Meeting the Reaper. [Completed]

[Yukki Kazuto]

Yukki awoke slowly, groggy from being able to actually sleep comfortably for once. This quickly cleared as he worked his way down the stairs to the kitchen however, as years of training and experience had forced his body to become alert quickly and constantly. That combined with his enhanced senses that he mysteriously had once he reached this place, made it near impossible to hid from him, at least in close range.


He stopped abruptly when he reached the kitchen doorway. He saw Reuben and Scarlet sitting together at the kitchen table. Not only that, they seemed to be acting nice to each other. They were having a talking about Reuben’s previous accomplishments, all his assassinations, as calmly as one might talk about the weather outside, our their favorite colors.


They came to a stop as Yukki sat down at the table with them. “Good morning.” Reuben cast a glance at him.


“We have an idea for a job.” Yukki sat up. Reuben wasted no time as he continued on, now with Yukki’s attention. “Scarlet knows a guy that might be willing to let us start doing jobs for him. Not like our old stuff sadly, we’d have to start off with small stuff, but it’s a start.”


Yukki rested his chin in his hand. “Who’s this contact?” Scarlet started typing on her PDA, obviously pleased we were considering her idea.


“Nobody knows his real name. On the streets, he goes by Reaper.” Yukki laughed a little. “Reaper? Sounds oh so threatening.” Scarlet frowned and pointed back at the PDA. “He runs an underground group of radicals. He’s always looking for new people, and might consider letting us run a few things for him, and eventually move onto the bigger stuff that you two like so much.”


Yukki frowned a little. “How do we know we can trust this guy?”

Reuben responded. “We don’t. Just like we didn’t know we could trust James, or Madison, or even you for that matter. Scarlet says that if we don’t cross him, he’ll be good enough.”


That reminded Yukki of what he had seen earlier. “Speaking of which, when did you two become buddies?”

Reuben answered with a straight face. “We’re not.”

Yukki gave a slow nod. “Uh huh… Let’s go see this ‘Reaper’, shall we?” He got up and walked out the house before getting a response.

[Yukki Kazuto]

Yukki was halfway down the street when he felt someone grab his hoodie's sleeve. Looking down, he saw Scarlet typing on her PDA. “Reuben says that he’ll catch up to us later, and that i should go ahead and show you to the Reaper.” I nodded in understanding, and she led me down the street.

We stopped at a side alley, and used what looked like a big drain pipe to go down. From what I could tell of the distance, and what the pace looked like around me, I assumed we were in tier 5 or 6. Scarlet began walking down the streets, leaving me no real choice but to follow her. Everytime she turned, I made a mark on the corner with a piece of debris I had picked up once out of the drain pipe.


Eventually, she stopped in front of a building that seemed like every other building on the street. She walked up to the door, and put her hand out behind her, which I inferred meant for me to stay there. She knocked on the door, and it opened just a crack. She showed her PDA screen inside, at it opened wide. I followed her in as she motioned for me to.


I followed Scarlet through the building, as she led me to a back room. Everyone in the building looked like they could crush me with one hand, and stared at me as if I was nothing more than chopped liver, but Scarlet didn’t seem fazed at all. Almost made me wonder what this poor kid had been through before in her life.


She stopped slightly inside a doorway, and I stood next to her in the room. Inside the room was a group of men sitting at a poker table. Everyone of them looked like hired muscle, and we’re wearing torn leather jackets and blue jeans with chains hanging from them.

The exception seemed to be the only happy person at the table, and the person with the largest pile of money in front of them. He had a light tan, brown eyes, and shortish blue hair. He wore a black and white assassins hoodie and black pants with white highlights. That seemed to be a theme, as a lot of the decorations and other people were wearing mostly black with a little white.


He smiled at me as he started counting the money in front of him. “So, you’re the runner the our little Scarlet recommended huh?” I said nothing, as my presence there was confirmation enough in my mind. “Oh, the strong silent type huh? I like it. It suits you.” He grabbed a small bag from under his chair and threw it at me. I caught it easily.

“This needs to get to one of my boys on tier three. He’s in a building similar to this one, Scarlet knows the spot. If you succeed, come back and we’ll see about more work. If you fail… Don’t stay in coruscant much longer if you enjoy life.” He said all of this with a smile on his face.

