Quick thing I wanted to bring up. Until further notice, I will be uploading new chapters on Wednesday instead of Monday. I'm finding myself going insane with trying to upload on Monday where I only have three hours of not being in class. Today is an exception because I'll be on the road this time tomorrow, and won't be able to upload. Besides, today felt nice and I was able to wear my favorite denim jacket (the one that inspired Daniel to have one) so I was in a good mood.
This was a fun chapter to write, so I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. I'll see you all at the end. Enjoy!767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEi6zjDYt6h
Fifty minutes into the ride, Lunare pulled off the highway and into an old, beat up fuel station. According to him they had set off with only half a tank, and it was getting lower than what Lunare would like it to be.
It also possibly had to do with the large sign advertising that they sold Rage there.
The instant they stopped, Dakota threw open his door and raced towards the convenience store of the fuel station, muttering something about using the bathroom.
As Dakota hurried his way towards the bathroom, Lunare flipped a switch and Scrapmetal settled down lower. An arm separated from the body of Scrapmetal and grabbed the pump and began filling the vehicle.
Lunare then opened the trunk and pulled out a large metal cooler. When Daniel saw this, he hurried over and helped Lunare get it out and to the ground. Lunare flipped a switch and it began to hum softly. The two of them awkwardly carried the cooler to the convenience store and through the front door. As they entered, a sleepy looking cashier attendant looked up from the counter and at the two teenagers hobbling in. He yawned and rubbed his eyes.
"la bienvenida a la estación de gasolina López," he said, "¿en qué puedo ayudarle"
Lunare dropped his end of the cooler and replied in the same language, "Disculpe señor, pero ¿sería posible que yo compro tantas latas de Rage que pueda caber dentro de este refrigerador"
The attendant blinked in surprise at a teenager speaking his language so fluently, then smiled and replied in the affirmative. At least, that's what Daniel assumed he said as Lunare opened up the glass refrigerator and began placing cans of Rage into the cooler. Realizing that this could take a while, Daniel bought a soda, and a candy bar that had an amusing name. He took his purchases and leaned against the refrigerator glass, rubbing his eyes as he went. It had been a long night, and the effects of the Rage were finally beginning to wear off. He could always drink another one, but having too many could be harmful for one's health. Besides, as useful as it was for staying awake, he still hated the flavor of Rage. Pixie sticks had never agreed with him that well. Thankfully he also had the next day off, so he could sleep in to his heart's content. That is, if Lewis and his guitar let him.
Having sufficiently filled the cooler and paid the attendant, Lunare leaned against the glass next to him. He pushed his glasses up and pulled out the contraption that he had been working on in the closet along with a set of miniscule screwdrivers and tweezers. He looked down at them and began work once more in earnest. "Quite the eventful evening we've had," he said while adjusting the location of several wires.
"No kidding," Daniel said. "And to think that twelve hours ago we were sparring in a field. Feels like a lifetime ago, doesn't it?"767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI19eRN5rKg
"And since then, we have traveled four hundred miles, broken into a house, narrowly avoided being detected by a drunk man, and successfully rolled over and gotten the fingerprint of the same drunk man. I am curious to see what the next twenty-four hours will bring."
"Sleep for me," Daniel answered. "Listen, Lunare, I don't know how I can thank you enough for this. It certainly won't be in cash since I just used the last of it to buy a snack."
Lunare waved a hand. "As far as I am concerned, you have already paid me back. Had it not been for you, long distance trials for Scrapmetal would still be far in the future. Dakota even supplied me with a suitable name for my creation. And lastly, I would not have even thought to design such a marvelous instrument as I have in front of me," he said, gesturing at what he was working on.
"Still though, I don't feel right not compensating you at all," Daniel said.
Lunare looked up at Daniel. "You wish to provide compensation? Very well," he said and unwrapped Daniel's candy bar and pulled off a bit from the top. He popped it in his mouth and announced, "I consider myself adequately compensated."
They shared a laugh at that and Daniel returned to his soda and candy bar. He was just finishing up when a loud roar emanated from the parking lot as a beat up white van rolled in and took up two handicapped spots. The side doors opened and a horde of grungy loud teenagers piled out. As he saw them, the attendant sighed. Clearly he had experiences with this group.
