Black Neon: The Death Of The Turbo Killer

So here Leon was, cruising his cherry red Chevrolet Nomad towards the home of his enemies, ready to offer up his life as a sacrifice for all of his wrongdoings. As he made his way down the huge but almost empty Mega Wangan, he spotted the tower belonging to Shikashi Industries, the pale blue neon lights running up the sides of the towering monolith of steel and curved glass giving it a much more distinctive look than most of the other towers in the area. It was kind of funny to Leon, how a Yakuza family had gaslighted as a world leader in cybernetics for so many years but it did make sense, after all, cybernetics were in high demand and what better way to mask your ill gotten gains than by piling them in with cybernetic sales? Leon turned off of the Mega Wangan, slowly making his way closer and closer to the tower, finally making it to the curb on the other side of the entrance, bumping the Nomad up onto it and shutting it off, resting his head on the wheel and taking a few deep breaths, steeling himself for what he was about to do. After a few minutes, Leon slowly opened the old creaky door and slammed it after himself, locking it and resting his hoof on the fender. This was likely the last time he would ever drive again, so he was nothing but thankful to the car that bought him here, the old wagon that himself, his wife and his daughter had restored as a family all those many years ago. Making his way across the street, he walked through a set of large revolving glass doors and into a huge but empty lobby, making his way over to the receptionist and resting his gloved metallic hooves on the front desk. "Here to see Shikashi-dono, name's Leon, he'll be expecting me." The towering shire spoke in a soft tone, he could see by the face the receptionist was making that she knew who he was, and since that was the case, it was likely everyone in this building was Yakuza blood. "Sh-Shikashi-dono?" The mare behind the desk asked, about as confused as she was scared as she reached down for the phone on her desk. "Shikashi-dono is no longer with us sir, he passed away a few years ago due to complications around a surgery. Shikashi-sama is the one in charge now. I-I'll let her know you're here." She stuttered as she picked up the phone and held it to her ear, pausing for a few seconds before speaking Kanji into the phone and putting it down. "Miss Shikashi is sending some guards down here to escort you to her office. I-I trust you understand-" "I do." Leon butted in gently and nodded. "Believe me miss, I'm not here to cause you or the fami- *ahem*...Company any trouble at all. Thank you." He spoke as he sat himself down on a plush armchair in the lobby and folded his arms. Shikashi-dono's death was news to him, but right now that didn't matter, all he was focused on was keeping a cool head, despite the fact that he would have been sweating bullets from under his mask if it was possible for him to do so. After a few minutes of waiting, a pair of loud dings sounded as eight suit wearing mares and stallions made their way out of two opposing elevators, approaching Leon slowly as they laid eyes on him. "Relax, I'm not here to cause you or your boss any trouble. Quite the opposite actually. I'm here to give my life in tribute to your boss, I haven't got anything on me that I don't need. Now, are you going to take me to her, or are you going to pull those swords and ruin your chances of seeing my head on a stake?" The guards all kept their hooves firmly on the handles of their blades, keeping their calm demeanours as Leon stood up and walked between them, being followed closely by the group as he made his way into one of the elevators, the group all standing behind him in case he was to try anything. It was clear by their body language that they were on a hair trigger, so Leon would have to keep his cards close to his chest. It was almost a couple of cramped, high tension minutes in the elevator before a loud ding signified that they had finally reached the floor that was Leon's destination. Stepping out of the elevator, Leon was greeted by a ludicrously opulent looking entrance hall, with a floor made of beautiful black marble, walls lined with gold, and a set of four huge jade dragon statues standing tall, almost seeming to guard the nearly fifteen feet tall solid oak double doors like a set of jade sentinels. The guards all followed Leon inside the huge office, keeping him in their sight lines at all times as he looked around at the huge bookshelves and glass cases filled with assortments of either blades, shogun style armor or cybernetics. At the huge desk at the far end of the office, sat a mare in an opulent looking chair, resting her chin on her front hooves. She stood up from the chair, revealing herself to Leon as she moved over to the edge of the desk and sat on it, her arms folding as she watched the approaching shire. She was clearly young, maybe in her early twenties, and Leon had to admit, was rather beautiful, with a long black voluminous mane that tapered down to neat curls, her left eye being covered by her mane. Her coat was a pale, almost lilac purple, with a deep amber eye staring at