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

[The Funslinger]

"Even with just one eye. Now, come on."

"Yeah, sure thing," replied Ruffles, getting to his feet and taking a stack of toast with him. "If anyone wakes me up before we get there, I'mma taze their asses, by the way."

As they made their way out, Ruffles bent down and filched a small cushion that decorated one of the sofas and took it out to the Crawler. Bounding into the back seat, he stuck his feet out under the seat in front of him, wedged the pillow behind his head and shut his eyes.

 

[The Funslinger]

"You fucking try to steal my money, ya little shit? YOU'RE GONNA FUCKING PAY FOR THAT ONE!" snarled the man, still with his back to Bryan as he assaulted the boy Bryan had taught to pick pockets earlier that day.

Bryan advanced quietly despite being somewhat drunk. When he was close enough to smell the sweat coming off the other man, he reached out and grabbed one of his arms, bringing it up and back, then down in a sharp motion. The man only had time to gasp in surprise before there was a crunch and a pop as his arm was wrenched from its socket to hang limply at his side. He fell to his knees, uttering a scream that was barely human. People blocks away might hear that, but it meant nothing to Bryan.

Spinning the man around, he shoved him so he sprawled on his back. Pausing only to grasp hold of the brass knuckles still hanging from his neck and snap the cord, Bryan dove on the assailant, bringing his fist down again and again and again and again...

After some time, he got to his feet, moving on from the mesh of meat, cartilage and broken teeth and started stamping on the man's chest and gut, much as he had been doing to the boy. The boy was still lying on the ground, clutching his midsection and this topped off Bryan's almost wavering fury.

After a while, he stopped and collapsed against the wall of the alley. His right forearm and boot were soaked in blood, and it was speckled heavily across his face and shirt. The boy had sat up, now and was watching him.

"Can ya stand?" Bryan asked. The boy got to his feet, grunting. But he managed it. "Can ya walk?" Bryan asked. The boy thought and nodded.

"There's some charitable old doc operating out of that old hostel on Teak Street. You know where that is?"

The boy nodded a third time.

"Ya want me to take ya?"

The boy shook his head, and limped away. Sighing, Bryan put a hand on the neck of the man he had beaten down. No pulse. Well shit. He continued to sit there, not really caring. That kid... it seemed like he just had a pair of cracked ribs, but Jesus... reaching into his jacket, Bryan pulled out his flask and took a swig. Pocketed it again, and got up. Then wandered back out of the alley. He felt very tired all of a sudden.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

"Careful, Tsu, don't want to let emotions get in the way of the 'mission'... Striking a subordinate."

Tsubaki was burning up. Her whole body was trembling. She had no idea what to do. How to proceed.

"Returning to the barracks might be aaadviiisaaable, Commander."

"Harel," She started, looking at her feet now. Her voice was weak. "Show Moon back to the barracks, please. He has had too much to drink."

"Moon can find his own damn way back to the barracks." He glanced at the other man. "Sorry bro." Turning his attention back to Tsubaki, he crossed his hands across his chest. "What happens when people refuse to do what you order them to?"

Jun just blamed Bryan and Tsubaki for getting him to drink, of course Asad had nothing to do with it and of course Asad would have nothing to do with a lowlife like Jun. He accepted that and began to wander towards the barracks.

"That was an order, Harel." She muttered. Her struggle to hold it together was painfully obvious.

Asad smiled slightly. "Oh? And what if I decide I don't work for the asshole anymore? What then?" He was pushing it, really pushing it. The real question was how far?

"Do-don't call him an asshole, Harel. Don't do that," She staggered forward clutching Asad's jacket with one hand and holding her knee with the other. Her legs were giving out. "He-he, Lord Ba-basilio is a good man. He's an honorable man. He saved me, Asad."

She grabbed his jacket with her other hand and pulled herself up, looking him in the eyes. Her cheeks were stayed with tears, "Whatever he says... whatever he needs me... us to do. We will do it. Don't you understand that, Asad? It's for the good of the people." She bowed her head. "I 'd do anything he asked."

Asad raised an eyebrow. "Asshole wants us to send a girl to her death. Pretty asshole behaviour to me." Grabbing one the woman's arms, he helped her stay on her feet. "Christ, you're drunk." He chuckled.

Tsubaki looked back up at him through the tears, "Fuck you, Asad! Don't laugh at me!" She began sobbing as she rested her forehead against his chest. "You-you don't understand! You can't understand! You don't know the kind of man he is!" Her voice softened. "He's... gentle. He's so... nice to me."

"So what? He's nice to you? What does that even mean?" Grabbing her by the shoulders, Asad pushed Tsubaki away from his chest. "Seriously? 'He's nice to me!'" He mocked.

Tsubaki stumbled backwards, her rear falling hard against the cobblestone street. Reeling forward, she planted her hands on the ground in front of her. Her head hung low as she continued to whimper through her tears, "You-you don't get it, Asad. He's a good man. He-he-he-he's a GREAT MAN!"

She choked up a bit. Her head and stomach were swimming. She felt like she was about to vomit again, just like earlier this morning, "I-I-I would never let anyone less than that do those... things to me! Don't you get that!? I wouldn't!"

Asad squatted down beside the inebriated woman. "Hmm? Did what?" He queried.

Tsubaki went still, realizing what she had just said. Keeping her eyes glued to the ground, she whimpered, "Fuck you, Asad." Was all she could say.

He grinned. "Well, whatever you get up to when you're off duty is none of my concern." He held out a hand. "Now, are you gonna decorate the sidewalk all night, or do you want me to take you back to your place? Since gravity seems to be kicking your ass right now."

