"That's a terrible idea."
"You have a better one?" Vinny asked V.
"No," V sighed, slumping forward. "I don't."
"There's no need for this!" Wander panicked. He had Sylvia and Vinny holding him down, and V was smirking at him while holding what she called a 'ball-gag'. "Can't we just talk to Hater? We're buddies. I'm sure I can convince him to ta-MMPH!" V shoved the red orb into his mouth while Vinny secured the strap around his head.
"I gotta admit, Wander," V chuckled. "Hatty has good taste. You look so cute all bound and gagged." She ruffled the fur on top of his head before placing Hatty back on the nomad's head.
"Could you make this anymore awkward?" Vinny deadpanned.
"I could, but I won't." V turned to Sylvia and held up a second gag. "Your turn," she said a little too cheerfully.
"I can manage on my own," Sylvia frowned, swiping the ball-gag from V and putting it on. Then she plopped down next to Wander and let Vinny tie her up.
Vinny fired a couple of shots from his assault rifle. It was the only weapon they had that could hit the Skullship at its current elevation. He was still weirded out that the ship literally looked like a giant skull floating in the air, but tried to ignore it. It was the least weird thing he'd seen since leaving Earth.
"Ok, that's enough," V told him, and he lowered his weapon.
"Think that got his attention?" Vinny asked.
"I hope so. We can't afford to waste too many bullets."
A few minutes passed, and the Skullship began to lower. As it drew closer, Vinny struggled to steady his heart and breathing. Only now was the true scale of the ship become evident. It stopped no more than 50 meters up, but still stretched disturbingly high. If he had to guess, the Skullship was at least as big as Night City's tallest skyscrapers.
"Go time," V smiled. She removed her helmet, flipping her mohawk back over her shoulder. She held out her right hand, presenting the red rose Hatty gave them. "A peace offering, my love."
The mouth of the Skullship opened. A massive tongue fell out, unrolling like an extra-large carpet rug. It stretched all the way down to the ground, allowing a small army of aliens to come marching out of the ship. About a hundred men surrounded them, each one lacking a face. They only had a giant eyeball in place of a head, and stood two feet tall at most.
One of the soldiers stepped forward and began talking to V. Vinny wished he knew what they were saying. As smart as V was, she was still mentally unstable. She had to sell it, or they were all dead. But Vinny kept his cool. He had been in worse situations and came out on top. He just had to have confidence that Lord Hater would take the bait.
Several of the soldiers moved in and picked up Wander and Sylvia. As they carried the nomads up the giant tongue, V continued her conversation with the leader. The two aliens nodded to each other, and V gave Vinny a thumbs-up.
"We're in," she said
"Well, well, well," Lord Hater said, staring at V and Vinny. "Look who came crawling back."
"No need to be so uptight, sweetums," V smiled lustfully. "I'm not too proud to admit when I'm wrong."
"Wrong?"
"About you, ya silly skeleton." V took a step towards Hater, but was blocked by Commander Peepers.
"That's close enough, Dominator," Peepers commanded. He drew his blaster and pointed it at her.
"I'm not going to hurt anyone," V said. "I just wanted to ask Hatey on a date."
"We're not falling for that one," Peepers metaphorically frowned.
"Yea!" Hater yelled. "W-Why should- *ahem*- we believe you?" He was clearly trying to play off her advance, but his expression gave him away. V could tell he was interested.
"When I first met you, you seemed like such a goofball. Not worth my time. But then you managed to beat me." V kicked Peepers to the side while maintaining eye contact with Hater. The green woman stepped forward and placed her right hand on Hater's chest. "I had never witnessed such raw power before. It was kind of a turn on."
"R-Really," Hater stuttered as he blushed.
"Oh, yea," V continued, circling around Hater. "The more I thought about it, the more it made sense for us to be together." She wrapped her arm around his shoulders, pulling the skeleton an in close. "Just imagine; we combine my brains and your brawn. Together, we would be an unstoppable power couple."
"I-," Hater hesitated. "I don't know, Dominator. After you broke up with me the last time…"
V had to fight to not roll her eye and correct him. They never dated, nor would they ever. But she had to ignore that fact for the time being. She reached into her jacket and pulled out the nuclear option.
