Charlie's eyes widened, and Dazzle hissed, flaring and ready to fight.
For a split second, Charlie Morningstar wished she wasn't alone... but before the first gun could even fire, a blaring HONK HONK! tore through the ceiling.
Everyone froze.
The boss's single golden tooth gleamed as his grin faltered. His sharklike eyes went wide.
"Oh, you've gotta be fucking kidding me…"
Then came the crash.
A purple-and-black motorcycle exploded through the roof like a flaming comet, showering the stage in sparks and debris. The gangsters dove for cover as the bike hit the ground, tires screeching as it smashed straight into Lupo's face, sending him flying backstage through the velvet curtains.
The bike came to a perfect sliding stop, a gorgeous Akira-style drift, as smoke and dust billowed around it.
From the haze, Prince stepped out.
His leather jacket was slightly torn, his digital mask half-dissolved to reveal a cocky smirk, blazing red LED eyes burning into every demon. He casually adjusted his gloves and gave the room a quick once-over.
The entire theatre fell silent.
Charlie gasped. "...Prince?! What are you—"
He laughed, tossing his head back. "You seriously came here to reason with scum like this?" He kicked a discarded Tommy gun aside and rolled his shoulders. "You're lucky I like you, Princess. Or you'd be fish food right about now."
A thug growled, raising his weapon. "You bastard—"
BANG!
The thug went flying into a column as Prince's bike shot a bolt of red lightning from its front wheel. The machine purred, revving on its own — almost… like it was alive.
Charlie's jaw dropped. "Your bike? It just—"
"Yeah, she's got smart AI," Prince said smugly, pulling a demon skull-shaped pistol from his belt. "I call her Baby. Don't touch her unless you wanna lose an arm."
"Hello, darling~" the bike purred in a sultry feminine voice, its headlights glowing like two pairs of eyes. "Permission to annihilate, Master?"
Prince smirked. "Granted."
That was all Baby needed.
Her wheels spun, throwing off molten sparks as she launched herself across the room, slicing through gangsters like a buzzsaw.
Bullets bounced off her obsidian hide as she flipped up a ramp, crushed a goon midair, then spun out and exploded two more with her exhaust flames.
"OH SWEET SATAN, IT'S ALIVE!" one of the thugs screamed, running for the exit.
"SHOOT IT! FUCKING SHOOT THE BIKE!" another yelled.
"I'M TRYIN', BUT IT'S SHOOTIN' BACK!"
Indeed, the bike's handlebars had unfolded into dual machine guns, mowing down half the theatre in a spray of crimson bullets.
Meanwhile, Prince ran through the slaughter like a demon possessed. He moved fast, too fast for any of them to react, punching through bodies, snapping necks, and flipping one poor bastard into the organ.
"Guess what?" he said between punches, grinning as a thug swung at him with a bat. "I'm not in a good mood today."
He ducked, caught the bat, and smashed the guy into a wall. "You stole from me."
Another lunged with a knife. Prince sidestepped, backhanded him into a chair. "You threatened her."
And then he uppercut the last one so hard his mask shattered like glass. "And you stole my baby."
The last thug's body hit the ceiling and stayed there.
Dazzle finally had enough of watching and let out a sharp roar. His body combusted into a tower of flames as he morphed into his draconic form.
Giant wings splintered the surroundings as Dazzle grinned, his throat bubbling with liquid before breathing golden flames at the shocked demons.
"Now we're talking!" Prince shouted, grinning as Dazzle's flames lit up the theatre.
The little dragon tore through the mobsters, spewing golden fire. Some tried to shoot him — their guns melted. One screamed as Dazzle whipped him with his tail, sending him cartwheeling into the chandelier.
"WHY IS THERE A FREAKIN' DRAGON?!" one imp shrieked, firing blindly.
"I DON'T KNOW, MAN! THIS WASN'T IN THE JOB DESCRIPTION!!!" another cried before Dazzle burned him into ash.
Charlie, still standing at center stage, was stunned. The violence was unreal, but she couldn't deny the sight was...well, it was bloody gory. She tried to intervene but then decided to just let them do their thing.
Then the shark boss stumbled back out from backstage, covered in blood and wood splinters, his golden tooth cracked. "You bastard!" he roared. "You think you can wreck my place and live?!"
Prince didn't even turn around. "Depends, you got more walls to fly through?"
The boss growled, grabbing a massive harpoon cannon. "Sop or I'll kill the girl and her little pet!"
That did it.
Charlie's expression hardened. She stepped forward, no longer trembling, her red eyes glowing. "You can threaten me all you want," she said, voice steady and clear. "But I'm done being afraid of you…I'm getting my friend back."
Her aura flared, and even the gangsters paused.
Prince looked over his shoulder and launched himself forward. "You've never looked more fuckin' dazzling, Princess."
And with that, he appeared in front of Lupo in a burst of unbelievable speed, his fist glowing purple as lightning crackled around his body.
He punched him so hard the shockwave shattered every window in the theatre.
