Ten Cent Pistol


Death City was just beginning to stir as the sun stole its first peak at the urban oasis from its cradle in the east. Rosy light began to march across the surrounding desert, painting the sand a burning gold as the rising sun chased away the last remnants of the night.

It was beyond a shadow of a doubt a beautiful morning, and it was quickly turning into a beautiful day.

But nonetheless this radiant Thursday found Alexa in a foul mood.

The Demon Sword was slouched deep in a comfortable armchair, partaking in something totally alien to her, literature. She had read a whopping fifteen pages of The Complete Adventures and Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes which, considering the Victorian language that pervaded every sentence of every page of that book, was some kind of personal achievement for her. Fifteen pages later she had the pleasure of acquainting the hefty tome with the far wall of the apartment.

This. Sucks. Ass.

Her frustration stemmed from several sources: spending her weekly allowance on a gift she now doubted she would give, being inside reading on a Thursday that she had off from school , and a growing feeling of impotence exacerbated by a week and a half without combat of any kind.

The single greatest contributor was her Meister, or lack thereof. Ever since that fateful night when she'd caught him dropping Sonya off at the Girl's Dorm, Roland and the Demon Hoop had been spending increasing amounts of time together. At first it'd just been "going to lunch with a friend", an occasion that Alexa succeeded in tagging along for. But even her iciest glares had done little to dissuade his suitor. The only change that resulted was that the two no longer included Alexa in their outings, a development that infuriated her to no end.

She saw less and less of him. They would exchange superficial questions of little meaning over breakfast and then he would leave, presumably to be with Sonya, and not return until late in the night. And he always returned smiling, which only added insult to injury.

It wasn't like she could force him to hang out with her. Technically, there was little reason for them to interact at all if they weren't training or doing a mission. The official extent of his obligation to her was to eventually make her into a Death Scythe. And it wasn't as like she had to worry about Roland dumping her for another Weapon, they'd already made too much progress towards their goal for that to make any sense.

However, Alexa knew that affection made rational people do irrational things. Not even Roland, her personal standard for rationality and good common sense, could be an exception to that rule.

But at least she could be certain it would be an interesting day. Because today, her sister was in town. And wherever her sister went, trouble soon followed.


At first, Roland had reservations about the spot. The roof of a six-story apartment building wasn't exactly the first thing that came to mind when he thought "a romantic place to take a girl". But he couldn't think of any other location where they could really be alone. Luckily, the view of the sprawling Nevada desert was worth the grueling climb.

They were laid out on a folding beach chair, she on her side with her head resting on his chest, and he with an arm wound around her shoulders to keep her close. A large blue and white striped umbrella shaded them from the punishing desert sun.

Roland absentmindedly twirled one of Sonya's rich brown locks between his thumb and forefinger. She sighed softly, shifting to snuggle closer to him.

When they first started going out, it had taken barely a stray look to turn her cheeks crimson. He was actually afraid she was going to be physically sick the first time they held hands. She was even worse when Alexa was around, though he couldn't imagine why.

But in that secluded spot, she was completely at ease with him. There was only the faintest hint of red on her cheeks as she looked up to smile at him.

"Thanks for this."

He nodded, entwining the fingers of his free hand with hers. She was soft and warm, but at the same time had an air of fragility about her. It was intoxicating.

The ache of his burn seemed distant.

She yawned, burying her face in his chest. "You wouldn't mind if I took a nap, would you?"

"Not at all." The beach chair was becoming rather cozy. A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "In fact, I think I'll join you."

Dozing on top of an apartment building with a beautiful girl in his arms seemed an ideal way to spend the afternoon.

Things were starting to look up for Roland. He'd collected nearly a quarter of the souls Alexa needed to become a Death Scythe, come within a hairsbreadth of death at the hands of an impossibly powerful opponent, and now had what some might call a "girlfriend", though personally he didn't want to label whatever existed between Sonya and him.

For the moment, life was good.


"Come on Kyla, spill it already!" Jackson's impatience was obvious in the tone of his voice. "You dragged us all the way to this dusty, godforsaken corner of the library to tell us something, so tell us already!"

Kyla hissed a sigh. She'd always found the Demon Axe somewhat irritating, but luckily Isabelle was there to smack him upside the head for her. The Hoop Meister leaned back against a musky bookcase, eyebrow twitching in annoyance.

"I was making sure no one else was in earshot."

