Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Vicious Ed ❯ The only one - 1/24/03 ( Chapter 1 )

Vicious Wong Hau Pepelu Tivrusky IV

"This'll be something to see…." Red Mountain heard whispered behind her, by servant's voices as she walked, nay, paced down the extravagantly lined and long hallway, she was quite frustrated by the length, it seemed preposterous and over-done for a hallway to be so long. White and black marble-looking stone made up the walls, and the high vaulted ceiling. I suppose one might say that the stone was grey with white and black veins running through it, just the way marble has them. However, it was not a dreary grey and it seemed more like white to Red Mountain. The only thing that made her believe it was not marble was how positively warm it felt beneath her bare feet. There were floor to ceiling windows placed at regular intervals, about three strides, from each other. They were hung with red, gold and white drapes. The drapes, long and folded over themselves could have been concealing doors to all sorts of things. Exits, servant's halls a direct line for reinforcement guards. There were nothing but possibilities between the drapes.

There were busts placed periodically between a column and a stone silent guard, that could very well been a statue, save for the sound of the beating heart and the smell of life around them. The guards were holding long pikes over their shoulders, long pointed sticks, rather like spears, but even more awkward in hand to hand combat. The busts were sometimes in front of a tall floor to ceiling window that let much light dance with the dust motes. The busts looked like Sayiens to Red Mountain, proudly arrogant, as even the most common and out of sorts Sayiens were, with bold defiance in each of their eyes.

Some were made of a pure black stone, smoothed and worked expertly into a harsh form of spikes of the Sayien hair, hawk noses and cruel chins. Even the shape of the eyes and heads were angular. All of the busts resembled each other enough that those portrayed could be father and son to each other. Some were of a pure white stone, a few of blue and a couple more of a rough grey, and one. One of a deeper-than-burgundy red, this seemed to be the youngest, the newest of them all, perhaps the current king's father?

It reminded Red mountain of her own hair, though she was not of stone. Her own hair was shoulder length and thickly distributed over her head. The color was rich, almost an orange red, but much more deep and textured. She never knew the color before in her life, save for on her head and her statue. Her hair was tied back at the nape of her neck with a tiny leather thong tied about the mass of her hair ornamented with three beads. They looked to be perfect replicas of teeth, a pair of sharp incisors and a long fang. The only thing that told a onlooker they were not teeth, was there obviously not-tooth color. The material of the beads seemed to be covered in a dark, brownish-red film, almost like…. dried blood, and some might know, the experts of death and the dead, that they were very real teeth, a grisly set of tokens from a past victory.

She did not realize that she had stopped to stare at the red bust, but she was perfectly still. Not even the wolf fang hanging from her neck swayed. She was wearing a short leather jacket, oh how she loved the smell, the texture, the wear, and the movement of it. Her jacket was a matt finished black over a stretchy white, nearly cream shirt, covering the whole of her torso with even enough fabric to spare to slip over her low cut loose pants. She wore no foot covering, except when she stopped her pants enveloped all of her feet, hiding them in black folds. She wore little adornments, only the teeth hanging from her hair and the wolf fang tied to such a small strip of leather it could barely be called a thong. The fang hung over her white(ish) shirt and spelled as an omen to all who knew the story of how she came across such a trinket.

She turned away from the bust and used the speed that came inherent to a child of the wind to reach the end of the hall quickly, frustrated with the long entrance. Her feet moved far too fast for an onlooker to notice, but her hair and clothes were not even ruffled, she seemed to glide, not run. There were large royal red and blue doors in front of her, guilded with a shining gold and carved with some kind of ancient pictographic language depicting a long since past history that Red Mountain could not read.

Red Mountain closed her eyes and pursed her lips, she wanted her staff. It was sturdy and had a history and a power all of it's own, her Kuasha gave it to her, the one who taught her what she is now and passed to her the lore and secrets of her people, along with a great burden. Her Kuasha died shortly after Red Mountain's first year ended, of course, she wasn't Red Mountain then, but Sheila Neece, a pathetic lost human from Earth. She was brought to this planet to study the relationship between horses and humans, such a simple task, ended when her horses would no longer stand for her to groom them. They knew what she was now, and they were petrified, so they ran off and died, a virus they had no protection against claiming their flesh.

Almost a year after Red Mountain (then Sheila Neece) arrived she met a strangely mannered being, a scarred, worn out mystical, (what seemed to Sheila) human, Guardian. She did not know what more was his name, he never said and told her to be careful of revealing her real name to people. They became close friends and not long, after she met him, he then commanded her to reveal the ten changes within herself, and to her amazement, she turned, ten times.

It was then her rage became seething and boiling and has never slowed. She now was a powerful being, a stalker of secrets in the mists of the snows. He taught her many things and she left her past life and became more truly a part of the Folk. Soon he taught her many gifts, simple ones, like how to banish sickness and lick wounds, to move without noise. Less known ones, how to climb anything and summon allies. And the more difficult, and little known few, how to bring luck to her friends, and how to kill with a glance. He taught her more much more, there was no limit to the knowledge of the Red tribe.

Come the silent nights he whispered in her ear the weaknesses and failings of being of the Red tribe. Soon the year ended, he had taught her everything, how to fight and sneak, how to get information and stay unnoticed how to find an ally and make a home. With the passing of each ritualistic rite, Guardian died in Red Mountain's arms, leaving all his few possessions with her, but he gave her a gift of her own, each memory that he had, which were memories of his own and that of the twelve Red Guardians before him. Now Red Mountain became the Red Mountain Guardian. She had a unique and unrecognized responsibility here on this planet, one she did not understand. Just like she did not understand why the King summoned her here today, to appear with no reason.

Red Mountain raised her left arm to the guards, her hand strong and supple,

"I am Red Mountain, I was summoned to appear, let me pass." As she spoke her sleeve slid back to reveal a bangle mad of the finest gold with a blue set stone in the center. Etched were fleeting symbols, the possession of her Kuasha, and a marker of the ten tribes she was.

(Sorry guys, the computer I wrote this on accepted the symbols.

However, the computer I posted this from could not read them.

There are ten symbols, each of them very flowing and wind-like.

Imagine what you want, they have spirals and zigzags and curvy lines.

Make up your own and insert here.

Maybe I will figure this little quandary of mine out someday when I have time and update this post.

~Vicious Pepelu Tivrusky IV)

These each meant, Balamb, Simba, Bubasti, Swara, Pumonca, Ceilican, Qualmi, Bagheera, Kahn, and the Tribe of Nala and Selene. Red Mountain was the daughter of a brief alliance between the moon mother and the first mother, her ancestor was the single, first child, before the ten others. She was slain, the first Red Cat, by her ten sisters. The jaguar, lion, the now dead Egyptian cats, the cheetah, the puma, the overgrown housecats, the lynx, the leopard, the tiger and the hyena. It was the Ajaba, the hyena who ate the Red Cat and told her the blessings and curses that were hers as the Red Spirit floated above. The Ajaba gave the Red Spirit the power to become nine cats, and herself, but the deepest secrets of each tribe affected the Red Cat the strongest of all. The Red Cat was the cat with twenty-eight weaknesses. Her own, unique secret was that there could be only one Red Cat in a generation. The Red Cat tribe never grew beyond three members.

Her bracelet glistened as the Memories her Kuasha left her faded and left her mind, she blocked them out as often as possible.

The guards nodded their bare heads and opened the doors. Red Mountain saw a chamber, lined with chairs on a pedestals, in a semi circle. Each chair was filled with some angry looking man, resembling a bust from outside, the father son resemblance. Red Mountain knew only one of the men, Vegeta. She had seen the others before, and heard their names, ranks, titles and positions, but she had no heart for formalities and she didn't bother trying to remember them all. Vegeta, the king; he sat in the center of the circle, higher than the others, facing a man on his knees.

She strode forward, uninvited and let her arm fall, the bracelet of blue and gold disappearing underneath the sleeve of her short jacket. She smiled and held Vegeta's ink black eyes as she knelt beside the man, lifted him up with a gentle tug on his shirt's shoulders and whispered in his ear,

"All is forgiven, make haste back to your post." The sweet young man looked at her, astonished as he bowed and rushed out the door, before Red Mountain could change her mind, or one of the seated men could tell him otherwise. Vegeta scowled, it seemed a moment before that the one in the chair so high above her was indeed made of a living stone, iron still, but now it moved, this amused Red Mountain to no end, all kinds of things did that to her. Her world was a reckless hash of senses and experiences, all of it enjoyable to the last drop, even the pain and the suffering. That was her life after her first change, and she loved every minute of it. Red Mountain laughed to herself, a silent still laugh that held a brilliant bubbling joy inside her.

"State your name." His normal speaking voice seemed to be a loud abrasive shout almost, every syllable a demand. Red Mountain stood, her posture still, even more stone-like than his was as she chuckled,

"Which? I have many….." Vegeta lept up and yelled from the foot of his throne,

"Do not address me in such a way! You pitiful subject! I am king of Sayiens, I-" Red Mountain interrupted him, her hand outstretched and her face smiling faintly,

"Yes, yes I know." She rolled her eyes and thought to herself, this is far too easy. He jumped down from the pedestal, enraged,

"Bow down before me!" My my, pushy, ain't he? Doesn't this come later? Oh, wait. I guess you bow before you address the king. Oops, but maybe if he asked nice, I might nod. Red cocked her head to the side,

"Indeed I shall not." Her one simple, lightly spoken statement held more power than any of Vegeta's raging demands or shouts. She continued, "I believe it is you who should bow down before me. I rose to my strength with my will, you simply inherited your power." He seemed quite flustered and at a loss for words. So, Red Mountain supplied,

"No?" She set her stance and looked down into his eyes, as she was nearly a head taller than she, he was very short, by her standards. As she looked down upon him she poured all of her oily rage into her voice, taking on the heritage that was hers, by one tenth,

"S u b m i t." Slowly he sank to his knees and gave a very convincing imitation of a roar.

