Bone Crusher Amon

Romeo staggers to his feet, dizzy from the kick that slammed him into the concrete pillar. His vision blurs and sees double in the dim light, but when it settles, he sees Amon leisurely walking towards him.

He barely manages to bring up his arms to defend another kick to the face.

“Ngh—”

This time, he only skidded back a few feet, glaring at Amon. Amon slowly lowers his leg again and takes one more drag of his cigarette, exhaling a thick cloud of smoke.

“... You took the bait, huh. You’re easier than I thought.”

Romeo fixes his headband without taking his eyes off his former boss.

“... Bone Crusher Amon. Finally, fighting your own battles?”

“....”

“Let Yuri go.”

“Can’t.”

“She has nothing to do with this!”

“Wrong. If she weren’t here, you wouldn’t be here.”

Romeo’s eyebrow twitches. His head slowly turns towards the elevator, where Yuri had wriggled her way towards the small opening. She watches them both fearfully through the parted doors. Romeo looks back at Amon.

No… I can’t let Yuri watch me fight... or this would've all been for nothing...

He takes a deep breath, bracing himself.

“... Fine. I’m here now, so if you wanna beat me up, just do it.”

“Romeo!” Yuri cries out from the elevator, and it takes everything in Romeo’s power to not turn around.

Amon scoffs.

“You think I called you out here just to beat you up? ... I called you to do one last, real job for me.”

“... What’s that?”

Amon takes one last drag of his cigarette before flicking it to the floor, crushing it under his heel.

“Get rid of the Kappore gang, right here, right now. All of them.”

“Huh!?”

Amon simply looks at him, as if expecting Romeo to simply agree and run off to do so. Romeo scoffs, incredulous.

“I’m not gonna do that! No way!”

Not with Yuri here…

Amon softly exhales the smoke still in his lungs.

“... You won’t, huh.”

Romeo’s hand twitches, empty without his bat. He expects Amon to sprint towards him any second now, but instead, Amon turns left, slowly heading towards the elevator. Romeo gasps and ends up sprinting first instead.

“Don’t you dare!”

He swings at Amon’s face, but his fist is caught with ease, crushing Romeo’s fingers with incredible grip strength alone. They both hear bones cracking under the sheer pressure.

“Aagghh….!!”

“See?” Amon speaks in his usual, languid tone. “She needs to be here.”

Romeo throws a kick aimed for Amon’s side, but Amon lets go of his fist and jumps back before it lands. With a quick leap, he circles behind Romeo and launches a powerful kick to his spine. Romeo feels all the nerves in his body convulse with pain.

He falls on his side, every inch of his body aching. No sooner had he rolled onto his back, Amon is already standing before him. Before he could hope to get on his feet, Amon swings a foot into his side, slamming him right into the concrete pillar.

“Romeo!!!” Yuri cries out again in a panic.

Yu...ri… Please… don’t look…

He hears Amon's steps grow steadily closer before Amon grips him by the face, lifting his head up off the ground. No matter how fiercely he tries to pry Amon's wrist away, he can't stop Amon from crushing his head against the concrete pillar. His skull strains as Amon applies more pressure to his grip—the move that got him his nickname.

***

Glass shatters around Jojo as he crashes through the glass doors. Having lost control of his bike, he mows down Makai and Kappore thugs alike until he crashes into the wall beside Franz and Oue, who stands there in disbelief.

“O-Owww… cough… Dammit… That hurt…”

Jojo staggers to his feet, removing his helmet and rubbing his head. Romeo’s bat shines when the light hits it, securely strapped to Jojo’s back. Oue’s eyes go wide the moment he recognizes it.

“You! Where did you get that!?”

Jojo shakes his head and blinks, patting himself to make sure he’s fine. Then, he looks over at Oue, squinting.

“Ugh. Of course, you’re here. Where’s Romeo? I need to get this to him fast.”

“Hah! Like I would ever tell—”

“He’s upstairs!” Franz immediately interrupts. “He’s trying to save Yuri!”

“You little—!!”

“Thanks, man, I owe ya!” Jojo nods at Franz despite not knowing who he is; anyone who'd screw over Oue is someone he can trust. He immediately rushes up the escalator while unwrapping the bat from his back.

“After him!”

Oue yells at a few Makai thugs around them, who all nod and quickly rush after Jojo. He’s so distraught that he doesn’t notice Franz creeping up before tackling him to the dusty, dirty floor.

“AAAAHHHH!!??! F-Filthy!! FILTHY!!! L-Let me go!! Let me goooo!!! AAHHH!!”

Franz grips his legs for dear life even as Oue kicks at him. Oue twists enough to sit up, hitting Franz on the head while yelling in a panic. Franz lets go with one hand to take a fistful of dirt and debris from the floor, and without a second thought, stuffs it into Oue’s mouth.

“Shut the hell up!!”

“MMMPHHGHHH!!!?!!?!!?”

Oue falls to the ground in a state of shock, tears forming in his eyes before he passes out, still firmly in Franz’s grip.