to chapter 5 to chapter 7

 

 

            Aurora was sitting outside the drow's cage when he woke up. She wasn't mad. In fact she showed quite a bit of concern, and some confusion. "How ya feeling?"

 

            He stretched a little, allowing various joints and ligaments to snap back into place. "Like I've been beaten and thrown into a cell," he chuckled. The Vashtalian King and he had already spoken civil words. Ralus could have walked from his cell, but it was Aurora he wanted to speak with. Being locked up, at this point, was a ruse. Perhaps she already know that and was playing along. That bothered the drow some. Why all the misdirection?

 

            "You ready for some Q and A?" she asked. He nodded. "Who are you?"

 

            He blinked. Surely she knew. Maybe her suspicious nature made her think him a fraud or imposter. "We, my real name is Ralus, but back in the day when you still had fur and were an oversized elf, you called me Drizz."

 

            "I thought so!" She tapped her temple. "It hasn't All slipped away from me. Okay, next question. Just what the hell did you think you were doing breaking into the castle and trying to steal Nine."

 

            Drac had asked him the same question, and once the dragon king explained who Nine was, the answer was obvious. "Well, you two radiate on the same frequency almost. I got a little confused."

 

            "Okay, lemme redirect. What in the hell did you think you were doing trying to sneak in here and kidnap Me?"

 

            He shrugged. "Well, when I got into town, I noticed that the old place was sort of.. melted? I got worried."

 

            "Oh. Yeah. I supposed that Would look a little suspicious."

 

            "Just a tad," he echoed.

 

            "Would it help to know that BS melted the place on purpose?"

 

            The drow crossed his legs, striking a pensive pose. He knew this was going to be a touch and go process. She would offer bits of information. He would have to complete them with a valid response. "That would make sense to, if I remember that particular cyborg."

 

            "He's gotten broodier," she replied. "Picked up a few more pounds in metal. Became the official target for us mutants. That's quite a bit a stress. That and girl troubles."

 

            "He's gotten broodier? Didn't he used to be the one that told Me to calm down all the time?"

 

            Apparently his responses had past her tests and she likewise relaxed, leaning her chair up against the brickwork. "So, what about you? You disappeared for a few years there."

 

            "Well that's a funny story," he gestured quickly and a giant swirling orb appeared between his hands. "Remember this?"

 

            Clearly she did for she was gawking at it, the feet of her chair slamming down hard. "that's not My orb, is it?"

 

            Drizz nodded. "Entropy, though this isn't the real thing," and he waved his hand through the center of the ball, proving it to be a magical hologram. "What I did find out during my stint as a demi-god, was that there are more than one. Lots more."

 

            "Dear God," he mumbled, rubbing her brow. "Not sure I wanna hear this, but go on..."

 

            "My sentiments exactly. I spent much of my time chasing them down and locking them away. Something weird happened when I tried to snag this one. I got zapped back to the old keep and lost track of it. The only think I can think of is that there was a massive rift between realities recently and the orb slipped through it."

 

            A thought, a very bad though, ran cold as it surfaced in her mind. "Oh no... a big temporal rift..." She spun around and almost ran into Randall whom has meandered down into the basement to check on the new hostage. "Randall, go get Drac. Now. I know what Tim's up to.. or Tristan.. or whoever he's playing at now."

 

            As she bodily turned Randall around and shoved him back up the stairs, Drizz's dark skin seemed to pale to ash. "Tim's back?" He groaned. Funny how he sounded a lot like Aurora when stressed. "Who do I always come back for the fun ones?" he sighed. "Some of his other incarnations were even pleasant."

 

            She turned around. "It's even better than that. This one is sort of riding shotgun inside somebody else. That's why we've been holed up in this castle. Tristan is one of the few people that can match me on a level playing field. He's both a 'path and a 'kinetic and has a mean streak three miles wide." She sighed "And you followed the orb's trail... lemme guess... here?"

 

            "Yeah but I lost it. As soon as I got here, I picked it's sister frequency, you."

            

            "And by association, Nine." He nodded, the response seeming to amp Aurora's reactions. "Man, this is Not good.. Not good at all. If Tristan manages to find it, we're all sunk."

