Anne walked out the love hotel with a new found motivation. She roamed the streets, went in and out of stores, and ate to her heart's content. She fixed her blue mini dress and looked at the ice cream stand in front of her. The longer she stood there and stared, the less she felt like getting some.
It was a tactic that worked for her. She continued on her journey of sightseeing, completely forgetting what her team was sent here to do. That was until a glimpse of red zoomed past her eyes.
"Ooo~ I remember what I need to do~" She muttered to herself.
She ran after the crew with a rather bored expression. Thali was the first to notice Anne trying to gain Magnus' attention , so she tapped his shoulder and pointed toward the blonde girl. "Hi hi." She happily greeted, stopping in front of the crew. Magnus turned toward her and tilted his head upwards. She was really tall.
"Are you like... Magnus?" Anne asked, her voice showing she was quite clueless. The captain almost groaned but kept it to himself. His crew placed their hands on their weapons, uneasiness creeping into them like a parasite. The town was now focused on their exchange, eager to see where this would be heading.
The sun shined on them, a beautiful crimson colour illuminated on their skin. "What's with the hostility?" She announced, her hands up, two fingers up in a peace sign. "I come with peace, and I've come to take you to my lady."
The crew looked at with a deadpan expression before simultaneously face palming their forehead.
"Why admit that out loud?" Koko curtly asked, her expression morphed into one of annoyance.
Anne tilted her head sideways. Her blue eyes were wide and now seemed dead. She was creeping them out.
Anne had already made up her mind about what she was going to do when she confronted them. Lyon had given the green light to go ballistic and destroy the crew, and that's exactly what she was going to do.
"Was I not supposed to? It's not like you can do anything about it. Can't really change his fate, can you?" Magnus felt immense pressure coming from the sky,so he looked up.
The whole crew did. A giant light blue and pink pistol was facing down in them like some sort of nuke. Juggernauts stood frozen as Anne lifted her hand up and pointed her fingers downwards in gun motion. The residents had already evacuated, terrified of the ongoing conflict on their land.
With no time to react and even less time to defend themselves, Anne let her attack loose, completely blasting the crew into different corners of the Island.
"Bimbo Pow." She blew her two fingers, as if it were emitting smoke. The ex huntress opened her eyes and spat out the dust mixed with blood from her mouth. She looked around her and noticed the abundance of rubble and broken housing.
This Island was going to definitely hate them when they left.
She pushed the fallen debris off her body, stood up and walked to find the rest of the others. She wobbled, almost falling into the massive crater in the ground. The dust hadn't quite cleared and Koko's senses weren't back to normal, so the punch she felt on her left cheek came as a surprise.
She hit the wall and slid down dramatically. Her pain only intensified as did her headache. "Nuh uh~ I'm so going to get scolded by Lyon."
Anne spoke up, chewing on a piece of gum, waving her pistol around. Koko stared at her with a level of hatred she hadn't felt before. Anne then looked at Koko with a bewildered look on her face.
"Did I hurt you? ~" Koko slowly stood up and put a single finger on her lips. "Don't you ever shut up?" This made Anne mad, and the blonde started charging toward the ex huntress.
Koko was quick to dodge. Without her weapons this battle was going to prove difficult to win. Anne shot a bullet that had an explosive impact, prompting Koko to once again dodge for her life.
She frantically searched for her weapon, needing it more than ever. Anne was busy shooting at her with no real aim or passion. Worst enemy ever. Once the outline of her whip caught the attention of her green eyes, she bolted toward it.
After she grabbed it, she twirled the whip around and aimed it at the blonde girl. Anne was quick to dodge, flipping backwards and grabbing her two thigh strapped pistols, shooting it at the ex huntress.
Pink and blue bullets came speeding toward Koko, who dodged them as fast as she could. One bullet grazed her exposed bicep, a small amount of blood spraying on the wall behind her. Koko held her arm, biting her lower lip in pain.
Her whole body was screaming for her to stop, not yet recovered from the earlier attack. "Had enough, yet?" The blonde girl taunted, spinning her pistols around, before pointing them at Koko again. Koko took a deep breath.
