It appears that Brewster's reputation precedes him. How will Nova react?

[*******]

As the two entered into the Graywater Bounty League building, they registered and walked past the front desk, going through a door, leading to the hub. It wasn't anything special, more like a gathering hall as bounty hunters alike discuss with one another on various things at tables. On one side of a wall lies a big glass slab with holographic bounties sliding across the wall every few seconds or so.

Nova could only look in bewilderment at everything around him. This is his first time seeing the hub, though he guessed a familiar setting for Brewster. He got the feeling that all sorts of rough and tumble people were here getting jobs done by their faceless contractors.

Though…he also felt a great deal of the hunter's faces looking at him. He instinctively shuffled closer to Lu Yi at the looks given to him.

"Lu Yi? How many people did Brewster piss off here?"

"...Just about everyone." Lu Yi's answer was slow like giving a child a vaccine.

"Oh God…" the eyes felt heavy on his little shoulders.

"We go in, get a bounty, and go out." Lu Yi simplified. "Stay close to me-"

"HELP!!! LU YI!!! HELP!!!"

Lu Yi turned to see that Nova was being dragged off by a minotaur Esper by the tail. His face is both in pain and in surprise.

"Ow! Stop pulling so hard!"

"You're worried about me pulling your tail? Well, maybe you don't need it!"

"NOO!!!"

Nova pulled out his revolver, aiming at the minotaur. The minotaur, and the group he's with, could only laugh.

"What's with the weapon change?!" The minotaur taunted. "Don't tell me you lost your bang for your buck, Brewster the Blaster."

"Guys! Let's stop this, okay-"

Lu Yi is suddenly pulled back by two people, a youthful man and what only seemed to be his elder, maybe even his father. The man had a satchel, while the son had a pair of wings. Lu Yi notices that the younger one has a pair of wings…though they look artificial.

"Who said you could intervene?" The minotaur growled. "This is between me and him."

"D-Don't make me hurt you!" Nova tried to sound threatening, but there's a quiver in his voice.

"Aww, you sound scared!" The minotaur mused. "I don't remember you sounding this meek. And…you don't smell like alcohol either."

The minotaur proceeded to laugh, and several others in the room did the same, snarkily chuckling. "Is this what the real Brewster is like under all that draft beer?!" He said aloud for all that could hear. "A weak and scared little dog, who needs one of our reputable hunters around him at all times just to not get banned?!"

"Enough."

A single quiet voice cut through the heckling. All had gone quiet, save for the footsteps of someone approaching the minotaur. It is a man with light olive skin, hidden under a trenchcoat, gloves, boots, all black with a single red beret with golden outlines, and the symbol of the Bounty League upon it. A single detail that Nova noticed is a shiny, silver spear with etchings of bronze and gold on his back.

"I advise you to stop this at once. You, Matthias Aster, are in the same position as Brewster, even if under different circumstances."

The minotaur looked angry that he was stopped, but he slowly let Nova go. And as he was let go, Brewster dissolved his revolver, rubbing his tail. Not only that, the two people who held Lu Yi back reluctantly let him go as well.

The man approached the bull, completely uninterested in his size and stature. Despite the complete difference in composition, it is the minotaur that expressed some kind of regret. Not only that,Nova could feel the tone in the man with the spear being like he was about to crush an ant under his thumb, even if it wasn’t directed at him.

“Don’t give me a reason to report misconduct about you, Matthias. Do you understand?”

“...Yes.”

The man turned and left without another word as the others slowly returned to their conversation, including the father, son, and the minotaur. Nova could only sigh in relief as they're finally left alone. As he looked up, Lu Yi’s hand was stretched before him. He took it, standing up again and heading back to the bounty board.

“Well…besides that. Let’s see…”

Lu Yi’s fingers scrolled through the list of bounties, soon landing on one.

“This one. It’s simple. We just have to retrieve some smuggled cargo that’s been discovered. There’s likely gonna be a few people we have to take down, but it’s simple enough. It’s even said one of the cargo just has gold in it, and we can get some of it as compensation.”

“I…I don’t have to kill anyone, do I?” Nova asked worriedly.

“Only if they deserve it,” Lu Yi reassured.

“Okay…” Nova sighed in relief.

Accepting the bounty, the two left to go out and drive off to the location nearest to the objective. The drive was mostly uneventful as various songs played on the radio.

