The Ashlanders - Chapter 6: The Blind Man's Last Gambit (Closed, Started)

[Dogmatic99]

"Come now, making excuses for someone else simply won't do."

"Come on it's not like-"

"Anyway, I think this'll help you limber up."

"Oh - okay so this is happening but you- oooohh..."

Gale got cut off again, not by words but by some very fancy finger work... it was... ooft! Some good stuff! Though she'd certainly started building up a good quota of 'boy feels'. Again, not really the kind of reputation she probably wanted to make among a group of hardened criminals. Hell, the ex-Austinites might eat her alive, she was already getting a few weird looks from over there way as it was.

She tried to make some prolonged eye contact with the gathered vets (and Allie, standing cool and firm like a tiny guardian). 'What do I do?' She mouthed over at them, flicking her eyes sideways in Jesse's direction.

 

[The Funslinger]

Whiskey put a hand over her mouth to hide her smirk as she watched Jesse grope Gale. Surprisingly, she seemed to be enjoying it. The kid had probably learned to rub backs by doing it for his mother, because she'd be damned if the cringey little Romeo actually had any experience with women.

Noticing the pleading look Gale was casting around, Whiskey straightened her face and approached the pair. "Alright, alright," she said. "As one of the adults in the room, I'm breaking this up. Either cool your jets, or take it somewhere private. You'll scar the kids in the room for life, otherwise." She cast a hand in the direction of Allie, who was still smirking next to Lilith, completely unperturbed. "Look at her, this one's clearly traumatized."

 

[Fappy]

"What do ye think I'm doin'?"

"Smart girl," Bennie remarked before taking a swig of his beer. "The key to productivity is knowing when to take breaks and for how long. You start overworking yourself now and you'll end up like 'Roofles'. I don't reckon you'd want that, now would you?"

Sprout laughed as he approached the group. "What's so bad about Jake?" he asked. His face was still a tad flushed.

"Good point," Bennie said. "At least he's got more manners than you. You probably scarred that poor girl." The big man laughed.

"Ah, she'll be fiiiine," Sprout assured him. "I bet she---" Sprout went silent the moment he turned to look at her. Jesse was there... massaging her.

You sly mother fucker...

Bennie whistled. "Looks like someone's already moved in to comfort her," he said with a shrug. "You blew your chance, kid."

"Look at her, this one's clearly traumatized."

Bennie glanced at Allie and chuckled. "Pretty sure Sprout's the traumatized one here," he said.

*********************************************************************************************************************************************************

"Please be fake."

Tsubaki pursed her lips. "I know my way around swords," she said, "and that blade looks real to me."

Tsubaki's eyes wandered from the glistening edge of the saber to the crowd gathered in front of Elizabeth and Dio. Contessa appeared to be next in line.

"That's her," Tsubaki whispered.

 

[Terratina.]

"Pretty sure Sprout's the traumatized one here,"

"A sick burn and now this... I wouldn't blame 'im." Maria shrugged, replying to Bennie and talking completely over the poor boy in question. Seeing that Jesse still had his hands on the Gale girl, Maria stepped in.

"Hey Romeo! Didn't ya hear what Auntie Whiskey said? Get off or get out." Maria half-yelled. Honestly, the most annoying thing about the situation wasn't even the groping, just the fact he was humming rather loudly while doing so.

"Hmm?" Astor stirred, brought back from the world of romance, "Ah yes, we are supposed to be training after all."

He gave a slight sigh as his hands left his shoulders and turned to Gale once more, "My apologies, shall we get back to training or do you still need a moment or so?"

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Pretty sure Sprout's the traumatized one here.


Lilith chuckled as she pulled the smokes from her pocket. "Is it me, or does it smell 'musky' in here?" The woman mock grimaced as she placed a cigarette between her lips.

"Who's up next?" Lilith mumbled as she lit the smoke, taking a deep drag. "If I don't see some blo-er, strong competitive sportsmanship, I'll be very disappointed, what about you kid?" Smoke crawled from Lilith's nostrils as she looked down at Allie.

"Who me?" The young redhead scoffed. "Nobody here is man enough to beat me." Allie flexed, kissing her bicep.

"Mhmmm." Lilith hummed, a sly looked narrowing her eyes as a smirk curled her lips.

"What? I'd kick your arse blondie, you wanna go?" The young turned to face the older woman, holding out her arms in a inviting fashion. Lilith scoffed, blowing a puff of smoke from the corner of her mouth dismissively.

"Yeah, fuckin' thought so." The girl raised two fingers to her eyes before pointing them at Lilith. "Watchin' you."

Chuckling, Lilith ruffled the girl's already ridiculously ruffled hair. "Sassy fucker, ain't ya?"

"'Ey gerrof!" Allie waved her arms wildly as she tried to brush away the woman's hand. "I will end you!"

Looking up at Bennie, Lilith shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe make a call on who fights who next?"


==========================================

"I know my way around swords," she said, "and that blade looks real to me."

Asad pursed his lips unenthusiastically.

"That's her."

"You think she'd try anything here?" Asad asked, furrowing his brow. "Basilio knows, right?" Asad looked the woman up and down. She even looked sly.

 

[Fappy]

"Maybe make a call on who fights who next?"

Bennie gave Sprout a light shove. "I think this punk should fight someone his own size," he said. "He could use a good ass whoopin'."

"Hey!" Sprout protested.

"Any takers?" the big man asked with a chuckle.

***********************************************************************************************************************************************************

"You think she'd try anything here? Basilio knows, right?"

"Of course he knows," Tsubaki whispered. "But she wouldn't try anything now. Not in front of everyone like this. She's not stupid." The commander frowned. "When and if she tries something it will be in a way that leaves no evidence she was involved."

Tsubaki shut herself up just as Contessa was approaching Elizabeth.

***********************************************************************************************************************************************************

Spoiler: Contessa Time

"Lady Contessa Lombardi," Dio announced. "It is a great honor." This time his greeting was far more convincing. They had an image to maintain, after all.

Contessa stopped a few feet in front of Elizabeth. "Please, the honor is mine, M'Lord," she lied. Turning her gaze to Elizabeth, she smiled warmly. "M'Lady." She bowed her head respectfully.

"Lady Lombardi," Elizabeth began, "it's been far too long!" Her smile was completely genuine.

Contessa laughed. "Yes, what were you? Nine-years-old?" she asked. "Shamus' birthday, right?"

"Thirteen," Elizabeth corrected her. "Do you not recall my cousin's wedding?"

"Oh, of course!" She said, rolling her eyes at her own ignorance. "How could I forget? You had those pigtails back then."

Elizabeth's face flashed bright red. "Oh, heaven forget that!" she said with a nervous giggle. "I got rid of those abominations shortly after! I promise you!"

"Aw," Contessa mused, "they were adorable!"

Dio watched all of this with a glum frown on his face.

Contessa wasn't acting.

So that's how it is...

Contessa cocked her eyebrow. "But you know," she began, "perhaps that look wouldn't suit you any longer. I seen you've grown into quite the beautiful woman. A strong one too." She stepped forward, reaching her hand out the gently caress Elizabeth's cheek. The young woman trembled ever so slightly. "Your speech moved me, you know? Those things you said about your sister... you were too young to truly know her, and yet you've managed to capture her spirit so perfectly."

"Thank you, M'Lady," Elizabeth replied, fighting hard to sound strong. "I understand she meant a lot to you."

"She did," Contessa said, her eyes narrowing. "She was too good for this world. She wanted to save it, but instead, she was swallowed up by it. Are you prepared to continue her legacy? To bare that same cross in the face of such a cruel and uncaring world?"

Elizabeth did not hesitate. "I am," she said, simply.

In an attempt to break up their curious powwow, Dio chimed in. "And what gift have you for my betrothed, M'Lady?" he asked.

Contessa offered the man an insidious grinned. "Three things, actually," she mused. "One of those is not ready, however, and will have to wait until the end of the week. As for the first two..."

"Please, M'Lady," Elizabeth pleaded, "three is too much!"

"Nothing is too much for my goddaughter's sister," she whispered. Elizabeth hesitated a moment before nodding. "Now, the first gift is rather boring, so let's get that out of the way first." Reaching into her purse, she pulled out a rolled up piece of parchment and handed it to Elizabeth. "This first gift is a deed to a penthouse in Paradiso."

