Phantom faces at the window, phantom shadows on the floor.

[Martyr]

Without Phoenix lurking around in her mind, Martyr felt...exposed. Taking the alley was the fastest way home, but she knew Valcroix wouldn't like it. There was no armor to protect her, no voice in her mind telling her to grow a pair. It left an empty hole in the deep of heart and soul. Hugging her hooded jacket around her body, the woman walked on the tips of toes. A lip quivered lightly, as vibrant violets scanned the area around her. A soft, nervous tune hummed from copious lips while a hand left the zipper of the jacket to trace along the wall.

Her repairs were... Incomplete. Her exoskeleton form was clunky and heavy, but for the moment it served her purpose well.  She had escaped her Mother's little hideaway, and had found herself once again in the exposed air of the city. The coldness of the early nights these days meant nothing to her, for the icy grip of death pounded against her struggling heart, and each passing moment brought her closer to death. A death, she could avoid, if she found a bountiful supply of the liquid she required. But she did not just need her legs, to move. Like her Mother, she was adept at moving vast distances unseen, stalking her prey upon the rooftops, using the telekinesis inherited by her Father to launch herself from tile, to tile across the way. And then she saw it. The one alone. Didn't they know there was a murderer about? She knew all about it. She wasn't dead to the world, just yet. She looked delicious, almost too much so. The way she walked. The way she hummed - the way, she pursed those lips together. Those beautiful lips... She wanted those lips, to scream those agonizing moments of pleasure before her fangs penetrated her neck. A shame really, her feet were now heavy, and no amount of Vampyric ability would stop her metallic feet from crushing tiles and causing all kinds of ruckus in her wake.

Everything about her screamed helplessness. From that rangy body, to the doe-eyed expression on her face. The all too chilling feeling of another's eyes upon her, made her chest tight, and froze her very pedestals in place. Mocha tresses that lined that seemingly fragile face swayed in the wind, clinging to lips and nose alike. With elevating brows and a gaping mouth, Martyr slowly spoke in those hiccupping lyrics. "H-hello? Is an-nyone t-there?" As if the lurker might come up, shake her hand and introduce itself. She turned slowly, spinning on the tips of toes with the grace of a professional dancer--which, she was not. Slender digits moved to claim those flawless locks, to push them away from those amethyst pools and allow pupils to come out and claim the unknown being. They scanned around almost frantically, as heels slid backwards. Yes, everything about her seemed helpless--but it wasn't as if Martyr didn't have one or two tricks up her sleeve.
Strange how her slight movement caused the most noise. But from her drop from rooftop to ground, just as Martyr turned, May landed quite elegantly, and quite silently behind her, despite the heavy burden she must now carry around. What she wore over the top of her scarred, wounded shell was a long, tight PVC trench coat, tightly fitted against her form, ensuring every inch of her was covered in its embrace. Even her neck was concealed somewhat, by a collar that reached to just under her chin. It was obvious she had some kind of surgery. Bandages still wrapped the left side of her face, covering her left eye, her nose, and left cheek, but it allowed for most of her mouth to be revealed and with it the quivering lips, and the Vampyric fangs, drooling. But before she could easily make the stealth kill a mere attempt, she coughed, and then stumbled back right onto her rear. She coughed, heaving as blood splattered from her lips, and onto the ground beside her. She had the perfect chance. The perfect chance to... The array of noises below the trench coat, were like an array of machines moving. That whining whurr, that whining whimper of attempting to enact some kind of movement in a biological attempt. But it just made it all the more... Robotic.

The widening of eyes left the woman with two, tiny violet orbs staring straight ahead as the beast made a noise behind her. Not to mention the sticky vital that the woman sprayed near her feet... Copious lips parted to allow herself a whimper, "Un...!" Was the only noise that her body allowed as the fear-frozen girl slowly, carefully turned. It was then that she saw the face of her probable-attacker. Still, Martyr was never one to judge a book by its cover. Taking one or two steps backwards, she offered a smile that could be described as anything but confident. "O-oh, h-hello..!" The woman chimed in those stammering lyrics. Another step back was taken as she felt her heart begin to pound within that boney cavity kicking against lungs and ribs alike. Nostrils flared as she took in another breath. "A-are y-you alright?"

