"Get out." Charybdis' eyes flared, glowing an ominous color. The magic within her was itching for battle. She had no combat training, so any fights were bound to be reckless and unbridled. The air writhed in discomfort. Any wrong move, and Charybdis would shred the fabric of the building down to the foundation.
"What right do you have to tell me what to do?" Redd snarled. "I've worked at this place for years. And now, just because of one mistake that wasn't even my fault, you're willing to ignore years of perfectly completed assignments, orderly conduct, and behavior that was a model for all of the operators here. Fucking bullshit. What's got you so upset? The fact I lay a little tiny finger on your precious merchandise," she growled, the word 'merchandise' dripping with hate and disgust. "Or that you know you can't do anything to stop me?"
"Careful, Redd. You're not yourself right now. You're agitated, you're not thinking straight. Look," Charybdis hissed, gesturing wildly to Redd's back, which was already starting to transform. The heavily injured werewolf was lying in a hospital bed, her entire face wrapped in bandages. A long, thick tube ran from the back of her head down to a container on a stand to her right. The medics hoped the magic essence could speed up her recovery, but Charybdis was too infuriated to wait until Redd was healed. Redd didn't know this, but Yona hadn't caught her when she fell from the tree, and she suffered several broken bones as a result.
After seeing the monster that Redd could become, Yona hadn't even wanted to touch her. Most lykan-trans, when they transformed, were still able to appear civilized in some sense. However, Redd, who was already volatile in her regular form, became completely wild and uncontrollable in her werewolf form.
As soon as Charybdis saw the state Evelynn was in, she promptly confiscated Redd's custom-made gloves and set them on fire. They were now mangled, useless pieces of burnt cloth. Redd had broken her contract to never transform on duty, and thus Charybdis had fired her.
"You're in no state to fight me."
"Nor am I in a state to leave. You have to take care of me, whether you like it or not."
"And afterwards? If you think you can snitch on our organization, you'll be dead if the second you think about it." Charybdis narrowed her eyes. Redd was temperamental enough to do it. It would be much easier to just kill her right here and now. If she was allowed to roam free, the wild wolf would tell RimOps and PSEF's secrets to the public, jeopardizing all that they worked for. It would be an utter catastrophe – mass panic, distrust in the government and RimTech, and a whole bunch of greedy criminals lusting after the last precious humans.
After all, Redd had only done the job. She'd never loved it. Killing was what she was made for, not business transactions. She didn't care about that, and if Charybdis let her live, she'd destroy everything out of pure spite.
But Charybdis looked at her fragile body, the one that she towered over. Even her shadow was taller than Redd herself. She was so youthful, a pure and innocent soul that had been tainted by death. She'd been through enough already. And yet, she found the courage to keep on living, and was strong enough to do any job Charybdis wanted perfectly… up until this moment.
Charybdis had fond memories of Redd. They were often bloody, but Redd was almost like a daughter to her. Watching her grow up was one of the most pleasing parts of her career.
And Charybdis wasn't a killer like her. Charybdis never liked violence. Violence only silenced voices and wiped them away, forever unheard. She didn't have it in herself to kill anyone, especially not Redd.
"Oh yes, I've heard so much about that… preaching on and on for years and years. Don't you think I've grown tired of it?" Redd shook her head.
"You know what?" she snapped, clicking her tongue. "You're right. I'm leaving. You want to play with your precious little toys? You wanna hide behind those greedy pigs that you dangle money in front of so they won't reveal your little secret? Go ahead. Enjoy it while it lasts. Because you know how I am. I have a job to do, I'll do it, no matter the cost. And right now that job is to make sure you pay for turning your back on me."
"Turn my back?" Charybdis echoed. Something snapped within her, her eyes' glow rising to a shining blue. Her pupils disappeared in the face of her luminescent magic seeping through her eyeballs. She grit her teeth and her claws extended. Her entire magic reserve was screaming at her to destroy Redd in an instant. Her favorite coffee mug shattered beside her. The lights shook and burst. The entire room vibrated as every object that wasn't nailed down began to levitate.
But Charybdis didn't throw anything at Redd. Instead, she simply raised her hand, palm open, and swung wide.
Redd's eyes flashed, her ravenous grin shining from beneath all those bandages. Her teeth look terrifying in the dark. She caught it easily, stopping the slap midair. She grabbed Charybdis by the wrist and flung the much larger woman over her head.
She heard a deafening crack as Charybdis' body hit the ground. Blood oozed from the place where Redd had grabbed her. Her claws dug deep into Charybdis' wrist. Morbid satisfaction creeped into Redd's veins. She leaned over Charybdis' paralyzed body and whispered.
"Too slow." She giggled, her laugh high and young, like that of a little girl.
"Mark my words. Playtime isn't going to last forever, Chara. I hope you stay awake and remember my face… leaning over you as you realize how powerless you are. I hope it haunts you every. Single. Night."
Then, without another word, she left the disrupted hospital room, ripping away the tube from her head. Blood spurted out and some annoying little machine beeped incessantly, but Redd was too angry to care. Wrapped in bandages and covered in blood, she calmly walked out the door in the middle of the night, into the center of Lachlan. The guards stared at her as she stomped away, not noticing the blood. It was too dark. However, they could see her menacing stare and her terrible teeth. Knowing instantly it was Redd, the Silver Devil herself, they backed off without a word. To this, Redd snorted.
"Little babies," she muttered to herself.