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Vailo staggered.
'Shit.’ He thought, feeling a stabbing pain in his chest, just below one of his broken ribs. A moment later, he coughed, and spat out a thick glob of crimson blood, which splattered on the concrete. Every noise around him seemed to be muffled, as if he were underwater.
”Shit.” Vailo hissed, as the blinding light finally overtook his vision once more.
- - -
"But I doubt that- oh!"
'That's new.'
Vailo groaned as the burning in his throat ceased. He'd never heard the voice talking before he got into the void, but it wasn't anything he was awfully affected by.
Vailo kept his eyes squeezed shut as he relaxed, floating in the strange, blank warmth of the void. It was nice to finally be rid of the stinging pains of his injuries, and it feels rather nice to breath, to calm down, alone for once-
"Yo, twig!" A gruff voice snapped Vailo out of his trance.
"Ow!" Vailo yelped as he was jabbed sharply in the ribs that he hadn't noticed he had. His eyes snapped open, as he looked up at the other occupant of the void.
"Where's the meat on ya bones?" The other redhead questioned.
He looked older - or at the very least, more scarred - than Vailo. He also looked like he could snap Vailo like a chicken bone just by looking at him wrong. His skin was oddly pale, his left eye covered with a black felt cloth, and his lower face covered with a metal mask. There was mesh on the front, and two thin, horizontal rectangles had glowing red LEDs, which sat just under the other mans' temple.
"Who're you?" The man questioned, brushing the thick, bright red hair out of his face. It fell back over his left eye as Vailo inspected the strangers' odd clothing. A crop top, black leather hoodie, ripped leather pants, chains, dogtags, spiked collar, combat boots somehow more scuffed than Vailos' old boots-
Snap! Snap!
"Hello?" The redhead questioned, lowering his left hand, the chipped black nail polish glinting slightly in the piercing light of the void.
"Ah- uh..? Right. I'm Vailo." Vailo sputtered, looking the strangely muscular man up and down.
"Cool. I'm Crow. Where you from?" Crow asked, crossing his arms over his stomach.
"Uhh- Karma. Karma District." Vailo answered. He had no idea why he was telling this guy all this information, but considering the two pistols and the rifle strapped onto the mans' body, along with the satchels of ammo, and what Vailo was fairly sure were some kind of explosive device... Well, Vailo figured it probably had something to do with self-preservation.
"Karma District? Where is that, Promethea?" Crow questioned.
"Prome-what?" Vailo asked.
"Whatever. I'm from Pandora. Bounty Hunter, vigilante-for-hire, or so I'm described." Crow brushed him off. Crow reached forward and prodded Vailo in the gut again.
"What do you do? I doubt you do much, considering your lack of muscle. Or fat, actually. You're just a twig. I wonder if I could snap you like one?"
"Uhh- no. No thanks. I'd rather not find out." Vailo replied, holding his hands up in front of his chest. He'd never died in the void, and he wasn't planning on finding out what happened if he did now.
"Sure, whatever. Be like that." Crow replied. "So you work as...?" Crow prompted.
"Uh...? Professional dancer." Vailo answered uncertainly.
"Damn. Really?" Crow questioned, cocking a brow.
"...Yeeeaah." Vailo replied.
"Well, whatever. I've got bounties to hunt for - and some bastard to shoot! Fucker really thinks he can get away with headshotting me?! I'm gonna show that fucker! I'M gonna tear out his eyes and shove them down his throat so he gets VIP tickets to watch me DISEMBOWEL HIM-!"
They continued growling and shouting like that, but turned away and reached forward, away from Vailo, and vanished, so Vailo didn't catch the rest of it. He was... pretty glad about that, actually.
"...Who the hell..?" Vailo questioned.
"You aren't the only person who uses the Aether, Retaliator." The Void replied, in a slightly softer tone than normal.
"Don't worry, though. You probably won't encounter him again, at least not for a while.
It's pretty rare for two vessels to end up in the Aether together, after all."
Vailo went to ask about it - Aether? Vessels? - but he felt what almost seemed to be clawed talons, wrapping around his wrists.
"You'll be back soon."