He scratched his head sheepishly. "All right all right. But seriously we've been here for like, twenty minutes. Are you gonna tell us or what?"

Even Isabelle looked expectant. Kyla roughly shoved her hands into the pockets of her skinny jeans.

"As I told you earlier, I've been coming here for the last few days trying to figure out what was going on in Ireland."

"And what did you find?" Isabelle asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Nothing."

Jackson's jaw dropped. "So why'd you bring us here then?"

"Would you just shut up and let me finish?" She hissed. Jackson obliged, and she continued. "Doesn't it seem strange that Shibusen wouldn't have any information on the monsters, the witch, or the Knight?"

"You didn't find anything on the monsters? Doesn't the library have, like, several dozen monster encyclopedias?" Jackson said, cocking an eyebrow.

She shook her head. "Nothing. I even had a few of the librarians help, and we couldn't find a thing. Same story with the witch. There was no mention of a witch matching her description in any of the reports on file."

"What if those books were in the level two section?"

Kyla rolled her eyes. "I checked there."

That got Isabelle's attention. "Aren't those books off limits to any one ranked below Three-Stars?"

"Yes."

"Then how-"

"Don't worry about it. That's besides the point."

Isabelle let it drop.

"Have I ever told you how bad ass you are Kyla?" Jackson chuckled. She continued, ignoring him.

"The point is, either this stuff is something Shibusen has never encountered before, or it's under tight wraps. And if it's the latter, we can safely assume it's pretty serious if any information Shibusen has is only available to the higher ups and Death Scythes." Kyla leaned forward, speaking in a whisper. "You guys saw some of those scrolls we brought back. It was all in witchspeak, with drawings and diagrams and all sorts of bad shit. And whatever our 'teachers' get from those scrolls is going to be kept from us until the last possible moment."

Silence. Understanding was beginning to dawn on them.

Isabelle spoke first, the gravity of the situation now obvious. "Who can we trust?"

"Just the six of us. We saw it go down." Answered Jackson, preempting Kyla and receiving a nod of agreement from the blue haired girl.

"We need to be careful. Keep your eyes and ears open, and if your going to go poking your nose in someplace where it shouldn't be tell the rest of us first. We've got to watch each others backs."

Isabelle nodded. "Agreed."

Kyla separated from the book case. "Good. I'll pass the message along to Roland and Alexa. I've got a feeling this is going to get worse before it gets better."


"So, what do you want to do now?"

"I don't know." Roland shrugged.

They were walking hand in hand down one of Death City's winding cobblestone streets. It was well after noon, and the sun was beginning its descent into the western horizon. They'd left the beach chair and umbrella on top of the apartment building after determining that they'd frequent the spot in the future, but now they had to decide what to do with the rest of the day.

"Are you hungry?"

Sonya shook her head no. But Roland was determined not to part ways with her just yet. He spied the red spires of the DWMA.

"We could go watch the sunset from school."

"Do we really have to go to school to watch the sunset?" She pouted. "There are gonna be so many people around..."

He gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "No one's going to be at the top of the towers, school hasn't ended yet. And besides, the towers have the best view."

"I guess..." She didn't sound convinced. But then again, she'd sounded the same way when he proposed the apartment rooftop. And that turned out pretty well in the end.

Golden blonde hair caught his eye. Curly locks fell down around their owner's shoulders, bobbing gently as the stranger came to a stop before the couple.

"Heya, you wouldn't happen to know where I could find Roland Frey would ya?"

Roland blinked. Her voice was... bubbly? She had familiar piercing blue eyes, wore a tight fitting white T-shirt that complimented her bust, as well as flowing bell bottom jeans. Having to look up at a teenage girl was a strange and unsettling sensation for Roland. He and Sonya exchanged a confused look.

"I am Roland Frey."

Her smile widened, revealing the whitest teeth Roland had ever set eyes on.

"What a coincidence! I've been lookin' all over for ya!" She giggled.

He felt Sonya shrink behind him. This doesn't seem right.

"I'm sorry, but do I know-" The rest of the sentence was lost as the girl's fist connected with his abdomen, forcing the air out of his lungs.

"BANG!" She mimed a gun with her thumb and forefinger, pressing the imaginary barrel against his forehead. "Dead. Gotta stay on your toes dandelion, or someone's gonna put you six feet under."

"Leave him alone!" The blonde caught Sonya's hand at the wrist, her fist trembling in the vice grip.

