V2E7: Road Rage
Car horns and claxons blared as a yellow trail zigzagged at high speed in the busy streets of Vale. Yang didn't care much at the moment. Right now, her friends are in trouble and she'll be damned if she isn't there to help them. Neptune sat in the sidecar, holding on for dear life at Yang's reckless driving.
Anon however was busy looking at the highway and mentally compared it to the highway fight scene during Painting the Town. He noticed a tall skyscraper that was right bang where the fight will happen. Anon tapped on Yang's stomach.
"Go to that building and drop me off there!" He commanded.
Yang glanced at the building and thought about why he wanted to be there. Then she remembered the big fucking gun that Ruby worked on during the break.
"Right."
She zipped between two moving trucks and earned another blaring horn and a few middle fingers.
...
With the loud screeching of tires, Yang drifted to a halt in front of the building facing the highway. Upon closer inspection, some of the architecture was almost touching the highway itself. Anon hopped off the bike and circled around to retrieve the case. Neptune let out a sigh of relief.
"Finally~! Some space!" He elated.
"Don't be relieved too quickly." Anon spoiled his fun. "In the coming minutes, a big fucking robot is going to rampage across the highway."
He pointed to the pair then to the road.
"Your jobs are to keep him away from the civilians," he explained. "Even if you have to get in Blake or Sun's way, they can take it."
"Civvie protection, got it." Yang shot a thumbs up. "Anything else?"
Anon lugged the case on his back.
"Be as much of a nuisance until the whole team is gathered, then we can rock the bastard like a mother fucking hurricane."
Yang smiled wickedly.
"Oh, I can't wait to make him pay for the docks!"
Anon turned around, sparing Yang from the dead look in his eyes.
"He will, in time."
He gave them a two-finger wave.
"Now go! You got huntswoman shit to do!"
Yang sped out on the asphalt before zooming away like a rocket. Anon looked at the building's top, lifting and adjusting the case on his back.
"I hope my aim's still good at long range."
...
The automatic double doors slid out of his way, a small digital chime tinkling robotically. The place was... Corporate, for the lack of a better term. It looked friendly and inviting but the more you look at it, the more you can feel how soulless it all was beyond the warm and bright colours adorning the walls and the comfortable-looking sofas. At the reception was a single bored receptionist.
The receptionist was an admittedly beautiful man impeccably dressed in bright colours. Though his beauty was tarnished by a horrible case of resting bitch face. His gray and white gradient hair alone looked like it took ages to maintain, with only his delicately manicured hands and his short-trimmed beard looking even remotely as annoying to maintain. Said nails were almost as long as his fingers and gaudily varnished to boot.
In short, he was effectively a gender-bent female receptionist stereotype played straight.
He looked up from his scroll, chewing on something disinterestedly.
"Sorry sir, but we are about to close." His voice is exactly as you would expect from his appearance, although Hope expected him to have a lisp.
Jesus, this guy looks and sounds like he's a regular at the Blazing Saddle...
Anon swallowed the crude remark.
Come on now Anon, this isn't the internet. You can't say that sort of shit IRL.
"Look there, man. I got to get to the top of this place and I really don't have the time."
The receptionist raised an eyebrow.
"Sir, may I ask what you need to go to the top for?"
Anon gave him a lidded stare.
"Are you honestly paid enough to ask this kind of question?"
The man's brow rose further up. Anon rolled his eyes.
"Urgh." Anon pulled out a lien bill. "I'mma pay you ten thousand liens to fuck off."
The man's other brow joined its brother. He slowly reached for the bill and slid it into his coat's inner pocket. With the press of a button on his desk, an elevator began its descent for the ground floor.
"Thank you." Anon nodded in gratitude.
"Make sure to watch out for the door on your way out." The man left his seat. "On that note, I'm gonna go to that ramen stall that's been rolling around these parts. Today's cheat day."
Anon gave a bored thumbs up before hauling ass to the elevator. Now inside, he took a deep breath before taking it as high as it could go.
...
The elevator dinged and a robotic voice welcomed him to the top floor. Anon rushed out the doors and made his way through the empty floor until he found the roof access staircase. Anon gripped the handle and twisted it to no avail. Anon, with little time to spare, kicked the door in. Pieces of metal and plastic flew off as the door gave way. Anon ran up the stairs until he was met with another door that, in his rush, he just shoulder checked open. Anon stumbled onto the roof, losing his balance from the heavy case. Anon got off his knees with a roll of his shoulder and powerwalked to the railing. He looked from up on high to the cityscape. It wasn't the first time that he stood this high up but even still, he was enchanted by Vale's beauty despite it all. With a sad shake of his head, he stopped himself from admiring the view.
Not now, Torchwick first. Then maybe check out the view.
Anon looked down a few floors from his position towards the highway. As expected, the highway was right next to the building with a gap between the two. There was also a slope in the building's architecture that was near enough to the road that one could feasibly make the jump, provided they don't break their legs on the landing.
"Actually, I think I could make the jump." He mused. "Well... If I don't miss the gap, at least."
In the distance, he heard the distinctive crack of bullets being fired. He couldn't see them yet, which meant that he had the time to set up. He dropped to a knee and set down the gun case.
"I would say that it's time to make Simo proud, but I'm actually using a scope."
He undid the latches keeping the case shut and flipped the top lid open.
Within the silver and black case, laying on a bed of blue foam was an absolute beast of a rifle. Separated into three pieces was Morrigan, a custom-built anti-materiel rifle chambered in 14.5x114mm. The gun was ostensively a modernized and refined PTRS-41 Soviet anti-tank rifle, with cues taken from its younger cousin, the Dragunov SVD. The gun's design documents and blueprints were given to Ruby by Anon. It had been thoroughly overhalled but the look and feel of the gun were uncannily accurate.
