Phase 2 - Beauty or Brawn? - Part 1

Authors Note:

Let phase 2 begin! From now on I will also be throwing in some interlude stuff that involves the villains of this story. The Generals, Prince Zedd and Princess Moira so on and so forth! Been awhile but I have a couple of parts written. Hopefully can slowly get more consistent going forward.

May the power protect you, readers.

A roar erupted as the sounds of metal clinked together, spilling more of the slosh that passed for alcohol than was entirely necessary. Zoe, or as she was known everywhere except home, Sapphire sat with her select group of two eyes bubbling with anger.

"What a waste of perfectly good drivel, it may taste like piss but that doesn't mean they should just throw it all over the floor like pigs piss," Sapphire mumbled as she took a sip of her own luxury brew of piss.

"Who who don't appreciate a brew at The Canine Door really is the lowest of the low, am' I right Dozer?" Mouse slurred his words as he spoke, the brew had been flowing freely tonight.

Dozer just raised his glass promptly downing the remainder of his cup before slamming it dramatically down on the table. They were two of the strangest men Sapphire had met in the slums of dog yard. Mouse was short, skinny and had very little hair. The hair was by choice. Handy enough in a fight but not particularly strong, or skilled when it came down to it. In simple trousers and a scruffy t-shirt. Mouse had skills in other departments that made him a highly sort after. The man was silent, scarily so. He could travel almost anywhere without making a single sound, add that to his size and he was a remarkable scout or thief. It's where he had got his street name.

Dozer, however, was the complete opposite. Standing six foot tall at least, muscles chiselled into his body. The man looked like he was made of stone. He let his arms show a brown tank top resting between his shoulders. Slicked back hair black hair and bright sea-coloured eyes. The ladies loved him. Sapphire hadn't actually laid with either of the two men but she imagined Dozer would fit his name in the bedroom.

A man stumbled drunkenly against their table, knocking mouses drink over in the process. The stale liquid barely moved as it slid across the table, dripping into a puddle on the floor.

"Excuse me, good sir, I believe you owe my friend here an apology," Sapphire calmly addressed the man. She watched as he attempted to turn. Mouse sat with his head resting against his hand and Dozer signalled the keep for another round of drinks with a smile spread across his face.

"Shut it wench before I bend ye over and make ye lick it off the floor while I take ya like the dog ye are!" At least that's what she could deduce he said in between slurs and his eastern dog yard lingo.

The whole pub went quiet.

Sapphire stood, leaning forward making sure her assets were pressed together. Her small top held tightly to her chest stopping barely halfway down her stomach. Short jean shorts hugged her curves tightly leaving nothing to the imagination. Briefly, the man wavered on the spot, his eyes tracing her body or trying to.

Letting the moment hold briefly. She didn't mind a prying eye or two after all. The silence in the room was deafening. One that was shattered as she grasped the man by the end and bounced his head off the table. As momentum carried him back up she caught him across the face with a right hook. Sending the man crashing down into the puddle of the brew. The silence returned. Sapphire calmly returned to her seat, raising the tanker above her head. Dozer and Mouse followed raising their own, clashes them together gently before throwing their heads back and promptly downing the entire thing. As each of their tankers smacked the table the place erupted back into noise.

"Damn drunk ass fool couldn't even see who he was talking to." Mouse slurred out as he once again rested his head heavily against the palm of his hand.

"Damn fool," Dozer grumbled out.

"Time to leave boys, too much of this stuff will rot your brain," Sapphire said, as she stood and shuffled her way around the table. Making sure to step on the unconscious man at her feet.

Sapphire noticed as usual people giving her slight nods of respect as she passed. She had never asked to be treated like she was special, there was enough of that to go around at home. Yet her actions in the slums had earned her a status among the rabble. Sapphire just kind of went along for the ride. She made sure to give an emphatic salute to the owner, who gave a slight bow of his own in reply, before slapping open the inn's door.

The cool air stung her skin, a sharp contrast to the sweaty warmth inside. It was an unpleasant night. Something in the air. When she felt the presence of her companions behind she stepped out into the night.

This area of the dog sector was very different to other sectors she had heard about. Here there was a thriving nightlife, lights bombarded the slightly crowded street. The damn mutts that should be keeping people subdued, lifeless, had lost slight control over the past few months. Events which she had absolutely nothing to do with of course.

Raids and attacks on patrols and dens had left the local captain hiding away somewhere unknown. Sending regular attack parties to try and reclaim what had been lost. Sapphire had made it a personal mission to never let that happen. Her other life was that of nobility or at least what passed as nobility in the new world run by the zodiac empire.

