwhal makes a run for it on the rooftop.

“Small world. How about I help you catch him, for old time’s sake?” Vexacus offered.

“That’d be sweet. I’d ask what you’ve been up to the past few years, but I can tell you’ve been busy. What happened to you?” June asked, seeing his metal arm and face.

“It’s a long story, but don’t worry, I’m doing fine. I’ll explain more later, but for now, we have a bounty to catch.” Vexacus replied, as they chase after after the narwhal.

As they head off, an inconspicuous boatmobile nearby has been watching them the whole time. The driver is a stranger in a trench coat, who gets out a communicator.

“I’ve found Vexacus near an old warehouse. He left the area with an unidentified female, appears to possibly be a bounty hunter as well. No sign of any rebel involvement, I believe he’s on his own.” The stranger reported.

“Good detective work, Dox. Make sure he’s not plotting anything, we cannot have further distractions on this day. We’ve begun our final strike against the rebels.” Brak responded on the other end.

“Understood, my king.” Dox replied, as his vehicle begins to slowly tail Vexacus and June.

Vexacus and June continue to follow the narwhal’s trail for a while, and have a few moments to discuss what they’ve been doing lately.

“I’ve been in Posidonia for nearly ten months now on a secret assignment. I lost my arm in a scuffle with a deadly rival. It was a rough loss, but I’ll get back up on my feet, I always do.” Vexacus said to her, mum on sharing further details.

“You always do, Vex. Things at the Guild have been good lately. We’ve expanded a lot, and Hershel retired a few years back. I got promoted to deputy leader there and I’ve been training a lot of recruits.” June explained.

“Impressive. Say, whatever happened to Lloyd?” Vexacus asked.

“Honestly, I don’t even know.” June replied, as both laugh.

“I just realized…this month marks ten years since our first bounty together. The universe aligns in mysterious ways.” Vexacus realized.

“It sure does. Which reminds me, I haven’t told this to anyone else yet, but…I’m thinking about retiring from bounty hunting soon. I want to do something else with my life.” June revealed, surprising Vexacus.

“You seemed so passionate when we first met, but I understand the profession is not for everyone given the risks.” Vexacus replied, understanding her decision, but disappointed.

“Thanks for understanding. I hope you continue to find enjoyment in hunting, but I’ve outgrown it after ten years. There’s only so many times I can chase criminals, I see why you wanted to branch out. The thought of killing someone has also been eating at my conscious. Thankfully I never have, but I’d feel evil if I ever did.” June replied.

Vexacus spaces out for a moment, thinking of the people he’s killed such as Ziggy, Wallace, Zurtrax, 1 and 3. He wondered if it made him a horrible person inside, but pushed the thought aside.

“What career do you have in mind?” Vexacus asked, wanting to change the subject.

“I have a few ideas but nothing concrete. Becoming a lawyer is one, I’d like to help people that way.” June replied, and Vexacus can tell she knew what she wanted most.

“I wish you luck in whatever path you choose. For now, let’s make this a great final bounty together.” Vexacus hoped, as both smile.

They see the narwhal climbing down from another rooftop and chase him. Dox’s vehicle keeps quietly following after.

“Now there’s two of ‘em!?” The narwhal asked in disbelief, seeing Vexacus now.

The narwhal jumps over a dumpster, as one of June’s stun bullets is able to nick his leg, paralyzing it. The narwhal struggles to move, but keeps going forward, as he meets with four narwhals outside a building.

“Denny, what took you so long, man?” One of the narwhals asked.

“Bounty hunters!” Denny said, nearly out of breath, as they see June and Vexacus approach.

The narwhals get into position, as two of them fire horn bullets, while the others want to fight with their bare hands. Vexacus tries to deflect the bullets with his sword, but he strangely misses, and they strike his armor. He feels something is off, and senses it must be the work of the curse Tobias put on him. Now was not the time for this, especially in front of June, but he’ll try to make do. He rushes up to a narwhal and knocks them out with his sword. June jumps into a truck nearby as the narwhal’s horn bullets strike against the windshield. June then kicks open the door and fires her stun bullets at the gunner narwhals, disabling both of them. Vexacus gets punched by another narwhal, but he punches back, sending them smashing against the truck. Denny tries to run, but June is able to stun him, and he collapses. She handcuffs him, much to his annoyance.

“Great work, you still got it.” Vexacus said, even though he could’ve done better without the curse.

“You still got it yourself.” June complimented.

As June arrests Denny, Vexacus notices the vehicle had been following them for a while now. It reminded of how the Federation Hunters followed him in New Kelp City, so he was suspicious. He approaches the driver’s side.

“Why are you following us? Who do you work for?” Vexacus asked, making Dox uneasy.

“Nobody. I was just passing by the area.” Dox replied.

Who are you really?” Vexacus demanded to know.

Vexacus opens the door and drags Dox out of his seat, tossing him to the ground. Dox then stands up and pulls out his communicator.

“I’ve alerted the Federation to your location. You and your girlfriend may be able to deal with low life narwhals, but you’ll be dead against our entire army.” Dox threatened.

However, Dox receives no response from the Federation.

“…Hello?” Dox asked again, concerned.

Vexacus then strikes Dox’s in the head with his gun, knocking him out. June sees this confused.

“…Vex, what was that about? Who was that guy and why did he talk about the Federation?” June asked suspicious and concerned.

Vexacus knew he couldn’t hide this anymore. Vexacus sighed, knowing it was time to finally come clean about where he’s taken his life these past few years. He tells her everything about his real criminal side jobs (although neglecting to mention Irving) and Karmania business. After finishing his story, June stares at him disbelief. June is stunned by everything that’s happened Vexacus in the past few years.

“All of that, it just sounds…I don’t know what to say. A magical world? But putting that aside for a few moments that I can…you lied to me. You broke the law and aided known criminals. I can’t vibe with that.” June replied, disappointed.

“I know, hence why I could never tell you the truth. I had to make many tough decisions to survive, but I hope you can forgive me and we can still be friends.” Vexacus asked.

“I…don’t know-“ June was saying.

Suddenly, they hear a loud explosion, startling them. They look into the sky, seeing the Federation’s castle being blown to smithereens. Vexacus knew what this meant: the end of the Federation.

“What the…” June said, at a loss for words.

“Well it appears the Federation is no more, which I know about as much as you do at this point. I can finally get out of here, I promise someday I’ll turn my life around.” Vexacus promised.

“I hope you make it out of your funk, but…I don’t really want to associate with you anytime soon. Goodbye.” June said, walking off with Denny.

Vexacus was crushed. He had a chance to finally get out of Posidonia and reunite with June, but he blew it. The Federation once again ruined something for him, though admittedly he couldn’t keep the secret forever. He had to go his own way now, and wished June the best.

Later, Vexacus is seen in the warehouse packing what little belongings he had left. He’s ready to finally get out of Posidonia and start a new life. He then hears a mystical portal open, and somebody approaching. He turns around, pointing his sword at Icy, who readies an ice spell back.

“You’re that ice witch!” Vexacus remembered.

“Yep, that’s me. This warehouse was mine so I wanted to spy on the guardians using it, but I see the Federation stole it…” Icy said annoyed, and looks at TV Bot fascinated.

“The Federation is no more.” Vexacus replied..

“I heard. But I don’t know whose side you’re on.” Icy replied skeptic.

“My own. I’m not in a mood to fight you. I’m moving on from both Posidonia and Karmania, so you don’t need to worry about me.” Vexacus said.

“Fight? On the contrary. The Federation’s demise proposes a new business opportunity, I would think. I want you to work for me and help me complete my plan. I could use a fearsome hunter like you. In these changing times, you have to adapt…or die.” Icy proposed, changing her plan and offering out a bag of treasure.

Vexacus thought it over. Without June, he didn’t have much else waiting for him bounty wise anymore. This was his final chance to best Karmania and show it what he’s truly capable of. He considered this the final attempt at fighting his demons. The addict in him refused to let it go, he wanted to show the guardians and knights he was still capable.

“I’ll do it, but after this, I’m done for good.” Vexacus replied, shaking her hand.

“Excellent.” Icy replied.

In Itolis, Hopper is seen behind Brillante Pizzeria with a few mafia assassins. They’ve been gathering intel from the underworld over the past few days.

“We have nothing. It could be any bounty hunters.” An assassin said defeated.

Hopper looks at him like he spoke in an alien language.

“We do have something. Tell me what you see in this piece of information: There was a shootout against the Raiders in Enhalas conducted by not one, but two groups of bounty hunters. What do you think that means?” Hopper asked to the assassin.

“Uh…they really pissed people off? That’s not a lead and irrelevant to our situation-“ The assassin was saying.

Hopper then shoots the assassin right in the face, startling the others.

“Now, the next response better be what I want to hear! What do you think that means?” Hopper asked to the remaining assassins.

“The boss was right, the bounty hunters are teaming up.” Another assassin realized.

“No, you’re missing the details! You’re only giving me the knockoff brand, not the full picture! Don’t you see…there’s a trail of bread crumbs our adversaries have inadvertently left for us to follow? My time in prison helped me awaken my third eye, it’s a special gift, a power even, that helps me see what no other can. Our key’s in Enhalas. A team is still there, ripe for us to squeeze the info from.” Hopper rambled.

The other assassins are creeped out, but decide to listen since Tony trusts this guy for some reason. They board a private plane which flies off to Enhalas.

Tidal Nova’s plane lands in Ruppia. Jacques sees it entering airspace through security footage.

“They took the bait!” Jacques said, heading off to make his move.

The plane lands near a beach. Jacques carefully approaches it, looking at the plane up close impressed. He waits a bit to see if any of them are around, and when the coast is clear, places the tracker on the plane’s belly. He then runs away undetected.

A club serving as the Petiot Gang’s base is shown. Several thieves and their leader, Marcel, are inside having a good time. The thieves are wearing stolen jewelry. Kara then walks into the club wearing a dress and approaches the bar. Marcel looks at her curiously, as the thieves push him to talk to her.

“Bonjour madame. You are one of the finest women to ever walk into this club. I’m Marcel.” Marcel greeted, as Kara puts on a fake smile.

“I’m Hannah.” Kara greeted.

“Lovely name. This one is on the house.” Marcel replied, ordering a drink for her.

He sits down next to her and both have drinks. After talking, laughing and flirting, Marcel decides to escalate this.

“Perhaps we can take this conversation…elsewhere?” Marcel suggested, smugly.

This is what Kara was planning. Marcel escorts Kara to his bedroom upstairs. Kara teases Marcel and then pulls a gun out of her purse, pointing it at Marcel, who is caught off guard. Before he can respond, Kara quickly knocks Marcel out with the gun, and he falls to the floor.

“Better luck next time Romeo.” Kara taunted smugly.

She then rummages through the room and find a combination for his jewelry safe.

“I have the combination.” Kara said on a communicator.

Clay, Vexacus and Daisy are wearing their stealth outfits, lurking near the club’s back entrance. They knock out two thieves at the door and break in. Sarge is on a rooftop nearby keeping lookout in case the situation gets messy. The three walk down a dark hallway, several doors lining both sides. They go through one, which takes them into an empty room. The only thing inside of it is a locked steel door containing their safe behind. Clay uses a tool to jam the door controls, opening it.

