The man was as tall as Biggs, and he wore a dark purple coat with only two of the buttons done. The coat sleeves had seemingly been ripped off, exposing his snugly fit black undershirt with sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He had short light brown hair that came down evenly on either side of his head, and a rather large nose with a scar running across the bridge. His black pants were covered in patches, and the leather shoes he wore were likewise just as battered. It’s a bit worn out, but that outfit actually looks pretty cool for an almost thirty-year-old looking dude…

“So you wanna tell me why you were so bravely about to be pumped full of holes, you lousy Heart?”

Pete let out a snarl. “This blasted penguin-suit came begging for some “medicine” that was in a bag we swiped from him. Seems like he’s from Orias, ‘cause he was claiming it was for his young master, but went and used the stimmy right in front of us anyways!”

“That’s quite bold, even if it doesn’t seem to be a very potent drug,” Kristoff said, shaking his head and pointing his hat at Kyle. “And you too, Pete. I commend you for not turning tail and running away then and there.”

“Don’t patronize me, Spade! I am the Queen of Hearts, show some respect for–”

“For what? The Mad Hatter’s errand boy?” he interrupted, turning to face Pete and fitting his hat snugly. There was no trace of fear as he left himself open for attack.

Is he really that confident? Damnit, if only I could do more than wave this around to scare them!

“Ya take that back!” Pete said, turning his knife on Kristoff. “I don’t care if ya’re a Spade; I am a member of the face-cards, because unlike you, I was born with a Gift! The gang needs me much more than they need a dime-a-dozen thug like yaself!”

“Oh please,” Kristoff said, rolling his neck. “What, you mean your Tracking? That’s exactly what I mean: you’re the first one tasked with fetching things because if it gets lost or stolen, you’re the most convenient one to have out to collect it.” Kristoff turned around, his eyes meeting with Kyle’s for a few more moments before returning to Pete.

He still isn’t scared, huh? If only I wasn’t sure that he’d catch me, I’d book it right now…

“After all,” Kristoff continued. “Face-card or not, you’re hardly one we can count on in a fight. That’s why they have “thugs” like me.”

Suddenly, Pete was groaning and on his knees, his right arm held up and being twisted by Kristoff. The Spade was gripping Pete’s wrist in one hand, and he easily pried out Pete’s knife with the other. As he let go, Pete let out a yelp and fell to the ground. The Queen of Hearts brought his left fist down on the asphalt as he glared up at Kristoff’s back.

“Ya think ya can get away with doing this? To me? A member of the face-cards!”

“I’m not “getting away” with anything,” Kristoff said. He stood opposing Kyle, his arms dropped at his sides and with Pete’s knife held loosely in his right hand. “I’m just finishing what you clearly weren’t going to.”

“Don’t make me shoot you,” Kyle said, but the crack in his voice ruined all sense of intimidation he was going for.

“I’ll admit, you hold yourself properly,” Kristoff said with a nod. “You remind me a bit of our Ace, Rhimms. But I don’t see anything in those eyes that show me you’re going to pull the trigger.”

“What?”

“There’s no resolve. You’ve never actually had to shoot someone for real before, have you? You wave that around and that solves most of your problems, and when it doesn’t, you run. I about get that right?” Kyle held his tongue, not moving a muscle. “Thought so. Too bad for you.”

With that confirmation, Kristoff didn’t hesitate. He dashed forward a few steps, ducking to Kyle’s left and swinging his right arm upward. Kyle wasn’t fast enough to follow with his pistol, and the edge of the knife cut cleanly against the back of his hand. The impact redirected Kyle’s aim, and his hands seized up, pulling the trigger. There was a metallic clank as the airsoft pistol went off, and a soft puff of gas being emitted only a moment before Pete let out a cry.

Without losing any momentum, Kristoff brought his right arm down in a diagonal slash, cutting through Kyle’s left abdomen. From there, the Spade brought his fist up and around Kyle’s shoulder, landing it cleanly against his jaw and sending Kyle sprawling on his back. His head hit the sidewalk just outside of the alley, dazing him further.

Kyle barely held on to his pistol, and even less so his consciousness. He’d hardly had time to register what had happened before the pain began to set in, as well as the panic. I don’t wanna die again… not like this, at least!

He wasn’t the only one panicking, though.

“Help, Kristoff! I been hit! He got me neck!” 

Whereas Kyle suffered his injuries silently and in disbelief, Pete’s screams were near blood curdling.

