All or Nothing (Ms. Fortune x MaleReader)

The city of New Meridian is known for a lot of things; tall buildings down Main Street, cozy little neighborhoods like Maplecrest, the bright lights of the River King Casino. It’s a place where dreams can come true or come crashing down. One thing this city is not known for however is second chances, as there is an extreme dog-eat-dog mentality with the Medici family towering over everyone and the recent news of a new Skullgirl appearing somewhere in the city. While rare, they are not impossible to find; you would know, after coming back from what should have killed you with a little help from some friends. You had been working with your friend for a few months now in Little Innsmouth, home of the fish-people known as the Dagonians. There’ve been numerous kidnappings in the area, all of them daughters of the River King; you and your partner didn’t have any solid leads but word of the most recent kidnapping came from a supposedly friendly source that you were going to meet tonight.

Sitting in the warehouse you and your partner were based in, a map of the city laid out in front of you with pins in Little Innsmouth, the Medici’s places of “business” and the location of each of the kidnappings. The only sound in the room was the ting of the River King Casino slots coin you were flipping until the door opened and two figures walked in. The first was a tall man in a dress shirt and pants with a brown hat on top of his long brown hair.

“Long night pal?” He said with a smile as he took off his hat

“New Meridian’s a big place Irvin, even you know that.” You said as Irvin sat down at the table, “Any leads from that restaurant?”

“One, that confirms our suspicions that the Medici are behind all of this; as well as a new partner. Nadia, come over here and meet (y/n).”

The other figure stepped into the light of the room, the first thing you see being her ears, claws, and tail giving away that she was a feline Feral. She looked to be about two years younger than you and she wasn’t wearing much: a blue tube top that matched her eyes, and a combination of what could best be described as a purple bikini bottom with detached pant legs and you saw her limbs and neck had white markings all across them.

“(Y/N), this is Nadia Fortune. Nadia, this is my partner (y/n).”

“Nice to meet you.” She said with an outstretched hand

You tightened the laces of your (f/c) shoes and stood up, patting down your blue jeans and adjusting your (f/c) and black jacket. While it seemed ordinary, your jacket was pretty unique; it was mainly (f/c) with a little dragon sewn onto the left side of the chest and black running down the sides of the zipper and back, and along the arms the ended in hand-shaped designs near the sleeves.

“Nice to meet you too Nadia.” You said as you stepped forward and shook her hand

As you let go, the black material on your sleeve lifted itself off of your jacket and shook Nadia’s hand shortly after you causing her to reel back in surprise.

“W-What the-?” She shouted as the little dragon looked like it was laughing

“Ugh, D.D. I thought we went over this.” You said as your jacket’s arms separated and the black arms shrugged while Nadia just looked at you like you were crazy

“I should probably explain Nadia, (y/n) is the wielder of the Living Weapon known as Double Dragon, but we just call her D.D. for short.” Irvin said as D.D. waved with a happy-looking dragon

“Gotta be honest I was not expecting that.” She said with a light chuckle

“If we’re done with this little meet ‘n greet, and since you’re finally back, I’m going to head out.” You said as you headed for the door

“I thought we were going to plan our next move.” Nadia said turning to Irvin

“(y/n)’s more of a man of action. He likes to go freerunning across the rooftops at night to clear his head.”

“Sweet! Can I come too?” She asked

“Think you can keep up?” You said with a raised eyebrow

“Oh, I’ll show you exactly why my old gang pre-furred me being the runner.”

“Oh great,” Irvin said with a facepalm, “now I get to deal with two pun-makers.”

“Hey man, there are only two jokers in the deck. Guess you got dealt both of them.” You said as you headed out with Nadia close behind

Reaching an abandoned part of Little Innsmouth, you found an old restaurant and climbed onto the roof with some help from D.D. Taking a deep breath, you looked out to the rooftops of New Meridian, your own private obstacle course as Nadia finally made it up to you.

“Nothing like the city at night huh?” You said as you loosened up your arms

“Yeah, so what now?” She said as you ran towards the edge of the roof

“Try to keep up!” You shouted as you vaulted over the A/C unit and onto the next rooftop

The cool night breeze flew through your hair as you jumped from rooftop to rooftop as the hours melted away and behind you, you could hear Nadia starting to catch up.

“Well look what the cat dragged in.” You said as she dashed ahead to a wider gap, a few dead power lines running between the buildings, and quickly stepped along each line to the other side

When she got to the other side, she had a big smile on her face as she waited for you. Getting to the edge, you bent at the knees to jump when suddenly the bricks gave way. You tried to grab for the line but just barely missed as you started to fall, thankfully D.D. was able to latch on with one of her cloth arms. Pulling on the line caused you to vault up into the air and tumble onto the other side of the gap.

“I meant to do that.” You said dusting yourself off

“Sure, and great landing by the way,” Nadia said with a laugh, “Paw-sitively purr-fect.”

The two of you stood on the roof laughing for a few minutes before your ears picked up on something. Turning to the western alley you thought you heard a cry of some kind, which was curious considering this part of town was deserted.

“So where do we go next (y/n)?” Nadia asked stretching her legs before noticing you head towards the alley, “(Y/N)?”

