“Is she a criminal?” Stanley whispered to him.

“No, she’s Fran.” Juno simply said.

She observed the short interaction, prepared very much for a routine job that would put her life on the line. Not for this again. “Hesperian owns this burger chain, a chunk of their communications runs through here.” 

“Cults can own a fast food chain?” Juno asked with a tilted head.

“Hesperian owns a lot more than this fast food chain.” She responded, turning around to head back inside. There was still a job to do, and it was likely that Juno and his maiden would leave. From their reactions, they didn’t know about Red Star burgers and probably stopped by for food. The two could just find somewhere else to eat.

Pulling out her phone, Fran entered the kitchen and began scrolling through the intelligence report she had gotten from an abandoned Cydonian cell. Apparently, a lot of Hesperian services and online traffic were routed through this particular rest stop. This would require equipment, equipment that certainly wouldn’t fit in a fast food kitchen. While checking for additional details, Fran bumped into someone.

She nearly drew her pistol but froze upon hearing a familiar voice. “Oop, sorry.” Juno moved aside to allow her through.

“Where’s the fridge?” Stanley called out from the other side of the kitchen.

“Wha- What are you two still doing here?” Fran asked with confusion and a sliver of annoyance.

“We didn’t get our food, you killed the guy who was going to make it.” Juno stated. “Do you know where the fridge might be?”

“You can’t just magic a burger out of thin air?” She asked.

“I could do that, but Stanley has been wanting me to do stuff the human way. So… That’s off limits.” He said with a sheepish smile. “Besides, this is fun?”

She stared at him before giving an exasperated groan and looking around before pointing at a large steel door. Juno disappeared from her sight completely, though no flinch left Fran. It wasn’t exactly anything new for her. “Found it!” A muffled voice sounded as Stanley made his way over to join him. While the space dragon and its maiden went about preparing their food, she continued on with her mission.

Fran headed to the back door to check if the equipment was stashed outside, but there was only another car and a dumpster waiting at the back. She went back in, thinking that there must’ve been a hidden entrance. Maybe a clue as to where it was kept.

She started at the rear portion of the kitchen, as the other part was currently being used. Judging by the frantic tone of Juno as the sound of pots and pans falling over echoed through the kitchen, Fran surmised it could’ve been going better.

While trying to move one of the tables, she looked up seeing Stanley approach. “Do you need help with that?” He asked, offering a cautious smile.

“I don’t think you’d want to be involved with what I do.” Fran said, managing to move the table an inch.

“Honestly, out of all the things I’ve been involved with because of Juno. This is pretty tame.” He said, moving to sit on the adjacent table. 

She paused, looking up at him. This was fairly tame to her too, not only because of how long this fight against Hesperian involved her. But of recent events having come across and having to deal with a dragon. Stanley, as far as she was concerned, was a civilian. Then again, a civilian seemingly in a relationship with a cosmic entity of unknown power.

“Alright.” Fran relented. “Help me with this table.”

Stanley hopped off and crouched down on the opposite end. On a silent countdown, they both moved the steel table. Which only revealed more tiled floor. “So how did you two meet anyway?” She asked, moving on to the next table.

“That’s a fun story.” Stanley said with a small smile. “I was out camping near where I live. I had a few days off but all I really did was sit around and do some errands. I wanted to do something that day so I figured star gazing might be fun.” He moved to the opposite end of the table, gripping the underside as Fran did. “Bought a cheap telescope and just looked up. Didn’t really know what I was doing.” 

He took a breath and Fran took that as the cue to start moving. Both of them lifted up, and moved the table back. This revealed yet more floor tile. “At some point, I saw a constellation that kind of looked like an eye.” She stood up, looking around to see potential hiding spots and glossing over the colored flames emanating from Juno’s side of the kitchen. “Turns out, it was his eye.”

Fran paused her thoughts, turning to Stanley. “What do you mean it was his eye?”

“It blinked, and then it was more than an eye, it was a whole face and before I knew it he was right behind me.” A soft chuckle emanated from him. “God he was so smug about it.”

While she did find the story endearing, a question took priority. “So was Juno just really close to the telescope in his… I guess space body. Or was he actually the stars?”

Stanley took a moment, with a thoughtful hum sounding from him. “I actually don’t know. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was the actual constellation.”

She stared at him slightly disturbed before continuing. “I assume the rest is history then?”

“For him, a very long one.” Stanley’s statement drew a furrowed brow from her, as it wasn’t exactly what she expected as an answer. Nor was its meaning readily apparent. For now, she decided to leave it alone. “What about a hidden hatch? Like in the movies, under a carpet or something.”

That on the other hand got her looking again. The kitchen didn’t seem to have any mats or coverings that would fit Stanley’s description, though she figured that the walk-in fridge might have what they were looking for. Fran silently walked over to the steel door, with the maiden in tow.

She opened the door and looked down. There was indeed a large black non-slip mat covering most of the ground. Kicking up the edge and shoving it forward revealed the hatch that she was looking for. “These definitely aren’t standard in restaurants.” Pulling up the handle, she had eyes on the staircase leading into a dark hallway. The lights slowly flicked on, illuminating a path forward.

“That’s definitely not ominous.” Stanley said under his breath.

Fran didn’t respond, only descending the stairs. He followed behind, ignoring the shower of colorful flames and sparks emanating from the grill area.

They both slowly went down the hallway, which opened up to a small hub. The open area led to three separate rooms. “So what exactly are you looking for?” He asked.

“Servers, computer screens. Something that looks important.” She replied, taking the left side door first.

Inside was a small armory, with a variety of guns lining the walls. A crate of different types of ammunition sat in the center. The room would be important but that was for later, and she closed the door to check the center one.

A bed and other living accommodations implied it to simply be a personal quarters for whoever manned the restaurant. Less important than the armory.

The door to the right finally revealed what she was looking for. A tight closet like space with the walls composed of server machinery and a desk with a computer sitting on top. There was a pair of headphones and a filing cabinet underneath. 

She got to work immediately, opening up one of the panels. This was practiced, nearly automatic. From there, Fran’s thoughts started to wander away from the mission at hand. “Hey Stanley, could I ask you about Juno?”

He had taken a seat in the office chair in front of the computer, turning his head over at her. “Uh sure. What is it?”

Fran took out a USB and plugged it into the server. “Juno is immortal, right?”

“Pretty sure he is, I mean he’s been around since the universe started.” Stanley responded, idly spinning in the chair.

She crouched, waiting for the stored malware to upload. “If that’s the case, how do you two deal with that?”

Stanley was quiet for a moment, putting a foot down to stop spinning. “What do you mean by that?” Fran nearly explained though stopped herself, realizing how personal her inquiry was. A sad smile formed on his face. “It’s just something we’ve accepted.” He quietly said. “It wasn't easy, actually it nearly ended things.”

Fran moved to sit down on the ground. “If you don’t mind me asking, how did it work out?” She asked.

“I guess we were both afraid.” Stanley murmured, with him leaning forward to rest his arms on his legs. “I had found someone who really cared about me, and I didn’t feel out of place. But moving forward would mean that in the end, it’ll hurt him. And that would be on me. And Juno of course was afraid for his own reasons. I just… I just didn’t want to be selfish. But I didn’t wanna lose him either.” 

Even as the USB blinked green, she paid it no mind. “I think we both agreed that it would be worth it. And… I have something thought out for when I go.”

Having finally noticed that the USB had done its job, evident by the series of lights and alerts on the servers, Fran pulled it out. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have pried.”

“It’s okay.” Stanley said with a quiet chuckle. “Something tells me you needed it. Most people I imagine would’ve asked about the adventures and what all Juno can do. But you were after something very specific.” He watched as she stood up, checking the machinery as it began to loudly hum. “I hope my answer helps in some way.”

Fran paused, letting out a sigh. “Me too.” She muttered. “You should go, these servers will melt down soon. I just need to grab something.”

He nodded and stood from the rolling chair, setting it aside before disappearing around the corner towards the hallway. She also left the room, though headed to the armory instead. The malware would not have gone unnoticed, and a silenced pistol was at its optimal when the user was unnoticed and had the element of surprise. This time she wouldn’t have such advantages.

All of the weapons save for one were ignored, the lever action rifle with its silver barrel and dark brown wooden handle. Fran grabbed it from the rack as if pulling a coat from a hanger along with several handfuls of bullets which she stuffed into her pockets. Keeping eight in her hand, she slid them into the feed located on the side, inserting them like coins into a vending machine. Fran then gripped the lever and pushed downwards, racking a round.

Now fully armed, she went back upstairs. Being sure to keep the hatch open in order to let the flames from the soon to be burning servers a chance to jump up to the store and burn it down as well.

