Roots of Assassination (Hitman X Stardew Valley) - Chapter 20 - TeslaMan (2024)

Chapter Text

47 awoke to his home colored green. Murky, swampy green. Looking out the window, he saw green rain falling from the sky. He tried turning on the TV to see if the news was reporting on this, but was only met with green static. Intrigued, he opened his laptop as well, and was also met with green static. “ Electromagnetic interference ,” he thought to himself, realizing that this storm's rainwater must be causing it somehow. No time to waste, he left the house, making sure to keep Lucas inside.

The moment he stepped out, he noticed the lush greenery. Large, bush-like trees had suddenly grown in. Massive fibers flooded the ground. A weird, curly tree had also grown. All of these new plants were covered in what appeared to be moss, and were all being poured down on by a misty, green-tinted rain.

For a few minutes, 47 just stood underneath his porch. It was completely unknown what this rain would do, or if it was even safe. Finally, he readied himself, taking off one of his gloves, and stuck his hand straight out into the rain.

Fortunately, it did nothing. No skin melting, bruising, or even green staining. He actually noticed that the few rough patches on his hand from farm work began to fade away, healing him. He put his glove back on and stepped fully into the rain. It didn’t feel harshly cold like most rain did. It felt warm, pleasant, and even alive.

He took out his scythe and ax, and got to work on the farm, starting with the crops. He was surprised to see that all of his crops had grown, and looked extremely healthy. Even his new fruit trees had grown quickly, albeit still not producing fruit. Curious, he pulled off a tomato and took a bite out of it. It tasted magnificent, way better than the rest of his previous batches. He began to harvest his crops, and placed them into storage to sell after the storm passed. Minus two melons, four corn, a poppy (he made sure to have extra for poison) and a sunflower (he was able to replant seeds that Haley’s had dropped). He safely guessed that these crops would be the quality needed for the bundles.

Next came the overgrown land. It was a bit of a challenge to walk through, but reaped great rewards. Weeds had taken over, with some being way larger than usual. Cutting through them gave him a surplus of fiber, which was always a useful recipe for farm supplies. The trees had also grown wildly and suddenly, with 47 noting that they had replaced some regular trees. Regardless, he took his time to chop down most of them, which got him a large stack of wood and a few new seeds that looked like stars. A few trees that looked more like curled vines dropped some fiddlehead fern, which he needed for one of the bundles. Oh, and moss. 47 now had a sudden, massive surplus of moss.

After about 2 hours of cleaning, 47 noted that he felt more energized than usual. It was as if the rain was giving him new life. He shook that thought out of his head. No time to focus on that, he had to go see everyone else. If what the Governor said was true, Joja was likely trying to take everyone’s houses today. He would make a stop at everyone’s house in the valley, then head to the Saloon, where most people would likely gather.

47 first went to Cindersap forest, to check on Marnie and her family. It went as expected;Marnie was worried about her animals, Jas was worried in general, and Shane was just happy to be off of work. No Joja forms, so he swiftly moved on.

Sam’s house was next, and he did find that they had a form, which Sam had brought home the day before after he heard the news. Jodi said that she was considering signing it at first, to keep her home safe, but didn’t feel comfortable doing that in case they did lose it due to the high pricing, and thus her husband would not have a home. 47 helped his cause by reaffirming her point, convincing Jodi to throw the form away. One crisis averted. Besides that, Vincent wanted to see the rain, and Sam wanted to protect his brother.

Alex’s house was next, and 47 was not surprised to see that they absolutely did not have the form. The old couple were already accepting of the potential of death, and Alex only seemed concerned about protecting his grandparents, with no concern of the house falling. So, 47 went on his way.

Finally, 47 arrived at the Saloon. He would check here first, then go see how Robin and her family were doing, and then head back to the house. He was able to see that the rest of the town was inside, which matched his predictions. He saw the letter that Gus had sent, and assumed most people would take up his offer of shelter. So, to make sure people were safe and not being scammed by Joja, he headed inside.

The first thing he noted was how bland it was. No music, no drinks, no food. Just the sounds of whispering and the smell of the rain outside. A lot of people were grouped up together, and, while he could not hear everything, he got the general gist of it. They were worried about the rain, and what it meant for the town.

47 approached a nervous Lewis first, who perked up at the sight of him. “Mr. Rieper! I’m glad you're here, and COMPLETELY UNHARMED BY THE RAIN!”. Lewis yelling that last part got the attention of everyone. “Anyways, could you please tell everyone that the rain is harmless and won’t hurt us, like the Governor said?”. 47 noticed the nervous fidgeting of the mayor, who, with his incompetence, could not quell the people into calmness.