When you reached the edge of the roof overlooking the alley you quickly ducked down to avoid being seen and pulled Nadia down as well when she caught up.

“Ow, what is your-” She started but you quieted her and pointed into the alleyway

Finally looking down, Nadia saw a black van with the Medici symbol on the front. There were two guys standing near the entrance flipping coins and there was a third by the van door with a bat in his hands. It was quiet for a few minutes until two more guys came out of the building with a green-skinned Dagonian girl tied up and gagged.

“Medici…” you said between gritted teeth, D.D.’s dragon looking angry as the collar lifted itself over your mouth and nose

“Finally,” the driver says looking at the other two, “how many guys does it take to string up one fish?”

“Hey lay off, she was a slippery one.”

“You’re lucky nobody heard her scream when you got her out of the truck, now we just got to get her to the Fisherman and we’ll be all done for tonight.”

The two of them nodded and moved towards the trunk of the van, powering through the girl’s struggling until something dropped down on top of one of them while grabbing the other and throwing him into the wall at the same time. The driver wheeled around and saw you with your hands in your pockets but D.D.’s arms knocking the two goons out. Giving a quick whistle before getting his slugger ready, the two from the entrance came towards the van and pulled machetes from their sheaths. The driver aimed for your head, but you simply ducked below his swing; when he went for the return swing, D.D.’s arm blocked it, splintering the bat like a toothpick before you turned around and slammed his head into the concrete. The two with machetes finally caught up to you and one of them charged forward, looking to do some damage. However, as you whipped around D.D.’s arm made a chopping motion and snapped the blade clean off the handle as you followed through and punched him into the metal warehouse doors. You turned to the other guy, who quickly dropped his machete and started to run out of the alley. Before he could, you motioned and D.D. grabbed onto his collar and whipped back, sending him flying towards you as you punched him square in the nose.

When the thugs were all knocked out, Nadia jumped down and started to untie the girl.

“You could’ve saved some for me.” She said as you cracked your neck and grabbed the driver’s phone for Irvin to tap into their network

“Sorry, next time.” You answered as Nadia finished cutting the ropes and removed the gag

“Thank you.” She said as she hugged Nadia and then you

“Don’t worry about it, now let’s get you someplace safe before more show up. Do you live around here?”

The girl shook her head, “I live in the center of Little Innsmouth with my sister, not too far from Yu-Wan’s restaurant.”

“I thought you looked familiar, you work there with Minette. I’m Nadia, and this is (y/n).”

“Catrina.” She said with a bow

“How did you wind up in this part of town, surrounded by these lovely gentlemen?” You asked with a lick of disgust on your tongue

“I was…looking for Minette. My sister and I have been worried sick, so I decided to see if I could find her, then these jerks surrounded me and knocked me out. I woke up tied down in the back of their van.”

“Would you be willing to answer a few questions for us Catrina? We’re trying to figure out what happened to Minette as well, and the other Dagonian women who’ve been kidnapped recently.”

“Yes, of course.” You said as the three of you headed back to Irvin to explain what had happened

You and Irvin put Catrina’s story on record and about an hour later Irvin offered to drive Catrina home, so the four of you hopped into his car and headed downtown. As Yu-Wan’s restaurant came into view, you noticed the lights were still on despite it being midnight and as you got closer you saw Yu-Wan at the bar with a tall green-skinned Dagonian girl with a red and orange fin like Catrina.

“Namika!” She said as she caught sight of the girl in the restaurant

“Your sister?” Irvin asked as Catrina nodded and Irvin pulled over to let everybody out.

The welcome bell of Yu-Wan’s gave away your entrance as the two turned to see the three of you walk inside and Catrina ran to her sister.

“Catrina!” She said as she embraced her sister, “I was so worried!”

“I’m sorry Namika! I won’t do it again, I promise!” Catrina said as Yu-Wan came out with coffees for everybody

“That’s two of my employees you’ve saved now Nadia, what would I do without you?” Yu-Wan said with a smile

“Don’t mention it Mew Nyan, just wish I could’ve saved Minette.”

“Well, the fact that you’re so determined to help Irvin and myself with our case certainly shows how much she means to you.” You said as you took a cup from Yu-Wan’s tray, “Sorry Yu-Wan, I don’t believe we’ve officially met. I’m (y/n), Irvin’s partner.”

“The pleasure is mine.”

“Thank you for saving my little sister.” Namika said as everyone sat down

“No problem Namika. Catrina, can you remember anything else about what those creeps said about this ‘Fisherman’?”

“I remember them saying he was in way over his head with what the boss assigned him to do.”

“Anything physical, did they describe him any specific way? Is he a Dagonian working for the Mafia?”

“No, that doesn’t fit the Mafia. They like to keep things with their species.” Irvin said looking up from his notepad

“Um…they kept laughing at his cheap shark-tooth necklace…oh and tattoos! They said he had some really tacky tattoos on his neck to make it look like a shark had bitten him.”

“I recall seeing those tattoos here about a week ago!” Yu-Wan chimed in, “A young man, about your age (y/n), greasy blond hair, with tattoos like Catrina described. He seemed very interested in Catrina and Minette that day and left this on the table with his bill.”

