It only seems like hours ago, Venus was two feet away from him. Xan staggered, disorientated by a tremendous wave of heat, the deadly mercenary sustained to overheat; he got down on one knee and took petty moments to cool off. Attaining that Venus was nowhere to be found he brought it upon himself to panic, he stood up and evoked a full on sprint down the damaged road caused by the unexpected bombing. Xan hissed and felt the cool air press against his forearms and visage as he whisked down the street.
The rogue heightened his senses and sharpened his vision, he could spot a myriad of Union soldiers gathering outside a disturbingly large building—it was too large to say the least—Xan couldn't afford taking the system of soldiers out, he had to be rather sneaky which he absolutely dreaded of doing; Venus had to be condemned inside.
Hesitant at first, Xan remained hidden behind a wall until there was a clear sign to bolt for it. He skittered across the court way and scaled alongside the building, Xan hovered in front of a window where a guard was alarmed by his dark form; Xan kicked in the window and shattered it into multiple pieces before landing on the armed man.
"So much for quiet", he thought and snapped the guards' neck before seizing his weapons. Xan brought the gun to his lips "Armed" and shot at a militia coming around the corner, he gritted his teeth showing off his large canine incisors—he was initiating a wild sprint down the corridor, evading most of the ammo being torn into his flesh as he ran; he revealed his claws and pounced on a solider.
"Where's the girl!?" he growled, the hairs on his skin began sticking up and his hair on his own head bristled up; defying gravity as if it weighed less. The soldier gasped loudly and pointed to the map located on his wrist, Xan ripped it off him before shooting him in the mouth and before Xan could retrieve any useful items the rest of the soldiers exposed their positions and let a rain shower fall on Xan.
He flipped out of the way at an unnatural speed and hid behind a corner, ultimately, he knew he wasn't going to have enough charge left in his weapon. He was reminded that Butch was abandoned at a bunker and was given the task to repair a ship before they got back from sightseeing; all for the sake of keeping Venus happy. Xan's eyes turned bright saffron, he was losing it for sure and being without her for so long was quite unnerving—he glanced over and saw an electrical grenade; a menacing smirk splayed across his lips.
The soldiers drew closer and in an instant, Xan threw the activated grenade and ran across the hall; the explosion set off and demolished the soldiers. The rogue hissed and couldn't help but hear an innocent cry for help, the sound was so familiar it frightened Xan, he stood up and anxiously stalked the halls of the fortress. He grew closer to the source and the cries turned into anguish screams, he kicked down the door and shot whoever was in the room that looked perpetually like someone with a gun and ready to kill.
Venus was being held captive in the center of the room, strapped to a chair with a single strap going across her eyes and needles stabbing into her wrists, ankles and chest area. Xan's eyes dilated and he dashed over to her, "Venus, hold on I'm getting this stuff off of you" he lamented; he removed the straps including the one across her eyes, her eyes that were now dull in color. He carefully removed the needles and pulled Venus off the reclined chair and brought her close to him, "Hey….it's okay now, I'm here….please say something Venus" he grieved and nuzzled her.
He placed a gentle kiss against her forehead before carrying her bridal style; his goal was to find an escape route. He gazed at the map and followed it accordingly; he had a few scrapes along the way but nothing he couldn't handle. Xan resurfaced unto the street of Asphen, the rogue rushed the woman towards somewhere safe, a hotel would be easy to score and he had intentions to go to one; he was just so tired.
Xan rented a room and placed Venus on the bed before making contact with Butch, "I found Venus, stay hidden. The Union is watching…" he hissed on the phone and ended the call; he took the phone into his hand and smashed it into pieces. He returned to the room to find Venus standing in front of the bed looking dazed, "Xan…" she mumbled, the beasts' oculars turned umber and he embraced her. Not caring what she had to say, he rubbed against her and dug his nails into hips.
Venus let out a whimper and she ushered her arms around his neck, "I was so scared…" she muttered, Xan moved in closer causing them to fall on the bed. He nuzzled deep into her neck and purred loudly, "I'm so sorry….I should have gotten there sooner. I will never let anyone touch you again..." he coaxed and kept her extremely close.
"Let's just stay like this…I am so tired..." Xan groaned and closed his eyes; Venus smiled and snuggled up to him before closing her stargazed eyes.
There they were, sound asleep.