Zoe, daughter of Nathaniel, formally Nathan. One of the five first men to make a deal with the Zodiacs in order to obtain status and power. A life she hated with every fibre of her being. At home, she was a pampered princess. Here in the slums, she was just like everyone else, a regular hard working girl who every now and then kicked a mutt up the ass. Apparently a pastime she would have to achieve tonight. As if thinking their name summoned their wrath, the sounds of maniacal howling filled the air. Hounds they were called. The expendable waste General Huskan called soldiers. Lead in this area by the even more terrifying Captain Chiwarrri. Despite his size and relation to the most feeble looking dog in existence, he was definitely a hundred times more dangerous.

Sapphire watched with a burning fury as the hounds plodded along, their upper bodies furry topped with slobbering sheepdog like heads. The lower half looked human enough but muscled. They almost shuffled along as they moved, their mouths open panting. Disgusting.

Sapphire made a signal with her hand and her two friends slinked off behind her. It was their unlucky night. Bringing her fingers up she let out a high whistle, the hounds erratically twisted and turned on the spot looking for the source before resting on her with a stare, heads tilted slightly to one side.

"Here boys, come and get some of this juicy meat," She spoke slowly, her hand tracing the curves of her body.

The hounds tore into a run, dropping down on all fours. There was six of them, not nearly enough to cause them any problems they had dealt with double this amount on a regular basis. They split into two lines, three in front, three in back. They closed in but Sapphire waited. As they neared she waved another signal, a large silhouette steamrolled into the front line. The momentum carried the first into the second, second into third.

The backline staggered it's formation slightly to avoid tripping on the fallen hounds but soon reformed. A second signal and another silhouette dropped from above, followed by a whoosh sound. A large net collapsed over the remaining hounds, Mouse fell into place next to her the small device in hand. His face wore a massive grin, his hand hovering over a button. She nodded and he pressed it. Electricity crackled through the net, the hounds caught meeting a very shocking end.

This was their battlefield, they knew the streets, the buildings with expert precision. It was home turf. Dozer had recovered from his car crash with the front line and was locked in a test of strength match with one of the hounds.

They may have been monsters but all hounds had going for them was their hideous looks and brute strength. Dozer matched them easily in that department. Sapphire rushed forward, followed by Mouse. She reached the fight just in time, catching another hound by the arm in mid-swing. She leapt, rolling forward onto her back. Using the momentum she pulled, then flipped the hound over her head. It landed with a howl. A crowd cheered drunkenly spectating the familiar sight of Sapphire and her men fighting the monsters they once feared.

Mouse had jumped on the back of the third hound, gripping it tight in a sleeper hold. Sapphire wasn't sure these things even breathed. She dashed forward, pulling a knife out and slammed it straight into the monster's chest. It would have cried out but Mouse didn't give it the chance, he dropped landing into a sweeping kick. In one fluid motion, he swept, stood, withdrew the knife from its chest and promptly replaced it, only this time it was square between the hound's eyes. They watched as it promptly turned to dust and disappeared with the slight breeze that tickled their skin in the night's air.

Sapphire turned just in time to see Dozer lift his hound entirely in the air, slamming it down hard before he pounded its head hard enough to finish it off. That man still scares me. Sapphire turned towards the last victim. Mouse and Dozer positioned themselves so they were in a triangle formation. To its credit, the hound actually looked panicked. They wasted no time in finishing the last one off. Dozer grabbed it, Mouse laughed at the sky and Sapphire planted another dagger in its head.

The crowd cheered, brew flying into the air as they were greeted with the expected celebration. She patted the dust off her clothes with a smile. It was getting easier to handle the hounds. Dozer scratched the back of his head in embarrassment at the crowd's cheers. Big, scary and tough but throw him a little attention and he crumbles like a little kid. Sapphire admired that about him.

Then something chilled her. At first, she couldn't tell what it was and then it hit her.

The crowd was suddenly deathly silent.

Their gaze fell slightly behind her. That wasn't all, pure terror had flooded their faces. Sapphire slowly turned to where their gazes fell. Sweat building as her body tensed ready to greet whatever terror had chilled the entire streets joyous chant. She found herself looking at, well nothing. The emptiness puzzled her, had they been playing a trick on her?

The ground shook at her feet, literally. That was followed by a wheezy snigger that sounded like the mixture of laughter and a motorbike engine. Her body chilled again as the sudden realization hit her. She lowered her gaze, which was met with a forceful blow to the stomach. All the wind was knocked out of her, her body was thrown through the air like a rag doll as she was sent flailing towards the crowd of terrified onlookers.

End of Part 1