Continuing to race at breakneck speed through the railway tunnel, Alex hadn't even imagined that he would once again have to take part in a wild chase and shoot back at pursuers on the move. However, he simply had no time left for such reflections: the number of Grunts on combat motorcycles increased with every technical compartment they passed, from which Shinra security officers flew out one after another.
Having fired the Jackal pistol and blown yet another pursuer to scrap, Alex irritably clicked his tongue — two more Grunts jumped out of the next sluice. Having neutralized those two as well with precise hits to the wheels, Alex settled more firmly into the saddle again and sharply twisted the handlebars to the side: a massive concrete partition dividing the tracks had appeared right in front of them.
Turning into the right tunnel, Alex managed to notice that Claudia with Yuffie and Biggs with Wedge had gone into the left branch, and the remainder of the pursuers rushed after them. Through the grated gaps in the wall they could clearly see how Claudia and Yuffie were fighting off the attackers with all their might. Patting Jessie on the hand, Alex asked her to take over the controls so that he could calmly cover the others.
Jessie immediately gave him an encouraging clap on the shoulder, making it clear that she was ready for the switch. Having received confirmation, Alex deftly turned right on the seat, changing places with Jessie and ending up behind her. Using his second hand as a support, Alex aimed the barrel of the Jackal at the pursuers who were cornering Claudia's motorcycle. Slightly narrowing his eyes, he pressed the trigger.
A deafening shot rang out — the flying bullet hit precisely the corner of a concrete support of the neighboring tunnel, knocking a massive chunk of stone out of it. The Grunt who had been pouring automatic fire on Claudia immediately received a powerful ricochet strike right on the helmet. His head jerked sharply, and after it his entire body. Losing control, the officer toppled together with the motorcycle and slid at full speed along the metal floor.
Seeing his partner go down, the second Grunt was distracted for a short moment, which gave Claudia precious seconds for a maneuver. Hearing the roar of a powerful engine right nearby, the Grunt sharply turned around and immediately saw the sole of Yuffie's boot pointed straight at his nose right in front of his eyes.
Receiving a crushing blow, the officer flew out of the saddle and slammed full force with his back into the wall. Having finally rid themselves of the pursuit, Claudia looked at Alex and Jessie, who were riding a parallel course, and nodded briefly. Alex with a light smile changed places with Jessie again, took Fenrir's handlebars, and gestured that they needed to accelerate as much as possible.
Catching the signal, Claudia nodded and twisted the accelerator grip. Seeing that Claudia and Wedge had picked up speed, Alex also floored the gas in order to break out of the tunnel labyrinth as quickly as possible. When the tunnel branches finally rejoined, Alex slowed a little to draw level with the rest of the group.
"Now that's what I call the skill of an ex-SOLDIER! Next to them we look like little kids on tricycles!" Biggs cried with an admiring smirk, reloading his pistols on the move behind Wedge's back.
"You're damn right! Have you ever seen anyone pull stunts like that anywhere else?!" Jessie responded cheerfully, comfortably resting her chin on Alex's shoulder.
"Maybe in a circus," Biggs chuckled, saluting Alex with a thumb.
"Hey! I helped too, by the way! Did you even see how I went like: 'Swoosh! Whooo!' — and took down two motorcycles at once?! Huh? Have you ever seen anything like that anywhere?!" Yuffie cried indignantly and began actively clapping Claudia on the shoulders, expressing her sincere disagreement with the fact that all the attention had gone to the SOLDIERS.
"Yes-yes, you're a real good girl. For such feats I'll personally buy you a cake," Alex promised with a smile, looking at the pouting Yuffie like a capricious child.
"Really?!" Yuffie cried out enthusiastically and immediately stood up on her feet on the seat, as if ready to jump over to Alex and Jessie's motorcycle right on the move.
"He'll buy you everything! Now sit properly before I throw you off the motorcycle myself," Claudia threatened in a cold tone, grabbing Yuffie by the leg and forcibly seating the hyperactive kunoichi back into the saddle.
Hearing the long-awaited word "cake," Yuffie completely ignored Claudia's strict threat — all her thoughts were now firmly occupied by the sweets she intended to devour all by herself. Rocking her head from side to side, Yuffie was in simply magnificent spirits, simultaneously rejoicing that her inner sense for adventure had once again not let her down.
