Private Trouble in Paradise

[Shai Maji]

One by one the gangsters fell at their hands, not a drop of their blood wasted as they siphoned it all up. But as Shai reached the last of her targets, she never realized what was happening to her body. What remained of her dress had torn off, her bones, muscle and skin warped as she tore into one after the other until what remained in front of her last target resembled nothing of the Wardog.

"So, questions?"

Shai's glowing eyes snapped over to Xyoz as she stood a few feet away from him, still not realizing the foot or two of size she suddenly had over him. "Who the kriff are you?" Her demonic voice rumbled as she reached out and wrapped a massive hand around the poor survivor's throat.

"We-we... he's our competition's boss! We never... never got a chance to-to-to find him." The man blubbered as he tried to fight against the powerful grip around his neck. "Where is your base?" She leaned in closer, plucking his datapad from his pocket and forcing it against the man. He tried as best he could to navigate it with only one hand until he finally had an address. "There! Our boss is there! Pl-please... don't kill m-" He never got a chance to finish as Shai gripped his hip and tore him in half with a powerful tug. One half was tossed at Xyoz while she dug into the other half.

Only when there was nothing but mangled remains dotting the area, did Shai turn to look at her husband. "We got an address. We're going to take them out. Let's get back... what the kriff?" She blinked at surprise as she noticed her reflection in a window. She looked at Xyoz with wide eyes, noticing how much smaller he was now. And then her hands. Massive, feral and adorned with claws sharp enough to tear into durasteel.

"Um... babe? What... what the kriff?!" She stumbled back as she stared back at him, unsure of what was wrong with her.

Xyoz Maji

 

[Xyoz Maji]

"That's uh.. Wo."

Xyoz took a doubletake as he stared at Shai. Up at Shai. He cracked out a laugh as he caught half the body. Absorbed the blood still dripping from it in the process before dropping the now bloodless corpse to the side.

"I mean, I like em big too. Sure. It's uh- Oh. Uh. Warform. I think? Look I'll level with ya real quick I don't actually know how Sangnir work. I was y'know, made to be one of their weapons. What I am ain't natural. .. Anyway uh. Take a breath, maybe? Relax. Just gotta.. Uh. .. I don't fuckin' know try thinking small?"

Shai Maji

 

[Shai Maji]

The demonic Shistavanen stared at Xyoz with disbelief as he tried to give suggestions. "Think small?! That's what you got?!" Her harsh voice perked up as she looked at her hands again. It was worth a shot. She closed her eyes, held her breath and tried to focus on how she normally looked... nothing happened. "Kark's sake, this ain't workin'. Let's get back to the ship. You're gonna have to drive." She pointed to the gangsters' speeder as she bent over to pick up the datapad. "You're sleeping on the couch tonight. My couch." She grumbled as she tried to open the door, only to rip it off its hinges entirely.

"Kark's sake..."

Getting in didn't help either, especially with her hips knocking against the doorframe. There was a well-simmered mix of embarrassment and frustration as she forced herself onto the back seat. "How the kriff do you do it?! Go from a karkin' menacing beast to you?" She asked from behind the driver's seat as she tried to peek over his shoulder with no success. She quickly realized that putting him into the driver's seat was a mistake.

"Um... okay... hit that button that says 'start'. Then you turn the knob in the middle of the seats to 'drive'." She carefully listened to make sure he was doing it right. "Now... in that screen in the middle. Tap it, then tap the little image that look like a circle with a short stripe comin' out the side of it. A keyboard should pop up. Then type in 'dock'... then numbers... one-seven-three... then hit 'enter'." She could only hope that he was doing it right. "Alright, now... the pedal on the right makes it go forward, the pedal in the middle makes it stop. Be gentle with both. The pedal-looking thing way in the left is just a foot rest, don't worry about that. With the wheel, if you pull back on it, the speeder will go up. Push it in, and the speeder will go down. Just get us into the air and pointing in the direction of the dock icon on the screen, then hit the 'autopilot' button on the wheel."

A deep breath escaped her as she tried to relax. The prospect of him driving and, most likely, crashing them was stopping her from really relaxing. "And if you think this 'war form' or whatever is a new thing for us to play around with in bed, I'll kick your ass." She grumbled as she tried to shift again, only to knock her head against the roof. "I karkin' hate this..."