Upon exiting the walk in fridge, she could already hear the sounds of trucks and other cars pulling in. Fran guessed they weren’t there for the burgers. And as expected, Juno was completely oblivious to the oncoming storm she was to face. Colorful flames still danced across the grill and Stanley was scolding the cosmic entity for the unorthodox cooking method. 

A faint smile pulled at her lips, which quickly vanished as she looked away towards the door. Towards a job that never seemed to be finished no matter how many times she slashed a knife, fired a gun, or dropped another body.

Fran stepped past the door and took cover behind a booth. The grip on the handle and barrel tightened as the footsteps drew closer, and she steeled her breath.

The moment right before she would've popped out to fire, Fran realized that the only thing audible now was her breathing. There were no footsteps, just idling engines outside and the faint bickering still emanating from the kitchen.

With a heavy amount of hesitation, she peaked up from the booth. Fran was greeted with an empty parking lot containing her car and the one the two had ridden in. There wasn’t a single trace of Hesperian anywhere. She was stuck staring at the scene, wondering if she was even awake at the moment.

Her focus was broken when Stanley and Juno exited from the back. The human was holding two to-go bags and a cup of coffee. “Hey Fran, we’re heading out.” He greeted casually, walking past. “It was nice talking to you.” Stanley shot her a small smile. She was only able to respond with a half wave and a face unsure of what expression to display.

Stanley exited the establishment but Juno stuck around, standing next to her. “...Did you kill them?” She whispered.

“Kill them? No.” He responded with an offended scoff. “They’re just somewhere else. Sent a few to Nepal.”

“...Nepal?” She looked at him with brows contorted in exasperation.

Juno simply shrugged. “I doubt they’ll cause much trouble when dispersed into countries where English isn’t the primary language.” An amused smile tugged at his lips. “That’ll be a fun puzzle, getting back home.”

Her grip on the rifle had loosened, but she still kept it in hand. “I didn’t think you’d interfere, considering last time.”

“Well last time I didn’t know you were up against cultists bent on ending the world.” He replied. “And… You seemed tired.”

Fran switched the safety off, and though she didn’t need it, she slung the weapon over her shoulder. The weapon settled into position, like it was meant to be there. Like it was a part of her. “What do you mean by that?” She asked with a flat tone.

Juno shot her a sad smile, not directly answering. “You should join us in town. You could probably use a break.”

“My work isn’t done yet.” She simply said, moving past him towards the door. “Maybe next time when I’m not in the middle of something.”

Fran didn’t get any further responses, and took that as her cue to leave. Sure enough, while walking out to the parking lot, Stanley’s car began to drive away. 

Upon getting closer, her steps slowed down and her eyes narrowed. Something was off about her car, as the body sparkled as if embedded with glitter. Stepping in front of it, Fran realized it wasn’t a trick of light or the exhaustion getting to her. The car was covered in glitter, and the above street lamp further revealed a hot pink paint job.

“No.” Fran’s operations relied on being hard to track and to not be noticed. She couldn’t do anything remotely close to a job- “No!” She yelled with a frustrated growl, knowing exactly who  was responsible. The driver side door was nearly ripped off its hinges as she tossed the rifle to the passenger seat and got in.

Turning the key and stomping the gas, her car rocketed out of the lot towards the road that Juno and Stanley had taken.

“You’re singing.” 

“I thought that’s one of the things you do on a road trip?” Juno replied with a tilted head.

“Yes but you’re cheating, you’re just repeating the audio of the song.” Stanley elaborated.

The cosmic entity would need more than that. “Is that not what singing along is?”

“Juno, you sing along with your actual voice and add to the song.” The smile on Stanley’s face only grew the longer he had to explain such a simple concept.

“You wouldn’t like my real voice.” Juno said, with it now the human’s turn to get confused.

“What do you mean?” His brow furrowed as he glanced at Juno. “I like your voice.”

Juno hesitated, idly fiddling with his hands. “This voice doesn’t exactly belong to me.”

“Well then who does it belong to?” Stanley asked.

Again, he wasn’t the quickest to give an answer. “The first human I met, 4,000 BCE I think? Ancient Mesopotamia, he was a farmer. Nice guy too.”

The casual delivery would’ve shocked him in the early days of their relationship, but there was a different question rattling in Stanley’s head. “So then what do you actually sound like?”

“You wouldn’t want to hear that.” Juno quickly replied. “It doesn’t even really register as a voice.”

“Oh c’mon, it can’t be that bad.” His intrigue only grew at the look that Juno tossed him, a firm confidence that he wanted to challenge. “Please?” He offered a coy smile, a tactic that tended to yield results in his favor.

Juno looked at him for another moment and sighed. He turned towards the road, and opposite to Stanley’s expectation, his mouth didn’t move. 

What emanated from the cosmic entity raised the hairs on his arm as a low vibrating pulse filled the car. The lights on the dashboard flickered throughout the duration and he kept his grip on the steering wheel tight trying to keep a casual composure. “...It sounds nice.” Stanley said, nearly phrasing it as a question.

Juno looked over with a deadpan expression, but that didn’t deter him. “It’s unique, and it’s definitely you.” That managed to get a faint smile out of the entity as he focused back on the road.

A yawn left Stanley. “I think I need a break soon.” He said with a long sigh.

“You know, I could get us to the nearest-”

“No, we're doing this properly.” Stanley said with a huff. “Take my phone and see if there’s any diners or restaurants along the way.”

Juno silently took the phone off the holder on the center console, holding it up to his face and staring at the blank screen. His eyes flickered with a spark of electricity, and the phone immediately opened up to the map.

“You can also just put in the password and tap the map icon. That’s an option.” Stanley commented.

The entity simply grinned. “And where’s the fun in that.” He zoomed out from their current route and pressed the food icon. From there, it showed that there was a burger joint not too far from them. “What about Red Star burgers? They’ll probably have coffee.” He suggested.

“Red Star burgers?” Stanley repeated. “If it’s close, we can give it a shot.” His eyes occasionally flicked to the side of the road to watch for any relevant signage. Sure enough, an exit sign with the Red Star logo veered past.

He took the off ramp and followed the road to the lone burger joint. The parking lot was completely empty, which bothered Stanley a bit but he didn’t dwell on it too long. He parked the car at the furthest spot, wanting out as soon as possible to stretch his legs.

With the parking brake on and the engine off, Stanley got out. Closing the door a long sigh followed by a stretch of his arms preceded. “Oh that’s better.”

“You know there wouldn’t be a need if I just teleported us there.” Juno said with a smug expression.

“Shut up, I know you’re having fun.” He walked to the front of the car and waited. The body of stars did the same, though by the time they had joined him, it was replaced with a well fitted black suit and pale skin. Stanley looked over at him with an amused exhale, it didn’t exactly complement his sweater and jeans but that was the charm of it.

Leaning against Juno and hooking an arm they headed inside. Like Stanley had guessed, the place was empty. The only occupant was a single cashier on their phone, who quickly put it away hearing them enter. The two walked up to the counter, with Stanley quickly skimming over the menu. Juno leaned down closer. “What should I order?” He whispered.

“Whatever you want.” Stanley said, quickly putting together his order mentally.

“I don’t really want food, I don’t get hungry. The only thing I really want is your tea.” Juno replied.

“That’s really sweet but should I just order for you in that case?” He asked, receiving a nod from him. Stanley directed his gaze to the cashier who was looking at them with a raised brow. “Uhh. Could we get two coffees with cream and sugar, and two cheese burgers?”

“You want fries with that?” The employee said with as much enthusiasm as a graveyard fastfood worker could muster.

“Uh… Yeah I think we’ll have fries with it.” Stanley said as the employee nodded, inputting the items and heading to the kitchen. He took out his card and tapped the wireless kiosk. With that done, both of them headed over to the booth at the window facing the parking lot.

As they did, another car pulled up. Like Stanley, it parked farther from the building. “I think our next stop is Honesdale, it’s a nice little town.” Stanley said, lounging in the booth.

“We should probably stay there for at least a day, you've been driving for quite a bit.” Juno suggested. His eyes glanced for a moment at the car and its driver who was getting out. Usually he wouldn’t pay any mind but something told him to keep his gaze on them. As they stepped into the light, he could make out dark hair which was pinned back. She wore fairly plain clothes, and a simple jacket accompanied with jeans.

For a moment they locked gazes, and it took her a moment to figure out why some random guy was staring at her. What gave it away were the gray eyes, and strange attire. Both of them  thought the same thing.

Oh fuck.

She froze while Juno quickly averted his gaze back to Stanley, offering an embarrassed smile and trying to catch up on what was being said to him. “Mhm?” He simply said.