“Of course,” 47 responded, and turned to face the crowd. “Everyone, I can confidently say that the rain is completely safe, and will not harm you or your homes,”. People began whispering again, and Penny raised her hand.

“Um… Mr. Rieper, sir?” she said. 47 nodded to her to continue. “I’m glad you are alright, but how do we know that the rain has no long term effects? Or if it will cause damage if we drink it?”. Much more speedy whispers followed, and 47 realized she was right. Even though he could safely walk in it, there was no guarantee that the rain was 100% safe. “Also, why did you mention our houses? I don’t think anyone here was worried about that,”.

47 paused, confusion starting to take over. “I was… assuming that you all received forms from Joja, which promised to insure your homes in case the rain damages it?”. People looked at each other in silence, as if 47 had asked them something in a different language.

“No… we never got anythin’ like that,” Willy answered. “We’ve been just more worried about other things, like me fish!”.

“And the medical worries,” Harvey followed.

“And the end times…” Pam said.

“And maybe monsters,” Gus added in.

“And the message from nature,” Emily said, with an eye roll from Haley following.

“Well, I’m not sure about those last few things,” Haley said. “But maybe this stuff isn’t good for us, especially with how it's making all the plants grow. Are you suuuuree it's completely safe, farmer boy?”.

47 was barely listening, his mental cogs turning. Joja had not done anything. The forms existed, since Jodi had one, but they had not sent them out. Why? What was the point of that?

47 shook his thoughts off, knowing he had to focus on that later. “I’m certain that it is not as dangerous as it seems. In fact,” he began walking out the door. “I’m going to head to Robin’s, where I’m sure Demetrius is studying this rain,”. A lot of the villagers looked at each other, knowing that they would be less worried if a scientist said it was safe. “I’ll be back with him,”.

He walked quickly through the rain, being sure to stop by the community center to drop off his crops. As expected, the melons and corn were high quality, completing the ‘quality crops’ bundle. He was rewarded with a preserves jar, which he needed for jam for other bundles. He left it there for now, and continued on his way.

He arrived at the mountaintop, which was, like the rest of the town, covered in green. Contrast to that, however, was a man in a yellow hazmat suit. When 47 got closer, he saw that it was Demetrius in the suit, collecting samples.

“Ah, Mr. Rieper!” Demetrius said, with a gleam of excitement in his eyes. “I’m out here collecting samples for this once-in-a-lifetime scientific anomaly!”. The man did not have the fear of 47 that he usually had. Something 47 also took as a potential ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ opportunity.

“I don’t blame you,” 47 responded. “Such weather like this may never be seen again in our lives, so it’s important to get to know about it as much as we can,”. Demetrius had already lost his attention to him, going back to his samples. “Where is the rest of your family?”

“Oh, I think they’re in Sebastian’s room,” he said in a distracted manner, not even making eye contact with 47. He didn’t bother following up, and 47 was ready to take advantage of this. He headed straight down to Sebastian’s room.

There, he found Maru, Sebastian, and Robin in a dimly lit room. Maru and Sebastian were talking to each other about the rain, while Robin paced around the room, agitated. The two young adults turned to look at him.

“Tobias!” Sebastian said, getting up to meet him. Maru followed, while Robin didn’t stop her pacing. “I’m glad you made it, and in one piece,”.

“Yeah, you don’t seem burnt,” Maru said, circling him. “Or freezing, or even have plants growing out of you. The rain seems safe to us humans, at least. So, tell us,” Maru stopped circling 47, standing next to her brother. “What does it look like out there?”

“In short, nature is thriving at a rapid pace,” 47 said, the two siblings stepping closer to listen. “Trees and weeds have grown overnight, with even my crops having fully grown. It is, as your father put it, a ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ opportunity,”. 47 noticed that Sebastian shifted his feet at the mention of Demetruis, but seemed to get over it quickly.

“Well, I bet the frogs are loving it!” Sebastian responded. “I wish we could go see it,”. 47 took this as his opportunity.

“Let’s go then,” he said, to the shock of everyone in the room. “The rain is safe enough for me to walk through, so it should be for the rest of you,”. Maru and Sebastian looked at each other in excitement.

“Absolutely not!”. They all turned to look over at Robin, who looked very ticked off. “It’s bad enough that that man is crazy enough to go into this unknown rain, I will not have my kids go into it!”. The three others looked at each other, with 47 knowing that Robin would have to be an obstacle to take care of. And he had a very good idea of how.

