Duh!

Last Hunt

Moving through the darkened forest a lone figure crouched low to the ground as they moved. There was something decidedly ambiguous about the figure. Something not quite human. Were they actually to get close to the person, they would be right. They weren't humans. Hell, they weren't even alive. How, you ask, is it possible? Honestly, no one really knew. All they knew was that this person who was sometimes a man, sometimes a woman, or sometimes both was walking around despite being dead. It was totally mind boggling but no one ever got close enough to actually do anything about it.

Even now the person was more than content with just stalking something that only they could see. If they were ever bothered by the way the rest of the world looked at them, they never showed it. Tonight, they were hunting a rogue demon. The thing had escaped its confinement and had been terrorizing a local town. So far, things were going well - until a shrill ringing sound filled the air. Growling softly, they pulled out the offending device.

Flipping it open, they answered gruffly, "You do realize that we are in the middle of a hunt and you possible alerted it to our presence by calling me right?"

"Easy, Jester, I was just calling to check in. Lady Boss has been breathing down my neck about making sure that you don't drop off the face of the earth again," the person on the other end of the phone said. "Remember what happened last time that happened?"

Jester shivered slightly, how could they forget? Sighing, they shook their head before speaking again. "Then why insist on me keeping my phone ringer turned up? Because these days it's going to get me torn apart."

"I wish you had said 'One of these days, it's going to get me killed and that would have been hysterical!" The person crowed only to be stopped by a low growl from Jester. "Right...well it's because you won't answer it otherwise and Lady Boss wants to make you sure that you answer when someone calls you. That's why."

"Either way it will get me ripped to pieces and you know I hate trying to put myself back together after that happens. It's never pleasant for anyone else involved either." Jester replied, voice dropping down to a whisper as they continued stalking their prey.

Thankfully, the sudden ringing of their phone hadn't alerted the demon to their presence. Crouching low and pressing the phone to their ear - the being gauged with the tracks found. The deep foot prints lead into a large cave. Once they hit the stone floor, they vanished entirely but claw marks started up in its wake. This thing either wasn't even trying to hide itself or it thought that it was safe enough that it didn't need to cover its trails.

"Are you still talking?" Jester asked the person on the phone. "Yes, is that a problem Jess?" the other asked purposefully calling them by a more feminine name. Jester growled yet again, lower this time before speaking, "Do not address us as such while we are undecided, Min. Do it again and the next time we see you, we will tear you apart."

"You do know that Lady Boss won't let you right? She likes me too much for that." Min replied, managing to sound both smug and terrified at the same time. Jester sighed because the idiot was right. Their boss was far too fond of the little blond tech to allow one pissed off undead kill him. Shaking their head over and over, Jester tried to refocus at the task at hand.

Gladly, it was never all that hard for them. By following the traces deeper into the cavern, they came across a large heavy stone standing in the path. The trails disappeared underneath it, meaning that the demon had dropped this in its wake after passing through here.

Jester took a deep breath before calling on the more male half of their being. Slowly, the androgynous features of the being blurred and started to reform as something decidedly male. Shoulders widened, hips narrowed, arms and legs bulked out and his face became more angular. Opening large golden eyes, the now man being turned back to the boulder in his path.

"Min, I need to put the phone down for a bit. Stay put," he muttered softly. "Sir, yes sir!" Min replied cheerfully.

Setting the device aside, Jester turns to the big rock. Cracking both his neck and fingers, the undead male grabbed it near the bottom. Taking a few deep breaths, the man centered himself before lifting with all his might. At first, nothing seemed to happen. Tardily, the stone began to move. It raised sluggishly out of its spot on the floor as the muscles strained in Jester's arms, legs and back. Thankfully, once he had it in the air. Moving the rock, was a simple task after all. Once it was back on the ground, he picked up the phone once again and let him slip back into an epicene state.

"What were you doing? Moving a giant rock?" Min asked as soon as the phone was pressed back against their ear. Jester didn't even dignify that with a response. They just moved further back into the delve, following the still painfully obvious trail. There was no way that this demon wasn't aware that it was being followed. Min was loud enough on his own and the damn phone wasn't even on speaker! Finally, after about twenty minutes of walking and listening to Min chatter about inane things, they asked the man to shut up.

"Dude, really? Is that all you're going to say to me?" Min replied indignant. "Min, I found the demon I'm hanging up so I can go kill it." Jester replied, stress rather evident in their voice.

"Oh, my apologies. Sure, I'll just let Lady Boss know you'll be back soon, ok?" Min says sounding hopeful. Jester didn't even respond. They just closed the phone with a soft click. After sliding the little thing into their pocket, they diverted his presence of mind towards the demon. The question is 'Why is it sitting on a large chair in the middle of the room, looking totally unconcerned?'" Dead black eyes roamed over the seemingly empty room as if seeing a large audience. Jester slowly reached back into their favorite pocket dimension and pulled out a powerful sniper rifle. The gun seemed almost too abundant for such a small form, but in delight.