Well, nothing beat returning a failure. Sure, someone could argue the point that returning at all, after being left in freezing snow, with an epic battle lost. Waking up with all my limbs attached was a plus I suppose. Waking up with no bones broken was another. Waking up with hypothermia setting in despite the fires and Ivan's best efforts, with the townspeople looking on... not so much. They hadn't even bothered trying to put out the fires; those had guttered out on their own when the snow started falling.

Both Alicia and I not losing any fingers and toes to the cold was a plus.

Ivan had been stopped from running like the wind by a giant and angry dragon, that had been masquerading as a snow covered hill on our way in. The dragon had just swatted him like a noxious insect, then moved to support Olivia. That turned out to be a plus, since he was able to come to our assistance before the villagers could.

The villagers were not happy with us, for some reason. I couldn't really understand it; we hadn't even come close to winning, but the village was still standing. There wasn't even much property damage in the village proper, which was kind of a miracle. A few houses burned down from Olivia's massive area attacks' that was it.

That was hardly anything at all.

But still, I woke to Ivan holding off a village welcoming party. It seemed that we were not welcome in the frozen pest-hole anymore, if we ever were. That night I had regretted not having all those warming packs I'd used; the campsite was very cold after dark. I learned later the temperature that night had hit an all time low.

We had been forced to use Ivan's generator energy to stay warm on the hike back; none of us had been in great shape. And our generators were running on fumes. Any witch at all could have killed us on the way back, and most importantly, I couldn't get Ivan to part with his reserves to I could engage on my normal extra-curricular activities!

Hunting witches on the side when you have no power to shoot them was difficult at best.

We met our support team on the way out; they had a good reputation, but they weren't anyone I had worked with before. Their leader was Deisel. That wasn't his real name of course; I knew that it was actually a type of fuel for engines. But apparently he didn't have a real name and used that instead. I didn't get it.

He was big, as big as Ivan and even more top heavy. He was also bald as a cue ball and affected a gravelly sort of drawl that made me think he was trying to come off as an American. Instead, he managed to sound like a yutz. He was the leader of the team, and my own rank within the hunters, though he had been active in the organization less than a year. His generator weapons were a pair of bracers that he used to punch faces in; one our approach at least, we agreed.

The second was a gray, some mouse by the name of Edith Myer. She was a brunette and smaller than I was. I knew nothing about her at all, mainly because she didn't know how to talk after stating her name. She did like staring at me and blushing however, so maybe there was some hope of some interaction. And I had to admit she was cute enough, with a pixie like face that wasn't entirely unlike mine. Her weapon was, of all things, a mirror. She had only been active for about six months, if memory served.

The last member was a tall cadaverous gray simply known as Kai. He was completely covered in gray from head to toe, so no one knew what he looked like, though I had started to hear some rumors about fearsome burns and such. His weapon was a sword as tall and thin as he was. He had been active for about eight months.

I was kind of glad they were late. Olivia would have eaten them alive in seconds. But if she thought her little speech was going to stop me, she was sorely mistaken. Me, I was just sore; having to hike down mountains and to what seemed like the only train station in Russia while healing from getting your ass kicked was a pain in more ways than one. At least they hadn't been chatty. Just a whining Alicia was enough.

If Olivia thought that a few little love taps were going to stop me, well, she would be the one sore... sorely mistaken. This was just a setback, that was all. Still, a promising lead shot was not going to make the Gloom happy.

The train ride back was just as bumpy as it was going in, which was a bit harder to ignore this time; broken ribs always sucked. But finally, we were back at Central, and it was time to enter those massive doors and report in; no doubt I'd be reporting directly to Gloom in less than an hour. I mean sure, I'd sent messages ahead, but this was different.

I really didn't want to go. I didn't, I didn't, I didn't!

“Sasha, quit throwing a tantrum.”

“Up yours Ivan. You aren't going to have to deal with the Gloom.”

Or maybe he was... I wonder.

“No, Sasha, you can't con me into reporting in your stead. You're healthy enough to go, and he'd bother you about it anyway, even if you were half dead.”

What the hell, was Ivan psychic or something?

“No Sasha, I'm not psychic; you're just really easy to read. The reason why you don't play poker with me, remember?”

Oh, yeah.

Alicia spoke up, and I remembered there were three members of your team.

“Nothing to do, but to do it. And no Sasha, you can't throw me under the bus either.”

Damn.

Sarah was in the lobby, as usual for the afternoon shift. She was looking resplendent in her blue uniform, as always, and I wasted no time in presenting myself.

“Morning, Sarah!”

She sighed, and I looked around for a certain gorilla thing, but nope it was only us. In fact, the lobby was nearly deserted, which was unusual.

“Morning Sasha.”

