Week 71: Pain and Bondage

Coraline swiftly retracted her lockpick finger, shooting Hugo a dazzling smile while looking rather dazzled herself. "Wait, you want me to go barefoot? Humph! Oh, very well if you must, but do look after them sweet heart. I got them shopping on the world view with Fenris." The plague doctor gave the nuke an expectant look before daintily handing over her shoes. Now would perhaps be a prudent time to mention that Coraline now wore only a two piece, matt black, stealth outfit with complimentary arrow-through-the heart earrings as well as a pair of socks. "That satisfy you this time Juicey?" [L&A pass by 10]

Hugo grinned, plucking the absolutely tiny pair of shoes from Coraline. He hooked them along a clip at his belt, so he wouldn't need to carry the little things with him. "It'll have to. We do this too many times and you'll be naked." The massive agent's smile widened in only a slightly predatory way, and he looked Coraline up and down. He didn't seem to mind the idea. "Besides, I'm helping you really, encantadora. These shoes are just making you louder."

He put out his hand again to take the handcuffs from her, unable to completely remove the smugness from his face.

The former plastic surgeon handed them over pouting only a little. "Well then, thank you kindly darling. I shall have to redouble my efforts, lest this become boring for you." [L&A pass by 5] Coraline winked at her friend before dropping off the other side of the wall, cursing internally. The nuke would have her naked in no time, and EMPing him after that would be graceless. The plague doctor waited where she had dropped, slowing her breathing. Once she had counted to ten Coraline placed her right hand back on the wall Hugo had put her on. Slowly she lifted herself up, peaking over the edge and ready to drop instantly if he saw her. [Pass stealth by 2]

Hugo was still standing there, narrowing his eyes slightly. Coraline made eye contact with him as she dipped back down. He laughed again, shaking his head at her. (Pass obvs by 6.) "Okay, okay. This is.. This seems a little unfair. I hope you have an undershirt on, at the very least."

His smirk faded a little, and he gave the little fashionista a sympathetic look. "If you want, I can turn off my feet. You might stand a chance before I get you in your panties."

"A little? By the way sweetie It's in your hands, too. And what else I may or may not be wearing is mine to know and yours to find out. If you can." The plague doctor's voice held an undercurrent of frustration and she pouted as she dashed off toward the tower once more. [Pass L&A by 3]
***
Coraline stopped at one of the arches on the third level. She didn't bother to catch her breath, switching on her respiratory reserves. This time she would get him. She wouldn't get caught out this time. Taking an image of the adjacent wall with her finger cam Coraline set her video skin to blend, stepped calmly into an oubliette. The cyberneticist did not breathe and remained as still as she could stay. [Fail stealth by 10]

Hugo was indeed on the third level, walking around slowly, whistling to himself and enjoying the relative quiet. He rounded a corner and.. Oh, oh there Coraline was, glowing as if light from within. The agent look conflicted for a moment, debating giving her a warning now. But her suit was very tight, and he was fairly confident that she normally didn't wear any underwear. He wasn't gonna figure out if she had any one now if he warned her off...

Hugo strolled nonchalantly forward, pretending he hadn't noticed her sticking out like a sore thumb. (Pass L&A by 4.)

Coraline was not about to look a gift Hugo in the mouth, a smile threatening to spread across her lips. She continued to not breath or move, closing her eyes and using her own geo sonic array to track Hugo. After all nothing ever seems to go by faster if you're looking at it.

Hugo walked closer. His footsteps were heavy on the ground, and he was easy to spot. As soon as he saw Coraline smiling, he couldn't help but giggle though, totally betraying his plans. (Fail L&A by 5.) He was getting closer now, unable to stop himself from moving his hands in front if him in preparation to grab her. He even slid his hands into his pocket, taking out his handcuffs and spinning them on around his finger in a very obvious, threatening manner.

