[size=1](Only Sorin and Greg in this one)[/size]

Threads of darkness had twisted into existence in an alleyway near the market. They then unwrapped themselves to reveal Dani, the Hypnotic Seductress (as she liked to call herself), and Rikka, the alternate Yuki Masami. The woman had brought the girl here in order for her to get her own Gummi ship.

Not that she wanted to; she was forced to babysit thanks to her partner reminding her of her task. It was times like this that she thought she should have left that man trapped in his own nightmare.

Nonetheless, Dani stepped out of the alley and to the market, not looking back to see if Rikka would follow. She knew she would anyway, and if not, she didn't care either way.

====

Rikka grunted slightly as she steadied herself.  That method of travel is not one that she would wish to keep using which made getting a Gummi Ship a even better idea.

"Let's just go to Cid so I can get my Ship."  Rikka said as she had caught up with Dani.

====

Azumi Ian was searching the market for any supplies she could get. She had very little munny, however. Her recent drinking had taken care of that, a venture she did not care to repeat any time soon. Furthermore, she wished to find a way to eliminate her need to scavenge for ammunition. So far, nothing was coming up. She was more or less broke, after all, only a handful of munny to her name at the current time, Heartless battles nonwithstanding. She also needed to get used to this monetary system. Hard to adapt after so long with credits.

At a distance, she could see the two women. If the shoeless one was anything to go by, they were Interferences. Though the corporal had experience with her fair share of beneficial ones, she had still been warned about the more dangerous Interferences. As a soldier, she was slightly paranoid in that respect. Granted, her helmetless armor was pretty out of place as well. Best to fix that.

Without a word, the recent Interference stepped away from the shop windows without having bought a thing, slipping silently as she could back into an alley. There, she donned her helmet, letting her HUD come up as she polarized the visor, but keeping the VISR off for the time being. If things got dangerous, she would activate it.

Best to stay on the safe side. Or the paranoid one, in any case. She would watch and wait. No acting out like in Port Royal to get herself killed.

====

"I know where to go, girl," Dani replied simply, her tone sharp and scornful. "Don't take me for a fool who doesn't know where to look."

Despite the tone and the annoyance, the woman had kept calm nonetheless. She knew not to let little things like that get to her; it was a given to her being formed of one's self-control. The minute that thought crossed her, though, she gave a scowl, but only for a quick moment before she shook it off. That girl was not worth thinking of right now.

The ex-counterpart was vaguely aware that they were being watched. She didn't give much thought, however. It was probably a few men giving her (and by that, I mean only her) a passing glance, or just some nosy fools who wanted to poke around in other people's business. Whatever it was, she just kept walking, making her way to the Borough.

====

It was lucky that a fight has broken out already considering how much Rikka and Dani seem to dislike each other.  Still doing so would be bad for both of them, so Rikka kept quiet for now.  Though she did make a note to eventually get rid of Dani once she no longer needed her.

"Let's just get it over with so I don't have to stand being around you any longer."  Rikka said as she followed after Dani.

====

Okay, so it seemed they had no lost love between them. That was good, Azumi supposed. Maybe she could use a fight between them to her advantage.

The one with sunglasses seemed to be rather haughty. She had seen plenty of that type before, but mostly in movies. Both seemed to be rather good looking...but it wasn't like she was looking for that at the moment. She was just a soldier without a cause at the moment anyway. No time for attachments. And no, Port Royal didn't count.

Wasn't that the direction of Merlin's place? Best to keep an eye on them, just to make sure of their alignment. If necessary, she could check her VISR from the darkness to see their alignments soon. And so, the corporal slunk through the alleyways, keeping pace with the two as she made her way toward the residential area.

====

"Believe me, the feeling is mutual," Dani responded, not looking back once. There was still the feeling of them being watched and followed, but once again, she left it. If someone wanted to come out and attack them for no reason, they were free to at any given moment. The woman felt she could hold her own, though she doubted the girl would stand a chance.

