[color=bfbfbf][sub][table= //////= POST DESIGN v1=\\\\\\][row][sub][sub][sub][sub][sub][img]https://i.imgur.com/Wxn3e88.png[/img][/sub][/sub][/sub][/sub][/sub][/row][row][cell][sup][img]https://i.imgur.com/KWqo6uF.png[/img][/sup]

[color=2e2c2c]_______________________________[sub]........[/sub][/color]
[/cell][cell][color=white][center][sub][sub][sub][sub][sub][img]https://i.imgur.com/DHKvx27.png[/img][/sub][/sub][/sub][/sub][center][color=2e2c2c]Evening   ·   |@Exit] & |@Mistress Dizzy] Collaboration[/color]Evening   ·   [@Exit] & [@Mistress Dizzy] Collaboration[/center][/sub][/center][/color][quote][color=2e2c2c]____________________________________________________________________________.[/color]
[color=9f9f9f][sub][sub][u][b][color=bca346]Exit   [/color][/b][/u][/sub][/sub]
There would be no guards, signs or warnings to tip off wanderers that they were entering the Underground. Just the understanding that the world beyond the steps cared little about who you were or where you came from. The law in the sewers was survival and those who called this maze of place home knew exactly how to do just that. Nelu himself had a taste of the life but knew there was a difference between visiting and having been born into it. Having to carve for yourself a space in a world that was already too crowded to begin with. Having to find for yourself a name that others could remember in a sea of unimportant faces. While he could put on an act, he would be relying on the former ‘Flying Frog’ to get him in and out of there in one piece.

The bottom of the stairs fed immediately into a large market, crowded and well lit. The bleak silence and colorless streets they had just escaped was suddenly replaced by the white noise of a lively crowd and lights dragged down here from the surface. Burning incandescents and blinking fluorescent neon colored the world in direct defiance of the darkness that tried to encroach. The shadows were pushed back by ambient hues that tainted the walls and stained the air. The people too were similarly distinctly vivid. Much like the world around them held together by chewed up wire, metal sheets and rotting wood, they too were dressed patchwork attire. Entire looks fashioned from parts and pieces of discarded and well worn clothing that no longer looked like trash but something new and unique.

And it didn’t stop there. The Underground was [i]the[/i] place to get anything in the Lower Ring. From Zen and sex to spirit water and body modifications. Despite the danger inherent from some of the available services, the business that handled them still boomed and it was obvious that many ignored the warnings and took advantage. There were signs everywhere. Glowing hair and teeth and eyes. People using in the open. Flyers and ads as stickers covering every available surface. Merchants were less than patient with thieves and so it was not uncommon to see in their employ muscle, some of whom were also augmented or carrying odd weapons. And because they were not the only ones who were armed, the RSF knew that entering here, despite the obvious rampant crime, was dangerous.

Nelu ignored the danger, the stares and the people in his way as he pulled Jin into the crowd. Although dense, he knew it would not be enough to obscure their movement and they would have to deal with their pursuers directly.
[sub][sub][u][b][color=d7d0e7]Mistress Dizzy   [/color][/b][/u][/sub][/sub]
As the two entered the Underground proper, the pair were quickly swallowed by the chaotic neon sea, contrasting shadows, and press of bodies. Any other night, Jin would have inhaled it deep and drunk it down. After the militant rigidity of the LSF environment, and the bleak nature of the Lower Ring, the Underground felt realer than anything else.

The blue light show on Jin’s dress suddenly made sense. In the Lower Ring, they stuck out like a shiny new credit card. But down here? That brilliance blended with the crowd. If they hadn’t been followed in, no one would have been the wiser. Unfortunately, they were being tailed, and were outnumbered at that. Nelu wanted to lead, and Jin was happy to let him, for now.

