[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/ihhZg00.png[/img][/center]
[h2][center][color=aqua]Broker Of Fortune[/color][/center][/h2]
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It was perhaps a great irony that the one who had avoided conflict would be the first to witness. True to Chiyo's word back in the real world, many of the White Guild's forces had begun their assault in the digital one. Maybe it was luck or Chiyo's confidence that Moon Rider's Kingdom would fall so easily, but the majority of forces were focused on the Blue Guild, some sprawled against the Red. Needless to say, the players who knew combat like the back of their hands, mostly Red players. Whether or not this would mean something had yet to be seen but evidently, it seemed the prediction of all out war had come true at last. And with the majority of Blue Guild players scrambling to log back in, the only real threat was a certain tanker who had avoided responsibility.

[color=0072bc]"Eheh, nice day isn't it kid?"[/color] said the Blue Joker, stretched out in relaxation atop Broker's vehicle. He had decided to tag along with the reasoning that festivals were just not his gig; a sentiment both players could share apparently. [color=0072bc]"Wonder what kind of food they're serving out in the school anyway, eheh. Can't be anything too good if we didn't tag along, right?"[/color] he said casually.

While the rest of DGO was exploding with activity, Broker of Fortune was finding herself clued in by the absence of it. What had been a long running slaughter of the Green Rangers had stopped with the drop of a hat, leaving the tanker with an inventory crammed full of dissembled armor and weapons, a hearty jump to level 5, and a whole lot of nothing to do out in the wastes. Leaning against the hood of her vehicle, she'd been considering heading back to log out when Blue Joker reminded her he hadn't fallen asleep on her. [color=aqua]"You're in high spirits for someone whose done nothing but laze about. If you wanted to rest you could have just used your dorm, ya know?"[/color] 

[color=0072bc]"Eheh, I'm not exactly liked in the dorms, y'know? Too many rules for someone like me,"[/color] the shorter player said idly. [color=0072bc]"Besides, there's nothing more refreshing than the slaughter of enemies, am I right? Or you trying to say you didn't have fun beating some skulls in today, eheh?"[/color] By now the fighting had started but the both of them were too far out in the badlands to hear. And it wasn't like Faded City was collapsing or anything, giving no cause for suspicion.

[color=aqua]"Sure there's plenty to like, but don't know what you get from watching it all. May as well  go watch a snuff film if all you want to do is be a voyeur."[/color] Broker snarked back, not entirely liking the laid back attitude of her associate when the eerie silence was weighing on her. There were people in the area minutes ago yet they all seemed to have dropped off the face of DGO. [color=aqua]"Was there some event on the calendar I missed? I swear if I'm missing on some server wide raid boss...."[/color]

Broker trailed off, color draining from her face in shock and horror upon opening the global chat to gleam some information on the present situation. What she found was pandemonium exceeding that of the uprising in the Black City, more akin to a server wide takeover by the joint forces of the Green and White if the barrage of posts and pleas for help were anything to go by. [color=aqua]"Joker, have you seen the chat recently?"[/color]

[color=0072bc]"Eh? Well sure I did friend! But you looked so happy with your onslaught that I didn't think bothering you would be the best idea, eheh."[/color]  Blue Joker sat up now, grinning face directed onto Broker; actually, did his Avatar ever have any other expression? It was like his face was always frozen that way. [color=0072bc]"Besides, it's not like it's our problem, right? I'm sure the Blue King has it covered right about now. Why don't you just go ahead and keep on getting experience, eheh. That way you can level up to super crazy levels!"[/color] he said, slowly shifting about.

Only one of them looked to be amused, and it wasn't the one fingering her gun in irritation. [color=aqua]"What the hell?! The guild is more important then grinding out in the badlands, and you know damn well we can't leave this to Titania when she isn't even logged on!"[/color] Broker snarled as she clambered up the tank, resisting the strong urge to kick Joker off of it, and slid inside to occupy the cockpit. The behemoth of armor plating and heavy treads roared to life soon after with a belch of exhaust out the back. 

[color=aqua]"If you're just going to sit around, then get off my tank so I can kill those pansy ass White Masks, because for some damn reason, I am the only Bruiser with two working brain cells to rub together and actually logs on."[/color] And it needn't be said that there was far more experience to be had in killing the White Masks then there was in sitting around with her thumb up her ass. 

[color=0072bc]"Hey, hey, there's no need to get so worked up, eheh!"[/color] Blue Joker said. Yet he did what he was told, backing out of Broker's way. He shifted around, moving out of her sight along the side of the tank. [color=0072bc]"Eheh, y'know, I was thinking....you really like killing things, right? That's why you have this fancy tank. You really, [i]really[/i] like taking things away right?"[/color] If his questions were supposed to make sense, he wasn't doing a good job of making it so. But in the moment it would take Broker to even try to understand, he was already lunging at the armored player from behind, scrambling around to hold her still. 

[color=0072bc]"Eheh, it'd be real nice if you decided to work for me y'know. We already know how much you like killing things,"[/color] he said, one eye shining an eerie glow as he struggled to turn Broker over and face him. [color=0072bc]"There's no need to fight it Kanbaru Otoko. It's just a little jolt and you'll see just how much more fun you can start having real soon, eheh."[/color]

Joker wasn't making a whole lot of sense, and it was getting on Broker's nerves how much of a psycho he sounded like equating the gameplay loop of an MMO to actual homicide. It was the kind of speech that served as the precursor to an attack in any horror movie, but it was only being on the receiving end that let her grasp how much such inane chatter could distract one. 