It didn't take long at all for them to reach Merlin's house. Dani stepped up to the door and knocked. "Hello? Can we speak to the engineer?"

[color=yellow]"IT'S OPEN!"[/color] said engineer yelled from the other side.

The Hypnotic Seductress opened the door then, finding that only Cid was inside. She looked around a bit before asking, "My, where is the rest of the committee?"

[color=yellow]"Whaddaya think? Out takin' care of what problems are in the city,"[/color] Cid answered, turning to them after looking over a set of blueprints. [color=yellow]"The hell are you doing here? Lookin' for a ship?"[/color]

"Not me in particular," Dani replied, turning to Rikka. "I'm only here to escort this girl who is in need of one."

====

Rikka reached into her kimono and handed Cid a piece of paper.  "I want my Gummi Ship to have all of the features written on that paper."  Rikka explained.

When Cid reads said paper he would find that Rikka wanted some of the most expensive and mostly unnecessary features for her Gummi Ship as possible.  It would come out to be a freaking palace inside of her Gummi Ship.

====

After Cid had looked over the paper, he was silent for a moment. But then he scoffed loudly and tossed it away. [color=yellow]"Kid, ya'd have to be stinkin' rich to want a ship like that. Not even long-runnin' Interferences can afford somethin' like that!"[/color]

Dani knew this was coming. She looked to Rikka and mouthed 'Watch and learn' before stepping up to the resident engineer. "Now now, surely you must have something for her."

Another scoff. [color=yellow]"Plenty, but she ain't gettin' nothin' like that unless she--"[/color]

"You will get her that ship."

Dani had removed her sunglasses then, her eyes glowing brightly. Cid froze in place, his cigarette dropping out of his mouth. Then, he said in a daze, [color=yellow]"Right away, ma'am..."[/color] before walking off to get the ship set up.

"Good boy." The Hypnotic Seductress put her shades back on and looked to Rikka with a smirk. "I would guess that you owe me a favor for doing that for you."

====

Watching from the darkness of a nearby alley, Azumi heard the words of the lighter-haired woman as she took off her sunglasses, then as she put them back on. If the mechanic's sudden agreement and change in attitude meant anything, or her last words to the one in the kimono did, she had done something to him. Enough of a tip for her to do what she could.

Accessing her neural interface, the corporal brought up her VISR in the darkness, illuminating her dark surroundings with nightvision. If she had stepped out into the light of the rest of the Borough, she knew she would have been blinded, but this would do her a load of good on its own.

Both of them were outlined in red. Hostile to her, at least in some sense. Not wasting another moment, she reached to her waist, drawing her suppressed magnum and aiming it at the two of them. Which one first? The one with the light for shoes, or the one who was evidently a hypnotist? She would give exactly one warning before opening fire.

...Scratch that. She was a soldier first, and that meant getting whatever advantage she could out of this situation. Crouching to a firing stance, she pulled the trigger three times. Twice for the hypnotist, once for her traveling companion.

Time to see what she was really worth.

====

"I could have bought it for myself."  Rikka said as she threw a glare at Dani.  She did not want to owe this woman a favor.  Well more like she didn't want to owe anyone a favor, Dani in particular.

Though it seems that something else would be the focus of their attentions.

The bullet aimed at Rikka was blocked by a man in white armor, with a large spiked shield on each arm.  Despite blocking the bullet the man shattered into shards.

The moment her Guardna was destroyed Rikka spun around and looked for who had shot at the two of them, not even caring if Dani managed to protect herself.

====

Unlike Rikka, Dani had no time to protect herself from the shots. She would have summoned her dark threads to protect herself, but the bullets had come unexpected. The two shots aimed for her had pierced her right arm, making her gasp sharply and clutch her arm.

Despite the amount of pain she was in now, however, she still managed to keep a calm demeanor as she too looked for who had shot them. If she had known whoever was following them was going to be a problem, she would have taken care of it while they were on their way over.

"Come out and show yourself, now," she demanded, her tone with a stern edge to it.