As the pair pushed through the market, old instincts rose to the surface and dusted themselves off. Perhaps the LSF had Jin Takashi chipped and leashed. But the Flying Frog would never die.
[sub][sub][u][b][color=bca346]Exit   [/color][/b][/u][/sub][/sub]
Quickly looking around, he spotted a path to the left of the market that led away into a more secluded area. Letting go of Jin’s hand, he parted the crowd slightly creating for himself and them a path to easily thread themselves through and led them both out and to an exit.
[sub][sub][u][b][color=d7d0e7]Mistress Dizzy   [/color][/b][/u][/sub][/sub]
With a deft pair of hands, Jin plucked a few items from the open market stalls, and the nearby members of the thick crowd. Unfortunately, they didn’t have time or pocket space for more than three. They returned their full attention in time to see Nelu leading them into an alleyway. There wasn’t enough time to warn him, and even less to turn around. When they hit a dead end, Jin was less than surprised. The Underground was a natural maze even without the people and pop up shops.
[sub][sub][u][b][color=bca346]Exit   [/color][/b][/u][/sub][/sub]
The alley they entered was dirty, dark and damp but out of sight. Puddles of unknown liquid were collecting in corners. Elephant rats, bigger than the ones on the surface, didn't even bother to scamper away, welcoming the sudden intrusion and the possibility of another meal. There was a body in the corner didn’t move and, of course beyond that, there was a deadend. In the dark, the wall ahead of them was nothing more than a pile of long forgotten and rotting trash. Nelu was sure there was probably a door on the other side that lead out but there was no way they were going to reach it. Not to mention the smell was already horrible. He didn’t want to know what other fumes the trash wall was sealing.

He shook his head, looking at the filth around them both. [color=bca346]”...This doesn’t count. I can do better than this for a first d-”[/color]

[color=white]”Oops…”[/color]

Behind them at the entrance, a man flanked by three others entered the smaller space. Just like everything else in the Underground, they too looked hurriedly cobbled together. A band of misfits forced together in order to survive… or maybe to simply share in the thrill of what they were doing. The lead man was carrying a pipe in his metal grasp, not surprising considering where they were now. The machine work disappeared into the sleeve of his jacket and it was impossible to tell how much work he’d gotten done.
[sub][sub][u][b][color=d7d0e7]Mistress Dizzy   [/color][/b][/u][/sub][/sub]
Jin recognized the tone in Nelu’s voice as they both turned to face the quartet of idiots that had tracked them in. He was playing the Upper Ring hustle, and they’d have to give him props - it seemed to be working. Jin would just have to up the ante.
[sub][sub][u][b][color=bca346]Exit   [/color][/b][/u][/sub][/sub]
[color=white]”Got a little lost did ya?”[/color] He chuckled. [color=white]”Ya’ll ain’t from ‘round here, huh? Dressin’ all fancy like. You too…”[/color] The man eyed Nelu before looking again at Jin. [color=white]“Don’t worry… We ain’t gonna hurt ya.”[/color] He pointed at Jin with the pole in his hand. The others behind him spread out as best they could considering the limited space. They were similarly armed and now blocking the only way out. [color=white]”Just give us the girl.”[/color]

[color=bca346][i]...Shit…[/i][/color]

Nelu smacked his face, shook his head and sighed. [color=bca346]”Nope. They’re not a girl.”[/color]
[sub][sub][u][b][color=d7d0e7]Mistress Dizzy   [/color][/b][/u][/sub][/sub]
[color=a187be]“Please…”[/color] Jin stepped forward, subtly leaving Nelu space to maneuver around. [color=a187be]“Let us go.”[/color] Their voice was high and sweet, and hopefully the proper tone for the Upper Ring idiot girl Jin was dressed as. Jin’s hands were clasped in front of their chest. Only Nelu was at the proper angle to see their fingers moving rapidly on something hidden in their hands.
[color=a187be]“I’ll give you anything you want.”[/color]
[sub][sub][u][b][color=bca346]Exit   [/color][/b][/u][/sub][/sub]
Nelu kept his eyes forward, not wanting to give away what Jin was doing in his periphery with a warning glance. The sudden shift in her tone of voice caught him off guard, however, as for a brief moment, he’d forgotten who he was standing behind. It seemed Jin had slipped right back into her old habits as the flying frog, disappearing completely into the woman she was pretending to be. It was flawless. Believable. More than enough to lure the men forward in a false sense of triumph and claim their prize. They each took a step toward the two, and were now only a few yards away. The metal pipe in the lead man’s hand hovered nearly within arms reach of Jin.

