Ryan gripped the steering wheel tightly as the smell of his target got stronger and stronger. The window was rolled down and the sweat on his hands was causing his palms to slip a bit, the wind tugging at his short ponytail. He had been driving around the town of Trentbrook for two weeks now, following the scent of an alien who had been gorging himself. Ryan’s body tingled with nervous anticipation; he knew he was close.

It had only been a few days ago when he had busted into the creature’s rented apartment a few neighborhoods south. He had found it just by following his nose. After violently kicking the door down without knocking, he looked around in disgust. The apartment was a mess and didn’t look like it had been lived in for some time. Ryan shook his head. He couldn’t believe someone would want to live in a trash heap like this. He pulled at the strand of brown hair that had fallen out of his ponytail and started looking around.

There were cans of beer scattered around on the tables and chairs. Piles of paper had been left around with bite marks and tears on the corners. Ryan shuffled loosely through the papers and saw nothing of interest. There had been scratch marks on the sides of the walls, some spots revealed the old wallpaper underneath. Ryan decided to venture into the bedroom and saw clothes strewn on the bed and the floor. There was a mixture of casual clothes and business attire. As Ryan carelessly picked up and tossed the garments around, smelling each of them, he began to realize that there was a different smell mingling in with the putrid, rotting stench that he had been following all this time. It was metallic.

Weird. Smells kinda like a Metallion.

Ryan caught something in the corner of his eye as he tossed the last button up shirt aside. In the corner by the bedside, he found a group of empty bottles of Vial. Ah hah. Vial was essential for aliens participating in Open Conquest. It was the only way for them to disguise themselves. If one didn’t drink their Vial once in a while, they wouldn't be able to keep up their human forms.

Looks like you’ve run out, my friend. Now, who were you?

Ryan picked up one of the empty bottles that looked to be the most recent and shook it so that the hidden inscription would glow.

Order: 6 fl oz

Registered Name: Titani4 Bot

Species: Metallion

Date: March 24

It was almost the end of July now. This Bot must’ve run out of it sometime around May or June. So why didn’t he order more? Should’ve been able to afford one. Ryan had put the empty bottle into his brown hoodie pouch and walked back into the living room. Great, this got me little to nothing. Ugh what a pain. Why am I even still bothering? He begrudgingly left the apartment, kicking beer cans as he left.

Now, a few days later of continuing to track the rotten scent, he was getting antsy. He had kept the empty bottle of Vial in his glove compartment. There was something about it that bothered him. He had been tracking what smelled like a Gargoyle this whole time, but why did it lead him to the apartment of a Metallion Bot? There weren’t any reports of an android walking around town so…where did he go?

There was a sudden spike in the air as the scent got increasingly stronger. It was enough to make his eyes water. He turned a corner and parked his black jeep wherever he could find a spot. Alright, so close. Then I can finally be done with this. He got out of his car and with his nose turned to the air, started to leisurely walk along the block.

The stink was almost becoming unbearable. He scrunched up his nose and paused as he got closer. The neon lights of a restaurant to the left of him illuminated his drowsy face. Is this really worth it? He began thinking to himself. Despite his reservations, he could feel his heart pounding. He put his hands in his pockets and continued walking.

Ryan found himself at the back of the restaurant, where the smell was strongest. There was a small light above the back entrance and multiple trashcans lined up. He bent down and pinched his nose. Yeah, he was here. And not too long ago either. There was a small handbag with a metal buckle off to the side, along with a small ring. Looks like you had yourself a meal. Gross.

Something else was here too. There was a swift kick of cinnamon in the air, accompanied by a chemical smell. Divinity huh? Why were you here? He was all too familiar with the scent of those reality-bending, arrogant assholes. They all thought they were above everyone else. When he stood up, he picked up another scent that came off of a tipped over trashcan. He could smell a sweet, sugary smell with the pinch of tang, like lemon. Chameleon too? Great, my night just keeps getting better and better. He audibly groaned. There was nothing he wanted more than to get back into his jeep and leave. He didn't want to deal or get involved with any one of the Noble Four species, despite being one of them himself. None of the Four ever interacted with each other. Well, except for Warrior and Chameleon. Those two species often did things hand in hand.

Ryan sighed. He had to keep going. Even though he didn’t like it, in fact, he hated the idea of going anywhere near the other two pursuers of his target. But there was a little boy counting on him. He hoped he was anyway. Ryan continued walking, following three scents now.