“Sebastian, Maru, leave the room,” he said, surprising everyone. “Get some rain coats on, while I talk to your mother,”. The two seemed timid to do so at first (not helped that he himself was not wearing anything besides his usual suit), but they eventually headed upstairs, leaving Robin and 47 alone. She did not take long to berate him.

“I- of all the people in this town!” she began pacing back and forth again. “Mr. Rieper, the oh-so-practical farmer, is deciding to risk not just his life, but the lives of my kids in this rain. Why?” she turned to him, her brows furrowed. “Why would you make such a stupid, braindead, unthoughtfu-”.

“For Demetrius,” he interrupted, stopping her in her tracks. “And Sebastian. Don’t act like you haven’t seen the tension between those two. They avoid each other like the plague, doing their best to pretend the other does not exist,”. He walked closer to her, meeting her eye to eye. “Your husband, however, is too excited now to register that. It’s an opportunity to get the two of them closer. You would like that, wouldn’t you,”. He had cornered her. He saw it in her eyes. She wanted this, just like he did. Different reasons to the same end goal.

“That… sounds rather manipulative,” she whispered, but sighed. “But I guess it would work, and the rain is not so dangerous if you managed to get here.”. She walked past the farmer, turning back with a smirk on her face. “Come on farmer boy, let’s do this,”.

Sebby stayed behind with his mother and Tobias, under a tree, while Maru and Demetrius looked at some weeds. He was glad to see Maru having fun with this rain, but… he just couldn’t. Not with him right there. Doing all of his scientific know-how, completely ignoring the rest of his family for science, or whatever. So he stuck back with the people who he knew would at least pay attention to him.

The two of them were glancing at each other constantly, however, and kept staring at him, making him quite uncomfortable. Eventually, he couldn’t take it anymore. “Well, what is it?” he lightly snapped, turning back to the two of them. “Why do you keep staring at me?”.

“We were just more concerned about how you are not out there with your sister and… father,” he said, strangely hesitating on saying that last word. “You both wanted to be out here so bad, and now it seems like you are distancing yourself. Is everything okay?”. Sebby hated this. It felt like he was being dissected to see what was in him, and the farmer was an extremely skilled surgeon who knew how to perfectly open him up.

“It’s… it's nothing,” he muttered, turning away from the two, not wanting to be dissected anymore. He saw what appeared to be a serious conversation happening between Maru and her dad, but he didn’t care. He loved only her, and that was it. They didn’t need to know how much he was hated by his step-’father’. Not now, not ever. They lived in the uncomfortable silence of each other, and that was good enough for him. He didn’t need a dad, not his last asshole of one, and certainly not this new one.

He saw Maru pull something out of the weeds. He did his best not to pay attention, but stopped when he saw it was a frog. A large, bulky, dark-green frog. He really liked frogs. Everytime he sat outside in the rain, he saw them bouncing around, happy and content with their lives. No worry in the world. He kept staring at the frog, long enough for Maru and Demetrius to turn to him.

“Oh, Sebas-” Demetrius started, but was quickly jabbed by Maru. “I mean, Sebby, do you want a closer look?”. Sebby looked at him in shock. Demetrius never called him that. Not even when asked to. What was going on?

Slowly, he approached the two, doing his best to keep his eyes only on the frog. He kneeled down to get a closer look. For some reason, the frog's leg seemed to have been recently wounded, to the point where blood was flowing down its leg. But, the longer it was held out, the more the leg seemed to heal. As well, it seemed surprisingly calm in Maru’s hand, as if it was enjoying being in the rain, too much to even be afraid.

“Wow, aren’t you a beauty?” Sebby whispered. He stuck his hand out to rub the top of the frog's head. “You seem rather happy to be out, don’t you?”.

“I think it’s because of the rain,” Demetrius said in his suit, startling Sebby a bit. “It seems to have some sort of micro-organism in it, which is used to accelerate the growth of the more… for a lack of a scientific word, pleasant growth of organisms. It’s caused all the plants to grow rapidly, and for animals to heal faster, feel more energetic. It’s almost like a stimuli-activator…”. Demetrius kept going on, but Sebby realized he was right. Just being in this rain made him feel more alive somehow, more energized. He didn’t feel as worn down or grumpy, which started changing how he was thinking.