Elizabeth's eyes widened. This was far more than an engagement gift. "M'Lady! Please, this is too mu---"

Contessa burst out in laughter. Dio grimaced. "Oh well, if this is too much then I don't know how you'll react to the next gift," she said. The room suddenly grew busy with conversation.

"Th-thank you," Elizabeth finally said as she handed the deed to Raphael. "It is a truly wonderful gift. I-I can only imagine what could be next!"

There was a suspicious shine in her eye as Contessa reached into her purse yet again. "Now," she said as she produced a notepad and a pen, "I am going to need a name."

Elizabeth titled her head to the side. "A name for what?" she asked.

A cruel grin spread across the golden empress' lips. "A name for the Class AA Cruiser I just had commissioned for you," she said as if it were no big deal.

"What?!" Dio muttered in shock. The entire room followed his example.

"M'lady!" Elizabeth practically shouted. "Th-that's..."

"A woman out to change the world needs all the help she can get, wouldn't you say?" Contessa argued. "A world-class ship and a loyal crew may come in handy."

The entire room erupted in confused grumblings and Dio was left to stand there, helpless to stop what was transpiring in front of him.

Elizabeth tuned them all out, and for a moment, it was just herself and Contessa in the room. At first, she believed the woman was on the same page as her. Perhaps she knew of Margaret's true fate and wanted to get revenge on Dio. Though she didn't doubt that was still a possibility, there was something else there. Making such an aggressive move against him in front of the entire oligarchy like that... was she intending to use Elizabeth as a tool in her war against Dio?

Whether this was all in an effort to manipulate her or not, Elizabeth would not let this opportunity go to waste. She'd play into Contessa's plans for now and see where it went.

The young noble offered a wry smile and blushed. "Tigerman," she finally said. "The FDS* Tigerman."

Contessa laughed. "Well, that's... that's something else M'Lady," she managed to admit. "Marks for creativity, at least." She jotted down the ludicrous name and put the notepad back into her purse. "We'll talk more tomorrow?"

Elizabeth nodded. "Of course," she replied, "and thank you."

Dio was visibly upset as Contessa turned to leave.

Tsubaki's jaw hung agape. "What the hell just happened?"

Despite the dangerous waters she now found herself in, Elizabeth couldn't help but smile.

Lilith will love it.

*FDS - Feroxi Dome Ship

 

[The Funslinger]

"Any takers?"

A sadistic grin spread across Whiskey's face. Cracking her knuckles theatrically, she said, "well, seeing as I've been teaching these newbies all day, I guess they oughta see me go a few rounds with the crown prince."

 

[Dogmatic99]

"My apologies, shall we get back to training or do you still need a moment or so?"

"Y'know, I think I'm okay." Gale said, shrugging herself free of his magic touch. This whole fight had turned out to get her a lot of attention she probably didn't want. Though the whole experience was giving her some valuable insight into just how the people of the Iron Maiden worked. Did other outlaw groups treat each other like this? What little Gale had seen of career criminals always made them seem so grim and territorial, this was more like... well she wasn't sure of the word for it yet but it'd come.

"Any takers?" Called out the chief.

"Well I got my turn." Gale sighed, finding herself a spot of loor to slump down on with the others at the sidelines. It hadn't gone how she expected but it had been an experience, no doubt. She already felt a long call away from the rabbid scrapper she'd proven to be in pre-maiden fights. So hell, she'd earned a show!

 

[The Funslinger]

Spoiler: MEWZICK

"... well, seeing as I've been teaching these newbies all day, I guess they oughta see me go a few rounds with the crown prince."

Sprout grinned nerviously. "Sure thing," he said. "I reckon I can take you."

But could he? Sprout wasn't all too sure of his words.

"This is gonna be good," Bennie commented as he began making room for the two combatants. "Try not to hurt him too bad, Whiskey." Bennie said with a wink.

"Well that's up to him," said Whiskey, turning to face her latest victim.

"Don't go trying to dive into my happy valley," she said. "That ain't gonna end well for you."

Sprout made some distance between them and cracking his knuckles. "Yeah, I reckon that'd be too risky," he said. "I'll focus on beatin' yer ass now an' motorboatin' ya' later."

"Big talk for such a little kid," said Whiskey, springing forward and lashing out with a right jab.

Shit, she's fast!

Sprout hopped backwards, blocking the blow as he landed on on his heel. "Yer a frisky one, aren't ya'?" he joked.

"More than you'll ever know," Whiskey replied, not letting up. Sliding her foot forward, she slammed both forearms into Sprout's chest.

The boy stumbled backwards a few feet before he was able to steady himself.

Ouch.

After giving his chest a quick rub, he grinned. She was going easy on him. She'd regret that.

Suddenly, Sprout lunged forward with a right hook.

Whiskey caught Sprout's fist in her palm. Buzzing exploded in her hand unexpectedly. The kid packed a surprising wallop.

Whiskey let go of his hand, and backpedaled to get some room between them. "Well you're quite a slugger, ain't ya?"

"Think about who taught me," Sprout said. "Ma' could break a man's femur with 'er pinky, I reckon."

Now wasn't the time to let up. He needed to press her harder.

His fists held out in front of him, he took a few swift steps forward and began rapidly jabbing towards her head, chest and arms.

Whiskey backed up some more, swatting the blows as they came. This kid was definitely living up to his mother's reputation. He'd have made a fortune as a boxer. But Whiskey had cut her teeth sparring with a much bigger man with a metal hand. This was nothing she couldn't handle.

Catching one of Sprout's punches, she yanked his arm to the side, across him, and stepped the opposite direction to get behind him.

Sprout squeaked as he was swung helpessly around his opponent. He had to recover quickly to escape Whiskey's inevitable counter. Planting a foot forward in order to hault his momentum, he turned his side to face her and attempted to elbow her with his other arm.

Whiskey tensed her abs as Sprout's elbow slammed into her gut. Yep, the kid definitely packed a punch. Still with his fist clenched in her grip, Whiskey took a half step backwards and planted her foot firmly above Sprout's ass, knocking the kid flying.

"Lucky I ain't pregnant," she muttered, massaging the spot that would no doubt soon begin to bruise.

"How do you know?" Sprout hissed through gritted teeth. "Skin contact with someone as manly as yers truly may jus' be enough ta' do the trick."

"Well you do seem the type to blow your load at a touch," said Whiskey. Lowering herself back into a combat stance, she grinned. "Enough with the love taps. Let's do this."

Pushing himself up onto his feet, Sprout wiped a bit of blood from his lip with the back of his wrist and laughed. "Yes, ma'am," he said with a chuckle.

In a sudden burst of speed, Sprout threw himself forward, greeting Whiskey with a barrage of rapid, reckless blows. He was shouting something inaudible and oddly gruff as he did so.

Whiskey deflected the worst of the barrage, though she did take a few nasty dings to the chest and face. Suddenly Sprout's leg snapped up in a vicious kick, and she snared him. With a hand clasping the back of his knee, and a hand at his throat, Whiskey used her height to its full advantage, lifting the kid off of his feet, and across her shoulders in a judo throw. There was an almighty crash as Sprout's back met solid ground. Not one to let a berserker back up in the apex of his rage, Whiskey followed up, taking knee roughly on Sprout's sternum.

"And that's game," she said, breathing hard.

Bennie burst out in laughter. "Damn," he exclaimed, "you wrecked his shit, girl."

Lying on his back, Sprout's world was still spinning. "Owwww," he groaned. "Fuuuuuckkk."

Easing off the kid, Whiskey stood up and offered him her hand. "You're a tough little shit, ain't ya?" she said. "They didn't slack off teaching you, that's for sure."

"Thanks," he muttered as he let Whiskey pull him to his feet. "Yer a tough *****." He coughed when he laughed.

"I'm a lady, and don't you forget it, asshole," Whiskey admonished, punching him on the arm. Despite what she said, she was grinning.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

"What the hell just happened?"

Asad shared the Tsubaki's perplexed look. If this was Lombardi's way of getting to Basilio, then Elizabeth could see to benefit a lot more from the station that he originally thought.

There was, however, one question at the forefront of the Major's mind.