“So should be fun.” Stanley finished off.

He did his best to ignore the woman entering the restaurant who side eyed him, though kept going. “Did you find a place to stay? At the town.” 

“No not yet, I should probably do that right now.” Stanley pulled out his phone, and while he was distracted, Juno looked to his left to find her heading to the counter. There had been hope that she was just getting a bite to eat. That crumbled apart when he spotted the pistol holstered on her hip, and when she disappeared into the back kitchen.

Oh shit.

“This looks nice, it’s an actual house.” Juno directed his attention back to Stanley, who was showing him a pin on the map along with a picture of the place. 

“Yeah looks nice.” He said a little too quickly, with furrowed brows developing on Stanley.

“What’s wrong-”

“Nothing's wrong.” Juno delivered immediately, a wince forming as a loud crash could be heard in the kitchen.

Stanley looked in the direction of the commotion with a flinch, turning his head back to the cosmic entity. “...Juno, is there something going on?”

“No! Nothing's going on, everything's normal and fine.” He offered a weak smile which cracked as frustrated yells and the banging of kitchen ware grew louder. “Must be a difficult burger to cook.”

The human simply gave him a deadpan expression.

“Okay fine.” Juno sighed. “Do you remember that one time I disappeared for an hour seemingly with no explanation? Thank you, by the way, for not throwing yourself off a building to try and get my attention.”

Stanley scoffed at the last bit but answered nonetheless. “I remember, you got kidnapped by cultists and someone helped you get free.”

“Yes, she did.” Juno said, deliberately not going any further.

“...Juno. Did the woman that just entered the restaurant just so happen to be-” He never got to finish the sentence as a muffled explosion shook the tables. Both of their heads turned just in time to see the cashier’s body fly out the kitchen into the wall. 

The aforementioned woman slowly trudged past the door to the back, her hair singed and slightly smoking. She was heavily breathing, and after a moment, turned her head towards them.

Gray eyes a hundred and twenty feet above the ground stared down at the comparatively diminutive figure attempting to exert authority. “Not really.” It said, its gaze wandering around the room. “You didn’t bring Stanley here did you?”

Their leader’s eyes lit up. “Ah of course! Your maiden! Is that why you refuse our orders?”

What would be considered the entity’s cheeks turned from a star filled void to the colorful dust of nebulae, emulating a blush. “...I uh.” It idly tapped its finger against the mug of tea. “Well I- I suppose? That’s a little straight forward, I wouldn’t use that particular word.”

“Then please, stay. We’ll find your maiden and settle-”

That particular set of words completely changed the air around them, with the temperature dropping and static serving as a warning to those still standing. “Okay, that’s enough of this.” A small burst of wind washed over the cavern as the entity completely disappeared, leaving a jaw dropped Hesperian leader and their other members.

“Who was in charge of the containment runes!” He yelled, looking at the summoners. 

“Sir we used every single one and multiple of each.” One of them replied.

“Well clearly it wasn’t enough-” A burst of red erupted from their leader’s skull as he was dropped dead to the floor. The rest of the guards formed up and started firing wildly at the catwalks while the summoners ran for the hallways.

Fran had gotten to the ground level during the entire exchange, and while the guards still thought she was somewhere else, she lined up a shot at a group of targets.

As the trigger was pulled, the towering mass of stars and space appeared yet again. The three bullets that she managed to fire off before stopping didn’t impact the entity at all. Instead, they passed through and slowed down to a crawl. As if they had entered water, the metal projectiles simply floated within the entity’s body.

“That’s odd…” A murmur echoed above them before the entity disappeared again.

The guards aimed their rifles at Fran, only to find an empty space from where she originally was. Two of them were cut down by precise tap fires from a crate to their left flank, with Fran having repositioned during the confusion.

Only one more remained. Fran grabbed the empty magazine out from the rifle and felt her holster. She grimaced as her hand only felt a single magazine. With a terse sigh, she inserted it and pulled the bolt to chamber the first round.

The sound of boots against the rough ground preceded a storm of rounds slamming against the metallic crate providing her cover. A frustrated groan left her as she tried to look for an opening to either return fire or reposition. However she was given very little options as bullets struck the ground on both sides.

“Okay if I wanted to go to Paris, I would’ve gone to Paris.” A frustrated voice filled the air again, and coincidentally, her cover was no longer being bombarded. Peaking past the crate, the entity was indeed there again, it’s sheer size blocking the guard.

The opportunity was there, but she decided to take it a step further. Fran stepped past the crate and kept low, attempting to avoid its attention while approaching its foot.

“Alright let’s try this again.” She took that line as a sign to aim her weapon forward, in roughly the direction of where she believed the guard was.

Having braced herself for the entity to just disappear, the effect was less jarring. The same could not be said for the guard was on the ground staring with wide eyes at where it last was. They barely had time to react as Fran fired twice into their chest.

The final shots rang around the chamber before settling into an ear ringing silence as everything abruptly came to a halt.

Fran had the rifle aimed at the guard for a few more moments before letting out a deep breath, letting her arms relax and ease to a non-combative stance. 

She was allowed to catch her breath for about a minute until the humanoid mold of space blinked back into existence directly in front of her.

With a breath caught in Fran’s throat she brought up the rifle to aim upwards, starting to backpedal. It was clear the entity had noticed her, its gray eyes focusing on her for a moment before looking around the room. What sounded like an annoyed scoff emanated from its mouth. Now that her full focus was on the entity and at its face rather than the lower parts of its body, she noticed how… Human it was. In the most literal sense, whatever this thing was it simply looked like a regular person. If their skin was made of the very fabric of the universe, which still was not very comforting.

“Did you kill all of them?” The tone was akin to a parent scolding a child for breaking something very expensive, and its eyes were cast back down at her.

Fran tightly gripped the trigger and barrel guard of the rifle. She knew that the weapon realistically wouldn’t harm the entity, but nonetheless she wasn’t comfortable just being unarmed either. “I did.” She kept it simple, unsure if she’d maintain composure having to say another word.

Having expected more annoyance, and something a bit more aggressive, Fran was ever so slightly disarmed at the casual grumble. Even more so when the entity took a sip of the cup of tea that was still in its hand. “Well I kind of needed them alive to explain how they managed to sort of keep me confined here.” His eyes focused on her weapon. “You really don’t need to point that at me.”

Despite the behavior being the complete opposite of what could be expected from a dragon, raw power was still nothing to be complacent about. She kept her stiff stance, even as the entity crouched down. And as a semi-truck sized arm moved towards her.

Fran instinctively held down the trigger even as each bullet harmlessly entered the approaching hand, leading to the barrel being pinched by the pad of the thumb and index finger.

A slight tug and her weapon was gone. She stared as much like the bullets fired, the gun went into the body of space and stars, floating aimlessly.

Again, instinct was still in control. She felt for her combat knife, only to remember that it was dropped during a prior engagement. A lack of combative options left a gut twisting option. Fran for the moment visited prior memories for a frame of reference to chart a course of action.

“Look.” She sighed, struggling to make eye contact. “You’re not interested in a fire breathing apocalypse right?”

The entity almost looked offended, which was replaced with recognition and a silent ‘oh’. “That explains the robes…” It said in reference to the now dead summoners. “No, I don’t want to ‘end the world’.” As its hands raised and did the air quotes, the gray eyes were once again directed to her. “I used that correctly, right?”

Fran stared at the humanoid form of space with a raised brow. “...Did what correctly?” She hesitantly asked. The entity again did the air quote motion, only serving to confuse her further. “I think you did.”

“Good, it’s always changing.” The entity said with a huff. Their eyes met for a moment and upon getting a better look at her stiff posture, they softened. It offered a thin lipped smile. “Whatever terrible thing you think I am, there's a pretty good chance I’m not it.”

“Then what are you?” Fran asked the question of the hour. She didn’t even think Hesperian truly understood what they had brought into the chamber.

Whatever it was, it opened its mouth to speak. Though paused for a second. “You know that’s a great question, I wish I knew the answer.”

Fran stared at him with a blank expression, tilted her head slightly. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I mean it in the most literal sense, I do not know what I am.” A sheepish smile formed on the entity’s face. “The best I can offer you is that you may call me Juno.”

At this point, Fran’s guard was starting to lower. And she appreciated that this time, it wasn’t being forcefully blasted apart by an aggressive display. It was difficult to keep herself on the defensive when her supposed adversary was politely introducing their name and still holding a car sized mug of tea for which she still had no idea where it had been acquired.

“This is the part where people usually offer their name.” His voice pulled her out back into focus, she even adjusted her footing to stand normally.

“...Fran.” Her voice was still hesitant, only through the sheer amount of unknown that lay with the entity known as Juno. “Just wanna double check, not interested in shaping the world to Hesperian’s image?” 

