Private The Unknowing

[Xan Deesa]

DENON | SEVEN CORNERS DISTRICT
TAGS: Vara Maji

---

KILL THE MESSENGER​

The list of contacts still kicking was disturbingly small, a fact that Xan made her peace with already. But some reports and news made drawing conclusions a difficult prospect in some cases. In this instance, and old contact she met on Denon doing work for the Corpos. She changed sides eventually and she helped the Shadowrunners out immensely in more than one situation. But reports of her went quiet a few years ago.

She did, however, manage to dig up info on her old friend's legacy.

A message was sent out to the Wardog's homeworld, right to the personal terminal in her family business. A call to meet up with a tantalizing promise of intel and assistance. If she was still alive, she would know what it all meant. If she wasn't and her brat received it, he would likely also come knocking. Regardless of how it played out, she knew that she would have the attention of those she was looking for. Until then, she familiarized herself with how much -and how little- Denon changed. The old locations were gone but the general culture was prevalent as ever. The meeting point was a pleasantly lively cantina that seemed relatively new. A deceptively simple location that would put her old friend at ease... and allow her a chance to sneak up if it wasn't who she hoped for.

Xan's neons were dimmed to blend in with the rest of the patrons and a booth away from prying eyes was chosen. With a cider in hand, Xan kept watch through the dozens of cameras she had access to inside and around the establishment. She was looking forward to the visit, despite her preparation. Hopefully her old friend shared the sentiment.

 

[Vara Maji]

THE FOUNDLING
Denon | Seven Corners District | Cheeskar's End
TAG: Xan Deesa

Nocturnal​

Denon.

Vara couldn’t help but feel an odd sense of familiarity upon foreign ground. A bustling city of dancing lights, flashing signs desperate to hold the attention of any passerby. Streets a buzz with traffic and people, flowing like the lifeblood of a being far greater than the eye could perceive.

Just like Mon Gazza.

Except even the slums seemed slightly prettier in comparison. Who knew a vibrant shade of neon could change how depressing life would have felt in an otherwise bleak jungle of durasteel and concrete?

But the Foundling was not here for sightseeing, as much as she couldn’t help but find the dancing lights captivating her crimsons under her shades. Business. Clan business to be more specific. At least that was the reasoning behind her leave from the Mythos Fleet.

A ghost had whispered to them through the Net.

A name she had heard only once and in passing. Her instincts stirred the moment her Alor gave her the assignment. What flared in her mind at first was that it had to be some copycat. A bad joke. But that didn’t add up with the facts. Why go through the hassle? What would the punchline even be?

The next logical assumption was that it was a trap. A score to settle.

But if it weren’t…

Then they’d rob themselves of valuable intel and assistance. And that simply would not do. Not when they needed everything they could get.

And so, she was here.

A turn down the street, and Cheeskar’s End stretched before her. Her hands shifted to her jacket clung to her shoulders. Her digits lingered on the black leather, before snapping the collar upward in a casual flick. With confidence in her stride, she cut towards the bar Xan was supposed to be.

At least, Vara could only hope she was there. But the aspiring Wardog would have been already six feet under if she relied on hope alone.

Her armor clung to her, but not in its entirety. Her cuirass wrapped her chest under her shirt. Vambraces disappeared beneath her jacket. Her twin blasters rode low on her thighs, holstered over the jeans. Her knee pads were more than just a fashion statement. The small, high-ex tipped missiles sat snugly in their housing. Hard to spot unless someone knew exactly what they were looking for.

The door split from the seams. The smell of cheap booze, tobacco and spice hit her in the same breath. Crimsons behind the shades darted to and from the patrons. Her lips peeled back to a toothy grin. She missed this. With leisurely strides, she made for the bar first. ”Whiskey. Corellian. Neat.” she gestured sharply. ”Fine taste,” the bartender remarked, drawing a small snort from her as she leaned forward. The glass was set before her in a beat. The deep mahogany spirit sloshed gently inside as she brought the glass to her lips.