The barrel was an even 122 centimetre with a circular muzzle break reminiscent of a DShK Soviet heavy machinegun, the barrel's surface shining dimly in the light with a blueish hue. Behind the muzzle break was the front sight. The glowing hooded sight was shining brightly a ghostly blue. The receiver and gas block combo had been painstakingly machined and treated to withstand the incredible power of the 14.5mm round. Gold decorative engravings danced on the black frame of the receiver. The magazine well had been modified to allow for custom detachable five-round magazines. The carry handle hung to the side like with the original model. Unlike the original model, the receiver had a heat shield on the top of the barrel and a foregrip similar to an SVD. The rear sight was actually more akin to a Barrett's flip-up adjustable sight, much to Hope's surprise. Lastly was the grip which was similar to a Dragonov's combined grip and stock but adapted to function on Morrigan. The stock was made of the same rich and ivory-like material as was with the carry handle and foregrip. The butt of the stock and the back of the grip were both rubberized for maximum shooting comfort.
Anon quickly assembled the rifle to admire the complete piece.
"Holy shit..." He swore breathlessly. "Bubba would be proud... But for once, I'm not complaining."
He looked into the case for anything else. A snap-on bipod, a side-mounted scope mount and a 2.5/10X magnification long-range scope. There was also, to his surprise, a trio of high-capacity drum mags. He looked at his rifle and saw that the fire selector had three positions: Safe, Semi-Auto and Full-Auto.
"Holy shit! Did she actually turn this fucking thing into a machine gun?! The recoil could probably dislocate my shoulder! I'm not using that!"
Anon quickly jigged the bipod, the mount and the scope unto the rifle. He grabbed one of the rounds and one of the six magazines from the case. He racked the bolt open and slid the round in before slapping the bolt shut.
"I mean, it's not an H&K but hey, it worked."
With a satisfying click, the magazine locked into the well.
"Five plus one of armour-piercing explosive 14.5mm rounds, ready to rip and tear."
Anon went prone and aimed at the bridge, adjusting the scope's magnification to something more reasonable for his current use.
"I know better than to doubt Ruby but please, let the scope be sighted in."
The sound of gunfire got closer and closer, the silhouette of the paladin and Yang's bike rapidly approaching in the distance. He looked over the bridge and at the arching structure above. Weiss was not in place like she did in the original scenario. Anon groaned to himself.
"Now is not the time to be lost, need to act now!"
He took aim and waited for Torchwick to come into view.
The paladin rolled into view, swinging its oversized wheeled legs around like it was roller skating. Blake flipped over an arm swing that was meant to bat her away like a softball. Sun was doing much the same, using his duplication Semblance to either take the hit for him or propel him out of the way. Yang and Neptune on the other hand were busying themselves corraling Torchwick away from any oncoming vehicles. Anon smiled but shook his head.
Focus, you can be happy that they're listening to you later.
Anon adjusted his grip and rested his face against the cheek rest. His view sharpened as he aimed through the telescopic sight as the battle raged on. The notched crosshairs aimed at the paladin's robotic kneecaps. The wind died and time went slow as if some force wanted to make the moment more dramatic. Anon took a deep breath and slowly squeezed the trigger.
...
Sun felt the whole weight of the robot's arm crash against his torso. Sun would have let out a pained scream if the air hadn't been knocked out of him. He bounced on the pavement, his Aura still holding strong and stopping him from getting road rash. Sun coughed hard and held his chest, desperately gulping down air to replace what's been knocked out. Blake fired potshots at the robot to try and take the heat off of Sun but Torchwick didn't fall for it. He saw an opportunity to squash a bug that's been pissing him off and by the gods, he'll take it. Torchwick took a running start, ready to roll over that monkey prick like common roadkill.
A deafening supersonic crack came from his left side.
Before Torchwick could react, his mech suit listed and collapsed to the side with the horrible hiss of metal grinding against the asphalt.
"What in the world?!" Torchwick blurted as he was tossed around the cockpit.
The robot struggled to get back on its feet to Roman's angered confusion. The system diagnostics told him that he suffered severe but manageable damage to its left servo. Torchwick used the onboard computer to track the location of the shot. In a nearby building, the bastard from the docks was taking aim at him with a huge rifle. Anon smiled maliciously as he readjusted his aim.
"Bastard!" Torchwick roared.
Roman levelled one of his arms at him, ready to obliterate him with his energy cannons. Yang and Blake, however, had other plans. Roman found his arm bound with a strange elastic ribbon that pulled his arms away from his intended target, firing into the ground instead.
"Hey, fuckstick!" Yang shouted, channelling her best Anon impression. "Your business is with us!"
Roman growled as he turned the mech to face them, only to have his shoulder hit with another round from the sharpshooter. Roman yelled out in rage as the computer confirmed a near-crippling blow, another shot and that arm's toast.
"Godsdamnit!" He slammed his fist on the onboard communicator. "Neo! Get rid of that damned pest on the roof, now!"
He unleashed his rage on the four people set before him. Yang, Blake, Sun and Neptune steeled themselves as Roman charged at them.
...
Anon let out a complaint as the battle became far too frantic for him to get a proper shot, with either Blake or Sun getting in the way of his shots.
"Oh for the love of- Clear my fucking sightline, you twats!"
He took a shot and missed, nearly hitting Neptune. Anon gasped at near hit and gave him a pained cringe when he got a bewildered glare. He kept groaning as he missed another shot. His next shot found its target but only got a glancing hit that didn't damage anything vital.
Anon felt a freezing chill down his spine and his gut screamed that someone was behind him. The shadow looming over him confirmed his instinct and he rolled on his side, avoiding a blade that would have severed his spine. Anon got to one knee before his rifle was kicked out of his hands and over the edge.
"No!" Hope cried out before being smacked in the face by a heeled boot.
Anon tumbled to the ground and held his chin. He let out a curse before back kicking at his assailant's shins. His nimble attacker easily dodged the clumsy blow, the clicking of their heels taunting him. He looked up and his eyes widened with shock.
"Oh..." He let out flatly. "Fuck me..."
Neo smirked teasingly as she twirled her parasol, Hush. A sudden ping came from his scroll, it was most definitely Neo but she wasn't holding a scroll of her own. Hope hesitated to pick up and check the message but let his curiosity take hold of him.
