Khazmine's plates shuffled and rattled as she strained to hold the unusual configuration, while Zayzann stared at her in amazement. She bit her lip and squinted her eyes to force herself to focus and used up the last of her concentration to assume the complex pattern of a wingless Paxoram.
As she predicted, there were nowhere near enough plates to create wings, but she could at least fashion a tail from the reserve plates stored at her waist. Instead of individual feathers, a crafty imitation appeared on her surface, like a rich, detailed painting draped over her body. Her faux feathers looked as slick and shiny as her ebony hair, though she lacked the ability to make them rustle like Zayzann’s.
“Amazing.” Zayzann’s pupils dilated from their usual x-shapes to broad, round discs. He soaked up this fascinating information as Khazmine continued to struggle. “Can you do light blue? Ooh, how about gray?”
A series of flashing screens appeared in her worsening vision, as bright and orange as she remembered. Khazmine had just enough clarity to read one of them before it faded away.
<WARNING: IMMENANT POWER FAILURE. Switching to Auxiliary Power in ten, nine, eight…>
Khazmine dropped to her knees and managed to catch herself with outstretched arms to avoid face-planting into the living room floor. The exquisite black Paxoram camouflage collapsed immediately, leaving a pale Augment in its place. Even her hair blanched, and now resembled unlit fiber optic cabling. Zayzann rose from his loafed position nearby and grabbed onto her gloved hands to steady Khazmine back to her feet.
“I’m sorry, little bird.” Khazmine forced out with a metallic voice that sounded like aluminum being mangled in a thresher. “That’s the best I can do. Your pattern is… too difficult…”
Khazmine’s long tendril seeped out from its recessed cavity in her forearm, coiling in a limp heap on the floor. Once he realized that she hadn’t the strength to move it around, Zayzann gingerly handled the end of the cable and secured it into the baseboard wall socket. While his back was turned to her, Zayzann heard the unmistakable thunk of a second cable, coming from her other arm.
"You h-have another one?” Zayzann sputtered. “What’s this one, some kind of secret weapon?”
“A-auxiliary power… cable…” Khazmine explained. “Please, plug it in…”
Zayzann obeyed the exhausted Augment, who jolted from the connection to the second wall outlet. The apartment lights dimmed slightly under the power drain, causing Zayzann to flinch and draw his ears back.
“Khaz, you gotta stop.” Zayzann urged. “Something’s happening…”
At this rate, Khazmine could bring down the local power grid with her recharging. Zayzann reached for the extra power cable and yanked it from the socket, scattering sparks of electricity that flashed eerily close to his body.
<SYSTEM DIAGNOSTIC: Auxiliary Power at 42%. Primary Power at 38%. Charging now.>
Black color dripped into her hair cabling and her skin returned to its purplish tint once her display warning disappeared. Khazmine unceremoniously plopped down into one of Iris’s guest chairs, causing it to creak under her sudden descent. The cable that was still attached to its socket pulled taught until Khazmine released some more slack from her arm. The other cable slowly retracted like a silver snake, disappearing into its storage recess.
“Are you okay?” Zayzann stooped to get a closer look at the weary Augment.
“All systems functional. Charging now.” Khazmine’s voice normalized, and she shook the lingering fog of confusion that had descended on her. “Remind me never to try that again.”
“Sorry, I didn’t know it would be that difficult.” Zayzann frowned. “You could have said ‘no,’ Khaz.”
“I didn’t want to disappoint you.” Khazmine strained. “You had requested that I do my best as an apology for earlier, and I promised to try.”
“Still, I’d hope you wouldn’t destroy yourself just to apologize.” Zayzann's face contorted into a strained smile, and he brushed errant locks of hair out of the Augment’s boggling eyes. She was too weak to object and permitted the contact without comment. “Thanks for trying, all the same. I guess there are things even you can’t do.”
His sensitive nose picked up a whiff of burnt metal coming from Khazmine. He didn’t realize how far she’d pushed her camouflage to emulate the object of his heart’s desire.
If he can’t return home, perhaps I can bring a bit of home to him. Khazmine had reasoned before diverting power from life support to her camouflage array. It may have cost me a short circuit or two, but at least he’s happier now.
It was hard to get a read on Zayzann’s facial expression, which presented as a curious combination of nostalgia and sorrow. His heart rate, however, was a dead-giveaway, nearly drowning out the urgent vibrations of her cellphone that rattled away on the coffee table. Seeing that Khazmine was still exhausted, Zayzann handed her the phone that was out of her reach.
“What’s up?” Zayzann asked as Khazmine’s expression hardened. “What is it?”
“Cazz. Trncot man safter me.” Khazmine furrowed her brows and deciphered aloud from the poorly written text messages. “Takin taxi hom now. Ryan wit me. Plz help.”
Khazmine and Zayzann had enough time to glance at one another in horror as a taxicab pulled into the apartment parking lot. She could hear the familiar sound of the car door opening and two people getting out.
“Keep the meter running.” Ryan instructed the cab driver to wait in the parking lot.
Sh*t. The roommates thought in unison.
Zayzann scrambled to shift into human form, snagged his left wing on his shirt slit, and jostled frantically to look more “normal” as he shrank down while sprouting blue hair.
