DAWN OF THE COSMOS

Chapter 7 - The Sniper

LOCATION: RED WINE GALAXY, PLANET DARTH. 

"Okay, I think my nose just died." Tyson pinched his nose as he and Victor walked through the cyberpunk-style planet.

"What? Nonsense, that's the adventure you're perceiving, snow-white." Victor deeply inhales and breathes out through his mouth. 

"If this is what adventure smells like... I'd rather take my chances with a black hole."

Victor smirked. "Well, if you want. You can go back to the ship to help Xing with some maintenance."

Tyson felt a chill run through his spine. The mere thought of working with the android whom he despised made him feel like throwing up. Or maybe, it's the surrounding stench. "I hate you," he muttered. 

"What's that?" Victor perked his ears.

"What are we doing here anyway?" Tyson scanned their surroundings. They were currently at a marketplace. 

"This place is filled with notorious criminals... Pirates, mercenaries and thieves. I recognize most of them from the bounty hunter wanted list in the database." 

"It's normal to see criminals here. Red Wine is a galaxy devoid of a colony, association and or officials to enforce the law. Hence, why it's called a lawless space zone. Anything here goes. You want someone to disappear without a trace, kill them here. If you want items salvaged from important places, you can probably buy them here. This is Red Wine. And this here planet is the centre of it. "

Tyson pondered for a while. "By salvage, you mean stolen." He uttered.

"You've got that right, snow-white." 

"Oh great." He rolled his eyes. 

They stopped in front of a shabby-looking store with a cranky door. 

"We're here!" 

"..." 

"..." 

"I'm heading back to the ship now." 

Tyson turns tail only for Victor to grab him by the collar from behind. "Oh come on, we made it all the way here. You can't possibly go back without seeing what's inside." 

"There's no way in hell that I'm going into that building." Tyson shook his head. "That place looks like it could fall off at any point!"

"What? That's preposterous! This place here is perfectly fine. Come on, don't be a chicken. Would you rather be with Xing than here?" 

"If it means I won't die by being crushed by a poorly erected building, yes," Tyson said nonchalantly. 

A few moments later... 

"This is an abuse of my rights!" 

Tyson was clawing against the floor in a helpless bid to pry himself away from the clutches of his captain. 

Victor dragged the former hunter into the store, much to his dismay. 

"I hate you." 

"Haha. See? That wasn't bad now, was it?" 

"I'll say it again, I hate you." 

The store, unlike its exterior, was well-kept. It had several antiques and pieces of furniture. 

"Woah," Tyson scanned the place. 

"Haha, I told you this place was nice!" 

"I've got to admit... So far, it's the cleanest place on this planet. It doesn't even stink here. And look at these antiques." 

"Who's there!?" 

The voice of a woman was heard from behind the single door that was on the other side of the store. 

"It's me, Victor." 

Crack! 

The sound of a gun being cracked could be heard. 

Bam! 

"Ahh!" Tyson cowered to the floor, covering his head. 

"Huh?" He raised his head to see Victor with his hand stretched out. 

Tyson looked at the man's hand and gasped. 'He caught the bullet!?'

"Well, I'll be damned." A woman with pale skin walked through the door holding a shotgun. 

She wore a sleeveless black top and a white mini-skirt. The most noticeable feature on the woman's body was her pointed fangs. 

"A Vampire?" Tyson muttered to himself. 

"Not just anybody can stop a solid bullet." She said, throwing the gun aside. 

"Are you nuts!?" Tyson snapped. "You don't just shoot at customers like that!" 

The woman shrugged him off as she walked toward Victor. 

Tyson felt the atmosphere of the room change. The two of them exchanged cold looks. 

'It's uncommon for that maniac to look so serious. And this woman... She's strong, I don't know how I'm able to tell. But, She's damn strong.' It was as if he could see an invisible aura around them. 

What happened next had him dropping his jaw. 

The two burst into a stream of uncomfortable laughter almost at the same time. 

"Jackie!" 

"Eh?" 

The woman pinched his cheeks. 

"Haha, nice to see you haven't lost your touch, Zera." 

"Eh!?" 

Tyson could only stare at the two of them. 

'Their attitudes took a complete 180!'

The pressure he felt from their previous demeanor was completely erased. 

It was as if they had become different people. 

"What in cosmos is going on here?" He darts at the two of them with a glance of annoyance. 

"Who's the polar bear?" 

A vein popped in Tyson's head. "Polar bear?" 

"Oh him?" Victor pointed at him with his thumb. "He's snow-white." 

Tyson comically plopped to the floor. 

"It's Tyson!" He snapped at the two of them. 

"Not Polar Bear, not Snow White, Tyson!!!" He exclaims, making loud breathing. 

"He's a live one alright," Zera uttered, unfazed by his proclamation. 

"Grr..." 

Victor wrapped his arm around the annoyed Tyson. "This here is the former sniper of my crew. From the Vampire Planet Feratus, Zera Farblood." 

"Finally!" Tyson exclaimed as he spread his arms apart. "I can breathe fresh air again!" 

He, Victor and Zera have made their way back to the Ebon Phantom.

"Well?" Victor turned to the vampire. "What do you think of Stally?" He asked with a grin as he puffed out his chest.

Zera scanned the cruiser momentarily before setting her gaze back on its captain. "She's as vibrant as ever." She remarked with a smile. 

Tyson wore a Stoic expression as he glanced at the two. 'Why are they talking as if the cruiser is a living thing?'