Yu-Wan went up to the cash register and opened it, pulling out a silver poker chip from the River King Casino with “For Catrina” on one side and “V.O.” written on the other.

“V.O.?” Nadia said as you pulled out a list of known Medici goon and scrolled through it with D.D.’s help, her little dragon face reading along until she pointed at one name

“Vinnie Ocean.” You said recalling the intel Irvin had on him

“Vinnie Ocean?”

“A low man on the Medici totem pole. He talks a big talk but his bark is a thousand times bigger than his bite, probably thinks this job will get him in good with Lorenzo. He frequents the River King Casino about three times a week.”

“Catrina and I went there for dinner last night with our father.” Namika pointed out

“So that’s how he operates. He uses the casino as a fishing pond, scopes out his catch and marks them with those chips. Those thugs that grabbed Catrina catch them and he ships them out. The question is where does he send them.”

“Sounds like we need to have a little chat with our friendly neighborhood fisherman.” Irvin stated

“The problem there is getting to Vinnie without getting swarmed by Medici thugs.” Nadia pointed out

“Then maybe we need to set a little bait.” You said

“Catrina is not going anywhere near that disgusting man.” Namika said in an understandably defensive tone

“No, Vinnie’s already marked her as a target. It wouldn’t make sense to him if she showed up at the Casino. I hate to put you in harm’s way Namika, but you’d be the better option here.” You said as the sisters looked at each other for a minute

“If it means getting Minette back, then I can work with you for this.” Namika said as Irvin rose from his seat

“We can talk about this in the morning, it’s been a long night for you two already.” He said as he handed Namika his number, “Get some rest and we’ll call you tomorrow.”

Namika nodded and the three of you left for home base.

Irvin hooked up the phone you took from the goons and a few days later, got a message from someone in the contacts labeled “Fisherman” that read “Heading to the river tonight.” The plan was for Namika to lead him out of the casino back to “her place” where you and Nadia would jump him. You had to wait until night to fall and for Namika to get ready, so that afternoon while Irvin was running some errands you and Nadia paid a visit to Yu-Wan’s for some lunch.

“Here we go, one Lucky Family Banquet for Nadia and one bowl of Surf & Turf Soba Noodles for (y/n) on the house!” Catrina said as she served you your food

“Thanks, Catrina.” You both said as she left the table and you dug in

“So Nadia,” you said taking a quick breather, “what’s your story?”

“Hmmm…?” She said with a mouth full of food

“I’m just curious, how’d you get to know Minette and Yu-Wan?”

Nadia looked a little down when you said this, her ears drooping a little bit.

“I used to be a part of the Fishbone Gang, some Dagonian thieves that raised me since I was a kitten. We’d hang out here all the time when I was growing up and Minette and I became fast friends. My first job with them was a big one: getting into the Medicis’ and taking this thing called the Life Gem. Everything seemed fine but then it turned out to be a trap and in the chaos…” she paused before looking around for a bit before leaning in, “I swallowed the Life Gem.”

“Really? What happened then?”

“Somehow, I wake up at the bottom of the bay in pieces and the rest of the gang is dead; the Life Gem somehow made it so I can’t die. I’ve been working to avenge them ever since. I thought maybe the Skull Heart could help me bring back the gang, but I couldn’t bring myself to use it. Minette and Mew Nyan have become like a whole new family to me. That’s why I insisted on helping Irvin; those black-hearted bastards already took one family away from me, and like hell I’m going to let them do it again.”

The table was silent for a second as Catrina stopped by and grabbed the dishes.

“So…what about you?” She asked

“Huh?”

“I’ve told you my story, seems fair that tell me yours.”

“I agree, but my story’s not exactly easy to tell in such a public place.”

“What do you mean?”

You looked down at D.D., her dragon face looking concerned as you reached for the zipper. Just as you started to grab it however, your phone rang. D.D. pulled it out and you saw it was a message from Irvin.

“It’s time.” You said getting up as you left Catrina her tip

“Dammit.” Nadia groaned

“I’d be happy to share my tale, just not here. Besides, we’ve got a job to do.”

When you left the restaurant, you caught Nadia wiping her eyes a little bit, gathering that she was probably thinking of her old friends or Minette.

“I’m sorry, I can only imagine how hard it’s been for you.”

“Thanks.”

“Hopefully tonight we can get the answers we need.”

That night, you and Nadia stood amongst the evening crowd in front of the River King Casino as you waited for Namika’s signal. Nadia was in a brown trench coat that Irvin gave her and D.D. lifted her collar over your mouth and nose like before. You felt your cell phone ring and you saw a text from Namika.

“Hey are you in the apartment right now?”

You smiled as you knew that Vinnie had taken the bait, you had planned for her to text her “roommate” to see if she and Vinnie were “going to be alone”

“Nope, out for dinner with my parents. Why?” You replied

Looking over at Nadia, you nodded and moved through the crowd to get closer to the doors. A few minutes later, Namika comes out in a long red dress with a tall blonde-haired man in a white suit extremely close to her. Nadia started to cringe and you wondered why until you smelled the cheapest cologne in the world coming off of the guy. Namika turned around to marvel at the building and signaled you to get going. Distracting him for a little longer gave you and Nadia the chance to get ahead of Namika and away from prying Medici eyes. A few blocks down was an alleyway, where you and Nadia planned to wait and snag him. Ducking inside and hiding in the shadows of the crates and dumpsters, you heard laughter coming your way and soon saw Namika and Vinnie walking in front of the alley. Nadia pulled a burlap sack from out of her coat and nodded as you and D.D. got in position.