Crimsons found her then. Sat in a booth. Flanks and rear conveniently secure. Sightlines toward the entrance. Smart seating arrangement. But most importantly, her description fit the contact details. Better than anyone else here.

Vara knocked the drink back in one swig. The familiar taste burned down her throat. But never as well as Tihaar. The bottom of the glass clacked softly against the counter. She tipped her snout to a nod for the bartender. Credits clunked against the veneered wood in the same breath, leaving to join the woman of the hour.

”... Hey,” a small voice, enough to set her intentions straight as she slipped into the booth. The worn leather cushions creaked as the Foundling sat across from her. Her hands drifted to the jacket draped over her shoulders in the same beat. Unhurriedly, so as to not startle the woman, she drew a pack of cigs and a zippo. ”Nice glow,” Vara remarked. Her snout tucked closer to her chest, as she trapped a cigarette between her fangs. ”Y’don’t mind, do ya?” Regardless, she struck the zippo.

Chrrrk.

The cigarette’s tip glowed orange. Smoke curled before her dark-red shades. Crimsons underneath never once left her. Measuring. Weighing.

Was this woman truly the one Vara sought?

 

[Xan Deesa]

The mutt was spotted before she set foot in the establishment. Xan didn't need to look for her, she saw the mutt long before the mutt could take note of her. She wasn't who Xan was looking for, but she was unmistakably Mandalorian, that was certain. She idly waited for her to get her drink and join Xan by the booth, technicolour eyes studied her long and hard as she sat across from Xan and lit a cigarette.

A hum accompanied a faint smile, her neon appearance returning to its usual bright complexion. She didn't answer at first, merely watching the mutt for a few tense moments. Finally there was movement. The arm rested atop the table snapped open, wrist twisted down and a comparatively large blade jutted forward from her forearm to cleave through the mutt's cigarette and stop just shy of her eyes.

"I do. Ask permission first." She idly commented with a squint.

Another tense moment of silence followed before Xan continued. "You're not who I'm looking for." She stated with a cold voice. "I'm looking for Shai Maji. Or at least her brat. You're neither and nothing, so why, pray-tell, am I talking to you?" Her tone was more of a statement than a question. The blade stayed at its potentially lethal range and her free hand's knuckles split open to reveal the hidden projectile launchers within.

The mantis blade twitched slightly, Xan's eyes glimmered with a scan of her features. Now that she had a better look of her, it would be a waste not to make a few more impressions. "Humbarine, huh? Tough business, that." She remarked with a tilt of her head.

Vara Maji

 

[Vara Maji]

THE FOUNDLING
Denon | Seven Corners District | Cheeskar's End
TAG: Xan Deesa

Nocturnal​

Vara would be lying to herself if she said she saw this one coming.

Crimsons flared under her dark-red shades. Her head snapped away from the blade out of instinct. Smoke trailed after her in thin streaks from the tip of her cigarette. She shifted in the same beat. Her left hand subtly slid across her side of the table, knuckles facing Xan. Nowhere near her holster. She didn't have the time. The gesture was so small it would have easily melted into her startled body language.

In reality, Vara was a flick of the wrist away from blasting the woman into the next booth with a repulsor wave.

"I do. Ask permission first." She idly commented with a squint.

A chuckle rolled from her throat, as though the Foundling dared her. Her side-eyed glare cut past the blade just an inch of her eye, and held Xan’s gaze. ”Das a cute butterknife,” A puff of breath left her. Smoke billowed from the corner of her maw, toward the chrome jock’s face. ”Y’kark yousself often with it?” The vagrant’s lips peeled to a lopsided grin, flashing her rippers. Every muscle coiled for what might come next.

But it didn’t.

Not yet.

Instead, the silence grew thicker between them. Crimsons never left her. The Foundling drew another slow drag. She had to remind herself that this little mission meant a great deal for the clan. And by extension, to herself.

