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

[Terratina.]

"I want you to have this."

First there was the hug, second came the hand on the shoulder from that old guy, and now there was this. Two bars of pure carbon. Easily the most she'd ever been paid, easily more than she would have charged. Goddamnit, the whole thing about making people pay to be healed wasn't especially moral to begin with, but she needed to take care of herself. A doctor too weak to do anyway wouldn't be good to anyone. Still, this amount was just... exessive. Maria was taken aback by her gratitude, however, that wouldn't stop her from continuing to watch over Axel, or from continuing to make sure that everyone was neat and tidy. Even so, she couldn't help but shed a tear for the ex-bandit. Maybe it was just the mood in the room at the time. Maybe. Maria moved from the injured boy's side to the blond girl. The doctor leant forward slightly, with an awkward smile - one that tried to say, "everything is okay now, don't cry."

"Do you know when that guy is going be back? Could use his help in moving this guy to a safer place." She asked.

***​

Five minutes, that's all he had to wait. With one closed, Jun looked through the sight of his sniper rifle, making quick notes about the conditions. Thank heavens the designers of the optical scope had kept things simple when it came to the reticle: the rangefinder was below the line of short dashes that was the scale of deflection corrections and to the side of the rangefinder was four chevrons - which made up the bullet drop compensator - each for a different range. Just measure the target on the rangefinder and then aim using the appropriate chevron. That simple. Better than any mil-dot reticles out there. Jun breathed in and out calmly, taking in the icy air. He let the coldness run through him. The soldier stood ready, target in sight.

 

[Evrant-Knight]

"Yes, I-I know who they are. I um... nothing nevermind. Will we be helping them then? I mean um, that man if he is a Maiden, he didn't seem so bad. We should probably help them." Hannibal said, his voice sounding more... upbeat? Yes, that was the word. He seemed more upbeat than his usual timid and reserved self.

"Well someone seems a lot more chipper. As for whether or not we will be helping them, I have a feeling we will, but I'm going to hear them out first before making anything permanent. Right now though, there isn't exactly a whole lot we can do, except sit around and wait."

"Anything you want to do to pass the time Hannibal?" Asked Viola as they were in a couple of blocks from their hotel.

 

[Fappy]

"This is Spunk. I am in position, Sexy,"

Tsubaki face-palmed dramatically.

He's no longer allowed to assign codenames. Ever.

"Does Grump have eyes on the target? Over."

Glancing over at Jun, they exchanged nods, "Roger. Target in sight. Over." Taking her thumb off the radio she whispered to him. "You got this."

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

Elizabeth turned her head and watched as Eddie entered the room.

"Time for the yearly physical."

"MERCY!" Elizabeth screamed, holding a hand to her mouth as she spun around and closed her eyes. She'd never blushed so hard in her life. The doctor shook his head and swiftly closed the door behind them. "That... MAN!" Elizabeth scoffed in frustration as she took a seat by the door.

With nothing better to do she began examining the garments she was given. At first glance they looked like commoner cloths, but upon closer inspection she could tell they were expertly knitted. A flowery pattern ran up the lengths of both sleeves on the white blouse. Whose shirt was this?

Just then a well dressed, older gentleman appeared before her. He looked to be a servant of the tower, "Lady Maribel?"

"Y-yes?" She asked, simply.

The man looked sad, "I regret to inform you, but you are not being granted an audience with the Tigereyes."

Elizabeth stood up, her eyes wide and her hands balled into fists, "W-what? Why not?"

"They would not say," The man couldn't look her in the eye. "I am sorry M'lady, but they have instructed me to see you and your companion out."

"They're kicking us out!?" Elizabeth raised her voice.

"I'm sorry for your loss M'lady," He remarked with a bow. "I will return shortly."

Elizabeth stood there, motionless for awhile before sinking back into her chair. Was this it? They'd just... kick her out? After all she'd gone through with their daughter? Clutching the bottom of her blouse, Elizabeth began trembling.


It wasn't fair.

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

"I'm sorry to say that I must depart from your company sirs."

Carlos toasted him again and nodded, "Good night, my friend." Turning to Florian he smiled. "Weird guy, eh?"

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

"My mother died in childbirth."

"I'm sorry," Pixie whispered, her consciousness fading. "Bein' a mother... it's hard. The closest thin' I had to a ma' was the hag at the orphanage, Ol' Nan." She pulled herself in closer, resting her cheek over Amy's heart; their legs intertwined. "She used ta' beat us night n' day. Always said it was fer 'ar benefit. I know it was bullshit, but I dunno. Maybe she really did care 'bout us, you know? She was fucked up, but I reckon she didn' do 'er job fer the shit pay. Maybe she was jus' weak an' didn' know how else ta' deal with the shit life threw at 'er 'sides drinkn' and whippin' kids. If thin's were different... maybe she coulda been a good mother."

Pixie grunted in amusement, "Hell, d-don' mind---" She yawned. "M-mind me. I dunno what I'm ev-ven... s-sayin' anymore..." Moments later she was sound asleep. Her dead eye shut and pressed against Amy's chest.

After everything that had happened today, was it even possible for Pixie to sleep peacefully? Would she be tormented by her fears in her sleep or would she be able to escape into some illusion of happiness... if not for a short time, at least?

 

[The Funslinger]

With the door closed, the doctor turned to glare at Eddie. "This is just an injury checkup, mister... sir. There's no need for any of that."