"I stole a box of chocolates for you," V pouted. She tilted her head down slightly, giving Hater the biggest puppy-dog eye she could manage.
"Ok!" Lord Hater grinned, grabbing the chocolates. "Wait a second," he paused, his demeanor becoming suspicious again. "If you're single, then who's that guy?" He pointed at Vinny.
"This is Vinny. He's my… android," V confidently lied. "I stole him from Earth."
"Earth?" Peepers asked. "Where's that?"
"It's a new planet. There's a wandering star system on the edge of the galaxy." V drifted back to Hater's side, trying to keep up the sex appeal. "The Earthlings are a violent and primitive people. I thought maybe we could conquer them together." She began to trace circles on Hater's chest, practically turning the man to putty.
"I'd like that," Hater slurred as he went cross-eyed in love. "I'd really, really like that."
"Sir!" Commander Peepers yelled, his fury scaring a few of the other Watchdogs. "Don't listen to her! Dominator can't be trusted."
"Now, now, C-Peeps," Hater said. "There's no need to be jealous. I can make time for you and my girlfriend." He turned to V and went in for a kiss.
"NO!" V panicked, but quickly recovered. "I mean- I should freshen up first. Vinny and I are covered in dirt." She shook her pant leg, causing a puff of dust to fall off. "Side effect of chasing down Wander for you."
"Oh, right," Hater coughed, slightly embarrassed. "Jimmy! Bill!" Two Watchdogs stepped forward and saluted. "Escort Lord Dominator and her robot to the guest quarters. And make sure they have fresh towels."
"Yes, Sir!" Jimmy and Bill said in unison.
"I'll be waiting, my love," Lord Hater smiled. He blew a kiss to V before walking off with a steaming Commander in tow.
"Sir, you are playing right into her hand!" Commander Peepers protested. "As soon as she sees you as vulnerable, Dominator is going to double-cross you."
"That's ridiculous," Hater brushed off the concern. He draped a cloth over a small table. He wanted it to look nice for the coffee date. "Why would she go through all the trouble of capturing Wander for me?" He pointed out.
"I...," Peepers paused to think. "I don't know," he relented. "Maybe it's a power play? She gets rid of Wander and the Zbornak, AND she gets to try to use you."
"Or maybe you're just jealous."
"Sir, would you please listen to me? Just this once?" Peepers begged. "I am your right hand man. It's my job to look out for your best interest. You can trust me when I say Dominator is bad news."
"I trust that you legitimately believe what you are saying," Hater nodded.
"But you're still going to try dating her," Peepers glared with disappointment.
"Come on, C-Peeps. Isn't love worth a little risk?"
"Now you're starting to sound like Wander."
Hater let out a shocked gasp, betrayal defining his painful expression.
"Get out," Hater commanded.
"Sir-"
"I won't let you hurl such vulgar insults at me. Leave me and don't come back until you're ready to apologize."
"Fine!" Peepers yelled as he stomped out of the room.
"You will fail."
"You can't even save yourself"
"Pathetic"
V gripped the sides of the bathroom sink, staring at her nude form in the mirror. The voices came back while she was showering. They were not as loud this time, but it was just as painful. It was an unusual sensation. To be fully aware of one's waning sanity, and to even feel the slow degradation of your grip on reality. It was equal parts fascinating and terrifying.
"Vinny," she called out. "Could you come here?" There was a brief pause.
"You ok?" Vinny asked.
"I need some help getting dressed."
Vinny slowly opened the door halfway, but didn't step into view.
"What's wrong?"
"The voices are back," V whispered. "I can't seem to focus. Not even on simple things."
"Alright," Vinny nodded.
The Earthling stepped into the bathroom. Doing his best to not stare, he helped the Narjian pull on her freshly washed clothes. Vinny was a bit shocked that the Watchdogs got it all cleaned and dried in less time than it took for V to shower. He just chalked it up to more alien tech. He needed to focus on keeping V present.
"Kinda weird, don't you think?" Vinny asked with a smile.
"What?"
"A quote unquote 'super villain' has a guest room and bath on his ship."
"It's actually quite common with larger ships like this," V pointed out. "If you need to team up with someone, it's often more efficient to have one person host the other."
"Makes sense," Vinny nodded. "Kinda like how corporations will open hotels for traveling executives."
"You would make that comparison," V rolled her eye.