"What's this?" Red Mountain gasped fakely, and began to pace around him.

"The lord of the strongest race of all, bowing to a claimed subject of his? One who he assumes to be a servant and a slave? What does it mean? Could it possibly be meaning that-" She cut herself off, stopped, being behind him, grabbed a fistful of his hair and pulled his head up so he looked into her eyes, which pierced his very inner being,

"That, you are unfit to rule!" Red mountain let a loose, low growl escape her lips as she released his hair and he fell to his hands and managed a small snarl,

"I am fit to rule!" Red Mountain snickered and smiled, her voice very smooth and sweet,

"Then why are you kneeling to one of your subjects? Bowing to she of lesser race? It must mean more, Ah. Yes I know, it means you don't have the strength! The will! To govern. If you are bowing to me now, who else will you be crumbling to within a year's time? I don't even want to speculate." She turned, thinking; he doesn't have a great willpower, that's for sure, though few can resist submitting when I demand it. Especially when I use my heritage as the false rulers of catkind. The cats have no kings, but the lions certainly have the strength. But why was I summoned? She strode to the door and opened it for herself, pushing out, she turned to see Vegeta managing to keep his head up to glare at her. The other six high ranking ones in the room were all too surprised to do anything. All from her entrance, to her addressing of the king and this final result of her presence, the could only stare and think. He who bows to noone fell to his knees before her. He who has no equal now has a superior. Is it true? Who would he submit to next? Which of the pressing enemies?

She turned,

"Oh, I am Red Mountain, though oft you may hear another call, my name, Vicious," She let the door stay open as she walked down the hall and disappeared in the clutter of the eventual horizon.

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She found a door behind a curtain which lead to a small, parallel hallway. She winded and twisted, following her memory, left and right, passing open doorways, leading herself to stay out of sight as she knew King Vegeta's submission had worn off. She knew the order had been given for her detention. Guards in massive suits of armor went by and by her hiding places, paused in only for a moment. Niches of space, folds of lavish drapery. Not after too long Red Mountain could no longer understand why someone would want such lavishness, it disgusted her. I must make it to my staff, let them try to catch me if they would, but I need my staff. She followed behind a group of four guards, a messenger group, and ducked inside a room, empty and barren, smelling of fresh plaster and molding, this told to her by a glance and a sniff, and she almost sneezed, the smells a bit much for her palate.

She waited for them to pass out of her hearing before she let her rage snap loose for an instant, taking her average human form to her Sokto one, elongating her ears to spike out her hair and sharply end behind her head. Her hair thickened and the color deepened taking on a silver-gold undertone, becoming just one color. Tiny whiskers pushed their way out of her skin, just as her eyes became a golden tone and reflected the light, shining. Her eyebrows peaked themselves, hair growing long above her forehead. Her cheekbones became angular, along with her chin as she grew in height, about a head taller, her once loose pants became tighter, her jacket and shirt shortened and tightened as she became a slim, tall supple muscular creature. Her senses let her smell, taste, feel, see and hear everything with abandon. The world became a wonderful dish for her senses, she felt fresh and new when she first heightened her senses, as such a partial cat gift gave to her.

The guards disappeared down the hall, out of her high sensory range. She let her rage sift her back to her human form, loosening her clothes as she opened the door wider and ran, absolutely silently to the room where she stashed her staff.

The room was locked, No matter, she put her hand on the lock and persuaded it to move. It unlocked itself as she slipped into the room. She tasted the pitch black air, the room was empty, the Sayien stench was old here, she stepped forward and opened the chest on the floor, her grip fumbling because of the darkness. As she lifted the lid she grasped the staff inside, she knew it was there, and exactly just what it looked like. It was a polished, carved mahogany wood staff, exactly her eye level. At the very top was a cat carved out, tiny on the peak of an infinitesimally small mountain top. The cat was encased in an unshining metal, to be sure the wonder of the craft would stay intact. Around the base of the mountain was a thong of leather, by which two feathers made of pearl hung. One was made of the finest white pearl with a rose pearl stalk or center, beneath it was a mark of fifteen hatches. The other was of black pearl with an obsidian stalk, underneath it was sixteen hatches.

She stood and turned.

Lights sprang on. Blinding her. As she raised her staff in her left hand to shield her eyes a voice rasped,

"Our Lord, Vegeta demands your capture!" She heard some movement as a foot swept her feet out from under her and she fell to her knees, leaning on her staff, jut barely holding herself up. How did they come here without my knowing? Are they faster than I? Lucky them I didn't notice. She opened her mouth,

"I will come without a fight, if this staff remains in my contact and possession." The same foot kicked the staff out from under her weight. She snickered, her muscles working now,

"Alright then…" She hissed and lept up to the ceiling, her coiled muscles strong as she pushed from the wall above her, drawing their fire at her trail. She landed on one of the company of six, pummeling his head into pieces with the butt of her staff, hissing and spitting viciously. She whispered a prayer at the edge of her mind as her staff flickered and became a single handed sword and she sliced the light in half, taking someone's head with it as she spun down backwards to slice another's feet and leap up as weapons fire grazed her back and ripped her jacket. As she was high she worked the hilt of the sword with her fingers to spin it in a full circle and to stab down in the center of the footless man's neck. She blinked as shots still fired at her point blank, one came close and grazed her shoulder, scathing her jacket again as she rolled and split the fourth in half and cut the weapon out of another's hands. She knelt and spun her sword to stab behind her, right into the fifth's heart. She let him impale hisself on her blade completely before she twisted it sideways to his scream of pain and her cruel snarl before she wrenched it out, now covered in sticky blood. She leveled her gaze at the last man and gripped the weapon in both hands. He curled her lip and spoke,

"Brave fool!" Her words a gasping hiss. He rushed at her, she stepped aside and let him trip on her lagging foot. As he fell he was forever parted with his head as Red Mountain lept to the door. Before the body or the head hit the ground, she was out the door, running. Out and away her only destinations.

At the end of the hall was a well set group of twenty or so royal guards. Red Mountain heard the approach of even more behind her. The one farthest in the back, standing above the rest spoke as her sword passed behind her back and became her staff once again, no longer coated in blood,

"Our Lord, Vegeta demands your capture!" Red Mountain rolled her eyes and leaned on her staff, her knees complaining, having a moment's breath,

"Are you all the same? Nevermind that. Allow me to keep possession and contact with this -" she looked at the staff, to her left, " - my staff, and I will come without struggle."

"His Majesty knows of your request and will allow this whim of yours. Go to the wall and face it," Red Mountain's face fell, she wanted to notch all these disturbingly obedient souls as marks on her staff, but true to her word, bound by a code of honor, she strode up to the wall, using her staff as a walking stick and faced it calmly. A rather large group of burly men approached behind her, coming to a running halt.

"Now place the staff on your shoulders and fold your arms over it," Red Mountain did so and hung her elbows over the staff to let her lower arms dangle. A quick set of footsteps approached and knocked her knees out and she fell, banging her head and arms on the wall, to her knees. She bit her tongue and soothed the rage inside of her, No! I cannot change now! I'd be shot! And I can't fight well like this. A cool metal bar slipped in underneath the staff as wrist cuffs were snapped on her wrists and chained to the heavy chain about her waist. Some pair of resentful hands viciously cinched the chains tight, so she, even with all her strength, couldn't lift her arms and escape the binding. Another pair of cold hands hauled her to her feet and pushed her before him. Red Mountain tested the bindings and realized she could not change with the metal bar in place as a rough, well fought voice shouted in her delicate ear,

"Move it!" She slowly walked in front of the brute, her ears twitching and throbbing. I guess they really are all the same. She looked to the head of the staff, just in time to see the black feather etch six hatches into the wood. She smiled. The black feather marked the necessary kills, those done to obtain her goal or her freedom, and the white and rose feather marked the kills of bloodlust and desire. She had not yet killed a creature out of desire and necessity. She looked in front of her to see the one who ordered her before standing in front of her.

"Anything to say?" She opened her mouth, He cut her off with a sharp backhanded strike to her face,

"Too late!" and he knocked her unconscious, striking the back of her neck.

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She awoke far sooner than anyone thought. The moment she was thrown upon a large bed, she regained her proud consciousness. Her back, and shoulder where they were scathed burned and complained to her. She lay as she was thrown, on her back, legs crossed to her side and head back over the staff, kinking her neck painfully, Red Mountain could feel the cool metal against her neck. She slit her eyes open and saw the room was large, from what she could see of the ceiling it seemed lavish with a tall bay window looking out high above the city. All the while she lay she learned much of the ceiling. Though there were three closed doors, one heavier than the others, and no doubt locked, probably the door she came in through. Weather or not it lead to a hallway or another room she did not know and could not speculate. But there was something odd about the room, something that didn't quite fit with what she sensed about her environment. The other two doors, not flimsy but were not as fortified as the one, probably lead to maybe a sitting room or a bathroom, though both surely dead ends, maybe only closets. Or maybe they weren't even real doors and opened only to walls. Red Mountain could not get a fix on the colors of the room or what other furniture was with her besides the bed. She still felt the effects of being whacked on the back of the neck. Maybe that was what made the room odd, her head swam and colors swayed and reversed themselves as she closed her eyes and wished herself (rather unsuccessfully) into the dreamstate.