====

Azumi swore under her breath as the armored figure blocked the one in the kimono. So she had bodyguards? Interesting, and [i]annoying[/i] for a sniper. But still, useful. At least she had hit the hypnotist.

She looked to the alley she had come from, and swore again. No way back through the alley she had come from. If she went that way, she'd lose a line of fire on them. The houses were too close together for her to take a position further ahead, and she wouldn't betray herself by leaving the darkness, making her data system useless.

So, aiming down the scope, she fired two more times. Twice toward the hypnotist's head. If the others turned to look, they would have seen the slightest flicker of light, even the flash suppression not working completely.

====

This time, Dani had seen the shots coming. From her hand, dark threads were summoned, slithering in front of her and in the path of the bullets. Though they were pierced through, the woman had enough time to tilt her head out of the way, only one bullet grazing her cheek.

The flicker of light was caught out of the corner of her eye before she turned towards it. Was that where they came from? Only one way to check. Willing more dark threads, Dani waved her arm out in front of her, the threads snaking their way to the alley to catch the sniper.

====

Whoever it was that was shooting at them seemed to think Dani was the bigger threat between the two of them.  Rikka wanted to show that person they were wrong in thinking that.  Plus a chance to show how strong she was in front of Dani was a added bonus.

She too caught the flashes of light and held her hand up.  From her palm a beam of pure light shot out, aimed at the alley where the shots came from.  Even if it missed the beam should brighten the alley enough to see who their attacker is.

====

Another swear. So much for suppressed fire. The soldier dove aside from the first strike, the shadowy threads barely missing her. Given that she had her nightvision on, the outline of the attack, though difficult to see due to speed, was still visible to her.

Unfortunately, that left her open to the second strike. The beam of light blinded her in her lowlight vision mode, ramming straight into her chest and slamming her up against the far wall. The young woman was blind for the moment, the brightness of the sudden, surprising light too fast and intense for her to be able to see past for the moment. Nonetheless, she stood slowly, weakly, and aimed her gun once more, still more or less stable on her feet. Still, she was illuminated, her black armored, helmeted form plain, though her gender most likely ambiguous. She fired wildly, hoping to get a serious shot at one of the villains.

====

Dani had to duck into the house as the armored figure began to fire rapidly. She would have sent more of the dark threads, try to incapacitate the fool who would dare try to assault them. However, the bullet wounds to her arm made her wince and clutch at her arm again. She had no healing spells, nor did she have any Potions on her.

It was up to Rikka to take care of this mess, it seemed.

====

While Dani had to hide, Rikka didn't.  The Light user simply made a shield made of pure light in front of her that seemed to block the bullets.  Rikka glanced back at where Dani was hiding and sneered.  "I guess it's up to me to handle things since you are currently useless."  Rikka said, wanting to rub it in a little.  Yeah she was being a bit of a bitch but she felt that Dani deserved it.

Before Rikka can rub it in anymore she would need to take out this armored opponent.  For the moment she would wait until the figure would stop firing before she would make her next move.

====

She had to kill these people. Had to save herself somehow. And so she shot.

Again and again she fired. Six, seven, eight...firing everything she had. She kept it up, noting that they weren't coming toward her, though she didn't hear any bodies dropping.

[i]Click.

Click. Click.[/i]

And that was the twelve bullet magazine. Fan[i]tas[/i]tic. She was out of ammo, but had more stored up. Getting it to the gun, on the other hand...that was the issue, being blinded. Sure, her sight was slowly returning, but she had staggered out into the light outside of the alley, with didn't help matters.

Instead, she put the gun away, drawing her knife from her chest sheath. Better than nothing, she supposed, though she could only counterattack in her position, not make strikes of her own easily at all.

====

For a moment, there was annoyance. But that was quickly forgotten as Dani then threw a smirk at the girl. "Oh, I don't mind at all. In fact, I consider this you repaying that favor I did for you."

It was mostly true. Even if Rikka wouldn't consider doing this for her, Dani was still going to stand back and let her do all the work. If she was going to rub it in, the woman would rub it back at her.