“I tell you my little mermaid, you are the catch of the night.” You heard Vinnie say, his tacky flattery almost made you nauseous, “You said you live close by right?”

“Of course, and don’t worry about my roommate, she’s out and that's a good thing too. Having her around would’ve killed the mood; still, I hope you don’t mind me inviting a few friends over.” Namika said as her fingers danced along his shoulders

“Friends? ‘The more the merrier’ is what I always say.” Vinnie said with a laugh

Before he could react, D.D.’s arms stretched out and grabbed his, pulling his head into Nadia’s bag as you gave him a swift punch to knock him out.

About an hour later, you had set up in an abandoned warehouse a few blocks away. Vinnie was tied down to a chair under the one lamp that was on, otherwise, it was pitch-black. You were standing just outside the range of the lamp, D.D. covering your face, as Vinnie started coming to.

“What the- where the hell am I?” He said

“Where you are is the least of your problems.” You said as you stepped into the light

“Who are you?”

“That’s also the least of your problems, all you need to know is that I’m looking for the Dagonians that the Medici have been kidnapping and you’re going to tell me where they are.”

“I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about!” He yelled

“Lie all you like,” you said as you pulled the poker chip out of your pocket, “your last catch already ratted you out, Fisherman.”

“You’re the punk that jumped my guys a few nights ago.”

“That’s right, and I’ve been waiting for a chance to deal with you, Vinnie.”

Vinnie’s eyes went wide as you pocketed the chip and snapped your fingers, a large metal crate suddenly revealing itself

“What’s that?”

“Your fate if you don’t cooperate. I hear this little birdie used to be a soldier built to fight against the Skullgirls, but the treatments drove them mad.” You said as you banged on the crate

“Who’s there? Who did that? Why would you wake it up? No, No please! Have mercy!” yelled a voice inside the crate, Nadia’s voice to be exact as she “battled” the creature inside the crate

Vinnie’s mouth hung open at the sounds of claws scraping metal, flesh being slashed through and Nadia’s screams. In your head, you were thankful that Vinnie couldn’t see your smirk; while Vinnie was probably imagining the horrible creature in the crate, you knew that Nadia was the only thing inside it. The plan was to scare Vinnie using Nadia’s supernatural abilities and as blood started leaking out from below the crate’s door it was clearly working. Soon, the crate silenced and a small hatch in the door opened. Nadia’s head came flying out and landed right in Vinnie’s lap, blood leaking from her neck as Vinnie started freaking out.

“Ahh! AHHH!!! GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF OF ME!!!!!” He yelled as he shook his chair to get Nadia’s head away from him, eventually succeeding in kicking it towards you

“Ready to talk?” You asked stepping forward and tossing Nadia’s head back inside the crate

“You think this scares me? Do you have any idea who I am, who I work for? When I get out of here, I’m going to make you wish you were never born!!!!” Vinnie yelled, the sweat running down his face betraying his words as you swiftly pushed his chair over, knocking him down to the ground

“That was your one chance, Vinnie.” You said as you stepped back towards the crate and knocked on it twice, “If you won’t tell me where the Dagonians are, then I have no use for you and I’m afraid I can’t let you leave.”

D.D’s arms reached out and picked up Vinnie’s chair, slowly dragging it towards you and the crate. The sound of Nadia’s claws scraping the metal walls grew louder as Vinnie got closer, his eyes growing wider as he tried to get out of his bindings. When you opened the small hatch again, you and Vinnie saw a pair of eyes glowing blue, a wild look about them as Vinnie got more frantic and struggled even more.

“STOP! STOP! I’LL TALK! I’LL TALK!” He screamed as you started to pull him in a little faster

“WHERE ARE MINETTE AND THE OTHERS?! WHAT DOES LORENZO WANT WITH THEM?!” You yelled

“MERIDIAN LIGHTHOUSE, THEY’RE AT THE NEW MERIDIAN LIGHTHOUSE! THERE’S A STORAGE FACILITY THERE THAT THE BOSS HAS ME SEND THE GIRLS, SAID SOMETHING ABOUT HOLDING THEM HOSTAGE TO TAKE DOWN THE RIVER KING!” He screamed at the top of his lungs

You knocked on the crate and silence fell over the warehouse as you stepped towards Vinnie

“See Vinnie? That wasn’t so hard wasn’t it?”

“So you know where they are, going there’s suicide man. You have no idea what you’re going up against.”

“As a matter of fact, I do.” You said with a tone of ice

“Who are you?” He asked with shaky breath as you leaned in closer and D.D. revealed your face

“If Lorenzo doesn’t kill you on the spot for failing him, tell him that (y/n) sends his regards.” You said as you headed for the crate and unlocked it, “This one’s all yours, just don’t hurt him too badly.”

With that you left the room as the crate door slowly opened, Vinnie’s screams of pain and fear were so loud you could hear it outside. About 10 minutes later, Nadia stepped outside.

