A ten minute walk through rapidly darkening streets had them outside of The Oasis. Seth smiled as he watched Keiko out of the corner of his eye. She wisely kept her hood up, but he could still see the tip of her muzzle. It bore a contemplative frown.

"Not what you expected, my lady?"

"A karaoke parlor?" She asked incredulously.

"You would prefer 'unlicensed brothel' in bold neon letters?" He jested, prompting her to huff in reply.

"Fair point. What happens now?"

"We go in." Seth took her by the hand and led her through the cheerfully lit entrance. It advertised drinks and public contests on the second floor as well as private rooms on the floors above. Seth and Keiko squeezed into the small elevator and waited for the door to close. When it did, Seth hit the buttons for 3, 5, and door open all at once. They waited.

"Hey, it's mask boy! You gonna actually spend some credits this time you cheap ass merc? Ah fuck. You brought your own? Seriously? Who's the chick? I don't recognize her." The voice was male and reptilian, lingering on each 's'.

"That's because I don't want you to, Vyren. I vouch for her, credits and otherwise."

"Fine, just don't start shit. Tonight's slow enough as is. Damn mercs and their countermeasures."

Despite Vyren's protests the elevator shuddered and began moving down. Keiko noted that there were no buttons lower than the ground floor.

"Seth," Keiko said nervously. He took her hand again.

"Whatever bravery compelled you to display your body to me in the palace, summon it now. The weak become prey. The strong claim whatever and whoever they choose."

Keiko took a deep breath and fixed a mask of indifference on her face. Whatever she wanted sounded good, decadent even. Seth nodded quickly as the car came to a halt and the doors opened. Heavy bass thrummed through her body from the dimly lit area beyond. "Now this is more what I expected," she said confidently, even feeling a bit like she meant it as the two of them strode out into the small atrium of the establishment. They were met by a python naga with a dusky scale coloration.

"Didn't know you were into wild dogs, merc. As I recall you never touch the live entertainment, and we've got plenty of dogs."

"I'm here on business, not to fuck," Keiko replied sharply. Vyren coiled backward as Seth laughed, finding great enjoyment in the princess' fire.

"You going to pat us down, Vyren?'

"Our security isn't chicken shit, Seth. I know you aren't packing heat."

"I need a better cloak then."

"You know what happens to idiots who bring guns in here," Vyren warned, flexing the muscles of his long, coiled tail. The implications were clear to Keiko. "The rabbit's here already, back left." With that Vyren flicked his tongue at them and retreated to the small security booth, complete with a prominently displayed selection of magitech handguns and plenty of camera feeds. The naga turned his attention back to screens, effectively ending the conversation. Seth looked over at Keiko.

"You did well, my lady."

"If you refer to me as anything other than Keiko while we're in here you'll never see my body again...cheap ass merc." She turned and smirked at him, seeing his eyes smiling behind the mask.

"If it pleases you...Keiko. I suppose I can treat you as a commoner tonight." It soon became clear that Seth meant that in more than just words, looping an arm around Keiko's waist and steering her into the brothel. Provocative holograms danced on the walls and even across the floor, shimmering as patrons passed through them. Men and the occasional woman smoked hookah around platforms made for pole dancing, and one or two could be seen intaking bright blue mist via inhaler. All manner of scantily clad male and female forms were visible, though Keiko's gaze was held by one of the real dancers. The cheetah girl up on the platform was turning gracefully around a pole, showing off her artificially endowed chest and dyed fur. The luminescent bikini she sported shimmered and drew attention to her ass. Keiko couldn't help but stare with open mouth.

"Hey cutie, fancy something a bit more human tonight? I'm off in ten," the dancer offered, widening her stance and giving Keiko and Seth an unobstructed view of her tail-less posterior. Keiko tried to collect herself, managing to look the girl in the eye again. Those had been modified too, eschewing natural feline pupils for rounded human ones. It shouldn't have surprised her that the staff at an illicit establishment wouldn't care much for national laws prohibiting extensive body modification outside of injury recovery, but seeing a human fetishist in the flesh was still something she hadn't been ready for. Her fingers took hold of credit chit that Seth discreetly passed to her, as if to say 'your call'.

Well, I guess it's time to jump in with both paws, Keiko decided, cocking a finger at the girl and approaching the platform, hoping her engagement would help her blend in. The cheetah spread her legs wide and rode the pole down low as she could. "Oh my, look at you! I hope you're not here to audition. Plenty of boys in here would pay good money to spend a night with the princess. You look just like her."