====

Rikka threw another scowl at Dani.  That woman was really starting to grate on Rikka's nerves.  Still she would deal with her after she took care of the current pest problem.

As soon as the bullets stopped, Rikka lowered her shield enough to see what their assailant was doing.  She frowned as the armored foe switched to a knife.  It seems the person ran out of bullets or didn't want to use anymore.  Rikka figured it was a shame, as they might have stood a chance otherwise.

Rikka lowered her shield fully and pulled out her Swords of Revealing Light.  The trio of swords appeared around her and she grabbed two of them, one in each hand, letting the last one float around her.  A knife would not be able to block such a large weapon so Rikka would go on the offense, charging Azumi, intending to make a opening for her third sword.

====

As it so happened, Azumi's current state did not facilitate the best of accuracy. The lights around her were blinding, but she needed to have the VISR up for one reason. It would take time for her eyes to adjust, but she could still see the red outline of her foe moderately well. Depth perception, on the other hand, was another story, as was balance.

The corporal charged, half in a stagger but gaining ground, and slashed seven times at the red outline of the photokinetic, not seeing the swords in her hands. Even if she did manage to get in a strike or two in her several wild cuts, even one cut to her hand or knife with weapons of that size wielded by a sighted opponent would likely disarm her, forcing her to go into her close quarters unarmed combat against her.

====

Dani couldn't help but blink when Rikka summoned the three light swords. It was a good thing she was wearing her shades now, else she might have been just as much blinded as the soldier she was fighting against. Still, perhaps the woman really did underestimate the girl; she could be a useful asset to them after all.

Not that she was going to be any nicer to her, though.

====

This was turning out easier than Rikka expected.  Really charging into a foe with longer reach like that so recklessly was foolish.  And the wild swings made Rikka wonder if her opponent was really knew what to do when they were forced to fight without a gun.  But this was good for Rikka.  She needed to relieve some stress.

Avoiding the while swings was fairly easy and Rikka just countered the slashes, swinging the words right into the armor of her foe.  She let go of the sword in her left hand in order to place her hand right in front of her foe's face and blast them with another beam of light.

====

As it turned out, this guns-blazing idea was not her best. There were flickers of light, though. She could see them, know where they were coming from. Perhaps her vision was returning slowly. Not enough to see the form of the wielder, but possibly enough to dodge, to counterattack.

The attacks sliced straight through her armor, causing her to wince beneath her obscured helmet. Though the armor itself remained untouched visually due to intricacies of the world's magic, those strikes had caused her a lot of damage. She might have some bleeding underneath. Staggering back, she was unable to react as a shadow came in front of her eyes, a blast of light causing her to scream, tumbling backwards, weaponless, her helmet's fastenings undone momentarily, though not removed.

She had to keep fighting. Maybe she could try for a more defensive style. Slowly, she staggered to her feet, trying to gain some ground. All this time, she had been training against Heartless, pirates. What a fool, never training with an Interference.

A scowl beneath her helmet, as she staggered forward, hoping to judge the sound of the woman's feet right.

Timing was everything.

====

Seeing her opponents position Rikka decided to toy with them and not actually kill her.  It was time to try out one of her new cards.  Her hand slipped into her kimono and pulled out one of the cards she revived in Traverse Town when she made her alliance with Dani and Ignis.

"Shadow Spell."  Rikka said as black chains seemed to come out of nowhere.  The chains with a mind of their own tried to capture the armored warrior.

====

Coming closer...closer... She could do it. She could just tackle her to the ground, beat her to unconsciousness and go for the hypnotist next, the one she had manage to hit. Her vision was clearing, the white kimono again visible against the surrounding houses and dirt path, the dark hair against the kimono. The face was still clearing up, but she could...

Or not. After that woman spoke, darkness came from all sides, something she could not possibly have expected. She couldn't quite see what it was yet, but from the feel as they wrapped around her arms and legs, forcing her into a position at attention, she could tell they were some kinds of metal chains. They evidently wanted to take her in alive, then.