“Good timing, I’ve been seeing more Medici thugs skulking around. I think they’re looking for Vinnie so let’s make ourselves scarce.”

Nadia nodded and you made it back to your home base.

You walked inside to see Irvin looking over his map alongside someone else. He towered over Irvin, wearing a brown trench coat and a hat like Irvin’s. His mouth and nose were covered with some kind of breathing mechanism and the mechanism attached to his back and sides made him look like a human saxophone.

“Any luck (y/n)?” Irvin asked

“New Meridian lighthouse, there’s a warehouse on the grounds that Minette and the others are being held. Lorenzo’s planning to use them as leverage against the River King.”

“New Meridian Lighthouse,” he said as he typed the name into his computer, pulling up the file he had on record, “At this time of night, we can probably catch them between guard shifts if we hurry. I need to make a call.”

“Well I’ll be, (f/n) (l/n). Didn’t think I’d see you again so soon.” The tall man said as Irvin walked over to another corner of the room while you walked up to the table

“Nice to see you too Ben, or should I say Big Band.” You said as a skeletal hand of brass extended out from under his trench coat to shake yours

“Wait, you know this walking noisemaker?” Nadia asked

“As a matter of fact kitten, he does. I saved his life after the Medici attacked him.”

“The Medici attacked you?!” Nadia yelled

“Wait (y/n), you never told Nadia?” Irvin asked

“Hang on a second, (y/n) what did you mean when you told Vinnie to send Lorenzo your regards?”

You looked out at the moon for a second, “I still owe you my story, and it’s a bit of a boat trip out to the lighthouse.”

“Which I just got us, but we need to hurry.” Irvin said as you all headed for the harbor

Arriving at the harbor, you greeted the captain that Irvin had contacted and headed out to the lighthouse. You, Nadia, Irvin, and Ben were standing on deck, the sea breeze flowing through your hair.

“Alright (y/n), I’ve waited long enough.” Nadia said

You looked over at Irvin and Ben, who nodded as you undid D.D.’s zipper and took her off revealing an (f/c) t-shirt underneath. Your arms were red like someone or something had given you a nasty burn and when you rolled up your right sleeve, you unveiled the remains of a tattoo on your shoulder of the club suit with the golden Medici M in the center. Nadia’s eyes widened for a second before she growled and tackled you, her hands at your throat.

“You’re a Medici?!” She yelled

“Nadia…let me explain!” you said through gasped breaths

“Go ahead! Explain! Explain why I shouldn’t claw your eyes out right now! You people murdered my gang, my family!”

It was getting harder to breathe, so when Irvin and Ben pulled Nadia off of you, you turned over coughing and gasping for a few seconds while they calmed her down.

“Can I explain myself now?” You said standing back up

“Fine.” She said with a cold tone of voice

You took a deep breath and looked at her, “You and your gang got caught trying to take the Life Gem from the Medici, but I’ll bet they never told you about the first time they tried to take it.”

“The first time?” Nadia said, you immediately getting her attention

“It was about seven years ago, news of the latest Skullgirl appearing overseas had reached New Meridian. I was a member of the Medici’s Cirque des Cartes for most of my young life when one day Lorenzo Medici himself approaches me and asks me to help him with something. Naturally, I jumped at the opportunity, thinking maybe I’d be working in the casino and could finally start making some real money. He takes me to the pier near the casino and leads me to one of the docks where his assassin Black Dahlia was guarding an eel Dagonian wearing an apron, a harpoon on the dock next to him.”

“Unago!” Nadia exclaimed as you described a member of the Fishbone Gang

“Lorenzo said he had tried to steal something precious to the family and had to be dealt with. I asked him what this had to do with me and he said he saw a lot of potential in me and that this was my initiation into the family. Dahlia gave me his harpoon and Lorenzo told me to kill him. I froze for a split second; I was 15 years old and Lorenzo was asking me to kill someone else. My hands wouldn’t stop shaking as I stepped forward when he suddenly swept Dahlia’s feet with his neck and ran at me. He grabbed his harpoon and dove into the water. Lorenzo was so mad that his face was red like a freshly boiled lobster. I tried to explain myself but instead, he struck me down, saying that he has no time for failures. He told Dahlia to deal with me, and she turned her weapon on me.”

You then lifted your shirt to reveal third-degree burn marks covering your chest; Nadia gasped at the sight and you noticed her gaze lighten dramatically as you told your story.

“I passed out from the pain a few minutes in, apparently she kicked me off of the dock and sent me adrift. Ben found me a few days later and brought me to Lab 8, where they fixed me up as best they could. I was pretty crispy all over but my chest and back got the worst of it, and after explaining my situation he put me in touch with Irvin. We’ve been working together ever since and about six months ago we were hired by the River King for this job, and he gave me D.D. to help defend myself if need be.”

“The River King gave you D.D.?” She asked

“That’s right, Double Dragon is a Dagonian royal treasure passed along from king to king as a way to fight against outside threats like the Skullgirl.” You said as you put D.D. back on, “That night, I learned the truth about the people that I used to call my family and I’m going to make sure they can’t hurt anyone else like they hurt me.”

