Tch. The werewolf got him. He’ll probably die. Whatever. My business is with Captain L’Arc. I need to know Dr. West’s whereabouts and get my situation fixed as soon as possible. 

I point my gun at the captain, demanding an answer from him, “Why the hell do you have a werewolf?” Blood spews out of my hostage along with the ringing of distant gunfire. The captain, unmoved by all this, explains, “I was tasked with capturing a rogue Red Wolf duo. Turns out, I bit off more than I can chew with the situation.” He continues, “Heh. Despite my intentions to turn you all over for profit, it looks like the 4 of you are gonna be the end of me.”

Amusing, however, I need him alive. A dead man can’t speak unless you’ve got yourself a mad scientist. A mad scientist is what I’m looking for. L’Arc speaks of this Red Wolf duo, and with the werewolf dealing with the long curly-haired man, which leaves me with the red hood…

Dropping my deceased hostage, I tackle the captain as the ongoing gunfire resumes. Many members of this ship scream in pain from being tagged with bullets. Plenty of meatshields for me to use to protect the captain and myself. “I know you’re already accepting death, Mr. Captain, but I need you alive,” I shout over from the rain of bullets clamoring through the furniture on this deck. “As if you’d make it out of this room alive, reanimated corpse. I’ve heard more tales of this red hood taking on armies than any of your exploits of robbing or harassing village people,” the captain confidently insults me.

I snatch the pistol from the man’s holster, “I’m taking this cause you’re being an asshole.” L’Arc clings to his cigar, remaining silent as if he didn’t want to acknowledge me. Typical. 

The ship rumbles with what I presume to be the werewolf tearing apart the man I saw earlier alongside this ship. I drop to the corner for cover as the captain follows. I witness many passersby get shot down. These fresh skins are dropping too quickly for them to be useful to me. I snap my fingers and call the people cowering behind cover, “Hold on, people! I know how we can all get out alive, but you're gonna have to trust me. We’re gonna run at the same time; however, I will volunteer myself to take the heat.”

“Like hell you are, I know who you are. You’re the Necromized who got my friends killed. We’re not gonna listen to you at all,” a woman in formal blue wear chimes in. “And who are you-? Never mind that, do you have any better ideas?” I blurt out in frustration. “I’m Second-In-Command En. There are alternative exits across from each other,” The lady introduces herself.  “If Ms. Sable and I take the middle and confront the shooter, then the rest of you should spread out to take the other doors. This includes you, Captain L’Arc,” she continues. Drawing his cigar, the captain lets out a “sure.”

Seeing how En called my bullshit, I go with her as we start blasting with our guns, bringing attention to our dear shooter. The rest split as told. I glance over at the captain before I dive behind a box. Taking cover across from me, the lady asks, “Did you see where that red hood was firing from?” “No,” I admit. “Great. You're either lying or you're as clueless as I am. You're a typhoon of trouble, I realize,” En snarks. She then points at a slightly shattered mirror as if prompting me to use it.

I glance at it briefly before stumbling across a vile reflection. This thing stares back at me with its gross and lanky body. I fire at it before her lips depart. En curses under her breath before a rainstorm of bullets floods the floors, breaking past the box I’ve taken residence in. I kick the box forward before one of my guns gets shot out of my hand. Despite everything, I see her. I finally see that damn red hood shooter. 

We both point our guns at each other before the ship shakes like before, making both of us miss. The red hood falls back, leaving an opportunity to run the hell away. En sees me rush off elsewhere, probably disappointed in my self-preservation. I never looked back, hearing even more gunfire as I ram through multiple doors.

I see the captain, slapping the cigar from his mouth now that he’s alone. He probably led his crewmates elsewhere. “Tell me where the fuck is Dr. West,” I frantically yell over at him. “Where’s En?” he dismissively asks. “No! You better answer my question first, you old bastard,” I retort as I aim my gun at his stupid face. “Perhaps I’ll tell you when I’m completely safe,” the captain responds nonchalantly. “Fine! Whatever! At least help me deal with that crazy lady first,” I angrily respond.

“I don’t think I have much that I can do- what are you doing?” The silver-haired man tries to brush me off as I begin pulling out whatever from his pockets. Business cards. Cigars. Lighter. Keys. Maps. His wallet (I’m keeping this). I eventually grab a case full of silver bullets. Useful for the werewolf but not for the red hood. 

The captain, annoyed with me mugging him, comments, “You really just want an excuse to take my belongings, huh?” “Shush, what is this? Yours?” I ask him as I point at the heart-shaped pocket watch. “Confiscated from the red hood. The werewolf had something similar,” L’Arc answers. I open it up to look at a framed picture of a blonde woman posing with a disgruntled bald man. They are both in much more casual wear than I would expect military officials to be. 