She was a better fighter when teamed up with Stephan, a thing her so-called father had seen as a weakness.
It's just the fact that they bounced off each other so well. However, it was time to fight on her own, and show her so-called father just how much she had grown, wherever he was. She took another deep breath, closed her eyes and sprinted forward.
Anne began her shooting, eyes widening as she witnessed Koko dodge them all.
The said girl grabbed the handle of her whip ,swinging the object at Anne, successfully whipping her across the cheek, and drawing blood. Koko flipped backwards, bringing the distance between them back.
Anne stood there, frozen. Blood trickled down her cheek, her eyes widened in horror, as her hand inched toward her now scarred face. She bit her lips, anger filling her body by the second.
Her beautiful face was damaged, and she was beyond pissed. "You're going to pay for this you little bitch!" She exclaimed, sprinting to the ex huntress at full speed. Koko braced herself for the oncoming gun attack, only to be met with the hardest left hook to the side of her face.
The punches didn't let up, and Koko felt her body being flung from side to side. She quickly kicked Anne in the hip with enough force to fling her into the nearby building.
Grabbing her knees to catch her breath, she thought of a plan of taking Anne down.
The said blonde was already getting up, furious with how much cuts and scars her body was gaining. With the rest of her weapons back at the inn, and with only a whip to rely on, Koko did not see herself winning against a magic user.
She stood up straight, staring into the crimson sky with a blank look on her face.
Anne started summoning holographic pistols in front of her, dust and dirt coating her blue dress and her skin.
Koko side eyed the girl, her green eyes fixated on every minimal movement the blonde made. She dropped the whip, the ache in her palm so unbearable. Everything moved in slow motion. From the words leaving Anne's mouth to the bullets leaving the pistols.
Everything was in slow motion. Koko closed her eyes and accepted her fate.
This is where her journey would end. She had spent a short time with the Juggernauts, but they had already grown their own places in her heart.
Her mind then went to her little brother. An image of Stephan's smiling face so clear in her mind. Tears started to well up and fall. The bullets now approached, still moving in slow motion.
"Hell cutter." An arm encircled Koko's waist, her green eyes staring at the blaze that destroyed the bullets, and the blade the attack came from.
What on earth was going on? Her nose caught a whiff of a strawberry scent. The ex huntress was lifted and placed somewhere distant and safe, with swiftness. Koko was finally able to come to her senses. Her eyes finally scanned the appearance of her saviour, her eyes morphing into an expression of shock.
It was the lavender haired girl who gave the trouble at the market earlier, standing there with her blade unsheathed, flames emitting from it. Half of her kimono was off, showcasing her fully bandaged left arm, and chest.
Mai side eyed the ex-huntress, examining the state she was in before focusing on Anne again.
The flames died down, ash and smoking coating the atmosphere. Anne placed a hand over her mouth, coughing as her eyes watered from the irritation. "Who are you~?" Anne asked in between coughs, wiping the tears that dripped down her face.
She started to get woozy from all the smoke she was inhaling. Mai moved her sword around, the ash and smoke getting sucked into the tip of her blade.
Koko watched in fascination. The only other flame user she was used to was Thali, and she hated using it too much. Mai was far more elegant in her movement.
Her lavender hair was pulled up in a low ponytail, a small black ribbon wrapped at the bottom of the tail. From Koko's observation,
Anne seemed exuberant. Not once seeming like she was low on energy. The blonde grabbed her pistols, placing them before each other. The objects started to glow a light pink colour.
When the glowing stopped, a large white, blue and pink rifle appeared. Koko was now eternally grateful for Mai's appearance.
She would have not been able to deal with the tricks up the bimbo's sleeve.
Anne popped a chewing gum in her mouth, eyes gleaming at the flavour melting on her tongue. Mai placed the sword in front of her with two hands on the hilt. She disappeared, appearing above Anne. Anne's eyes were glowing blue with scope like pupils that glowed white.
Koko's eyes widened, jaws slacked open. Just how many tricks did the blonde have up her sleeve. Telescopic sight wasn't something she thought she would have. The feeling of just how inferior she was beside the two having a go at each other, was nothing short of overwhelming.
