Chapter One: Metrocity Chase

--

The stars blinked through the surprisingly clear atmosphere. The two moons were visible - one white and dead, and the other red and volcanic. The volcanic one had a faint ring around it, only visible by telescope.

The city stretched out to the horizon, but all the tall buildings were in this area. Every single window seemed to have a light.

It was night, but the time of day didn’t matter in Metrocity. Day or night, it was lit - in the day by sunlight, and by bright neon lights and signs at night. This city was the busiest on the planet, perhaps the entire galaxy. It was also the most dangerous.

Pantaleon Walker was standing at the edge of a building, staring out into the city below. Cars - well, they really weren’t cars, but everyone called them that - rushed through the air. It mildly surprised him that there hadn’t been an accident yet. This planet was new to him - the majority of his life had been spent on a planet called Tu’kor.

Unknown to Pantaleon, a short girl wearing a black trench coat and boots padded silently out to him. She was petite, with pale skin, light straw-colored hair, and pale green eyes. What she was wearing only made her look paler and smaller in the dark, glowing city.

“Have you found her yet?” she asked softly.

Pantaleon jumped. “Avalind!” he said. “Don’t do that, please!”

Avalind’s footsteps were rarely ever heard. She walked very lightly, almost as if she floated several inches above the ground. Actually, Avalind could fly, but she preferred walking. As a Caspiagravan, she could sprout wings and fly whenever she wished.

“So have you found her?” Avalind asked again. She crossed her arms, hugging her elbows as if she was cold.

“Of course not,” Pantaleon replied, shaking his black hair out of his face. “This is Metrocity, isn’t it? You and Jory said it could take a while to find someone. But a MALL should be easy, right? ‘Just use the map!’” he said.

“So…you need help?” Avalind guessed. She surveyed him with her pale eyes before saying, “Alright. But just this one time. You need to figure out things by yourself.”

Pantaleon dug a small chip out of his jacket pocket and tossed it to Avalind. She caught it and pressed a small button on the side. Instantly a holographic map appeared. Avalind reached into one of her seemingly invisible pockets and pulled out a scrap of paper that had an address written on it. She leaned back against the railing as she looked at the hologram and then at the address. She pulled back her sleeve and reached out to touch a spot on the map with her index finger. A red blinking dot appeared, sending ripples across the hologram.

“Here you go,” Avalind said. She handed the chip back to Pantaleon.

“Got it,” he replied.

“About time, too.” Both Pantaleon and Avalind looked toward the source of the voice. Anastasia Alexis, the ghost detective, was walking over to join the two. She looked very young, at least fifteen, but was really twenty-four years old. When Pantaleon had asked why she looked so young, she’d told him that a ghost had turned back time for her. This confused her clients and everyone else she met. “So where is the girl?”

“Caravan Mall,” replied Avalind. “It shouldn’t take too long to get there. It’s only two buildings away.” She pointed across the aerial “street” to the buildings on the other side. Like every other building in Metrocity, it was decorated with bright neon lights. Unfortunately, Pantaleon couldn’t read what it said, due to it being so bright. It didn’t help that the words were in the first form of the Galactic language. The characters were too close to Latin for him to read.

“So how do we get there?” Pantaleon asked. “I don’t see any taxis.”

Avalind pointed again, this time to a covered bridge that connected the buildings.

“Oh. Well, thank you for quite literally pointing that out, Miss Avi,” Pantaleon said.

“Please, do not call me ‘Avi’.” Avalind padded off toward the door that led to the stairs. The bridge was located five floors down, and Pantaleon realized that they would have to take the stairs since they were on the roof.

--

It took only five minutes to reach the bridge. There were windows with holographic advertisements along the walls. Glowing neon pipes replaced the lights, worming along the whole bridge. There weren’t only people here - Pantaleon saw at least two Naiori, a Féliane and something that resembled a satyr.

Pantaleon had the bounty sheet in his hand and was reading it. “This girl is a hacker for the Mafia. I wonder which one? Ceryden Ares…weird name too.”

“What do you mean?” Avalind asked. “Does it really matter? It’s probably not going to be-”

“It better not,” Pantaleon cut her off. “Poss would be so mad.” He slowed down to allow Avalind to catch up to him.

“Alright, you two,” said Anastasia. “I have a plan.”

Pantaleon rolled his eyes. “Oh, great. A plan, because yours work so well-”

“Shush!” she hissed. “You two are not going to separate this time. I was wrong last time, and we know how that ended up.”

“Ooh, yeah, that was terrible,” said Avalind. She grimaced. “Not only did our bounty get away, he ended up injuring a lot of people, too.”

“And if we work together this time, it won’t happen. Are you listening to me, Pantaleon Walker?” said Anastasia sternly.

“Wh-what did I do?” Pantaleon asked as he saw both Avalind and Anastasia glaring at him.

“You’re going to listen to me this time, right, Pantaleon?” Anastasia asked again.