“Hey, you aren’t supposed to be in here!” A thief from behind yelled.

Daisy quickly throws a dagger at the thief’s leg, making them fall. She then knocks him out with her sword handle. Clay enters the safe combo and it opens, revealing a vault of stolen jewelry.

“Wow.” Daisy said.

Clay and Daisy clear the entire vault, putting the jewels into bags. Vexacus keeps a lookout for thieves. Once the coast is clear, they run for it. They message Sarge and Kara, telling them they’re good to go. Kara goes down a hallway, seeing a thief who wonders what she’s doing. She then punches him and throws him against a painting, knocking him out. She then opens a window and climbs out of it. The team regroups, heading back to the plane.

“Impressive, we dealt a blow without having to kill anyone this time, and in a way they will not suspect bounty hunters. Excellent work team.” Vexacus said.

“Another successful Kara Dume heist! My friend says he’ll get a team to join our cause.” Sarge said proudly.

“You’re really lucky I’m not a cop anymore.” Clay said to Kara, impressed by her heist planning.

“I was surprised at how easily that idiot fell for me.” Kara said.

“I’m not, you look fine in that dress.” Daisy complimented.

“Thanks, but it’s not my style.” Kara said, finding it hard to walk.

They stealthily dump the jewelry bags in the middle of a park, giving the jewelry back to the people. Civilians flock to the jewelry bags and joyously take them. The team heads back into their plane and it flies off, unaware of the tracker.

Jacques notices on his radar the plane is heading straight for Cymada. Bingo. He has video proof of what they’re doing and can confront them directly at their base. He researches the area and realizes it’s private property, so he’ll need a warrant. He gets his necessary weapons, tools and warrant for the trip. He’s ready to end whatever Vexacus is planning, as he heads for the airport.

Hopper arrives at Sabaco, looking for his lead. He asks around and is directed to the marketplace, where he approaches the Tropical Triad.

“I heard you’re a fine group of bounty hunters. The Tropical Triad, correct?” Hopper greeted to them.

“You bet. I’m the leader, that’s Tim and that’s Sierra.” Pingas introduced, as the two wave.

“The Dusk Raiders were always unenlightened pests who could never grasp their power. I respect you for what you did to them.” Hopper said, applauding.

“It was a long time coming. But it wasn’t only us, thank Tidal Nova.” Sierra said, feeling proud.

Hopper smiles, realizing Tidal Nova is the team they’re looking for.

"I wish we could give you their riches, but we gave it all back to the people." Pingas said.

“No need. I’d like to join their cause, how can a brother do that?” Hopper asked.

“We know a guy.” Pingas replied.

Deep in Sabato’s forest, Sneed is seen slicing an axe through a log, splitting it in two. He tosses the pieces aside into a pile of other chopped up logs. A log cabin is seen nearby. He then places another log onto the stump and splits it in two. He then looks out into the woods, sensing something is approaching. He keeps looking for a few moments, until Hopper comes into view. Sneed wonders who this is and if they’re just a sightseer.

“Ciao, brother.” Hopper greeted, getting closer.

“Hola. This is private property. Who are you? Are you lost?” Sneed asked to Hopper, confused.

“Ciao. Beautiful domicile you have here. The cosmic ocean breeze combined with the forest’s fresh air…it’s a beautiful sensation to smell, as if I’ve been reborn.” Hopper rambled, as he continues walking through the woods and getting closer to Sneed.

Sneed feels something is off, as he never gets any visitors around here. Is this someone from the Dusk Raiders wanting revenge? After all, Sneed had indirectly played a part in their attack and was somewhat worried about blowback, though the Tropical Triad promised he’d be fine. Now he’s worried about how they’re doing.

“…Do I know you?” Sneed asked suspiciously, as he slowly places his hand on the axe’s handle.

“Well…I know people you’ve met, which makes us spiritually connected on the cosmic plane.” Hopper replied ominously.

Sneed doesn’t like the sounds of this, so he grabs the axe and immediately runs off toward the log cabin. Hopper pulls out his gun and gives chase. Sneed retreats inside of the log cabin, as Hopper follows after. Hopper goes around the cabin and opens a backdoor, taking him into the dark garage. He sees tools scattered and treasures Sneed has collected from Enhalas stored in jars. Hopper carefully walks around, trying to see through the darkness and pointing his gun. As he turns, Sneed rushes out of the shadows, catching Hopper off guard and striking him in the side with the axe’s blunt end. Hopper falls to the ground and drops his gun. He holds onto his rib and struggles to breathe.

“Who are you!? Who are you!?” Sneed asked paranoid, holding the axe close.

“I’m…Hopper, I am not…here to kill you! I’m just…a brave traveler…” Hopper weakly said, seemingly struggling to get out his words.

“How did you find me?” Sneed asked.

“Your…friends, the Tropical Triad.” Hopper revealed, still seemingly struggling to breathe.

“What did you do to them!?” Sneed asked angrily, confirming his suspicions that Hopper was sent by the Raiders as revenge.

“Nothing, I swear! They…they…just wanted me to warn you about something…” Hopper replied weakly.

Sneed lets his guard down and decides to believe him for now. Maybe Hopper wasn’t the danger after all. Hopper slowly holds out a paper, which has a blade hidden behind it. Sneed looks closely at it, when suddenly, Hopper slashes the blade across Sneed’s face, leaving a nasty scar. He yells out in pain and while stunned, Hopper grabs Sneed’s axe and uses it to chop off his left foot. Sneed yells out again in more horrific pain, falling to the ground and struggling to move. Hopper looms over him, while Sneed continues to cry out in pain on the floor and hold onto his stump leg.

“You crazy bastard, I think you broke one of my ribs! Here, use my blessed gift to tie that off so you don’t bleed out into oblivion. You and I are going to have a friendly chat.” Hopper said threateningly, throwing his belt to the wounded Sneed.

Hopper looks on ominously, holding the axe by his side. Sneed is terrified, but doesn’t have much of a choice and agrees to cooperate.

Notes/Trivia:

-Character Debuts: Dox, Denny and Marcel

-Death: Sneed (implied)

-Flashback Timeline: Parallel with the events of “The Battle of Posidonia”, the Mystic Guardians Season 4 finale.

-Icy from Mystic Guardians makes a cameo in the flashback.

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Chapter Eight: Stranger in a Strange Land

Jacques exits the Cymada airport and hails a taxi. He gives the driver a sizable tip and requests to be taken to a town closest to Tidal Nova’s private land. Once he’s dropped off, Jacques treks through the forests, using the tracker to locate the plane’s current location. After quite a trip, he makes it to their property, spotting their private home nearby. He decides to set up camp in the forest nearby. Jacques looks through his binoculars, spying on their private home. He quietly chews on a croissant while doing so.

In Itolis, Hopper is at the Soprano Mafia meeting room, delivering the information he obtained from Sneed.

“Alright Hopper my boy, what'd ya learn?” Tony asked curiously.

“My mind has been heightened and our questions are answered thanks to a lil’ Enhalan birdie. He put up a note fight, but before he ascended from our realm, he told me a juicy secret. The boss’s hunch is correct, either by luck or damn mighty brain power on par with my own. It’s true, bounty hunters are starting a revolution against all of us, apparently tired of scumbags like us dictating their jobs. The ones responsible for lighting this spark are a team of fierce warriors known as the Tidal Nova. One of their members and I go way back, he helped arrest me thirteen years ago.” Hopper explained, remembering the day Vexacus and June worked together to capture him.

The capos are in disbelief and anger at this, wondering how this revolution grew undetected under their watch.

“Wow. I gotta admire this team for their balls, but this revolution will end. I ain’t letting these clowns topple our beautiful empire. Did the source say anything about a headquarters?” Tony asked.

“It’s located somewhere in Cymada, but he didn’t know where.” Hopper replied.

“Not to worry, we’ll scour that entire country and melt it to the ground if we have to. They can’t hide forever. You did great Hopper, I knew I could count on you over most of my bozos.” Tony said, impressed by his skills.

“I know how to lure him out. I request passage to New Kelp City.” Hopper requested.

“What’s there?” A capo asked.

“Not a what, more of a who.” Hopper explained deviously, knowing exactly how to lure Vexacus out of hiding.

In New Kelp City, June heads to her apartment, holding grocery bags. She hears footsteps behind. She turns to see Hopper and three other mafia assassins, casing her to drop her grocery bags in shock.

“…I remember you. You were my first assignment when I was a bounty hunter. W-what do you want?” June asked, concerned.

“Hello my sister. Been a long time, but time cannot keep us from reuniting for what destiny intended. I have no ill will toward you for that day, I know you were just doin’ your job. No, I’m here for another purpose: You’re invited on a spiritual journey, for you are a torch that will ignite our way through the darkness.” Hopper happily greeted to June, as the other assassins intimidate her.

June is seen tied to a chair in her apartment, and a cloth is placed over her mouth. She put up a struggle, but was overpowered by Hopper’s assassins. They trashed the place. June’s face makes it clear she isn’t happy about this and if she still was a bounty hunter, wouldn’t have held back.

“I’m sure you’re scared and have many questions. I understand your fear. If you’re wondering how I found you, I kindly asked the Guild about your whereabouts. Nobody was hurt.” Hopper explained to June.

A brief cut to the New Kelp Bounty Guild building is shown. Hopper and the assassins had roughed up the secretary until they revealed June’s information. Four guards were shot and killed trying to stop them, laying on the floor. Papers related to law school can be seen scattered around, revealing June did pursue her law career. Hopper takes a look at them curiously.

“You left bounty hunting to become a lawyer, huh? An interesting transition I must say. While I was in jail, my mind ascended to another plane thanks to you and Vexacus. I’ve changed much since we last met. Don’t worry, I’m not going to kill you. I need your help. But first before we make our connection, I need a lunch break. Traveling as much as a visionary like me does that to you. Can’t work on an empty stomach.” Hopper explained.

Hopper opens her fridge and begins making a sandwich. June continued to sit there, unsure what she could provide him. As he makes the sandwich, Hopper tells June a story.

“I'm gonna regale you with a story. A story of a true birthday miracle. This is the tale of a bully and a little bitch. I'm talking about a…mean, nasty bully and a scrawny-ass little bitch. This bully would pick on the little bitch every day after school. If little bitch had cash, little bitch got robbed. If little bitch bowed up, little bitch got stomped. Point I'm trying to make here is…this bully owned that bitch like a pet, but something happened to change it all. On the birthday of our tale, little bitch got lucky with presents, see? Something little bitch loved more than anything...before family and country was...baseball. Loved the shit out of it. Well, on the birthday morning when he got out of his little bedroom and looked at his presents, guess what he received? An aluminum baseball bat. Little bitch grabbed that bat and went right outside to play. Didn't even take the bow off, he was so excited. And there he was on the corner ball field, hitting balls like nothing when... his bully comes up, eyeing that bat. And just as the bully made his way up to him, without any warning... bam! Blood everywhere. Blood on the ground, blood on little bitch, blood dripping down the bow still wrapped around that bat. Little bitch knocked every tooth out of that fool’s head. Cracked his skull open, popped his eyeball out on home plate. All because little bitch saw the truth. That bat may have been made to play ball, but that wasn't its purpose. Nuh-uh. In that moment in little bitch's hands, it was there to break that dumbass’s head open. See, Ms. June, we all have a purpose in this world, and it's our plot in life to wait for the cosmos to reveal what that is. But you don’t have to look no more…’Cause for you, that day has come. Want to know why? I’m gonna break Vexacus…and you gonna be my aluminum bat.” Hopper ramblingly explained to June, who looks concerned and confused out of her mind.