The deck fell silent for a minute or two as you walked away to the stern of the boat while Nadia headed up towards to bow. Looking up at the stars you heard the clanking of Ben’s reinforced legs coming up behind you.

“Everything alright (y/n)?”

“Yeah, just glad to have everything out in the open now.”

“You’ve had a few days to tell Nadia about your past, why put it off knowing she has a beef with the Medici?”

“There hasn’t really been too much time for stuff like that. She just told me what happened to her earlier today.”

“That’s not the only reason though, I can tell.”

You looked up at Ben and he gave you that fatherly look you saw a couple times while you were recovering at Lab 8.

“Man, you can’t hide anything from you huh?”

“You’ve really grown to like her?”

“Maybe…I’m still not completely sure about it.”

“You know she’s technically undead.”

“And you’re technically a living brass section, but New Meridian is a strange enough place that I’m sure even you could still find a nice girl if you looked hard enough…maybe try checking out some of the musical instrument shops.” You said with a chuckle, “She’s undead sure, but she still has a heart. When she told me about wanting to save Minette, there was a fire in her eyes.”

“I figured you’d had enough of fire to last a lifetime.” Ben replied as you laughed, “Let me ask you something, if you weren’t scared stiff back then do you think you could’ve killed Unago?”

You paused and looked out to the city, its lights twinkling along the edge of the bay and shook your head. The next thing you heard was Ben walking away as he left you to your thoughts.

While Ben talked with the captain, Nadia was looking out to the horizon. She could start to see the lighthouse coming into view as Irvin stepped up next to her.

“Almost there, you remember the plan right?” Irvin said

Nadia nodded, “(y/n) and I sneak in through the ventilation shafts and get to the control room. We get you guys in and start getting the girls out.”

There was a bit of silence between the two of them before Irvin spoke up again, “Welp, now you know (y/n)’s story. Happy?”

“Kind of, I should probably apologize for choking him before.”

“You’ve been hurt by the Medici, both physically and emotionally. You probably have a general idea that all Medici are dirty, lowdown thugs who don’t give a damn about anyone but themselves; and when you saw his tattoo I’ll bet you planted that prejudiced view on (y/n) too. (Y/N) was the same way when we first started; he nearly killed a few of Lorenzo’s goons on a couple of occasions but he’s learned to control his anger.”

“Heh, guess he and I are more alike than I thought. Still, I can’t help but wonder what would’ve happened if he didn’t hesitate and let Unago escape. I wonder if he would’ve killed him.”

“I’ve known (y/n) for a few months now, but something tells me even back then he wouldn’t kill without a damn good reason. He seems more like the kind of guy that would rather take a bullet for someone else than shoot one himself.”

A bell rang three times and the deck lights turned off as you and Ben rejoined the others.

“Showtime.” You said as D.D. covered your face again just as the boat docked at the island

The New Meridian lighthouse loomed over your heads as you looked around the silent grounds. At the base of the lighthouse stood a 2-story building, windows every few feet along the walls and large metal double doors on each side and the corners; nearby you saw a black van with the Medici symbol like before parked on the eastern side.

“This is the place, you two get going.” Irvin said as you both nodded and dashed off to the west side of the building while Irvin and Ben slowly advanced towards the front

Finding the exhaust vent, D.D. carefully removed the cover and you and Nadia headed inside. Crawling through the metal passages, you saw the warehouse layout as the typical kind. Wooden crates lined the perimeter and were also piled up in the center of the floor with paths intersecting throughout and all around you saw cages amongst the boxes, each containing a different Dagonian girl.

“What now?” Nadia whispered to you

You continued on and found a vent leading to the floor, slowly stepping out you motioned to tell Nadia to stay back while you scanned the area. Hiding in the shadows of the crates, you saw two Medici thugs sitting in pacing around the center piles, the reserve guards while the shift change happens.

“Just two, that’s good news.” You said in a hushed volume

“Is someone there?” You heard from the other side of the wall when you realized you came out right next to a cage with a young shark Dagonian inside, “Who are you?”

“I’m a private investigator hired by the River King to find out what happened to his daughters.” You said as the girl’s eyes lit up with joy

“I knew Father wouldn’t forget us! You have to hurry before the next set of guards come in, from what I heard I think we’re being moved tonight.”

“Right, do you know who has the keys to your cells?”

“Each of those guys has one, and I think there’s a master key held by the girl in the control room.”

“Girl? Must be one of Dahlia’s underlings.”

“She has the controller too; you need to get that before you open any cages.”

“Why?”

The girl’s voice got very quiet as you heard her lean closer to the wall, “There are bombs in these cages, and the red boxes next to them are rigged explosives as well.”

Your eyes widened a bit when you looked on top of her cage and saw a red box like she had mentioned.

“Who knows what other nasty surprises are in these boxes. Alright, I have some friends with me on the island and we have a plan, just stay calm for a little while longer.”

