An Alliance Forged in Blood

[Strazio Rockwell]

Isaac frowned as the Dante’s Abyss finalist jogged off to go meet Ganondorf. He was certain that Strazio hadn’t taken what he had said to heart and was planning on cracking heads. It couldn’t be helped Isaac figured, someone as aggressive as that prime would find trouble no matter where he went. Still the crimson-cloaked secondary sighed at the thought of Strazio disrupting such a peaceful town. It wasn’t his job to reign in psychotic primes; he had other plans in mind. It wasn’t on a random whim that he had braved the treacherous dunes, no, it was a calculated decision. He had spent the last year of his stay in the Omniverse gathering information and hopefully his trip to The Town with No Name would provide him with everything he needed.

An old friend that he had met during his time serving the Empire had offered him a lead. An old lady who lived in a small hutch and sold beads and baubles supposedly endowed with mystical properties. Whoever she was she supposedly had the information that Isaac was after and his informant was trustworthy. Using his good arm he reached into the inner pockets of his red and black cloak. Inside was crumpled map that he did his best to flatten with his one hand. Even though he had grown used to missing his left arm over the years it still troubled him every now and then. The old biddy was around the corner and he made his way to her humble hovel.

The small storefront was nestled deep in an alleyway off the main streets of the town. A cracked wooden sign hung precariously over the doorway. The sign’s paint was chipped and read “Mystical Merca’s Market”. Isaac smirked at the simple alliteration and walked towards the sand-marked wooden door. Hesitantly Isaac pushed the creaky door open and was greeted by an array of multicolored lights and soft jazz playing in the background. He laughed slightly as he stepped into the tacky store. All manners of trinkets and charms lined the walls of the small establishment. Behind a weather counter was an even more weathered women with soft white hair.

“Greetings, welcome to Merca’s Mystical Market...” she furrowed her brow and waved her hand “er rather, welcome to Mystical Merca’s Market, I’m Mystical Merca.”

“Hello...” Isaac walked past a row of strange statues and peered past the counter to read the labels on old mason jars.

“So what brings you in today? Love potion, revenge potion, or just a good old fashion sleep potion?” she crooned excitedly.

Isaac smiled and lowered his hood “actually, no nothing like that. I was told you might be able to point me in the right direction. I’m trying to find Omni.”

Merca’s lithe frame shook as she laughed. Isaac frowned and asked “what?”

“Oh nothing, nothing. Just strange that someone would come to ol' Merca asking for directions. Yep, yep give me a moment lemme grab my book” she rushed off to a back room and left Isaac alone with a store full of oddities. Several minutes passed and he began to grow worried for the elderly lady. Carefully he peeked his head into the backroom and called for her. There was no response and his gut began to tie itself into a knot. Behind him the old creaky door swung open with such force that is was nearly ripped from the hinges. A large burly gentleman with dark skin and a mean disposition stalked forward. In his hands he carried a large scattergun, a familiar Empire weapon pattern. Behind him was a considerably smaller, but no less mean looking soldier. He wore combat gear and carried a small assault rifle. Neither of them looked like the kind of guy you’d want to go ten rounds with.

“Uh... Can I help you?” Isaac asked, knowing full well why they were here. His informant must have laid a goddamned trap for poor Isaac. Even the old lady was in on it he figured. Now the two dogs of the Empire were here to bring him back to his cage. The larger of the two pointed his shotgun at Isaac and spoke with a mean baritone voice.

“You’re coming with us Isaac, we can do this peacefully or I can blow your head off.”

Isaac raised his two arms, revealing his bandaged stump of a left arm. The two bounty hunters nodded to each other in silent agreement and moved to cuff their quarry. Isaac had to think fast, he wasn’t about to let his search for Omni end here. Slowly he took a step backwards and found himself backed against the counter. Blood started to soak the bandages wrapped around his stump. This was his power, he could control his blood and turn it into a macabre weapon. Unfortunately the two hunters were well aware of his power and they opened fire at the poor secondary. A bullet grazed his shoulder and he dove to the side, behind a cabinet of strange reagents.

“Come on out Blood Lance! We’ll play nice!” the smaller man taunted. They moved with military precision and get their eyes glued on Isaac’s hiding nook. It would be mere moments before they were upon him. Isaac hated spilling blood and he hated violence, but he wouldn’t allow two mooks of the Empire to stop his quest. Tendrils of blood whipped from his stump and crashed into he nearby cabinet. It was a gamble, but Isaac wasn’t afraid to take a risk. The glass jars and dry ingredients of the cabinet tumbled to the ground. The puddle of ingredients began to fizzle and fortunately they reacted explosively. A large shockwave rattled the small store and sent every onto their asses. It blasted a hole in the wall and Isaac wasted no time escaping through it. The two bounty hunters weren’t chumps and were soon chasing their quarry through the alleyways and backstreets of the Town with No Name.