Mercenary Yuri
Ch1: This isn't for us
Song recommendation: Kyuss- Demon Cleaner
"So how does she want me to do this?
"The roof you're on reaches the third story of the building ahead of you. Enter through the window and make your way down to the first-floor atrium. Take out anyone in your way. We're getting paid a pretty hefty fee tonight, so try to keep damages to a minimum, and try to keep it clean."
"We're getting paid? Guess Cinder finally decided to gis us an allowance."
"This isn't for us. Our client contacted her. You'll go once you hear the signal."
"What's the signal?"
An explosion roared out in the distance. With a quick glance, I saw the bloom of fire in sky's of Vale's night.
"Quess that's my que."
Making a running leap, I fired my metal- clad gun boots, Talaria, springing myself forward. I tucked myself into a ball as I crashed through the window. In shattered glass I saw a guard, his eyes wide in shock. Before he could pull whatever he had in in his jacket, I dropkicked him in the chest; shooting my greaves at that moment, I saw blood fly out his mouth and out his back as well. It looked like these guys were pretty weak. No Aura, no problem. Five of his buds turned back as the elevator to their right dinged, with five more strolling out. All of them were fitted with nice black suits suits. The building's interior had grey walls and red-carpet floor, lit by strips of fluorescent lights. If I didn't know any better, I would've thought this was a funeral home. Then again, by the time I was done, it might as well be a morgue.
"Oh my god."
"He killed Kenny! You bastard!"
They all started running towards me, closing the gap, though not quick enough. Putting myself into a crouch start, I fired my boots, dashing the distance with a rush of air released from my legs. I leaped into a kick using my right leg. The blow left him stunned and stumbling. I grabbed his arm and spun him around, twisting myself into a back kick, right into the guy in front of him.
Rolling his fallen friend off himself, he and another rushed me, swinging opposing fist to trap me. I spun around the guy on my left on my right leg; raising my left leg and landing on it, I used the momentum to fire and swing my right leg. An armada kick. It connected to the back of his neck, and I heard a satisfying crack as he slumped to the floor.
Following up to the next guy, he rushed me again. so I pushed him back with a front kick to the stomach. Turning my back to him I brought my left leg up and swung back, taking a shot and kicking him square in the jaw. His neck twisted just a bit too far and he dropped like a stone. Hearing footsteps behind me, I turned to see another guard swinging his switchblade upward.
Using both arms, I grabbed his his arm and threw a head butt to my right, hitting his skull with a thud. I moved my right hand to his neck and made a shot-kick to the groin. There was a crunch, an escape of air and a pained groan. His eyes bulged and his mouth fell open. The force of the kick sent him in the air. Still holding on to the guy, I kneed his midsection and jumped, crashing him into the light fixture. Rolling us over on the way down, he made for a good shield for the glass on the floor. The lightbulbs hung loosely; one broken and sparking, the other flickering rapidly and humming. Taking the knife from the still body, I chucked it at the furthest ine in my vision.
There was a man to my left coming closer, the one to my right was a few feet away. He saw the knife and sidestepped to his left. The one rushing forward behind him got steel in the eye. It sunk in and he fell forward, the blade holding his head up on the floor.
"This guy's a fucking monster!" The guy on my left screamed with his voice cracking with fear.
The guy on my right whipped out a collapsible baton. He swung left to right while I was still kneeling on his friend, fury in his eyes. Ducking and rolling out of the way, I rolled up on my feet. He switched to his left hand and brought it in his arm. I fired my right leg to his left arm, breaking it, the arm bending unnaturally. As he threw a punch with his good arm, I stepped back and gave him a front kick.
While he was out of breath, I grabbed his baton and threw it at the guy from my left as he was standing in front of a window. The heavy stick cracked his forehead and his head rolled back from the recoil, cracking the glass behind him in a spider web. I aimed my left knee at him, raising my leg, rotating my hips into a tornado kick, launching both men through the window. The sound of shattered glass and screaming men echoed into silence.
"You mother fuck!"
With three guards left, one charged me, and I grabbed the flickering light fixture and ripped it from the wire, sparks flying as the light died within the bulb. Making a wide swing the bulb shattered in his face, glass finding its place in his skin. I threw what remained of the light fixture at another guy and both men fell to the floor. The last man standing trembled before making a yelp and running into the elevator.
Chasing after the guy, I ignored him as he cowered in the corner and made my way up the escape hatch in the ceiling. Getting a good hold onto the wall of the elevator shaft, I shot at the cables with Talaria. They snapped in load whisps as the elevator screeched to crash at the ground floor.
