Cyber Elves: Ella vs Rayne
The **Neon Memorial Park**—once a corporate-sponsored green space for the wage-slaves of Neon Sprawl—had long since decayed into a forgotten relic. Now it was just another drowned corner of the undercity: cracked synth-concrete paths slick with acid rain, holographic cherry blossoms flickering erratically above rusted playground equipment, and benches that glowed faintly with dying advertisement loops. The rain never stopped here, drumming on the curved roofs of abandoned vendor pods and turning the artificial turf into a black mirror that reflected fractured neon from the surrounding megatowers.
Ella moved through it like she belonged to the shadows. Her feline splice-augments kept her steps silent, cyber-ears twitching at every distant siren and subsonic drone hum. She’d come alone tonight—scouting a rumored dead-drop from Diana’s encrypted ping: a datachip supposedly buried under the old swing set, carrying dirt on the Chrome Ministry’s latest black-code shipment. Sigrid had called it suicide to go solo, but Ella’s nerves were already frayed; she needed the quiet run to prove she wasn’t just the jumpy scout anymore.
She crouched near the swings, retractable mono-claws half-extended, optic implants shifting to low-light mode. Her bioluminescent tattoos pulsed faintly under her shredded synth-leather jacket—stress markers she couldn’t turn off. The chip should be right—
A swirl of pixelated mist erupted from the rain itself.
Rayne stepped out of nowhere, coalescing like corrupted code given flesh. Charcoal-black skin etched with crimson circuit-veins throbbed in time with the storm. Violet void-optics locked on Ella, and that jagged, predatory grin split her face. Coolant gel dripped from silvery hair, mixing with rain. Her void-weave trench coat hung open, fiber-optic tendrils already uncoiling from her spine-port like hungry serpents.
“This playground’s closed, kitten,” Rayne hissed, voice echoing through every speaker in the park—old public address nodes she’d clearly jacked. “And you’re on my turf.”
Ella’s tail (a subtle cybernetic extension) lashed once. She backed up a step, claws fully out now, glinting violet under the failing holo-blossoms. “I—I don’t want trouble. Just grabbing a drop. I’ll be gone in ten seconds.”
Rayne laughed—a wet, distorted sound like feedback through broken audio. “Everything in this park is mine. The rain. The ghosts in the swings. The little splice-jobs who think they can sneak through.” Tendrils snapped forward, faster than thought, aiming to wrap Ella’s ankles.
Ella moved on instinct. Feline reflexes kicked in; she vaulted sideways, flipping over a rusted slide in a blur of motion. The tendrils slammed into concrete, sparking violet EMP barbs that cracked the surface. She landed in a crouch on top of a broken merry-go-round, optics wide and glowing.
“You’re fast,” Rayne admitted, already teleporting again—flickering through a hacked security cam feed to reappear on the opposite side of the playground. “But speed won’t save you from the void.”
Ella’s heart hammered, anxiety spiking her adrenaline. She hated this—hated being cornered, hated the way Rayne’s presence made the air taste like burnt circuits. But she wasn’t running. Not tonight.
She activated her sensor suite, ears pivoting to track the subsonic hum of Rayne’s tendrils. Then she lunged—straight at the dark elf.
Rayne met her with a wall of holographic horrors: clawed glitch-abominations and fanged maws projected from hidden emitters in the park’s ruined lampposts. They swarmed Ella like a digital tide.
Ella didn’t fight fair. She weaved through them, claws slashing projectors instead of the illusions themselves. Sparks flew as emitter nodes died one by one. A serpentine drone lunged; she twisted mid-air, raking its core with monofilament claws. It exploded in a shower of violet static.
Rayne snarled and closed the distance herself. Tendrils lashed out—real this time, nanotech cables tipped with neural barbs. One caught Ella’s arm, burning through synth-leather and into skin. Pain flared, white-hot, but Ella used the momentum—twisted, yanked Rayne forward, and drove a knee into the dark elf’s midsection.
Rayne staggered, void-optics glitching. “Feisty little stray—”
Ella didn’t let her finish. She dropped low, swept Rayne’s legs with a spinning kick, then pounced—claws at the throat, pinning the taller splice-job against the cracked base of a holo-tree. Rain poured over both of them, washing coolant and blood alike.
“I said I don’t want trouble,” Ella panted, voice shaking but steady. Her bioluminescent tattoos flared bright, casting harsh light across Rayne’s face. “But if you make me finish this, I will.”
For a heartbeat, the park was silent except for the rain and the dying crackle of broken holograms.
Then Rayne smiled—slow, almost amused. Tendrils retracted. “Interesting… I thought you’d run. Cry. Beg.”
Ella’s grip didn’t loosen. “I still might. But not before I get my chip.”
Rayne studied her, violet eyes narrowing. “Take it. But know this, kitten: next time you step into my nodes, I won’t play nice.” Her form flickered—cloaking rig engaging. “Tell your chrome friends the Memorial Park belongs to the ghosts now.”
She vanished in a swirl of pixelated mist, leaving only the echo of distorted laughter and the faint smell of ozone.
Ella stayed frozen for another ten seconds, claws still extended, chest heaving. Then she released a shaky breath, retracted her weapons, and dug under the swing set with trembling fingers.
The datachip was there—small, cold, intact.
She pocketed it, cast one last glance at the ruined playground, and melted back into the rain-slick alleys.
In Neon Sprawl, even the parks had teeth. And tonight, Ella had bitten back.
Here are a few glimpses of the Neon Memorial Park where the confrontation went down:
And a couple of visuals that capture the two predators in the rain: