BS was working on breakfast, though “food” would be a very loosely worded term for the slop he was browning in the skillet. He happened to look up just as Meli slipped into the hideout, sniffing the air as it had been quite some time since she’d smelled much of anything. “Smells good,” she commented, taking a seat at the counter.

            The ‘borg had to smile a bit. “I’m not sure you’re up to mutated cuisine. How about some bacon and eggs instead?”

            “Okay,” she perked up.

            As he dropped several strips of bacon in a new pan, Randall rushed in, very concerned and half dressed. “Have either of you seen Nine?”

            “It’s cool, Doc. She’s fine. Went down to the shore. She took the long way this time.”

            “I hope she’s okay. She looked pretty beat up from that last fool stunt she pulled.”

            “Stunt?” Meli asked.

            “She tried to commit suicide.”

            Brimstone shook his head. “She was just a bit confused. ‘Course now she’s a lot confused, thanks to Romeo over here.”

            The metal man tipped his head towards Randall, who blushed. “I came clean about how I feel about her.”

            “And That’s got to be The most foolhardy thing I’ve ever Seen!” Tim insisted, pausing to look over Brimstone’s shoulder and pointed at the pan. “More tabasco,” he directed before turning to face Randall. Even though his right arm was now taped to his body to support the green-set ribs, he still had his smug smile on. “Don’t you know to lie? You going to confuse that poor girl.”

            Meli frowned. “Actually lying isn’t what you would do with a confused individual.”

            “Either way, I couldn’t hold back. I almost lost her so many times in the past couple of weeks that I had to say Something to her.”

            Timothy rested a hand on the scientist’s shoulder. “And I guess if you Had to, that was the right time. It did seem to snap her out of the doldrums she was wallowing in.”

            “So, Romeo,” Meli interrupted, thinking the name Tim had tagged Randall with was his true name. “What do you plan on doing now?”

            Tim snorted as he heard Meli misname his patsy. The nasal retort caused the tattooed woman to wince knowing she’d miss spoke on some sort of protocol. Brimstone took immediate action by punching Timothy in the injured arm, causing the psi to yelp. After doling out the punishment, BS returned to his cooking.

            "Well," Randall continued, figuring to ignore the quick and painful exchange. "I need to sit and talk to her."

            "She's outside," Meli replied. "Go after her."

            "Yeah," Tim echoed as he winced, another bone having been rebroken by Brimstone's assault.

            "I'm going then," Randall insisted as he picked up two full mugs of sluggish coffee.

            "Here." Brimstone thrusted two bowls into the scientist's chest, one from the regular pot and one from the mutated one. "Make sure she eats."

            Randall looked over the precipice, realizing just how narrow that footpath was. It would be too much to traverse the cliff face loaded down as he was. As he turned back, he caught a strong draft from one of the side tunnels. Figuring this to be perhaps and easier path to take down, he headed into uncharted terrain.

            A knock on the sewer door brought everyone's attention around. The drakes sounded off, not quite like a pack of dogs, but they made a loud enough racket. Brimstone turned off the stove and made his way past the wagging tails, trying to elbow his way to the door. "Ah! Ziggy! C'mon in!"

            "It's Zigg, not Ziggy."

            The vampire still looked a bit pale for his kind, but he moved with fluid grace as he walked in and allowed Brimstone to do the introductions. "Zigg, you've met Tim. This is Meli." The tattooed psi-hunter nodded then shuddered a bit, pulling the black cloth around her body.

            Zigg took the seat at the other end of the couch. "How is Nine doing?"

            Tim had helped himself to some of the goop in the mutant pot. Whatever he was chewing on sounded like it was grinding the enamel on his teeth away, yet he seemed to relish it, pausing only to address the questions. "You mean other than taking a header off the cliff out there? Other than that, peachy." 

            Brimstone brought Meli her breakfast, having to nudge her a bit to get her to sample the cuisine, insisting that it was not the same slop the mutants normally ate. While he puttered, Zigg stood and headed up the passageway to see just how far Nine had fallen. It was substantial, causing him to wheeze when he landed but his vampiric strength was able to take the strain of the jump. He'd landed just behind Nine, but she didn't even jump at the sound. She continued to watch the sea roll in and out. "Hey," Zigg started cautiously. "How ya doin'?"

            She turned slightly but not totally around to see him, only to sigh and return her gaze to the water. "I dunno."

Her reply wasn't AS cold has it had been days before, but it was still hesitant; numb even. The vampire also noted that she still bore the brunt of her recent damage. Even though her kind were fast healers, she still had her left arm taped against her ribs for support. Apparently the serums and even his blood had only supported her regenerative abilities for a short while. "I know I ain't the Ship's mate anymore, but if you still wanna talk, I'm here for ya."

The small woman tilted her head slightly, as if judging his words, though she still didn't look back at him. "How old were you when you first fell in love?" she asked.

He wasn't too sure where That question had come from, but it was a start. "Nineteen. I ended up marrying her and have two little boys, but she died, along with our kids."

"I'm sorry," she replied, not with whole-hearted sincerity, and he hadn't expected anything emotional out of her. "And she was human?"

He nodded slowly.

She followed with, "And you were a vampire?"

            "No, I was human at the time."

            "Ah."

That short reply gave the slightest hint that what Zigg had told her was not what she wanted to hear. "Hey," he quipped. " 'Life is pain. Anyone sayin' otherwise is sellin' somethin'.' "

            "Really?" she asked, showing a glimmer of emotion. "So what is Randall selling me?"

            Tim had watched the vampire head up the passageway before turning and setting his sights on the uncomfortable Meli. "So, you're related to that worthless lizard tribe, are you? Why do you hang out with those losers? Surely Not for the engaging conversation."

            "They are not losers," she grumbled back, finding herself withdrawing even as Tim took a seat right next to her on the couch.

            "Really? So far they've caused Nine more harm than help. You're the only one that really did something, just maybe in the wrong venue. I mean you did find Me. Not many can do that. Granted I was sort of disabled at the time." He ventured a cold stare at Brimstone who blatantly ignored him.

            "You mind never rests," Meli commented cooley.

            He had to smile. "Nope. When the mind stops, I die. End of game."

            "But there are more to beings than just minds," Meli rallied.

            "Nah. Bodies are a dime a dozen. I'm just running out of compatible ones."

            He gave his kinsman another hard stare, a meaner one that caused the 'borg to slip into the kitchen to break the eye contact. The break allowed Meli to retreat further from the mutant psi, ending up at the other end of the couch while the metallic man emerged from the other end of the kitchen to stand next to her. "Don't worry about him," Brimstone smiled, trying to sooth Meli's rattled nerves. "He'll be gone within six months or so."

            "I can make him gone now," Meli chirped back harshly.

            BS's grin grew wider and he bent slightly to whisper in her ear. "Wouldn't you want to see him squirm first?"

            "Hey! No coaching!" Timothy protested.

            Meli finally smiled then turned to her inspirant. "Do you have anything to drink? Perhaps some port?"

            "Of course! This used to be a bar at one time, you know. I've got all kinds of stuff hoarded in the cellar. I'll go fetch some." He moved towards Tim, whom seemed to be at some sort of disadvantage now as Brimstone hovered a second, feigning to punch the psi's arm once more. "Leave her alone," BS growled before disappearing into the cellar.

            Now Zigg understood. "Randall's got he hots fer ya?"

            "I guess," she shrugged. "He.... kissed me."

            "Did ya like it?"

            "I dunno... I... I don' understand." She now turned to face the vamp and he could see why she'd been so evasive. She looked as if she were on the verge of tears, and clearly didn't understand why. "I would be better dead, yet he insists that he won't let me go. I tried. I jumped from up there. None of them would let me go. Not even you. Heck Tim jumped off that cliff after me and he can't fly. Why did they do that? Why did You do that? You're dead. You of all people should understand."