Keiko couldn't help but smile at the confirmation that she was cutting an at least passable 'disguise'. Seeing the chit in Keiko's fingers, the cheetah moved forward on hands and knees, blowing her a kiss as the princess reached out and slipped it into the fold of her skimpy top. Her heart was ready to leap right out of her chest, wondering what her family would do if they could see her. She spoke as softly to the dancer as the music would allow. "Unless you're hiding something between those legs of yours I'll pass, but I know beauty when I see it."

"Business then?" The cheetah guessed, rolling onto her back and crossing her legs in the air. "I appreciate it, princess. Can I call you that? Name's Savannah. You need anything you just call, princess. Have fun with that mask." With a wink Savannah returned to her pole, tempting the couple of other patrons who had taken seats around her platform. Keiko backed away and turned to Seth who was looking down at her with what she thought was approval, arms crossed over his chest.

"You have decent street sense, my...Keiko. Vyren will be happy as well."

"How much was on that chit?" She asked curiously.

"Ten thousand," he replied simply.

"By humanity, Seth!"

"Let's just say I remember when she looked like a normal cheetah," the human continued, a hint of sadness in his voice.

Keiko fell silent as they walked on towards the dark corner of the space, passing by waiters with drinks and holograms that called out to them. The proper, pious half of her wanted to recoil from what Savannah had done to herself, how she'd sought to become more like humanity for the sake of pleasure. The rest of her understood that she'd only have done it if clients would pay for it. Her thoughts were arrested as they approached the back of a leather couch, looking down at the upper half of a well muscled, practically naked jaguar and an albino jackrabbit grinding on his lap. The male noticed them first with a casual glance over his shoulder. He nodded politely, showing absolutely no shame at any aspect of the situation as he discreetly got Sybela's attention with a buck of his hips.

"Good evening, mask."

"Keeping her company, Alex?" Seth asked, his voice still modified by his mask.

"And it was just getting good, too," Sybela complained, getting off his lap and regarding Keiko critically. The net jockey had mismatched eyes, one in the natural red of an albino and the other featuring so many components that Sybela had clearly given up trying to make it look natural. Circuits for veins and a camera for an iris, Sybela certainly took her work seriously. She gave the princess a challenging look, cupping Alex by the stones as he stood. "Go to the usual room and wait for me, Alex. I want it in my ass tonight," Sybela ordered without a hint of embarrassment, giving the big cat a slap on the ass. The jaguar bowed to them again and retreated to the hallway in the back of the establishment, leaving Seth and Keiko to sit across from Sybela on a separate couch.

"Rough day?" Seth asked, finally using his real voice.

"None of your business, Seth. How much does she know?" Sybela demanded, getting down to business immediately.

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you too, Sybela," Keiko cut in, crossing her legs at the knee as the rabbit looked at her.

"Can't say the feeling's mutual, princess. So when do the Sekhama get here, Seth?"

"I don't appreciate that assertion, Sybela," Seth said seriously. "Please forgive her, Keiko. She's always a bit spiky when meeting new people."

"Explains the taste in men...and dick," Keiko agreed, smirking as Sybela looked at them both in disbelief, adjusting her miniskirt and a tight leather top that only covered her breasts.

"So the princess matches her piercings then? Seth, this is madness and you know it," the rabbit said harshly.

"It is not madness, Sybela," he insisted just as seriously.

"And what's to stop her from selling us out whenever she-"

"The fact that I'm filthy rich and your money means nothing to me. Nothing you own means anything to me, not even that tight body you're showing off," Keiko snapped quietly, not fully trusting the heavy music to keep their discussion private.

"Still doesn't give you a reason to work with us," Sybela countered, not bothering to respond to Keiko's provocation despite her bristling fur.

"Seth can be convincing when he puts his mind to it." Keiko took pleasure in how her intentionally vague statement had Sybela looking ready to stand up and sock Seth across the face.

"So you did fuck her? You idiot monkey. They'll have your head for that."

"I'm happy to inform you that Keiko's flower remains intact and my head will remain on my shoulders for the foreseeable future. And since when is it us, Sybela? I thought you were out."

"That was until she came here," Sybela begrudgingly admitted. "Bit of a risk, wouldn't you say?"

"She managed to get in the good graces of the staff the moment she entered. I daresay your handmaidens told you more than your fair share of tales, no?" Seth asked knowingly. Keiko shrugged as a glowing purple bikini caught her eye.

