Sabola wasn't sure why Ishaq had been surprised by their leader's actions. Khalid wasn't known to be the most rational person in the world, and had as much forethought as a rhinoceros. When he got mad, he got mad, and everything else ceased to matter. That was why Sabola was around: he was the realist. He knew what to do that would benefit the whole, and he knew what to say to make the Pharaoh realize he was about to do something fucking ridiculous.
Usually. Not in this particular case, perhaps, or in the case of the Golden Rhino debacle, but usually.
"Sab, do you see him?" a voice called from behind. Ishaq, he guessed, though he could barely make it out. It was far more likely to be him than Odji. Heaving so hard that he couldn't talk, Sabola shook his head in response and continued down the highway, legs numb and heart pounding so furiously that he couldn't even hear the rush of wind around him.
Where was Khalid? He had seen him before they took the curve, and now he was gone. The last time this happened, it didn't end pretty. It ended with a group of men in trench coats waiting around the bend, with a pistol to Khalid's head and a rifle in his gut. What if he turned the next corner and found that the Doom Riders had shanked their leader or something? Would they do that?
They seemed kind of crazy. They showed up, never even issued so much as a challenge, and almost strangled him. He had never fought a fellow Rudy that tried to kill the opposition. Knock 'em out, freak 'em out, or throw 'em out, yes, but murder? What the hell was wrong with those guys?
So lost in thought was he, that he didn't even notice Odji right next to him until the younger Immortal nudged him with his elbow. The shock caused him to slow, stumble, and nearly eat asphalt, but Odji snagged him by the sleeve and pulled him ahead and upright. No words were exchanged; he just jerked his head in the direction they were heading in, and when Sabola lifted his head, he could see flashing lights and strands of pink, and the head of a dragon peeking up over the side of the overpass.
They were on 99th Street. He had been so consumed with trying to catch Khalid, he hadn't even noticed that they had been dragged clean into rival territory.
And there, on the stretch of overpass overlooking Benten Tower, were Khalid and the Doom Riders. They weren't fighting. The "blinded" Doom Rider had one foot on the flashing fire that connected the dragon's head to the road, his visor lifted though they were standing so far away that he couldn't make out any details. His two flunkies stood at his side, fists raised as though they were about to go at it.
Khalid had overestimated just how much he could take so soon after being released from captivity. He was keeled over, one hand on his knee and another wrapped around his aching ribs. His body heaved, and his wheezing could be heard from where his underlings stood. Still, he seemed to be trying to hold his ground.
The poor guy didn't stand a chance.
"Son of a...!"
Sabola skidded to a stop. Odji, who still had a hold on his arm, lost his footing and came down with a shriek. Ishaq, who obviously hadn't been paying attention, crashed into Sabola's back with a chilling "pop" that caused the older Rudy to cringe. When he turned, the rookie was clutching his nose in a tell-tale manner. He sounded congested when he looked up hopefully and asked, "Did you find him?"
"Yes," Sabola croaked, shifting his weight uneasily as Ishaq moved his hand away from his nose to assess the damage. A trickle of blood zigzagged its way from his nostril, and with a groan, he wiped his aching schnoz on his sleeve; thank Osiris he was wearing black. Reaching into his pocket with shaking hands, he hurriedly pulled out a piece of stray gauze and tore a bit off with his teeth.
"So why did we stop?" he asked as he wadded the bit of cloth up between his fingers and crammed it up his nostril. Sabola didn't even have time to admit he was scared before Khalid let out a raspy roar of anger and lunged at his adversaries. The second-in-command cursed loudly and bolted forward, Odji staggering uneasily to his feet and slowly hobbling along behind him. Ishaq squirmed and toyed with the idea of running, but, in the end, his loyalty to the Pharaoh won.
As he approached, he watched as the Rider's leader grabbed Khalid by the hair of the head and threw him into the railing. The Pharaoh tried to shake it off, clambering up awkwardly to his feet, bleeding and gritting his teeth. He had no idea what to think when he saw their half-crazed leader immediately try to attack again, throwing a badly-aimed punch that opened him up for a blow that brought him to his knees. He fell to his side on the concrete, groaning, but before the other bikers could get too many kicks in on him, Sabola sprang forth like a tiger and snagged one around the throat.
It was almost comical, watching scrawny Sabola hanging off of a burly biker like a backpack, but the humor vanished when Sabola was crushed between said biker and a concrete wall. Seeing no other way to weasel away from the predicament, he clicked his skates against his attacker's leg. There was a loud rush of air and a flash of orange and red as the boost kicked in for a split second, just long enough to scare the assailant into moving. Sabola unwrapped his arms from the Doom Rider's throat and fell to the ground, scampering to Khalid's aid as the Pharaoh grabbed onto the divide and slowly pulled himself upright.