Their leader pushed to the front of horde as they burst through the front door. When he saw who it was, Daniel nearly choked on the dregs of his soda. It was Vlad, the gang leader that Daniel had run into the day he applied for Beacon. Also Dakota's old boss.
The attendant began to speak as he had with Daniel and Lunare, but Vlad stepped up and hit the counter with his fist, making everything on it jump. "Listen man," he said, "We've been coming here once a week for about as long as I can remember. So tell me; when will it get through that thick skull of yours and into your pea-sized brain that I DON'T SPEAK YOUR LANGUAGE!"
The Attendant stared back determinedly but didn't say anything further. After a moment, Vlad shrugged and waved at his goons. They swarmed the place and began raiding everything from the alcoholic beverage freezer, to the hot dog cooker. As one passed close by, Daniel tensed up. To his surprise, he was paid no more notice than Lunare. Confused, Daniel thought a moment before realizing that he was still wearing the beanie that Lunare had given him.
After he had passed, Lunare leaned over to Daniel. "Judging from your sudden tensing, I can assume you know these people."
Daniel nodded. "Dakota used to be with them," he answered. "I ran into their boss over there and got beat up for it,"
"I can assume then that Dakota making an appearance would be a detriment to the situation?" Lunare asked.
Daniel nodded. "I haven't gotten much out of him, but I think he left on bad terms."
Lunare was about to say something else when one of the gang members yelled out "What on earth is that?!"
Daniel, Lunare, and the rest of the occupants of the convenience store followed his finger to Scrapmetal. Evidently they hadn't seen it when they arrived.
"That has to be the most fugly piece of crap I've ever seen!" he said.
Next to Daniel, it was Lunare's turn to tense up.
Vlad moved over to the window and stared out at Scrapmetal. When he got a good look, he laughed out loud. Seeing their boss laughing, the rest of the gang followed suit.
"It doesn't even have any wheels!" Vlad said. "What'd it do, fall of a dump truck?"
Lunare slowly reached into his overcoat. Noticing the movement, Daniel stopped him. "Let it go Lunare," he said. As he did, one of the goons decided that he'd join in on the fun.
"Naw boss, I think even the dump truck didn't want it," he said. "It's so ugly, it was probably left here on purpose."
The rest of the gang members laughed even harder at this. And it was the final straw that broke the Ursa's back.
In one fluid motion, Lunare yanked his hand free of Daniel's, took two steps forward, pulled out his gunstaff, and lobbed it like a spear at Vlad. Hearing the mechanical sound of the staff opening, Vlad turned just in time for it to hit him square in the chest and throw him into the coffee maker behind him. Several of the pots tipped over and spilled their hot contents over the gang leader who shrieked in response.
Having thrown his weapon, Lunare strode forwards towards it. Before he had taken more than a handful of steps, his path was blocked by a big bruiser of a boy. He looked down at Lunare and leered. "Big mistake four eyes,"
"I am not the one who made a mistake," Lunare said in a voice that could freeze molten lava. "Your first mistake was siding with your acquaintance that insulted the creations that I have built," "Your second mistake was calling me four eyes."
The goon laughed and swung at Lunare, who ducked underneath the blow and jabbed him in the ribs. The goon stiffened and jittered slightly in place before falling sideways into the shelves, knocking them over. Lunare stood up and removed a battery from his contraption and replaced it with a fresh battery.
At this point, Vlad had stumbled to his feet. Evidently he had an activated Aura, since despite being hit with a razor sharp blade and covered in scalding coffee, he was merely out of breath and holding where he had been hit. "That, punk is a walking corpse," Vlad hissed to his henchmen in pain. "Make him lie down."
The rest of the gang surged forwards, but the rows of shelves made things difficult as they could only attack him in ones or twos. Lunare took advantage of this by jabbing him with his instrument and shoving his body backwards into those waiting behind him. As they tumbled to the ground, Lunare leapt over them and dove for his gunstaff, only for it to be pushed out of his reach by a goon with an electric sword staff. Lunare stood up to face the staff wielder, pushing his glasses up as he did.