him as he approached her, dressed in a pair of tall high heels, stockings and an elegant looking black silk dress. The guards circled Leon and placed themselves between the mare and himself, with the mare standing up and looking over Leon curiously. "So you are him? You are the Turbo Killer, the BAPSD's attack dog?" She asked in a soft tone. "Ex-attack dog now Miss Shikashi. I don't associate myself with those oppressive snakes anymore. They've caused me too much hassle, too much pain...I'm not here for a battle, but I think you already know that." "Of course I do, I know enough about you to know that if you meant me harm, the guards I sent down to escort you here would not be with you now. You've come to discuss something important, haven't you Turbo Killer?" She asked in a sincere tone as she looked at the shire behind the wall of guards, dropping her hoof and barking an order in Kanji. The guards all paused for a moment, before removing their hooves from the handles of their blades, standing down, albeit hesitantly. Leon was taken aback by this mare's English, especially considering that she was a mare of Neighponese origin living in Neighpon, but he felt a little more at ease as he saw the guards move aside. "Come, Turbo Killer. We have much to discuss. Guards, remain here, do not enter unless I explicitly shout for you. Let us go somewhere more private to discuss more private matters, shall we?" The mare asked as she made her way over to a large door at the side of the office, Leon following her at a fair distance as the door closed behind them both. Leon looked around the area, passing underneath a towering Torii into a gorgeous open air Koi garden, the fish swimming through a small stream underneath a Guzei, foliage, cherry blossom trees, rock formations and lanterns all about the area in this strangely serene place, high above the traffic and pollution of New-Kyoto. The mare walked over to a set of banisters and leaned over them, with Leon following her and standing a fair distance away from her. She seemed rather casual considering who he was, even knowing what he had done and what he was like, she hadn't bought anything more than a small blade holstered on her thigh. "It's a rather nice view you have here Miss Shikashi. A strange one, but a nice one." "Thank you very much Turbo Killer, and please, Miss Shikashi is far too formal. Call me Scarlett." The mare requested in a surprisingly authoritative tone. Despite her lack of fear, there was something else about her that Leon couldn't quite put his finger on. "So, what brings you here Turbo Killer, or rather, Leon, to the home of your sworn enemies, a place that has Yakuza blood pumping through the veins in it's walls, all without anything more than your melee core in your right bicep?" She asked calmly. Just how much did this mare know about Leon, sure it was no secret that he was an Auger, but to know where he kept his melee core? Something was very, very off, and the ease that Leon had felt seemed to be burning away faster by the second. "It's quite simple, Miss-...Scarlett. I'm here to repent for my sins, for what I did to the Shikashi family almost a decade and a half ago. I'm sure you already know the story of what I did, how I butchered the head of the Shikashi family and everyone in the building with him in a rage. After finding out everything I've been fighting for was a lie, fed to me by the BAPSD's silver tongued witch, Chief Salem, I have quite simply given up. While the Shikashi family were the ones who executed the killing of my wife and the abduction of my daughter, the BAPSD ordered it, and to go against the orders of the BAPSD is certain death. They were backed into a corner, told to execute me because the BAPSD wanted my body and mind augmented for their own personal gain. While I cannot forgive them for what they did I understand why they did it. They can no longer repent for their sins, but I can still repent for mine. I can give them the head of the stallion they've wanted for so long, on a silver platter no less. Which is why I'm here." Leon spoke as he slowly reached to his right bicep, producing the melee core the mare had been speaking about and slowly getting onto his knees, offering it to the mare as he bowed his head. "Sinner, unlock ID, open user profile." He said, the small light at the end of the core flashing blue as the mare took it in her hooves, looking over the device as Leon spoke softly. "I am here to offer my life as tribute. For the wrongdoings I have committed in the past, for the sins the Shikashi family had unleashed upon them by me. While I may not agree with how your organization does things, that does not excuse the atrocities I have committed in the name of 'justice', whatever that word means anymore. I only ask for one favor...Please, make it quick...I want to join my sweetheart in the afterlife, after all these years, I can finally be with her, with no chains keeping me shackled to this miserable existence anymore. I just simply want to die on my own terms." Leon bowed his head, exposing his neck to Scarlett and closed his eyes, certain that any second his head would be removed from his shoulders. He didn't tremble, he didn't