As Red Mountain lay the heavy door smashed into the wall and something glass fell, shattering. She, was wide awake and willing away the remaining lethargy of her senses as a very male body leaned over her body, didn't touch her, but paused and noted her scent, and her breathing, which Red Mountain kept deceptively deep and slow. He did touch her now, he put a hand on hers as he slid out the metal pole and stood, stepping back a few paces. Red Mountain sprung up and called her staff through the chains to slice the cuffs with a single swipe of the feathers, the chains falling to her waist as she held the weapon in front of her, third guard, covering all of her body in a thorough block. She saw none other than Vegeta,

"Good, you're awake," he spat and snarled the words.

"You indeed. I expected none other," she jeered. He chuckled,

"Attack then, I don't fear you!" She smiled,

"Of course you don't I haven't given a reason for you to - yet." He ignored her and tossed away his staff, the bar from her shoulders,

"Are you or aren't you?" She grinned and adjusted her grip,

"My staff will count you too!" She took a step forward, faked high and swept low, as he was mid air she hit him solidly in the stomach, just the way you would hit a baseball.

She swung her staff as if this was the bottom of the ninth and bases loaded, two outs, two strikes, no balls and her team was down by three. She gave it everything she had and he was just the ball on its way out of the park.

He hit the wall high and hung there, sticking to the wall, denting it to his shape. As he hung she looked out the door, nothing but a small room and a blank wall. This place was meant for her to stay in. The window was probably of unbreakable glass. And the other rooms were more than likely windowless, if they existed at all. The window itself could very well be fake, looking out into the simulated outdoors, that may or may not correspond with the real outdoors, and that felt more like the truth to Red Mountain. To why what she felt and sensed disoriented her.

She was imprisoned, and could not escape until Vegeta was dead or left the room. She couldn't try anything when he was unconscious or sleeping, because she knew that he had extensive training in staying and becoming conscious. And killing the King of the Sayien empire would be highly unwise, even if everyone hated him, they would have to show token appreciation, which would mean her public execution, for only the sake of tradition. He had no enemy that could provide a temporary shelter for her, barely anyone was strong enough for that, even though Red Mountain would need only three hours sleep and an alibi.

She lowered her staff and stood as he fell from the wall, destroying a quaint table and an ugly lamp. He coughed,

"Aren't you going to attack again?" She shook her head and retreated to her memories, smelling the air of olden times and feeling the betrayal of the Red Cat and the pain of the Red Spirit as her cruel Ajaba sister devoured her flesh and cursed her with the deepest secrets of all cats. The Red Spirit wandered for years, searching for a way to return from the netherworld, to become alive again and pass the knowledge to her successor. Finally the Fae, for the hefty price of the Red Cat's first offspring, returned her to living form and the Ajaba's curses proved themselves holding. Red Mountain couldn't live that again here and now, she should be halfway attentive as she returned to her senses, ignoring her inner being.

The inside of her was never safe, she didn't have a happy place, because the whole of her inside was coated in a rage that ran deep and true throughout her soul, a price of her power, only surface calm. He is going to have to leave sometime. Her thoughts became desperate. And if he falls asleep, I can shift to a snake and leave from underneath the door. There is a space. He rushed at her and pinned her up against the wall, her feet dangling as she held his eyes confidently and calmly, and keeping a firm hold on her staff. He snarled and threw her down on the bed, doing his very best to intimidate her,

"FIGHT!" Her rage seethed, boiled and erupted into an absolute fury, but she kept everything calm on the outside. She would not endanger her future here, she was needed and must survive. He held her arms flat on the bed and knelt on her knees, as he thought perhaps if she was held down, pinned uncomfortably she'd resist. He was right, in a normal circumstance, and in fact she was infuriated, she loathed being detained against her will, she wanted nothing more than to destroy his body and incinerate his soul before it could leave to the heavens. She had the power, and she knew it……

He fell upon her and kissed her roughly, quite surprised that she was not at all out of her league and kissed him back harder than he'd ever had. When a drop of rage seeped through her outside she nipped his lip, drawing blood and actually creating a pair of holes through his skin. He pulled back sharply and blood dripped on her face as he spoke,

"You have the spirit and the strength….."

"But not the strategic position…." He stood and looked at her. The chains about her waist were loose and the broken cuffs lay next to her knees, she propped herself up on her elbows and watched him, her staff under her left fingers. He glared down at her,

"What happened today? Why did I….." She chuckled,

"Submit? `Tis a gift of mine, superior will and dominance. Along with the ability to command, no matter the situation or the position of the other. Noone can resist me. Noone can survive me, once I decide to kill or destroy. And, submission is not my only gift and talent, I have more skills than I have names. Be blessed you are not an enemy of…." She paused and looked at him sidelong, "significance." She stood and matched his glare with a lilth ease.

"Be sure you stay that way. I can bring suffering and fear, doubt and tyranny, anger and hatred. I command many things." She picked up her staff and asked it to transform itself into a whip with a prayer at the edge of her mind, it wrapped itself about her waist and froze into a tri-layer belt with the feathers hanging from the cat-on-mountain barbed tip. The white and rose pearl feather twitched and strained against it's binding. She looked up and cocked her head,

"Don't make me kill you, for I have many ways of bringing death, and all come easier than any way you know," She said it mournfully. "Don't enrage me, and it's quite easy, much more so than it seems at first." He let a sly grin cover his face as he crossed his arms,

"I doubt you could….woman," To his surprised she laughed and grinned,

"Don't confuse me with those moronic, yabba monkeys of Earth, vain ngiri. I am of The Folk and am not a pitiful shining child. I am the half-breed, the monkey child and the wildcat, all in one." he knitted his brow,

"How does that make you different? How does that mean you are strong enough to kill me? I am king of the Sayiens!" She stepped up to him slowly and played a finger across his chin, freezing his skin and bones, her touch paralyzing him.

"Imagine…." She whispered, "how vulnerable you are when you can't defend yourself." She let the magic fade as she strode away, to fakely interest herself n the false window.

She heard his grimacing snarl, he seemed to do that often.

"Why do you torture me?" He seemed to beg, in his own over-confident way.

"Torture? You want to know pain?" She hissed. "I know how to make pain, pain that lasts until you kill yourself!" He chuckled,

"I would never!"

"Don't say that, you cannot know." She cocked her eyebrow and released her staff from about her waist to harden into it's original form and shatter the strange materiel the window was made from. A jagged black hole appeared and the rest of the window became riddled with a blue grid. The grid flickered and disappeared, taking away the clouds and light from the window, leaving only the dull lights from underneath the ceiling, making the room yellowed and darkened. Not only the widow disappeared but a good amount of the wall surrounding it staticed out and became a grey base color. Red Mountain turned,

"How much of the room is like this?" She cocked her eyebrow and twitched her fingers as Vegeta gathered his fists and she pointed the shining mountain cat end of her staff at him before pivoting and swinging it through the door behind her. The same blue grid flickered in around the gaping hole and faded. The grey lapping at the ceiling and the floor, but enveloping a portrait picture and a sconce hanging from the wall that wasn't real. She lept into the air and traded spaces with Vegeta, and smashed out the other weak door. A whole section of the room gridded out and disappeared, leaving only less than half of it un-grayed.

"Stop!" Red Mountain bowed half mockingly,

"What? Breaking the faade? Damaging your plans? My apologies." She blinked, hissing. "I am not stupid. I am not meek. And I cannot be broken or tamed. One of my many merits that rides besides my skills and talents, is my untamable nature! Don't toy with me!" Red Mountain's shield to keep her rage from the surface was cracking and breaking. He growled and screamed,

"You will fall! I will be redeemed! Break and submit!" Red Mountain hissed and felt the first edges of change chew on her mind,

"I cannot!" Her chest heaved, "If I let my true nature slip, you will run from here, you will be terrified in your dreams and traumatized this night." Her voice cracked. "Your blood will run by my claws!" He took an astonished step back as her eyes shone with deep rage and hatred.

"Submit to me…." His voice drawled long and slow. She snarled,

"I bow to Selene and Gaia! Not you." He rushed at her faster than she knew possible and folded her with one blow. She sucked in air as if it were her first breath and changed her staff to a whip with a fleeting thought, and wrapped it around his neck as she jumped on his back, slipped off, fell and pulled. He gurgled and drove an elbow into the air beside her head. She dodged his foot stomp and kidney jab, but only to swing one of the loose chains about her waist into his hand, which was slowly curling into a fist.

He grinned and jerked it hard, throwing her to the ground and flipping him on his back as she refused to let go. He dropped the chain and peeled away her fingers and her grip failed. He stood, turned and threw a kick at her stomach, Red Mountain caught it, snapped his ankle as he brought his other foot to stand on her chest, and dug the toe of his boot into her throat. Her staff fell from her fingers and became a long, sharp scimitar. No, he cannot die now, not by me. Later, not here, not now. The blade fell from the air to clang against the ground. It wound into a whip and clung about her waist to break the chain as it settled.