"What the fuck is a 'Tigerman'?"

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

After the commotion had died down somewhat, Sprout snuck away from Whiskey, Lilith and the others. Despite hiding the fact, he'd had his pride wounded. What better way to deal with such a defeat than to crawl into a corner of a crowded room and sulk.

Sitting against the wall in the back of the hangar, Sprout produced a flask he'd kept hidden in his back pocket and took a swig. He coughed violently and started pounding on his chest. It was one thing to find your mother's hidden booze stash... drinking it, however?

He had a lot more badass points to accrue before he could compete with her.

Well, Amy's 'give the training regimen lip-service while going completely unnoticed' plan appeared to have gone off without a hitch. Playing spectator was however, getting rather dull. Spotting Sprout sidling away to where he might lick his wounds out of sight, Amy smiled, and followed.

"Well, you certainly had your hands full out there." Amy teased, as she approached. She held out her hand gesturing to the hip-flask. "Come on, drinking alone is just sad."

"That's rich comin' from you," Sprout said with a small laugh. "Sure, I don' reckon I'm cut out fer this stuff anyway." He handed her the flask.

"So? That just means I'm the perfect person to tell you." Amy replied, taking the flask from him and taking a hearty swig. She held up to it better than he did.

"Y'know, watching you get all hot and bothered over Mother Goose and the Star Child out there, it might be enough to make a girl jealous..." She said, reaching down with her free hand and taking hold of his. "I guess you're lucky I only get jealous when I have competition."

She drank again, looked at him, and winked.

"Besides, watching you undress was hardly a bad way to spend the afternoon."

Sprout blushed and averted his gaze.

It wasn't often that he found himself on the receiving end of genuine flirtation.
Despite how much he did it, it was clear she had far more game than he did.

"Yeah, well that was only my shirt," he said with a nervous laugh. "Wait until you..." He winced and suddenly stopped speaking. Why was he finding it so hard to be his normal, vulgar self? "Haha, nevermind."

He was so bad at this.

"What?" Amy looked him up and down. She was enjoying this. "You think you've got something down there I haven't seen before?"

Sprout scratched the back of his head. "N-no, th-that ain't what I'm sayin'," he said with a sigh. Then he laughed. She was having too much fun watching him struggle, wasn't she? "Well, ya' know... I may 'ave some surprises waitin' fer ya' if ya' know what I mean." He winked at her. "Guess you'll jus' 'ave ta' discover 'em fer yerself. Be the first woman on the Rock ta' survey my geode."

In truth, Sprout didn't have a clue what a geode even was.

Amy just looked at him for a moment, at a loss for words, before slowly raising the flask to her lips, and drinking deeply.

"It's a good thing you're handsome." she said. "Still, at least I got to see today that you're capable of getting a woman on her back. You've got some moves."

She winked at him, and giggled.

Sprout wasn't sure if that was a jab at his sense of humor or his intellect. Probably both. "Yeah, an' apparently I'm good at motorboatin' too," he admitted. "S-sorry 'bout that. I swear that was completely by accident." He laughed. "I reckon I should apologize, right? Don' actually know the protocol for... this."

"I'm probably not the one you should be apologising to." Amy chuckled. "As if Gale wasn't mortified enough, you then went and dumped her in Jesse's capable hands."

She smirked, taking another drink.

"That little twerp got over me quickly. I'm hurt. If only a strapping young gentleman would come along and make me feel beautiful again!" She mock cried, leaning back against the wall and throwing her forearm up to her forehead for dramatic effect.

"Hey," Sprout began, his voice soft,"don' go doin' that." Snaking his hand between her wrist and her forehead, he lightly batted her hand away.

"I can' see yer purdy face when you go coverin' it like that," he said as he held her face in his hand. It was cheesy as all hell, but there was a good chance she'd at least appreciate his bravery. She knew he had no clue what he was doing.

It was evident by the hue of his flushed cheeks.

"Oh my!" Amy gasped, keeping up the parody. "What's a girl to do, when a young man looks at her with eyes like that?"

Her own hand snaking up his chest, around his neck and into his hair, she pulled Axel into a kiss. Soon enough, the hip-flask was forgotten.

"Ax..." she purred, when they broke apart. "Tell me there's not something terribly important you have to go and do for a while."

Sprout wasn't sure what he was supposed to say in this situation. "I-I ummm," he stammered. "I---"

"Hey," a firm voice suddenly interrupted.

It was Bennie.

"I come at a bad time?" he asked, stopped in front of the pair with his arms crossed over his chest. Though he was wearing his sunglasses, Amy could tell her was glaring at her.

"I dunno..." Amy shrugged, glaring back at him. "Did he Ax?"

Sprout was really blushing now. "I-I-I," he muttered. He looked at Amy. "N-no, no!" He pulled away from her and looked to Bennie. "We're jus', uh, here... you know... hangin' out. No big deal."

"Your mother's a bad liar too," Bennie said in a light hearted tone. "It's actually a quality I admire about her." His grin faded. "Can I talk to Amy alone for a minute?"

Sprout looked to Amy expectantly.

What do I do?!

Amy looked at Axel, then to Bennie, then back at Axel, and hung her head.

"It's okay, Ax." She sighed, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I'll catch you up."

Once he'd gone, Amy shook the hip-flask, still in her other hand, listening to gauge how much was left in there, before holding it out to Bennie.

"Hey," she said, sounding relaxed. "If you're gonna scare off my drinking partner, the least you could do is not leave me hanging."

"You got over her fast," Bennie said, ignoring her request. He clenched his jaw. "Look, I don't care what happened between you and Pixie, that's your own shit, but don't drag that boy into it."

Amy rolled her eyes, taking the flask back and drinking for herself.

"People move quickly around here. I'm just trying to keep up." she said, acidly. "Anyway, three things: One, just because your life revolves around that woman, doesn't mean it has to be the same for all of us. What I'm doing with Axel has nothing to do with that. Two, he's not a boy, he's a man. You'd best get used to that idea before he does. Three, if you'd get over the idea that I only exist to get in the way of what you want, you might see that I'm actually doing you a favour."

Bennie cocked his eye brow. "And how's that?" he asked.

Amy looked around the hangar, to check that Axel definitely wasn't hanging back to listen, before smiling wryly, turning to face Bennie.

"Look, we all know that Axel's eventually going to be the one in charge, right? Sure, it's not written in stone, but it doesn't have to be. He's the prodigal son. You know it, I know it, and deep down, he knows it too. A good thing too... He's got the natural charisma for it. You saw him playing to the crowd out there, he knows how it's done. It's only been a few days, and he's got pretty much all the new bloods looking up to him already. There's just one problem..."

Amy paused, taking another swig of her drink.

"When it comes to girls, he's fifteen going on twelve. For all the dirty jokes he likes to make, the moment he actually touches a breast, all that charisma turns to mush. Like I said, you saw him out there. In a lot of ways, he's grown up for his age, but in this he's way behind; and as much as you might not want to believe it, as much as you might want to keep seeing a kid who needs you to look out for him, it's a problem.

You were there when the Maidens were starting out. Sure, Pixie's always had a lot of strings to her bow to inspire people, but are you really going to look me in the eye, and tell me sex-appeal wasn't one of them? It's the most powerful evolutionary impulse, after all. The others want to follow him already, and maybe for one or two years, it'll be okay that the future Bandit King hasn't seen a nipple outside of a dirty magazine. He needs to be the first of them though, because before they can follow, he has to lead. That goes for everything he does. They like him now, but unless he can be more assertive, and more confident, they won't respect him later.

So, I'm going to take that boy, and make a man out of him. Nobody's going to get hurt. Don't worry, I'll be gentle." Amy allowed herself that one little jibe, before her tone became serious again. "I can hardly pretend that I like you, Bennie, and you don't have to like me; but, despite our differences, we both believe in the Iron Maidens. Pixie left us both with that much, at least...

I believe in what we're trying to do here, and I believe that Axel has what it takes to be the face of that, one day, but for all we know, that day could be a week from now, and as it stands, he's not ready. You can't do what needs to be done to get him ready, so I will."