            Zigg had know that Nine was not one of the most outgoing of personalities, but he had no idea she had slipped this far into despair, only to have her emotions yanked on. No wonder the girl was confused. "Ferget what best for everyone else. Just concentrate on you and Randall. When his lips met yers, did it feel... good?"

            He could see her searching, not for the emotion of the moment; that was evident, but for the words to describe the encounter. "I... I got weird all inside. My heart kind of lubbed sideways. that's not good, is it? I mean I was a bit beaten up and all..."

            "But did your body feel any warmer?"

            "Kind of, sort of," she hemmed and hawed, not sure where the vamp was going with this.

            "And what about Randall? Did he enjoy it?"

            "I'm fairly sure he must have." She paused again to look up at the one-time pirate. "He keeps saying that he needs me and wants me. Dunno for what. He knows Militant code won't let us crossbreed."

            "Never mind them!" Zigg spat back, wondering just what was wrong with this girl. Other than being maybe a bit young, she seemed compatible enough with other people. Those Militant guys had really screwed up her brain good. "This is up ta you and Randall. You just have to be ready fer that kind o' thing."

            At least she had her emotions under control, somewhat. "Well, I guess I sort of do have a ..'thing' for him. I mean he treats me like I'm... real.. not just some sort of tool. I imagine he'd be a fine mate..." She shook her head, as if tossing that thought aside. "I can't. I'm under contract to produce mutants. Besides, he can't possible want to carry one with a thing like me. I'm nothing but skin and bones.."

            "He wouldn'tve kissed ya if he didn't want ta!" He saw that all of this arguing seemed to be bearing down on Nine's mind as her hands had drifted up to her temples, the fingers clenched in knots. "Ya okay?"

            "No," she confessed and started crying.

            With the 'borg gone, Tim now leveled a look at Meli that made her blood run cold. She didn't bother to try tracking through his mind. Already she could tell it wouldn't be easy to subdue him should she have to, but he seemed to be in a passive mode. It was unnerving that look from him, and he wasn't even smiling. Finally she broke the silence. "It is not healthy to take the lives of another to make profit of your own."

            "What profit? Do I look rich? I'm slumming in a sewer."

            "I mean profit in the prolonging of your life."

            So she knew his trick. "Oh.. that. don't fret, Dear. Cloned bodies. We stole them from militant outposts. It's sort of the same deal Rooslan is doing with Nine's stolen DNA."

            She shuddered, but passed the movement onto a more physical complaint. "Must you people always keep these places so cold?"

            "ah... heat." The psi stood and walked over to the wall where a small white dial jutted out and turned it slightly. "BS lost most tactile sensations a while ago. He forgets about us living folks."

            The cyborg stumbled in on Tim toying with the thermostat. "Hey! I'm payin' the bills here!" Once he shoved the psi away, he reset the gauge, then handed a hefty bottle of port to the shivering girl. "This'll warm you up."

            As the duo imbibed, Tim stood up with that listening-in-the-wind look. “Excuse me a moment,” and he headed back out to the observation ledge.

            BS watched the psi until he was out of sight, then sat his bottle down. “Here we go again,” he grumbled and he followed suit. Meli accompanied him up the tunnel.

            Tim was staring downward with an intense gaze. The cyborg wasn’t sure why until he got a gander at the scene himself. Nine was slowly scooting forward on her rock towards the vampire, whom seemed to be like- minded and was edging towards her. Nine had her head lifted back slightly, her eyes slowly closing as the blood sucker was reaching out to hold her. “If she kisses him, so help me I’ll slap them both,” the Rex snorted.

            Tim didn’t sound sincere at all. In fact the smile on the psi’s face told Brimstone everything. The low life bastard had planned this meeting all the while! Well, He had an immediate answer. The laser cannon popped up from the housing ensconced in the forearm and he fired down at the loving couple.

            Nine never did kiss the vampire. Before she could, the ground erupted under her feet and flung her into the surf, which slowly pulled her limp body out to sea.

            Meli looked down at the carnage them up to the individual whom had inflicted it. “Violence?” she asked the ‘borg.

            The cannon snapped back into the arm. “Sometimes it is necessary.”

            She shook her head and stepped out over the ledge. The black cloak seemed to billow and move, slowing her decent to the point that she could lightly step onto the beachhead with fluid grace. Zigg looked her over, then decided his more pressing threat came from above. He lifted his arms and released a bolt of lightning towards the cliff. Tim ducked, but the electricity fizzled, just dancing across Brimstone’s metal skin before dissipating. The metal man shook himself the yelled down at the vamp. “Hey! You leave poor Nine alone!”

            “I didn’t do anythin’!” Zigg hollered back. “Besides, seems like ya did more damage yerself!” He turned, then saw her body slowly drifting away. “Oh bloody hell.” The vamp jumped into the water, swimming past Meli as she likewise had tried to swim out to rescue the girl and found her cape a hindrance, bogging her down to the point where Zigg retrieved her on the return trip. “Nice goin’, Rusty. Ya coulda killed the poor girl!”

            BS yanked Nine’s body from the vampire, letting him drop Meli to the sands as she coughed up mouthfuls of water. “Well, you were takin’ advantage of her!” he snapped back. “Ain’t she confused enough?” He stretched Nine’s body out on the sand himself and tried performing CPR, but didn’t get much of a response.

            Zigg just stood, rubbing his forehead. “Listen, Scrape Pile, I’m just tryin’ ta help her ‘cause she’s my friend... and she’s Just my friend.”

            “Well that was lookin’ a little TOO friendly.” BS had stepped back, letting Meli attempt to revive the girl since BS wasn’t getting any results. It took psionics to revive the girl once again, a combination of Meli’s and Zigg’s mental powers to brig Nine back to this side of just dead. Both people, however, got a fast forward version of what Rooslan had done to her. That was enough to shake them both. While Brimstone took over, finally stabilizing the girl and carefully carrying her back to the infirmary, Meli retreated inside, finding an oversized couch to collapse on. Zigg figured it was saver to stay away from the facilities and picked an isolated area on the beach to ponder what had just happened. If nothing, he figured to stay Far away from Nine, for now, until she was better.

            About ten minutes after everyone had left, Randall emerged from a small tunnel at the base of the mountain, still trying to balance the two bowls of cold breakfast and the two cups of bad coffee. “Where’d she go?” he wondered allowed.

            Randall spotted Nine down on the beach, once again staring out at the open sea. Next to her was the dragon sized imprint Claw had left on his abrupt landing. Next to that was the blast pattern from Brimstone’s arm cannon. She was no longer waterlogged, but she still had her arm taped to her ribs and still sported several bruises. Apparently the dynamic duo of mutantdom deemed her well enough not to be tied down. Of the past few days she hadn’t shown any signs of trying to hurt herself. In fact she hadn’t shown any signs of ... anything.

            He started down the cliff face trail, since his last alternate route had gone throughout the entire mountain range before opening up at the base. This time as he began his decent, he was suddenly enveloped in a white light. Seconds later he was on the beach. “What the....?” he stammered before he noticed something warm in his coat pocket. He found the pendant Mevlina had given him, the metal pulsing and warm to the touch. He made a mental note to grill the sorceress later as to what other tricks he should be ware of.

            Nine hadn’t even flinched nor turned as Randall sat down next to her. She kept her gaze out to the ocean, as if she could find solace or reason in the waves. “How are you feeling, Nine?” he asked her hesitantly.

            “Better.”

            She still had not emotional tone, but at least she admitted she was healing. That was a step up. “Can we talk?”

            “I guess.”