Coraline's eyes snapped open at Hugo's laugh, her mouth falling open into an 'o' of surprise. As the nuke reached out and spun his handcuffs menacingly Coraline realised she had only succeeded in backing herself into a corner. There was no where she could go, through the arch or up, that Hugo wouldn't catch her immediately. The plague doctor licked her lips and considered herself fortunate that he was such a big, long legged boy. Dropping her cover completely Coraline ran forward seemingly right into Hugo's waiting hands. She dropped at the last second, however, trying to slid between his legs and then get up and keep on running. [Pass athletics by 2]

Hugo was a very fast man, and he gave a little very girlish squeak as Coraline tried to jump past him. He reached out to grab her (Pass ref+cc by two) and grabbed her arms by a very narrow margin. He pulled her close, strapping the cuffs on her easily (pass restrain by 13). "Oh no no, mi encantadora, you can't leave! I need your socks!"

He felt a little guilty, but he was also deeply, hugely amused, so that feeling was easy to shrug off.

The plague doctor sighed, wishing she could rub her temple or pinch her nose. Coraline did her best not to let her despondency show, silently vowing never to attempt stealth again. After a moment she met Hugo's gaze with an expression of calculated pouting. "I have to admit sweet heart this is a little less... engaging since I don't even get to struggle anymore. Take what you want Juicey, you've earned it after all." There was only a hint of sarcasm in Coraline's voice and she sighed again, more theatrically this time. [L&A pass on the dot]

Hugo's delight was diminished somewhat as Coraline despaired, by he happily removed her socks regardless, only moving his fingertips very briefly over the soles of her feet. He tucked the socks into his pocket, the dropped her on the ground with a small sigh. "Hey, it's better than being shot at, right?" He frowned a little at her disappointment. "I can turn off all my cybernetics, if.. if you want. It'll give you a better chance. I do feel a little guilty, doing this when you're so helpless."

Coraline couldn't help but squirm as Hugo ran a finger across her sole and gave a playful kick in return. The plague doctor scoffed at her friend's words "I am far from helpless sweet heart, just a little completely outclassed at our chosen sport. And I don't want sweetie since that's like half the point of EMPing you, but you are a darling for offering. Besides I will get better through persistence, perhaps not in this life time." Coraline shrugged, aware she was not being exactly reassuring. "It will make getting you all the sweeter. Though I am a little concerned that this won't be nearly as fun for you, should I fail to sneak up on you at all." The former plastic surgeon turned on her heel, prompting her best friend to reclaim his handcuffs once again. [L&A pass by 11]

Hugo hooked his finger through the handcuffs, putting them back on his belt. He gave a small grin, and then tilted his head sideways in a playful but calculating manner. "I don't know. I think the next twenty minutes or so are going to be pretty fun. Especially after another two encounters." He chuckled, and gave Coraline another quick slap on the butt. "I will be a little sad if I never find out what you have planned, though."

"In that case I will do my best not to disappoint, darling." Coraline did her best to keep her frustration from her face, at least until she was out of Hugo's line of sight [L&A pass on the dot]. The plague doctor was entirely out of clever ideas or even half baked plans but there was something she could do to buy more time. She took pains to make it rather obvious that she was ascending the tower. By the time Coraline had reached the seventh level she looked out over the edge and realised that her friend would simply jump off after her. Probably even less likely to sustain damage too.

The plague doctor sighed, she had tipped her hand already, it would only be a matter of time before Hugo came this way. Coraline curled her hand into a fist, she was going to have to do something predictable. The former VK agent began to slowly climb down the tower, getting just out of sight. [athletics pass by 7] Once again activating her respiratory reserves and settling in to wait. [Fail stealth by 8]

Hugo continued his meander around. He was intentionally avoiding Coraline, going the opposite way from her so her could find a secluded place and quietly turn off his eye upgrades. Oh, sure, she'd said not to, but it wasn't fair on her. She was trying so hard, and oh, barefoot now, bless her.

Perception greatly reduced, the nuke walked around, whistling more and eventually moving around the base of the tower. He squinted up at the tower, passing his observation roll by 1, but still seeing a lumpy shape above.

The plague doctor frowned as time went by and she heard no sound, Hugo had told her he wasn't sneaking around. That would have been bad enough on its own but now he was feeling sorry for her as well. Coraline lowered herself a little more and looked around, trying to see where Hugo had gotten himself off to. She looked downward and sighed when she failed to spot him only to see someone down a the base of the tower, it had to be him. The former plastic surgeon puller herself back up onto the path, indulging in a nose pinch.