"I'm sorry dear, but I don't remember punching you. So why don't you just chill your nipples and stay out of my-"

Roland pressed an open palm against her collar bone, eyes steely. "Let her go."

"Get your hands off me pervert!" She was about to slap his hand away when he hit her with his wavelength, making her release Sonya and sending her skidding back several feet.

"So, he's a fighter after all." She cackled. "I'm gonna enjoy this. It's not everyday I get to-"

"That's enough Claire." The blonde, Claire, spun to face the newcomer.

"Oh come on Chris! I wanna see how good this guy is!"

Chris was a tall boy with well bronzed skin who wore black slacks, scuffed black dress shoes, and a white dress shirt with a black suit vest over it. His obsidian hair was slicked back, revealing a pair of intense emerald eyes.

"That's all good and well, but you can't simply attack him in the street. There are protocols that must be observed."

She snorted, rolling her eyes. "Well observe them already."

Chris took a step forward, addressing Roland.

"Roland Frey, we challenge you to a duel."

Roland blinked. "What?"

"Do you not speak English or something? We wanna fight you!" Claire's wild grin was unnerving. "Do you accept or what?"

His answer came without a moment's hesitation.

"No."

Claire didn't like that answer one bit.

"What the fuck do you mean, no?"

"I'm not going to-" Again he was interrupted by a fist to the stomach. Roland now knew for certain there was no such thing as hitting like a girl.

"How about now?"

"Would you stop that!"

Chris approached, giving Roland a sympathetic pat on the shoulder.

"See here Roland, there's very little anyone here can do to make her stop punching you. I gather it's part of some bet with her younger sister. All I'm doing is offering you an honorable way to defend yourself."

Roland's eyes narrowed. "A bet with her younger sister?" Chris nodded. Roland's eyes darted to the blonde. "Are you-?"

"That's right dandelion." Only now did Roland recognize the familiar blue eyes she sported. His heart sank. Oh dear.

"I'm Alexa's big sister. And one year ago, when she told me she was a Weapon, Alexa bet me that once she enrolled and got a Meister she'd be able to beat me and Chris in a duel."

For some reason that didn't surprise him. "How much did she bet you?"

"Twenty dollars."

Roland face palmed. If Claire was anything like her younger sister, which was quickly proving to be the case, there was nothing he could do but play along.

"Fine. Let me call Alexa."

Claire pumped the air with her fist in triumph as Sonya materialized at his shoulder.

"Are you sure about this Roland? What about your burn?" The concern in her voice was obvious.

"It's fine."

"I don't believe you."

She stepped back as he pulled himself to his full height.

"I don't think I've been given much choice in the matter."

The Demon Hoop was obviously unsatisfied with the answer, crossing her arms over her chest with a pout.

"This is stupid Roland. You shouldn't let yourself get pulled into stuff like this."

Chris and Claire had already turned towards the Academy, and Roland started out to follow them with Sonya in tow.

"Tell me about it."


"You've got some explaining to do."

Alexa scratched her head sheepishly. Roland did not look amused.

"Um... sibling rivalry?"

Her Meister rolled his eyes, heaving a sigh.

"Anything I should know about your sister and her Meister before we start this?"

Alexa stared her sister down from across the terrace. Roland had called her from one of the DWMA's payphones not ten minutes before, telling her that her older sister had come to settle their bet. The Demon Sword had completely forgotten about the proposed contest, and she had to admit the timing was less than ideal. Not only was Roland still recovering from Ireland, she didn't have any money left to pay her sister if they lost.

"Claire is a Demon Gun, and Chris is an excellent marksman. And a Two-Star Meister. We need to get close to them if we're gonna have any chance of beating them. But be careful. Chris may seem like a gentleman, but he'll pistol whip you like a bitch if you give him half a chance."

Roland grimaced. Great, I may not even have an advantage in melee. The pairs stood across from each other at the Academy's front entrance, the customary place for student duels. At first the only onlookers had been Stein, who was refereeing the duel, and Sonya, who stood next to the towering professor fiddling nervously with the hem of her hoodie. Then they had been joined by Kyla, Isabelle, and Jackson, who for some reason had been at the school library on their day off. And of course, there was the obligatory crowd of students eager to catch a glimpse of bloodshed between classes.

Stein raised a hand to silence the combatants and their audience. He gave the screw lodged in his head a habitual twist, the resulting clicks piercing the hushed silence.

"Prepare yourselves."