She brought her knees to her chest, her eyes no longer fixed on the battle but the ground. She would prove no use to Magnus in her current state. However, in a world filled with magic, having none was a curse.
And getting stronger would prove futile in the long run. Mai swung her sword down, simultaneously dodging the bullets that were shot at rapid speed. She appeared below the blonde, not giving the girl any time to react. A clean cut went across Anne's abdominal.
Mai disappeared before the bimbo could retaliate with her appearing before Koko again. The swordsman did not break a sweat. Her face gave away nothing but calmness. Anne's ragged breath came out heavy.
Her hand was over her wound, trembling as the adrenaline wore off, and the pain started kicking in. The bleeding was not stopping, so she tore the bottom half of her dress, wrapping her around her wound tightly. Her pale blue laced underwear was exposed for everyone to see.
Mai blushed at sight, turning her head to the side and muttering a quiet 'indecent', under her breath.
Koko's expression turned into one of deadpan upon witnessing that. "Are you a pervert?" Mai turned around shocked at such an accusation. "Do I look like one, you weak bitch." If Koko could knock her out, she would.
However, she let it slide with how unbelievably sore she was. Mai focused her attention back on Anne….who wasn't there. "That's why you should stay focused on your target." The dumbness in her usual tone vanished, replaced with a more deeper, monotonous tone.
The aura emitting from Anne, yet again, was different. The barrel of the rifle was placed firmly on the swordsman's temple. Mai, however, remained calm. Her blade lit up again, her pupils moving to look at something, then looking at the blonde again.
"Oh no you fucking don't." She pulled the trigger, the bullet going through Mai's head before she could do anything.
Koko watched in horror. Blood sprayed like a hose, Mai's body dropping in slow motion. Koko's eye widened when the body started to pixelate before turning into a shadow.
"Nice save, Kiyoshi!" Mai cheered from behind Anne, who could only stand there frozen in shock. The shadow formed into Kiyoshi. Her raven hair blowing in the wind, as her amber eyes stared expressionless at the blonde girl before her.
The crimson sky slowly became a murky colour of maroon. Dark clouds soon appeared, followed by the depressing drops of rain. The rain soon got heavier. Anne could only look up at the sky with a blank expression. Koko was starting to see herself through the blonde girl.
Memories. Unwanted memories filled her mind. A bitter laugh escaped her, the feeling of the cold rain spreading throughout her body.
Mai dimmed her sword and stabbed the gunslinger through the chest. Anne spat out blood, not once acknowledging the excruciating pain coursing through her body. It wasn't enough to kill her, so Kiyoshi kicked her in the stomach, Mai moving away at the last second.
The gunslinger flew before she crashed into a new building.
A big crater formed around the bloodied body. Her blonde hair out of its ponytail and falling over her shoulder. Her eyes were void from any signs of life. Breathing became a painful task, blood coming out everytime she exhaled.
She slid down the crater, sitting down, her legs spread out in front of her. Those memories filled her mind again. Memories of how everyone, including her father, told her the only value she had was her body.
The abuse she endured for years.
Memories of her standing over her dad's corpse, a gun in her hand. Memories of Lyon, Havanna and Lady Chau standing at her apartment a week later, her dad's rotting corpse in the living room. Memories of how her life had gone from shit to somewhat better.
Memories of Lady Chau had permitted her to hunt down every single person who had done her wrong and kill them.
Her blurry vision picked up Mai and Kiyoshi vanishing, like they always do.
What surprised her was Koko walking toward her. Bloods continued to pour from her body, surrounding her body. Koko placed Anne's two pistols on the dying woman's lap.
The guns were gifted to her by Lyon. She remembered how ecstatic she was that he was finally able to give her something that matched her aesthetic.
Koko gave her a sympathetic smile, before getting up and walking away. The rain got heavier, as did the blonde girl's body. An image of Lyon and Havanna flashed through her mind.
Their smiling faces brought one to hers. She drew her final breath, slumping to the side. Finally finding the peace she had always chased.