Hopping down to the second-floor door, I pried it open about half a foot before I heard the bang of a firearm and ducked down to a lower ledge. As the doors began to shut, I saw a a long projectile whizz past and imbed itself into the wall. Looking closely, it seemed to be a spear; half of the spearhead wedged into the concrete.
"Well, that gives me a good idea of what I'm up against."
Without a whole lot of escape options, I scaled back up to the door. Shooting, I kicked my foot into the wall for a perch. Using the left side of the door for cover, I pulled it open again. It opened to the hall on either side. Three guards stood in the hallway in the middle, dressed in sleek red suits and armed with dangerous weapons.
Dude in the middle had what looked like a sledgehammer wedged between two fire axes, slung over his shoulder, with a cigarette in his mouth. To the left, He had a cement saw, it's blades spinning with and ear bleeding burr. The guy on the right had some leaf blower looking thing with those spears lodged in all rotating like a gatling gun.
"Gonna have to be quick about this."
As soon as I shot off into a roll, they fired, A spear speared itself into the wall beneath my torso. A saw blade nearly cleaving my head as I dashed to the right hall with my greaves. I took cover in the hallway.
"That's the opposite of where you need to go." Emerald's voce screeched static on my earpiece.
"First off: ouch. Second: how do you know where I am?" Just as I opened my mouth, that hammer/axe guy swung at my head from around the corner; I had only seen it out of the peripheral of my vision. I ducked and rolled back to standing as Em kept talking in my ear.
"Our client is tapped into the cameras; He's keeping track of your progress." Hammer man pulled his weapon from the wall, pulling chunks and dust with it as he spun twirled it like a baton and walked towards me menacingly, cracking his neck.
"Okay, so how am I doing?" he swung to my left, so I bobbed under and threw a furious combo to his ribs, followed by an uppercut to his chin. Didn't even budge, just a ruskey grunt from his throat.
"Exceeding expectations, but you'll want to go down the hall those guys were in"
While Emerald was talking, MC Hammer twisted around and brought his Defiler to bash my shoulder rerebrace and vambrace as I tucked my arm in to shield the impact. That hit would've been enough to send me through the wall if i hadn't leaned with it. Lifting my feet a little and boosted with the momentum to flip midair and skidded backwards, landing to the other side of the hall. As i looked up, A spear imbedded itself into the wall to my left.
"Fuck! I missed him." Spear Launcher loaded a collapsible baton like spear into the stuffed barrel. It clicked up and locked down into place.
"Could you stop doing that!?" I yelled and rushed him, grabbing the spear from the wall. The saw guy jumped ahead of him and reved up his lunged upwards with spinning blades. Blocking with the spear didn't help much as the blades chewed through it. I had to weave around to not get my head chopped. Two halves don't make a whole, but two halves of a pear proved to be useful as MC Hammer came back with a hard batter's swing. Using the spear head as a parrying to block, I backed away a step and used the shaft in my right hand, to redirect the hammer/axe, disrupting his momentum and turning around.
I clubbed his head with the shaft half of the spear and stabbed as hard and fast as I could with the other end. He had a strong Aura as it bounced off his neck; a bright blue force shield wrapped around his body. I stabbed him twice and on the second blow, he grabbed the spearhead and ripped it out of my hands. He was strong, but his Aura was going down. I just needed one good shot.
That wasn't going to happen just yet. Spear Launcher bounded in, lugging those spinning points upwards at me. I backed away and narrowly dodged a spear aimed at my left side; it whizzed under my arm and past my ribs, sinking into the wall. I leaped and flipped to my right, the spear missing my head by an inch. Spear Launcher charged forward, thrusting the cannon. Spear heads pistoning forward and back. I side stepped and kicked off the barrel, jumping off to a roll towards Saw Man. Before I could stand, he fired a saw, and with moments to spare, I fired Talaria to slide on my knees. Rising to a spin kick he blocked with his weapon; sparks flashing between us as I shot again, twisting down on my leg to trip him up.
I caught his leg and he fell backwards in the air. It didn't help much as he dug his saw blades into the carpet as he cart-wheeled back up. It was obvious these guys were no joke, gonna take more than a beat down to get them down; doesn't mean I can't clown around a little more.
"You know, you guys aren't half bad, 'cept you. You're terrible." I said pointing to Spear Launcher. He furrowed his brow and started swinging, Saw Man rolled his eyes and sighed following him. Bobbing and weaving between saw and spear, MC Hammer hurtled towards me with an overhead swing. I rolled underneath it at it cracked the floor.