I looked at the sign in sheet, signed it for all of us, and snagged the customary paperwork.

“The Gloom in?”

She shook her head.

“He should be back tonight. He had a mission to complete.”

That was also a little odd. The Gloom just didn't roll for any mission anymore; it had to be a big one. Possibly bigger than the one I just botched.

Sigh. Writing mission failed on the paperwork, in triplicate, was depressing. I turned the crap in, to find Alicia waiting on me; Ivan had already left to do whatever else, but Alicia was like me. She just didn't feel safe without a charge in her generator. The problem was, there may not be much of a charge banked for either of us. I knew I had enough to at least get started, but I wasn't sure about Alicia.

Those hunter who didn't hold at least a little charge in reserve, just in case, didn't live long if they lost, and much to my chagrin, this wasn't my first time tasting that bitter pill. Come to think of it, before Alicia had too.

“Alright Sasha, paperwork is done. Please turn your generators in to the science wing before proceeding.”

Standard operating procedure after a loss, in order to make sure they hadn't been broken in some way that would show up later... or tampered with. I couldn't help but feel the frown she sported was a type of scarlet letter. Then of course she got to who I'd been after; I could tell because her eyes threatened to pop out of her head and she made an 'eep' noise, glancing between the paper to me as if amazed I was still here.

Honestly, it was like she forgot who she was talking to, or something.

With a wave I headed to the dungeon. I could probably get away with hanging onto my generator since the Gloom was out, but with it on the red line there was little point. Luckily my weapons weren't entirely useless without them, so if Central was hit, I'd still be able to get my licks in. I doubted it would happen, since judging from the sign in sheet, we had precious few live witches in residence. There was little to draw a witch here at the moment.

The biometric lock scanned us both in turns, and then a short eternity later the vault door opened, just like normal. The large and drafty sloping corridor was dark as pitch, without even the lights from the lobby penetrating far; this also was normal. What wasn't quite normal was this time we made it all the way down before the head mental case noticed we were there.

A door opened to my left, a rectangle of light that forced me to squint. I could just make out a form in it.

“Ahh, Sasha, Alicia, come in please.”

Once my eyes adjusted, I noticed the door that we stepped through; it was a strange thing, darkened glass powered by some sort of air pump, and with a small decontamination chamber beyond. The other end of the decontamination chamber was open and the pump was clogged with congealed grease, so it wasn't being used. Beyond that were racks, containing empty and full slots. The full slots of course, contained generators by number.

Generators were at one point mass produced, though not anymore; the witches had destroyed much of the world's infrastructure. Most of the ones on those racks were no longer in use; the numbers were painted off when a hunter received the genny and added their own finishing touches, and painted back on again when the hunter died or retired.

It was odd to see the head scientist maintaining the generators themselves; normally a tech would do it. But judging from the parts scattered on one of the lab tables, Emil was indulging in one of the perks of his job; experimentation. I was pretty sure that even without a hat to feed it, generator experimentation should be conducted in a different lab. Namely one that wasn't storing them all, and better proofed against explosions and strange radioactive fallout.

Even worse, he was applying some electricity to the power core wires, as evidenced by the sparks and crotchety hum the thing was emitting.

“Just hang them up on the rack, I'll have someone get to them eventually.”

He went back to poking the generator with a metal probe; the sparks it made were multicolored. Alicia backed up a couple steps, but I forged ahead.

“Can't this time doc. Mission failure, ended in both of us getting knocked out. We need them checked, and a recharge.”

“Oh? Oh. Well crap. That means I have to do it. You both alright?”

The unhealthy gleam in his eyes was back.

“Nope. Need to go to medical after this.”

Medical was actually on the other side, but it could be accessed through a tunnel here. That is, if you were brave enough.

“You need to? I could probably handle it.”

We were brave enough. Looking at Emil's probe thingy, pulled from somewhere, we were brave enough right now. I all but knocked Alicia over.

“No thanks, you're busy, got to go bye!”

The hallway we needed was further into the labs. I headed back up instead, but I totally wasn't running from anyone, no sirree. I also didn't stop at the vault door; Alicia needed prompt medical attention now. When she was lagging behind, the wheeled chair of doom squeaking behind us, I grabbed her. She didn't even complain as we left a cloud of dust behind us.

The other side did not have a vault door, instead it had a pair of glass double doors. The hospital doubled as a community hospital, and for those brave enough to enter, it offered the best health care in the free world. But as usual, when I entered, the waiting room emptied. I didn't really get that; I was a nice guy!

Today was par for the course, though I tried using my best smile, they cleared out in seconds. There were even sheep like bleats of terror. The nurse, who could well be Sarah's sister, pasted a pleasant smile on her face and walked up to us.