"Well shit," Eddie replied, grinning. "And here I thought I was getting the full package. Y'know, being a bounty hunter doesn't have the best health plan."

Once his pants were pulled back up and his shirt was off, the doctor circled him, probing the bruises with his fingers.

"No cracked ribs," he pronounced. "Though I'll wager you came close. You're likely to see a little abdominal swelling over the next couple of days, and by the sheer ferocity of the body blows you've sustained, I'd recommend you eat lightly for a few days. Your stomach's likely as bruised as your skin."

"Sure, sure, doc. That all?"

"That's all," replied the doctor, sounding relieved that Eddie would have no cause to linger.

"Great," Eddie said as he buttoned up his shirt and made his way to the door. When he came out into the hallway, he saw Elizabeth, looking distinctly unsettled.

"You okay? What's happened?"

 

[Daystar Clarion]

"Everything is okay now, don't cry."

Lilith smiled weakly, looking up at the woman. "I'm okay, I think I've cried enough for one day." She looked down at the boy, furrowing her brow. "I'm more worried about him." She muttered.

"Do you know when that guy is going be back? Could use his help in moving this guy to a safer place."

"He'll be back soon, he just needed to run out and do something, then'll we'll haul arse outta here." Looking up at the woman, she yawned, rubbing her eye. "So, I imagine we'll be spending some more time together, would probably be good if I knew your name. I'm Lilith, thanks for saving my best friend's life and stuff." She said nonchalantly.


--------------------------------------------------------------------

Asad was sat behind the wall on the roof of the warehouse, out of sight. Fiddling with the RPG for the seventh time that day.

"Spunk. Harvey. In position?"

Asad shook his head, a small smirk on his face as he double checked the sights on the RPG.

"Harvey here, I vote that someone else picks the code names next time, over."

He would wait for Tsubaki's signal, and take out the designated target.

 

[Dogmatic99]

The convoy pulled up with each crawler almost opening their doors in unison. Their arraignment of padded clothing and body armour braced the hired guns againstt he cold as it flooded in. Vasa of course was wearing his usual attire of formal suit and tie though the thermals and kevlar he wore underneath did their best to hold up against the strain. They way was clear for them to enter the meeting room. Every onlooker seemed to be trying to make up their mind as to stay and rubberneck or to get out as fast as they could.

"Looks like we're the first to arrive." Erik mused as Vasa took his seat.

"Of course we are." Nobles always liked to make people wait and make them feel like idiots. Well no matter, the downgrade in venue would be Vasa's own little petty stab back at them for this. Lett hem savor what little pride they had left. It wouldn't last for long.

***​

"It's a shame you're lord hates fun!" He joked. "I'd love to share a drink with you as well."

"Hmm." Florian grunted in reply, still moody over his loss and the whole near death by exposure thing. He helped himself to more water. It still felt like sandpaper was lodged in his throat. The man called Carlos - Or Carlos as I should start calling him. and The Gentleman went on about the job they'd been on. By the sounds of it it had been a success.

It all went straight through him though, Florian's mind was elsewhere. Of course it shouldn't have been, he should have been thinking about what to do next and getting all the information he needed. But his thoughts kept wandering back to the others and their mission, not to mention Elizabeth and Josephine. He could only hope now that the hunter had been a man of his word.

Wasn't religion supposed to make you okay about feeling powerless? But now all they could do was wait and patience had never been one of Florian's virtues.

"Weird guy, eh?"

"One of the weirder ones." Florian raised his glass.

 

[ProtoChimp]

Finally, the whole group was reunited, and Aesop's knife hand twitched as he wanted to cut out Randy's brain and crush it. But that would be stupid. He'd make him suffer later

Aesop, the bearded wonder, who was considerably more friendly last I saw him."

"Who says I can't be friendly Jake? C'mon, what happened to "Aesop and Ruffles in the mooorrrrrnnniiiiinnnnnggggggg?" Aesop cleared his throat and stood up straight. He made a funny chirping sound as he tucked his new gun into the front of his pants, the knife still in his hand though. "How do you do Mr Carmine, heard a ton abou'cha." Aesop winked and clicked his mouth. "And you, Vergil? Saved my ass, couldn't have killed Mr Santiago withou'chu!"
============================================================
Viola had noticed Hannibal's interest when he was talking about the maidens, though thankfully she didn't ask why though as he blushed in embarrassment.

"Anything you want to do to pass the time Hannibal?"

"Um... I dunno..." He thought for a few moments. "I used to just play with marbels when I was bored but I left my bad at the um... yeah," he said referring to the explosion the other day. "How about you?"

 

[Terratina.]

"You got this."

Jun whispered back, "Yes Commander." Then resumed his surveillance of the area. No doubt it would be a full house tonight, with all of the crawlers coming in, not to the mention that the place was crawling with security. And there was the countdown, ever ticking downwards. 'Breathe in, hold, breathe out.' Regardless of their position, Jun was still conscious of the stream of hot air escaping their noses. It was a little thing, really - like a sprinter checking his Velcro trainers seconds before the race started. Then again, he had reason to be nervous. Here was Jun - the junior member of the squad - next to the Commander, deep in enemy territory. Nevertheless, the cold killed that feeling, killed those thoughts and left a cold killer to the distant hums of the crawler engines.

***​

"...So, I imagine we'll be spending some more time together, would probably be good if I knew your name. I'm Lilith, thanks for saving my best friend's life and stuff."

