Manson watched in fear from above. The height of the abandoned-looking saloon's flat roof gave him an unobstructed view of the whole fight between the two gangs; they rarely strayed from the fountain area.
Now that he could process the situation, he finally remembered a crucial detail about the gang in red jackets.
When one of them yelled out "Red Punchers", something stirred in his memories. He finally combined the pieces of the truth after thinking about the news channel on his television, where they talked about cops arresting some people wearing red outfits and calling themselves part of a dangerous group of people. A group of troublemakers who tend to stick around in the baddest part of the city, especially in a place like Harmist Lane.
Sweating from the Red Punchers having to make their appearance, a first ever seen for Manson, he tried to think of ways to escape. But the thought of that was prevented by the curiosity to check out the whole fight and to see the end of who would win.
For a few minutes, it looked as though both gangs were evenly matched, their strikes and punches bouncing off. When one person struck, the other blocked and returned the favor. Then the first person would block and repeat.
"Take this!"
"Ker-CHOW!"
"Right on the target!"
"Oh, my leg—my leg, it hurts!"
"Watch out, I'm coming out for you!"
"Look out below!"
"AAAAAHHHHHH!"
It was chaos outside. The dirt cloud they made from wrestling with each other, the sound of the impact when their fists contacted the face, and the shards of broken bottles scattered all over the floor, it made it hard for Manson to keep track of everything that was happening. Who knew something like this would happen on the path he was trying to exit Harmist Lane.
They continued to trade blows repeatedly until one of the guys with the red shirt fell from a mighty punch from the chubby dude with the colorful patterned shirt. It must have had a domino effect on the other red-shirt mooks because they systematically fell to the ground.
The final person among the Red Punchers was the leader who talked big at the start of the fight. His face was all bruised, with blue patches appearing all over his face like he ate a bag of blueberries. A missing tooth could be seen as he tried to breathe through his mouth since his nose was bent in a weird shape.
The big guy's collar was picked up by his primary opponent, Eustelle, and was lifted in the air, highlighting the abnormal strength that the woman had. The big guy scrambled his arms, trying to get away from the monster that was about to pound him to dust.
"H-how the hell are you this strong?!" he said with a bleeding mouth. "This is seriously not normal, you freak!"
Eustelle didn't budge from his words or his physical resistance. Her hands curled up into a ball as they aimed right at the guy's stomach. The way she was posing felt to Manson like it was seriously going to hurt.
"The only answer to that question is that you caught me at the wrong time. And that you should have made plans for other things—because I plan to find out who took everything in my life from me."
The big guy squealed in fear like a pig in a butcher's house. "Wait, wait! I give up—I give up, don't hit me, plea—"
His words were cut short, as it was too late to say any apologies to the woman. Eustelle immediately punched his stomach as she let go of his collar, making the big dude gasp as the oxygen escaped his lungs, and he launched backwards into the saloon. Manson hid away before any of the Snapcrack Gang members could spot him from above, his hands covering his mouth in case any sounds of his breathing alerted them from down there somehow, but with Eustelle having that superhuman strength to throw that large, muscle-built man several feet flying in the air, he wouldn't take any chances with what he knew.
He found a suitable hole through the roof ledge and looked through it. Manson saw that two friends of hers were approaching from behind; one of them, with a clearly worried look plastered all over his face, went to converse with her.
"Hey, Eustelle, you do know that they're gonna be more pissed off when these guys wake up, isn't that right, Moris?"
The chubby guy with the colored pattern etched on the front of his shirt, who was named Moris, nodded in reply.
"Uh-huh, uh-huh..."
"And so what, Zach?" Eustelle flatly said, looking at him like he was incapable of reading simple sentences. "We'll just have to beat this jerk and his lackeys again and again until they leave us alone for good, right, Moris?"
"Uh-huh, uh-huh," Moris repeated his short affirmation.
"I'm just saying that we still had to think about our actions carefully. What if things escalated badly, like one of us getting seriously hurt if they pull a knife or gun on us?" The worried-looking dude, Zach, said.
"Even so, I don't care if they have a bazooka or tank. I'm still going to beat their asses with my fists alone," Eustelle seriously stated.