Casting a short glance at Yuffie, who had blossomed from the mere promise of dessert, Alex smiled slightly and added gas. He was sincerely certain that after such a rout the Grunts would no longer risk pursuing them on their combat motorcycles. And indeed, after a couple of minutes the long-awaited exit from the tunnel appeared ahead, leading straight into the residential district of Sector 7 on the Plate.
Seeing that they had finally broken out of the underground trap, Jessie, Biggs, and Wedge laughed joyfully, proud of the successful breakthrough. Alex, however, did not share their enthusiasm at all, timely recalling exactly what was supposed to happen next.
And he was not at all pleased by the prospect of an imminent meeting with yet another noisy racer who irritated him even more than Reno and Rude put together. Having shot out of the dark tunnel at high speed, Jessie looked at the night sky and deeply inhaled the fresh air. Spreading her arms to the sides, she fully enjoyed the stunning view of the Upper City drowning in neon lights.
"Where to next? Straight to the station?" Claudia inquired, drawing level with Alex's motorcycle.
"No. Our route lies to the technical tunnel near the warehouse… Oh, and here comes the end of our magical ride," Jessie answered with a smile and after that coquettishly rested her chin on Alex's shoulder.
"What's with those speeches? You do understand that absolutely everyone can hear you?" Biggs noted in a dry tone when Wedge directed his motorcycle practically right up against Fenrir.
"And no they can't!" Jessie cried with exaggerated drama, turning to Biggs and playfully sticking her tongue out at him.
"We hear just fine! Ugh, just ugh! You went and ruined our entire drive-filled chase and battle at breakneck speeds at the root! How are you not ashamed?!" Yuffie spat with undisguised disgust, sincerely unable to stand such a romantic atmosphere.
"Well then find yourself a boyfriend and say the same words to him… Ah, right! You're our great and terribly noisy kunoichi. Heh, something like that definitely isn't in the cards for you!" Jessie needled her with a provocative smirk, resting her cheek more comfortably against Alex's back and awarding Yuffie a narrowed gaze.
"You…! I'll have a boyfriend a hundred times more handsome than yours! And if I don't find one, then I'll steal yours! You'll see!" Yuffie cried, beginning to actively wave her arms in an attempt to reach Jessie.
"He-he, well try it," Jessie tossed out with a mocking smirk and demonstratively turned away, defiantly ignoring Yuffie's outbursts.
Seeing that she was being so openly ignored, Yuffie squealed and clutched her hair, intending to rush into a fight with Jessie right at breakneck speed. Listening to these endless squabbles, Alex even thought for a short moment that he had returned home to Orario again, where the same noise always stood, and the wives found reasons for arguments literally out of thin air.
The only one whom these cries sincerely irritated was Claudia, who had the misfortune of riding on the same bike together with the hyperactive Yuffie. At the very moment when Claudia was already seriously thinking about simply dumping Yuffie onto the asphalt, the growing hum of approaching engines reached her. Turning around, she noticed how yet another group on combat motorcycles was flying out at full speed from the upper highway.
Hearing the familiar roar, Alex also turned his head and irritably clicked his tongue. At that moment he wanted to swear at the top of his lungs — even the NCPD in Night City wasn't this meticulous and persistent! Intending to quickly get rid of the pursuers, Alex narrowed his eyes and suddenly sharply jerked his foot to the side, lightly kicking the body of the neighboring motorcycle on which Claudia and Yuffie were sitting.
Feeling the unexpected push, Claudia instinctively swerved the handlebars, and literally in that same second a rocket flew right between their bikes! The projectile raced onward and with a crash slammed into a support column of the bridge. Seeing that the Grunts had acquired heavy rocket launchers, the entire group looked back. The remaining pursuers were already aiming new charges at them at full force.
Having slipped under the collapsing bridge, Alex felt an acute desire to thoroughly punch that idiot in the balls who had given the order to open rocket fire. And he knew for certain that this "genius" was most likely Heidegger, whose thinking was no different from that of an ordinary narrow-minded soldier: if firepower isn't enough, you just need to employ even more firepower.
"Are you fucking kidding me?! Rockets?! What kind of idiot decided that firing rockets in a residential district is a great idea?" Biggs cried indignantly, pointing a finger at the Grunts pursuing them with rocket launchers in their hands.
