Since the Helix War, shadows had twisted once-vibrant communities into a landscape of terror. Murder, destruction, and the creep of poverty were everyday realities, yet the public remained ignorant.
This was especially true for Ihari's vast population of beast-people and semi-humans. Their inherent strength and unique traits were celebrated in other lands. It also made them ideal prey.
Where law enforcement faltered, individuals and trafficking groups carved out empires of suffering, snatching thousands of adults and children each year and selling them to distant nations.
A small Aurora was one of them.
Her young body held an extraordinary gift: the ability to spin and manipulate her own webs, even if she was barely more than skin and bone. She was sold and used for her ability by what seemed like the whole world. Though one man saw beyond the market value.
He saw a lost child… abandoned to a cold cage. And his heart ached because of it.
"Are you okay?" The middle-aged man murmured softly, kneeling beside her.
Aurora was too weak to even lift her head.
"You poor thing… you don't deserve this."
Compassion shone in his eyes. He bought her freedom, paid her captors, and gave her a childhood she never dreamed possible. It was a period of unexpected happiness that stretched for a few short years… until shattering.
A mafia group stormed their home demanding unpaid debts and Aurora's paralyzed body watched her adopted father bleed out on the floor.
"Daddy?" she whispered.
She tried every word possible to bring him back, but his warmth had faded, replaced by the embrace of death.
The grief of losing the only kindness she'd ever known consumed her whole. She chose to forge that pain into a weapon, accepting that people are undeniably evil and they needed to be punished for their crimes.
That day, she made a vow to her fallen father: No one else would suffer what she had… feel what she felt…
She trained and pushed her frail body to its limits, mastering her unique abilities.
The small girl transformed into a young semi human and she wove her own fighting style.Her once-gentle hands stained with the mark of blood and carved a legend:
Aurora, an assassin who hunted the unforgivable.
She worked day and night to achieve that promise… until one dawn, everything shifted.
Aurora was tracking a criminal and prepared for the kill… Then, she saw him: Rod Winger. He moved like a whisper of wind, disarming the criminal and shielding a group of children he had kidnapped.
The Gun Hero had saved them… She'd fallen in love at first sight.
His confident grin, the swagger of his cowboy hat, his goofy charm—he was perfect.
That first glimpse ignited a spark in her, like a flame that refused to extinguish… even now.
Back in the present, twelve years after first seeing the Hero, night had fallen over Naya and was bathed in the glow of artificial stars through the magical spiral.
The illuminated streets still hummed with life below: Night shifters rushing to work, couples on leisurely strolls, mana cars moving back and forth... The city was alive…
Though unseen by them, the Gun Hero and the spider assassin engaged in an intense conversation on top of a Luxia Hotel terrace.
Rod hesitated at the glass door of his hotel room as Aurora moved towards him with a seductive sway. Maybe someone else would've been seduced… He was accustomed to it. They'd walked this path before, after all.
The spider woman reached him and bit her lip a little.
"It's been so long, Rody. I missed you a lot," she purred.
The Hero didn't respond. His gaze was unreadable and he slowly crossed his arms. In response, Aurora simply smirked and playfully continued.
"Come on… don't be like that. Aren't you happy to see little old me?"
"What are you doing here, Aurora? Last I checked, we stopped being together long ago. Our relationship failed."
"It wasn't our fault, was it?" she countered and stopped directly in front, "It was Catra who got in the way. If she were more accepting, it would've worked out perfectly."
Rod sighed and ran a weary hand over his face.
"Again, why are you here? You know you're a wanted criminal, right?"
Aurora closed the distance between them. Their faces were mere centimeters apart, close enough to smell her sensual fragrance.
"How about you take me in?" she whispered and provocatively placed her wrists together, "Maybe we can do some naughty stuff with handcuffs."
"Alright, that's enough!" the man nervously stepped back, "You know I'm not into that!"
"And I also know how to push your buttons," Aurora continued, invading his personal space, "Every last one of them."
"Just… just get out of here… I don't have time for this."
He walked to the glass door and slid it open, though his movements were abruptly stopped by Aurora's casual statement.
"I know about Elena's head."
He froze. In an instant, the city outside and the very air seemed to turn black.
An eerie silence swallowed the terrace while her words bounced off the walls and compelled him to stop. They forced him to slide the door shut and turn around. Only then did she notice his face had become dangerously serious.
A few meters inside the hotel bathroom, Catra stepped into the shower and a nagging thought hit her. There was no soap nor shampoo, something expected to be there in high quality hotels.
"Dad! There isn't any shampoo! Could you bring me the one from my bag, please?!" she yelled over the sound of running water.
Once a few seconds passed, she called out again, this time a little louder.
"DAD?!"
She sighed in frustration, grabbed a fluffy towel, wrapped it tightly around her slender body, and prepared to get it herself.
"Stupid hotels," she muttered, pushing open the bathroom door, "How come they never put shampoo in the tub? It should honestly be illegal."