IceScream: 'Sup stud, been a while! \^_^/'
Anon looked up from his scroll, expecting her to be in his face with a blade to his throat. Instead, she only took a few calm steps forward. Anon glanced at her wearily.
"Yeah, been a few months," he said. "I wouldn't say I missed you but, you know."
Neo held her heart, emoting in exaggerated shock and sadness. Anon swore that he saw a crocodile tear in the corner of her eye.
IceScream: 'Have you no heart?! After everything, we've been through together? What we had? :,('
Anon rolled his eyes.
"Oh yeah, such tender and wonderful moments. let's see..." He counted off of his fingers. "We shared a cigar, a joke or two at Roman's expense and me seeing you off to store with another shitty pun for a name. All in the span of like ten minutes..."
He gave her a lidded look with an eyebrow raised.
"Such sweet memories we've had..." he said sarcastically.
She sniffled and wiped away the tear from her eye, only to immediately start smirking suggestingly.
IceScream: 'We could always make more~ :3'
Anon threw his arms in the air in exasperation.
"Why is it that almost every girl I have an extended interaction with wants to bone me?!" He demanded to know. "There's like, what, five of you now?!"
Neo blinked.
IceScream: 'I mean, I don't call you stud for nothin'. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯'
Anon squinted at the ice cream-coloured criminal.
"Am I really that handsome that five different girls with widely different tastes have either shown to or explicitly told me they were interested in fucking me?"
IceScream: '... ✋'
"On just the basis that I'm good-looking?"
IceScream: 'You're also pretty funny, I think.' Neo giggled. "Especially how foulmouthed you are. Seriously, and I thought I could swear up a fucking storm."
Her smile turned sinister.
IceScream: 'I also really liked how you beat the shit out of uncle Junior. :)'
Anon didn't react.
"So there was someone who was watching me at the club." He said neutrally.
IceScream: 'I was just there for a small drink, you know, to pass the time because Roman is just so fucking interminable when he talks.'
She walked forward until she was right next to him. She traced her finger across his chest, then traced under his chin.
IceScream: 'Then you came in... And what a fucking sight it was!'
She brought her hands together and held them to her face, smiling like a kid at a sweet shop.
IceScream: 'Oh! The way you pummeled him into the ground! And that SPEECH!' She gasped and danced in place giddily. 'So dramatic, so cool! *o*'
Anon backed away, clearly uncomfortable at having his violence celebrated.
"I mean... Thanks? I guess?"
Her smile turned sick, a horrible and sadistic smile fit for someone who revels in violence.
IceScream: 'The way you threatened to burn him alive with just a flick of a cigar, the breaking and grinding of a glass bottle against his flesh.'
Anon cringed.
"Oh, you're one of those people..."
Neo squinted in confusion before catching on.
IceScream: 'OH! No, no. Not in like a pain-loving psycho way.' She clarified. 'More like... A professional appreciation for someone with the same craft.'
"So me beating the shit out of some dick whistle is now considered some sort of sick art?"
Neo deadpanned him.
IceScream: 'Look dude, if someone vomiting on a canvas or posing in the streets in a leather gimp suit is considered art, then a good shakedown should be too.'
Anon grimaced in horror.
"Oh my fuck! Modern art is a thing here too?!"
Neo sighed dejectedly.
IceScream: 'Sadly, yes. T_T'
Anon deflated.
"Goddamnit... And here I thought I had escaped that pretentious bullshit!" He palmed his face and sighed sadly. "I need a drink..."
Neo smiled mischievously.
IceScream: 'I know a good place.' She hooked her arm around his. 'How about it? We ditch these losers and paint the town red?'
Anon looked over to his friends fighting on the highway. Ruby and Weiss had arrived to help out the others. Now reunited, Team RWBY and the SSSN duo were on equal grounds with the prototype paladin. Anon then felt a cold breeze, something in the back of his head told him that they'll be fine and that they don't need him. They're the heroes of the story anyhow, they can't just die fighting the BBEG's minion. No way...
Anon inhaled before pushing Neo away and putting some space between them.
"Sorry sweety, I won't desert my friends. Even if you're a hot shortstack!"
Why did I add that last part?!
Neo looked mightily disappointed.
IceScream: 'And I wore my pink undies too...' She shrugged then cheered right back up. 'Oh well, better luck next time~ ( ͡~ ͜ʖ ͡°)'
She smiled wickedly.
IceScream: 'That is if there is a next time.'
'After all,'
'You're my prey now. 3'
Anon felt sweat drip from his temple.
Fuck.
He didn't even have the time to blink before Neo lunged at him with her Hush, its razor-sharp point gleaming in the light. Anon slapped the strike away at the last possible second, his comparative sluggishness earning him a cut to the cheekbone. Anon ducked instinctively as she tried to kick his stomach in. Hope pulled out his handgun and fired three quick shots from the hip. Neo opened her parasol to block but to her shock, her usually bulletproof solar blocker was ineffectual in protecting her from Hope's hot loads (of lead). Her Aura tanked the hit and, to her shock once more, felt like she got hit by a jackhammer. She stumbled backwards from the three hits to her abdomen, a moment of weakness that Anon took advantage of by dashing forward and pistol-whipping her upside the head. Neo felt her spine compress from the heavy-handed strike. Her eyes sharpened and she frowned.
Shit... Now she's serious.
Neo stepped forward and wound her head back before headbutting Anon straight in the chin. Anon recoiled back, his back hitting the protective railing of the building's edge. A dazed Hope fell to the floor, losing his grip on his gun. Neo didn't wait for him and jumped on top of him, straddling his waist. She smiled evilly before driving her Hush down on him. Anon, having regained his bearings, angled his head away from the thrust. He felt chunks of the floor fly into the air from the impact of her hidden blade.
"Son of a bitch!" Anon blurted out fearfully.
