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

[ProtoChimp]

"I ain't blue, man. Don't know what you're on about."

"Eh, its fine most people don't." Aesop grinned stupidly.

"Also, lets keep the bruising to a minimum, okay? We don't want to be running on half-a-tank tomorrow. I don't know about you, but I'd be surprised if things don't go south with Wilks-Vine. Payton's one mean mother fucker."

"Believe me," Aesop's mood and tone, in fact every single thing about him was suddenly different in a split second, "he's not as mean as the mother fucker we're gonna need to kill." His voice become more agressive on that last word as his cheek twitched.

He followed Bennie into the huge gym area. Aesop faced away from him as he removed a few layers of clothing. "It's been awhile since I've had an actually sparring partner. My only real practice usually happens in the field these days, you know. Such is the fate of independent contractors, I guess."
Aesop had finished off taking off his pinstriped waistcoat, his socks and scrappy leather shoes. One thing that Aesop enjoyed was to dress in a, one could say flamboyant fashion. Wear something fancy and something scrappy, he liked to tell himself. Often in fights with other bandits they'd call him a fag when he came up close to them. They were the ones he shot first.

"You got any cool stories from your contract da-" He cut himself off as he turned around and looked at Bennie. For some reason with him in just an undershirt reminded him of just how big Bennie really was. "Oh man," he sighed, "I'm gonna get fucked up aren't I?" He chuckled nervously. "We said no bruising right?" He smirked.
====================================
Hannibal listened to Viola as they walked. "T-that sounds like a n-n-nice place, s-safe?" he asked.

 

[The Funslinger]

"I don' wanna lose you."

"Well," replied Ruffles, "I'm still here. Thing is, Pix, I got my family to think about. All my cousins, brothers, sisters and shit, so I'm always helping out anyway I can. But you guys are just as much family to me as they are. Even if you are some white-ass mother fuckers. So yeah, I honestly don't know if I'll take whatever out comes. Either way, I'm helping out however I can."

Ruffles looked upwards, absent mindedly picking at the upholstery. "You know, it's funny. Ever since all this shit started going down, I keep getting people, Cranston, Bennie, whatever, looking at me like they're seeing me for the first time. It's weird."

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

"This is a disguise, O'Lafferty, nothing more."

"Oh," said Bryan, his grin widening as he turned as she stepped past him. "So it's not you that's drop dead gorgeous, just the persona you've somehow adopted?"

 

[Daystar Clarion]

The three woman made their way across town, digging deeper into the center of the city. No more than a mile from Basilio Tower now, Elizabeth had found the perfect place for them to start their shopping spree. Stepping ahead of her two impromptu companions, Elizabeth waved her hands out dramatically, gesturing towards the entrance, "This is 'La Chaussure de Ciel'! I have heard so much about this place!" She exclaimed, quivering in anticipation.

Lilith's eyes shimmered as she took in the pristine building, "La Trouser de Seal..." She whispered the words like one would whisper the words of a lover. "My body is ready."

"Enough gawking!" Maria said, taking up the role of the shopping squad commander, "Are we here to window-shop or are we here to shop?"

Spoiler: OH YEEEEEEAH!

"You're right, Ms. Maria! Let us go!" Leading the charge, Elizabeth lept into the store. After taking a few steps inside, she stopped dead in her tracks, a look of awe painted on her face. "So... beautiful...."

Lilith held her hands to her mouth with barely contained excitement. "Oh my god, this is like-BLOODY HELL LOOK AT THOSE SHOES!" She squeaked as she hurried over to a neatly arranged display of shiny footwear.

Maria tried to contain her excitement, for the sake of the group at least. She calmly wandered over to the boots section and found a nice leather pair. She timidly stroked it. "I wonder if they have my size..." Maria muttered.

Not able to contain her excitement any longer, Elizabeth flew across the store to a display of elegant, white high heels. She sported a huge grin as she picked one up off the display to get a closer look, "Stunning. Just, simply... stunning."

"Hey!" Elizabeth's grin lingered for a moment before she realized the shoe had been snatched out of her hand. "What do you think you're doing? Get your dirty mits off the merchandise!"

"Huh?" Elizabeth looked at the store employee, utterly bewildered. "What did I do wrong, ma'am?"

"This isn't a playground little girl! If you don't have the carbon, then move on!" She gestured towards some of the other customers in the store. They did not looked pleased. "This establishment is not for the common rabble!"



Maria quickly stopped stroking the fine leather boot and immediately turned to the source of all of the shouting. Don't have the carbon? They had a damned nerve! She strolled over to the bitchy member of staff next to Elizabeth, folded her arms and said, "We have the carbon, so you move along! I'd never thought that such an establishment such as this would have such bad customer service." She narrowed her eyes and gave the member of staff a dirty look, "Well, do you want our carbon or not?"

Picking up a pair on round tipped flats, made from shiny black leather, each adorned with a big pink bow, Lilith pawed at them gently, amazed by the craftsmanship.

"Hello there, my beauties, fancy meeting you here." She giggled quietly, before holding a finger to her mouth. "Shhh, shhh, it's okay, I think you're very pretty indeed, don't worry. What's that?" Lilith held the shoes up to her ear, "You... You want me inside you? Are you sure?" She paused for a moment, nodding her head solemnly as the shoes made their desires known.

"Very well, my pretties." Kicking off her own crappy boots, she gently placed the shoes on the polished floor, slipping her feet into the flats, she sighed contently. "Oh, you like that do you?" She snickered. "It feels so good."

The woman glared at Maria, "Is that so? Then why don't you---" Her words died in her throat when she saw the look on Lilith's face. And then she heard a... moan? Flustered, she threw her arms about. "I NEED YOU PEOPLE OUT OF MY STORE! AT ONCE!"

Seeing the fire in Maria's eyes, Elizabeth placed her hands gently on her shoulders, "Ms. Maria, perhaps we should find another store..."

"Hold up." She said to the member of staff and turned to Elizabeth, she struck a dramatic pose and pointed at the pair of leather boots she was stroking earlier, "See those boots. I want, no, I need those boots."

With a spin, she turned to face the rather angry woman, "Sure, kick us out why don't ya? As I said before, great customer service. But before you do, I must purchase those boots. Y'know the dark brown leather ones I was pointing to a sec ago." She leaned in close to the female member of staff with an evil grin, "That too much for ya?"

