Author's note: I greatly appreciate everyone who stopped by and gave my story a read and I hope you continue to follow their journey. P.S. All characters associated with Rooster Teeth are under fair use; the plot and story are all by your truly.
Chapter Two: Brotherly Bonds
Two young men were running in the ruins of Vale, Grimm around every corner, but not just them. The security robots also turned their guns against them as one called out to the other.
"Benny get your head down right now!" One yelled as he shrunk down, giving him a clear view of the robot. He didn't waste a second firing one of his twin guns at the bot, rendering it useless.
"T-Thanks Ryan… Sorry I-I didn't see that one." As he reverted to his original size
"Ha, that's why you got your big brother to look out for you. Come on, we have to hurry; the kids must be scared, and Nanna Lulu probably has her hands full."
But a few more Grimm stood in their way. "Benny you go I'll handle this." as he readied his twin guns. "I'll clear a path."
"N-no…I'll stay…it will be quicker if we work together." He told his brother as he too took his spear out.
As arguing wouldn't get them anywhere, he agreed to his younger brother's request, "Alright, then let's clear a path."
"Right, I'm with you." As they charged towards the Grimm.
*7 Months Earlier*
Things were never quiet in Nanna Lulu's Orphanage. Some of the younger kids started to stir in their sleep, some already out of bed, and a few rushed to a bed on the far side of the room. The sound of their footsteps was enough to give one of the brothers a heads-up.
'Geez, up early are they?' thought Ryan as he pretended to still be asleep as one of the young ones got right next to his face. But before they could scare him, he quickly opened his eyes and pulled one into bed with him.
"BOO!" The young boy screamed only for a bit but was quickly replaced with laughter as his hair was ruffled by the older boy, "Nice try, little Johnny, but you'll have to get up earlier than that if you want to scare me."
"Aaww I really thought I had you there."
Seeing the look on his face, Ryan thought he should lift his spirits: "Hey, I bet you my brother is still sleeping. You should give him a wake-up call."
With renewed determination, little Johnny walked over to where Ryan's brother was sleeping. He quickly glanced back at Ryan, who only gave him a thump-up as Johnny continued his plan. Finally reaching the bed where he slept, he got into position as he quickly pounced on top ofa sleeping body.
"Wake up, Benny! " Johnny yelled so loud that it woke not only Benny in a fright but also the entire room.
"YAHH! WHAT, WHO,WHY" Benny panicked a bit, as he saw on his bed little Johnny laughing up a storm and not to far off his own brother as well. "Your mean you know that. How could you do this to me Johnny?" He said to the boy calming down and turned to his brother, "And you you're my own brother."
"Which is precisely why I did it little bro. Besides we have to help Nanna Lulu with breakfast, so really it was a productive prank. Thanks for your help Johnny." Ryan praised as he walked over and rubbed his head. "Well, come on, get changed. We got to get an early start, or else she will give us an earful."
As Benny got out of bed he grabbed his glasses from his nightstand and soon followed his brother towards the kitchen. As they worked together to get breakfast ready, Nanna Lulu came into the kitchen to help them out. She was an old woman who ran this orphanage; it was thanks to her thatboth Ryan and Benny had a place to sleep.
"Ah, glad to see you two up; I appreciate all the hard work you two do." She said with a smile
"Nonsense, Nanna. It's the least we can do. After all, you took us in four years ago when we had nowhere to go." Ryan said, "Plus, only one more year, and Benny will be old enough to take the Huntsman exam with me the next time applications roll around."
While Ryan didn't see it, Benny flinched at that thought; while he wasn't opposed to it when it came to fighting, he was…not very good, to say the least. "Well, I'm sure you boys will do great." She walked over to Benny. "And Benjamin, you will do just fine. You still have a year left to practice." She said encouraging him
"T-thank Nanna, I just wish I was a better fighter like my brother."
"Oh, Benny, come on, we talked about this, You're great, and while on the subject, I still wish I had your height, or at least if you could transfer some inches over to me. You know how embarrassing it is when people think you're the older brother. You can reach the top shelf without having to get the step stool."
Benny only chuckled a bit. "But seriously, bro…can you get the seasoning? It's on the top shelf."
"Haha, Sure, I got you." Benny used his height to grab the seasoning. Looking at the two brothers, if you met them on the street, Benny was the taller one with glasses, standing a proud 6'3 ", and while he was always subconscious about his height, his shorter 5'9" older brother would quickly tell him otherwise.