Her eyes scanned the room for her father, until suddenly snapping to the figures out on the terrace. Her breath hitched…
One of her worst enemies in the world was there: Aurora Spice.
Back outside, Aurora walked toward Rod with a lustful smile on her lips.
"That seemed to get your attention."
"Did you do it?"
"Of course not," the spider woman replied softly, though her eyes held a hint of amusement, "I would never do that."
"Why not?" Rod countered, "You're an assassin."
"You know full well I only hurt evil people."
Stillness settled between them after that exchange, forcing Rod to confront everything: the image of his wife's head, the Ice Giant, the pain in his daughter's eyes.
Why was this happening now?
Aurora looked at him with slight worry in her dark eyes.
"Look, Rod… I gained information while I was away. The government has been compromised… they have a weapon they plan on using against you."
"What are you talking about?" the Hero questioned, "Who gave you that information?… How do you even know about the head?"
Aurora gently placed a hand on his shoulder.
"You're being played like a fool, Rod. You can't trust the President, nor her machine."
She was about to continue when a sudden shriek ripped from inside the hotel room.
Both Rod and Aurora snapped their heads toward Catra as the glass door slid open with a screech and she sprinted onto the terrace, running directly in front of her father.
"OH NO! HELL NO! I thought I told you never to talk to my dad ever again!" she exclaimed, entering a protective mode.
Her towel-clad form radiated distrust for the woman.
"Why, hello there Catra," Aurora replied with amused annoyance, "Fancy meeting you here, unannounced."
"Cut the crap! I know you're here to seduce him, and I'm not gonna let you!"
"Seduce him?"
The spider woman laughed mischievously.
"OH MY. I don't need to seduce him. Soon he'll be all mine."
"And what's that supposed to mean?!"
Aurora offered no response. She simply smiled and fixed her gaze on a bewildered Rod. Catra immediately caught her stare and slowly focused on her father in suspicion.
"What did you do?!"
"I didn't do anything!" the man pleaded, holding his hands up, "Hey, Aurora, don't go giving her ideas! We tried once and it didn't end up well, you have to move on."
"Move on?" the annoyed woman asked, her tone shifting to a more serious, accusatory one, "Have you moved on, honey?"
"Of course I have. We just weren't meant to be together."
"I'm not talking about our thing… I'm talking about HER."
Rod could only remain silent as a cold anger slowly grew within. He knew exactly who she was referring to.
"OH, NO YOU DON'T!" the fiery cheetah girl exclaimed, taking a step closer to her enemy.
A low growl rumbled in her chest.
"What are you gonna do, Kitty? Scratch me?"
"I'm not that fragile anymore," Catra hissed and her claws extended, "I'll do much worse than last time."
They were about to erupt into a physical confrontation until Rod quickly grabbed his daughter by the waist and lifted her effortlessly.
"H-hey! What are you doing?! Put me down!" she struggled.
"See?" Aurora purred, watching the Gun Hero carry her toward their room, "He still has feelings for me."
"When I get outta here, I'll shut you up once and for all!" Catra shrieked.
Before entering the room, Rod looked at the spider woman.
"Get out of here before they arrest you."
Aurora knew he'd had enough of her, thus, she could leave now. She was about to jump from the terrace, only to call her former lover.
"Hey, Rod, I did mean it… you'll soon be mine."
Then, she disappeared into the night sky.
The Hero ignored her words and walked into the hotel room, sliding the glass door shut behind him and sealing them off from the night air.
"Dad… could you put me down now?" Catra asked.
"Yeah, sorry about that," Rod responded and gently placed her on the carpeted floor.
Her bare feet touched the ground, she adjusted her towel, and focused on her father with a sort of annoyance.
"Please tell me you two aren't gonna do it again… she will never replace her…"
"It was nothing like that… She just told me some information I needed to know."
"From a criminal…" the girl countered with skepticism.
"Yeah… from a person that has more than a million connections around the continent."
Catra's eyes narrowed.
"Are you hiding something from me?"
"No, I'm not. But this is something only I should know. Just like you never tell me when you make drawings for Lofo and send them through the mail or the interweb."
"W-WHAT? HOW DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT?!" she shrieked in surprise and embarrassment.
"Kiddo, I know everything that happens in our house."
"E-everything?"
"It doesn't matter. What's important is that this is personal to me and has nothing to do with you. Trust me, it's better if you don't know."
His daughter just looked with suspicion, then sighed. She knew getting more information was a waste of time and decided to let it go for now.
"Okay… I understand. But seriously, you two better not get back together or I'll actually hurt her," she threatened prior to turning abruptly and slamming the bathroom door behind her.
Rod heard the shower turn on, looked at his blurry reflection in the mirror, and rubbed his tired eyes once more. It had been a long day...
"Dad?" his daughter's muffled voice called from the bathroom.
"What's up, kiddo?"
"Could you please… pass me my soap and shampoo? I forgot to get them…"