Sure, Demetrius was distant from his family, but he was passionate about his science. He loved sharing it with people, almost seeming like an entirely different person once he was talking about it. Sebby began to realize that, in a way, they were similar in that regard. He would also isolate himself a lot to work on programming, and only really talked to people if they talked to him about it or any of his other passions. Maybe, just maybe, Demetrius was not as bad deep down…

Eventually, Demetrius was stopped when a few baby frogs came hopping up, still with some tadpole-like tails.. The frog his sister was holding began struggling a bit, and she placed it down. Sebby watched as the big frog hopped over to the young frogs, with him realizing they were her children. They hopped away together, a happy family. All three of them stood, with Demetrius taking off the mask of his suit.

“Well, it’s quite interesting how science is… part of everything, isn’t it, you two?” he asked. The two nodded, with Sebby being surprised. Usually Demetrius would acknowledge them separately, not together.

Tobias spoke up. “Speaking of science, I need you to come to the Saloon with me, Demetrius. I need you to assure the townsfolk that this rain is not dangerous to their health,”. Sebby looked to Demetrius, who seemed to be pondering this.

“Well, based on the studies we did, it should be safe,” he said, deep in thought. “Alright, I’ll come with you down there. How about you, wife and kids? Will you come with me?”. ‘Kids’ Sebby thought. ‘He called me his kid,’.

“Of course, Dad!” Maru said, who began following everyone as they walked down. She stopped when she saw Sebby standing still, and came back to him. “What do you say, bro? Coming down with us?”. Sebby realized that, for the first time in a while, he felt like being part of this family.

“Of course… sis,” he said slowly, the word foreign to him. “Let’s go down,”. As they walked down, he stopped again.

“What now,” Maru asked? Sebby was staring at some far away bushes. He swore he saw something rather large moving between them. He shook his head. Maybe this rain was getting to him.

“It’s… nothing I think. Let’s go,”. Sebby felt unsure about his answer, but he continued walking down with his sister, ignoring the occasional rustling of the leaves behind them.

47 entered behind the rest of Robin’s family, standing at the open doorway. As expected, he saw everyone from before, still quiet, still afraid. In contrast, Demetrius was ecstatic.

“Everyone, great news, we are not going to die!” he exclaimed, causing a small snort from his wife. “The storm is completely harmless to us… unless you drink two gallons of it, I’m pretty sure… other than that, we are fine! It is only a miracle of science,”. A few relieved sighs came from quite a lot of the compatriots, knowing either that they were safe, or that the panic is likely to stop now. However, some still doubted.

“I call hogwash,” Pam said bluntly, already a bit tipsy. “We never had this kinda rain before, it's caused such strange things to happen. We are entering the end times I tell you! The end times!”. A few of the more religious believers in this town shuffled in their shoes, wanting everything to be fine, but secretly agreeing with Pam.

47 shook his head and spoke up. “Pam, if this is an indicator of the end times, then why has it not affected the rest of the world? Surely, the end of the whole world from a divine being would show up in much more than just a small area,”. Pam raised her finger to respond, thought about it for a second, and then dropped it, failing to make a comeback.

Gus spoke up after a few seconds. “Well, even if it isn’t the end times, what about monsters?! We know they exist, and they would likely thrive in this environment,”. A few patrons nodded, including Marlon. 47 took it as a bad sign that a seasoned monster hunter is agreeing with him.

“Me and the others have been walking throughout town freely, and have not been attacked once,”. 47 clarified. “I assure you, the primal monsters I have seen would be more keen to attack on sight. Their lack of presence makes me believe that there are no monsters out the-,”.

He sensed it before he saw it. Marlon did too, as he instinctively started drawing his sword. 47 was just a quick, turning to face the attacker. It was a blur of green, dagger raised up. However, it was not expecting the quick turn, nor the swift strike. With just one blow, 47 drove the tanto straight through the attackers chest, who stopped in shock, dropping its dagger. 47 flipped it over his shoulder to the ground, throwing it face first into the floor.

Shocked gasps and screams followed, everyone in the saloon backing up from the body. All except Marlon, who charged forward next to 47, sword drawn. He flipped the body over to get a better look at it. Facing them was a humanoid corpse, covered head to toe in what appeared to be large green leaves, vines, and moss. Dropped from its hand was a grass-styled dagger, which 47 noted to be strangely more metal than organic. He started to look at the body more, and more pieces started to fall into place. The leafy body shone differently than regular leaves, more like plastic. On the face were two holes with a thin layer of black fabric, where the eyes would be. And the stab wound… it contained normal flesh, and had normal red blood. He knew what was going on. And he knew this one was not the last.