I turned to leave. “Oh, and, one more thing.” I looked over my shoulder. “Keep your eyes out of the bag.” I turned back and walked back outside. I waited for Scarlet, who came walking out a few minutes later.

“What took you so long?” She smiled. “Oh, you know, the lecture about how if you fail, it’s my fault, i’ll get tortured for it, etc, etc… Classic stuff.” I shrugged. “So… How are we getting back to tier three with this?” I held up the bag for emphasis. “I suggest putting that bag on your back. You’re gonna need both your hands free.”

[Yukki Kazuto]

Ten minutes later, I found myself slowly inching my way up an oversized drainpipe. Scarlet was above me, and was working her way up with ease, climbing at a slightly steadier pace than my own. She had the advantage of being around this area for many years longer than I had, and the experience of doing these types of jobs that required avoiding security.

The bag on my back was weighing me down more than I would like. I was curious as to what was inside, but, not curious enough that I would risk opening it. I don’t know how long we had been climbing, nor how much longer we had to go.

I didn’t bother speaking, for I knew Scarlet could not respond with falling to her doom. One of the disadvantages of taking in a mute I suppose. I climbed for what felt like hours without stopping. I looked up every few minutes, and saw Scarlet. I was surprised after looking and not seeing her.

I called out to her. “Scarlet?” My response was a hand popping out of a hole in the wall, which a grabbed. With a little help from myself, she was able to pull me up. We spent a few minutes leaning on the wall to catch our breath. We might be trained killers, but we still get tired.

We got up, and started towards the building that scarlet knew. I didn’t bother asking where it was or who was in it, but I took mental note of where the turns were and in what directions. If it came down to a fight for some reason, I was ready to head back to the pipe and dive.

We came to a building that looked even more run down then the majority of the buildings in this area, which seemed otherwise respectable. I felt a chill run down my spine, and turned to try and find the cause, only to find nothing. I noticed that most of these buildings and the things on them shared a similar blood red color. My black and white bag shined like a beacon compared to these walls.

Scarlet started up to the door, but I put a hand on her shoulder. I quickly slipped into my enhanced senses, scanning the area for life forms. The buildings around us were mostly abandoned with the exception of one person looking out a window of one a little down the street. I felt four life forms inside the building, two on either side of the door, one a few rooms in, and one… under the floor?

I felt the one behind us move, he seemed to grab something, and returned to the window. I gasped, went back to normal vision and yanked Scarlet backwards. A bullet struck the ground near where we had been standing. The door in front of us opened and two guys that looked as if they were more muscle than human came flying out, charging us with metal pipes. I pulled out my pistol and fired into one’s chest twice. He seemed to take it in stride.

The sniper shot my pistol out of my hand, and I watched it go sliding down the street. The two men put the pipes beside my head and then dragged me into the building. I lost track of Scarlet somewhere in the fray.

The dragged me in and sat me down in a chair in front of a desk. The person in the desk spun around slowly, apparently getting their inspiration from every bad Bond villain that has ever been. When they had spun around so I could see them fully, I noticed they did not seem happy.

She rested her chin on her hands and stared at me. “Why are you here?” I stared back at her, not sure if I should be talking to them or not. I slipped into my enhanced senses, and felt two presences underneath me, but only one was moving. “I believe you have something to deliver to me…” I snapped back to reality as my bag was cut off of my back. I kept a flat face and rested my hand inside my jacket on my hip. I started the process of summoning my weapon back, and began praying to Omni that she kept talking.

I watched her motion with her hand to the desk, and watched the contents of the bag I had carried be dumped on the desk. A few pistols with some ammo, but what interested me, and apparently also the woman across from me, was a small silver sphere with a red button on one side. She picked it up with her long fingernails and held it in her hand.

“So… These are the mysterious weapons the Reaper has held over us for so long… Let’s so how they work why don’t we?” She pushed the red button. The orb shot out green lasers in every direction. One landed on the henchman that I had shot earlier, and more specifically, the blood that was on his shirt. The orb flew out of the woman’s hand, and began chasing the henchman. He screamed and ran out of the room.

I watched in amazement as the orb followed him through the building, always gaining on him. I heard an explosion a few seconds later from what sounded like the street. The woman gave off a small smile. “These can be programmed to hunt down any color and explode when it finds it. Using this…” Her smile widened as she pulled out a small box. She scanned an orb with the box, and then scanned my shirt.

