The sun was just rising above the tall, metallic walls of Grandville when Westin Phipps stepped out of the front door of Haven House. He took a deep breath of
late morning air and savoured the faint smell of fear that drifted up from the streets of the Gutter.
"Westin, old chum! So good to see you," a loud voice boomed behind him.
Phipps spun about, glaring at the woman he found leaning nonchalantly against the wall of Haven House. His back stiffened in apparently righteous rage.
"Hexane! What are you doing here you Villain? Haven't you hurt these people enough?" he demanded.
Straightening his tie he leaned in and hissed nearly under his breath. "What are you doing? You know I can't be seen with you," he said.
Hexane's wide smile didn't waver as she pushed herself up off the wall and walked past Phipps towards the street. Her voice was loud and would
probably carry quite well, Phipps ground his teeth.
"Now, now Westin. Don't hold back. You've expressed your true feelings about me and the others often enough, and to our faces even," she
said. "That certainly takes some big brass ones. After all, we might just take it out on Haven House."
Phipps turned as she moved, not willing to let her get behind him. As she started down the steps to street level he realised they were not alone. A strange
robot in a slightly bloody maid's uniform stood in the street, sipping a cup of tea.
"But, you know, some of us were talking in the D last night. And you've got to admire a powerless little crunchy like yourself being that determined
and dedicated. Even if it is to... helping people. So we figured we'd do something... nice for you."
Strong hands clamped around Phipps' upper arms with bruising force. He opened his mouth to cry out but a mass of rough cloth was shoved in before he could
do more than squeak. Glancing behind him he saw a pair of masked men clad head to toe in loose, dark grey outfits.
Hexane had come to a stop beside the robot, but she hadn't stopped talking. "We know that you're a busy man, so we figured it would have to be
something quick. Then Hanagawa-san suggested a nice short cruise. A chance to get away from all the stress you must be under here."
Someone grabbed Phipps' hands and wrenched them back. A length of cord was wrapped tightly around his wrists, cutting deeply into his flesh. The men
released his arms and propelled him, stumbling down the stairs.
"And when we learned that dear Obsolete had never gone shark fishing before, well what else could we do," Hexane said as she linked arms with the
robot.
Hexane's hands flashed through a complex series of hand seals. She paused at the last as the robot began to tick. Mechanical eyes stared at Phipps over
the delicate china of the teacup. "Yo ho! Driiiin*click* up me hearties," she said.
Hexane's grin turned nasty for second as she laughed. "Yes, I think you've got it Obs." She concentrated for a moment, and barked out,
"kage kijutsu: usugure no kyuudou*".
The street and sunlight vanished in an instant, and Phipps felt as though he'd been plunged into a lake of ice water. The cold ripped the air from his
lungs and he couldn't get it back.
Then the street in front of Haven House was empty, save for the quickly fading smoke.
End.
* As always, I apologise to those who can actually write grammatical ninhongo. Hopefully this translates as something like "shadow magic: twilight
road"
--
#11. Always kill the Ruin Mage first.
- 50 things Hexane has learned since joining the Infamous
late morning air and savoured the faint smell of fear that drifted up from the streets of the Gutter.
"Westin, old chum! So good to see you," a loud voice boomed behind him.
Phipps spun about, glaring at the woman he found leaning nonchalantly against the wall of Haven House. His back stiffened in apparently righteous rage.
"Hexane! What are you doing here you Villain? Haven't you hurt these people enough?" he demanded.
Straightening his tie he leaned in and hissed nearly under his breath. "What are you doing? You know I can't be seen with you," he said.
Hexane's wide smile didn't waver as she pushed herself up off the wall and walked past Phipps towards the street. Her voice was loud and would
probably carry quite well, Phipps ground his teeth.
"Now, now Westin. Don't hold back. You've expressed your true feelings about me and the others often enough, and to our faces even," she
said. "That certainly takes some big brass ones. After all, we might just take it out on Haven House."
Phipps turned as she moved, not willing to let her get behind him. As she started down the steps to street level he realised they were not alone. A strange
robot in a slightly bloody maid's uniform stood in the street, sipping a cup of tea.
"But, you know, some of us were talking in the D last night. And you've got to admire a powerless little crunchy like yourself being that determined
and dedicated. Even if it is to... helping people. So we figured we'd do something... nice for you."
Strong hands clamped around Phipps' upper arms with bruising force. He opened his mouth to cry out but a mass of rough cloth was shoved in before he could
do more than squeak. Glancing behind him he saw a pair of masked men clad head to toe in loose, dark grey outfits.
Hexane had come to a stop beside the robot, but she hadn't stopped talking. "We know that you're a busy man, so we figured it would have to be
something quick. Then Hanagawa-san suggested a nice short cruise. A chance to get away from all the stress you must be under here."
Someone grabbed Phipps' hands and wrenched them back. A length of cord was wrapped tightly around his wrists, cutting deeply into his flesh. The men
released his arms and propelled him, stumbling down the stairs.
"And when we learned that dear Obsolete had never gone shark fishing before, well what else could we do," Hexane said as she linked arms with the
robot.
Hexane's hands flashed through a complex series of hand seals. She paused at the last as the robot began to tick. Mechanical eyes stared at Phipps over
the delicate china of the teacup. "Yo ho! Driiiin*click* up me hearties," she said.
Hexane's grin turned nasty for second as she laughed. "Yes, I think you've got it Obs." She concentrated for a moment, and barked out,
"kage kijutsu: usugure no kyuudou*".
The street and sunlight vanished in an instant, and Phipps felt as though he'd been plunged into a lake of ice water. The cold ripped the air from his
lungs and he couldn't get it back.
Then the street in front of Haven House was empty, save for the quickly fading smoke.
End.
* As always, I apologise to those who can actually write grammatical ninhongo. Hopefully this translates as something like "shadow magic: twilight
road"
--
#11. Always kill the Ruin Mage first.
- 50 things Hexane has learned since joining the Infamous