On cue, 47 heard the sound of footsteps outside, quickly approaching. Marlon heard it a few seconds later. “Everyone, back to the saloon, now!” he barked, and everyone quickly scrambled into the back. Right as Willy turned the corner, two more leaf ‘monsters’ approached them, weapons drawn. One had a gladius in the shape of a leaf, and the other a baton, with rose-like spikes on the end. They stopped, which seemed to take Marlon aback for a few seconds.

“So, just who are you exactly?” Marlon said, sword drawn, his one good eye staring daggers into the new arrivals. “You may be dumb enough to attack us, but no real monsters have the intelligence to stop their attack,”. 47 glanced at the monster hunter for a moment, a bit surprised. He did not think Marlon would figure it out.

The two men in disguise looked at each other for a moment, and then attacked. 47 and Marlon went on the defensive, Marlon taking on the baton and 47 taking the sword. Marlon was backed up against the bar, but he was able to block the hits from the heavy, slow swinging weapon, his strength clearly not worn by age. Meanwhile, 47’s attacker locked swords with him, trying to drag down his own blade to wound his wrists. 47 saw what he was doing, and put his force onto the opponent's blade, knocking him down to the floor. However, it was clear that his opponent was experienced, as he took a kick at 47’s leg, knocking him down to one knee. He tried to jab at 47, but he was able to dodge by falling on his back and kicking his opponent in the face. Marlon, meanwhile, was able to get a headbutt in on his opponent causing him to back up to his partner.

47 and Marlon regrouped, now facing towards the eastern side of the building. 47 saw their opponents get back up easily. They were obviously used to being hurt, and he had a likely idea of who they were. However, he remained silent.

The two men decided to break the silence. “Huh, you're surprisingly strong for a crippled retiree,” the man with the baton jabbed at Marlon “Smart too. However, you’re no match for the two of us,”.

“Really? Tell me, was your friend here just as strong as you?” Marlon said, nodding towards the corpse on the floor. That elicited a yell from the sword man, who charged at the two of them. Marlon quickly prodded his own sword out, jabbing the man in the shoulder and pushing him back. The man grunted as he grabbed his now bleeding swordarm.

“Of course he was, but he was foolish to attack your friend here,” he grunted, “All we had to do was stay hidden, and everything would’ve been fine. But no, he had to attack the monster who killed so many of our men,”.

“What?” Marlon took his attention away from the fight to look at 47. “Mr. Rieper, what… What did you do?”. 47 remained silent. He had no reason to reveal himself. Besides, in his deluded hatred, the man had revealed who he was.

The baton man snorted. “Of course he wouldn’t tell you. He’s always been good at hiding who he is. Isn’t that right, 4-”. He was cut off, as 47 had grabbed a nearby beer mug and threw it straight at his head. He managed to duck, but that left an opening for the two to attack. They swapped targets, 47 taking the baton while Marlon went after the swordsman.

As he fought, 47 took note of the fighting style, mannerisms, and voices of each of them. The baton wielder took long, heavy swings, trying his best to bludgeon 47’s skull in. As well, he seemed unused to dodging, either barely avoiding his attacks or getting cut. 47 deduced that this, along with how his tone radiated authority meant he was likely Agent Sturt, a former military commander turned brute forcer for the ICA. He was a strong man, but not agile.

That came back to bite him, as 47 was more swift. He waited for an opening from Sturt, and it did not take long. Sturt lifted his arm up, and 47 took the opportunity to swing, slicing through his hand, and then his throat. Sturt stumbled back, falling onto a table. The deepness of the cut would’ve killed him in minutes, but he didn’t want to take the risk. He quickly followed by slicing again at his neck, this time removing his whole head. 47 turned his attention to the other agent.

Marlon was holding his own well, even getting a few quick cuts in on the wounded sword fighter, but it was clear he was out of his prime. The agent was relentlessly attacking, knocking down Marlon’s sword over and over. 47 concluded that this must be Agent Loris, a former HEMA teacher who taught sword fighting, who later turned to the ICA after he was fired for a rage induced killing. He was good, but quick to anger, something 47 knew would make him sloppy.

47 grabbed a nearby chair, and slammed it straight over Loris’s head. Unphased, the man turned to face him, wildly swinging at him. He managed to back up in time to dodge it, but it did manage to cut off his tie partially. Marlon took the chance to swing at Loris, hitting him in his unwounded arm. The swordsman screamed in agony, backhanding Moris out of panic. It looked like it hurt, but Marlon was not going to back down as easily.

