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[img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/190929/0c71b6a50bb8d6bc002fd5ac764b8248.png[/img][/center]
[center][sub]Holly, too[/sub][/center]

The White Rabbit begins to stalk the streets in search of his newest target. A few moments earlier, he received a new contract detailing the request of one Holly Farstel. A young girl who has seemed to find herself allying with certain gangs. The contract requested that Holly be brought to them alive. Apparently, she has seemed to have made her home within the sewers beneath the city and has been spotted stealing some valuable merchandise from surrounding shops. A picture of the sewer entrance she usually uses has been provided. It is odd, with all this information you’d think they’d do it themselves. However, Rabbit wasn’t going to complain.

He makes his way near the entrance, and immediately begins to look for any shops. Fortunately, they seemed fairly close and would be a natural target if she attempted to thieve from them. In a way, Rabbit could relate to that as he began remembering his own past. His reminiscing was shortly interrupted however by the sound of an alarm ringing out. Rabbit broke into a sprint as he began to follow the noise. He used his Vector Dash to hop up to the roofs and gain a vantage point. Seemed the alarm was coming from some kind of Tech Shop. She couldn’t have gone too far.

Surprisingly enough, he spotted a small figure diving into the shadows. That was easy… Rabbit jumped across, the Vector Dash making what would be an impossible leap no more than an inconvenience. As the target began to take a moment to rest, the Assassin dropped down from the neighboring building, landing with the softest touch as he began to approach her. [b]”Good evening, Miss Farstel.”[/b] He greeted, announcing his presence as he draws his sword. [b]”I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to come with me…”[/b]

Only the big bossmen of the criminal world would have called her [i]Miss Farstel[/i]. Holly spun to face the man following her, and her eyes widened a little even as they flickered up and down, as if trying to gauge where he came from rather than who he was. She began to take a few steps backwards, shaking her head. There was no way he was some kind of angry storeowner or traditional security guard, perhaps not even part of the police forces with that kind of attire.

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]“I hate to disappoint, but I’m not going anywhere. I don’t know who you are, I don’t know what you want, but I’m not a big fish. Go find yourself some crimelord, not a kid like me,”[/color] the girl responds, her eyes slipping to his blade. She was most definitely not a fan of that - she had her pistol, tucked under her hoodie, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to draw it. He might take that as a no-win situation and kill her instead of capturing her, or whatever he wanted to do with her.

The Rabbit shook his head as he now began to point the blade in her direction. [b]”That as it may be, there’s clearly a reason why I’m being paid to take you to my employer. I’m going to give you one more chance of coming quietly rather than making me drag you all the way there.[/b] He threatened. With a single click, the blade crackles to life, activating it’s HF mode as a show of force.

Holly took a glance behind her as the man activated his blade, checking her routes of escape, before looking back to him. She was a little scared, he would give him that. But she had a head. Narrowing her eyes, she said, [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]“I doubt you’re going to kill me with that. Not because you can’t, but because you want to take me alive. Unless that thing turns into a cable tie, I have no clue what you’re going to do with that.”[/color]

With that, she activated a Pause. She even impressed herself with the Pause, able to see the blade vibrating very slightly and slowly as a result of the enhanced reaction times of the Pause. But her goal wasn’t to observe. Holly wasn’t sure she [i]could[/i] escape, but even if she couldn’t, she was going to make it hard for him to grab her by picking the best routes possible.

There was all sorts of places she could go. She could run backwards, which her brain calculated to be a move she could one-hundred percent do. The rational part of her brain noted that it was obvious she could do that, but that wasn’t going to get her anywhere if he ran after her. Running toward him was also an option, though not as efficient unless he was closer - some people didn’t expect the culprit running straight past them if they were close enough.

The best option seemed to be the various pipes and climbplaces on the sides of the alley. If she could make it to them fast enough, she could scamble high enough that at the very least he couldn’t grab her ankles. She wasn’t too sure she wanted to take that option either, though - she’d be trapped on the rooftops. Unless…

She formulated a plan in her head. Holly had no idea if it would work or not, but she knew she had to try. She was going to climb up the pipes, and if he ran after her, she’d drop straight back down on top of him. With hope, it’d knock him to the ground or at least give her a bit more of an opening to run.

Holly ran it through her head a few more times, and then Unpaused. She sprinted straight for a pipe that was directly to her right, springing her feet and jumping straight onto the thing. She quickly began her scramble up.