At the Tidal Nova base, the team has been talking with their connections after they robbed the Petiot Gang.

“The Petiot Gang are utterly humiliated and a complete laughingstock to the underworld thanks to our heist.” Kara explained, hearing underworld chatter through her contact.

“If you can’t even keep your treasure stash, you’re not a good thief.” Sarge said.

“Our rep continues to grow, three more bounty hunter teams have joined our cause.” Daisy said cheerfully after talking to a friend on the phone.

“The revolution keeps growing at a rapid pace. However, we need to move inward from splinter groups into Guild hunters. We need to somehow get them on board now.” Vexacus explained for the next stage of their plan.

“I don’t see us getting anywhere with them since what we’re doin’ is technically illegal and well, they are the “legal bounty hunters”, if you know what I’m sayin’.” Sarge said.

“I happen to have a Guild contact that I recently spoke to. They can’t promise they’ll convince the others, but they say they’d join our cause and try to spread our basic ideals if we take down the Brothers of Anarchy, Giladelphia's most notorious biker gang and one of the biggest drug traffickers in the region.” Clay explained.

“I’ve never messed with a biker gang before, that’ll be something fresh.” Daisy said curiously.

“Should we go for a bruised approach like we did to Petiot or attack them head on?” Kara asked.

“Depends where their drug storage is.” Vexacus asked to Clay.

“That I’m unclear on, but I know a bar they frequently visit. We can get info undercover there.” Clay replied.

“No need for further preamble, let’s dive into the plan. Haven't been to the great state of Conchsylvania in a long time.” Sarge said eagerly.

They map out their plan, and once they’re satisfied, they’re ready. Jacques sees the five leaving the base, assuming they’re going on a mission. He decided it was now or never, as he finishes his croissant. He felt this is a good time to do recon of their home and see what clues he can find. He carefully approaches the residence, his gun by his side. He carefully enters the base and looks around, impressed by the decor.

“Nice digs they got here.” Jacques complimented.

He goes into each of the team's rooms, looking around at their valuables. In Daisy’s room, he eyes over her sword collection and shudders. In Sarge’s room, he notices quite a few alcohol bottles on the floor, nearly tripping over one. He then notices the criminal contact book along with the decoder. That would make good damning evidence, so he grabs those. In Clay’s room, he sees an impressive collection of guns. In Kara’s room, air themed decorations and wallpaper are spread around. He thought it was a shame this passion went into a criminal life. In Vexacus’s room, he looks into a container and finds a stash of weapons. One of them is his invisibility bracelet, which it looks like it has not been used in a while due to it reminding Vexacus of Karmania which he’s moved on from. He closes the container and heads back into their living room. He decides to wait around for them to come back so he can confront them. He turns their television on to pass the time and sits back on the couch, relaxing.

As the jet plane heads for the state of Conchsylvania, where the city of Giladelphia is, Vexacus reminisces on his final days in Karmania.

After his last flashback, Vexacus helped Icy capture several beings called “elementals” for her strange master plan. He had no interest in this as he just wanted payment. When her plan succeeded, Karmania received an elemental makeover. He would later be captured by the knights who went on a quest to fix the world. At the right moment, he struck and attempted to use the Divine Beasts’s magic to reverse time so he could have a better life, one devoid of Posidonia and Karmania. He reached his breaking point and finally had enough of this magical nonsense. He couldn’t tell if this string of events were all tied to his curse or life was that hard on him. He wanted his normal bounty hunting life back. Unfortunately, this plan did not work, as he is teleported inside of Wishy Joe's palace. Wishy Joe looks at him from his throne and points a staff at him.

"You messed up, dude." Wishy Joe said, making Vexacus nervous.

“You’re the wish-master Brak tried using! I wish I could return to where I came from.“ Vexacus demanded, when magical restraints appear around his body, preventing his wish from working. He struggles to move.

“Nice try, but after your friend tried wishing away the guardians and knights’s powers, which admittedly should’ve never been a thing, and my near death experience with Beast, I finally changed the rules around here.” Joe replied, smiling smugly.

“Great. Why am I here?” Vexacus asked annoyed.

“You attempted to mess with Karmania’s magic, which although your plan would’ve never worked, is still a big no no. Normally this wouldn’t be my jurisdiction but the Council members have their heads messed up due to that elemental funkiness, so you’re under my care for now. We’re going to be best friends, so let’s get to know each other! Hi, I’m Joe.” Joe explained.

“I’m Vexacus, but I assume you already knew that.” Vexacus replied annoyed.

“Yeah. Living up in this realm away from everyone else gets kind of lonely, so I’m glad to have a friend. You know, I used to be a member of the Karmanian Council long ago. When I retired, they granted me this realm to rule over. It’s pretty sweet and peaceful. You might like it.” Joe rambled, but Vexacus couldn’t care less about his life story.

“Sure, peace and quiet is nice after everything I’ve been through, I would prefer to go home. I promise I’ll never bother anyone here again.” Vexacus insisted.

“Doesn’t work like that, I’m afraid. You’re too dangerous to be let go given your stunt earlier. Luckily for you, I’ve got a lot of work around here. Come with me!” Joe said, escorting Vexacus out of the palace.

Vexacus thought about “work” and realizes that’s not a good sign. Joe takes Vexacus to his magical garden.

“Pick all those delicious plants if you’d be so kind, my back is killing me.” Joe ordered, as he sits back on his chair and makes a glass of lemonade appear for himself.

Vexacus tries to run for it, but the magical restraints prevent him from doing so, and he falls to the ground.

“Sorry, you’re not going anywhere. Get to work before I finish my lemonade.” Joe said, as he begins sipping it.

Not having much of a choice, Vexacus gets to work, picking the plants. He felt humiliated truly his nadir to date. He couldn’t believe this was happening. He was now in a magical wish master’s domain where he’s a slave. He truly felt like a stranger in a strange land. Vexacus finishes picking the plants before Joe finishes his lemonade, and returns to him.

“Good work. Here, drink up.” Joe said, filling up the lemonade and handing it to him.

“…Thanks.” Vexacus replied awkwardly, drinking it whole.

Over the next few weeks, and soon, months, Vexacus continued to do Joe’s chores for him. Some meager, some more painstaking. He formed a strange relationship with Joe, unsure how to describe it. He was a slave, but Joe at least treated him kindly. One day, Vexacus enters the palace after work, seeing Joe playing a card game with Tom.

“I cleaned the fountain.” Vexacus reported.

“Good job. You can take your lunch break.” Joe replied, pointing to his lunch on a table at the other side of the room.

Vexacus sluggishly heads to it and eats, even though he doesn’t care for it. He can faintly make out Tom and Joe’s conversation, unsure if they want him to hear.

“Is that him?” Tom asked.

“Yeah. He’s a good worker despite everything, and he keeps me company.” Joe replied.

“Surprised he’s behaved this long, I figured he’d snap and try to kill you.” Tom replied.

“Me too, but hey, I guess it might be working. Hopefully this finally helps him move on.” Joe replied.

“When the Destiny Temple calls, you will know when it’s time to let him go. Also, I win.” Tom assured, winning the card game.

“Well played.” Joe replied.

Tom shakes his hand and leaves, while Vexacus thinks over what he heard. He had wanted out of here, but why was now not the time? Was the Destiny Temple the one nearby he’s seen a few times? Vexacus finishes his lunch and approaches Joe.

“Hey, uh, it’s been a while since we talked about this. I just wanted to say I don’t hold any grudges toward any of you and would like to return to my life. I understand if I can’t though.” Vexacus requested.

“I’d like to let you go, but I still can’t 100% trust you, and it’s not my call anyways. Nothing personal. I can only let you go when the time is right, and that’s not now. Only destiny can decide what’s best for you. Not me, not you, not anyone else.” Joe continued.

“I see.” Vexacus understood, not happy.

“I don’t have any work for you right now, so feel free to take a rest.” Joe replied, heading off.

Vexacus finally realized the lesson Joe was possibly trying to teach him: he was a slave to a cycle and had no control over his own destiny. He let his obsession with wanting payback on Ramos go too far, which put him in his current situation. Even if he had ignored the sea unicorn request though, he still would’ve been stuck doing criminal work. He wanted to free himself from these shackles, and soon, he would.

Vexacus was glad to be past all of that, but took what Joe said to heart: he needed to take control of this own destiny. No more reminiscing on the past, he’s moving forward.

In June’s apartment, Hopper finishes eating his sandwich and is ready to question June.

“Alright, don’t be afraid. Look me in the eyes. Trust me.” Hopper said pleadingly to June.

He moves the cloth over June’s mouth, allowing her to speak.

“You’re going to answer a question for me. How do I break your boy Vexacus?” Hopper asked, a name June hadn’t thought about in a long while.

“I have a question for you: what was the point of wasting my time with your bat story?” June asked.

“Watch your mouth!” one of the assassins said, hitting her in the head and making her flinch.

Hopper then punches the assassin in the face for that, ordering them to stand down.

“Chill, boys. I didn't take no offense. In fact, this was my bad, 'cause I didn't tell her the whole story. See, I was just explaining your role to you: that you my bat. But that bat ain't the end of the story. Nah. So after being beaten within an inch of his life by that badass little bitch, the bully woke up in the hospital. It was right then when little bitch walked in like the a damn ghost of Christmas past. Bully sees him and starts crying. I mean, this boy was scared. He must have thought that boy had come to finish him off. But you know what happened? Little bitch just walked right up to his bully's bed…And held his hand. Yep. He held his hand… Just like so. Real soft and gentle-like. And then he got real close. He looks at his bully, all sniffling and crying. He looked at him and said… "I see you now.” Little bitch showed up when no one else would. He saw his bully like no one else could...and that was all it took. And, Miss June, from that moment on, he owned that bully for life. Now, if I want to own Vex, I don't just got to break him. Me, you and him are linked on a spiritual plane. I got to come at him on the same level I find myself, and... and breaking him only gets you so far. I got to break him so I can build him up. I need to wound his soul so I can be the one to heal him. That is how you own a disciple. Now, the next words out of your mouth have to be exactly what I want to hear.” Hopper threatened.

June takes a deep breath.

“Okay, I honestly don’t know where he is. I swear. We haven’t seen one another in three years now, I’m not sure if I can be of use to you.” June insisted.

“That’s okay, we’ll find him sooner or later. That’s not what I asked though. You can break him for me, I know you two had a deep spiritual bond as partners. I’m sure there’s something useful he told you.” Hopper replied.

June thinks it over, and thinks back to her last conversation with Vexacus. She hopes this works.

“I know how to break him: Karmania.” June revealed.

Hopper and the assassins look confused.

“What’s that?” Hopper asked.

“He’ll know. Trust me.” June pleaded.