Neo forcefully held down his chest to hold him in place for her to finish him off. Anon held his hands out in desperation and caught the blade with his gloved hands. The leather severed and gave way under the keen edge of the blade. Anon let out a pained grunt as the edges dug into his palms, sticky blood softly oozing from his new wound. Neo's cruel smile turned predatory as she licked her teeth, slowly bringing her face closer to his. Anon was too busy keeping her blade at bay to care that she was about to do something weird. She slowly, deliberately licked the wound on his cheekbone.
"What the actual fuck?!" Anon exclaimed.
His grip on the blade slipped. The blade nearly took his eye out but he held the weapon at bay by the guard. Neo, however, seemed to have lost the plot despite her homicidal intent. Her tongue travelled down from his cheek to his neck. Neo kissed his neck before chomping down on it. Anon let out a surprised exclamation at having his neck nibbled.
SERIOUSLY, WHAT THE FUCKING HELL IS WRONG WITH HER?!
Her grip changed from his chest to clamping down on one of his wrists, pinning it to the ground. Her lips freed themselves from his neck with a sucking noise, a string of saliva connecting her to him. His neck now sported a playful but painful bite mark surrounding what was undoubtedly a hickey. Neo licked her lips sensually, looking down at him with a disturbing playful glance. The kind of playfulness reserved for sick, twisted perverts.
...Oh no, I really am an anime protagonist now! I have my own yandere!... WAIT, FUCK, THAT'S TERRIBLE!
The roof aces door slammed open. Holding the damaged door was the receptionist.
Oh, thank god! Save me from this crazy cunt!
"What the heck is happening here?!" He demanded to know. "I heard gunshots coming from here and I found the doors broken and-"
The effeminate man stopped as he looked at the scene before him. The man looked between Hope and this new girl he did see before. She straddled him, who looked pretty stiff downstairs. Probably from the adrenaline... Probably. She had this lustful look on her face and he could definitely see a really big hickey on his neck.
"Uh... We're trying to kill each other I swear..." Anon said defensively.
The receptionist blinked before grabbing something out of his pocket and tossing it at Hope's side. A rubber condom.
"Please don't make too much of a mess..." The receptionist sheepishly but politely asked as he backed away, halfway covering himself with the broken-down door.
"WAIT, THIS ISN'T WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE!"
The man stopped, his eyes still glued to the scene. Neo sat up and jolted in surprise. She looked down at the bulge then gave Hope a playfully curious look.
"...I know you can't talk but shut the fuck up, it's a perfectly normal physiological response to fear!"
Neo smirked evilly, grinding her privates against his tent. She moaned silently, making erotic faces and looking just a bit too into it. By this point, the receptionist understood that he walked in on something better left private and left after closing the door.
"WAIT NO!"
Neo burst out laughing, cackling silently at Anon's embarrassment.
"WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" He bellowed.
Neo shrugged nonchalantly before wrenching her parasol out of his grip. Anon took this opportunity to clock her in the jaw and pushed her off of him. Neo jerked back from the hit, just enough for Hope to crawl rapidly away from her. His back hit the railing once more, the old metal bar creaked against his weight. Neo saw red and thrust the blade at Hope's heart. Anon yelped before throwing himself to the side to dodge, her blade stabbing into the railing. Neo jerked her blade out of the metal before jumping on Anon again. Now Neo went completely feral, wildly stabbing in his general direction. Anon tried his best to block or dodge her strikes but ended up with terrible cuts for his trouble.
Once again, Anon was at the edge of her blade and this time, Neo was not playing anymore. She was going for the kill and was pulling all of her not-insignificant strength into trying to pierce a hole through his head. Neo stood over him, throwing her full weight into her thrust with Hope slowly losing ground. inch by inch, Neo's Hush was coming closer to pull a Van Helsing on him and staking him through the heart. The tip pierced the flesh on his solar plexus. Anon screamed out in pain, his mind slowly succumbing to panic. Just then, he saw that her back was to the railing. The same shitty old railing that she damaged.
Please work!
Anon yelled before kicking her off in the stomach as hard as he could. Neo stumbled back against the railing, which creaked and bent under her weight. Anon shot to his feet and shoulder-checked her with all his weight. Neo flew through the railing before plummetting to the depts below. Anon fell to his knees, his breathing laboured with a slight whistling. He struggled to his feet, holding his chest wound, before checking over the edge for any signs of Neo.
The ice cream-coloured enforcer was floating down to the ground, Mary Poppins style. She landed below the highway and stared upwards, a crooked and angry smile on her face. A notification pooped off on Hope's scroll.
IceScream: 'Crafty fuck. I'm actually kind of impressed.'
Anon scoffed.
Me: 'Hate the game, not the player.'
IceScream: 'Oh, I do.'
'Next time, your ass is mine!'
Me: 'Seriously, do you want to fuck me or kill me? Cuz you're sending me some mixed messaging.'
IceScream: 'Whichever comes first! (*｀へ'*)ノ彡┻━┻'
Me: '눈_눈'
'Are you fucking real?'
IceScream: 'I'M THE FUCKING REALEST THERE IS, BABY! ୧(ಠ益ಠ)୨'
Me: '(¬_¬)'
'Whatever, crazy-ass.'
Anon closed his scroll before looking back at the bridge. The gang moved quite far away from his current position, so much so that even if he had his rifle, he wouldn't be able to help in any way. Speaking of which, Anon checked towards the ground for his rifle. A shine came in the corner of his eye and to his shock, his Morrigan was right there! It was stuck on a structural ledge but it was in reach. He just had to get over the railing and climb down a bit... Anon checked over the edge and yes, a fall from this height would most certainly kill or horrifically cripple him.
"That's just fucking swell." His voice cracked under the weight of the sarcasm.
Anon walked to his gun and inspected it, surprised at how effective it had been against Neo.
Shit, talk about power coming in small packages.
He strapped it back to his leg and grabbed Morrigan's case, hooking it to his back. He took a deep breath before jumping the railing. Holding on for dear life, he shimmied across the available flooring before taking a small jump to grab a wall protrusion. Anon flinched slightly, the slashes on his palms still stinging and bleeding. Anon's grip slipped due to the blood. He let out a gasp before sighing nervously, dangling from one arm with death right below.