Just then, Xing approached them.

"Xing..." Zera said in a cold tone.

Tyson felt a chill run down his spine. She gave off the same vibe as earlier when they met. The look was aimed at the android, yet he felt restless.

"Zera..." Xing responded similarly.

"I see Jackie still hasn't taken you for recycling."

"I see you're still trying to pass off as a young and beautiful woman despite being an old hag."

A vein popped in the vampire's head. Zera gritted her teeth and leaned closer until her forehead was touching the android's. 

"Old hag? I'll have you know, I'm only a hundred and twelve!" 

Xing smirked. "Like I said, old hag." 

"That's it."

Zera's astral energy enveloped her. 

"Blue Astral?" Tyson muttered to himself. "She's an aura user!?" 

As if on cue, Xing activated her astral skin as well. Hers was a bright yellow colour which quickly enveloped her.

"I've never seen these colours before," Tyson noted to himself, almost forgetting about the dominating presence of the two women.

"Ehem." Victor coughed, getting the attention of the women.

Their astral skins faded as they looked at him.

"Haha," The captain laughed. "It's great to see that some things never change.

Tyson dropped his jaw. 'Those two were ready to rip each other to shreds, yet he stopped them by merely coughing?'

Every passing day, Tyson finds Victor more amusing.

'Sometimes I question myself whether a clown like him can be who he says he is. And sometimes, I'm amazed by his character and demeanour. Victor Night... Just who exactly are you?'

"Are you done with the maintenance, Xing?" 

"Yes sir, the Stallion is ready for another space warp," Xing stated before darting Zera a look. "Is she going to be coming with us?" 

Zera chuckled. 

"Someone's scared I'll have all of Jackie's attention."

Victor laughed sheepishly before deciding to address Xing's question.

"I'm afraid Zera won't be coming with us."

Xing smiled. "Good. It'll be too much to handle more than one pest."

"Hey!" Tyson retorted. "I'm not a pest you stupid scrap metal!"

Xing didn't pay heed to Tyson. Zera, on the other hand, wore a smug expression.

"Glad to see you're not backing the wrong horse, kid."

"Can we proceed with what you're here for?" Xing asked.

Victor led the crew to a dark room.

"Where are we?" Said Tyson, not liking the eerie darkness.

The captain of the Ebon Phantom clapped his hands and the room became brightened by the light bulbs dangling from the top.

"This is where we kept her," Victor said to Tyson as he gestured for them to follow him.

They walked further into the room until they stumbled upon a cell.

Tyson's facial expression darkened as he clenched his teeth. "Is she there?" His voice was dripping with rage.

"Yup." Victor pulled out a key from his coat to unlock the cell door.

They went inside to see Mistique chained in the middle of the cell.

Her wrists were cuffed with chains that stretched to the far sides of the cell.

"Wakey-wakey, hex woman." Victor teased.

Mistique raised her head. She was covered in bruises and had a huge bump on her forehead.

She clicked her tongue. "What do you want?"

'Detecting rising rage.' Xing turned to Tyson.

He was trying his best to control himself from pouncing at Mistique like a wild animal. 

"Meet my good ol' friend, Zee. She's a Vampire from the planet Feratus."

Mistique gasped having grasped what Victor was planning.

"B-but the Feratus Vampires are a part of the Coalition just like the BHA! what could sh-"

It was at this point that Mistique recognized Zera.

"It cannot be." She scanned the vampire woman in front of her.

"You're... Blood Shot Zera!"

'She's talking as if she'd seen a ghost.' Tyson thought to himself.

"How?" Mistique looked at Victor. "It was reported that Blood Shot was killed 7 years ago."

"Don't believe everything you read on the Internet, lass." Victor wiggled his finger. "As you can see, Zee is alive and well." His usual smile transformed into a more malefic one.

"And she's going to feast upon you."

"Hihihi," Zera laughed as she crept closer to the chained hunter. 

"I'm going to enjoy sucking your blood away and then, I'll make you my slave." She smacked her lips. 

Tyson gasped. "Of course!" He turned to Victor. "You had us bring the vampire, so she could cast her hex on the witch."

"I'm amazed by how slowly your brain works."

Tyson glared at Xing. He shrugged and continued.

"Feratus Vampires can cast a mind-controlling hex on their victims by biting their necks."

"I refuse to be some vamp slave!" 

Mistique struggled and tugged her chains as Zera grabbed her head.

"I doubted you for letting her live," Tyson admitted to the captain. 

"Blinded by rage, I refused to see the bigger picture... That witch has a lot of information about the BHA but knowing her, she'd rather die than rattle out."

"I had tortured the lass for information, but it was futile. Hence, why I devised a plan to have Zera on board."

"Zera could make her a slave and command her to spit out all the information we need."

What amazed Tyson the most was how Victor thought things through even when he had been unconscious.

"I rattled on and on about revenge but didn't even know where or how to start. You didn't have to do this."

"The captain has to look out for his crew... Use me and I'll use you. Didn't you say something like that a while ago? A symbiotic engagement, don't you agree? I'm merely investing in you. I hope to cash out gazillions when we're through here hehe."

Tyson didn't know what to make of Victor.

'This man... I'm starting to see it now.'

Tyson smiled. "Yes, captain."

"Great!" Victor clasped his hands.

"Now, let's get out of here and let Zera enjoy her meal."

He pushes Xing and Tyson out of the cell, leaving a panicky Mistique in the clutches of the bloodthirsty Zera.