Rabbit follows Holly as she begins to try and ascend the pipes as much as possible. He sighed, sheathing his sword and turning off HF mode as he launches himself up using Vector Dash. He lands just above Holly and grips onto the pipe, blocking her escape for now. [b]”Running really isn’t going to get you very far.”[/b] He advised, almost like a friendly situation. [b]”I will say, pretty quick on your feet Kid…”[/b]

Holding onto the pipe, Holly stares wide-eyed up at the man for a moment, and then glances down to where he had previously been, and then back up. She knew instantly that he was a Para, like herself. She didn’t comment on that, however - she just wanted to escape, and she suspected he would have little care if she was a Para or not. Heck, he probably already [i]knew[/i] that she was a Para. Loosening her grip, she slid down the pipe quickly, letting go just before the bottom and hit the ground running, headed further into the alley.

The White Rabbit shook his head. This girl sure was stubborn. Another Vector Dash and he was already hot on her heels. As he gave chase, he noticed they were still in the alley ways. Blocking her direction would be fairly easy in such a closed environment. Rabbit gracefully Dashed up to the wall on the right, before dashing back down in front of Holly, merely folding his arms like an impatient parent.

As soon as the man appeared in front of her, another Pause was triggered by Holly. The man’s speed was unbelievable, and she had no doubt in her mind that unless she got him to give up, which there was no guarantee that she’d be able to do that, she would be captured. She ran through options in her head - she could try and dodge him, but there wasn’t much luck in that. She could also try to brake, but then she’d be an easy swipe. Drawing her gun was also a low chance, as in the time it’d take to get it out he’d be on top of her. Or she could try and fight past him. His arms were folded, and she doubted he could unfold them as fast as he could move his legs (or at least, she hoped so). Unpausing, Holly ducked as she ran straight into him, not stopping, not trying to dodge him, but rammed herself at full speed straight into him in an attempt to just bolt straight past.

Rabbit, not expecting such an unorthodox approach, was almost bowled over by the young girl and momentarily lost his balance. Okay, now this is just getting old… Rabbit cracked his neck as he began to sprint again. This time when he Vector Dashed, Rabbit seemingly appeared at Holly’s side and attempted to sweep her legs with a swift kick to her shins. [b]”This isn’t a choice, Holly…”[/b] He said, appearing a little frustrated.

Sometimes, Holly was lucky enough to Pause and plan out her landing if she knew she was going to be falling, to try and get the landing that would hurt the least. This was not one of those times however, and she went crashing to the ground as she was kicked in the shins, but quickly got to her feet, fast-walking backwards away from the man. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]“Don’t care! I ain’t being taken anywhere! Do you know what they do to girls like me? You’re going to sentence me to that?”[/color]

Rabbit continued to walk towards Holly, but behind his mask he winced at her words. Shaking away the doubt, he Dashed forward and grabbed her by the wrist. [b]”That’s not my business… Your actions joining gangs have led you to this moment. I will be escorting you personally, so I will see for myself just exactly why they want you in particular so bad.”[/b] He said, more trying to reason with himself rather to her.

She wasn’t going peacefully. Her wrist was grabbed, but she still had a fighter’s heart. Holly propelled herself into him, using her free hand to punch at his chest; it was nothing too strong because of her physical attributes, but it was determined. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]“How the fuck do you think you live around here? You join a gang or you’re a castout! Just let me go!”[/color]

Rabbit sighed, the soft thud of her fist not doing much to shake him off. Without much effort, he crouched down and began to hoist the protesting child onto his shoulders. He wasn’t sure if he was able to Vector Dash while carrying someone, so the streets it was. [b]”I’ve done just fine without a gang, and like I said, letting go of you isn’t an option.”[/b] He explained as he began to navigate through every alley and backroad he knows to get to the employer’s chosen location. [b]”I’m not above knocking you out for this by the way. It’s your choice…”[/b] He warned.

Being carried, there wasn’t much she could do but squirm. However, the man had made one vital mistake - he had failed to search her. She thrust her hand up the bottom of her hoodie, slipping her pistol from it’s hidden holster, and thrust the end of the barrel against the back of the man’s head. Her hand was trembling, she had never shot anyone before, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to, but she didn’t want to end up as a cage girl for the rest of her life - or worse. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]”L-Let me go,”[/color] Holly stuttered, forcing her hand to stop trembling.