47 and Marlon took turns, jabbing their swords at the agent who was swinging too wildly to get a good stab in. He did manage to get some small cuts on the two attackers. After a few minutes, though, Loris started to slow down, the stab wounds started to bleed less. Eventually, he collapsed from the blood loss, and Marlon, without hesitation, stabbed his sword straight through the agent's skull. It was over.

Marlon sat down on a non-fallen over stool, tired and wounded, but overall fine. 47 had a few cuts and bruises, but he was fine too. He sat next to Marlon, and the two called the others out. It was safe now.

Marlon tried to talk to 47. “They… they said that you killed people. Just who are yo-”

However, he was cut off when Haley ran out in a panicked state. “Farmer, swordsman, I- it’s Pierre! We saw more of those monsters go in…”. Haley didn’t even finish, as 47 was rushing to make it to Pierre. As he did, the rain seemed to energize and heal. But it did not clear his mind.

How could he have been so blind? If agents were here, then they came here for a reason. And, if that reason wasn’t to get him, it was for something else. Something that would hurt him even more. He should have known that they were watching him!

By the time 47 entered the store, he was nearly too late. Nearly. Abigail and Caroline were knocked out and thrown to the side of the fireplace. Pierre was also knocked out, and was being picked up by two agents. They were mumbling and grunting, but had their eyes off the hall. Slowly, 47 began to sneak up on the two, intent on at least taking one out before the fight. That’s when he hit a tripwire he did not see. That's when the two went on the defensive.

Instantly, they dropped Pierre, and pulled out their swords. One was a saber, the other a rapier. 47 considered his odds against the two, but soon heard a pair of footsteps behind him. He turned to see Marlon running up next to him, who was also healed. They looked at each other, and a silent understanding followed. They charged, 47 taking the shorter ranged saber, and Marlon taking the longer ranged rapier.

The two monster-disguised men had very similar mannerisms in their style. Both seemed to only attack when they saw an opening, going for quick jabs and swings, and preferred to dodge attacks rather than block. Attacks like that indicated more of a hit and run strategy rather than full on attacking. Once they started talking, he was able to tell who they were. However, they were not ICA.

“Come on, assassin, where’s the mercilessness of the man who killed our Maelstrom?” his attacker taunted, not in English, but in Mandarin. These men were not agents, they were pirates. Pirates who served under one of his former targets, the mentioned Maelstrom, an infamous South China pirate leader who he had killed in Mumbai a few years ago. Clearly, the agents who attacked made a deal with these two, so that they all could get their revenge on 47. He was determined to not let that happen.

The saber attacker took a miscalculated swing, which 47 took advantage of. He took his blade, and locked it around the attacker's arm, and twisted. The blade fell from the pirate's hand, skirting over towards the unconscious Abigail. 47 followed with a swift punch from his free hand, knocking the attacker towards the hall. He was going to finish the job, when he heard a scream from behind.

He turned to see that the other pirate had gotten a good stab in, managing to cut into Marlon’s inner elbow and disarm him. He was now standing right over him, ready to stab straight through his chest to kill him. 47 thought of what to do next. The most logical option would be to wait until the pirate thrusts his sword down, which would give him an opening to attack from behind. He didn’t care if Marlon died, as long as Pierre lived. He shouldn’t care… and yet, he thought about how devastated the people of the town would be if one of their neighbors died. How they would look at him, with hatred or pity, the man who failed to save one of their own. So, he made a more reckless decision instead.

He yelled “Hey!” to get the pirates attention, who turned to see 47’s tanto flying straight to his face. He was quick to react, though, pulling up his arm to block it. It did, but he screamed in agony as the blade went straight through his left forearm. 47 rushed over to Marlon, who was slumped down in pain. He grabbed Marlon’s sword as the pirate pulled out the tanto and tossed it aside. He turned, his fighting arm still in-tact.

47 thought of what he could do. He could likely fight him, but it was risky. That moment of weakness may have revealed that the pirate could use hostages as leverage or meat shields. Marlon was right next to him, Pierre was far enough to be safe, but Caroline and Abigail were right next to the attacker. They both seemed passed out, but 47 noticed that the saber seemed to be under Abigail’s hand now…

No time to think about it, as the attacker took a jab at 47 while he was distracted, and got a hit through 47’s arm. He grunted in pain, but shoved the pirate back and stood up, lifting the sword to attack. The pirate laughed, pulled his sword back… and then dropped it in shock as the saber went straight through his chest, sharp end upward.. 47 heard a loud cry from behind the pirate as the blade went up, cutting the pirate’s upper body in half. As his body fell, 47 saw that Abigail had taken the opportunity to attack the pirate.