"Eustelle, we were only here to talk to the Red Punchers about them going over to our turf without permission. We promised Barry we wouldn't do any unnecessary fighting when we're here to confront them."
Eustelle looked away with her eyebrows furrowed.
"Tch!"
Zach put his hand on her shoulder, trying to offer sympathy with his actions and words.
"I know how you feel... regarding Phil in the Volanten River, but you have to know that there are other people who care about you, and in return, they care about you. Don't try to forget all that; we're here if you need us."
"I... I know..." Eustelle spoke softly. "It's just hard for me to accept that he's really gone. The fact that he drowned in the river after some stupid fall..." She breathed heavily as her glossy eyes shone from the moon's reflected light, now in a calmer mood.
"Thanks, guys. I know I haven't been the most pleasant person to be around, but you two really stuck with me despite all that. Thank you, everyone."
The other guys in the back besides Zach and Moris all yelled out in admiration, putting their fists up in the air like a celebration was going to happen in any minute.
"We'll support you to the end, big sis Eustelle. That's for sure!"
The guys in the back yelled once again to show their support for the woman.
"Uh-huh, uh-huh," Moris repeated for the third time once again.
Seriously, would the Moris guy ever say anything else besides the short phrase "uh-huh, uh-huh" that he always inserts in every conversation with these people? Manson could tell this group of people were a bunch of troublemakers with their own quirks to boot.
It looked like things finally calmed down in Harmist Lane's central fountain. Based on how it looked, it could be inferred that this was the spot for the usual kerfuffle between gangs. Manson crept away without drawing any attention so he could go back to his ongoing destination, Aunt Maren at the Brastini's restaurant. For a moment, a thought lingered in his mind about how he felt solace in the Snapcrack Gang's camaraderie with each other as they faced a group with more numbers than they did. In a way, they're like the bond between Quad Four, except that these guys are more prone to being aggressive with their people and their turf.
Regarding the woman, Eustelle, she really must have a lot of baggage in her mind if she was that pissed off to throw that big dude into the air, crashing down into the saloon doors.
"HAHAHAHAHA! ROCK ON!"
As Manson took a step, a haughty laugh from where the Red Punchers came from the start made everyone who was currently conscious dead silent.
Alarmed, Manson looked around frantically and saw some rocker chick with a spiky guitar and her tongue out. A streak of green hair contrasted with the natural black hair around her head. Her white crop top desperately clung to her shoulders while her faded jeans looked like they were torn to shreds by a wild animal. Her appearance definitely blended in with the run-down streets and the fountain.
Right beside the rocker girl was a pillar of flame that appeared right behind her as though she had magically summoned it on command, making Eustelle and the others back away from the shock and heat reaching their faces.
"What the hell is going on now?" Manson heard himself say.
Eustelle balled up her fist for another potential brawl; Zach was visibly sweating from more trouble brewing up, and even Moris deflated from the sudden appearance of the girl.
"You...!" Eustelle pointed to her. "Who the hell are you?!"
The rocker girl strummed her guitar, playing a melody that radiated pure awesomeness, with sparks seeming to appear within her fingers on the strings. Her hair flew everywhere as she violently bobbed her hair up and down.
"Uh—helloooo? You're in the badass-ingly awesome presence of the queen of rock n' roll, yo! Show some respect."
Zach was wiping the sweat off his forehead and squinting his eyes at the intruder.
"I can't believe this with my eyes. That woman is Ashlee Nittenbaum, one of the enforcers of the Red Puncher Gang. We're really in some deep trouble if she's here!" he exclaimed fearfully.
"Huh? For real? She's a Red Puncher!?" Eustelle loudly demanded.
"Hell, yeah, I am!" Ashlee aggressively exclaimed. "You guys have a problem with that or sumthin'?"
"Settle down, Ashlee, you have to wait for me when I get out to deal with stuff like this. Don't forget, Snapcrack, about the second person you should worry about. Like, you should be aware of surprises and whatnot.
A figure silently came out from the fire that Ashlee made. The person was in an outfit mixed with yellow and light blue highlights, his head covered with a flat hat with each corner adorned with tassels.
The way Manson could see it, the rocker girl, Ashlee, was not amused by her ally's sudden intervention.