“Huh…the songs here aren’t that different from my home.” Nova commented.

“Really? Just asking, but which ones do you like?”

“OMD, Italobrothers, Caramell, and others too.”

“Huh…Brewster was more of a Powerwolf, Andrew W.K., and Tool kind of guy.”

“And you?”

“Things from the cinema. I like the hero stuff, so I downloaded their album OSTs.”

“You sound a bit like a comic book hero nerd.” Nova chuckled.

“Oh, I very much am.” Lu Yi smiled. “I’ve yet to show you my comic book collection though.”

“I don’t think I’ll be able to know. Your world’s comic heroes might be different from the ones from my home.”

Lu Yi parked the car off to the side of the road, the two Espers exiting the vehicle and looking around.

“So…where is it exactly?”

“The bounty mentioned that it was in an underground bunker.”

Nova looked around, more frantically this time. “How are we gonna find it? The entrance could be anywhere…”

“We don’t have to look everywhere. We just need to do a bit of Wave Sense.”

“Wave…Sense?”

Lu Yi blinked before rubbing the back of his head. “Right, it’s a bit of terminology that only Espers in training would learn. Wave Sense is just an Esper’s ability to sense divine waves. All Espers have them. If there are Espers guarding the case, then all we have to do is sense the Espers.”

“But…how do I do that?”

“Well, so far you’ve done well in using your Esper powers. You probably felt it, so all you have to do is extend that feeling outward. Though Brewster rarely ever did that himself.”

“Right…” Though Nova still looked very lost on the matter.

“Don’t worry, you don’t have to.” Lu Yi reassured him. “You’ll eventually get it with enough experience and time.”

Thus, Lu Yi took the lead with Nova in tow. And with the recent information in his mind, Nova can only wonder what exactly such a form of perception felt like as he watched Lu Yi simply…walk in a particular direction. Eventually though, Lu Yi stopped, and Nova can see why. An open vault door with a ladder to a floor could be seen. Nova found himself as the last one to enter, materializing his revolver.

“It’s…kind of dark in here.” Nova noted quietly, remarking on the dim lights.

“They probably don’t want people just finding the cargo the moment they stumble in.” Lu Yi guessed. “Stay close and don’t go too far.”

“Okay…”

With the dim lights, every little flicker made Nova see slight movements in the shadows, sometimes prompting him to bring up his revolver. However, something soon came up. Despite Lu Yi’s guidance and skill in Wave Sense, it didn’t seem like they were getting any closer. They even had to backtrack at some points when meeting dead ends.

“This place is like a labyrinth…” said Nova.

“Yeah…” Lu Yi agreed. “Honestly, Brewster would’ve just blown up the walls-”

. . .

. . .

. . .

“Nova?”

“Yes?”

“You should blow up the walls.”

“What?!” Nova freaked out a little. “Won’t they know we’re coming then?!”

“Yes, but unlike us, they need to know where to go. All we have to do is bust down every wall in front of us.”

Nova blinked, realizing the plan. “Right, just tell me where to aim.”

Reverting the revolver back into a blaster, Nova waited for Yu Li’s command, which he pointed at a wall.

“There.”

Nova pulled the trigger, a flash of orange lit up the whole room like a flashbang before the inevitable explosion.

Boom!

The whole room shook, but the sound of tumbling rubble showed that the wall had been destroyed. And from there, Nova kept blasting in whichever direction Lu Yi commanded, passing through them each time. However…

“There.”

Boom!

“Hey hey hey! What the hell?!”

Nova winced to find a flashlight shining right into his face. But looking beyond that, surprise had hit him. It’s the minotaur and the father from earlier.

“You!” the minotaur sounded angry.

“You?!” Nova replied, only with confusion.

“What are you doing here?” asked Lu Yi.

“You know how bounties work, Lu Yi.” said the father. “It’s available to everyone until it’s confirmed to be completed. We heard of the gold in the cargo, that’s why we came here.”

“Where’s the kid?”

“Above the bunker, keeping an eye out for us in the sky. We can’t expect whoever will come for the cargo to not come while we’re down here.”

“Right…” Lu Yi huffed. “Look, since we’re all here, we might as well do it together.”

“No!” said the minotaur. “You think I wanna team up with this guy?!”

