The Cumulus Gang Strikes

Ged awoke at dawn feeling refreshed in his makeshift bed.

Stretching his stiff limbs, he began the morning by checking on the status of his Eagle Spawn.

As soon as he opened the cave door, the scratching noises and putrid stench of the volcano Eagle Spawn assaulted his senses, forcing him to squint.

Most of the Eagle Spawn hadn't slept. Those with eyes stared out with bloodshot, frenzied gazes.

Two of his three creations had adapted somewhat to their grotesque forms. They thrashed wildly against the walls, bashing their heads and limbs until chunks of stone broke free. The creatures devoured the debris with manic urgency, carving the cave further and further outward.

Ged smiled faintly. His creations seemed to be rebelling against the planet's constraints just as he had hoped.

But his satisfaction faded when he turned to the third creature. It remained stuck in endless circles, its movements clumsy and aimless.

Ged frowned. Picking up a few insect limbs left over from the previous night's spelunking, he methodically grafted them onto the creature. Despite its new appendages, the spinning continued.

The relentless circling of the night before seemed to have ruined its sense of direction.

Ged's eyes narrowed. "Maybe you just need time to adjust..."

He sighed. "I'll give you a few days, but if you don't start pulling your weight, don't expect any mercy."

The creature, of course, couldn't understand. Oblivious, it continued its endless rotation, defying Ged's words without meaning to.

With a dismissive shake of his head, Ged turned and exited the cave, making his way to Trevor's bedroom.

He narrowed his eyes at the sight before him.

The bed was empty. Trevor was slumped in the lounge chair in the living room, dark circles framing his eyes and stone earplugs protruding from his ears. He hadn't moved from the spot Ged had last seen him, his exhaustion unmistakable.

"Boss... I can't do it," Trevor muttered wearily. "I need more sleep. I know you told me not to come in late again, but you have to understand."

Ged massaged his temple. Though reluctant, he knew he shared some blame for Trevor's sleepless state. While Ged had no trouble sleeping through the constant movements of the Eagle Spawn, Trevor seemed to be far more affected.

Remembering the slow pace of the previous day as well his own limitations of his Arrest Tattoo, he decided Trevor's absence could be tolerated.

"Alright, I get it," Ged replied finally. "Go get some sleep. Fitch and I can cover for you today."

Trevor blinked in disbelief. "Boss, you're a lifesaver. If you asked me to, I'd throw myself off a cliff for you."

Ged sneered faintly. "I'll take you at your word."

With that, Ged left Trevor's home and headed to work. If he needed Trevor, he could always wake him later.

Not wanting to risk being spotted by Equalizers on the surface, Ged traveled through underground tunnels carved with "Digging Hands." Optimizing the heat in his core, he alternated between surfacing for a few hundred meters and retreating back underground.

When Ged arrived at the drug den, he found it empty. Fitch was either still asleep or on his way.

Setting up for the day, Ged glanced around the cave room, his eyes lingering on the walk-in fridge as he double-checked the lock.

"Something feels off," he muttered.

Everything appeared to be in place, but Ged couldn't shake his sense of unease. As he stared at the workplace objects, it felt as though the faintest current of air had passed through the room, tilting items ever so slightly but leaving them undisturbed.

Opening the walk-in fridge, Ged meticulously counted every ingredient stored inside.

Only then did his tension ease. "Maybe I'm overthinking things," he muttered as he set up the workbench, methodically cleaning the bowls and vials with a thin cloth.

Fitch arrived soon after, and the morning continued as usual. Ged went to check the transmitters while Fitch manned the workbench. Like the day before, things were slow, and Trevor's absence didn't pose much difficulty.

As the day wore on, Ged's unease began to fade. With only one order during the first half of the morning, he decided to send Fitch home early, unwilling to pay for unnecessary labor.

It was nearing his scheduled meeting with Gore when, on his fifth round of checking the transmitters, Ged received a curious request.

Barry had finally placed his order.

"I want ten kilograms of Frog Tongue Powder." An image of Barry appeared on the screen, his sheepish expression causing Ged to frown.

"So much," Ged muttered, his voice tinged with disbelief. That was nearly his entire supply.

The batch he had prepared was nowhere close to the amount Barry was asking for.