Bennie pursed his lips and nodded. "You know, you're not wrong," he admitted. "I was hoping he'd come into his own soon, considering his age. I mean, he's hardly had a normal, healthy upbringing, but I think you'd agree that he has what he needs to succeed in this life. Sex is one of the few remaining pieces he needs. However..."

He took a deep breath before continuing. "Why does it have to be you?" he asked. "Not only do you have history with his mother of all people, but you have a million other reasons to be doing this other than the one you just stated." He smirked. "But I think you're smarter than that. You knew you couldn't keep this from me. You knew I would find out and you had to know how I'd react. So, why didn't you just come out and tell me?"

He took the flask from her hand and took a swig. "I don't want to play games with you, Amy," he said, "and I sure as hell don't want to get in a territorial pissing contest with you. So cut the bullshit. No lies, and if you're going to be brutally honest, stow the threats." He laughed. "Try talking to me like I was someone you trusted. Someone you liked. Maybe then we could actually get some traction."

Now it was Amy's turn to raise an eyebrow.

"Well gee, I dunno..." she retorted, her tone dripping with sarcasm "To pretend to like you, I'd have to pretend that you haven't looked at me like I was something inconvenient stuck to your shoe ever since I got here. I'd have to pretend you didn't make ruining the one good thing in my life your first order of business the moment you showed up back on the scene. I'm good at pretending, Bennie, but there are limits to even my imagination."

She snatched the flask back from him, and finished it off.

"Whatever. This sounds like fun, so I'll give it a shot. Why does it have to be me? Well, besides the fact that it's literally my job, I'm pretty much the only girl his age here who doesn't have even less experience than he does. Besides, we have a natural spark. It's be a shame to waste it. Why didn't I tell you? Because asking for your permission would be too humiliating for me to stomach... and because I respect Axel's privacy. Yes, I'm manipulating him, but we've established it's for his own good, and I'm not ignorant of how delicate this is for him."

Her tone became somewhat less waspish, as she put the flask away.

"I don't want to fight either. Don't think that counts as an apology. For the record, I still dislike you, I still hate what you did, and I still don't respect the decision to leave you in charge. However, like I said, I believe in what we're trying to do here. I'm not out to cause collateral damage, and that's all that would come from pursuing a vendetta with you. So, if you can stay the fuck out of my business, and stop patronising me with your lame attempts to chew me out until I fall in line, then I don't see any reason why we can't tolerate each-other."

Bennie sighed. "Well," he said with a shrug, "that was a valiant effort in any case. Can't expect you to just swallow your misguided hatred at the drop of a dime." He glanced over his shoulder at Sprout and the others before looking back at her. "Look, I'm not going to 'forbid' this, if that's what you're afraid of. I don't like it, but Sprout's his own person and he can make his own decisions. That doesn't mean, however, I won't keep an eye on you two and that I won't advise the boy. I'm the closest thing to a father he has and Pixie left him in my care, not yours."

For a second, Amy just looked at Bennie. She looked him right in the eye, and then... her lips curled into a delicious smile.

"Oh wow." she whispered, surprised. "You're actually afraid. I mean, I knew this would irritate you, and I can't deny I was looking forward to seeing the look on your face... but I figured Meredith was the one who really got off on people depending on her. I wasn't expecting this!"

It was all Amy could do not to burst out laughing with mirth. Watching the torment written in the stern lines of Bennie's face was so pleasing to her, it made her look positively radiant.

"It actually frightens you, the thought that you might wake up one day, to discover that Axel's moved beyond you, that he doesn't need you any more, and that he'll shatter the fatherhood fantasy you've been nursing, while he's been growing through the most important years of his life without you. You're terrified, that the day will come sooner if he let's anyone in who doesn't have membership to the Meredith and Bennie, Happy Family Fan Club. The more I think about it, the more it makes sense. I mean, if he doesn't need you any more, and Meredith is gone... you'll have a ship, a crew, the whole world at your feet... and you'll be alone."

Still grinning, Amy glided past him, stopping before she went to rejoin Axel.

"Advise away Bennie. I'm not afraid. I trust Axel to decide what's best for him."

Bennie didn't turn to watch her leave. Instead, he simply stared down at the spot in which she had occupied. "I can trust him," Bennie promised himself, his voice quiet. "I can trust him to do what's right." Finally, he looked over his shoulder.

He's smarter than you think, Amy. A hateful ***** like you could never hope to win his heart.

He grinned.

When he figures it out, he'll drop you just like Pixie did. Who will you go crying to then?

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Spending several minutes talking to some of the other Maidens, the hangar was quickly clearing out.

"I know blocking seems like the best option." Lilith was giving some pointers to a couple of the younger members of the crew. "But always avoid a blow if you can, or even better, use it to gain the advantage, that way your opponent wastes energy and you gain the upper hand."

From the corner of her eye, Lilith saw Bennie leaving in what appeared to be quite a huff. "I gotta go, but think about what I said." She thumbed over to the large man before she broke into a small jog after him.

"Hey, Bennie?" Lilith was on the man's tail, a few feet behind him. "Did something happen?"

Bennie slowed his pace, but kept on walking. "It's nothing," he said, looking over his shoulder.

"Nothing?" Lilith chuckled, stuffing her hands in her pockets as she stepped in line next to him. "Seem awfully agitated over nothing." The girl teased as she looked up at the man, a playful grin on her face.

Bennie sighed and looked back to the path ahead. "It's Amy again," he admitted. "She's becoming a real pain in my ass."

"Still?" Lilith broke out her pack of cigarettes, placing a smoke between her lips before offering one to Bennie. "What she do this time?"

Either Bennie was overreacting, or Amy was really good at hiding her motives, because as far as Lilith was concerned, she'd been nothing but friendly.

Bennie took the cigarette and lit it. "Honestly?" he began before taking his first drag. He exhaled a large plume of smoke and shook his head. "It's not my place to tell you. And frankly, I don't want to talk about it."

Lighting her own cigarette, a small smirk curled the girl's lips. "Did she scuff one of your shoes? Come on, you can tell me, we'll kill the *****, nobody has to know."

The man obviously needed some cheering up.

"Let me ask you something," he said, seemingly ignoring Lilith's request. "Do you know of any Maiden who ever outwardly loathed Pixie? Sure, there were a few black sheep every now and then that liked to challenge her commands, but did anyone in the crew ever despise her?"

Lilith furrowed her brow as she looked down at the floor. "I don't think so, not from what I can recall." The girl blew smoke from her nostrils. "I mean, anyone who straight up opposed her wasn't around long enough to remember, you know? They were out on their arses right quick."

"That's what I thought," Bennie muttered as he rubbed the space between his eyebrows. He took another drag. "Amy's convinced I slept with Pixie for some reason and she's taken it upon herself to threaten and provoke me every chance she gets. She's a liability. I have more than enough reasons to kick her off the ship, but I can't." He clenched his jaw. It was clear he was barely containing his rage.

Lilith's face softened as she looked up at Bennie. "I ain't gonna tell you to kick her out, that's none of my business." She took a deep drag, blowing the smoke from the corner of her mouth. "Is there any way you can get in contact with Merry? Maybe she's acting out because of her?"

"There's no doubt about that," Bennie said with a bitter laugh. "It won't help. The girls too far gone for that now. She won't listen to Pixie. Her grudge isn't with me, not really. It's with Pixie. This is rebellion." He shrugged. "The best Pixie could do is offer me advice, but I am hesitant to bring this up to her now. She's got enough shit on her mind and I don't want to give the impression I'm fucking up so early in my tenure. Know what I mean? I should be able to handle one heartbroken teenager."

"It's not like you've had to before." Lilith smiled. "I was a good girl, remember, I never caused you any trouble." She winked at the man. Poor Amy, it must be hard for the kid, maybe she should have a word with her?

"Yeah, good girl my ass," Bennie said with a hardy chuckle. "You had your drama queen phase, trust me. Remember that asshole that stood you up in Paradiso that one time? You made me promise to beat him up the next time I saw him and then I had to buy you ice cream."

"What? Nooooo." Lilith did a rather poor impression of someone who could not recollect such an event. "Must have me confused with someone else."

"You said, 'thank you, Bennie-bear'," he teased. "It was all very sweet."

Lilith narrowed her eyes at the man. "You promised you'd never mention that name ever again." She whispered threateningly.