"That was clearly a person whose 'genius' we mere mortals simply cannot comprehend. Claudia, watch the road! Yuffie, I hope you have enough skill to shoot down rockets on the fly?" Alex articulated sharply, drawing the Jackal pistol from its holster.
"Just leave it to me! I was first in accuracy among absolutely everyone in our clan!" Yuffie answered with a smirk, saluting with a thumb, after which she nimbly turned in the saddle and pressed her back against Claudia's back.
"Then I'm fully relying on you," Alex nodded slightly, continuing to confidently drive Fenrir with one hand.
Nodding her head, Yuffie took small shuriken from her belt pouch and prepared to throw. As soon as the Grunts opened fire from the rocket launchers, Yuffie began sniper-like shooting down the projectiles on the fly. Every thrown shuriken hit the target precisely, provoking bright fiery explosions in the air. Without slowing, the Grunts raced right through the cloud of flame and smoke, reloading their launchers on the move.
Seeing how reckless the pursuers chasing them this time were, Alex finally became convinced: these were the direct subordinates of that very mad motorcycle racer. From the resolute faces of the fighters it was clear that they were ready to stop the fugitives at any cost before the arrival of their commander. Yuffie continued methodically throwing shuriken, trying to destroy every threat flying in their direction.
But at the most inopportune moment the throwing weapons in her hands ran out. She feverishly reached for the belt pouch on her back, however two projectiles were already racing toward them at full force, and she physically did not have time to intercept them. Noticing the deadly danger, Alex sharply jerked the handlebars to the side, forcefully shoving the motorcycle on which Wedge and Biggs were sitting out of the line of fire.
Having pushed his partners out from under the strike, Alex clamped the brake in a death grip and sharply spun in place, tossing Fenrir's rear wheel upward. The tire only lightly grazed the body of the rocket, redirecting it in an arc straight into the sky. Jessie, who had gripped Alex with all her might, was simply stunned by the grace with which he had deflected the projectile, and immediately gave him a thumbs-up.
The second rocket in the meantime was rapidly approaching Claudia and Yuffie's motorcycle. Seeing that a direct hit was inevitable, Claudia jerked the handlebars, leaving the trajectory. And in that very second when the projectile was supposed to fly past, she swung the Buster Sword full force, delivering a powerful blow with the flat side of the blade and sending it high into the sky.
Having beaten off the last threat, Claudia cast a quick glance at Alex, expressively making it clear to him: the pursuers needed to be finished off before they managed to launch yet another volley. Alex nodded briefly and again laid a sharp turn, beginning to race at enormous speed in reverse.
Racing in reverse, Alex aimed the barrel of the Jackal at the combat bikes, using his second hand as a reliable rest. Slightly narrowing his eyes, he opened rapid fire at the Grunts, shooting out the front wheels of the pursuers with bullets. Having completely destroyed the Grunts' combat equipment, Alex put the Jackal back into its holster and with one dashing motion turned Fenrir in the direction of travel.
Having eliminated the last pursuers, Alex had already begun to think that everything would work out and that this idiot on the motorcycle would never appear. But he hadn't managed to breathe a sigh of relief, hoping that they were about to reach the needed place, when a deafening roar of a powerful engine rang out from behind, followed by rolling mad laughter. Hearing that laughter, Alex felt his left eyelid begin to twitch nervously.
At that same noise Claudia frowned severely. In that same second a combat motorcycle flew out of the upper highway straight into the tunnel, beginning to spin effectively in the air. Slightly narrowing his eyes, Alex made out the rider at the handlebars who was spinning his transport as if putting on a grand circus performance. At that moment Alex was least of all concerned with what pirouettes this madman was performing with his equipment — he was sincerely irritated only by the fact that this noisy idiot had after all decided to jump out right now.
Having finished the spin in the air, Roche deftly slid down the vertical wall straight onto the road surface and immediately floored the gas, catching up with Alex and the others. The moment he approached the group, his gaze immediately latched onto Fenrir, because of which the pursuer's smile became even more enthusiastic and mad. Waving his sword, Roche added speed and drew level with Alex.
The moment they closed in, Alex measured this idiot with a heavy gaze. He had light-blond hair with a voluminous style resembling the hairstyles of Japanese bikers of the nineties. He was dressed in the standard uniform of a Shinra SOLDIER, and a long sword rested behind his back. Seeing the idiot Roche so close, Alex first of all felt an irresistible desire to simply smash this madman in the face so that he would finally get lost.