But she wasn’t about to roll over and let a random walk all over her.

Slowly, she lifted her right hand. Meant more as cooperation than an overt challenge. She reached for and plucked the cigarette from between her fangs. In the grasp of her fingertips, the glowing tip found the ashtray nearby.

The ember still glowed.

"You're not who I'm looking for." She stated with a cold voice. "I'm looking for Shai Maji. Or at least her brat. You're neither and nothing, so why, pray-tell, am I talking to you?" Her tone was more of a statement than a question. The blade stayed at its potentially lethal range and her free hand's knuckles split open to reveal the hidden projectile launchers within.

She flicked the ash with her thumb. Shai Maji. Tautened muscles eased ever so slightly at the mention of the woman Vara looked up to. Always curious to learn more about her. Words pressed behind her fangs then. An explanation. The what’s and why's. But before the words could leave her, a subtle azure glow in Xan’s eyes held her attention.

"Humbarine, huh? Tough business, that." She remarked with a tilt of her head.

The peaks of her ears flicked. Humbarine. How’d she know? A small hum left her snout, little more than a breath.

She knew a lot more about her than she was letting on.

”My reputation precedes me I see.” A small cackle left her. She twirled the cigarette caught between her fingers amidst another stretch of silence, slowly grinding the ash into the ashtray. ”... I hate t’be the bearer of bad news, but…” The aspiring Wardog finally began. ”Shai’s-...” She paused for a heartbeat, as though she sought for the right words. She had no idea how close she was with Xan. ”Gone.” She knew better than to drag out what was already obvious. ”Jedi. On Lessu. Ryloth.” The usual edge of her tone carried a condolence she rarely allowed to surface, especially for a stranger like Xan.

She let the silence linger. Crimsons shifted back to the blade, then settled on her eyes again. ”’N’ her brat,” Vara began again, her emphasis charged with a dare under Xan’s threat. ”Jusso happens t’be my Alor. He figured I could do with some more field experience,” The woman drew her cigarette back to her lips. The orange tip flared brighter with a pull. Smoke slowly thickened between them. Her head turned. Slowly, facing her directly in spite of the blade between them. Her eyes narrowed. ”So y’gonna chill? Or do what a girl’s gotta do?”

 

[Xan Deesa]

Xan's technicolour gaze narrowed at the mutt, but she didn't immediately answer. Instead, she watched her for a beat as she ashed her smoke and mulled over Xan's words. The Demon leaned over to pluck the cigarette from Vara's grasp for a quick drag before she killed it in the ashtray. "Ask, mutt, don't assume." She warned again. Her blade stayed put, ready end her with a flick of the wrist if she tried anything.

”My reputation precedes me I see.”

"No it doesn't." Xan corrected instantly. Not in the usual sense, at least. An ever growing rap sheet was filling the cyborg's vision in the corner of her HUD. Vara went on to explain the fate of the Demon's old contact, earning a click of her tongue. So it was confirmed, the dog was dead and her kid was running the show. The blade retracted and her arm returned to its normal form as Xan glanced off in annoyance. "That complicates things..." She grumbled to herself.

Her gaze finally returned to the mutt's crimson eyes with annoyance. "What a girl's 'gotta do' is shut up when the adult's talking." She commented, finishing off her drink. She wanted to deal with the son, not his girlfriend. With an annoyed huff she stood up and spared a glance back at Vara. "If I wanted to deal with the mutt's input, I'd say so. Run back to Kestri, kid, I'll find him myself." She practically sneered as she turned to leave. A half-hearted gesture was given to the girl without even looking at her, visibly blowing Vara off as nobody worth her time.

She didn't expect any rash decisions from the Mandalorian. On the other hand, she was still dealing with a Mandalorian. The realisation slowly dawned on her that she likely needed to cover her flank...