"A lady doesn't reveal her secrets. Seth, who's that with Savannah?" At Keiko's question, Seth casually looked over Sybela's shoulder before motioning with his hand for Sybela to do the same. The rabbit's cybernetic eye snapped to the burly figure, a panther who was leading the cheetah to the back rooms with a firm grip on her upper arm.

"Shit, poor girl. She's going to be walking funny for a week," Sybela muttered. "That's one of the Oro's lieutenants. The boss runs a mnyama by the same name, but that hunk of meat is the one with the rap sheet. They're small time but up and coming, modding and a bit of hacking. Who knows, maybe Savannah's still paying them off for the eyes and the tits?"

"Seth?" Keiko called out to him with a hint of desperation in his voice. His eyes were moving rapidly behind the mask.

"Kidnap, rape, torture, extortion. It's all in the public police records. Always let off on technicalities, inadmissible evidence, plausible deniability." He looked down at Keiko, finding a rigid jaw and pleading eyes. She wanted to move. He made to stand.

"Sit the fuck down, monkey," Sybela hissed. "We're not some goddamn vigilantes."

"What would you do, Sybela? Hack the mnyamas to death?" Seth asked cooly.

"Don't you fucking dare start something in here, you idiot! All you have is your knife and I happen to like this place!"

Keiko growled and closed her eyes, focusing on the tiny magicite conduit in her palm. A black void formed there and resolved itself into a small pistol, mostly hidden beneath her cloak. Sybela didn't bother holding back her surprise, jumping to her feet.

"By humanity, she's a psyonic?!"

"I need you to understand something, Keiko," Seth said seriously as they both stood, overruling Sybela two to one. "If you commit to this you cannot hesitate, you cannot falter. Do so and you will die instead. This will be one of the easy ones. Even so he might have a wife, he might have children. And for the record, my approach would be to kill him after he's exhausted himself screwing that cheetah into the mattress, preferably somewhere far from here." The pounding music covered their deadly dialog as the three stared one another down. Keiko made a decision.

"I'm sure Savannah has a family too," she whispered bravely, feeling her guts tightening into knots at what she was about to attempt, something Seth apparently wouldn't even consider on a normal day. "Am I insane?"

"Yes. And I'm willing to take a risk on your insanity if we're going to win this war. A mercenary would never do what you're suggesting, Keiko. But if mercenaries were enough then the Sekhama would have just hired us away from the mnyama. Sybela, go enjoy Alex. Pay him double and make sure it gets back to Vyren." The rabbit glared at them both.

"This girl is going to get you killed, Seth."

"I never planned to survive this, Sybela."

"Fuck you...damn hairless monkey," Sybela cursed but made no move to stop them, intentionally disturbing a couple of holograms as she walked to the back rooms to rejoin Alex.

"Will the Oasis suffer if we do this?" Keiko asked.

"That depends on a great many things. Take hold of me, Keiko."

"What?!"

"Act as though you can't keep your hands off me and are oh so eager to head to the back," he insisted, leaning into her. Keiko ran her hands up his armor and around his neck before resting her head in the crook of his neck.

"Don't you have that jamming thing?" Keiko whispered.

"It can only distort. It won't erase our bodies."

"The rooms all have cameras though, don't they?" She asked worriedly as they stumbled back towards the hallway with a large XXX holo above it. A catcall and whistle or two followed them as they went.

"I'm detecting another jamming source...I hope you've steeled your belly, my lady."

-----

"Shit, poor Savannah. I guess her bill finally came due," Vyren muttered, watching as the feed from room number three fizzled and cut out. Providing a neutral ground for the mnyama and seedy corporate elements was lucrative, but the patrons tended to take full advantage of the fact that the proprietors couldn't exactly go to the police or Sekhama. His eyes were drawn to another feed as a couple of blurry bodies made their way down the hallway before stopping at door three. It opened. "How interesting," he hissed. "A young couple appears to have gotten lost."

-----

"Get on the bed and strip. Face down, ass up," the mnyama commanded, activating a small disc and throwing it on the floor.

"Ooh, someone's eager-" Savannah recoiled as the behemoth of a panther struck her across the face. She knew better than to cry out.

"Shut the fuck up and get on the bed. We own you, bitch. Hope looking like some fucked up hybrid is worth it to you."