[Martyr]

How could she let this happen? If only she was complete, if only she could... She could have eaten another, tonight. The long sleeves of her trench coat pulled back just as she swung her arm at the ground she had vomited onto, and then punched quite a large whole into the cobbled stones with a metallic mockery of a hand that was quite the accurate representation. She stood slowly, her only revealed eye -an unnaturally glowing blood red eye within the darkness of the Alley, narrowed onto her unblinking, desperate, afraid, and wanting. She heard the woman's words, but the beast inside of her wanted nothing more than to tear out that throat and allow that thundering heart she could hear pounding away against her eardrums to simply... Stop. "Closer." The young woman whispered. She looked in her late teens, for sure. But it was hard to say in this realm. Then, with a simple incline of her head, two dark tentacles spewed from her chest, attempting to lock around the poor woman's ankles. Shadow made form, was what they were.

Eyes widened for a moment as Martyr witnessed the hole being punched into the ground. Then the woman was beckoning her closer?and gullible was written on the ceiling. Even the doe-eyed dame wasn?t stupid enough to fall for that old trick. ?Come closer so that I can give you candy and ?not- stick a blade between your eyes?? Yeah there was no way she was falling for tha?then there were two tendrils coiling around her ankles, just as she was disobeying the woman?s order to come closer. ?Hnn!?Martyr yelped out, soft mocha tresses covered her face as footing was lost and her body sailed for the ground. That butt; that lacking rear end did not provide the padding in which she would have hoped for, and soon there was another grunt of pain. Attempting to pull her bones free of the lock, Martyr scooted backwards with the help of kicking limbs and prying wrists. "P-please," showing the truest rendition of a damsel in distress, Martyr begged. "L-let g-go! I d-d-don't l-like this v-very m-much!" As if anyone would... As if the attacker might look upon her with horror, and some amount of amusement and simply say. 'Oh?seriously? That was my bad... I thought you did! Well, you have a good day! And again, my bad!'

There's an amount of a Huntress inside her. She did enjoy cowering prey. But she could smell different. This one had something to her. Just like her Mother, she knew how to pick out the bestest, and tastiest of prey. Her heart. If only her heart stopped, then Martyr would not be in this situation, then would she? She walked closer to the scrambling woman, while those tentacles went taught, fighting back her attempts at retreat. Not a moment later, she was standing over her, and moving down onto her knees, slinking like a cat to crawl closer, to approach that burning blood red eye closer, and closer towards the woman's face. Her lips parted as she whispered, "You will... Cause... The Kiss is... Intoxicating." The whine of motor, cogs, and moving robotic mechanisms grew only ever louder the closer she crawls - almost practically over Martyr. She pressed a metallic hand firmly onto her chest, and parted her lips, then opened her mouth wide... Her eye firmly locked onto her neck.

"K-kiss? N-no thank y-you, I'm eng-gaged!? Putting a weak hand against the cool metal arm of her attacker. Eyes widened as the woman descended upon her, squinting and whimpering like a helpless dame.

Martyr! Get a damn spine! You're better than this! Too strong to let this fool push you around!

Was that Phoenix, or her own subconscious? Of this, Martyr was terribly unsure... The feeling that Phoenix gave her, when she lurked within that blood crystal in the back of her mind, wasn't there anymore and it felt...different. It didn't help that the woman and her shared the same features and tone alike--though her evil half's had been much harsher... It also didn't help that she'd witnessed Phoenix's death some nights ago...Either way, Phoenix or self, the voice was right. She was better than this. "G-g-get....Off!? Martyr yelled, and the sound of metal upon metal rang out as her own arm took on a silver sheen, and talon form. With that, Martyr used those rangy muscles, and powers alike to try and throw the woman from her struggling body.

[Martyr]

She wasn't light, so throwing her from her would had proven difficult. However, what did happen was May was forced to flop off of Martyr, but proceed to battle upon the floor with her, wiggling her body closer and keeping her ankles firmly within the grasp of her two tentacles that had decided to split off into a multitude of writhing monstrosities, slithering up Martyr's body, attempting to drag her closer while she launched and heaved herself against that silver sheened arm that had the strength to combat her. It probably resembled a cat fight between women on the ground, if it wasn't for the supernatural elements coming into play.