"No," She muttered, meeting his gaze. She leaned back and began wiping the tears from her eyes. "I don't need your help. I don't fucking want it, either." Crawling over to a nearby building, she struggled to her feet against the wall.

"Go back to the barracks. Get some rest," She sighed. "We still have our mission." And with that she started down the street, the opposite direction Jun had left down. Wherever it was she was going, she clearly wanted to go alone.

"Yeah, no, my mom would kick my ass if she knew I let a wasted friend walk home on their own." He paused for a second before smirking. "Jun isn't my friend."

Tsubaki ignored him as she continued down the street; turning in at the first alleyway she came across. Perhaps he'd give up and go home. That was all she wanted right now. To be left alone.

"You're going the wrong way." Asad cooed. "Pretty sure that way leads to inevitable regret and possible stabbings." Putting his hands in his pockets, he began to follow her.

She could hear his footsteps behind her and continued to ignore them. Then, about halfway down the alley, she spilled against the wall, falling to her knees. Her hands planted firmly against the brick, she lurched forward and vomited in the space between her knees.

She felt absolutely horrible.

Sauntering his way over to the vomiting woman, he crossed his arms, leaning his back up against the wall behind her. "Need me to hold your purse, or hair, or fuckin' whatever?" He was enjoying this far more than he should have been.

After heaving a few more times, she began panting heavily. Her whole body was on-fire and she suddenly felt very lightheaded. Despite all that, Asad's words still made it to her, "N-no, please..." She clutched her forehead with one hand. "Just leave me alone... Please..."

"Leave you alone to spew your insides out in the gutter? Have you even met my mother?" He chuckled. "She would literally kick my ass." Sighing, he pushed himself away from the wall, leaning over beside the woman, he looked in her in the eye. "Are you okay?" He asked softly.

She glanced up at him, her head still bowed. She coughed, "Do I look okay to you?!"

"I dunno, wipe that mystery chunk off your bottom lip and nobody would be any the wiser." Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a handkerchief and offered it out to her. "I haven't used it, don't worry."

Tsubaki hesitated a moment before reluctantly accepting it. Wiping her mouth off, she furrowed her brow, "Why are you doing this? After everything you said to me? Don't you hate me?" She rested her forehead against the brick wall and closed her eyes. "I'm just a mindless 'lapdog' to you, aren't I? I thought you were different, Asad. I really did. I'm sure you know... all the things they say about me."

Tears began to well up in her eyes once more, "I pay most of them no mind. If they're too weak to say it to my face there's no point fretting over them. But my superiors," She looked at Asad. "They never let me hear the end of it. They're always pushing me. Prodding me. They call me his 'pet'. Do you know how DEMEANING that is?!"

"Tsu-Tsu, you are a lapdog." His expression hardened. "You would have killed that girl, and thought nothing of it, because Dio the Untouchable told you to." His expression didn't change as he grabbed her chin, lifting her head, "He told you to fuck him didn't he." He wasn't asking. "Surely even you can see it."

Tsubaki's lower lip began to quiver as she searched his eyes frantically, as if she were looking for some kind of way to escape the conversation. As his words sank in, her heart dropped into her stomach and she just felt... defeated. Collapsing into his arms, she began sobbing uncontrollably.

If that wasn't a validation of Asad's claims, nothing was.

"Shhhh." Comforted the woman as she wept into his jacket. His favourite jacket. "It's okay, I only think about thirty percent less of you now, no big deal." He joked as he tried to lighten the mood. Stroking the back of her head, he sighed. "Jesus, woman, what were you thinking?"

Tsubaki shook her head, smearing her tears all over his jacket, "I don't know," She whimpered as beliefs she didn't recognize began to tumble through her mind and out of her mouth. "I-I-I was afraid to say 'no'. I didn't know what he would do, or-or... how he would feel. He's done so much for me. He's given me my life back, an-and a purpose!" Her words got caught behind a knot in her throat. "Wh-what right do I have to refuse him?!"

"Christ..." Asad chuckled. "You have every right to refuse his creepy ass advances." Cupping the side of the woman's face, he wiped away her tears with his thumb. "I ain't sayin' you're stupid for thinking so highly of the creepy bastard, but you're stupid." He furrowed his brow. "Think about it, what kind of man does that to a woman? To anybody? Do you think that makes him deserving of respect? I get it, you think you owe him, but I bet he wasn't helping you because he wanted to help you. Only himself."

Tsubaki withdrew her head halfway through his explanation and stared into his eyes. He was trying to help her. Even though he was saying these terrible things about her lord, he was trying to comfort her. She could tell. Was he not like everyone else? Did he really mean this? Did he really care for her?

Her eyes quivered as they lost themselves in his. She felt funny. And then, oddly, she felt a tugging sensation in her chest. Evidently, her body was several steps ahead of her mind as she threw herself at Asad. Grasping the side of his face with one hand, she pulled herself in for a passionate, clumsy kiss.

The poor man was caught completely offguard, almost tumbling backwards as the woman tackled his face with her face. For a brief few moments, he had no idea how he felt about the entire situation, before settling into the kiss for a few short moments.

Gently peeling himself away from Tsubaki, he chuckled, "Mmmm, booze and vomit." He closed his eyes and gave her a toothy grin.

"My favourite"

Tsubaki's eyes looked as if they'd returned from the back of her head as she and Asad looked at eachother once more. Completely flustered, she put her hand over her mouth, "I am so sorry, I-I-I," She blinked frantically. "That was so inappropriate!"