I fucking hate this...
He grabbed the protrusion again and began a slow and methodical climb down to the ledge where his rifle was. Anon tested the strength of the ledge before landing on it with a dinky hop. He grabbed the rifle and inspected it for damage. Luckily, the rifle had minor scuffing on the surface. Unluckily, however, the scope's lens was cracked and the scope itself was badly bent in one place.
Must have landed on it. Fuck!
Anon took off the side mount and stuffed it into the case before flipping on Morrigan's iron sights.
Well... I guess I could make Simo proud now... That'll have to do.
He sighed through his nose, knowing that even though he made it, he still had to get off the fucking platform. The police had finally come on the scene and were doing the best they could to keep order despite the pandemonium of traffic. Anon huffed nostalgically.
"Geez, this reminds me of my old morning commutes." He reminisced. "A lot more death threats and cursing though than here."
He looked at the building again and saw the sloping flairs of the building, then back to the road. The coming section was cut off because the fight was happening on that side of the road. On the other hand, the going section had cars speeding in the direction of the fight. One of which being a news van. An idea popped into Anon's head.
Oh, this is stupid... But considering the world I'm in, it might just work.
Anon took a slight leap and slid down the structural slope. The van was speeding close, close enough to see that it's bearing the logo of the Vale News Network. Once Anon reached the end of the slope, he springboarded himself off the edge. He braced himself as he landed on the van's windshield. The glass cracked but didn't shatter, flexing slightly under his weight. He made out the sound of multiple gasps and yelps, one definitely being feminine. The car began decelerating. Hope grunted before knocking on the glass.
"Keep driving!" He yelled through the pain. "I got a robot to kill!"
"Are you crazy?!" The driver asked.
"Yes! Now drive!"
The van sped back up. One of the people in the back went to check what was going on.
"What happened?" The feminine voice asked. "Did we hit something?!"
She looked and saw the broken glass and a man with a huge rifle adorning the hood like a deer on a truck. Said man was digging his heels on the car's hood.
"What the heck?!"
Anon tilted his head to see who the new girl was.
"Miss Lavender. Greetings." He greeted through his teeth. "I hope you don't mind me crashing on your van, I'm kind of in the middle of something."
One of the men in the back began filming.
Fucking reporters, always ready for a story, huh?
"Who are you and why are you on the hood of my van?" She asked cooly like she was used to seeing crazy shit like this.
Anon looked forward at the road, Roman's rampage still in view despite his current absence.
"I'm a man who's currently on the hunt, so to speak."
Lisa hesitated to ask.
"What kind of hunt? Are you a Huntsman?"
Anon saw the big mech in the distance, taking aim.
"I'm hunting an asshole criminal's rampaging in a bigass mech." He answered as he adjusted his iron sights. "As for the ladder..."
He let a smirk slip.
"Not quite."
Roman was now in full view and both the girls and the boys were still fighting it. Roman swung his damaged arm in an arc, hitting the SSSNal duo and sending them flying off the highway. Lisa gasped at the sight while the driver cursed. Hope gnashed his teeth. His eyes sharpened and time seemed to slow. He aimed his gun at the metallic menace.
"Eat this, cocksucker!"
Anon pulled the trigger, firing the massive shot out of the rifle. The shot miraculously hit Roman right in the mech's already damaged arm. Sparks flew as the arm malfunctioned before shorting out, the robotic appendage dangling uselessly. Roman turned around in time to see Anon flipping him off with the biggest shit-eating grin possible by mortal men. Anon heard him roar in fury before it being cut off by three words.
"BUMBLEBEE!" Ruby commanded her team. "ICE FLOWER!"
Anon smiled as Roman let out a screech of terror.
"Serves you right..." He said, self-satisfyingly. "Punk cunt."
He knocked on the glass.
"Hey, driver."
"W-what?"
Hope pointed to a road exit to their left.
"See that downward exit over there?" He asked. "I need to see if my friends that got batted away are ok. Could you be kind enough to take it?"
"S-sure thing, sir!"
Anon scoffed jovially.
"I'm not old enough to be sirred, bruv."
Anon took time to reload, this time loading in anti-personnel rounds instead of armour-piercing explosive.
Can never be too careful.
"Sir," Miss Lavender called out to him.
"Name's Hope, miss Lavender. Not sir."
"Pardon me. Mister Hope, I have some questions."
"Of course you do." He rolled his eyes playfully. "Shoot."
"What was it that just occurred?" She questioned in a professional manner. "Do you know what led to this?"
Anon cradled his rifle against his chest and breathed softly.
"Roman Torchwick is on his bullshit again."
"The infamous criminal?"
"Yes, the fucking carrot-top. Do you know any other ginger ne'er-do-wells?"
"N-no?" She stuttered.
"Good! I already have my hands full with one."
The driver turned a corner before bruskly breaking. Anon flew off the hood with a startled scream, landing in a tumble.
"OOOOW! What the fuck, dude?!" Hope shouted angrily.
Anon looked forward and immediately understood why the driver pulled the brakes. Currently, Sun and Nep were fighting against Neo, and she wasn't losing. None of them noticed him, too absorbed in fighting. Anon shouldered his rifle and aimed at Neo's back. He silently cursed Neptune as he got in the way of his shot.
Patience, Hope. Learn some fucking patience...
He took a deep breath before taking the shot. Neo flew through the air, letting out a silent scream of pain as her Aura shattered. She landed in a heap a few meters from her last position. The guys, startled, looked to their unannounced saviour. Anon smiled before coming to them.
"What would you assholes be without me?"
Sun beamed at his friend.
"MY DUDE!"
"Sup." Anon greeted back cooly.
Neptune sighed in relief, his brow drenched in sweat and his coat in tatters.
"Thank the gods you made it in time!" He praised. "If you hadn't come, this crazy chick would have skewered us."
"No crap," Sun added. "That damn robot... thing, almost completely drained our Auras."
