A meeting at a bar.

Hurst cautiously entered the bar, seeking out his lady. Molly casually sauntered in from sending a group out on a night hunt.

“Hurst!” Molly was made ebullient at the sight of him. “To what do I owe the pleasure of a visit at this hour? After all, I heard you lost that client and-”

“Mol, we need to talk, but I don’t have long, I’m onto something here. There’s this pin I got, but-”

“I believe what you have belongs to me.” Shōki-sama now stood up from a booth in the corner, his lapels lit, and walked towards Hurst and Molly.

“Hurst, who is this?” Molly remained stoic, although internally she was terrified.

“Who I am right now is of no matter to you. Please, Chisholm-san, let us step out front where we can talk more intimately.” Shōki-sama indicated he had a bead on Molly so Hurst obliged. Hurst nodded in compliance and began backing towards the door. After two steps, Shōki-sama reached into his coat and withdrew something small and silver. Before Hurst could react, the doctor sprayed foaming light into Molly’s face from the miniature canister in his hand. Molly shrieked and grabbed her face.

Hurst simply charged.

Again, and with annoying precision, Shōki-sama dodged all of Hurst’s attacks. Before any real damage could be done to the bar, Hurst tried an old gambit.

“Hey! Look, I don’t want things to get too screwed up in here. This isn’t my place. Let’s take this outside and finish it. You first.”

“You are very trusting Chisholm-san. I will step out and wait for you.” With an uncomfortable air of confidence Shōki-sama calmly walked out the front door.

Immediately rushing to Molly, he scooped her up and examined her face.

“Molly! Are you ok?” The foaming mass of yellow light had dissipated and all that remained was a strong look of confusion.

“Huh? Hurst? Yeah… When did you get here?” Molly shook her head and blinked several times, squinting to make out his face.

“Mol, I’ve been here, me and the Yakuza.” Very hurried now, Hurst set her down in a booth.

“Yakuza? What are you talking about? Why are you in such a rush?” Molly groggily came back to full capacity but still could remember nothing of the last fifteen minutes.

“I’m so sorry Mol, there’s something I need to take care of. I’ll be by in the morning.” It pained him deeper than he thought possible to leave her there in that booth.

“Oh, ok. I’ll see ya then Hurst, sorry about losing that client.”

Hurst took in all that was Molly and turned to go and face Shōki-sama.

“Alright! Let’s do this!” Hurst shouted as he burst out from the bar. After a few seconds, Hurst realized he was alone.

“Where’d he go?” Hurst said out loud. Noticing a rhythmic click-clack on the pavement, Hurst turned to be met by a horrifying sight; a three-meter long komodo dragon with gleaming silver teeth and glowing green eyes was quickly advancing on him.

While Hurst pawed in his coat for his disruptor, the beast stood and taking two steps it swiped at him. The heaving claws effortlessly opened a gaping wound on his shoulder. Thrown from the force of the swipe, Hurst struggled to get up from in between two cars. He at last forced himself up and through the searing pain in his shoulder to put several feet of distance between him and the pursuant creature. The beast took another lunge at him and took two-thirds of his trench off like it was tissue paper. Spinning around with all his concentration, Hurst fired the disruptor and malformed the creature’s midsection, causing tangled intestines and bodily fluids to spill out onto the street.

The beast thrashed and yelled through the feeling of its organs being laid bare before it. Panting and clutching his shoulder, Hurst hobbled over to the dying creature to finish it off.

As he raised his disruptor, the creature spoke.

“Hm, you’re on the right path, Chisholm-san. Deeper and deeper… how deep does it really go?”

He immediately recognized the voice.

“Shōki-sama.”

Upon hearing its name, the beast cracked the slightest smile and appeared to expire.

Hurst collapsed there in the street, right in front of the autocab. A passerby, seemingly unfazed by what he saw, stopped his brisk walk and gently laid the wounded Hurst into the autocab. After lingering about the creature, the passerby gave the autocab some more gold-dollars and instructed it to use its utility tentacles to haul the beast along as well. The autocab obliged and, uncoiling its silver and orange utility tentacles, it loaded the flayed creature into itself and set out for the Sacred Hospital of St. Francis.