Maria chose to cut back on the snark when addressing the somewhat recovered Lilth,"I guess calling me Doc would get grating over a while; I'm not one for titles. It's Maria, and I suppose so, since looking after people is what I do."

Man, with that about of carbon, the girl could order anyone she liked to follow her around - just how did they get their hands on such a stash, anyway? Still, it was best not to look a gift horse in the mouth. Hell, Maria somewhat suspected that the moped had been shoved onto her out of desperation. In both cases, any refusal would have led to some very awkward moments. Regardless, things were beginning to calm down. She could relax a bit, or not, depending on whether Feroxi had another shootout scheduled for today. The boy was stable, but Maria kept him in her field of vision. Only when the kid was up and running could it be said to be truly over. Only then...

 

[ProtoChimp]

Austin sat back, listening to his own personal collection of Sinatra's works, along with those graciously left behind by the maiden who previously lived here. His enjoyment was cut short however as Oliver knocked on the door.

"Come in." Spoke Austin over the music. "Ah my boy. Any news on those engineers or Isabel?"

Oliver looked upset as he spoke. "No word on either. She is still in labour and the engineers won't talk. Um... should we actually have him be raped father? I mean-"

"For all those who are not my children, all sins are exempt. You know this." Austin said sternly. "Oliver? Why are you asking this?" Austin spoke intimidatingly.

"No-No I do know, I just um, I worry about the effect it might have on my brothers... doing such a thing with a pretender."

Austin sighed. "You are right. I was just trying to intimidate them... I wasn't thinking clearly." He thought for a moment. "Start cutting pieces off of him, I imagine by this point his body is already broken so he is useless to us. We need to break the others. Just have fun with it, do what you will."

"Thank you father but, I, I'm here for another reason." Oliver spoke looking pale.

"What is it my son?" Austin stood up to meet the younger man.

"What should we do about the bodies? We've..." he sniffed as he fought the urge to shed a tear. "We've moved them all into the hanger, should w-"

"Bury them." Austin interrupted him plainly. "Bury them now, outside in the ash. Where they died. We must honour my sons and daughters."

"Yes father," Oliver croaked. "Um, what about your hand? You always play music during funera-"

"You will play my guitar." Oliver looked up at Austin, his eyes wide. "Don't be scared my son," said Austin, "you know how to play. I have taught you. Go in the RV, there were a few spares. Tune them, and sing as I give a eulogy. You can do this my son. I know you can."

"Thank... thank..." Oliver's face scrunched up before he ran to his father, giving him a tight embrace. With his good hand, Austin stroked the back of the boy's head as he began to sob into his father's chest. "Why is this happening father! What the hell is going on!"

"Sshh my boy, ssshh, let it all out." Austin hugged him tight with his massive arms, avoiding using his broken hand.

"They were so young... and they were my brothers and sisters, my family!" He balled his eyes out.

"I'm here for you my son I'm here for you. Ssshhh sshh, everything is going to be alright. I promise you."
====================================================
"Mom? Mom."

"Wha what?" Alex had fallen asleep on the couch. "Jesus what time is it?"

"You slept on the couch all night mom. I heard you come in late." Her son spoke.

Alex sat up on the couch and twisted her neck before her head shot up. "Hang on I got in really late, how did you hear me get in?"

"Um..." the boy said nervously. "I... was..." His mother looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "I was, oh yeah!" The boy snapped his fingers. "I thought you were a burglar!"

With a deadpan face she replied. "If I was a burglar what would you have done?"

"Gone downstairs and..." the boy sighed, realising he had lost, "pulled a gun on you."

"Yes, wait why didn't you do that anyway?" She questioned.

"Well you've been getting in late the past few nights, and and I did check to see it was you." Alex sighed as she heard her boy, sad that she was getting in so late so many times. "Plus who'd have the balls to burgle the sheriff?" The boy chuckled.

Alex gave him a swift clap round the ears and shouted, "Don't you ever, EVER underestimate what people might do Austin! Ever!"

"S-Sorry mom." The boy said, it didn't hurt but the message was there. "I just-"

"Austin you can never, ever underestimate the psychos out there." Her tone was the same authoritative, stern voice, but she put a soft hand on his shoulder. "You don't realise it, but you've been sheltered baby. The people outside the dome-"

"The bandits?"

"Yes the bandits. We barely hold the line baby. Just barely keep them away." Her brave face was beginning to crack.

"Mom come on, my teachers go on all the time about how 'we're one of the only domes without a bandit family', its kinda embarrassing how proud they are, they keep talking about yo-"

"BUT WE USED TO!" Yelled his mother. Young Austin was taken aback by his mother. "I, I'm sorry to shout baby I just... there used to be a bandit family here. I got everyone together, not just the police but civilians too and we forced them out. Heck I was pregnant with you when I did it."

Her son didn't know how to reply. "Why did you never tell me? Why has no one ever told me? Did you tell them not to tell me?" Alex was silent for a while, her answer clear.

"I just didn't want you to know right away. I wanted you to know the full story... but in time." She sighed and shook her head. "Look I want you to know everything, really you deserve to know but, I want you to have a childhood first baby. And you have one, a good one, I hope. Not a lot of people in the world are lucky like you baby."