Ishaq watched as the head biker lurched forward, obviously intending to snag Sabola and finish what he had started at Pharaoh Park. Panic seized him, and adrenaline overrode whatever common sense he had. The rookie jetted ahead, passing a stunned Odji, and before he could even really realize what it was he was doing, he had plowed right into the leader's side.
It didn't do much, admittedly. Doom Riders are big. Immortals aren't. He may have put all of his weight into the tackle, but it did about as much good as slamming him with a heavy purse. The biker stumbled, caught himself, turned, and slammed an elbow into the rookie. Ishaq let out a squall as it connected with his already injured nose, falling to his knees.
He could feel the big guy looming over him, closing in like a wolf. A mixture of fear and anger stirred up within him, and with a loud, angry cry, Ishaq snagged him by the ankle and pulled as hard as he could. The Doom Rider cursed―admittedly the first word he had heard from the jerk―and came down like a towering tree, head bouncing off of the asphalt as a sickening crunch rang throughout the air.
Had he broke his jaw? Ishaq certainly hoped so. That guy was an asshole.
However, it wasn't enough to deter the other opponents. Annoyed, they began to close in, Khalid restrained by Sabola, and Odji, stunned by the fact that Ishaq had actually done something, frozen in his tracks. Fear flooded the rookie yet again as he realized he was about to be on the receiving end of a beat down he was going to be lucky to walk away from and, covering his head, he waited for the first blow.
"Hey! You! What the hell do you think you're doing?"
A female voice, angry and loud, came from the direction they had come from. The leader of the Doom Riders immediately seemed to recognize it and dug his palms into the ground and pushed himself to his feet. He averted his gaze from the others and lowered his visor, his jaw hanging slack in an utterly disgusting way. His cronies backed away from the youngest Immortal, heads rising like frightened meerkats as they stared in the direction of the noise.
All at once, as though it were choreographed, they began laughing. The way it was so in sync made Ishaq's skin crawl, even after they climbed onto the dragon's snout and descended into the blinding pink lights of 99th Street. He could hear them even as they vanished from sight, dodging into the crowds and turning a corner towards the abandoned site of Rokkaku's incomplete stadium.
The Immortals were silent and utterly still. Khalid looked at his underlings, equally angry and ashamed that he had to be saved by the guys who called him "king." Sabola patted him on the back reassuringly and slid to the ground, exhausted, twining his fingers into his hair and letting out a deep sigh of relief. Ishaq was just frozen and silent, unable to even climb to his feet.
Odji, however, wasted no time in barking, "I have no idea what the hell just happened."
"Neither do I."
Odji spun around at the sound of the unfamiliar voice, only to find himself face-to-face with a pale, blue-haired girl. For a moment, he considered saying something he probably shouldn't have, but when she was joined by three nearly-identical ladies with fishnets and fake nails, he decided to cut his losses. He fumbled with his words, took a step back, and looked to Sabola to see if he had any idea how to handle this.
Before anyone could say anything, however, Khalid announced, "That guy was like Frankenstein's monster, man. That guy was not right."
All eyes turned to him as he slowly shook his head, raking his fingers through his hair. His anger and embarrassment was now swirled with what seemed to be gradual panic. Sabola looked up worriedly and hoisted himself to his feet. He didn't need to ask for clarification before Khalid loudly repeated, "That guy was some sort of freak."
"Like you're one to talk," one of the 99ers snapped. Before she could be stopped, she was stomping in his direction. Sabola tried to step between them, but was violently shoved aside, the hot pink nails of the 99er soon shoved into Khalid's chest. He flinched―he had been banged up enough that everything hurt―but said nothing as she pressed her face up to his and began screaming.
"Who the fuck do you think you are, huh?" she snarled. With every syllable, she rammed her fingers harder and harder into his sternum, watching with sadistic pleasure as he cringed. Odji, however, was not nearly as pleased. Taking a deep breath, he lashed out and grabbed her wrist, pulling her away from the Pharaoh and whirling her towards himself. Khalid rubbed his chest and groaned as the other 99ers closed in like hyenas, glaring at his gang like they had just committed the ultimate wrong.
In a way, they had. Trespassing was kind of a big deal.
"Who the fuck are we?" Odji laughed, a menacing grin growing on his face. "We're the Immortals. You should've known that, 99er. And you are?"
"Pissed off!"
"I gathered that."
With that, the 99er wrenched her hand away and turned all of her fury toward Odji, launching into a fit of screaming and cursing that seemed to catch even her underlings off guard. The other gals just glanced at one another, then the beaten Immortals, then off into the direction that the Doom Riders had fled. There was a moment or two of mumbling, one of them daring to question whether or not her boss was currently screeching at the right gang. The inquiry was met with a harsh stare, followed by louder yelling.
