Millie loved her job.
There were so many interesting places to see, people to meet, people to cleave, and plenty of opportunities for exercise. Any day that ended with her needing to shampoo twice to get all of the blood out of her hair was a good day and fortunately for her, it was shaping up to be such a day.
Bar ruffians weren't too much of a threat. Sure, they were big, strong, hardy, and unlike many humans, knew how to take a few hits, but they were also slow and clunky, severely lacking in any combat dexterity. She was starting to get disappointed at having not broken a sweat as she twirled her axe and reduced yet another one to bloody mincemeat, but at least there were a lot of them.
The venue was huge and it seemed as though everyone had a chip on their shoulder. Understandable, considering they just watched their favorite local singer get his brains splattered all over the stage he'd been performing on. That should've been it, but as fate would have it, the cheap knock-off chandelier Moxxie had perched on to take the shot had been in dire need of repair. The recoil from the sniper rifle had been the final straw and the support snapped, sending the light and assassin crashing to the floor.
Those that weren't killed by the chandelier gathered angrily around the stunned imp and once they had gotten over their shock were ready to rip him to shreds. Of course, Blitzo and Millie weren't about to let that happen and as they swooped down from the rafters in the ceiling, she felt a twinge of excitement underneath her panic for her husband.
The last several jobs had been rather dull with Moxxie scoring the kills single-handedly. While she delighted in watching his surgical precision as he killed silently and discretely from the shadows, she had been secretly hoping for a chance to get her hands bloody. Perhaps it was a little wishful thinking on her part that had really caused the chandelier to fall.
Of course, Millie did not at all appreciate that the fates had decided to put Moxxie's life in danger to fulfill her desire. She was going to have to find a way to make them pay for that. Once he was relatively safe, slung over Blitzo's shoulder as he shook off the daze from the fall, Millie was quite happy to be in the thick of combat.
The two fended off the initial wave with ease, having the element of surprise on their side, and once Moxxie had recovered he too jumped into the fray, leaping off of Blitzo's shoulders and raining down bullets as he landed on a nearby table.
With the first wave mowed down, the three split off to continue the battle on their own terms. Blitzo taunted the already heated crowd, purposefully baiting them to ease up the pressure on his employees while Moxxie re-positioned to more favorable terrain. He scaled the wall to the second story balcony, shooting anyone that tried to drag him down or get in his way as he vaulted the railing.
As for Millie, she was fine where she was, the open floor suiting her combat style perfectly.
She spun and twirled, splattering crimson against the hall's décor with every swing of her axe. Moxxie once told her that she looked like a ballerina performing a beautiful dance of death. She never thought to describe her fighting style like that, but if he said it then she believed him, her cheeks glowing and her heart fluttering at the compliment. He promised to record her fighting one day so that she could see it for herself.
That day would not be tonight though, as a quick glance saw that his hands were currently full of a pair of pistols. He'd secured the perfect position in the corner, making it impossible for anyone to flank him and giving him line of sight over the carnage.
She smiled. He was safe and given the view he had she may as well put on a good show for him.
She continued her 'ballet of death'; the sound of flesh cleaving and warm spray of blood surrounded her. As she brought her axe down to split yet another body in two, she felt a large figure rushing her from behind.
Clearly not a fan.
She turned just in time to see the man drop from a headshot. Another shot fired not even a second later and a second body fell from the direction she just turned from. She looked up and smiled at her husband, pistol barrels still smoking from laying out the bastards that tried to rush her in a flank attack.
"Thanks, Sweetie!" She waved with one hand and flung her bloody axe on her shoulder.
He grinned. "Anytime, Honey!" His grin widened as he holstered his pistols and switched to his SMG, ready to mow down the small crowd that foolishly decided to rush him.
Sometimes they just made it too easy.
Millie heard footsteps rushing towards her and she turned. A group of bikers charged, swinging chains and brandishing pipes and she dashed at them as well, jumping over a chain that came swinging at her. She landed on the assailant's shoulders, squeezing his throat with her thighs and snapping his neck as she spun herself around, slicing the bellies of three of them open and spilling their guts on the floor.
She leapt from the dead man's shoulders, pushing herself off of a nearby wall and flipping over the small group, her axe swinging and slicing two heads from their necks.
Something glinted in the corner of her eye.
