Chapter Text
The bus ride was bumpy, but what could you expect driving on snow and improper roads. This was the outskirts of BlackRock afterall with only one small town nestled within it. After one big leap from the bus, the ride got a lot smoother as they had reached the actual road leading to Crossroads.
Steam Glove looked up from his feet to notice the handful of demons on the bus. There weren’t a lot because BlackRock is pretty secluded in comparison to other factions. He often wondered what it would be like to live outside of BlackRock. To be born in a different faction. He’s only ever seen glimpses of that life from the analyzing of his targets, but even from those glimpses, he often envied them. He envied their freedom.
“NOW STOPPING AT PLAYGROUND STATION.” The bus robotically announced, jolting Steam Glove out of drowsiness. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked over some information. Target should be blacked-out drunk later tonight in an empty alleyway. How convenient!
Steam Glove looked around the bus. He was the only BlackRockian left on the bus. It was understandable though, BlackRock and Playground never had the best relationship with each other. Although, that doesn’t mean its residents can’t like each other. Like, his best friend, Mic, was from Playground! And they’ve known each other for years!... Knew…
Steam Glove let out a heavy sigh as he walked through the streets of Playground, getting odd glances from the locals. He kept his eyes down and squinted. The colorfulness of Playground and its people hurt his eyes.
Pulling out his phone, Steam Glove checked the time. Great… It was a little after noon, meaning that he would be waiting a while before anything happened. He shrugged it off as he took a detour into the alleyway his target will be in later tonight.
The sky turned darker and darker as the street lights came on. A puff of smoke came out of Steam Glove’s mouth, smoking cigarettes he bought from a local convenience store. He leaned on the wall awaiting the target as uneven footsteps creeped ever closer. From around the corner, the target came, stumbling around drunk. He looked angrily towards Steam Glove. “Hey! This ish ma turf. Fuck off!” He slurred drunkenly. Steam Glove however, did not react and merely stepped up to the demon and snapped his neck, then ripping the head clean off.
He held the bleeding head in his hand for a moment before shoving it in his backpack that he also bought because he foolishly forgot to bring one. Steam Glove looked down at the decapitated corpse and gave it a light kick before turning around and retreating the alleyway.
The bag slowly absorbed the dripping blood as Steam Glove waited drearily at the Playground bus station. The few others at the bus station spared glances at him and his backpack, but most minded their own business. A few however, asked what was in his backpack. Steam Glove couldn’t say the severed head of a Playground millionaire, so he ultimately ignored their nags and pleas of inquiry until the bus came, where he stood far away from them. Although, they were still pestering him all throughout the ride.
The bus was now quiet with only 2 other passengers on it besides Steam Glove, as they reached the BlackRock station. He shifted his backpack while he walked off, the blood seeming to have stopped a long while ago. He trekked up the snowy mountain to reach BlackRock capital, where he could turn in the bounty and rest up a bit.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a figure stumbling through the forest, a purple fog billowing around them as it engulfed the woods. It continued to grow rapidly until it was mere feet away from Steam Glove. He didn’t investigate further and quickened his pace towards BlackRock.
Racing the fog, Steam Glove began to sprint towards the walls of BlackRock as the fog followed behind him. It seemed to be chasing him and he wasn’t taking many chances right now. The faster he ran, the faster the fog chased him until it engulfed his ankle. Steam Glove tripped forward and fell to the snow ridden ground with a thud. The fog had grappled to his ankle and was trying to drag him further into the fog!
Steam Glove desperately scratched through the thick blanket of snow, in hopes of finding something solid he could hold onto. But, all he was met with was more snow. He turned on his back to face the fog and possibly find what was causing it. The fog had slowed, now having a grip on his ankle.
He continued to shuffle back away from the fog. Suddenly, the fog leaped forward at a great speed again, this time, attaching itself to Steam Glove’s right horn. The demon struggled as he attempted to pull his horn from its grasp, but it wasn’t going down easily.
With a quiet cracking noise, his horn became looser. Then, quickly and painfully, it snapped right off. The fog released his ankle, but held on to the horn. The figure that Steam Glove had seen before came limping closer to him. Their horns and hair looked oddly familiar, but before he could properly register why they looked so familiar, the fog consumed him and he passed out.