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Phoenix drew his revolver, and rested it against the nape of Scarface's neck. 'Let's leave it at that shall we? Enough blood has been spilled, and if you were to continue firingThey will come.' Phoenix said.
'Who are you?' Scarface asked, as his grip on the rifle tightened. 'You with the squid?'
'No. I'm just a customer who has been waiting to be served. But I grew impatient. So here I am.'
'Well, what do you want?'
'That bottle on your table to start.'
Scarface reached for the bottle, and handed it to Phoenix.
'Much appreciated. Now why don't you drop the gun?'
Scarface swore under his breath, and lowered the gun. 'Thought you were going to say that.' The gun left his grip, and clattered to the floor.
'Good. Now go help your buddies, they both look like they need all the help they can get.' Phoenix removed the revolver from Scarface's nape.
Scarface stepped over to the Gracol, who was whimpering on the floor like a puppy with an injured leg.
'Are you going to ask me how I am doing?' The Jool asked.
'No.' Phoenix replied. 'I couldn't care less about you squids. I just needed some good liquor.'
'Good. I hate when you humans try to empathize with my kind.'
Phoenix swallowed a mouthful of goo that made the back of his throat tingle, and let out a sigh of satisfaction.
There was a humming sound to his right, and after turning to look, he observed Scarface holding the Gracol's pistol out towards him.
'You should have stayed out of this human.' He said.
'Who are you calling human? Have you looked at yourself in the mirror?' Phoenix responded.
Scarface scowled, and pulled on his cheeks. Tugging on his flesh, deforming his features until like a snake shedding its skin, Scarface tore his pale skin off, revealing a scaled serpent like appearance.
'Damn.' Phoenix exclaimed, as he drew his revolver, which felt heavy, like he was carrying a medium caliber canon with only a single hand.
Before either of them could fire however, something soared through the air quickly in the direction of what was once Scarface. It moved with such speed that Phoenix only caught glimpses off it, until it skewed the serpent through the chest.
The former Scarface doubled back, dropped the pistol and vomited up an acidic discharge that burnt through the floorboards.
As the serpent toppled to the floor, Phoenix looked to where the blade had come from. He saw a tentacle, one of the few left unharmed hovering over the place he'd seen Scarface leave his knife earlier.
'I don't like owing people favors.' The Jool said. 'Especially not humans.'
Phoenix stepped towards the Jool, walking over the Gracol's unmoving figure. Tentacles were spread across the floor, some of which were pulling at the final three electrified shackles.
'If you move them anymore, you'll char them like the others.' The Jool ignored him, as it continued its flawed attempts to free itself.
Phoenix stood and watched, as the Jool struggled. 'It's not so easy when you're not running off adrenaline.'
Phoenix stepped on the release pins of all three shackles, and the Jool looked at him with a confused expression. Before it could speak however, Phoenix slammed the bottle of goo back on the table.
'You don't owe me anything more then a refill and a seat near the holo over there. There's something I need to watch.'
The Jool hesitated for a moment, and glared at Phoenix with semi-closed eyes. Reluctantly however, the Jool nodded, pulled out the amber rod which Scarface had imbedded into its skin.
Even to this day, Phoenix hadn't gotten over the absurdity of the Jool species. They were upon first inspection nothing more than a giant squid. But he knew they were far more.
The Jool began to transform, its tentacles were sucked into its mantle, and the sound it created as it did so was like someone sipping on soup.
Out came a pair of legs. They were pale as snow, and had small disc-like suckers on the insteps of both feet. Next came the torso, which wore an elegant black and white tuxedo, and finally out popped two arms, with suckers on the palms.
The Jool appeared like a mix between a human and squid, the combination of which made Phoenix feel sick to his stomach, as he absentmindedly pondered possibilities within his dirty mind.
It wasn't long before the mantle began to shrink. Phoenix could hear the distinct sound of a vacuum, as it decreased in size. Shifting, until it reached the desired length of about eleven inches.
The Jool rose to its feet, in an unnatural robotic like maneuver. It darted over to the bar, with its footsteps sounding like the squeezing of a sponge, and twisted the lid off another bottle of goo. 'You want the volume up?' It asked.
Phoenix nodded, and the dialogue taking place between a Jool and a human on television gained sound. He could hear the Jool ramble mindlessly, and the human female laugh in response.
'Here you go.' The Jool said to him, as it handed the bottle of goo over to him. 'Sorry I can't be more hospitable. But I have some trash to take out.' It said as it eyed the collection of strangers gathered around the bar.
Phoenix sat on a chair in front of the projection, took a swig of the goo and coughed. 'This is good stuff.'
The Jool nodded, as it picked up the Gracol, slinging it over his shoulder. 'Now where did that arm go?' It mumbled.
Phoenix pointed to where he'd seen it land earlier. The Jool thanked him, before picking up the severed arm.
The television briefly went quiet, before erupting into a symphony of obnoxious music that caught the attention of every conscious person in the bar. Which, at this point was only the Jool and himself.
After a bizarre rendition of a song Phoenix didn't care to know the name of. A woman dressed in a cheap blue dress addressed the camera. 'Hey Hunters, it's that time of the week that you all love so dearly.' She winked at the camera. 'That's right, it's game time.' A week explosion of confetti was shot in front of the camera by someone offscreen.
'On this week's episode of Bounty Board, were taking it to the streets of Trovẽ 2.' A live studio crowd could be heard cheering as the graphics on screen switched to a mug shot of a man with big teeth, a bald head and an overly thick nose that made it look like he had a naked rat on his face.
'You know him. You hate him. Yes, indeed this week's target is the notorious Jago.' The live crowd booed, as the graphics were shifted once more to a ladder with five names written on it.
'Make sure you stay tuned, as we have quite the show coming up for you tonight. With not one, not two... but five registered hunters in the local area. Who, I'm sure are all itching for a payday.'
The graphics faded, and the screen returned to the woman in blue. 'Speaking of hunters in the area. If any of you are watching this program. One, thank you, I love you. And two, you best get a move on, because it looks like Misty Queen is already closing in on the Notorious.'
Phoenix swore under his breath, and leapt to his feet.
'You leaving?' The Jool asked.
'Yeah, I got a rat to exterminate.' He replied.
'Jago?' Phoenix nodded. 'Isn't he a little dangerous for you kid?'
'They're all a little dangerous for me. That's what makes it fun.'
The Jool was quiet for a long time. Until it finally broke the silence by saying something Phoenix had never heard a Jool say. 'Thank you.'
He looked at the Jool perplexed 'For what?'
'For saving me. Both times.'
Phoenix chuckled, as he made his way over to the bar's entryway. 'Don't thank me. Just get this bar back in shape. The place needs a crowd.' Phoenix smirked, as he stepped out.
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