The shark demon's body went flying through six walls, his voice fading as he crashed through furniture and plaster. "MOTHER FUUUUUUUU—"
Then — BOOM!
A random sinner outside, mid-gang war, looked over just in time to see the shark land on a live mine.
"Damn," the sinner muttered, shielding his eyes as the explosion rocked the block.
---
Back inside, Prince dusted off his jacket, cracked his neck, and whistled. "Well… that's one way to end an act."
Dazzle landed beside Charlie, slowly transforming back into his smaller form. Charlie stared at the carnage, then at Prince.
Prince smirked, patting his still-purring bike. "You're welcome."
A smile broke across Charlie's face. Unable to hold back anymore, she ran to him and wrapped him in a tight hug.
Prince looked awkward, glancing between Dazzle and Baby for help.
"...Thank you."
----
After separating from the unexpected hug he raised his hand…and patted her shoulder.
"Not bad, Princess," he said with a laugh."You played your part beautifully."
Charlie sighed in relief, then laughed too, a little proud, and a little relieved. "Of course! I'm great at improv. Those paid lessons weren't for nothing, you know."
"Could've fooled me~"
Dazzle, still in his smaller form now perched on her shoulder, blinked between them. "So wait," he asked inquisitively, "You two… aren't mad at each other anymore?"
Before Charlie could answer, a groaning voice came from the corner. It was the female imp, the one who had lured her here in the first place. Her face was half burned, with one horn complety broken off, but was still conscious.
"What the hell—?" she croaked betweeen breaths. "You weren't supposed to be be here, I watched you the whole time how could you have..."
Prince and Charlie exchanged a knowing look between eachother like conspirators.
---
[Flashback- Yesterday: Pentagram City Streets]
Prince's digital eyes eyes flicked upward, catching the faint reflection of scopes following them from a far.
He cursed under his breath, then reached out subtly, a swirl of demonic energy isolating and twisting the sound around them.
"Don't react," he mutteredto Charlie, his voice calm. "We're being followed."
Charlie froze. "What?!" she blurted before he quickly stepped in front of her, blocking her face from view as she spoke.
"Shh." His tone softened. "They can't hear us as im changing the words they can hear, but they can see us. So… just pretend we're arguing."
"Arguing? About what?!"
"Doesn't matter. Just make facial expressions to make it convincing."
He glanced over his shoulder as they walked.
"Those goons aren't amateurs. If I'm right, they're from the Calavero Familia, run by Lupo Calavero."
Charlie frowned. "That name sounds familiar…"
"Its an Old Overlord family. They don't do random hits either. If they took your pet, it's because someone wants something from you, or he himself wants something."
"From me?" Charlie blinked, confused. "But I dont—"
"Doesn't matter." His tone grew darker. "Lupo doesn't move unless the payoff's big. If he's targeting royalty, then it's not about ransom or anything like that. He'll come to you, probably when I'm not around."
Charlie crossed her arms, thinking. "So… we lure them in."
Prince smirked. "Exactly. How's your acting?"
She flashed him a grin. "Top of my class in acting school. Oh! What kind of role are we talking? I can do accents! French, Australian, even—"
SMACK!
She yelped as his hand landed sharply on her ass, stumbling forward just as a sharpened blade whizzed past where her head had been a second earlier, embedding itself into the wall.
She spun around, face flushed. "Did you just—?!"
"Saved your life," he said, pointing at the blade. "You're welcome."
Her face twisted between outrage and embarrassment.
"I told you to keep your expression to be less then happy."
"You—ugh! I—fine!" She rubbed her sore behind.
"The more you look like you hate me, the better," Prince said, glancing up at the skyline again. "But knowing Lupo, he's done his homework. He won't buy it right away. So until I think of something… act like you're trying to 'get through to me."
Charlie nodded reluctantly. "You're lucky I am good at this."
He smirked. "You're lucky I didn't let that knife hit you."
They started walking again, as he dismissed the voice Barrier. Bickering loudly for their invisible audience.
To anyone watching, they looked like a mismatched duo.
But in reality?
They were setting the stage. And what a beautiful set up it was, from their to even the bedroom fight. It was all fake...well maybe not everything.
Charlie certainly got angry and may have forgotten the plan but when she was approached she quickly went into character.
---
[Present – Back in the Theatre]
The imp blinked in disbelief. "You mean you knew the boss was gonna take the bait?! That whole fight, the argument, everything, was an act?!"
Prince smirked. "Pretty much."
Charlie giggled, brushing dust off her pants. "Well, not everything. The hangover was real. Are you sure their wasn't any alcohol in that lemonade.
"Yeah," Prince muttered, crossing his arms. "That part wasn't acting. You're just a total lightweight."
"Hey!" she huffed.
Then Baby revved behind him impatiently. "Can we go, boss? This dump smells like fried tuna."
He chuckled. "Yeah, yeah. Let's roll."
Charlie turned to him. "You know, for a selfish jerk, you make a pretty good partner in crime."
He winked. "And you make a hell of a distraction."
It was then that Charlie remembered why she was even here in the first place. "Wait what about Razzle, did you..."
Shuffle!!