'Way to go, Lilith.' She thought.




"YOU THERE! STORE WENCH! I DESIRE THESE SHOES!" Lilith demanded loudly, one hand on her hips, ther other pointing at the nearest angry looking clerk. A girlish giggle escaped her lips. "They make me feel pretty."

Watching these brave women stand up to the oppressive staff invigorated Elizabeth. Balling her hands into fists, she threw them in the air, above her head, "YES!" She shouted. "YES! I too, would like to purchase some shoes! I want, uh," She glanced around at the display. "Uh, give me a second! I, I, uh, need to find it in my size..."

Several customers began heading towards the store's exit, causing the angered associate to chase them down and rally them back into the store, "No, wait!"

"Hmph." Maria sighed. No wonder the other customers were going away, this store had such shitty customer service after all. The doctor gathered up her dignity, gently grabbed her (now) favourite pair of boots, quickly tried them on (a decent fit) and walked up to the cashier. Before the cashier even began to press any buttons, she waved her hand. "Can you just wait for my friends? Sorry, they might be a while."

"HOLY SHIT!" Lilith cried, as she shuffled her feet squeekily across the pristine floor. "It's... perfect." She whispered in awe as she stroked a particularly pretty summer dress, cheery blossom pink in colour.

"I want-NO, I need this dress." She muttered as she clumsily removed the dress from the rack of clothing, knocking several other items to the ground in the process.

"I NEED TO TRY THIS ON!" She hollered as she squeeked across the floor, in a near panic as a changing room location wasn't readily apparent. "HALP!"




Elizabeth, her toes squished into the itty-bitty high heels, shuffled over to Lilith, clutching her cheeks in embarrassment when she saw the bandit make a mess of the store, "Oh my!" Bending over to pick up some of the dresses, one particularly stunning, black, silk dress caught her eye. "Wow." She muttered, holding it at length to get a better view.

Glancing around the store, ignoring some of the probing eyes, Elizabeth spotted a dressing room, "There!" She explained, pointing towards it.

"MINE!" Lilith moved quickly, shoving Elizabeth aside as she shuffled across the store.

"Hey!" She muttered, stumbling in her heels and catching herself against a shelf. Watching her scurry away with such blatant disregard for others sent Elizabeth's soul aflame. "Get back here, you... you, JERK!" She scrambled after to Lilith, grabbing hold of her shoulder just as she was crossing through the threshold. "AHHH!" She squealed as she lost her balance, sending the two women tumbling head-over-heels into the confined space.


Maria let out a giggle as she watched the chaos ensue. Yeah... Maybe she would skip on the dresses for now. Elizabeth and Lilith were already pretty preoccupied with trying on their dress.



Lilith rubbed the back of her head, groaning slightly, before her eyes opened wide. "So, er, having fun down there?" Lilith laughed nervously, Elizabeth's face burrowed in her chest.

"Mmwah?" Elizabeth muttered as she regained her composure. Lifting her head up, she stared at Lilith in confusion. "I... wha---OH MY!" She squeaked, instinctively throwing her hands forward as to push herself off of Lilith. Instead, she'd only managed to make the situation even more awkward when her hands found their way to the bandit's breasts. "GAH! SORRY!"

Scrambling to her feet, she held a hand out to help Lilith up, "Let's just forget that ever happen. Please." Her cheeks were glowing bright red.



Grabbing the girl's hand, Lilith smiled sly. "I dunno, getting touched up by a younger woman? Seems right somehow." She joked, placing a hand on her hip.

Elizabeth just frowned, clearly not appreciating the humor, "You can go first." She whimpered, dragging her feet out of the dressing room with a metaphorical rain cloud over her head.

Lilith chuckled, closing the curtain of the dressing room. "I'm getting undressed now young lady, please, try to keep your prying hands to yourself!" She said loudly.

After visiting a slew of other stores all across town, Elizabeth could barely carry all of the bags she'd accumulated. It appeared the other girl's were dealing with a similar problem. She was happy with her purchases though, and had promised to reimburse the bandit when she had access to her family's money once more. For a woman who looked as if she'd crawled out of a cardboard box, Lilith sure did have a lot of money.

Where did she get that much carbon, anyway?

Elizabeth looked to the two women with a cheery smile, "I hope everyone is happy with their 'loot'." She mused.


"Si!" Maria laughed, "Now I feel like a doctor for all occasions."


"I can finally look like a girl!" Lilith squeaked. "Eat shit Pixie!" She laughed. Pixie never let her dress nice.

Looking at her newly purchased watch, Elizabeth grunted, "It's getting late. And, well, I'm---" Her voice was suddenly drowned out by a long, deep growl. Her eyes nearly bulged out of her head, she was so shocked and embarrassed. "Uh, yeah... food..."

"Christ, we still have those tomatoes, don't we?" The doctor said, thinking of poor, poor Sprout.

Lilith narrowed her eyes, a sly smirk curled her mouth. "I'm gonna get a big juicy steak, and I'm going to eat it in front of the boy."

"The boy?" Elizabeth furrowed her brow. "Wait, you mean the Captain's son?"

"Aye" Lilith nodded, her expression hardening slightly. "He got shot a few days ago, which means no steak for him." She smiled sadly. "He's okay now though, he just needs to rest up."

Shot!?

"Wh-what happened?" Elizabeth muttered, realizing then that she'd been clutching her own bullet wound. "Are you in danger?"

Lilith gave the girl an unimpressed look. "We're bandits, what do ya think? The bounty on my head is huge" She thought for a second before chuckling nervously. "I probably shouldn't be outside, huh?"

Maria stretched, or at least tried to, "Yeah... I think it's time we dumped these things somewhere. Tigerman's stomach is growling and my arms are absolutely aching."

"Fucking Tigerman." Lilith laughed. "What the bloody hell?" She sighed, nudging the girl with her shoulder.

The teasing helped pull Elizabeth away from her anxiety. Closing her eyes and looking towards the sky, Elizabeth scoffed, "Well, I thought it was a regal name. I know you wouldn't understand that sort of thing!" The corners of her lips curled into a stupid smirk.