whimper or shake, he just waited there, certain of what his fate would be. Or at least, that's what he thought. After about ten seconds, he thought about asking the mare what she was doing, why she hadn't killed him yet, wondering if he should try and provoke her but as this thought crossed his mind, he felt a strange sensation. He felt something against his forehead, then a pair of hooves on the back of his head, his eyes snapping open in shock as he raised his head, his sight line being filled with nothing but black silk as the mare caressed his mane. He tried to say something, but was cut off by the mare. "My, how far you have fallen Turbo Killer. Don't talk, just listen." The mare spoke softly, an almost motherly tone in her voice as she stroked his mane with her hooves. "You have fought so long, and so hard and this is the end result? How long has it been since you awoke, thirteen years? Almost a decade and a half of fighting, nonstop violence, being brought to the verge of death more times than you care to admit and yet, you kept getting back up. This is where you want that road to end?" She asked quietly as she continued to caress Leon's mane. "I want you to know that I could never consider you an enemy. You kept fighting for a people who despised you, who attacked you with bottles, bricks, fireworks and even molotov cocktails on a few occasions but you never lashed out at them, you never even gave up on them. Up until a few weeks ago, you still swore fealty to them despite them treating you like something even more lowly than an animal and you still refuse to call yourself a hero. Even after you saved my life..." Leon froze as he heard her speak that last sentence, his arms limp as he heard what she said. "Saved your life? I-I've never even met you-" "But you have." The mare retorted as she continued to stroke his mane. "I know why you can't remember me. The BAPSD, when they augmented you, they messed with your brain. Since you have a data retention chip in there, they clearly edited some of your memories. Some of them are completely false, while others have had other details in them either changed or scrubbed, at least that's my best guess. I'm assuming you've had splitting head pain when remembering those edited memories, that's a defense mechanism for the chip, there to stop you trying to look further into them. Luckily for you, I remember how it really happened." She said as she ran a hoof under his chin and lifted his head, looking down into his eyes as she spoke. "You have a video on your system of when you killed my father, am I correct?" She asked, Leon responding with a soft nod. "It cuts off after the kill, says there is nothing more to be seen. Would you like to see the rest of it, from my perspective?" Scarlett asked, prompting Leon to pause, before nodding again. Scarlett sat herself down on a bench overlooking the edge of the building, Leon hesitantly joining her. He had been more than a little shocked at how this mare was treating him but he still had his guard up, this could all too easily be some kind of ruse after all. The mare patted the bench next to her and Leon slowly sat himself down right next to her. "So how is this going to work? I'm guessing you have some kind of a video system?" "Something along those lines. Put your temple to mine, I'm going to interface with you." She spoke as she closed her eyes and leaned her head to the side. "A word of warning. You're going to be seeing something that the chip was designed to stop you from seeing at all costs. It's likely that the pain it will cause will be nothing short of immense." "That's fine by me. I've had my fair share of painful memories in my lifetime anyway." Leon responded softly as he leaned his head to the side, closing his eyes tightly as he began to interface with Scarlett, immediately feeling a burning sensation as he felt himself looking through the eyes of someone else, Scarlett. The video file began with a short mare running alongside Scarlett, who it seemed was just a filly at this point. It made sense, this was recorded thirteen years ago, even if Scarlett was 22 now, she would have been 9 at the time of this recording. Screaming and cries of pain could be heard from behind them, as well as a booming, almost feral roaring. The short mare alongside the filly was crying in terror, the filly clearly terrified by the noises behind them as they ducked into an office and closed a thick wooden door behind them, an old stallion in a suit standing in front of a desk yelling at them in Kanji, clearly as terrified as they were as the screams and roars got closer and closer to the door, before finally subsiding. A loud thump was heard as the door rattled, followed by another thump, and another thump, prompting the mare and the filly to duck inside of a closet, much to the dismay of the stallion in front of the desk. He tried to join them, but was hit by the heavy wooden door as it flew off of it's hinges, sailing across the room and striking the stallion in the side, sending him crashing to the ground in front of the desk he had just been standing in front of. Loud thumping could be heard as metal hooves struck wooden floorboards, a huge augmented