Chapter Text
A singular, red-coated person hit their back against a tree, hard. The person grunted- or, well, ticked. They couldn’t exactly grunt because of the strange fact that their head has been replaced by a clock. Their eyeless gaze went up to study their attackers, who crowded around them so suddenly.
It consisted of several strange individuals, all wearing coats lined with fur. One was tall, blonde, and smirking. Another had a dour expression, with a darker complexion and a neat thin mustache. The last one, and the one that directly attacked the person, was the shortest of them all, with shaved sides and pale skin.
“Do you see now? You can’t run from us.” One of the two women said, holding her blade so it glimmered inside the night sky.
The clockhead began to tick back, as if the attackers could understand them.
The blonde woman interrupted, chuckling. “Ah~ Technically speaking, I can tell you that our master’s plan doesn’t really break any of the City’s Taboos. It’s just the kind of thing no one has ever even considered attempting before, you catch my drifts?”
The darker skinned man looked onward towards the knocked down person, who was still ticking-n-tocking. “You managed to get ahead so fast. Are people like you always prepared for anything?”
The red coated person tried to speak back, only making intelligible ticks. The attackers all sighed, before the blondie flexed her gauntleted hand and reached over to grab the clockhead by their neck, picking them up and smiling sadistically as she did it.
“Guess the new noggin doesn’t come with a voice, huh?” The blonde woman said.
The smaller woman sighed once more. “Yep, all I can hear is the clock ticking. You think they’re screaming on the inside?” As if on cue, the ticking grew faster. “Hm. The ticking is getting faster, so I guess they can feel pain.”
Soon enough, with the choking done by the tall blonde woman, the ticking eventually quieted. The woman looked up at her compatriot. “They’ve gone quiet already. Let’s get this over with.”
“No one ever comes here, Wolf. There’s no eyes on us, so what’s the hurry?”
“We must follow her teachings. No wasting time.”
“Yeah, but… ugh, can’t we just savor the moment? We’re not gonna get another chance to off someone of this caliber."
Suddenly, the mustached man interjected. “You have a tendency to get far too emotional on a job, Lion. Don’t mix business with pleasure.” He then turned his head towards the person inside the blonde’s- Lion’s- grip. “Shame- I so wanted to have a look on your face. I reckon you won’t tell us where your star is, yes?”
The red coated person spat out more ticks.
“Right. No mouth. Meaning, this one won’t tell us how to find it.”
Before any of them spoke however, they all heard the sound of… an engine? Lion, Wolf, and the unnamed man looked off to the sound, all of them with quizzical looks on their faces.
Wolf and Lion then turned their heads to look at the mustached man. Wolf spoke first.
“Panther, you didn’t let us get tailed, right?”
The darker skinned man- Panther- shook his head. “Impossible. There couldn’t have been anyone that could track me. Just a wild animal, perhaps?”
Lion scowled as the sound of the engine drew extremely close. Her head shot towards the growing sound. It was probably a bus, due to the size, and-
And with the breaking of a few branches, it was in fact revealed to be a bus.
“Hoo, I swear that they’ll pay for whatever reason they’re here for.”
Lion dropped the person she was holding just before being hit by the bus. She was sent flying until he hit a tree, blood trickling down her nose. Both of her compatriots leapt back, brandishing their weapons towards the bus. Wolf hissed under her breath, “Did Lion just get pushed back?”
As for the bus, it stopped just a few dozen feet away from the group, before the doors opened. Finally, 5 figures all piled out, with various degrees of oddity amongst them. One was a very large, black skinned man with a chained sword. Another was even taller, a seemingly robotic man with quite a strange hat. Beside him was a red-hatted woman, with two swords on her back and a scowl on her face. Next to her was a yellow-eyed man, wearing a mask with black hair and white roots. He had a soft smile, but it was devoid of any emotion. Finally, the smallest of them all puffed on her cigarette, her red eyes glimmering along with her white scabbarded sword.
“Well! What do we have here, eh?!” The white haired tattooed man yelled, pulling up his sunglasses to take a better look.
“Looks like a bunch of scruffy riffraff. And apparently, they were gonna attack our… manager?” The blonde, red-hatted woman said, her gloved fists balling up.
Suddenly, the yellow-eyed man heard a beep coming from his pockets. He held up the beeper, his smile growing slightly larger. “Yes, that would be our manager. Dante, it seems.”
“Dante…” The tall cyborg said, his bone and flesh sword suddenly flexing to show off the impressive spurs. “What a wonderful name. I quite like it.”
Finally, the black haired woman sighed, one white gloved hand pulling her sheathed sword into a ready stance. “Let’s just get this over with, you idiots.”
Wolf and Panther both were already ready to fight, with the bus goers all leaping away from each other and spreading out. The fur coated individuals also jumped off to meet their foes, with Lion shaking her head clear and soon joining her comrades.
However, inside the sudden introductions, another white haired woman, whose skin matched the whiteness of her hair, stepped out of the bus, and moved towards the downed person. She cradled the clockhead person, who was said to be Dante, suddenly making them ‘wake up.’
