//------------------------------// // What's a Double Bit? // Story: Chrysalis Gets Into Anime // by Hopeful_Ink_Hoof //------------------------------// Chrysalis adjusted the brim of her hat against the scorching on hot sun as she looked down rest stop building down the hill. It was a small place, single story, with nearly no windows. Probably meant for someone to grab a drink or two before continuing on. Definitely no place for travelers to sleep. The hot, dry wind blew, making her knee-length jacket rustle around her. Reaching into a pocket, she pulled out a cigarette. From the holster, she pulled out what looked like a combination of a pistol and water gun. With practiced ease, she ignited the tip of the gun, and used its green flame to light her cigarette. Chrysalis took a deep drag on it. "You sure she's down there?" she asked the girl standing to her left. "As I can be," Cozy Glow replied. She turned her head enough to glare up at Chrysalis. "Not like we have an actual picture of her or anything." Her attention returned to the small building. "But she fits the most common descriptions." Chrysalis returned her gaze to the building as well. She took another drag of her cigarette, blowing the smoke out through her nose. A well-dressed man stepped forward on her right. He ran one hand through the well trimmed beard on his chin. "Considering the sheer amount of money on the line," Tirek stated, "it would be foolish of us not to take the risk." His eyes narrowed as he gave a wicked grin. "Besides, if we're mistaken, there's no need to leave any survivors to report it." Chrysalis mirrored his smirk, then let out a wicked chuckle. Not exactly her normal type of idea, but not one she was actually opposed to either. Even if it was the right target, it may be a good idea, just to eliminate anyone else trying to claim their bounty. After one last puff, she dropped the cigarette and stomped it out. Turning around, she faced the rest of The Five. "Cozy Glow, you stay up here." "What?" the girl cried out. "Why?" She put her hands on her hips and stamped a foot. "I'm just as capable as any other member." "Because we need the body to be recognizable to collect the money, and we can't do that if you blow her up," Chrysalis replied. "Besides, if she does somehow manage to get past us, then we need someone to tell us where she went." Cozy huffed and shifted, but did not argue. "Tirek, you're with me and the front door. Flim, Flam, you two take the back." "You can count on us," one of them said. Chrysalis neither knew, nor cared, which was which. They were always together anyways. She was pretty sure they each only had half a brain, and could not function if they got too far apart from each other. She could count on them, alright. Count on them to try and do anything for a quick buck, and try to get a larger share of the money than they deserve. There were times she considered shooting them herself. "Shall we?" asked Tirek, motioning toward the building. Leaving Cozy Glow at the top, the other four made their way down the sand dune and toward the target. The brothers split off, sprinting around to the back. As they approached the front, Chrysalis drew her weapon from her side, while Tirek unslung his from his back. After a quick non-verbal discussion, Tirek went in first. Slamming the door open with his shoulder, he stepped inside and raised his weapon. As he pulled the trigger on what looked like an over-sized rifle, an orange sphere, about an inch and a half in diameter, shot out of the barrel. It hit one bottle of liquor and shattered it before exploding, causing more to do the same. Screams and shouts filled the air as the bar tender and several others threw themselves to the floor. A second shout took out the record player, putting an end to the music. Chrysalis followed behind, lifting her pistol and launching a fireball into the air. "SHUT UP!" she shouted. Everything went silent as everybody -- with one exception -- turned to look at the two new arrivals. "Now that we have your attention," she continued, "we're here for one reason, and one reason only." Turning toward the person who was not paying attention. It was a tall woman, with wine red hair. She was dressed in a full-length coat that was a purple so dark, it was almost black, and had been made to show off her lean build. On closer inspection, there was a patch on the shoulder, which showed a six point burst of energy in a dark pink. Chrysalis came to a stop just inches from the woman. "So, no one try anything stupid, and no one gets hurt." Reaching out, she grabbed the woman by the shoulder and spun her around. As expected, there