Rabbit felt a knock on the back of his helmet. Shit… Little spitfire had some toys of her own. He slowly put her down, slinging her off her shoulders. [b]”Alright, alright… You’ve made your point.”[/b] He said calmly, setting Holly down gently. However, it was just a ruse and Rabbit lifted his leg rapidly for a swift kick into her hand, aiming to send the pistol flying out of her grip.

Holly had her pistol aimed at him the entire time she was put down, making it an easy target for the man. As such, her precious pistol went flying out of her grip as soon as the kick made contact. Holly instantly went with one of her previous plans, making an attempt to duck straight past the man whilst he was still in the motions of bringing his foot to the ground and run away behind him.

Rabbit sighed as he turned on his heels and started chasing back down the way they came. Perhaps he could use this to try and herd her closer to the location. He activated a route on his HUD and plotted out the best ways to lead her there. Rabbit Dashed up behind her and then traced one of his previous maneuvers, Vector Dashing onto a wall and then back in front of her. If he could grab her again, excellent. If not, then this would have to be his tactic. He attempted to grab her waist as she would either stop or run into him. 

The problem with Vector Dashing onto a wall first was the Holly heard what was coming and immediately reacted. With the help of a Pause, she immediately darted to the left, and then to the right, slipping right past him. What’s more, she spied the manhole cover she was looking for not too far away. She ducked down, gripping the manhole cover and heaving it aside with all of her might, looking to get in before she could get grabbed.

Rabbit grunted out of frustration upon his landing and sprinted after her still. Seeing Holly try to make her escape down the sewers, he had to try and grab her this instant. Otherwise, trying to take her from her home would be even more difficult. In a last ditch effort, he dived to try and grab her, tackling her over the manhole cover if he had to.

The move by the Rabbit somewhat worked. Holly managed to get the manhole cover open and drop her way in at the same time was the Rabbit dove for her, and though he didn’t manage to catch her on the surface, the impact of the dive caused her head to strike the side of the manhole opening before her body was fully inside it. She was in a bit of pain when she hit the bottom, and used a Pause as soon as she was on her feet to get her bearings.

This was not necessarily a good thing. Pausing slowed everything, including herself. That meant that the pain she felt remained there, true and powerful, attacking her and she could do nothing about it. All she could do was force herself through, trying to recall which direction lead to what. Her brain told itself that she should start tearing up from the pain, but being Paused meant those didn’t come, not yet, anyhow. The moment she exited the Pause, she knew where she wanted to go, but tears dripped down her cheeks as she ran further into the sewers, back toward where the hideout was.

Rabbit cursed under his helmet. That was [i]not[/i] his intention at all. However, means must and all that. He slipped down the manhole and landed down, feeling the cold water on his feet. While his helmet could block out the smell, it didn’t make the feeling any less gross. He listened out for the splashing footsteps of Holly and began to follow suit, Dashing wherever he could to catch up.

As soon as she made it to the hideout, Holly yelled out, “A kidnapper is following me!” which made many of the people there perk up. Even though this bunch wasn’t a real gang and just a hideout for criminals, they knew who came through and knew Holly as a friend, not a foe. As such, they let her in, and she immediately ran to one of the sleeping pods and closed the door, hiding herself inside. Meanwhile, those standing guard waited for whoever was following her.

Rabbit saw the opening but immediately stopped in his tracks when the echoes of Holly’s warning rang out through the tunnels. Shit… this just got ten times harder. Why didn’t you just knock her out and be done with it? He tutted, and tried to creep closer, drawing his sword and getting a view of whoever would be waiting. He really didn’t expect to be doing this but he was left with no choice. He sparked up the HF mode and sprinted out, immediately dashing to the closest guard and swiftly swiping at his neck with the katana. As he landed, Rabbit tried to locate the highest level threats. Any with guns would be his first targets, and he attempted to deal with them first.

As it was, the first few thugs were obvious, with their pistols out and only one really looking like he knew how to use it. Rabbit immediately Vector Dashed to these people first, aiming his sword strikes to amputate the arms and immediately dealing with the gun problem. Sprays of blood splattering against his suit and on his helmet too. The fall of the gunmen seemed to shock a few others in the hideout, and some others (obviously the owning group of the hideout) came out with guns and knives drawn, whilst others stared and watched. Funnily enough, some seemed so used to this kind of thing happening that they still went along with their business, even as knife-wielding thugs charged at Rabbit.