 

 

            Drac had slipped into Nine's quarters, Defender behind his back, not sure on what condition he would find the mutant. She was laying down, the covers to her neck, staring vacantly out the window. She didn't even blink. He sighed. It pained him to see the girl this crushed. He would have even preferred to see her yelling, venting her rage and emotion, rather than this deadness that seemed to encompass her being. He pulled out Defender from his hiding place, very slowly, then laid the weapon next to her. No reaction. With a sigh he headed out the door, then paused, peeking over his shoulder. Nine had rolled over, wrapping herself around her errant blade, and closed her eyes while Defender started up a soothing hum.

 

            He was smiling when he left Nine's dorm, only to hear Aurora's voice echoing off the walls. He sighed then headed down to the basement to find one very animated woman and a very worried drow. "I know what Tristan's up to!" she declared, then gestured at the drow. "This IS Drizz the Drow!" she insisted. "He came looking for me, but kind of got lost. What matters was How he got here. He was sucked in by a temporal rift, one cause by a sphere of entropy! Drac, this is Way bad news! If Tristan, or Tim, gets a hold of that sphere, we may as well cash it all in." Aurora ignored the entourage that seemed to follow Drac down the steps, Charon and a guest. She also seemed to ignore all the confusing looked Drac himself had. "You gotta let Drizz out! I'll vouch for him," she begged the Vashtalian King. "He can track this ball. We gotta find it before they do. It's universally destructive, just in nature."

 

            Drizz smiled, then stood up, opening the door to his cell, watching Aurora's jaw dropped. "The room was so nice I had to stay the night." He chuckled again. "Drac let me out last night. I was just making sure You were okay with me. I know how you get."

 

            Clearly Aurora was not about to relax. "Find. You got your rest. Now can we go fine the orb and stash it afore we get wiped off the planet?"

 

            "Uhm, question?" Drac asked, lifting a finger. "Once we find it, how are we going to 'stash' it?"

 

            "Leave That to me," Aurora grumbled. Drac felt a knot in his stomach, not sure he agreed with the tone in the mutant's voice, but left it alone, for now.

 

 

 

 

            The newly anointed Brimstone sure didn't seem to be taking charge. Not that there was anyone around that would take charges from him. Aurora had assembled her brood and gone into closed quarters with the drow, apparently plotting out a plan of action. Nine had her sword back and seemed to be emerging as if from a very deep sleep. She had no energy, but at least no despair weighing her down. Megan was still in the infirmary, refusing to take one step out of the room.

 

That left BS to brood his current plight as he rummaged into the kitchen for something to fill his stomach. What he managed to compile on the Dagwood-sized sandwich wasn't all edible, at least not to normal folk. But then he was very far from normal. A mutant wrapped in metal. He tucked his snack under his arm and headed out into the hallway: Only to freeze as he saw Meli heading towards him with Charon and a young child in tow. He still wasn't sue which side of the fence he was on with her, and surely now was not the time to test that water.

 

The only saving grace was the child, whom beamed at him and waved her pudgy fingers at him. He crouched down, making himself less looming and waved back at the little girl, even as Meli spotted him and narrowed her gaze. "What are you doing?" she challenged him.

 

He couldn't help but be a smart-ass. He felt a little bit safer, figuring she wouldn't explode so readily with an innocent this close. "Being sociable to the kid. What did you think, that I was going to eat her? I'm not that kind of brute." He tried his sheepish smile on Charon, hoping to rouse any sort of sympathy towards his cause.

 

Charon looked from her child to BS then back to Meli. "Is this the 'Tin Man'?"

 

Meli nodded then gestured to the child. "BS, this is Lilka Alania. My niece's child."

 

"Lilka? that's a pretty name." He inched closer to the child, making funny faces, keeping a very wary eye on the woman folk. One never knew when a mother got overly protective of their young. Even now Charon pulled the child back. "Don't scare her!" The child, however, was squirming in her mother's grip, wanting desperately to reach out an pluck out BS's shiny red eye.

 

While BS wiggled his way into the little girl's graces with funny faces, Lynara came skipping up, giggling as well, finding the child fascinating. She smiled, thrusting a hand out to the fussy baby. as she walked between BS's legs, causing him to freeze up so he wouldn't trample the woodland creature. "Man, where'd all the rug rats come from?" he complained jokingly.

 

"I'm not a rug rat!" Lynara grinned back, not quite sure what a rug rat was. "I'm a Pandori. Two completely different things! Like water and wine, ya see?"