Bennie shrugged. "Oops," he said. "I'm getting old. I don't remember things so well." Before they knew it, they had arrived at the captain's quarters. Stopping by the door, he flicked away his cigarette butt and turned to face Lilith. "So what do you think I should do about Amy? Let her have her fun? See if she calms down? Or should I put my foot down here and now?"

Holding the cigarette loosely between her lips, Lilith shrugged. "If you've given her warnings, and she's still not getting in line, then maybe, I dunno. She's only a kid, Bennie." Lilith smiled sympathetically. "What's the worst she she can do?"

Bennie chewed the inside of his mouth. "I don't know," he admitted, "and that's what scares me. I had killed a lot of people... had done a lot of bad things by the time I was her age. But, I'm afraid my younger self couldn't hold a candle to what she's done." His gaze was distant. He recalled the knife incident in the bar.

"Or of what she's capable of doing."

Lilith leaned against the wall, crossing her arms over her chest. "Well, it's up to you, I'll go along with whatever you decide, I can't imagine there'd be much fuss if did have to get rid of her, she hasn't been around long enough."

"As I said, I don't think that's an option," he repeated in a deflated tone. "Most of the crew are new too, if we kick her off the ship for... nebulous reasons, it's going to scare them. Plus, Sprout's taken a shining to the girl and if Pixie comes back and finds out... I don't think she'd forgive me if I abandoned that girl now."

"That sucks, man." Lilith chuckled nervously. "You'll figure it out." Tilting her against the wall, the woman decided to change the subject. "Any more plans for the day?"

Bennie nodded. "We've got a fraction of Cranston's old network up and running again," he said. "Sounds like Wilkes-Vines may have some work from us soon, according to the intel. I suspect they'll make contact tonight. These kids don't have much longer to prepare. We're going to have to fight again, and soon."

"Shit." Lilith raised an eyebrow. "Any idea what kind of work we'll be doing?" She frowned. "I can't imagine it'll be any good, not if it's Wilkes-Vines." The girl could already feel the distaste raising in the back of her throat.

Fucking Wilkes-Vines.

"I have no idea," he said simply.

He didn't look pleased in the slightest.

There was a silence between the two for a few moments. When it come to this? It felt like a heavy air had been over Lilith for what felt like months now.

An idea came to her.

Finishing off her cigarette, she leaned forward and grabbed one of the big man's hands. "Come on." She tugged his arm gently as she started back down the corridor. "I know what we can do to take our minds off everything."

Bennie cocked an eyebrow. "Drink more?" he joked.

"Not quite." Lilith winked at the man. "Something much better than booze."

 

[The Funslinger]

Having gone back to her room to change into a fresh top, Whiskey had found that Millie was gone. She was heading back in the direction of the hangar to start her search from there, when Ruffles came around the corner, with Millie riding atop his shoulders. She was wearing his strange engineer's goggles, though the strap had to be pulled as small as it would go to fit her head. They made her look like some strange, metallic insect clinging to the engineer's back.

"Jesus, I've been looking for you!" said Whiskey. "Where'd you find her?"

"She found me," replied Ruffles. "Came wandering into the engineering room."

"Aw, sorry!" said Whiskey, rubbing the back of her neck in embarrassment. "Did she cause ya any trouble?"

"Nah," he replied. "I heard her before I saw her. You were singing at the top of your lungs, weren't you, Millie?"

"Doh, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti," Millie replied. "Ti, la, so fa, mi, re, doh!"

"Yeah, a real superstar, ain't ya?" Whiskey said, lifting her daughter off of the engineer's back, and lowering her onto the floor. "I was gonna head back to the hangar to watch the kids beat on each other," said Whiskey. "You wanna watch some good ol' fashioned ultra-violence, Millie?"

"Yeah!" the girl chirped.

"What about you, Ruffles? You in?"

"Sure," he replied. "We'll stop by my room, and I'll grab a few beers. And a soda for you, Millie. What flavour ya want?"

"Triple vanilla raspberry!"

"Uhh... I don't think anyone's ever played God enough to make a soda like that," he said. "But there's a blue one you oughta try. You want a blue soda, Millie?"

"Yeah!"

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Spoiler: Round 2

Lilith looked around the hangar. There were only a handful of people in the area now, mostly regulars who trained at that time of day, but there were a couple of kids trying out some of the moves from the training session.

A good throw down would lighten Bennie's spirits for sure, or at least work out some of his anger and frustration.


Kicking off her boots, Lilith stretched a leg behind her, balancing effortlessly on one foot. "I was easy on you before, but that's because I didn't wanna show you up in front of the kids." Slapping her cheeks with both hands, she planted a punch in her palm before taking up her stance, a grin on her face.

"You sure you want to do this?" Bennie asked as he made similar preparations. "Your face was just starting to heal up, you know."

"You should see the other guy." Lilith scoffed as she brushed a thumb over the tip of her nose. "Like you said, I'm not a little girl anymore."

Bennie held his fists out in front of him and bent his knees. With his dominate hand, he beckoned her. "Show me," he said plainly.

Taking a breath, the girl held it for a second before exhaling. Lilith's smirk faded as her face softened, her stance less tense.

She didn't know whether it was the whiskies from earlier, or simply because she didn't have a crowd watching her, but she felt more confident.

Quickly stepping forward, she lunged at Bennie, throwing a quick but powerful right hook.

This time she wouldn't hold back.

And neither would Bennie.

Stepping inside her blow, Bennie crouched low and deflected the punch with his left forearm. Using her own momentum against her, he countered with an uppercut, burying his fist deep into her gut.

Gasping with pain, Lilith staggered backwards slightly. Determined not to lose her focus, she stepped forward once again, shifting her weight to step inside his guard once the opportunity presented itself, sending out a weak left hook, Lilith prepared herself for Bennie's counter.

"What's this?" Bennie mocked as he caught intercepted Lilith's weak blow. Grabbing her by the wrist, he moved with her as she swung around him. Once she'd lost her momentum, Bennie yanked her forward, sending a swift chop for her throat with his freehand. He pulled his punch and rested his wrist against her neck. "That would have been match, Lilith. You're too stiff. Loosen up."

Lilith brushed the man's hand away. "I know what I'm doing, Bennie." Shaking the stiffness from her hands, the girl raised her arms before stepping in for another attack. She should be doing better than this, surely? It's not like she'd been sitting on her arse for the four years Bennie had been away.

Lunging forward, she brushed aside the man's arm as she slid inside his guard, aiming a blow to his chest.

Bennie took the punch for all it was worth. Considering the lingering pain of his uppercut and her shaken state, he figured he could roll with it.

And he did.

Shrugging off the attack with a small, pained grunt, Bennie grabbed her shoulder with one hand and raised the other over his head. Clenching his fist tight, he brought down a devistating elbow strike onto her other shoulder. She dropped to the floor like a sack of bricks.

"What are you doing?!" he questioned as he towered over her. "What did I teach you about fighting larger opponents?!"

Rolling onto her front, Lilith coughed painfully as she grasped at her shoulder. What did he expect her to do? Bennie wasn't the one throwing the punches, she was, in any other situation she'd be the one counter-attacking. Sucking air through her teeth, the girl ground her fist into the matt as she pushed herself to her feet.

Moving her head to the side, Lilith gritted her teeth as her neck cracked. "How about you stop being a pussy and throw a damn punch?"

Bennie shrugged. "You asked," he muttered as he stomped his foot down in front of him. If she didn't dodge this...

"Get ready!" he shouted before suddenly exploding forward. His right arm tucked behind him, he unleashed another uppercut, this own intended for her jaw.

Lilith felt panic raise in her throat as the huge man came bearing down on her. It was so like Bennie, not to attack a problem until it called him out. It was the same four years ago, it was the same with this whole Amy business, and undoubedly it would be the same with Frostfall.

As Bennie threw the first punch, Lilith gasped as she swerved to the side, she could have sworn the force of the huge man's fist ruffled her hair. Swerving again she dodged another blow, this time a fierce right hook. Lilith's heart pounded, was he even pulling his punches?