"Did the mighty Dominator have a guest room?"
"As a matter of fact I did," V beamed, "but it… never got used." V's mood collapsed as a soft blush crept across her cheeks.
"Probably for the best. Hosting for business is boring," Vinny tried to encourage. "It's more fun to host friends. You should try it." He smiled as the two fell silent, the Earthling helping the green woman get dressed. Soon, V was missing only her jacket. Vinny held it open so she could easily slip it on.
"Thanks."
"No problem. How you feeling?"
"Terrified," V whispered.
"Stay focused on the mission. We just need to convince Hater to take us to Earth. Then we can spring Wander and Sylvia. We'll be gone before anyone realizes what happened."
"But what if I screw it up? What if I can't convince Hater," V began to ramble, "or what if he catches on?"
"Hey, hey," Vinny cooed. "Deep breaths. Eyes on me." He paused to let V gather herself. "You got this, girl. If you get nervous, remember deep breaths and eyes forward. And if things don't quite work, we'll improvise."
"Alright," V nodded. She was still terrified, but she could keep it together for a few more hours. She holstered her machete, pistol and revolver, as well as pocketed a flash grenade, an incendiary grenade, and the adrenaline hypo. If a fight broke out, she would need every advantage she could get.
"Two cinnamon mocha lattes," the low ranking Watchdog announced, placing two mugs on the small table.
"Thank you, Zachary," Lord Hater said. He took a sip of his coffee before meeting V's eye. "I hope this is alright for a first date."
"Of course. This is great," V reassured him. "I can't resist a good cup of coffee." She took a sip of her own, making sure to lift with her right arm. "Cinnamon is a nice touch."
There was an awkward pause between the two villains. Neither had ever been on a real date, making the situation tense.
"So, uh…" Lord Hater cleared his throat. "How have you been? It's been a while since the big fight."
"I've been doing great. Can't keep Dominator down."
"Liar"
"There were some rough moments," V immediately corrected. "Earth is a rough place."
"Is that why you want to conquer it?" Hater asked.
"Yep. Be nice to show those monkeys whose boss."
"You're a fake"
"Pathetic"
"How bout you?" V redirected the conversation, desperate to silence the voices. "You must have a ton of places conquered without any competition."
"It's, uh, going ok," Hater said, suddenly avoiding eye contact. "Just, you know, a bit slow. Everyone is still rebuilding, so we've just been, kinda, taking our time."
"Yea. Yea, that makes sense," V nodded. Another awkward pause fell over them. V began to tap the side of her mug as Hater took another sip from his. She couldn't help but feel like a hopeless dork. Just an hour ago, she practically had Hater twisted around her finger. Now she was struggling to have a basic conversation with him.
"I'm sorry, but I have to ask," Hater spoke up. "What happened to your eye?"
"I got pulled into a gang war," V chuckled. "Some freak gouged my eye out."
"Ouch," Hater flinched.
"Yea, but I got him back. Lit the jerk on fire."
"Wow. That is so cool. Real heavy metal."
"Thanks."
"So do you control the gang now?"
"Me? No," V shook her head. "Maelstrom is just a bunch of cyberpsychos. No, I had to go to the hospital, because my… my…"
"You can't save him"
"Failure"
"You don't deserve friends"
"Pathetic"
"No. I don't control the any gangs." V cleared her throat. She tried to take another sip of coffee, but her hands wouldn't stop shaking. The mug started to jostle against the table, so she immediately sat it back down.
"Is something wrong?" Hater asked. "Is it the coffee? The coffee sucks, doesn't it?"
"No no no!" V insisted. "The coffee is great. It's just… it's been a rough few months." She forced herself to pick up the cup and take a sip. It was a miracle she didn't spill any. "So what do you do for fun?"
"I like to chill in my room. Jam on my guitar," Hater said, leaning back as he tried to turn up the cool factor. "I also work out. Like to lift weights. No biggie."
V put her hand over her mouth to hold back her giggle. The skeleton man was trying way too hard, but it was almost endearing.
"I work out, too. Maybe we can exercise together sometime," V suggested.
"That sounds fun," Hater smiled.
"You will fail"
"No one likes you"
"You can't win"
"Y-yea," V stuttered. She was losing it. "But first, how about you and I get some real villainy on," the green woman slurred. She wanted to get this over with, and went in for the kill.