Austin was confused by his mother's words. He always knew the rest of the world generally suffered more than Yuteni, the worst they had to deal with was small gangs and a crappy economy, both of which were unfortunately tied to the greedy noble family. "But," continued his mother, "starting tomorrow... I want to start you off on firearm training. You can fight but you wont be able to do much against an adult unless you can shoot. I really should have taught you earlier I just," she had to pause, tears welling up in her eyes, "I wanted to keep you as my baby."

"Mom..." Austin reached forwards and hugged his mother. "I am happy Mom, I am I am," said the boy. Even if he didn't realise it, his life was the best one could hope for on the rock. And the fact that he didn't realise it made his mother incredibly happy. But she was scared about one thing when it came to how she raised him.

She was scared she would be making him weak.

 

[Evrant-Knight]

"I used to just play with marbles when I was bored but I left my bad at the um... yeah." Hannibal said, somewhat stopping at the end of the sentence, he must have been referring to the explosion that happened the other day. "How about you?"

"Well I guess I enjoy the odd game of cards every now and then; games like Poker and Blackjack especially, though it's never for profit, mostly for fun and to enjoy some conversation and a few drinks amongst like minded people. Apart from that, when I find time and something good enough, I do enjoy a bit of reading; failing that, cleaning my guns, make sure they work properly and don't jam on me." Viola then said as they arrived at the hotel they had been staying at.

One Hour Later...

For the past hour Hannibal had been sitting by the window, looking out onto the street, for whatever reason Viola didn't ask. Meanwhile she was at the dressing table, her rifle and her two revolvers disassembled and laid out into their separate pieces across the surface, and in the process of cleaning them.

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

When Meredith had talked herself to sleep, Amy bent forward and lightly kissed her head. Her stories were nothing new to Amy, she had heard countless variations of the same from dozens of her sisters. Still, that did not make her apathetic.

'When all else is taken away, the least fate can grant us is sweet dreams.'

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

"Too much has slipped though the net, I know. We should have been able to prevent all of this..."

"Don't worry about that now." The Gentleman replied over the phone. "What's done is done. We have more pressing moves to make. Besides..." his tone perked up. "Austin has actually done us a favour. We needed Meredith gone to ground, and now we have our wish. While she's busy pursuing a personal vendetta against Austin she won't have time for much else, and the loss of the Maiden forces her to stay in the shadows for now. In the mean time, we have a free shot, and a blank check, on Basilio. No need to make concessions for doing things her way."

"Then what should I relay to our contacts?"

"Tell them that the Domino Protocol is in effect."

There was a pause on the other end of the line, before... "Are you sure?"

"I always am. I will be in Frostfall within the next 48 hours. By then, I want the pieces to be moving."

It was time to make things interesting.

 

[ProtoChimp]

The bodies all in the ground, every single one of his children stood outside (apart from those helping to deliver Isabel's baby, including Franklin), surrounding their graves. The maiden engineers had been brought outside as well, the looks on their faces full of anger. Austin ignored them however, as they were held at gunpoint by many of his children. Austin looked down upon their graves. Some of his children put on brave faces while others broke down in tears. Oliver stood at Austin's side, strumming the guitar all the while.

"When a child dies, it is literally the worst thing that could happen in the entire world. Nothing can match that sadness. We tell ourselves the older they are its not so bad... but that is a lie and we all know it. Whether you are 9, or 29, all of your brothers and sisters, along with I, shall mourn your passing with such grief that we..." Austin blinked away some tears, "we struggle to go on." His children nearly broke down upon his words.

"But... we need to... We must!" Everyone's head flew up to see him. "That... human spirit, that makes you carry on through thick and thin. You all feel it, I know you do. I am more and thus I know. And, my sons and daughters, remember that their sacrifice, despite being so," he had to pause from the pain he felt, "awful... each of them will be remembered as Martyr's on the day their family took the world. I've given this speech so many times, but I'm telling you now with no flair, no theatrics, merely the truth."

The Father's voice was oddly subtle, something he never did before. "This is our first step to our final Victory. We will rule the world with this vessel, that's not gloating that is a fact. This ship has the armoury in order for us to find and save mother from her own hell, the power of the Iron Maiden can save your enslaved brothers and sisters, and together we will unite our distance family into destroying the pretenders once and for all. All I hope is that my words will help you." Austin lay his head down, almost in defeat.

His defeat turned to pride however, as every single child outside took the time to pass Austin, give him a hug and lifting their breather's for a moment to kiss him on the cheek before dropping a handful of ash onto the bodies of their siblings; each saying "I love you father."

Austin smiled as each son and daughter made their way back into the crawler. The only ones left outside were a few kids who had guns to the engineers, the engies themselves, and the father. He turned his head to them and spoke softly, yet boldly. "I gave you breathing masks so you could see this. You're comrades killed these children. My youngest here," he pointed to a few graves, "Andrew, Esther, Solomon... they were six." He took a deep breath inside his mask. "Six. Tell me, what were your memories when you were a six year old? Hmm?" He remained silent for a moment. "Don't remember do you. Maybe some things, but not everything. The nice things and the really bad things. I won't lie, I put them in the line of fire, but I thought the maidens's were good people! Protectors of the weak! Thieves of those who had too much and givers to the poor and needy, and the weak. WELL THEY WERE WEAK!" He ran up to each of them as they were on their knees. "They were but children in the most literal of sense. They were lives, cut short, before they could live lives. They couldn't experience the love of a partner, the awkwardness of your teenage years, the fun of simply being a ten year old. AND YOU STOLE THAT FROM THEM!-"

"STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT!" Yelled one of the engineers, tears streaming down his face and leaving streaks down his mask. "I can't take it anymore I can't I can't..." he sighed and breathed out. "I'll do whatever you want, just please stop it."