Pantaleon saluted her. “Yes, Lady Stacy.”

Her only response was, “Watch where you’re walking.” Pantaleon looked forward to see that the bridge had ended.

The three stepped into what looked like a fancy cyber-café. The ceiling was an exact replication of the night sky above and the walls were decorate with images of nebulae and supernovas. The floor was made of wood but it was black. “Whoa. So where‘s the rest of the mall?”

Avalind pointed to a door marked ‘out’.

“Oh. Well, thank you again, Avi.”

Just like the city outside, there were bright neon lights everywhere. Even some of the people had glowing clothing. That seemed a bit ostentatious to Pantaleon.

“So how are we going to find anyone here?” Pantaleon asked. “What part of the mall would Ceryden be in anyway?”

“Just look around,” said Anastasia.

“But - but - but - that’ll take so freakin’ long!” Pantaleon exclaimed quietly.

“Then I suggest you start looking,” was her reply.

--

“Start looking? HAH! This is going to take forever!” Pantaleon muttered angrily to himself. Avalind trailed behind him, glancing left and right.

“Pantaleon, I agree with Stacy. If we start looking now, it will not take so long,” Avalind stated. Pantaleon mumbled something unintelligible.

“Think, Pan. Where would a hacker be? Didn’t Jory tell you some spots he liked?”

Jory Jenkins was Pantaleon’s friend. He was also a fireworks expert and a hacker. Pantaleon recalled Jory telling him that he loved staying at the cafés and food courts because there were so many people around who didn’t know what you were doing.

“Café,” said Pantaleon. Now his mind was working. “Probably the one by the bridge, since it had a close exit if she had to get away quickly. There’s also a balcony, so there could be taxis…what do you think?” He looked down at Avalind and she looked back up at him.

“I think you’re probably right, Pan.”

“Ah, okay.” Pantaleon spun around and looked for the entrance to the cyber-café. “There!” he pointed. He then started running through the crowd of people, sometimes accidentally shoving them aside.

Avalind sighed. When will he learn?

--

Ceryden Ares stared at the e-letter that the Mafioso had sent her. Another delay? Well, she would have to tell Ark again that the deliveries were being delayed due to suspicion. She rolled her eyes. Damn. Maybe I should have picked an easier job.

Meanwhile, Pantaleon Walker was sitting at a table back at the cyber-café. He was wearing glasses - seeker glasses, which appeared to be dark green sunglasses. He put his finger up to the side and adjusted the dial until all the shadows and lights were balanced out. That would make it a lot easier to see. It made people look a little unreal and cartoony, but he could see.

There was a button on the other side. He tapped it until he got to the image of Ceryden. He waited for the glasses to calibrate it, then looked around. The glasses also showed direction, so it made him a little dizzy. A white circle with a crosshair in the center appeared. When he found Ceryden, it would turn red.

“Got it yet?” Avalind asked. She was getting restless. Avalind was normally very patient and calm, but she, like Pantaleon, wasn’t used to going for so long with no action.

“Almo-YES!” said Pantaleon triumphantly. The white circle and crosshair turned red and seemed to pulse. Pantaleon pushed the glasses up to look up at the target.

Ceryden Ares. She didn’t look too impressive. She was typing on a holo-laptop, occasionally using her finger to drag a file. Dark hair, blue or green eyes, and pale skin. Or maybe she just looked pale because she wore all black, including smoky black eyeliner.

“So, do you think I should go talk to our girl Ceryden?” Pantaleon asked Avalind.

“As long as you catch her,” Avalind replied. “She doesn’t look to tough, though. But be careful,” she said, putting emphasis on the careful.

“Don’t worry,” Pantaleon replied breezily. He stood up, pushed his chair back in, and moved toward Ceryden’s table. It took him less than a minute.

“Hey.” Ceryden jumped and looked up. She smacked the “save” button on the holographic keyboard and hit the off switch. In less than a second, the impressive holographic display disappeared and all that was left of it was a small laptop chip the size of a pinky. She slipped the chip into her pocket and folded her arms.

“Hi,” she replied tersely, her green eyes narrowing. “What do you want?”

Pantaleon grinned and tapped the seeker glasses that were currently resting on his forehead. “There are useful, especially when I need to catch a bounty.

Ceryden stood up in alarm but Pantaleon caught her arm and pushed her back down. “I’m not going to hurt you. I just need to ask you a few questions. Why are you a hacker for the Mafia?”

“What does it matter to you?” Ceryden shot back. She pulled something small out of her pocket.

“Just tell me!” Pantaleon said exasperatedly. “And which Mafia?’

Ceryden shook her head and took a step backward. “No way, bounty hunter. I’m not stupid.” She spun around and delivered a swift kick to his stomach. Pantaleon fell to the ground, coughing, while Ceryden dropped something that produced a loud BANG! and a big flash.