Mentally, she swore, struggling in her binds. She wasn't saying a word as long as she still had her helmet on, and would wait for this villainess to begin to gloat before she even said a word edgewise. She assumed that she would, given the nature of villains from what she had seen in games she knew from her time.

Still, held up, she was finally incapable of fighting, her gun missing its ammunition aside from that in her armor, her knife closer to the photokinetic than to her, and her arms and legs pinned to her sides. The villainess had won the physical battle. So much for being a soldier.

====

As the battle ended, Dani couldn't help but smirk. Looks like she really did underestimate this girl after all. Ignoring her injuries, she stepped out of the house, clapping her hands.

"Well done, little Rikka. It seems you have proved me wrong in judging your worth," the woman said, before turning to the incapacitated soldier. "Now, just what do you plan to do with this fool?"

====

Rikka smirked at her captive foe. The Shadow Spell worked perfectly to capture the armored person. With the chains leaving them unable to do anything, Rikka casually walked over and removed their helmet.

As the helmet was removed, the orange-haired Asian woman bit her lip, keeping from speaking or swearing. It seemed she was hoping to keep from being found out, but that wasn't exactly the best assumption to make.

"Well this was unexpected." Rikka said her smirk not leaving her face. She did not expect a woman to be wearing the armor. Then again, the armor didn't really show off this person's figure.

Still, the same silence, nothing but a glare.
"You've got a lot of guts girl, attacking us like that. How about it I'll give you the chance to serve the mighty Light of Destruction as a maid."

The glare faded, the eyes widening quite a bit in surprise at the thought of servitude, much less servitude as something as degrading as a maid. She seemed to assume that "the mighty Light of Destruction" was Rikka herself, probably due to the photokinesis, and rightly so. There was no response for several seconds, her eyes slowly returning to the death glare...until she finally would not stand for it.

"Bite me."

====

Truthfully, Dani wasn't too surprised to see that their antagonist was a woman. Though she was honestly upset; it would've been more entertaining if it were a man. Oh well, it wasn't like it changed anything.

The Hypnotic Seductress sighed as the woman soldier refused Rikka's offer. While the girl had certainly proved her worth in fighting prowess, she really needed to work on her manipulation tactics.

"It seems you need my help with this again," Dani said as she walked up, removing her shades once again. She walked up to the soldier and looked straight at her face. "Now now, there is no need for that kind of attitude. You should calm yourself..."

As she said this, her eyes started to glow again.

====

The soldier struggled more, trying to get out of her bindings. Her vision had returned to normal, though still a bit blurry, once she had finally removed the then-useless VISR. Before the hypnotist could come to her, she gathered saliva in her mouth, spitting at Rikka in added defiance.

Then she turned as the woman approached, seeing her without her sunglasses. She heard the first few sentences....and felt the last in her mind, and echo that repeated again and again. Her body relaxed, her mind seeming to just all together turn off, and her struggles ceased, her eyes still locked on the woman's as she droned against any thought. "Calm..."

====

Rikka scowled as she wiped off the spit.  She would have hit the armored woman for that if Dani didn't force her out of the way and started doing something.

Some kind of hypnosis?  Such an ability was not one Rikka was expecting from Dani.  Then again Rikka was expecting very little from Dani.  But it look like they would be able to have some fun with this woman, to punish her in thinking she could get away with attacking them.  Rikka's sadistic side enjoyed such things, without even having to main someone.

====

Dani smirked as her hypnosis took place. Her power really helped in situations like this. "You may remove the binds now, Rikka," she said, not taking her eyes away at all. "Once you are freed, you will go down to your knees and kiss our feet. But before that, bow your head down and admit that you are a worthless fool who deserves no mercy."

Wordlessly, the soldier bowed her head, her resistance ceased. There was no emotion on her face, not used to having to withstand magical assaults for obvious reasons and having not had her mental strength gathered yet. With no emotion in her tone, she spoke.

