S2 Chapter 27 - Welcome To The West

"WHERE IS HE?!"

Ronald Sampson's scream echoes throughout Starlight City's Central Mall. After his worried yelp, the fashionista examines every nook and cranny of The Moon Shadow Affiliate's Outlet Store in search for his cat; Mister Fluffykins.

"I was just behind the counter for one second and now he's gone!" Ronald cries as he looks underneath each clothes rack in hopes of finding his kitty.

With no luck there, Ronald opens the register in hopes of finding his cat.

He isn't there.

Ronald then looks up at the ceiling where there's a sealed vent.

"Terry boost me up, I'm gonna check out the vents!" Ronald yells.

Standing embarrassed to the side of him are Ronald's bodyguard – the muscular hunk known as Terry Boats – and fellow fashion designer Brenda Delaware.

"I'm not doing that," Terry utters underneath his biker helmet.

"Come on Fluffykins needs our help!" Ronald says.

"He goes off all the time I'm sure he'll be fine," Brenda laments.

Seeing that a mall security guard by the name of Crunch Backson is approaching the three, Ronald calms down a bit.

"What seems to be the problem?" Crunch yawns.

"His cat went missing," Brenda explains, "Again."

"Oh," Crunch says, "Do you have a tracker for it?"

"Oh yeah," Ronald says, "Lemme see where he went."

Ronald takes out his phone and opens up the tracker app. His eyes widen as he sees just where his cat ventured off to.

"THE WEST SIDE?!" Ronald shouts surprised, "How'd he get there?!"

"Should we head out?" Terry asks.

"Hm, it'll be a good idea, though I don't think we need to be in a rush," Ronald ponders.

"You'll have to go on your own, I still need to prepare for the upcoming festivities," Brenda remarks.

Ronald & Terry look at her confused.

"What festivities?" Ronald asks.

THE MIRACLE CLINIC: SEASON 2

In The West Side, the train doors swing open as Hunter, Marcus, & Selina all exit from it and begin to walk down the streets with Mister Fluffykins resting on Marcus' shoulder. Hunter walks with purpose down the street, making sure he doesn't make eye contact with others, while Selina & Marcus glance around the whole place.

The cracked pavement below them is littered with trash, glass shards, and old newspapers. Most of the stores are closing alongside the setting sun, with big metal gates being pulled down in front of them, however the many stores that aren't have been out of business and for sale for a long while. A person stands outside of one of the shut down stores smoking a cigarette when he locks eyes with Marcus for a moment.

"How- uh-, how far is the walk?" Marcus asks.

"We got like 5 more minutes," Hunter remarks.

"What color dice do you think would work?" Selina asks as she examines some of her dice, "I'm stuck between blue and black."

"Uh blue," Hunter responds.

Selina slides the blue dice into her pocket as the three get further into the west side. The scenery has now changed to a more suburban look as dried-up grass & trees stand next to the yellowish sidewalk. There are only a few for sale shops still in their periphery as now the main buildings on the street are rundown houses that look more ancient than their math teacher.

It's one of these houses – one with a mailbox that's full of envelopes and some children's toys out in the yard – that Hunter stops at. Hunter opens up the mesh door before having to unlock the old chipped wooden door with a key.

As the wooden door creaks open, the smell of paint and the feeling of hot air greets the three. Hunter steps in without a concern and so does Selina, however Marcus is a bit hesitant before entering.

Now in the house, they're greeted by several painted canvases hung across the halls in the stingy house. 

"Woah, where'd you even get these?" Marcus asks, "They look like they cost a fortune."

"They're all wonderful," Selina marvels.

"Oh so you think so?" A man questions whose head is leaning into the room.

Startled by the sudden appearance, Marcus & Selina turn to look at the adult to see he's….quite the character. With Short salt-&-pepper hair, a patchy beard, brown eyes, light brown skin, and cracked glasses the man completes his look with a paint-stained gray apron over a white t-shirt, black sweatpants, and white flip-flops.

"Can I interest you in a painting or two?" The man with the patchy beard asks, "Since you're Hunter's friends I can cut you a sweet deal."

"How sweet of a deal are we talking?" Selina questions as she examines the painting, "Because with the way the brush strokes look, I'd have to say this looks like it was painted on a linen canvas."

"Oh, I didn't know your friend was an art enthusiast Hunter," The patchy beard man remarks.

"She's not my-" Hunter begins to say before getting cut off.

"And that paint, it doesn't really look acrylic, is it oil?" Selina questions.

"Right you are!" The patchy beard man laughs, "Man, this kid is great!"

"How did you learn about all that?" Marcus asks.

"Eh, we don't get too many customers at the bookstore so to pass the time I read all the books about paint & canvases," Selina answers.

"Hunter could learn a lot from a girl like you," the patchy beard man laughs.

Hearing that, a smug grin appears on Selina's face as she looks over to Hunter.

"As if," Hunter mumbles.

"Now now, that's no way to treat a friend," the patchy beard man remarks before introducing himself to Marcus & Selina, "I'm Mister Lynch, one of the foster parents here, but you can just call me Lennon."

"I see nice to meet you Mister Lynch!" Marcus responds.

"Where's the others?" Hunter asks.

"Well Illiana picked them up after work and went to the store, they should be back any-," Lennon explains before hearing the door open, "Moment."

