Chapter 11

Territory 5-234, Lackbaster, Long Continent.

6 years ago,

In a random storage room in the middle of the territory’s central town, a man hangs from a rope, bloodied and beaten, begging for mercy.

“GAAAH!”

He screams out after taking another hit to the ribs. Both he and the one beating on him clearly heard the break of his bones.

“PLEASE! Please stop! I beg you!”

The man hitting him sneers at his plea. He is someone we are familiar with. This man is Alex Spencer, the current leader of the Vault Ghosts. However, at this time, 6 years ago, he was an errand boy for a Conqueror by the name of Welsh Lackbaster.

He takes a shot of whisky from a small flask before turning back to the beaten man and saying,

“If you want me to stop hitting you, then tell me what you did with the money.”

“I … don’t know … what you’re talking about.”

“Tsk.” escapes his mouth as he clicks his teeth in frustration. “This is getting tiresome. Lord Lackbaster knows for a fact you stole his cash. Did you think half a million would go unoticed in this shit hole?”

“I … uh …”

“Don’t answer. It was rhetorical.” Alex grabs the man’s face aggressively and forcibly opens his mouth. “If you don’t agree to talk within the next ten seconds, I’m going to start yanging your teeth out of your mouth with my fingers.”

“Ah?” The beaten man’s eyes open wide in shock, fear and confusion. Ripping out teeth with one’s fingers is impossible.

“What?” Alex asks. “You don’t think I can do it?”

He then jams his fingers into the man’s mouth and grabs tight around one of his front teeth. He then begins to apply pressure, causing the man to scream out in pain.

“Gaaaah!”

He continues to scream louder as more strength is applied by Alex. Eventually, after 20 seconds or so, a loud snap rings out as the tooth breaks free from the man’s gums.

“AHHHHHH!”

Alex removes his hand as the man’s shrills in pain. He flicks the tooth in his palm away to disappear into the storage room’s content. Blood begins to flow from the man’s mouth as he writhes in agony.

“Now that I have proven capable of causing you pain with little difficulty, do you still doubt me when I say I’ll rip out all your teeth if need be?”

The man quickly shakes his head ‘no.’ He will no longer underestimate the person interrogating him.

“Good. Now, where’s the money, you bastard?”

***

After,

Having gotten the money’s location, Alex exits the storage room and is greeted by two tough looking men who were standing guard outside the door.

“Good work in there, boss. That didn’t take very long.”

Alex clicks his teeth and responds, “It took longer than I thought it would, though. He was stronger willed than most. Anyways, you two continue to stand guard here. I’ll go check the location he gave up and see if he was telling the truth.”

***

Later that night,

After leaving, true to his word, Alex eventually arrived at the given location and found the stolen money, which he promptly returned to Lackbaster.

At the end of the day, he split off from his two coworkers, the ones from earlier who were guarding the door, and found his way into his favorite bar. Upon entry, he slumped down at a bar stool and asked the tender to start a tab.

Now, after a few drinks, he stares down at the bar top with a solemn expression.

What am I doing right now? This type of thug work is not what I wanted to do with my life, not to mention taking orders from a scumbag conqueror like that. I left home to escape the suffocating rule of the Empire, only to wind up with a Supreme King hunting me down.

He pulls a scrap of paper from his pocket, unfolds it and looks at its contents. A chemical formula, one he cannot understand, wastes away in his pocket unused, day by day.

For someone like me to have a lucky break like this formula … I should have known better. To think I actually snuck into a lab run by Riverdale and stole this, only to find out I can’t understand a single thing written on it. And then he actually put a bounty out on me. I thought I might be safe if I escaped to this shitty continent, I guess not. Now I’m stuck doing Lackbaster’s dirty work to gain his protection.

He pushes his drink to his mouth and aggressively chugs it down, emptying the bottle in mere moments.

Maybe I’ll have my lucky break someday.

Just then, a shrewd, well dressed man sitting at the other end of the bar is suddenly approached by three thuggish looking men and a woman with a mean appearance, her face covered with multiple pieces of jewelry. Alex, knowing there will be a confrontation, perks his ears to listen, thinking it might be entertaining.

“Hey, look at this three-piecer,” the rough looking woman calls out. Alex, for a moment, questions what ‘three-piecer' is, but he quickly infers that she’s referring to his suit.

‘Right. Nice clothes are a rarity around here,’ he thinks to himself.

She continues as the three strong looking men surround him. “You look like your pretty fucking well off. How about sharing some of it.” She then leans in closer to his face and, with a menacing tone, says, “By the way, we work for Lord Lackbaster. What we say is law around here so cough up a wallet, bitch.”

Alex looks on at the situation with an indifferent expression, as he is figured out what their play is.

I know almost everyone who works under Lackbaster in town, and I’ve never seen them before. They must be using his name to intimidate people. After all, no one can go against Lackbaster while in the Territory nor can one disprove what they have said. It’s a smart play.

The well dressed man stares back at her glaring face with a composed attitude, but underneath this facade, he is thinking of killing them mercilessly.

I haven’t the patience for ruffians and societal parasites like these.