She gave me a smile that looked as if it should be reserved for a lover. “I suggest you start running.” 

She clicked the button.

[Yukki Kazuto]

I took off sprinting out of the building, and tore down the street. The silver ball thing continued to chase me, and neither of us gave care to the body lying on the ground face down in the street. I took a turn, and then another, and another, all while hearing the ball flying behind me. I thought about several ways to try to escape, but couldn’t think of any that didn’t result in me receiving an explosion to the back.


I tried turning invisible to see if it would help, but found I couldn’t stop or focus long enough to fade out of sight. My weapon was still lying on the ground outside of the building I had been led to. I eventually got to the pipe that scarlet and I had crawled up, and was surprised to see the Reaper standing in front of it. I watched as he aimed a small shotgun at me.


I slid before I reached him, sliding under him and into the pipe. I grabbed the edge right as I went in, now dangling over a fifty plus foot drop from nothing but my fingers. I heard a shotgun blast, an explosion, and the sound of people screaming. A few dreadful seconds went by where all that could be heard was people screaming and running away.


I looked up, and watched the Reaper turn, strap his shotgun to his leg, and offer me a hand. I grabbed it, and he pulled me up out of the pipe. He gave me a small smile, and jumped down the pipe, jacket flapping the way down. I never saw how he landed.


I felt exhausted. I sat down against a wall, and went through the process of summoning my pistol back to me. Completely and utterly exhausted, I fought off the temptations of sleep, and worked my way back up to the nexus gate. I passed through it, tired of the place I was in. Everyone and everything seemed to have crime oozing out of them. I had lived a life of crime my entire life, but here, in this place, I could be anything. I could be anyone.


These are the thoughts that ran through my head as I stepped back into the nexus. I blinding white sky and floor greeted me when I came out the other side. I looked around and saw the fountain in the middle, and more gates on either side of me. Turning to my right, I headed for the next gate.


After about two hours of walking, I stood in front of an archway made of stone, that looked as if it had eroded down over the years. I stepped through, wondering what this new place would show me. I was not prepared for what I saw.

[Yukki Kazuto]

Scarlet crept along the outskirts of the building, carrying a figure nearly double her size. She knocked on the back door, and waited as it flew open. The Reaper looked down at her, a smile on his face. “Come on, bring him in.” Scarlet carried the figure into the building where he was picked up by two thugs and placed on a table. As a light was shone onto him, Scarlet was able to get a clear look at his face.


He was a man, not to well past his prime, early thirties or so. He had scars all over his face, suggesting he had seen combat, and lots of it. His face was caked in dried blood and dirt, along with the rest of his clothing. He wore a black leather jacket, a white t-shirt, and jeans, all of which were in disrepair, ripped in places and bloodied in others.


Scarlet watched in silence as the two thugs tied him down to the table. They wrapped rope around his arms and legs, holding him down, but not in a painful way. She walked out through a side door into the room where Reaper and two other members of his gang were playing poker. “Scarlet, you’re still here? Well, why don’t you play a few hands with us while you’re here?” Scarlet sat down in the only spot left, and looked at the two cards in front of her.


She folded in disgust. Reaper always rigged these games, but nobody ever seemed to notice. He won enough to make it obvious he was doing well, but not so much as to where it was suspicious. Not that these hired thugs would have the courage to confront him. Scarlet walked out the door, and began wandering the streets. She thought about looking for Yukki, but decided against it.


Reuben and her had planned this. The job had been to get their man out of the building that was controlled by the crazy woman Yukki had met. The best plan they could come up with was if she was distracted, so they sent Yukki in, without his knowledge that he was bait. When the fighting had begun, she had sneaked downstairs and struggled to get the man out. Spending most of the time dragging him, she eventually got him down to Reaper’s base, a feat that took several hours.


Scarlet considered trying to find Reuben, but decided against it as well. She was meant to be alone. Besides, he had abandoned her and Yukki for some reason, even if she didn’t know what it was. She didn’t even go back to the house that had been purchased for the three of them on tier three. She wandered around tier five, walking past peaceful buildings and buildings filled with violence alike. Down here, the empire just kind of left it to rot unless the whole tier was in anarchy or something.