“All I want is to go back to Stanley, that’s all I want and for some reason I can’t.” Juno said in a softer tone.

That was what Fran needed to relax a bit more, and made clear his true motive. He wanted to go back to his normal life, what that even entailed for someone like him she had no clue. But she was familiar with that desire, it helped to paint him as not some terrible force to be used by Hesperian but another victim atop the countless.

“So if I help you to return to your maidan, all will be well?” She asked, raising a brow as the colorful dust appeared on his cheeks again.

“...Why do you keep calling him that?” Juno averted her gaze. “Surely there’s a better word?”

“Well then what is he to you?” Fran’s question ultimately silenced him as he mulled over an answer. Juno was unable to, and so she simply followed up. “Do you have a unique connection to Stanley?” She received a nod. “Are you able to sense him to the point of knowing where he is at all times?” The intense detail to the question only served to spread the nebulae on his face. “I don't know what to say, that fits the criteria of a maiden.”

Juno took a moment to clear his face before looking back down at her. “Okay fine, I’d like to return to my maiden. How do I do that?”

Fran finally moved from the single point she had been standing in for the past minute, walking around the chamber and analyzing the still glowing summoning circle. “I’m going to guess that somehow, you’re able to teleport? Is that the correct term?”

“Yes, I can do that. I’d teleport back to Stanley but it just takes me somewhere random on earth.” Juno said, closely watching her as she knelt down on a group of strange symbols.

“Their leader mentioned containment runes. I think that’s what’s keeping you here.” She stood up. “I don’t know enough about Hesperian rituals, but I do know they must have it on the archive here.” Fran started walking to one of the hallways. “Sit tight, I’ll be right back.”

Despite having deduced that Juno was no longer a threat, or at least that it wasn’t very likely, she did breathe a sigh of relief entering the hallway. As nice as he was, a looming presence was still intimidating. Especially from a complete stranger.

With the lack of threats, Fran was able to pull out her phone to check the map of the facility. It didn’t take very long for her to find where the archive servers were, though there was a different place that had also taken her interest. The chamber next to the actual built in rooms housing the servers was the office for their leader. She figured there must’ve been either useful information, or information that needed to be wiped.

The door was unlocked, and she entered the mobile office. On the folding table which acted as the deceased leader’s desk was a tablet.

Fran walked over and picked it up, surprised that it was still unlocked and available for her to use. She skimmed over the apps and selected the file program. There was one marked ‘mil_eng_unknown’. Below the title showed that it had been opened recently, and she selected it to see what it was all about.

The file was a video, and immediately her stomach churned at the still image. It appeared to be drone footage of a towering figure opposing several battalions of soldiers and tanks. The figure was clearly Juno but not the one she knew just minutes ago. The stars on his body had been replaced with the churning mass of a singular orange sun, and the gray almost lazy eyes were alight with a rage she was all too familiar with.

Fran was almost afraid to even play the video, as if Juno was somehow watching through the screen itself. Instead, she simply deleted the file. A quick skim through the rest of the contents revealed that it was information already in the possession of someone she knew. With that in mind, she deleted the rest of the files. For good measure, several stomps of her boot rendered the device in a webwork of inoperable wires and casing.

This left the server archives, which was a short walk to get to. When she entered, a grumble left Fran. They weren’t hooked up to any network at all, not even a central computer. That meant she’d have to plug in to every section to access the data.

“What’s all of this-” Juno’s abrupt voice elicited an indignified yelp as she whipped around to see the entity standing to her side. She nearly stumbled while trying to regain her footing, and took a minute to process that Juno was there, at a human size.

“You can do that?!” Fran exclaimed, looking him up and down. “How did you do that? What else can you do?”

A chuckle left the entity as he went to find a chair, coming across an office chair with wheels. “It would be easier to list the things I can’t do.”

An exasperated pair of eyes stared at him before a sigh sounded. “Alright, just don’t wander off anywhere. I’m not sure how long it’ll take to find what I’m looking for.” She took out her phone and went over to the first server node. Plugging it in, Fran began scrolling through the mountain of data.

There was a variety of files stored within, though it was fairly simple to sift through. Some categories could be just wiped entirely, while others required a more in-depth read to determine if it was worth forwarding to a separate interested party.

Fran was brought out of her thoughts by the sound of rolling wheels on rough cement as Juno blitzed past her. Looking at where the entity had literally rolled by, Fran kept reading. Eventually, she disconnected the phone and plugged into a separate node.

Again, as she was reading, the rough scraping of wheels blitzed by. “Juno, may I ask something potentially offensive?”

It was a slower scrape as he slowly pushed himself over to the server aisle she was in. “Hm?”

“Are you capable of sitting still?” Fran asked, looking at Juno with tired exasperation.

“...Sorry.” He said with a sheepish grin, slowly wheeling out of sight.

She watched him, thinking “This is the same Juno in that drone footage?”

Fran decided to just keep going, switching from server node to server node. To her surprise, Juno did in fact keep still. Or at least keep quiet, she had no idea what he was up to. At some point she did come across information that might’ve been useful, not to Juno, but to someone else. 

Fran pulled out her phone to call them, only to remember that she was several hundred feet underground in a mine. Checking the signal bar confirmed that her phone was getting nothing.

“Need some help with that?” The flinch that shook her nearly dropped the phone, and she adjusted the grip to keep it secure. Fran turned around, however Juno was nowhere to be found. “Up here.”

Looking up revealed that the entity was standing on the ceiling, staring down at her with a cheeky grin. “...Do I even ask?” Fran sighed.

“For help regarding no signal? Sure.” Juno’s form simply blinked and he was standing directly in front of her. The half second warning made the coming flinch less harsh, but was no less jarring to have someone just appear.

“So how exactly can you help?” She asked, slightly uneasy at the smug grin forming on his face. The stars on Juno’s body began to blur and so did the background of space. Hues of blue and white became more prominent on the left side of his body as a familiar planet came into view. Fran stared, jaw coming down a bit as a satellite was also now visible on the right side.

She looked up at him with her head slightly turned, unsure if what she was thinking was correct. Juno almost seemed to read her mind, and nodded. 

Taking out the phone again, Fran checked the signal. Full bars.

She dialed the number and leaned back against the server behind her. While it rang, Fran took the time to compose herself. This was a routine end of mission with absolutely nothing going wrong.

“Hello?” A voice greeted.

“Hey Kate.” Fran greeted back. “I’m going to have to make this one quick, I’ve got another Hesperian archive liberated. Most of the information seems to be duplicates from the one on your end. But I have a set of files that maybe you and Austin haven’t gone over yet.”

“Okay, let me get to the computer.” While waiting, she directed her gaze to Juno in front of her.

He was seemingly not paying attention, staring off in a random direction. At some point, he pulled out one of the stars in the background of his body. She watched with wide eyes as the entity casually tossed it up and down.

“-Fran… Fran?” Kate’s voice pulled her back to focus. “Are you in the middle of something again?”

“No, just spaced out.” She quickly said. 

“Alright, well I have the archive up.” Kate responded.

Fran pulled the phone away from her ear and checked the file name. “Dragon post transformation observations.” She repeated, putting the phone back up. A few clicks and key taps sounded on the other line.

“Doesn’t seem to be in the archive, so it might be useful.” Kate said.

“Then I’ll keep a copy.” Fran replied. “I have to get going, send my regards to Austin.” After a quick goodbye, she hung up.

The rest was a tedious process, going to each server node and reviewing the files inside. At the very least, Juno had kept distractions to a minimum. Keyword, minimum. Sometimes the entity just… Floated past her. 

But once Fran had it down to a rhythm and the file types sorted in her head, the remaining databases quickly fell through. The final one, to both her and Juno’s relief, had what they were looking for. A file detailing unorthodox summoning procedures.

“Oh, that’s simple.” She said, reading through and reciting one of the lines. “To maintain the effects of the ritual, ensure the summoning circle is created on stable ground. Should the structural integrity of the surface fail, the effects will be nullified and the ritual effectively canceled.”

“It really is that simple.” He commented. Juno seemed ready to teleport, but watch with a curious gaze as she left the room. Fran then returned with a fire axe, chopping the nearest server and producing a shower of sparks. “What are you doing?” 

She swung the blade into another databank. “I have to make sure the files are completely destroyed.” Fran said with a tired huff.

“Isn’t that a little inefficient?” Juno said with a tilted head.

Fran split another piece of machinery into scrap metal. “Well I wish I had several tons of plastic explosives to level the place, but you make do with what you have.” She said, preparing to take another swing. A red glow emanating from behind her stopped the swing, and she slowly turned around to its source.