 

Charon bounced the fussy child on her feet. Well I'm going to see if Saarith's around. I haven't seen him in a while." She looked down at Lilka. "Wanna go exploring?" The child clearly wanted BS's eye more than anything, reaching out with one hand so far away from her objective. In the end, her mother had to drag the girl away while Meli brought up the rear.

 

BS probably wouldn't have minded wrestling with the little one. It had been too long since any of them had heard the pitter patter of tiny feet in their fold, save for Megan, and it didn't look like any more were forthcoming. Only Lynara hung behind, still staring at the mechanical construct before reaching out and touching his leg. She still didn't believe it was metal, and was further confused, as it felt warm and alive. He smiled, then crouched down to her level. "You wanna ride?" She nodded vigorously, holding her arms out, begging to be picked up, which he did ever so gently, lifting her up slowly over his head to rest on his shoulders, bracing her against his neck. "Is this too high for you?"

 

"Oh no! I've been in trees much taller than you!"

 

"Well hang on cause This tree Walks!" He started swaying down the hallway like a lumbering elephant. Lynara's response was to hold her hands over her head and giggle hysterically as if she were on some wild roller coaster ride. Of course this just encouraged BS to skip and bump along, making outrageous sound effects, taking his "jockey" right out into the main concourse where Claw was setting the household flags to half staff, the 'borg totally oblivious to any proper pomp and circumstance.

 

Meli watched from the shadows. She felt the oddness again, something she had thought forgotten, when she saw BS again. For now, she would let him be at it seemed he needed this frolic almost as badly as Lynara.

 

In fact the wild child was spurring him on. "More! More!" she insisted.

 

BS couldn't be more clownish as he bounced around, rebounding off the walls and furniture. He managed just to avoid Lilka as she flew past him, having changed into her tiny draconic form only to land in Claw's lap where he bubbled over her in praise. "And how is my granddaughter today?"

 

"Fine!" she beamed back.

 

Claw chuckled at the girl's enthusiasm. "That's good. I'm doing fine too." He looked back over at BS who had now regressed, spinning in circles and making airplane noises while his "pilot" squealed in delight.

 

Only when "Air Brimstone" came flying up the center row and spotted Claw did he pull up, realizing that he was intruding on something. "Oh.. uhm.. hi?"

 

"Hello, Brimstone. Enjoying yourself?" Claw didn't sneer. In fact he seemed to appreciate the 'borg's less- destructive diversion.

 

"Well, you know. I guess it's the kids that bring out the kid in me, don'tcha know."

 

"It's quite all right , Brimstone. There's no need to be serious all the time."

 

Now the dragonling in Claw's lap brightened, seeing the 'borg. "Tim Man!" she giggled.

 

BS smiled. "I guess I'm everyone's favorite ride. Did you want a ride too, Lilka?" He shook his head as she grinned, bouncing on grandpa's knee. "I keep forgetting that you have a thriving swarm around here."

 

 

 

 

 

            Randall found Nine curled up around Defender, her legs wrapped around the sharp blade itself. Her brow was resting on the hilt, and she seemed to be in some sort of deep thought. He just sat on the bed, waiting for her to blink before beginning his speech. "We need to talk about some things, Nine."

 

            Nine didn't move, not even to look at him, nor did she reply. She just waited.

 

            "Where did you ever get this crazy idea that I would even think of leaving you for anyone else?" he asked.

 

            She opened one eye. This was not what she had been expecting. "I thought it was fairly obvious. All that time with Megan. The way you were staring at... Her." She could never get enough bile down to say Aurora's name. "And then I almost kill you. I figured That would have been the last straw."

 

            He rolled his eyes. "My interest in Megan is purely professional. Since magic doesn't work well on stabilizing her condition, I had to step in and use my medical knowledge. Aurora's only been pressing me for knowledge on this whole situation, nothing else. And as for you blowing your stack, I figured you were just embarrassed about getting beat. Brimstone had to hold me back to keep me from chasing you down. I know I'm the only one that can calm you down."

 

            Nine lifted her head from the sword some. "That's cause he knew. He knew that I would have killed you. He probably saved your life."

 

            Randall scooted closer to her, even as she rested her brow back on its perch on the hilt, then cautiously put and arm around her. She tensed up, then slowly relaxed against him and even let him kiss her cheek. "Maybe you don't realize how much I love you."

