Now that Alister's leg is revigorated and functional, the hunter gets to hunt again. The adrenaline kicks in. He's smiling ear to ear.
"MY LEG IS BACK, MOTHERFUCKERS!"
The first order of business is to use that boost of confidence and catch up to the fallen prey. He directly charges at a nearby wall, grabs his katana and plants it firmly onto the rocks of the Bottomless Pit, decelerating his trajectory. This leaves him enough time to slow down and activate small spikes in his boots that helps him not fall from the surface of the walls. The rocks he's running on aren't the greatest. This wall is rusted, full of holes, bumps and spikes. It's a balancing act between reaching the doctor's location whiles dodging these obstacles. He must be careful of his steps.
He is anything but careful.
Alister proceeds to run on the walls as fast as he can, hoping to eventually eliminate the distance, kill Riley J. Smith, and run back to the lands above with his cash cow.
How did his leg heal in the first place? Doesn't matter.
What about prodigy blacksmith brat with the big sword? Doesn't matter.
What about the Bottomless Pit? Matters even less.
In fact, the assassin is thinking about never going back there by the time he's done. He can smell the rotten decay of the next guy who dares to give him a contract nearby this shit hole. No man, no dignified warrior, no one in fact, should spend time here. There's a reason why that village, Gallows or whatever its name is, has been destroyed and left to perish in a desert. No one should stick around the pit and, from now on, Alister will follow that rule to a tee.
But to leave this land of crazies, he must first grab the doctor, and as far as he's concerned, it's a fifty-fifty chance between capturing his prize or joining it in hell. There's a lot of risks, but God, or more fittingly for him the infernal lord, gave the hunter a second chance to redeem himself for his arrogance and grab his target before it's too late.
Alister won't let that opportunity slip by his fingers.
And so, he keeps running...
And he keeps running...
And he keeps running.
At some point, the act of running turns into a routine, a quick succession of steps one after another. Alister is so concentrated that he forgets he's running vertically on a wall. He's just going through the motions. His speed, his prowess, his arms swinging back and forth, the sweat, the wind blowing on his face. Everything is a part of the mechanism of running. Everything is a flash of colors, a blur, a world separate from the assassin. It's Alister versus the forces of mother earth, gravity. Alister will find that scummy scientist and claim his heart, as well as the money that comes with it. Alister will be richer, Alister will feel a tad better about himself, and then we're back to square one. Another contract, another ride, another one.
Alister just lost his train of thought.
He closes his eyes once, just once, blinking one time like any human being, and suddenly he hits a complete blackout.
Another victim of his blade, another call from innocent bystanders, another mother deprived of his son, another son deprived of his mother. Another victim of his suffering.
What if it's near the Bottomless Pit again?
At the thought of going back there, instantly, Alister panics. Short breaths, and movements uncoordinated. His brain picks up where the subconscious led, and he starts slowing down.
"Woah! What was that sensation!? I just-Oh-Oh fuck!"
He's going so fast he almost crash lands on a gigantic platform.
He's stops himself at the last second, using his boots and sword to derail his trajectory. He lands safely on the platform in question.
It is far bigger than anticipated. His field of vision got stronger for a few seconds, but now it's back to darkness. He can't even see how far the edge of the platform is.
The Bottomless Pit is a pitch-black world. Alister can barely discern that the rocks are of a dark, somewhat purple shade of color. It fades in too much with the obscurity. The hunter can't see where his feet are walking on anymore. It's frightening, for he's pretty sure he can't detect another living thing. Just the idea of someone, or something, abusing the dark to jump on him is enough to keep him on guard.
Another living thing…
"Damn! I forgot about the doctor! No no no where is he!? he's gotta be nearby somewhere! I can't just be running in there with no fucking idea where he is! Fuck!" Alister starts a tantrum, wandering if he could even catch him at this rate. He would need to jump down again but he spent too much time letting his curiosity get the best of him. His breathing is rough, and his eyes burn slightly. He shakes these symptoms off and prepares to jump, but not before looking up.
Right above him.
He can hear faint screeches from creatures. They are audible if just a tiny bit, but he can also hear the doctor's plights.
He then looks back to the wall he ran on.
A trail that goes to the top, like melted rock glowing in the dark. Looking at his step, there's still a bit of smoke on the ground.
"Wait, I can't. I couldn't possibly have gone past them. Did I??"
The assassin shakes his head, laughing off this ridiculous theory off his mind.
"No I must be hallucinating! It's frustration, fatigue and staying in this god damn pit that's getting to me! Some mess this is!"
He finishes his sentence just in time to watch an orange glow of light right above him that illuminates the whole place. It's followed by a massive explosion above him. The detonation is so bright Alister has to cover his eyes. The assassin can scarcely see the sky above them.
Are they too deep in to return to the surface?
Out of the pile of smoke, the doctor, the young blacksmith and the three small pets are falling, somehow alive. Alister indeed passed through them, but he doesn't bother entertaining the notion.
His eyes are wide, and he smiles menacingly.
"DOC! YOU'RE MINE!"
"What now!? HUH!? HOW!? WHY ARE YOU HERE!?"
"WHO CARES, DIPSHIT! TIME TO PERISH!" Screams the assassin, ecstatic to kill his target once and for all.
The assassin starts running on the same wall again, this time going back up. When he sees the opportunity to strike the doctor, he positions himself to jump from the wall.
Riley is crying tears of terror at this point, while the three pets, in their quirky mannerisms, works to wake up an unconscious Zephyr, whose whole body is black like charcoal and red hot like magma. Touching him directly would result in third degree burns.