She wandered around, unsure of what to do next. She laid down in a side alley, covered herself with random debris to make herself less noticeable, and slept.

[Reuben Orson]

I slowly awoke. My head was pounding in pain as I looked up at the ceiling of the our home. I slowly sat up, looking to make sure my blades were still there, I sighed in relief as they were there my trusty blades always ready to spring into action.


“Yukki! Scarlet!” I yelled looking through the house. I slowly got up and but I nearly fell to the floor. My legs felt like jelly as I wobbled around to keep my balance. Jesus how long was I asleep? My muscles shouldn’t be this atrophied if I’ve only been asleep for a night… But wait, how long has it been? I looked around and noticed there was a considerable amount of dust lining the mirror across the room. I slowly walked over to it and traced my finger collecting dust on my finger the soft substance feeling strange on my finger. This wasn’t here before. I slowly walked to the door to my room, it opened automatically as expected.


I walked down the hall and looked into Yukki’s room, which was absent and all his things were gone as well. What little he had. I turned and walked to Scarlet’s room, yet again no one was there. What the hell is going on? This is getting scary, did they leave me? I ran down the stairs and into the living room, there was no one there either again more dusted littered the objects in the room. My heart was racing something wasn’t right, I looked outside and saw people walking the streets, I walked out the door and stopped a passing person. He looked like a merchant.


“Excuse me,” I said in a rather hurried voice. “Have you seen a little girl around here? Short and carrying a PDA.” I said looking him in the eye.


“No, I haven’t,” He said snidely his pointing upwards so he could look down on me. I growled and looked at the elevator that allowed us to go to different tiers. If she’s still in Courscant she will be in tier 5, I’ve got to find out what happened.

[Yukki Kazuto]

Scarlet laid down her cards face up. A flush. The two men at the table sighed, and pushed the chips in the middle of the table towards her. She picked up the chips, deposited them in her pockets, and excused herself from the poker game. She walked out of the building slowly, not wanting to give the appearance that she was eager to leave, even if she was.


She went to a teller at the front door to the building at exchanged the chips for money, before wandering out onto the street. Looking around, she noticed a figure down at one end, who was talking to every person he saw for a few moments before moving on to the next person.

Scarlet began quickly walking down the street in the opposite direction. After a few moments, she felt a hand grab her shoulder and spin her around. Her old friend Reuben stood in front of her. “Why the hell are you down here?! Where’s Yukki?” He said frantically.

Scarlet tried pulling free of his grasp, but he was significantly stronger than her. With one hand, she typed out a quick message. I don’t know! He left coruscant! Let me go, go away! She frantically began pulling at him again.

Reuben laughed darkly “I don’t believe you. I know you’re keeping tabs on him. Where is he?”

Scarlet gave an inaudible sigh. He’s in the Vasty Deep. In Costa de Sol.

[Yukki Kazuto]

Reuben read the message quickly, and let out a small sigh of frustration. “Okay, well we need to go find him and join back up with him.” He gave Scarlet a look, as if expecting her to go with him, as if she was a lost puppy in need of saving.

Scarlet planted her feet firmly. I don’t have to go anywhere with you. I’m being careful here, and nobody is after me. At that moment the building she had been in earlier busted open, and the two guys she had been playing cards with, as well as an armed guard came flying out of the building.

“Hey! Get back here with our money kid!” They began running towards us at full sprint.

Reuben gave her a cocky grin. “Still think you’re safe here?” Scarlet shot him a look that could have killed him, but began running towards the elevators to the upper floors. The duo got in one, and as it was closing, one man placed his hand in to stop it. Reuben walked up to him, and with a smile on his face, secretly stabbed him in the heart.

The man began clutching at his chest, and doubled over for his last few seconds of life. He was clearly not a prime by any means. The door finished closing, and we worked our way up to the first tier. Knowing the floor better than Reuben did, Scarlet eventually led him to the Vasty deep gate.

Reuben motioned for scarlet to step through, and once they both cleared security, they passed through the gate to the Vasty Deep. Not a thirty seconds had passed in Costa de Sol before they heard a gunshot ring through the air.

Reuben shot Scarlet a look. “Willing to bet on if that was him or not?” Scarlet said nothing, and began walking towards where the gunshot had come from.