"Inappropriate..." He trailed off, an eyebrow raised. "That's one word, I suppose." He smirked. Helping the woman to her feet, he peeled the jacket from off his back, draping it over the smaller woman's shoulders. "C'mon, let's get you home, before you do anything else you'll be regretting in the morning." He smiled as he placed his hands in his pocket, holding out a bent arm for her to hold.

Tsubaki struggled at first, but thankfully Asad managed to support enough of her weight for her to walk straight. As they started for the base, Tsubaki blushed and looked at her feet, "Let's not mention this to anyone... ever." She whispered in embarrassment.

"Oh?" Asad smiled. "But I can mention it when it's just the two of us, yeah?" He chuckled. "Because frankly, Tsu-Tsu, I don't think I could live with myself if I didn't bring it up at every opportunity."

"Remind me to fuck you up when I am sober," Tsubaki allowed herself a small laugh. "Thanks."

"By 'fuck up' you mean..." He gave the woman a cheeky grin.

"God dammit. Shut up."

"Just checking."

 

[Terratina.]

Spoiler: All Alone Jun

Jun stumbled to the barracks, all he had to do was look up and walked towards the tall building which towered over Feroxi and avoid any shady-looking alleyways. Why did he even agree to the downing that sake? Why did he even question that? Every suggestion from his superiors was taken as a command and the soldier could be order to do just about anything. Hell, even if it were rat poison, he would have drunk the foul drink. It was a point of pride and one of shame for Jun. Bryan's words still reverberated within his mind - echoing and echoing again and again. At least the Commander seemed to understand the nature of duty, and sacrifice in the name of duty. But one thing was for sure, drinking was overrated. Sure, it took some of the edge off his other constant worries, but - by the end of the night out - he felt like shit. He walked to the barracks to the beat of his own throbbing headache.

Jun made his way into the building at the base of the tower, and then in the military wing of said building. Just something urged him onwards to his bad, he wouldn't just collapse in some dirty street or in the middle of the barracks when the bed was just so close, but so far away. One step after another... Why were his feet so heavy? They had only been walking for about a while or, not enough to cause this. Of course, it must have been the alcohol. Anything that happened in that damn place could be excused or explained by the booze. Never again, he would never again drink, regardless of Tsubaki's suggestions or Bryan's tricks or anything. Jun had said way too much already. Not to mention that his squadmates probably him with even more scorn than before. He reached the bunks and began to change into that dirty old t-shirt and boxers. Such a chore... Nevertheless, he clambered into bed eventually...

Spoiler: Drunken Dreams

Sleep found him, like it always eventually did. But he woke up too early, in a completely white room that bore no resemblance to anywhere in the Ashlands. Ash, dust, even debris, would have ruined the pristine sheen. Jun looked down, he was in his uniform. Though the particular shade of it differed slightly from that which Lord Basilio forced upon his men. Even so, he still had those dirt ridden boots on. Was it okay to spoil the cleanliness of the room? Well, that didn't matter. Simply by standing there, Jun had done so already. Clumps of dirt marked his starting place in the room, marring the area around him. It was a shame, really, someone must've really worked hard to clean the place up.

Something twisted in his back.

Jun winced. However, that didn't stop him from advancing forwards towards the white table and chair that lay in the centre of the room. In fact, it was pretty much the only thing he could do. One step after another, his legs jerked forward. Jun bit his lip, whatever was in his back decided to torment the soldier - twisting and turning and whirring and hurting. Jun tried to turn his head around just to look behind him, just to see how far he had been walking like this. He couldn't. Despite his best efforts, Jun couldn't turn his head even one degree - something rigid and tight was stopping him. Nothing but forward march for this soldier. Regardless, after what seemed like a lifetime, Jun reached his destination.

Was it even his choice?

It wasn't a twist or a turn this time, but a push. His body surrendered and sat down on the chair. On the table was a pack of heavily used crayons, paper and one instruction: DRAW. Jun was puzzled, why should he doodle with crayons? What should he draw? Could he even draw to a satisfactory level? Nevertheless, the thing in his back turned and turned - almost like it was charging up something. Jun's thoughts didn't matter, it was all about carrying out the order. His hands started to grab the crayons and draw pictures faster than his eyes could see. Again and again, until his hands were covered with wax residue, until the table was covered in a mess of blues, yellows, greens, blacks, grays and red...

This wasn't right, was it?

Time seemed to stand still as one drawing unfolded beneath his eyes: a round circle, three dots (was that even correct?), a horizontal line and underneath it, a vertical one. His hand went crazy as it made black scribbles around the circle, but not under it. That done, his hand reached for the pink and brown crayons then coloured two of the small dots and the whole of the circle. Afterwards, Jun reached for the red. The poorly drawn face soon had red lips and red cheeks. His hand now hovered over the third dot. 'No.' In one burst of rage, Jun grabbed the crayon-wielding and tried to stop it. Jun's efforts just resulted in a huge, angry, crimson scribble which engulfed whatever was on the paper before. Not satisfied, Jun tore at his back.

Seeing this, the ruined face on the paper spoke to him, "One count of insubordination. Sentence: death."

Jun collapsed, gears and all.

 

[Fappy]

"I'm gonna need night time gear, and a silenced pistol."

Cranston nodded, "Of course," Gesturing towards his room, he added. "I have all of the equipment we need already, besides appropriate cloths for you. I'll go out and get it in a bit."

"Just try not to die, okay?"

Elizabeth couldn't pry her eyes away from Lilith as she finished her meal. She could see the fear as plain as day on the bandit's face. Once she and Lilith had finished, Elizabeth got up from her seat and collected hers and Lilith's plates to wash off. As she passed by Lilith, she said, "Maybe we should try to take it easy today. Relax. Do something to get your mind off... whatever happens tonight."