Austin grinned wickedly as the other engineers yelled at him, though one was stunned in silence. "I need to be honest, I am surprised. A pretender helping us? I never thought it in you." Austin helped him to his feet. "Come with me, you will supervise our engineers as well as work on the ship yourself. Do we need your cohorts?"

"I... the youngest one yeah, I need him." Said the man, shame written across his face.

"Ah I see," said Austin, shouting back to the children outside. "Kill the pretender, and bring in the child." The engineer who looked young enough to be Austin's child was brought inside the hangar, as the last one was killed, not even put in a grave. Austin kept an arm around the pretender's shoulder, grinning as he walked with him. "I can't believe it, but you did the right thing, saving my child from becoming a pretender." He yelled for the young engie to hear him. "HE WOULD BE DEAD OTHERWISE!" The young engineer swiftly stopped his resisting, realising defeat. Even if his friend had spoken to save his life, he still felt so wrong, helping the enemy... and no doubt, pretending to become a child of Austin. This simply could not get any worse.
===================================
Hannibal sat with his chin on the back of his hands as he looked out into the street. Part of him was looking out for anyone coming to get him, but as well as that he was looking out for the maiden man. Hannibal couldn't admit it, but he was somewhat of a fanboy for the maidens. Depending where you heard and from whom on The Rock, the Maiden's were either saints or scumbags. He had heard the version depicting them as saints-giving money to the poor, stealing from those who had too much, killing bad guys, saving good guys. It was like a dream.

 

[Fappy]

"You okay? What's happened?"

Elizabeth looked up to the man towering above her, "They won't be seeing us." She muttered. Her anger had quickly subsided and was replaced by a silent acceptance. No, it wasn't fair, but that's the way things were. There was nothing to be done about it. All she could do was look ahead. "I---" As soon as she opened her mouth her words were drowned out by a deep, loud growl.

Blushing for the tenth time that day, Elizabeth broke eye contact and got to her feet, "I, uhhhh...."

She was hungry.

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

"One of the weirder ones."

Carlos nodded, "You can say that again." After a cursory glance around the room, his eyes found their way back to Florian. "I think I am going to hit the sack. Pretty fuckin' tired. You get some rest too, okay Father?" He said as he walked out of the room.

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

Bennie more or less ignored Aesop's 'pleasantries'. The maniac was going to get them all killed if he kept mindlessly rambling like that. As they moved down the stairs and into the main hall, Bennie handed Vergil his shotgun, "Don't lose this!" He couldn't very well use it one-handed after all. Drawing his revolver, he led the ragtag group back out through the garage. There was still a crawler inside. "Bingo." Bennie simply stated.

As they began to move towards the crawler, Bennie held up his revolver in a gesture of caution. Quietly, Bennie walked around the backside of the crawler. Before the rest of the group could even tell there was something back there, Bennie fired two shots at the bandito hiding against the door of the driver's seat. Kicking his body over he looked back to the others and nodded, "Get in."

After throwing Randy's unconscious form into the back of the crawler, he plopped down in the driver's seat and turned on his radio, "Hey, Warren was it? Where you at? We'll bring a crawler around the compound to pick you up. Over."

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

A light knock sounded on the door to Viola's hotel room, "It's me." Cranston stated plainly.

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

Spoiler: Bittersweet Sprout

Again. Crying again, just like she had every morning for the past two weeks. Sometimes she could even get out of bed without soaking through the pillow. Then there were mornings like this. Mornings where she'd summon the courage to get up and face the world, only to break down once she got a good look at herself in the mirror. She looked like hell. Her eyes had bags under them and she really wasn't digging the mowhawk look anymore. Having kicked him out, she had to pick up his slack and had nearly worked herself to death doing so.

It was hard. Waking up every morning knowing that a piece of herself was gone and that it would never return. She wasn't the only one suffering, however. Sprout had barely spoken a word to her since Bennie packed his bags. He must have hated her for what she'd done. Hell, everyone must have. Bennie wasn't just her man, he was THE man of the Maiden. All of her boys looked up to him for one reason or another.

Lost in her thoughts, Pixie hadn't noticed Sprout's presence until he spoke, "I miss 'im too, ma'."

Pulling her face out of her hands, she bit down on her lip in an attempt to will away the tears. She hated crying in front of him. She absolutely loathed it. And yet, he'd been the only person she was able to do it in front since... forever. She knew he'd never judge her for it. Her lips quivered before a sad smile broke out across them, "Oh, come 'ere, kid." Holding her arms out, she beckoned him to her.

The two hugged for a brief moment before she walked them to the edge of her bed. Plopping down next to his mom, he leaned on her shoulder and spoke softly, "I always figured y'all would get married 'er somethin'."

Pixie laughed through the remaining tears, "Ya', well life don' always turn out how ya' planned. It's okay though, Axel. I reckon I still got you. My favorite man in the world." She chuckled and through and arm over his shoulder, bringing him in close.

"But don' ya' need someone, ma'? I mean, I know ya' like haven' me 'round when yer feelin' down, but I dunno... I---" Pixie put a finger to his lips, silencing him.

