Chapter Text
It's always the same dream...
Purple eyes suddenly jolt awake as a woman sits up from a bench. Looking around, she sees some kids practicing in the yard. For some reason, she feels fond of them, but she couldn't tell why.
"Astrid? You okay love?" A white-haired woman leans over the bench, looking at the purple-eyed woman. Just looking at her eases Astrid's worries as she smiles. But before she can open her mouth to respond, she is pulled out of her dream by the feeling of her leg being hit by something.
"You dead miss magenta scourge? I thought you had a bit more life in you." Astrid opens her eye and glares at the masked man standing over her as the bumpy train finally makes her sit up. Standing in front of her in what could be described as a biker outfit that's trying too hard is Colt.
"You wish I was dead, are we there yet or what?" Astrid holds her head as the memory of that dream was practically burned into her mind, something that Colt immediately saw he placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Same dream?"
"...same dream...it just keeps getting more vivid like I could have been there. But that's not important right now we have a bounty to finish." Astrid grabs her sword from her side as the train comes to a stop outside a desert town, and both bounty hunters throw on cloaks to help with the sand nipping at their skin as they slide down the dunes. Colt rushes to find a good vantage point as Astrid simply walks forward into a gang of thugs.
"Are you all the Stromwind bandits?"
"Who's asking you, lady!?" Astrid smirks as she grabs her hilt her red eyes shift to purple as she dashes at the first man slashing him once before multiple slashes rip through the goon's body A larger woman appears behind Astrid, their arm shifting into a cannon and firing a rocket directly at the goons scattering them.
"ITS THE MAGENTA SCOURGE GET HER BOYS!" Five goons rush Astrid, she dodges the first swing and slashes that goon in the chest before the second man gets shot taking his head off as Colt releases the round and gets a second ready, Astrid throws a kunai behind them as they scramble for cover and she swaps places with the kunai and slashes another man, Colt fires again as she leaps off one of the bodies and pierces the last man as Astrid laughs out hard.
"Astrid you are having way too much fun with this." Colts voice rings out from a crystal device as Astrid stands up and turns to find a massive group of thugs waiting for her.
"It's the only thing that keeps me going Colt~ now you better get your rounds ready!" She slashes another goon splattering his blood on the sand as it slowly transitions to a facility as two beasts fight against each other while multiple scientists watch the fight and note down the characteristics and weaknesses of the beasts before both suddenly start to seize up and leak out blood before popping like balloons.
"Another failed test of the hound project, bring in the next two, must find something for Neverghast or he will have our heads." Two chained people are forced into a testing room a blonde haired girl in ragged clothing and a larger male. They both look at each other in pure fear as the girl tries to call out to the man but only grunts and broken words come out before they both get shocked making the male transform into a massive beast lunging at the girl forcing her to dive out of the way.
"S-st-Stone! It's Sasha! Sasha is Sasha!" The girl narrowly avoids the beasts tail as it slashes her cheek making her eyes flicker from blue to red. The beasts tail slams down on her cracking the ground under the girl as memories of the previous fights all of the friends she lost to the place she couldn't take it anymore! Sasha's eyes fully turn red as they bleed but she stops the beast in its tracks catching the observer's attention but her power gives out as she collapses from the strain stopping the test there. As the girl is brought back to her cell for a brief moment she sees her name and the words Termination below her.
As she gets put into her cell Sasha paces around trying to think of what to do. She was going to die when she hadn't even gotten to see the world! Sasha had a potential route to go...but...would she even make it?...she only had one shot at this. As the day went Sasha stood ready and when a lone scientist entered her cell she knew what she had to do.
"Okay Sasha just come here for your usual shot." She was normally given a shot of blood to test how it would effect her body but this one was filled with a blue liquid, what the experiments called "Blue Death" it destroyed your body in less than an hour a painful agony that Sasha would not have happen to her! She charged the man and slammed him through the door and into the hallway as she made a break to her right.
"Shut-SHUT IT DOWN! We have a runner!" The girl always dreamed of a knight coming to save her from her tower wishing she could be free of her torment below the ground, she still holds out hope but she couldn't let herself completely fall on her fairytales she had to live!
