Rocket’s Red Glare

A soft popping, a sound of metal panging, and a carefree whistle all echoed through the empty corridors accompanied by the soft squeak of unoiled metallic fricken. Strange sounds to be found within the deepest innards of Frictions arena where no one but senior staff or security should be wandering at this hour. Yet Nikita wasn't the only soul in search of glory and gains, there was another on a righteous quest to reclaim something stolen from her and send a message that doing so would have consequences.

Liv Livewire stalked these halls now, dragging behind her a squeaky foldable stepping stool on wheels and the barrel of a hefty gun resting across her shoulder. It was sleek and black, with a large canister mounted at the end of the grip, a stiff pipe trailing up to the main firing mechanism to feed gas into the chamber. A bulbous tank affixed to the top rattled hundred of tiny balls all loaded with red paint. While some malcontents avoided the cameras, Liv chose to instead disable their functionality, peppering the lense with a few choice shots distance before moving in to tear the exposed writing out entirely to ruin the devices to the point of needing repair.

She was on the hunt for something specific, a very particular door, one that she could have easily found had she thought to bring or even remotely memorize a set of blueprints that had been given to her along with a keycard tucked away in her back pocket. Small gifts from a generous soul also out to sow the seeds of chaos, which was something Liv could respect enough to play along as prime patsy should operation F.U.D.S. or "Fuck Up this Dumb Shit" as she dubbed it, went tits up. The only real snag would come if she were caught early, a definite possibility given anyone manning security cameras would know to come running once they were being disabled. She invited them to try to stop her though, itching to bash some corporate heads.

Her cheerful whistling came to a sudden stop, ears perking at the sound of… a voice? Some shuffled steps? She was almost certain of it. Liv's eyes narrowed into thin devious slits as she listened in the silence. Nothing. She hadn't been hearing things, she was sure about it. With a soft grunt, she hefted the stool off the ground and crept forward down the hall, coming up on a T intersection. Someone was hiding from her… someone who was about to have a very bad day. Slinking closer and closer she approached at the very edge, the red-haired woman regripped the gun in hand tightly. Snapping around the corner she swung the weapon as a makeshift bludgeon with a violent arch, looking to obliterate anyone in its way… and swished through the air. Another empty corridor.

Peering back down the corridor she had been in however, there was one more bend at the end. One that she scurried to move towards. Nikita could hear the sounds of footsteps approaching, though in a definite attempt to be subtle, but even then her boots weren't made for sneaking on hard surfaces. This time Liv didn't wait to reach the end before giving up the act, bolting the last few strides to come whipping around the corner, throwing the stepping stool up and around to slam the legs in the perfect position to pin a certain hiding someone against the wall without scratching them. Liv leveled the barrel of the paintball gun at Nikita's face over the back of the top step, glaring at her. "Any last words before I paint the wall red?"

Each stuttered "I" found a barrel inching closer in sharp increments until it was nearly brushing the tips of Mikita's lips as she struggled to get the words out. One amber eye was visible through the jumbled obstruction of stepping stool and paintball gun, narrowed to the point cruelty was almost a certainty. When the other woman blurted out a confession of her intentions and perhaps a bit too much more about her life choices… still it had been enough to perk Liv's ears at hearing several things in there she liked to hear. Ransackings, secret dungeons, shameless kinks, and being sexy all sounded good enough to her to give Nikita some consideration now.

"Nobody told me anything about dungeons down here," Liv murmured out loud, more for herself than Nikita. The long barrel edged to the side, nudging into the other woman's cheek to coax her head to way before it moved to the other cheek to repeat the process, getting a good look at her would-be captive. An appraising hum from the fiery redhead. "I would…" she paused suddenly, withdrawing the gun from sight to reveal her face from over the top of the stool. A soft clatter of metal on cement as the barrel tapped the wall once. Twice… then invasively slapped up between Nikita's legs, bouncing around her inner thighs until jamming rather roughly where they came together at her hip. While she did nothing to explain herself, Liv just assumed anyone would understand she was checking for traps as she eyed the other woman inquisitively. One could never be too careful around these parts.

"Yeah, I'd probably bang you." Liv threw out nonchalantly once it was clear to her Nikita was of the fairer sex, her rather off-brand way of putting questions of sexiness at ease. With a huff the redhead pulled the stepping stool away and slammed one leg on the ground, giving it a light spin to turn it about before letting the other legs clatter. She dropped down to straddle it as a chair sat in the reverse, arms folded across the back bar, brandishing the paintball gun at Nikita in a less threatening manner.