"***** please, Valentine is classy as fuck." Lilith scoffed, raising her nose snobbishly.


"Tigerman sounds like you have a family history of ‎bestiality, and where?d you get Valentine? A card?? Maria joined in as well, ?What's wrong with Machado, huh? Nothing.? She leaned forward towards the two women and then turned away with a pout, ? Are you saying that those sorta surnames can't be regal? Discrimination!"

The debate continued until they reached the apartment.

 

[Terratina.]

"Get back to the barracks and put on civilian cloths. We have some reconnaissance to do."

"Yes, Commander." Jun replied, as always, and went on his way. Why weren't they told in the first place? That way less time would have been wasted, but the Commander had seemed out of sorts. It was probably just that.

*A Few Minutes Later*​

The sniper rifle lay in pieces inside an inconspicuous case, covered up with a false bottom. He then threw any old junk on top of that. Mainly newspapers. He was behind already but it was best to go through the ol' motions regardless. A soldier should never be left armed, after all. He was onto other things now, however, he never liked being late.

Jun finished the ironing and went about dressing himself with what he had chosen, hopefully it looked alright. A grey polo shirt, a dark brown cotton jacket, some white trousers and black shoes. It was just another type of uniform anyway, albeit one Jun wasn't particularly used to. Finished, he dusted himself over and decided to peek out of the window and saw a curious sight. Wait...

'Yeuh-do -- ?'

No, that was impossible. A quick walk to the gate and a closer look dispelled that immediately. How many flashbacks to old battles was he going to have today? One flashback to that particular battle was more than enough. Nevertheless, the image of that face still hovered, still persisted. Part of Jun wanted to bat it away like a fly, but of course, he would appear crazy if he did that.

"Ready and waiting, Commander." Was all he said to Tsubaki.

 

[Fappy]

The man grunted in satisfaction as he watched the three women disappear into the apartment. He'd been tracking Micky's doctor friend ever since putting the poor man in the ground. He'd have made a move on her sooner if it hadn't been for that crazy firefight that broke out in the markets the other day. After losing track of her in the confusion, it had been nothing short of a miracle to find her again in the market that morning.

What started as a plot to kidnap, torture and murder a poor woman for fun, turned into something far more lucrative.

She'd made some interesting friends since Micky's death.

Slinking away, back into the shadows on a nearby alley, the vile bandit made his way back to their hideout. Now he knew where they were staying. Valuable intel for a man with a chip on his shoulder. Maybe, if he was lucky, they'd save the little Latina ***** for him.

He grinned, wickedly.

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

"I'm gonna get fucked up aren't I? We said no bruising right?"

Bennie chuckled, "If you can avoid it." He hunched over and pointed a fist at the bearded man. "You ready?"

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

"So it's not you that's drop dead gorgeous, just the persona you've somehow adopted?"

Tsubaki remained facing away from him and crossed her arms, "I'd have assumed the lady you wore out last night sated your appetite." She shook her head. "I prefer my men to think with their heads when they're on the job, O'Lafferty. Keep the snark to yourself." She chuckled. "Besides, I don't need you telling me how pretty I am." She muttered under her breath.

Just, please, don't comment on how big my ass looks in this thing.

The dress was rather small around the waste.

"Ready and waiting, Commander."

Tsubaki looked over her shoulder and nodded to Jun, "At least one of you dresses with a sense of class."

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

"You know, it's funny. Ever since all this shit started going down, I keep getting people, Cranston, Bennie, whatever, looking at me like they're seeing me for the first time. It's weird."

Pixie offered him a sad smirk, "I reckon it's 'cause they ain't seen this side'a you before," She frowned. "The killer, I mean."

From the look on his face, she figured he could use another drink. Handing him the flask once more, she continued, "If you stay with us, yer gonna have ta' keep killin'. You know that, right?"

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Pulling back the slide of his pistol, Asad nodded at seeing a round in the chamber. Clicking the safety on, he slid the pistol into a small pocket on the inside of his jacket.

"Okay ladies." He smiled, "And the commander." He bowed his head. Asad couldn't deny that he found the young woman very attractive in this rare occasion of informal attire, still, they had a job to do, and he couldn't afford to have any distractions.

"If O'Lafferty 'flirts' anymore, I think I'm gonna lose breakfast, let's get the fuck out of here." He said with a smirk.

 

[ProtoChimp]

A large squadron of Austin's children were lined up in the hangar getting prepared, all running inside of vehicles and checking over guns. He pulled Franklin aside and boomed, "Everyone!" They all immediately snapped to him. "Franklin is in charge here. All of the responsibility is on him. He shall lead you, and guide you as your brother. He is responsible for your safety and the safety of all those poor young girls down there. You answer to him!"

"Yes father!" they returned to readying up. Austin looked over at Franklin, towering over him. Franklin knew why he was doing this, he wanted to break him down. If anyone died down there the blame and the shame would be on him. Austin could order them to kill him any second but instead he wanted to play this sick game. Franklin's head slowly sunk as he made his way into a crawler, Austin sitting in the back. It was just those two in this one crawler, and as the shoddily repaired hangar doors opened and they set off, it was indeed a very awkward and intimidating ride for Franklin.

Austin on the other hand couldn't be happier. Other than his disappointment and distaste for what Franklin had done, he was full of joy. As the ship opened up, the father of all the world and his children flew across the ashlands in their mighty vessels, carrying them on a noble quest to save poor innocent souls who were forced to sell their bodies for the enjoyment of disgusting pretenders.

Franklin and Austin's crawler led the charge as the convoy approached the brothel. No need to be subtle whatsoever, this was going to be a massacre. The sickly decadence inside was unnoticed by those partaking in the pleasure of the young and desperate. Those who were more busy with business however noticed the oncoming horde. But no matter what guns they possessed, they were no army, they were just Pimps and Madame's who's sick lives were coming to end very soon.


Within a flash the children sped out of their vehicles, Franklin jumping out and leading the charge. Austin merely stayed in the backseat of the crawler, his hands behind his head and his feet up. Franklin knew he had to play the game. It was a game he had been a part of for a while, hell it was a game he believed in, but now his faith was damn near crumbled. He had to keep on though. And he had to do terrible terrible things. 'Focus on the ones who don't wanna be hookers. They might be happy...' He tried to convince himself of any good he'd be doing.