[color=bca346]”Listen. I have money, okay? You can have whatever, ju-”[/color]

The pipe moved to point at Nelu. [color=white]”Yeah. We’ll take the money off ya hands after we’re done with her…”[/color] The man said, taking another step forward. Keeping the pipe on Nelu, he began to reach for the soft edge that was Jin’s cheek.
[sub][sub][u][b][color=d7d0e7]Mistress Dizzy   [/color][/b][/u][/sub][/sub]
Jin had long buried the reflexive urge to smile at a successful con. Still, the old rush came back, sharpening their senses. It was a high far better than any street drug.

There were certain unwritten rules that frequenters of the Underground learned quick. [i]Don’t get caught stealing. Don’t go down an alley you ain’t been down before. Don’t bite a Glowworm and light up a cig.[/i] They’d already broken at least two rules in 5 minutes. Jin might as well break another.

As the first guy fell for the ploy like a Luna moth to a bug zapper, reaching out, Jin actually leaned forward, inhaling slow, as if to accept the touch like a charmed maiden.

Spreading their hands from their clasped position, Jin revealed two objects. A plastic open tube of Glowworm, used to create a neon effect on teeth and eyes. And a small, silver lighter. Three things happened in rapid succession. Jin flicked the lighter, and a teeny orange flame came to life. They exhaled their held breath, lips pursed and directed toward the fire. The flame hit the glowing liquid, and like an old circus trick, it caught, combusted, and followed the path of oxygen-

Directly into their opponent’s face.
[sub][sub][u][b][color=bca346]Exit   [/color][/b][/u][/sub][/sub]
The man reared back as soon as he saw Jin put the lighter to their lips, but he was too close and too slow. Flames erupted in the small space between himself and them, engulfing him in fire that wrapped around his entire body. His screams were swallowed by the sound of fire eating at the air and then further obscured by the screaming of those behind him.
[sub][sub][u][b][color=d7d0e7]Mistress Dizzy   [/color][/b][/u][/sub][/sub]
[color=a187be]“Move!”[/color]
[sub][sub][u][b][color=bca346]Exit   [/color][/b][/u][/sub][/sub]
Two of the man's cohorts were equally burned. The last, however, reacted quick enough to shield himself from the attack by stepping behind one of the others.

[color=white]”Fuck!”[/color] He screamed as both Jin and Nelu pushed by him, throwing him to the ground.

Nelu, still suffering from the earlier shock Jin had put him through, was reminded again why they had once been a prominent figure in the Lower Ring. He shouldn’t have been impressed, but he was. How they’d managed to pull that off was beyond him. He still wasn’t sure if they’d been carrying those items in their dress or had picked them off someone in the crowd. It was impossible to know and yet [i]that[/i] was the law of the land down here. Moving in the shadows and in secret and using both as a shield and a weapon. This was Jin’s world and in their hands, Nelu remained but a passenger. His experience paled in comparison to theirs.

Without looking behind him, he could confirm that they were still being followed, this time by the one man who managed to survive the initial fire blast. [color=bca346]”Got one more.”[/color]

Like them, their pursuer was slipping through the crowd with ease as if he’d done this his entire life.
[sub][sub][u][b][color=d7d0e7]Mistress Dizzy   [/color][/b][/u][/sub][/sub]
[color=a187be]“Yep.”[/color] Jin said simply. They had dropped the plastic tube of Glowworm before it decided to melt to their palm. As their legs pumped and half the dress flared, they made the lighter vanish into the dress. [color=a187be]“The answer you’re looking for is-”[/color] They twisted gracefully around a zenned out woman dancing in the midst of the market, barely breaking stride. [color=a187be]“The glowy shit on people’s hair and teeth? Highly fuckin’ flammable.”[/color] A beat. [color=a187be]“Inflammable?”[/color] They shook their head. [color=a187be]“Whichever, it lights up fast.”[/color]

The night was just beginning, and the market crowd was just getting started. The final pursuer seemed to have the most brains of the bunch. Between having sense and ruthlessness enough to use his cohorts as a shield, he clearly knew his way around the area. Nelu was out of his depth, Jin was out of practice. The pursuer was gaining ground, and fast. Something had to be done.