"I am looking for a storeroom with keycard locks. You seen any dungeon delver?" Reaching out she gave the other woman a prod in the boob with her paint pistol at the words "dungeon" and "delver" before leaning back again. "I have some business to take care of and this place is a labyrinth of suck." Liv casually waved the gun about as she spoke with very little regard for safety if the thing happened to go off. Her finger had never left the trigger.

There was no shortage of amusement to be had with Nikki, though perhaps the bulk of its fame at the other girl's expense. She was easy enough on the eyes, but it was her expressiveness that caught Liv's attention immediately. This was the sort of stuff she was in this line of work for, to begin with… Well, maybe not the whole holding people at gunpoint thing but the emotional reaction end of it all. She might have overindulged a bit when she caught sight of a red hue on Nikki's face to bring the barrel of her gun up between her legs a bit more than was strictly required for her "junk check". She couldn't help it if this girl was adorable when she feared for her life… the redhead made a soft thoughtful hum as she pondered over if thinking like that really did make her a deranged psychopath. Life was strange like that sometimes.

"Heartache? I know I am a smoking 11 out of 10 but settle down there Flame Skunk. You haven't even been away from me for enough time to long for my sweet sweet embrace. 'Sides, I'm not looking for any relationships in the bowels of the storage halls… unless I happen to find that dungeon you mentioned. Then we can talk…" The redhead continued to poke and prod at Nikki with the end of her gun, actively trying to evade her attempts to bat it away to poke her in the boob repeatedly from any angle she could manage to sneak it in. It was only at the mention of the doors not needing key cards that she had stopped and the lighthearted air about her playfulness seemed to die away. Nikki had her attention fully now but the way she straightened up and her eyes began to narrow made it feel as though there was a danger here. Had she been lied to? If so, the persons responsible would pay for that... But she'd take her anger out on this lady first…

Downstairs? The dark aura around Liv vanished like a sudden bursting of a kernel of popcorn as her expression returned to being generally jovial with a hint of mischievousness. This was news to her… maybe she should have actually reviewed the blueprints and stuff she had been supplied along with access cards. Hindsight was a bitch. Liv gave the paintball a twirl in her hands by the trigger guard before tucking the bulky weapon awkwardly into the slack in her pants. She now had a solid lead to go off, but before she could further investigate the new information that had come to light Nikki was yapping at her again.

"Probably." She reiterated bluntly, confirming the other woman had heard her correctly. "Some of us have standards." Liv pushed herself up off the step stool, taking on a giant bow-legged step to the side. Gripping the top of the stool she gave the bottom step a kick, loudly folding it back up. Hiking it up in her hand she thrust the condensed steps towards Nikki for her to take them as she was now the designated keeper of the height extension… the girl needed it.  The redhead held up two fingers suggestively, making a show of slipping them down into her cleavage. With a quick flick, they returned with a shiny security card lacking a name or portrait on it.
"Flirting is not getting down and dirty, Junior Mint. We can discuss me blowing your mind and body after the bigger boom room is under my control. Until then, you're my guide. Go down with me... Downstairs. Like, show me where the doors are."

""Need" is a strong word for it." Liv remarked softly, more to herself than to her new impromptu minion for the evening. Nikita seemed to be in a world of her own at the moment, rattling on still and despite how openly hostile the redhead could be she didn't push it, letting the other girl ramble. No stranger to pent-up frustrations, the smaller girl really seemed to need something like this right now and it didn't hurt Liv at all to let her have it… so long as she delivered on the task set before her. Just the thought of being misled made her blood boil and found her absentmindedly checking the pressure gauge and ammunition of her paintball gun for when and if she would need to riddle Nikita with shots.

When Nikita started moving Liv leveled the paintball gun, letting the sights drift along her body for various spots of interest before settling squarely on her back. Her lips pursed, silently mouthing several "pows" as her mind imagined a scene in which Nakita was gunned down in cold paint. The thought brought a smile to her face, seeing a writhing Nakita on the ground, wanting to know why she had been betrayed without reason before declaring her own demise like something out of Shakespeare. "Oh, I am slain. What a cruel fate to befall one such as aaaaarrrrgggghhhhh…." Yeah. It would have been pretty great.

When reality came back, Liv started at her guide making distance on her. With a small jog, she caught herself back up and lingered close, invading Nikita's personal bubble at the mention of "doing stuff" together. Making the other girl uncomfortable was surprisingly fun so she leaned into it, quite literally at a few points to bump herself up against her from behind suggestively while playing it off as nothing. "You don't get out often, do you Junior Mint?" It seemed that after throwing a few nicknames at the wall, one had finally stuck in her mind. It was fitting enough. Nikita was a bit sweet and refreshing, was an acquired taste, and too much was likely to turn her stomach. Also, she was small.