"Well, today is a special day; you two remember the promise you made, yes?" Nanna Lulu asked
It quickly dawned on them that this was little Johnny's last day at the orphanage, not for anything sad. No, the complete opposite his adoptive parents would come later this afternoon to pick him up and join their family. And they promised to take him to his favorite arcade as a final farewell to a good friend.
Ryan recalls the day he first set foot at the orphanage. Ironically, it was only a few months after Benny and himself arrived, so it was natural that little Johnny quickly got attached to them, especially his younger brother. Benny was starting to feel a bit down, but he was truly happy for his little friend.
"Today is a happy day. I want you two to remember that, alright." She reminded them and quickly snapped them out of their trip down memory lane. As the three of them worked together to finish preparing breakfast for the kids.
As they finished, all the kids came rushing down, and the aroma of the fresh bacon and pancakes quickly filled the building as they found their seats at the table. "Okay, settle down; there's plenty of pancakes to go around for all of you," Nanna Lulu said as she started to serve them, with Ryan and Benny not too far behind, helping out as well. As they began to enjoy their meal one of the kids spoke up.
"How come they chose Johnny to get adopted and not me?" Said a little girl a year younger than Johnny
Nanna Lulu had dealt with this many times before, so she quickly went to her side. "Now, now, Chloe," she softly said as she patted her head, "We should be happy for your brother Johnny. While I know how much it hurts, trust me when I say everyone has and will have a chance of happiness. You must be patient, and I'm sure a lovely family will come looking for a young, bright girl like yourself. Everyone is family here as long as you are here under my care, so being jealous isn't going to help you."
Chole stilled, only remaining silent as Nanna Lulu gave her a soft hug. "Now, keep that smile on you, Chole, and before you know it, I'm sure you'll join a family in no time. Remember, Nanna Lulu is never wrong about this kind of thing. Okay sweetheart." As Chole wiped away a few tears from her face. As they finished breakfast, Ryan walked over to Johnny.
"Hey bud how about you invite Chloe as well." Ryan suggested, "I'm sure she'll appreciate that." As Johnny walked over to her, Ryan pulled his brother aside. "Hey you got so spare Lien on you, small change of plans."
Benny signed a bit. "I was looking forward to that coding book as well, I'll go get it."
"Thanks, bro. I owe you one, and before I forget, can you also get our you know what."
Benny looked at his brother with a bit of confusion. "What for?"
"I've seen the news a bit; criminal activity is on a high right now, and before you say anything." Cutting off his brother before speaking, "It's just to be on the safe side, and if Nanna finds out, I'll take the blame."
Benny went upstairs to grab the extra bit of Lien and the items in question before rejoining his brother and the two little they got ready to leave, Lulu stopped them. "Ryan, you're in charge of the little ones, and Benny, you're in charge of your brother. Keep him in order." She instructed.
"What! Nanna come on I'm responsible enough." Ryan protested
"No arguing with me, now go have fun. And remember to have them both back before 4 pm so Johnny can pack his stuff." She reminded them
"We got Nanna, and what about-"
"AAHH, would you look at the time, you four are burning daylight? Come on, hop to it." She quickly said as she pushed both Ryan and Benny out the door, and Johnny and Chloe followed suit.
Benny thought it was weird how she cut him off like that, "What was that about?"
"Heheh don't worry about bro."
Benny only gave his brother a side-eye. "Oh, come on, you're reading too much into it, Benny. Come on, we have to hurry and get to the arcade. Chloe, Johnny, come on you two hold hands so you don't get lost." Ryan instructed
"We're not little kids, Ryan, " Chloe said, not too pleased with that idea.
"I don't know last time I checked you're still a little bit too short for me to see you as anything but a little kid."
"Well, you're still shorter than your younger brother." She said as she stuck her tough out
"Ouch, really had to go there." Ryan joked as Benny intervened
"You two can go up ahead; just stay within eyesight, alright? Does that sound fair." Benny said as the two went a bit in front of the brothers.
"You know you spoil them sometimes; you know that." Ryan said
Benny only chuckled a bit. "Maybe you're right; honestly, it makes me a bit jealous of how carefree their life is." Ryan knew what he was talking about, their early childhood was filled with running, lots and lots of running. Originally they were born in a very rural area, which came with it's own challenges, more so the Grimm. Ryan was only six when it happened, and Benny…well he was barely turning four as they escaped their home that the Grimm destroyed
"It certainly wasn't easy, moving from orphanages to emergency evacuation centers. But we did good, didn't we? We had to do things to survive. Now, just one more year, and we can make a name for ourselves," Ryan said as he put his hand on his brother's shoulder and squeezed it a bit. Let's go, before we lose sight of them." The four of them continued their way toward their destination.