"Well hello! What a beautiful night it is today for a mind-blowing race!" Roche delivered with a bold smirk, resting his elbow on the gas tank and propping his cheek on his fist right on the move.
"Maybe another time? And now, if you don't mind, let's pretend nothing happened," Alex responded in a weary tone, with enormous difficulty enduring Roche's very presence.
"No-no-no, my new friend! When I've found such a stunning pair for a dance, how can I miss such an opportunity?!" Roche said with enthusiasm, playfully waving a finger right in front of Alex's nose.
"My answer is still 'no,'" Alex cut off in a dry tone, wearily interrupting Roche's monologue.
"You still won't escape if you don't become faster! And now, my friend, let's begin our deadly dance at breakneck speed! Ha-ha-ha-ha!" Roche cried with even greater inspiration, gripping the handlebars with both hands in a death hold and rushing forward with wild laughter.
Observing how Roche raced ahead on his motorcycle, Alex felt how his head was beginning to ache desperately. At any other moment he would have been completely not against competing in speed with this madman, but not when the others were riding nearby.
Alex knew Roche's driving style perfectly well — such rides always ended for those around them in a mass accident. Looking after the mad racer, the other members of the group also bewilderedly wondered: who even was this suddenly appeared idiot? Before Alex managed to open his mouth, Claudia clarified.
"That's a SOLDIER," Claudia said in a cold tone, narrowing her eyes and gripping the Buster Sword more tightly.
Realizing that a real SOLDIER had latched onto them, Jessie, Yuffie, Biggs, and Wedge experienced a short jab of anxiety. However, the worry immediately subsided the moment they recalled that Alex and Claudia were riding with them. Exchanging glances with Claudia, Alex with quick gestures showed her the plan: while he took Roche on himself and tied him up in combat, she was to wait for the ideal moment and smash his motorcycle. Claudia nodded briefly in response, making it clear that she would do everything as needed.
While they were silently coordinating actions, Roche drew a long sword from behind his back and began swinging it full force, scattering deadly energy slashes around in a fan. Seeing the arcs of light racing toward them, Alex sharply jerked the handlebars to the side and at full speed rode straight onto the vertical wall of the overpass. Continuing to race along the concrete overlap, Fenrir soared straight upward, flying over the lower overpass and ending up exactly upside down.
From such a mad stunt Jessie's eyes widened from wild fear — she clung to Alex's body with her arms and legs like a tick, deathly afraid of falling down. Having ended up in the inverted position, Alex on the fly drew the Jackal from its holster and opened rapid fire at Roche, who at the sight of such a dashing maneuver merely burst into even wilder laughter.
Landing on the opposite side of the overpass, Alex slid down the wall and immediately on the move stretched out his leg, forcefully steering Wedge and Biggs's motorcycle out of the trajectory of yet another energy slash. Having pushed his friends aside, Alex sharply laid a steep turn in place, dodging the attack and not ceasing to point-blank shoot Roche with the Jackal.
"Yes! Just like that! This is exactly what a real race should be — full of madness and pure extreme! Come on, my new friend, let's continue our dance!" Roche went into ecstatic rapture, savoring every turn.
"What's even wrong with this guy?!" Jessie cried in horror, pressing against Alex's back with all her might so as not to fly out of the saddle on the steep turns.
"Oh, I've awakened a lady's curiosity! My name is Roche! But for you, beauty, I'm simply the Demon of Speed!" Roche cried out inspiredly, deftly dodging Alex's shots and writing incredible pirouettes on the road.
"I wasn't talking to you at all! And how did you hear me through the roar of the engines?!" Jessie cried irritably, leaning out from behind Alex's shoulder.
"My ears are finely tuned to beautiful women's voices, cutie!" Roche responded with a smirk. Taking his hands off the handlebars, he immediately turned the motorcycle into reverse and at full speed formed a heart with his fingers on his chest, addressing it to Jessie.
"Ugh, what a disgust! Take this super ninja throw!" Yuffie howled with undisguised disgust and immediately launched her giant four-pointed shuriken at Roche.