Anon hummed, his attention turning to Neo. The ice-cream-coloured henchwoman had gotten up, holding her aching ribs. She shot a glare at the three men, gripping her Hush tightly in anticipation. Anon shouldered his rifle, keeping her in his sight. The other guys followed suit, aiming their weapons at Neopolitan.
"It's three on one, Neo." He told her menacingly. "I don't care how tough you are, without Aura you're gonna drop like a fly."
Neo seemed to have actually listened to what he said because she began sweating lightly. She eyed her surroundings for possible escapes. She bit her lip nervously before looking up to where Roman should be in relation to her. The sounds of fighting had reached their crescendo before suddenly stopping. She was visibly distressed at the silence. Anon paused.
"You really care about Roman, don't you..."
She looked at him then nodded slowly. Anon considered his next action very fucking carefully... And lowered his rifle.
"Leave."
Everyone jolted in shock, shooting him incredulous stares.
"Anon?!" Neptune called out.
"I'm not going to say that she's defenceless, but I'd rather avoid bloodshed if I can. Or a kill-trade."
Sun still wasn't convinced, still levelling his gun-chucks at the mute enforcer.
"You sure that's a good idea, man?"
"It's a fuck-awful idea." He explained. "But it's the lesser of two evils."
Neo was stunned. She looked at him incredulously, looking for any sign of this being a trap. Once she saw that he wasn't planning anything, Neo slowly walked away. Before turning a corner, she looked at him one last time. And smiled genuinely. Anon kept his stern look.
"Go on, git. Before I change my mind."
She nodded before winking and blowing him a kiss. Neopolitan disappeared from sight, into the evening horizon of the cityscape. Anon looked out from under the highway to where RWBY was. He walked away to regroup with the girls.
"C'mon, lads." He waved them to follow. "We need to get back topside."
Neptune and Sun looked back nervously at where Neo left before complying with Anon's command.
Hope opened his scroll and checked his messages, expecting the girls to have sent him a message. His inbox was instead flooded with spam from Neo. Mostly gibberish and spammed letters like she rolled her hands on a keyboard.
[Last Message(s) from Neopolitan (IceScream)]
IceScream: 'You beautiful fucking stud you~'
'So fucking kind and generous towards Lil' old me.'
Anon shook his head.
Me: 'You're welcome. Just remember that I gave you a shot.'
'Don't make me fucking regret this, Ice cream.'
IceScream: 'I swear I won't!'
Me: 'On that note, I'm gonna go demolish Torchwick like I did Junior.'
There was a slight pause between the next message and the one he just sent.
IceScream: 'Don't kill him.'
'Please.'
Neo sent a kowtowing emoji to further her plea.
Me: 'I'm just gonna rough him up a lot.'
IceScream: 'Don't go too far. That's all I ask.'
Me: 'I won't. Don't worry.'
IceScream: 'Thank you. Like really. Thanks.'
Me: 'Yer welcome.'
A new notification appeared. Anon opened the link and immediately regretted it. The link was of Neo with her pants down and her blouse opened to reveal her half-naked body. Her undies were indeed pink. Her face was partially hidden, visible only from the nose down. She smirked mischievously in the photo.
IceScream: 'A little something to keep you entertained during those lonely nights~! Byebye!'
'( ˘ ³˘) '
Anon shook his head with a sigh, putting his scroll away.
"Why is it always the crazy ones that pull this shit?" He asked himself. "First was Psy from HR and now this crazy bitch..."
He sighed as he joined the guys.
"I really need a drink..."
...
The guys finally arrived at the scene, and not a minute too early as the girls just took down the paladin. Its limbs were in shambles and the body itself was unsalvageable. Torchwick had dragged himself out of the corpse of his mech with an annoyed huff.
"Piece of junk! Atlas can't make something worth a crap anymore!" He complained. "It couldn't take a punch from some overpowered bimbo for gods' sake!"
"Hey!" Yang yelled out.
Torchwick disregarded her and staggered to his feet. He groaned as wiped some grime off of his coat.
"I just got this thing dry cleaned too!"
The sound of footfall on the asphalt alerted him of Anon's presence. Roman whipped around and glared at him.
"And the prodigious asshole returns!"
Anon didn't say anything. Right now, his whole body was screaming in pain from getting cut up by Neo, getting hit by a van then flying off the hood a few minutes later and shooting seven rounds from an anti-material rifle. Anon was neither in the state nor mood to deal with this annoying asshole, so he stayed silent.
"What? No quip?" Roman taunted. "No funny one-liner or quirky insults?"
Anon's eyelid twitched and his grip on Morrigan tightened. Roman smirked.
"Nothing, uh? You pathetic hero types can't do a damn thing anyhow." He shot a look at Hope in particular. "Especially useless weaklings like you who always need help."
Something inside of Hope just snapped. A dark drive burned like a hellish torch inside Hope's heart, the shadows from the metaphorical flame casting a pitch-black shadow over his eyes. Anon approached Roman menacingly, a subtle rumbling coming from him. Roman started laughing hysterically.
"What a freaking joke!" He laughed mockingly. "Y-you think that just walking over and getting in my face will do-"
Anon pulled up Morrigan and shot the criminal square in the stomach. Roman's Aura broke and he flew back, crashing against a concrete barrier with enough force to crack it. Once the momentum died, Roman gripped his stomach before emptying it on the highway. Anon approached the crime boss, eyes empty of any emotion save barely held back fury. Once upon Roman, Hope jabbed the barrel against his jaw. He ground the muzzle break in his face.
"Last I checked, you don't talk shit to a guy holding a gun to your face." He growled threateningly.
Torchwick coughed violently before gasping and heaving.
"Y-you think having a big gun makes you big?"
Anon pulled the gun out of Roman's face before holding it by the barrel and smashing it in Roman's face. Torchwick spat out blood from his now cracked teeth.
"F-FUCK! You mother-"
Anon drove the gun's stock into his stomach, earning a pained roar.
"The gun doesn't make a man big," Anon explained flatly. "It's what you do with it that does."
The group looked on in shock and mild horror, minus Neptune and Yang who saw something similar from him this night. Instead, they looked on with nervous worry. He wouldn't cross that line, would he?
