Beast, Unchained.

[STSF Corizon 0]

The wind whipped at his silver hair. His long black leather trench fluttered lightly in the breeze. A light rain peppered his face. He could taste it in the air. He closed his eyes for a long moment and let the wind and rain break upon his light skin.

 

The city lights were dull in the distance, and his shadowy figure went unnoticed across the skyline. He opened his eyes and stepped off the edge, extending either arm as if to fly. One leg tucked half way, as he sailed downward.

 

Landing gently, he ran both hands through his hair, rolled his neck and shoulders and walked on ward. The beast was about to be unleashed.

 

Stopping, he turned left down an alley. He could hear the subtle sounds from the 'hidden' club. Ahead a shadowy man stood next to dumpster and a door. The 'bouncer,' looked to be about six-feet-tall and around two-hundred pounds of muscle. The first 'test.' Walking up to him, the bouncer lifted an eyebrow.

 

“Something I can help you with,” the mound of meat said incredulously. It wasn't a question.

 

“I heard this was a good place.”

 

“For what?”

 

“You know.”

 

“No, I don't.”

 

He looked at the bouncer for a moment, then approached closely, whispering in his ear. As he spoke the bouncer's eyes grew wide. When he finished, the bouncer, all two-hundred and fifty pounds of him, lay on the ground—a bloody heap.

 

“For Killing...”

 

Looking at the body, then the door, he took another deep breath and rolled his neck again. Bringing his hand up to his mouth he licked the blood off his claws before spitting it in the general direction of the dead body. There'd be plenty more blood tonight. Oh yes, there would be blood.

 

Without a second thought, Corizon kicked the door open with his sleek, knee-high leather boots with silver straps up the sides. With all the commotion inside, the sudden explosion of the door went unnoticed, which in some ways disappointed him, and in others excited.

 

The beat of the club thumped as hot, sweaty bodies writhed in a throng of alien and human ecstasy. He walked across the club towards the bar against the wall. A four limbed alien female looked him over for a few moments before asking him what he wanted to drink. He slid her a slip of latnium and asked for a shot of her best whiskey. A few moments later she produced a glowing pink liquid that burned with a fire as it slid down his throat.

 

“Where's Gu'tagza?”

 

She looked at him for a moment, “You'll need more latnium...”

 

“Listen,” he said, as his yellow eyes locking on hers. “You can either tell me and I just kill him and his cronies, or I just start killing people till I find him... your pick.”

 

The tender's eyes went wide. Something in his voice told her that the dog-eared guy wasn't joking about that. “In the corner... in the booth. But... he...”

 

He passed her another slip of latnium. “Thanks...I can handle him.”

 

She opened her mouth to protest, but before she could he was gone into the throng of writhing bodies. He pushed his way forward, moving bodies aside as the beat raged. He would have been almost disappointed if someone hadn't tried to stop him before he reached his target.

 

The first of the goons to do so tapped him on the shoulder. Corizon delivered a crushing elbow to his assailants mid-section. In the same motion he removed a silver dagger holstered on his belt, he followed the elbow with a full extension backwards, slicing open the unseen assailant. A second one tried a head on approach, only to be met with a similar fate—a bloody torso on the ground.

 

By the third one, the thumping beat and throng of dancers had begun to scramble out of the way. Ahead of him, the muscular, stocky Gu'tagza sat directing his goons. He was flanked on either side by two Nausicans while an Orion male stood in the middle, anchoring his final line of defense.

 

Just ahead of them two lanky humans with bladed weapons began making their way towards Corizon in an coordinated attack. Stopping, Corizon dropped his trench to reveal his skin tight grey undershirt and black fabric utility pants. From his side, a silver sword shaped like a Chinese dao, only with barbs along the curved blade hung but soon found its way into his hand. Wheeling it, he took position, calling his attackers on.

 

Dressed in grey and black tunics with purple hands on their shoulders, the swordmen approached Corizon and drew him into fighting both of them at once. What the didn't see coming was his ability to push them both back.. Wheeling forward he knocked one of them back, and caught the other off guard with a vicious spinning hook-kick. A second motion brought darkness to the downed swordsman as Corizon spun again and arched his back, stabbing downward into his assailants chest with his sword.