Dante ticked, saying-
<Who… are you? That nameplate… says… Faust?>
Faust nodded, patting the flaming clock of Dante.
“You’ve lost your way in a dark forest.”
<W-wha…?>
“Yet you were not overcome by fear. Why was that?”
<That’s… Because I could simply lift my head to find the star…>
“That’s right. Now keep revisiting that image and let your heart speak these words aloud.” Once she was finished, she placed her hand on Dante’s clockhands, suddenly speaking with a sudden force Dante didn’t recognize.
“Follow your star.”
At that moment, Dante felt a sudden thump in their head, followed by the sensation of multiple chains penetrating them.
<Guh… Hrrkk- Aaarrghh!!>
Faust patted the clockhands of Dante again. “Please don’t worry, Your heart is still functional, though it may feel otherwise. With this, the pact is sealed. Dante, from this day forth, we are bound to your time.”
Dante nodded, slowly sitting up and turning to face Faust.
<What do you..?>
Faust shook her head. “The beating of our hearts now depends on where your hands fall… though, I’m not sure if these are the hearts meant for you.”
Before Dante could ask, Faust suddenly tackled Dante to the ground as the red-hatted blonde woman sailed overhead, screaming out curses. Lion followed, leaping over the two after her. Both of them stood up, with Faust continuing on like nothing happened.
“It must’ve been an instant ambush-yet you still managed to hide your head.”
Dante shook their head, still trying to make sense of it all. They don’t remember… anything.
<Wh-Who are you people? What’s up with this bus?>
“...That is to come to pass.” Faust said, her eyes closing as she spoke. “...But that is not what you want to hear. We’re racing against time, and the situation isn’t in our favor, so let me explain this once.”
As Faust began to explain things, Dante would see and hear the sounds of battle. The tall cybernetic man and the smoking woman both strike at Panther, who blocks both of their attacks before targeting the woman.
On the other side of Dante, they could see the white haired sunglasses-clad man and the yellowed-eyed man striking Wolf as well, with a black ferrofluid scythe and a big… block of metal? Wolf was struck by the scythe, but kicked away the tattooed man and then quickly leapt towards the other man.
It seemed that, even with their superior numbers, they were losing. Faust finally finished explaining, then holding Dante by the shoulders and speaking to them. “You need to give them the right orders, Dante. They’re counting on you.”
Dante nodded absentmindedly, standing up and looking at the carnage, their gaze being attracted towards all three differing fights. They found they could communicate with these… ‘Sinners’ about how to best go about the fight.
They directed their attention towards the red-hatted woman, who was chomping down on her cigar whilst her guarding stance was being repeatedly hit by the brutish Lion. However, with Dante suddenly focusing on her, her blue eyes widened as she suddenly kicked Lion in the gut the moment she was raising her fists. She then descended on her, with the blonde woman now raising her gauntlets in an attempt to block the multitude of strikes.
The LCB Manager’s gaze then landed on one of two pairs, the red-eyed woman and the cybernetic man. Panther was currently stabbing the side of the woman, before turning around his polearm and striking the man’s organic sword.
However, when Dante attempted to direct the two, suddenly they were kicked in the back by Wolf. A sword was placed against their throat, and then they were lifted up to look at both the black-and-white haired man, and his compatriot, the fully white-haired individual.
“Hey! Why you little-” The aggressively brutish man yelled, baring his teeth and stepping forward. The other, masked man shook his head and placed a hand on the wide tattooed chest of his companion.
“Matthias, calm yourself. This is a precarious situation, one that can be remedied through words, not actions.” He then nodded towards Wolf, who still held Dante. “State your terms, ma’am.”
Wolf let out a quick growl, before opening her mouth. The instant she did, the air around everyone suddenly took on a cold chill. Wolf and Dante could feel a dark presence behind both of them, and the sword-wielding woman turned her head to stare in the bright, glowing eyes of a tall, gray man.
“Hahh… You five have taken too long. Must I solve everything for you lot?” His gravely voice rang out, as Wolf suddenly made a noise that sounded like a squeak and a gasp.
“The Red Gaze?! But why-”
In an instant, all fighting ceased. Wolf’s compatriots all froze, along with the Sinners. Suddenly, the Red Gaze disappeared, Wolf’s arm being chopped off as he did. Panther was then found without a leg, before finally the gray man stopped in front of Lion.
Lion stared at the Red Gaze, before the latter speaks up. “Do you know why I had those two dismembered? Because one of you needs to be intact to carry the rest and scram pell-mell out of here. And you’re the only one left to offer them any help.”
Lion then narrowed her stare into a glare at the other man, to which the Red Gaze’s, well, red gaze grew a harsher brightness. “Don’t glare at me like that. This is nothing compared to what you would’ve done. With wounds like those, I’m sure your boss will recognize the effort you put in. Consider this a badge of honor. Unless… you want to meet your end here.”
And with a few more moments of shared glaring, Lion quickly left and gathered her fellows. The Red Gaze’s eyes died down to a more reasonable brightness as he turned towards Dante. “As for you, Dante, do not worry. I’m not late for anything. We only need… a little time to rest.”