 

            And those damn tears started tumbling again. It took her a few minutes to vent, leaving Randall's shirt all ruined again. He wondered if he would have to begin to keep some spares and her slightly acidic tears just turned his clothing to moth-eaten rags. Finally she managed to get some of her thoughts into words. "I don't wanna fight her!"

 

            He could offer no words, just hug her. For a bit there, it seemed that the tide would stem, until she remembered that she’d almost decapitated him, making her fall back into another round of blubbering. Finally she managed to pull herself together, wiping her nose on her sleeve and pulling her hair back. She gave Randall a sheepish grin. "Guess I'm not cut out to lead this team," she sniffled. "Can't have a 'fearless leader' busting out with tears at the drop of a hat, can you?"

 

            "To be honest? I always saw you more as a grunt in the trenches type anyhow."

 

            Nine nodded. "Yeah, me too, but I figured.... ah.. you know what, I 'figure' too much. Let HER run this outfit."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

            Rowan the thief yawn and rolled over in his bed, managing to get one eye open, only to see Kelly perched on the window sill. A smile flowed over his lips and he sat up, rubbing his eyes before beckoning her to come sit next to him, which she did. He rewarded her by hissing her on the brow and placing and arm around her. "Feeling any less upset?" She nodded a bit, which made him smile more, especially as she rested her head on his shoulder. "Good, because I'm sorry if I upset you." He now softly stroked her hair.

 

            "It's not your fault," she replied.

 

            The young man sighed, then looked to Kelly. "I'm hungry. How 'bout you?"

 

            She gave a soft smile. "Sure."

 

            He beamed back then slid off the bed to get dressed. He sure didn't want to wander about the castle in his undergarment, but he could feel Kelly watching him. finally donning a simple tunic and leather leggings, he turned to Kelly and held out a hand to accompany her to the kitchen.

 

            When they reached the serving quarters, they found Aurora's militant regalia elbow to elbow at the counter, apparently having broken from their intense meeting to get in some nourishment. Aurora and Pryce were arguing, not heatedly but clearly at odds on some point, but Kelly didn't know about what as they grumbled at each other in that strange language of theirs. Rooslan was watching Brimstone buzzing around the main concourse playing with the children. That left two rather large fellows in the kitchen divvying up the food.

 

Frank turned round, sporting a sandwich that put Brimstone's to shame, only to pause to see Kelly holding hands with Rowan. Allen turned around, saw Frank staring at the duo, then slowly rubbed his brow, apparently feeling the effects. He managed to make his escape through the other door, leaving Frank to fend for himself.

 

            Rowan couldn't help but beam in pride. "Allo."

 

            It was a tense moment, but Frank then nodded slowly. "Hello. Help yourselves. there's some fresh ham in the cooler." He stepped around the cooler and headed back down the hallway to the meeting room. If he was upset, it was hard to tell.

 

            "I feel bad," Kelly murmured, her stomach tied in a pang.

 

            Rowan shrugged it off, heading to the cooler and prepping them something to nibble on.

 

            Lynara was bubbling with Claw, having slipped off the 'borg's shoulders to take up part of the dragon mage's lap, explaining that she was a Pandori, much like a Dryad though the Kendari have interpreted the meaning of the name to be more translated in the words "little Chaos". The Kendari also said that her kind were distantly related to elves.

 

While Lynara educated the bemused Claw, Brimstone had bent down to Lilka’s level, seeing if she wanted a ride. Instead her small fingers whipped out and she managed to pluck out one of the small metal disks that composed the iris of the mechanized eye. "Hey!" he protested loudly. He wasn't surprised, but he made quite the show of it. Lilka beamed the darted her hand into her pocket to hide her prize. "That's my eye!" he wailed, making himself to be the big goofus, stumbling around and rebounding off the furniture. "I'm blind!" he winked with his good eye.

 

            Meli made her way out from the shadows. She had been standing behind Charon as she argued, ever so softly compared to Brimstone's ilk, with a young gentleman about some misspoken words. She was grateful for the distraction. "Good job, Lilka. I've been wanting to do that myself. May I see it?"

 

            Lilka fished out the lense and handed it over, much to the chagrin of the 'borg. "Can I have that back, please?"

 

            Meli looked to Claw, whom nodded encouragingly. "Go ahead and give him is eye back, We don't need any unnecessary disputes. Not today. Remember what today is."