The hunter couldn't give a crap about the boy. That fool jumped in the maw of the wolf like a baby eager to get his toys back. The assassin isn't about to let this opportunity go to waste because of the boy. Sucks to be him.
The reward for the doctor's capture, dead or alive, is five million dollars.
If Alister's good side wanted to avenge the failed experiments that rots in the doctor's lab, his greedy side is having the time of his life thinking about that sum of money.
Leg miraculously restored, blacksmith boy no longer a threat, and the animals too much in a frenzy, it's only Alister and his gorgeous prize. Another victory in the books and at least he can pretend to be humble about it. It was not easy money. That scientist sure put up a good fight, but the victory is going in the hunter's pockets.
It's over.
It should be over.
Unbeknownst to them, it gets dark again. It's so dark that Alister cannot see anything. He's frozen in position, mid-air. He hears a voice speak to him.
"You will save them."
That voice sounds soothing, feminine. It also sounds distorted, battered. The assassin can make out what it's saying, but it's comprehensible by a slight margin. It also echoes through his brain, forcing herself into the hunter's consciousness. Who is doing this?
It's not Zephyr. Speaking in his coma with this much presence and depth would be absurd, even with everything that transpired.
Riley is curved into a ball at the moment.
Maybe the animals can talk now? Surprisingly not. That would be slightly more fulfilling for the assassin.
Instead, what he finds in that split second is that his body moves on its own. His mind knows the objective: kill the doctor, let the kid and the animals die in the giant pit and come back to the surface.
Yet, he doesn't take the katana from its sheath. Moreover, he saves both humans and animals, with Eylventh dropping the torch blade in the process.
Alister lodges everyone on the platform safely, like the voice vaguely requested of him. That's when he gets control of his body back.
His fury triumphs the confusion.
Riley steps back as far away as he can, with the animals watching the scene nearby charcoal boy's comatose body. The torch blade falls on the platform between them. Alister acknowledges its existence for a second, then goes back to the doctor.
"W-w-wait! We can talk this out young man, I say young because you seem young! Wow, d-did we tell you that you are, hum, you are handsome!?"
"I'm not that young, doc." Angrily retorts the hunter.
"R-Regardless, we do not have to resort to such conflicts! I know my value has skyrocketed and the price is, well, enticing! B-But I swear we can come to a nice little compromise!" says the doctor, dropping on his knees as he begs for mercy.
"What a joke. I don't know how you did it, but you telepathically controlling my body now? THAT is the last straw! You already got enough puppets as his!"
"Hold on, that, that wasn't your will just now!? Well I-I mean that makes more sense, your hands we're so gentle that-."
Alister gets his katana out of his sheath and jumps straight at the doctor. Riley dodges by the skin of his teeth. The blade lands just four centimeters away from his neck. Riley is face to face with the most rageful assassin he has ever met.
"ENOUGH OF YOUR CRAP, RILEY! I'LL KILL YOU!"
"I-I-I all I am trying to say is that, you see, I have no clue how I could have made the telepathic technology for-!"
"BULLSHIT! You killed civilians and turned them into bioweapons for your own benefit! How can you NOT do mind-bending antics, huh!? Got any explanation for that lack of foresight!?' Alister is letting his rage get the best of him again.
"Ah! You! How-How dare you!?" Retaliates the scientist. Although he is still afraid for his life, this remark from Alister leaves a bitter taste of disgust in the doctor's mouth. Insulted, he backs up and stands on his shaking legs. "T-The audacity to say I do this for my own benefit!? These sacrifices will serve me well yes, but it's bigger than that! I will finally discover the truth!"
"What!?"
"Yes, you heard me! I will discover what's down there! I will report everything I find! After that, everyone will respect me, give me the credit I deserve, and I will be the renowned scientist I deserve to be!"
Riley's voice trembles while saying these last few words. Actually, his whole body is quaking. Of the three animals, only Urth has a reaction. The bullfrog is left unpleased by Riley's answer.
"HA! Yeah right! Well guess what, you've bargained with the wrong guy-!"
The assassin is hit with a sudden dizziness. He's about to fall unconscious.
"Argh! You...You son of a... I'm going to kiiiii..."
Alister drops on the floor.
Both the hunter and the blacksmith are unconscious, leaving the doctor to ponder by himself.
Riley stares into nothingness before rubbing his eyes. Barely able to see anything. Lost in his thoughts. Drained.
Nil, Urth and Eylventh take the time to examine Zephyr's body. The heat has ceased to be an issue and his skin is slowly piecing itself back together. The doctor leaves them to their own devices.
Riley looks around. He can barely see a thing because of the tears accumulated inside his goggles. He gets rid of them as well as his mask. What he hides behind his facewear is a scrubby beard and a well-kept moustache, heavy bangs beneath his blue eyes and a face full of wrinkles. He expected the gruesome beginnings. In spite of this, it was far more eventful than he wanted. The roller coaster ride is over, for the time being.
He starts looking in his bag and picks up a big device resembling a clock that he attaches to his right forearm. Despite the darkness, he has tinkered enough with the machine to know by heart where the knick knacks are located. He plays with it for a bit.
He is inside the infamous Bottomless Pit, finally, but with unwanted guests. There's a sense of desolation. Riley cannot shake the guilt off. Some of his ghosts from earlier have returned. He ignores them. For a man above his forties, you'd think he'd know how to deal with his emotions by now. He has a hard time pulling himself together.
Urth alternates between watching Zephyr, curious, and looking at his master, still unimpressed. Nil and Eylventh are far more innocent to their master's regards.