He was the first to kick in the doors of the whore house, firing upon the old sick bastards feeling up young girls. They were easy pickings. Their hands were too busy on young flesh for them to reach for any weapons. The front line of children ran up beside him in the doorway, others smashing in windows and firing on anyone bransishing a weapon. Screams rang out inside as blood and brains gave the bottom floor a wash. Once all pretenders were down. Franklin rushed inside. "Get the girls outside! We move up floor by floor! They don't stand a chance. Brothers and sisters, lets us free our enslaved family!"

"Yes brother!" They yelled as they ran the girls outside, others running with him up the stairs of the building. Franklin hated what he was saying, how could he do this? Kidnap more people for Austin to mould, even if some would be better off than here, this still wasn't right. He pushed his thoughts aside as he lead his family up the building. It was just so easy, and that made him feel worse. Most had just pistols or handguns and so many of them used the girls as human shields. "Sick BASTARDS!" Franklin screamed as he thought with these sick, sick men. These were the people that Austin was right about. These 'people' weren't people at all. No one tis evil could be human. They were sick, they were wrong, they were pret-

'No. Stop it, you're not falling into that trap again.

Thankfully most were idiots and through away their bullets like the carbon they through at these poor girls, allowing Franklin the time to take aim and shoot them in the brain before they could reload. Others were more careful however, and took their time with their bullets. Their shields scared, not wanting to die from either predator that fought over their bodies like trinkets. Still, even with some pretenders taking care with their ammo, they were too frantic looking for an escape, and Franklin was absolutely paranoid not to let any of his brothers or sisters die, often ordering them to take cover as he ran from cover to cover trying to free these new sisters, despite him not being able to protect his family in other parts of the building.

Gore stained the walls as they were nearing the top floor. One thing that gave him comfort was that there were less and less prostitues the higher he got up, most of them running outside for safety. Some willing to go with their saviours, others running from the invadining psychopaths. It didn't matter, none of them got away.

'Top floor. Pretty sure no casualties. Fuck me this is good so far. Don't fuck up, just don't fuck up, just don't fuck-'

BANG

"FFUUUUCCKKK!!!!" Franklin fell to the ground, clutching his thigh as a chunk was ripped out of him. "SHIT SHIT SHIT FUCKING SHIT!!!" He roared in pain. The top floor was full of the biggest baddest bastards in the whole whore house, protecting their pimps with all assortments of shotguns and handguns. Franklin could see one aiming at his head. Oh dear god this was it. He'd never see Isabel or his baby again. This was...

Nothing. He was pulled by his foot into cover as the rest of his brothers and sisters flocked in to kill anyone left. Fraklin stayed there in absolute pain as he grabbed onto his leg.

"THATS IT! WE HAVE THEM!" He heard a voice yell in the distance. Thank god. It was done. It was over, and finally he could... 'No...' He sat there as bodies were being carried by his brothers and sisters out of the top room. 'NO NO NO NO NO I WAS SO CLOSE I WAS SO CLOSE I WAS SO CLOSE!!!!['i] He nearly had a perfect fight, no casualties, no deaths, barely any injuries. And in the last damn room he had lost. He regressed into his own mind. He was fucked. He was dead.
===========================================
"If you can avoid it. You ready?"

Aesop sighed, before giving a confident chuckle. "Can you avoid it?" Aesop bent his back knee, putting one leg forward and holding his hands up in a cat stance. "So which one of us is gonna be the dumb one and approach the other, so the other guy can counter?"

Before Aesop had even finished his sentence, Bennie was already on him. Closing the gap between them in a flash, he dropped low and delivered a savage blow to Aesop's midsection, "What counter?" He grinned.

Aesop coughed as he was punched. "Oh you cheeky *****." Aesop slammed a fist into Bennie's bicep on the arm he punched him with and powerfully slapped his opposite forearm out of the way, ducking out of reach swiftly. "Fast mother fucker for a big boy." Aesop dropped his previous karate stance and held up his hands in a boxing position, prepared for another quick attack. "Alright fuck the fancy bullshit."

Bennie took a few steps back, shaking the pain from his arm, "You know how to take a punch, I'll give you that much." He grinned, gesturing for Aesop to attack. "Show me your moves."

Aesop gave a quick laugh as he ran up to Bennie, swinging a right hook, easily blocked, as was the point, leading up to two quick jabs to the face. He would have gone for more if Bennie wasn't as proficient a fighter.

Bennie grunted as Aesop's knuckle buried itself in the side of his nose. As the second blow connected with his cheek, Bennie threw his hand out and managed to grab Aesop's forearm before he could pull it back. Planting a foot behind him, Bennie used his superior leverage to pull Aesop in, sending him staggering forward.

Aesop's stomach cried out in pain a second time as Bennie dug in deep with his knee. While he was still stunned, Bennie lifted to fists above his head and slammed them down onto Aesop's back, sending him crashing to the floor.

Hopping backwards a few feet, Bennie taunted him, "What's that? You done already?"

Aesop only ever grunted in pain, at least with his mouth. The rest of his body was what showed his pain. He laughed as he lay on the floor before putting his hands above his shoulders and doing a nip up off the ground. He laughed and gave a wink to Bennie. "Do I look done?" He inched a little forward, not running into the same trap as before.

 

[The Funslinger]

"If O'Lafferty 'flirts' anymore, I think I'm gonna lose breakfast, let's get the fuck out of here."

"Well shit," said Bryan, following as they started to move out. "You've rumbled my plan to make ya vomit your guts up, Ass."

"At least one of you dresses with a sense of class."

Bryan opened his mouth to respond, but couldn't, as his laughter drove all the air from him. For what seemed like some time, he was slumped against the wall, clutching his sides and cackling. Eventually, it settled down, and he wiped a very real tear of mirth from his eye. "Ah, good one, Commander."

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

"If you stay with us, yer gonna have ta' keep killin'. You know that, right?"

Ruffles took another mouthful from the flask and grunted. "Yeah, I know. Just don't expect me to look thrilled by it. It's just like dealing with an engine that's going apeshit. Can't be afraid to stick your hand in the machine, even if you might lose something. Can't be afraid to kill someone... even if you might lose something." He took another gulp and passed it back."

