7th of September 2047
The sun would shine in from the stained window onto the cold and unsanitary wooden floor riddled with dust and blemishes. The shop was left empty and silent while the mumbling incoherent voices from outside broke the silence as if an argument was going on. The spyglass would lay on the floor still damaged from it's abrupt fall as the rays of light shone over it's many gems showcasing how fake and plastic they were in comparison to the real thing. The droplets of water slowly forming on the damaged and dirtied window from outside gave up the ghost of the fact it was now raining, a storm was coming and it seemed for now this was the calm before it.
Hastily two men would kick the door in to the cozy yet time-worn down shop, completely knocking the half-rusted bell off of the settlement it hung from, dropping to the floor with a loud clank as they enter the shop and snoop around. A badger dressed in a dirty and run down brown suit with a stained white vest would wander around analysing many items on the desk with his fingerless gloved hands, picking up the knocked over jar of nails and scoffing "They were practically selling buttons here Mikey. Jar of nails? I'd be getting better stuff over at the protogen-scrapyard"
The other man in the corner of the room portraying the species of a white goat dressed in a similar run-down suit would analyse a shelf and pick up a handcrafted bear trap with a shrug "Look he may be a treacherous bastard or a cockroach that somehow got a job in our town.. but this here is quality. Any man that steps in this sonnofabitch' ain't gettin' out of it" Putting it down with a light clank he would move over to another section of the shop and pick up a small vintage music-box. It was small in size and dusted and worn yet beautiful, flicking it open with his thumb a ballet dancer inside would swirl playing a comforting lullaby to the man who obviously didn't admire the heartfelt message it had to offer as he rolled his eyes and slammed it shut. Kicking over a chair behind the desk the badger would shake his head at the other associate and leave, heading towards the open door he would gesture the other man to follow "Nothing here, at least nothing in plain sight. Let's go see what that Gambler has to say to them, he'll cut our fingers off if we're late" In response the man would pocket the music-box in his suit pocket and heading towards the door "I wouldn't call him the Gambler anymore son, I remember he 'capped a fella who didn't call him the Dime." Leaving the shop the two's conversation grew quieter and quieter until there was only the sound of rain smacking down against the shop's roof and dry gravel outside.
The town outside laid silent as empty as it was some bystanders still roamed the streets as the rain picked up, clouds overwhelmed the once shining sun quickly and instead reigned a gloomy mood over the already run-down town. Just outside the settlement in the treeline leading into the vast forest of Nimblewood some commotion was forming, a group of people lurking between the trees.
Jaklo was pushed to his knees and held bound with zip-ties securing his hands behind his back as he gazed up at his captor in a silent anguish presented by his subtle anger held on his expression, yet he remained composed and focused despite the dire circumstances. Beside him, Ellis was pushed down onto his knees as well, across from him as he was held bound likewise to his raccoon affiliate of his. The two could observe the same two men who were raiding the bearded dragon's store in front of them as they chuckled and taunted them with more nonsensical praising "Y'all gotta be careful where you're spreading your hate on the Musician, it sickens me how someone can hate such a great man." in a violent outburst the badger talking to Jaklo would send a punch hurdling towards his cheek that almost knocked his fragile body to the floor but he maintained and stabilised himself, taking the punch like a man and simply gazing up at him in the same silent rage from before. Ellis would wince and show off his worried and panicked emotions projected through threats and taunts "You.. hit tied up men huh? think you're tough? you wouldn't stand a chance in a fair fight, that's why you got those guns on you. Spineless.. prick" He stuttered on the insult he squeaked out at the end of his sentence almost holding his tongue but he let his anger out, showing a lot more resistance than Jaklo clearly with his struggling.