Roland assumed a combat stance as Alexa took her weapon form in his hand. She was slightly heavier than the last time he wielded her, but he attributed it to a lack of practice. Across from them, Claire glowed a deep blue as she took her weapon form in her Meister's thigh holster.

Alexa gave her Meister an apologetic look from within her blade. "Look, Roland, we don't have to do this if you don't want to."

"I don't really think what I want matters at this point, Alexa." The retort was uttered with a painful edge, but Alexa knew it was justifiable under the given circumstances.

Chris stood like a classic gunfighter, feet shoulder length apart, right hand hovering just above his thigh holster while his left hung limply at his side. His face was a mask, revealing nothing. Roland hoped that his poker face was as good, adjusting his glasses as Stein looked back and forth between the two.

"Begin."

No sooner had the word left the teacher's mouth had Chris drawn Claire and fired three shots from the hip. Claire had taken the form of a high caliber, long barreled chrome revolver with what appeared to be an ivory handle. The compressed wavelength bullets that left her muzzle with an almost deafening bark were the same deep blue as the Demon Gun's soul.

Roland threw himself into an evasive roll, the shots burrowing into the stone where he had just stood. He was on his feet in a flash, running serpentine towards Chris. Still shooting from the hip, Chris unleashed a volley of shots that flashed past Roland at blinding speed, leaving a few smoking holes in the cobblestone and sending chips of rocky shrapnel erupting from the ground behind him.

A shot connected with Roland's shoulder, spinning him sideways into an unsteady skid. Close enough. Roland dove forward, rolling when he hit the ground and springing towards Chris, a wavelength bullet connecting with Alexa's blade with a jarring clang before Roland landed not five feet away from his foe.

Roland hissed as Chris deftly blocked a slash with Claire's barrel, sparks flying as the Weapons slid past each other. Chris quickly forced Roland back on the defensive with an unrelenting barrage of hip shots and pistol whips, many of which connected to leave new bruises on his already battered torso. The butt of Chris's revolver connected with Roland's jaw, sending him reeling with a split lip. He intercepted the next blow with his sword, locking Alexa's cross guard against Claire's trigger guard.

"Hah! Your Meister bled first!" Claire jeered. "Is he normally this slow?"

"Piss off." Alexa growled. "He got really messed up on our last mission."

Their Meisters separated, circling for a moment before Roland lunged at the Gun Meister, knowing he could not allow him to utilize his advantage in ranged combat. But despite Roland's harrowing attacks, Chris's deadpan expression of boredom remained.

"Too busy healing to fight, huh?" Claire smiled coyly at her sister from within her weapon form. "I can think of one other thing that might be distracting him."

"Shut up Claire." The Demon Sword's voice was practically dripping with venom, but her reaction only encouraged her sister. Claire had found Alexa's button, and she intended to press it.

"She's cute you know. Shit, if I was a guy..."

"Shut up!"

That won Alexa several seconds of silence as Roland and Chris continued their struggle. But over the clash of metal she heard her sister's chuckles, and quickly gave in to her curiosity.

"What the fuck is so funny?"

"Oh, I was just thinking." Claire's chuckles began to subside.

"Thinking what?" Alexa immediately regretted the question.

"I bet she's a screamer."

Alexa gaped as her sister grinned in triumph. Then came the anger. It boiled up from someplace deep within her, rising like bile and filling her mouth with a bitter taste. Somewhere in the back of the Sword's mind, a levee broke, and a threshold was crossed.

A single golden rivulet of electricity arced along the length of her blade, eliciting excited whispers from the crowd and a concerned glance from her Meister.

"Alexa, are you-?" Two more bright arcs of energy silenced him with their hum.

"Shut up and fight."

He pushed Chris's pistol aside and slashed viciously at him, growling as the gunfighter jumped aside and let the blade collide with the ground, blinking as it left a small crater. Where did that come from? He slashed horizontally, forcing Chris to duck and roll under the blade, but when the gunfighter stood Roland caught him in the stomach with a punch, attacking with his soul wavelength and sending Chris skidding back several feet.

Chris took the advantage of distance and loosed a single shot. At such close range there was no time to dodge and the compressed wavelength shell smashed into Roland's chest with terrible force. The swordsman felt his breath leave him, but as he staggered back Alexa pooled her strength with his, keeping him upright long enough for him to regain his balance and press the attack.

The Demon Sword was practically trembling with anger. She was used to her sister's teasing, but her last comment had simply been cruel. Sure, Roland and Sonya were in some kind of relationship, but surely they hadn't done that. Roland wasn't that kind of guy. Not after a week.