“Okay, just be careful.” She said as you slinked back into the vents

Catching Nadia up, you retraced your steps and went past your point of entry towards the back of the room. Climbing up the shaft with D.D.’s help, you found yourself looking down into a sealed room. Glass panes provided a wide view of the warehouse floor and seated in a chair was a woman in a bunny suit with a skull mask, a key tied to a rope around her neck and a small black box on the console next to her. D.D.’s hands slipped through the vent grates and carefully lifted it into the shaft behind you. Lowering yourself into the room, you grabbed the woman’s arms and D.D. quickly knocked her out. You laid her in the corner and Nadia jumped down and grabbed the key from her while you grabbed the controller. Noticing the guards were in the center of the room, you took the opportunity to open the ladder hatch and climb down onto the main floor, some of the girls noticed you two but you quickly shushed them before they could attract any attention. Going around the guards and sneaking up behind them, you and Nadia quickly subdued them, grabbing their keys and tied them up with some rope.

“Go grab the woman while I let Irvin and Ben in.” You said

Nadia nodded and you split up, heading to the door you used that master key and unlocked it, your partners walking in.

“Good work, now let’s get these girls out of here.” Irvin said as Nadia came back with the woman from before

“I’ll take care of these three, meet you all back at the boat.” Ben said as he grabbed the thugs and left the building

“We need to be careful, some of the crates and all of the cages are rigged to explode if you open them without disarming the bombs,” you said as you activated the controller, “but this should deactivate them.”

Pressing the blue button, you heard numerous objects whine down and the red boxes’ lights turn off.

“Let’s get to work.” Nadia said as she and Irvin took a key and began unlocking cages

Every girl stopped to hug you or Nadia for a second after you let them out, and afterward, you directed them towards the door where Irvin was waiting.

“(y/n), Minette isn’t in any of these cages.” Nadia said worriedly

“My little sister?” A nautilus Dagonian named Nautilee chimed in, “The men took her to the second floor, they said she was going to help get a special prize.”

“Let’s go.” Nadia said before you stopped her

“That ‘special prize’ has to be you, Nadia, let me go get her while you guys get back to the boat.”

“But-”

“No buts, just go.” You said with a solid voice

It took her a second, but she nodded and started to head out with the others until Irvin closed the door.

Now alone in the warehouse, you noticed some stairs past the control outpost and headed up. Seeing an identical scene as the first floor, you found Minette in a larger cage with explosive boxes all around her, a large window overlooking the bay to the left of her.

“Minette!” You said running up to her, but not before catching the attention of the guard at his post

“Hey! Who do you think you-” He yelled but D.D. lashed out and silenced him before you turned back to Minette

“Who are you?” She asked

“I’m a friend of Nadia’s, let’s get you out of here and back to the boat.” You said as you unlocked her cage and got her outside, “Now to make sure they can’t re-use this facility.”

You pushed the yellow button on the controller, and the explosives re-armed.

“Once we get out of here, I can- AUUUGGH!” You yelled out as you heard a gunshot and felt a searing pain in your leg

Minette ducked behind her cage and you turned around to see Black Dahlia herself behind you, her gun arm’s barrel smoking as a squad of her bunny suit assassins filed in.

“Well, well, well, (f/n) (l/n). I was expecting this one’s savior to be that feline that Riccardo and Lawrence told us about.”

“That’s New Meridian for you,” You said as you stood up, “this town can always deal you a surprising hand.”

“Maybe so, but if you don’t take off that ridiculous dishrag of a coat and hand over the girl I’m going to make you fold in more ways than one, and Lorenzo will be thrilled to see you suffer.”

You were outnumbered and way outgunned, you looked down at D.D. and the two of you nodded.

You calmly raised your hands as the girls started to close in as D.D.’s zipper slowly came undone.

“Minette,” You said

“Y-Yeah?” She said quietly

“When you see Nadia, tell her I said thanks for all the fun.”

In an instant, D.D. flew off of you and wrapped itself around Minette, her arms propelling them through the window while you ducked behind the crates as Dahlia and her goons opened fire.

“Hold your fire!” Dahlia yelled shortly after, “We can’t risk destroying this place, spread out and find him!”

The girls split off in different directions while Dahlia got on top of the crate pile in the center for a better vantage point.

“It’s only a matter of time dear boy, we’ll find you and then we’ll take care of your feline friend. I don’t know how you survived all those years ago but when I’m through with you, you’re going to wish you were never born.”

The girls were closing in as you got in your desired position, in the opposite corner of the room and away from the bombs.

“Only problem there is that in this game, I play with an ‘all or nothing’ style. All of the Dagonians are free,” You shouted as the girls found you with your finger on the red button of the controller, “and you’ll be left with nothing.”

BEEEEEEP

-Meanwhile-

After getting the last Dagonian onto the boat, Nadia and Irvin were standing outside the warehouse waiting for you.

“What’s taking him so long?” Nadia said as she found her arms and legs feeling shaky and wobbly as Ben joined the two

“Looks like we may not be alone anymore, the captain said he saw another ship head for the far side of the island.”

“Must be the guards coming to move the girls, come on (y/n) get out of there.” Irvin said under his breath

Everything was silent when suddenly a shape came bursting through a second-story window, all eyes on the shape as D.D. extended her arms and broke their fall. The shape then stood up and revealed itself as Minette.

“Minette!” Nadia said with a big smile as she ran to your friend

“Nadia!” She responded as she ran to meet Nadia in a warm hug

“I’m so happy you’re alright!” She said as they let go and she realized that Minette was wearing D.D., “Wait, why do you have D.D.?”

