Yay, new story! XD Like I said, it won't be... as random, and it's going to be alot darker... maybe.

Tatsu-ZZmage - Hehehe, glad you think so..?

Ch. 1 - The day was so nice...

Odd, how one little word could sum up everything and repeat itself in the mind like some odd mantra -- fuck. Swallowing thickly, the young woman closed her eyes, visualizing the enemy... how odd he looked, as the foe... How many times had they partnered up, watching eachother's backs? Ah well... as with everything in life, alliances were temporary at best. As quietly as possible, the now ex-Wraith crept along the shadows...

It was mere minutes before something glinted in the twilight, and she froze, staring straight down the barrel of a plasma rifle. How had he managed to get in front of her...? Her hand rested on the firearm on the inside of her jacket, the pair still for a long moment. "What are you waiting for, Fal?" She finally asked.

"Hehe... ever thought it'd come down to this, Var? Always thought it'd be you hunting me down..." The blond-haired man replied with a small smirk. "Last words?"

"Meh, not really... 'see ya in hell' is a bit too cliche... so just pull the trigger already." Her forehead met the tip of his weapon, ready to accept the deadly bullet, though it was an action her attacker did not expect. Falcon jerked his weapon slightly, though it was enough. One of her gloved hands shot up, directing the weapon elsewhere while her own firearm was brought out... His expression was one frozen in shock as his blood decorated the cold ground of the alleyway, body soon slumping back. Out of respect, there was a small salute to the dead man. "I'll bring the drinks..." And with that, she ran, away from the once-safe shadows...

... that surrounded her now. It was late, ungodly so, and there were few people roaming the streets. With a cigarette smoldering between her pale lips, Variable trudged down the empty, snow-covered sidewalk, ignoring both the cold and a sharp pain up one side every time she took a step. Damn... that would have to be repaired soon, before she lost the leg completely... a plasma shot to the knee wasn't much of a good thing. How long had it been, since that night so much like this one? At least a year, perhaps even two... and the Wraiths had been disbanded since then... They had fallen in the shadows, slowly fading away as though they never were... And she was alone. Still, she knew one of them was hunting her down. At least one.

Edge wasn't one she wanted to cross, as he was insane, moreso than she was... And he was more skilled, more dangerous, more... inhuman. Where she was a machine, he was a god... and he would be the one to kill her. Hopefully.

But that was enough, contemplating her end, as she gave a shakey sigh... It was cold, and she was wet. Variable was still half-human, and her organic side was hurting, protesting. Where was that damn hotel?!

Oh. She had passed it, it seemed... only by a few buidlings. A simple matter, to backtrack and head up to her room. A glance at the digital clock that sat next to the bed -- it was only four in the morning? Huh... A quick shower, then, and the human Maverick was passed out on a semi-comfortable bed past sunrise, sleeping blissfully towards noon and beyond.

Until, at least, a damn phone decided to go off. Wearily, she gave a death glare with eyes half-open, as she stared at the blasted device. Who, pray, would be calling her before noon? Did someone have a deathwish? Picking it up, Variable mumbled what she hoped to be a 'what the hell do you want?', though that's probably not how it sounded on the other end.

"Well, that was a rather angry grumble, Var. Did I wake you?" An affirmitave growl was his answer, to which he chuckled. "Come now... You've got a job."

"I'm up, I'm up... what's the deal?" With a yawn, she simply lay there, half-paying attention as the man spoke. Until... "Wait, what?!"

"We need to upgrade your robotic limbs.. at this point, they'll prove to be a risk during this mission."

"But they work fine!"

"I saw that blast you took -- you're lucky you were able to limp to that hotel of yours."

"... shuddup. I don't have the money to get upgrades..."

"Never said anything about charging you. Consider them a bonus, and part of your pay..."

"I like. Time and place?"

"Now, and the usual hangout... just don't pick a fight this time." Variable wasn't going to make promises she couldn't keep... and besides, the Mavericks knew her better than that. Any fight between them was for dominance, to establish the ranking in the group. Now, they knew better than to simply assume she was like other humans. With a yawn, she hung up before he could say anything else, and steadily woke herself up, heading back out into the cold morning, towards the run-down district her allies infested.

Well... yeah, infested was the right word. As of late, Mavericks had been growing in number, either because of the new models deciding they wanted to be Mavericks if they escaped capture and destruction, or older ones succumbing to the virus. Funny, how the Hunters seemed to have an easy time taking out those few that did rise up... they weren't truly aware of the bigger problem they were going to be having.

Especially soon, she hoped. A mercenary by profession, murderer by nature, and destroyer by choice, Variable knew most Reploids were programed not to attack humans, way down in their 'subconcious'. She knew the Maverick Virus erased those few lines of code, but she didn't know much more.

And it was during these musings, she walked, contemplating the little things in the city life, particularly how fun things had gotten and how easy jobs were getting now... Soon, the human Maverick would be doing them for free, if they stayed this interesting.

Unfortunately, these thoughts were brought to a rather abrupt end, as she side-stepped to avoid an attack to her right... one leg almost failing, not moving in time to dodge another attacker behind her. Something large and metal hit her in the head, throwing white spots up in her vision as she stumbled. Hit again, she was out cold.