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Standing at the docks would be a man dressed in a red and black cloak, gold and silver patterns lined all about it. Very ornate, but something about it would seem off. For one, anyone that got near would swear this person smelled of blood and iron. His face was covered by his hood, shadowing it perfectly, though his hands would be entirely visible - long, pale hands, slender digits that looked more like claws.

He simply stood there, looking at the parked ships...with corpses strewn all about, each one having several gashes in them, if not chunks missing, each one entirely drained of blood. Noticing Adelaide, the being would turn to look over his shoulder, his pointed blood-stained chin now visible, as well as the grin on his ghoulish face, rows of elongated yellow fangs stained with even more red.

"This one likes the ships." The creature said, turning its attention to Dethblade and Adelaide's docked ships. "If this one has a ship, he could travel the cosmos and feast on all kinds of delicacies! This one is hungry...so hungry..." With several cracks, pops and breaks, the creature's form would twist around to face Adelaide completely. "This one just wants to eat...eat and eat...eat until the pain stops...human flesh does not sate this one...but it is delicious!" It shrieked before cackling.

The creature looked to the gun, then to Adelaide again. "This one sees your gun. This one obeys. What do you want, human? Quid pro quo!" It snickered, raising its hands into the air for her to see. Part of its arms would be exposed, revealing long, bony arms with tubs fed in and out of its flesh. Furthermore, one eyeballs would be seen on each palm, a set of eyes that every now and again would either blink or open to reveal tiny, fanged mouths. "This one smells your fear, human. That makes this one...hungry..."

Both shots would land in the creature, though it wouldn't change position. Instead it would let out a terrifying shriek and erupt with an explosion of blood form all angles, expelling the ammo back out. After the blood nova, the creature would take a step forward, its talon clad feet sloshing in the blood. Robes dripping with blood, globs of crimson pouring from his fingers, the creature's eyes would open into mouths, inhaling in all the blood around them, and even tugging on the iron elixir inside of Adelaide. "This one is hungry...so very hungry...this one just wants to stop hurting! This one wants the pain to cease and desist, but you shoot this one...what has this one done to you? Was the food her friends...did this one gobble up your pals? This one is sorry, but this one is so very hungry..."

The blood nova had blown back the creature's good, revealing a ghoulish man with sharp, pointed features and elongated ears, though the oddest part about the creature would be the smile on it's face as it cackled while tears of deep, dark rd streamed down its cheeks from orbless eye sockets. "This one is so hungry...and so sorry...this one must eat...and you volunteered" The creature shrieked, running at an eerily fast pace at Adelaide, hands in the air ready to claw her and mouth wide open to bite her if he reached her. "FEEDING TIME!"

The bullet would hit the creature in the back of the throat, causing it to stop for a moment. Twitching a bit, it would take an odd, almost broken step now and again towards her, slowly picky up speed. While it shambled her way, the eye of his left hand would open, the small mouth expelling the bullet with a spray of blood.

Feeling threatened now, the creature would collapse into a pile of blood, spreading rapidly in the direction of the docked ships. Coming upon Adelaide's cocked ship, the creature would retake humanoid form and cling to the side, crawling to the unseen side of the ship.

"That creature is quite formidable, isn't it? A little unnerving as well, but if I were you, I wouldn't fear it." Advised a calm, warm voice coming from beside her. "All that power and dramatic, albeit bloody display, but it still ran from you. These people had guns too, and I'm sure they shot it as you did, but somehow, some way, you scared it." The voice would chuckle as the man made himself known.

He wore a red trench coat of sorts that parted at his waist, his chest covered by a white shirt and two black X-shaped straps with various pouches and pockets on them, as well as his belt. He worse a pair of black pants, simple and sheen, and a pair of steel-toed black combat boots. He had a headband around his forehead, a metal plate on the front with strange carvings in it. Mid-length wild white hair blew around his face with a pony tail tied in the back. His eyes were green, literally glowing like emeralds with lights shown upon them.