There... there had to be something she could do. How was Shap so good at this. Coraline cast around, looking for inspiration. Misdirection would serve her best here, if she could pull it off. Lure Hugo into going down a path, ahead and below of a hiding spot. She had time to set it up now too, assuming that the nuke did venture back up the tower after her. The only question was how. [Int stealth fail by 5]. Coraline stuck an invisibility field to the wall just behind an arch, at around her hip height and activated it before sneaking off to hide. [Fail stealth by 4]

There was definitely movement up there, but Hugo had no idea what was going on. There might have been the telltale shimmer of an invisibility field, or maybe a stealth suit? (Fail Per+Obs by 1.) He gave it a look, and then continued to work his way around the base of the tower, curious to what Coraline was doing.

He kept whistling, but his notes look on a suspicious tone.

Coraline rolled onto her stomach content to wait for Hugo to come to her. The plague doctor considered retrofitting or re purposing several cybernetics. She kept still and before too long rested her head on her crossed arms. Coraline once again relied on her geo sonar array to inform her if the nuke was nearby. The former VK agent lost track of time embroiled in schematics and biology and ideas. [Pass stealth on the dot]

Hugo eventually made his way upward. The shimmer didn't move, and he wasn't sure what Coraline was planning... But he was intrigued.

He walked up the tower at a leisurely pace, climbing where he needed to. He hummed off and on, listening for the little agent's bare feet or maybe seeing her shadow. But he saw nothing. Huh. He didn't suspect, not even slightly, not even with his eye upgrades off, that maybe she was actually hiding from his sight. (Faill obvs by 3.)

He rounded the bend where she was hiding on the ground, looking toward where she had put the invisibility field on the wall.

Coraline waited until Hugo had past her, still not moving or breathing. Once he was in front of her the shapeshifter slowly raised her head, her left arm following soon after. She wasted no time aiming or charging and shot her best friend in the back. Pressing her hand into him and then EMPing him would have been much more satisfying but at this point Coraline was very willing to take what she could get. [Pass AT by 14; 30 EMP damage]

She let a smile grace her lips, bringing up her right hand to rest her chin on. The petite plague doctor waved at Hugo with the fingers of her left hand, still lying belly down on the ground. Coraline looked satisfied but not smug. [pass L&A by 7].

Hugo felt the sudden weight and vulnerability in his body increase as his cybernetics turned off with only the briefest of warning flashes in his GUI. Vision clear, body full of uncomfortable metal, Hugo turned around to Coraline with a look of panic. He grabbed his handcuffs and gave her a look, obviously not ready to go down without a fight. "You got me, encantadora. ..Very close to getting me for real."

He began to take a step toward her, unsure if she would let him move before hitting her again with her cannon.

"Hey, that's not-" Coraline frowned up at Hugo, shook her head once and rolled off the edge of the tower. [pass L&A by 9 and athletics on the dot]

The plague doctor landed on her feet, the force absorbed entirely by her terminus joints. She had not exactly planned this far ahead but there was no way she could hold her own against Hugo. Even sans almost all his cybernetics. The nuke would almost certainly have seen her land but she had much better odds now. Coraline activated her stealth suit and hurried off into the tower once more. [Stealth fail by 1]

Hugo followed after her, his legs clumsy in a new way. (Pass athletics by 5.) He never really liked being EMPed. Pain was always a shock, but hey, he'd been through enough just a few years ago. He could take it. His hands at least stayed rough, giving him a bit of a boost while climbing down the side of the slightly sloped tower.

He laughed as he got on the ground. "Where are you, encantadora? You are wearing something that's miiiine~?" He sounded amused, but he just had no idea where she was. (Fail Obvs by 2.)

Coraline poked her head over the edge of the second level and followed through by leveling her arm at Hugo. This time though she did not fire immediately, instead building up an overcharge. [Pass stealth by 3] "Am I? Well then you had better and come and strip me sweetie. And before you get too excited I certainly will be wearing something of yours, Juicey." [L&A pass by 6] Coraline would have forgotten to breathe, had she needed to.