~Notes~
The next chapter after this one will introduce the winner. Get your submissions in before then to get a late consideration!

Episode 4 The Return of the Paradox

Ryuu doubles over, panting, leaning against a large boulder on the valley floor. “That takes care of the caps and teeth,” he mutters. Ryuu takes a quick look at both of his hands, which are blackened with soot. “I’m not used to attacking the monsters directly like this.”

“Well all that we need to do now is to locate that Dragon Paradox,” Ivy replies. “Then we can finish gathering the materials for Ryuu’s new weapon!”

“Yeah, but we still don’t know where we’ll find one…” Kunai mutters, “We don’t even know where to start!”

“It probably might be a good idea for us to head into town first,” Ayame adds, walking backwards to sit on the boulder next to Ryuu. She suddenly trips, and lands on her butt on the ground.

Both Ryuu and Kunai stare in an awkward silence while Ivy leans forward to help her sister up. “Oops! Heh, heh…” Ayame mutters, rubbing her butt.

“Yes, well…” Ryuu mumbles, “What town did you have in mind, Ayame? We’ve no idea where we are or where we’re headed.”

“Well,” Ayame replies, “Redley mentioned this Skylark City. By the way he mentioned it, I doubt it’s very far from here. We could probably head there and see if there’s any news of a Dragon Paradox roaming around.”

“Good idea,” Kunai answers, “We could probably get a pretty good idea where to look if we head there.”

A great whirl of wind suddenly stirs in the undisturbed silence of the night, as a great hulking black shape flies past the drifting clouds overhead, momentarily eclipsing the moon and drowning the land in darkness.

With a strange, mournful cry, the shape then disappears, leaving the land in peaceful tranquility again, allowing the moon to shed its weak light over the bent valleys.

“What the hell was that?” Kunai cries out loud, looking up into the empty sky, searching for a trace of the monster in the air.

“I’m not sure,” Ryuu replies, “But I have a hunch. Let’s head into town first.”

Kunai, Ryuu, Ayame, and Ivy all step up at once to an archway, built upon a small dais. Standing on either side of the archway are two guards, each wearing a black cloak uniform, armed with a stun gun.

Behind the archway is a highly modernized city, with tall skyscrapers rising up high into the air, each tiny window in the depths of the tower lit with a faint yellow glow. The roads are paved neatly with tar, and several cars drive by nightclubs lit with music and light.

Kunai turns and reads a sign over the archway: Welcome to Skylark City. Population: 102,346. “Hm…so this is Skylark City, huh? Pretty extravagant looking place.”

“Halt!” the guards cry as the four of them approach.

Kunai stops in puzzlement, staring from one guard to the other. “Um…hi, is something the matter?”

“This city is currently on Twenty-Four Hour Paradox Watch. Only citizens with a Residence Card may enter the depths of this city. Until then, visitors must pass a screener test for admittance. However, you are restricted to roaming only the Downtown District,” the guard on the right cries.

“I see,” Ryuu growls, “So it seems like this city takes their Paradox attacks seriously. Fine, we’re not residents of this city, so we’ll take the test.”

Kunai rubs his arm, where a cotton ball has been taped to. “Boy, these guys take their security pretty seriously, don’t they? Making us take a ID, DNA, and blood test all at once…”

“I suppose the DNA test was to make sure we were actually human,” Ayame replies, “And not Paradoxes disguised as humans.”

Ivy suddenly sighs and collapses onto the ground on her knees. Kunai lunges forward in surprise and grabs her by the shoulders before she slumps to the ground. “Ivy! You all right?”

Ayame bends over Ivy and flicks open her closed eyelids, examining them for a moment. “Hm…it seems she’s just worn out. As far as I can tell, it’s nothing serious. We should think about finding somewhere to stay and rest first.”

“Are you sure we’ve got the luxury of resting? Every little bit of time we have is important,” Ryuu replies.

“I don’t think we’ve got a choice, Ryuu,” Ayame replies seriously, “We’re all pretty fatigued from everything that’s happened in the last twenty-four hours or so. Even if we find the Dragon Paradox now, we don’t have the strength to fight it.”

“I suppose it can’t be helped then,” Ryuu growls.

The four of them resume walking down the dark streets, peering interestedly at each business they pass by. Eventually, the buildings begin growing taller and taller, until they are walking in the midst of a forest of skyscrapers.

Ryuu suddenly stops at the front door of one of these towers. “A hotel?” he mutters, peering into the depths of the brightly lit lobby inside.

The four of them step into the cool, air-conditioned lobby, gawking at their surroundings as Ryuu leads them to the front desk.

Kunai stares stupidly from side to side, his mouth slightly opened as he takes in his exotic surroundings. “Wow…I’ve never seen such high-tech stuff before! The Night World must be so much more advanced than Victoria Island.”

“Close your mouth, Kunai,” Ayame mutters behind him, “We want to keep a low profile. Don’t reveal to anyone that you’re not from the Night World.”

Ryuu stops as he reaches the front desk, and speaks to the clerk behind it. “Yeah, can I get a room for the four of us?”

The clerk nods, as she begins typing in her computer. “Okay. We’ve got several rooms available. Please tell me your names, so that I may enter them into the database.”

“Ryuu,” Ryuu growls, “and these three are Kunai, Ayame, and Ivy.”

“Okay, that’ll be 2000 Credits,” the clerk replies.