"Don't rush in so hastily, madame. Let's see if we can draw him back to us and claim control over the situation, shall we?" The man offered her a sincere, warm smile while raising his hand up. He'd wince a bit as a familiar red liquid began exiting his pours, forming a ball of blood. He'd direct towards her ship and manipulate it to spread out in a veil, and sure enough the creature came crawling out and jumped down on to the dock, following after the orb.

"So, what do you want to do madame? I'm not trying to defend the killing of so many innocents, but the creature did say it was hungry. Whoever, whatever it is, may indeed just be hunting for substance." He'd turn the veil into three separate metal chains of iron and instantly bind the creature around the arms twice and legs once. He'd then manage to lift the creature into the air. The creature would attempt to fade into a puddle of blood again but fail, causing it to gain a look of distress.

The man would offer Adelaide a warm smile until she broke her gaze, then simply smile and look up at the creature. "You're the one that shot and killed Dethblade, correct?" He'd then chuckle. "Even if it was only momentarily." He'd look back to her and turn completely to face her, on hand in his coat pocket and the other stretched out towards her. "Ghristoff Crossfeld, but people tend to just call me Cross."

Whether she shook or declined his hand, he'd pull it back and pocket it for a moment, then pull out a card, holding it out to her again. "You worked. You succeeded in your job. You ought to be paid. Here's $$30,000,000,000. The second portion is yours as well, but under one condition...I know it's not fair to withhold your earnings for more work, but seeing as I am only a fellow bounty hunter, I can't just give away money to the competition. My condition is a blood oath that you owe me one favor that I can call upon at any time."

"Before you answer, I want you to see something." He'd remove one arm from his sleeve, showing an array of similar-looking tattoos lining his arm, from his wrist to his neck, all glowing red. "These are all favors I can call upon. They line my entire body." They would then stop glowing and disappear, at which point he'd place his arm back into his coat. "So what do you say, pretty lady? Would you like to make a deal with a devil?" He joked.

Cross smirked. "You have a great deal of honor, don't you Ms. Curtis? I admire that. It's a trait far too many human beings lack these days." He'd look to the bound creature, then back to her. "I'm going to have a chat with this thing. You're welcome to leave, and know my deal remains on the table."

He'd use a hand gesture to levitate the creature and hover it over to him, then banish the chain from its mouth. "Listen and listen well. I'm going to ask a question, and you're going to answer in full. Failure to do so will result in unimaginable pain and suffering. Let this be a symbol of my honesty." As he spoke, spikes would extend through the creature from all directions, extending from the chain links.

"This one understands!!!" The creature cried out.

"Three questions. Answer them in order." Cross commanded. "What is your name? What are you? Where did you come from?" He asked, hands in his coat pockets and nonchalantly.

"...This one has no name. This one was never given a name." The creature answered. "This one is a homunculus; an artificial human genetically engineered to serve the purpose of his creator, the Scarlet Alchemist." It revealed. "This one comes from Genesis Labs."

"Excellent job, you do seem to comprehend instructions. Next question: why are you here?" Cross asked, one eye closing.

"This one was told to find a girl, Nimm. This one was instructed to kill the Nimm before Dethblade can weaponize her. This one was told to kill everyone in Nocturnal he could, but leave Dethblade alive. This one was told not to harm Dethblade. This one is to ingest the Nimm and return for analysis." The creature revealed.

Cross laughed. He'd begin walking away from the docks, the creature hovering behind him. "Let's see what Dethblade has to say about you. There might be some money to be made here."

Cross turned to look at Adelaide with a smirk, as if expecting her to return. There was a reason he'd chosen to question the creature while still in her presence, figuring curiosity would get the better of her. "I'm certainly privy to the idea. I agree that having someone they know come along with me would only work to my advantage." He'd wait for her to catch up before continuing forward, the homunculus floating next to him.

"This one does not think this will go well for you." The creature spoke before snickering to itself. It'd then look to Adelaide, a creepy grin on its face. "This one was only trying to feed...this one is sorry...this one needs sustenance to be of value to his master." It explained and attempted to apologize.

"You're an interesting one, aren't you? Just remember: if hubris overtakes you and you get mouthy, I can chain it shut." Cross spoke as he folded his arms. "Wise idea or not, it's what's happening, consequences be damned. This is far too interesting a development to ignore."