“Good day Hunters, Do you need to see a doctor?”

What was it with people and asking obvious questions? Seemed like everyone in any kind of service job did it. Why else would I even be here?

“Yes we do. X-rays, MRI's, all the witchcraft.”

She lifted an eyebrow. She wanted to argue using the most esoteric and expensive tech we had wasn't necessary. But the unspoken rule is, if a hunter orders something, it's necessary; even from doctors and nurses, or other professionals. Of course it could have just been for how I referred to all her devices as hocus pocus too, but she should be used to that joke by now.

“Alright sir, ma'am. Please head along the back hall to room 4 and 5 respectively; I'll free a doctor immediately.”

“Thanks.”

Whistling, I made my way back. I let Alicia take room 4, and I took room 5. Both were the same anyway, a metal bed anchored in the middle of the floor, a sink, a counter with shelves under it, a desk, file cabinets. So what if my ribs still felt like they were going to go through my lungs? They hadn't so far.

I wanted to look for pain medication, now that I was here; most hunters knew most types used or they just weren't trying hard enough. But I also knew the doctors kept that stuff locked up tight and well away from the reach of us; it was just too easy to abuse.

So I hopped up on the bed and waited. I might have swung my feet around in boredom. I might also have played around with my guns in boredom, drawing at various things around the room; it was OK, they were only loaded with normal ammunition and weren't empowered. Worst they could do was maybe put a small hole in the wall; the walls around here were reinforced, like all of headquarters was.

And then I might have fallen asleep.

Or I might have been gassed, I wasn't sure. I had been threatened with such last time; the doctor didn't like me fidgeting. But then, everyone always complained about property damage. Really, I was doing my community a favor, because it gave people something to fix! I was doing my part to provide jobs. Besides, if I had to get into the mindset of avoiding property damage, even the most green of witches would kill me.

At any rate, I woke up strapped down, probably so I wouldn't move during the MRI, though they were loosened and I could move and free myself. I wasted no time on that front, and looked for my guns, which were in a bin on the nightstand. There was also a doctor waiting patiently in a chair in the corner, making no sudden moves. He was an older than myself, but not by much. Tall, dark haired, and handsome, he probably got his pick at the local bars.

I grabbed my guns and checked them; they certainly appeared loaded, but I started reloading them just in case. The anti-tampering measures taken over my ammunition were still in place, so I felt safe to assume it was OK.

“So what's the good word, doc?”

He spoke up immediately.

“Ribs cracked and healing, we put a compression bandage around you to help your breathing. Legs, arms and hands and spine all show evidence of recent fractures, since healed. Brainwaves match the ones you had at your last physical, so no evidence of tampering or mental control. Organs appear to be perfectly healthy, with no evidence of tampering. I'm willing to write you a clean bill of health.”

One time a witch had developed the power to turn people's organs into explosives... she then forced them to march into high priority targets, including hunter headquarters around the world, and detonated them. Since then the doctors had been on the look out for similar things; after all, if it could develop once, it could again.

“Excellent. How long was I out?”

I turned to my copy of the tests done, checking the date of the MRI. It was correct; I wasn't being fooled.

“Just under six hours. I do apologize; when we saw you had fallen asleep, well, we decided to just go on ahead.”

I'm sure it was in my file just how bad I was at taking certain tests, most notably the MRI. I'd had to be sedated before to avoid moving, so I just shrugged it off. The blood test I could do with effort (cause needles always sucked), but the spinal sample thing was something that gave me nightmares. All those test results were here, properly dated and with a doctor's signature at the bottom, as they should be. All the results showed me well within tolerances for active duty.

“Works for me doc, trying to stay still is a weakness of mine.”

I couldn't help but hear his sigh of relief as he slumped his shoulders. Hell, half the hospital probably heard it. I swear, people must be spreading rumors about me or something. I wasn't that bad!

“So how's Alicia?”

He looked surprised as he answered.

“Well she has a bit more recovering to do herself, but she should be fit for full duty in less than a week. She has many bones of her own still cracked, but less tissue damage overall than you must have had.”

True enough, probably. I did heal fast. In this case, too fast.

“Good deal. And doc, this should go without saying but, if asked I didn't ask about her, OK? Got a reputation to maintain.”

He hesitated, then nodded. Even in the deepening gloom he noticed where my hands were. At least the gloom was a normal one, but speaking of which....

“Is the Gloom back yet? Do you know?”

He nodded, finally standing up as I pushed myself fully upright.

“Yes, He returned and asked for you. Then he left orders that you were to meet with him as soon as possible.”

“Right; on the way.”

Still half drugged or wounded was no excuse when the Gloom wanted you.