The gang member swung at Lunare who skillfully dodged out of the way and said "the addition of a thicker blade than necessary creates a heavily overbalanced weapon leading to excessive tiring and slower swings."
The goon frowned and stabbed at Lunare who stepped backwards while putting on a pair of gloves he pulled from his overcoat. "Coupled with poor fighting stances makes it a wonder how you ever manage to fight in the first place.
Starting to breathe heavily now, the gang member made a wild overhead swing that Lunare simply caught with his hands.
"Furthermore, your blade is duller than a butter knife, which suggests you primarily rely on alternate means of incapacitating your opponents, or victims in your case. Judging from the battery you so haphazardly attached directly below the blade with electrical tape and wire, it is safe to assume that the alternate means is electricity; a force that can be repelled by simple kitchen gloves and neutralized by removing its source from the equation," he said as he slid one hand down the length of the blade and plucked the battery from its perch. He then grabbed the goon's arm and twisted it hard, wrenching it out of it socket. The goon fell and Lunare caught the swordstaff as it came out of nerveless fingers. "All in all a highly inferior offensive system," Lunare said.
Meanwhile, the goons that had been knocked over finally managed to free themselves. Daniel, who up until this point had sat back, unsure as to what to do, saw his chance. He stepped forward to face the gang members and reached for his sword, only to realize that it was gone. He searched frantically for it on his belt before realizing where it was. Lunare, who had taken it to help the trio remain incognito, had yet to return it. Daniel hastily tried to withdraw, but it was too late. Vlad's goons had noticed him and several were advancing steadily while the others moved in to take on Lunare.
"Lunare! Sword!" Daniel called out frantically.
"I'm afraid I am slightly preoccupied at the moment Daniel," Lunare replied, fending off several goons at the same time with the poorly designed swordstaff as he slowly made his way over to where his gunstaff lay.
Daniel sighed in resignation and reached into the back of his jeans and brought out his pistol. He didn't grasp it in its usual fashion; rather, he gripped it by the barrel. Suddenly he had a hammer. And it was a lot better than just fists.
The first gang member that got within range received a blow to the side of the face that knocked loose several teeth, knocking him out like a light. The next in line, having seen what happened to his friend, was more cautious. When Daniel aimed an overhead strike, he dodged around and struck twice with a pair of brass knuckles into Daniel's side. Daniel yelled in pain as pain lanced through his body. He stumbled to the side and wildly swung his impromptu hammer in the direction of his assailant. It connected with another gang member who fell backwards into his compatriots, but did little to improve the situation.
Daniel was beginning to regain his balance, when a pair of thick burly arms wrapped themselves around his body and put him in a full nelson. He struggled against the hold and his assaulter laughed. "Damn, you are one helluva slippery S.O.B. aren't you?"
Daniel grunted and lifted his legs to try and kick his way free, but his assaulter threw him against the glass door of the refrigerator. It cracked and Daniel's world blacked out, only to be jarred awake as he left the assailant's grip and crashed into a shelf. Despite being awake, Daniel was heavily dazed. Dimly, he heard the attendant yelling in his language to try and restore order. Groaning, he looked up at his assailant. In his hand was the beanie Lunare gave him. He was staring at Daniel with an amazed look on his face. Then it disappeared, only to be replaced by a leering grin. Evidently he had recognized Daniel.
It was at that moment that a loud succession of booming noises came from behind Daniel along with the attendant's cry of "Madre Dios!", Daniel's assailant's face turned white as he dove for cover as bullets ripped through the air above him. Evidently, Lunare had found his gunstaff.
Daniel struggled to his feet to see Lunare holding his gunstaff at the hip and steadily firing towards the gang. One of them evidently had enough use of his Aura to provide for a semblance. They had somehow pulled the flooring and concrete beneath it to for a wall for them to hide behind. Vlad had positioned himself behind the rest of his goons and was shouting orders and obscenities left and right. When Lunare stopped firing for a moment, several braver goons ventured out in hopes of catching Lunare without any amunition. They were sadly mistaken as Lunare simply switched the ends of his gunstaff around and continued firing from the opposite end.