"Sounds good," Cranston said as he got up from the table. Let me worry about the planning, okay? In the meantime, try to get some rest." He frowned. "Okay, Lilith?"

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

Quickly polishing off her breakfast, Amy collected together all the dishes and deposited them in the sink, there being no time to do anything else. She gave an apologetic little wave to Carlos as she dashed off to rejoin the others. As they were walking down the tunnel towards where the crawlers were parked, Amy sidled in beside Bennie while affixing her breathing mask.

"Listen." she began furtively. "About what you said regarding the last call you made... Well, Pixie told me what happened, and I just thought you should know that I don't think that what you did was wrong. I'm not sure, but when we spoke I may have made Pixie see the situation a little differently as well."

Amy wasn't certain what effect her words would have on Bennie, whether they'd make him feel better about the situation or worse. She just wanted to bridge the gap between them any way she could. It was all well and good him being 'civil' towards her, not holding the awkwardness of the situation against her; but the wall was still there, and Amy wanted to feel more than just tolerated.

As they all mounted up at the motor pool, Amy followed Pixie to her crawler.

"Mind if I ride shotgun?" she asked, balancing on the skirt step of the crawler, and leaning over the passenger door to where Pixie sat.

 

[The Funslinger]

"About what you said regarding the last call you made... Well, Pixie told me what happened, and I just thought you should know that I don't think that what you did was wrong. I'm not sure, but when we spoke I may have made Pixie see the situation a little differently as well."

Although Ruffles had already dropped off, he stirred in his sleep. "uuugn... white people..." he muttered obliviously.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Terrified.

Terrified but angry. Keeping her gaze aimed downward, she suddenly found herself with no appetite. Of course she was scared, who wouldn't be scared?

'Pixie wouldn't be scared.' The woman recollected a distant memory. 'Pixie is fire. Fire fears nothing.'

Lilith winced as the doctor took hold of her hand, dragging her from her thoughts.

"Just try not to die, okay?"

Lilith looked up at the woman, her gaze wavering for a second before her expression hardened. Squeezing her hand, she smirked. "He'll burn before he buries me." Pulling her hand away, she reluctantly finished off her meal.


"Maybe we should try to take it easy today. Relax. Do something to get your mind off... whatever happens tonight."

Lilith nodded slightly, running a hand through her hair. She was exhausted, and that was exactly what she didn't need to be.

"Okay, Lilith?"

Looking up at Cranston, she smiled weakly. "Yeah. Let me just take the boy his breakfast, then I'll take a shower, get some rest maybe."

Pushing herself from out of her chair, she silently made Axel a bowl of oatmeal, keeping her eyes low, she avoided looking at the others as she left the kitchen.

Slowly walking into Sprout's bedroom, she handed the boy his meal, pulling up a chair, she sat next to him as he looked at his food with disgust.

"I know it's not bacon, so before you start, shut the fuck up." She smiled wearily.

 

[ProtoChimp]

Aesop listened to his Captain's orders and his fellow's chitter chatter, scoffing down his food, though zoning in and out of his mind was the sound of Peter... Austin... muttering horrid things. He tried to ignore it, focus on reality. He was smart enough to know it was just his mind. 'At least I know that I'm going crazy.'

"But can you stop yourself from losing your mind?"

'A-HA! Austin wouldn't speak like that! He'd say super creepy comforting things! You're just my mind FUCKING WITH ME! Well you can go fuck yourself brain. YOU AIN'T GOT SHIT ON ME?'

"Do you realise how ridiculous you sound?"

'FUCK YOU PETER!'

Sillah chugged down the last of his juice before grabbing as many weapons as he could. He found some gun straps which he attached to himself. Glocks on his sides, revolvers strapped to his ankles and a semi-automatic slung across his back.

"You can't trust the Wilkes Vines. You know that right my son?"

'Suck my dick you creepy asshole.'

"Here's a thought, if I am your mind, then you can't trust the Wilkes Vines then can you-"

'SHUT THE FUCK UP!'

"And what was that 'my boy' business. Do you want to be my son?"

'I SAID SHUT THE FUCK UP!'


Aesop checked himself over once more, twice more. 'Three tiiiiimes a lady' He tried to amuse himself with that weird old song. It didn't work. He hand't even heard the whole damn thing. 'Stupid fuck. At this point he realised he was over checking himself and wasting time. Snapping back to reality, he ran up to Pixie's crawler.

"Mind if I ride shotgun?"

Aesop coughed to interupt them, trying to be subtle. He didn't want to be as aggressive as the previous day, but he didn't want to be meek either. "Hate break up you two love birds but um, well I bet someone's told you about my freakout over Austin. Should I ride in your crawler and tell you or save it for later?" He motioned to the other cars. "I can save it for later and ride in another one if you two need to talk?"
==============================
Hannibal spent that whole night sitting in a chair looking out the window. Viola had insisted he stay in the bed, but he refused. He wanted to sleep in the chair. He pretended that he was until he was sure she was asleep. He opened his eyes and stared out the window almost all night long. He wanted to look down at the street below, but he was scared of a bullet flying through. Instead he just stayed there looking up at the dark sky. He wondered if life was always this hard? He was envious of the people out there who had it easy, who could just live life, work hard, and have fun when they wanted.

But did anyone have it easy other than those in the towers? Surely other people lived normal lives. They didn't need to be rich but they could live normally and not be in constant danger right? Right?

He asked himself these questions until he drifted off into sleep. Waking up the next morning Viola was already getting ready. He yawned as he stood up from the chair. "W-Will we talk to the maiden man again?"