The group look to see three people all carrying bags of groceries entering the house. The first is Illiana Lynch, a slightly heavier white woman with fizzy brown hair, brown eyes, and glasses. She's currently wearing some standard office attire and high heels. The shortest of the bunch is a short young kid with black skin, curly black hair, & brown eyes. He's wearing a basketball jersey & black shorts. The last person who's carrying most of the bags is a tall slim young adult with black hair in a messy wolf cut, black eyes, of Chinese descent, & has a lip piercing. The man is wearing a baseball jersey, a backwards baseball cap, blue jeans, and beige high tops.

"Kids meet my wife, Illiana," Lennon introduces before pointing at the young kid, "Our youngest foster kid Jude, and our oldest-"

"I'm Chao," The young adult with a wolf cut remarks, "You guys are still in high school right? I just graduated a few months ago so if you need help with things, feel free to reach out and ask."

"Oh- uh, thanks Chao," Marcus remarks as he eyes the confident teen, "Do you go to a college nearby or anything?"

"Nah, I'm taking a gap year before I do anything related to that," Chao exhales, "But hey, at least I can be of use here. I take it you two are here for the campaign?"

"So you're the one who wanted to play D&D?" Selina questions, "Are you more chaotic good or lawful evil, or somewhere in between?"

"Uh, I don't play D&D," Chao Huang remarks before pointing to Jude, "My lil bro does."

Selina & Marcus take a look at the young Jude Jackson who is holding a D&D book that's a bit too heavy for the young elementary school kid.

"He is?" Selina questions, "Well, since it's probably your first campaign let's try and take it easy and have some fun!"

________________________________________

"NO WAY! I ROLLED A NAT 20, HOW DID I DIE?!" Selina shouts in shock.

Jude, who is the DM of the game, explains, "As I said, the dungeon your party is in has dice numbers reversed, so a nat 20 is actually a 1. Your character has fainted."

"I'd be mad if this wasn't so fun," Selina vents before looking at Hunter, "Hunter, you're the last person left standing, you gotta defeat 'em for us!"

The group consisting of Selina, Jude, Marcus, Mister Fluffykins, Chao, & Hunter are all sitting in the front room next to the windows. Chao is laying on his side, having been knocked out at the start of the round and is now petting Mister Fluffykins. All the while Selina & Marcus are leaning closer to Hunter. Behind Hunter is his black backpack with the metal bat sticking out of it.

"How am I even alive again? How do I play?" Hunter questions.

"The character Jude made for you is a paladin, you can cast some spells or use that enchanted blade the goddess gave you to teach that meanie a lesson!" Selina explains.

"The enemy is at a pretty low health, if you go for an attack you can defeat it if it's strong enough," Marcus remarks, "But so are you, so if you miss, it's practically game over."

As Hunter contemplates what to do next, Jude smirks as he continues to tell the story…

"Your puny allies have all been defeated by my hands" The Demon King laughs, "Soon you will suffer their fate and join them in death! What use is the goddess you cling to so desperately when you're in my domain now?"

Your character can't help but feel the betrayal in every word of The Demon King's spiel. After tricking your party into thinking he was a helpful ally in disguise, what he was really after was a world that guaranteed the safety of his demons. Even if that meant tearing apart every other kingdom in his wake.

However it's not over yet, the hopes of those that have passed, the dreams of those that will follow, they all come together in your blade enchanted by the goddess of retribution.

"No way, impossible!" The Demon King remarks, "How can a mere lifeform, a single human, hold such power!"

Jude looks over at Hunter, waiting for him to say a line for his character. But after much staring, Hunter just sits there confused.

"Uh, I strike the king," Hunter remarks.

"No you can't have it be so bland like that!" Selina scolds Hunter, "Allow me to show you…"

"I may be just a human, but I have something you can never have," McHandsome The Paladin remarks as he readies his sword, "Within this blade is not just the wishes of a goddess. No, it's the will of the people! And that will beckons me to take you down right here and right now!!!!!"

Selina nudges Hunter, "Now go."

"Okay-," Hunter remarks as he says, "I use my sword and strike the demon king."

Jude tosses the dice down on the mat placed upon the floor. As it rolls everyone, even Chao, seems to lean in to see the number the dice will land on. Though just as it's about to land on a number….

CRASH!

The glass window in the room they're all sitting in shatters as a rock is tossed through the window, one that grazes Jude on the head. 

Chao rushes over to check on Jude while Hunter, without a second thought, swiftly takes out the metal bat from his backpack and rushes outside the house.

"Hunter wait!-" Marcus tries to call out but it's too late.

Out on the suburban streets at night, Hunter is greeted by the sight of a group of thugs all standing outside his home. Leading them is a man wearing a shirt in the style of a white straight jacket, white jeans. & white boots. In fact, his skin is white, his spiky hair and eyebrows are dyed white, and his pupils are light gray.

"Well what do ya' know," the man in white remarks, "He was posted up here after all! You all know what to do, right? Get him."

Several of the other thugs begin to rush toward Hunter, however after Hunter knocks one out with a single swing of his bat, they all begin to be a bit more on the defensive. Eventually, some of them back up leaving the man in white to fend for himself as he walks up to Hunter.

"Didn't realize you'd be packing quite the weapon so late into the night," the man in white comments.

Infuriated and unable to speak, Hunter raises the bat and swiftly brings it down on the man. However, with a single hand, the man in white catches it. Hunter struggles to move the bat as the man in white smirks.

"But what good is that weapon of yours when you can't even swing it right!" the man in white laughs.

"What the hell are you doing here, Worcester?!" Hunter yells as he struggles to rip the metal bat from the hands of The Massachusetts Boys' No. 4.

See You Next Chapter!~