The goat would step forward aiming the gun towards the bearded dragon and scoffed "You're below us ya' no good sinner! Shut your mouth or I'll cut out yer' damn tongue" In a threatening tone of voice he would look over at the badger who shook his head and responded "He wants both of these fellas alive Mikey leave em' be" Surely enough, speak of the devil and he will present himself in a flashing and run down police car apparently which would stop just outside the tree-line. Rain began to pick up and soon began dripping off the leaves and onto clothing, making them damp and running down with droplets of water onto the cold and slowly growing muddied grass ground. This eventually escalated into a small storm that began pouring down with rain onto the party.
"Shut the fuck up! I'll fucking kill you here and now if you keep SQUIRMING!" a man's voice echoed through the trees, the two men assumed an entirely different posture and backed up from the hostages and watched intently as a man dragged a woman from the back of the police car who was screaming and fighting against him as he dragged her across the cold gravel and onto the dirt where she was thrown to join the other two. It was the woman from earlier she was still dressed in her revealing attire and crying as she laid limp across the dirt. "Fuck you! I'll fucking kill you" she whimpered out through her broken voice as she cried profusely in fear and anger seemingly from the unfairness of the situation, it was almost cruel yet that was exactly how he wanted it to be.
Joining the posse and walking over to his men while simultaneously stepping on the poor woman to walk over he would pull a device from his pocket and pushed it into his mouth like an electronic cigar. Inhaling the smoke from the device, he would pop it out and quickly exhale a large cloud of an orange like smoke that was quickly dampened by the rain and groaning loudly. It seemed like a vape but at the same time it wasn't a vape, it was some technological pipe or drug that definitely gave him a solid high. "God Damn! I need to get more of this shit, makes me feel fucking GREAT! WOO!" He finishes his sentence with a bang while turning to his men and laughing almost maniacally at his comment "Orange Haze.. Seriously need to push this on the market, more a' those brain-dead idiots buy anything that takes the pain away." Stating his sinister business plans to the badger who avoided eye contact with him and shyly nodded he would turn to eye up the quietly weeping woman before eyeing up the two in front of him.
It was the Dime and this time was dressed in a black leather overcoat with the same beanie but this time his hair has grown dramatically to a messy, curly like style, the length almost touched his shoulders. On his waist he had a funnily looking belt that held multiple coin dispensers full of old dimes and quarters, on the opposite side of his belt was a handgun that had been dramatically modified by the sight of it. Walking towards the two he would lean down to come face to face with a calm Jaklo and smiled in a sinister happiness "It's you! It's actually fucking you I thought the boys were bullshitting me when they mentioned someone fitting your fur pattern was lurkin' around Turner Town but apparently not! Here you are all withered and dried up like the DAMN FAILURE of a leader you are." Sitting back and coming to a stance again he would turn to his submissive henchmen and click his fingers "Yo! Fellas did you search these fuckers? Don't want them pullin' any cheap tricks, this raccoon motherfucker was a slippery bastard back in his prime, like an eel out of water.. can't gut the fuckin' thing if you wanted to." Glancing up at his boss the Goat would nervously nod and respond "Y-Yes boss, They're clean.. no guns--"
Despite them having not searched them at all, they caved under pressure to try their best to meet the expectations of their ferocious leader who happily laughed in approval and respect for them before turning back, ignoring the woman for now. "Ellis.. You're-" Upon the mention of his name he would look up at The Dime snarl back "Go fuck yourself, porch goblin" In a rebellious and enraged mood he would insult the Dime which turned out to not be the right decision at all. Dramatically he would push down on his neck and drive him right back into the wet dirt "DON'T FUCKING INTERRUPT ME! I'LL PULL OFF THOSE CUTE HORNS AND JAM THEM INTO YOUR EYES" Pulling him back up to his knees the look on Jaklo's face was in a somewhat surprise as he watched his partner get disciplined; whom of which was also shook by the sudden push from the Dime causing him to lose his once aggressive and rebellious voice out against him.