She looked, the smile that had been splitting her face dipping when she saw the blade of a cleaver flying straight for her. She jerked her body, narrowly twisting herself out of the way as the large knife flew past her face. She let out a breath and wished in the back of her head that Moxxie had been able to record her. Dodging in mid-air was a feat she would've loved to rub into Sallie May's face.
Now, if she could just stick the landing.
It was going to be tricky as she hadn't been expecting to contort her body like that while upside down, but maybe she could get away with a sloppy landing and mild pain shooting up from her heels.
And perhaps she would've gotten away with it too, if it wasn't for that meddling lump of entrails that decided to slide along the bloody floor and right into her path.
She slipped and cried out as sharp pain erupted from her knee.
She hit the floor hard, her axe clattering several feet away from her. "F-fuck!" she hissed, trying to get back on her feet even as her knee throbbed. She saw one of the bikers approach and tried to make a dash for her weapon only to collapse in agony the moment she tried to put any weight on her left leg.
The man chuckled as he picked up her axe and started towards her. "Aw, didya have a spill, little lady?"
Millie grabbed a knife she kept tucked at her hip and threw it at the man. Admittedly, it was a rather sloppy toss given her prone position and pain radiating through her leg, further punctuated by how easily it was dodged. She cursed as she scrambled away from him, rolling and dodging his attacks until her back pressed up against the wall.
A sadistic glint lit up the man's eyes as he approached. "No where to scurry off to now, girlie!"
He raised the axe over his head and Millie's stomach took an icy plunge. "Moxxie!" she screamed, her eyes never leaving the blade of the axe. "Help me!"
The blade came down and she closed her eyes, bracing herself for the impact.
Instead, she felt herself getting picked up and a slight tremor of the floor as the axe crashed down on the spot she had been only a second ago.
She opened her eyes, looking up at her husband as he ran with her in his arms. She looked over his shoulder to see her would-be killer struggle to free the axe from the dent in the floor before they turned a corner. He ran down a hall and turned into a room with a pool table and mini bar, slamming the door closed behind him.
Moxxie leaned against the wall, sweating and panting as he held his wife in his arms. "Phew! That was close! I almost lost my tail back there." He breathed, swinging his tail forward just to make sure it was still in one piece. Thankfully, it was. He turned to her. "Are you all right, Honey?"
She responded by wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing his cheek. "You coulda just shot him."
"Not with an empty clip. Besides, the axe would've just landed on you," He nuzzled her. "and we couldn't have that."
She smiled and nuzzled back before a loud shout startled them both.
"The weird little cat-things went this way!"
The yell was followed by a stampede of footsteps heading towards the room.
"Crumbs!" Moxxie cursed and carried Millie away from the door just before it was kicked open. He held her close as he whipped around, watching as seven large men entered the room. The one that had Millie's axe led the pack, grinning as he twisted the weapon in his grasp.
"Well, well, looks like we gotta two-for-one special, boys." He chuckled, his laughter echoed by the posse as they fanned out to block their escape.
The imp couple hissed, holding each other tightly as Moxxie backed up until he hit the wall. The group of humans slowly closed in on the cornered assassins, brandishing chains and tire-irons menacingly. "End of the line, critters. Any last words?"
Millie growled and narrowed her eyes, her fierce look softening when she felt Moxxie gently kiss her cheek and nuzzle her. "Close your eyes and cover your head." He whispered into her ear. He then tucked his face into her shoulder, nudging for her to do the same. She squeezed her eyes shut and buried her face in his hair.
"Aw, look at them! I almost feel bad killing them," one of them said, pausing briefly to snap his chain in his hands. "Almost."
A gruff chortle erupted from the group as they stepped forward and at their approach, Moxxie grabbed a canister from under his coat and threw it on the floor. Millie winced when the arm supporting her knees moved to make the toss, but she couldn't help but smirk when she heard the flashbang go off and the subsequent screams of grown men.
"Fuck! I can't see!"
"I'm blind!"
"What did that little fucker do!?"
Chains and rods crashed against the floor as the men flailed their attacks, still cursing and screeching over their lost eyes sight.
Moxxie turned towards the wall and gently laid Millie down. "It's safe to open your eyes now."
She did, chuckling at the display behind her husband as the men thrashed as though they'd walked through a spider's web. He handed her a pistol and quickly reloaded his weapons. As amusing as the effects of the flashbang were, they didn't last long and it would only be a moment before the ruffians got their sight back.
