• Published 25th Dec 2013
  • 443 Views, 20 Comments

Contracted - Slywolf930



Marx, a mercenary since he was young, finds himself hunting six ponies. Even professionals make mistakes. Marx's problem, he has no room for mistakes.

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Clutch

Clutch

Marx was sitting up on his bed, the sunlight shining in though the window as his body tried to move again. He felt pain, but now it wasn’t enough to stop his movements. Marx lifted himself off the bed and onto the cold floor. He looked around for his bag, but couldn’t find it.

“And where do you think you’re going?” Rogue asked, having heard him get up.

“I need to go, Clutch is gonna kill me,” Marx said, continuing his search.

“Clutch wouldn’t do that just for messing with his brother. They don’t even get along that well,” Rogue said.

“Rogue, remember that day, when we were little? The day Dalen and I stopped talking?” Marx asked.

“Oh, when he got beat up by that kid? I remember that. That was hilarious.” Rogue said.

“Well that kid was Clutch; he said if I messed with his brother again, he’d kill us. I think he meant it,” Marx said, giving up his search.

“Wow, you’re on his list then. I haven’t heard Clutch give a death threat to anyone, not even the new recruits. I’ll go get your stuff so we can get out of here. It’s getting boring anyways. Are you sure you can walk?” Rogue asked, seeing Marx stay off one of his legs.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” Marx said.

Rogue left the room, leaving Marx to sit on his bed. It was morning, meaning that the drug really did have a big effect on him. Rogue came back with his bloody bag and sword, the edges still covered in dry blood. Marx slipped the two extra pills into the bag. He took out his bag of coins, and left half the bits on his bed.

“Alright, let’s go,” Marx said.

Rogue opened the window, looking outside. They were on the second story. Marx jumped first, immediately regretting it. His body still ached, and the rush of wind gave him chills. Nevertheless, he landed in a roll on the grassy floor below. Rogue jumped down as Marx was dusting himself off. She landed without a sound next to him.

“Where to?” Rogue asked.

“I… I don’t know,” Marx said, unsure of where else he could lie low. Mercy knew he was in town, so there was no way he’d give somebody his name wherever he would stay. Rogue could technically still stay at the Organization, so it didn’t need to be big.

“Think Clutch is on his way?” Rogue asked.

Marx heard a thump on the ground next to him. He instinctively jumped to the side to avoid the crack and burst of flames. Looking forward, he saw the shape of a pony go behind a tree. Then, a flash of light caused him to look away.

“He’s here,” Marx said, preparing himself for a fight.

“We can’t fight here, when the ponies hear this, they’ll call the guards,” Rogue said, running to her left. Marx followed, hearing the small thumps behind him as razor sharp darts were making contact with the buildings.

“I know where to go. This way,” Marx said, turning left.

“I’ll distract him, get out of here,” Rogue said, turning back the way she came.

Marx continued running, his legs still aching. He held back the pain as he saw what he was looking for. Fluttershy’s cottage was ahead of him. Arching his path to head around the cottage, he heard the soft click when he stepped on not so solid ground. Rolling to the side, he dodged the spear that jutted out of the ground. The point was facing upward, indicating it was a trap of some sort.

Marx continued running, the cottage getting closer and closer. He managed to get behind the house right before another razor sharp bolt hit where he was a second ago. Marx went to where he hid the supplies Screw had given him.

Clutch was special in his own way. He had gotten a cutie mark depicting blueprints ripped down the middle. He had specialized in making tools and equipment. His specialty was overlooked, because his ideas were always ‘out there’. Clutch then turned to showing off his creations, via experiments. When he grew accustomed to using them, he no longer wanted to give them up. He used his creations with the skill of an expert, and they always had a lethality only some mercenaries dreamed about.

Marx expected as much of Clutch. Clutch would use his gadgets to fight Marx, usually laid out beforehand, or ready to use when he needed them. Marx hoped that Screw had something in this bag that could counter Clutch. He opened the bag, hoping for an anti-Magic field gadget of some sort. Instead, he saw boxes of bolts and attachments for his crossbow.

Marx remembered what happened to his crossbow. He wished he hadn’t opened the bag now. Still, Marx pulled out the boxes, hoping there was something else at the bottom. He wasn’t disappointed, as the tip of something poked from the bottom. Marx reached in and pulled out the white weapon. The crossbow was white, with a crystal covering to protect it from the elements.

Marx thanked Screw silently before taking it and the strap out. They were matching in color, something Marx didn’t think Screw was capable of. Then, he looked at the boxes of ammunition and attachments that Screw had for the weapon, all of them the same coloring as the weapon. Marx smiled, he really had thought of everything. Then, he saw a note attached to the bottom of the bottom box.
I hope you won’t have to use all of this.
-Screw

Marx put the excess ammunition in the bag, keeping ten of each of the four different types of bolts in his bag. He also attached the iron cover that went on the bottom of his crossbow. He had a feeling that close range would be the only way he could beat Clutch. Now, Marx put the bags back and took out the crossbow, ready for a fight.

“Clutch, you bastard. Come and get me,” Marx yelled, hoping Fluttershy wasn’t at home.

Marx ran back around the cottage, hoping he’d catch Clutch off guard. He saw a figure go behind a tree as he did, a plan formulating in his head. He rushed forward, his eyes and ears listening and watching for a trap.

Marx heard a click and ducked as Clutch shot from the trees. The spray of pellets hit the ground around him, some hitting his head as the spread caused him little harm. Marx continued running. He saw the next trap before it activated, rolling to the side to avoid the net that was shot at him. He was almost to the trees now. This would be dangerous, as Clutch had a lot of time to plant any traps.