His two thugs would stand fashionably on guard in the background as they stare down the three captives, The Dime would laugh at the look on Jaklo's face whom was now full of adrenaline watch his partner suffer at the hands of a brutal maniac who proceeded to stomp back off through the treeline towards his car again "Wait here fellas, grabbing something a little flashy but it oughta knock some sense in their thick skulls when they see it" With that he began rummaging through the back of his cop car and giving Jaklo a window to talk without being muted by the crazed shouting of the gambling psychopath. Turning to his partner with raindrops dripping off the brim of his hat he would shake his head "Stay calm El, I will get us out of this I promise. He's unhinged and it only takes one wrong move, he will kill you without hesitation. But maybe that's a good thing" Delivering his message in a whisper the sudden shouts in the background cut Jaklo's warning short as well as Ellis' response to him.
The Dime like a forest monster would come stomping back through the trees to the scene with a shotgun sat stationary over his shoulder like a cliché badass in the movies "The boys in blue are dramatic with their weaponry dontcha think fellas! This bad boy could blow your FUCKING face off gwahahaa!" Another maniacal giggle would escape his mouth as he pushed the barrel of the shotgun down into the neck of the crying woman who screamed at the face of death, believing her end was approaching swiftly. (Scattle - Shambles would play here)
The quiet clink of a coin dispensing from his unusual belt would dump a singular dime into his paw to which he flipped and caught it with precision and covered it by clutching it hard in his hand "Heads or Tails! Quit your FUCKING crying! Give me an answer you dumb BITCH! You should have paid what you owe to the White Hand!" Revealing maybe he was in fact the leader of the parasitic white hand group the woman would attempt to stabilise and through her crying words she would barely whimper an answer through her dry lips "T-Tails.. Tails.. Please don't hurt me I beg of you, my kids needed the money.. for food! I swear I'll get it back to you"
Glaring down at the damsel in distress the dime would freeze in the moment, nothing more than the droplets of rain fell around him and the other captives while his men watched; acting somewhat like robotic guards ensnared in fear of doing anything to upset their fearsome leader whom was stood still as a statue. His response after a few seconds of emotionless and motionless activity would be quite surprising, normally he was merciless and decided to lean down to get closer to the woman. Drying her invisible tears thanks to the rain already coating her damp face he would smile bleakly at her and shush her "Shh shh.. I tell you what, I know how scary it is and I know you're scared too darling. You won't face this alone alright? If you are right you and the raccoon's scaley friend get to live, if you are wrong I will cap you both right here. I'm a reasonable man, I know, no need to thank me eheh!" The wave of mercy would wash away with him as quick as new droplets of rain formed on his already damp clothing, standing back up and assuming his regular merciless behaviour. Opening the palm that covered the answer that would reveal the fate of both Ellis and the lady he would giggle again in a much more sinister manner.
Pulling the shotgun up he would cock it and press it back down into the ladies head "Looks like it's my lucky day huh, I'm glad good ol' fate could settle the pickle we're in right now" Without another word he would pull the trigger sending a loud echo of a vivid gunshot through the small town, it almost mimicked the missing thunder. Rain intensified and dimmed out most of the texture of the fresh brain matter and blood that now littered her disembodied head attached to her motionless body that was once squirming and striving with life. Turning to Ellis he would cock the shotgun again, the empty shell would land in the cold wet dirt before he aimed it at him. Despite there being nothing but rain in this subtle storm The Dime sure knew how to bring the Thunder.
Jaklo squirmed and wriggled against his bonds "Stop.. Stop this right fucking now, take me not him. I'm your target not him, your boss wants me you know he wants me why are you doing this you low psychotic piece of shit" Vividly snapping at his captor he would snarl and attempt to take his attention off of Ellis by any means necessary, he began laughing maniacally again to himself and turning to Jaklo and grinning like an idiot as if he just heard a laughable joke. "I hold all the cards, the bet favours me. Feast your tired eyes on the power of chance my good friend."