Seeing the giant four-pointed shuriken flying in his direction, Roche laughed loudly and deftly turned the motorcycle, laying yet another effective pirouette. When the massive blade approached, Roche with a precise thrust pierced its center with his blade and, without stopping the spin, sent the weapon back.
Having deflected the giant shuriken toward Yuffie, Roche sent her a playful air kiss in pursuit. From that gesture a wave of goosebumps ran down Yuffie's spine. Quickly suppressing the disgust that had risen to her throat, Yuffie with a strong push pushed off Claudia's back and jumped forward in order to intercept her shuriken. Catching the weapon on the fly, Yuffie spun right in the air and again forcefully threw it at Roche.
Continuing to laugh uncontrollably, Roche without difficulty deflected the shuriken a second time. Narrowing her eyes, Yuffie immediately fished a thin metal thread from her belt pouch and deftly lassoed the falling weapon. Having intercepted the shuriken, she began rapidly losing height. However, before crashing onto the concrete surface of the overpass, Yuffie gracefully spun in the air, employing her ninjutsu as a dense visible support.
Pushing off the air, Yuffie twisted a perfect somersault and landed precisely right onto Alex's outstretched palm! Looking Alex straight in the eyes, Yuffie nodded briefly. Quickly figuring out what she wanted, Alex drew his arm back for a throw and with all his might hurled Yuffie back toward Claudia's motorcycle. Spinning in flight, Yuffie carefully settled onto the seat behind Claudia, pulling the giant shuriken toward herself by the thread.
"Yes! YES! This is exactly the race I've waited so long for! Mad stunts at enormous speed — all of this makes the engine in my heart burn even stronger!" Roche cried, dramatically clenching a palm on his chest and not taking his burning gaze off Alex.
"Dude! Don't look at me like that, I actually like girls!" Alex cried in response, clamping the Jackal between his teeth in order to quickly drive a new magazine into it with one hand.
"Ha-ha-ha-ha! And we're incredibly similar! Racing at breakneck speed with a beautiful companion behind one's back… How romantic and mad that is! And now let's add gas and make our dance even more furious!" Roche laughed with a wide smirk, pointing the tip of his sword right at Alex.
"Enough talking," Claudia cut him off in a cold tone, swinging the heavy Buster Sword and preparing to launch a destructive energy slash at him.
"Beauty-SOLDIER, don't interfere while the men are talking! All that will be required of you is to kiss the winner at the finish!" Roche cried with ostentatious drama, placing one hand on his heart and beautifully directing the other toward Claudia.
Hearing Roche's words, Claudia clenched her teeth from boiling irritation. The soft green Mako energy around her Buster Sword flared with redoubled force, shining blindingly bright. Spinning the heavy blade in her hands, Claudia delivered one lightning-fast thrust, launching a massive horizontal energy slash toward Roche. Seeing the destructive wave of light racing straight at him, Roche instead of fear felt only even greater excitement, immediately reevaluating Claudia's combat capabilities.
Whistling slightly from delight, he sharply tilted the motorcycle onto its side and began sliding at breakneck speed along the metal surface of the overpass, dodging the attack. The deadly wave passed right over his head and with a crash slammed into a stone column of the bridge, completely slicing it into two parts.
In that same second the overpass began rapidly collapsing downward. Roche gracefully slipped under the falling boulders and boldly nodded to Claudia, as if goading her to show what else she was capable of. Noticing the collapse of the overpass, Alex reacted instantly. He activated Fenrir's weapons compartment, and the side panel immediately slid aside.
Grabbing a black katana from the weapons compartment, Alex stood up to his full height on his feet on the seat and performed a sharp jump forward. Jessie only at the last moment managed to grab the handlebars so as not to lose control over the racing bike. Finding himself in the air right in front of the falling stone debris, Alex gripped the katana's scabbard more tightly and exhaled a dense cloud of white steam. In that same second a furious, blinding flame flared around his body.
"Breath of the Sun: Blue Skies," Alex muttered and with one sharp motion unsheathed the blade.
Drawing the katana from its scabbard, Alex spun in the air and with one flawless swing sliced the collapsing bridge into two neat halves, completely clearing the path for the others. Ceasing to spin in flight, he landed precisely on the surface of the overpass and performed several soft somersaults in order to finally dampen the inertia of the movement. The moment he stood on his feet and with a click sheathed the katana, Jessie raced past him at full speed on Fenrir, and after her Wedge and Biggs jumped out on their motorcycle.
