July 6th, 2486 - Planet Sanctuary, Sanctuary City - Koltura District - Pazzik’s Mechanics

Ichiro didn’t have time to think. Muscles rippled beneath a thin layer of cotton, and Cosmopoh’s hoodie threatened to burst, his bare, violet-skinned chest swelling up as it filled with air. He roared, and jumped. Ichiro felt his legs tense, instinct guiding his movements as he dodged aside. He felt it in his lower back—one of the spectral upper arms caught him with a glancing blow, and Ichiro stumbled, hands grasping at the grimy concrete below. He didn't have a plan; his brain sent up red flags of terror and pumped the muscles in his legs for all they were worth. He was coming to the end of the alleyway, nearing a row of trash cans when the shape of an idea began to form.

Ichiro reached the cans first, just barely. All four of Cosmopoh's arms struck out, one landing another blow on Ichiro's back, sending a shooting pain through his left shoulder. Ichiro ducked right, grabbed the lid from a can, spun around and fired it at Cosmopoh. All four of the four-armed giant's eyes widened in surprise. He grabbed the lid with ease, and was just about to throw it aside when Ichiro knocked over the can itself and sent it barrelling towards him with a powerful kick. Cosmopoh grabbed that too; but let out a gasp as another lid, another can and something small, furry and very much alive sailed towards him through the air. His arms were full, and before he had time to toss all of the items aside, Ichiro played his hand; grinning wickedly, Ichiro knocked over another can and lobbed it with all his might at Cosmopoh. The can rolled, its contents spilling out and obscuring Ichiro's movements for just a second— Ichiro wrapped his arms around Cosmopoh left shin, and then he was falling, a powerful tackle from Ichiro sending the alien crashing face first into the ground. Ichiro jumped up, letting out a roar and brought his foot down hard on the back of Cosmopoh's skull.

The furry creature, which had eyes on stalks and a plump, orange body, scuttled away on bony purple legs, barking like a dog. A cockroach fled the scene, disappearing into a drain pipe.

'You're resourceful, I'll give you that ... I'm genuinely impressed ... but ingenuity can't match raw strength.'

Cosmopoh rose from the pile of discarded trash, cracking his neck with a swift movement of his head and stretching in a nonchalant manner. He cracked the knuckles on all four of his enormous hands and stared down at Ichiro, who was slowly backing away, back down the alley towards the mechanic's shop. Intense green eyes narrowed, and Ichiro knew that he was in for the worst beating of his life.

*

'Petrify them, Euryale!' Amarat cried, the wild look in her eyes matching the hideous grin on her lips.

Abiona recoiled further into the shelving unit, dislodging a number of aerosols that clattered to the floor at her feet. The sparrow necklace bounced against her chest as she flinched. She grabbed hold of it, rubbing it between her thumb and forefinger anxiously. Angora took a step back too, clearly perplexed and frightened by the display taking place in front of him. Amarat's silvery hair began to rise, billowing around her and emanating a brilliant, blue glow, until the hair itself suddenly sprang to life, becoming a seething mass of azure-coloured serpents. There were six of them in total, and they fixed their glowing, white-hot eyes on Angora.

'If you don't step in, I'm really gonna' mess these off-worlders up, Pazzik', Amarat sneered.

'Oh, I have no intention of stepping in ... because I'm not worried for my customers' safety in the slightest', Pazzik replied with a smile.

'Thanks for that', Abiona said, her sarcastic tone failing to hide the fear in her voice.

'I meant it as a compliment, valued customer', Pazzik crooned.

'Then allow me to repay you for the insult', Amarat spat, the serpents that tumbled from her scalp hissing in unison.

She took one step forward, snakes slithering outwards to a shocking length. The powerful muscles in Angora's legs tensed, the prosthetic arm going completely limp. His eyes darted from one serpentine appendage to the next, his teeth clenched in a grimace, the scar on his upper lip curling unpleasantly. He kicked; striking out quickly but tentatively, before anyone had time to react. The snakes lunged, acting on their own, mouths wide, shining fangs bared. Angora pulled back, before the roundhouse kick could land. He swore under his breath, taking another step back as Amarat stepped forwards.

'That's as far as you'll get', Amarat sneered more nastily than before. 'I sense something from you ... some iota of Mystik, but it's completely undeveloped. My Euryale won't let you get close ... you have a choice; give up, or spend the rest of the month in a hospital bed. What'll it be?'

The girl groaned, and Abiona's eyes were drawn downwards. The girl on the floor was a few years younger than her, dressed in shorts and a grubby white t-shirt, a mechanic's goggles affixed firmly to her head. Her bottle-dyed blue hair was tied in a ponytail, that fell down to the dark skin of her shoulders. Green eyes ringed with dark circles gazed up at Abiona in shock.

'You okay?' Abiona asked, holding out a hand. 'What's your name?'

The girl's eyes widened with surprise, then narrowed. Her ponytail whipped over her shoulder as she turned her head aside. She grabbed hold of the shelving unit and pulled herself up, almost tripping on the aerosols at her feet.

'Name's Chara', the girl replied, coldly.

Abiona heard her, but did not respond. Her eyes were glued to the aerosols on the ground. She looked up, and saw Angora take another step back as one of the spectral serpents lunged at him. Then something clicked, and an idea dawned on her.

'Chara!' She hissed, keeping her voice low. 'I need to borrow something from you.'

*

The gap disappeared immediately, and Ichiro felt the wind leave him as he was slammed against the filthy alleyway wall and pinned in place. The four emerald eyes glittered cruelly, a vicious grin flashing a number of large, yellowed teeth. Ichiro braced for impact, his abs growing taut from experience; life in the colonies had forced his body to withstand countless beatings. The upper arms, glowing blue, held him fast to the wall… and Cosmopoh let loose with the lower fists. Ichiro screamed, unable to hold back his voice as each fist pummelled him again and again in rapid, unending succession. He wasn’t going to last long…