Khalid only watched, bemused. Had they seriously just missed the fact that the Doom Riders dove headfirst into their domain? Swallowing hard, he finally yanked the Rapid 99er away from Odji by the back of her jacket and snarled, "If you yell at somebody, you yell at me. I'm the Pharaoh. That said, you have some sort of gods-damned freak runnin' loose on your turf. More pressing matter than screaming at a guy who dresses like a dead man on weekends, eh?"
"Don't you touch me!"
She thrashed around and planted a slap across his face, which Khalid answered with a low, raspy laugh and an unnerving grin. Leaning down, nose-to-nose with her, he slowly laughed, "Spitfire, ain't we?"
"Who do you think you are, trespassing on Rapid 99 territory?"
"I'm Khalid. The Doom Riders fucked with me. I would have chased them as far as Shibuya given half the chance. Ain't nothing personal, bluebell."
"Bluebell?" the 99er shrieked, preparing for another blow. Sabola yelped and grabbed her hand before it could connect, calmly urging her to reconsider. She glared at him as though attempting to wish him dead, though Sabola tried desperately not to let it affect him.
In the most level voice he could manage, he croaked, "Let's just be civil here, shall we?"
"He called me 'bluebell!'"
"And he calls me worse, and I'm his ally. Chill, lady."
She didn't seem amused, but she seemed to calm down, if only a hair. Khalid turned away from her, looking down at Ishaq and at a visibly annoyed Odji. Sniffing, he announced to nobody in particular, "Swear to Ra, if I get my hands on that freaky fuck, the last thing he's gonna see before he wakes up at Inpu's feet is my gods-damned fist."
"We were attacked," Sabola interjected, before the Rapid 99ers had a chance to respond. Positioning himself between the Pharaoh and the Queen of 99th Street, he weakly laughed, "Khalid just got out of the Rhino's zoo, so he wasn't really aware of just how sensitive things have gotten. He just knew that those dudes showed up with the intent of stealing The Kingdom, and he's not necessarily known for being a calm, sensible person."
"That's no excuse," the 99er growled. "Do you know who I am?"
"'Pissed Off,' apparently," Odji jokingly replied from behind them. Ishaq, worried about how the girls would respond to the stab, elbowed him rather violently in the ribs. As Odji clutched his sides and fell to his knees, Sabola nodded a silent "thanks" as the rival Rudy grabbed him by his collar and violently yanked him nose-to-nose with her.
"I'm Blitz. I'm the leader of Rapid 99. And I am sick as shit of people waltzing all over my turf like it's an extension of their own. Now, give me one good reason why I shouldn't knock every tooth in your head out, buck."
"We already did!" Khalid roared. "The Doom Riders are in your territory right now! Technically, we aren't. We're on the gods-damned overpass! This is neutral ground!"
"It's only neutral ground when you aren't dragging your business onto it!"
"If anyone dragged anything anywhere, it was those fuckin' bikers who tried to choke the shit out of my right-hand man and took off running! If anything, we were doing you a favor by trying to stop those helmet-heads before they had a chance to ruffle your feathers!"
"Well, you've done enough ruffling, dude," one of the lesser 99ers replied, now a bit more understanding than she had been a second ago. She approached their leader and placed a hand on her shoulder, pulling her away from Sabola and jerking her head over her shoulder in a silent gesture for the Immortals to get going. Blitz reacted with more than a touch of hostility, before inhaling deeply and barking to her remaining underlings, "Tornado! Twister! Get out there and find those assholes before I do, because if I find them? I'll fucking kill them."
"Not if they kill you first," Khalid snarled as he glided past her. "These guys are out for blood. They would have murdered Sabola, and Ishaq, too, if they got a proper hand on him. You're an idiot if you don't think they'll pull the same shit if they catch you."
This seemed to quiet Blitz, who froze like a statue as Khalid vanished from view. Sabola groaned and took off after him, alternating between apologies to Rapid 99 and demands that the Pharaoh slow down. Odji glowered at the rival gang and sped after his crew, secretly thankful that he was getting away without a thrashing.
Ishaq, ever the apologetic one, stood there with his bleeding nose and bruised face, twiddling his thumbs. It was a struggle to get the words out, with his sentence starting from six different directions at the same time. After a moment to bring it all together, he stammered, "I-I-I'm sorry, yo. U-uh, if there is anything w-we can do to pr-prove we mean no harm..."
"You can get the hell off of my property," Blitz coolly replied, watching as Ishaq's eyes widened. He nodded so fast and so hard that it was a wonder he didn't give himself whiplash, then dashed away in a flash of fire and the smell of diesel.
"Should we still go find the Doom Riders, boss?" Tornado asked weakly, obviously shaken. Blitz swallowed hard and shook her head.
"No. No, let's just go back to the Tower. It's been a long day."