Red Mountain let her cover slip and her rage rise to the surface as she invoked the primal gift of fear, slipping into her massive half-cat-half-human form, her muscles bulging through her clothing, her chest flattening to become overly muscular with a shining coat of golden fur. Her hands became half paws and she swept away his foot with no effort. Her claws extended as she lept to her feet, sinewy legs stretching and holding her up well. She hissed and spat, flattening her ears and intimidating him to no end. She was a fearsome creature now, her head wreathed in thick, golden hair, reminisce of a lion's mane, but finer and more human. She had the cat's large eyes and the lion's muzzle with whiskers and large teeth bared in a menacing grimace. She shredded the remainder of her cloths, leaving only a looping wrap about her almost flat breasts and a loincloth hanging to her knees adorned with beads and bones.

"Listen! Fool King!" Her voice growled, "I of the shadow children walk the twilight days, unafraid, for none may rival me and my sisters in our sleek majesty. None can equal our ferocity: The jungle trembles like smoke at our furious roars. The sun grants us strength to slay the rain, with a blow from our paw we shake the Earth. None can equal our honor: The wisdom of forever rides behind our yellow eyes, trails unfold before us in the shadow of Thunder's wings, we run with the South Wind among the stars. None can equal our cunning: The dead in the dark corners whisper secrets to us, we hide the names of things in mist-words and snow-speech, we dance madly in the most hidden places. I bow to Selene and Gaia; may the deeds of my sisters and I nourish our beloved relatives." The words came slowly with a lisping rasp to them. She hissed and took her staff in her hands, she went through the open door and smashed the wall in front of it, to reveal a portal away.

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The instant she passed out the threshold she had the staff wrap around her as she fell to snake form and crept to the corner between the wall and the floor and slunk away, staying unseen. He is dangerous now. He may find a dog lore speaker of Earth to tell him the yava. He could certainly pay any dog's price. But the Kindred? They have quite a demand for their words.

She didn't manage to escape the city before her two hours inside her snake form were up, instead she made her way as far south as she could, into what she knew was a slum neighborhood but she could tell very little in her limited form. She found a small space, a gutter and hid there, her energy low and her world spinning and disoriented.

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Her snake form projected a pair of arms, as she felt a bit of rain fall on her skin, and Red Mountain dashed into a larger area, and a set of legs as her torso became human and she appeared in the middle of the street. Gasps and cries rang out as goods fell from hands and pack animals reared, splashing mud onto the scantily clad Red Mountain. She stumbled and coughed. She gathered her senses and dashed into an alley, turned into a niche and found a dirty quiet, empty corner. She sank down into the mud and held her knees to her chest. A heavy rain pelted down from above, turning the dirt street into a sticky muddy mess. Every now and again a creature would walk by and leave a puddle of rainwater in it's footsteps. A wild squeaking sound gurgled and shrieked out from above Red Mountain, she looked up to see a burly woman shooing a rattish rodent out of her window with a broom with nearly all the bristles swept into nothing. A child's giggle followed a rat and offered Red Mountain a ray of joy as a little child's hand followed a rat out into the rain only to be smacked back by the woman's broom. A blat of rain fell in Red Mountain's eyes and she looked back down and hung her head, curling herself up into a tight ball as she drew mud with her in her bare feet. She found a tear within herself and leaned against the walls for support.

Red Mountain was wearing very little, only the loincloth, decorated with bones and teeth strung with sinew from the heel of a wolf, she also had the loose, draping wrap around what was now her very full chest. Her staff still clung to her in whip form and her golden bracelet with the blue stone still wrapped about her wrist, held there with strong magic, safe from would-be looters. She found sleep flooding her mind as a gutter overhead overflowed with dirty sludge and splashed down on Red Mountain, covering her with the filth of the slums.

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Red Mountain awoke to a shining sun and a pair of youthful curious eyes staring at her from the other end of the alley. She stood and shook her head, the dried filth breaking free and floating to the ground. The bold green of her wrap was stained with dirty rainwater and her blue, green and black loincloth was covered in the brown filth. Her skin was covered in the film of the Slums, and she looked quite in place as she approached the child and smiled, purring,

"Can you tell me where we are? What part of the city?" The little child looked at her with young doe eyes as it nodded, dirty hair covering it's face, Red Mountain couldn't tell if it was a boy child or a girl child,

"The southwestern quarter, and in the Ender Village," Red Mountain grinned happily and tucked a bit of the child's hair behind it's ear. When her hand came away she had several copper pieces in her palm, she looked down at them, caught the child's eyes and looked down again. The child grinned and spoke with a joyful tone as it snatched away the coins,

"Thank you! Fairest Lady of the Most Royal House!" Red Mountain smiled and ruffled the child's hair as it turned and ran away, down the alley and into the street. Red Mountain stepped out into the street and sighed, Ender's Village? In the west side of the southern quarter? I must make it to the north eastern part of town, where the forest grows, wild and unclaimed. The only thing that lies outside the southern walls are patriotic farmers and merchants. If Vegeta has ordered for my capture again, groups of guards will have my picture and will be asking for me. Any farmer that saw as little as a flicker in the sunset would report me. I'm not safe here either. People here need money, badly and they'd do something so of little consequence as sell information about a strange woman, not quite right. I need more clothes and a safe place to lie low for a month or three.

Red Mountain looked up to see four humanoid figures fly past above the street, dressed in the royal colors of red, blue and gold. When Red Mountain looked back down, her gaze falling to the street beneath she saw four black-cloaked figures talking to one old, difficult looking man. Soon the man glanced to her and a glitter of gold passed from one of the figures to the man. Red Mountain paused to see no more and turned heel, running to the south. She dodged and lept around the people in the street, she looked back once and the four black cloaked figures were presueing her and gaining! She turned her gaze back in front of her and dashed down a small corner alley, narrow and tall as the street turned from mud to wet gravel. Her gamble, with turning failed. They alley was a dead end, with three tall, slick walls, Red Mountain could not scale any of them in time, so she freed her staff from it's whip form and hissed at the figures as they filled in the opening,

"Who are you and what do you want?" She snarled, ready to let herself change to a more powerful form if they were alone. They did not speak but drew shining swords and approached, ever silent. Her staff flickered and became a sword of her own as she set her stance and growled. Just as the distance between Red Mountain and the four hooded enemies of hers became about four feet the four Saiyan Royal Guards that were from the sky landed between Red Mountain and the strange wordless assailants, facing the black figures. A bold, brilliant voice played,

"Your safe now, miss, the enemies of the Empire will not harm you." Red Mountain wasted no time, confused but she could think about this later. She used her magic to transform her into a small, pink house cat, her staff becoming a stately collar as she dashed out between their legs and ran as fast as she could manage, south. Stupid brave guardsman. I guess I `ll just have to make sure no farmer sees a flicker in the sunset. The northern parts of the city are watched by the spies of the nameless enemies. Red Mountain ran and ran, through a busy merchant section and into an urban farmer's market, through a metallurgy shop and a recruitment post. Finally, she found the gate, large and high. Closed shut, noone leaving, noone coming. She sat on her haunches and licked a paw, flustered and worried, observing a vehement farmer arguing with a Royal Guardsman. Red Mountain stood and walked over slowly to twine herself through the guard's feet, her back itched. As she did so she noticed the gate was secure, the door low, unless Red Mountain wanted to dig a tunnel as a cat, she would not penetrate the gates. The walls seemed to be about one hundred feet tall and made of a slick metal, with the rain beating down on it harshly. Not even with her tree-climbing, clouded leopard heritage could she scale that wall. She turned and trotted away from the guard's feet to sit beside a tavern's door.

Trapped! I suppose he really wants me, but how long can he maintain this? A freeze of the economy? The dark truth came to mind As long as he wants to, until he gets me. She sat by the entrance and watched the gates for the next hour, her last as the small cat, before her awesome but limited power forced her to change back into her normal form. The gates didn't budge, and the guards still stood, silent and waiting for an attempt at exit or entrance. The farmer eventually gave up his ravings and came into the tavern, grumbling nonsense about being a patriot and nothing but loyal to the royal family and this is how he is paid? A few moments before Red Mountain's magic wore off she stood up and found a dark, quiet alley and stood in a shadow, the grey rain clouds helping her stay hidden. She was uncomfortable in the city, she was used to fighting and living in the wilderness, a being a cat in the city was a miserable existence. She simply grew, from the small house cat to a small pink panther, patterned with a dark pink in the form of tiger stripes.

She sat back on her haunches and thought; it is the same at each gate, but seriously, how long can he keep them closed? He does have a responsibility as a king, and that is to maintain a working government. Red Mountain stood and licked her teeth as her stomach contracted, she was very hungry. Either she would find a way to the forest to stalk some semi-intelligent predator with sinewy muscles and much gristle, or she could sink her fangs into the soft Sayien flesh, even the great warriors seemed fat and glutted on ease of living. Random thoughts drifted to her, It could be useful to acquire a loyal servant, perhaps kill a cruel master, and take the slave as my own? No the slave would be unreliable and weak, it would be best to leave a message for his royal stench. Forget hiding for a month, forget lurking in the shadows, I will not! Vegeta will know what kind of enemy I am, and I will strike at his weakest point, at his followers, his muscle, his military.