"Worthless...no mercy..."

====

Now that was interesting.  Dani seemed to have hypnotized their captured foe.  Really while it was a powerful ability, Rikka felt it was very limited in its uses.  She felt confident if she ever fought Dani, she would be able to win.

Seeing as the foe was under Dani's control, Rikka freed her, the chains disappearing from whence they came.

As soon as Azumi was free she did as Dani ordered and got on her hands and knees and kissed Dani and Rikka's feet.

====

Dani's smirk widened as the woman did the next thing that was ordered. After mostly using her power on men to get her way, it was refreshing to watch a woman humiliate herself while under her control. However, there were other matters to get to now.

"Enough of that," Dani said, to which the soldier stopped. "Now, how about you tell us your name, and what you were trying to do?"

====

Though her mind was very, very slowly returning to her, the soldier had not ever had any experiences to help her build up magical resistance, with good reason. Therefore, she remained on the ground as she spoke to the hypnotist. "...My name is Azumi Emily Ian, Corporal in the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers under the United Nations Space Command."

More information than necessary? Yes, but she was really spilling the beans. "I followed you out of suspicion of intentions and to find another group of Interferences. I was trying to kill you two in order to protect Cid Highwind and his friends."

That droning done, she fell silent at last, awaiting further instructions.

====

Well, this information surely proved somewhat interesting. A soldier of this rank would surely be useful to have on their side. However, Dani knew Rikka already claimed this one as her personal follower. Spiteful as she was, she knew what belonged to her and what didn't.

"Unfortunate for you," Dani said with a shake of her head. "Because of your foolishness, now you have to do everything we tell you to." She then looked to Rikka. "Is that alright?"

Rikka blinked. With the way the two have been acting so far, she did not expect the woman to say something like that. Still, best to take the advantage now.

"As a matter of fact, my feet are getting tired from all this standing," Rikka said, holding one foot out to Azumi. "Would you mind giving me a foot massage?"

====

Something felt wrong to Azumi as she nodded to the hypnotist, though she did not say as much, just having her eye twitch slightly as her mind tried to fight back.

Again, there was no resistance from the soldier. She was still in pain from the previous battle, but the effects of the light had more or less dissipated. She could see now, but her movements were generally pained, slightly slower to keep from overexertion in a lower amount of energy. Of course, she [i]did[/i] have stamina, and could likely stand or move, but the hypnosis was keeping her from actually doing a thing about it, from using her soldier's training. Her hands grasped Rikka's foot, and she worked at it, massaging the entirety. She was strangely good at this, kneading into the muscle. Maybe it came from careful medical work she had studied, a steady hand, combined with her training as an ODST.

The slightest bit of will managed to let her speak as she worked, though without emotion, to the platinum-haired woman. "...What is your name, ma'am?" And again she faltered. She would hear a response from either of them, but was still busy fulfilling the order, her strength of will trying to reassert itself.

====

Dani could tell that Azumi was starting to break through. That didn't matter to her, though; she felt confident that she could put the woman back under control when she needed to.

"Dani," was all the hypnotist said. While Rikka was adjusting to the massage, Dani removed her high heels and said, "Oh, and after you're done with the massage, you can polish my shoes while you're at it. Don't want to wander the worlds with a speck of filth on them."

====

A nod. That was all from the corporal. She looked up at this "Dani" for a moment as she finished with Rikka's foot. It seemed to have the tension smoothed out after a few minutes. With that, she went to this Dani.

Her eyes were showing more and more hints of cracking through, as Dani might have noticed in the brief glance before she went to work, scrubbing with her gloved hands vigorously. If she did not reinforce the power on her, she would likely break out in only a minute or so more.

====

Indeed, Dani had noticed the hints of Azumi cracking through. Her will seemed to be stronger than she originally thought. The ex-counterpart had a way around this, however.

"You call that scrubbing?" Dani asked with a scoff. She looked straight at the corporal, her eyes glowing once more as she said, "Try using your tongue instead. Your dirty gloves are only making it worse."