She hadn't thought this through, this wasn't like in Feroxi, Bennie was a man in his prime. As she continued to defend against the man's onslaught, Lilith felt a tinge of anger. Why wasn't he like this all the time? Why wasn't he more like Pixie? Attacking problems head on instead of dancing around them with ifs and buts. She should have been on her way to Frostfall by now, her and a couple of other Maidens, it didn't matter if they were short on numbers, doing something was better than doing nothing.

Nothing was exactly what she doing right now, predictably so.

Even if he wasn't hitting her, Bennie knew how Lilith would react, knew that for all her speed that she lacked the power to do anything but avoid him. Well maybe she didn't want to do that anymore.

Maybe she'd swim upstream.

Against her instinct, Lilith blocked an attack she could have avoided, gritting her teeth as pain shot through her arms. As Bennie followed through with the attack, raising his other fist to continue the attack, Lilith took advantage of the gap in his guard, no fancy techniques or reversals. Clenching her fists, and with as much force as she could muster, she pushed back against the blocked attack and sucker punched the man right across the side of the face, splitting his lips in the process.

Quickly stepping back the girl panted angrily, fully expecting Bennie to continue his attack.

Bennie took a few steps back, instinctively groping at his wound. Sucking hard on his lip, he spat a huge glob of blood onto the floor and chuckled. "Damn," he whispered. "That was fuckin' reckless, girl." Despite his words, he was grinning.

Lilith's eyes widened slightly as her anger evaporated. Raising a hand to her mouth, the girl stepped foward. "Oh Bennie, I'm sorry, I didn't..."

Bennie held up a hand in protest. "Hey, it's fine," he assured her. "You hit harder than I thought." He laughed and slapped Lilith on the shoulder.

"No, I..." She looked up at the man, her eyes full of concern. "That was stupid, I shouldn't have thrown a punch like that." She averted her eyes. "I didn't want to hurt you."

He put his hands on bother of her shoulders now and held her in front of him. "Lilith," he said quietly. "I'm fine. We were fighting. Shit happens."

"Okay." The girl mumbled, biting her bottom lip.

After a few moments she looked up, a cheeky grin spreading across her face as she laughed nervously. "It was a pretty good punch wasn't it?"

She kind of felt bad for how proud she was.

"It fuckin' hurt," he said, chuckling, "but that's a good thing. Now, if you don't mind, I think it's time to lie the fuck down."

"I can get you some ice?" Lilith offered meekly. "I'm really sorry Bennie." She laughed nervously once more. "I'm going to be apologising about this for days." She stuffed her hands into her pockets.


Bennie rolled his eyes and started for the door. "Get me something to drink while you're at it," he said as he stepped into the hall. "Thanks, Lily, I needed that, really." He called out to her as he left.

"Okay..." Lilith rubbed her arm anxiously as Bennie left. For a few moments she just stood there wondering what the hell had just happened.

She drew blood from Bennie.

She'd never drew blood from Bennie. Merry would have been proud.

'If she had been here to see it'.

Avoiding the curious stares of a few casual onlookers, Lilith picked up her boots and quickly left the hangar for her room.

There was something she needed to think about.

 

[The Funslinger]

Whiskey, Ruffles and Millie had arrived in time to see Lilith's comeback. When she chinned Bennie, their reactions were all different. Whiskey winced. Millie's eyes widened. Ruffles leaned forward, muttering excitedly, "holy shit, she actually clocked him!"

Then Lilith was moving for the door.

"Lily!" Millie called out, but the girl didn't react, disappearing out into the hall. "Mommy, she ignored me..."

"Nah," said Whiskey, tousling her daughter's hair. "I reckon she just didn't hear ya. Your aunt Lil wouldn't ignore you. Anyway, me and Jake are gonna go see if Bennie's alright. Let's go, honey."

"Okay..."

When they caught up to him, Ruffles clapped him on the shoulder. "Fucking hell, Bennie, that's gotta be a first, am I right?"

Drawing out a carton of cigarettes, Whiskey pulled one out with her teeth before offering the pack around. Ruffles turned it down. "It was something, alright," she muttered. "The way that shit turned around in a second, it seems like maybe she's scared of what she can do."

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Spoiler

As the cool water of the shower poured over her back, a small smile curled Lilith's mouth as she leaned her head back. A sucker punch, of all things.

'I guess even the best get caught off guard some times.'

Is that was made Pixie such a force to be reckoned with? Her unpredictable nature? Lilith had never fought anyone as impossible to read as Meredith, she was like an animal.

Unpredictability, recklessness, thriving on impulse, that was Meredith Monroe. Doing what she thought was right, to protect her family, even if the same family went against her.

Finishing her shower, Lilith wrapped a towel around herself and sat on the chaise longue. Running her hands through her sodden hair, she couldn't help but let her gaze veer over to her rifle, propped against the wall next to the door. Bennie's words echoed in her mind.

"Sometimes all we can do is wait and hope. If we're lucky, things work out. If not... well, you can always avenge them."

Furrowing her brow, Lilith reached over to the pack of cigarettes on the coffee table and lit one up. Taking a deep drag, she found herself looking at her rifle again.

"Do you... Do you wish you had gone?"

"It doesn't matter what I feel now. What's done is done. My sister's dead and there ain't a damn thing I can do about it."

As the cigarette hung loosely from her lips, burning away slowly, Lilith clicked her tongue.

"Axel was right."

Stubbing out the unfinished cigarette, Lilith pulled the towel from her body and wrapped it around her hair. Putting on some clean underwear, the girl quickly began stuffing clothes into a backpack before the realisation dawned on her. Shaking her head, she tipped the back upside down, emptying it's contents. Placing her hands on her hips, she bit her bottom lip as she pondered the clothing predicament she faced.

'I'll layer up and get something there, how cold could it be?'

Stuffing some of the clothes back into the bag, Lilith finished drying her hair before pulling on some fresh clothes. Stuffing a bag of more than enough carbon in the pack, as well as several cartons of cigarettes and packs of ammo, she closed the pack.

Rummaging through her drawers, she found the thickest poncho she owned, as well as a large hooded cloak. She'd need as much cover as she could get. Placing the poncho over her shoulders, she dropped the cloak on her mattress as she stood next to her bedside table. Picking up the Cherry choker, she buckled it around her neck, flicking the pendant gently as it jingled. Placing her goggles on her brow, and clipping her holster around her waist, she wrapped her new scarf around her neck before placing her breather inside it. Wrapping the rather large cloak around herself, she pulled the backpack onto her shoulders and picked up her rifle as she left her room.

Not looking back.


The hangar was even emptier than before, thankfully, quietly making her way over to the crawler impound, Lilith picked out one of the bikes they had 'acquired' from the Wilkes-Vines in Yuteni, checking to see if it was in working order, she filled it to the brink with gas, attaching a couple more canisters to the back. They wouldn't miss it, and it was better than taking a crawler.

She had to go now, she couldn't wait, if she didn't leave now, then she might not get another chance, no time for goodbyes, no time for anyone to convince her to stay. Quickly placing a cigarette between her teeth, she lit up her last smoke before the long journey. Glancing behind her, she smirked slightly. No send off this time.


Wheeling the bike towards the exit ramp of the hangar, she inputted the override code for the hatch. Usually it had to be done with a key or switch from the control room, but she was sure breaking that little bit of protocol would be at the bottom of her list of fuck ups by the time all this was through.

As the bay doors began to open, the typical warning alarm sounded throughout the hangar. The ventilation was strong enough to keep the hangar filled with air for at least a minute. Lilith took one last drag of her cigarette, blowing the smoke out slowly as she threw the stub out into the wastes. Pulling the goggles over her eyes, the breather and scarf over her mouth, and the hood of the cloak over her head, she mounted the motorbike and flipped the ignition switch. As the engine roared into life, the winds of the ashlands swirled into the hangar.

Gripping the handlebars tightly, Lilith fought the urge to look behind her. She felt bad for leaving, for abandoning them, but they'd be fine without her, someone else needed her help.

"Sometimes all we can do is wait and hope. If we're lucky, things work out. If not... well, you can always avenge them."

"I'm sorry Bennie." Lilith revved the engine.

"Revenge isn't really my thing."

Lilith burst over the ramp, the tyres screeching. The winds kicking up the tail of her cloak, the bike roared down the side of the uprising the the Maiden had perched on, gaining speed as Lilith pulled back on the acceleration.