“Okay then. That wasn’t hard, was it my sister? Now, let’s sit tight here for a while longer.” Hopper said.

He looks out the window, making sure police aren’t nearby after his Guild attack. June continues sitting there, worried for her life and wondering what Vexacus got himself into this time.

A bar is shown in Giladelphia. Brothers of Anarchy bikers are inside having a good time, as two members get into a fight, tossing each other around. All of their motorbike are neatly lined up outside. Two bikers are seen outside guarding the bar. Suddenly, they are grabbed from behind and dragged into the shadows. Vexacus and Clay emerge wearing heir outfits so they can go inside undercover. Sarge, Kara and Daisy are on a rooftop nearby watching.

“We have our disguises and are going in.” Vexacus reported over comms.

The two enter the bar, as the loud chatter and ruckus immediately fills their ears.

“What’s up, my brothers?” A biker asked as they enter, giving them a cool look.

They give him an assuring nod and continue scouring through the noisy bar, trying to hear for any leads on the drug operation’s location. They casually walk past two bikers roughhousing, and avoid glasses being thrown. They head into a private dining room where there’s less commotion, only two bikers are in there. They sit down at a booth with a lonely drunken biker.

“Whoa, there’s three of ya…” The biker said, hallucinating.

“Hey buddy, we forgot the way to the stash. Could you remind us on directions?” Clay asked.

“Oh yeah, sure. It’s at 1216 Kelp Avenue, on the right turn, can’t miss it.” The biker replied eloquently.

“Thank you very much.” Vexacus replied.

They send the coordinates to Sarge, Kara, and Daisy, who head off for the location. Clay then glances at the other biker in the room and is stunned, recognizing them.

“We have to get out of here now.” Clay said.

“Why, who is that?” Vexacus asked.

“That’s Zach Fensky. One of the most corrupt police commanders that Giladelphia's ever seen. I worked under him. Seems like after being fired, he found a new life with them.” Clay explained.

“Small world, huh.” Vexacus replied, surprised to learn.

The two get up and are about to leave the room, when Fensky notices them.

“Now where are you two boys heading off to? Have a seat, we got plenty of room.” Fensky offered.

Not wanting to arouse suspicion, the two sit down with him. Fensky doesn’t appear to recognize Clay.

“I haven’t seen you two around here before.” Fensky said.

“We’re new recruits, this is our first time here.” Vexacus replied.

“Well then, let me welcome ya. Drinks on me, boys.” Fensky said gleefully, hailing a waiter.

The waiter later returns with their drink. Clay saw this as an opportunity to finally tell this crook off, as he raises his glass.

“How about a toast to Operation Rainstorm?” Clay said, recalling a dark and traumatic police operation.

“Now there’s a man who knows his police history.” Fensky said, impressed.

“Oh, I don’t just know it. I lived it. I was in it.” Clay said

“That was a rough day. I had to make many rather…unpleasant decisions.” Fensky said coldly.

“Yeah, you did. Entire city ravaged in moments. We lost most of our division that day.” Clay replied.

“Yep. All heroes of the force.” Fensky replied.

“Yeah. And all dead.” Clay replied, getting increasingly annoyed.

“A small sacrifice for the greater good, no?” Fensky replied.

“Depends on who you ask, don’t you think?” Clay replied.

“What’s your point here, officer?” Fensky replied.

“All those people died… was it good for them? Hmm? Their families? The guys I served with? The “enemies” who most of which didn’t choose that life? Those poor civilians caught in the crossfire? Was it good for them?” Clay questioned.

“But we’ve outlasted ‘em, so who gives a shit? With our manpower, we’ll create havoc on the Soprano Mafia that’s gonna make Operation Rainstorm look like a puppet show by comparison. To the Brothers of Anarchy.” Fensky bragged, raising his glass and laughing.

Clay pretends to laugh along, and then fatally shoots Fensky in the head with his pistol, shocking Vexacus. He takes a moment to realize what he’s done. The drunken biker they talked to earlier walks by, who looks at the situation awkwardly. Vexacus then quickly shoots him. The bikers in the main room hear the gunshots, wondering what’s going on. Vexacus and Clay shoot at a window, shattering it, as they make an escape. The bikers angrily chase after, firing, as they fire back. They steal two bikes and race off on them, hoping this would make a good distraction. The bikers give chase.

Sarge, Daisy and Kara arrive at the Brothers of Anarchy’s derelict drug house. From a distance, Sarge shoots at a bike’s mirror, confusing the two bikers guarding the entrance. Kara and Daisy then strike, knocking them out. They carefully enter inside, smelling the drugs fill the air. A biker spots them and pulls out their gun.

“Intruders!” The biker yelled, and Daisy impales them with her sword, as they tumble over.

Kara fires at two more incoming bikers, as they rush into another room, which is a lab. The chemist throws their hands into the air and makes a run for it. Two high bikers in there are confused, as they try to attack, but Kara and Daisy take them out. They begin wrecking the lab equipment, as a chemical spill begins leaking. The lab takes them into a storage room, finding their stash of drugs and money.

"Don't sneak any of it." Kara warned Daisy, who rolls her eyes.

They dump it all over the lab, money flying everywhere, preparing to burn it all. Sarge snipes two bikers through the windows, shattering glass. The chemical reaction causes a fire to form in the lab, so Kara and Daisy run for it, continuing to shoot at bikers. They run out of the house, as the lab room explodes behind, making the house go up in flames. The remaining bikers either run for it or try to put the fire out. Kara and Daisy give each other hi fives, proud they accomplished this. Police sirens hail in the distance.

Clay and Vexacus manage to lose the Brothers of Anarchy during the bike chase. They meet up with the other three near the jet.

“We did it again!” Daisy said, proud.

“I feel ripped off, those two got to have a sweet biker chase.” Sarge said, jealous.

“Sorry about back there. I had to let out steam.” Clay said casually to Vexacus.

“Not a problem, you got closure on your past.” Vexacus replied, feeling this experience made Clay more sympathetic to the revolution cause,

“My source is on board. They’ll try to convince who they can.” Clay said after talking to them.

Their plane flies off back to Cymada. June is escorted out of her apartment by Hopper and the assassins. A bag is put over her head, as she’s taken back to their plane. As the plane leaves, they notice Tidal Nova’s plane flying by in the distance, since Conchsylvania is right next to New Kelp. Hopper senses Vexacus inside of it and requests they follow.

The jet plane lands outside the base. As the team enters inside, they're startled to see Jacques casually relaxing on the couch, waiting for them.

“Bonjour!” Jacques greeted, getting up.

“Who the hell are you?” Clay asked, readying his gun.

Vexacus remembers Jacques from his Crescent Lounge visit around seven years ago.

“I know him, don’t shoot. He’s an International Police agent.” Vexacus revealed.

“Yes, I remember you. I have to hand it to you guys, Tidal Nova, is it? You did a pretty fine job covering your tracks, but alas, you left the teensiest bread crumb trail for me to follow. Tobias’s body was found by the way, Vexacus. It wasn’t hard to put two and two together from there.” Jacques revealed to him.

Vexacus sighs to himself, not thinking about the consequences of that. He thought they had covered their tracks so well, but his past once again comes back to haunt him.

"You got a warrant?" Clay asked, and Jacques holds it up.

“How did you find us?” Kara asked.

“Did a lot of digging into a few elements such as your plane’s registration and connecting the dots with recent attacks on crime syndicates. I used your recent Ruppia trip to plant a tracker on your plane as bait to test my hypothesis, and it worked. Believe me, I wasted many valuable hours of my life, but it paid off. I’ve more or less figured out your bounty hunter revolution, but I can’t deduce the why of it.” Jacques explained, pacing around the room.

Kara is annoyed with herself that she didn't notice the tracker.

“We’re tired of criminals dictating the destinies of bounty hunters, I thought you’d appreciate us making your job easier.” Vexacus argued.

"I have to hand it to you, it’s a crazy idea and I almost respect you for pulling it off this far. But this stops now. It’s not your job to topple the underworld or destroy an entire government. What were you thinking? You’re way in over your heads. It should be the police and government’s jobs to handle those issues, not vigilantes.” Jacques said.

“Not our fault you suck at your jobs.” Daisy quipped, and Jacques scoffs.

“Look, we don't want to be your enemy. We’re helping bounty hunters and the whole world." Kara insisted.

“Are you really helping people, or are you doing this to fuel your egos?” Jacques asked, as if the question stabbed through them.

Vexacus lets it sink in and knows deep down he is probably right. He still wanted to be on the top of the food chain and was still a slave to a cycle.

"Alright, door's over there." Daisy said, pointing.

“Face it, nobody else in the world cares this much about bounty hunters. You weren’t going to get away with this forever. If it hadn’t been me, someone else would’ve. It’s inevitable. No criminal ever gets away with it forever.” Jacques firmly explained.

“Yeah yeah, are you gonna arrest us? Just get it over with.” Sarge replied, annoyed.

“You should be, but it depends how my superiors will feel. Technically, my chain of evidence is unorthodox and you've planted believable patsies for them to point fingers at, so those defenses could help you. I also know I can't take you on alone. However, I'm a believer in second chances. Stop going down this path now and maybe they'll go light on you. Consider this your friendly warning, you only get one. Continue this "revolution" and you'll be prosecuted to the fullest extent.” Jacques warned, with the crew unsure on how sincere he's being.

Suddenly, footsteps are heard behind. Hopper and the mafia assassins enter, shocking the six. June has a bag over her face. Vexacus recognizes Hopper, his first ever bounty. He was so confused.

“Who are you?” Jacques asked confused to Hopper, who is readying his gun.

“I’m just a brave traveler who’s here for a reunion.” Hopper replied.

Before Jacques can react further, Hopper then fatally shoots Jacques through the head, horrifying the team as they let out yells. Before the team can shoot back, Hopper’s assassins point their guns at June, taking off the bag over her face.

“…Vex?” June said, surprised.

“Don’t shoot! That’s my old friend.” Vexacus ordered the team, as they stand down.

“That’s June?” Kara asked, surprised to see her in the flesh.

“Drop your weapons or I crack her skull in. All of them.” Hopper demanded.

The team drops their weapons to the floors and kick them over to the assassins, who confiscate them.

“Good, we’ve reached an impasse. Now, I request an audience. Let’s talk.” Hopper said happily, casually sitting down on the couch while Jacques’s dead body lays on the floor.

Notes/Trivia:

-Character Debuts: Fensky

-Deaths: Jacques and Fensky

-Area Debuts: Conchsylvania, Giladelphia

-Flashback Timeline: Set between the Mystic Guardians Season 5 episodes “Hero Heart” and “Temple of Destiny” (last flashback)

-Wishy Joe and Tom from Mystic Guardians makes a cameo in the flashback.

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Chapter Nine: Enlightened Path

Outside of the base, a hole has been dug. Jacques’s body is dragged by two assassins toward it. One of them notices the black book along with the decoder, taking both from him.

“What’s this book? What language is this?” The assassin asked, trying to read it.

“It’s a decoded list of criminal contacts across the sea. We’ve got the keys to the kingdom. Tony is gonna love this.”  Another assassin spoke, flipping through the pages.

Jacques’s corpse is thrown into the hole and unceremoniously covered up. The assassins walk back inside, handing Hopper the contact book. Jacques’s blood stain is left on the floor.