            “Look, about the other day. I was trying to tell you about how I felt, but we kept getting interrupted...”

            “I know,” she replied curtly. “And now your going to tell me that you didn’t mean it. You were just all caught up in the action.”

            “No.. Wait... I do mean what I said....”

            “You don’t need any excuse to backout.”

            “I’m not Trying to back out...”

            “And you can’t possibly mean it. You’re human. I’m not. I’m mutant pond scum to youse guys.”

            “I don’t Care that you’re a mutant!” He never realized just how exasperating Nine could get when she got something stubborn in her. “To me, you are a woman I care a lot about.”

            “A Woman?” She gave a disbelieving snort. “I’m only eight years old.”

            “I know that. I also know you age much faster than humans. By all standards, you Are an adult.”

            She finally turned to look him over slowly, then gave an exasperated sigh. “You know if you’ve Got to do that kind of thing, there Are brothels around here. You don’t Need me for that...”

            “Screw the brothels!”

            “I thought that was the general idea of brothels.”

            Tim watched the confrontation from his vantage point high up on the cliff face. He had pondered several times about intervening, but it seemed there was enough confusion for now. Nine was putting up a good front and it would take great patience and perseverance to break through those walls.         

            As he listened in, he noticed a movement further up the beach. A bikini clad blond carrying a boom box high up on her shoulder was more or less cavorting towards their neck of the woods. He was instantly on the move. He didn’t walked down the cliff path. No. He literally vaulted from rock outcropping to ledge all the way down the sheer face of the mountain. Even more amazing was that he managed this feat with one arm still taped against his ribs, and he did it with style and grace. He spiked a landing right besides the buxom babe. “Hel-LO Beautiful!: he gushed.

            Nine and Randal had paused in their discussion, at first distracted by the rock and roll bubble gum pop sounds coming from the girl’s radio as she pranced down the beach; then by Tim’s arial acrobatics. “The creep’s on the prowl again,” Nine grumbled.

            “Maybe it will keep him out of trouble,” Randal prayed.

            “We can only hope,” she snorted in reply.

            Tabitha had thought she was alone when she picked up a rich and tossed it towards the cliff wall. Only when she narrowly missed the black clad psi did she finally start paying attention. “Oh! Howdy hun. Thought I was all by lonesome... oh... and I’d recommend ducking... 3.... 2....”

            Tim ducked, knowing that any countdown meant something bad.

            The resulting explosion sent a hail of rocks and stones about in a spray pattern, showering the foursome and setting off a minor avalanche. It also brought out the tin can cowboy from one of the side tunnels. He raised his metal fist at Tim and company. “Quit shooting at the house!” he bellowed, then paused and squinted at Timothy. Suddenly he stiffened up, turned, and marched back inside, scowling.

            The rockslide caused by Tabitha’s bomb didn’t threaten Randall and Nine, but Tim saw where the wall of rocks was headed and tried to pull the scantily clad teenager out of harms way. His foot got caught up in the rubble and he soon found himself buried under a wave of dirt and stone. “You okay?” Boom Boom shouted through a small opening in the pile.

            “.....no....,” he whimpered from under the pile.

            Randall and Nine watched the disaster unfold. “He’s in trouble!” Randall had already started moving forward to dig the hapless psi out of the wreckage.

            The colder- hearted Nine didn’t seem as anxious to rescue him. “He dug his own grave.”

            Tabitha waved the help back. “Ya’ll should just relax. Though I do ‘preciate the attempt at good manners.”

            “Manners?” Nine gulped. “You must be joking. All that slime ball wants is....”

            The resulting explosion cut her off. The bleached blond had let loose another one of her explosive devices, blowing the debris clean off Tim and causing Randall to stumbled backwards into Nine. Tabitha seemed quite pleased with the results as she held out and hand to the crushed psi. “Need a lift up?”

            “Thanks,” Tim coughed and took the offered support. He also to that few moments of physical contact to scurry over her mind. The quick images intrigued him. Apparently she came from a mutated world, perhaps more diverse in talents as he caught flashes of fur covered, gelatinous, gaseous, and brick covered peoples. It seemed that they, much like his own world, were locked in conflict. The strongest images were those of a man able to manipulate metals and a psi much like himself, except not as good looking. Content with the cursory scan he released her hand and proceeded to dust himself off. From the corner of his eye, he noted that Nine was checking Randal over very carefully, looking for injuries even though the scientist insisted repeatedly that he was okay.

            Brimstone stormed past Claw whom sat in what was deemed the waiting room just outside the infirmary. “Hi Claw,” he grumbled before heading to the mop closet. What he drew out clearly was not a mop but a very large shoulder mountable cannon, which he locked soundly into place on his left shoulder.

            “What’s up?” the golden dragon mage asked, quirking a brow at the potential destruction at Brimstone’s command.

            “Gonna kill Tim,” the cyborg answered shortly. “Wanna watch?”

            “Sure,” Claw chuckled. “Sounds like fun.”

            “I didn’t think anyone would mind. I thought the place was deserted.”

            Tim reassured Tabitha that things were okay. “My... partner... It’s his digs inside so I’m guessing he doesn’t want them shook up so much...”

            This was confirmed as BS’s first shot blasted into the sands, sending Tim tumbling into the drink. Claw watched the assault as he stood next to the mechanical man. “Just why Do you want to kill him?”

            “Do a need a reason?”

            Apparently Tabitha didn’t agree with the end result. Not only had the cannon shot knocked the cute guy into the surf, it had taken out her boom box. She narrowed her eyes the drew her hand up into a fist. A kiss on the knuckles and she flung her arm upwards, letting loose with a number of explosives. Claw was on the defense, conjuring a barrier spell that held much of the damage back.

            “Amateur,” Brimstone smirked then turned the weapon to bear on the new target.

            “Careful,” Claw warned. “You might hit Randall.”

Indeed Randall was swimming out to fetch the psi’s body while Nine tried to follow, unable

to swim well with one arm taped to her side. None of this mattered as Brimstone’s second shot went screwy, missing the blonde bomber and blasting into the ground dangerously close to Nine. Tabitha rallied, once again flinging a handful of marbled explosives, again hitting too low, just under the ledge as Claw’s defenses held once again. “Would you stop that!” Boom Boom hollered up at the mage. “I’m tryin’ to avenge someone!”

            “Me stop?” Brimstone bellowed back. “You’re the one wrecking my home!”

            Randall finally dragged Tim’s limp body to shore, just as Nine firmly grabbed her would-be suitor’s shirt and dragged him and his burden slowly down the beach, trying to find someplace just a tad safer than the firing range. Randall finally gathered his feet under him and shouldered his burden. How such a little man could feel so heavy was beyond him as he grunted under the effort.

            Boom Boom and Brimstone once again were reloaded and fired simultaneously. Claw wisely teleported off the cliff, joining Nine and helping Randall with his burden. For Tabitha’s effort, the cyborg’s shot had slammed into her shoulder, knocking her down into the sand, but she had gotten her shot off clean. Brimstone only had a second to reflect on how bad his position had become since the entire cliff ledge had been hollowed out underneath by the previous two blasts. Her time bomb dislodged the shelf and brought the whole mountain tumbling down. Once the dust settled, Boom Boom dusted off her hands and turned up the beach. “Now, where’s that cutie pie....?”

            As she trotted up the beach the rock slide settled down, only the pining of a loose pebble bouncing off the dirt echoed off what was left of the mountain. Suddenly a metal fist punched up through the debris. BS very, very slowly extricated himself from what was left of the back half of his home. He looked up the mountainside. Furniture was exposed in now open rooms and the kitchen now had a sunny outlook. The two drakes seemed unharmed, blinking in the brightness of the afternoon.