            

            The psi-hunter shrugged then held out her hand, the tiny plastic part in her palm. BS picked it gently from its perch. "Thank you," he murmured, but instead of installing it, he just slipped into one of the many pockets on the yellowish duster. No in control of all his body parts, he turned back to Claw. "What day IS it today?"

 

            "It would be forty years to the day today when the Great War between Vashtalia and the surrounding realms ended."

 

            The dragon mage could almost guess what BS would come back with. "It ended? Didn't you have like a skirmish not to long ago with.. what was that place... Veradia?"

 

            "That was another war," Claw replied, perhaps a bit sourly. "The Great War decimated Vashtalia as well as our enemies. We were able to win in the end; however, the losses were great. Today is a day of mourning for those who survive."

 

            BS nodded. "Well.. war IS war. It may have a different tune, but it still marches."

 

Meli could see the playfulness and moment of peace that had the 'borg enthralled not too long ago begin to melt and fade. "There will come a time of peace," she insisted.

 

The 'borg snorted. "Peace only comes at death, and even That is not a given." He was already shuffling his feet. "Look... I.. I got stuff to do.. I'll talk to youse guys later. My.. condolences for your remembrance, Claw... Meli.. g'night." And he bowed quickly before leaving the room.

 

 

 

 

 

            

 

 

            Our favorite bad guy was milling about by the sea side, apparently still looking for a way to breach Drac's homestead without being detected. It was hard to tell who was in the driver's seat, Tristan or timothy, but he was being pretty paranoid, ducking into the alleyway if he even suspected any of the "others" about. Frankly he looked like crap. He hadn't saved and the blond stubble took away from his innate charm. His wardrobe was beginning to show wear and tear.

 

            He had managed to score some leftovers in a dumpster and was down to chewing on the bones, literally grinding the calcium laden limbs to paste in his jaws; a benefit of a heightened digestive system; when Meli found him. She had felt sorry for him at first, seeing the state his was in, but this was soon overshadowed with the thought of "he brought it upon himself."

 

            He never even gestured. He had felt her invading his space long before she physically spotted him, so timed his mind to reach out and grab onto her as she leapt to the rooftops. He had the will, but his mind wasn't focused. Instead of grabbing her, he pushed her backwards. Still a distraction was a distraction and he ducked around the corner, still clutching dinner in his fist as he swore at his won ineptness. It was difficult to tell who was swearing at who in his little world.

 

            Suddenly he felt her mind grabble into his own flesh as she tried to pull him back around the corner. He grabbed onto a nearby garbage can, but the lid popped off the top. In a Desperate bid, he twisted around and flung the metal lid discus style towards Meli. She ducked, but the measure had broken her concentration as well, giving him another chance to bolt into the alleyway as he reached around in his waistband for his gun. He had to muse for a moment. He was the strongest psi on the planet and all he could do was bean her with a garbage lid? There had to be some irony in there somewhere. He hated falling back on the technical, but she was almost his match on the mental plane.

 

            A sandwich bounced in the dirt in front of him. A sandwich? Granted he was starving, but not That starving. "Go Away, Meli!" he warned.

 

            This was answered by the same garbage lid catching him on the shoulder as he ducked behind a retaining wall. "OW!" he snarled back. "That hurt, Bitch."

 

            That also didn't sound like Tim anymore. He rushed out, sending several plasma bolt shots skittering across the roof, making her dance around just long enough for him to duck into yet another alleyway, swearing as he saw that only 1 bolt managed to make contact with it's target, high up on her left arm. "Damnable magic!" he swore as he rested, letting the gun recharge. The sight of her in the edge of the rooftop infuriated him and he tried to focus another TK punch, cursing himself again as it failed, losing cohesion halfway across the concourse.

 

At least she wouldn't get a clear shot at him either. The array of white hot weaponry and flying trash lids had sent many of the shoppers running for their lives, giving him some cover. She tried using a boomerang, a gift from a friend, but the bent stick flew much like a stick, bouncing off the rOoftop and landing in the dirt below. "I thought these things were supposed to be fun," she complained.

 

"Bored?" The psi answered her with another volley of plasma, hitting home with another two shots.

 

But she had lured him out, and managed to sink a volley of her own into his already bruised shoulder. Granted it was only a wooden arrow, but the end result did make him howl. The pain. She actually felt pity for the man and muttered a spell to remove the shaft and arrowhead. He seemed to pitch forward, as if the spell was doing more damage than the initial cut. Only when he disappeared from view did she realize that he had dove through an access tunnel and was making good his escape in the sewers.