Turning to Ellis and raising the gun towards him once more he'd smile "You have such a stunning appearance I have to admit, your horns are FUCKING awesome! I do say I envy you buddy. Maybe I'll keep one as a souveneir.. Hasta la vista baby!" Uttering his last words for him Ellis would wince and look away, Jaklo's eyes would light up orange for a moment as the gun was fired. The orange would be replaced with red as the blood of his partner splattered everywhere. Although he had felt numb inside this entire time he felt a spark hit him as if this was a wake up call for him, time seemed to slow in the moment, he was encapsulated in complete anger and remorse, he desperately wanted to go back to before all of this and make it right like he could have done. He wasn't going to make that mistake again, he knew there something else he could've done. Time grew slower and slower around him. The pupil of Jaklo's eye would freakishly dilate enough to project an image of what was happening before him like a dark mirrored reflection, time had stopped in his eye and soon began going backwards, time seemed to warp around him and a humming noise would fill Jaklo's ear slowly growing ear piercingly loud to him almost to the point of being unbarable as he poured his energy and quite literally his soul into doing whatever he was doing. The rain was falling upwards according to the pupil of Jaklo's eyes, the destroyed shotgun shell previously utilised to murder a woman was firmly pulled up by the force of time going backwards, completely defying the laws of physics and loading itself back into the shotgun again and before he knew it they were back at where they started.
The barrel of the shotgun pushed against the woman's neck while she cried and squealed begging for mercy "Heads or Tails! Quit your FUCKING crying!--" Only this time before he could repeat himself and murder everyone again Jaklo would interrupt and taunt him "Hey Porch Goblin, I've never met such a revolting person before in my life. You're the Gambler, You cannot change who you are. You should've died in that bar, along with your boss. Now you're affiliated with a parasite lone shark group, how pathetic can you get?"
He delivered a cold taunt that surely got his attention, confidence overwhelming him considering he had the pre cognitive knowledge of how this was going to play out. Tears streamed down Jaklo's face for no apparent reason possibly an after effect of the ability he used dried up his eyes. As expected the reaction he anticipated came, The Dime would turn and face Jaklo with a terrifying glare, he was not happy and he quickly let Jaklo know this with his expression alone. "What did you just call me? Did you--.. Did you call me the G-Word?" Remaining composed Jaklo would sniffle as a result of the tear filled eyes, the droplets would stain into the fur on his cheeks. The Dime would walk towards Jaklo and press the shotgun directly onto his forehead and cock it as if he was immediately about to fire before one of his guard's broke out of their anxiety controlled shell that kept them silent and stood up to him "Boss?" Laying a hand on his shoulder to get his attention he would gulp before speaking again "We need him alive, He specifically requested the red one to be brought to him--" The barrel would move from the Raccoon's head as he turned to face him, giving him uncomfortable eye contact as if staring into his soul with a smile "That's too bad.. We can just spool him a lie and inform him that he tried to escape, He'd oughta fuckin' believe it too, trust me when I say this asshole is tricky. Musician knows this one has an Ace up his Sleeve everytime."