Her rage dashed out and she reversed the change, becoming fully human (looking) as the staff in the guise of a whip fell onto the wet street. Only she was not wearing the loose wrap and loincloth that came from her golden lion form, from when she escaped the palace, her most impressive shape. She instead had stylish black pants, tight in all the right places and loose in the others, heavy black boots with several large gaudy silver buckles, a low cut fishnet shirt, long-sleeved, over a tempting silver bra slung with delicate chains. Her hands were encased in unusual gloves that were attached to her shirt; they were black and covered the back and palm of her hand but ended in a silver ring around the base of her middle finger. Her left glove bulged and wrapped around her gold bracelet, a smooth lump of the blue stone showing predominately. Her face was pale, and very similar to her usual human face, her original one, but more delicate and somehow harsh underneath her blonde hair and black lips.

She blinked into the rain, her eyes a soft, yellow gold. I'll stick out like a sore thumb, but I don't look like the Red Mountain they know and are hunting. In fact, I am not she, but the Ceilican swashbuckler, Lady Faye. Red Mountain bent and picked up her whip/staff and snapped it into a long fine sword inside an ebon black (with elaborate black pearl settings) scabbard. Only the white and rose pearl feather hung from the hilt.

Red Mountain stepped out of the alleyway and with a hand on the hilt of her enchanted weapon, she pushed aside a guffawing man before she pulled open the door to the Bleeding Bones tavern and inn. A sudden vicious noise assaulted her ears, clanging of cups and plates, yelled threats, and gales of laughter-genuine and drunken-attacked her eardrums. The colors of the place were browns; reds and blacks, all lit by a hot, crackling, roaring fire in the center fireplace. Booths of cheap, mismatched wood lined three of the four walls, the fourth wall, the longest, was the bar, mostly filled. A winding stairway coiled up the side of one wall, leading up to the Bleeding Bones Inn. A dimly lit chandelier rattled around, hanging from the ceiling. Tables were spaced out every so often on the floor, and each one was filled as full as they could possibly be. Sometimes two and three people to a chair, and always at least one person on the table itself as the six barmaids dashed around, filling orders and taking more.

Red Mountain found an empty barstool between a dry-fucking couple and a passed out, portly man with heavy alcohol on his low, even breath. Red Mountain braced her elbows on the bar and watched the door. Patrons came in and out for a moment as the tender was tied up with a dues-owed dispute with one of the long time coming farmers, it seemed the farmer had come to this tavern every night for the past month and the tender hadn't seen an ounce of payment from the man.

A flying young man, very wet, unshaven, screaming man, crunch into a wall, heralding the approach of an eight-set of Royal Guardsmen as well as any trumpet ballad. Seven of the guards stepped out from behind the leader and spread themselves out among the people, stole drinks to pour on men's heads and laid down coins for the kisses of the barmaids. Noone would stop them; not a soul dared to refuse a soldier in the employ of the Royal Houses.

One of the seven, the one who spotted Red Mountain's low-cut pants and clinging fishnet shirt and decided she'd warm his flesh better than any over-done whore of a barmaid, that one pulled the passed out man off the stool to let him fall in a heap on the floor. Red Mountain looked away, she wanted to know what the leader was doing, who he would confront and choose to ease the stresses of the day. The leader was speaking with the dirty bartender, and owner of the Bleeding Bones. The guardsman handed the tender several rolls of paper as the barkeep thanked the royal lieutenant profusely.

All the while Red Mountain was watching this, a strong, forceful hand slid its way around her waist as the guard sitting next to her turned her around, his fingers just missing the sharp edge of the straining pearly feather, it's magical might strong but bound by the leather thong holding it back. Red Mountain followed his guiding hands to see a fairly cute brunette young guardsman with his brown eyes, and pleasant features smiling gaudily. Only one scar. His loss wouldn't be noticed by the upper crust, not enough experience, not enough reputation. Now the captain would do nicely, his spilt blood would draw the attention of a few officials, but I am far too hungry to hope for better…

"Can I buy you a drink, sexy bitch?" Red Mountain snarled,

"You can't." She smiled faintly, thanking all her spirit guides as an armored hand clasped her shoulder,

"Dismissed soldier." Perfect, Red Mountain hissed inside her head. The hand pivoted on her shoulder as the young guardsman got up and sauntered, nay, sulked to a table. Red Mountain smiled warmly; no servant here, but this she looked up and down his body, slowly lingering in all the right places as he watched her, she was only looking for his rank insignia as she slipped her arm around his neck and his hands slid down her pants, between her panties and outerwear. Captain will serve as an apt message to Vegeta. His voice was as coarse with experience as his scarred face and taunt muscles as he leaned into her neck,

"Pick your poison…" Red Mountain and slipped onto his lap as the dry-fucking couple to her right fell onto her stool.

"Strongest vodka available, straight up, no ice…." He held her golden eyes with his clear blue ones as his black hair slipped down into one and he absentmindedly signaled the tender with a flick of his gloved fingers as he growled at Red Mountain,

"Tough girl…? What's your name, wildcat?" Red Mountain leaned into him and pressed her chest against his armor and nibbled his ear,

"You have no idea…. Lady Faye….." She breathed heavily. She ran her hand through his hair and moved her body over his. She felt his heart beat heavily and his voice quiver as she moved over him, teasing his senses with her free hand, using all her predatorily allure, weaving a complex charm with her feline nature. His voice faltered,

"Lady--..Faye…" he almost sighed her name as he rose slowly, "how badly do you want your vodka?" She chuckled and bit his ear,

"You talk too much," she paused and let her mouth hang open and she let her tongue caress his ear, "…..Upstairs." In the most distant corner was the set of stairs, rickety and old. The guardsman pulled back and lifted her legs around his waist, his gloved hands cupping her ass. He dashed with impressive speed to and up the stairs. Nothing breaking his way as Red Mountain caught the eye of the first guard that approached her and winked as he scowled. Red Mountain felt an unmistakable tightening through his armor against her. Eager isn't he? Doesn't even know what I have in mind. Fool. At the top of the stairs Red Mountain dropped her legs, locked eyes with him and let a long, sweet, hunter's smile split her lips as she lifted herself up slightly to kiss his lips lightly, letting her tongue caress her teeth before she parted his lips and met her tongue with his for a brief moment before she pulled back and sweetly, once more, smiled.

"This is good-" Her words came to a halt with a hacking cough, deep and woeful as she bent double and wheezed until the guardsman lifted her up and gae her a small napkin, or a supposed handkerchief. Red Mountain's cough faded and she dabbed her lips as she tucked the item in her back pocket,

"Thank you…." She turned away, all at once, shy. Her rage dancing in and out of her mind. Her consciousness barely able to control it and keep it hidden. He put his hands on her shoulders and held her gently, just the instant before her sword fell with a rattling clang and her hands became paws and fur sprouted from her skin, becoming the pink panther. She pivoted and swiped his face, tearing the scream from his lips and the other ripped out his neck, killing him painfully fast.

As he fell Red Mountain's hunger took the best of her as she tore away his armor and gorged herself on his flesh, the blood pooling quickly on the floor, she lapped at the crimson life force and chewed and tore until there was nothing left but the bones, the armor and his torn head. When she could find no more meat she licked her lips and dodged back to her human form a mess of blood on her face as she took the money bag from the waist part of his armor and accidentally knocked open a larger bag, filled with paper rolls. Red Mountain picked one up and unrolled it, blood coloring the whole of the sheet but she could still see her Red Mountain Guardian homid face on the poster. Underneath her face was a description of what she was wanted for:

WANTED: RED MOUNTAIN also known as: VICIOUS for the obstruction of justice and the attempted assassination of our Most Benevolent King, our Sire, Vegeta.

How quaint. Red Mountain thought as she tossed aside the paper and shook blood from her boots. If I wanted His Royal Impotence dead, he wouldn't have a last breath to pray. She bent and lifted his dog tags, all dripping with the thickening blood, and let them fall around her neck to hang ontop of her shirt and let a rivulet of blood stain the fishnet and her torso as she tied the dripping money bag to her belt loop and wrapped the scabbard tie about her hips. Red Mountain felt quite pleased as she removed a gold piece from the bag and held it in her hands as she descended the stairs slowly, dabbing at her face, wiping away the blood for anyone to notice as a small river of blood slowly followed her.

Red Mountain threw away the bloodied handkerchief, to land in a pitcher of the thin local beer as she walked to the bar and lay the gold piece down as she thanked the tender, watching the first guardsman who had wanted her so badly, stare at her, burning a hole in her back. Red Mountain turned and smiled, the side of her pants wet with the blood of the captain as she went out the door, forsaking change.

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Red Mountain walked slowly northeast on the muddied road, the dirt became thick and gritty as the rain lightened and she heard a blood curdling scream from the Bleeding Bones Tavern and Inn. She smirked; they found the head. They will be looking for me soon. Red Mountain stepped off the road and into a shop, musty and old, filled with moth eaten clothes and books falling apart at the spine, had it been a normal day she would have lingered and looked through nearly each old testament to great kings, maybe even the commoner or even the river outside the city. She found a long, brown hooded robe and paid a silver piece for the thing and neglected the owner's offer of copper change. She untied her sword from about her hips and slung it over her shoulder and under her arm and flung the robe over her form. She drew the hood up and stepped out as a dashing crew of the all too belated Saiyan police ran past her and down to the corner tavern. Just in time.