 

[Terratina.]

Jun woke up with a start, covered in sweat. He would definitely have to wash that t-shirt now. Nevertheless, he immediately reached up inside the shirt. Was it still there? Well, was it?

No, there was that and the fact that he wasn't in pieces.

There was just flesh, sweaty and slimy, alongside old scars. He slowly shook himself out of bed and walked to the window and peeked through the curtain. Judging by the colour of the sky it was still far too early.

Jun just moved from the window to the bathroom and washed his face.

The cold water reminded him which side of dream and reality he was on. Jun's breathing slowed, hopefully his heart rate would follow. After that, he returned to his bed and just lay there, eyes open.

He really couldn't get back to sleep...

***​

"He'll burn before he buries me."

The squeeze of the had, the smirk... Regardless of those things, Maria still felt a pang of worry. Elizabeth's suggestion of a lazy day was a good one but, in the end, it would just end up as waiting around until the designated time for the raid, watching Cranston and Lilith say their goodbyes and then even more waiting to see if any of them were alive after that. Besides, it wouldn't be a lazy day for her. Maria could already envision the amount of check-ups and what-nots she had to perform on Sprout today, and every day until he was healed or given the all-clear. She stretched and continued to pick at the pile of grease on her pile.

Maria muttered with a sardonic smile, "Maybe we can play some card games or something?"

Of course, when time needed to be wasted, the deck was brought out.

 

[Evrant-Knight]

Viola was worried for Hannibal. Ever since they got back from the hotel, he had been quiet, even more so than usual. When it came to night-time, she insisted, almost pleading at one point that he get some rest. But he flat out refused, resigning himself to the chair by the window, Hannibal blankly staring out into the night sky. Eventually though sleep had taken him, but after Viola had already fallen asleep in bed.

It was early morning when she woke up. Viola hot herself washed, dried and dressed, and was busy pacing about the room tying up her hair when she could hear Hannibal yawn, soon he was stood up from the chair. "W-Will we talk to the maiden man again?"

"I have no idea Hannibal, haven't received a reply yet from Cranston. So at the moment, we've got the day to ourselves."

 

[Fappy]

A heavy weight pressed down on Tsubaki's chest as she woke the next morning. Opening her eyes, it took her a moment to adjust to the light shinning through her kitchen window. Wait, why was she in the kitchen? And on the floor for that matter! Lifting her head up, she noticed the stray kitten curled up in a ball on her chest, fast asleep.

What the hell?

Tsubaki couldn't recall ever getting home or why she didn't fall asleep in her bed. The last thing she could remember was...

No I didn't...

"Shit," She muttered, rising into a sitting position. The cat scooted along the floor as she leaned forward, digging her fingers into her forehead. There was a dull ache in her skull and her back was completely stiff. "You are such an idiot, Tsu."

Baka, Her mind repeated.

Grabbing the edge of the kitchen counter, she pulled herself up to her feet and stretched out. After a full glass of water, she trudged out of the kitchen and into the bathroom. Planting her hands on the sides of the sink, she stared at her reflection in the mirror. There were deep, black bags under her eyes and her cheeks were still a bit pink. With a heavy sigh, she turned on the shower and stripped down.

She spent a majority of the shower with her head turned up to the faucet and her eyes closed. Whether it was because it felt good or because she just couldn't be arsed to do anything else, she wasn't entirely sure. Her thoughts were all jumbled. A mess of raw emotions, vague memories and conflicting logic. Once she realized she wasn't getting anywhere, she got out of the shower. Once she was out, she put on a bathrobe and began brushing her teeth in front of the mirror. Her breath smelled absolutely foul, so she did an thorough job.

With a towel lazily thrown on her head, she sauntered over to the sofa and collapsed in it. Closing her eyes once more, she just laid there for awhile, trying not to think of anything at all. She would have fallen back asleep if it had not been for her new friend. The tiny creature hopped up onto her chest once more and began crying. Tsubaki furrowed her brow, a faint smile spreading across her face, "You're a cute little guy, aren't you?"

"She fucking knows she's a dead woman if Dio gets his hands on her."

Tsubaki sighed as her hand ran along the length of the kitten's spine.

She had to talk to Dio.

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

"I know it's not bacon, so before you start, shut the fuck up."

Sprout didn't so much as glance at his oatmeal. He just sat there, staring at Lilith in silence. Eventually he gritted his teeth and spoke, "Lily," He sighed. "Are you okay?"

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

"Maybe we can play some card games or something?"

Elizabeth looked over her shoulder at Maria as she washed the dishes alongside Cranston, "Oh, that sounds like a wonderful idea!" She was doing her best to act cheerful, given the situation. "Perhaps we can do that after a good shower... or two." She laughed nervously.

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

"About what you said regarding the last call you made... Well, Pixie told me what happened, and I just thought you should know that I don't think that what you did was wrong. I'm not sure, but when we spoke I may have made Pixie see the situation a little differently as well."

Bennie didn't respond to her words.

You would know, right?

As they parted ways, Bennie wore a scowl.

"uuugn... white people..."

"Yeah." He muttered as he got into the driver's seat. Brock road shotgun and Warren was in the back next to Ruffles.

As he looked over the console to make sure everything was in place, his mind had run off to somewhere else entirely. None of this was Amy's fault. He had to keep reminding himself of that. Despite what happens between her and Pixie, if he wanted to stick around, he was going to have to get over it. Eventually, he'd have to let her in. He'd have to be a brother to her, just like he was to all the other Maidens. It was just... difficult.