"Sorry..." the woman droned, the resistance fading from her eyes as she looked up briefly. "As you wish..." She then lowered her hands to the ground on each side of one of the shoes, bending down and proceeding to do exactly as asked without complaint. Yes, it was more efficient. But it was also revolting. If she still had her mind, she'd have vomited rather quickly.

Rikka had to give a small smirk as she watched. This was quite amusing; this Azumi woman could be very useful as a maid while like this. The girl willed a light bed for her to sit on and said, "After you're done with that, fetch me something to eat, will you?"

Within a few minutes more, the soldier was done, both of the boots shining clean from her own saliva. She nodded to Rikka. "Yes, ma'am..." And with that, she walked off down to the market, not having even wiped her mouth or spitting once. She had a limp from the fight, but not enough to keep her from continuing onward. Even with her hypnosis in check, Dani had not taken away her physical resilience. The knife and empty handgun were still on the ground near the villainous duo, her helmet still in Rikka's hands. If she did turn back to normal again, she would need to retrieve those quickly.

====

Finally, Azumi was returning with a meal. It was on a plate with a cover over it, as she had ordered. She was halfway back to the two women, though out of sight and earshot at the moment.

Finally, it happened. Being gone for so long, her mind finally broke free, her strength of will finally overcoming weakened hypnotic control.

Everything came back to her. All of those humiliating orders. Ready to serve, ready to do as asked, ready to do exactly what that Rikka wanted...

"Those b****es..."

The plate clattered to the ground, luckily staying upright, the cover stopped from hitting the ground by the food itself. She could feel what had been on her tongue, what had been inside her digestive tract. She couldn't hold it in any longer. So degrading, so [i]disgusting.[/i] She'd feign ignorance when she got to them, enough to get her equipment back before legging it, but now...

The woman fell to her knees, then her hands as well, just beside the food. Opening her mouth, she began to vomit.

====

"What is taking her so long?" Rikka asked, clearly beginning to grow impatient. "Is your power really that weak?"

"Patience, girl," Dani said, not too bothered by her insulting her power. It honestly wasn't worth getting into an argument over that. "I am sure she is still under my control. Once she returns, you have every right to have her as your maid."

Rikka scoffed, honestly not trusting the woman with her words. She pulled out one of her monster cards and summoned a figure in white armor, like her Guardna, but holding a large sword in one hand and a shield in the other. "Go and see what is going on with [i]my[/i] servant, my White Knight Swordsman." With a bow of his head, the Swordsman made his way to Azumi's direction.

====

Within a minute, her stomach had emptied. But she could not feel clean. Not by a long shot. Though she had naught but potions in her, she could still taste the revolting dirt of Dani's shoes. She was going to make her [I]pay[/I] for that. But first she needed to get better preparation, better equipment.

The corporal heard the White Knight Swordsman coming, assuming it was one of her current captors. It was time to get going, time to bring her guise back up, make herself seem blank again. Stealth was a necessity in this situation, overpowered and outnumbered.

Therefore, she stood up, wiping her mouth with her glove before shaking it off. Picking up the covered plate, she forced a blank expression, and walked back the way she had come. On the way, she passed the swordsman, a bit surprised, but noting the color of the armor, the design. Without a backward glance, she walked the way back, hoping her eyes did not betray her. She had to get her helmet, her weapons, and escape to fight another day with her freedom intact.

Quickly, she approached Rikka, forcing herself to a drone. "Light of Destruction," she held it out. [i]So humiliating, going to kill you.[/I] "Your meal."

====

Dani frowned as she noted Azumi's behavior. A part of her was telling her that something was wrong, that she was not fully under her control. At first, she thought to ignore it out of confidence that that was not the case, but it was best not to make the typical villain mistake. Best to take care of it now.

"Oh servant," she said, removing her shades and holding them to her. "I just remember that my glasses also need shining. Would you be so kind to do so again?" In truth, she was preparing to catch the soldier off guard once again, if she had broken out of her control. But only if she actually looked into her eyes...