He then reaches slowly into his inner coat pocket where not only his wallet but his pistol is located. His finger grazes over the handle and he almost pulls it without hesitation.

However, I don’t know that they are lying. If I cause trouble with the authorities here, I’ll never be able to escape with my lacking ability.

He switches his grip from the pistol to the wallet located further in the pocket and pulls it out. He calmly hands it over to the women without a word.

“You’re a creepy one,” she tells him. “You didn’t put up any fight whatsoever.”

After she finishes criticizing him, her and the three thugs leave the bar without making any more fuss. The well dressed man’s reaction to his encounter is merely a sigh before he continues drinking as if nothing had happened.

Alex, finding him to be somewhat intriguing, moves down to the other end of the bar to talk to him.

“You know, they didn’t actually work for Lackbaster,” Alex says, attempting to start a conversation.

“I figured as much,” responds the well dressed man without looking up. “But it’s better safe than sorry. I would rather not take any chances. Besides, it doesn’t take much to deal with those of such low-level intellect.”

He takes a slip of his drink and continues to say “They told me to ‘cough up a wallet,’ but they never specified that they wanted money.”

Alex’s mouth curls into a smile as he asks, “Wait … did it not …”

Before he can say anymore, the well dressed man finally lifts his head to look at Alex for the first time and smirks.

“That's right. I’m flat broke. That wallet was completely empty but they didn’t seem to mind, or rather they were too moronic enough to check before leaving.”

Alex starts chuckling, but the chuckle soon turns into a loud, unfiltered laugh. His life being primarily devoid of such laughter, he suddenly finds himself baffled by how funny he thinks this is, however he doesn’t stop. Instead, the laughter becomes infectious and the well dressed man starts to mildly chuckle as well.

“Oh uh sorry sorry,” Alex apologizes after calming down a little. “I don’t know why I found that so hilarious. I’ve just never seen anyone so smug after just being robbed.”

“I have no reason to regret what just happened,” the other responds. “All they got was a cheap wallet and my business card.”

“Business card? So, you do have a job. Then why are you so broke?”

“In a wealthier Territory to the south, I was a humble doctor until I attracted the animosity of a Nobleman. I was falsely accused of malpractice and was ruined. After my wife left me with nothing but a failing practice, I decided to travel North, spending the last of my money recklessly. It just so happens I completely ran out the day before last.”

The well dressed man, after explaining far more than what Alex had expected, chugs down the last of his drink.

“Wait,” Alex says, “If you don’t have money, how are you going to pay for the drink?”

The well dressed man smirks again and proclaims, “I implore you not to tell the bartender this but, I am unable to. This is what I shall dub a ‘Drink and Dash.’ Pretty pathetic for a man of medicine.”

Alex starts laughing once again. As he does so, he begins thinking of the well dressed man’s current lifestyle.

Despite losing everything, he seems to be enjoying himself. This … is what I want. To live free of Territorial constraints and to worry only for where to go next without any consideration for others. No, I take it back. It would be even better with others. A group of people around me that I can just chill and be myself around, unconcerned for what the world wants from me. Ah, if only.

After he calms down, he looks at the well dressed man sincerely and asks him,

“Your the best laugh I’ve had in a while. I help you out. You can’t afford a motel, right? You can shack up at my place just for tonight. How about it Doctor?”

The well dressed man stares back at him with a surprised expression. However this surprise turns into gratefulness as he stands up and shakes Alex’s hand.

“Yes, I would appreciate it. Sorry to be a bother.”

“No bother. Like I said, you’re pretty entertaining, Doctor.”

“Oh please, I’m no Doctor anymore. Please, my name is Jarvis Bell.”

“The name’s Alex. Sorry if my sudden offer startled you.”

“Yes well … but a startling offer is far better than a dull one, no?”

***

After finishing his drink, Alex leads Jarvis back to his penthouse, the most expensive one in the Territory. Being the most reliable yes-man for Lackbaster, Alex is granted certain privileges that most do not receive.

However, despite this treatment, Alex still lives an empty and shallow life with no real companions or freedom to speak of, which accentuates how strange it feels to have a guest in his home.

After they arrive, he shows Jarvis the living room couch where he would be letting him stay.

“The floor would be more than adequate,” Jarvis responds.

“That’s just stupid. Why would you do that to yourself when there is a couch right here?”

“I see. Well then, I will continue to accept your hospitality.”

Jarvis then removes his suit jacket and neatly folds it over his arm as he sits down on the couch. In contrast, Alex throws his jacket onto the floor carelessly and walks to his kitchen to grab a glass of water. While he does so, Jarvis decides to ask him a question.

“This place is far nicer than the others into town. Not even I owned such a home when I lived with my ex-wife. If I may, what is it you do?”

Alex takes a sip of the water he just poured and answers, “Me? I’m just a henchman who happened to catch the boss’s favor. He values my strength, I guess.”

“Your strength? Might you be an Awakened?”

“A damn strong one at that. I might even be the strongest in the Territory.”

“I see. You’ve done quite well for yourself then.”

To his comment, Alex becomes uncomfortably silent, which does not slip under the eye of Jarvis.