Jin’s eyes flickered across the area, trying to solve an equation with no numbers at all. [color=a187be]“Don’t look back!”[/color] Jin instructed Nelu, then pivoted sideways toward one of the market tables. It seemed to be selling credit cards. From the hastily printed sign on the wall, it was quite clear they were all very much stolen. With a level of skill they hadn’t gotten to display since their training days, Jin tucked and rolled, vanishing under the black tablecloth.

[color=white]“Hey! What the fu-”[/color] The vendor scowled, reaching out to move the table aside. He never got the chance. The table burst upward into the air, and the cards went with it, scattering absolutely everywhere.

Everything was still for a split second. Then Jin shouted, that sweet, fake femme voice carrying surprisingly far. 

[color=a187be]“[b]Free yuans[/b]!”[/color]

It was like dropping a slice of meat in a cage of hungry rats. By the time Jin got to their feet, the crowd was pressing in. They squeezed through, yanking the end of their dress from under someone’s foot. Already, a fight was breaking out.
[sub][sub][u][b][color=bca346]Exit   [/color][/b][/u][/sub][/sub]
Nelu did as instructed and kept running forward, resisting the urge to look at the chaos he could hear unfolding behind him. Jin, who had left his side for only a moment was already back on his heel, he could feel, nearly pushing him forward through the surf of people pushing in the opposite direction. Already, the excited crowd had become so dense trying to clamber for the scattered cards that they were effectively now an impenetrable wall. Their pursuer had no hope of following.

The two of them continued through the market toward the other end where the crowd was already thinning. With Nelu still in front and some instruction from Jin, he made a left up ahead and then another right where the corridor led to a more open and mostly abandoned space. It looked to be a service tunnel for what must have been the subfloors of a building half buried in the streets and forgotten. There was a door that most likely led back to the surface; one of a myriad of entrances and exits to the Underground. He yanked it open and led Jin inside. On the other side of the door was a single fluorescent bulb screwed into a socket that was surprisingly still on and working. A broken metal staircase would have led to a trapdoor in the ceiling. It looked like it hadn’t been open in ages.

[color=bca346]”The Flying Frog’s still got it.”[/color] Nelu said half out of breath. Down here, stretches of the world beneath the city suffered from poor airflow which heavily affected air quality, especially considering what fell down here from the upper rings and reamined. Breathing was often difficult but also meant that similar corridors were less likely to be occupied. A quick glance before they’d entered the room ensured that there were no prying eyes or ears to witness their flight. A second glance found Jin, her dress and hair and allure still intact despite the way she’d been moving. She didn’t even seem all that affected by the atmosphere.

He gestured toward them and nodded. [color=bca346]”That’s uh… effective.”[/color] He frowned, not liking the taste of the word or his lack of a better one. [color=bca346]”Doc Li?”[/color]
[sub][sub][u][b][color=d7d0e7]Mistress Dizzy   [/color][/b][/u][/sub][/sub]
Once it was clear they had gotten away clean, Jin leaned over and started to laugh. Soft, half-oxygenated, but absolutely pleased.[color=a187be] "[I]Still[/i] got it? Ain’t never lost it to start with."[/color] They peeked sideways at him, their pride obvious.