She smiled, "Axel, trust me, yer the only one I'll ever need." Brushing his long bangs aside, she continued. "Families' important, ya', but ya' gotta learn ta' take care'a yerself. There won' always be someone there ta' pick you up when ya' fall. Sometimes ya' gotta get up in yer own."

"What about you? Whenever Bennie was around ya' were always a lot happier." Sprout was a sharp kid.

"Yer ma's stubborn ol' lady," She mused. "I hope ya' understand I ain't a perfect role model 'er nothin'. I fuck up jus' as much as yer average shmuck. Ya' gotta be better'n me Sprout, okay?"

Sprout stared into her eye for a good, long while before responding, "I don' reckon you give yerself enough credit, ma'." He grinned.

Pixie shook her head. This kid was something else, "What're you, like fuckn' twelve 'er some shit? Yer not allowed ta' be so observant yet, ya' lil' punk!" She laughed as she grabbed hold of his sides, tickling him relentlessly.

What would she do without this kid?

Pixie woke in the middle of the night to find herself snuggled even closer to Amy than she'd remembered. She was asleep now. It occurred to her that she'd never seen Amy asleep before. The previous night they'd spent together, Amy had left before Pixie woke up. Propping herself up on one shoulder, she caressed Amy's cheek.

Regardless as to whether or not Amy saw it the same way, Pixie couldn't do this anymore. When she looked back on her life, Pixie didn't want Amy to think of her as one of the people who had welcomed her sickness in open arms. As one of the people who had benefited from the dark path she was walking.

"I'm sorry." Pixie whispered as she kissed Amy on the forehead and laid back down. She shouldn't need her to feel better about herself. She shouldn't need anyone. She was stronger than that, after all. She was fucking Meredith Monroe, the most badass ***** in all the ashlands.

It was time she started acting that way.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

"I guess calling me Doc would get grating over a while; I'm not one for titles. It's Maria, and I suppose so, since looking after people is what I do."

Lilith nodded her head, "Well I'm glad you were around." Returning her attention to the boy, she clenched her jaw for a moment. "God knows what would have happened to him otherwise." She whispered to herself, grasping the boy's hand tighter.

The woman was absolutely exhausted. 'Probably lost more blood than I thought.' Her skin was sickly pale, she ached all over, the throbbing pain in her head wouldn't stop, it was all she could do to keep her eyes open. Leaning forward, she cupped the boy's cheek, smiling weakly. "Just spoke to your mum, kid." She chuckled slightly. "She's totally gonna kick our arses when she sees us." Shifting closer to the boy, she lowered herself onto the slither of free mattress next to the boy. "Don't mind me, I just need to rest my eyes for a second." Her voice wavered as her vision blurred into darkness.

Spoiler: FLASHBACK!

Spoiler: Dreamy tunes!

Lilith scrunched her face into a sulky pout, her arms crossed over her chest. "You let that little pipsqueak stay, why can't I?" She whined, pointing at the scruffy kid hanging onto the captain's leg, wearing a cap several sizes too big.

Pixie laughed and patted Sprout on the head, "Did I jus' hear you, right lil' lady? You calln' out my man?" She and Sprout looked at one another. "Hey, kid, I reckon this brat 'ere's calln' ya' out! Wadda ya' gotta say ta' that?!" Sprout hid his face, one eye still staring at Lilith. Pixie grumbled. "Hey! Don' be a lil' *****, Axel! Show some back bone! Whadda ya' gotta say ta' 'er?!"

"A... a, miss?" He stepped out from behind Pixie. "Yer uhhh, yer real purty."

Pixie slapped her forehead and keeled over laughing, "He's a bona fide lady killer, this one! I reckon I should kick ya' out fer yer own safety. Who knows what this lil' monster's gonna do ta' ya'!" Sprout blushed and hid behind his mother once more.

Caught off guard, Lilith tilted her head, blinking a few times before a small smile crawled across her face. 'Well, I guess he is kinda cute.' Returning her attention to Pixie, her vigour returned. "See, he likes me! Let's ask someone else!" She took a few steps towards Bennie, the huge man had stitched her cheek up, surely he'd agree with the kid. "What about you big guy? You want me around too dontcha?" Lilith asked, so very sure of her own charm. How could he disagree?

Bennie cocked an eyebrow and looked at Pixie. Holding a hand to her mouth, she could barely conceal her stupid grin. Sighing, Bennie's eyes found their way back to Lilith, "You've talked to this chick, right? What makes you think I want MORE crazy ladies around here?!" He smiled. "I tell ya' what, you give my boy Sprout over there a kiss and I may be able to vouch for ya'."

Sprout's face turned bright red, "Wh-what!?"

Pixie nearly pissed herself laughing.

Lilith's cheeks turned red, taken aback by such a request. "Are... Are you serious?" Bennie nodded, a huge grin on his face. "But he's like five years old!" She squeaked, pointing at the boy.

Wiping a tear from her eye, Pixie shook her head, "He's eight, an' what'r you, like twelve? I reckon that's close enough." She placed her hand on Sprout's head and pulled him out from behind her. "Go on! If he's anythin' like his mother he'll be an awesome lover." She giggled. With a small nudge, Pixie sent Sprout stumbling forward. He stopped himself mere inches from Lilith and froze.