Red Mountain walked slowly, all night and day, until she could move no more. What a blastedly large city. She was in a better income area, near the eastern wall. Though it was of fair money, the area had many empty buildings, it was once an industrial district, and now with today's modern technology such large space wasn't necessary for production, and so the buildings stood empty. The sun fell and she slipped into an empty basement through a broken window, crawled into a corner and fell very fast asleep. The moon did not shine tonight, and Red Mountain slept.

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Small rodents came and went all night, pausing to nibble on their claws as they sensed what Red Mountain was, prey animals always had a keen ability to notice the predator, and they did not disturb her, even though she slept soundly. When Red Mountain had crawled in, she was worried in the corner of her mind, how close she was to the side of the road, how easily someone could come inside and apprehend her for her crimes. She could not be very picky though, a deep tribal secret of hers rooted her to this spot while the moon's light stayed hidden. She must slumber while the moon did her strength and power was deeply rooted to the moon. Slowly the sun rose and Red Mountain's binding faded as her eyes opened slowly.

She was in a bare, empty room, small and wet with brown, tile walls, there were four small windows, only about a foot and a half tall and three feet long at the highest edge of the walls. Red Mountain was crumpled under one, a broken one, the one she entered through. Her robe was over her whole body and her hood still up, so were someone to see her, she would seem nothing more than a pile of brown cloth, underneath a window, riddled with bits of the broken window. It seemed Red Mountain was the one who broke the window, in her mad, sleepy dash for shelter. Red Mountain sat up quickly, her senses returned as she remained absolutely silent. The street above her was busy with the morning traffic, ground going vehicles and animals bulging at the seams as overhead, in the tall spires of the skyscrapers this part of the city was known well for, were airways with many sky-going vehicles crowding the way. Red Mountain heard all of this as she stood and moved to the corner of the room with a door. The door lead to another, dark room still underground, but this one had a flight of stairs leading up to ground level. Without hesitation or fear Red Mountain ascended those stairs and stepped out onto the street.

The towers were high and impressive, so high the ground floors were all but abandoned, and there was little use for a few of the smaller towers, they served as quarters for the homeless and lost denizens of this place. The eastern part of the city seemed to Red Mountain a real city, and the south western quarter where she came from nothing but a rural farm town with a wall. Red Mountain hardly knew how a city could change so much in character. Instead of on foot (so to speak) guardsmen and police there were ground going vehicles, and sky faring ones that could scan the whole street full of people for their face, determining their appearance, name, age, sex, planet of origin and their whole life story if they so wanted it. My message to Vegeta will be more difficult now, if I want to leave him another that is. This face does not have a history, name, planet of origin or an age to it. Only my sex and appearance is visible. Those that saw me in the Bleeding Bones tavern couldn't describe my facial features to the nth degree, or my retinal pattern, so I have no criminal record of sorts. I should stay out of sight though, `tis only wise. Red Mountain walked beside an animal driven cart, holding her robe about her tightly in the chilled winds of the morning.

I must be near the southeastern gate. It would have been convenient were there a south western gate, but I can understand how one wouldn't want all the undesirables of the city traipsing in and out at their will. I suppose I should mark the southeastern, the eastern, the northeastern, the northern and the western gates. Vegeta's attention will be drawn. He wants my wraith? He will feel it. Red Mountain snarled to herself as she walked, dodging between vehicles and pedestrians. She walked until noon, whence she stopped at the local police station's front door and stared at her reflection in the glass, the hooded robe, that was all she seemed to be.

I cannot stay Ceilican, Swara shall do. Her rage seeped out of her control and she molded her form into the tall, slender, thin armed and legged white form she possessed. She pushed back her hood to reveal an intense face with a curling tattoo starting near her third eye position, and spreading out down her chin and across her throat. Her features were bold and defined, with dark brown eyes and golden blonde hair. Underneath her robe she wore loose baggy pants, a faint green and a khaki baggy t-shirt. On her left arm was still the golden bangle set with the blue stone, and around her neck still hung the captain's dog tags. Across her back still lay her staff, still as a sword and her hip still had the fairly empty, but large money bag her last victim had given her. Her boots became sandals as she opened the door and strided in.

She didn't speak a word to anybody, but made her way up the building and through short, crowded hallways to the lieutenant-commander's office, the highest this office had to offer. Red Mountain would have been more pleased with a district commander but she needed a target close to the gate. She stopped at the secretary's desk and smiled, glancing down to the schedule book,

"I'm the lieutenant-commander's thirteen o'clock, would you please tell him I'm here?" The secretary smiled, nodded, and spoke into the intercom,

"Sir? Your thirteen o'clock is here, shall I show her in?" He paused, "Yes." And took his hand off the intercom's button and stood,

"Right this way, Royal Inspector." The youthful secretary was wearing the grey police working uniform over his thin form. They walked through the door into a very neat office with a commanding figure standing in front of the desk, near two chairs. A harsh, somewhat feminine voice called,

"That will be all, I believe you still must finish that letter?" The secretary bowed and Red Mountain stepped into the room as the young man left and closed the door behind himself. Red Mountain finally spared a glance in the direction of the lieutenant-commander and saw an ageless, shapeless woman standing there, mouse brown hair cut short and pulled back. The woman smiled and gestured to the chairs,

"Royal Inspector, how good of you to come, please sit.." she gestured to a pair of chairs in front of the medium sized desk. The room was well lit by a line of windows along the top and bottom of the wall behind the desk. A few well cared for plants dotted between the windows, green and tall. The two walls on either side of Red Mountain were floor to ceiling bookshelves, filled with old and new books. The floor was a hardwood, matching the two chairs and the desk.

Red Mountain smiled and took a seat in the left chair. The lieutenant-commander smiled and sat eagerly beside her,

"I assure you, Inspector, that we have nothing but the best people and the most efficient ways of running things. Moreover, this outfit is nothing but clean, we bribe noone and take no bribes ourselves. And honestly I believe whomever assigned you this duty of inspecting this pristine department made an honest-hearted mistake." Red Mountain grinned to herself but smiled outwardly and faced the nervous woman,

"And let me assure you, lieutenant-commander, that my superior has a heart blacker than the storm filled night, and has not made an honest action of anything for many, many years. But," Red Mountain placed a hand on the lieutenant's, "I am running an inspection," her face fell and Red Mountain continued, "though I will tell my superior whatever you want this department to be known as….." Red Mountain paused, drawing the moment out as long as she could, "for a price." The lieutenant-commander nodded,

"I am relieved you feel that way, between you and me-" Red Mountain held her hand up,

"What I don't know I can't tell." She nodded,

"Of course. What is your price?" Red Mountain chuckled and patted her money bag,

"Enough gold to fill this up, nothing more." The lieutenant-commander smiled and chuckled to herself,

"You are cheaper than the last inspector," she rose and opened a drawer in her desk with a key and tossed Red Mountain a very full bag of gold.

"I don't want to be found out, a bit here and an extra fee there, and I can have a very full purse." Red Mountain rose and took off her cape and sword and her nearly empty moneybag from the captain and set them in the chair. She walked over to the bookshelf and grinned,

"Tell me about your collection, it seems you have a passion for knowledge." The lieutenant-commander's smile was evident in her words as she approached behind Red Mountain and reached out for a book.

"Oh yes." Red Mountain didn't let her explain, her rage flew loose and sharp black claws flew into her face, shredding her features and more ripped out her throat as Red Mountain became feline, a sleek, made for speed, cheetah. Only the dog tags from the captain hung about her neck. Like before she gorged herself on her victim. Til there was nothing but the head and her identification dog tags. As she chewed on the last gristle Red Mountain became human again and wiped away all blood with a napkin from the desk and let it lie on the empty chair as she tied the sword and scabbard to her back, and the moneybags to her left hip. She let the robe fly behind her as she clasped it about her neck and bent to remove the lieutenant-commander's dog tags. She dropped those under her robe, opened the door, and walked out. She nodded to the secretary and closed the door behind her.

She took the elevator to the ground floor, and stepped out into the lobby as she passed a well-dressed man, the royal colors made up his tunic and cape, he seemed overly haughty and full of himself. That'll be the Royal Inspector. How disappointed he'll be that his purse won't split at the seams today. Red Mountain made all haste past the southeastern gate and up the main road further and further, drawing the hood about her head as the temperature dropped. She called on the spirit of the running impala and her feet became lighter and she ran twice her normal speed, running like this until night fell, ducking between buildings and vehicles as a police force would pass her by, looking for her. When the night fell Red Mountain was halfway to the eastern gate and she slowed her pace to a walk, her heart beating nearly out of her chest. Her body was made for speed, not endurance and this was taxing her strength. She wanted to sleep somewhere safe and warm tonight, she had had her fill of the streets, cold and wet. She wanted nothing more than the soft forest floor, and the warm bushes wrapping their leaves around her fur, but no forest existed inside the city. For half the night Red Mountain walked north, searching for a secluded place for sleep, passing a group and a single person every now and again. The neighborhood was turning, slowly, from the business sector, with tall buildings and mass transportation to a residential district, the buildings still tall, but with apartments inside instead of offices.