Abigail looked distressed, her face pale and her expression horrified. She dropped the blade from her hands, taking a few steps back away from the body. 47 stood up to meet her, observing the room. Marlon was wounded, but it did not seem immediately fatal and was regaining his strength. Caroline and Pierre were still passed out. The other pirate, worryingly, was gone. However, that was not as important right now. Right now, 47 had to deal with a shell-shocked friend.

“Oh… Oh, Yoba… I-” she looked up to 47, and seemed to do a double take. “You’re… you’re fine, at least, but…”. Marlon now stood up, clutching his wounded arm. He stared at the young woman with pity in his eyes. “I’ve never taken a life before… it feels too real… it’s blood…” Abigail brought her hands up to her face, which were covered in blood. “I-Tobias, this monster… isn’t a human, right? It wasn’t someone in disguise, was it?”. 47 looked back at Marlon, their eyes meeting and a moment of understanding passing through them.

“No, dear, it was a monster all right,” Marlon said, limping over towards the two. “I’ve seen them before, they are monsters without a doubt. I was foolish to think that they would not come up today, in an environment where they would thrive,”. Abigail’s face relaxed, her muscles untensing. She still seemed horrified that she had killed a monster, but at least it wasn’t human. 47 knew this was for the best. He knew what harm that kind of trauma could do to a person, and was secretly thankful that their attacker did not talk. That their attacker did not show any signs of being human.

“Ok, ok at least it wasn’t… but I still killed it,” she stared down at her blood-stained hands. “It still had a life, maybe even a family,”. She looked up at 47. “Is… is this what it feels like, every time you have to fight in the mines,”.

47 shook his head. “At first, yes, but you become numb to killing after a while. Especially when it’s clear it is deserved,”. Abigail looked back at the body, with a new emotion coming to her eyes; pity. 47 had seen it too many times before, seeing so many other agents who came back shocked from their first mission, their first blood. A lot of them quit, which made 47 realize that this would be a problem if he wanted Abigail in the mines.

However, Marlon stopped that train of thought. “Sorry, Abigail, but me and Mr. Rieper have to go,”. He looked at the agent dead in the eyes. “We have to go get rid of the monster bodies,”. 47 mentally smacked himself. In his rush to save Pierre, he had failed to consider the bodies they left behind. Bodies that could reveal that the ‘monsters’ were actually humans…

“Yes, of course,” he replied, then turned back to Abigail. “You should probably wash off. We’ll help clean the rest of the house later,” Abigail nodded her head timidly, and ran off to the bathroom. 47 grabbed the pirate body, slinging it over his shoulder, and they both walked towards the saloon for the other three bodies.

Everyone in the saloon was just sitting, silently. None dared to eat, drink, or speak. Not when those monsters were laying there. Most, if not all, of them have never seen anything like it. They had seen skeletons and shadow monsters during the Spirits Eve, but never like this. Never with their bodies dismembered and mutilated, with human-like blood spilt everywhere.

That particular part stuck out to Harvey. He was a doctor, after all, and had gotten used to the sight of blood. It made him squirm that it was not contained and all over the place, but still. His experience with it showed how… human these monsters seemed. Too human to him in fact. He stood from his stool, walking over to the bodies. Some murmurs from the others followed.

He walked over to the decapitated monster, kneeling down to see the inside of its neck. He felt queasy at the thought, but eventually gathered his nerves and looked. The neck’s innards were suspiciously human. The muscles were red, the spine looked normal, and the wind pipes were in the right place. He also noticed something else. Just at the edge of the monster's skin was another layer. Curious, he pulled up the monster's skin, barely so no one else would see. He nearly dropped it instantly, as he saw normal, human skin…

Almost as soon as he saw it, the body was lifted. Harvey jumped back as he saw the farmer taking the body and throwing it over his shoulder. He then leaned down to grab the head, but not before whispering to Harvey.

“It is only a monster,” he said, but not like he was reassuring Harvey. No, it sounded more like a threat. A demand, even, for him to believe that he did not just see the skin of his fellow humans.

Just as quickly, though, the farmer had gotten up and left, along with Marlon and the rest of the bodies. People began muttering about what happened, but Harvey just stood there, shocked.

Harvey had not trusted the farmer since his initial check up, where he saw the wound on the side of his face. Now, the farmer was trying to hide that these ‘monsters’ were actually human, and was hiding the evidence right now.

Harvey did not know who this farmer truly was, or what he was doing in this town, but he knew that he had to find out. He had to keep his friends safe.