"W-what do you mean?"
"I was thinking," V smiled seductively, "that you pilot your ship over to the Earth system…" She ran her right hand across the table and on to Hater's wrist.
"Yea?" Hater listened with intense anticipation.
"And we use your weapons…" She marched her hand up his arm, leaning in close.
"Yea?"
"To…"
"Liar"
"Pathetic"
"Fake"
"To..."
"YEA?"
"No one loves you"
"You deserve to suffer"
"You can't save him"
"To…"
"GO FUCKING DIE"
"I can't!" V cried, falling back into her chair. "I can't do this!"
"What?" Hater's smile fell, leaving him lost in confusion.
"I'm sorry, but I can't," V looked up to meet his gaze. "I can't lead you on. I'm sorry."
"What's wrong?" Hater asked, trying to stay calm. "Did I offend? Do I smell?"
"No, Hater. It's not you," V sighed. "Look. I'm a lesbian. I'm never going to be into you, or at least not romantically."
"You're a lesbian?!"
"Yes… well, mostly… It's complicated," V shook her head. "I was just trying to trick you into taking us back to Earth."
"But… why?" Hater cried. "I thought you hated it there."
"I do, but it's my home now. I have a friend who is sick, and I need to get back to him as fast as possible. If I don't, he won't survive much longer."
"That doesn't make any sense! Why go through all the trouble of capturing Wander and tricking me?"
"Well you see…"
"No," Hater frowned in disbelief. He received a nod from V in response.
"I'm working with Wander and Sylvia. I've been traveling with them, but we ran out of orbble juice."
"I can't believe this," Hater wept. "How could I be so stupid?"
"I'm sorry," V tried to comfort him. She reached over and took his hand in hers. "You seem like a really cool guy. Maybe we can try being friends?"
"No," Hater stated. He ripped his hand from V's and stood up from the table. "No, I am done playing your games. I'm throwing you and your robot in the dungeon."
"What? No," V stood up and met his gaze. "If you hate me, fine. I deserve that. Just drop us off on Earth, and you can forget we ever met."
"You actually expect me to help you?!" Hater shouted. "I am Lord Hater! And you submit to my will!"
"Screw this," V huffed. She pulled out her revolver and pointed it between Hater's eyes. "Take us to Earth, or I put a hole it your hollow skull."
"Hahahaha! Are you actually trying to scare me with a pebble launcher? You would have a better chance of fighting me with a spoon!"
V pointed the gun down at the table and pulled the trigger. With a deafening bang, the fired bullet caused Hater's mug to explode and left a hole in the table. Hater's hands flew to where his ears would be, trying to recover from the ringing. V rubbed her own ears to steady herself.
"You were saying?" V asked, raising her eyebrow at the skeleton.
"Lord Hater, Sir!" A pair of Watchdogs rushed into the room. "We heard a disturbance! Is everything alright?"
"Shit," V mumbled. She grabbed her mug with her left hand and threw it at the Watchdogs to distract them. She took the opportunity to step around the table and get behind Hater. Pressing her revolver to his head, V held him close to shield herself. "Take me to the bridge. Now."
"Stand down, Dominator!" One of the Watchdogs commanded as they pulled out their blasters.
"Did you dorks not hear me?" V asked. "Take me to the bridge, or I murder your dear leader!" She wrapped her arm around Hater, allowing her to press the gun against Hater's jaw.
"Just do what she says," Hater said. "That way she won't- LORD HATER EMERGENCY PROTOCOL 18!" Hater rushed out the last couple words, much to V's confusion.
"What are you-" She was interrupted by the alarm system going off. A siren sounded throughout the Skullship, immediately grabbing the attention of everyone on board.
"EMERGENCY PROTOCOL 18 ACTIVATED" a computerized voice announced.
"Asshole," V spat. She pulled the trigger, blowing apart Hater's jaw and putting a hole in his head. The skeletal man fell into a pile of bones. She then turned to the Watchdogs and shot them both, receiving a blaster bolt to the stomach in return. "Fuck!"
She held her stomach in agony. The shock of the energy bolt sent waves of pain radiating from the impact spot. Forcing herself to focus, V pulled out her adrenaline air hypo. She stabbed it into upper chest and squeezed. The jolt of energy ran through her system as pain killers, synthetic adrenaline, and a mix of other drugs rushed into her blood stream.
