Get Backers Recovery Services Case Files: The Dragon’s Messenger and the Tower of Victory
The Neon District of Inaba didn’t just sleep; it vibrated. High above the smog-choked streets, on a half-shattered suspension bridge that had long been abandoned by the city transit, six completely incompatible worlds were about to collide.
It started, as most disasters do, with a severe misunderstanding and a craving for donuts.
The Meet-Up
Vash the Stampede was currently hanging upside down from a rusted steel girder, his bright red coat flapping in the smoggy wind.
"I'm telling you, Wolfwood! If we just follow the scent of frying dough, love and peace will guide us to the ultimate bakery!" Vash whined, waving a hand wildly.
Nicholas D. Wolfwood sat cross-legged on the girder above him, a lit cigarette dangling from his lips and his massive, cloth-wrapped cross, the Punisher, resting heavily against his shoulder. "We’re in a completely different dimension, needle-noggin. Love and peace aren't gonna buy us a ticket home, and they sure as hell aren't paying for donuts."
"Hey! Watch the hair, old man!"
A streak of blue light flashed past Vash’s nose. It was Agito—or rather, Akito, though the orange strap of his eyepatch currently shifted, signaling the more vicious alter-ego was in control. He was grinding along the underside of the bridge on his ATs (Air Gears), defying gravity with a wicked, fanged grin. Behind him, trailing a cloud of casual chaos, was Icky.
"Who are you calling old, you oversized tomato?" Icky barked, spitting a toothpick into the abyss. He executed a flawless wall-plant on a nearby billboard, his own ATs sparking against the metal. "You're blocking the best line on this whole sector!"
"Get out of the way, or I'll carve you into pieces!" Agito snarled, the mechanical hooks of his Fang Road snapping hungrily.
"Now, now, everyone. Let’s not let our tempers short-circuit the evening."
A calm, resonant voice cut through the wind. Sitting nonchalantly on the highest cable of the bridge was Ginji Amano. He wasn't in his chibi, diaper-wearing "pissed-off" form; he was the Lightning Emperor. Static electricity crackled violently around his shoulders, turning the night sky a pale, pulsing violet.
Beside Ginji, emerging from the shadows of a massive steel pillar, was Shido Fuyuki. The Beast Master stood with his arms crossed, a dozen glowing, ethereal shadow-beasts swirling around his coat like protective spirits.
"Ginji, we don't have time for this," Shido said, his voice tense. "The atmospheric pressure is warping because of whatever tear brought those two guys with the guns here. My crows are losing their minds."
The Clash
"Did someone say... guns?" Agito laughed hysterically, flipping right-side up and landing on the main deck of the bridge. "Let's see if they can hit a moving target!"
Agito lunged forward, a shockwave of compressed air blasting from his ATs—the signature Fang of the Bloody Road. The pressurized blade of wind tore across the asphalt straight toward Wolfwood.
Wolfwood didn't even blink. He grabbed the Punisher, tore off the cloth wrapping with a fluid jerk, and planted the massive cross into the ground. The wind blade slammed into the heavy metal shield, dissipating into harmless drafts.
"Kids these days," Wolfwood sighed, dropping his cigarette. "No manners." He spun the Punisher, aiming the heavy machine gun barrel built into the front straight at Agito.
"Wait! No shooting! Violence breeds violence!" Vash shrieked, dropping from his girder and landing squarely between Wolfwood's gun and Agito's next strike. Vash dodged left, then right, his body moving in an impossible, rubbery blur as he avoided a barrage of kicks from Icky, who had joined the fray.
"Wow, you're quick for a guy dressed like a crime scene!" Icky yelled, trying to sweep Vash's legs.
"It's high fashion, I assure you!" Vash cried out, weeping comically as he narrowly avoided getting his face taken off by an AT wheel.
Up above, Shido’s patience snapped. "That's enough. Hell Hound, execute!"
A massive, shadowy wolf materialized from the darkness, roaring as it lunged down to separate the brawlers. But before the beast could land, a bolt of pure, blinding electricity intercepted it. The lightning didn't harm the beast, but it dissolved the spiritual energy back into Shido's aura.
Shido glared up. "Ginji?"
"We can't fight them, Shido," Ginji said, his eyes glowing with the terrifying, absolute power of the Mugenjou. "Look at them. They aren't evil. They're just... incredibly stupid."
"Hey! Who are you calling stupid?!" Vash, Icky, and Agito shouted in unison.
The Truce
The tension was thick enough to cut with a high-frequency blade. Wolfwood had his finger on the trigger; Agito was rearing back for a strike that would likely tear the bridge in half; Icky was prepping a massive jump; and Shido’s beasts were howling.
Then, Vash’s stomach growled.
It wasn't a normal growl. It sounded like a dying engine turning over in a garbage disposal. The sheer volume of it actually made Agito stumble mid-stride.
Silence fell over the bridge, save for the crackle of Ginji’s lightning.
Vash fell to his knees, clutching his torso. "Please... I haven't eaten since three dimensions ago. If I don't get sugar, the love and peace in my soul will wither and die."
Ginji blinked. The terrifying, glowing aura of the Lightning Emperor suddenly vanished. In a puff of smoke, he shrunk down into his tiny, big-headed chibi form, floating in the air with big, watery eyes. "Aw, you're hungry? I know a great noodle cart just three blocks away! They have soft-boiled eggs!"
Wolfwood facepalmed so hard the sound echoed off the skyscrapers. "Are you kidding me? We were two seconds away from a bloodbath and you offer him ramen?"
"Hey, if the sparky kid is buying, I'm down," Icky said, spinning his wheels and relaxing his stance. "Riding on an empty stomach makes my tricks sloppy anyway."
Agito spit on the ground, his eyepatch shifting back over to Akito's side. The manic grin replaced by a soft, polite smile. "Um, do they have vegetarian options? Agito is a bit heavy on the meat, but I prefer tofu."
Shido rubbed the bridge of his nose, his shadow beasts fading back into his cloak. "Ginji, we don't have any money. Ban has all our cash."
Vash suddenly perked up, his eyes turning into shiny dollar signs. He dug into his deep red pockets and pulled out a pristine, slightly crushed silver coin. "I saved this from the last town! Will it work?"
Wolfwood stared at him. "That's a bullet casing, Vash."
"It's a shiny bullet casing!"
The Walk into the Night
Ten minutes later, the bizarre six-man army was walking down the neon-lit alleyways of Inaba.
Vash and Chibi-Ginji were walking side-by-side, excitedly discussing the philosophical merits of donuts versus taiyaki.
Wolfwood and Shido walked behind them, sharing a quiet, mutual look of exhaustion that only men who babysit chaotic gods could understand.
Icky and Akito were skating slowly on the sidewalks, with Icky trying to explain the aerodynamics of the Storm Rider teams while Akito nodded politely, occasionally flinching whenever Agito threatened to break out and bite someone's fingers off.
"You know," Wolfwood muttered, taking a drag from a fresh cigarette, "this city is weird, but the company isn't the worst I've had."
Shido sighed, watching Ginji accidentally shock a vending machine, causing it to vomit free sodas for everyone. "Just wait. Give it five minutes. They'll find a way to blow up a building."
"Double dollars says they do it in three," Vash laughed, catching a flying soda can flawlessly.
And under the neon glow of a strange city, the emperors, beasts, gunmen, and riders finally found some peace—at least until the bill arrived.
Soundbites from Get Backers, Tri Gun, Air Gear , Detachment, Outlaw Star , Dragon Ball & Ninja Scrol With Samples from Meatloaf, Grinz Beats, Zeppelin, Dokken, Danny Wilson,
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