Roman gripped the gun's stock, hopelessly trying to get it off of him. In response, Anon put more force on his stomach. Roman gasped in pain.
"My patience is at its end, Roman." Anon threatened. "Tell me what we want to know and you leave here alive instead of lying dead in a ditch."
Roman tried to laugh but the pain made it near impossible for it to not sound strained and forced.
"Tell you w-what? That I have the Fang in my pocket and that I'm robbing the city blind with 'em?"
Anon kicked Roman in the face, eliciting a pained gasp followed by a lot of foul language.
"Where. Is. Your. Headquarters." Hope spelled out. "Now, Tell me-"
"Or what?! You'll shoot at me?!"
Yang and Neptune facepalmed. Hope sneered cruelly. He flipped his gun in the air, catching it by the grip and shooting from the hip at Roman's head. The shot just missed Roman's head, blowing his hat apart instead. The crime boss shrieked out in utter terror at almost having his head turned to mist. The confident act he put on shattered, in its stead was a terrified man shaking in pure fear.
"TALK!" Hope bellowed wrathfully, his voice booming with power and authority.
Torchwick stuttered, too panicked to make a proper sentence. Anon was about to shoot again but a nearby sound grabbed his attention.
The sound of jet engines.
From the skyline, a pair of bullhead made their appearance. One was a larger troop transport while the other was a small personal carrier, both emblazoned with the heraldry of the White Fang. The troop transport's side opened up, revealing a clown car's worth of militant racial fanatics. All of them toating machineguns, all of them aimed at the group.
Oh shit.
Anon backed away before hitting the ground running towards the rest of the group. His savage rage was replaced by panic.
"COVER, COVER!" He screamed. "WEISS, MAKE SOME FUCKING COVER!"
Weiss snapped to attention and unsheathed her Myrtenaster. She stabbed the rapier into the ground, its blade shining a deep icy blue. The White Fang opened fire, hailing down a storm of lead from a dozen guns. Anon heard the bullets whizzing by him as he dashed.
FUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCK-
A thick breast-high wall of ice formed on the ground and everyone threw themselves behind it. Anon vaulted over the cold cover before he was turned into swiss cheese. The ice chipped and cracked under the gunfire's impact, though it still held strong for the time being.
Anon's chest heaved up and down with panicked breaths.
"I fucking hate being shot at!"
He groaned aggravatedly, looking through the clear ice. Roman had hit the deck and was currently cowering on the ground, probably praying to not get hit in the crossfire. The smaller bullhead landed, its rear entrance opening and revealing Neo and someone Anon had hoped he would never meet. Adam Taurus walked out of the bullhead, his walk calm and controlled. He held a fist up, signalling his men to cease fire. Like a well-oiled machine, the White Fang soldiers immediately obeyed the non-verbal order. Neo ran out and immediately went to help Roman. Anon stood back up and checked his ammo. He remembered the drum mags in the case and took them out. He replaced the box mag with the drum and flipped the fire selector to full-auto.
Looks like I am actually gonna shoot this fucking thing full-auto...
"I wouldn't fight back if I were you." The brazen bull said to he called Hope.
Hope would be sweating if it weren't for the ice cooling him down.
"It's not the first time I'm being shot at, Taurus."
"Perhaps, but it's still quite unwise to exit cover when the enemy is ready to rip you apart with the thunder of guns."
Anon clicked his tongue, quietly jabbing a small part of the wall.
"Who the fuck said anything about leaving cover?"
Weiss caught on to what wanted once she saw him jabbing the barrier and opened a horizontal slit in the ice. Anon stuck the barrel through and let loose his own barrage of lead. Weiss opened similar slits for the rest of the group to help out. The White Fang returned fire in kind, even without the command of their leader. Adam pulled back towards the troop transport as bullets whizzed around every which way, either missing entirely or hitting either side's protection. While reloading, Anon slipped in a special tracking round that he asked Ruy to craft for him. He took the time to aim at the small carrier and fired the dart. The tracker embedded itself in the bullhead's hull, flickering a light twice before activating properly. A small notification appeared on his scroll, indicating to him that the dart was operational. Anon pretended to clear a jam and kept firing. One of his bullets shot straight towards one of the White Fang soldiers. Adam reacted on instinct and rushed in to take the hit instead of his trooper. The 14.5mm bullet crushed against Adam's sword, Wilt, sending him skating along the ground. His hair glowed a dangerously bloody red in an instant.
"What a powerful weapon you have..." He said almost admiringly.
"In a world where people with personal force fields that can tank a hit from a big fucking robot, I prefer to take them down quick."
Adam paused.
"So your gun was designed to kill people? Not Grimm?"
Anon frowned sourly.
"As with all weapons from my home."
"...I see." Adam nodded in understanding. "Simply know that I will not let you take the life of my men without just retribution."
Anon shook his head sadly.
"Then by the end of your war, you will be nothing more than a gore-drenched, vengeful monster."
Taurus paused thoughtfully.
"If I must become so for my dream to come true, then so be it." He said sadly.
The firing stopped for a scant moment for everyone to reload, giving enough time for Neo to escape with Roman. Anon saw her and aimed. She looked back, her eyes wide with fear. He paused, remembering the promise he made to her. Anon sighed through his nose before aiming elsewhere to resume fire. Neo blinked in surprise but smiled, silently thanking him for sparing her as she hauled ass to their ticket out of this warzone.
"Damn it!" Blake cried out. "Anon! Torchwick is getting away!"
"Fuck it!" Anon yelled over the gunfire. "We need to cut our losses! Let 'em go!"
Blake groaned in frustration, relenting. RWBY, S**N and Anon sat tight behind cover, waiting out the storm. Once Neo and Roman reached the Bullhead, their ride took off as fast as the wind could take them. Adam similarly boarded the troop transport as it lifted off. Adam hung out the side, holding on to a wall bar.
"Blake!" Adam called out her name.
Anon saw her exposed cat ears flatten on top of her head.