 

[Fappy]

"Ah, good one, Commander."

Tsubaki scoffed and continued forward, "Let's not waste anymore time, children."

After a long walk through the city, they eventually found themselves in Midtown, a rather well-off section of the city, chalk full of shops and restaurants. Except for those employed by such establishments, commoners weren't seen here very often. Ever alert, Tsubaki noticed a few prying eyes among the crowd. Thankfully, however, most belonged to men who simply wanted to get a good look at her rear, it seemed.

Eventually they'd arrived at the restaurant, a quaint little coffee shop in the middle of town. Her instructions were to meet this man at one of the outside tables. Scanning the area, she picked up on a few things right away, "This place is smack dab in the heart of Midtown. There are paths leading in all directions from here. Several alleyways within one block, as well." She stroked her chin in thought. "I am to meet him here around dinner time, so this whole area will be filled to the brim with civies. If he's going to try to pull anything, it will be difficult to coordinate." She pointed to the canopy above the dining area. "Snipers will be a no go while we're sitting down. This is... a pretty secure location."

She turned to her men and shrugged, "My gut tells me this one isn't looking for a fight. What do you all think?"

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

"Can't be afraid to kill someone... even if you might lose something."

Pixie nodded solemnly and took back the flask, finishing it off with one last swig, "Sorry I baby you sometimes, Jake. We're the same age, hell," She paused, her lips curling into a faint smile, "Yer practically my brother, fer God's sake. I should be more cognizant of that. It's jus'... it's so easy ta' ferget y'all made oaths. Y'all knew what you were gettin' yerselves into when you signed up. Maybe it's just me gettin' old, but I find it more in' more difficult to stomach that idea."

She sighed, heavily, "I'm slippin', Jake, an' it ain't jus' 'cause shit's gone ta' hell. I don' reckon I'll be able ta' stomach bein' Captain much longer. I've failed y'all too many times, ya' know? Maybe it's time someone else took command."

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

Cranston had been sitting in Sprout's room, looking out the window in silence for some time now. Though he'd been in and out of consciousness, Sprout hadn't spoken a word since he was fed a few hours ago. Would he bring it up to Pixie when they spoke tonight? Cranston certainly hoped not, she was waist deep in shit as it was. The last thing she needed was Sprout...

Just then, the sound of the front door opening echoed from down the hall, "Is Lily back?" Sprout muttered.

Cranston nodded, "Yeah, think so." Getting to his feet, he left through the door to receive her, only to find that she and Maria had with them an unexpected guest. "Holy shit, Lilith? What's going on?"

Elizabeth's laughter subsided when she noticed Cranston's shocked expression, "Uh, what's wrong?" She asked, looking to Lilith.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

"Phew!" Lilith sighed as she placed her shopping bags on the floor.

"Holy shit, Lilith? What's going on?"

Grinning, Lilith placed a hand on her hip, pointing a thumb at Elizabeth. "Look who bumped into the good doctor."

"Uh, what's wrong?"


"Nothin'!" She replied, winking at Elizabeth before turning her attention back to Cranston. "Nothin's wrong right? Is Axel okay?"


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

"My gut tells me this one isn't looking for a fight. What do you all think?"


"Eh, I'll think we'll be fine." Asad muttered. "Hell, your guy is probably more worried that we're gonna try something, probably why he picked this place."

 

[The Funslinger]

"Maybe it's time someone else took command."

"Well if this is your retirement party, I'm really disappointed," replied Ruffles. There was a silence, and then he spoke, without any trace of humour in his voice.

"No."

Another silence. It might have been the fact that after a game of chess, Ruffles tended to see things in terms of moves on a board, because he said, "if you stepped down, we'd be up shit creek. I mean who do you wanna put in your place? Sprout? He's too young, even if he has balls. People look at him and see a fifteen year old kid. And half the crew follows you personally. You go, I bet we have a lot more empty bunks. And what about people gunning for us? With Pixie Monroe outta the picture, they'll reckon we're neutered and come after us for the bragging rights. And without your credibility, some of our contacts'd ditch us. If you left, Pix, you'd be leaving whoever you put in charge, Cranston, Bennie, hell, even Sprout to that fucken mess."

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

"My gut tells me this one isn't looking for a fight. What do you all think?"

"I reckon these civvy clothes won't do shit," Bryan responded. "Even Jun's pencil-jockey getup. I reckon whoever we're dealing with and anyone he has with him'll tag us on sight." He rubbed his hands together with the air of a man preparing to do heavy lifting. "Let's just get it over with."

 

[Terratina.]

"My gut tells me this one isn't looking for a fight. What do you all think?"

Before Jun could think of a response, Bryan had to ruin it. Still, it was sobering and it drove that pesky afterimage away. He turned this mind to the subject at hand: the mission. For all his flaws, Jun couldn't fault Bryan's assessment of the situation. Of course they would stick out like a sore thumb, or at least Jun would. Apart from the all-together too new clothes, he had the stance of a soldier - back straight, arms at the sides and so on. It was in-built, something a few years of relative freedom couldn't erase. Meanwhile, Bryan and Asad had chosen to both wear the same type of jacket. Sure, the area was going to be crammed full of civilians but... all they had to do was spot what didn't belong. Then again, that was assuming that the mystery person was going to actively looking out for Tsubaki's backup. They probably had some backup as well, regardless.

"It all depends whether the person in question is going to be straight-forward about this or not, Commander." Jun responded.

 

[Fappy]

"... With Pixie Monroe outta the picture, they'll reckon we're neutered and come after us for the bragging rights. And without your credibility, some of our contacts'd ditch us. If you left, Pix, you'd be leaving whoever you put in charge, Cranston, Bennie, hell, even Sprout to that fucken mess."

Pixie sat in silence as Ruffles carefully explained to her how outlandish her suggestion had been. She wouldn't be helping anyone if she left, no, she'd just be leaving them to the wolves. He was right, and she knew it, Pixie just wasn't convinced she was strong enough to reach the end of this fight. After a long period of silence between them, Pixie leaned back in her seat and closed her eye, "You know, there's a part'a mean the regrets all this." She laughed. "I know it's too late fer me ta' complain now, but sometimes I wonder how thin's would be different if I never followed Cranston. If I jus' took Sprout an' left Boomhower behind. Would we 'ave survived? I dunno. But, I know I'd at least have a much easier time sleepin' at night if I hadn't spent the last ten years fillin' every grave on the Rock."