Juno was standing in the server aisle with a red glowing star in hand, which seemed to pulse violently every few seconds. He placed it on the ground and appeared next to her.

“...Juno, what is that?” Fran said in a calm tone.

“Oh that’s a red giant about to super nova. Or I guess just red? It’s not very giant from our perspective.” He casually said.

“Super nova as in a massive explosion?” She took a step back.

“Mhm- oh right.” Juno raised his hand and snapped his fingers.

Thus far, seeing the abilities of the entity was jarring. Especially for it just appearing and disappearing at a whim. That was taken to the next level when in one moment, Fran was staring at a tiny star ready to explode. The next she was on a hilltop which had a view of the mountain where the mine sat under. 

Fran blinked a few times before looking around in complete disbelief. “You can- you know what.” She said, pausing herself. “Of course you can. I’m starting to wonder how Hesperian even thought they could keep you under their control.” She wasn’t able to catch the prideful smirk that flashed across Juno’s face, though did see when he offered her a thick pair of sunglasses.

She slowly moved her hand to take the glasses, not bothering to question where they even came from. “You might wanna put those on.” Juno suggested.

That wasn’t questioned either, and Fran put them on as instructed. It was already dark outside, but with the glasses on, she may as well have closed her eyes.

A small pinprick of light at the center of the mountain was followed by an eruption of purple and blue arcs of lightning and flame. Chunks of rocks the size of houses were flung upwards and dragged down into the colorful explosion as the facility and ground above it collapsed into itself.

Then came the shockwave and boom as it washed over them. Fran nearly stumbled backwards and adjusted her footing to properly brace against the force. In the end, only a sunken depression of rock remained of the Hesperian facility.

Fran stared at the ruins, and then at Juno with a heavy amount of concern. Especially at the casual smile and thumbs up. “Mission success?”

It took her a moment to register that the entity which had essentially erased a mountain was talking to her. She shot him a thumbs up, and shaky smile. “Mission success.”

“Wonderful! Well I best be going, it was lovely meeting you Fran.” Juno said, turning towards her. “If we meet again, I hope it’s under better circumstances and no killing is involved. And maybe you can meet Stanley.”

As abruptly as the entity had appeared in her mission, Juno was gone. Leaving her in stunned silence. After that, she silently cursed.

The giant didn’t respond and simply directed their attention to Carter, who was still dumbstruck at what just happened. She exhaled and reached down, offering the knuckle of her index finger and thumb. It took him a moment to process that she wanted to give him a hand, or more accurately just two fingers.

He grabbed her knuckle and she gently pressed down with her thumb. Nyx only needed to tilt her wrist upward to pull him back up, to which Carter dusted himself off.

The lead of the group urged his horse toward the two. “You got a mount? I have a feeling the boss is gonna want a word with you.”

“Yeah I have one.” Carter said, using a two finger whistle to call for his horse. 

After about a minute and no indication of approaching hooves, he tried again. “Just give it a minute.” Carter said, trying again.

“This the guy who freed you?” The lead said to Nyx with a raised brow, with her letting out a scoff and looking away.

It would be a few moments until his horse finally showed up, casually trotting over with no sense of urgency. “See? Got it.” Carter climbed on, and followed the group out into the desert.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Within the center of the encampment below the massive canyon was a building that served a vital role in coordinating the company’s operations. At the top floor was the office of the man controlling all of it, who was seated at a maple wood desk.

He’d been informed about a visitor, a matter usually left with his lower lieutenants. Given the unique nature of what they did however, he figured that a personal meeting would be best.

The doors opened, and he looked up from the stack of papers he was working on. Of all the kinds of people to walk in, Carter did not fit the description of what he expected.

“So you’re the reason why I get to keep my most valuable asset.” He said, standing up. “Beckett Whithers, I run the arms supply in this region.”

“Uh, Carter Dutton. Bounty hunter.” Walking further into the office, he looked around, unsure if he was permitted to sit. Beckett simply motioned at the two chairs in front of his desk, and Carter sat down. “I actually worked accounting for the company that you wiped out a week ago.”

An amused expression formed on his face. “I hope you didn’t take it personal, I prefer no competition.” Beckett said. “I’ll cut straight to the chase, I’m sure you’re a busy man. You are owed, and I am very grateful for what you’ve done. Nyx… Shit I don’t where this company would be without her.” He sighed. “What is it you want?”

Carter straightened up, this kind of talk was home for him. “I’d like to work for you.” 

“That so?” Beckett leaned back a bit into his chair. “I suppose our current accountant wouldn’t mind having the work split.”

“Not that sir, I don’t want to push paper.” He said, leaning forward and resting his arms on his knees. 

A small grin lit Beckett’s face as his head tilted slightly. “How many bounties have you brought in?”

“None sir.” The confidence in Carter’s tone confused him, but he was still intrigued. 

“Alright… Then why should I have you out there?” He asked.

Carter took a moment to respond. “When I worked accounting for my old job, it wasn’t just numbers. It was making the numbers work, and solving problems.” He said, looking to Beckett to see if he understood what he was getting at. The man motioned for him to continue. “That’s what I’m good at. I can’t shoot for shit, and I’ve never killed anyone before. But you put me in front of a problem and I will make it disappear. Instead of sending an army towards a problem and getting back less munitions and men, you send me.”

He silently looked at him, gears turning behind his eyes. “That camp had a giant in it, if you sent your gun men they would’ve been wiped out. I went in alone and you got her back. That’s gotta mean something.” Carter stopped, trying to gauge a reaction from the man in front of him.

Upon getting closer, he lightly tapped his boot against the horses’ side. Nearly half the town was wrecked, and not in the way that a lack of maintenance would do it. Some houses were just a pile of wood, the ground had numerous craters, and some plots were just erased. It was random, and most certainly not caused by humans or natural decay.

“Damn.” He muttered, lightly flicking the reins to have the horse go into town. Nyx had already been there, and it seemed the bounty put up some serious struggle before inevitably being caught. Carter followed the trail of destruction up until the other side of town. From there he stopped, brow furrowed in confusion.

Outstretching from the town were dozens of different tracks from horses all the way to a larger one that he couldn’t quite identify. “Must’ve brought the calvary for this one.” He said to himself, looking back. The other way was to the closest town that accepted bounty captures and paid for them. He figured the giant must’ve been taking them to wherever they were holed up. Even if he couldn’t get the bounty now, some information about Nyx could be acquired which still was useful to him.

He urged the horse forward, riding into the upcoming night.

The darkness didn’t help his tracking, but based on the last half hour of sunlight he had, Nyx’s group was traveling in a straight line. He just prayed that would be the case and that he wasn’t gonna end up in a part of the desert that would be too far from any town.

That was answered by faint lights in the distance, and Carter gave a relieved sigh. Getting closer revealed that there were tall almost mountainous dunes surrounding the town. He decided to go up in order to get a better feel for the place, much to the displeasure of his horse.

Once at the top, he dismounted and took out a pair of binoculars from his satchel. It only took a single look for a curse to leave his mouth. “You gotta fuckin kiddin me.” 

In the center of town, was a bound up and gagged Nyx. Hovering over her was another giant, armed with an axe. 

He put the binoculars away, staring silently before letting out a disbelieving laugh. “Oh, that’s just great. I guess I outta be thankful!” He said to himself, pacing around in circles. “There’s the favor Carter, literally saving her life! All you gotta do is take out a few dozen armed guys who most certainly can shoot straighter than you and a fuckin giant!” Carter kicked a bunch of sand in frustration.

It would take him a few moments to calm down at his astronomically terrible luck. He took in some breaths and let out a groan. Carter checked his revolver, fully loaded. He then looked over to his horse. “What do you think?” The bounty hunter asked.

The horse simply stared at him, letting out a snort. “Yeah, probably shouldn’t even bother.” Carter holstered the revolver and took in another deep breath. Walking over to the edge of the dune, he put the binoculars up to his eyes again. He didn’t bother to observe the center of town where Nyx was bound, but rather the surroundings.

First, the outside. Like his former company’s town it was walled, however there was one key difference. One side had an opening for train tracks, likely for cargo and supplies. It was of course still well guarded but much easier than scaling a wall.

His binoculars then went over to the rooftops. “Huh… Fancy.” Some of the buildings had cannons stationed on top, and he recognized those particular models. An overseas import that was highly sought after. Instead of using cannon balls, it used shells. No gunpowder to pack and no stuffing the ball. Just load and shoot. 

That in particular caught his attention, bullets technically can harm giants. But it was only with concentrated fire or thousands of rounds expended to actually fatally wound them. He didn’t have such luxuries, but a single explosive shot was a different story. There was the problem of the two guards at the cannon but that was a problem for the Carter that actually made it inside.