Vara Maji

 

[Vara Maji]

THE FOUNDLING
Denon | Seven Corners District | Cheeskar's End
TAG: Xan Deesa

Nocturnal​

The audacity!

It wasn’t every day Vara met someone who matched hers. But there she was.

The aspiring Wardog had finally found someone who gave as good as she got.

Every callous slight, every demeaning gesture, Xan made her simmer in unrequited fury. Her knuckles clenched, even as the ‘borg drew the blade away from her face. Crimsons glared at her in silence, behind the dark-red lenses of her shades.

Patience.

She never had an abundance of it. And what little she had was running alarmingly short by the nano-second. Even as her beloved’s voice rang at the back of her skull. His small briefing. He had placed an emphasis on the importance of this intel. Whatever secrets the Demon of Denon held, they had to be worth the trouble.

Or so she prayed.

"What a girl's 'gotta do' is shut up when the adult's talking." She commented, finishing off her drink.

With every word she spat in her face, tendons stood stark under the Harpy’s jacket. The technicolor eyes cut into her soul. Vara glared back. The soft clack of the glass as Xan set it down cut through the silence between them, before she stood up.

"If I wanted to deal with the mutt's input, I'd say so. Run back to Kestri, kid, I'll find him myself." She practically sneered as she turned to leave.

That did it.

The Harpy shot up in the same beat in spite of Xan’s sneering. A snarl rumbled from her throat. ”Hey lemme tell y’somethin’ short-stack...” Every syllable dripped venom. Slurs, insults – they were nothing but mere words at the end of the day. She had heard far worse, and there were better slights to break someone’s face over. But being likened to a pup –by a stranger no less – and being ignored?

Hell hath no fury.

Vara took a step towards her. Conversations nearby faltered. More than a few eyes drifted their way. The world around her narrowed. She shot her left hand forward, palm outstretched. Digits closed atop Xan’s shoulder, and stopped her. ”I didn’t come all this way to go back home empty handed,” She snarled. Her hand returned to her side. Knees bent in the same beat, spring-loaded. She drew her right foot back. The boot scraped across the floor as she angled and presented less of herself. ”So SIT your ass back down!”

Her “command” was little more than formality.

The last call for rationality, for what it’s worth. But Vara knew full well Xan was not about to have a sudden change of heart. Not when the edge between their personalities still needed to be dulled.

Whether through words or through fists.

C’mon slut, The words echoed only in her head. Make my karkin’ day.

 

[Xan Deesa]

Xan was nearly out the door when the mutt caught up to her, a hand grasping her shoulder to halt her advance and yank her around. She insisted that Xan get back in her seat, demanded to hand over whatever intel she had for the Maji brat. Eyes narrowed at the harpy as she continued to speak.

It wasn't often that Xan felt real anger. Annoyance was a near-permanent feeling, hatred was an old friend, her usual disposition was far from a pleasant one beyond the mask she showed to the galaxy. But anger?

Her vision flickered. A twitch in the corner of her mouth.

C’mon slut,​

Make my karkin’ day.

The banshee's words slowed with each syllable. The gawking patrons came to a standstill. Liquid seemed to come to a halt in the corner of her eye where the bartender was serving a drink. The world slowed around her and she became faster. With a flick of her wrist she smacked the mutt's hand aside and grabbed hold of her cuirass to launch her through the restaurant's door. Her movement was fluid and fast, rivalling that of a Jedi or Sith. Servos and synthetic muscle tightened with the fling and released.

"You got the guts to order me around?" Xan spoke with a cold voice, eerily calm in the wake of her sudden enhanced power. She marched toward the harpy. One moment she was walking, the next she zig-zagged with inhuman speed to hurl a punch at Vara's muzzle. "You don't know how this game works, do you?" She continued, her eyes glowing with a fierce red as various combat data and scans filled her HUD.

Vara Maji

 

[Vara Maji]

THE FOUNDLING
Denon | Seven Corners District | Cheeskar's End
TAG: Xan Deesa

Sexualizer​

Fury gripped her tongue.