Pixie leaned forward and buried her face in her hand, "Now... now, I'm addicted to it. I don' reckon there's any turnin' back." She scoffed. "Listen ta' me, I sound so fuckin' pathetic. Forget I said any of that. I'm supposed to be yer fearless leader, right?" She laughed. "I'm outta booze. Whadda ya' say we correct that?"

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

"Nothin's wrong right? Is Axel okay?"

Cranston hesitated for a moment before responding, "Yeah, Sprout's fine," His brow furrowed. "But listen Lilith, you should have warned me before you brought her here! We don't know who could be on her trail! You could have just led them right to us!"

Elizabeth dropped her bags on the floor and looked between Cranston and Lilith frantically, "I-I, I didn't mean to endanger anyone. I'm sorry, do you need me to leave?" She wasn't sure why she was acting so apologetic to these people. It just came naturally to her for some reason.

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

Tsubaki considered her squad's input and nodded, "I agree, these civilian cloths won't likely do us any good. We still have a few hours." She glanced around the area once more. "Spend a few minutes familiarizing yourselves with the area. Get a good idea for positions. Once we're done here we'll head back and get properly geared up." With that said, Tsubaki stared down the block, scanning the area thoroughly.

As she passed by the storefront, something caught her eye. A young, slim blonde had her back turned, trying on a pair of new, black high heels. They looked stunning. Tsubaki approached the window and almost touched her fingers against the glass before she felt something warm rub up against her ankle. Jumping in surprise, she looked down to see a small, black kitten slinking by. It stopped in front of her and meowed. It was a ratty little thing, "Look at you!" Tsubaki mused, her stone-cold expression melting away almost instantly.

Tsubaki knelt down, and ran a hand along the top of its head, causing it to purr loudly. For a stray, it was surprisingly friendly, "Aren't you just the most adorable little guy." Tsubaki was grinning ear to ear as she began petting it all over.

 

[The Funslinger]

"Whadda ya' say we correct that?"

"Sounds like a plan," Ruffles replied, squeezing Pixie's shoulder and then getting out of the Crawler. "Speaking of booze, did I ever tell you why I started making Valhalla?" He looked back at her as he walked back inside. "See, we were between jobs, low on cash and I needed something to degrease the engines. Tell ya what, it worked like a fucking charm."

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

Seeing Tsubaki with the cat put a smile on Bryan's face. Though he imagined she wouldn't react to well if she saw that he'd seen such a rare moment, so he turned on his heel and pushed off alone into the crowds. A kid speeding through bounced off Bryan's leg and nearly made it out of arm's reach before Bryan had him by the back of the shirt. Taking back the fistful of carbon the kid had liberated from his jacket pocket, Bryan hauled him from the crowd. He was a scrawny little thing, and Bryan didn't notice that the boy's feet were hanging from the ground until they were away from the main press of people.

The kid did look painfully thin. Sighing, Bryan said, "that's no way to be doing it, lad. Picking pockets is all misdirection, ya can't just stuff your hand in someone's jacket or pants or whatever and expect to walk away. Get their mind off their pockets, and you'll be grand. Watch."

Heading back into the crowd, Bryan picked a man with a likely looking bulge on one hip. Having selected his target, Bryan moved in, making sure the kid could still see, and waited. When a tall, skinny man came close enough, Bryan gave him a shove in the back, causing him to thump into Bryan's mark's other side. The fat man whirled on the skinny one and Bryan made his move, his hand dipping in then back out of the man's pocket with practiced efficiency.

Taking the surprisingly hefty bag of carbon back to the kid, he put it in his hand. "See?"

"Thanks, mister! That was fucken awesome!"

Bryan shrugged and headed back into the crowd, looking around to try and get a mind for the layout of where they were, whistling as he walked.

 

[ProtoChimp]

Bennie held his fists up in front of his face, and threw his leg forward, stomping down hard on the ground. As an expert in hand-to-hand, Bennie had trained in a variety of styles, including the millennia-old style of Muay Thai, "Slow and steady wins the race." Bennie mused.

Aesop hopped from what foot to the other as he shook his arms with a smile. "Maybe, but if you can win fast, why not go for it?" Aesop adopted a low stance, his arms and legs wide and low to the ground, holding steady. "We both know far too many fucking FIGHTING STANCES!" He yelled as he ran in to Bennie. His opponent swung a powerful reaching kick to Aesop's side, but Aesop, expecting an interception, used all his might to push Bennie's leg away with both hands before elbowing him square in the sternum. Just before Bennie could retaliate, Aesop wrapped his arms around Bennie's waist, spinning himself around the man and bringing him crashing into the ground. He wasn't dumb enough to lift the man.

With Aesop on-top of him, Bennie shrugged off the stinging sensation wracking his chest and grabbed the sides of Aesop's face. He had to act fast, lest Aesop get him in a grapple, "THIS IS GONNA HURT!" He shouted as he steadied Aesop's head before smashing their foreheads against eachother. His opponent clutching his head in pain, Bennie took the opportunity to push him off and roll away.

Back up on his feet once more, Bennie laughed, "God damn, that was a good one. Callin' it quits or are you gonna try me one last time?"

"Ahh you dirty bastard." Aesop began laughing even harder as he got up. "How about you come at me this time. Hardly seems fair"

Bennie shrugged, "You asked." He wanted to end this fast before either of them seriously injured eachother. Aesop had been unstable as of late, and while his idea was risky, it would certainly end things then and there if it worked. Dropping into the same stance once more, Bennie stared him down, slowing his breathing. Taking a moment to brace himself, he grinned before springing forward.

He made surprisingly little noise as his massive feet fell, one after the other, against the floor. Aesop held his arms in a defensive stance as Bennie closed in, surprise painted on his afce when Bennie lept into the air at the last moment, bringing a knee crashing down on him from above. The massive blow knocked Aesop's arms aside and smashed his collarbone, sending him staggering backwards on top his ass.