Was he?

Roland tried to sweep the Gun Meister's feet from under him, holding Alexa with one hand at the very end of her hilt to extend his reach the necessary few inches and forcing Chris to jump back. He raised his sword over his head, lunging and bringing Alexa down on Chris's raised pistol, forcing him to one knee. He pressed Alexa against Claire's barrel, beginning to overwhelm the gun fighter's defense.

Suddenly, a familiar pain overwhelmed all of his senses. He blinked, struggling to breathe as intense, searing sensation radiated from his chest and hands. The electrical sparks that were beginning to decorate Alexa's blade disappeared as his wavelength lost sync with hers. He staggered back, his vision a blur, and Chris took the opportunity to send a powerful kick into his chest. The kick sent him stumbling backwards, falling flat on his back.

Roland fought to level his breathing as Alexa's hilt began to blacken his palm. He knew that pain too well to mistake it for anything else. Wavelength Rejection.

He hardly had the time, or energy, to roll out of the way of a shower of bullets that peppered the ground where he lay. Somehow Roland struggled to his feet to throw himself at the other boy. He collided with Chris in a confused tangle of blades and limbs. In his pain he came to the realization that the pommel of his sword made as good a weapon as the blade, and it connected with Chris's shoulder with a satisfying thud. He followed the pommel strike with a kidney punch. His soul wavelength fluctuated violently as he projected it into Chris's body, giving him a bloody nose and sending him tumbling violently away across the terrace.

Familiar tendrils of fire set his right arm alight with agony, but it was was a familiar pain. He'd contended with the wavelength's of incompatible Weapons before. The problem was that his Weapon was rejecting his wavelength. The only Weapon he'd been able to wield.

Blood began to trickle from Roland's mouth as he staggered to where Chris lay, coughing as he tried to stand. Roland kicked him in the stomach so hard that Chris rose a few feet off of the ground, only to be smashed back down with a strike on his back from the flat of Alexa's blade. Chris rolled out of the small crater he had created upon returning to the ground.

The burning pain overwhelmed Roland's senses, filling his mind like a thundering avalanche. When Chris rose to one knee and sent two shots into Roland's chest, he didn't even feel them. His burst of berserk, pain fueled strength faltered after the third, fourth, and fifth shots however. He coughed up a little blood and sank to his knees.

They knelt across from each other for a moment before Chris struggled to his feet. He holstered Claire roughly, picked Roland up by the collar, and sent him flying back with a punch. Roland skidded to a stop on his back, breathing heavily as he levered himself to a sitting position. Chris strode up and kicked him in the side, forcing Roland to double over around his foot.

Alexa's scalding wavelength won out, forcing Roland to release her from his grasp. No. He couldn't even touch her. Their souls simply refused to cooperate. No! All the progress they'd made was slipping through his fingers. If they couldn't resonate, they'd need to find new partners.

Chris's leg was the nearest thing for him to vent his frustration on, so he grabbed it with both hands and gave it a fierce twist, forcing Chris to the ground as well. Roland crawled over to him, straddling his chest and batting at his face with his fists. Chris raised his legs behind Roland, hooking them under his armpits and forced Roland onto his back, catapulting himself onto Roland's chest.

In a single swift movement he drew Claire, pressed her muzzle against the center of his chest, and fired two shots directly into Roland's scar.

Roland's will to fight immediately left him, and exhaustion rendered him immobile. The silence that followed was broken only by the ragged breathing of the two combatants. Stein stepped forward.

"Chris is the winner."

A murmur rippled through the crowd as it began to disperse. Stein walked to the center of the arena, careful to go around one of the craters that had been left in the stone terrace. Sonya rushed past him, falling to her knees at Roland's side. Chris stood and stepped out of the way, still breathing heavily.

"Roland!"

He tried in vain to prop himself up on his elbows, coughing a little.

"Sonya."

She looked him over, searching for obvious wounds. Alexa stood off to the side in a daze.

"I told you this was a stupid idea." She said, cradling his head in her lap.

Stein approached, examining the scene curiously before he spoke.

"Chris, Claire, you're free to go." Claire resumed human form, still grinning like an idiot as Chris led her away. The professor turned to address the remaining two. "Roland and Alexa, I'd like you to pay the Dispensary a visit before you leave."

He twisted his bolt thoughtfully as he swept past the prostrate Meister.

"We have much to discuss."