Shire making his way into the room, his cybernetics clearly visible to the filly who had now had her mouth covered by the short mare's hooves to keep her whimpering quiet. Leon strode over to the suit wearing stallion and grabbed him by his throat, lifting him above his head and slamming him down onto the hard wooden desk, prompting the stallion to let out a cry of pain as Leon tightened his grip on the stallion's neck. "Hey Shikashi, remember me?" He asked as he began to choke the stallion. "You should. Three years ago you came to my house in the middle of the night and cut me to pieces in front of my daughter, before beating my wife to the point where she is now in the hospital with permanent brain damage. You remember, right?" He asked as he loosened his grip on the stallion's neck, before slamming his metal hoof down on the stallion's arm and audibly snapping it, prompting the stallion to scream out in pain. "Hmmph. It's pleasant to hear you scream just like you made me scream. I'm a firm believer in you reap what you sow, you know?" Leon asked, before lifting the stallion and throwing him into a glass cabinet, sending him to the floor before stamping on his leg and snapping it, causing the stallion to let out another shriek of pain as Leon crouched down in front of him, his clenched hoof directly in front of Shikashi's face. "P-Please, w-what do you want?! I-I'll give you any-" Was as far as the stallion got before Leon promptly shattered his jaw with a vicious punch. "I want my fucking family back, you despicable piece of shit. I want my life, and my family back, and I don't care how much money you have, you can't bring them back with it!" Leon yelled as he slammed the back of the stallion's head against the floorboards, his clenched hoof raised and ready to strike. "I want you to feel an OUNCE of the pain that Tracy has felt because of you. I want you to lay in a vegetative state for three years, constantly having seizures, unable to even go to the fucking bathroom, feeling the humiliation of shitting into a bag for the rest of your days because your wife is in a coma and they can't shut your life support off without her say so. I want you to be fed through tubes under your skin, your body decaying as muscle and tissue begin to rot, hair falling out, senses failing, going blind all thanks to permanent brain damage and the resulting physical decay. I can't do that though, because that would mean you would still be alive, would still be able to hurt people like Tracy somehow. I'm sure you know how it works Shikashi. You fuck with a stallion's family, you better be damn sure that he is dead. You should have burned my body when you had the chance but, now isn't the time to reflect on past mistakes, now is the time to repent for them and so, I shall send you to the land below. Even if it's full, I'm sure Satan will make room for you-" He cut himself off as he began to viciously punch the stallion in the head and face. "-you no good, slimy, shit shoveling, dope pedaling freakshow!" Leon roared as he continued to punch the stallion viciously, standing up and beginning to stomp on his head, leaving nothing more than some wet chunks of bone and some excess gray matter spilling onto the blood soaked floor. Right now, the fire he had started had already began to envelop the office, quickly consuming the wooden rafters and sending pieces of the roof crashing down into the office, one of the pieces piercing through the top of the closet and crushing the mare who was holding onto Scarlett, prompting the filly to scream out in terror and pain as huge splinters of wood made their way into her left eye, causing her immense pain as she cried out, holding her eye in pain as she looked over the already crushed and dead mare in despair. With a loud snap, the door was ripped off of it's hinges and the Shire stood there, towering over the filly, causing her to shake and tremble as she looked up at him. She closed her eyes tightly as his hoof reached down to her, sure that he was about to kill her too. "Come on, get up." The Shire spoke, causing the filly to open her right eye and look up at him, his hoof extended to her. She continued to tremble, paralyzed by fear as the Shire sighed, grabbing her by the back of the neck and slinging her onto his back. "Hold on tight alright, I'm gonna get you out of here. You got a life to live." The Shire announced as he took off out of the office, the filly holding onto him for dear life as he ran to the end of a long corridor, leaping out of a first floor window and getting a safe distance away from the building. He made his way over the street from the burning building, setting her down and crouching down in front of her. He looked over her, moving her hoof and looking over her bleeding eye. "Yikes, that's gonna need a cybernetic, nothing to worry about though, they won't have any reason to mess you up as much as they did to me." He spoke as he stood up and let her cover her eye again. "Hey, do yourself a favor, you're young, you've got time to learn virtues. Don't ever do anything so terrible as to warrant what I did tonight as 'deserved', you got that?" He asked, the filly nodding her head as he turned