Khazmine extended her limb with the power cable, fanned out her fingers, and drew her hand into a tight fist as she tensed her arm close to her body. The apartment lights flickered from this aggravated power drain, and she pulled the cable back in a flash, like a retractable tape measure. She’d done it so forcefully that the resulting snap clipped her arm plates, causing Khazmine to shudder.
The Paxoram managed to fasten the snaps on his wing slits and sprint to the front door, flinging it open as Ryan and Iris approached on the shabby stoop. His arms thrust forward to capture her in his grasp, and Iris trembled as she buried her head against his chest.
“Are you all right?” Zayne separated from Iris just enough to get a look at her face as a new cascade of tears poured down the sides of her reddened cheeks. “Did he hurt you?”
“N-no…” Iris buried her head into his chest and shook so hard it broke Zayne’s heart. “But he could have. I… I didn’t even see him follow me. Ryan told me.”
Zayne’s eyes darted over to Ryan at the base of the stoop, who was likewise occupied, staring unbelievingly up at Cassie. His bandaged hand unconsciously rose to touch the stubble that grew along his left cheek, as if the motion could validate his reality.
The Augment froze where she stood after recognizing the familiar human immediately. “Ryan” was such a common name that it hadn’t occurred to her that Iris’s coworker and the pool hall lush were the same person. A quick glance at their surroundings was all she could afford to spare before making a snap decision.
“Come in, all of you.” Cassie commanded. Though her tone was forceful and demanding, Ryan recognized its richness as belonging to the woman who’d captured his interest. “We’ll talk inside.”
Zayne escorted Iris up the stairs as her knees buckled and shook. Ryan trailed behind with a hand extended to catch her, should Iris’s legs give out. This ruffling of his clothing forced a subtle wafting of cologne to reach Zayne’s nose. In an instant, he recognized the odor.
It's him. Zayne side eyed Ryan with a hateful glare. The one who touched Khaz… and gave Iris that bloody nose.
The sensation was impossible for Zayne to understand or adequately describe in human words. It was a primal, seething hatred that tugged his lips into a sneer, and tensed his muscles until they threatened to rupture. If Iris hadn’t needed his support just then, Zayne might have torn this human limb from limb.
He follows them home… Zayne’s heart rate elevated at the thought. He threatens MY FAMILY!?
A firm, gloved hand squeezed his upper arm forcefully at the bicep. The immovable grasp pressed into the tensed arm until leather bore into his flesh. Zayzann’s eyes traced the limb back to its source and saw Cassie’s wide, darting eyes, which silently begged him with a single look that pleaded “don’t.”
I’ll tear him apart. Zayne’s eyes transmitted his murderous intentions plainly for Cassie to see. Until you can’t even tell what he is…
Cassie whispered for his ears only, with trembling lips and glossy eyes. “Please…”
<WARNING: Hydraulic fluid pressure anomaly detected. Short circuit in cranial nodes 1, 4, and 7 detected. Re-routing power to damaged systems.>
Clear hydraulic fluid collected in Cassie’s eyes until they overflowed, giving her the appearance of heartfelt tears. A single tear landed on Zayne’s bare foot like a raindrop, stopping him cold. He thought the Augment was incapable of crying, let alone feeling anything deeply enough to warrant tears. Distracted from his urges, his fury melted away, leaving Zayne with a drawn expression and fidgety fingers.
“Set her down on the couch.” Cassie instructed as she wiped the leaky fluid from her face. Ryan winced at the sight of Cassie’s tears, as if the act of watching her struggle hurt him in some way. “That’s it, you’re safe now. Can you tell us what happened?”
Iris stammered and fumbled her way through the events leading up to now, with Ryan offering his two cents along the way. It was obvious to the roommates that Cruxuss had survived the fight with Khazmine, much to the roommates’ dismay. With the “full story” made plain for the rest of them, Ryan stood up and strode to the door.
“I should head back to the office and let them know what happened.” Ryan compelled himself to look away from Cassie and Iris. The blue-haired roommate’s glare made him uneasy, and Ryan inched away from the group reluctantly. “I hope you feel better, Iris.”
“Wh-wait! The mortgage!” Iris forced out through parched lips. Zayne held her tightly, as she threatened to rise from the couch and topple over. “P-please… Cassie. I have to pay it today.”
“Shh… It’s okay.” Khazmine patted Iris’s head and allowed her eyes to drift to the floor as she calculated her options. She clenched her jaw before meeting Iris’s fearful stare. “I’ll do it. I promise.”
“I have a cab waiting out front.” Ryan gestured at the roommates with a pointed thumb directed behind him. “Do you wanna ride with me?”
Not seeing any other options, Khazmine waited patiently for Iris to text her instructions on what to do. Ryan caught a glimpse of the fragile, trembling woman struggle to type into the phone before he turned away.
“It has to be in person.” Iris insisted. “I told the bank not to release the money to anyone else, understand?”
The reality of Iris’s request sank in, leaving Khazmine uneasy but determined, as one of her leather gloves creaked from Khazmine’s grasp. “Acknowledged.”
“Come on then, let’s go.” Ryan motioned for Khazmine to follow. “I’ll help, too.”
Oh, I’m not sure you can help, human. Khazmine leered as she grabbed Iris’s faux leather bag and strode through the front door without looking back.
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