A distant low roar of a whistle drew his attention outside of the town, where a train was slowly approaching the entrance. “Shit.” He ran and hopped onto his horse, frantically flicking the reins and guiding it down the dunes. 

“C’mon.” Carter urged the horse as it charged towards the train. He kept a hand on his hat as the horse made a sharp turn next to the train, matching its speed.

Once they had gotten to the gap between the cars he jumped off, wincing as his side caught a side railing. With a groan he stood back up and pressed himself against the flat edge of the car. The train had slowed down, slowly entering through the gap in the walls. The guards paid no mind, the supply runs were so routine that they didn’t bother to check for stowaways.

The train car shuddered as it came to a complete stop, and Carter began to panic as workers rushed over to unload the cargo. Looking down, he realized the gap between the two cars was just barely wide enough for him to slip under. Before the workers could realize there was an intruder on board, he was down on his stomach on the tracks.

As they unloaded supplies, Carter looked around for any openings. On the other side of the train, he realized that there weren’t as many people. Given how big the town was, there had to be at least a hundred working there. He crawled to a part of the train that had enough space for him to slip out. Dusting himself off he simply walked away as if he was just another guard. The other workers hardly paid him a glance, the dim lighting around the buildings helped keep his cover as well.

With Carter now inside, he needed to figure out how to get rid of the gunner and guard next to the cannon. Disregarding the fact that firing a gun would alert anyone, he wasn’t confident in his shooting, even within ass kissing range.

The building which had the artillery cannon was coming just up ahead, and it seemed to be an ordinary tavern. He headed to the alleyway behind and accessed the back door. Inside was the store room, offering various tools and other alternative means of dealing with people. Carter spent a good bit looking around to see what he could use, though nothing was really coming to mind. 

Until he found bottles of bourbon and some matches.

His head turned to the bottle of bourdon, then to the crate of matches. It then occurred to him that maybe he didn’t need to fight them, or at least one of them.

Carter grabbed the bottle and wrapped some fabric around it. He then went outside into the alley and spotted a bit of dry weeds creeping out the edge of the building. Lighting the fabric on fire, he threw the bottle at it. Upon shattering, drops of aflamed liquid ignited the bush into a small fire. 

With that done, he headed inside and started rushing up the stairs. Above several floors, an annoyed voice could be heard descending. Carter ducked into a nearby hallway on his floor, just in time to avoid the guard rapidly heading down the stairs to investigate the fire. That left only the gunner.

Once on the roof, he saw the gunner leaning over the edge above the alleyway. The set up was perfect and Carter was shocked that a plan that he personally put together was actually going smoothly. He quietly and very slowly made his way to the gunner. The man was none the wiser when something pushed his back and he fell down. The guard attempting to beat at the fire with a broom barely looked up as the gunner fell right on top of him, instantly knocking him out.

Carter didn’t waste time rushing over to the artillery cannon, though didn’t immediately do anything. Staring at it, he realized that he was missing one crucial detail. “...How the hell does this thing work.” There was a small crate next to him, and atop it was a notebook which read ‘Field Manual’. “Oh.” 

He took the notebook and skimmed through it, eyes lit up like a kid in a candy store. It talked about trajectories, angles, and many numbers were present. “Oh now we're talking.” With a giddy grin Carter began to set up the cannon. First he picked up the lifting handle at the back and aimed the cannon at the giant standing over Nyx. 

Next was the height of the barrel, which he adjusted according to the distance and other factors listed by the manual. He checked the sliding breach and confirmed a shell was loaded. All that was left was to actually fire, to which he paused.

At the current moment, the cannon was aimed at the giant’s head. A direct hit would kill it, he was confident in that. If it hit in the first place. That possibility nagged him as the giant wasn’t standing completely still, the head moved occasionally. 

Looking down, the torso was also an option. It was the easiest target, it was broad and even if it moved, the shell moved fast enough to guarantee a direct hit. The only problem was it would only hurt.

Carter was stuck between either a guaranteed hit or a guaranteed kill, with no option containing both. He looked at Nyx, still bound to rope. It was there he realized that the actual choice lay in who he trusted to take down the giant. Himself, or Nyx.

He made his decision by angling the barrel lower, and yanking the lanyard attached to the trigger. 

As the blast from the muzzle blew back the hat on his head, the shell rocketed out the smoking barrel. The shot wasn’t perfect, Carter was aiming center mass for his chest. But the deviation in path still worked out as the shell slammed into the giant’s shoulder and erupted into a ball of flame.

The giant stumbled slightly and panicked shouts could be heard as Nyx looked around, equally confused. It only lasted a second before she kicked her bound feet at the giant’s shins, knocking him down to the ground.

Carter trusted she’d get the job done and focused on getting himself out of harm’s way. This would prove to be a challenge as the other artillery guns stationed on rooftops noticed where the shot had come from. “Uh oh.”

He ran and dove to the ground as an artillery shell turned his cannon into a twisted wreck. The  force of the explosion tossed it off the rooftop and lodged it halfway above the alley. Carter scrambled back to his feet and quickly ran to the stairwell to head down the stairs. 

Distant shockwaves and the earth violently shaking told him that Nyx had freed herself. Which was good. What irked him in the back of his mind was that at any point, the fight could move to where he was, and he’d be flattened without even seeing it coming.

Carter placed that pleasant thought out of his mind and kept going down the stairs. To his surprise, no one else was rushing to the building he was in. Instead, horses and other townspeople ran like hell in the opposite direction. He decided to also follow that line of thinking and burst out the door as if he were just one of them.

The sound of buildings being blown apart and the intensified voice of the giant fighting Nyx pushed him to run faster. Given that he left his horse near the train tracks, Carter ran to where the train was stationed. As he was about to run to the opening, he turned towards the other end of the tracks which led to the opposite side of town.

The giant had pinned Nyx down atop the tracks, hands on her neck as he attempted to strangle her. She was attempting to pry him off but nothing was working, and Carter stood staring with wide eyes. He didn’t have a cannon anymore, and his revolver would just annoy it. Looking to his left at the steam locomotive and back at the two, an idea formed in his head. A really stupid one, and that was coming from Carter.

He ran over to the steam engine and entered the engineer’s compartment, where he was greeted with a number of dials, switches, and levers. Carter had no idea how steam engines worked, only that they could explode if mishandled. Given that his knowledge about the machine in front of him was that it moved forward if fed coal, he was perfect for the job.

Carter grabbed a shovel and opened the furnace door. From there, he started shoving as much coal as he could. However, the train still didn’t move. “Uhhhh…” The bounty hunter started pulling random levers, some of which resulted in the dials going in the red zone. The train did start moving and he peeked out the window to check on Nyx who was now barely putting up a fight.

Various pipes within the cab began to burst, with steam flaring out. He took this as a sign to dive out and winced as he landed on the shoulder which Nyx dislocated days ago.

Carter looked up in time to see the steam engine ram into the giant’s hand, lightly scratching it. 

He thought it would do more damage… And he was right.

The front of the steam engine simply ceased to exist. One moment, it was a circular metallic cylinder containing a network of piping hot steam and smoke. The next, it was a mangled mess of twisted pipes with burning steam razing the immediate area of the explosion.

The giant’s hands bore the majority of the explosion, the skin reddening and blistering as they instinctively let go of her throat. Mostly unharmed, Nyx’s head flew upward and delivered a hard blow to his nose. She then kicked his stomach and sent him flying back into the town’s walls, reducing them to splinters.

She stood up, and Carter could’ve sworn her eyes were glowing with how the light from nearby fires were reflected in her pupils. Nyx looked down at the train, and then to him momentarily. His body went into shock and froze. Her hand reached down, but not for him.

The sound of her picking the blown apart engine was like listening to bacon being cooked as her gloves were burned off and the skin made contact with the hot metal.

Carter watched wide eyes as she slowly stalked towards the downed giant, seemingly uncaring that her hands were burning. Before he could get up, Nyx knelt down and shoved the mess of  pipes into his throat, piercing it in several places. The giant couldn’t even scream as he both burned and suffocated to death.

He flinched as the steam engine was tossed aside, demolishing another section of walls. Everyone else had the sense to leave, with only Carter and the giant in front of him. She turned and looked in his direction. He didn’t bother moving as she slowly approached and knelt down in front of him. Carter knew it would be pointless, but nonetheless the urge remained under her relentless glare.

Carter gave an amused scoff, standing up with a wince. “Thanks…” He muttered, hopping off the seat and heading to the backroom. 