47 and Marlon both agreed to take the bodies to the mines. Even if people were to search down there, monsters were likely to eat and dispose of the bodies. Plus, it gave 47 plenty of time to observe Marlon.

Once again, someone had come close to figuring out who he was. In this case, it might’ve been worse. Marlon had heard the agents. They had told him that 47 had killed people, not just monsters. As well, if Marlon had understood the pirate, he would have heard about him being an assassin. And, unlike Harvey or most of the people in this town, Marlon was a hardened fighter. He would not be able to be threatened.

Eventually, Marlon talked. “The first time I saw you, I realized you were a killer. You had that cold look in your eyes,”. Marlon shifted his weight, the rain water seemingly healing his wounds. “I assumed you were a monster hunter, just like I was. Now, however, I know much more. These… men, the way they fought, the way they acted, they were trained killers. Not to mention that man in Pierre’s… my Mandarin is rusty, but I heard it back when I was younger and traveled to see monsters around the world. You're an ‘assassin’, aren’t you?”. 47 dropped the bodies from his shoulder to glare at Marlon, who turned to glare at him right back. They were only feet from the cave, but he needed to make his choice quick. Especially if he needed to get rid of an additional body.

“Let’s assume I am an assassin,” 47 said, his tone threatening. “Do you really think this would be the best course of action? What would your plan be after this?”. He glared at Marlon, hoping he would back down. Instead, the monster hunter, who always showed little emotion, started to laugh.

“Oh, I see what you're thinking! Let me make it clear, this is not blackmail,” he said, a bit too loudly for 47’s comfort. “If I’m honest, the best course of action would be to keep my mouth shut, and forget this ever happened. But… I need to say it,”. Now Marlon dropped his bodies, not even exhausted. His wounds were also almost fully healed. “Those men may have worn those monster disguises, but it shows just who they truly are. They were ready to hurt and kidnap my people, and I would bet my good eye that they would kill if needed. I don’t intend on revealing or trusting anything about what they said. Plus, you saved my life. I don’t intend on repaying you back by blabbering about your secret double life,”. 47 was taken aback, if he were to be honest.

Here was someone who he had so little reason not to reveal what he heard, doing the exact opposite. He was expecting the worst to come, and yet, now it wouldn’t. If anything, the strength and wisdom of Marlon could make him a vital asset.

“...Very well,” 47 said, a bit reserved. “If you do not reveal anything, then nothing will go wrong,”. Marlon nodded in agreement, and the two picked up the bodies and headed to the cave, while 47 also began wondering where the last pirate went.

In the cave entrance, the pirate was dead, his head blown apart. On the opposite side, Gil (whom 47 had only heard of before from villagers) was sitting on the hard rock that blocked the passage, shotgun by his side, casually smoking a cigar. Marlon stared at Gil in awe, while 47 just stared. It took a while for Gil to notice him.

“What? Just because I’m a swordsman don’t mean I don’t know how to use a gun,” he said, pulling up the gun. “That man in a cheap monster suit was rambling on about how ‘the farmer is a murderer’ and ‘he needed to kill all witnesses’. Luckily, I came prepared with my ol’ pumper,”. 47 noted that Gil was holding the gun in firing position, and had it aimed at him. “Now, then, how about you tell me this farmer's deal, Mar’s. Is he another monster to kill?”.

Marlon looked back and forth between 47. The agent considered his options on a 2 on 1.

“Naw, Gilly,” Marlon finally said. “He’s a guild member,”

H: Five attackers.

A: Yes.

H: Three of them agents.

A: Yes.

H: All at once.

A: Yes, Diana. That is what I reported.

H: No time for sass, 47. This is much more concerning than before.

H: We’ve only seen agents scattered, unorganized. I think we’ve only seen 2 at most before this. But three being extremely coordinated, and being able to work with former target associates.

A: I agree, it is quite concerning. Especially how they seemed to be specifically targeting my mission.

A: They must be watching closer than expected.

H: 47, you must keep a keener eye out. If this wasn’t just one small group, and instead a strike force of a larger team, then they will strike again.

A: And with more cautious strikes. They won’t be as reckless after this failure.

H: Indeed. At least you are making quick progress with your plan. That’s good, especially now that it's a three way race between us, Joja, and whatever pieces of the ICA are targeting us.

A: I agree. No time to waste.

H: Tick tock. My gift tomorrow should help.

A: Gift? What is it?

H: Sorry, not going to spoil the surprise.

[Agent (A) has logged off]

H: 47, hello?