"EMERGENCY PROTOCOL 18 ACTIVATED"
Sylvia rolled her eyes at the announcement. Protocol 18 was Lord Hater's way of saying, "Everyone grab a blaster. I am in trouble." The idiot probably caught on to V and Vinny's plan, and now she had to save them. Thankfully, Vinny tied her up in a way that was easy to escape. The Zbornak pushed on the rope around her hands with her linked feet. Slowly, the rope loosened and her hands were free. She untied her ankles and removed the gag before freeing Wander from his own bindings.
"Sounds like the others need our help," Sylvia said.
"I'll say," Wander responded. "I bet ol' Hatey got his hand stuck in the cookie jar again."
"What? NO! He's probably fighting V right now."
"Oh, right. That would make more sense."
"Hop on. Need to make sure those two don't destroy each other." Sylvia pointed to her back and Wander leaped onto her saddle. With a couple of precise punches, the bars to their cell fell out. One of the benefits of getting captured so many times was that both nomads knew every quirk of the Skullship like the back of their hands. Sylvia poked her head out to make sure the coast was clear, then beelined it to the elevator.
Vinny patiently waited in the guest room with his helmet on. He still didn't get why V felt the need to lie about him. Saying he was a loyal Earthling would have been just as convincing as calling him an android. And it would have actually been true to a certain degree. The best lies were half-truths after all, something he should have known V didn't fully grasp.
Still, he sat patiently in the guest room. You play with the cards you are dealt, and so far it was looking like a fairly decent hand. Only question now was whether or not the community cards would let them win the pot. All V had to do was get them to Earth, and then retrieve him. After that, it was just a matter of freeing Wander and Sylvia. They would be home free.
A siren rang through the ship, accompanied by a computerized voice making some kind of announcement.
"That can't be good," he whispered to himself.
Three Watchdogs marched into the room, each holding a sci-fi looking ray gun thing. They pointed their guns at him while barking orders, but Vinny couldn't understand what they were saying. He slowly raised his hands to show he was no threat, but made no other attempts to move.
The Watchdogs seemed to realize he couldn't understand them. They dropped their threatening stance and began to debate between themselves. Vinny took the opportunity to reach into his jacket and pull out a flash grenade. The Watchdogs noticed as he was pulling the pin, and they immediately raised their guns to him again. But it was too late.
Again raising his hands in surrender, Vinny dropped the flash grenade. He closed his eyes and turned off his audio implants. Then he counted to three. When he opened his eyes, the Watchdogs were lying down and appeared to be in pain. He could only imagine how horrid a flash bang would feel to someone with a giant eyeball for a head. Reactivating his audio implants confirmed his suspicions as he was instantly hit with their shrill screams of agony.
Ignoring the tiny soldiers, Vinny sprinted out of the guest room with his assault rifle at the ready.
V was starting to regret using the hypo. It turns out taking experimental drugs while having a psychotic episode is a bad idea. As she ran through the halls, the voices were growing louder and becoming more painful.
"Failure"
"Murderer"
"Pathetic"
"Loser"
"Just shut up already," V whispered. "Please. I need to focus."
"You're just a fake"
"You can't save anyone"
"No one loves you"
"Let them kill you"
"There she is!" A squad of Watchdogs located her and opened fire.
"Shit!" V ducked into a side room that appeared to be an office supply closet. She was cornered with no easy way out. She slammed the door shut and toppled a storage shelf in front of it, paper, staples, and pens scattering across the floor.
"You won't win"
"Just give up"
"Such a coward"
"Open up!" a Watchdog shouted. The guards started beating on the door, trying to force it open. "Get the battering ram!"
"No. No no no," V cried. "Pull it together, girl. You need to save Jackie. Just gotta think of a way out of this!" She closed her eye in an attempt to focus, but the voices were too loud. "Come on! Think, V! Think!"
"Fight back."
"What?" V opened her eye as one voice seemed to pierce through the others. Standing before her was the phantom of Dominator.
"Fight. Back," the phantom said. "You are Lord Dominator, the most feared woman in the known universe." The phantom grabbed V's hand and slapped an incendiary grenade into the edgerunner's palm. "You are the Heywood Devil, the most ruthless mercenary Night City has ever seen." The phantom pulled V to the side, out of the way of the door. "Show them what it takes to be the best."