With Nelu’s impression of their getup, Jin shrugged. [color=a187be]"I mean, yeah? Everything she makes is effective."[/color] They straightened up, fiddling with a silver clasp at the neck of the dress. [color=a187be]"Though at first I thought she'd lost her fuckin mind when she showed me the kit. Guess I owe her an apology. And 50 yuans."[/color]
[sub][sub][u][b][color=bca346]Exit   [/color][/b][/u][/sub][/sub]
[color=bca346]”50 yuans, huh…?”[/color] The amount sounded vaguely like a bet. He could hazard a guess about what.
[sub][sub][u][b][color=d7d0e7]Mistress Dizzy   [/color][/b][/u][/sub][/sub]
Jin nodded. [color=a187be]"Yeah. She said, 'this disguise is so perfect, you could walk by your best friend and not get caught.'."[/color] Their head turned aside, watching in the direction of the door.[color=a187be] "And by the way you looked at me back there, it was pretty obvious she won."[/color]
[sub][sub][u][b][color=bca346]Exit   [/color][/b][/u][/sub][/sub]
[color=bca346][i]...Yeah…[/i][/color] It was hard to admit but the accusation stuck. He [i]had[/i] looked. He knew it. Far longer than he should have, and maybe it had only been for a couple of seconds but it was long enough for Jin to notice and that’s what mattered. It was getting harder and harder for him to keep the facade up and if they kept surprising him like they had, it wouldn’t be long before he had to make a decision.

The breath he took was laced with tainted oxygen and embarrassment. He snorted. [color=bca346]”Guess I was being really obvious.”[/color] He looked at them again, this time with less surprise and more intent. A curious, appreciative gaze. It wasn’t invasive or harsh, but soft. He tried not to let his eyes linger for too long but again, it was difficult. Sylara’s work was impeccable as always, a testament to her skill and an even bigger statement to her confidence in the bet they’d apparently made. It was no surprise really what a fool of him she’d made, and he’d promised he’d have words with her later… or at least he knew he’d hear about it later.

[color=bca346]”So besides making me look like a complete idiot, I know Doctor Li always goes the extra mile with her work. What else can it do?”[/color]
[sub][sub][u][b][color=d7d0e7]Mistress Dizzy   [/color][/b][/u][/sub][/sub]
Jin snickered faintly. [color=a187be]”Like I said, I coulda shot you. And that was before I  stepped out.”[/color] One hand was still in motion, the silver charm catching what little light there was. [color=a187be]“I know this is… not the best time. But.”[/color] They turned, finally, meeting his eyes, their worry obvious. [color=a187be]“Are you… okay, Cap? I mean, no way in hell would any disguise fool you, usually..."[/color]
[sub][sub][u][b][color=bca346]Exit   [/color][/b][/u][/sub][/sub]
[color=bca346]”Hey… Jin...”[/color] Nelu tried to interrupt. However, the first attempt fell on distracted ears as they continued down a hole they didn’t need to go down. Was Nelu alright? Far from it and although he would never admit it, Jin had been spot on with the assessment. A disguise shouldn’t have worked and yet it did. But his inability to pick Jin out of the crowd paled to the situation Jin had just pulled them out of, at least to him. Nelu was still alive and well in a place he knew very little about, and whether Jin was aware of it or not in that moment, it was only because of them. Sure he would have been fine in a scrap, but then he’d also still be lost in this endless maze.

The brilliant blue in Jin’s eyes were fixed on him, but he could tell they were looking through him to some answer they couldn’t see. Their fingers were still fidgeting with the silver clasp that rested over where the sharp edge of their collarbone curved down toward their chest. That small spot of skin below their neck. The small spot of skin teasing at him from above their dress.
[sub][sub][u][b][color=d7d0e7]Mistress Dizzy   [/color][/b][/u][/sub][/sub]
[color=a187be]"...And I know if I feel like shit from not sleepin’, you probably feel [i]worse[/i] cause you have to do all the fuckin’ papers and-”[/color]
[sub][sub][u][b][color=bca346]Exit   [/color][/b][/u][/sub][/sub]
Their fingers continued to play with the small piece of metal, the physical tell of a person who was musing their worries. He reached for it and gently pressed his hand against theirs, interrupting the fidgeting and hoping his touch was enough to pull them from their thoughts and focus on the reassurance in his voice.

[color=bca346]”Jin.”[/color] He tried again, this time choosing to say what he knew would calm them down. Unfortunately for him, his brain and his lips couldn’t agree on what that actually was and instead, the truth came out. [color=bca346]”You look beautiful.”[/color][/color][/quote]
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