Bennie landed in front of him and clapped his hands together, if he let this go any further one of them would get seriously injured. That last blow alone would be hurting for the next week at least. Crouching over Aesop, he held out a hand.

"AHAHAAAAA FUUUUUCK!!!!!!" Aesop yelled as he held his collarbone in pain. He laughed even harder and yelled, "you cheeky mother fucker!" He grabbed his hand and allowed the man to help him up. "Is sparring always supposed to be one guy goes for the other, then the other guy pulls some Kung fu fuckery."

He stood and wheezed out. "Lil' bit rough don'cha think though?" He chuckled again.

Bennie nodded and shook Aesop's shoulder, "Yeah, well, I think both of us had steam to blow off. Don't know about you, but I'm feeling a helluva lot better."

"Oh fuck yeah man. Other than y'know, the tiger knee to the collarbone, I feel great." Aesop stretched his back out before rubbing his sore collarbone again. "I was being all moapy before and-" he paused for what had to be less than a second as he thought to himself that it wasn't a good idea to tell him about his drinking problem. He didn't know why, but he thought he shouldn't. Maybe not a great idea, the Randy issue however? Yep, keep that shit to himself.

He coughed to cover it up before continuing, "and physical violence. Oh yeah, that's the kicker!" He looked jolly as he held his chest. "You okay man? Can't see any marks on ya." He winked.

Bennie cocked an eyebrow and tilted his head to the side as the two of them made their way out of the gym, "I reckon I have bloody-ass snot rocket to fire into the sink, but other than that it ain't so bad. Let's just take it easy for awhile." He laughed.

"A snot rocket? Oh wow that does great things to my self esteem in my abilities. Christ." He patted Bennie on the shoulder. "Hey um," Aesop spoke a little uncomfortable, "I know I made a bit of a shitty first impression, just um," his fingers circled each other as he thought how to continue, "I ain't always... that, y'know? Are we good?"

"Yeah, man. You clearly need to sort some shit out, but as long as you fall in line with when need you to," He looked over Aesop and nodded. "We're good."

Aesop made a clicking noise, along with a wink, pointing his finger and his thumb up.

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

Georgia's exposed cleavage was painted red as she was escorted onto the street outside the brothel, Sandra at her heels, the younger sister's face spattered with blood, gore matted in her hair. It wasn't exactly difficult for them to feign fear at this juncture, though at least they had been forewarned. The fighter who escorted them looked to be in his early twenties, a lever-action shotgun resting against one shoulder, his free hand holding on to Georgia's in what she supposed was at least a little friendlier than being manhandled by the arm, waist or hair, as some kidnappers might have done. Still, the picture of rescue was only skin deep. Less restricting it might have been, but there was still no escaping the fighter's grip.

"Who are you people?" she asked meekly to no-one in particular. "What do you want with us?"

Her tone was neither accusatory nor relieved. She spoke like someone who was afraid, and yet to whom submission came naturally, as it should for a whore. It wouldn't do to act too thankful for the rescue. Not yet at least.

 

[Terratina.]

Cranston's expression and his words immediately brought a stop to the levity. Maria was far too tired for this, a bit of fun or not, shopping was hard work. As soon as the shopping bags were put away, she buried her hands into the deep pockets of the coat, the garrucha pressing up against the left hand. Not that Maria was going to shoot any of the people currently present, that would be silly. Still, it was there, more like old friend - a guarantee of safety - than a killing machine. Nevertheless, even though it probably wasn't her place to question Cranston, she did it anyway. It wasn't Miss Maribel's fault that she had stumbled on Maria or anything. The poor girl and Lilith were getting the brunt of Cranston's shouting. It just wasn't fair, she had joined with the shopping spree as well, she hadn't tried to stop it like a good girl at all. Maria stepped up, "If you're that worried about tails, then you should've had this place on lockdown from the very start, food or no food. At least be consistent with stuff like this."

***​

Jun quickly glanced at Tsubaki and moved on with cold indifference.

'Stop it.'

They were on a mission, even if it hadn't properly started yet. She was the Commander, even if she was just a woman captivated by silly things like a little stray. Still, she could have the sense to stay focused.

The alleyways immediately caught his attention, even if the main streets were filled with civies there was always a chance that someone had planned to move a force in somewhat covertly. He spent some time exploring them and in the end, they just turned out to be narrow and regular, part of a regular grid maze with many entrances and exits and full of drifters and the like. However, Jun had been ordered to familiarize himself with the area and that was exactly what he was doing. Slowly, but surely, he formed a little map inside his head. Still, it was something that he should have done a long time ago.

He had escaped that place to see what was beyond those fortified walls. So much for that. He had barely scratched the surface of Feroxi, after all. Was it all worth it, anyway?

Maybe, or maybe not...

 

[Fappy]

"If you're that worried about tails, then you should've had this place on lockdown from the very start, food or no food. At least be consistent with stuff like this."

Cranston's cruel gaze shot to Maria. It looked like he was about to shout her down as well, but when he spoke it was in a low, quiet tone, "I would if I could," He relaxed his jaw and sighed in frustration. "Look, this city is getting more and more dangerous for us the longer we stay here." His eyes found their way to Lilith. "I'm sorry, I didn't want to worry you while you were pulling your hair out over Sprout, but things aren't looking good out there. Ever since the Maiden was taken down we've been losing eyes all over. I just found out two more of our contacts went to ground this morning. They're afraid. They think Pixie's finished."

His hands on his hips, Cranston looked at his feet, "I'm just one man, Maria," He glanced back up at the doctor. "I can't be everywhere at once. Without our network, we're flying blind out there."

He put his palm on his forehead and closed his eyes, "I should have handled the shopping myself. I'm sorry, I---." Cranston's words drifted away when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

Opening his eyes, a look of surprise shone on his face for a brief moment when he realized who it was, "I'm sorry, Mr. Cranston," Elizabeth whispered. "I don't know what good it may do now, but I can leave if you need me to."

Cranston shook his head, "No, you can stay with us, M'lady. Pixie will be satisfied knowing you're with us," Gesturing towards Sprout's room, he added. "We can set up a place for you to sleep while you're here. For now, join Sprout in his room while I talk to Lilith." He met her gaze. "I imagine she has a few questions."