"Lunare! I would really like my sword now!" Daniel yelled forcefully. He was not going to be beaten up by the goons that were slowly crawling towards him just because he didn't have his weapon. And he wasn't about to start firing into their midsts for fear of hitting one that didn't have an activated Aura.
Lunare looked over at Daniel and back at the wall where several goon's faces would appear every time he let off the trigger. He then sighed and stopped firing long enough to unclip Daniel's sword and sheath from his own belt and toss them over the heads of the goons; straight into Daniel's arms. He unsheathed his saber and clipped its sheath back to its familiar place on his belt. He gave the saber a twirl and looked down at his opposition, his confidence growing now that he had his familiar weapon in his hand.
Meanwhile, Lunare was in a spot of trouble. In the time it had taken to throw Daniel's saber, the Vlad had several of his goons run out from cover and close the gap between themselves and Lunare. Unable to attack with the machine guns in his staff and backed up against the bathroom door, there was little that Lunare could do. One of them, a massive faunus with tatoos on his left bicep, was holding a massive chainsaw sword that he revved in anticipation. Not waiting for him to strike, Lunare charged the faunus, ducked under the raised blade, and rammed his shoulder into his gut, sending him and the goons behind him stumbling backwards. Lunare then retreated back just enough to be able to use his gunstaff effectively, leveled it at them, and pulled the trigger
Click
He had run out of ammo.
Lunare quickly opened the portion in the staff shaft where he loaded the ammunition and reached into his coat for a new clip. Seeing his opportunity, the faunus revved the chainsaw once more and charged Lunare. Lunare looked up just in time to see the chainsaw descending down on him. He awkwardly lifted his gunstaff up to block the overhand strike. The chainsaw hit hard and stuck into the staff. It held for a moment before the chainsaw cut through the staff and down towards Lunare. Lunare stumbled backwards and fell on his back, his gunstaff neatly cut in two in the middle clattered beside him.
"No!" Daniel yelled. He was engaged in combat with another of Vlad's goons and across the store. Desperately, he punched his opponent in the jaw with the guard of his sword, giving him enough time to aim with the pistol in his left hand and fire off four shots at the faunus. All but one struck him but despite being .45 caliber bullets, his Aura protected him and did little more than cause a slight stumble. He looked down at Lunare and grinned. "Time to die punk," he said. He squeezed the trigger and the chainsaw roared to its maximum speed. He was beginning to raise it to end Lunare when the door to the bathroom exploded off its hinges. It flew over Lunare and crashed into the faunus. The chainsaw caught on the wooden door and was wrenched from his hands.
Dakota stood in the entryway to the bathroom, his foot extended in the kick that had knocked the door off its hinges; his lead pipe in his left hand; his chain in his right, uncoiled, and on fire. He strode past Lunare who had grabbed the two halves of his gunstaff and was slowly standing back up. Vlad peered around the wall which had taken a direct hit from the door and was missing a sizable gap. He saw Dakota and snarled. "You," he said in rage.
"Me," Dakota answered. He gave his chain a flick, sending fire flying around the store. The attendant ducked under the counter and whimpered. "Vlad, we can all still walk away from this. You go your way, we'll go ours. No one else needs to get hurt."
"I don't take orders from you of all people," Vlad said. "Not now, not ever."
"I'm not ordering anything Vlad," Dakota said. "I'm only asking that we-"
At that moment, the faunus stood up and tried to wrap his massive arms around Daktota's head. Dakota ducked and slammed his pipe into his stomach, then followed up with his chain, which he flicked around the faunus' arm and yanked him to the ground. The faunus hit hard and tried to sweep his Dakota's feet out from under him. Dakota jumped and kicked his head into the shelves, knocking him out for good.
Dakota turned back to reason with Vlad, but it was not to be. The faunus' attack snapped the tenuous cease fire that began when Dakota entered. Lunare advanced with the two halves of his gunstaff, wielding them like they were two swords. Dakota whipped his chain down on a shelf, cutting it in two and allowing him to shove an opening to bypass the goons that Lunare had begun fighting, and get closer to Vlad. Vlad shrieked orders, and Daniel engaged another goon, mace against sword. It was an all-out brawl once more.