            Tim was starting to come round after vomiting twice on Randal’s shirt. “Cut it out!” he moaned in his delirium. “I’ll behave Emily.... quit hitting me....!”

            Tim struggled under the smaller man’s twistings. “Seems he’s coming around.”

            “You want me to carry him?” Claw offered.

            As the exchanged, Nine grabbed Randall’s shirt collar and continued to drive them up the beach towards the sheltered. “It seems quiet back there,” Randall offered, hoping to slow her down. “Can we stop now?”

            “No,” she replied quickly. Something was nagging her, something that even the quiet couldn’t quell.

            As she pushed them along, Claw hefted the mutant over his shoulder. “What did you do to piss off Brimstone this time, Tim?”

            Before he could reply, the gang almost ran right into Brimstone. Somehow he’d managed to get ahead of them and emerged from the caverns, Nine was driving them to. “Oh, you wouldn’t understand Claw. It’s political.”

            “Well I suggest you both stop it before you both get killed,” the mage chastised.

            They bickered, shifting the blame from Boom Boom to Brimstone to Timothy. The ‘borg made restitution to Tabitha by digging out a functional stereo from the remains of his home. Tim wouldn’t let it lie though. He was at Randall’s shoulder. “You know, this is all Your fault for chasing Nine...”

            “You leave Nine out of it!” the scientist snapped back.

            “Why? She’s a mutant. That makes her one of us.”

            Nine was suddenly in the psi’s face, full of fury. “I am NOT one of you!” she insisted, backing that statement with a right cross, right into Tim’s lower jaw, fully dislocating it. Tears ran down her face and she turned and bolted with Randall racing after her.

            Claw looked back at Tim where he had fallen from the force of the punch. Was he smiling? Despite the agony he was in, he pointed to Nine, whom had been caught by Randall and was held tight in a bear hug, then back to himself, gesturing with two fingers drawing down his face. “Poking fun at Nine, Tim?” the mage asked with a snarl. He shook his head violently then drew those marks again on his face. Her breakdown seemed to have some sort of major significance to the psi. Pity he couldn’t say them until his jaw reset.

            Bef ore he could explain, a seedier villain stepped from the shadows, causing everyone in inhale sharply. Nine gasped and clutched at Randall, trying to push him behind her, shielding him from her arch nemesis, Rooslan. He seemed almost content at the reaction. “Well, I’m glad you two traitors are so happy in each other’s arms. It’s cute. Really it is.” He seemed far too well, even healthier than when he was hyped up on Militant rationed drugs. He now bore a striking resemblance to Timothy and just emanated power.

            Tim was on him first mentally, not needing Tristan’s body to grab a hold of Rooslan’s mind, but the pain in his jaw was too distracting for a solid grip and he could feel the commander twisting under the hold. It did give Claw time to run between Rooslan and Nine’s party, setting up a barrier before the enhanced Militant could break free of Tim’s control by sending a feedback wave along the pattern, causing Tim to release him in order to set up a strong enough block before his own brain was overrun.

            Brimstone hit the beachhead, setting his cannon shoulder on the commander, but the sights were severely damaged from the fall. The shot whizzed by Rooslan’s ear and exploded into the beach head. “Stop that,” the rouge asked then gestured at the metal man. The telekinetic burst ripped into Brimstone’s unprotected body, twisting him up like a pretzel before slamming him into what was left of the mountain home. He sighed as if the results were not nearly as impressive as he hoped. “All I wanted to do was wish the happy couple a long and fruitful future.”

            Randall answered that remark with a shot from his laser pistol. It hit Rooslan’s shoulder, but it seemed to irritate him more than harm him. Claw saw the results and erected a defense barrier, hoping it would hold against a non- magical energy attack.

            Nine, lacking any weapons, picked up one of the rocks along the beach and started walking determinately towards the man, hatred finally brewing in her eyes, but she stopped short with his warning. “If you don’t stop that.” He said calmly, “ ... I’ll detonate the bombs attached to the bottom of your skulls.

            She paused, then slowly lifted her hand to throw, even as Randall and Claw rushed towards her in an attempt to stop her. But the rock was thrown. Just not by Nine. Tim was standing behind Rooslan, his rock having beaned its mark fairly well. “Fine,” Rooslan snarled as he turned up his wrist and depressed a button on his watch. He activated the termination sequence that the Militant’s kept on all their members to ensure loyalty. Randall’s must have been a dud because he felt a tiny poof behind his head, but no pain accompanying it. For Nine however, it had more devastating results as about a quarter of her skull seemed to slough off the back of her head. Randall rushed to her side, flanked by Claw. Tim’s attention was on Rooslan as he ran up and tackled the man. But the man didn’t fight back. He just grinned at Tim, his face beginning to slide back, as if melting off his body. “Shoulda have just listened to the rant... a thanks from the original Commodore... for the data now in the hands of Central Control...” The body twitched and Tim released it just as it exploded in a fiery red flame.

            Tabitha rested her chin on Tim’s shoulder. “Man.. You guys sure are violent with your guests, aincha?”

            His reply was solemn. “You should see what we do to family.”

            Randall and Claw raced all over Nine’s body as it convulsed. It was an awful bloody mess, but despite having lost the back cover on her skull, her brain somehow remained intact. Tim slowly made his way over to the group, but paused when he heard Claw warming up with a healing spell. As the psi stepped back, he felt the rift open behind him and sensed who it was before the being stepped through. It was Dusk. She had grown quite a bit, almost a teenager now and quite fit and hale. She was so healthy it was hard to keep the goth look. Her hair insisted on growing out to the vibrant red and no amount of bleaching or black dye would quell it’s color. “Hiiii Daaaaadyyyyyy!”

            He groaned at the mocking tone. “Aren’t you supposed to be at Auntie Danielle’s castle?” He stepped forward, taking up a strand of his daughter’s wayward hair. “I’ve got a brand that’ll cover this,” he commented, off the subject a smidgen.

            Claw’s spell built to ahead. “Holy Restoration!” he finally shouted. The energy seemed to rise up and crash down into Nine’s body, but suddenly it misted into a fine gold spray before dissipating with not other affect.

            “I could give it a try,” Dusk offered as she stepped towards the group. “She IS slipping away.. And she is, in a way, family. You know how important I consider family.”

            “Well blast it to the nine hells!” Claw spat, frustrated with how badly his spells were going. “We have to do something. She won’t make it to a priestess.”

            Indeed Nine’s eyes were already rolling up into her head and her lips were turning blue. Dusk walked over to the dying birl, looking down at her alternative universe based mother with a strange look. “It’s been a while since I’ve tried this...” and she closed her eyes, whispering dark words that twisted life. The power wrenched into Nine’s soul with a dark grasp and forced it back down into the body while the deadly wound scabbed and healed itself in seconds.        Nine suddenly gasped, gulping air into her lungs as fresh blood rushed into her brain. She didn’t feel completely right, but she wasn’t dead and she knew she would have been. She was sure that her restoration had come with a price. 

            Tim hobbled up behind Dusk. “You gotta show me that trick sometime.”

            His erstwhile daughter just fluttered her eyes, looking much like an innocent benevolent child. “See? Maybe I’m one of those reformed villains, Daddy. All I know is that I just want to make you proud of me.”

            Tim’s smile wasn’t nearly as friendly and definitely not able to veil his thoughts. “You’re not fooling us, you know. 

            That was true. Even claw was looking the young woman over, suspicious of the dark nature he sensed behind the innocent smile. Randall even sensed it, but he didn’t care as he dropped down next to Nine. After checking her over with his scanner, he looked up at Nine’s rescuer. “Thank you.”

            “You’re welcome, Mister. I was just trying to help one of my kin.” Dusk ignore the bad glare from her father. Instead she beamed sweetly at her scowling sire. “Ooh... maybe you’re right, but let’s face it, Dad. I did save the day.”