It wouldn’t take long for him to freshen up. A new shirt and pants was already an improvement but the water trough at the back really elevated his look. To the point where he no longer had the appearance of someone who had dragged themselves through the desert for days on end. Besides the physical, the cleanse also refreshed his mind. A relieved breath left him as he wiped the hair out of his face with a piece of cloth. After the failure that was his first bounty, or rather lack there of, he didn’t realize how much he needed this.

Stepping out of the backroom and back to the bar, he sat at the counter. Frank’s eyes lit up slightly. “Hey, you actually look alive.” The bartender slid him a glass of whiskey.

“Feel like it too.” Carter replied. He took the glass and had a sip

Frank nodded, leaning his side on the counter. “Y’know I was expecting either you to come in with a gunshot, black eye, or just dead on my doorstep. A dislocated shoulder is an odd one. How'd you even manage that?” 

Carter didn’t bother to answer the question yet. Instead, he opted to down the entire glass first. “That god damn giant, Next.”

“Nyx.”

“Whatever her god damn name is, she was there!” He snapped. “I almost had the sunnuva bitch too, he was cornered no where to go. She just had to come in and snatch him.” Carter replied, looking at Frank who was giving him a suspicious side eye. “What?”

“You had him?” He asked with a raised brow.

Carter remained quiet for a moment before hesitantly responding. “...Yeah.”

“How?” Frank didn’t waste any time in responding, having a feeling the story he was being given was a bit different from the truth.

“Well…” He paused again, idly swirling his glass even though there wasn’t any whiskey inside. “I found him in an alley and held him at gun point.”

The bartender nodded. “And…?”

He finally failed to keep up the fantasy that was a perfect bounty capture foiled by the giant. “And I shot him six times and missed every single one.” Carter admitted with a grumble. 

From the continued silence, Frank figured that he wouldn’t get more out of Carter. Though he didn’t have to, putting the rest of the pieces together all on his own. “You’re getting your feathers ruffled about her when she technically saved your life? I mean she could’ve just turned you into a sheet of red wet cloth right then and there for trying to steal her bounty.”

“I didn’t know it was her bounty!” Carter bit back.

“How much was that bounty?” Frank quickly responded.

He gave a confused scoff. “It was a hundred grand, why’s that matter?”

“Boy you don’t think the deadliest bounty hunter roaming these deserts would waste their time on small fish?” Frank pointed out. “With her size and skill, why in all hells would she go for a bounty less than ten grand. And why in the hell did you go for the biggest one? You’re new at this!”

Carter listened with the attitude of a child being scolded for a wrong doing that they almost certainly committed. “I thought I had the gear for it.” He mumbled under his breath.

“And you don’t got no skills to use em.” Frank said, setting down the glass which had been already clean for god knows how long. “It’s like putting me when I first started bar tending in a city bar. It don’t matter I got them fancy glasses and mixers. I’d still be shit. What got me started was my old man, taught me every little thing about being behind this counter. From tending to drinks, to tending to people.”

He looked at Frank with a tired expression and simply tapped the counter next to his glass. Preferring more whiskey than monologues. The bartender scoffed and grabbed the bottle. As he poured the drink, Carter’s eyes lit up abruptly, the same way they did when he got the bright idea to become a bounty hunter with no prior experience in any kind of capacity for that particular career.

And like last time, it didn’t take Frank that long to deduce his plan. “No.” 

“Oh c’mon what do you mean no? I haven’t said anything yet.” Carter said.

“It’s an even worse idea than you taking up bounty hunting in the first place, why in the hell would she even bother helping you?” Frank said. “For one, she did a mighty big favor leaving you alive, she didn’t have to do that. Two, in her eyes, you tried to take her bounty. And she even let you leave without anything broken.”

“But my shoulder-”

“Stop whinin, it was only dislocated.” Frank interrupted with narrowed eyes. “Way I see it, you’re the one owing to her. So you can pay her back by staying out of her business.”

A frustrated sigh left Carter. “C’mon Frank I gotta give this one more shot. And after that… Yeah I’ll call it quits.” He bitterly muttered, taking a sip of his refilled drink.

The bartender seemed satisfied with that deal. “Alright.” He slipped the bottle back under the counter. “What do ya need to know?”

Carter took a moment to think, idly swirling the drink in his glass. “The organization that Nyx works for, how’d they even get her to work for them in the first place?” He asked. “I mean, they don’t use money, at least I don’t think. I mean maybe by force but like you said, most just went away when it got too crowded in this region.”

The bartender nodded. “You’d be correct on both. Most of the time, giants are employed willingly but they’re very particular.” He grabbed a glass. “Giants are honorbound, we pass favors like they’re nothing but it’s different from them.”

Carter tilted his head slightly. “How so?”

“Well, giants are an independent people. You’ll never find more than one giant in an area unless they don’t know about each other. Lone wolves, some people call em. Very prideful about it too, they live alone because that’s just how they like it.” Frank explained. “So when they get in a spot of trouble that they can’t help themselves out, and someone comes along and helps them, that action needs to be repaid in full.”

“This Nyx giant from what you’ve told me before has been working for them for a while though.” Carter pointed out.

“Then with whatever trouble she found herself in, she deemed it necessary for an honorbound contract to last this long. I’d figure it was life threatening.” Frank shrugged.

The bounty hunter sat in his seat leaned against the counter for a while, looking down and eyeing the wood colored liquid as it sloshed around in the glass. “So if I want her help, she’s gotta owe me?” He casually said.

He arrived on horseback at the edge of town, just as the sun got to its midpoint. The former accountant, now bounty hunter, had spent the prior day salvaging whatever was left from the ruined town that his company used to call its headquarters. Much to his surprise, there were rich pickings. Plenty of weapons, ammo, and even a few horses. From that, he was able to deduce two things. One, the giant had only been dispatched to put them out of operation and only for that purpose. Whoever employed them wasn’t interested in the exotic weapons they had managed to accrue, which left the second observation. The giant’s employers were already well fitted, and potentially a big player in the desert. And yet Carter had never heard of them.

But for now, he chalked it up as possibly the worst stroke of luck and moved on. His primary concern was with navigating a town full of gunmen, scoundrels, and the kinds of people you really wouldn’t want to encounter at night.

His horse trotted down the main street towards the tavern and he decided to start there. Carter dismounted the horse at a stable a few buildings down and tied it up. A short walk and he was inside the crowded saloon. The patrons there were familiar, more or less the same he’d find at the saloon he’d frequent at the company town. The only difference was that he wasn’t just there to drink a corner and go unnoticed. Carter needed information.

He took an empty spot on the counter. “Gin.” Carter muttered, with the bartender nodding. So far so good, and upon receiving his drink, decided to start. He reached into his satchel and pulled out a bounty poster, laying it onto the counter.

After the bartender had finished serving another customer, they came over and looked down at the poster with a blank look. Carter was about to ask about the pictured man but was stopped as the bartender held up an index finger. He then nodded to the people sitting next to him, to which Carter followed.

The customers sitting to his left and right had casually placed their revolvers on the table, side-eying him with a not so friendly look. 

“...Noted.” Carter simply said, rolling up the poster and stashing it into his satchel. He moved his hand to the glass to finish his drink. Though before he could even take a sip, the two customers shifted in their seats to fully face him. Their hands were now planted on their guns. Not fully drawn but enough for Carter to understand the message. He promptly sat up and left the saloon.

Once Carter was outside, he mentally kicked himself. Why did he think in a town of criminals, any one of them would be a snitch? It was one of the core foundations of that line of work.

Letting out a frustrated sigh, he started aimlessly going about town, wondering how he’d get the information he needed without talking to anyone. Or forcing someone to talk. Carter wasn’t exactly an intimidating person, and the gun didn’t exactly elevate that either. Just about everybody and their mother had a gun in this town.

Carter nearly threw the towel in, having been practically down every street. He was headed to the stable and paused seeing a familiar figure straight ahead a few buildings down. Snatching the poster from his satchel, he looked at the man then back at the picture. It was him.

Turning his head back to the bounty, he saw that they ducked into an alleyway. Carter shoved the poster into the satchel and took off after him. He also took out the revolver from his hip holster, there was no doubt that his bounty would be armed. 

Carter turned into the alley, with his target being about halfway across. He sprinted down to close some distance before stopping and aiming his gun at the bounty. “Stop right there!” To his surprise the man actually stopped. “I want you step back towards me, you do anything other than that-”

His bounty turned around and reached for their holster.

“God damn it.” Carter repeatedly pulled the trigger and fired off six shots. The bounty flinched and in the following silence stood completely still. He looked down and didn’t see any holes in his clothes nor any splotches of blood. He felt his chest and didn’t feel any sharp pain. His gaze then turned to Carter, who was staring with wide eyes and with an empty weapon.