After replying with a resonant coordinate and a pickup time, Ged hurried back to the drug den to prepare the order. Without Fitch to assist, the tedious task fell entirely on him. Completing the batch and making it to Gore's meeting on time would be a tight fit.

At the drop-off point, Ged crouched between two jagged rocks, his eyes fixed on Barry's approach. Barry hurried toward the hidden suitcase, glancing over his shoulder constantly as though expecting someone to appear behind him.

"This day has been too strange," Ged muttered, a sense of unease creeping over him. It clung to him like the sensation of bugs skittering across his skin, a sensation impossible to ignore.

Barry grabbed the suitcase, left the payment behind, and disappeared with a sheepish smile. "Don't forget to come to the party!" he called out, giving Ged a playful wink.

Ged remained motionless, his body tense, refusing to respond. The world around him felt unnervingly still.

"Nothing?" he muttered, letting his muscles relax ever so slightly.

Suddenly, the ground beneath Ged's feet trembled. A bird-like beak erupted from the earth, snapping its jaws in a vicious attempt to crush him.

Sensing the danger, Ged activated "Grapple," pulling himself to safety just as the beak slammed shut with ferocious intent, narrowly missing him. He landed a few meters away, narrowing his eyes as a bald figure emerged from the ground. The man's cloud-shaped tattoos glistened in the light, his face twisted with hatred.

"Cumulus Gang," Ged muttered, his voice low and sharp.

Without hesitation, Ged sprang into action. A stalactite knife extended from his forearm as he lunged forward, aiming to strike before the man could fully recover. But the enemy was ready. Pulling a glaive from his traps, the man swung wildly, forcing Ged to adjust mid-attack.

Pivoting with "Goat Walk," Ged sidestepped the glaive with precision, positioning himself for a direct strike at the man's forehead. Just as he moved in for the kill, he noticed movement from the corner of his eye. A second Cumulus Gang member emerged from the ground, forcing Ged to abandon his attack. Activating "Grapple" again, he launched himself back to his originally set Peg, avoiding the ambush.

"So Barry was working with these scumbags," Ged sneered. "That bastard has a lot of explaining to do."

The odds weren't in his favor. Ged took a solemn moment to assess his situation but didn't hesitate.

He struck first.

Resetting his Peg, Ged launched himself at the second gang member, his stalactite knife aimed for a decisive strike. The first Cumulus Gang member swung his glaive in defense, while the second's legs transformed into a wave of water, flowing out of Ged's reach.

Clank.

Ged barely managed to parry the glaive's blow with his second knife from his other forearm. His attack thwarted, he quickly adjusted his stance, only to see the wave-legged gang member's body twist open. A bird-like beak erupted from the chest cavity, lunging toward Ged with deadly precision.

Ged grappled back to his Peg with a frustrated frown. "My lack of range is putting me at a disadvantage. I need to change my approach."

After several Grapples, the Cumulus Gang members were beginning to understand the mechanics of Peg and Grapple. As Ged retreated, the two men quickly pursued, intent on ending the fight decisively.

For the first time, Ged found himself on the defensive.

The glaive and bird-like beak of the two men closed in with ferocious intent. His Peg was set in an awkward position, and he didn't have time to set another. Outranged by both their attacks, momentum alone couldn't save him from his disastrous position.

With no other options, Ged gritted his teeth and swiftly severed his arm with a dagger. Blood poured from his shoulder as he hurled the dagger with deadly precision at the glaive-wielding gangster, forcing him to deflect the attack. Ged then grabbed his disembodied arm that was still clutching the second dagger and brandished it like a sword. Now outranging the wave-legged gangster, he swung the arm down with a violent crash.

The man staggered back, a sharp rocky knife sticking out of his head, before collapsing to the ground dead.

The glaive-wielding gang member frowned at the sight of his fallen ally. With a hateful glare, he yanked the stalactite knife from his shoulder and turned his attention back to Ged.

Determined not to be pushed onto the defensive again, Ged moved quickly to the fallen gang member and retrieved his weapon. Using Peg and Grapple for a burst of speed, he overwhelmed the remaining gang member with a relentless barrage of furious strikes.

Constantly forced onto the back foot and feeling the pressure of Ged's assault, the man pulled a golden coin from his abs and threw it to the ground.