Suddenly her voice rang outside her head. The realization barely slowed her, brushed away as quickly as it surfaced. The die was cast now, and Vara was not one for any take backs.

But more importantly, the Demon fell for it, giving exactly what Vara wanted.

Unaccountability.

The Hound couldn’t be mad at her if this went tits up; Xan had struck first!

Servos whined and whirred under her synth-skin. Xan’s hand snapped forth at the same time, lightning quick. A grin split the Harpy’s maw wide as Xan grasped her by the collar of her cuirass. There was no time to break free. The Harpy flowed with the throw, turning her hips as Xan launched her. The ground was swept from under her in one beat, locs whipping back as she was flung. The glass pane of the door shattered on her back, but not so much as a gasp left her.

The street welcomed her. She pitched her weight forward as her soles met the pavement. A pivot of her ankle, she skidded to a halt in the next breath. Pedestrians around them were quick to react as the banshee straightened. Shoes and boots scraped back, giving her a wide berth as the Demon of Denon stepped out to join her.

"You got the guts to order me around?" Xan spoke with a cold voice, eerily calm in the wake of her sudden enhanced power.

Talking. Yes yes.

Her grin widened. The Harpy was quick to exploit the lull. Her hands disappeared into her jacket’s pockets, before appearing again. Spiked brass wrapped both knuckles. Taking her on with bare knuckles was just asking to get fractures. Vara angled off, eyes never once leaving Xan. Then, as if to make good on her moniker, the Demon moved.

Vara wasn’t slow. No. Xan was just faster. Unnaturally.

And now she was right in her face.

A sudden flash of white seared her vision. Pain exploded across her muzzle. An involuntary yelp tore from her throat. Vara stumbled back, only to immediately find her footing again. She dropped her center of gravity in the same breath, arms snapped up to guard her ribs and muzzle.

"You don't know how this game works, do you?" She continued, her eyes glowing with a fierce red as various combat data and scans filled her HUD.

A cackle rumbled from her throat. Her lips peeled back to a smile, tongue flicking across bared, blood stained fangs. ”...Ain’t boutta learn it from a two-bit skank now,” A grumble from her throat punctuated the retort. ”You SCOP-chitter!” She snapped forth in the same beat. Her knuckles sailed to her face in a left hook. But the brass spikes were never meant to connect.

A feint.

She drew on its momentum. Her heels pivoted hard as the Harpy’s right elbow sharply scythed, rocketing toward Xan’s temple. She could not allow the Demon to breathe. Another strike followed immediately, a left uppercut snapping to connect with Xan’s jaw.

For all the chrome, there still had to be something fleshy in there that could bounce around.

 

[Xan Deesa]

The mutt was quick to recover from the attack and threw a retaliation of her own. Still wanting to see what she was made of, Xan took a step back to block the punch thrown at her, only to receive an elbow to the side of her head. Her HUD flickered from the impact and her head rolled with the hit, but the uppercut sent her falling back as her systems scrambled.

Laying on the ground, it took a second but Xan regained control of her body. Synthetic fluid spilled from the gash on her chin, but the faint shimmer beneath the skin indicated the subdermal armour that covered her body. Like a scene out of an action film, Xan raised her legs and flung her body to land in a squat with fiery eyes. "Suboptimal..." She muttered, launching toward Vara once again with unnatural agility and speed. A punch was hurled at her head to draw her defenses up while a sneaker embedded itself into her gut to send her back.

She pressed her attack to hurl a series of punches at Vara's face and body, even a few kicks at her thighs and knees to break her balance. Passers-by watched with a mixture of excitement and shock at the two women beating each other up. She didn't even care about keeping up the act anymore, she simply wanted to knock the snot out of the mutt for a bit.

"Should learn your place, kid..." She practically hissed through her attacks. Her HUD was a mixture of combat data and a background check of the mutt, a search for anything to break her focus.