"But you've got to upgrade. You look like you got these things at the mall. Might as well be held up with duct tape." I continued mocking them as I bent backwards to avoid a flying saw.
"Whoa! I'm just saying, if you're not equipped for the job-." They all barreled at me. Thrusting spears and blades and hammer that I had to breakdance to parry with my greaves. Dashing onto a run up the wall, I launched off the ceiling. Grabbing Hammer Man's weapon, I made sure to press my boots againts his chest, and fired off, his Aura breaking. He flew down the hall, skidding on his back to the carpet. I, myself, flew back to the elevators. Jamming the hammer/axe into the elevator panel, I boosted off the wall, ditching it. Hammer Man was racing down the hall towards me, but I soared past him in a blur. Coming into a roll, I leaped and shot off Spear Man's shoulder. The bullet penetrated as I saw him wince with gritted teeth. In his pain, he pulled the trigger, shooting a spear into Saw Man's abdomen; who, in turn, shot a saw that cut through Spear Man's neck, decapitating him. Saw Man slumped pinned to the wall as blood squirted from the other's neck wound.
"You'll end up a corpse."
"You Bastard!"
Behind me, Hammer Man screamed as he charged at me like a raging bull. I started running to thr red double doors at the end of the hall. Ramming through, right as he lifted his weapon over his head to smash me; I saw, right across the room, a man with a sniper rifle, with me dead in his sights. Or at least, he would have, if I hadn't dashed right into a roll. As he pulled the trigger, he missed and shot Hammer Man between the eyes. The weapon clattered to the ground as the man fell to his knees and collapsed.
Taking a look around, it seemed like I was in the atrium. A big square room with a balcony surrounding it, supported by marble pillars. There were a lot of guards around; some lining the balcony and more bellow, huddled by a cache of guns and ammo.
Sprinting down the walkway, I narrowly avoided gunfire from a man with an assault rifle. Tic tacking a shot off the pillar to my left, I cocked back a kick and fired it into his temple, landed to a roll and dashed ahead. No time to see the gory details.
"Shoot everything you've got! Kill that mother fucker!"
Below, the horde of men fired their weapons, bullets darting around me as they shot wildly. I heard the boom of an RPG and the screeching hiss of the rocket and ran faster. There was an explosive bang as rubble rained on my back and the heat breathing on my neck.
Ahead of me was a man with an Uzi, furious and deadly accurate with the trigger. I had to focus my Aura to shield me. Whatever didn't bounce off the white force field, ricocheted off the armor on my forearms and shoulders. His gun started clicking as nothing came out. Taking the opportunity, I grabbed hold of his arm and shirt as he ejected the magazine.
Peeking over his shoulder, I saw the guy with the RPG aim down sights. I jumped and boosted us both over the balcony as the rocket soared towards us. Letting go, I kicked him away into the rocket. It hit his backside and his eyes widened at the realization of what was happening. Not that he could see much of anything anymore as he turned to bits, lost in the light of the fiery bloom.
I did a back flip in the air, double jumping with Talaria, drop kicking a man on the chest as I reached the other side of the balcony. He crashed against the wall as I kept going. guy ahead had a pistol. Weaving between two shots, I grabbed hold of his wrist with my right hand and decked him in the chin with my left. Tearing the gun from his hands, I positioned it in mine and pulled the trigger with the barrel to his throat. Three more men ran, and I unloaded the firearm, making marks to one's head, heart and groin respectively. It was empty as I pulled the trigger a fourth time.
Ejecting the magazine, I threw the gun itself to the nearest goy, one rounding the corner of the balcony. It cracked him in the eye, and I rushed in and stabbed him in the neck with the magazine. A man with an assault rifle charged at me before skidding nervously to a stop. As he fired, I slid under and swept the leg, grabbing the rifle in the process and made a quick headshot. Four more guys came into my sight as they aimed down theirs. Shooting a volley at the cluster of them, they fell to the ground.
The familiar whistle of an RPG rang in my right ear as it raced past Infront of my eyes. It detonated against the wall, and I jumped, boosting with the explosion, twisting around and firing. RPG guy dropped the RPG as they all scatter for cover. I skidded as I landed, scraping up the marble floor, turning to fire another burst as I did. A few fell, but one tried to flank my left, aiming to shoot point blank, I batted away his rifle with the butt of my own and cracked his jaw with the barrel end. Another came into my right behind me and fired the last few shots into him, raising my rifle and shooting it over my shoulder. Someone rolled in with a pump shotgun. Spinning on my heel, I reeled back the rifle like a bat and swung, knocking the firearm out of his hand as he fired buckshot. Pulling back, I swung again and caved his skull in as he crashed to the ground.