I guess that could be called a big bang, Pantaleon thought. He kept his eyes closed until the light passed.

He heard Avalind shout something, but that wasn’t important right now. Ceryden was getting away. Pantaleon slipped the seeker glasses back down and looked around wildly for Ceryden. He found her, running towards one of the windows. Pantaleon got to his feet and started after her, ignoring the screaming people.

Then something really weird happened.

Ceryden stopped at the window and held out her hands. Sparks seemed to dance around her fingertips until they collected into a lightning bolt and shattered the glass. What the hell? Ceryden was now signaling for a taxi. One pulled up, to Pantaleon’s surprise. Ceryden looked back and grinned, then mouthed ‘too late’.

Pantaleon ran after her, jumping over the people who had fallen out of their chairs in shock and surprise. The taxi pulled away as soon as he got to the shattered window. He cursed in frustration. But he couldn’t give up yet. “TAXI!” he shouted.

For a second he thought it had failed. Then, one pulled up. Pantaleon blinked in surprise. So his plan had worked. That was a first.

“Hop in!” said the young woman who was driving. Pantaleon carefully stepped over the jagged, broken window and onto the ledge. He jumped into the taxi and barely had any time to sit down before she shot off. Pantaleon fell backward and immediately tried to sit up straight.

“Don’t worry. I know who you’re after. The girl who was wearing all black, right? She blew up the window and just got a taxi.” Pantaleon nodded, and took a good look at the driver.

He couldn’t help but stare. She was wearing what looked like turquoise blue headphones with yellow and matching blue ribbons tied to it over a bright red bandana. She also had brown hair sticks stuck into her golden brown ponytail. Her slanted eyes matched her tank top, which was also turquoise.

It was then Pantaleon realized that she was speaking in Japanese, not Galactic. It was a good thing that he had been speaking it since he was very young.

“Uh…” Pantaleon didn’t know what to say. “Nice outfit?”

The girl smiled. “Why, thank you! I’m Tsuneko Suta, by the way. And it’s ¤5.78 a mile. So you better have your money with you. I don’t give discounts to anyone, not even fellow bounty hunters like yourself.

“How…?” This girl was either really smart or stalking him. Tsuneko smiled and made a sharp right turn. Pantaleon’s right shoulder slammed into the door and he winced.

“Ow…” This taxi driver, what was her name…Tsuneko Suta? Pantaleon thought as he massaged his shoulder. Suteneko suits her better. She’s as crazy as a stray cat.

“I know bounty hunters, so don’t be surprised, kid. And since there’s so much crime here, there’s a lot of bounty hunters I’m on good terms with. I drive them around. They get their targets, I get paid. And my boyfriend’s also a bounty hunter.” She turned sharply to the left and Pantaleon almost fell over.

Why the hell don’t taxis have seat belts?! Do they all want us to die? Normally Pantaleon wouldn’t have cared, but he really, really did not want to fall out of a taxi when he was two thousand feet above the ground. He thought about asking Tsuneko to slow down and be more careful, but then he remembered that Ceryden Ares was getting away. And Tsuneko was charging half of what most taxi drivers would. It would be best not to make her mad; she might raise the price.

“You see her?” Tsuneko asked. Pantaleon looked around with the seeker glasses. The crosshair remained white.

“Damn. I think we - or you - lost her,” Pantaleon replied. Tsuneko glared at him with narrowed blue eyes and huffed.

“Kids. Me? I never lose anyone I’m tracking,” she said. She checked the odometer and glanced back at the teen. “Well, that was two and a half miles. ¤14.45, kid. No tax.” She held out her hand.

Pantaleon didn’t even try to figure out if she was cheating him out of his money. He handed it over. “My name isn’t kid. It’s Pantaleon,” he said grumpily.

“Whatever, kid,” Tsuneko replied. “Now do you want me to drive you back or not?”

“Yes, please,” said Pantaleon. He rested his chin in his hand and sighed. Avalind’s gonna be mad…

--

The drive back to the cyber-café was rather uneventful. Tsuneko kept on swerving wildly to avoid people and other flying objects. Anastasia and Avalind were waiting at a table near the broken window. Tsuneko pulled right up to the window and allowed Pantaleon to jump through. He murmured ‘thanks’ and she nodded.

“Well?” said Anastasia as he padded over to her.

“Well, what?” he responded flatly. He sat down in one of the empty chairs.

“Did you catch her?” Avalind asked.

“No,” Pantaleon grumbled. “She sort of got away.”

Avalind sighed. “This happens to often. So, Mr. Pantaleon, what do you need to do?”

“Become some sort of superhuman who can catch every criminal out there?” he suggested.

“No, that would be nice, but also impossible. I was going to suggest a new strategy. Turn in our targets right away and don’t ask them any questions,” Anastasia replied.

“All right,” said Pantaleon. “That strategy wasn’t working too well anyway. Back to the Bullet?”

“Back to the Bullet,” Avalind agreed.