“Hey!” Nova protested.

“What?! It’s not like I have to actually know you! Everyone practically talks about how you mess up the missions with your reckless bull!” accused Matthias. “I’ve heard plenty of stories where every person who ever teamed up with you had to suffer so many unnecessary consequences, how would this be any different?!”

“Matthias, enough,” said the father. “We’re wasting time. Brewster, you should keep blowing up the walls until we get to the cargo.”

“I…right…where do I shoot?”

“That wall, over there.” Lu Yi said first.

“Okay-”

Nova’s legs suddenly stopped working, his head felt like it was swimming in water. He faintly hears his gun clattering off to the side as he falls to his knees. Soon enough though, his weapon completely disappears.

“Nova!”

“Nova?” the father raised a brow.

Lu Yi didn’t answer the question and picked up Brewster. “You alright?”

“I feel-” Nova puked his stomach’s contents all over the floor, falling to his side.

“Oh no…” Lu Yi dragged Nova away from his own vomit, but kept him on the floor. Nova tried to stand up, but his body kept shaking, prompting him to collapse. It was hot too, his fur dampening in sweat once more.

“What’s happened?” asked the father.

“Withdrawal.”

“When did he quit?”

“Technically speaking? Yesterday.”

“Damn, cold turkey? Why?”

“...Call it a change of heart.”

“Frickin’ useless.” Matthias huffed.

“You guys got anything? Light beer can work too, we just need to relieve the symptoms.”

“Well…we were gonna save this until the job’s done. But…”

From the father’s satchel came out a can of beer. Lu Yi’s brow raised.

“Just one? For all you three?”

“I got more, but we only need one for one person.”

Despite the conversation happening, Nova barely heard any of it. Everything was swimming, unable to focus on any single thing for long. However, his eyes found a can being put before him.

“Drink up. We need you right now.”

“. . .”

Nova’s paw initially reached for the can. However, it pressed against the floor as he pushed himself away from the can.

“Never…again…” he muttered meekly.

No one said anything after hearing such words. However, Matthias took the neglected beer can and drank its contents before crushing it and tossing it aside.

“Welp, he’s not gonna help us. We need to keep going.”

“Matthias,” started the father. “Carry him.”

“What?! Dean, why me?! We could just leave him here and get the job done!”

“I’m not gonna leave him behind!” Lu Yi exclaimed.

“We’re not leaving him,” said Dean. “And you will be the least impeded by carrying him too.”

Matthias looked like he was going to let loose steam from his ears from how red he looked, but he acquiesced.

“Can’t believe I have to babysit the drunkard…”

Nova only groaned as he felt himself being picked up. The noise of footsteps echo loudly in his ears, along with the voices.

“You know, Matthias, you’re kind of an ass.” said Lu Yi.

“It’s not like we asked you to be here.” the minotaur retorted.

“More importantly,” added Dean. “I doubt Brewster’s the type of person to do such a small job as this. The payment here’s not the usual amount he aims for.”

“He’s just a bit out of his element is all. That’s why he’s doing a small bounty.” Lu Yi tries to cover.

“You also called him Nova…I’ve never heard such a name or title from him by the other hunters.”

“That must have been a word slip. It happens sometimes.” Lu Yi changed the topic. “Besides, I don’t really know why Matthias is harping so much over Brewster.”

“Hey! I said my piece at the hub!” exclaimed Matthias. “He’s just bad to be around with.”

“Yeah…but what did John say about a misconduct report?”

“. . .”

“. . .”

“Matthias is…on community service, so to speak.” Dean started. “He’s to serve the Graywater Bounty League for several years, and he’d be removed from his sentence.”

“Sentence?”

“Look, Brewster just reminds me of some guys I really dislike, okay?” said Matthias, though his voice is softer than before. “Those kinds of people that act like whatever they do could have no consequences to them.”

Nova wanted to say something, but his muzzle was heavy. Instead, he felt himself being placed back on the floor and against a wall.

“There they are.” Matthias almost sounded pleased.

“Remember Matthias, deal with them nonlethally.” reminded Dean.

“Right, sorry.” Matthias shook his head.