“Damn, actual spy symbols and everything. Looks like I did you all a solid. That agent could’ve ruined your whole revolution, which yes, I know all about. I’m serving as a messenger for the Soprano Mafia who’ve been onto your plan. If we and that agent can figure it out, then you didn’t cover your tracks well.” Hopper said smugly, smiling and looking through the book.

“Yeah, we know.” Kara replied, rolling her eyes and thinking about the tracker.

She looks outside through a window and notices the mafia plane landed in the forest nearby, realizing that’s how they got here. She’s also repulsed by the plane’s design. Hopper then places the book and decoder on the table.

“You have no idea how foolish you are for killing an agent. Interpol will hunt you down until you’re dead or behind bars.” Clay warned.

“That is unless of course, I make it look like you’re the ones who killed him. After all, it appears the homie was hunting you. Not many would question that story.” Hopper blackmailed threateningly.

The team relents, knowing they can’t argue much with that.

“Okay…can I just ask: who the hell are you?” Kara asked, having a tough time processing the events transpiring before them.

“That’s Hopper, my first ever bounty. June and I caught him together thirteen years ago.” Vexacus explained, as June looks over.

“In the flesh.” Hopper replied, honored, as he sits back on the couch.

“Alright, and how did you find us?” Daisy asked annoyed.

“You can thank Clay’s friend Sneed. He went peacefully, just so you know.” Hopper said, as Sneed’s bloodied axe is seen attached to his belt

Clay lets out a solemn look and tries to hold back his fury. He figured Hopper must have found out about their shootout with the Dusk Raiders and tracked Sneed from there. In retrospect, they could’ve been less flashy with that attack, but live and learn. Can’t change the past.

“You’re sick.” Sarge said, about to attack, but the assassins step forward, forcing him to stand down.

“In case you try attempt any other bold moves, I’ll alert the Don and his entire mafia force will be here faster than I can swing a bat. You may be able to take on small time criminal chumps, but we both know you’d be outmatched against an entire army.” Hopper threatened, holding out his phone to call Tony with just in case.

“Fine. But I want your word June will not be harmed. Remove the demanding cloth and let her speak.” Vexacus demanded.

“Chill, I got no reason to hurt her, she’s integral to this gathering.” Hopper replied, as he takes off the cloth over June’s mouth.

“Hi Vex. I know it’s, uh…been a while. Not how I wanted to meet again…but I’m glad you’re alive.” June awkwardly greeted to Vexacus.

“Believe me, the feeling is mutual.” Vexacus replied, looking at Hopper on edge.

Hopper forces June to sit down on the couch across from him. Her arms and legs remain shackles, still unable to properly move.

“Alright, now listen up: everyone else get the hell outta here. Only June, Vexacus and I can be in this room for the enlightenment that is about to occur. I’d truly love to have a session with the whole family, but I ain’t here for them.” Hopper demanded.

The team worries for Vexacus, but he gives a signal indicating them it will be okay and to do as he says.

“I want your word they won’t be harmed either.” Vexacus said.

“They won’t, as long as they behave." Hopper replied.

Clay, Sarge, Kara and Daisy are forced into the kitchen by the assassins, as they lock the door behind. Hopper stares at the remaining assassins in the room.

“You too, grunts.” Hopper said to them.

The remaining assassins either go outside or into the kitchen to watch over the team. Now the room was truly just Hopper, Vexacus and June, the original trio that started this path. Hopper then gets up and begins pacing around the room, analyzing June and Vexacus.

“Alright, what do you want, you psychopath?” Vexacus asked.

“Easy boy. We’re on the same side, even though you don’t see it now.” Hopper replied.

“How can we possibly be on the same side when you work for our enemies?” Vexacus asked.

“Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer, yeah? As I explained to your lady friend here, I hold no grudge for you locking me up. In fact, it made me a better man. It gave me all the time in the world to read literature from the world’s greatest minds. It enlightened my own mind and illuminated my current path forward. The three of us were destined for something big together. It’s time the stars align to see that prophecy through. The universe has big plans for us.” Hopper explained ominously.

June and Vexacus recall his parting conversation to them when he was apprehended, about how “they were destined for a cycle” and that “they’d see each other again.” They had wished the latter wouldn’t come true, but here they were.

“Whatever delusions of grandeur you have, she has no interest in them. She’s out of the game.” Vexacus said, but Hopper ignores him.

“You two are like heroes to me. Two heroes I got off on the wrong foot with, not gonna wash that away. But it was a turning point in my story nonetheless. And something tells me it was a turning point in your stories too.” Hopper said.

“I mean, it was our first bounty mission together, but bounty hunting wasn’t for me. I wouldn’t say that was a turning point.” June replied.

“Oh, but it was, my sister. The day we met set in motion a series of events leading to this very moment. Destiny has bound us together.” Hopper replied.

“Can you get to a point already?” Vexacus demanded.

“Believe it or not Vex, but you and I have a lot more in common than we think, especially when it comes to revolution. However, we perceive it in different days. Let me regale you with a beautiful tale. When I was released from prison, and man was I a good boy, I had to return back home. Startin’ over from scratch. Hadn’t been back there since I was little, when people didn't think much of me. It actually reminded me of a dream I used to have, that I would one day own that town, that the very land everyone walked on, slept on, would be mine.” Hopper was saying, and June hides her annoyance due to his first psychotic story still fresh in her mind.

“Settle in, this looks like it's gonna be a long one.” Vexacus said to June, also annoyed by this rambling.

“…Except there I was, back home with those same dumbasses who didn't believe in me said I wouldn't amount to nothing. This time, they was wrong. I had tools now. I had vision I didn't have before. So I started hustling. I set up shop couple of corners here and there. At first, on my own. Then a few cartel members got impressed, joined in. They welcomed me in like family. Couple of block battles but nothing we couldn't handle. Matter of fact, it was easier than ever. And like a virus, we multiplied. Within 42 days, I took down every gang. From there, it was easy to get to the politicians. Once that domino fell, we took control of all the favelas. I was running everything and everyone from the president to the campesino. And by day 99, I finally had my own city. Then on the 100th day, I got bored. I had everything I ever wanted, but all I felt was emptiness. One day, an associate brings this crazy old shaman who says he can help me. So I said, “All right, let him in.” He sat my ass down, prepared me a cocktail of this powder pink powder, red blood mixed in with some milk. He looked into my eyes and said, “You're asleep. It's time you wake up.” Then held the cup to my lips. You wanna know what I did? I gulped that shit down. And then I just gotta be real with you, it tasted awful. Then I puked myself. Back and forth, back and forth, til all of the puke poured out of me. The shaman then takes my face in his hands, says “It's time for you to go home.” I didn't know what to think. I told him I was home. And then it hit me why I was feeling empty that whole time. Home isn't where you from. It's where you supposed to be. I was born there, but Itolis… that’s my home. That’s where I thrived. And there I laid, weeping like a bitch, telling the shaman I could never go back. I failed there. Tony would never let me back. That path was closed to me. Shaman shook his head no. Told me I had to reopen that path to enlightenment, that I had to reconcile with the ones who closed it. For they were meant to be my partners. Then and only then can I go home again. So I grew a pair of balls and reached out to Tony. He was impressed with my power, and offered me to rejoin. I finally returned to Itolis, doing more of the mob’s errands, but it was then where I finally realized what the shaman truly meant by home: the criminal underworld as a whole. That’s why we sitting here right now, Vex. That's why I came back. I owned the wrong place, I thought too small. I'm gonna take over the whole dang criminal empire, and you gonna be my side when I do. You too June, with that legal mind of yours to help me out of tight spots. So what you think?” Hopper rambled to the two.

“I think you’re out of your mind. I’m becoming a lawyer to help the innocent, not to bend the law for people like you.” June said, as Vexacus can only echo the sentiment.

“Ah, but you see, you would just be another slave to the law. Is that not what we three are, slaves to different parts of the imaginary rules? The law has only existed to divide us, but what if we are meant to be together?” Hopper questioned.

June shakes her head and decides to keep quiet, knowing there’s no reasoning with this madman.

“I want to own every corner of the world, from the oceans to the land above. I want them all pushing my product, and I mean everyone. Not just drug dealers and soldiers. Every business, every storefront, every city, every town, every billboard, every train in every tunnel, every plane in every sky, every domicile, every pig in blue, every government, every syndicate. From the night ladies walking the streets to the day ladies, from the vilest fiends down in lockup to the ones in the high-rises. I wanna roll five boroughs into one blunt, smoke that shit as I count my cash and ash on the bald heads of every man in power. That is my master vision, and that Vex and June, is what I want. I wanna own the entire dimension.” Hopper revealed, as he and Vexacus pace around the room while June nervously watches on.

“…So let me see if I got this. You wanna get into real estate. Is that it? Is that what all this is about? Is that really your groundbreaking epiphany here? No. That can't truly be it, is it? In your word salad, I heard something about drug dealing. So what…you just want to become a master drug kingpin? That’s nothing unique. It’s even more ridiculous than my revolution, since that's at least focused. Good luck trying to rise against your masters and not invoking their wrath. Unless you’re after a monopoly on stupidity, please tell me you have more. Please tell me you didn’t waste my time when you could have just enrolled in some night classes at a real state school.” Vexacus scoffed, unimpressed by his vision.

“This ain’t about being no landlord, my brother. It’s about power. And I’m gonna be real with you, nobody gives a shit about bounty hunting. There is a tangible market for esteemed product such as mine, but who truly cares about bounty hunters? That’s where you have your revolution all wrong. I travel in worlds you can’t comprehend.” Hopper retorted.

“At least I’m not foolish enough to think I can control all of society or “the entire dimension” as you put it. Do you know how deranged that sounds?” Vexacus replied.

“Bold plans always sound insane on paper, but they require bold visionaries to execute them! You understand that, yeah? Look at what you’ve accomplished despite nobody believing in you. I have to give your team props for pulling off what you have so far. I see talent and beauty in the most obscure of places. Killing a dictator, taking on the Dusk thugs, blowing up the Shadow ninjas, even robbing thieves themselves, you can’t make that shit up. That’s why I want to recruit you. Your power is misplaced on a fool’s errand, but when that mind is set to a visionary like me’s goal…there’s no telling what we could do together. We can take down that fat bastard Tony and his mafia together.” Hopper offered.

June thinks over what she’s hearing, realizing Vexacus has really gotten himself into something deep since they last met. She knew he would only delve further into the criminal life, which she’d be disappointed by, but too much was going through her mind to care that much. Vexacus could tell the disappointment from the expression on her face. He couldn’t blame her, as even he was feeling this went too far after Jacques’s death and seeing how he put everyone he cares about in danger.

“No thank you, my revolution was never supposed to grow this large. It was for us. We’ve already put enough people in danger, I’m not going any further.” Vexacus replied, thinking about Jacques and June.

“It was for your team, huh? Are you sure about that, bro? I get it now. That’s why you started this revolution, isn’t it? You want to wash away your sins and make yourself look like the better man. You never cared about being a holy savior to your fellow hunter sisters and brothers. You just wanted power, like me. Control, the top of the food chain. We’re more alike than you think, accept the truth!” Hopper realized, the words piercing through Vexacus.