Xyoz Maji

 

[Xyoz Maji]

"I 'unno I just do? I ain't ever been good at words but c'mon. You honestly think I can explain somethin' like this?" Xyoz plopped into the seat and just stared at the controls. At least the button was labeled start. He clicked that. Laughed as the ship floated up just a bit. Alright. Good. This was easy. So far this was easy. Now the button. .. Which button? He stared at the buttons for a moment. None were displayed. At least, none had his usual sticky notes.

Fuck.

Random one. He touched one, which started to blare out music. Panicked, he hit another. Hazard lights. Another, high beams.

"Why!? Just- Labels! With words! the fuck is the point of words if people don't use em!?"

He'd get there eventually. Get them up in the air. The autopilot going. Once the ship actually took over he let out a sigh of relief. Then snorted a laugh. "Hey, babe. I love all of you, no matter the form ya take. Metal, flesh, big, small. We'll figure it out though. Gettin' you back to you."

Shai Maji

 

[Shai Maji]

Watching Xyoz struggle with the buttons in the speeder would have been a lot more comical if Shai wasn't utterly ticked off by her current predicament. "Holy kriff, I'm takin' ya to a desolate planet to teach you how to use technology." She grumbled with a low voice as she tried her best to get comfortable. The shaky take-off and open door by her feet wasn't really helping her to relax. Eventually he managed to get them on the way back to the ship, allowing Shai to reach out and place an enormous hand on his shoulder with an absurdly strong grip. But unbeknownst to her, the hand was growing smaller by the second.

"Don't think that some sweet talkin' is gonna get you out of- oh, hey!"

Only realizing her smaller stature a few seconds later, immediately serving to cheer her up. Stripped from any and all modesty, Shai clambered over the seats and into the passenger seat next to Xyoz with a grin. She looked over to him as a snicker formed. "Okay fine, just for the sweet talkin' we can play around with the wack forms." She teased as she gave him a flick against his ear.

Luckily the trip back to the ship didn't take too long. There was only so much teasing she could do before Xyoz either got too annoyed or willing to jump onto her in the passenger seat. Uncaring of the surrounding people on the landing pad, Shai strode over to her ship and wasted no time in suiting up in her body glove and armour. "Game plan, we're goin' to that address. We're killing anything that moves and looks like it deserves to die, and we go back to having dinner." She commented as she pulled her weapons from a rack and checked them all. Her gaze turned to Xyoz as she held a pistol out to him. "You wanna go in normally or send them a message?" She asked him with a maniacal grin.

Xyoz Maji

 

[Xyoz Maji]

"Hey, I'm learning. Mostly. It helps when the buttons have actual words and not these random symbols on them. Learnin' how to read basic was hard enough on it's own." He grumbled a bit before glancing her way. Just as she started to shift back down. He blinked, more surprised she'd just.. Shifted back. Emotion, huh?

A laugh escaped as he turned his attention back to trying to fly. At least he was going the right direction, traffic laws be damned. "See? Sweet talkin' solves everythin'. How do you think I've come so far?" Near immortality, actually. But he liked to think it was his sweet talking nature. As they landed (which was just a slow crash, all things considered), he hopped out. Glanced over the speeder.

Wasn't anything like the luxury one she'd gotten him. That was now burning somewhere.

"Y'know I don't use that form unless I'm tryin' to hide who I am. And these fucks messed with date night. Gotta remind people that they don't fuck with the Hyena, yeah?"

Shai Maji

 

[Shai Maji]

Shai grinned like a maniac as she holstered her pistols and slid on her helmet. Those people messed with the wrong mutts. But if she had to be honest, her intentions shifted from revenge to simply wiping them out so she could get around to teaching Xyoz how to drive a speeder. "By the way, once this is done, I'm teaching you how to drive. No arguments or excuses. Your gang can take care of itself for a week or two." She spoke up as she made her way to the cockpit.

They both knew that was a lie, but that could be taken care of down the line.