I see her, again, my dark reflection. She stares back with a stupid grin on her face. “How romantic… This could be you and Adam,” this vile beast taunts me before I slam the trinket into the ground. "What, did it hurt your feelings?” L’Arc mockingly asks. “She did, and she looked ugly,” I respond. “You ain’t a looker either,” he remarks. I try to ignore his comment.

“I’m going werewolf hunting if you don’t mind me,” I say out loud as I load up the silver bullets in the chamber. “This ship could crash any moment, and you want to go after the brute? Let the vampire handle him while we run.” L’Arc comments. “Come on, I want to ruin that red’s day,” I remark. 

I rush through the rooms, dragging the captain with me as I listen intently to the rumblings of the floor below us. “This is suicidal even for a corpse,” L’Arc claims. “Shush, we’re getting close to it,” I assert after hearing something break below us. Two blurs rise from the ground below me, with the cloaked man grabbing the large bipedal monster by the neck. At an instant, the two break off and clash as the furniture around them gets ripped apart. It’s a whirlwind of destruction around them, and I don’t dare get within its range. 

L’Arc smugly comments, “I told you. It’s suicidal.” It pisses me off. To see others who can easily rip this ship like nothing, as I stand there like a fucking idiot. I don’t have the power to break through walls, let alone whatever is going on here. If only I could have it for myself to wield and unleash hell on this damned world. I spray 3 bullets, hoping to hit the werewolf.

“Can you please wait before I get him to hold still?” the vampire exclaims in a tired tone right after one of my bullets hits him instead of the werewolf, leading him to pin the monster to the ground. The behemoth slashes the man’s arm, briefly freeing himself. However, it’s still enough for me to take action and riddle him with silver bullets. The first shot immediately puts the werewolf back into his bald humanoid form as his smaller body takes the rest of my assault before his wolf spirit can fight back. I stop after hearing the clicking of my gun.

“Can anyone tell me why the man turned into a full werewolf at broad daylight?” The vampire asks as if he’s not covered in blood and limping. L’Arc educates the man as if he’s at grade school, “Well, you see that was one half of a rogue Red Wolf duo. Typically, the red hood can trigger a full transformation in times like these.” As this goes on, I start reloading as I prepare for what’s to come.

I hear distressed screaming from across the corridors, visible through the broken wall. I know what I have to do as I see her. We both take our shots. Her target, L'Arc, survives with the vampire protecting him. She, on the other hand, didn’t have anyone to protect her. She lies there in a puddle of her own blood. I do wonder what happened to that En lady. I assume she died fighting off the red hood. A fine sacrifice. I guess. 

Now that everything “calms down”, I take the opportunity to rest briefly. I take a look at the vampire who is covered in blood. He’s got these long black curls that hug his face and a blank expression. I swear he’s wearing a white captain’s uniform, but the splatters of blood make it hard to tell. His skin is darker than what I’d expected from a vampire, making me previously think he was merely human. 

I ask the vampire, “So why did you decide to protect the captain of this ship? Not that I’m complaining.” “I assume he knows about Dr. West,” he answers. The vampire mutters, "I can't reach my crew. The ship's interference or-.” “Then we take the pod," I cut him off. "Can't you fly or jump good?" I later add. “I can’t jump good right now. Werewolf slash wounds weaken me,” he responds. 

I sigh as I further ask, “Fine, but can’t you drink blood from these two or something?” For the first time, I see a bit of emotion from this guy as he acts disgusted by the suggestion, “No. That’s… gross.” “Fine, let’s get going, uh… whatever your name is,” I hurriedly run over to wherever that escape pod is located. “Star. Yours?” the vampire says concisely. “Sable,” I answer back. 

We drag L’Arc through the corridors as the ship shakes around us. The metal screeches like hell as we maintain our balance. We witness the chaos that is the escape pod room, filled with people fighting over the few remaining pods. Star walks over and casually yanks a door, ripping it from its metal hinges. “Get in”, he says flatly.

L’Arc gets in first, muttering about his dumb ruined ship. I follow. The vampire squeezes in with us. The space is so cramped. I prefer some personal space, but there aren't many options. “Where are we even going?” I ask impatiently.

“Anywhere but here,” Star presses a button, launching us out of here. We’re sent away from the crashing airship. L’Arc attempts to scold the vampire for not even looking at where he’s pressing before moving on to other miscellaneous crap I don’t care about. I’m not sure what the vampire’s deal is with Dr. West, but I’m hoping it’s nothing that’ll get me killed.