Vara Maji

 

[Vara Maji]

THE FOUNDLING
Denon | Seven Corners District | Cheeskar's End
TAG: Xan Deesa

Sexualizer​

The Demon bled.

Fluids splattered onto the ground in a crimson lament. Bright red and translucent. Thinner than blood. The same fluid coating the spikes of her brass knuckles now pooled across the pavement beneath Xan. Neon lights rippled across its oily sheen. Its scent reached her snout at the same time she saw her bleed; oily and strangely sweet.

The Harpy had sent her sprawled across the pavement. The sight coaxed a chuckle from her core. With the stride of an apex predator, she stalked, circling around Xan. A challenging taunt pressed behind her fangs to stir the Demon back to her feet, but Xan instead met her with a kip-up.

Almost as though she approved of her tenacity, her snout dipped to a quick bow. Warmth dulled the sharp edge of her toothy grin for a breath. Blink-and-you-miss-it. Just like the Demon’s strike.

Luckily, the Harpy was watching.

A fist sailed to her muzzle. Instinct took over. The aspiring Wardog met her with her guard up. The borg’s knuckles crashed into her vambrace with a heavy thud. The armor spared her flesh, but the Demon’s power carried through to the bone. Vara snarled, pivoting sharply by the heels in the same breath, shifting her cuirass to meet Xan’s follow-up. The plate caught the blow. It glanced away, leaving only the sole of Xan’s sneaker stamped across her shirt.

But before the Harpy could capitalize, the Demon offered no quarter.

Xan met her in a flurry of strikes. But the Harpy was already moving. She ducked as knuckles sailed a hand's breadth from her muzzle. She angled away from another blow. Spring-loaded, she jumped out the way of a low-kick meant for her shins.

But it was not enough.

For every strike she dodged, another chased after it. Knuckles hammered into her core. Every hit rang through to her bones. The borg’s leg scythed through the air. Pain exploded from her shin. She stumbled back with a gasp.

"Should learn your place, kid..." She practically hissed through her attacks.

She barked out a laugh. Venomous spite. Against the Demon. Against the pain. Crimsons cleared over her guard, cutting straight at her glare with her own. ”Think you can teach this mutt?” The Harpy leaped, shooting a step away from her reach. ”Think again, di’kut!” Her left arm, outstretched, pointed toward her, aimed low. Air rushed with a sharp snap in the same breath. A whipcord bola shot to wrap around Xan’s ankles.

Unrelenting, the Harpy fought to reclaim the momentum from the Demon. In the next breath, Vara bent her wrist down sharply. A jet of pressurized flame roared toward Xan. The crowd around them recoiled another step. Shocked gasps and startled cries rose from all sides. The Harpy cared not as she guided the flame projector, chasing her with fire as though hellfire incarnate.

Computers. Borgs. The one thing they had in common?

Neither liked the heat.

 

[Xan Deesa]

The mutt was beginning to grow weak and the cyborg simply kept attacking. One of the many advantages she had in this form was the lack of fatigue. Her body, while incredibly advanced and responsive, was simply a vehicle. A machine. As long as the systems were green, she could push on and beat the mutt into the pavement.

It was only a matter of time before the Mandalorian's tricks were pulled out. A wire shot at her legs, managing to catch one before she could clear in time. It wouldn't have been much of a problem... were it not for the next weapon levelled against the Demon. With very little wiggle room, Xan grabbed her jacket and held it up to block the scorching flame. Her body decided the searing heat was enough to trip the pain receptors and she would most likely need to fix the synthskin... the mutt was paying for it, whether she wanted to or not.