'I swear Florian, if you make this rebellious gesture a waste, I'm gonna kick your arse.'

As the surge of hot wind whipped against her, Lilith felt a rush she hadn't felt in a long time, this was it now, this was her decision, nobody else's. For better or for worse, at least it was her's. As she hit the bottom of the hill, Lilith peered behind her, raising a hand into the air, she saluted the Maiden as she flew towards the horizon.

'Take care of yourself, kid.'

 

[The Funslinger]

"... The way that shit turned around in a second, it seems like maybe she's scared of what she can do."

Bennie turned around just before he opened the door to his room. "Yeah," he said with a nod. "Lilith's... she's a whole lot tougher than me at least." He chuckled. "I think she may be realizing that and it's got her freaked out."

The big man looked off into the distance. "When the student surpasses the master," he mused.

"You really think she has?" asked Ruffles.

"I can still kick her ass in a fight without breaking a sweat," he assured him, "but that's not all there is. She's got... conviction. A lot of it." He looked to Ruffles. "She's becoming more and more like Pixie everyday."

"Yeah," he replied. "I see what you mean." Scratching the back of his head hesitantly, he said, "I just hope she doesn't become too much like her. One is enough."

"You mean crazy?" he Bennie asked. "Naw, that girl's got a good head on her shoulders. Sprout too. Despite her issues, Pixie did a good job with those two." He smiled, sadly. "I was hoping I could pick things up where I left off but... Lilith's already gone and grown up without me."

Whiskey shrugged. "No helping that. But hey, we grown ladies have our share of..." she glanced down at Millie. "Uhh, fudge ups, too. Don't think she ain't gonna need ya."

Bennie laughed. "Lily's one the last girls I imagine getting knocked up, trust me," he said. "Hell, she's barely had more than a passing interest in boys as far as I have known her. Doesn't look like much has changed." Looking back towards his door, he gestured towards it. "Y'all want to come in? No point in loitering in the hall."

Whiskey rolled her eyes as they set off. "I didn't mean getting pregnant, you moron. I'm just trying not to swear in front of my daughter."

Behind her, Ruffles sniggered quietly.

Bennie looked at Ruffles from over Whiskey's shoulder and grinned. "Mind berating me inside?" he asked before opening the door.

The next half hour or so was spent chatting idly. Nothing serious. It was the kind of conversation that could last hours without going anywhere.

"So anyway, I always thought that--" Ruffles was saying when he was cut off by the sound of a klaxon. It was a credit to his devotion that he could differentiate one of the ship's various alarms from the others.

"Shit!" he said, jumping off the bed, where he'd been sitting. "The hangar doors are breached. Who even has the override code except me and Pixie?" Without waiting for an answer, he sprinted out into the hall.

"Ain't none of the newbies," said Whiskey as she hurried after him, leaving Bennie to follow. "Who's that leave? Sprout?"

"Nah, he wouldn't know it," said Ruffles. "It's gotta be Lilith. The fuck is she doing?"

"God dammit," Bennie muttered before he sprung to his feet, out pacing the others as he sprinted down the hall towards the hangar. As they got closer, he noticed a few of the other Maidens wandering out in the hall. "There's nothing to worry about! Everyone, back in their rooms, now!"

Moments later, Bennie and the others burst through the doorway and quickly put on their breathing masks before approaching the loading ramp. There she was, already a half a mile away, buring through the ash on a bike.

Bennie said nothing as he stood there on the ramp, watching her form shrink smaller and smaller.

"Jesus, that crazy *****," said Ruffles as he pulled his goggles up and headed through the smog now pervading the hangar. When he got to the console on the far wall, he found the codebox and entered the same code entered by Lilith mere minutes before. There was a thudding and grating sound, and the doors slowly began to close again. Opening a switch box, he flipped two up and one down, and the amount of background noise coming from the hangar vents increased dramatically as they ramped up intensity to filter out the toxic fumes. "She could have just asked me to let her out," he said, scowling.

"She was heading north," Bennie said, but failed to elaborate further. "Check the mechanisms and make sure she didn't break anything. I'll be on the bridge." And with that, Bennie was out in the hall once more.

Pulling off his breathing mask and letting it hang loose around his neck, he shook his head and allowed himself a small grin.

You're just like her, Lily.

 

[ProtoChimp]

"That's Cranston's gig."

Aesop's mind immediately snapped to the ninja she was talking about. "You reckon we'll get him back? Or is that too optimistic?"

 

[Dogmatic99]

"That should be enough to make up for the donations I lost." Florian sighed as he let a bag of carbon clump down on the table.

"And this is how criminals go about laundering money?" Father Jameson asked, awkwardly examining the ragged lumps.

"More or less." Florian cricked his neck. "But with more pimping." His head drooped a little more.

"When was the last time you slept?"

"We're not pimping me!" Florian grumbled, or maybe he snored it.

"Oh for goodness sake, you're killing yourself playing at sheriff. Get some rest man!"

"Can I use your shower?"

"Yes! You're stinking up the whole church." With a towel quickly thrown in his face Florian shuffled off to the bathroom grumbling something incoherent about how Father Jameson was much nicer before he started pimping.

*****​

Florian let out a contented sigh as his whole body relaxed under the steady stream of hot water pouring over him and the heat kicked up more steam than it had any right to. This was the closest thing he'd had to a lazy, relaxed moment he'd had in days. Not that pushing over low level operations and intimidating social climbers wasn't interesting. Not that it wasn't fun. Not that it made him feel more alive than he had in-

'Noooo let's not get into this again!'

At least he didn't have to live vicariously through the captain's battle lust now that his own was allowed to come out and play. If the others could see him now...

They'd think him a massive hypocrite. Who was he to preach peace and thought to them for all this time? He couldn't do it himself, he only repressed the violence that came so naturally to him. This was different though, wasn't it? He was fighting for a good cause this time, he was helping people. True he was enjoying himself but that was just the thrill of the fight, not the rush of violence. He hadn't killed anyone! He'd gone out of his way not to. he was different now, calmer, older, more mature. The years of exile had tempered him.

But just who was he trying to convince? 'No more debates or philosophy, please.' He was too tired for such nonsense. His eye lids felt like they were made of lead right now.

"I dunno, I thought your little drug bust was cool." Lilith said, leaving where she'd been leaning in the doorway and tapping on the glass door to the shower.

"Except that it was a trap. I should have seen it too."

"But you made it out, in style too." She smiled warmly at him, the way she always could so easily, opening the door.

"I was slow and sloppy." He grumbled. "And the water's going to get everywhere now."

"Ooooh nooo." She let out a long sigh of false disappointment as stray drops of the shower soaked into the snow white tank top she so often wore. "Well I may as well get a proper shower out of this." She said, pulling the top over her head. She was right of course, it only made sense. She removed the rest of her clothing with effortless ease and joined him under the water flow.

"You know I'm used to having more space to myself." She said so softly, their faces inches apart.

"We can make the best of it." He replied, placing his hands on her hips and pulling her closer. Their lips and bodies met and it was as if he felt every piece of it. Everything felt right this time as he kissed her with all the power of someone with over four years of distance to make up for. Call it passion, call it making up for lost time, either way it amazing. Lilith was feeling even friskier apparently as she pushed Florian up against the tiled wall and took command of things.

"Jeez you two, get a room!" Elizabeth laughed, helping herself to more than her fair share of the shampoo. Never mind that most of it was getting into the pink bathrobe she'd worn that one time. Florian didn't know why she'd been so embarrassed about it. It perfectly protected her modesty. Wait, no, it was open. And exposing her lithe figure and flawless skin, among other things.

"You shouldn't be in here, Liz, you're too young for this." Florian reluctantly protested as his eyes went wandering over Elizabeth and Lilith's hands went wandering over him.

"Nu uh, I'm like, forty three."

"I Don't think that's even close to true."

"I hear nobles have to tell at least seven lies a day." Said Ruffles who was now to the left of them, fixing the shower with wrenches and stuff.

"Oh my god, Jake, that's so not even true! Why is everything about race with you?" Elizabeth protested, caressing water over her chest. Ruffles just shrugged. He had the head of a moose now and did not care for such things anymore.

"This is spiraling out of control."