            “Yes, Dusk. You saved the day. Morrigan will probably never let you forget it either.” Tim’s smile had returned, even as Dusk’s slightly faded. “Make sure to say hi to her for me. She might be seeing me soon.” The teenage dark sorceress pouted then vanished in a puff of smoke. The Rex stood up slowly, still a bit sore from the battle and headed over to where Tabitha had hidden herself from the battle, having found a copy of Mad Magazine in the rubble of Brimstone’s home to keep her occupied. “I can escort you back down the beach,” he offered, holding out a hand for her.

            As she took his support, Claw walked up. “Tim, what about Rooslan? Now that he’s gone?”

            “He’s not gone,” Tim sighed, his head dropping a bit. “It was a clone. One of many, I assume.

            “How many more do you think?”

            “Hundreds if he’s smart. Still....” He looked at the spot where the body had vaporized. “I think there must be a reason why he took so much of Nine’s bulk material.” With a thoughtful look on his brow, he encircled Tabitha’s waist with his good arm and slowly lead her down the beach, leaving Randall to tend to Nine, whom had passed out one again, but at least was still alive and breathing. Randall carefully scooped her up into his arms and carried her back to what was left of Brimstone’s place, finding the infirmary still in tact. But the effort was too much, even for him and he ended curling up right next to her in the bed. In all, quiet finally settled on the Del Marian estate.

            Still, there was an uneasiness in the air.

            Tim stared at the mangled mess of metal laid out on the workbench that had once been Brimstone. The ‘borg had gotten the short end of the stick alright. The nanites were in overdrive, trying to repair the damage, but BS would definitely lose some more flesh. Already layers of skin and muscle were rolling back from the metal contacts as the little mechanical microbes cut back the dead material, reconnecting the electrodes to mores suited living tissue. Give them a few more days and BS would be up and running again.

            The Rex yawned then headed back up to the newly hewn outlook shelf. Located about thirty feet lower than the original shelf, it offered a spectacular view of the devastation below. The mountain now looked to be hollowed out in the center, with two points sweeping up like horns. Thankfully the cyborg had most of the main supplies buried deep in the earth, but they had lost another ten sleeping chambers and the rest of the bar. Not like they ever had a brisk business, but they were quickly running out of gathering rooms. As it was Tim had spent the night on the beach with Tabitha and he had to smile at the memory. It seemed that she had enjoyed his company as well, even though she was gone from his side in the morning. He wasn’t worried. Should she come back months later with child, he would simply adopt them into the fold.

            No, there were greater things to be worried about.

            From his outpost he looked down at the beach. Vacant now, it had been quite the hub of activity of the past few days. The clone should have pounded them into a pulp. He’d slammed their heavy artillery into the mountain and almost fried Tim’s brain. It was sheer luck that beat the clone back, but the Tristan wannabe was.. unstable. How much mass material did Rooslan use to create the creature? Was that why he nearly stripped Nine dry? And why didn’t the commander do the same to the Rex when he was in that mad man’s clutches?

            And who was the traitor?

            She slowly made her way up the gang plank of the Dark Dream, the last leg of a short journey that had almost killed her. Of course have the back of her head blown off wasn't much better, but despite all the magics and medicines, her body still wasn't running right. She would get a boost, but only for a few hours, then the process would slow and falter. For now it was status quo and just mobile enough to start her quest. The tattooed mind reader had said the traitor was on a ship. Nine prayed it wasn't this one.

            She had some time to try and figure out Randall. It was his snoring that had woken her up, mainly because his face was in her ear. At first, she thought about kicking him out of her bed. How dare he think that he could just cosy up next to her any time he like just because he was enamored of her! But as she looked down at the slumbering scientist, she could see the worry lines forming. Yes, he fretted about her. She knew that. But love? Even if it was love, what could they do about it? By law they weren’t allowed to marry. Not that she was looking to marry, ever. But she did have a soft spot for the lug. That was no secret either; but faced with the prospect that she could be with him like that... no.. the more she thought about it, the more she thought it was a bad idea. It was too dangerous.

            The hindered mutant finally made it to the deck and took the closest, flattest surface to lean against for support as she slid to the floor. Thankfully she had ridden most of the way, but trying to stay astride a jittery dragon was almost as much an effort than walking the distance herself. She looked over the crowd to see if she could find someone willing to take her back home when the meeting was over. Lana, Crow, Amae and Gabriel were in attendance, along with a few newer faces were clustered in groups gossiping. There were the typical mad-dog glares, most of them aimed at Crow. Nine didn't follow suit. Sebastian was definitely not on her list of suspects, not because he wouldn't kill her, but because he wouldn't be so underhanded about it. That brute of a man would want to do the dead himself, publically,. At least that much she could fathom from the man's action. And since she was crew, he wouldn't kill her anyhow. At least not on purpose, she hoped.

            The meeting was short and to the point. Two members she hadn't met, Tani and Jaken, had left the crew. Fallon had been assigned the Gunsmaster position. He, along with Sonya and Garen were promoted to Dons. As that little bit of pomp and circumstance took place with the awarding of foils and capes, Nine spotted Zigg a bit off from the rest of the crew. She made her way around, then sat down next to him, only to realize to late why he was alone. Not only did he look like crap, he smelled like crap too, as if he'd been in the bowels of the ship for over a week. She wondered what he had done to draw such a punishment, but couldn't ask him until the meeting was over so all she could do was rest a hand on his shoulder. He slowly turned, as if moving through jell-O, to look at her, then slowly face forward once again.

            Other announcements included the coming of a child for the burly looking Maru and his wife. This sparked off an intense discussion between Amae and Crow about having a pregnant captain on board. As if to stave off that argument, Amae announced the building of Crow's ship.

            Nine listened with half an ear, keeping her eye on Zigg. A rat had scurried up his ar to perch on his shoulder. A pet, Obviously, but even the little critter's antics didn't quite pull Zigg free of whatever was dragging him down. All of this concerned her. Finally the meeting broke up and Nine leaned against the vampire's shoulder to stand, finding the effort exhausting and dizzying. The pressure she applied to his shoulder did seem to bring him slightly out of the daze, making him look up at her. "How are you?" he asked in a hollow tone.

            She sighed. "I think Meli's wrong here," she muttered softly for only the vamp to hear. "She said that the traitor was on a ship. I don't think it was this one." Indeed she had seen nor felt any suspicious behavior amongst her shipmates. The pirates were too wrapped up in their own affairs. She shifted her weight to the railing of the ship and slowly made her way to the gangplank.

            "I can help ya if I can," Zigg offered, but he didn't move. He just continued to stare past not only Nine, but Amae and Lana, almost as if on purpose. He only moved when he saw Nine falter then fall. Only then did he dart forward with amazing speed, catching the mutant before she hit the deck.

            Nine found herself staring up at the pale soft face and that strange feeling wallowed through her stomach again. Despite the stench and smudges and unkempt hair, she was still a fair sight for her eyes. "Where ya headed?" he asked.

            "Uhm.. back to the hideout?"

            At first Zigg just offered her a shoulder to lean against, but when it became painfully obvious that she had no more strength to walk, he carried her through the sewers. Despite the bombings from a few days ago, much of the lower levels were still in tact, at least the ones towards the sewer side. He peeked cautiously inside with his bundle, but save fore the two drake that licked at his hands and nosed at his pockets, there seemed to be no one home. "I just hope I don't get shot again," he grumbled as he gently placed Nine on one of the horribly mismatched couches.