Vexacus knew deep down it was true, all his life he wanted to be the one in control.

“Whatever helps you sleep at night.” Vexacus scoffed, trying to not let him get to him on the surface, but knowing he already did beneath.

He then eyes Hopper’s gun left behind on the table. Wanting to end this nonsense, he quickly grabs it. Hopper turns to see Vexacus pointing his own gun at him. He pulls the trigger, but nothing releases. Hopper lets out a mighty laugh.

“My boy, did you really think I would’ve left that with ammo inside?” Hopper questioned, as Vexacus throws the gun to the floor.

Hopper then grabs the axe and holds it close to June’s neck, who looks on nervously. Vexacus is angry he put her in further danger and steps back, trying to calm Hopper.

“Please don’t do this…” June begged to Hopper.

“She’s right, don’t have her pay for my insolence. She’s not in the game and shouldn’t have been involved in this.” Vexacus begged.

“I’m making a point, she’s the only leverage I have over ya. Another brash move like that and I’m taking your girl’s head clean off. I still can’t trust for certain you cleared out all of your weapons. We understand each other, yeah?” Hopper asked to Vexacus.

“Yes, I promise there’s no more weapons on me. If I did, I would’ve used them by now instead of your own weapon.” Vexacus replied, lifting up his arms and emptying his pockets

“I like the way you think, my man. You’re a details person, the kind of one I need by my side!” Hopper replied, impressed by Vexacus’s attention to detail.

Hopper moves away from June, as she lets out a sigh of relief.

In the kitchen, the rest of the Tidal Nova team are being eyed cautiously by the assassins. Th team’s hands are tied behind their backs with duck-tape, as they awkwardly stand around. One of the assassins is making lunch for themselves and carelessly leaving a mess in the kitchen.

“Great, yet another thing to clean up.” Kara sighed to herself.

“Maybe we’re actually the lucky ones here, since we don’t have to hear that pretentious rambling.” Sarge whispered, faintly making out some of Hopper and Vexacus’s conversation from the door.

“No funny business.” An assassin reminded to the four.

“Aye, captain.” Daisy replied snidely, pretending to salute, but couldn’t due to his restraints.

Clay eyes around the kitchen, looking for potential points of escape. He notices the silverware on a counter, which while would be suitable to cut through their tape restraints, getting there undetected is easier said than done. Kara, Daisy and Sarge see what Clay is looking at and are onto his plan. They get an idea to distract the assassins. Sarge gets in front of an assassin’s path, obscuring their view.

“Hey buddy, while we’re gonna be here for a while, how about we have a nice talk? Topic can be anything you want.” Sarge offered, weirding the assassin out.

“Umm…sure?” The assassin replied awkwardly.

“Got any favorite sports teams?” Sarge asked, breaking the ice.

“Yeah, there’s a big one we run bets for back in Itolis. And it’s not just about the money, okay well that is part of it, but we’re passionate about ‘em.” The assassin replied.

Kara and Daisy also distract two assassins, trying to talk to them.

“Do you fly in planes often?” Kara asked one.

“Not particularly. We tend to stick to our homeland and don’t want to attract attention. You’re a special exception.” The assassin replied.

“Well, it just so happens I’m the team’s pilot and with all due respect, your plane could use work. I can help you make it even better. The mafia deserves worthy vehicles, no?” Kara chatted.

“I suppose so ma’am. I’ll send your complaint to the boss and see if he gives two damns.” The assassin replied, shrugging.

“Thank you for the consideration, kind sir.” Kara replied, teasing.

“I’m glad organizations like the mafia recognize badass women like us. Even though we’re on the opposite side, I’m sure you’re great at your job.” Daisy said to a female assassin, noticing she has one of her swords on her belt.

“Hey, thanks.” The assassin replied gratefully.

As they distract the assassins, Clay carefully makes his way to the counter. The remaining assassin nearby keeps an eye on Clay, who then stands there for a few. Not suspecting anything, the assassin then turns their attention to the conversations. Clay quickly heads to the counter, cutting his tape through a knife. He frees himself and pockets the knife along with another. He throws the tape into a trashcan and holds his hands behind his back to keep the illusion, then casually walks back.

“Alright, enough chatter, prisoners.” The assassin demanded to the team, ending their conversations.

Back to the living room, Hopper continues pacing around the room, carelessly swinging the axe around.

“I believe we’ve clearly set the stage of our play, so now it’s time to get to the real act. Vex, if you’d be so kind, take a seat across from your girl.” Hopper said, pointing to the other couch with the axe.

“Before I do though, I want June untied. You already know she can’t harm you. Make it so we’re on an equal playing field. If you want me to take your word at heart, then do this.” Vexacus demanded.

Hopper laughs again.

“Allowing her to speak wasn’t enough? She must really mean something to you if you’re batting this hard for her.” Hopper noted.

Vexacus and June understand the insinuation, deciding not to acknowledge it as this situation is already awkward enough.

“But I am a man of my word and I promised I wouldn’t harm your girl, so fine. I admit, you know how to bargain. You’d be one hell of a salesman.” Hopper replied.

He holds out a blade. He uses it to cut open the rope binding Joe’s arms and legs. June can finally move, relieved. Vexacus sits on the couch, and awkwardly looks across at June.

“I want to get your real comfortable. And I mean, super relaxed, because that couch is the last form of comfort you’ll get before I ask you a real difficult, painful question.” Hopper explained, confusing Vexacus.

“I’ve been through many near death experiences, I doubt a question will hurt me, but sure, get on with it.” Vexacus replied.

June looks worried, knowing what’s to come and that she told Hopper about it.

“Okay, don’t say I didn’t warn you. Now, here’s my riddle you must answer: What is Karmania?” Hopper asked curiously.

Vexacus taken aback by this. How would he of all people know about it?

“…What?” Vexacus asked.

“Ms. June told me that name means something to you. I need it to understand you. For all my knowledge, even I don’t know what it means, so if I can’t decipher it, it must be something real special to you. So tell me: What is it?” Hopper asked.

Vexacus knew June was coerced into it, so he can’t be mad at her. Still, this further made him regret revealing the truth to her three years prior.

“You probably won’t believe it, but given your mental sanity, maybe you will, who knows.” Vexacus replied.

“Try me. I’ve heard many crazy tales.” Hopper replied, wanting to hear.

"It’s a magical world on another plane of existence, connected to Posidonia. Sea unicorns, mystic mermaids, ancient monsters, strange creatures from beyond, and magical kingdoms, you name it all. You allegedly love reading so much, try reading history books about it sometime. But it’s no mere fairy tale. It’s real, and I was there.” Vexacus revealed.

Hopper is taken aback by this. He wants to call bull, but…he senses Vexacus is telling the truth.

“…You’ve traveled to other worlds too? I knew we were both brave travelers, but you…you’ve gone the extra distance. You’ve made me realize I’ve still been thinking way too damn small. There’s another dimension for me to rule. And you can be my guide through there.” Hopper offered.

“No way, I’m done with that place. It’s in the past. Even if I wanted to return, I have no way back. Trust me, it’s not worth it. If you still naively think conquering this world is a breeze, your brain can’t comprehend what’s in that world.” Vexacus replied.

“Why would you not want to return to such a divine place with this potential? Unless…it brought you pain?” Hopper suggested, realizing.

Vexacus doesn’t respond.

“Ms. June, did he tell you about his work in this Karmania?” Hopper asked.

“Yes, he did. He went through many struggles there. I wasn’t sure if I could fully believe it, but the stories he told, they sounded too real to be made up.” June confirmed.

“What kind of struggles?” Hopper asked Vexacus.

“…I was repeatedly defeated by mermaids and armored warriors, served as a flunky for insane kings and a witch, stranded in a desert, imprisoned, nearly killed by a dragon, lost my arm, cursed, and finally, imprisoned again. I went into a world I was not prepared for and suffered. It made me realize how depressing and unfulfilling bounty hunting is. That’s why I started this revolution, to make up for all of those failures. I wanted to prove I’m still a great warrior. I wanted to break the cycle and rise to the top.” Vexacus revealed, broken.

June finally understands Vexacus’s struggle, even if she didn’t agree with his methods, and gives him a solemn look.

In the kitchen, one of the assassins notices Clay’s hands are freed. Clay strikes and stabs him multiple times with the knife. He thought about taking his gun back for a moment, but knew it’d alert Hopper. The other assassins notice and before they draw their guns, Sarge, Kara and Daisy tackle the three to the floor and beat on them. Daisy’s assassin is the one she spoke to earlier, noticing her sword on the belt. She cuts the tape against it, takes the sword back and stabs her. Clay frees Sarge and Kara, handing them the knives. Sarge slashes his assassin’s throat. The remaining assassin pushes Kara off of him. She quickly gets up and punches him in the face, sending him against the fridge. She then strikes the knife right through his chest, as he collapses to the floor, finishing him. The hunters take their confiscated weapons back from the assassins and look at the bloody kitchen.

“Sorry about the mess.” Sarge said awkwardly to Kara, who can’t be bothered by it right now.

Back in the living room, Hopper begins shedding tears, touched by Vexacus’s story. He is so fixated on his situation he doesn’t make out the commotion from the kitchen. Hopper sets Sneed’s axe onto the table. He approaches Vexacus, who tries to get away from him, but Hopper consoles him. June quietly gets up with Hopper’s back turned.

“Get away from me!” Vexacus demanded.

“No, I did this for you! I did this because I could see this wound on your face. I just wanted to show you the light!” Hopper revealed.

“This is nonsense!” Vexacus replied.

“Ain’t no nonsense, bruh. The only thing that happened just now is that you finally faced the truth. You’ve been looking away from your greatest failure. And now that you know the truth…you can use it. See, this shit you went through, most people don't know pain like that. They never will. And if they did, it would end them. But the people who dig in, the ones who keep surviving, those are the ones you can't bat. Those are the ones no one can bat. Because once you've weathered a storm like yours. You become the storm. You hear me? You are the storm. And it’s the rest of the world that needs to run for cover. Your resolve is beautiful Vex, it’s special. Don’t you believe that?” Hopper concluded.

“…I don’t know.” Vexacus replied.

“Do you wanna believe it?” Hopper asked.

“I just don’t want to be a slave anymore.” Vexacus replied.

“Hey. You aren’t. I see you now.” Hopper said boldly to Vexacus, looking at him in the eye.

Hopper stares at him for a few moments. Suddenly, he lets out a heavy grunt. He looks down at his chest to see the axe piercing through it. Vexacus is stunned, stepping back. Hopper collapses to the ground, bleeding out. June is seen standing behind, holding the bloodied axe in fear. She had her first kill, and she’s horrified at what she’s done, dropping the axe. Clay, Sarge and Kara burst into the room and lower their weapons, just as shocked at the sight before them. They can tell they missed a lot.

Notes/Trivia:

-Death: Hopper

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Chapter Ten: Slave

Sometime in the future, a field of many blooming flowers is shown. Pan in to one special, strange blue flower that feels almost out of place. Storm clouds form overhead, as rain drops down onto the area, the flowers bathing in joy. The rain continues pouring down, as droplets pound against an odd piece of glass right next to the strange flower.