And as for Nova, he simply sat there, tormented by the withdrawal. He couldn’t see straight, but he was looking in their general direction. The sounds of bodies colliding, powers being flung here and there…and a chainsaw? If he squinted hard enough, he could see Dean wielding a chainsaw. The mere sight of it caused some guards of the smuggled cargo to hesitate, prompting Matthias to knock them out with a clean punch. Lu Yi, being a skilled archer, weaved to and fro as he fired his light arrows at guards, sending them flying from their power. And not long after did it end, the whole labyrinth going quiet as Nova sees Dean, Matthias, and Lu Yi all stand before several chests worth of cargo.

“Which one do you think the gold is?” wondered the minotaur.

“Just a second.” Dean took out his glass phone. “Ico Any sign of them coming?”

“None so far, it’s just you guys for miles.” said Ico , apparently flying in the air. “Wait…is that Lu Yi? You teamed up with them?”

“If only by accident,” Dean adds. “Get the truck ready, we’re gonna extract them.”

Click!

The three froze at the sound of a gun’s mechanism cocking behind them.

“Hands up.”

All three put their hands up slowly. The footsteps got closer.

“You really got all of them, I’m impressed. But you shouldn’t have put your guard down. Hell, if you just surveyed the area, you would have found me. But it’s a good thing you didn’t, isn’t it? Lucky you.”

The garbled sounds of a voice on an intercom hit Nova’s ears, which the remaining cargo guard took up and started talking. The opportunity came to mind, albeit slowly, as he manifested his revolver in a more quiet fashion. But even then, his line of sight was warped by the withdrawal, and his reaction time slowed to a trudge.

But he fought through it, and he kept telling himself just one thing.

“Just pull the trigger…”

“Pull the trigger…”

“Pull…the…….trigger………”

Bang!

Ping!

Nova missed. He missed by a mile and hit the wall. The guard turned around to see just in time as Nova’s hand went limp as he dropped the revolver.

“You scared me for a minute,” the guard sighed. “Now-”

The guard didn’t even have time to finish the sentence as the minotaur roared, tackling the guard’s back and smashing him against the wall. Not a second later did the guard crumple to the floor.

Everyone sighed in relief, though Nova can see Matthias looking down at him.

“Sorry for….reminding you of someone you hate…” he managed to blurt out.

The bull’s eyes softened up a little at Nova’s reply, but he soon scoffed and walked away.

“Alright, so which chest has the gold?”

Dean opened a box, only to sigh. “This one’s full of wine. High quality wine…but not gold.”

“Hand me one.” said Lu Yi.

“What? Why?”

“Just give it to me.”

Dean, after a second of consideration, handed the archer a bottle of wine. Lu Yi uncorked it and slowly headed towards Nova. He sits next to him, placing the bottle before his paw. But just like before, Nova pulls his paw away.

“I’m…I’m not gonna do it again…”

“Brewster,” despite the name change, Nova knows he’s talking about him. His mind held enough energy to know he’s indirectly speaking to him on a different topic. “I know you’ve been trying hard to quit, but this is unhealthy .”

“I’ve stared at the end of…a bottle one too many times…” Nova’s voice is slow and low on energy.

“I know, you tend to do that a lot,” said Lu Yi. “And I know that you believe that drinking now will repeat it all over again. But…your body is not ready to quit on alcohol just yet.”

Small streams of tears flow down his face. “I…I swore off. I-I don't…wanna be like him anymore…”

Lu Yi doesn’t know what Nova meant by that, but admittedly…it sounded similar enough to what Brewster had gone through. Or…at least what his past is like.

“I know. Not wanting to repeat past mistakes is a good thing. But it won’t do anyone good if you keep this up,” Lu Yi leaned in towards Nova’s ear. “You want to go home, right? You can’t go home if you die from withdrawal.”

“. . .”

Even though Nova’s face is slack, the slight twinges of pain gave Lu Yi the impression that what’s going on in Nova’s mind is painful. And though those momentary expressions of pain showed itself…he grabbed the bottle. Lu Yi brought his own hand to help him lift it up and to his mouth, drinking it. By the time it was pulled away, a fourth of the bottle’s contents was now gone. Life started to return to Nova’s posture, though he also looked ashamed.

“You just have to take less and less as time goes on, Brewster.” said Lu Yi. “Though it sounds like you’ve dealt with quitting before.”

“...It was hell…”

“But was it worth fighting for?”

“. . .”

“. . .”

“Yeah….it was…”

“Then…let’s call this round two.”