Already intending to run in pursuit in order to return to the handlebars of his own bike, Alex caught the familiar roar of an engine behind his back. Turning around, he saw Claudia, who on the move stretched out her hand in his direction. Immediately giving a reciprocal response to her plan, Alex took a quick step and leaned in the needed direction. Racing at breakneck speed, Claudia gripped Alex's hand in a death hold and laid a steep drift, spinning her motorcycle in place.
Having gained powerful revolutions, Claudia released him, with a launching impulse sending Alex into a prolonged flight straight toward Fenrir. Gracefully spinning in the air, Alex landed precisely behind Jessie's back and with one deft motion flipped her over himself, in a matter of seconds changing places with her. Putting the katana back into the armored weapons compartment, Alex looked at Roche, who was racing a little ahead. Meeting his gaze, Roche laughed again, enthusiastically waving his sword.
"This is still not enough, my friend! We need to add a little more tension to our wonderful race! Let's finally find out which of us two is worthy of being called the King of the Road!" Roche cried inspiredly, continuing to race in reverse and directing the tip of the sword precisely at Alex.
"If you so thirst for it… Just don't complain later that you had a hard day," Alex answered with a smirk, again drawing the heavy Jackal from under his coat.
"Wonderful! And now I'll show you yet another of my tricks!" Roche cried with a predatory smirk and sharply swung the sword, around which branching electric arcs immediately began to crackle and dance.
Still going into mad laughter, Roche began swinging the sword full force, forcing deadly electric discharges to fall with a crack right from the night sky. Deftly dodging the lightning that was destroying the road surface, Alex aimed the barrel of the Jackal precisely at the hilt of Roche's sword, aiming right at the Lightning Materia inserted there. Having once again dodged a discharge that struck nearby, Alex pulled the trigger.
The fired bullet with filigree precision hit the hilt of the sword, knocking the sphere out of the materia socket. The fallen orb took its original round form and with a clang rolled along the overpass. Sitting behind Claudia, Yuffie could not miss the ideal opportunity to steal a rare and valuable artifact. At full speed she deftly leaned to the side and with an elegant motion scooped up the glowing sphere rolling along the concrete.
Having lost his trophy from such a filigree shot, Roche laughed even harder, feeling how the blood in his veins was boiling with new force. Putting the sword behind his back, he lightly shook his bruised wrist in order to relieve the numbness from the bullet impact on the hilt. By this moment Alex had added gas and drawn level with him nose to nose.
"Is that enough for you? Or do you still want to continue?" Alex asked in a calm, imperturbable tone, looking at Roche who had noticeably begun to tire.
"Don't be silly! How can I tire of your stunning company?!" Roche cried inspiredly, on the move stretching out a hand toward Alex.
"Finish already, you idiot! And get lost on your own business!" Jessie barked, drawing a pistol and aiming it right at the gas tank of Roche's motorcycle.
"Oooh, what a bad girl! Our race will continue until the flame of one of us finally goes out! And until then we will continue our dance!" Roche declared with a bold smirk and without particular effort, with a quick wave of his hand, knocked the pistol out of Jessie's fingers.
"Only for a dance you need two," Claudia's icy voice rang out from the opposite side.
"Interfering in our tango again, beauty-SOLDIER? That's not good!" Roche responded with a challenge, gripping the handlebars of his motorcycle even more tightly.
Finding himself trapped in a ring, Roche instead of fear felt even greater ecstasy from this race. Grinning widely, he sharply jerked the handlebars to the side and spun his motorcycle like a top, forcefully pushing Alex and Claudia's bikes in different directions. Having broken out of the encirclement, Roche raced ahead on one rear wheel with an insolent smirk on his face. Having nearly lost control, Claudia narrowed her eyes — Roche's antics were driving her out of herself more and more.
Gripping the Buster Sword more tightly, Claudia stood up to her full height on the seat and performed a powerful jump forward. When Claudia flew off her transport, Yuffie for a short moment was confused, absolutely not understanding what she was supposed to do with the racing machine. And before the bike managed to overturn, Alex grabbed Jessie by the hand and transferred her to Yuffie. He did not know whether Yuffie knew how to operate such equipment, and had absolutely no intention of checking it at such a critical moment.