Once the ship was airborne, Shai spared a glance at Xyoz. "I don't think wiping out gangs as a couple is exactly a goal for other people... but it does feel good." She quipped with a chuckle as they zoomed through the night sky toward the coordinates given to them. Though something did stick out to her. "Just one thing... I thought the Hyena is one of your lieutenants?" She asked him as she slowed the ship down to hover over the location. Judging from the scanners, scrambling people and blaster bolts hitting the hull of the freighter, they were at the right place.

Shai rose from her seat and pulled up her helmet to plant a deep kiss on her husband's lips. "Don't think you're off the hook yet after this." She quipped with a hungry look as she pulled away and moved past him. Standing at the open loading ramp, Shai calmly stepped over the edge and plummeted toward the facility several dozen meters below them. Her jetpack came to life at the last moment to slow her descent before her pistols left her holsters. Immediately the sketchy warehouse became a warzone as the two Shistavanen let all hell loose upon the gangsters trying to figure out what was happening.

Xyoz Maji

 

[Xyoz Maji]

"They take care of themselves even when I am around. Don't you know? I'm just the pretty face." He waggled his eyebrows before barking out a whole other laugh. They could handle themselves pretty well, all things considered. At least mostly. Denon was it's whole shitstain on his otherwise rather impressive career. Still needed his hand, if the events just earlier weren't proof enough.

Like hell he'd argue that with Shai though. She said take a break? He took a break. Nothing mattered more to him than her.

"Other couples are boring. And, yeah. He is. Still is, technically. He's also dead for his fuck ups on Denon, but I don't mind using the name to keep the heat off of me, y'know? Sides, Hyena selling Giggledust is just too perfect for the brand." At least he was learning some things, even if modern technology was still beyond him. Dressed anew in a spare suit he fixed at his collar, his sleeves.

There was a message to be sent, and he was going to send it in style.

The kiss though, that froze him for a good moment. His eyes stayed on hers until they disappeared behind her helmet. And finally he grinned. "I better not be." Was all he could think to say before he stepped off with her.

Unlike her, he didn't stop his fall. Instead he landed right atop one of the gangsters below with an unearning crack. There wasn't even a moment of stillness as he stood, once more fixing his suit jacket. Smoothing it out as Shai rained down hell from above.

"Boys and girls of all ages and all creeds! You fucked with the wrong drug lord this evenin', and the price, as always, is blood." He spoke loud, his voice unnaturally booming as he stepped off the crumbled body he'd landed on. Then moved a hand. A blaster that had been pointed towards him fell to the ground as it's wielder fell in half. "Make peace with your gods. I got none for ya myself."

Did he hear that in a movie? Absolutely. But as he walked forward and the bodies started to just fall apart around him, he certainly looked the part.

Shai Maji

 

[Shai Maji]

Between Shai and Xyoz, the gangsters didn't stand a chance. Foot soldiers, enforcers, even the leadership, none were spared or granted mercy. The Wardog flew overhead while Xyoz charged from below, both practically immune to the few who dared to try and stand against them. Raging fury burned in the Shistavanen's eyes as another gangster fell beneath her with a blaster hole in his chest.

They threatened her. They threatened him. An immediate death sentence for anyone crazy enough to do that.

Wordlessly Shai landed on the ground and tossed the spent cells from her pistols. The only hint of emotion came in the form of a slap on Xyoz's backside as she walked past him, slotting fresh cells into her twin pistols. "Look at you with the movie lines, huh?" A faint grin followed her otherwise cold voice as she moved on to take care of any survivors.

But in her executions, she stumbled upon something she wasn't fully expecting. Containers and cages, stacked around a few freighters by the facility's private landing pads. What once stored and transported valuable goods now housed captive slaves. Her crimson eyes lingered on the cages, where numerous people were crying out for help.

"Babe! Take a look at this." She called out to Xyoz as she holstered her weapons. After a moment's thinking, She nodded to the cages as she turned to look at him. "You break 'em out. I'll call the authorities. They gotta know about this." She muttered as she walked off. Immediately she dialled through her list of contacts, not only calling the Coruscant police, but also the Jedi contacts she had. Covering Xyoz up wouldn't be much of an issue.