The Swordsman waited for the knife-wielders to come to him first. As one lunged at him, Rabbit effortlessly spun to the side, slashing at his stomach before facing forward to the next combatant. Rabbit stepped forward and beat this one to the draw, decapitating the target with a single swing of his katana. It was then that shots were fired from the thugs holding guns, shooting to kill the intruder who had killed their buddies. Rabbit was forced to dive out of the way. An idea crossed his mind and he had to commit. He slipped behind the nearest person and held the blade to their throat. [b]”Nobody move! Just give me the girl and no one else gets hurt!”[/b]

It was then that the [i]entire[/i] hideout, not just those involved with running the place, got up. “You can mess with the owners, but not with the clients!” One roared, waving around a newfound pistol. What he said was quite true - nobody cared if you messed with the hideout’s owners, but the second a client came into harm, everyone was on top of that. A larger man then came out from where he was hidden before, waving his hand up. “Put him down, stranger. Enough blood has been shed. We ain’t telling you where she is, you can find her on your own, but we won’t fight you any more. Just don’t go killing our clients,” he says, loudly. He was clearly the owner of the hideout as after he had finished, everyone was putting down their weapons and sitting down, though plenty seemed unhappy about the whole thing.

Rabbit shook his head. As if he was going to give up his only insurance after killing their men. [b]”These clients that important to you? Then take his place.”[/b] He offered as he inched closer, still keeping the hostage infront of him with the sword still drawn. Despite the fact that weapons were being lowered, Rabbit couldn’t take the risk. [b]”Or we can just skip all that and you can help me out here?”[/b] He offered alternatively.

“Listen mate, you clearly have been sent here by someone, despite not knowing shit about the underground. You mess with a client like that, word is going to get around ‘bout you messing with clients and you ain’t getting any more jobs,” The bossman thumped his chest with his fist twice. “You best drop him, or serious shit is going to go down, and not just here.” As he spoke, several others were already raising weapons again and drawing knives, even those now behind Rabbit, surrounding him, ensuring if he killed the client, they’d just pour in and stab him from all sides in a wave.

Rabbit tutted, realising he no longer had the upper hand. He shoved the ‘client’ away and deactivated his blade, sheathing the sword. However, he still kept his wits about him as he began to walk across. He spotted the sleeping pods and began to make his way over, still keeping an eye over his shoulder for anyone with their sights still trained on him.

The thugs were all true to their word. Though a few kept wary eyes on the stranger, everyone had their weapons away now and were chatting amongst themselves again. A couple bearded, clearly homeless people were already cleaning up the dead, probably for cash. And nobody tried to help Rabbit by pointing out where Holly was hiding. He sighed as he walked up to the sleeping pods, peering inside each and every curtain available slowly but surely.

As soon as Rabbit got to Holly’s pod, she leapt straight out of the curtain, intending to run again. Holly stopped instantly, however, staring at those that Rabbit had killed. She looked to Rabbit, and then the dead, and then to Rabbit again. She could barely stutter the words, [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]“You killed them.”[/color]

Rabbit nodded slowly. [b]”I had to…”[/b] He sighed as he placed his hand on her shoulder, and began to start pushing her away from the bodies and towards the exit. [b]”Believe me, I was hoping this was going to be a clean job…”[/b] Rabbit admitted.

Holly didn’t resist now as she was pushed toward the exit. Tears were streaming down her cheeks again, but from what she didn’t know; fear that he could do that to her, upsetedness that her fellows were killed, or anything else. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]“Why can’t you just let me go? Why did you have to kill them, to go so far just for me?”[/color]

Rabbit could see how upset Holly was… but this was how it had to be. The contract was accepted, and Rabbit needed to make it work. On the other hand, he couldn’t exactly say ‘Because you made me…’ Rabbit’s only option was to stay silent as he eventually lead the girl out of the hideout and towards the sewer exit…

Holly only seemed to get worse as they walked to the exit. She turned and lunged at Rabbit, punching at his chest again and crying out, [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]“You’re an asshole! You do nothing right, and now you’re killing innocent people! Fuck you!”[/color] However, it seemed that her protests fell on deaf ears as Rabbit continued his silence.

He looked down and grabbed her fists, letting her struggle but doing nothing more. Shit… was this really going to be the path he was gonna go down? It’s not like a simple sorry was going to cut it either. As he restrained her with one hand, he began to pull at his tie, unravelling the knot and tried to fight her as he used it as a gag.