Had Pixie truly changed her mind? Probably not, but if she did and she was still with Amy... did that mean she truly didn't love him anymore? That surely couldn't be. No. It was impossible. Every time they had spoken, he could see it in her eye. Hear it in her voice. She still loved him. She had to.

After confirming that everything was good-to-go, he turned on the howling, metal beast. His mask and bandanna in place, he barked to Pixie, "We're ready!"

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

Pixie had been checking her gear when Amy came by.

"Mind if I ride shotgun?"

She shot her a smirk before pulling her breathing mask over her face, "'Course not, sweetheart."

Pixie moved some equipment out of the way for Amy to sit down beside her. Just then, Aesop showed up.

"Hate break up you two love birds but um, well I bet someone's told you about my freakout over Austin. Should I ride in your crawler and tell you or save it for later? I can save it for later and ride in another one if you two need to talk?"

Pixie jerked her head in the direction of the backseat, "I don' reckon we got anythin' pressin' ta' discuss. Get in, we could use a bit'a story time."

By the time Parker had settled in next to Aesop in the backseat, Pixie was ready to hit the road.

"We're ready!"

"Roger that, Rocksteady!" Pixie barked in reply, kicking her own crawler into gear. "MOVE OUT, MAIDENS!"

The two crawlers raced up the ramp and flew out into the ashlands, one after the other.

Though they were still without their ship, Pixie felt good in that moment. She felt... complete.

The Iron Maidens were still alive and kicking.

Ship or no.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

"Are you okay?"

Lilith lowered her eyes. "Axel, I..."

'Fire fears nothing.'

Hardening her expression, she locked eyes with the boy. "Me and ol' Chromey are going out tonight." She crossed her arms over her chest. "Nothing to worry about, we're just gonna see if we can take care of our bounty hunter problem." Forcing a smile, she leaned over towards the boy, brushing a strand of hair from his eyes. "Then we can focus on you getting better, yeah?" She chuckled. "Just think of bacon and steak, you'll be fine in no time."

He'd see through her.

He always did, but he never confronted her when he did, that would have to do for now.

 

[ProtoChimp]

Austin's family and the new hostages made it on board the maiden easily enough. "Keep them in the mess hall." He ordered. Easiest place to put them he thought. "Bring Franklin into my office."

Franklin dreaded this. He knew what was to come. He limped out of the crawler before suddenly being swept up by a massive man. His leg hurt like hell and the man was not gentle as they followed Austin into Pixie's office. Before he entered some teenagers ran up to him looking very giddy and shouted, "We got rid of all that pretender Jesus stuff like you said. Smashed it all up and threw it outside."

"Good boys. What about that dreadful music in the engineer's office?"

"Yes sir." They answered.

"Excellent. Help yourselves to some soft drinks and sweets."

"Thanks dad." They grinned as they left. Austin grinned as well as he entered Pixie's former office. His grin dissipated immediately as he sat down and faced Franklin. "That will be all Sebastian."

The ogre of a man left with a nod. "Thank you father."

Austin stared down Franklin as the young man fell into a seat. "Did I say you could sit down?"

Franklin was flabbergasted. He couldn't stand and had barely received any medical attention. He tried to stand but he simply couldn't as he fell back into his seat. He grunted out in pain before screaming as pain shot through his leg. "I ARRR III'm sorry I can't." He beseeched Austin.

"Hmph, failing again I see." Austin spoke coldly, oddly enough like some sort of ruthless businessman. "And how many could you not save during this raid boy?"

Franklin was taken aback, he'd never seen Austin act this subtle in his disappointment. He was always loud and bombastic when he was displeased; screaming and shouting as loud as he could. This was new, and creepy as hell. "Um, 3 or 4 I think."

"3 or 4?" Austin looked puzzled. "How can you not be sure how many of your family members died Franklin?" The child couldn't respond. He looked up to his father at a loss of words. He needed to talk, to answer him, but his brain had nothing. "I mean, don't you love them? Don't you care about them? I know I'm not showing it, but the pain I feel at exactly THREE children dying," he grimaced as he listed them off, "two sons and a daughter, Lyle, Matthew and Daisy," he continued back on his original point, "is ripping my heart to shreds. But I'm not showing it like when the youngest were..." He was visibly disturbed. Instead of dwelling on it he stood up and placed his hands behind his back.

"No Franklin, I must remain strong for my family." He brought his gloved hand forward. "You see this hand?" With all of his might Austin did everything in his power to clench his fist. It barely moved, and his body shook in pain as his face went beat red, yet he refused to make any sounds of pain. "None of them may know how much this truly hurts. For I am their father. And father is strong for his children. If they thought, even for a moment, that I wasn't. It would cause chaos."

Franklin could barely watch as Austin caused himself such tremendous pain with his useless hand. "Why are you telling me all this?" He asked tentatively.

"Because," Austin sat on the edge of the desk, "you are the first in a long line of children, who shall bear brothers and sisters for me to father. You may have failed an extremely important test," he sighed and put a hand on his shoulder, "but what kind of father doesn't forgive his children, and teach them the error of their ways?" He gave him a warm smile-yet coming from him it was the creepiest thing in the world. Needless to say, Franklin was extremely unsettled.

Next came a knock on the door. "Come in?" Austin said.

Two women entered along with Oliver and spoke, "we just called to the last cell, they were in Feroxi. They're on their way."

"Excellent!" Austin grinned from ear to ear. "Then we must make haste! By the time they meet us, the entire city shall be theirs as a welcoming present."

"W-wait wait what's going on?" Franklin asked confused.