V blinked in bewilderment a few times, causing the phantom to disappear. The last thing she could remember was the seductive smirk her past-self was wearing. The edgerunner looked down at the grenade in her hand as she thought on the words her subconscious had said. Out of some instinctual urge, V pulled the pin while still gripping the lever tight. She needed to save Jackie. She needed to get to the bridge and pilot the Skullship to Earth.
And she was going to fight her way there.
The door was forced open as a team of Watchdogs barged in. They all had their blasters pointed at her, ready to shoot.
"Surrender, Lord Dominator!" The leader shouted. "You're coming with us!"
V threw up her hands in surrender, but her expression remained neutral.
"Lord… Dominator…" she slowly said.
"On your knees! NOW!" The lead Watchdog commanded, but V wasn't listening.
"I don't go by that name anymore," she said. The voices had faded, but were replaced by a psychotic bloodlust she had not felt in a long time. It crept into her mind slowly, insidiously.
"Excuse me?"
"Call me V," the green woman said, looking down at the Watchdogs with a manic smile. She dropped the grenade. It clattered against the floor before exploding into a rage of red fire. Her senses were overtaken by the sweet, sweet heat followed by the screams of burning Watchdogs. V stepped out of the room before the smoke became too much. Flames fell off her fireproof clothes, creating a demonic aura around her.
"The fire is in this direction!" Someone shouted as a group of five more Watchdogs rounded the corner. They were dragging a hose along, as if ready to put out the fire. "What the… Oh, grop!" The group screeched to a halt when they spotted V, her single eye seemingly glowing in the smoke.
V pulled out her pistol and started shooting. All five Watchdogs were dead in a matter of seconds. "Heh… Hehe… HaHaHahahaha… HAHAHA HAAAAA!"
"Where is everyone?" Sylvia pondered. "Feels like we already covered half the ship, but there isn't a soul in sight." She continued her dash through each level of the Skullship to find Vinny and V to no avail.
"I hope V and Hater are alright," Wander said worried. "I get that they both like to fight, but it never last long."
"You think maybe Vinny backstabbed us?"
"I doubt it. He seemed like he genuinely wanted to help. And he wouldn't make it far without a translator."
"Hm. Good point," Sylvia nodded. She had completed a lap of the level and was back at the elevator. "Let's try the next floor." The Zbornak pressed the button for the next level up and the doors closed. Several seconds passed before they opened again to reveal Vinny pointing an assault rifle at them.
"Oh, thank Christ," Vinny gasped, lowering his gun. "Are you two alright?"
"We're better now that we found you!" Wander cheered. "We're V? We need to get out of here."
"Not a clue. I was waiting in the guest room when the alarm went off. Three of those Watchdog guys showed up, but I escaped. I've had a few run-ins since then, but most of them are in too much of a rush to notice me."
"Hop on," Wander said. "We need to keep searching."
"What about the surveillance room?" Vinny asked. He pointed up at a security camera on the wall. "There has to be someone watching over all these cameras. If we find the surveillance room, we can find V and figure out what has everyone in a panic."
"Oh, duh!" Wander smiled. "Why didn't we think of that?"
Vinny climbed onto Sylvia's back. She pressed one of the elevator buttons, prompting the doors to shut. There was a tension in the air as the group was carried up by the lift. When the doors opened, Sylvia went straight to the surveillance room and kicked down the door.
"Aahhhh!" Watchdog Andy screamed, hiding under the swivel chair. "Please don't kill me! I'm too young to die!"
"Calm down, Andy," Sylvia said. "We're not going to hurt you."
"Wander! Sylvia! Boy, am I glad to see you," Andy perked up, but immediately began to panic again. "W-what is the r-r-robot doing here?"
"Robot?" Wander asked. "Oh, you mean Vinny? He's helping us find V- I mean Dominator."
"Unless he plans to use that scary looking blaster on her, you should forget about Dominator. She's gone crazy!"
"Crazy how?" Sylvia asked slowly.
"The woman is on a rampage. Look!" Andy pressed a few buttons on the control console, and the screens came to life. The halls of the Skullship's upper decks were littered with the bodies of dead Watchdogs. They had all been shot or stabbed, the ground completely covered with blood in some areas.