There was nowhere, not even a crack in-between the buildings. Her mind was frazzled and her body stiff and tired, she needed rest, the New Moon sleep was never deep and fulfilling, though nothing could awaken her except spilt blood then. She found a small park, dirty and unkempt with a few trees and benches. She walked inside the city stench assaulting her nostrils, she really wanted to go back to the forest she lived in on this planet. A tree, far in the back was tall and old. Red Mountain lazily climbed it, halfway to the top, laid her head down on a branch, and passed out.

She awoke only after a few hours rest, the sky still dark, and a shard of the moon still shining. The eternal noises of the city hadn't let her sleep well; she liked the impoverished district more and more with each step she took. Nevertheless, she had a message to deliver. The Red Mountain Guardian was not a cat to mess with; her power was greater than that of even the king of the Sayien Empire. She needed to tell Vegeta that she was not a cat to mess with, and that he could not possibly win. That she could strike him at his weakest, at those he commanded. Nothing was unusual beneath Red Mountain and she fell from the branch, and landed on her feet. She re-situated her robe and walked out of the park, and continued north, much on the way to the eastern gate, and that was good too, her last killing didn't satiate her hunger. The lieutenant-commander was far to skinny and underfed to make a proper meal for Red Mountain.

Walking down the street slowly Red Mountain licked her lips as they grew cracked against the cold. Her desert and boiling hot plains-suited body was too frail in this weather. Her rage nipped loose and Red Mountain turned herself into a shorter, thicker fuller, warmly dressed woman. She seemed older in this form as her cloak dragged against the ground. Her hair was black and thick, her face was red-cheeked and full, she seemed to be smiling, grinning to herself, a joke behind her inky eyes. She closed them and walked, warmer already. Soon snow began to fall, drifting to the ground and fogging the sunrise. The air didn't warm much with the coming of the sun. The planet was falling into it's winter, Red Mountain wished she could walk as a cat, unfrozen under her fur. Halfway through the day she passed the eastern gate. The head gate-guardsman was her meal, she had more money, a full belly and another set of dog tags before 13 hours had passed through the day. She stopped at a corner vehicle dealer, she would need a vehicle to not look out of the place as she traveled through the northern half of the city. She bought a small, single person, enclosed runabout, it took all of her money, and she still had to sign her life away. Not that the marks of hers meant anything.

She got inside the thing and it floated as she took it to the sky and turned south, she would need information for her attach near the northeastern and northern gates, all that was there were homes and small retail outlets, all of them upscale and quite full of money. She found the great library in the business district and discovered a general lived quite close to the gates, on the due north side, a general that is very close to Vegeta himself, how perfect. Red Mountain's thoughts danced inside her as she sat in her studious clouded leopard homid form, little ornamentation, and a robe the color of the shining moon over a midnight black jumpsuit. The robe ended half way up her calves, where unnoticeable boots made out her feet. She had discarded her brown robe, it had been associated with the last two killings and was now a characteristic of a gang of murderer's who target mid level officials in a secure place, at work. Red Mountain had thought that quite amusing. Now she was a gang, killing working governmental officials and attempting to assassinate the king. A gang. Red Mountain had a good laugh at that one. Her hair was many colors, naturally highlighted, white, black and brown were the dominant colors. Her eyes were a clear, wise blue, and her tanned skin seemed to be in deep reflection and her whole body demanded a gentle respect and seemed mystically powerful

Red Mountain printed out the information on where the general lived, he was inside quite a fortress, such would provided Red Mountain a welcome challenge. Now she needed a target for the northeastern gate. For the rest of the day Red Mountain sat at her terminal inside the library and only five minutes before the library closed for the night she found another captain, he wasn't much in reputation, but he'd have to serve as another word in the message to Vegeta. She hastily printed out his living arrangements, he wasn't inside much of a fortress, but he lived alone in an apartment with a deaf old lady above him and a nearly never home couple below him, he did however, own the whole floor. Perfect for tonight's meal.

Red Mountain thanked the librarian and left quickly, leaving the beautifully constructed tower with shelves and shelves of books and datadisks and rows and rows of computer terminals. Red Mountain found her little black runabout in the parking and slipped inside the tiny interior and turned the craft north and set herself on the high speed airway and violated the high speed limit laws of the sky, bulleting to her destination, the dark scenery whipping past her. She found his building and came to a sudden halt and sunk to draw up beside the lobby door. A valet opened her door as she stashed the papers in her jumpsuit and she turned it off, handed him one of the keys off the ring and a few copper pieces from the bare of her palm. She asked the door attendant to show her to the captain's apartment and the door attendant smiled,

"You are expected, milady." Red Mountain was surprised, had she been caught?

"Expected? " He nodded

"Yes, it's been quite sometime since the Captain has had a girlfriend, he's been telling everyone. But, milady, do be careful, he can be, aggressive at times, I don't want to see another beautiful girl get hurt." Red Mountain smiled slyly,

"Thank you, kind sir, but I believe I can hold my own, thank you for your advice." He stopped at a door and Red Mountain handed him several copper pieces. Red Mountain opened the door for herself to hear a loud voice shouting at something. She quietly closed the door and made her way to the sound. She couldn't let him suspect her as an intruder, he already knew the girl he was expecting, she had to be careful. He was in the bathroom, with nothing but his dog tags on, naked and dripping wet, he was looking for something in the sink. Before he could look up Red Mountain became half cat, the rage feeling so wonderful, free of it's prison for a moment, and used her two paws to tear his face and destroy his throat. She was incredibly hungry so she made quick work of devouring every part of him, save for the head, the tags, and the bones. She became human again and picked up the tags and put them around her neck, under her jump suit to add to the four already there. She cleaned off her face with a towel from the rack. She heard a noise behind her and spun. A delicate, small man was standing there,

"Ohmygod!" His voice was youthful, he was barely a man, she dropped the towel and rushed him, covering his mouth with her hand,

"Shhhhh….Stay quiet. I will not hurt you. " His eyes were wide as he looked into hers and shook. Red Mountain bowed her head and smiled warmly,

"Really, I only wanted the captain, but I'm afraid you can't stay here." She let her hands fall and he nodded. A clinking crash sounded from outside and a feminine voice shrilled,

"You in there? Are we going or not?" Red Mountain turned to the little man,

"Quick! Is there another way out?" He nodded and pointed,

"Out that door and the door closest to your left leads to the outside hallway," Red Mountain nodded and said,

"Is there another way out of this building leading to the ground level?"

"Yes, but I'll have to show you." Red Mountain gestured and he came as they dashed out of the apartment and down the hall. A security force came out of the elevator as they turned to run down the steps. They finally made it to the ground level. The well at ground level had an outside door, for fire reasons. Red Mountain put a hand on the boy's shoulder,

"Wait." And she drew her sword from her back.

"Stay behind me." His eyes raised and she kicked open the door, knocking a guardsman to the ground, eleven more still were situated around the entry way. Red Mountain cut three in half with one blow and kicked a fourth. As he hit the ground she ducked and swung upwards as shots fired at the boy,

"Run boy! Get out of here!" Her swipe cleaved another in half as a graze from a shot twisted her around to lie flat on her back. A thick boot landed on her chest as she released the deepest rage from inside her and hacked and slashed at every living thing without knowing anything. The next time she was in her senses her rage had faded to a low bubbling and there was nothing but twitching masses of red goo. Red Mountain looked about and shuddered, that rage felt horrible, she hated the taste of it inside her. She ran to the corner and saw the boy watching her, his eyes wide with primal fear.

"Why are you still here?" She hissed, angry, "go boy, you are free, find something else to do, it is dangerous to stay with me!" He shivered and shook,

"I have no where else to go." Red Mountain hissed as she heard approaching reinforcements,

"Fine! Follow me!" She found her small runabout and said,

"Get in if you want to stay with me." He stepped in and took the back seat, small and cramped, without a word. Red Mountain sheathed her sword and started the runabout and it flamed into life. She flew the thing expertly, ditching all tails and staying hidden under the starlight. She flew fast and hard, for a long long time. The boy moaned,

"I'm tired and hungry. Can't we stop soon?" Red Mountain twitched as if he'd slapped her, she wasn't used to caring for someone else's needs,

"Uhhh, sure. How does a hotel sound?" She could hear his smile,

"Great." She lowered the craft to the ground and maneuvered it to the entrance of one of the fine hotels. The valets had gone home for the night so she parked her own runabout and they walked into the lobby. He smiled and walked beside her. Red Mountain stopped suddenly,

"I don't know how well this will work," He halted,

"Huh? Whaddya mean?" Red Mountain turned to face him and stared at the ground,

"I don't have any money." He laughed outright and her eyes flared, "What?!" He smiled,

"Honestly, for being such a wonderful fighter, I don't think you could survive well." He pulled out a card and looked at her matter-of-factly.

"Hey! I've gotten along pretty well so far!" He smiled softly as he continued walking and Red Mountain followed,

"Unhuh, right. Sleeping in parks and alleys I'll bet." She pursed her lips and looked away as they reached the front desk and he got them a room. A kind bellhop showed them to their room as the boy handled all of the social niceties, like tipping and conversation.

When they reached their room Red Mountain walked to the window and looked out, they were high above the city, this looks almost the way that fake window did. I wonder why Vegeta wants to see me broken so? The boy interrupted her thoughts,

"So, what do you want to eat? I'm having the steak." She jerked and nodded,

"That sounds good, rare please." He mumbled and called in the order. She never moved from the window but could feel his stare in her back.