"Hey, I'm supposed to be the sole act, all beginning, middle, and end! Absolutely no duos in this music stage!"
The flat hat guy simply closed his eyes. "You know... Ashlee, you really get on my nerves sometimes."
The guy turned towards the Snapcrack Gang.
"Since you now know Ashlee and her character, it is time I should present my name too, if that's alright."
"Uh-huh, uh-huh," Moris replied to the strangely dressed man.
"I'm Axel Galen. An enforcer for the Red Punchers. I wear clothes of cool color because that is what makes me chilly. After all, I love the chills that run down my back. Every. Type. Of chills."
"N-no way! I think I've heard of this guy before," Zach stated, with sweat continuing to drip. "Some say that he won against five dudes tough as a brick house with metal bats, and he defeated all of them with only minor scratches. Eustelle, this is one tough dude."
"Oh, I see, okay then," Eustelle finally said. "Since we're saying our names to each other, my first name is 'who' and my last name is 'cares', get the memo?"
Axel Galen came in like a blur with lightning-fast motion as he was mere inches away from putting his hand on her forehead, like he was about to pet an animal. Only that he stopped at the last second before contact. Manson rubbed his eyes in astonishment. He couldn't believe how he closed his eyes just once, and he closed the distance with a swift movement.
Eustelle widened her eyes at how close Axel was to hitting her. Moris held his breath as he charged to protect his friend, while Zach yelped out his friend's name and rushed to her aid.
"Unlike the lady here, you two knuckleheads aren't that cool at all."
Axel immediately used his left hand to punch Zach and used his right leg to kick Moris into a nearby barrel.
"You should wear clothes with cool colors, like sky blue, at least."
"Zach! Moris!" Eustelle yelled in concern. She tried to give the man in her space an uppercut to the chin, but he unfortunately dodged the attack and landed with a backflip.
"Do you really hang out with those guys? You deserve to hang out with better people."
"Those were my friends, you psycho!" she snapped.
Eustelle continued her barrage of punches towards Axel, only for most of the punches to be dodged. The ones that managed to contact him were readily blocked without much damage to him.
Manson peered from the hole in the saloon roof ledge that the other members of the Snapcrack Gang came to their senses from the shock of the two Red Puncher enforcers arriving with quick movements. They charged with their hands in the air to aid Eustelle in her fight against her opponent.
"C'mon! Big Bro Zach and Big Bro Moris need to get tended to. And let's hurry to Big Sis Eustelle; she needs all the help she can get!" said one of the Snapcrack members.
The others loudly yelled in affirmation.
"Yeah! Let's do this! For the Snapcrack Gang!"
Despite their roars of support, their valiant efforts were cut off by instantaneous pillars of flame that blew away most of them into the dark streets of Harmist Lane. Ashlee went forward with her guitar screeching with melodies of battle spirit. Her guitar wires somehow connected with the flame Pillars that were offensively summoned.
"Oh, no you don't, my opening hasn't even begun to start at all. Listen to my sick tunes, the tunes of your loss and my win!"
Manson grew quite concerned with the turn of events. He was supposed to move along and ignore the whole situation if things got serious, but he could not steer his eyes away from the intense battle; it was too real for him to not be glued to something so real, something not so ordinary.
He felt that deep down, he wanted to see for himself the winner of the underdog gang, and that was the Snapcrack Gang. For them to effortlessly win against the Red Puncher mooks, to be brought to their knees just by two people. There was genuine concern in his heart as Eustelle fought against the guy with cool colored clothing.
From how Manson saw his movements, Axel Galen could single-handedly wipe out the rest of the remaining Snapcrack Gang if he wasn't holding back. It was the way he wasn't really trying to seriously hurt Eustelle, but only lightly bruise her limbs, to tire her energy, maybe?
Then there was the rocker girl with the tendency to create walls of flames with the tunes of her guitar alone. It felt almost mystical to see how it could be controlled by a person. Manson guessed that it was probably some device akin to a flamethrower that could activate upon pressing the hidden button in Ashlee's guitar.
The battle continued to brew between the two gangs. Manson stayed up in the roof of the abandoned saloon, knowing that no one would notice he was there watching the whole thing.