Jaklo would stare up at the two drawing a conclusion on his very fate, Ellis seemed worried and couldn't stop staring over at Jaklo with a panicked expression wracked on his wet face, wondering just why he would go and anger his possible executioner like that. With that he turned and pressed the barrel directly against Jaklo's head and glared into the raccoon's eyes with malicious intent "Ta-Ta~ Fucker-" It seemed like it was over, the decision had been made and he already made his stupid remark in the face of his demise yet something else would interfere with his execution. Out of panic the guard insisting he lives would collapse under pressure and his mouth would move faster than his brain could think "Clovis! You need to let this one go-.." Just as he couldn't finish his sentence an immediate feeling of dread hit him like a fast train, Watching The Gambler turn and face him only with a much more cold expression, anger burning in his eyes "Boss.. Dime, I think it's in our best interest you let him go. I apologis-" And once again, another life was stolen on the scene, a hole blown through his stomach which caused Jaklo and Ellis to visually shudder in horror. Cocking the shotgun as he would fall to the ground right as the empty shell caked itself into the dirt. "MY NAME IS THE DIME, I AM NOT TO REFERRED TO BY THE LIKES OF YOU AS CLOVIS. YOU THINK IM JUST ANOTHER ONE OF YOUR BRAINLESS FRIENDS BACK AT STARDOWN?! FUCK YOU! I AM THE MOTHERFUCKING DIME!" Anger coursed through his veins, finishing his sentence on heavy breaths and lowering his guard as he stared down at his dying guard with a shell caved into his blown open tummy. Groaning he would cough up blood watching as his boss towers over him and attempting to sit up before dropping down to the floor and freezing, becoming nothing more than a corpse. The Goat would watch in the background with a similar expression of terror, keeping his orderly manner up to not upset his boss but that wouldn't help him.
Jaklo holding onto the gun holstered at the back of his pants would quickly sit up and turn to the side, shooting the bullet through the material of his damp trench coat and scored an extremely difficult shot thanks to his pre-cognitive power straight to the goat's head who now fell lifeless to the wet dirt, making the shot look like child's play as his eyes tear up more. Adjusting his angle quickly to fire a shot at Clovis who turned to face Jaklo, shotgun loaded but yet the handgun was not, the casing jammed the gun and due to the claustrophobic space against his lower back, it did not have room to pop out accordingly. Instead Jaklo would jump to the side as Clovis unloaded another shot into the dirt rather than into Jaklo "SON OF A BITCH!" He would yell in denial of his misplay, Jaklo retaliated with a blunt attack straight to his stomach with a kick, demonstrating his expertise in hand to hand combat even when restrained. Clovis would fall back, winded from the blow and losing grip of his shotgun.
Despite being apprehended, Jaklo would drop the gun onto the muddy dirt and approach the fallen killer who was quick to snap back to his feet and stun the approaching Raccoon with a swift punch to the side of the face that sent him back down to his knees. "NO ONE kicks me, ruins my fucking coat and gets away with it" His snarl would only fuel the adrenaline in Jaklo's veins, recovering to his feet and taking another punch to the stomach like a champ before headbutting his opposer letting out all his pent up anger now while he could. Stunned they would both fall to the ground, The Raccoon laid with a blooded nose and bruised face from the punches while his opposer swiftly recovered and encumbered the exerted Raccoon, pressing his knee into his chest to which he would let out a wounded wheeze from the direct punch to his chest moments before. Sitting himself down over Jaklo and hitting him with a hammer punch again to the face, immoblising him completely.
"You got some serious FUCKING balls coming at me all tied up like that, You're gonna beg for air boy." Unable to do anything but watch his throat was grappled and squeezed; head pushed down into the mud as he slowly suffocated in a horrific way, flailing in the muck and kicking his feet to try to break his firm grapple on him. "YOU'RE DONE, fucking BITCH think you can triumph over ME?" His struggling was immense, trying his best to keep his face out of the mud while simultaneously running out of breath by the minute "No more aces up your sleeve, huh? What you gonna do NOW? You're fucked. FUCKEDDDD!" His big words would inevitably be the things to bring him down, his boasting led no where as another gunshot would ring out through the woods followed by the vivid clank of a casing against a stone in the mud. Jaklo would be released gasping the very air he deserved fighting off his attacker. Clovis would stumble back holding onto his stomach with a bullet wound now spilling his blood onto the cursed dirt, rain would be quick to dilute the blood.