Super-human cat fight... That, she could handle. She shoved and heaved, another hand moving to a shoulder--one she hadn't bothered looking to see where it had been organic, or artificial--and of that, she didn't care... The newest problem was the tendrils slithering up her legs, she kicked and squirmed to try and impede travel. Pupils bled into iris and whites alike, as her eyes became clouded over with darkness. Her own father's power was coming into play, her mother?s power, in the form of that sharp, metal talon was already in the game. This had been a new experience for her, a feat she'd been sure that only Phoenix could achieve.

Phoenix... Are you there...? Are you...helping me?

 If Phoenix had been there, she would just bark an order at her, and say something of not wanting to lose the body. Still, suddenly energy blasted from her. It was the purest form of her own soul, attempting to slam into her attacker, and force her off--had it hit, it would be like an invisible wall of electricity. Martyr's eyes widened, she felt a sudden...pain, like something had been ripped from her. The power in question, would take a lot out of her, and take some time to get used to.

The scream that came from the elder teen was frightening. She experienced pain. Nothing like this world could possibly ever drum upon her. But adding further on top of a pile that weighed her heavily down, threw her from Martyr like the retraction of two of the same poles. She slammed into the wall, as bolts of energy arched across her form. Fortunately the PVC material of her coat would insulate her, but the impact of her body crashing into the wall was enough for her to bounce off if slightly, and crash down onto the ground face first. Not a moment she hit the ground, did those writhing tentacles disappear, and she suddenly fell very silent.

Those violets widened as she peered at the woman, as those vines disappeared--freeing her legs. She pulled them to a curling position as part of her admired her work. A blink-blink later, Martyr gaped. I won? I actually won? I never win...!?stop celebrating and get the hell out of here! "R-right!" Martyr yelped out, and stood to her feet. As she stood up, she felt a breathy sigh leave her lips, and her body fell forward, back down to her knees as the weakened girl whined softly. "I'm so d-dizzy..." Martyr mumbled, and held her head. "W-w-what w-was that?"

THAT, was currently on her hands and knees, and staring right at you. Blood poured from her mouth, and the bandage that did cover the other half of her face, was gone. What wasn't there, was skin. Or muscle. Was there was a skeletal face, where muscle and flesh ought to be, and in the socket of that eye was not an eyeball. It was a camera-like device, glowing a deathly blue, within a glass eyeball. Her head twitched awkwardly. Like a robot that had sustained internal damage. But it was not a Henrietta Crystal:  moment later did the heavy, metallic creature of little flesh crawl across the floor at an inhuman speed, and pause directly in front of Martyr's face. "... That, hurt." She whispered. "There is an Error. Error. Pain is bad. It hurts. Pain hurts. I don't like pain. Pain is imperfect. Pain is imperfect. Pain... Feels..." She licked her own lips, "Soooooooo, good!" She launched her face forward, to burying her lips against the side of Martyr's neck.

[Martyr]

Those eyes widened, bones chilled as the claws of the talons sunk into the cobblestone ground beneath them both. There was a pity there for the deformed woman... A want to help her.. There was another need present, the one to -not- die. She whimpered softly, too weak to get to her feet, but her hand moved to grasp the woman's face tightly within her palm, and had she gotten ahold of it, she might have squeezed with a strength that was at the moment, incredibly human. "P-please! S-stop t-trying t-t-to k-kill m-me!" The girl helped, still trying to prolong her life.

Why would she kill her? No, wait, the question is, why should she not kill her? Another imperfection, another idiot. Another one of those cattle she longed to keep well under her thumb of authority, so why on earth for a second; even if it were a split one, did she feel... Sympathy, for her. It was funny, in a way, not a few hours ago, she was begging someone to kill her. Yet now here she is. Life was indeed cruel. The hand did grasp at her face, but that face was just inches from that neck and well, she couldn?t probably feel the tongue raking at the flesh there, and the icy cold breath washing over it. Fangs were ready, even as she struggled to get to the area of her desire.

Trying to summon up the energy to give the woman another blast, another shock of soul, Martyr struggled. She let her body fall away from the woman, putting her back to the concrete as she stared. "W-w-w--..." Trying to speak but not knowing what to say. I could really use your help, Phoenix... I could really use that armor! She pleaded with her own head, to try to get that old personality out from her. A leg lifted high in the air in an attempt to kick at any part her sneakered foot could collide with. "G-get off! L-leave m-me alone!"