Upon contact, the coin expanded into a golden rubber ball. The sudden burst of kinetic energy knocked both Ged and the gang member backward, creating a sizable gap between them.

Seizing the opportunity, the gang member fled with incredible speed.

Ged gave chase momentarily, but with his core energy running low and the risk of encountering more threats due to his active Arrest Tattoo, he was forced to stop. He watched the gangster's retreat with a ghastly expression.

"Coward!" he shouted after him.

But his yell did nothing to slow the man's escape. After a brief moment, Ged turned his attention back to retrieve his severed arm.

Using a heated massage, he reattached it to his shoulder. While it would take a couple of days before it was fully functional, the immediate danger had passed.

After retrieving his second knife and storing it away, Ged turned his attention to looting the body of the gang member he had killed.

Unfortunately, due to the presence of the Eagle Tattoo, the body sorcerer's mass was unusable to Ged. His flesh and blood was as toxic as the Planet itself.

However, the same wasn't true for the items stored in his abs.

Using his knife, Ged cut open the gangster's abdomen, carefully inspecting the spoils of the conflict.

Inside, he found two gold coins, identical to the one used by the other body sorcerer for escape, 5 kilograms of stone, a few stacks of Blue Water, and a strange red napkin.

Ged held the red napkin in his hands, uncertain of its origin. He tried channeling his core heat into it, but nothing happened.

"What is this?" Ged muttered, furrowing his brow. Unable to determine its purpose, he stored it away, resolving to find the answer from someone else.

After collecting the rest of the haul, Ged left the gang member's body behind, knowing it would eventually be reabsorbed into the Planet.

He was already long past the time he was supposed to meet with Gore. But with a nonfunctional hand and his core energy depleted, the idea didn't exactly appeal to him.

Deciding to clean up a few things first, he resolved to delay their meeting a little longer.

Returning to the drug den, his strides were labored, the taxing battle having taken a toll on his body.

However, when he drilled into the den below, he was met with a sight that made his blood run cold.

The den was completely ransacked. The workbench was split in half, and the bowls and vials lay shattered into shards. Ged's anger boiled to a crescendo as his gaze fell on what had become of the walk-in fridge.

A massive hole had been dug into the wall. Unable to unlock it, whoever had been here had taken the entire fridge.

Ged's rage simmered as his sharp eyes scanned the room. "So it's all gone?" he muttered coldly.

A dry chuckle escaped his lips.

"Trying to kill me is one thing," Ged said, slamming his fist against the wall. "But destroying my livelihood? You bastards have gone too far!"

Swallowing his seething hatred, he knew he couldn't retaliate against the Cumulus Gang immediately.

With the hideout completely destroyed, Ged salvaged what little he could and left soon after.

Remembering the resonant coordinates Gore had given him, Ged set off, leaving the desolation of his ruined business behind. His strides were long but labored, conserving what little core energy he had left after the taxing battle.

The journey stretched across 25 kilometers, his thoughts heavy with the loss of his livelihood. Finally, he arrived at the gaping maw of an open cave, its darkness yawning like a silent threat.

Stepping inside, Ged followed the winding passages, the air damp and heavy. At the tunnel's end, a faint light could be seen, leading him to Gore.

Seated on the floor, Gore looked worse than before. His frame had withered further, his gaunt, sleepless eyes hollowed by exhaustion.

"You're late," Gore said, his tone icy. "You look terrible," he added, glancing over Ged's battered, dilapidated body.

"Some bastard ransacked my business," Ged shot back curtly. "Couldn't be helped."

"I see..." Gore muttered, stepping aside and gesturing to his right. His voice sharpened. "Let's get started, then."

Beside him stood a tall body sorcerer with a fierce handlebar mustache, his impeccable posture exuding an air of precision. Next to the man was a caged gremlin, its long arms rattling the bars frantically in a desperate bid to escape.

"You must be Ged. Stand here next to me," the mustached body sorcerer instructed in a clipped, unfriendly tone. "I'll be the one to take your measurements."

Ged's eyes narrowed. Gore was being far too insincere, introducing this tailor-like figure without explanation and keeping his plans shrouded in secrecy.

"What is this, Gore? Stop keeping me in the dark," Ged demanded, unwilling to let himself be manipulated by Gore's strange schemes.