closely | all of a sudden you're a hostage to things you thought you wanted

My apologies, princess. We're pretty limited by the fact those bozo's just shot out our tire rim.

[ Dante's doing a pretty good job holding onto the wheel, but both of them can feel the lurch as the car is increasingly starting to drift without proper alignment. There's only so many bullets the car (and Four) can take before they just have to give up.

One car left, and the smell of blood in the car is really making Dante's skin prickle. He's never liked how it made him feel, a weird sensation between nausea and hunger. Man, he's not thinking about this. He's fucked up enough without analyzing if some part of him wants to eat his buddies.

He does look back, clicking his tongue with an uncharacteristically serious expression as he scans the remaining car and Four's state of injury. He gets the sense (and don't say Dante isn't half clever!), that Four is probably not putting his safety first in this little hoe down. He puts the gun down on the seat beside him as he leans over to roll down his window. ]

I'm getting real sick of this. Hey, Four- [ Keeping his foot on the gas, he leans back to wrap a hand around the back of Four's shirt. ] Let's blow this joint.

[ It's a good thing maybe, that Four didn't buckle up. It makes it loads easier for Dante to kick the door open in one smooth motion, dragging Four behind him. The car, left spinning by one last flick of the wheel, follows its own inertia to slam back into the rapidly approaching final car.

Dante himself takes the opportunity to do a flip before landing on the highway. ]

What —

( the startled noise from four is the most human sound he's ever made in front of dante, probably. he's light, enough so that the force with which dante yanks him forward and out of the car makes his head spin tenfold and not just from the flip. maybe some of the bloodloss catches up to him too, but he doesn't factor that in just yet. vaguely he's aware of their last pursuer going up in flames, which is convenient now that they too are without a car and four doesn't feel like he can run very fast if at all.

in fact, he's gone momentarily slack in dante's hold, trying to reorient himself with not much success, incredibly dizzy. his words come out softly even so, on the threshold of gasps. blood has completely soaked through the fabric he tied around his upper arm and between that and the gash across his face, the smell of it is overwhelming. the only thing that competes is the smoke from the fire. )

What...what now?

Jackpot! That's what I'm talking about!

I would love to say Dante has the thought to put his injured friend down on the street carefully, but he just sort of drops him. A bit of Four's blood has gotten on his hand, and he very empathetically tries to shake it off before he can do something embarrassing. ]

Well. [ Dante puts his hands on his hips as he surveys the wreckage before them. God, they are so cool. What a team! ] I guess it's either hitchhiking or we just walk? Unless...

[ Well Four is no longer trapped in a car. He could run off now, and Dante is pretty sure in all the chaos they've caused it would be pretty feasible to escape into the woods? No need to stick with Dante if he doesn't want to...

He opens his mouth to say something, maybe do the mature thing and tell Four to fuck off but his gaze rests on the car they were driving and he stiffens. ]

...Crap, my stuff! Hold on - I gotta do something! My sword was in there! [ And his guns, and his limited edition records! The wreckage of the car isn't far, but Dante seems unharried by the raging inferno, instead trying to stick his hand right into it and grab something. ]

( someone else might be offended or even amused. four just picks himself up off the ground, a minor struggle, seeming caught between going after dante and just staying where he is. he'd had the thought before dante broke him out, that dante was not necessarily the most sane of people he's met. but his choices being what they were, following him was easier at the time more than explaining how someone could be resigned to their fate as a slave, scoured clean of anything that was once actually theirs.

dante seems to have a lot of things. this is the thought that goes through his head, quickly overtaken by four's first show of some greater emotion: confusion.

though his memories are erased, it isn't just a keen eye and practical application four has for shooting; it's his body as well despite its lithe and deceptively slight frame.

even so, he does not stick his own hand into the fire, walking slowly until he's sort of a few feet behind dante, staring. )

...I didn't see any first aid kits in the back. Won't your hand burn?

( his tone is no different than usual, which might be comedic to a passerby if there were any. or it might be alarming. probably alarming. anyway, any kits are surely incinerated already. dante's sword must be made of stronger stuff obviously, though four isn't sure what else he's trying to salvage, ducking himself to the side a little as part of the rupturing car flies off and narrowly misses taking his head off. )

Oh, yeah. Sure it will.

[ A smoldering pizza box gets tossed backwards towards Four, and then Dante's other pistol, and a single book that survived the initial burn. The sword is deeper in, probably burning hot to the touch and Dante sighs as he leans back to shrug off his distinctive red coat. ]

You and I are probably a lot more similar then you wanna think, Mr. super soldier~ [ He waves a seemingly fine hand at Four with a grin. ] I dunno what lab they made you in, but my brother and I are tough as nails.

[ Anyway, back to fishing out the important stuff, like the gun Four was using (banged up but fine) and trying to shove himself into a fire to grab that sword. The car is collapsing in on itself, scratching and burning as Dante brute forces his way in. It's only when Dante's hands are barely touching the hilt of the sword that he hears a weak groan... ]

Damn it... [ He waves his free hand to get Four's attention. ] Hey Four! How do we feel about letting slavers die in car fires? I feel kinda bad?

( that's...surprising. but also a relief. four doesn't have any training in caring for burns that he can recall -- unless it would wake up inside him like a memoryless disease like wielding a gun. his mind swims back and forth over the question of where he was made, or rather, remade, but no answer is provided. not that he expected one to be anywhere in him, or that would defeat some of the purpose of his makers, he supposes. but even enhanced as he is, he isn't overly inclined to stick his own hand into the fire. so he stands out of the way as dante fishes through more things, careful to avoid any stray bits of blown off car and everything else. he ducks again as he answers, )

I don't feel bad. Are we saving them?

( he does not sound like he wants them to suffer either. it is simply that he does not care either way, after perusing his feelings it's difficult to say he feels at all, is the thing. like that was somehow conveniently removed from him too to make him a better merchandise. )

Well he could be like me, a poor ne'er-do-well. Couldn't help his shitty career choice - we've all been there.

[ He pulls the sword to where he can get it better later, and then gets the still living guy by the scruff as he starts to pull. ]

Or he could be a total shithead who kicks puppies and you and like a million babies, who's gonna ruin our day when he wakes up.

[ Dante pulls the somewhat living body from the car, turning to face Four again with his back to the flame. He worries his tongue over his teeth as he meets Four's eyes. ]

Do you really not give a shit at all? You were shooting at them, I kinda thought you might want revenge.

It seemed like the logical thing to do.

( ice cold in contrast with the fire, to be sure. he blinks, not even intending an iota of how unfeeling that must sound. the only slightly off thing about four, really, is how his breaths aren't as silent and therefore even as normal; injuries slowly taking a toll. not that he acknowledges them.

rather, he moves his gaze from the not-dead-yet body back to dante, confused. )

...anyway, I don't understand. Are you bringing him?

( as it seems just leaving him here even outside of the flaming car, will likely spell death without any assistance... )

all of a sudden you're a hostage to things you thought you wanted

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