Xan pressed forward, sacrificing her clothing to extend a mantis blade and swat the vambrace away before slamming the tip into Vara's cuirass to knock her back. The leg still caught with the Bola shot forth to slam into her leg before Xan pressed forward, leaping through the air to hurl a knee at the mutt's face. Warnings began to flicker in her HUD, her left arm's skin sizzled and melted away to reveal shimmering cybernetics underneath. Part of her cheek suffered the same fate while her burning hat fell by the wayside. Nothing in her appearance resembled life or humanity.

The Demon pressed her attack, her second blade extended to slice at Vara's arms and legs where the armour didn't reach. Static flickered over her vision and a maniacal laugh erupted.

Vara Maji

 

[Vara Maji]

THE FOUNDLING
Denon | Seven Corners District | Cheeskar's End
TAG: Xan Deesa

Sexualizer​

The flames revealed the truth.

Parts of the Demon’s face melted. Not in the same way a biotic would. Not at all. Like waste-plastoid to the fire, her synth-flesh stretched and liquefied. The hot stench found her snout a heartbeat after. Acrid. Chemical. Unnatural.

And in total spite of the fire, she continued. Crimsons widened beneath the dark-red shades. The fact became clearer to the Harpy with each nanosecond. The Demon – the only human part left of her was the attitude.

The flame projector sputtered out. Xan’s mantis blade arched towards her in the same breath. Instinct moved her. The Harpy canted sharply as the blade struck. The cuirass caught it, but the momentum cared not. She felt it ripple through her ribs. Vara stumbled back, the blow knocking a groan out of her maw.

Instantly, she was forced onto the defensive once again.

Her elbows tucked tight, the Foundling narrowed her profile. Xan was quick to follow up. And Vara saw it. Her leg scythed low, swiping for her knee. The Harpy leaped back, soles scraping against the pavement. Crimsons flashed as a snarl rumbled from her throat. Untiring and remorseless, the Demon leaped to connect her knee into her muzzle in a flash. Pain exploded in her forearms. A roar cut through the din, more enraged than pained.

Enough was enough.

The Harpy moved before thought caught up. The Demon’s blades swung close. She ducked, the strike swiping a hand's breadth above her locs. Her vambrace snapped up to catch another. Steel rendered steel with a clatter. Sparks tore from her mantis blade as she swiped her arm back. Knuckles facing Xan, her elbow bent down.

A thunderous boom tore between them as the repulsor erupted. The concussive wave fanned into a cone large enough to swallow the Demon and hurl her back. And Vara was already in motion. Digits found the grips of her pistols by memory. The leather rasped as the gunmetal cleared her holsters in a swift draw. Muzzles tracked her crimson stare, settling upon the Demon.

Her lips peeled back to a skewed grin.

She flicked her thumbs. The selector switches crackled in a twin click. ”Playtime’s over,” Venom dripped from every letter. Then, she pulled. The twin muzzles flashed as her fingers worked in practiced rhythm. Pulsing blue rings stitched towards the Demon. One forced her to move, while the other snapped to where she’d step.

A single thought rang in her mind. The muzzles barked with every pull of the trigger as though to affirm it.

Finish this.

 

[Xan Deesa]

The mutt was quickly failing under Xan's onslaught, losing ground and growing weaker while the Demon continued to attack relentlessly. All the while a cackling laugh erupted from the cyborg. With each passing second she was immersing herself into her body more and more, feeling the pain and euphoria the fight granted.

It was electrifying.

At least until a blast sent her flying back. Her body contorted to land far more gracefully on her feet than the mutt would likely expect, but she wasn't quick enough to evade the barrage of stun bolts that crashed into her. It was slow to put her down, but the effects were clear as the droid's movement grew sluggish and stiff. No matter how hard she tried, her body wouldn't respond. Finally the last shot landed and the droid fell over, disabled by the attacks.

With how much she already integrated into her body, she wasn't quick enough to withdraw. For the first time in decades, the Demon got as close as she possibly could to real sleep again.

Her body was splayed out on the floor, unmoving and neons disabled. People began to panic around them and sirens screamed in the distance as the authorities closed in.

Vara Maji