Marx ran past the trees, going straight for the figure in front of him. He saw Clutch’s grin before he heard the trap. Marx jumped to the side, hearing the familiar click. The six spearheaded bolts flew into the trees around him, the wire grabbing him as he landed and pulling him into the center. He was suspended in the air as the wire squeezed the life out of him.

“I have to admit, you lasted longer than I thought,” Clutch said.

“Bastard…” Marx said in between grunts of pain.

“It’s not my fault you wanted to mess with my brother. I know he made a mistake, but did you have to try and kill him? Cause it looks like I’ll have to take your bounty so Accure can feel better,” Clutch said.

“This trap… it’s Screw’s,” Marx said, remembering the trap from before. Out of everything that was happening, this was the most important thing on his mind at the time.

“Close. We were working on it together, Boss’ orders. He gave Boss what he wanted, and then I improved the design. See?” Clutch asked, pulling on the string he held. The string attached to the trap, activating the electric current that followed up and down the new metallic strings.

Marx felt the electricity burn inside of him as he struggled in the grasp of the trap. His movements were stopped, but he could feel every inch of pain from the electricity. When it ended, he was tired of fighting ponies that used electricity and cursed Screw for not telling him this important piece of news.

“Now then, say you’re sorry,” Clutch said.

“Fuck you,” Marx said.

Clutch heard the trap activate before he heard any hoof steps. Marx heard the startled cry of Rogue as she fell into the trap. Clutch turned away to look at his new victim. Marx felt the wires not as tight as before, and managed to move his hoof. He found the crossbow, the already loaded bolt ready to use. He reached farther, barely reaching the trigger. When he clicked it, the bolt fired forward, hitting the wire in front of him.

Marx felt the wires give out from the lack of support, and fell in a tangle of wires. As he got out, he heard the conversation from Clutch a few feet away.

“If you try to stop me, I’ll have to report you to the Organization,” Clutch said.

“I still have to stop you,” Rogue said echoing from the bottom of the pit.

Marx took out his sword, the glint of metal catching Clutch’s attention. Marx rushed forward before he could react, and swung at the exposed side of his coat. Marx was too fast, and the sword made contact. Clutch didn’t even flinch as the contact cut into his side. Marx didn’t feel triumph as a wave of electricity rolled up his sword and into his body.

He convulsed from the pain and dropped the sword. Marx looked up at Clutch, who seemed to be grinning at him.

“Nearly transparent armor, electric to touch and comfortable from the waist down,” Clutch said. “But I do have to say that it isn’t very durable,” The wound on his side was still bleeding.

Marx tried to stand up, but Clutch was pushing the dropped sword away.

“It’s time that you stopped resisting,” Clutch said, reaching into his bag to pull out something lethal.

Marx reached in his bag, pulling out the pill that he’d smuggled. Marx flicked the pill to Clutch just as he was opening his mouth. The pill lodged itself in Clutch’s throat, and he instinctively swallowed so he wouldn’t choke.

“Shit,” Clutch said, reaching to his bag.

Clutch pulled the small dart from his bag as the effects of the drug started to kick in. As he raised his hoof to aim at Marx, he lost consciousness and fell to a pile on the floor. Marx raised himself from the ground, pain still emitting from his hooves. He could have really used that pill more than Clutch did, but he was glad Clutch wasn’t as strong at resisting it.

Marx put the sword back in the sheath and put Clutch’s bag on. He walked over to the pit Rogue was trapped in. It was about ten feet deep and he was surprised Clutch could dig a hole that fast.

“You can come on out now,” Marx said, grinning.
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Clutch raised his head, his memories foggy. He looked at his surroundings, the trees he was leaned next to were hiding him from any of the public. He looked down at where his bags would be and frowned. Now he remembered what happened.

Clutch rose from his position and started to walk in the direction of the Organization. He couldn’t fight Marx without any equipment, and it would take too long to resupply and come back. The bounty would be claimed by then.

Clutch mentally laughed at the idea of Mercy, Marx’s amateur when he joined, claiming the bounty. It seemed like just yesterday the five of them were forced into mentorship. Recluse had shown him the ropes in the first few days, taken him on a job, and then they split ways.

Mercy didn’t get it so easy, Marx took him out on a few different jobs before letting him loose. Myst, Luga, and Just… they each had a week. He didn’t like to think about Luga and Just, they hadn’t understand that failure wasn’t an option…

Myst on the other hand, he’d seen walking through the forest on a few occasions the past few days. Myst was his favorite by far. He didn’t talk too much, he did what he was told, and he didn’t bother anypony. Although, come to think about it, he didn’t know too much about Myst either…
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Death opened the door, stepping inside without hesitation. He looked up to O.L. who had noticed him enter.

“Death, are you done already? Hope you didn’t leave too much of a mess,” O.L. said.

“They sent a Divine,” Death said, giving him the finished contract.

“Really? I guess after Marx’s ‘mistake’ they started to bump up security… anyways, glad to see you made it back. I have another job if you’re interested,” O.L. said.

“No, I have something else planned,” Death said, the scythe on his back radiating evil energy.

“Just… don’t regret anything. I need you in top mental condition too, not scarred for life,” O.L. said, nodding his head.

“I won’t be the one that’ll be scarred,” Death said, turning and walking out of the room.

Author's Note:

Here's another chapter, sorry it's a little shorter than the others. League's URF day/week/two weeks are really messing up my writing schedule, but it's too fun to stop. Tell me what you like/dislike/hate about the chapter or story in general, it helps tell me what I need to work on!

Next Time: Forgiveness, “Before, or after he took the pills?" -Twilight in the near future.