away from her and took off at a breakneck speed, disappearing into the night and leaving the filly there as he did. Leon grabbed his head and grunted loudly as the burning sensation turned to what felt like a rusty railroad spike being fired into his brain, the pain slowly subsiding as he panted loudly, Scarlett's hoof on his back as he slowly sat up, looking over her with a dazed look on his face. "I-...I remember...I remember you...Are you really-" He was cut off as she moved her mane to the side, revealing a quite honestly gorgeous diamond blue cybernetic eye in her left eye socket. Leon looked down at the ground and twiddled his hooves together, completely gobsmacked at the revelation that was the mare sitting beside him. "Do you see why I consider you a hero now, Leon?" Scarlett asked as her hoof caressed his back. "It takes strength and nobility to not stoop to the level of your enemies. Despite my father's indiscriminate killing of your wife and abduction of your daughter, you refused to do the same to his even when presented with the perfect opportunity. You didn't even hesitate offering me a hoof, it never even crossed your mind. How can you call yourself anything less than a hero when you have will like that?" She asked as she continued to stroke Leon's back. "I would like to know something, if it doesn't bother you too much. What's your name, your real name?" She asked as she touched a marking on Leon's neck. "This isn't it. This is your batch number isn't it? Batch Lima, Designation Thirty November. L-30N." She spoke softly. How the hell did she know that? "I know before that, you changed your name after your father pulled you in front of him to protect himself from an acid attack, you changed it to Stick Shift to better fit in with the crowd you were associating with at the time, but even I don't know your REAL name, despite everything else I know about you. Your mother was a fashion designer and an artist wasn't she? I'm sure she gave you a lovely name." Leon paused for a moment as he thought back to when he was a child, his name, something he hadn't abode by since he ran away from home at age sixteen. He let out a nasal chuckle as he smiled softly, his hooves continuing to twiddle together as he took a deep breath. "...I-.....Infinity Ink.....My birth name is Infinity Ink." Leon chuckled as he spoke a name he hadn't spoken since he was a teenager. To think, this mare who he was sure was going to kill him when he walked in this building had sweet talked him into telling her something he hadn't told anyone for nearly four decades. "Well, that's a much nicer name than Turbo Killer, don't you agree?" Scarlett asked as she looked out over the expanses of neon that stretched all the way to the horizon. "I suppose I can propose my offer to you now then. I'd like to offer you a place in the family." She announced, much to Leon's shock. "You have what, three and a half decades of racing experience, thirteen of which you've been driving for the BAPSD's Road Enforcement Unit, as well as plenty of experience with one and two handed weapons, shotguns, rifles and firearms. I just want you to know something. We are not drug peddlers, we are not criminals for the sake of money. The Shikashi family has changed, we are of course an illicit operation but we do not aim to hurt innocents. Most of what we do are things the police want to do but do not have the jurisdiction to. More than ruling New-Kyoto, we want to clean it up, blow the grimy underbelly off of this proud metropolis. It was you that inspired that philosophy you know, I remembered what you told me; 'don't ever do anything so terrible as to warrant what I did tonight as 'deserved'. If you take this position however, I ask one thing of you. Break the final shackle that binds you to the BAPSD. Abandon the title that you have abode by since you awoke as an augment thirteen years ago. Let the Turbo Killer die, and choose a new name." Leon paused for a moment, thinking about what the mare had proposed to him. After about a minute of thinking, he stood up from the bench and moved over to the barriers at the edge of the building. With little hesitation, he unzipped his bomber jacket, the jacket with the name Turbo Killer embroidered proudly on the back of it, pulling it off of his arms and holding it over the barriers. He clung to it tightly for a few seconds, before letting it go, the gusting wind catching the jacket and causing it to take off like a sail, slowly fading away into the distance. As Leon stood there, he thought about what his new name could be, maybe he could go back to Infinity Ink or Stick Shift. No, it had to be something new. His mind raced for a minute, before his mind settled on something, a name that meant a lot to him, a name that belonged to the only things that scared him back in Neo-Canterlot. He turned to Scarlett and moved over to her, kneeling down and looking her in the eyes. Her words, the words of someone who he had just met, and yet felt like an old friend had lit a fire in his eyes, the determination and ferocity that had long since been lost, finally found, finally back on the surface. "The Turbo Killer is no more, Miss Shikashi. My name is Fury."