With a wave I started off, rolling the stiffness out of my joints. On the way out of the lobby (which promptly emptied again) I snagged some coffee to help wake me up. I had it drained by the time I made it up to the Gloom's office. No time for anything stronger.

My soft knock on the door, not loud enough to disturb him if he was busy with something, was immediately answered.

“Come in, Sasha.”

Rats. I was kinda hoping he'd be asleep; it was something I had seen before. I entered, taking note of the other two people in the room. One was Emil, our resident head crazy. The other was some girl I didn't know.

She was smaller than I was, and younger. Perhaps 12 at best. Loose and long blonde hair framed her face, and wide disingenuous cornflower blue eyes took me in. She wore an easy grin that struck me as a twin for Emil's usual; that is to say, unhinged. She set me on edge at first sight; something was wrong here. They all had copies of my test results, too.

“Sasha, this is Merlin, head researcher for North sector.”

North sector? What had she done to be sent to that shit hole? At a glance it was easy to see that the gloom didn't like her, but just that alone wouldn't get her sentenced to that frosty hell. Head researcher? That meant she was the one in charge of... the more unsavory practices the hunters got up to. All of them.

So despite her appearance, this was no little girl in front of me. Good, at least that meant my instincts were still trustworthy.

Merlin shot her superior an annoyed glance then forged ahead with so much brightness forced into her tone that I swore I could feel my teeth decay just from exposure.

“Pleased to meet you, Sasha! I'm so happy to finally be able to be here in person!”

She grabbed my hand and started pumping it, trying to tear it off. Her own hands were cold and dry; reptilian.

“Um, Likewise, I'm sure. Listen, boss, if this is about Russia, I can find her again; I've been thinking, she still has to be there somewhere.”

Russia was a part of the north sector after all; at least where we had been was. And there had been no reports of Olivia on the move. Normally it IS kind of hard to hide a big freakin' dragon, after all. Though that begged the question how she managed to stay hidden before. The Gloom knew an excuse when he heard it, but I didn't care; I didn't fail often, and re-assigning me North was a mistake. I hated the cold.

“That's not what this is about. Sasha, Merlin here has made a request; he has requested we conduct an experiment involving building a better hunter. One who isn't physically tied to a generator. I'm sure you've heard the rumors.”

Another flicker of annoyance from the girl who wasn't. I remembered now, this girl was Merlin, the one responsible for attempting to graft the power of a witch into a hunter, by implanting the generator directly, or so the rumors went. Those same rumors had the body count of those experiments numbering in the hundreds.

“What does that have to do with me?”

The question had been directed to my boss, but the saccharine voice answered.

“It's simple Sasha. I have determined as part of my research into the genetics of witchcraft, that there appear to be those better suited for the process than others.”

Well I could see where this was going, and if not for the Gloom I'd already be out the door.

“My recent investigations into the genetic profiles of our hunter staff revealed you to be a perfect candidate for the process.”

Yep, I hated it when I was right. Like I'd let this demented thing anywhere near my hot bod. Emil was all but leering himself, and he could go walk off a bridge too. I turned to the Gloom, ready to walk if he said the wrong thing; respect or not, he couldn't demand this of me. He looked almost... sad? What the hell?

“It's your choice Sasha. The organization will not force you to do this.”

That was all I needed to hear.

“Then with all do respect, stuff it. Ain't no creepy chick going to mess with me, and that goes double for you, Emil.”

And I walked right out.

I heard some talking, and soon enough the Gloom joined me. But he was alone, at least.

“One more thing, Sasha.”

I waited. He didn't seem pissed off at least; that was a good thing. He slapped a mission folder in my hand.

“No rest for the wicked. You leave tomorrow.”

Damn.

“Don't you have someone else you can send? I was hoping I could get a quick charge and head back to Russia.”

He was already back to his office door.

“I don't. Don't worry about Russia; I'm going.”

Oh wow. I almost pitied Olivia; if she was still there, well, the Gloom was unstoppable; the best hunter since my mentor Sniper died. With a shrug I walked back to my own room, a wing away. I read while I walked, trusting my instincts and reflexes to keep me from bumping into random people and things in my way. It had been a sort of game for me since I first arrived here, years ago. It was only in the last year however that I could manage it without hitting anyone. I wasn't sure if that was my skill coming along or the hunter's inner sanctuary being mostly deserted.

Hmm, looks like I was going to the French coast. Rumors of a... sea witch? Swimming, siren songs, and flying sea slugs? What the hell, they just kept getting crazier.

I threw the file onto my desk with the other old ones; I'd read enough. Name of the city, location, rumors of witchcraft, rumors of powers displayed. All I needed to know. I finally realized that I was still in the white pajamas the doctors had stuck me in for the tests. I was tired, they were clean, so they would work; I'd just repack and all that crap in the morning, when I cared.