====

Rikka also seemed to believe that something was off about Azumi.  She had never told her to call her the Light of Destruction.  Still she would let Dani handle it.  If Azumi was starting to break through than another little dose of her hypnotism should put her right back in her place.

====

Azumi nodded, putting down the plate before taking the glasses and proceeded to clean them the same way she had the boots. Luckily, they were less dirty, and so less revolting to her. As she did, she did not look at Dani. Not that she knew how the power worked, but she wanted to keep from betraying her regained sense of self.

As she did so, she dropped to her knees, as if weak. She felt along the ground, pretending to try to stand up again...and felt her knife. Everything went in a blur for her from the on in.

Her hand dropped the sunglasses as she gripped the knife. Turning to one side, she slashes at Dani, hoping to hit her face or at least the arm. Shifting her weight, she stabbed at Rikka's side before grabbing up her helmet from her grasp. Not stopping, she forcefully sheathed the knife, grabbing up her pistol and holstering it as she sprinted away, the helmet tucked under her arm.

Everything hurt, inside and out, but she was not one to stop for most pain. She would have to leave Cid behind for now. Best if she fought another day.

Who knew? Maybe she'd made some enemies. Still, in her opinion, the knife work was completely worth it.

(And I'm out.)

====

Dani was almost caught off guard when Azumi suddenly slashed at them. She quickly stepped back to avoid the slash to her face, but still got hit in the arm. Just before the woman could retaliate, the corporal had already dashed off, out of their sight.

The hypnotist had to frown; it looked like she had to try harder than that next time. Oh well, it was no matter to her. The soldier woman probably wasn't worth it, anyway. But that didn't mean it would be the last time she would let her go. Once she found out more about her, she would make that pathetic girl regret ever turning on them.

It was right then that Cid had found them out of the house, still under Dani's spell. [color=yellow]"The ship's set up for ya, ma'am..."[/color]

====

Rikka barely had enough time to jump back, avoiding Azumi's slash.  Still that was enough to allow her to run off.  Rikka scowled, as she thought about Azumi.  Really with her escaping the chance that Yuki and Abigail could find out about her sooner than she wanted would increase.  Thankfully she had given her the name Rikka so that should make sure that others wouldn't be able to recognize her as easily.

"About time."  Rikka muttered as she turned to Cid.  Seems like his willpower was weaker than Azumi's.

====

"Indeed," Dani remarked, having picked up her shades and wiping them with her elbow. Before she put them back on, she turned to Cid and asked, "So, how much will this be?"

[color=yellow]"For you, about--"[/color]

He was interrupted as the woman caught him off guard again. "How about we go with free of charge?"

[color=yellow]"...free of charge...yeah..."[/color]

"Good man." Dani turned to Rikka then. With her having her own ship now, her deed in watching over her was done. "This is where we part ways now, little Rikka. I wish you the best of luck in your endeavors; you will need it, believe me."

====

Even if Rikka's respect for Dani had gone up, it hadn't gone up enough to really reconsider how Rikka felt about the Hypnotist.  "Very well."  Rikka said as she gave Dani a slight glare.  She did not feel that she needed luck but that might be her ego talking.

"You will need more luck than I do."  Rikka said as a final parting shot as she got into a Save Point.  With a last glare Rikka beamed up to her new Gummi Ship.

====

Dani just waved the comment and the glares off. She really didn't care, and she knew that girl would thank her one of these days. That wasn't important now, however. With the deed done, the Hypnotic Seductress could now get on with her other tasks. Take in followers to their side, have them turn against her former host at every chance they got...hopefully sooner or later, that girl will be dead, and her entire existence will be her own.

However, before she would get to that, there was still the matter of that soldier woman. Chances were that they would run into her again sometime in the future. It was best to be prepared with knowledge to bring her down next time. So Dani turned to Cid one last time, while he was still under her control.

"What can you tell me about Azumi Emily Ian?"