Kristoff looked down upon Kyle for a moment before turning around and moving to help Pete. Meanwhile, Kyle held up his shaking left hand and watched the back of his white silk glove slowly turn a dark red. He opened and closed his hand multiple times, just to make sure he could still control it. Aww man, that looks like a lot of blood. And it’s sticky as heck too…

While Kyle came to grips with the injuries he’d just sustained, Kristoff loomed over Pete, who had propped himself sitting up against the truck. He was squinting in agony, looking up and to the right. “How bad is it? I felt it hit my neck, but I-I can’t, I don’t–”

“You’re fine, dumbass.”

“...Huh?”

“You’re not injured. Hell, I hardly heard the gun go off at all.”

“B-but I felt it! Clear as day, right here on the left of my neck…” Pete’s voice trailed off as he put a finger to where he’d felt the impact, expecting to find a flood of red but being met with clear skin. “Wait…”

He quickly sat up, patting his neck with his whole palm. Of course, there was nothing to feel for. That’s when he noticed a white bead sitting next to his foot that hadn’t been there before. “What in the–”

“Seems to me like it’s just a steam-powered pea-shooter.” Kristoff said, glaring at Kyle as he remained laying down. “Not sure what the purpose of it is if it can’t actually damage you, but–”

Just then, the roar of an open motor sounded from down the street. The noise revved up as it got closer, and a motorcycle with an attached side-car skidded to a stop just outside the alleyway’s entrance, several feet away from Kyle. He leaned his head back and saw someone wearing goggles atop the motorbike, their flowing black hair and maid outfit a bit out of place in this part of the city.

“Hey! What happened? I heard someone crying for help, and–” They pulled their goggles onto their head, but cut themselves short as they looked from Kyle to Kristoff. “Well darn… I mean, hello there, Kristy!”

Oh hey… she’s here? So that was her bike last time, huh? That’s pretty cool– Ow! Ugh, was my stomach hit too? Kyle reached down and felt just under his left ribcage. Pulling his shaking hand into view, he saw that his palm was now the same dark red as the back of his hand.

“I’d recognize that biker maid from a mile away,” the Spade said, twirling the knife between his fingers. “Long time no see, Brimworks. The family shop doing alright?”

“Hey!” Selena snapped. “You leave my family out of this, Kristoff, or do I need to remind your Insane Hat posse why they don’t get to roam the Shopping District so freely anymore?”

“Ha! Haha!” Kristoff guffawed, waving dismissively. “You think that’s all ‘cause of you? Don’t flatter yourself, girly. The Mad Hatters don’t worry about the small fry; we got bigger plans than harassing small time shop owners like the Chain-Pipe Gang does. But if an annoying bug comes along and starts being a nuisance, rest assured: we’ll have no problems squashing it.”

“Oy, that’s her!” Pete said, scrambling to his feet. “She’s the one that nicked our score last week!”

“You mean the one who outsmarted and outmaneuvered you and your dunce pals?” Kristoff mocked. There was a glint in his eyes as he sized up Selena. “I’m well aware of Selena’s reputation, Pete. We go back a bit.”

“Ugh, dangit…” Selena muttered, revving her engine. She looked down to Kyle, then back up at the gang members. “Can you move?” she whispered. It took Kyle a moment to register she was talking to him. When he was sure he could move his legs, he nodded slightly. 

“What’s that?” Kristoff asked, taking a couple steps forward. “Didn’t your parents teach you it’s impolite to speak under your breath? Oh wait! They’re not here anymore, are they?” He smirked, pointing his knife at her. “Shall I send you to join them? Not like you’re a maid with a master who would miss you either.”

Pete looked around and grabbed a piece of plywood lying around, ready to use it as a bat as he marched up to join the Spade.

“If you don’t wanna die there, get on!” Selena shouted. She reached over to the box sitting in the sidecar and pulled out a bottle, tossing it underhanded at Kristoff. It soared well overhead, but he backpedaled and reached up to catch it, disregarding how he knocked Pete down as he did so.

“Hey, what are you thinking? You trying to waste good liquor?”

“What are you doing, Spade? Get out of the way!”

“It’s on the house,” Selena said.

In the same moment as she’d tossed the bottle, Kyle rolled over on his stomach and put away his pistol. He scrambled to a crawl and just made it into the motorbike’s sidecar when Selena shifted the vehicle into motion, taking off down the street. The two gang members watched from the alleyway as the butler and maid duo faded from view.

“See what ya did? Ya just had to get involved, ya dumb bloke! And now they’re gone. What’ll Joker say if he hears about this little mess?”

Kristoff ignored Pete’s petty complaints as he reached down to pick up the bag with a box inside. That’s when he noticed something else had dropped to the floor during the tussle: an L-shaped plastic case with a metal canister inside. He had no idea what the words said, but he smirked nonetheless. “Oh don’t worry. I don’t think that’s the last we’ll see of those two.”