"None of your concern my son." Austin smiled wickedly. "Come come carry the boy to the medical wing he needs his leg taken care of." Before Franklin could protest he was being taken away by the two women. Oliver stepped into the Office as Austin sat on the table. "Make sure Franklin feels comfortable. We can use him to root out any pretenders within our ranks, and once he has, we will throw them all out of the sky."

"Yes father." He returned.
=========================================
"I don' reckon we got anythin' pressin' ta' discuss. Get in, we could use a bit'a story time."

Aesop nodded with an awkward smile as he got in the back of the crawler.

"We're ready!"

"Roger that, Rocksteady!" Pixie barked in reply. Aesop didn't know why, but he felt good being in the same crawler as Pixie again without making an ass out of himself. The last time he did he was driving the crawler during the train heist. God he wished he could go back in time to that day and just... he didn't even know what he would do. Stop them from pulling the hiest? How could that even be possible to change anyone's mind?

The irritating glories of hindsight. They were even more irritating when you know there is nothing that could have done to change anything.

"MOVE OUT, MAIDENS!"

She was happy. He could tell in her voice, though perhaps she was just putting on a front for the maidens again. He reeeeaaaaaallllllyyyyyyyy couldn't read her well at all. But if she actually was happy, he'd wait for a little bit before telling his story about Austin. He'd enjoy these moments himself too, as he gave a sly smirk and looked to the other crawlers driving alongside them. As maidens. Maybe he did deserve to be here? And if he didn't, well he'd steal as much of this time as he could.
============================
"I have no idea Hannibal, haven't received a reply yet from Cranston. So at the moment, we've got the day to ourselves."

"Right. R-R-Right, the whole day." He looked nervously out the window. "Um, I will take a quick shower and then um... well what will we do today then?"

 

[The Funslinger]

Spoiler: Musics

The first of Bryan's senses to return was the taste of alcohol in his mouth. No particular drink, but just that general sour aftertaste that comes after knocking enough back to fuck yourself over twice. He opened his eyes tenderly, blinking at the surprising amount of sunlight lancing into them.

He was lying on his back, and drifting slightly. He glanced down at the rest of him. His clothes were gone, it seemed. Replaced by a pair of baggy blue swimming trunks. He felt something on his forehead. Reaching up to his face, he felt a thick rimmed pair of sunglasses. He pulled them down over his eyes gratefully. Where was he?

Well, he was sprawled across an inflatable lie-low, in a large swimming pool. Propping himself up carefully on an elbow, Bryan peered around. A couple more people were on lie-lows similar to his own. Another man in orange trunks and a woman in a bikini.

Several other people, similarly clad, were lying on reclining deck chairs. Most were unconscious, but a couple were stirring. What the hell fucked up pool party was this? Where the hell had he gone? The answer was clear enough. Once he'd cleaned the blood from his clothes, he'd hit what must have been every bar in Feroxi. He vaguely remembered a train... he wasn't in Feroxi anymore.

The next thing Bryan became aware of was a hissing sound. Paddling with his hands, he turned his lie-low around. He was now facing a barbecue, being tended by a woman in a mini-skirt and bowler hat. That was the source of the hissing, but it wasn't what caught his attention. What caught his attention was a Crawler painted in law enforcement colours smashed into the white-washed side of a large, luxurious building like a villa. The wrecked crawler was flaming steadily.

Tipping himself off of his lie-low, Bryan waded through the shallows of the pool and climbed out. His limbs felt like lead. The woman tending the barbecue looked up. "Oh, you're awake," she said brightly. "The amount you were pouring down your throat last night, I thought you'd die in your sleep or something." She gave a laugh as though she'd made a joke about the weather. "Burger?"

"... nah, you're alright," replied Bryan tersely. There didn't seem to be any available clothes, so he wandered over to a stockily built man who was still unconscious on his deck chair. The man was wearing a blue and orange Hawaiian print shirt and a pair of deck shoes along with his trunks. Bryan pulled off the shoes, and the shirt (tumbling the man out of his chair, but somehow not waking him) and pulled them on. The shoes fit fine, but the shirt was a little baggy. He left it hanging open. Sitting on the edge of the now unoccupied deck chair, he turned to face the woman again.

"Where the fuck are we?"

"Lord Ivan's Ivory Tower," she replied sweetly.

"And where's that?"

"Damn, you really were out of it!" she exclaimed with another burst of laughter. "We're in Calico."

"... Shit. And where's Lord Ivan?" he asked. If he could get a fast vehicle and potentially risk killing himself in an accident, he could gun it back to Feroxi by...

He checked the watch of the man whose clothes he'd stolen. It was early morning. He could be back by mid-afternoon. Tsubaki would kill him.

"Yeah," he said, and then repeated, "where's Lord Ivan?"

The woman smirked. "You just took his shirt."

"Ah. Which way's his motor pool?"

The woman pointed. Bryan headed off in that direction. Ten minutes later, he was speeding out into the Ashlands in a closed-topped Crawler. Retrospectively, he wished he'd raided the Noble's bathroom for painkillers before he left. His hangover was killing him. He had a five to seven hour drive ahead of him, and it wasn't going to be fun.

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

Georgia waited with the others in the mess hall. Some of the girls were crying, others were muttering darkly, shooting filthy glances at the 'children' that watched over them whenever they thought they could get away with it. Most, like Georgia herself, simply waited, silent and with their heads down, for whatever would be required of them next.