After a small fight, Holly was promptly gagged. She now just looked like a depressed kid, walking sadly wherever Rabbit wanted her to go. Holly felt doomed. She had no idea where he would be taking her or what she would be doing there, but she couldn’t fight any more. She had given up.

A while later, and after some more backstreets, Rabbit and Holly were about to round the corner of the location. He undid the tie and stuffed it into his pocket. Throughout the whole journey, Rabbit didn’t say a word. He sighed and lead Holly out to the employers. [b]”Here she is. Alive as promised…”[/b] He said, his voice void of any emotions. The employer smiled as Rabbit pushed Holly towards him. Rabbit checked on the back-up, identifying their weapons too.

Holly had cuffs snapped onto her wrists immediately despite her protests, and was pulled in by a large man who was not afraid of pushing her about. She tried to throw herself at him like she did with Rabbit but the man slapped her hard across the face, resulting in the resumption of Holly’s crying and tears. The man barely [i]lead[/i] her wherever he wanted her to go, he gripped the back of her neck hard, pushing her along in front of himself as she wailed.

“Thank you, your payment as discussed,” one of the employers said. He withdrew a healthy amount of credit chips, tossing them to Rabbit, before turning to the big man pushing Holly around and halting him. The main man stepped in front of Holly, bending over a little to be at level height with her and ran his finger through her hair, chuckling at her flinches and sobs of protest. “A day or two before delivery to Lorne won’t hurt,” he spoke, before motioning for the big man to continue taking her away.

Rabbit was about to turn away after checking the credits. However, the ears on his helmet perked up when he heard the man say that. This wasn’t what he was going to become… and he’s not going to let this be Holly’s fate anymore. Rabbit drew his sword and Vector Dashed towards the big guy handling her and thrusted the blade through his chest. He turned back and kicked the boss away before cutting Holly’s handcuffs down the middle after withdrawing his blade from the other guy’s torso. [b]”RUN!”[/b]

But Holly didn’t even do that. She dropped to her knees as she was freed, her hands fumbling on the ground trying to hold herself up, tears dripping onto the ground. She almost fetal-positioned right there and then, but instead she crawled her way to the side of the alley, over by the wall, and just tried to make herself as small as possible.

Rabbit pointed the blade at the boss. [b]“You forget about her…”[/b] He threatened before turning to Holly, noticing she was curled up. [i]’Oh for fucksake…’[/i] He thought as he sheathed his blade and Vector Dashed. He could hear the arming of guns as the boss shouted orders to his cronies. With time running out, he scooped Holly into his arms and sprinted down the alley as fast as he possibly could. Along the way, he kept muttering [b]”I’m sorry… I’m sorry… I’m sorry…”[/b] quietly as they attempted to escape.

Once the pair had made some distance, the gang gave up. They couldn’t chase after someone who could Vector Dash like that, and nobody, especially the boss, wanted to put their life at risk trying to fight him and ending up with a blade cutting him up. Holly clutched Rabbit tightly, because although she hated him he was all she had to hold onto currently.

Rabbit set Holly down gently and knelt by her side. [b]”Shit… I’m sorry Holly… I’m so sorry…”[/b] He mustered… Such a stupid idea taking that contract in the first place… Sure, it was a good payout but once again money had blinded Rabbit without thinking through the consequences.

Holly tucked her knees to her chest, hugging them close to her. The reply that came was an upset and slurred [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]“Leave me alone,”[/color] that sounded as if she had just said a single word instead of three. She knew it was bad on the streets, and knew what could happen. She would have gotten over the deaths she saw within the day, but how close she had come to being lost struck her.

Rabbit’s ears drooped down as he lowered his head. [b]”Look… I fucked up… okay? I shouldn’t have… I just thought…”[/b] Rabbit tried to come up with something but he shook his head. [b]”No… What I did was inexcusable… I’m so sorry… If you really want me gone… then fine… but if you’ll let me, I will try my hardest to make it up to you…”[/b]

The girl grabbed Rabbit, pressing herself against him to cry into his shoulder. She wasn’t sure she fully forgave him, definitely not yet, but she needed to hold onto [i]someone[/i], and he was that someone. In her mind, the first thing he was going to do to make it up to her was to be her pillow to cry to. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]“The least you can do is stay. Bastard,”[/color] she sobbed into his shoulder.

Rabbit was taken aback at first, but he was thankful in a way too. He chuckled lightly, wrapping his arms around her... for as long as Holly needed.

[sub]Written by me and [@datadogie] [/sub]