Dakota knocked aside a clumsy swing from a spear and wrapped his chain around the forearm of another goon. The goon shrieked in pain as the hot metal burned into his skin. Dakota yanked the chain loose and the goon collapsed, sobbing and clutching his burned arm. The remaining two goons that stood between him and Vlad dropped their weapons and scattered, giving Dakota a straight shot at the gang leader.
"Traitors!" Vlad shrieked at his two fleeing subordinates. "Get back here at once!"
"Awfully hard to command respect when your orders leave your crew a wreck, isn't it Vlad?" Dakota said in a low voice. "I'll ask one more time. Stop this, and we can all walk away."
"You always were too soft Dakota," Vlad said. He pulled out a butterfly knife and twirled it open. Always the first to avoid a fight, always unwilling to fight, to go in for the kill. I don't even know why I kept you around."
Dakota brought his pipe down on Vlad's wrist, hard. Something crunched and the butterfly knife dropped from nerveless fingers. Dakota grabbed Vlad by the shirt and shoved him into a display case. "You 'kept me around'," Dakota said in a deadly low voice, "Because you knew that when push came to shove, I was the best brawler in our turf, and the turf of most nearby gangs. And the only reason I stayed around was because you and the rest of the gang were the closest thing to a family that actually wanted me. Isn't that sick? An orphan has to rely on a gang to satisfy his need of fitting in."
Dakota threw Vlad to the side. He crashed to the ground and clutched his wrist in pain. "I've found a new family Vlad. And if you so much as touch a single hair on their heads, it'll be the last thing you'll ever do. And you know what that means all too well."
Vlad picked up his butterfly knife with his non injured hand and was crawling to his feet when a goon launched by Lunare crashed into Vlad, jarring his broken wrist. The two collapsed and Vlad howled in agony. He didn't try to get up again.
At this point, the battle was wrapping up. Lunare had pinned most of his attackers with a shelf he had kicked over. When they tried to push it up, he added a second shelf and sat on top of the pile, examining his broken gunstaff with unhappiness, yet mild curiosity as well. Daniel had a nasty bruise on his cheek from hitting the refrigerator door and a cut on his arm, but was otherwise okay. When his remaining attackers realized that they were all that was left, the quickly surrendered. They had won. Dakota sighed and extinguished his chain before wrapping it around his arm. He checked under the fingerless glove of his right hand to check the bleeding levels. Steady but slow. He was safe.
Something ticked in the back of his mind. Something from his time in Vlad's gang. Faintly, he could hear a noise. A noise that always set him on edge, made him wonder if he needed to run.
A police siren.
He whirled around just in time to see several police cars swerve into the fuel station and discharge several police officers per car. They threw open the door and pointed their pistols directly at Dakota.
"S***," Dakota swore.
Fun fact, this whole scene came from a conversation between myself and the creator of Lunare and the rest of team LSTR. I can't remember who brought it up, but we got onto the conversation of what it would take to make Lunare snap. Not snap in the traditional sense, where one goes absolutely insane and becomes a completely different person, but enough to make him "pull out his gunstaff and lob it at someone". Croe, as Lunare's creator is known, agreed that someone insulting his skill and abilities would be enough for Lunare to attack unprovoked. This scene, which initially started off in a diner was the end result. I have to admit it was kind of enjoyable to bring back Vlad's gang. Up until this chapter, they didn't exactly have that much of a role beyond being where Dakota was from, and I felt kind of bad for them. Also, for those of you who noticed, yes the faunus with the tattoos is the White Fang Lieutenant. I have a head canon that even I don't really believe that much that he started out in Vlad's gang before becoming disillusioned with Vlad like Dakota did and left. The only difference was that he went to the white fang instead of becoming a Huntsman. Not my best explanation, but I needed a way for Lunare's gunstaff to be broken. I'll explain why in the next chapter.
If you liked this chapter, please favorite and follow, and don't forget to leave a review. I wish you all a happy thanksgiving, and I'll see you all in two weeks!
-GN
ns 15.158.61.20da2