"Shhhh." Lilith silenced him with the lightest of kisses. "Just once, just relax." She kept kissing him, until she lowered herself down onto her knees.

"MWWWAAAHHRH?"

"No, Moose Ruffles, I don't want a back rub. Stop making this weird."

"FLORIAN!"

*****​

Florian woke with a start. Curled up on his ass, slumped against the wall of the shower. When had he even nodded off?

"You okay in there?" Came the voice of Father Jameson on the other side of the door.

"Fine! I'm fine!" Florian tried to ramble out an excuse to spending - what he assumed was a long time - in the shower and not even getting up to what everyone would assume he'd get up to. He gave up fast. ["Alright, calm down."] He looked down, chiding the one part of him that was awake.

 

[Fappy]

"You reckon we'll get him back? Or is that too optimistic?"

Cam looked to Aesop and frowned. "I asked her about it a few nights ago," she said. "Pixie's... she's really torn up about the whole thing. She's been hiding it well--or at least, hiding the fact she's upset about that, specifically. I think a part of her is still holding out hope that he's still alive somehow. I mean, she's never been one to leave any of her people behind and the man's practically her father." She sighed. "He's kind of mine too, if I'm being honest."

She looked towards the front door of the bar once more. "He did far more for me than my actual father ever did, anyway," she muttered under her breath.

********************************************************************************************************************************************************

"Look," Bonnie started, "you owe my aunt a lot of money, okay? You have no room to negotiate here. You don't play ball and---"

"And what?" Pixie interrupted. "She kills me? She kills my son? My lovers? My Maidens? Is that what she'll do?"

"Pretty much," the blonde said with a shrug. "I know you're not so stupid that you'd ignore her."

Pixie finished her glass and slammed it down on the table. "No, yer right, I wouldn' ignore her," she said. "So long as I was talkin' to'er face."

Bonnie sighed in frustration. "Fucking... will you at least listen to what I have to say?" Bonnie pleaded.

"No demands, no terms, jus' the plan," Pixie instructed.

"Fine," Bonnie muttered. "Contessa's getting together some of the best mercs on the Rock for this op. Ten days from now, during Contessa's big annual summit in Paradiso, you will lead this army against Basilio tower."

Pixie laughed in the woman's face. "Yer fuckin' kiddin' me, right?!" she said. "Attackin' the tower head-on, are you fuckin' crazy?"

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "It's not as simple as that," she assured her. "We have someone on the inside. Someone who will benefit from Dio's death just as much as my aunt. Basilio's ramping up his tower's security and a new platoon of troops will be processed that day. Our men will walk right through the front doors, and it'll be under our control before the leadership even knows what happened."

Pixie nodded along to Bonnie's explanation. When she was done, Pixie gestured towards the cigar box on the counter behind Bonnie. Reluctantly, she retrieved the cigars and offered one to Pixie. After lighting it with a match, Pixie took a deep drag and savored the taste of the smoke before eventually exhaling.

"Where do I come in?" Pixie finally asked.

"Our men will open up a hole in the security right before they initiate the take-over," Bonnie explained. "Considering his skill-set, Carlos should have no trouble getting you to Dio's penthouse, where he will most likely be before the attack begins. We'll confirm his location beforehand, of course.

Pixie took another drag of her cigar. It was adequate. "So," she mused, "what's stoppin' me from leakin' this ta' Dio? If I can get him an' Contessa at each other's throats I don' reckon she'd 'ave the time ta' deal with me."

"Two reasons," Bonnie answered without missing a beat. "First, we have a very good understanding of yours and Basilio's history. Contessa wouldn't have bothered with this deal in the first place if she didn't think you'd jump at the chance to kill him." Pixie clenched her jaw. "And second, Carlos wouldn't let you."

"Excuse me?" Pixie groaned.

Carlos shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"This man's loyal to Contessa," she said. "He will not let you betray her."

Pixie glared at Carlos behind her sunglasses. "Is that so?" she said.

Carlos furrowed her brow. "Pixie, I---"

"We'll talk about this later," Pixie cut him off.

"So," Bonnie began, trying to shift Pixie's attention back to her, "you do this for Contessa and you're off the hook. As simple as that. Do we have a deal?"

"No," Pixie said plainly. "I already told y'all, I ain't makin' any deals until I can talk ta' Contessa in person. I ain't gonna compromise."

"God dammit, Pixie," Bonnie cursed. "I'm trying to help you out here, don't you get it?!" She was starting to lose her cool. "Contessa will not meet with you!"

Pixie shook her head. "No deal," she repeated herself before making a telegraphed motion for pistol in her waistband. Bonnie didn't take the bait, and simply grit her teeth.

This ***** is crazy!

While the two women 'negotiated', Carlos heard what sounded like the closing of a car door outside the window. Neither woman paid him any mind when he rose from his seat and walked over to the back wall. Peaking through the blinds, he saw four rough looking men getting out of a beat up crawler in the alley behind the bar. One of them was tucking a pistol into his jacket as they disappeared from view. Just by the way they surveyed the area before moving on, Carlos knew these men were no ordinary thugs. Basilio was on to them.

Looking to the two women, Carlos interrupted their argument. "We've got company!"

***********************************************************************************************************************************************************

Another hour went by before the ceremony was finally over. In the end, Elizabeth had accumulated a mountain of gifts no single person could fully appreciate nor hope to make use of. Elizabeth figured this was the only way most of these people knew how to be altruistic... or at the very least, not shitty people.

Once most of the guests had cleared out, Dio approached his betrothed. "M'Lady, would you please inform Major Harel that he has the night off?" he asked.

Elizabeth cocked her eyebrow. "Oh, may I ask why?" she replied.

"The two of us are to dine tonight in celebration of our engagement, of course," he said. "We wouldn't want any ordinary soldiers sullying the experience."

"Right," Elizabeth said, dismissively. "I'll go tell him." She had to keep herself from cringing when she turned to leave. The thought of having a one-on-one meal with the man was unsettling to say the least.

You'll have to get used to that, Liz.

"Major," Elizabeth called out to him when she found him standing by Commander Saburo. "You can take the night off. Dio and I are having supper together."

Tsubaki looked surprised. "Oh," she said, "I was not informed of this. Who's on security detail?"

Elizabeth shrugged.

***********************************************************************************************************************************************************

Sprout had been standing at the front of the bridge, staring out at the landscape that stretched way beyond where the Maiden rested. All he could see now was the cloud of ash that Lilith had left in her wake.

"It's Florian," Bennie said as he came up from behind the boy. "She's going to Frostfall to find him."

Sprout continued to stare out the window. "You knew about this?" he asked, clearly upset.

"I didn't authorize it, if that's what you're asking."

"But you didn' try ta' stop 'er," Sprout shot back.

Bennie was silent for a short time. "No," he said. "I didn't."

Turning to face Bennie, Sprout scowled. "Why?!" he shouted, tears in his eyes. "Why did you let 'er go?!"

"She's her own woman, Axel," he told him. "She's doing what she thinks is right."

"Ma' told us," Sprout muttered. "M-Ma' told us we were never s'posed ta' be apart ever again! W-w-we both agreed to it! W-why did she leave, Bennie?! Why the fuck did you let 'er go?!" He bit his lip in an attempt to fight back the tears. "Fuck it, I'm goin' after her!" He said as he began storming off.

"Absolutely not," Bennie said in a stern tone. "You're staying right here. The Maidens need you." He put his hand on the boy's shoulder. "I need you."

His head hung low, Sprout pushed Bennie's hand off his shoulder before looking him in the eye. "Where were you when I needed you most?!"

Bennie was visibly shaken by that. "Axel, I...."

"Forget it," Sprout muttered. Without another word, the boy marched off the bridge.

The big man stood their helplessly as he left. He couldn't help but feel he deserved this. It was only fitting that the children he'd abandoned would do so in kind.

Turning back towards the window, Bennie stood there silence, staring out into the empty ashlands until Lilith's trail had disappeared over the horizon.

Back in Sprout's room, the boy had thrown himself onto his bed and began bawling into a pillow. Both his mother and his surrogate sister were out fighting alone and there wasn't a damn thing he could do to help them. The sense of powerlessness that he'd fought so hard to overcome had returned with a vengeance.

It was suffocating.