In the present, the remaining three assassins patrol the outside of the base, wondering what’s happening inside.

“This place would honestly be nice to live in. Isolated from civilization where nobody can hear the screams.” An assassin said delightfully.

The Tidal Nova team then bursts out and begins slaying the assassins. Daisy disarms one and then stabs them through the chest. One of the assassins near the forests fires their gun, shattering window glass, as Kara takes cover. A bullet strikes her torso, but the bulletproof armor protected her. Clay returns fire, striking them through the head. Vexacus shoots at the last assassin, striking them in the leg. They try to flee into the forests, but Sarge points his sniper through a broken window and fires, taking out the last assassin. Kara goes over to the team’s plane and removes the tracker on the belly, crushing it in her hand. She looks over at the mafia’s plane and scoffs, then spitefully shoots at it a few times.

“You’d think the mafia can afford planes that don’t look like junk.” Kara said.

Vexacus digs up the spot where they buried Jacques. He looks at Jacques’s dead body, realizing how out of hand their plan became. His carelessness with offing Tobias came back to haunt him and call Jacques to investigate. Divine retribution ad its ways with cause and effect. Jacques became too obsessed with trying to apprehend Tobias much in the same way Vexacus had become too obsessed with his revolution plan. Irving’s words then echoed into his mind: “When you live the life of a criminal, there is no happy ending.” He realized that he would never truly be free if he kept living on the law’s edge.

“I still can’t believe that “philosopher” lunatic offed an Interpol agent. This world, man.” Sarge said.

“We can’t leave a corpse on our property. What are we going to do with him?” Daisy asked.

“His body can’t be near here or it’d draw suspicion toward us.” Clay replied.

“We can place his body somewhere else in Cymada that’s far enough away from here. We’ll make sure his family and friends get closure and know the truth.” Vexacus replied, wanting to make things right.

“Add Hopper’s too, we can make it look like a shootout. It wouldn’t be inaccurate anyway.” Kara added.

“Good idea. First let’s clean all evidence inside.” Vexacus replied.

The team heads back inside the base, seeing June standing over Hopper’s body and the dropped axe. She is still paralyzed and in shock at what she did. She never expected to kill anyone, and certainly didn’t expect it to happen in the way that it did.

“Are you alright?” Vexacus asked June, consoling her.

“…Yeah, I’m alright. Sorry about that, but my reflexes kicked in. You were in danger and I saw a perfect opportunity to strike.” June explained.

“No need to apologize, thank you. It’s me who should apologize for putting you in danger, it’s the last thing I ever wanted.” Vexacus replied.

“It’s not your fault. You had no way of knowing that psycho would track me down to reach you. But I still just killed a man, so obviously that wouldn’t be good for my law career if anyone found out. I spent a lot of time using the Guild to clear my own past, and I don’t want this undoing that work.” June said very worried, and hinting at a criminal past before she became a bounty hunter.

“Do not worry, we will ensure this is never traced back to you. You will return to you normal life and never worry about dipping back into the criminal world again. You have the chance to start over and live your life the way you want, one we are not so fortunate to have.” Vexacus promised to her, as June feels pity for him given everything they talked about in their last conversation in Posidonia.

“We have a plan to get rid of the body and make it completely unconnected to you. But in case there’s any details we miss again, which we will take extreme care not to, there’s a really good lawyer I know who can bail you out.” Clay explained, handing June his card.

“Thank you. I’m a complete stranger to you four but the fact you’d help me out means a lot.” June replied, looking at Clay, Kara, Daisy and Sarge.

“You’re a friend of Vex, so that means you’re a friend of ours.” Daisy replied.

“He told us you used to be a pretty good hunter, what made you stop?” Sarge asked curiously.

“I realized the life wasn’t for me, particularly because of near death situations such as this. I wanted to turn around and do something special with my life. What I’ve always wanted most was to help people in need, and pursuing a lawyer path appealed to me.” June replied, a sentiment Vexacus can relate to.

“Fair enough. I’ve felt the same way at times, but I do my best to keep fighting.” Kara replied.

“I wish you the best of luck, Ms. June. We’ll take you home after we clean up this mess.” Sarge said, looking at the blood stains on the floor and massacre in the kitchen.

“I promise my lips are sealed. Nobody will hear a word of this.” June replied, feeling morally weird about this, but knew it was best to not put them in anymore trouble.

Clay puts on latex gloves and begins moving the dead assassins in the kitchen. Vexacus and Kara scrub the blood stains in the living room, while Clay, Daisy and Sarge clean the kitchen. As the team cleans up the base, a news report comes on the television.

“This just in, Nalabar’s situation has worsened. The various rebel groups have been unable to reach a satisfying compromise on a new leader with the military. The country’s economy has also taken a major hit and is unexpected to recover anytime soon. Despite seeming optimism after Pusher’s death, the country’s fate may actually look grimmer than before if a compromise is not reached soon.” The news reporter said.

This information only further cements Vexacus’s decision that it’s time for this revolution to end. They were in over their heads trying to take out a dictator. It’s too late to change the past now, but he still wants to make amends for everything he’s done. June is off to the side watching him clean the room. She can tell the team had to do with Pashir’s death due to Vexacus’s regretful expression. Part of her had wanted to know what they had gotten into to warrant all of this chaos, but the other part of her mind was at ease not wanting to know further details.

Kara looks at the shattered windows, deciding they can be fixed another time. She picks up all of the glass shards, placing them into the trash. The kitchen and living room are eventually completely cleaned, eliminating any problematic evidence. Hopper and Jacques’s bodies are carefully put into the plane’s cargo hold. The team rolls the seven assassin’s bodies into tarps, similar to what Vexacus and Broodwing did to Ziggy. The hunters carry the seven bodies one by one down to a nearby lake in the forest. After all seven are brought there, the bodies are dumped into the lake, as they float down the stream. The axe is also tossed in there by Vexacus for good measure. The five bounty hunters look at their reflections in the crashing water. They reflect back on what lead them to everything today. Without saying it out loud, their expressions display the same sentiment Vexacus is thinking: their plan went off the rails.

“I’d say our tracks are covered well this time. Hopefully, but if not, we know who to call.” Sarge replied, referring to the lawyer Clay directed June to.

“I am sorry about Sneed.” Vexacus said to Clay.

“Like June said, there was no way you’d anticipate that level of dedication to hunting us. He was in the game.” Clay replied, accepting it.

“That Hopper guy was…quite an interesting character. I would’ve liked to deliver that final blow though.” Daisy said.

“I can’t stand people who think they’re deeper than they actually are. From what I could make out, it sounded like mostly nonsense he was spewing.” Kara said.

“Most of it was nonsense, yes, but there is something he said that stuck with me. He made me realize something that I know we’ve all been thinking. It’s time this revolution came to an end. We made good progress for what it was worth, but it’s not worth the stress it’s brought upon us. This was never truly about wiping out empowering bounty hunters or wiping out all crime families, which was never a feasible goal. Nobody cares that much about bounty hunting. It was a foolish fantasy I only suggested to fuel my own pride. We weren’t supposed to attract the attention of Interpol, but we did, and now one of their agents is dead because of me. The Soprano Mafia is also actively hunting for us now and they won’t stop until we’re ten feet under. I’ve put you all in danger with my idiotic goals. We cannot live in hiding forever. I said that if you wanted out of this, you could tell me at any moment. Now is the time to do so, if you feel that way.” Vexacus decreed, accepting responsibility.

“I warned you in the beginning this would have a lot against our favors, and those odds finally caught up to this. As the agent said, someone would’ve eventually found out the more people we got on our side. You made the right choice to stop now that our vulnerabilities are exposed.” Clay replied.

“I can’t say I disagree. I’ve been feeling we were in over our heads with this. One team was never going to change everything about the underworld and Guild. It was nice killing some top dogs and all, but trying to take down crime lords with more violence a bit contradictory to this revolution’s goals now that I think about it.” Sarge replied, which Vexacus also thinks about.

“While I’m annoyed our work so far will go to waste, I agree it’s for the best to pull the plug before this gets worse.” Kara agreed.

“If that's what you want, then I understand. However, we’ve still ignited a spark for others to follow. If other teams want to change bounty hunting, they can push for a better future. Many team we’ve connected to sympathize with our cause. People out there do care, so everything we did wasn’t all for nothing.” Daisy noted.

“I am happy it appealed to a few hunters. But I am not the one to see the goal through. I do hope for a better future for bounty hunters, however my time has come to an end with this profession.” Vexacus revealed, confusing the team.

“…You’re leaving us?” Kara asked, surprised.

“In a manner of speaking. I want to turn myself into the Soprano Mafia and face what I’ve done. I’ll clear your and June’s names of any involvement in the plot.” Vexacus explained, deciding to finally face the consequences of his actions.

“You don’t have to do that for us. We were all in it together, we’ll take him down with you.” Daisy pleaded.

“No, it was my idea and my responsibility. If it’s not the mafia, another group won’t rest until you’re wiped out. I’ve killed enough people for nothing, it’s too late for me. I’m tired of this criminal lifestyle in general, I know to listen when time speaks. However, you can still take control of your own destinies and live better lives than I. I’ll come up with a convincing story, but however it goes, I will not mention any of you. You’ll be safe. That is all I care about more than anything.” Vexacus deeply replied, truly wanting to protect them and June.

The team wants to argue it, but know he’s right. They take a few moments, looking at their reflections in the lake once more.

“I’ll miss you, despite our disagreements. If you’re going through with this though, let us help you plan it one last time so it’s solid and has no holes.” Clay replied.

“I will, but before we commence that, first we should take care of loose ends.” Vexacus replied, referring to June, Hopper and Jacques.

They head back to the base, seeing June walking around inside.

“Alright, it’s time for us to take you back home. You can hitch a ride in my plane which will be a better experience than the other one.” Kara said to June.

“That’d be great.” June replied.

“Before we take you home, we’re going to take a brief detour to take care of loose ends.” Vexacus explained to June.

He decides to come along with Kara so he can help clean up the mess he caused. Sarge, Daisy and Clay stay behind to look for any spots they missed. The plane flies off toward another part of Cymada, as June sits silently, not speaking. The plane lands in a field off a beaten road. A forest is beside it. Kara and Vexacus, while wearing gloves, take Jacques and Hopper’s body out of the cargo hold. They place them in the forest at specific angles on the ground to make it look like a shootout. Vexacus looks on at Jacques’s body one last time, horrified that he brought this upon him, but knowing Interpol would at least get closure knowing how he died. Kara gives a solemn look to Vexacus, knowing her remaining time with him will be short. They get back into the plane, which flies to New Kelp. It lands, and June is ready to board off of the plane.

“I guess this is it. Best of luck on your future endeavors, whatever those may entail. Goodbye, Vex.” June said to Vexacus.

“Farewell to you as well. I wish you the best, I know you have a better future in store than me. Make me proud.” Vexacus replied, knowing he’d never see her again after today.

The two wave farewell to each other, as she boards off of the plane and walks away. June looks on as the plane flies away, presumably the last time she’ll ever see Vexacus. She walks down the street, heading back to her apartment.

Kara and Vexacus head back inside the Tidal Nova base. Vexacus grabs Irving’s black book off of the table, realizing how close they were to losing it.

“I need time alone.” Vexacus requested, as the team understands.

Vexacus goes into his room one last time, looking around. He contemplates to himself for a few moments. He knows what he has to do, as painful it will be. For once, he needed to put his allies’s interests above his. He holds up the contact book, taking one last look at it as he flips through the pages. He then begins tearing it apart piece by piece. He didn’t want to risk these contacts falling into the wrong hands and it’s symbolic of him leaving the criminal life. He leaves behind all weapons he had on hand, placing them in his container. He then notices his old invisibility bracelet buried in there, a memory of Karmania he wished would stay gone. However, the reminder gave him an idea on his plan. In order to clear his allies’s names, he’d need a plausible fall guy, and now he has one. He heads back to the living room.

“I have a plan after much thought. It may sound unorthodox, but please trust me.” Vexacus replied, as they are curious to learn.

He carefully explains his plan to them. The team’s responses are a mix of astonishment, caution and despair at what he plans to do. There is a heated discussion, but in the end, Vexacus convinces them this is what he needs to do to save them.

“…Are you 100% sure on this? There’s no going back once it starts.” Kara asked to be sure.

“I am.” Vexacus replied boldly.

“I respect your decision. Be sure to rehearse your story a few times, it’s gotta be convincing to them.” Clay suggested.

“Before we execute this plan, want to have one last lunch together? Don’t want to dive in on an empty stomach.” Sarge offered.

“Of course. I know just the place.” Vexacus replied.

They’re seen inside the same nearby diner they went to after the train heist. They are delightfully eating lunch in a booth, but there is an uncomfortable feeling knowing it’s the last time they’ll be happy together. Vexacus looks around at the normal civilians in there, unconnected to the criminal world. They are outliers in this place. Vexacus looks at the team and raises his glass.

“A toast to Tidal Nova. These past few years with you were some of the best years of my life. This wasn’t an easy decision to make, but it’s the only path I see where you are safe. Thank you all for finally giving me a family.” Vexacus stated bittersweetly.

“It’s been real. You were the perfect fifth member, nobody will ever replace ya.” Sarge said.

“I’ll miss you.” Daisy said tearfully.

“You were unlike any bounty hunter I’ve ever seen.” Clay said, earning his respect.

“When we’re flying through the skies, we’ll always think of you.” Kara said.

They finish eating, then head back to the base to enact their plan. Vexacus takes in the setting for the last time, knowing he’ll never set foot here again.

“If there’s anything else you need, now’s the time to get it.” Sarge said.

Vexacus looks into the trash, seeing a glass shard from a shattered window that Kara picked up earlier. He takes it, knowing it will be useful in what he plans to do since he can’t use his weapons.

“Alright, here we go. You have your story rehearsed, yes?” Clay asked Vexacus.

“Yes.” Vexacus replied confidently.

“Now I’m gonna rough you up a bit. Nothing personal, but gotta make it look real.” Clay said.

“Indeed.” Vexacus replied, accepting it.

A few moments later, Vexacus is shown with a bruised face. Clay took no joy in doing it, but they had to make it as convincing as possible. Vexacus is then escorted out of the building, with tape over his mouth and his arms cuffed. The other four team members are wearing their night vision disguises, hoping they look close enough to the assassins. They take Vexacus inside the mafia plane. Kara is still repulsed by the state of the plane. Daisy sees an assassin’s phone left behind on a seat. She grabs it and dials Tony. Tony is seen relaxing in a pool in his Itolis home. He hears his phone ring and answers.

“Boss, we’re pleased to announce the mission was mostly a success. It was very difficult, but the job is done. We found their hideout and executed the team. We have the team’s leader as a prisoner. He’s surrendering and will tell you everything he knows, particularly who actually paid him to do all of this.” Daisy spoke, changing her voice.

Tony is pleased and intrigued to hear this, but has a lingering question.

“Where’s Hopper?” Tony asked.

“Unfortunately, he did not make it. He put up a noble fight though.” Daisy replied.

Tony is disappointed and wants to murder Vexacus, but calms himself. He won’t let that loss distract from the good news.

“Alright, here’s what’s gonna go down: I’m going to send you coordinates, bring him to this location. I’ll take care of him from here.” Tony said, texting coordinates.

The team looks at each other slightly nervous, knowing there’s no turning back from here. The plane flies off from Cymada, the forest trees shaking from the moving winds. After a tense flight, the plane eventually sees Itolis coming into view. They land the plane close to the designated meeting area, but not too close so the plane is out of sight. The location is a large, obscure valley field. Flowers are blooming everywhere. It’s in fact the same field from the opening. Vexacus is taken out of the plane by Clay and Daisy. Sarge walks off with his sniper and positions himself on a cliff, obscured from the meeting area. He is acting as backup in case something goes wrong with the plan. Clay and Daisy escort Vexacus forward through the field. They meet up with two grunts, who take Vexacus from there. Clay and Daisy then step back, but are still close enough to the meeting area.

Vexacus is brought forward by the grunts. He looks ahead, seeing an old, decaying shack off to the left. He could tell this location was used by the mafia to discreetly torture people and bury bodies, despite the seemingly pleasant aura from the flowers. Tony is standing in the center, acting as the judge, jury and executioner. Two capos are by his side as well, giving death glares. Sarge has them in his sniper’s sights. The grunts force Vexacus down to the ground in front of Tony and the capos. Tony kneels down next to Vexacus and rips off the tape over his mouth. Vexacus looks in contempt. He holds the glass shard tightly in his hands, carefully ripping through the tape with it. Tony holds out his phone and begins recording their conversation for the other capos not present.

“I’ll give you a crumb of respect where it’s due, pal. Insane plan, but brave. If ya hadn’t slipped, I dare say you had a chance of pulling it off. Today you are going to die. But…I consider myself a fair boss. I’m willing to give you a chance to go out doin’ something right for once. There are poetic deaths, and there are meaningless deaths. Tell me what I want to know, and I’ll make sure yours is a poetic one. Who put you up to this?” Tony asked.

Vexacus sits there for a few moments, contemplating. The wind blows, as his hands behind bleed due to the shard.

“One last chance: Who?” Tony asked again.

No reply. Tony scoffs and is prepared to walk away, when Vexacus speaks.

“It was Ramos Lannister, out of Posidonia. I’m sure you all know about his ties. He paid me to set up crime syndicates and bounty hunters against each other. And I did.” Vexacus revealed, bringing everything full circle and getting a final jab at Ramos in.

“Bullshit, he disappeared years ago.” Tony replied

“Of course, where do you think he went? Underground. After his pal Broodwing died, he wanted to topple the criminal underworld, so he invented an imaginary “revolution” to turn hunters against everyone. He paid me handsomely to infiltrate Tidal Nova, gain their trust, and use them to take out the competition. They had no idea about my true intentions. If you don’t believe me, dig hard enough and you’ll find records of me on the Federation’s payroll.” Vexacus revealed, trying to sell this as much as possible and clearing his friends.

Tony and the capos think about it, realizing the story actually does make sense to an outsider. Vexacus thought it was the perfect cover since a missing guy can’t contradict you.

“Was anyone else involved?” Tony asked, wondering how deep this goes.

“What a joke. Ramos has been paying me for years, years, but you know what? I would’ve done it for free, because I hate every single last one of you psychopathic sacks of shit. I burned down the Shadow Wind Clan. I humiliated the Petiot Gang and Brothers of Anarchy. I let assassins into Pashir’s home, and I’m glad what they did to him. He’s a soulless pig. I would do it again, too. And you know what else, Tony? I killed Hopper. He deserved everything he got. So when you’re counting your stacks of dirty money, knowing you’re stuck with all of these incompetent fools, you think of me, asshole.” Vexacus boldly claimed, clearing June.

The henchmen look on disgusted and shocked. Tony is furious, wanting revenge and ending his recording, knowing the capos have heard enough. He gives a signal for his crew to kill Vexacus right there. Vexacus then strikes, shanking Tony in the leg and stomach with the glass shard. He grabs Tony, holding him hostage. He steals his gun from his belt, pointing it at his head. The henchmen draw their guns at the same time, but are unable to shoot as they can’t risk hurting Tony. Sarge and the team look on at this from the distance. Kara, Daisy and Clay get closer. Vexacus holds the gun against Tony’s head, as the henchmen look on, nervous. He had the stage. He finally had control of his own destiny for once. He can finally do what he’s been unable to his whole life, have a choice. He then aims the gun at his own head and pulls the trigger, shocking the henchmen. Vexacus’s lifeless body collapses to the ground. He was a slave no more.

Sarge looks on through his scope, wincing, but knowing it’s what Vexacus wanted. Tony regains his composure, wiping off blood from his suit. Tony and the henchmen unload bullets into his corpse for revenge. After the rage subsides, Tony realizes something isn’t right. He wonders how Hopper’s team allowed Vexacus to sneak a weapon past them. He then looks on, wondering where the assassins even are on that note. His pride blinded him from seeing the truth. Sarge can tell the story is falling apart.

“Now.” Sarge said to the others through the communicator.

Sarge then fires, his bullet piercing through Tony’s head. The four henchmen look on in shock, realizing they wasted ammo and had been played. Kara flies in on her jet-pack and shoots at a capo. Clay shoots at the two grunts, while Daisy throws a dagger right at the last capo’s head, finishing them. Daisy then makes a call to one of Tony’s capos.

“We have an emergency! The leader responsible for the “revolution” has been terminated, but…he took out the boss in the crossfire.” Daisy lied.

She ends the call and snaps the phone in half. Their involvement in this would never be known due to Tony recording everything Vexacus said, and saw this as their final act in the revolution. The four look on at Vexacus’s body, saluting their fallen ally. They respected him for going out on his own terms. They quickly head back to the plane before other mafia members arrive.

A montage occurs. The team pays off a Cymada junkyard owner to dismantle the mafia plane, leaving no traces. June eventually passes the bar exam, becoming an official lawyer. She helps out people in need, just as she wanted. Interpol eventually finds Jacques's body, upsetting Dominique. The Soprano Mafia slowly loses its power over time without Tony and Interpol cracking down on them after they learn of Hopper killing Jacques. Clay hears back from his Guild contact, who says the Guild wishes to discuss reforming bounty hunting with every team they’ve contacted. The leaders hold a large meeting, hearing their concerns and wanting the wayward teams to unite together with them. The team is happy that Vexacus’s idea did eventually influence something, even if he wasn’t alive to see it. There was hope for a better future in bounty hunting after all. The team continued bounty hunting under this new, legal coalition, and it felt more satisfying than working for criminals.

The team eventually returns to the Itolis flower field. They plant the blue flower over Vexacus’s resting place as a final memento to honor him. Their plane flies away into the sky, off on their next adventure.

The End

Notes/Trivia:

-Deaths:

Spoiler

Vexacus and Tony

 

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I'm glad Vex's story has finally ended, it was nice that we get loose ends on Vex's character development that which is we got more about him. I'll say this miniseries has very solid conclusion to Vex's arc that hasn't finished since MG ended. I think it's good to see to get to know other characters that Vex has like Total Nova (btw that team name is very clever). Loved the characters. All in all, i''ll give a miniseries an A+

 

Really liked this miniseries a lot.

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