Arriving at the local arcade center, the group walked through the door as they started to plan out their time. "Okay, you two can go on ahead; Ryan and I will get some coins," Benny explained. As he did, he took this time to ask something of his brother. "Alright, bro, give it to me straight; what were you going to say to Nanna Lulu before we left?"
"Really?" As he got a bit closer to his brother. "Can't we talk about this another time?"
"And you're making it sound like it's not essential when it is."
"Oh for the love of…Fine fine, come here." Ryan said as hepulled his brother closer and whispered something in his ear and hear this made Benny question if he heard right.
"Wait wait are you serious?!" He sounded a bit too enthusiastic.
"SSSSHH, do you honestly think I would joke about something like this?" Benny gave him a shake no, "Good now keep it on the down low alright, Nanna Lulu entrusted me with this and she'll be pissed at me if someone hears about it." As he gave a knowing look to his brother. "Come on, let's find those two and have some fun."
As the group started their fun event, trouble was afoot outside the arcade center as five men in tuxedos closed in on the destination. "Remember we get the boy and call this number and ask for a warehouse full of dust crystals to exchange for their little brat." One of the men said
"I don't get why we have to kidnap a little snot-nose brat." Another said
The man with the black bowler hat spoke in a bit of annoyance, answering the fool of a lackey, "Because that snot-nose brat just so happened to win every orphan's dream and finally get adopted by a family." The man in question still didn't understand his boss's explanation. The black Bowler man stepped closer to him, "And if you did your homework like I ordered you, you understand the family that is adopting that kid just so happens to run quite the local dust manufacturer in Vale. Now, not as big as the Schnee by any means, but big enough to get the attention of a rather annoying co-worker." He said with irritation in his voice.
He turned to the other three men that were with him. "Listen up since some of you need this explained more than once. We need this warehouse, and to get said warehouse, we need said kid, and said kid is not to be harmed; just give him a little scare if he starts acting up, and for some godforsaken reason, you mess this up, you three will tell my annoying and rather attractive co-worker how you three mess this up." He looked at the three men with a cold stare "Do I make myself perfectly clear?"
He got nods of affirmation as he readjusted his tie. "Good. Now, gentleman, please do your part." As he walked off to his position.
Meanwhile, inside the arcade, the group was having quite the competition in the air hockey world. "Come bro I thought you're supposed to be on my team." Ryan said a bit annoyed
"Hey, I'm not the one who somehow managed to score on ourselves THREE TIMES IN A ROW!" Benny fired back
Across the table, the two kids were enjoying the little show that was in front of them as they couldn't help but chuckle a bit at the brothers. Johnny then looked at Chole and smiled. "I'm glad you agreed to join us, Chloe; the arcade is more fun when you go with people you care about."
Chloe only looked at him briefly and then started at the ground. "Sorry…I was acting jealous early at dinner." This took Johnny by surprise as he didn't expect that response.
"Oh no… sorry…I don't know what to say." He got quiet for a bit, making Chloe feel bad for spoiling the happy mood.
"No, it's my fault, not yours…besides, remember what Nanna Lulu said: my time will come, so I'll be patient…Just remember to call okay…I'm happy you invited me actually." She gave him a warm and honest smile
"I promise I will. We are friends after all,so that you can count on it." He replied with the same smile. As he did, he spotted one of his favorite games, "Chloe, come on, we must try this game out; it's my favorite. I'm sure you'll like it." As he quickly grabbed her hand as he pulled her along.
While it may seem the brothers were busy arguing, they still saw the adorable and heartfelt interaction between those two, making Benny feel restless and Ryan caught on. "No bad, Benny; remember top secret if word gets out." He reminded him
"Come on, just know this kind of info is killing me."
"I told you to drop it but, nnnooo you had to be all pushy about it. You did this to yourself I hope you realize that."
"Do you think we should follow them?"
"Na let them enjoy a bit of freedom. Besides, the building itself is small. We'll find them in no time if they somehow get lost. But on to more important matters," He said as he walked over to the opposite side of the air hockey table. "Talking shit about me pro gamer skillz in this game deserves the more brutal beatdown of the century. So little bro make your move." As he placed the puck on the table.
"UUmm d-don't you t-think that's a little much?"