Looking between the two of them, Elizabeth nodded, "Uh, okay. Th-thank you for letting me stay. I... I wasn't sure where to go."

Cranston frowned, "I won't lie to you, M'lady. There isn't anywhere truly safe for you right now."

With a solemn, understanding nod, Elizabeth brushed by Cranston and entered Sprout's room.

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

Pixie and Bennie entered her room together. Though she'd asked him to come with her, they hadn't shared many words since their initial reunion. Sitting down in front of the radio, Pixie spun the swivel chair and plopped her boots on the edge of the bed, next to where Bennie sat. The two shared a beer in silence, Pixie's eye glued to the clock for a long while. Cranston would be calling any minute now.

Eventually, Pixie pried her eye away from the clock and looked at Bennie. He'd been watching her in silence this whole time, "So, you ready?"

Bennie's apathetic expression morphed into a legitimate grin, "Of course," He took a sip of his beer. "I've been waiting for this moment for a long time."

Pixie nodded, a sad smile on her face, "I'm sorry you had ta' wait this long."

"No, it's okay, I get it. It would have been weird before."

Pixie could do little more than nod and look back towards the clock, despite the fact that she disagreed. Bennie hadn't seen or spoken to Sprout in over four years. Since he was nine-years-old. A lot can change for a child in that time. It must have been heartbreaking for Bennie. She couldn't even imagine the amount of anxiety he was fighting right now.

What Pixie had done... it wasn't fair. It wasn't fair to keep Sprout for herself all this time. Bennie had been with them for seven years. As far as she was concerned, he was just as much his father as she was his mother. Bennie had been a far better parent to him than she ever could. Sprout felt that way as well, whether he'd admit it or not.

"Hey, are you okay, girl?" Bennie asked, placing a hand on her knee.

Pixie hesitated a moment before taking his hand in her own. When she looked at him once more it was with a look of remorse. Covering her mouth with her freehand, her brow furrowed and her voice cracked, "I-I'm so sorry, B-bennie, I-I..."

"You've been apologizing ever since I got here, Pixie," He chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. "It's okay. If I felt comfortable talking to him before I would have. It's not like you were keeping him from me." He placed a hand on his chest. "It was my fault Pixie. I... I was scared, you know?"

Pixie nodded, her eye welling up. She was fighting hard to keep her composure. She didn't want Sprout to sense any lingering sadness in her voice. She didn't need him worrying about her. It was just... every time she looked at Bennie she felt it all come back. All of the dormant emotions she thought she'd forgotten. After a long, deep breath, Pixie nodded, "Thanks, Bennie."

Bennie didn't respond, he just squeezed her hand one last time before letting go.

They waited the rest of the time in silence.

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

Elizabeth entered the room with trepidation. She and the boy hadn't spoken much at all since the train incident. As soon as their eyes met she felt that same, odd feeling she had on their first meeting. Like she'd met him somewhere before, "H-hi." She muttered.

Sprout looked at her with a cocked eyebrow, "What ar' you doin' here?"

Does no one want me here?!

"Uh, well," She muttered as she took the seat next to Sprout's bed. "I guess you guys are kind of harboring me now." Elizabeth forced a smile.

Sprout could tell she was making an effort and decided to give her a break, "Yer safe with us. I don' reckon anyone's gonna wanna mess with this." He chuckled as he gestured towards the whole of his broken body.

Elizabeth furrowed her brow, "I heard about that," She started, her eyes wandering. "Was it your first time?"

"Gettin' shot? Yeah," He smirked. "I reckon it was karma though." He pointed to her shoulder. "Does it still hurt?"

Clutching her shoulder, she met his gaze once more, "It's sore, but it hasn't been too bad lately."

"S'pose that means we've gotta bond now."

"Beg your pardon?" Elizabeth looked confused.

Sprout shrugged, "I dunno, I figure we've got some kinda weird connection now since, you know, it's my fault ya' got shot in the first place."

Elizabeth tilted her head, "I suppose that's true," She giggled. "You know, you look so familiar."

Sprout didn't answer right away. For some odd reason, his thoughts went to his reoccurring dream. The images of the first woman who held him so close. She was so kind. So warm, "Yeah," He mumbled. "You kinda look familiar too."

A long, awkward silence followed. Eventually, Elizabeth came up with a way to dispel it, "We went shopping, by the way. Your friends bought all kinds of cute outfits."

Sprout grinned from ear-to-ear, "Great," He started as he leaned back and put his hands behind his head. "Don' reckon y'all could put on a show fer me, eh?"

They shared a laugh, despite Elizabeth's nature. Normally she'd scoff at such crude humor, but for some reason it seemed endearing coming from this boy.

Who was he?

 

[Daystar Clarion]

'I fucked up again. Surprise, surprise.'

As the other two women leapt to her defence, she crossed her arms over her chest. Ol' Chromey hadn't given her a telling off this bad in a long time.

"I'm just one man, Maria," He glanced back up at the doctor. "I can't be everywhere at once. Without our network, we're flying blind out there."

Lilith furrowed her brow. Things weren't that bad, surely? She knew losing the Maiden was a huge hit, and with everyone going to ground, communication was going to be difficult. but if anyone could keep that shit together, it was Cranston, he always kept that shit together.

"I imagine she has a few questions."

Did she? 'Hmmm, maybe.'

As Elizabeth left the room, Lilith took a step forward, her face lowered as her eyes locked to Cranston's. "Cranston..." She bit her bottom lip. "Just how alone are we out here?"

 

[Evrant-Knight]

"T-that sounds like a n-n-nice place, s-safe?" Hannibal asked as they moved ever closer to the hotel.

"Hopefully safe enough, the Rangers do their best to keep Caliburn free of being overrun by Bandits, a few small pockets along the frontier, but not enough to be a major threat; more so a occasional annoyance. You know in my childhood, I had kind of dreamed of signing up to become one of them, but something got in the way. That however, is a story for another time." Viola said with a hint of sadness in her voice.

"Looks like we'll be arriving at the Grand Hotel soon. To be honest, I'm expecting something to happen; this doesn't feel like the kind of operation that is going to go down smoothly. But maybe's that is just the years of doing this job talking to me."