That sneakered foot did collide with something, but it only struck at her hips, and it was like hitting a wall of shapely metal designed to appear like hips, hidden by that long black trench coat of hers. Blood and spittle continued to drool down about her chin, while her feral and ravenous hunger spurred her on against the hand that held her at by. Her heart thundered louder than Martyr's, and by now, all she could understand was that the world was slowly becoming, very dark. She needed to feed and she needed to do it now! She didn't care how much of it she bled out again - just so as long as she could finally plunged those fangs of hers into that supple neck. Enough was enough. May's body lurched forward, her back arching and her head thrusting forward as the many tendrils of black snapped down between them, slithering in an attempt to pin Martyr's arms above her head and to hold those ankles of hers firmly against the ground. "Mommy is coooomiiinnng... Gotta feed! Gotta feed and flee! Feed! FEED! FEED ME YOUR BLOOD YOU B*TCH! I DON'T WANT TO DIE!"
An ankle that bruised on impact, slowly turned purple only to shift back to her creamy complexion instantly. Her eyes widened painfully, and then she was being pinned against the ground. The alley span around her, her heartbeat pounded in her ears. As her only weapon, her own arm of organic metal was taken out of play, she began to feel more helpless than usual... "S-stop it! Y-you're h-hurting m-me!" Martyr yelped, her back arching to try and get away from May's forceful grip--it was to no avail, the fragile featured princess was stuck there. It didn't stop her from thrashing and jerking her head from side to side, trying to impede the advances of the creature trying to steal her blood. "G-get off, p-please!" Hiccupping syllables left copious lips as Martyr bucked those hips and twisted her frame in a desperate attempt for freedom.
"Mother once told me... That all mortals, are merely... Cattle... Just food... Hehehehheh!" May giggled childishly, her head twitching awkwardly to one side, the scream of metallic components shifting as she aligned her body over Martyr's, May's face grinning above hers. Her blood and drool oozing down to dribble over Martyr?s thrashing head. "It hurts for a little while, but as soon as it is in... Heheh - diiiiirty, diiiiirty - then you will feel, so, so, goooooood..." Her metallic hands moved to grasp either side of Martyr's head, to stop it from thrashing about. Her tentacles keeping those limbs of hers still. They struggled though, she was weakening as the minutes passed on by.

As her head was jerked to the left, Martyr's eyes widened. "I'm n-not c-cattle..." Tears in her eyes as the girl stopped struggling, and gave up the fight. Perhaps she had been merely cattle; perhaps she was born to lose... Every fight she'd ever been in, save for times Phoenix came in saved her, Martyr lost... Maybe it was Nazareth who was right--Martyr was an abomination to the circle of life, a sheep that just wouldn't die, no matter how many times one might cut its throat. Another soft grunt escaped those broken lips, and the immortal took in a deep breath.
The struggles had ceased? May's face lit up with delight. "... No, you're not." May slipped her tongue over Martyr's exposed neck, and then gently dragged her sharp fangs across the exposed skin, ever so slightly. May shuddered, as if a pulse of bliss had slithered up her spine. "Your fault, for smelling so delicious... Teheheehahah!" There was no nice way to describe it. She opened her mouth and simply shoved her face against the neck so that mouth could envelope a good portion of skin, and press down the fangs so that they tore through flesh and blood vessels alike with ease. Naturally, the pain would be quite excruciating, at first... The first gush of blood, lightly pumping down her gulping throat. However, the longer she maintained the Kiss, the more the pain felt... Good. Intoxicating almost. Strangely, May felt... The same intoxication. As if the Kiss was also affecting her. But that was not it. Her blood red eye widened. The woman's blood was beyond her imagination. It was exquisite!

[Martyr]

Pain... It was something somebody like Martyr learned to get used to... When fangs punctured her neck as if it were a ripe apple, there was a slight twitch in her left eye coupled with a small gasp, and then her eyes fell shut as blood rippled through her torn flesh, bubbling out of it. Martyr's blood was different than any other's?one of a kind. The moment that it touched her lips, she'd notice the taste--but the second that it entered her system, she'd feel the change. As the sticky vital poured down her attacker's throat, those nasty wounds would begin closing themselves up, and everything organic, might be restored... Martyr's blood, like a fountain of youth, would heal those pains, and strengthen those bones as if they were a potent milk of some kind. Soft gasps turned into something of low groans, as her body began to relax. It felt almost as if she were in some sort of dreamy state, an ecstasy she'd felt before, but had no recollection of... Martyr's eyes slowly fell shut.