"Did… V do this?" Vinny asked as he put the pieces together.
"I think so," Wander replied depressingly.
"Fuck. She's gone full psycho."
"What does that mean?"
"It means if I can't talk her down, I might have to kill her."
"No!" Wander cried. "Hasn't there been enough hurt already?"
"Look at what she's done!" Vinny pointed at the screens. "V is unstable and incredible violent. If we don't stop her, we could all end up dead."
"Uh, what is the robot saying?" Andy asked.
"He said we're going to stop Dominator," Wander frowned. "No matter what."
"Hooray! I'm gonna live!"
"Before we go, I have to ask," Sylvia spoke up. "What happened to Hater? Did he survive Dominator's massacre?"
"Lord Hater is fine," Andy scoffed. "See?" He pressed a button, and one of the screens switched to a different camera feed. The group could see Hater sitting on the ground as he pieced his jaw bone back together.
Small, green sparks sealed the bone fragments together as Lord Hater examined his jaw. Satisfied with the results, he wiggled it back into place against his skull. The skeleton man opened and closed his mouth a few times just to make sure it didn't fall off. Hater stood up and slipped on his bright red robes.
"Computer," Hater commanded, fury lacing his every word and movement. "Emergency override. Lord Hater: Greatest in the Galaxy, Number One Super Star. Switch to lock down mode, Protocol 11."
"LOCK DOWN ACTIVATED. SWITCH TO PROTOCOL 11."
Hated marched his way up to the bridge with the determined stride of a thousand soldiers.
"LOCK DOWN ACTIVATED. SWITCH TO PROTOCOL 11"
"What was that?" Vinny asked.
"Don't know," Wander shrugged before turning back to the Watchdog. "Hey, Andy. What's Protocol 11 do?"
"That means we're supposed to hide and let Lord Hater and Commander Peppers handle the situation."
"We can't let that happen," Sylvia shouted. "If Hater and V get into a big fight, it could bring down the whole ship!"
"Then we better stop them," Wander puffed out his chest, ready to dive into the depths of hell. He pulled his banjo out of his hat and hopped on Sylvia. "Hop on, Vinny! We have some friends to save."
Sylvia dashed out of the room, the three aliens heading to the bridge.
"Get back!" Peepers panicked. "I-I know Kung Fu!"
"My, my, aren't you a cute one," V taunted down at the cornered commander. She had already disarmed him with a powerful kick, and now Peepers had his back against the wall. He was at her mercy.
"How are you even still standing?" Peepers questioned. "I shot you three times." He stole a quick glance over the woman's body just to make sure he wasn't imagining things. The intruder's clothes were riddled with holes from the fighting, and her exposed skin showed signs of blaster burns. Yet despite all the injuries, V was still standing.
"Have you ever had a friend, Commander?" V asked as if she didn't hear Peeper's own question. She knelt down in front of him so she was closer to his level. Her expression was somber and her movements became direct and serious. "I mean a true friend. The kind of person you would do anything for. Even if it meant losing yourself."
"O-of course." Peepers wiped a drop of sweat from his brow. "I would lay down my life for Lord Hater," he stated as proudly as he could in his state.
"No, not like that," V shook her head. "Dying is easy. I mean the kind of friend you would live for, even if it meant losing your identity. Your sanity. Would you endue hellish torture for Hater?"
"I- I don't…" Peepers stuttered, trying to understand the question. He took a dry gulp of air. "I don't know."
"You're lucky then." V grinned, her smile growing freakishly wide. She stared into his single eye with her own, forcing Peepers to focus on both her eye and the empty cavity where her right eye used to be. "Me? I have to keep killing. It's the only way to silence the voices. It's the only way for me to save Jackie. But I'll let you live."
"Y-y-you will?"
"Of course," V cooed. "Assuming of course that you do what I say. With Hater dead, you're the next guy on the chain of command. I need you alive." Her smile became borderline seductive as she grabbed Peepers and picked him up.
"HEY! Let go you maniac!"
"Calm down. Don't need you shooting your eye out." V pointed her pistol at Peepers, and he immediately stopped squirming. "Good boy. Let's go."
Wow. That was the hardest chapter to write so far.