“Er…credits?” Ryuu mumbles awkwardly. He glances over to Ayame and Kunai behind him.

‘Damn, we don’t have their currency…I guess asking if they accept mesos is a no,’ Kunai thinks to himself.

Ryuu quickly draws Kunai, Ayame, and Ivy away, turning to them momentarily. “We don’t have any ‘credits,’” Ryuu mutters. “What are we going to do?”

Kunai shrugs. He turns back to the clerk. “Uh, we don’t have any money…can we work it off?”

Ryuu turns to Kuna, staring at him lamely. “Anybody could’ve done that…”

The clerk shrugs. “You don’t have any credits? I see…would you happen to be Paradox Hunters? We give free discounts to any Hunters who show up at our hotel.”

“Um…no, we’re not,” Kunai mutters.

Ryuu grinds his teeth irritably, stamping Kunai’s foot harshly. “Shut up, you moron! I’ll do the talking from now on,” he growls into Kunai’s ear.

Ryuu turns back to the girl at the desk. “Let me rephrase that…we’re not Hunters, but we’re interested in signing up as Paradox Hunters.”

“Okay! I’ll just need you to fill out some paperwork…” the clerk replies.

She hands Ryuu a pen and several lengthy-looking sheets of paper. Ryuu reluctantly takes the sheets and glances through them. “Ugh…paperwork…”

A ranger suddenly passes by, and peers over curiously at the four of them. He abruptly shouts out loud as he catches a glimpse of Ryuu. “Whoa! It’s the famous actor, Apple!”

Ryuu turns to the ranger, blinking in confusion. Suddenly a vein pops in his forehead. “WHO ARE YOU CALLING AN APPLE?!”

“Huh? Aren’t you that famous actor, commonly known as Apple?” the ranger inquires, his knees shaking slightly in Ryuu’s rage.

“Apple?” Kunai blinks. “What kind of actor calls themselves Apple?”

“Oh, so you’re not Apple?” the ranger asks Ryuu. “Shame…I’m his biggest fan.”

“No,” Ryuu replies, as he finishes filling out the forms by inputting his signature with a flourish. He hands the forms back to the hotel clerk. “We’re Paradox Hunters.”

“Paradox Hunters, eh?” the ranger replies. He smiles suddenly, and stretches his hand outwards to shake Ryuu’s. “Same here. My name’s Devon.”

Ryuu suddenly starts in surprise, as he stares into Devon’s eyes. “Your…your right eye…”

Devon places a hand up to his right eye, chuckling slightly. “Haha, so you noticed, huh? I’ve never had anyone realize that I was a Hybrid so quickly before. Yeah, I’ve been attacked by a Paradox once before. I’m a Ranger and Fire Mage Hybrid.”

“Wait, so you’re a Paradox Hunter too?” Kunai asks, stepping forth. “Would you happen to know anything about a Dragon Paradox in this area? I’m Kunai, by the way.”

“And I’m Ivy,” Ivy adds.

“Ayame,” Ayame concludes.

“Nice to meet you all,” Devon smiles, turning to each person in turn as they introduce themselves. “A Dragon Paradox, you ask? Yeah…of course, that’s why Skylark’s on a twenty-four hour watch. It’s a pretty popular bounty right now, just about every Hunter in town’s after it.”

“And you?” Ryuu growls.

“No different for me. I’m after that Paradox myself. There’s a pretty hefty reward for its head,” Devon replies. “So if you guys are getting any ideas…forget about it, that Paradox is mine.”

“I see,” Ryuu replies, “So Paradox Hunting is a pretty competitive business.”

“No kidding,” Devon retorts, “There are some pretty vicious Hunters as well, out there. They’d do anything to get their kill.”

“Well, can you at least tell us if the Dragon Paradox is around these parts?” Kunai asks.

“The Dragon Paradox is currently circling around this area,” Devon answers, “It shows up when it wants to, and it’s a pretty vicious one at that. You rookie Hunters are better off sticking to Paradoxes with maybe fifty, hundred credits on its head.”

“No,” Ryuu growls, “We need its claw to make a weapon with Redley. There’s no way at all that we’re letting it go without a fight.”

“I see,” Devon replies, “Well then, I guess I can’t stop your intentions. Don’t say I didn’t warn you, though! You’ll find that a lot of Hunters are after this particular Paradox, so don’t even think about letting your guard down!” Devon suddenly draws an arrow and strings his Asianic Bow with it. The arrow catches fire suddenly, as he holds it in place.

“Heh,” Ryuu growls, grinning maniacally, “I think maybe you’re the one that’s underestimating me.” He holds up his hand, and creates a whirling charged ball of blue, red, and yellow. “I’m no pushover.”

The five of them, Kunai, Ryuu, Ayame, Ivy, and Devon, turn as loud screaming suddenly pierces the previously quiet night scene outside. The moonlight outside flickers for a moment as something large eclipses the moon.

“Paradox!” Ryuu and Devon cry as one.

Next Time: Episode 5 The Three Hunters, The Lone Hunter, and The Hunted

Ryuu: Competitive indeed. There’s a lot of Paradox Hunters here.

Kunai: Let’s get this Paradox!

Ayame: It won’t be easy. We’ve got trouble other than the Paradox!

Episode 5 The Three Hunters, The Lone Hunter, and The Hunted coming soon!