The bounty didn’t waste time drawing his own revolver and Carter didn’t waste any ducking behind a barrel as two shots flew overhead. “You fuckin dumbass, you actually had me worried there for a second!” He loudly laughed, slowly stepping towards him.

Carter silently cursed while pulling out more bullets from his satchel to reload. His trembling fingers didn’t exactly help the process as the rounds struggled to align with the cylinders. However, he completely froze feeling the slightest tremor. Then another.

“You should run while you still can.” Carter called out, trying to move out of cover. He was met with two shots coming dangerously close to his head, forcing him back behind the barrel again.

“Yeah that would be advantageous for you, now wouldn’t it?” The bounty said with a smug tone, getting closer to the barrel. “I bet you’re regretting coming here, ain’t ya?”

The tremors were now too frequent and intense to ignore, and the bounty paused as well. “Yeah…” Carter grumbled, sitting against the barrel and hitting his head against it.

The man finally put two and two together, realizing that someone much worse and competent was after him. Holstering his weapon, he began running down to the other alleyway entrance.

Carter was too paralyzed to make any sort of move, knowing how mobile the giant could be. For the moment, he decided it was pointless to run and so he simply watched. Peaking past the barrel, he watched as his bounty continued to sprint down it. Maybe the guy would make it.

That hope came crashing down, quite literally, in the form of a horse carriage falling onto the alley exit. The twisted wooden wreck blocked one of two ways out, and before he could even try the other, a shadow darkened his part of the alley.

All Carter could see was a black blur shoot into the alley and snatch what was going to be his payday from the very ground. His distant scream and the subsequent silence that followed compelled him to run. Now that the giant was busy, this was probably the only opportunity for him to leave.

He got up and sprinted down the alley. It was still quiet and he figured there was a good chance for him to get out of town without being spotted. Carter preferred to avoid another encounter,  especially since he told the giant that he’d never hurt anybody before or held a gun. Granted, even if he did have a gun now, it wasn’t as if he used it to great effect.

Upon exiting the alley, a sigh of relief escaped him. Followed by a full body impact as he was thrown to the side several feet.

The hit took the air right out of his lungs, and he gasped while trying to reorient himself. As he pushed himself up on his arms, the area around him was cast in darkness.

“Oh shit.” The same black blur that had made his bounty disappear crashed onto him, pinning the bounty hunter against the ground. He noted the pressure seemed to only be for the intent of restraint as he could somewhat breathe. Still, having a gloved hand the size of a mattress did not bring him any comfort.

His eyes squinted as he looked up, unable to discern a face. That was until her head moved in closer and blocked it out. 

That night, when the giant had attacked, he didn’t really get a good look at her. All he saw was this massive moving black shadow that left death and destruction in its wake, and nearly included him in her list of casualties. 

In his mind it was hard to just call her a giant now or some other analogous term. She wore a black stetson, a staple of any desert traveler. Along with the mask covering the bottom half of her face, long almost silk like black hair covered a bit of her eyes. Ignoring the hand atop him, the scene almost looked ordinary.

‘God she’s pretty…’ Carter thought, which quickly disappeared as the eyes narrowed into a sharp and very much annoyed glare. ‘Uh oh’

He looked as the hand lifted slightly, with her thumb being planted on his left shoulder. A scream left him as an abrupt pressure was applied, accompanied by a distinct ‘pop’ sound. The pain spread down into his left arm, and even though the hand had lifted, he struggled to get up. Carter was completely focused on how he could barely move his left arm and when he did, it felt like it was on fire.

His gaze had shifted to the shoulder, which definitely looked misaligned. “Oh god.” He groaned, reaching over with his still good arm.

Carter flinched as the hand returned, though this time it didn’t pin him down. He froze as the pad of her index finger rested on his cheek, ever so slightly pushing against his head to turn it towards her. It then moved lower, cupping his chin and directing his gaze upwards.

Their eyes were forced to meet, wide fearful ones against a narrowed pair. He began to panic as his other shoulder was pinched by another set of fingers. They squeezed. It was uncomfortable, but nothing broke.

The giant moved her hands away and stood, with Carter having to crane his neck as he looked up. With one final glare, she turned away and walked off.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The town of Oatman remained more or less stuck in time, and when Carter had left, nothing had happened. In the most literal sense. No visitors, no noteworthy news, not even town gossip. The general supply store and saloon remained fairly empty, apart from their owners and merchandise.

The bartender was again polishing glass that was already clean when a bloodied man with a dislocated shoulder stumbled inside.

“Strongest please.” The accountant asked. “Might have to start a tab, I’m not employed anymore.”

“Oh hell what did you to piss them off? Ya had a good thing going.” He huffed, wiping off a few more spots before going behind the bar to start on his drink.

Carter sighed, resting his arms on the counter. “It’s more like who my boss pissed off. The whole operation got wiped off the god damn map. There’s nothing left.” 

The bartender set aside the rag and grabbed a bottle of whiskey. “Everything’s gone? How’d that happen? Didn’t y'all have all those guns and fancy weapons?”

“Did absolutely nothing to a giant.” He scoffed. “God damn thing showed up out of nowhere and before I knew it everyone was dead including the sunnuva bitch that pays me.” Carter said as the bartender slid him a glass of whiskey. He graciously took the glass and took a swig. “Didn’t even think they were real.”

“Oh they’re real alright.” The bartender said, keeping the bottle on the counter. He had a feeling Carter would need more. “Real pieces of work too, but I’d be too if I was being pushed away from home.”

The accountant looked at him with a confused expression. “What do you mean?”

“All this land used to belong to giants, till we came along.” The bartender explained. “Started setting shop everywhere, building towns. This desert used to be a big place but with all us around it became a lot smaller and we started seeing em more often. And more often than not, people wanted them gone, and to a certain extent people made it happen.”

“How? I mean the one I saw killed all of us and don’t seem like it broke much of a sweat.” Carter said, moving his glass next to the bottle.

“If a rat ran up to ya and tried to kill ya, what would you ya do?” The bartender asked, leaning against the counter.

Carter looked at him with a raised brow, pausing to see if it was a serious question. The next moment of silence indicated it was, and so he responded. “I’d just kick it, stomp it if I was wearing a boot I didn’t care about.”

“How about if a hundred came to do the job?” This time, he was left speechless. “A thousand?”

“Alright alright I get it.” Carter replied, taking another sip of his drink. “You seem to know a lot about them, do you know any particular giants?” He asked.

The bartender didn’t have an immediate answer and while thinking about it, he took a glass to absentmindedly clean. Even though it didn’t have a single spot on it. “Not many, again, they’re pretty rare. I heard stories, rumors that some work for certain companies and rogue organizations such as the one you used to be employed by.” He paused. “Gimme a description, maybe I know em.”

Carter nodded and he shuddered slightly, thinking back to that night. The scene of his boss's head being snapped backwards by the sheer power of a single finger replaying over and over again until he blinked back into reality. “They didn’t say a single word.” He muttered with a furrowed brow. “My boss asked them what they wanted but they didn’t say anything.”

“Well shit, you might just be the luckiest sunnuva bitch this way to the west coast.” The bartender whistled. “Not many survive being in the Night’s crosshare.”

Carter tilted his head up at the bartender with a confused look. “Come again?”

“The giant that wiped out the company you worked at, her name is Nyx. Old word for ‘Night’.” The bartender said. “Works for some shadow group out in the desert doing god knows what. Does their dirty work, and rakes in money by being the only bounty hunter out here with a spotless capture record. I’m pretty sure the state and other buyers have paid out hundreds of thousands of dollars to her.”

At the mention of the amount of money, Carter’s attention sharpened. “That much?”

“Oh yeah, bounty hunting makes a lot.” The bartender replied. “They usually start in the hundreds of dollars and I’ve seen plenty go past a thousand. Of course, ya gotta get the bounties warm, not cold. You only get a quarter for a dead bounty.” 

He was quiet for a bit, clearly thinking about something. That something worried the bar tender. “No.” He simply said.

“No? What do you mean no.” Carter said, sitting up straighter. “I haven’t even said anything.”

“I know what you’re thinking and I think it’s a terrible idea. Ya ain’t built for bounty hunting, yer built for numbers and pushing paper. Same way I’d be a terrible bounty hunter, I’m built for polishing glass and pouring drinks.” The bartender explained. “Where are you gonna get the gear for bounty hunting? Can’t even afford a drink here.”

“See you don’t know what I’m thinking.” Carter said with a smug grin. “This Nyx giant did destroy our town but I reckon there’s still some equipment there I can use. There’s probably guns and ammo left over from the dead guards. Probably some extra money too. I didn’t bother to stick around to get them because I was too terrified she’d be back to finish me off.”