Minette looked back at the window that she jumped out of as she and Nadia stood up.

“Where’s…”

BOOOOOOOOOOOOMMM!!!

The force of the combined explosions could be felt all the way back at the boat as every window shattered and the warehouse went up in flames. Minette gasped at the sight and Irvin had wide eyes as the flames bathed the other crates inside. Nadia stood there for a second before she found herself running towards the building.

“(Y/N), GET OUT OF THERE!!!” she yelled as Irvin tried to hold her back, “LET GO OF ME!!”

“YOU CAN’T GO BACK IN THERE NADIA!!!” He yelled as he started pulling her back towards the boat, the sound of smaller explosions going off the contents of the other crates reacted to the intense heat

“(Y/N)!!!!” She yelled as she slipped away from Irvin for a second and kept running towards the warehouse, only to be stopped by the intense heat as crates from the upper floor came crashing down and blocked the door, “NO, (Y/N)!!!!”

Suddenly, Nadia felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her as they pulled her back. She looked back to see Minette have D.D. pull her into her arms, a tear in her eyes as the reality finally hit her.

“(y/n) …” Nadia whispered as her shoulders started shaking

Minette let her go and she fell to her knees in front of the burning warehouse.

“DAMMIT!!,” she yelled at the top of her lungs as the tears came streaming, “DAMN YOU MEDICI AND DAMN MY LUCK! WHY DOES EVERYONE I LOVE HAVE TO DIE!!??”

There was no sound on the island aside from the warehouse burning and Nadia crying. Irvin was holding Minette and Ben was looking away from the scene until a new sound was heard. There was a door on the eastern side of the building and behind it there was a clear knock, only Ben heard it at first but the second knock was louder. This time Minette and Irvin heard it as well.

“Nadia, look.” Minette said as Nadia calmed down a little and looked over where Minette was pointing

Nadia heard the third knock against the thick metal door and saw it flex from something hitting it. Another knock and it moved a little farther out; on the fifth knock, the lock burst open and a charred (y/n) fell onto the pavement, coughing and hacking up a storm as you tried to get up before blacking out.

“(Y/N)!!!” Nadia yelled as the captain blew his horn and roared the engines

“Time to go, looks like some more Medici are on their way. Everyone on the boat, I’ve got (y/n).” Ben shouted as he raced out to the warehouse and grabbed you, jumping on board just as the captain got the vessel up to speed.

Irvin and Ben cleaned you up in the ship’s med bay and got to work on fixing you up. You had mostly minor burns but some pretty bad gashes and bruises from the wood and metal splinters from the explosions along with a nasty bump on your head from the force of the blasts knocking you into the walls. Thankfully, Minette and Nautilee offered to help Irvin along with the shark Dagonian from before, whose name was Blu, who happened to have experience in the medical field. All the while, Nadia never left your side; she was holding your hand the whole time until Blu and Minette finished the last of your stitches.

“There, now all that’s left is a lot of rest. Try not to let him move so much okay Nadia?” Blu said

Nadia nodded and gave Minette one last hug before she left the room. Everything was quiet for a few minutes until you started moving again

“Oh…my everything…” You said as your eyes slowly opened to see Nadia’s smiling face

You smiled back as you tried to sit up but Nadia gently pushed you down.

“Don’t strain yourself, Minette and her sisters fixed you up and you need to rest.” She said as she gave you D.D., her dragon looking overjoyed as Nadia folded the jacket up and placed it under your head

Holding your head, she caressed your cheek as her face inched closer to yours eventually meeting your lips in a warm kiss as time seemed to slow down around you until you let go.

“I love you (y/n), now don’t go pulling stupid goddamn stunts like that again.”

“I love you too Nadia Fortune, and trust me when I say that was my last stunt. Time to cash out and spend my time with the girl I’ve grown to love.”

Nadia blushed as hard as you did while you tried to pull the blanket over your body, now realizing how cold it was on the ship. Nadia saw what you were trying to do and pulled the blanket over you, but not before joining you in the bunk and resting her head on your less-injured shoulders. Her warmth and the sound of her purring lulled you to sleep in a matter of minutes.

Irvin commissioned the captain of the boat one more time, this time to take you to the River King. Upon arriving, you were given a hero’s welcome as Minette and the others were reunited with their father. Irvin took care of the payment from the River King while you received the finest medical care in the Dragon Empire as well as being allowed to keep Double Dragon as a gift. Irvin and Ben returned to New Meridian the next day while you and Nadia stayed with the River King until you had fully recovered. A few months later, you and Nadia returned to New Meridian together. The two of you had a pretty solid routine, running across the rooftops of the city at night and messing with the Medici whenever the opportunity arose. One day, you stopped into Yu-Wan’s restaurant for some lunch and to see Minette and Catrina again.

“Two Lucky Family Banquets for Nadia and (y/n), on the house!” Yu-Wan cheered as Minette and Catrina served the food

Later that night, you were sitting on a dock on the bay, looking out at the stars with Nadia curled up next to you. You kissed her cheek and she reciprocated as you lost yourselves in the night sky.For most of your life, you had next to nothing, but now that you were with Nadia you felt like you had it all.