“You are not fond of your life?”

Alex’s eyes widen slightly, surprised that Jarvis picked up on his inner thoughts.

“Was I that transparent?”Alex asks.

“Not exactly,” Jarvis answers. “I just know the look of a man who has everything yet nothing to live for. I saw it many times in my patients, and recently in myself. Though I lost so much, I could have opened up practice in another Territory, but I did not. The routine life I used to enjoy so much would feel like nothing but a curse now.”

These words strike a cord within Alex and he begins to once again contemplate a life removed from the experiences of most. As he does so, Jarvis unintentionally pushes this thought process even further.

“Alex, though this might sound like the intrusive, hypocritical babble of a stranger, if you do not like your life, then change it. Unlike me, you have the power to shape your life the way you want. There are a number of ways to utilize Awakened strength besides being a thug.”

This sparks a train of thought never before seen in his mind. Instead of contemplating how nice his ideal life would be, he is now thinking of how he could achieve it. Jarvis and himself talk for hours on end about this subject matter, and eventually he becomes convinced that his ideal life is not so far out of his reach.

My ideal life has always been removed from those who want to control me for my strength or punish me for my past mistakes. Fuck Lackbaster and fuck Riverdale. I don’t want to keep living under the thumb of others, shaping my life to their whims. It’s just as this man said. If I have the power to craft my life the way I want to, then I should.

First, quit this gig I have going now. Second, find those with similar ideals as mine and three, make enough money somehow that we wouldn’t have to subject ourselves to anyone ever again.

After talking for so long, Alex suddenly stiffens his shoulders and presents a serious face to Jarvis.

“Listen, I’m not an intelligent guy at all, so there is no way I could do this on my own. How about you come with me. You be the brains and I’ll be the muscle. We could then travel and do whatever we wanted. How about it?”

Jarvis stares back in surprise once more. “That’s quite the offer, are you positive? Though we have been sharing, we don’t really know that much about each other besides our pasts. There’s more to people than their hardships, and it is not certain that we shall get along in the future. Knowing this, are you positive you want to offer this chance to me?”

Alex, unexpectedly, chuckles and says, “Eh? What’s the worst that could happen? We go our own separate ways? We kill each other? Who cares? I’m offering this because I don’t have much to lose to start with. Besides, if you help me, I know a way we can make money real fast and high tail it out of here before they can catch us, but you gotta agree to my offer first.”

Jarvis’s eyes widened, amazed at the causal manner in which such an offer was proposed to him. He rubs the back of his head for a moment before answering.

“Well, I have nothing but free time on my hands, so sure. I will agree to your terms. But I must warn you, though I haven’t a problem with violence, I’m not an Awakened so I will be utterly useless in a fight.”

“All good. I’ll just think of a way to do this without fighting … what are you looking at?”

He notices Jarvis staring at a piece of paper which resides next to his jacket on the floor. Jarvis then picks up this paper and unfolds it, looking at its contents.

“A chemical formula? A complex one at that.”

Alex shakes his head. “Oh that? Yeah, I stole it a few years ago, but I don’t have a clue about what it means. All I was told is that it’s pretty important. I mean, I have a bounty on me thanks to that piece of paper.”

Jarvis squints his eyes and he stares at it. “This … is incredible. This could … no wait …”

Alex watches him pace back and forth, mutter to himself about the formula, spounting terms his poor brain could possibly comprehend. But then, he furrows his eyebrows as a thought strikes him.

“W-wait. Jarvis, you can understand that formula?”

“Partially. This is a type of serum that could strengthen Awakened people. I’ve seen it used a few times to aid in healing, but this formula is a far more complex version of the serum I’ve witnessed. There are unknown substances used which I haven’t the knowledge of.”

“But you can understand it partially?!”

“Y-yes.”

Alex’s eyes light up, as if he just made the best and most important decision of his life. He walks over and grabs Jarvis by the shoulder with excited eyes.

“Jarvis, I think you might be a better partner for me than I thought.”

“I-I see.”

Alex clenches his fist ecstatically as a smile breaks out across his face.

I know that formula is important enough to kill for, which means it’ll probably give a crazy power boost. With this, I won’t have to live a tired existence. I’ll live the fun, risky life with no one to tell me no. That’s right. Risks come with reward. It’s no wonder I haven’t had a rewarding life.

From now on, I’ll live for myself and anyone who wants to join me, and I’ll get rid of anyone who gets in the way of that, no matter who they are.

“Well, until you can figure out how to make that serum,”Alex says, “we’ll just do things regularly. Since you can’t fight, we’ll try to avoid that.”

Jarvis gratefully nods his head and thanks him in return.

“Ok then,” Alex continues, “here’s the plan.”

***

Afterwards, Alex and Jarvis managed to steal close to 3 million dollars from multiple, rivaling parties within the Territory. While doing so, they intentionally sparked a war between Lackbaster and his bitter enemies, creating the perfect distraction for them to slip away quietly.

From then on, the two grew to be good friends as they traveled for over two years by themselves, pulling small jobs and causing havoc in various Territories in order to continue living comfortably. Only after these two years did they eventually encounter the next member of their group.