            The drakes suddenly spotted Zigg's rodent pet that had faithfully followed the duo along the septic system, but before the duo could pounce on the morsel, Nine barked out a commanding "NO!". The dragonlings slunk away as she grinned wryly up at the vamp. "Gotta be forceful with them. They're a bit bull headed, you know." She continued to look her chivalrous knight closely and slowly crossed her arms. "Now, what happened to you? Why do you reek worse than the sewer?"

            He took up leaning against one of the partial walls. "I've been in the hold by the bilge pumps trying to sort my head out. I figure it’s a good place ta be alone. I'm startin' ta understand things a bit. You see.. I.. I've been having hallucinations about stuff and I wanna learn ta be able ta tell what is real and what isn't."

            "Like... what kind of hallucinations?"

            "Well, like friends and loved ones and such. After a long talk with someone, I realized I was just seeing things, like Lana carin' about me, or the crew respectin' me. None of that was there."

            Nine frowned a bit as she thought about what She had seen on ship vs what the vamp was telling her. "Who told you that Lana doesn't care?"

            "A captain named Tess. You see I thought Lana loved me, and if I had told her that sooner, she'd be with me instead of Crow, but Tess pointed out that if she did love me, then she'd be with me despite Crow being there. Well, she's with Crow and I'm the one not in the picture."

            Nine's frown furrowed further. "Ahum... and the crew? Why don't they respect you, at least according to this Tess person?"

            "Well because of the time I put in. I earned the high rank of Ship's mate, but no matter what, the crew won't follow my orders, even if it is in regards to their own safety."

            If her brow folded any further, Nine wouldn't have been able to see. "right. Now I haven't been on board all that long, or been that involved but... do you want My two cents?"

            "Sure."

            "Well, I've been in the military since I was five. It's a minor point, but from what I've seen, you can't let emotions get in the way of a proper moving ship. From what I've seen of Lana, she cares for ALL her crew, even me. You see how they all vie for her attention. It's overwhelming having to deal with that lot and somehow coordinate them all to get that boat moving in one direction. Not an easy task. As to love? Well, even I gotta admit that Crow is an enigmatic character, and that seems to be the type she's drawn to. Can't be helped. But you can't let you feeling for her get in the way of her trying to run a ship."

            "But I left the ship before I thought she loved me... it was when we kissed..." He shut his eyes and dropped his chin, remembering that embrace.

            "You went back because you Thought she loved you?" Nine rolled her eyes. "and all she did was kiss you? A kiss is not a confirmation of a relationship. Watch." Before he could stop her, Nine sat up on the couch and kissed Zigg full on the lips.

            She lingered perhaps a moment longer than necessary to prove her point, but his reaction she didn't expect. His eyes bulged wide in fear. "Oh no.." he whimpered and backed away from her, taking up pacing at the far end of the room. "... shit, shit, shit.." he whispered in a sharp mantra.

            “Ahum,” she coughed, perplexed by his actions, but pushing that aside as he needed her help right now. “Well? You see? You don’t hear wedding bells, do you?”

            “No, but in a few days you’ll grow to hate me. Everyone that kisses me does. Ya won’t talk to me ever again. Damnit!” he spat.

            Her brow furrowed once again, confused as to why Zigg was so upset about one little kiss. “Gee,” she had to muse, hoping her sharp whit would distract him. “I wonder if I kissed Crow he’d get this upset and jump off the ship.”

            “I’m cursed!” the vampire angrily spat back. “Every time I get close ta someone, physically or emotionally, they grow to hate me! Melody! Sadira! Lana! Sonya five times...!”

            “Close to me? Zigg! You don’t even know me! How can you be close to me?”

            “I meant physically. I ain’t close to ya emotionally.. I just... I gotta get goin’. The less I’m around ya now the better. God knows what’ll go wrong if I stay.”

            Nine was taken aback. She had no idea Zigg felt that way about her. How could he see her like that? She was battle scarred, her arms and legs looked like sticks due to the flesh and meat taken by Rooslan on his first attack. And she surely didn’t look like a woman, more like a child. She finally had to shake those thoughts aside and deal with Zigg. “Okay.. Look.. Just settle down. We can figure this out. If you’re cursed, we can break it. We’ve got enough mutant blood to counter any spell.”

            But the moody bloodsucker wasn’t listening. “Why did ya have ta go and kiss me fer God’s sake!”

            Perhaps it was the tone, or his irrational reactions, but she finally snapped back at him. “Why? Cause you needed it! That was obvious! You’ve turned into a basket case! Cutting yourself off from all contact would make anyone start seeing things, and frankly I don’t think I could stand seeing you slump lower than me on the depression meter.”

            It was them that one of the side doors opened allowing Tim and Brimstone to enter. There were in a heated argument, snarling at each other in the native Del Marian language that seemed to consist more of grunts, growls and clicks than actual words. This verbal barrage paused as both men stopped in their tracks, looking from Nine to Zigg and back again. The unfamiliar words flowed again, louder, with Brimstone begrudgingly handing the Rex a large pouch of change, which Tim took greedily. The continued on, heading out into the sewers on some devious errand, leaving the couple alone once more. “Zigg,” Nine sighed. “If you weren’t out of your mind before, trust me. Those two would gladly push you over the brink. Now...” she inhaled, clearing her mind of all those nagging little questions, focusing once again on Zigg’s problems. “You are not insane. If you were, you wouldn’t know you were.”

            “But I can’t tell what’s real anymore.”

            The frail mutant stood up, wobbling a bit before reaching out and grabbing his hand. “You feel this?”

            He almost winced at the contact. “Please.. Don’t touch me. You’ll make it worse....”

            She gritted her teeth. “Listen to me. Do you feel my hand? Forget any emotions or curses or fears for just a moment. Can you feel? Actual touch now, not some distant cognizant acknowledgment. Can you feel the contact?” He nodded ever so slightly as if trying to see what she was aiming at with all this. “Okay,” she grunted. “This is your starting point. You can’t touch hallucinations. If you reach out and can’t feel them, they ain’t real, correct?”

            “I... I think so...”

            She frowned at the unsure tone in his answer then pulled back an arm and slapped him across the face. She had no power in the strike at all. “You feel that, yes?”

            He gave a more affirmative nod of his head.

            “THAT is where you start. You start with what you know.” As she saw the understanding finally seep into his eyes, she allowed herself to slump back down on the couch. “That is how I survived Rooslan’s attack, and believe you me, if I can survive that bastard, we can find sanity for you.”

            Zigg sighed. “I think I might be a lost cause. I have no mind nor soul. I am just a body.”

            “You are Not a lost cause. Not here. That much I can be sure of, knowing this group’s track record.”

            They talked a bit further, mostly about the kinds of women that Zigg seemed to attract, and how short his time was with each of them. Nine pointed out the pattern well enough. All the women were either pirate crew or had working relations with the Dark Dream or the pirate tavern. The spunky mutant suggested that he try to find someone outside that circle. In suggesting this, she knew she was giving him an “out” with her as well, since she was crew as well. Still he seemed plainly upset that her brief kiss would somehow ruin their friendship. Somehow, she doubted that, but finally let the vampire slip away to think on things.

            As he left, a young man slipped inside, dressed in blue jeans and simple white t-shirt. His long black hair was tied back in a simple ponytail. Nothing eye catching about the young man, except perhaps that he kept to the shadows of the caves. The drakes thought nothing of him as they poked their long snouts at his pockets until he fished out a slice of bread and split it between the duo. “C’mon in,” Nine suggested, waving weakly with the right arm. “Not like this hideout’s a big secret anymore. Not with half of it floating out to sea.” She had assumed this was one of Brimstone’s contacts. Maybe even Tim’s. She was actually thankful for the interruption. Any more stray thoughts about the vampire and she was likely to do something even more foolhardy than kissing him.

