The Alley

Moving with lightning fast reflexes Vein shoves Muo clear of the incoming explosion’s radius. Vein starts to glitch out due to his advanced combat systems engaging in a low level protection protocol, his synthetic muscles tensing. His robotic eyeballs veins pulse spreading throughout his eyes, transforming his usually friendly eyes to something more terrifying. They began to glow around his pupil.

“Muu…ooooo,” Vein’s voice distorts dramatically, sounding eerie producing an unsettling electronic growl as he fixes his gaze onto Stripes. Beside him, Muo looks down at stripes in disgust, the sheer anger unhidden on her face by such a lame backhanded cowardly attack.

“What the actual hell….” Muo hisses through her clenched teeth.

Vein starts to lose his mind dancing like a cursed ballet dancer repeating the words “MUO..RAH..M..U..O MUO.” The defense protocols take complete control of his systems, transforming his playful personality into something more sinister and lethal. He begins to move in a graceful way dancing to a beat in his head, the bass of the song almost taking over his body. The song in his head was distorted, in a haunting loop, accompanied by a phantom sound that resembled a woman screaming and screeching. His body twitches and jerks in perfect time with the beat. His tail undergoes a complete transformation into a deadly weapon. The fluffy tail of his turned into black matte metal spike, sharp claws sprouting outwards.

“See now you’ve just upset Vein for no reason,” Muo warns, her optical system keeping a lookout for any approaching patrol officers. She spots a bright search beam cutting through the darkness of a nearby area. The air fills with tension, 5 Uki-Pawtrol bots emerge from a few streets over, their beams easily able to spot from miles away.

“Fantastic, its the fuckin cops,” Muo growls with clear frustration. She gestures to Vein to stop before they attract even more unwanted attention. Without missing a single beat, Vein snatches up Stripe’s limp body with his tail, and they dash stealthy into the shadows of an alley. In the previous scene only a scattered trail of pink pom poms remained on the ground. Scorch marks left evidence of their violent encounter.

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Uki-Pawtrol:

Muo, Stripes, and Vein silently hide in the shadows of a narrow alley, pressing themselves against the walls ducking behind an overflowing trash can. The menacing Pawtrol fly by their searchlight beams grazing their hiding spot.

"SEARCH THE AREMEOW CLOSELY! LEAVE NO CORNER UNCHECKED!" The leading Pawtrol bot yells out in the distance, its words echoing through the distance. Stripes slowly gains consciousness, looking left to right swiftly while pretending to play dead.

Vein notices and tries to get Muo's attention back. "Uh ruh rah."

In the dimly lit alley, Vein notices Stripes trying to escape and frantically waves his arms, attempting to regain her attention. "Uh ruh rah," he says with growing concern.

"What?" Muo asks, her eyes scanning the perimeter.

Stripes seizes what he thinks is his moment of opportunity. He attempts to inch away from them with slow movements, but Muo's quick reflexes catch him as she grabs him firmly on the ear, almost tearing out his piercings. "Where do you think you're going?" she demands, her claws extending slightly.

Unable to contain himself, he lets out a howl that echoes through the alley, only to be immediately silenced as Muo swiftly smacks his face, using her paw to firmly cover his mouth.

She turns her head toward Vein and says, "Now what should we do with this idiot who clearly wants to get his wires cut? Because I'm starting to think that might be exactly what he's asking for." Vein shrugs his shoulders, not sure what to do. She turns back to face Stripes as he shakes
his head from side to side.

"Oh, you wanna be a functional bot now?" Muo says with exaggerated tone, her tail swishing menacingly behind her.

Stripes responds with an enthusiastic series of nods.

"I thought so. Now when I uncover your mouth, you better shut it, punk," Muo says. "And I mean completely shut it."

The moment she removes her paw from his mouth, he crumples into an emotional mess, he dramatically sobs and desperately clutches at her leg. "PLEASE, PLEEEEASE DON'T TURN ME INTO THE PAWTROL! PLSSS MUO, I'M SORRYYYY!" he wails.

"Omg, here he goes again," Muo says irritatedly.

Stripes sniffles, "WE USED TO BE DANCING BUDDIES! YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME!" Stripes calls out pleading. His memory recalls their shared history. "REMEMBER ALL THOSE NIGHTS AT THE CLUB?"

"Pretty sure I can," Muo says, rolling her eyes at him. "And those nights at the club don't give you a get out of jail card."

"WELL, LET ME MAKE IT UP TO YOU!" Stripes says.

Muo's face slowly grins as her eyes narrow into glowing slits. "Mmm...sure." She extends her paw expectantly, palm up, her paw pads lighting up in a bright pink. "Hand it over. You know exactly what I want.”

His chest compartment hisses open causing a whoosh, and he carefully withdraws a limited edition Ice Breaker album hologram, still sealed in its original holographic packaging. He grumbles under his breath, "I had to go deep in the black market for that, man. Like, really deep. Cost me a fortune too."

Her face instantly lights up with joy at the sight of the item, without a moment's hesitation, she kicks him to the side, sending him clattering against the alley wall as she clutches her new prize. She begins to eat the album in one bite, doing so to add the music to her system. The database on her chest updates with the newest album on display lighting up in a colorful array.

Stripes slowly pushes himself up, "Yeah, yeah... lesson learned. But you know what? That kick was completely unnecessary!"

Muo crosses her arms with a slight smirk. "Unnecessary? Maybe. Satisfying? Definitely. Besides, you’re the one that wanted to fight.”

Stripes rubs his jaw. ”Alright, alright, I get it. My bad.”

The sound of Uki-Pawtrol sirens grows fainter in the distance, but Vein remains on guard, his combat systems still partially engaged. His tail's metal spikes retract slightly, but his eyes maintain their glow. Muo stares down at her chest, her thoughts reminiscing back on the last time she went to Ice Breakers live concert.