"You can still come back to us!" He begged, almost desperately so. "You still have a place among us!"
She shook her head sorrowfully.
"I'm sorry, Adam." Her voice cracked. "I'm done with the Fang."
"Illia and everyone else is still waiting for you! I'm still waiting for you!"
She looked away.
"Then you'll have to keep waiting..."
Adam gritted his teeth, not out of anger but sadness.
"I will. I'll wait until the End Times come if I must..."
The side doors closed as the transport lift off. Adam and his troops disappeared in the night.
He called Hope looked to where Adam was, deep in thought.
That was definitely Adam Taurus we fought... Then why the fuck does it not feel like I just talked to the murderous sociopathic creep Blake used to date? This fucker is too soft to be the Adam I know...
He shook his head and started nibbling on his thumb's nail.
That aside, the fact that he's here is straight-up not supposed to happen. I can get characters changing but characters being replaced? This could actually cause more problems than anything else.
Anon was taken out of his thoughts by Ruby and Yang grabbing at him and patting his body down.
"Are you ok?!" They asked panickily. "Nothing broken? You're bleeding! We need to get you some bandages!"
Anon held a hand up.
"Calm the fuck down, I'm not gonna keel over now that the trouble's gone."
"And the blood?" Ruby asked. "Is it your own blood?!"
"Superficial cuts. And yes."
"Why do you have glass on your coat?" Yang asked worriedly.
"I landed on Lisa Lavender's new's van."
Everyone blinked.
"Wait, what do you mean you landed?" Blake asked.
"My gun got hit out of my hands, so I climbed the side of the building to get Morrigan back. Then I jumped off and landed on the van."
RWBY was stunned to silence, slowly wrapping their heads around how stupid what he did was and every possible way this ill-thought-out plan could have gone wrong. Yang calmly inhaled before gently but sternly explaining to Anon that what he did was quite dangerous and foolish.
"ARE FUCKING BRAIN-DAMAGED, YOU DAFT DEMENTED DICKHOLE!" She roared at the top of her lungs while violently shaking him.
Anon just weathered the storm of overbearing, worried (and vulgar) fretting with mild indifference. Sun and Neptune were there to hold Yang back from accidentally ripping Hope's head off.
"LEMME GO YOU SHIT-WEASELS, IMMA FUCKING-"
"By the gods, lady! Calm your tits!" Sun begged, struggling to not get tossed away by Yang's monstrous strength.
"MY TITS ARE PERFECTLY CALM!" She bellowed in response.
Anon returned to thinking, still biting his nail with an intense look of concentration. Blake approached him seriously.
"What are you thinking?"
He didn't answer immediately, only to groan in frustration.
"That I made a serious fucking miscalculation."
He gave her a serious stare.
"Usually, I don't like to pry into people's past. But his time, I'll have to ask you a few questions about the Fang and Adam especially."
She frowned sadly, her cat ears flopping on top of her head.
"Can we not do that here?"
"Of course," He reassured her. "Whenever you have the time."
Blake nodded sourly before turning her head to the sound of rolling tires. The VNN news van rolled on the scene, unloading a small news crew with Lisa Lavender at the head.
"Mister Hope!" She called out.
"Oh for fuck-"
Anon instinctively hid Blake behind him.
"Put on your bow!" He whispered.
Blake nodded quickly and began fastening her bow on. The other members of the group approached the scene cautiously. Yang had (mostly) calmed down but Sun and Nep were still on stand-by if she flipped her lid again.
"What's happening?" Weiss asked.
Anon sighed tiredly.
"Looks like we're going to be on national television..."
Lisa walked as fast as her heels and pencil skirt would let her toward's Anon.
"Mister Hope! A moment, if you could," she asked.
Her news crew was already filming. Lisa turned to the camera, her clip-on mic riding her jawline.
"In front of us are the people responsible for stopping the crisis on Highway 17. One Hope, the very same who crashed on top of our van and risked his life to help put an end to Roman Torchwick's horrid road rage."
Anon snorted.
"That's putting it lightly."
"Mister Hope, I have a few questions for you and your allies."
Anon held his hand up after rolling his sore shoulders.
"I don't want to be a dick, Lisa. But now is really not the time for an interview."He made his point more poignant by clenching the wound in his sternum.
"The people would like to know what exactly happen." She retorted neutrally. "Even a small statement would do."
Anon rolled his eyes.
"Fine. TLDR: Roman and White Fang under Adam Taurus are colluding to cause havoc around Vale."
"This would explain the bullheads. But why are they collaborating with a human? And one so despised."
"I can't say for sure, but I can tell you that both the Vale Police Department and Vale's Huntsman Association are going to be on the case as quickly as possible. Before they might have tried to keep things quiet but after..."
He waved his arm around to show the carnage that was left behind. The road was ruined, with smashed asphalt and bullet holes everywhere.
"This disastrous display, I very much doubt that they are going to let him get away with this nonsense any longer."
"May I enquire about the large robotic suit that he has rampaged with?"
Anon weighed his options carefully but chose to play dumb.
"I honestly can't tell. I wouldn't put it past it being something that was stolen by either the Fang or Torchwick. There's just no way that they could manufacture something this powerful."
"I, for one, pray that you are correct."
She turned to face the camera and kept reporting what happened. Anon rejoined the gang with a tired whine.
"I'm so fucking sick of this place."
"So do I," Weiss complained alongside her friend.
He pulled on his collar, inspecting his ruined, blood-caked outfit.
Man... I really liked my new outfit too...
He froze in fear.
Oh god... COCO IS GONNA FUCKING KILL ME!
Anon deflated.
"This is the worst..."
"You can say that again." Sun joined in on the bitching and moaning action. "I'm cold and hungry..."
Anon hummed.
"Not a bad shout, Sun." He walked off. "Come on, nerds. I know a good place."
"What kinda place?" Ruby asked, popping next to him.
He sniffed the air and smiled, recognizing a familiar scent.
"You guys like noodles?"
V2E7: END!
NEXT ON PLAYLIST: V2E8 - PLAY?