"Nope now play!" A buzz sound sounded, and the puck was now in Benny's goal.
"This is going to suck."
"Oh ya it is."
As the brothers played their round of air hockey, the younger ones were in a heated race, as they neared their final lap. "And BOOST!" As Johnny quickly passed, Chloe secured the win for him.
"I think you lied when you said you're not that good at this game." Chloe pointed out
"HAHA, sorry, racing games have always been fun to me ever since Ryan introduced me to it."
"I guess I know who to blame for it then. Well, I think it's only fair that I pick the next game we play. Deal?"
"Deal," Johnny happily said as they made their way to the next game. However, things would take a turn for the worse. Two men followed closely behind them as they approached the boy and girl as they tapped on the boy's shoulder, getting his attention.
"Hey there little man we're here to pick you up for your parents, they sent us since work got a bit busy." One man said.
"That's right so come on let's get going." Another one reached for his hand, but the boy quickly pulled back.
"I've never seen you before in my life." Johnny said as he stepped back and gripped Chloe's hand to keep her close.
"That's right you guys should go before we tell on you." Chloe added
One of them chuckled, "You hear that they are going to tell on us." One mocked her.
"This is why I never married. Kids are so annoying. Let's just speed things up." He took a cloth and quickly placed it over Johnny's mouth. At this point Johnny let go of Chloe's hand as she tried to escape.
"RYAN! BENNY! HE-"
She was cut off by the other quickly covering her mouth, but the commotion was already starting to spread. Her cry for help was heard as Benny quickly got his brother's attention.
"Ryan we need to go now! Chloe and Johnny are in trouble." As he bolted towards the direction where he heard Chole's voice."
"Right behind you." The two of them quickly made their way toward the back of the arcade center, and Ryan was able to catch a glimpse of two men in tuxedos carrying out both Johnny and Chloe through the back entrance. "Towards the back of the building, Benny, get our stuff ready!" Ryan commanded as Benny did as he was told.
Rushing through the back entrance where they were met with a black van and two other men in tuxedos as they worked to get the kids in the van. "Benny weapons!" As he said that Benny took out his necklace with a locket and quickly activated his semblance causing the component inside to grow to normal size. Tossing the twin guns to his brother and taking his lance in hand they confronted the men in the van.
"You got some never kidnapping kids like that; I'll give you one chance to hand them over peacefully and turn yourselves in to save you from a world of hurt." Ryan exclaimed as he readied his guns and Benny followed suit.
The driver was quickly getting annoyed about how a simple kidnapping became more complicated. "Does the word subtle mean nothing to you four idiots? Get in NOW!" He barked as the four quickly entered the van.
Ryan jumped into action as he sprinted towards the van but was met with gunfire as he quickly took cover by some nearby dumpsters. "Damn this sucks." While Ryan was pinned down Benny transformed his lance into a rifle as he fired a single shot at the van hitting it square on the door as they closed them and sped away from the ally.
Ryan got up from his cover as he walked over to his brother. Surprisingly still calm about the whole situation, "You got your little friend on the van right?"
Benny nodded as he pulled out his scroll and saw a blinking red light moving on a map of Vale. "Thanks for pulling the gunfire towards you, bro; they didn't hit you, right?"
"Na, I'm good. Come on, let's take the scenic route just in case they spot us." He explained as they quickly made their way up the building rooftops and followed the van that took Johnny and Chloe.
Forty minutes pass, and the van stops at an old two-story building as the men carry the flailing kids into the building.
"MHMM LETH METH GGGO!" Johnny tried to scream but the cloth around his mouth made it difficult for him to talk.
A muffled scream was coming from Chloe as they were put on the ground and tied up to a support beam of the building, the man in the bowler hat was clearly annoyed by the constant noise. "Would you two PLEASE BE QUIET! Honestly, here I am, Roman Torchwick, criminal minds of this time and what do I get tasked to do? Kidnap so snot nose brat and his little girlfriend." He then turned to his men. "Please explain to me why there are two kids and not just the one we need like we discussed?"
The men only stood there silent until one of them spoke up. "The girl was going to blow the whole operation if we didn't shut her up." One defended
"Oh, so just because one little girl started to cry wolf, the WHOLE plan goes south. They're kids. No one would believe her, plus I have abackup plan if the worse should happen now we have to deal with two kids." Roman took a deep breath and then recenter himself. "Will keep her for ransom at best." He then turned to the little boy as he kneeled and got rid of the cloth in his mouth, which was a decision he immediately regretted.