"Fifteen, actually!" She corrected the woman. "I don't believe this is happening..." Lilith muttered, her cheeks still burning. She looked down at the kid, poor little guy looked like he was about to piss himself. Looking back up at the captain and Bennie, Lilith held her hands out towards the boy. "Really?! Can't I just shoot someone instead?!" Her voice seemed to get squeakier the more she argued.

Bennie glanced over at Pixie, "I don't remember you complaining this much the first time we kissed, Pixie."

"You kiddin' me!?" Pixie barked, "They had ta' get a fuckn' crowbar ta' pry me off'a ya'! I reckon this lil' girl ain't got no clue 'bout gettin' down'n dirty!"

Bennie sighed, "I'd certainly hope not."

Sprout continued to stare at Lilith; utter terror painted all over his face.

Mouth slightly agape, Lilith raised an eyebrow as the two adults continued to torment her. "But... I..." She looked down at the boy, he was no higher than her shoulders. Furrowing her brow, she stared into his big, terrified, brown eyes. Poor kid, he probably wanted to do this less than she did. He must have been no older than Vergil back home, but that was where the similarities ended.

She looked up at the expectant adults, with their barely contained glee at seeing her squirm. Fine, if this was what it took to become a Maiden, then so be it. Looking back down at the boy, her eyes searched his face before a small smirk curled the corner of her mouth. He really was a cute little thing. Pulling the piece of elastic from her her high tied ponytail, her hair fell to her shoulders as she took the red cap off the small boy's head, putting it on her own, back to front. "Fine, but I get to keep this too." Placing her hands on the boy's shoulders, she put on her best game face. "Pucker up, you little bleeder."

Bennie gave a sharp, sarcastic whistle as Lilith's hair came down. Pixie simply grinned. This was just too good.

Sprout broke out into a cold sweat. He really had to do it, didn't he? If he didn't the other Maidens would never let him live down. He had to man up! It was now or never!

Closing his eyes, he slowly started coming forward. He was trembling so much the hat on Lilith's head was bouncing up and down. Pixie clapped her hands together and hollered, "Yeah, get 'er, Sprout!"

Quickly leaning forward, Lilith gently pecked the boy's lips with her own, and like that it was over. A Look of triumph in her eyes, Lilith pushed the boy away, crossing her arms across her chest. "There, pay up wankers." She demanded, an air of smugness about her.

By the time Sprout had opened his eyes it was already over. Pixie cheered and Bennie laughed. Oddly, he didn't feel all that embarrassed... in fact, he felt kind of good about himself.

"So yer a Maiden now, eh?" Pixie mused, an insidious grin forming on her lips.

Bennie shot her the same expression, "You better start runnin', little girl."

Pixie began her slow approach towards Lilith, "Ya' know, I can' have my Maidens disrespectin' me." As she spoke she removed her belt and stretched it out between two hands. "'Wanker', was it?"

"Wh... what?" Lilith's success evaporated like so many droplets of water in the ashlands, "Wait!" Lilith took a step backwards as the captain began to approach her. "I didn't mean... Oh shit!" In a move of strategic genius that would be remembered for centuries, Lilith quickly grabbed the boy's arm, pulling him towards her as she placed him between her and the captain. "Kid! Do something!"

"Wh-what?! WHY ME?!" Sprout squealed. Try as he might, he did not have the strength to break the wily girl's hold. "Le' go'a me!"

A comically evil laugh escaped Pixie's lips as she cracked the belt against the floor, "YA' BETTER RUN Y'ALL LIL' PIGLETTS! MAMA'S HUUUUNGRY!"

Bennie crouched down and put his hands over his head, "HIT THE DECK, SHE'S ABOUT TO GO ALL FUCKN' NORMANDY ON OUR ASSES!"

"No, no, no, no, no, no!" Lilith turned to run, dragging the small boy behind her, "SUPER RUN AWAY!"

 

[The Funslinger]

"Get in."

Ruffles nodded and vaulted into the passenger's seat. This turned out to be more than his body was currently equipped to handle, however. The grating pain in his torso felt like someone was twisting a shiv inside of him. "AAAHHG!" Slumped against the dashboard, clutching his chest, he said quietly, "yeah... cracked. Definitely cracked... ribs..."

Now the adrenaline rush was wearing off, it hurt to talk. "ffffffuck..."

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

"I, uhhhh...."

Eddie laughed, "yeah, that sounds about right. I got a place we can make before nightfall and wait until morning, seeing as we ain't welcome. There's some food there too. Downside is it's an hour drive if I gun it, so you can hold onto that empty belly for awhile longer, I'm afraid."

 

[ProtoChimp]

"It's me."

Hannibal's head snapped back to the door before looking to Viola. He looked worried but then again he always did. To his credit at least here he looked more interested than worried.
===========================================================
Bennie and Vergil ignored Aesop's greetings. The man smile awkwardly. "Should probably wash my hands first." He giggled. He knew Bennie was uncomfortable with him, but who was he to judge Aesop? He'd done nothing to harm the man. Ruffles was right, give a number? The fuck is that? That's nothing. Though, he still should have killed himself and Silo when he had the chance. He should have saved the man's suffering.

'At least he's dead now, at least he can't feel it anymore. I'm so sorry Silo...'

Then again its not like that was the reason Bennie judged him. It was because he had about 3-4 pints of another man's blood covering his body. 'I don't see how that is a bad thing?'