 

It was to this scene that Brimstone came thundering up. He had the plasma rifle out of it's housing, a sight that sent more shoppers running for cover, but he ignored all the chaos around him, especially when he saw the charred wounds running down the length of Meli's left side. The weapon seemed to snap back into its protective housing on its own as he reached forward. "Lemme see that shoulder," he stated, neither asking nor demanding.

 

"Tis nothing but a flesh wound," she giggled back.

 

It was quite the wound too, a clean hole had been burned straight through, nicking the bone and allowing gobs of blood to drip unfettered. He ripped an edge off his trenchcoat. "Hold still."

 

Meli looked at the gap, feeling a bit giddy and lightheaded. "Oooohh. that's neat. A prayer is in order."

 

"Save your prayers." He stepped back even as she insisted on weaving her magic. The arm was momentarily encased in a healing blue, but there was little result of it. BS stepped in to finish his doctoring. "I saw you praying for Tim. What wee you thinking? You're lucky it didn't backfire."

 

"Oh I just prayed that we'd get the old tim back so you could kick his weak ass."

 

            "He's beyond help, Meli." He now looked up, finding another rivet of blood, this time dripping down from a graze on her neck. He tore another strip from his coat. "Gunfire is more reliable, You should have let me shoot him.." He pulled out a can of Bactine and sprayed the site, causing her to wince a bit at the sting. "And what's all this new stuff about praying things into being? When did you start doing this?"

 

            "Well, since I got free of the slave pits. I used to kill people for fun."

 

            "In the rings. I Remember you telling me this." He now stepped back, looking over his handiwork before reaching into his pocket and drawing out his smoking gear, needing to calm down some.

 

            "Right. Well, I died. After that, I got free and started praying."

 

            He had rolled, licked, sealed and was about to light the new rolled fag when he paused, then end of one of his fingers flaming a bit. "And your prayers; they work?"

 

She pouted. "Yes they work. I'll prove it to you. I'm going to pray for you!"

 

He just shook his head, disbelieving, then lit the joint and inhaled strongly. It wasn't weed. In fact it was very difficult to pinpoint just what the heck he was smoking, but much like everything else, it couldn't have been good. She pointed at the cigarette, muttering a prayer under her breath for the fag to turn into cheese.

 

Other than limping over and smelling a tad bit like limburger, BS took a few more drags then dropped it to the ground. “You know, I’ve got something akin to that, but I sure as hell don’t call it a prayer. It’s a curse.”

 

Meli just pouted further, pulling the strawberry blond hair back behind her ears. Another fervent prayer on her lips, wishing Brimstone to drop down to a healthy weight. This prayer was fulfilled, but the evidence wasn’t as dramatic. Granted the ‘borg was hefty, but no grotesquely overweight. In fact other than shedding a light 20 lbs on the spot, there wasn’t a noticeable change. The girth he bore was strictly to bear the weight. She gave it one more shot, gesturing to his Stetson covered brow. Suddenly the bald patches on his scalp grew in, and not slowly. More like with an audible POOF. “There,” she snorted smugly. “You might want to get a hair cut.”

 

The litany of Del Marian curse words echoed off the walls. He removed the weather beaten hat and ran his hand through the brown mop of mess. “Yep!” she smiled with new found confidence. “You definitely need a haircut.

 

BS glared down at her, thoroughly furious, but managed to bit his tongue. “That is one Very dangerous weapon in your arsenal there. I would be Very careful; Very careful indeed.”

 

“Wow! You grew leaves! I guess you Are a tree!”” This from the nymph like Lynara as she stepped out from one of the blind alleyways.

 

The ‘borg’s rage veered from Meli to the smaller childlike dryad-kin. “What are you doing out here? You’re mother’s gonna be so worried. And how did you get out of the castle? Better yet, how did you get out of Vashtalia?”

 

“She’s not a child!” Meli tried to correct him, already sensing that wasn’t going to sink in any time soon. Lynara’s prismatic eyes narrowed, nodding in agreement with the psi-hunter.

 

He spun right back to her. “The Point is that she’s out here! Where it’s Dangerous!”