"HELP SOMEONE HELP HHEEEMHHH" Johnny screamed out as Roman placed his hand over his mouth.
"Can you please be quiet for just one second?" Roman said but it was to no avail as Johnny continued to scream as hard as he could, but Roman's hand muffled the sound. "Stay quiet or your little girlfriend will be next." He threatened as this caused Chloe to freak out a bit but Johnny soon calmed down as he didn't wanther to get hurt. "Good boy, now listen to these instructions, and this can all be just one bad nightmare, all right." As he took out his scroll and pulled up the dial pad. "You are going to call your soon-to-be family and tell them exactly what happened. Tell them the only way they'll get to see their little brat is if you give us one warehouse full of dust crystals. Do that, and you and your little friend over there get to go home. Do I make myself clear?" Roman said with a cold stare at Johnny
He slightly nodded as Roman signaled one of his guys to untie Johnny. "You try anything funny, and your girlfriend pays the price." He threatens as Johnny follows Roman's instructions.
Not too far off the opposite side of the street, the two brothers were on the rooftop of a building as they chased the van to an old building as Ryan scouted the area around it. "Classic hideout location, away from any law enforcement, and in a part of town that's a bit on the rougher side of things. Good thing that tracking device you managed to stick to the van worked like a charm." Ryan praised his brother
"I honestly was worried it would fall off at any given time. I'm glad it held on for the ride."
"Have some faith in your build, bro. You're a wizard regarding this technology stuff, but we need to focus on the matter at hand right now. Here's what I'm thinking: you use your semblance to sneak in through the back while I draw their attention from the front. But before I cause a commotion, feed me some details about where they are; I don't wantto risk them getting hurt." Ryan explained to Benny
Benny then questioned, "Are we really fighting our way out of this? I-I-I don't think I can- "
Benny didn't get to finish as Ryan pulled him down to his level as he took both of his hands and placed them on each of his shoulders. "Listen to me Benjamin." This got Benny's attention as his brother rarely calls him by his actual name unless it was serious. "You're my little brother. I believe hold heartily anything I can do, you can do as well. We got two little kids in there waiting for us. Are you really going to let them down now?"
Benny looked into his brother's eyes and took a couple of deep breaths before facing him again. "O-okay, I-I'm ready."
"Well, get in position. Once you give me an idea of where they are, I'll start, and it's your job to get them out, and before you say anything, I'll be careful. Alright now, go." Ryan said as Benny started to make his way down from the rooftop of the building and cross the street.
Reaching the building where Johnny and Chloe where being held he found a small opening through the cracks of the walls as Benny active his semblance and shrunk down to size and was able to slip in through the crack of the walls. As he made it through the wall, he heard the small conversation in the building.
"I can't believe Roman is taking orders from that woman, and here I thought he was the top dog in Vale." One man said as Benny came out the other end of the wall and started to climb down.
"The boss clearly has his reasons for it." Another man said
"Well, whatever the reason, having to resort to kidnapping children is a new low even for me; I didn't sign up for this."
"At least we didn't have to hurt them."
"Whatever, the faster those brat's parents cough up the warehouse, the faster this job is over."
Benny slowly made his way through the building, still undetected as he relayed that bit of info to his brother via scroll. As he searched the first floor, he found the stairs that led up upstairs. As he was about to revert to standard size, but the footsteps coming down quickly made him hide before being seen.
"Damn, those kids are annoying. All they do is cry and scream. Just one more hour, and we should have our answer." Another man said as Benny quickly reverted to normal size and went upstairs. Just before he got to the top of the stairs, he shrunk back down, and he could see both Chloe and Johnny tied up together near the center support beam of the building he saw two other men as well, more specifically, the man in the bowler hat.
Taking cover behind some boxes, he sent what he found to his brother.
B: They are on the second floor, tied up on the center support beam. Looks like they don't want to hurt them.
R: Got it; after you read this, you have one minute to get ready, and then I'll go in.
Benny read his brother's response as he mentally prepared himself for what was about to unfold. Back with Ryan, the second counted down to a minute as he got his twin guns ready; he loaded the right one with fire dust and the left with ice dust. "Okay times up, let's do this."
Firing the first shot from his left gun, he shot at the second floor, freezing the window, and then fired again, this time at the first floor, with fire dust making quite the commotion.
Inside the building, the men were panicking a bit as they were soon met with more gunfire from outside the building. "We're taking fire!" One yelled
"You think so!?"