The Raccoon's saviour would be the apprehended woman, having slipped her bonded hands under her feet and taken action with the gun she held in her shaky hands. "Back off.. Get out of here, leave us alone you White Hand scum. I'll kill you where you stand" Clovis for the first time showed submission towards the hyena, staring at her and backing away, slowly leaving the injured Jaklo in the mud before taking off and sprinting towards his car with a stumble to his sprint due to the gunshot wound now embedded in him, entering the policecar and speeding off wrecklessly with the door still open. To the disappointment of his associate who stood next to her with the same idea to reach the gun but didn't quite reach it first "You didn't kill him? or you're a lousy shot" Looking over at him, she would let out a soft sigh of relief and nod "... Lousy shot, it scared him off though." Ellis being worried for his friend would run over and drop to his knees in the mud, sitting Jaklo up and analysing his wounds. Of course nothing fatal but still painful. "Ch-Check.. the bodies, they're bound to hold knifes.. Bastards" Jaklo winced and steadied his breathing, basking in the fresh air he was moments ago fighting for. The bearded dragon obliged happily and stumbled over to each of the bodies while Jaklo recovered and slipped his bound hands under his legs and sitting there in the dirt while he waited on his partner, staring up at the woman with an emotionless stare recognising her from earlier "You saved me? despite the fact I didn't even save you, huh? I could've gave you money or something to satiate those fucker's needs and keep you above water but I didn't. You shot him for me."
With a cold shrug she'd throw the gun to the mud and look towards Ellis after saying "No... Just shooting the fucker that wanted to shoot me is all, not saving you." Ellis would come up lucky and bring a blade over Jaklo shortly after cutting his own bonds loose, cutting him free and helping him to his feet "You're okay buddy.. That was great work you put up a hell of a fight against him."
Jaklo shook his head and sighed, reaching over to take his gun and stashing it in his original spot as well did Ellis with the blade keeping it in his pocket. The fox would stare the two down and sat there on the mud as the adrenaline washed out of her, looking to the side dismissively. "You gonna be alright miss? You're free to come with us, the more the merrier. Especially through these woods. Can be quite troubling in here with less people and you don't seem like you have anywhere to go." Jaklo would offer her to volunteer and join them on their journey through the seemingly infinite woods, she looked up and quickly asked the two "Where ya headed?" to which he replies "Stardown, got an old friend there I need to deal with for our sake is all. A couple days or so will drop us right off at stardown, there's a few places through here on the way we can rest up. We got a detailed map so if we steer clear of any nut-jobs in here it should be a cakewalk"
Her eyes beamed up at the mention of the party town, standing to her feet with a nod "I got two little boys.. They're twins, that bastard took em' away from me as 'collateral' " She'd mimic quotation marks with her fingers and sigh in grief "They're my darling boys, I was just trying to make enough money to pay off my debts and get them back." At the mention of children being thrown into the mix-up of this lawless life Jaklo would frown and look down at the mud he stood on "Yeah... Sounds like our guy, Stardown is a dangerous place nowadays. I have a good feeling your children are okay miss" Reassured she would approach them with a hopeful smile, feeling optimistic about their advance against the scum of the already bad, bad world. "We'll get there together then, I thank you for the offer and I am sorry for how we met earlier.. I didn't quite catch your name I don't think."
The three would walk on as Ellis acted as a third wheel in this bonding friendship, smiling at the two as they communicate and reaching into his pocket to pull out the small music box from before. Admiring it's beauty before stashing it away for later, while he was analysing it he was quickly taken by surprise as Jaklo approached and handed him the suit jacket as well as the shotgun used to almost murder them moments ago, the suit jacket stained with some blood. "Here, need to put this on. Gets cold at nights don't need you walking around in those rags Ellis. Shotgun is for your protection." He would smile and nod responding with a soft voice as he put it on "Thank you, Jaklo." Cocking the shotgun the empty shell would fall to the floor leaving two shells total on the mudded floor.
Rain would slowly dissipate and stop entirely, leaving only droplets of water falling from the trees above them while the rest soaked into the already muddy dirt. The small storm had passed for now. Venturing down the path into the jaws of the woods in hopes for some sanctuary to rest up after the endangering ordeal.