"YOU SHOULD SEE THE LOOK ON YOUR FACE!!!"
The suited man rolled across the floor, laughing his ass off as the young girl silently grieved for her mother, motionless and unresponsive. Their laughter was obnoxious, lasting minutes as they would return their gaze to the girl and begin anew. Still, she remained there, not an inch of movement as they eventually became tired of laughing, their eyes lying on the girl.
"Uhh--You good?"
He poked at her with his revolver, only pushing her onto the ground. She didn't get off of the ground, and the man backed away, rubbing the back of his head with his pristine weapon.
"Well--uh... This ain't any fun anymore. She's not even responding or nothin'..."
One of the men before him crouched above the high-school girl, inspecting her as the building became completely silent.
"Dot, you think she's dead, too?"
Dot, the man in the green suit, laughed stiffly, denying the possibility as he leaned against the wall of the room. He made himself comfortable as the body of the mother remained on the ground, red reaching to the walls of the room's doorway. The room was clear, a table and a chair being the only objects other than themselves in the space, but the building itself was vast, its location unknown. Dot coughed as the light to the room flickered, another smile growing on his face.
The lights died, and electricity zipped throughout the room before it returned, more blood surrounding Dot as he looked toward the table, only one of his men left alive and sitting in the lone seat. A silver figure stood behind him, holding the man in the seat with his white gloves, caressing him as he looked toward Dot, his face covered by a mechanical mask.
"You're their leader, huh..."
Dot's smile widened as he removed himself from the wall, facing Kem head on. As he approached, he stopped, his head angling behind him. Loud steps echoed throughout the building, followed by a powerful voice that froze Dot still. Even still, a smile remained etched onto his face as a secondary figure walked out of the darkness, their hair green in color.
She was tall, wearing blue clothing that contrasted with her hair. Her lean body shaped the clothing, the uniform's shirt being tucked into her dark jeans, and she wore green heels, responsible for her echoing presence.
Dot stood, impressed by their preparation as his eyes returned to Kem, Dola slowly approaching from behind.
"Why didn't you kill us all? That's no fun..."
Kem laughed.
"Had it been up to me--"
Dola interrupted, placing her hand on the shoulder of Dot's suit. Her overbearing presence stopped all thought of an escape attempt from his head, and anger seeped through her voice, having seen the state of the hostages.
"I'm surprised you even came to me, Kem... I'm thinking I should've taken more than just your weapons..."
Dola's eyes returned to the civilians at her feet, her expression immediately neutralizing.
"Dotsugaya Nen-- a mouthful of a name-- you're not from around here but from Yorokobi, the city of cyberpunks. Even so, you stick to more 'traditional' means, a standard magnum and a switchblade."
Dot's eyes widened for a moment, but he quickly returned to a smile, being impressed by her display of skill.
'She knew about the knife in my pocket? She's no pushover, huh?'
Dot laughed under his breath as Dola's grip strengthened, pulling both of his hands behind his back. As the handcuffs clicked, Dot continued to giggle under his breath, and Dola turned him around, pushing him toward the stairs behind them. As he was taken away, they were halted by a yell.
The man Kem held to the chair thrashed about violently as he screamed toward Dot and Dola.
"Boss!!!"
Dotsugaya spoke calmly, his back still turned away from them.
"Don't resist... It's unnecessary sacrifice..."
"What do you mean; don't resist?! What's happened to you?!"
As he continued to struggle, Kem slammed his head against the table before them, the impact echoing throughout the hall. Even so, he continued to squirm and scream, and Dola continued escorting Nen toward the staircase as he continued to ramble nonsense.
"You're just going to walk away from all of us that easily? You didn't even fight back!"
He began muscling himself upward, overpowering Kem with sheer muscle mass. His veins popped from his skin. His body expanded unnaturally, crushing the table as they fought each other for control until he eventually freed his arms, his fist instantly crashing into Kem's face.
Kem's goggles shattered, but his mask remained completely undamaged, his body colliding with the wall behind them. The man's cloak became a hooded shirt, his black pants struggling to hold themselves together as they audibly tore by the second. He huffed loudly as his air ran thin, his voice squeaking as he struggled for air.
"You..."
Dola stopped at the head of the stairs, tossing Dot to the ground as she approached the muscle-bound monster before her. Her hands clasped as if holding a weapon, yet nothing was there, and her footsteps yet again echoed throughout the hallway. Dot sat, analyzing the encounter.
'The sound pattern is too strange to be an echo... kek... I underestimated the puppeteers.'
The outlines of dozens of soldiers became apparent as she approached the beast of a man, towering over her as Kem remained motionless against the wall. As she closed in on her target, the man backed away, grabbing Kem by his loose hair and waving him around as if he were a doll.
"Don't come an inch closer, you creepy hag! I'll kill 'em!"
Dola didn't respond, but she stopped, steps still echoing through the hall before entering the room, their sound slow and meticulous. Even so, the man picked up on her plot, gripping even tighter to Kem's hair.
Kem lie motionless, his goggles shattered and his closed eyelids revealed. His lashes were a pale white with a beautiful delicacy to them. They looked as if they could break at a touch, but the man showed no regard to this detail, yanking the goggles from his face and causing his hair to fly in front of his eyes. He chuckled to himself, gaining confidence as Dola and her soldiers halted all movement, and the air around them grew silent, the control giving him a high.
"Dot... You'll do well to explain yoursel--"
Dot interrupted his speech with a burst of laughter, rolling around as his handcuffs restrained him. The man was taken aback, his face turning red as his veins strained once more, but as he strained, his arm began vibrating, Kem's obnoxious laughter resonating through his body. Both Dot and Kem laughed together, drowning out all other noise. Dola sat silently, unfazed as she remained completely still, preparing for something.
Through his laughter, Dot yelled, his face pressed against the stairs' railing.
"I told you, buddy! You'll only hurt yourse-he-helf!"
As Dot and Kem began regaining their composure, the room grew silent once more, and Dola sighed, turning around again. Within a split second, the man's thick arm was severed at the bicep before the lights were cut, sparks flying throughout the room as Dola grabbed Dot and pulled him down the stairs as he laughed hysterically, his eyes locked onto the blue light that darted around the room.
As the light returned, the man sat in the chair once again, Kem's hair rubbing against him as he spoke softly toward him. His hair covered his face, stained red by the man's blood, and his hand reached toward the man's face, slowly removing his glove from his opposite hand.
"Those... Those were my mother's goggles. You'll do right to pay for them one way or another..."
Sweat drenched his cloak as he looked blankly toward the broken table before him, fear taking over him.
"I-If you want money, I-I'll give you all I have!"
Kem pulled his soft hand from his glove, his nails liken to talons. He ran his nails across his face gradually digging deeper into his skin as he spoke, his anger growing by the second.
"Now, now... You know well enough how we mercenaries roll. I'd like something a little more… close to home... Since you've--tarnished the goggles my mother made for me, I'm thinking... You got a family?"
The man didn't respond, but his head angled toward Kem, his eyes bloodshot. Kem returned the gaze, his voice carrying a growl as the power behind his concealed eyes dug into the man's very being.
"Don't look at me like that..."
Kem's arm reached toward his chin before running diagonally through his face, tearing it to shreds in an instant.