Roman quickly ran down to the three men downstairs, "I'm not paying you to do nothing. Get out there and take care of this mess!" Another two shots were heard the men inside got their weapons.
Meanwhile, as Roman ran downstairs along with the other man with him Benny quickly grew back to standard size as he got next to Chloe and Johnny. As he removed the cloth from Chloe's mouth first, and as soon as he did, she quickly expressed her relief.
"AAAHHHAAA BBBEENNNYYYY!" Chole cried out as she inched closer to him as if she was trying to hug him. Benny quickly picked up her signal and embraced her as he looked over to Johnny and gave him asmile
"Hey, it's okay. I'm here now; we're going to get you guys out of here." He said as he moved closer to Johnny getting rid of the cloth.
"BBBBEEENNNYYY! I'M SO SSSOORRRYY!" Johnny cried out
"You don't have to be sorry for bud; if anything, it's my brother's and I's fault for not keeping a closer eye on you." As he pulled both of them into a hug. But their sweet reunion was soon ruined by Roman Torchwick himself as he returned upstairs.
"Well, isn't this a warm reunion? I can guess you're behind this little raid on our little home." Roman said. " Tell you what you leave and I promise that I'll return the little money suckers back to you in one piece after I get what I want."
Benny got out of the embrace of the two kids, "Johnny, you keep Chloe safe, alright, my man." He whispered to them as he got up and drew his lance at Roman. "You're not landing another finger on these two."
"The less-than-confident sound in your voice says otherwise, but I have no problemteaching you young kids a lesson in minding your own business." As he got his cane in hand.
Benny knew he still lacked in combat; he needed to get his brother here, so quickly transforming his lance into his rifle, he blasted a single shot out the window where the ice over the window shattered and crumbled to the ground. However, this came at a price, as Roman saw the opening and attacked him.
"HAHA, I don't know what you were even aiming for, but thanks for the free shot." As he attacked him with his cane, but Benny was just barely able to block it with his lance.
"Ya, I-I'm starting to regret that choice as well."
But Benny's shot was not in vain as the shot got the attention of Ryan still on the rooftop who was firing down at the first floor. "Looks like Benny needs help. All right, it's time to buckle down." As he quickly switched the ammo in his guns to now ice and lighting dust, jumping down onto the road, he came face to face with four armed men. "Alright, gentlemen let's tango."
The men started to fire at him, but as they did not, a single one of their dust rounds connected as Ryan was effortlessly dodging the gunfire. Partly due to his semblance, a semblance that his brother constantly called him out on when they sparred together. Precognition has to be at least a top five most wanted semblances, and Ryan just so happens to be a lucky one as using this power, he was able to counterattack against the men quickly.
Firing three consecutive shots of ice dust to split the men into two groups of two gave Ryan amuch easier time to take care of themas he rushed towards one of the men trying to reload his gun.
"Don't underestimate me!" He tried to swing his gun at him but failed as Ryan was able to dodge his attack andfire a point-blank range shot of a lightning round to his chest, stunning him long enough for him to trip the man and elbowing him to the ground, effectively knocking him out.
Ryan then turned his attention to the other man as he finished reloading and started to fire at him; it was in vain as Ryan barely moved from his spot only dodging the necessary rounds that came his way; as he did he started to reload one of his guns as the man firing at him saw this as an opening and charged at him.
This was all part of his plan as Ryan quickly tossed the dust clip into the air as he countered the man effectively tripping him, and as he was about to land face first onto the ground he used the lighting round still in the chamber of his gun to fire at his back knocking the second man out right as he caught his clip with the gun as it fell perfectly into it's magazine well.
"Can't believe you fell for that. There's still around in the chamber." He said as he rechambers his gun. His swift takedown of the two men was then met by the remaining two as they finally cleared the wall of ice. "Let's speed things along shall we?" As he charged at them.
Back on the second floor, Benny was on the defense for himself and Johnny and Chloe, and Roman kept trying to grab at least one of them. Blocking another attack from Roman as he tried to fire his grappling hook from his cane but Benny was able to stop with the end of his lance but making stay of course. "You know you really are getting on my nerves, can't you do anything but block."
Seeing on how agitated he was Benny went on the offensive as he spun his lace and got into a position to throw it, but as a secret gimmick he ignited the rocket booster at the end of his lance, giving it an extra boost in launch speed. The sudden increase in speed through Roman of guard as he was only able to alter the course of the lance slightly as it impacted a bit of his right shoulder andthen embedded itself into the wall behind them. While the impact was small, the immense speed of the lance was almost able to bypass his aura as Roman took heavy damage from that attack.
"AHH…you little overgrown brat, you'll pay for that!" He raises his cane and aims it at Johnny and Chloe. Johnny quickly got in front of Chloe as he hugged her, trying to shield her from the upcoming shot. Benny was quick to react as he slid in front of them as he concentrated his aura to maximize his protective barrier. Roman fired and Benny took the full brunt of the attack as he the pain was immense, but his aura held strong.
"A-are y-you guys o-okay?" Benny was able to get out clearly in pain from the shot
"BENNY!" They both cried out as Roman readied another shot, but before he could get it off, Ryan fired a shot through the floor right in front of Roman, and an ice wall formed in front of him.
"WHAT THE AAAAHHHH!" His thoughts were interrupted by a lighting dust round to the back as Ryan finally joined the fight.
"You just made a terrible mistake, you know that; now your opponent is me." As he aimed his guns towards Roman.
Given that he made it up here, Roman figured his men were defeated, and he was the only one left, seeing as his right shoulder was still in pain, and his aura was running low, and now there was another one to oppose him. It was with great shame he decided to cut his losses.
Firing at the ground with his cane, a black smoke cloud appeared as he was able to pass Ryan and make a getaway through the window of the building. As the smoke cleared, he saw his brother protecting both Chloe and Johnny as he quickly ran towards them to join them.
"Thank goodness you three are okay." He said in relief as he got into the hug circle.
"WAHAHA RYAN IT WAS REALLY SCARY!" Cried Johnny
He quickly embraced him. "Hey hey, it's okay, it's okay, it's over now, alright. Nothing isgoing to hurt you anymore." He reassured him.
Chloe then embraced his brother as she cried out as well, "B-BENNY P-PROTECTED US, H-H-HE TOOK A BIG BLAST FOR US!" While Benny was in pain, he still returned her hug.
Ryan looked at his brother and placed an arm over his shoulder as he brought him in. "Damn, don't scare me like that."
"I'm okay j-just ouch…In a lot of pain that's it." As he smiled at his worried brother.
Still holding Johnny, he carried him as he stood up as his brother walked over to his lance that was still embedded in the wall.
"Come on let's get you guys home." He said as he led the three of them to the same van that was used to kidnap them, now was being used to give themselves a lift back to the orphanage. "Come on guys up front with us, you're not sitting back there. That way, if you get scared, we can be right here with you." Ryan explained to them.
As Johnny and Chloe got in the car, Chloe spoke up to Johnny. "T-thank y-y-you…for protecting me…" She said quietly
Johnny only blushed a bit. "I was scared as well…but, I could let them hurt y-you." He said as he sat next to Ryan, as they made their way back home.
Forty quiet minutes went by, and the orphanage came into view as a group of police cars surrounded the orphanage. As Ryan slowed down the police came rushing towards them with guns pointed at them.
"STOP! PUT YOUR HANDS WHERE I CAN SEE THEM AND GET OUT OG THE VAN NOW!" One policeman said.
Ryan already figured this would happen; thankfully, he told his brother and the kids just to do as they told them to, and it should all be over quickly. "Rember guys just follow their instructions and it will soon be over." He turned off the van and held his hands up, and soon, everyone followed suit.
As the police came closer they saw the kids were with them and as if they could ask for prefect timing Nanna Lulu came storming past the cops barking them to lower their weapons.
"LOWER YOUR WEAPONS THESE ARE MY BOYS, THEY SAVED THEM! SO PLEASE LOWER YOUR GUNS!" She yelled out to the chief who was in charge.
"You heard her lower your damn weapons." He ordered his men as they did so, and Ryan and the rest of the group got out of the van as both Chloe and Johnny ran towards Nanna Lulu.
"Oh my sweet little angles I'm so glad you are save." As she started to cry and embraced the kids.
"I-It w-was scary!" Chloe said almost choking on her breathe
"Sshh sshh I know sweetheart, I know." She softy reponded
"B-B-ut Johnny w-was r-really brave."
She turned to look at Johnny who was also crying. "I-I d-didn't w-want the bad p-people to hurt my friend."
"And you were very brave, that's a good boy." She said as she looked up and saw the two older brother walk towards her. "I have somethings to say to you two but that's for another time. You boys did alright." She said to them
The chief of police walked over to them, "Excuse me. Pardon the interruption, but if we could get a statement from these two young gentlemen, it would help with our investigation." He asked Nanna Lulu.