[color=aqua]"Gah! What are you-!"[/color] She cried out in alarm as Joker lunged in through the open canopy and grappled with her from behind. Instinctively she reached for the arm grabbing at her, struggling to resist his efforts to turn her around even before he made mention of a 'jolt'. If whatever he had in mind- and it was certainly no good for her- required eye contact, then Broker would deal with the blatant hacker that stole her personal information another way. Fortunately for her, he chose  to attack after she'd jumped to level 5, or she'd have been lacking the trait that gives her an edge in this scenario that she desperately needed. 

Utilizing her new Sleight of Hand feat, a looted dagger was within her grasp in the blink of an eye thanks to the instantaneous weapon swap it gave her. Broker twirled the dagger into a reverse grip and stabbed backwards, knowing the Joker would be too occupied with grappling her to evade such a blow. When it struck home, her Disassembly would remove whatever article of clothing or armor it touched as well as stunning the treacherous Bruiser for a few seconds, ample time to tear his arms off her and switch back to Fortune's Favor. 

[color=aqua]"Only warning. Get out or I put a bullet through your unarmored chest. Won't even need a follow up to put you down clean."[/color]

[color=0072bc]"Eheh....that really hurt y'know,"[/color] said the Joker, expression not really changing even with the knife sticking out of him. Despite supposedly being stunned, the Avatar slowly rose up like a corpse, tinkling at the embedded knife in his body before yanking it out. No blood flowed like it was supposed to, only a stream of digits and codings. [color=0072bc]"And I thought we could be real swell friends Kanbaru, eheh. Friends are supposed to help each other out, right? I understand though. Maribel Harper had a similar reaction to me when I tried to be her friend. Eheh, but now we're the bestest of buddies!"[/color]

Blue Joker did more than just follow Broker's orders; he fizzled out of sight before appearing atop the muzzle of her tank. His entire body was crackling like bad static and he raised a single hand to snap his fingers. A moment later and something loud had crashed into the sand against them, the roar of engines filling the air. From the dust was a [url=http://i.imgur.com/7e5In8m.png]motorcycle[/url] and on its helm was the reincarnated [url=http://static.zerochan.net/Ozu.Kanon.full.1635943.jpg]Corpse Collector[/url]. [color=0072bc]"Maybe we can be friends some other time Kanbaru Otoko, eheh. But you have to understand, I can't just let you go alive. Cya later, eheh,"[/color] the former Bruiser said before crackling out of existence.

As he departed, another explosion hit the tank hard and almost careened it off its wheels. Corpse Collector smirked with sharp teeth gleaming and a grenade launcher already being reloaded in hand. [color=f26522]"Hey blue bitch! We can do this the easy way or the die hard way! Either you stay still long enough for me to blow your ass out of the water or you make my life difficult and I take my sweet ass time tearing your ass scrap by scrap. And then I'll rip off that cannon of yours and fuck your head with it!"[/color]

[color=aqua]"Maribel? Are you the- Hey, get back here asshole!"[/color] Broker shouted in alarm, both at discovering the cause of Bel's madness and in finding Joker may not have been a player at all. At least, she'd never heard of a hacker swapping their blood for coding, not even CC or the Erasers did something that blatant. Maybe it was his ability? The teleportation wasn't too farfetched a power to have, though these ruminations would have to be shelved when Blue Joker left her a very unwelcome parting gift.  She may have missed out on the Corpse Collector's attack on the Black City, but the hacker was still infamous and for good reason that Broker would be learning of first hand.

 The old King Tiger tank shuddered from the grenade round, but such a beast would not be so easily felled and fell onto both treads with dust billowing in either direction. "Interesting proposal, CC, but how do you feel about my counter offer?"

Broker spun the turret around to face the reanimated hacker while the tanks hatches closed and quickly aligned her sights with the dust beneath CC's motorcycle. A gentle squeeze of the firing mechanism sent a high explosive tank shell hurtling towards CC, and Broker would like to imagine 'Yippee Ki Yay Motherfucker' was etched into the casings side.

[color=f26522]"Oh fuck you,"[/color] Corpse Collector muttered, forcing both hands on the handles to maneuver her bike to and fro. She skidded and streaked, returning fire whenever she could to show her love and compassion to the arrogant bitch with the tank. [color=f26522]"Blow me off all you want shit face, I'm still going to bite your fucking arms off!"[/color] the Hacker sneered with contempt. Revving up her bike to the max, she zipped forward to forcibly yank her ride up and over. Maybe it was some hacking magic on her part, but the motorcycle jumped way higher than it should have, vaulting over the tank entirely. Sharp grin sported, she aimed her gun downwards and shot a grenade right atop the hatch of Broker's tank. 

Broker had a feeling the Corpse Collector wouldn't go down so easily, and true to expectations the motorcycle evaded the tank shell with a violent plume of dust and fire left in her wake. [color=aqua]"Feel free to try, I'd love to have a clean shot on you"[/color]

CC's efforts were plain to see, and with the motorcycle's maneuverability it was only to be expected that she would go for the tank's weak point. So very expected that Broker was grinning from ear to ear when the bike went to leap over her. A flick of a switch released the tank's emergency countermeasures and released a cloud of white phosphorus above and around the tank. Being caught in a burning smokescreen wasn't likely to kill the Corpse Collector, so Broker was quick to slam her boot on the accelerator and start driving in the direction of the Blue Guild. As tempting as it would be to gain some infamy of her own by slaying CC, the White and Green guild's attack was a far more pressing matter to deal with.

[color=f26522]"The fuck are you doing-blargh!"[/color] screeched the hacker. The shell still made impact with the tank, damaging the hull significantly. But whatever more pot shots she wanted would have to be ceased now thanks to the smokescreen. Corpse Collector coughed in spasms as her bike landed on the sandy ground; by the time the air cleared, Broker was already making her get away a good distance away. [color=f26522]"Get the fuck back here you piece of ass fuck!"[/color] Corpse Collector snarled, already back to chasing her.


[@TheWindel]