"You're not from the city are you?"

"No." He smiled,

"I suspected, is it wonderful or horrible?"

"It's wretched." He chuckled,

"And what would you have?"

"A quiet forest, a peaceful mountain top and a clear river with clean air."

"You're a nomad aren't you?"

"Yes." There was a nock on the door and the boy answered it and the wafting scent of food met her nostrils. He tapped her back and she turned, her face mournful as he bowed,

"Dinner is served." Red Mountain took what she smelled to be hers and set it on one of the two beds and looked out the window again. He looked at her back, astonished,

"Aren't' you going to eat?"

"No. And you haven't been a servant long have you?" He chuckled,

"I know it's obvious. The captain would scream at me for it." Red Mountain turned and sat on the bed, he looked at her sheepishly. To his surprise Red Mountain smiled,

"Don't worry about it, but when I tell you to do something, do it. Because however good you may be at finding money and rooms to sleep in, I cannot imagine you could fight well, and if you want to follow me, you will be in many, and the best way to learn is to listen. My enemies don't make distinction as to who to kill, they destroy everyone on the battlefield if they can, even their allies. Listen carefully and you may yet survive."

At the end of her speech Red Mountain turned away and fell silent. He nodded and said something like `yes ma'am', but Red Mountain wasn't sure. He ate slowly, cleaning all his plate and even took hers and ate it. Red Mountain didn't even blink. She rose and stretched, she was much more tired than she thought,

"Don't do anything stupid while I sleep, like leave the room or try to kill me, and especially not call out on the phone." The first edges of dawn curled over the horizon and Red Mountain closed the curtains, "If you don't want to stay with me, I will not keep you, but wait to leave til I wake and if you slumber when I wish to leave, I will not wake you and you will stay behind." Red Mountain stretched again and lay on the bed, turned on her side and fell asleep.

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When Red Mountain awoke it was pushing sunset and the boy was sitting on his bed, reading and dozing. Red Mountain stood and he awoke.

"What is your name? I'm Jalk, please call me Ja." Red Mountain sighed and blinked away the sleep,

"I am Red Mountain, but I am known by many names." Ja smiled, his pale face gleaming with joy. He had a boyish face and long free hair, a soft brownish red color, his skin was smooth and his limbs ungainly, awkward. His eyes were a greenish tone and he was quite pleasant looking all around.

"That's a weird name, I like it but I never heard someone named after a thing." Red Mountain made a noise and went to the door,

"I'm leaving now, I must leave another word in my message." The boy followed her eagerly, leaving the book behind,

"Huh? I don't get it. Why did you kill my master anyways?" Red Mountain entered the elevator and straightened her robe,

"I humiliated the King in court. He demanded my capture, I was taken in custody, and I escaped. He wants my apprehension. So he closed all exits out of the city, he knows I do not posses flight or a means to obtain flight. I discovered his plan for capturing me in the southern part of the city, at the southern gate. There I killed a Royal Guardsman Captain." The elevator reached the bottom of the hotel and they walked up to the check out counter. Ja signed his receipt and they walked out. Red Mountain did no speak again until they entered the run about and sat there. She pulled out his tag and gave it to Ja, he took it in silence.

"I stole the tag and left only the head, bones and armor. The next victim of mine." He handed back the tags and she found the lieutenant-commander's tags. "was a lieutenant-commander of a police department headquartered near the southeastern gate. I left only her head and bones." She handed him her tags. "Then I proceeded north to the eastern gate, where I killed the head gatesman." He gave her back the lieutenant-commander's tags and she handed him the gatesman's tags. "Then I did a little research to find a ranking officer that lived or worked near the north eastern and northern gates. I found your master and I also found a general, close to the king, who lives near the northern gate. All of these killings are messages to Vegeta, that I can destroy him as easily as he can anger me. My next target is the general, he is home at nights, and then I will be moving on to the recruitment station at the western gate. If Vegeta is smart enough, he will be there, and if he is stupid, I will have killed one officer for every gate, and I will start moving in until there are no officer's left." Red Mountain sighed and started the runabout.

"You would do well to maintain a safe distance from me tonight. If you want to leave, leave, and I don't care who you talk to. " She steered the runabout out of the parking lot and up into the air. Quickly she reached the eastern gate. She found a place on the street and set the vehicle down. She got out and looked at Ja,

"Do Not Follow Me." With that she turned and left, turning down the street and changing into her exotic Egyptian human form, her clothes becoming sparse and wrapping her neck and waist in gold and white over her dusky skin, her bones became long and her hair jet black and patternless. Her eyes became a thick green and she climbed the wall of the general's house, keeping out of sight as she heard loud voices screaming, one his and one his wife, Red Mountain would have bet. She opened a window as a woman left the room, leaving the general alone to sob on the bed. She entered silently and shifted into her half cat form. She stepped up behind him and sharpened her claws on his skull and began to devour him quickly, leaving the bones picked clean in a pile of blood. She shifted to human and wiped her face on the clean bedclothes and picked his tags out of the blood. She turned from the bed and lept out the second story window to land on her feet. She shifted back to her clouded leopard human form and ran back to the run about. Ja was still in there, just as she left him.

"Ja? This runabout is yours now. Do Not Follow Me. If you do, it will be your death." She left the side of the runabout and dashed into the shadows, keeping herself out of his sight as he strained his eyes for her. She shifted into her cat cheetah form and ran down the sidewalk, avoiding the light effortlessly, the gate was not far away, she could make it there in less than an hour. Bolting madly she nearly flew to the gates of the Royal Guardsman and Armed Forces Recruitment and Training Station. She halted and sat on her haunches beneath the tall fence. The fence was more of a wall than a fence, it had no little niches for claws or paws and would require a great skill to scale.

She looked at her sharp claws, lifting her right paw and then her left paw. Her golden cheetah eyes glimmered from underneath the shadow, a teardrop pattern on her fur accentuated her fuzzy round head. She stretched on the concrete, the dog tags still jingling. As she stretched she sharpened her claws and lept onto the wall. It was scarcely a moment before she made it into the shadowy station. Her eyes didn't see much darkness, but that was a gift of the moon mother, wherever the moon could shine, a Bastet, a werecat could see. There were four buildings right in front of her, only one level but each quite long. Red Mountain suspected that they lead to an underground facility. They were built by a way Red Mountain did not know, she thought that they were sturdy and built to last ages. A searchlight shined beside her and she lept over it, the peace broken. She sat and guided the fleeting rage to change her form into a pitch black, lean, her bones showing through her fur, Her ears became longer and rounded and her eyes larger and deeper set with a green hue. Delicate paws retracted her long sharp claws at the end of her long limbs. Her tail shortened and became less for balance as she took a few steps forward and did not fear the searchlight. For now she was not lurking in the shadows of the night, she made the shadows.

A loud crack sounded above her as a flash of light descended into the base, only a few hundred feet from where Red Mountain now stood. The crack was the splitting of the sound barrier, no commercially sold vehicle and no military one operated like that inside the city limits, it had to be someone who knew how to fly themselves. Those people were few and those who could withstand the winds at that speed.

Red Mountain thought, her inside voice dripping with sarcasm and resentment. Vegeta, I'm so glad you could make it, what a wonderful surprise. Not to mention I am quite flattered that you did come. You have so many duties as the leader of the empire, and you come to put a subject of yours back in place, personally. You know, pathetic one, if I so wished it your entire government would collapse as you chased after me. But we have a score to settle. Red Mountain padded past the first four buildings surrounding her and past another gate house, a mere entrance to the underground. She found an officer's bunker, windows lit, blinding out the details of the inside to her. She padded closer, her golden bangle hanging loose around her leg, and the sword shifted silently on her back. Only the dog tags made noise, a soft delicate jingle, only audible to someone if they were sitting right beside her, and in her mood, few would survive. Red Mountain had to wear the dog tags, she needed to prove she killed them all.

The bunker was two stories, so it stood high above nearly all the other buildings. Two figures were in a window, Red Mountain sat and watched, the ground cold underneath her. They seemed to be arguing, one was only half in the window and short for a military officer, but the taller one bowed and turned to the porch, where the door was. As the man put a hat on she chuckled to herself, an officer for a messenger? Really Vegeta, if you think that is convincing to me that someone is in that building alone, you really have lost your touch. Red Mountain shifted from the pitch cat into her dark red cat, her true tribe's feline form. She walked up next to the porch and became human, untied the sword and prayed for it to become a staff, it, much relieved, did. Her clothes regenerated as well, black pants, jacket and boots with a tight cream shirt, it always amazed Red Mountain that they would do that. She, once, during her first year, spent an entire day shredding her clothes and `growing' new ones, her Kuasha was very frustrated with her that day. How could she be so childish? So in love wit a small detail in a werecat's existence? Red Mountain was very amused.

Red Mountain stepped up the porch stairs and rapped on the door. A whole half of her wanting to follow that officer messenger, not wanting to confront Vegeta quite yet, to tell him that his presence wasn't enough to perturb Red Mountain. Her whole other half said `No! We must kill Vegeta, he is an officer, he is the one who caused this whole thing.' But Red Mountain knew she couldn't kill Vegeta now, it would be simple suicide. She dashed off the porch and called upon her shadow heritage to melt inside the night's cover.

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