While she was on the phone, a freed slave approached Xyoz. Another Shistavanen, cradling a sickly baby in her arms. "Thank you. Thank you so much." She spoke with a shaky voice. She was scrawny and malnourished, but her kid looked far worse. Another concerning feature were the marks along her forearms. Needle marks beginning to fester. "Listen... I need help. Can you... can you take the kid? I'll even sell him to you, just... please take him." She continued, barely any shame in her voice as she spoke.

Xyoz Maji

 

[Xyoz Maji]

Blood, body parts, death. It was scattered around them. Slaves of all things were all that were left. Slaves. Xyoz stared with a passivity only born from centuries of detachment. He was a slave once, wasn't he? He owned slaves all the same. War slaves. Kill a tribe, enslave the survivors. Give them a chance to prove their worth and join the tribe. That's how he was made to join.

But slavery without a way to be free, like these people. Like when the Sangnir came.

He clicked his tongue and shook off the still wet blood from his hands. Whatever, they were free now. No need to think any more on the ancient pa-

"Listen... I need help. Can you... can you take the kid? I'll even sell him to you, just... please take him."

His eyes widened. He turned his gaze, staring at the woman. The child.

Here, here! Eat the child. Just let me live!

The world turned red.

It was only a second. A flash as something primal and full of rage lashed out. When he came back to his senses he was covered in blood. Something had snapped, something he thought was long discarded. The mother was gone, or rather, all around him. The other slaves were gone. Ran from the sight of what he'd done. He was alone. Not alone. The faintest heartbeat, so small, so delicate, he could feel it in his palm.

His gaze settled on the child, the sacrifice offered to him. For a moment the child stared back, wide eyed. Curious. Despite the carnage filled with that youthful wonderment. Then, tears. Crying. Hunger. Xyoz lifted his free hand, bit his thumb. "It's okay, little one. It's okay." He cooed with a gentleness of a father. His blood could heal. All Sangnir blood could. With intention, turn. But right now he wanted to heal this child.

"You're safe now."

Shai Maji

 

[Shai Maji]

Shai had just finished calling all the necessary authorities and even the Jedi Order when she heard numerous slaves shout and scream as they ran past her. Her brow furrowed as she walked over, curious to see what scared them.

Her eyes went wide at the scene around Xyoz. A mangled corpse, ripped to shreds and scattered around him... and a child in his arms. "Babe? What the kriff happened?" She asked with a mixture of annoyance and shock, however it all melted away as she peered down at the dull grey eyes of the frail child staring up at her, fresh tears still clinging to its cheeks. She froze up for a long moment as memories swirled in her mind of years far behind her. "He needs help. He needs food." She finally muttered, looking up at Xyoz.

"Come on. Hold onto him." She wrapped her arms around Xyoz and blasted into the air with the two of them, up to her freighter still hanging in the air above them. The authorities were around the corner anyway, their sirens were drawing closer with each second. They could take care of the other slaves.

On her ship, Shai tossed her helmet aside and got to work on fixing up a simple meal for the child. Simple porridge with some extras mixed in, properly liquid for easy eating. If she has to guess, the kid was at least a few years old. A rather lucky break considering the lack of baby equipment in the ship... or anywhere. "Here." She handed Xyoz the cooled porridge along with a spoon to feed the child while she rushed off to strip down her gear. After a few minutes, she came rushing back, dressed in her tank top and shorts.

"Please tell me he's eating. I'll take us to a hospital, just make sure he gets fluids and food in." She spoke up as she walked over to Xyoz, sparing a quick glance at the child over his shoulder. A quick glance that turned into a saddened stare for a long moment.

Xyoz Maji

 

[Xyoz Maji]

".. Shai?"

Xyoz blinked, glancing towards the armored Shistavanen. Protectively turned the child away from the armor, the guns. A rage long dead filled his eyes until recognition followed after. Recognition and regret. His tense form relaxed as he turned his gaze back to the child. Little by little his blood did it's work. Healing what was broken. Nurturing what had been neglected. Color, light, they'd only just started to return to his eyes.

More. More would heal him. He co-

"He needs help. He needs food."