'Some of you will join him before all this ends.' Georgia thought sadly as she looked around the room. In much the same way she'd seen girls convince themselves they were in love with some of the punters, the ones who were gentler with them. After a while, some of these girls would be taken in by Austin's charisma, or else manipulated into thinking that they had no choice but to submit, mentally as well as physically. Then, they would have rifles shoved in their hands, and sent out to die believing (that was the saddest part), truly believing, that the lunatic they died for actually cared for them. That was how helplessness worked. How long the breaking point could be resisted varied from person to person, but ultimately, everyone after a while is faced with an impossible choice. They can either learn to embrace their captivity, convincing themselves that they are content, or they can let the misery destroy them. There were rumours, never spoken lightly, that The Golden Rose had faced such a choice, and resisted the ultimatum for years on end, keeping her mind her own even while her body was used horrifically, until she had an opportunity to escape. Georgia was going to need the same sort of strength.

'I already have a family. I am not alone, and my sister is stronger than all of you. That is what I will keep in mind no matter what you make me say and do.'

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

Amy reclined in her seat as the convoy sped away across the wastes, resisting the urge to keep her eyes glued to the woman who sat next to her. In the end, in part to give her something else to concentrate on, Amy unbuckled and twisted around in her seat, kneeling up behind the headrest, and smiled at Aesop warmly.

"wasn't there something you wanted to tell us?"

 

[Terratina.]

"Perhaps we can do that after a good shower... or two."

Maria returned the nervous laugh, "I knew there was something I forgot to do this morning!"

Sure, both Maria and Elizabeth made a big thing out of joking around but that was only to lighten the atmosphere a little bit. The shadow of what lay ahead for one of the three women loomed even over the bright morning. Just a spectre from the little conversation during breakfast, surely it was nothing more than that, right? Regardless, Maria lightly clapped the table and with all the authority of a schoolmistress, she announced her plan.

"Let's clean up, then we'll see what card games you know." She said.

 

[Evrant-Knight]

"Um, I will take a quick shower and then um... well what will we do today then?" Hannibal asked whilst looking out of the window, meanwhile Viola was laying down on the bed, looking up at the ceiling, her hair back into a ponytail.

"You know I'm not really sure; can't exactly go looking for Lady Maribel, we've no leads to go on. We could always just go for a walk around the city, the weather looks nice at the moment. If your not up for that, we could always carry on with firearms practice for a while. What would you like to do Hannibal? Any suggestions come to the forefront of your mind?"

 

[ProtoChimp]

"wasn't there something you wanted to tell us?"

Aesop tore his attention away from the other speeding crawlers and towards the beautiful woman who addressed him. Pixie was a hell of a lucky woman, snatching up a young 20 something, damn. 'The Iron Maiden has so many hotties its unreal. Dammit this place is awesome.'

His smile dissapeared as he turned to face Amy however, and he could swear that in his peripheral vision he could see another seat, outside the car floating yet connected to the backseat. In it sat the one and only, the topic of conversation.

"Keats was hot too wasn't she. You wanted to pop your cherry to her. But awww, she said you were just a kid."

Aesop's cheek twitched a little. 'I was just a kid. And its not like I asked her out on a date, I was drunk.

"And you thought little drunk Sillah could snap up a lady like Keats. She was ten years older than you haha! You dumb shit."

'Don't you dare say her name, she was my friend. So what, I had a dumb crush like I did on Lil, I only thought she was hot, like Lil. I didn't think anything like... WHY AM I EXPLAINING ANYTHING TO YOU??!!!'

"Because I'm your fath-"

'Shut your god damn mouth!'

Aesop had been sitting there for a few seconds not answering. He almost needed a prompt before responding, "I uh, yeah he um," he cleared his throat, with that weird pathetic pitiful look he often had, "he was my best friend." He furrowed his brow as he remembered old faces, an old city he abandoned to that mad man.

"And then he killed all my friends."

 

[Fappy]

"Just think of bacon and steak, you'll be fine in no time."

Sprout gave a solemn nod before digging into his oatmeal. They shared a long period of silence as he polished off his breakfast. Placing the empty bowl on the nightstand, Sprout turned his attention back towards Lilith. Leaning forward, ignoring the discomfort, Sprout placed his hand on Lilith's, "Lily," He stared into her eyes. "Please, promise me you'll come back to me."

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

"Let's clean up, then we'll see what card games you know."

"Sounds like a plan!" Elizabeth cooed as she shuffled into the bathroom. After locking the door behind her, she tossed off the over-sized shirt Lilith had apparently given her. Looking at herself in the mirror was... sobering. Her hair, usually well-kept and straight, was a jumbled mess. After pouting over her disheveled look her eyes wandered down to the reflection of her chest. Her cheeks glowed faintly as a thought occurred to her.

Someone had taken her cloths off last night.

It was probably Lilith.

She giggled a bit, before turning on the shower. As she waited for the water to heat up, she turned and looked herself over in the mirror again. Holding her hands up in front of her she began groping invisible breasts like she had the previous afternoon.

They were about this big, right?

Placing her hands over her own chest brought a frown to her face. She sighed, "Thank God for push-up bras..." She muttered as she hopped into the shower.

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

Speeding along with her right hand on the steering wheel and her left elbow hanging out the window, Pixie kept her eye glued to the ashlands as Aesop offered his explanation.

"And then he killed all my friends."

Pixie grunted, "That's the Rock fer ya'. Can' trust anyone." She sighed heavily and began tapping her pointer finger on the top of the steering-wheel. Turning her head to the right so she could see him in her periphery, she continued. "Aesop, I'm not gonna make ya' tell me anythin' about yer past that you don' wanna. That's yers. I 'ave no right ta' pry. But," Pixie clenched her jaw and looked forward once more. "I don' reckon I can convince you not ta' fight, can I?"