"Suck on this!"
One brave soul pulled the pin of a grenade and tossed it. Before it even landed, I leaped and kicked it back at him. He and his buddies flew in fire with their pile of ammo. Bullets ricocheted as grenades were tossed about, destroying anything they landed on and anyone near them. Those that could still stand scrambled to grab a gun, and more poured out above.
Time to wrap this up. I've got a special mix for situations like this. A little wind Dust with a pinch of gravity Dust make for a whirlwind of hurt. Raising my right leg, I began kicking off shots around the room. My round ricocheted off the wall and kept bouncing between pillars. I was slow at first, steadily turning the dial up to eleven, switching legs and keeping the tempo every few turns. Grey and white air currents rode the bullets as they swirled in a tornado, I kept changing legs as the bullets found their marks, Men fell screaming, running for little cover. They soon were swept up in the whirlwind, being ripped to shreds as bullets tore through them.
With enough bullets ricocheting and twisting, I started breakdancing. Juggling my limbs and spinning on my shoulder, manipulating the dust devil. Tying it all in a little bow, I leapt with my arms, landing one knee and fist to the ground. Every bullet converged on one point, crashing down into the ground, bringing the bodies of the men I had slain.
Suddenly the doors going outside burst opened, and White Fang soldier came strolling in with rifles raised. Emerald came running in front of them, her red eyes and green hair illuminated by the light.
"Easy- peasy, right?"
"Like lemon lie."
"Speaking of, want to grab a bite? You're buying." She 'offered' in a sing song voice.
"Or, or. And follow me on this one, we pay for our own food. Hmm?"
She laughed in scoff and looked towards the doors. The silhouette that stepped into the light wore a white hooded trench coat, clasped at the collarbone. Underneath, he wore a grey turtleneck sweater with a zipped collar. Black dress pants and a pair of snakeskin shoes finished the look. His black hair was braided over wolf ears, cut down to nubs, held in place with bone rings of different carvings. His cold steel grey eyes scanned the area as a satisfied smile spread to his cheeks.
"I think you won the prize money tonight, Merc."
"Yes. You're far more entertaining than your friend here. For one thing I can see what you're doing."
"Do I get anything else? An all-expense paid trip to a tropical paradise? Brand new car?" I shot back gesturing like a game show host.
"Something of the sorts. I'll be in contact with you in the next few-…" He paused as if he realized something.
"Oye, mates!" Addressing his troops, they all turned to him.
"Doesn't he sound like Yuri fucking Lowenthal?"
They took a glance and me and looked at each other, scratching their heads.
"A little bit."
"Yeah kinda."
"Oh, you cannot be serious." I announced loudly.
"Ha! That's fantastic! Mercury, Yuri. You're a hired gun, Mercenary Yuri. Ah, this is gonna be fun time man. I'll contact you in a few days, I'll have a job opportunity for you, Yuri. Perry? Pay the man." The man kept chuckling to himself as he strolled out the building. A White Fang soldier handed me a loaded envelope and me and Emerald walked out soon after, taking back alleys and dark streets.
"You look mad." Em smiled and laughed softly.
"That's not my name."
"Hmm. Yeah, but your voice has been cracking recently. Must suck when your balls drop and suddenly, you're a famous voice actor."
"Oh, fuck off!" I walked ahead of her in a hurry to get home.
"Come on, you've got to admit, it was a little funny." She ran ahead to catch up and patted my shoulder, smiling that smile could charm the queen of her coins and those eyes that could cut diamonds.
"Maybe a Little." I smiled back.
Authors notes: Hello readers, thank you for looking at this first chapter. I have more planned, all I can hope for is time and energy to do it. Gotta stop writing while hungry. If you've read FABL, my other work I've started recently, you may recognize that strange dude. Been plotting this story (And all this action, Jesus Christ, I didn't think I'd get this done.) for the last few months. Reviews are appreciated. Have a nice day, and I don't want to go to work.
AN2: Inspiration for this chapter was the hallway fight in Daredevil and Old Boy, the three red suits had combo weapons from Dead Rising 2, and, of course the Mercury vs Yang fight from volume 3. Thank you again for reading. Adding this edit after work. Mercury is one of my favorite characters in the series and I have forever been miffed that they hired Yuri Lowenthal to voice him instead of JJ Castillo, so I thought I'd write a story about it.