            If she’d only known. The man took two steps towards her and raised a hand. She caught the glint of steel and tried to dodge the thrown item, but she was too slow and too weak. The shurikin sunk deep into her leg, the poison coating already eating away at what little flesh she had left. She tried to run but fell off the couch, unconscious before her head hit the floor. The young fella gave the fallen body a sort of salute, then turned and slipped back out into the sewers. 

            Brimstone’s hideaway was still in tact, sort of; at least on the sewer side. The ocean outlook was now easily seen from the infirmary , a new view for the room since it was located in the middle of the mountain. This was where Nine was ensconced, sitting in a new hospital bed since the prior one still held Randall where he had crashed after their encounter with Rooslan. Needless to say the scientist was a bit confused when he woke up and saw her in worse straights than when he’d least left her. Rubbing his hand through his unruly hair, he padded groggily over to her side, watching her draw on a legal pad with a piece of charcoal. “Whatcha doin’?”

            “Drawing a mug shot for Brimstone.” It was a rather in-depth portrait of a young non-descript man with long dark hair. “This guy nailed me with a poisoned throwing star.” She gestured to the freshly wrapped leg. “He just marched in here and waited for everyone to leave, then sunk one in me. BS swears the guy didn’t rob the place so I can only assume he meant to kill me.” She frowned a bit now as she redrew the attacker’s jawline. “I’m beginning to think that Rooslan isn’t as involved as we’ve been lead to believe. I don’t think he’d want me dead, just under his control.”

            Randall looked over the new injury. Despite the ‘borg’s medications, the leg looked puffy and septic.. “Here.. Lemme see that.”

            “It’ll heal,” she insisted, but scooted stiffly back so he could examine the damage.

            It was quite nasty. What was left of Nine’s muscle tone was halfway rotted away, much like what a rattlesnake bite would do. “How long as this been like this?”

            “About a day. After the pirate meeting. I couldn’t sleep.” she gave him a sly smile. “Do you know you snore? Loudly?”

            “Hush.” He didn’t like the looks of the leg as it smelled fetid.

            While he busied himself with tearing off the wrapping ans swabbing out as much of the damaged material as he could, Brimstone ambled in. He looked no better as he walked with a noticeable limp, much of his metal frame warped and twisted, barely allowing for any movement. “Jesus on a stick,” he swore. “Did she pull the IV again?” He worked around Randall, inserting the various lines. “Now listen here!” he demanded, waving a metal finger just inches from her nose. “You stay put. If you make me cut that leg off, I can guarantee you won’t be able to grow one back. Now Stay!” Brimstone paused, giving Randall a sour look before heading back into the bowels of his domain.

            Randall looked down the hall, then back at Nine. “What was that all about?”

            “Not sure. Him and Tim have been going at it for hours. I’m not that fluent in Del Marian dialects, but I’m fairly sure it’s about you, me and Zigg.”

            “Well, I think we need to worry about your leg for now.” Randall pushed that current problem forward, bypassing a potentially explosive topic. Fortunately whatever drugs the metal man was feeding into her veins seemed to kick start her healing systems again as the rotted material was literally being pushed out of the open wound as new material reformed in it’s place. In all, it look quite gross, but Randall was content with the process as he continued to wipe the old muscle away. “Seems like somebody’s got it in for you.”

            “I gathered that, but I’m not sure it’s Rooslan. I mean he could have sent that clone at any time. Why pick a beach filled with able bodied fighters? The only reason I could think of was that he wanted to instill fear into us. Yean...” She looked out to the rolling ocean. “There are a lot of mysteries out there...”

            “My only concern now if you decide to venture outside. I don’t want you to be alone, and I want to be there to watch your back. You don’t need to fall victim to another sneak attack.”

            “Yeah... sure....” Nine fell sullen again, becoming tight lipped in her response. “For now.. Look, Tim explained it all to me quite clearly. You’ll soon forget whatever confused feelings you have for me, just like Zigg will. It’ll pass. Don’t worry about it.”

            Randall stared at her , a bit confused. “Screw Tim!” he spat back. “How I feel about you is real. He’s just jealous. He’s being his manipulative self!”

            “Whoa! Easy! See? You’re all worked up. Exactly how he said you’d be. All he did was point out one simple over looked fact. I’m in season.”

            Randall stared even longer at the girl, then slowly shook his head. “That’s not it! Tim’s manipulating things. Hell he’s probably trying to get you for himself?”

            “Me? With Tim? Ewwwwww! No no.. Heck you know it’s true. You were the one that kept me doped up on the freighter during my last cycle. If you hadn’t, I would have sent the male half of the crew into a tizzy. You know how strong That desire can affect people. Here, there is no chemical control. It explains my weird feelings and youse guys’s weird actions. I just have to ride this out, like a cold.”

            The scientist was flabbergasted. Despite all her knowledge and training, she really had no idea. “I’m telling you that there’s a difference between my feeling for you and pherome induced ones. I’ve know ever since the beginning of the propulsion experiments that I’ve wanted you.”

            “Really?” This time there was no suspicion, just amazement in her voice. “That long ago?”

            He blushed a bit. “Yeah. It just took almost losing you a couple of times for me to get the nerve to say something.

            She sat quietly for a moment, deep in thought. “So. Whadda we do now?”

            “Well... I hope this comes out right. Do you feel the same about me?”

            There was one of those awkward silences, accompanied with Nine blushing all kinds of embarrassing colors. “I.. Well.. I mean I don’t think it was any secret that I liked you more than most. I even had a.. thing.. for you.. But it wasn’t like anything could come of it. It was just.. Man this is so surreal.. Like a dream. It almost feels like Tim is putzing around in my brain...”

            Randall had sat quietly through all her stammering, but now he leaned forward and gently encircled the confused mutant in a loving hug. “I don’t think so..” he whispered in her ear then slowly leaned over her face and kissed her on the lips.

            As they embraced, Brimstone and Timothy walked in to check up on their patient, but their attention was not focused on the girl at first. They had been in the middle of an argument, but they paused in mid word as the saw the intertwined couple. Once again they yammered at each other in the strange dialect, clicking and grunting along with several human languages, but this time Timothy was the one that handed over the bag of gold to his cyborg counterpart before moving on to the newly remodeled living room.

            Neither Randal nor Nine noticed the intrusion.

            The boy’s argument switched from Del Marian to Basic human when they spotted Claw reclining on one of the scavenged couches. BS pulled out a small black throwing star from one of his pockets and flung it at the mage’s feet, the metal edge sharp enough to allow the piece to stick to the floor. “Recognize that?”

            Claw quirked a blond brow. “It’s a shurinken,” he stated cautiously as he reached down for the piece.

            “Careful,” the ‘borg warned. “It’s loaded with some heavy duty hemotoxins. We found it lodged in Nine’s leg this morning.”

            “In her... She was attacked? Again?!”

            “Yeah,” the cybernetic cowboy grunted. “And the kicker is that it’s Militant issue.” The glare he shot Tim told Claw what they had been fighting about.

            “Don’t even go there!” Tim snapped back. “If you wanna get down and dirty about it, it’s not My adopted kid that likes winging these around!”

            “Ash wouldn’t Dare take Nine out. He’s too busy trying to kill Me to worry about a second rate kinetic!”

            “She is Not second rate! She’s just unrealized!”

            And the conversation slipped back into the mutated dialect, leaving Claw to ponder about the snippets he’d just heard. As they moved off down another long corridor, he leaned forward and wrapped a handkerchief around the dangerous toy and pulled if free of the floorboards before slipping into one of his available pouches. Later he would try his spells well away from any mutated vibes. One hs third attempt he managed a picture of the dark haired man, but not much more. Still it would match Nine’s conceptual portrait that Randall showed him the next day, and that would confirm their first lead.