Savannah shut her eyes and thought about the reason she'd ended up in the Oasis, the two little ones at home. She always wondered what would happen when they got old enough to ask where she went every night. As his zipper was undone and his pants fell to the floor her thoughts returned to the proximate. She didn't dare reach for any lubricant. Her face still ached. She wondered what he'd choose first, if he'd take both. She just hoped he'd opt for her ass second. Her eyes flew open as the door, which should have already been closed, clicked shut. That was followed immediately by the sound of a knife cutting through the skin and tendons of a leg, a mostly bloodless crippling. The mnyama screamed in pain and dropped to his knees.

"Gah, what the fuck?! No wait, please!" He yelled, turning to find the barrel of a gun materialize before him along with a pair of terrified golden eyes. The girl closed them and pulled the trigger. The panther crumpled the rest of the way to the floor.

Someone taught her well, Seth thought as he knelt and wiped his knife clean on the fresh corpse. When he stood he sighed deeply and brought a hand to his mask, finding that he had two panicked females to deal with.

"Princess!" Savannah gasped, curling her legs under her and covering her breasts with her arms. "What is...how did you do that!"

Keiko didn't respond, having turned from her grizzly handiwork. Seth could tell she was shaking, even under the cloak. The cheetah girl was equally panicked, now processing the implications of what she'd just witnessed.

"Humanity preserve me, they're going to kill me! They're not going to let this slide. What am I going to tell them when-"

"Savannah, I need you to be quiet and calm, for a moment," Seth instructed. "I'm going to take her to the next room. Make a little show of waving to us and then follow a few minutes later. Don't disturb the body whatever you do. Did you touch him yet?"

"N-no."

"Then don't start. Keiko, come with me now," the mercenary beckoned with a level tone, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and making sure his jammers were still active. Of all the places to make your first kill, what a mess. Savannah walked with them to the door and made a scene of shaking her body and blowing them a kiss before closing it. Seth was silent until the door to number four closed behind them. He activated every jammer in his suit the moment they crossed the threshold. "Don't close your eyes next time."

Keiko barely heard him, wrapping her arms around herself as she sank to her hands and knees. She'd never seen that look in a man's eyes, in anyone's eyes. The fact that he'd likely laughed in the face of the weak and helpless countless times didn't matter in that moment. She couldn't get his pleading gaze out of her head. Her stomach clenched and churned as she started dry heaving. Seth knelt beside her.

"Easy now, easy Keiko. Breathe, force it down. Good, now out. Breathe Keiko. Breathe!" His hand moved up her back with each exhalation and then back down as she took in shuddering breaths. He could feel the metallic plates beneath her cloak. "There you go, you're alright. Control it. You did it, Keiko. You spared that woman from a great deal of pain."

"I killed," she gasped. "I killed!"

"You did. You killed one of the men tearing your city apart," he responded cooly, trying to plan their next move while consoling a momentarily crippled princess.

"He...he begged."

"Shhh, now. Focus on me. You're fine, Keiko," Seth assured her, looking around the bare bones room. There was a mirror on the wall opposite the bed. The only other furniture consisted of a bedside table that Seth knew contained plenty of lube, toys, and prophylactics, as well as the necessary gear for virtual sessions. He'd never touched them out of concern for his own health. "Come now, Keiko. Let's sit," he insisted, helping her stand on shaking legs and steering her to sit on the side of the bed, making sure they faced the door and not the mirror. Keiko buried her head in her hands as soon as they settled down, with Seth doing his best to provide gentle contact and keep her focused on the present. He snapped his head to the doorway as it clicked open.

"Hey cuties," Savannah called before closing the door and immediately dropping the act. She was afraid, very afraid, but she was also grateful. "How is she?"

"Reacting about as well as one could ask for a first kill," Seth replied tersely. "Lock it."

"That was...the business she was talking about?" Savannah asked with wide eyes, her artificial human pupils adjusting to the low light of the room.

"No." Seth snapped, uninterested in the concerns of a pole dancer.

"Don't treat her that way, Seth!" Keiko gasped, finally looking up and over at the two of them. "It's not her fault." That did it.

"No, it's your fault. We could have waited until he'd had his way with her, taken him down in some alley. No onlookers, no mess, same message. Now we're in a seedy fuck room and we have a witness."

"How can you say that after how much you put on that chit!"

"That was then, this is now. You executed well but the job's only half over and you're falling apart before the loose ends are tied off. That's the reality of the situation."

"Then shut up and go fuck Sybela! I hear her pussy is still open," Keiko fumed. Seth stood silently and walked to the door, leaning against it. The murder had his blood up and he was in no mood to entertain her.

"I'll just wait here then, my lady," he shot back venomously, forced to recall a most unpleasant memory.