The streets turned into alleyways, the alleyways turned into suburban sidewalks. How far were they chasing each other? It was now 11:00pm, he had been walking for about half an hour or so. Once in a while he’d start to drag his feet along the sidewalks, regretting every step. But then the panicked face of the little boy, Jasper, would flash through his mind and he’d pick up his pace. I’m so close. I’m so close. After I’ve caught the bastard, that little brat will have to forgive me then.

Ryan trudged on, his feet starting to hurt just a little. Damn these shoes. I can never find my size. Human stores are so unorganized and hard to navigate. Ugh. Ryan found problems in everything. He was never satisfied and always had to have things a certain way. If things weren’t the way he wanted, he’d get angry. The last fit he had was when Jasper and his mother took him out to eat at a small fast food place. They had accidentally mixed in curly fries with his regular fries. How disgraceful. He had thought and demanded that they do it right the next time.

There was a big park coming up. Parts of the grass clearing seemed to be dug up or messed with in some way. Did they eventually catch up to him? There were signs of a struggle leading to a dirt trail that led deeper into the wooded part of the park. As he followed it, it gradually became darker and chillier. The leaves on the trees made sure to block out any light from the moon. He opened his palm up a little and concentrated on it. A small flame erupted from the center of his sweaty palm. He used it to guide his way and to provide a little bit of warmth. The palpitations of his heart were steadily getting faster and harder as he neared the source of the scent. As he got closer, he slowed his pace, bending low so as not to make too much noise. The only other sound was coming from crackling of leaves and sticks that were falling to the ground. He took a few steps forward and dowsed his flame a little. Suddenly, there were voices. Two female voices, and one gravelly sounding male.

Ryan pushed through a few of the bushes that were blocking his view and saw them standing underneath a big tree. One of the girls had black hair, a black backpack, and was wearing a yellow dress. The other donned shorts, a black leather jacket, and had short pink hair. She was wearing sunglasses.

In the center of the two of them was the Gargoyle. He had his head bent low, whimpering as he stared up at the two of them. His skin was grey and covered in warts. His face looked disfigured and bumpy, and his under bite showed a row of sharp teeth covering his top lip. From the look of cuts and bruises on his face, they had roughed him up pretty bad. The ugly creature threw himself at the pink haired girl’s feet.

“Please, have mercy! I never meant to cross anyone of Noble blood, I swear!” His eyes looked to almost bulge out of their sockets as he desperately pleaded for his life.

“Why are we still letting him talk?” the girl in the yellow dress asked. Her eyes looked puffy and her fists were clenched. The Gargoyle then shifted his attention to her and pleaded,

“Please, I can tell you more about the alliances!”

“I don’t care about any of that!” She grabbed his head with one of her hands and threw him back against the tree.

“Calm down.” The pink haired girl tried to put her hands on the other girl’s shoulders.

“You don’t tell me what to do.” The black haired girl snapped back. Ryan watched them argue about what to do with the Gargoyle. He couldn’t help but side with the black haired girl. Why were they just standing there? He wanted them to take the thing out already and save him the trouble. He was getting impatient.

The creature lowered himself again and bowed his head.

“I’m begging you! I will never feed in this town again. I swear it! My ladies of Noble Chameleon and Divinity, I swear on my life.” The creature was truly ghastly. Ryan was getting sick of hearing its voice. Every second that that thing still drew breath, images of Jasper would pass through his mind. The image of him smiling, the image of his cheeks swelling when his mother made him laugh, the image of him coloring by the door as he waited for his mother to come back home. The image of his tear stained face when police told him she had gone missing. The most frightening of all images was the one when Child Protective Services took him away. Ryan needed to take revenge on his behalf. It’s what the little boy wanted. He owed it to him. He needed to prove that he was strong enough to protect him.

“So let me get this clear,” The pink haired girl said. “The lower species have banded together? To defeat the Noble Four?”

“We don’t mean to offend! I-I-I mean, I don’t have anything to do with it anymore. I have no part in it!”

“Well then it’s a good thing that we don’t want any part of your stupid war either.” Black haired girl forced a fake smile. “We’re still killing you though.”

“Wait!” Pink haired girl exclaimed, the gears in her brain obviously turning. She turned her nose to the air. Ryan started fidgeting. He didn’t care about the conversation they were having; he just wanted to see the thing die. She’s gonna notice me any second now. Maybe if I burn it from here, I can get away fast enough without them seeing me. Agh that Chameleon girl is faster than me for sure. Maybe I can burn them all, problem solved. No, that Divinity chick will probably stop my fire before it even reaches her. And then I'll really have to deal with her. Please, please, please don't let her notice me.

Pink haired girl suddenly turned in his direction.

Ew.