Sure enough, the men were already starting to calm, fluttering their eyes and shaking their heads as their vision returned. Still, it bought enough precious time for Moxxie to kiss his wife on the lips, smiling as he ran his fingers through her hair.
"It's my turn to protect you, Millie."
He stood and turned, walking towards the group as they recovered. The leader zeroed in on him and growled. "You little shit! You're gonna pay for that!" He wound the axe up for a horizontal strike and swung low. Not low enough, as Moxxie was able to duck under the attack with ease, pulling out the two pistols he had holstered at his hips and firing into the knee caps of the goons that flanked him.
The men cried out and fell onto their uninjured knees. Moxxie jumped onto the back of the man on his left, rearing down and launching himself into a flip that arched over the three men. He finished the two off with a synchronized headshot from each pistol at the apex of his leap, landing just to the left of the axe-wielding leader.
"Dodge this, fucker!" The man swung again, this time swinging too low for the attack to be ducked, but low enough that it was easy to jump over. He growled, bringing the axe back for a follow up attack and making sure to aim for the mid ground. Moxxie threw himself to the floor as the blade whiffed right over him and the man screamed in frustration, swinging back around for an overhead attack.
Again, the blade was embedded into the floor as the assassin rolled out of the way. He quickly got to his feet, unloading several shots into the man before he had a chance to free the axe from the ground. The thug clutched his chest as blood oozed from the bullet holes. He was in the middle of forming another curse as he collapsed to his knees, only to have the tiny imp pounce on his head and jump onto the pool table.
The four remaining thugs surrounded him, swinging their chains as they got into position. Moxxie smirked. Normally he wouldn't let himself get flanked, but the large screen TV in the corner gave him a perfect view of his opponents and he easily caught the one behind him winding up for what he assumed would be a surprise attack. He side-stepped the chain that lashed out for him, using the TV's reflection to land a perfect headshot on the assailant without even looking in his direction.
"What the actual fuck!" one of them shouted. "He's like a tiny John Wick!"
"You know, I've never seen that movie," Moxxie replied, pausing briefly to dodge another chain. He spun around and shot a hole in the second attacker's skull. "but I hear it's really good."
"Oh, it's fucking awesome! He kills a guy with a pencil-" the thug's praise was quickly ended with a shot between the eyes.
"Spoilers!"
The remaining biker watched with wide eyes as the body fell and joined his dead compadres on the floor. He froze as the imp turned towards him and stammered as the small creature approached. "I . . . . uh . . . I I I . ." He dropped the tire-iron and lifted his trembling hands. "I surrender! I'm sorry! I . . ." His eyes flickered between the imp and the door. He made a dash for it, stepping through the frame just in time for his body to go limp and fall into the hallway, the opposite wall splattered with blood and brain matter from the bullet wound in his head.
"Yay! That's my Moxxie!" Millie cheered from the corner. Moxxie turned towards her, spinning his pistols before holstering them, and leapt from the table, rushing to her side and carefully scooping her in his arms. The two nuzzled briefly, Millie placing a hand on her husband's cheek and pulling him in for a kiss. Moxxie carried his wife to her weapon as their tongues danced, keeping an eye open just enough to make sure he didn't trip on any of the bodies, when a low gurgling caught their attention.
They followed the noise to the source, hearing it come from the hunched over leader of the group as he struggled to breathe from all the holes in his chest.
"Wow, he's still alive, huh?" Moxxie said.
He was still near Millie's axe, so she took it upon herself to pull it loose from the floor and swing it down on his head with one arm, splitting his skull in two and putting an end to the groaning.
Moxxie blinked, looking from the busted cranium to his wife, as she rested the axe on her shoulder.
"Not anymore." She chirped and he chuckled.
"I love you so much."
"I love you too, Baby. In fact," she grinned and put a finger to his chest. "I think someone's earned himself a good pegging once my knee heals."
Moxxie blushed, but returned the grin. "Don't threaten me with a good time."
They were about to return to their kiss when Millie stopped. "Wait. Do you think Blitzo is okay?"
Moxxie was about to reply when he heard a shout from the main venue hall.
"Oh yeaaah! Who's your daddy, fuckers?!" The subsequent flintlock blasts and manic laughter from their boss echoed through the hall.
"Yeah, I think he's all right." Moxxie smiled and looked back at his wife. "Now, where were we?"
Millie let the axe slip from her hand as she wrapped her arms around her husband's neck and the two embraced, enjoying a long kiss as they listened to their boss clean up the remaining humans.