Sneaking through the building was surprisingly easy for Sasha as she made it to a long staircase she finds a locked door and kicks it open getting hit by sand before leaping out into the world as a camera watches her movement it slowly reveals a man made of stained glass with a strange helmet covering his face.
"Sir, we can still catch her?" He raises his hand stopping the man from speaking further.
"No...let her go, I want to see what she can do on her own. If she can evolve amongst the sun then maybe I underestimated her." The vampire chuckles as he slowly walks away not spotting the lone scientist still chasing Sasha.
Explosions ring out as Astrid dashes back as she dodges bolts of lightning from two mages. Her hair flowing with the wind as she throws two kunai slashing the mages as they turn to blast her weapons expecting her to swap places but when she doesn't appear they look up and see her slam down on them both.
"Diva." A woman appears behind Astrid handing her a drink.
"Tired?"
"Very...how are Asura and Pam doing?" She turns to see them tearing through the rest of the bandits with the help of sniper fire from Colt.
"Nevermind. Where is the big boss?" As she sees that a large man fires a powerful bolt of lightning at Asura and Pam forcing them to disappear and retreat to Astrid.
"Man I just need to keep my mouth shut today~ Colt! Let's bring him down! Paths! Spikes" six figures all slam down into the man stabbing mana blocking spikes into his arms and legs. He was unable to fight now as Colt joins Astrid she stands over the man.
"You! You took everything for me! Damn you magenta scourge!" Astrid holds her blade over him as she steps onto his chest.
"No hard feelings...it's just business." She stabs his heart completing the bounty, Astrid takes a moment to catch her breath as strange visions flash in her mind as Colt walks over.
"You okay?"
"Yeah...just take the bounty to Toni...I'll catch up." Astrid returns to the train and finds her bike reving it up she rode off trying to find where her mind was trying to take her. Soon she rode past the sands and entered a dark forest, she sees a vision of something leaping past her making her skid into a drift and finally stopping as she sees a blonde haired woman leap from out the forest past her as she leaps they both lock eyes as Magenta meets Red.
"She...she couldn't be." Astrid practically leaps off her bike as she chases after the woman using her kunai to teleport after her, she finally stops as she reaches a clearing and comes face to face with the woman from her vision.
Sasha kneels down in front of a pond to get some water before she starts running again but she stands up after hearing a branch snap before spotting Astrid watching her. Neither girl makes a move but once Sasha sees the mercenary's sword she uses her eyes to freeze the scourge in place.
"Sasha isn't going back! That place won't-Sasha wants to see the world!" Astrid ends up laughing at that as Sasha's control slips and she goes bright red.
"H-hey! Don't laugh at Sasha!" Suddenly Sasha looks up to see a scientist try and stab Astrid with a syringe she uses her eyes to catch him startling Astrid as Sasha stands up.
"Let me go! You stupid mutt! You deserve to die with the rest of your kind!" Sasha's bleeding eyes give him not a shred of remorse as she grabs her head forcing him to do the same crimson eyes glow in the bright moonlight as the man begs for his life.
"You deserve worse than death, but this will do." She makes the man snap his neck, her body slowly gives out and she falls into Astrid's arms she was light as a feather surprising and disturbing Astrid a lot as she held her tight.
"My....knight."
"....lets go home Sasha."
Astrid got Sasha onto the bike and let her wrap her arms around the merc before riding off passing by a massive statue Sasha asked a question.
“Who was that made for?”
“The harbingers supposed heroes of the old Era they might even be the reason we are stuck in this wasteland now….never knew them so I can’t hate them.”
“It’s like a fairytale then right?”
“Not everything is a fucking fairytale-shit! Don’t repeat that”
“Shit!” Sasha laughs as Astrid groans but soon joins her in laughing.
“I’m a terrible influence on you already…..also we definitely need to get you some new clothes.”
“What are…clothes?”
“Tomorrow is gonna be a long day…”
End of Magenta and Red