 

The second swordsman looked helplessly as his comrade was slain. The distraction proved fatal. Corizon moved in quickly, wheeling his blade lethally. Though the swordsman put up a fight, the furious swings of Corizon's sword won out and the second swordsman lie like the first, a bloody mess of gashes and tares in the floor of the club.

 

Corizon looked up at Gu'tagza, “Is this the best you can do?”

 

The squat man looked at his Orion and nodded. The Orion pointed to the two Nauscicans and they revealed to be holding heavy pulse disruptors that looked like they belonged on a Bird of Prey and not in someone's hand. Each had six rotating barrels to keep them from melting down, and they spun up as the disruptors started firing a hail of liquid green fire on the dance floor.

 

Instinctively, Corizon began running towards the small raised platform where his target was ensconced. Rolling to avoid the reign of death, Corizon shocked even the Orion as he soon was upon them, removing a handful of 'si-Jan' from a pocket in his pants. He tossed the razor-sharp discs at the Nausicans, striking them in the throat. The heavy guns and the Nausicans crashed to the ground.

 

The Orion seemed almost pleased. He cracked his knuckles and began walking towards the lanky Dameon who meant to kill his master. This was going to be fun.

 

Corizon attacked first, unleashing a volley of kicks and palm strikes to the beefy, green wall between him and his target. The Orion, for his part, absorbed them almost orgasmic, flexing and smiling as the intense strikes from the Dameon crashed into his body. A second wave from the dog-beast caused a cracking sound to emanate, but not from the Orion. He grabbed the the silver-haired creature by the wrist and flipped him onto his back with a thud.

 

Grimacing, Corizon steeled himself and waited as the ogre approached to 'finish him off.' Rather surprisingly, at least to the Orion, as he neared his victim, Corizon suddenly swept him off his legs with a spininng move that caused the heavy stack of green muscles and leather to crash backwards onto the hard floor. A few moments later, the last thing he saw was a leaping Corizon that sunk his sharp fangs into the Orion's throat as his claws dug into his chest.

 

A primal snarl resonated as Corizon lifted from the ogre with green blood dripping from his mouth. Licking at his lips, Corizon narrowed his glance and looked towards Gu'tagza. The crime-lord he'd been sent to kill at least had a spine. He stood a few feet away, taking off the expensive suite jacket he wore and cracking his knuckles.

 

Corizon barely noticed the throbbing pain of his swelling right wrist, and walked forwards to meet his target, who'd proved to be a rather satisfying kill, unlike most of the people who were his victims. Panting, covered in blood of various colors he prepared himself for his final task.

 

Gu'tagza stood across from him, readying himself. It wasn't everyday an Imperial Deathdealer was sent to end your life, now was it? And the good thing about this was, if Corizon failed... well suffice to say there wasn't much in the way of 'better quality' assassins available.

 

They quickly met in battle, exchanging a series of blows that knocked both back and bloodied Gu'tagza's nose and Corizon's lip.

 

“So tell me,” Gu'tagza said in his heavily accented standard. “What did I do to get the Shadow of Death sent after me?”

 

“You know,” Corizon said between heavy breathes. “You know exactly what you did.”

 

Grinning the Troyian criminal laughed a bit. “Oh but I've done so many terrible things.”

 

“Selling narcotics to Xenexian children is pretty low, even for you.”

 

The blue-skinned alien laughed again. “I am sure you've done worse.”

 

Corizon responded with a renewed attack. Gu'tagza pushed back and struck Corizon across the face and in passing struck his swollen wrist, cause a wave of pain to flush over the Dameon. He paused for a moment to steel himself, giving Gu'tagza an opening. The door closed quickly, however, and Corizon a clawed strike from his good hand and followed it with a penetrating knee-kick to the mid-section.

 

The Troyian slumped to the ground, breathing heavily. Corizon grabbed him by the throat and lifted him to meet his eyes. Corizon yellow eyes looked into the the Troyians widening eyes as his squeezed tightly, breaking the skin with his claws and opening up the trachae itself. Blue blood rushed in and soon Gu'tagza was coughing and wheezing as blood filled his lungs. Corizon released him, letting him fall to the ground suffocating in his own vile blue blood.

 

Corizon took a deep breath and wiped his own red blood from his lips; with a flick of his wrist he flung the green, blue and red mixture of blood on his claws on the floor before picking up his sword and coat and walking into the rainy night, the wind whipping at his face, raindrops falling on his light skin.