The blood soothed her pounding heart. It soothed till the point she could no longer even feel it pulsating in her throat. This feeling - this newfound energy that coursed through her veins and invigorated her simply caused May to stop feed, and pull back, completely dumbfounded. How could she feel so much bliss from drinking another's blood? It could not be possible. This has never happened before. Blood was just blood, surely? Some people had differing emotional effects on her from time to time but this... Her almost drunken single eyed stare gazed off at the relaxed form of Martyr, who she had to straddle and pin her hands either side of the woman's head just to keep herself upright. She felt drunk! Completely, and totally drunk! But... Lusting for more. Like a feline, she bent down, to lick at the wounds she created, cooing and snarling like a satisfied beast. Her organic components might have been healed, for now. But the power of Martyr's blood could not rid of, was the shrapnel of crystalline shards, imbedded in her heart, still causing damaged to the beating muscle. Her power over Martyr - the Kiss, should still give her the power she needed to have the woman answer a few questions. "... Y-you, what, ARE, you?"

No, perhaps the effects wouldn't stay permanent, but they definitely would take away the pain and wounds... As the woman lapped at the wounds, she'd see that they faded all too fast from existance as the woman's eyes rolled toward she who had pinned her down. "Nn..." A soft groan escaped copious lips, as messy mocha locks lined that face. "I... I'm an ab-bomination... A m-mutt..." Martyr answered truthfully, too truthfully in fact. Those rolling violets peered up at her attacker, still dazed and in an unusual state of bliss. Amethyst orbs continued to stare, eyes half lidded as she took the appearance of her assaulter in.

The elder teen grinned a little. Almost stupidly. Like a drunk would after finding something very menial very hilarious. She even chuckled a little, pulling back her face back from the crook of that neck. This lust would not go away. She kept feeling her body twitching forward, as if spurred on to continue with the feast. But that would kill the woman. Why would she kill someone with such delicious blood when they could simply produce more, ripe for a harvest? The cold metallic hands cup the woman's cheeks, as she belt over to stare into her eyes. One blood red eye, and one glowing blue camera-like optic, stared very deeply into those amethysts, before she dipped down, and delivered a kiss to the top of her forehead. "No... You're not... You're beautiful... Interesting... Special... If there is an abomination in this world? It's the Imperfect... Time to sleep, now, my delicious meal. You look exhausted..."

The kiss sewn to her forehead was enough to coax those purple morsels shut, and the words were just nearly enough to put the girl into a sleeping state. She let out a small groan of protest. "I h-have t-to g-go h-home... I h-have t-to..." Martyr's eyes rolled around in their sockets as the little immortal whimpered. "I c-can't sleep h-here..." Lyrics broke from tongue and lips, as eyes squeezed tightly shut and teeth were shown almost painfully.

"Of course not, delicious... I have to hide you... Yes. Hide... Keep you to myself. Your blood - it'll help me, heal... You may very well help me surpass my Mother... Your blood, my body, we're going to escape her grasp and then we're going to run away together... Forever my Bloodslave... Yes..." The elder teen giggled madly as she stood to her feet. Her mechanical noises hissing and creaking with each and every movement as an arm went under Martyr's head, and another under the lower portion of her back. May lifted Martyr up into her arms, and glanced down the alley way, then back up. The was a few places they could hide. She suspected the Docks, might have a warehouse or two currently available for a temporary stay. "... Let's hope I don't kill you accidentally, precious blood... Hehehaha..." A slight incline of her legs, and May launched herself up onto the nearby rooftop. It was safer this way, to travel up high...

"R-run aw-way...?" Martyr asked softly, cooed within her cold, unforgiving touch. The vital that once spilled from her had been cut off, but who was to say when May wouldn't slice her open for another taste. "N-no... I... N-need t-to g-get.. h-home t-to...M-max... And V-val?" The girl protested lightly, drifting from consciousness' cruel realities as May carried her off. There wasn't much known about where she was being taken, who the attacker was, or whether she'd live to tell the tale...

What she did know, was that she wouldn't be returning home to Valcroix, or Max; and she wouldn't return to work the next day. She'd only leave a small pool of mingling blood upon the harsh cobblestone of the alley floor...

((This was taken from play with the talented Henrietta Crystal, hope you enjoyed!))