Xyoz pulled his hand away. Pulled the blood away. No, no. Too much. Too much would turn him. too much would change him. He nodded once, cradling the frail boy to his chest. Kept him safe as they left the area, back to the ship. Back there he didn't lower the child from him. Ever protective, determined. He glanced at the food as Shai made it. Memories were there. Memories he'd long forgotten.

By the time she came back Xyoz was feeding the boy, who was all too eager to eat. The troubles of his mother, the memory of what happened, it seemed so far away in the face of warm food to fill his belly. Xyoz himself was smiling, despite the tears in his eyes.

"We'll take him to one of my hospitals. I don't want him to end up in that system or whatever for orphans."

Shai Maji

 

[Shai Maji]

Shai stared at Xyoz for a second or two at the mention of his hospitals. "You got hospitals?" She instinctively asked. "Gonna need a name or something, I don't know where your stuff is." She continued as she placed a hand on his shoulder. Something was incredibly off about him. His attitude, his behaviour with the kid... it was almost alien to see him act such a way. She had never seen a side like this to him.

Was there something in his past that he wouldn't even tell her about?

At least the kid was eating without any protest. His pale eyes drifted from Xyoz to her every now and then. The sight had Shai lingering over her husband's shoulder for far longer than necessary. Once she managed to get a name or address out of Xyoz, she set the computer to autopilot and returned to sit next to Xyoz.

She was silent for several long moments. From the viscera around him, she had to guess that Xyoz made lunch out of the kid's parents. Why he did that could be discussed later, right now their priority was the kid. She looked to Xyoz for a moment, admired his gentle touch and approach with the kid in his arms. "What are we gonna do with him? We fix him up, get him healthy... then what? You think the kid's got any family worth lookin' for?" She asked him with a gentle voice.

Naturally, giving the kid away wasn't her first thought. Both as a Mandalorian and a mother -to some degree- she didn't want to just pass the kid along. The thought was there, to keep him. To raise him as her own. But it wasn't her decision, not alone at least. A hand reached out and gently tugged the child's foot as a broad smile stretched across her lips. "He likes you." She quipped as she sat back.

Xyoz Maji

 

[Xyoz Maji]

"People don't question drugs in a hospital. Makes it easier to move product." There were rules and regulations for the drugs the hospital did actually have. Not so much for the drugs he funneled through them. No need to keep tabs on something they weren't supposed to have. He gave the address before just focusing on the child. Then just shook his head as he looked her way.

"If there were, they wouldn't have left him with that woman. .. Yeah. We're gonna keep him. He's ours now."

Shai Maji

 

[Shai Maji]

His words took a moment to process. She had a feeling that he would go for the option to keep the kid... but to hear him actually say it left Shai speechless for a moment. She looked at Xyoz for a few silent moments, then to the child in his arms.

Their own child. Not just another foundling for her to raise, not some street rat Xyoz might take momentary pity on... a child of their own to raise, love and care for.

Their own baby boy.

A sniff escaped her without her even realizing. By the time she snapped out of her thoughts, her eyes were foggy and her throat was tight. A dream she had clung to for over a decade, written off when she lost her body... only for it to be reignited with a coincidental incident and a few simple words from Xyoz.

The Mandalorian scooted closer to her husband and wrapped an arm around him to hold him closer. Her eyes were glued to the boy as a chuckle escaped her. "Yeah... that sounds like a plan." She muttered with an unwavering smile. Her reaction likely sounded underwhelming, most certainly for anyone else. But he would understand. He knew better than anyone how unbelievable the moment would be for her. Only he would understand, nobody else could comprehend it.

A hand reached out and gently tickled the boy's foot as a laugh escaped her. Swallowing hard and clearing her throat, she looked to Xyoz for a moment. "Dunno how this works... do we pick a name now or what? How're we gonna choose?" She asked him as she wiped at her eyes.

Xyoz Maji

 

[Xyoz Maji]

Xyoz blinked. Confusion, surprise. He hadn't seen her cry like this before. Even after he left, even after she lost her body, the tears she shed were always in rage or sorrow. He said nothing as he watched her watch the boy. Their child. His gaze shifted back to the child as he smirked just a little. Yeah. Yeah. This was his child now. Their child. He leaned his head over, resting it against the top of Shai's own.

"Yuri. It was my brother's name."

Shai Maji