The boys nodded toward her she gave her permission, as they followed the chief to give their statement.
The afternoon turned late evening as the events of today died down, as the day came to an end there was a glimmer of happiness at the end. Now in the living room Johnny was greeted by his future family which he ran up to and the woman quickly embraced him.
"Oh, I'm so sorry you had to go through that, little Johnny; my heart dropped when I heard the news." She said and a man walked beside her as he supported his wife
"We were really worried, Johnny, but that's a thing of the past. I'll get the best bodyguard this side of Vale to ensure nothing like this ever happens again."
Johnny only looked at his adopted parents, "I'm okay I had my big brothers to come and save me." As he turned to look at them. "They are really strong and really brave as well." He said with a smile.
The man then walked towards them as he held out his hand, and the brothers shook his hand. "I can't thank you enough for what you did." He thanked them
"We would do it again in a heartbeat for our little guy over there; he's a good kid. Take care of him." Ryan said
"We plan to." The kind man answered.
As they were getting ready to leave little Chole came rushing down from upstairs. "WAIT! Johnny…Good luck!" She happily said. Now carrying Johnny, the womanhanded him to her husband and walked over to the little girl. "I have a surprise for you, little one." She said with a warm smile as she called to the door towards the exit. "Okay you can come in now."
As she said that two women came through the door, a lovely couple as they went towards the girl. "Chloe, this is my best friend Erica and her wife Amethyst. When I showed them a video of this lovely little orphanage they were aww struck by the cutest little girl they had ever seen."
Chloe was busy putting the things together before Benny came down the staircases with a pink suitcase in hand. "I hope you can give them a chance." As the woman stepped aside, and Erica kneeled in front of Chloe.
"I knew the moment I saw you that you were the cutest thing ever…and it may sound silly coming from an adult, but…" Her wife then kneeled beside her giving her the courage to finish her thought. "Well, we fell in love with you at first sight… and I was hoping you would like to join our family?" She asked
Chloe couldn't believe what she just heard so she felt like she had to ask to ensure it wasn't a dream. "T-T-this isn't a-a-a joke?" As she tried to fight back her tears, "Y-You r-r-really w-want to a-adopt m-me?" she was barely able to get out.
Erica's wife Amethyst spoke up, "Well only if you want to, we be happy to call you our daughter." She said as she and her wife held out one hand each in front of Chloe as she slowly grabbed both of them. In that moment, it was like straight out of a fairy tale, as a single touch was all that was needed for Chloe to embrace the two women fully.
"I think I love her even more." Erica said with tears in her eyes.
Both Ryan and Benny felt the waterworks trying to breach the dam but held strong as they enjoyed the heartfelt scene before them.
"You know the best part Chloe, it's just a hop, skip and a stone throw away from Johnny so you'll basically be neighbors." Erica said happily. Chloe still couldn't believe this was happening. She turned to face Nanna Lulu, who gave her a warm smile.
"Like I told you Chole, good things happen to those who wait." She said as shecouldn't be happier for her.
The glow of the moon illuminated the night sky as the two brothers were on the rooftop of the orphanage. "I still can't believe you know that Chole was going to get adopted as well."
"More like I accidentally found out barely a week ago." Ryan told his brother as he stared up at the broken moon. "I really messed up today."
Benny got the memo as he knew his brother was blaming himself for even getting both Johnny and Chloe in that situation in the first place. "There was no way you could have known that was going to happen."
"Maybe, but it definitely could have been avoided. We should have kept a closer eye on them, and we should have stopped them right there in their tracks. Some big brother I am." As he stood up.
"You're wrong; we wouldn't even be alive if it wasn't for you. You saved me more times than I can count…and I'm just…I'm just here…" Benny quietly said as Ryan started to walk towards the staircase.
"Thanks Benny." Was all Ryan said before closing the door and leaving his brother alone on the rooftop as he slid his back against the door as he fell to the ground. 'I'm not cut out to be your brother,' Ryan thought
'I wish I didn't have to hold you back all the time,' Benny thought as each brotherhad their own problems to face in this game of life.
Author's Note: And that's the second one down. It was a bit longer than I planned, but that's alright since further down the line, they might break the 10k word count for just one chapter, but we shall see. Anyway, that's three characters down, so one more to go, and then we dive into the actual story for these four boys, so stay tuned for the final member of this rag-tag team.
Next Chapter: A Warm Yet Harden Heart