Gripping the handlebars, Jessie nodded briefly to Alex, making it clear that she would handle everything further herself. Nodding in response, Alex twisted the accelerator grip all the way and rushed forward in order to help Claudia. Meanwhile Claudia was already fighting Roche at full force right on the seat of his own motorcycle. Swinging the heavy Buster Sword full force, she continuously sought an opportunity to cut his transport in two.
Roche, for his part, with a mocking smirk parried every one of her thrusts, not forgetting to sprinkle pompous phrases. Catching the ideal moment for a decisive blow, Claudia brought the Buster Sword down, intending to take out the engine. But before the blade reached the target, Roche forestalled her, sharply kicking her right in the stomach with his foot. From that powerful push Claudia flew off the motorcycle, accompanying the smirking Roche with furious eyes.
However, she did not have to fall onto the overpass — the approaching Alex deftly caught Claudia right in the air and seated her behind himself. Settling onto Fenrir's seat, Claudia lightly patted Alex on the shoulder, making it clear that she was fine. Nodding briefly, Alex added speed, intending to catch up with Roche again. The moment they approached, Roche elegantly swung the sword, aiming right at Alex's head.
Claudia timely interposed her blade and blocked the attack, entering into yet another fierce clash. Attentively observing the rapid exchange of thrusts between Claudia and Roche, Alex caught a fortunate second and with a full swing kicked the body of the enemy motorcycle with his foot. Having nearly toppled together with his machine, Roche floored the gas and sharply broke ahead.
"Get ready to catch me again," Claudia warned, again rising onto the seat behind Alex's back and gripping his shoulder with her palm.
"I'm ready to catch you at any moment. Just ask," Alex responded with a smirk, continuing to gain speed.
"Just don't you start, you idiot!" Claudia cut off irritably and gave Alex a ringing slap with her palm on the crown of his head.
Chuckling at Claudia's reaction, Alex put Fenrir onto its rear wheel, quickly catching up with Roche who was riding ahead. And as soon as Alex sharply lowered the front wheel onto the concrete, Claudia filigree used the obtained inertia for a powerful jump forward. Seeing that Claudia once again wanted to pull the same trick, Roche smirked and delivered a full-force sweeping blow with the sword.
However, instead of a direct attack with her blade, Claudia gracefully spun in the air and forcefully struck the flat side of Roche's sword with the iron toe of her heavy boot, with one motion knocking the weapon out of his hands. Continuing the spin in flight, Claudia landed with a crash on the front part of the enemy motorcycle and with full force drove the Buster Sword right into the engine.
In that same second the motor sparked, and the bike began rapidly losing speed. Realizing that he had been outplayed on all counts, Roche smirked slightly, leaning casually on the smoking equipment, and nodded briefly to Claudia, counting this brilliant move for her. In response to his gesture Claudia merely coldly snorted and, pushing off, returned to Alex's motorcycle.
"Until next time, mi amigo," Alex said goodbye with a smirk, slowly riding past the stopped opponent.
"Until next time, my new friend, whose face I never managed to see!" Roche parried with an eager smirk, nodding slightly to Alex.
"So be it, I'll show you… So that you don't mess with my Chica," Alex said with a smirk, slightly raising the peak of his black cap and shifting the mask onto his chin.
"A SOLDIER, then… Now everything is clear! I knew that you, my new friend, are not simple at all," Roche said with an understanding expression on his face, having made out Alex's characteristic rainbow-colored eyes.
Alex nodded briefly, pulling the mask back onto his face and lowering the peak of the cap. And in that same second he received a ringing slap on the back of the head from Claudia for once again calling her by that irritating nickname.
Sighing heavily, Alex twisted the accelerator grip and rushed forward, toward the warehouse, thinking only about how much he needed rest after this exhausting chase. However, in one thing he was absolutely certain: when he told Dean about what had happened, the latter would burst into a long and stormy tirade about how he had once again missed all the most interesting parts.
To be continued...
(Phew, I barely managed to squeeze that chase with Roche into one chapter. And I managed to partially do it, and now we're almost at Jessie's parents' house. So, there won't be any more hanging out at her house, and I'll try to move straight to the warehouse raid. Maybe. Hmm. I need to think, but now I can go rest. Peace, love, and vroom vroom motherfucker.)
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