Aesop stopped in his tracks before giggling seeing Bennie kill the man by their car. "Damn somebody's god good reflexes." He hopped into the back of the crawler. "How you don't Randy?" He said more sinister than earlier. "Oooohhhh the things we're gonna do to you, the wonders you'll see!" His voice suddenly became much angrier. "The pieces of you you're gonna lose!"

"Hey, Warren was it? Where you at? We'll bring a crawler around the compound to pick you up. Over."

"Aw Warren's here! FUCK YEAH!" Aesop pounded the door in excitement. Despite spending a year being uncomfortable around the man, suddenly he felt more comfortable and even happy to be associated with the man.
===========================================================
All throughout the ship there were echo's of Isabel's screams. Her boyfriend at her side as she held his hand in a vice grip. A knock came on the door as someone peeked their head in.

"We got the maidens to work. We should be off the ground in-"

"GET THE FUCK OUTTA HERE!" Yelled Isabel, startling the man causing him to jump out of the room. She cried as she squeezed Franklin's hand. "I can't do this I can't do this baby not here not w-"

Franklin cut her off before her despair of their situation got the best of her words. "Sshh baby, its gonna be alright. We'll have some trouble getting the baby out in the air but you'll be alright. I promise you baby, I promise."

Isabel stared into his eyes, realising what he was doing as she sobbed her eyes out. She had to keep her words in, otherwise she would die as soon as the baby was born. Franklin went to her side and hugged her, she reached her arms over in a way that was comfortable to her and embraced him tightly.

 

[Evrant-Knight]

"It's me." A man's voice said after knocking on the door. Viola stood up from the dressing table and walked over towards the door and looked through the small peephole that was positioned about two third of the way up the door. Looking through it, she could see it was older gentleman from earlier. Pulling the door open, and allowed the gentleman in.

"Glad to see that you managed to find your way here." Viola said as she offered the gentleman a seat that was close to the bed, and she returned to her own.

"Now then, before we attend to business, I would like to ask something first. How fare Sprout and Lilith?"

 

[Fappy]

"Yeah, that sounds about right. I got a place we can make before nightfall and wait until morning, seeing as we ain't welcome. There's some food there too. Downside is it's an hour drive if I gun it, so you can hold onto that empty belly for awhile longer, I'm afraid."

The thought of food at the forefront of her mind now, Elizabeth face lit up. Despite her petite size, Elizabeth liked food... a lot, "An hour? Well, it better be spectacular food then!"

Shortly after, the pair was escorted off the property and got in their crawler. Out on the open ashlands again, Elizabeth was sitting in the passenger seat this time around. Florian had been sitting in this seat earlier. Her mood deteriorated fast as her thoughts wandered to that of his fate. After a long silence, Elizabeth looked over to Eddie, "I hope the priest is okay. He was a good man. Though I was their prisoner, I felt like... I could trust him. Is that stupid?"

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

Cranston nodded to Viola and the boy as he entered and took the seat that was offered.

"Now then, before we attend to business, I would like to ask something first. How fare Sprout and Lilith?"

Cranston leaned forward in the chair, clasping his hands together across his knees, "Sprout's stable. It's a miracle, really. I don't imagine he'll wake for a day or two, however. And Lilith," Cranston paused and grimaced. "Seeing her best friend nearly killed like that... well, she's certainly had better days. Anyway, I told her I wouldn't be gone long, so let's get down to business if you don't mind. Gorgon and what's left of his crew have gone to ground. I have no doubt that he'll lick his wounds and try for Lilith again in force. I'll be staying close to her until the boy is well enough to leave the city, so I need you to do what you do best."

He paused for a moment and glanced at the boy before continuing, "I need you to track down Gorgon and keep me updated on his movements. Where he is, how many men he has, etc. We may have to deal with him before we leave the dome. Do you think you could handle that?"

 

[The Funslinger]

"An hour? Well, it better be spectacular food then!"

Eddie laughed. "I say with enough salt and ketchup, anything can taste good."

They were then all but marched off the estate and back to their Crawler. Still without so much as a glimpse of the Tigereyes. On that score, Eddie was relieved. He hadn't really had a chance to speak with Elizabeth, what with her getting knocked out, but if the rumours were true, wrestling through that archaic dialect would have been an uphill battle anyway.

"I hope the priest is okay. He was a good man. Though I was their prisoner, I felt like... I could trust him. Is that stupid?"

Stockholme syndrome, said a sardonic voice in the back of Eddie's head. But that wouldn't go down well, and he did understand. "Nah," he replied. "Seemed like a decent guy when I met him. He definitely cared what happened to you. And as bandit crews go, the Maidens have a fairly solid reputation."

He thought about offering to send word to her when he had more information about the Preacher's condition, given that he was likely going to be bumping into the Maidens again at some point, but bit it back. The chances of Florian actually being alive were dubious at best.

 

[Fappy]

"Seemed like a decent guy when I met him. He definitely cared what happened to you. And as bandit crews go, the Maidens have a fairly solid reputation."

"Yeah," She muttered as she looked out over the barren wasteland. "I recognized her accent, their Captain's I mean. She's from my home... she's from Boomhower." Her elbow hanging out the window, she subconsciously bit her knuckle. "It doesn't surprise me, honestly. I love my home, but... it can be a cruel place. If I don't marry Lord Basilio it may very well remain that way." She sighed before turning her head back towards Eddie. "Forgive me, I'm still rather shaken from everything that's happened. If you wouldn't mind... tell me about your daughter."