            Now all they had to do was find the guy.

            "I Am Not a Kid!" This from a pint-sized Amae as Nine slipped into the Pirate Tavern. She had stayed away long enough. If she was to discover who was trying to kill her, she would have to dig up some leads as the others seemed to be foundering in confusing clues. It was clear she had been gone for some time. Amae seemed to be the victim of a rejuvenating spell gone awry after a spar. Taking a vantage point at the end of the bar, she ordered a beer but never got the chance to slack her thirst. Randall came storming in, clearly upset. "I thought I said I didn't want you coming here alone! Especially with what happened last time."

            "I wasn't attacked here," she calmly reminded him. "I was attacked in Brimstone's private sanctuary. I don't think that guy would try something like that here where everybody and his step-brother can see, doncha think?"

            While she smirked at the brief victory, Lana came down the stairs, only to pause, staring at Amae. "What happened?"

            "Overdose in a spar," Amae snarled, then jumped off the counter to kick the offending Kyne whom had cone the spell wrong.

            Nine was truly thankful that she never got tied up in that sparring nonsense. What she did notice was the few looks at her head. She realized that the crew must be looking at the damaged half of her nogging from where the slaving bomb had detonated. Even though the skull had reformed over the brain case, she still had a rather harsh red bald spot. She took up one of the cloth napkins and folded it into a triangular shape then tied it about her head, covering the unsightly scar.

            Once Randall calmed down, he gave her the news. They had gotten a partial DNA trace from the throwing star. Couple with Claw's divinations, there was some hope that they could find the assailant. As he rattled off their vague options, she managed to drink her beer, then pour two more, making sure to pay for Randall's since he was not crew. Amae made her way over, climbing up on the barstool seat to be eye level with the mutant. "How ya felling, Nine? All healed up yet?" It was clear that the plucky pint sized girl wasn't, but Amae was just trying to make light discussion, hoping to discover what had happened to her somber charge.

            "I'd be fine if everyone would quite trying to kill me," Nine answered wryly, pulling up the simple tan shift to expose the halfway healed leg. She was still too unnaturally thin too, and the concern on the captain's face was troubling.

            "I'm sorry we couldn't have helped," Amae apologized.

            "Sokay. Not many would have been able to stop him. We couldn't, obviously." Nine saw that didn't appease the worry in Amae's face, so she ordered some food to placate her. Frankly she was a bit hungry, but because of the past few days and Brimstone's horrible cooking, she'd been off her feed. the smells from the kitchen set her mouth watering and she was soon settled with a bowl of stew.

            She almost didn't finish it. Amae had wandered into the kitchen to fill another order. Nine didn't know what for sure had happened, but when the captain bellowed "Felix, you creep!" Nine was on the move. Amae was rubbing her head where a thrown boot, now laying on the floor, had beaned her. The only other person in the room was Felix, so Nine marched up on him. "What the hell is your problem?!" she bellowed just as loud. Felix didn't hear as he was snoring quite loudly. Apparently he had assaulted his fearless captain with the boot while totally sound asleep. Randall rushed up and grabbed Nine, seeing as she was brandishing a steak knife purloined from Brimstone's cutlery and had it drawn back behind her, stiff armed should she have to swing. He knew much of it was posturing, but she begrudgingly relented, going back to her seat, pausing when she saw that Amae had pushed her bowl of stew aside. "Can I have that if you don't want?"

            "Be my guest," and she pushed the bowl over, glad to see the mutant calming down, and eating.

            Mutants were never know for their table manners and Nine was no exception. She glommed into the bowl with great gusto, coming up only occasionally to gulp some air before submerging back into her feeding frenzy. She pushed the bowl back when it was empty, resisting the urge to lick the bottom clean. "Nice to see your appetite is back," Randall noted with relief.

            "Well, you've seen the slip[ BS makes. They really should never let a man with no tastebuds cook."

            Suddenly Amae screamed. Nine didn't need to turn to feel the wave of magic rollover her skin, giving her a burning sensation. Apparently Kyne had trued to right his wrong, but the spell had regressed Amae to toddler stage. Nine could only guess why the spell had gone awry, and it make her heart flutter in hope that she was perhaps becoming a mutant once more; well as normal as a mutant can get.

            Randall hopped on his bike and road through town, hoping that Nine had headed to the Pirate Tavern. "Why was that woman so stubborn?" he asked himself, then snorted. "Because she's a mutant," he answered himself. She probably wanted to find out who the traitor was worse than the lot of them, especially since she was the main target. That would unsettle anyone. In all, she was doing as she was trained; keeping on the move and avoiding being a stationary target. Still it was hell on him, trying to get her to slow down so she could heal properly. He knew that even though she loved him, that Militant nature wouldn't let her accept help. No, they had been bred to be self sufficient. That was going to be a hard trait to overcome.

            He recognized the massive frame of Marek slipping into a nondescript bar. This intrigued the scientist as the young mage was supposed to be out at sea. Randall parked his motorized machine and followed the dragon blood into the "Rusty Kettle." It was a quaint little tavern, run by average everyday women folk, perhaps a strange sight compared to what Randall had been exposed to of late, but a nice change. Both man and dragon kith reached the bar at the same time, taking up adjacent bar stools and settling on a tankard of Drow ale each. "Mister Randall," the big man nodded in greeting.

            "Marek," the blonde biotech nodded in reply. "Have you seen Lina lately? I need to ask her about this pendant she gave me." He held up the jewelry for Marek to inspect. "she asked me to hang on to this for her."

            The burly man looked the piece over. "No, I dunna think it was for safe keeping. I think it was a present. That's a traveling pendant."

            "That would figure. It teleported me the other day. I was on my way down to the beach to talk to Nine and it suddenly transported me all the way down the mountain in seconds. I wanted to ask Lina how to use it proper."

            "Hm... what were you think about at the time?"

            "I just wanted to get down to Nine so I could take to her about a very important matter."

            "I see," Marek mused and he finished off the draught.

            The kind bartendress sidled up next to the two men. "I am sorry, but I couldn't help but overhear. It sounds like the pendant taps into the Nexus."

            "Nexus?" both men asked.

            "Yes! It is everywhere. Do you know of it? It is all of the magic that is in Rydin. It usually manifests itself as portals. Sometimes it will come when summoned, but most of the time it toys with you to reassure you that you are simply a member of its existence, not the controller of it."

            "But this trinket isn't of Rydin proper, Miss." Marek had his scowl in place, caused more by him thinking than actually scowling.

            "Perhaps not in origin," she replied. "But it's 'ere now, is it not? The Nexus care not when it came from, so long that it is now here."

            Marek didn't seem willing to buy that explanation, but Randall was quite keen on the topic, filing it away in his brain. "I wonder if Nine's problem with magic would foul this pendant up?"

            The burly man snorted, then looked down at Randall with such a strange face that it made the scientist's neck hairs rise. What was so creepy is that he couldn't discern What mood the young mage was in. Finally Marek posed his inquiry. "I hear from... unnamed sources.. that you have found love in that little mutant."

            "Yes! We both finally came clean to each other about our feelings."

            "Really." Marek seemed to loom larger, almost intimidating, but then paused, tilting his head slightly as something distracted him. "Hm... you better get back. If my senses remain clean and untainted, Miss Nine will be needing you."

            "God I hope she's keeping out of trouble," but Randall knew that to be a lost cause, even as he gathered up his things.

            "Her? Keep out of trouble?" Marek allowed a guffaw to escape his guts. "Good luck, young one." He gave a salute with his refilled mug, even as Randall rushed out to his bike and brought it roaring to life, leaving the mage in a melancholy mood. He turned to the bartendress. "Perhaps something a bit stronger this time Miss?"