"Don't listen to him," Keiko told Savannah, becoming more animated as she focused on a new issue at hand. The damned human was right. She had to keep moving.

"Princess, I don't mean to sound ungrateful but he would have let me live, at least. Now this is going to come back. They're going to kill me! Why did you kill him? And how?!"

Keiko turned to face the naked cheetah, lowering her hood as she did so. "You really do look just like her," Savannah murmured. Keiko smiled and brought her black furred palms up to cover the sunbursts under her eyes.

"I am her."

Seth watched with silent curiosity as he checked the power on his own longer range jamming suite, making sure Vyren wouldn't be able to observe the goings on. Savannah's mouth dropped open as she stammered incoherently before prostrating herself before Keiko. "My lady, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to-"

“If it’s all the same to you, Savannah, I’d rather just be Keiko tonight. I don’t particularly feel like a princess.”

“I...alright,” the dancer agreed hesitantly, seating herself back on the bed and suddenly looking very self conscious about her nudity.

“Can I ask you why you chose to change yourself like that?” Keiko said softly, looking at the woman’s tail-less posterior. Savannah looked away shamefully.

“I know it’s sacrilegious but...I’ve heard men will pay a lot for something more human.”

“And the breasts?”

“I know they’ll pay a lot more for that, princess. The ones that don’t mind a firmer texture, anyway. Oh by the wise ones, how did I end up talking with the princess about my tits?!”

“Savannah I need you to deliver a message for me tonight. Do you have a family?”

“Two young ones at home.”

A small swell of pride lit in Keiko’s chest. Damn Seth and his merc logic. This was the right thing to do...I just need to get out of it! “I understand. Are they able to work? I don’t mean strenuous labor. Small things, like watering plants?”

“I...yes, I believe they could.”

“Then listen to me closely, Savannah. Commit this to memory. You have a lens?” The cheetah nodded. “Good. You can write it down too. Go to the front gates and tell the on duty Sekhama that you have information regarding the condition of Lady Keiko and that you need to speak with Idris Octavia. He’s the commander of the Sekhama. Now they probably won't believe you at first, so here’s what you’ll say, the golden light still dawns over Alhamkara. Repeat that to me.”

Savannah did as bade, repeating the phrase and working to commit it to memory. Keiko nodded when she was satisfied. “I want you to tell Idris that you’ve seen me alive and that I’m well. Tell him that he needs to be ready to enact every contingency plan he has to take out every mnyama in the capital. Tell him if he doesn’t have a plan for any gang then his lady commands him to formulate one. Tell him I leave it to his discretion when to act and when not to act...and tell him I’m sorry for not returning just yet. Do this for me, Savannah, and I will make sure you and your family are safe and well cared for. That same phrase, repeated to any of my handmaidens, will ensure you employment within the palace.”

“I, but...my lady I have no skills. All I have is my body,” Savannah whispered. Keiko smiled and reached out to her.

“It’s a beautiful body, Savannah. Find a reputable clinic, ensure your own health, and have them reverse this.” She gently caressed the swell of one of the cheetah’s fake breasts. “You would be in high demand at the harem within the palace, should you choose. If not, you’re still young. You still have time to learn a task or trade. As for your young ones...the plants of my solar find themselves without any caregivers at the moment. Go now, please.”

“Yes, of course. Thank you, your majesty. Thank you so much I...the grace of humanity always be with you, lady Keiko,” the cheetah spoke quickly and humbly. Keiko nodded to accept her wishes and stood from the bed.

“Savannah, if you betray me, Seth or I will find you.”

With a furious nod the cheetah bolted from the room as quickly as her legs could carry her. Seth stepped silently out of the way, an act that symbolized at least tacit approval of Keiko’s handling of the situation. The wild dog was left gazing at the door, wondering if she’d done the right thing. She eventually turned her gaze to the mercenary, finding him looking silently at her. “Well, now’s the time to tell me I didn’t do things the mercenary way, since you seem uninterested in rabbit this evening,” she snapped angrily. He walked slowly over to her, threw his hood up and removed his mask.

“Not two days later you’re already bridging the gaps between light and dark, the palace and the underworld. I’ve contacted Talon. He will...escort her from the shadows. If anyone comes for her I’ve told him weapons are free. I know not how our actions here tonight will evolve, Keiko, but we should be ready to reap the whirlwind.”

Keiko closed her eyes tightly as the terrified face flashed before her eyes again, the weight of a taken life settling on her shoulders. “Take me away from here, Seth. Now...please.”

“As you wish, my lady."