"Oooooo." Liv cooed devilishly as the sea of boxes was parted to reveal the sign denoting a private back room. She wrapped a free arm around Nikita's waist and gave the girl an unexpected tug closer into an appreciative one-armed hug. "I would'a burned this place to the ground before I found this door, probably. Good catch." From her belt, the redhead withdrew a slender red tube that looked like a fuseless stick of dynamite one might have seen on television with a small cap on top. Bringing it to her mouth she chomped down hard, twisting the cap violently off as the stick came away with a jet of bright light akin to a small flame sparking at the end. With little regard for safety, Liv shoved the lit flare to Nakita for her to take it. The barrel of the paintball gun was jabbed into her side once again, a reminder that the guide was supposed to lead.

"Don't worry, if there is one thing I have learned over the years is that these are great for looking for explosives. Even if you don't see it, chances are you'll find it." Liv spoke with a certain laissez-faire before giving Nikita a hard shove into the dim depths of the back room. Any backtalk or argument over who should be going first would be met with a swift and decisive paintball to the ass to demonstrate just how bad the gun could sting even if it was a toy. She was the boss tonight and wouldn't be taking any lip she didn't want.

The old warehouse had a story to tell but its methods were less than ideal for the wayward dungeon delvers. The creak of warped wood and metallic groans of ancient pipework struggling to function added a certain ambiance that only one of the women seemed to find intriguing. Bathed in an illuminating but rather unhelpful red glow from the flare, it took a great deal of effort to navigate the cramped storage space with her tools of the trade snagging on anything with the hint of an edge. All it took was a hard wrench to free a strap or dislodge a barrel but it inevitably came with Nikita freaking out of the toppling of boxes or the shriek of a crate being pulled along the floor which delayed their exploration. A gentle urging in the way of shoving the gun barrel in her face made for quick compliance. Liv found herself wondering why she didn't take hostages more often, they were pretty useful.

“Got an itch or something?” Liv snorted, eyeing Nikita grasping at her freshly painted backside for what had to be like… the billionth time now. Rather than wait for a response the fiery redhead stepped in closer, breathing in the wafting aroma of gunpowder from the smoking flare with a wide grin plastered on her face. Her flat palm eased itself up to plant itself on the other girl's backside, hoisting her upright a bit as she gave her sore cheek a firm squeeze.

“Shouldn’t play with it… what would your mother think?” As quick as the moment came, it was gone with Liv throwing her weight into her palm to rudely shove Nikita forward, on-brand for the mixed signals the redhead seemed to constantly send. Liv came to a sudden stop in time with her guide skittered to a halt in an exaggerated motion. When Nikita suddenly came leaping backward into her arms, the redhead caught her awkwardly as if she were a damsel in need of saving. Her knees threatened to buckle but with a disjointed twist of her weight, she managed to keep both of them from toppling to the floor as a bead of sweat trickled down the side of her face.

“Who- where?! Eat shit!” Liv, as eloquent as ever, rebuffed their would-be assailant, hefting Nikita’s weight in her arms to pull her close while holding the paintball gun from where the other woman's legs rested along the barrel. She couldn’t see the threat, but that wouldn't stop her from destroying everything in the pursuit of ending it. It was the American way after all.


Vibrant squibs of paint bathed in red glow exploded along the floor leaving a trail up the wall in a wild unsteady streak. Apparently, they bred some sort of killer rabbits here in Japan and she had seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail at least once to know what to compare it to. A few more pulls of the trigger… and nothing. The damn thing had jammed. She supposed that was reason enough to actually survey the situation since further violence was out. Half turning to peer down at the carnage she had painted over the walls, furrowing a brow at the nothingness beyond. No rabbits, no people, no threats… either Nikita was dumb or Liv had scared whatever it was off. She opted to hedge her bets though.

“If you need a virgin sacrifice I got one right here soooo… just say the word…” Silence. They were in the clear. “Looks like you lucked out Junior Mint.” Liv clicked her tongue to the roof of her mouth, offering nothing in the way of assurance she wouldn't have handed her guide off to her doom if it had been requested. It was then her eyes finally settled on the bold writing on the door causing them to widen and… was she tearing up?

“Oooohoohoo, paydirt!” Liv emptied her hands of both Nikita and her paintball gun leaving them both to clatter against the hard wet ground like forgotten toys as she pranced past to the distant door. Her buxum body smooshed up against it, splayed out as if embracing a long lost lover returning from a war overseas, kicking up one leg behind her as she pressed her cheek to the metal. “Aw baby… did the creepy man in the tacky suit lock you up here all alone? Don’t worry, mommy is here to let you all out.”