was a scar across the right eye. "Tempest Shadow, I assume." "Tempest" picked up her glass, and took a long drink of her... milkshake? She then set the empty glass down and gave Chrysalis a stern look. "You know what they say about when you assume." This... was not how Chrysalis was expecting things to go. Tempest Shadow was supposed to be a hardened fighter. Someone who took down criminals and cops all the same, and en mass. A woman who could leave an entire town destroyed in her wake, without breaking a sweat. It must have been a trick. Some sort of psychological mind game to throw others off. Chrysalis lifted the gun, pointed it at Tempest. "You're coming with us." Tempest looked at the gun, quickly up toward the ceiling, then to Chrysalis. "Do I get a say in the matter?" Chrysalis grinned, eyes narrowing. "Sure." She brought the gun closer. "You can either walk out with us, or we can drag you. So,which will it be?" With a sigh, Tempest Shadow held up her hands, and stood up. She walked away from the bar and backed up toward the front door, keeping her attention on Chrysalis. About three feet from the door, she stopped. "Before we go any further, I would like to say two things. First, I don't think you really want to do this." Chrysalis let out a snort and rolled her eyes. "I have about sixty billion reasons I do," she replied. Although that was not entirely true. No matter what the brothers claimed, she got the exact same fifteen percent of any money that they all did. Still, she had no interest in explaining that right. Besides, there was still a lot a girl could do with nine billion double dollars. Tempest let out a sigh and gave a nod. "Yeah. I've heard the before. Second..." she looked up toward the ceiling. "You really should watch where you fire that thing." There was a second of confusion before Chrysalis looked up. Directly above her was a large wagon-wheel chandelier, hanging from a rope... ...which was on fire... She turned to dive out of the way, but was not quite fast enough. There was a snap as the rope gave way, and the heavy wooden wheel fell. It slammed into her legs, pinning her to the ground and sending an explosion of pain up her back. No permanent damage was done, but it was going to hurt like Hell for the next week or so. For a moment, she considered forgetting about the money and burning the woman to a crisp. Only two things stopped her. One, if she did, then she would not be able to collect the bounty and get paid. Two, she had dropped her gun, and it had skittered across the floor and out of reach. Seeing his partner trapped, Tirek turned his rifle toward Tempest and pulled the trigger. Before he even finished, the woman was on the move, diving out of the way and knocking over an empty table. The shot went off. The projectile hit the wall and exploded, sending splinters of orange in every direction. "Ow!" Tempest cried out. She peeked around the edge of the impromptu shield. "Hey! Watch it with that thing! You could put someone's eye out!" Instead of saying anything, Tirek aimed at the half-exposed head, and fired again. Tempest pulled back to avoid a direct hit. The shot hit a chair behind the table and exploded into splinters. "May as well give up," Tirek stated, lowering his gun slightly. "Even if you are capable of constantly avoiding a direct shot, you cannot do the same for the ricochet of shrapnel. It will be much slower, and far more painful, for you if this continues." He waited for her to respond, reloading as he did. The table shifted and started to move. It rolled across the floor, keeping between the two opponents, then stopped. "Counter-proposal," Tempest called out. "We all pretend none of this ever happened, and go our separate ways. That way, no one gets hurt. Well, hurt more. You may want to help your friend out from under the chandelier there." "And give you the opportunity to escape?" Tirek retorted, raising an eyebrow. "Did you think I wouldn't notice you moving so that the doorway was directly behind you and your cover?" "I was kind of hoping, yes." Before he could reply, Tempest bellowed, "Fire in the hole!" and threw something over the table, toward Tirek. Automatically, he raised his rifle and fired. The shot hit the first pepper shaker, shattering it, then exploded, shattering two more. The spice filled the air and hit Tirek in the face, getting in his eyes, nose, and mouth. The world became a blur as tear filled his eyes, and it hurt to breathe. He was too busy coughing and wiping at his face to notice Tempest Shadow escape out the door. Chrysalis saw it, but could do nothing about it. Where were the two idiots, anyways?