 

Meli countered by reaching up and wrapping her knuckles on one of the metal plates on the man’s head, finding the contact perhaps a big.. gushy? She shrugged that quirk aside. “Hello! Are you thick? Tim’s not so dangerous anymore.”

 

“Yeah!” Lynara echoed. “And I can take care of myself!” She even drew her dainty bow and plucked the spider-web like string.

 

“Are you Both thick!?” he raged back. “Tim’s still out here. That.” He pointed at Lynara. “Is a potential hostage!”

 

“That?!” Lynara echoed, clearly hurt by the new tag BS had firmly affixed on her person.

 

 Meli tried to assuage the metal man’s mood by playfully poking him in the ribs. All her efforts came to naught as BS rolled his eyes in exasperation. “Okay. That’s it. This expedition is Over! Everyone! Back to the castle. Move it or lose it!” When Lynara and Meli just gaped back at him, he reached down, grabbed Lynara by the scruff of the neck and tucked her under his left arm. No amount of protesting from the tree- dweller would change his mind now. Even as she flailed about, he tucked her firmly into place then turned to grab Meli. Meli had other ideas and had already teleported out of grabbing ranch. “That’s right!” he bellowed after he, waving a finger in righteous indignation. “You run right home to your little hole.” He continued to glare, even as she flaunted herself, showing that she was clearly out of range. “You better watch whom you’re playing with!” he warned again. “He’s a killer. Hell, they’re Both killers. Ask them sometime, preferably Before they fry your brains to goo..”

 

“I know they are!” she shouted back. “I know what I’m doing. Do you?”

 

Frankly BS didn’t know what he was going to do about that problem. He’d been grasping at straws. As it was, he had tailed Meli on a hunch, suspecting that she’d been in contact with Tim. Boy he hated being right. He turned to take his tree-loving charge and stepped into the portal to take them back into Vashtalia. He only stumbled a bit when Meli cast a freeze spell. Originally intended to freeze the metal man, it had missed and ended up slicking down the wooden boards on the boardwalk, making the big man teeter, then fall into the portal.

 

 

He stumbled into the main concourse, managing to twist about so he didn’t flatten his charge with his bulk. He released her once they were clear of the portal, expecting her to flee, but all Lynara did was turn and glare at him with those crazy eye. Adding to that visage was the more familiar one of Aurora, almost tapping her toes in step with the Pandori. “And?” she asked.

 

Brimstone lumbered back to his feet. “Yeah, he’s there, but he looks like crap. I don’t think he’s got it.”

 

“You don’t Think?” Her voice cracked in mid-sentence.”

 

He pointed that finger at Aurora. “Hey! I’m the charge now, right? Right?” he echoed.

 

Aurora spat, said something in her native tongue, then turned and stormed out of the room. The ‘borg gestured back at her, but it was futile since she didn’t see it. Meli studied his face, watching any glimmer of confidence and high spiritedness ooze out of him. He turned and flopped on one of the couches. One of the wooden supports underneath cracked, but it still bore his weight. He clearly was exhausted and distracted and moody about the whole thing. Even as she walked over to stare down at him, he couldn’t come up with a snappy comment. Meli seemed just as worn. “I’m sorry,” she stated.

 

 

He nodded. “I’m sorry too. I need to apologize for.... well... being me. Besides,” he ran his hand through the newly grown hair-roots. “This was a good idea.” He looked back at the portal as it finally snapped shut. “It’s just I can’t even staple gun Tim’s feet to the floor. If I could just.. Somehow.. Contain him.” He even gestured as if to grab ahold of the Rex bodily before tilting his head back. “The power of prayer?” he asked again.

 

Meli was shuffling a foot. “BS, I’m sorry I lied to you.”

 

“Lied about what?”

 

 “Oh.. The usual.” She snorted and shrugged then stepped back. I think I’ll just head on home and bleed for a while.... Besides, why are You apologizing for. Because you’re over protective?”

 

“Oh comon. If I didn’t say something you’d be throwing prayers til all hours of the night. You might end up turning yourself into a cucumber or something. And I can’t help being over protective. We cause so much damage.....” Suddenly some book tumbled from one of the cases. Lynara had climbed up into the shelving, pouting at the name Brimstone had saddled on her, and was clearly sulking. BS rolled his eyes and bent down, picking up the books and setting them on a nearby table. “See? Messes just follow me everywhere..” Now he peered in on the top shelf where the dryad-like creature curled up, showing him her backside. “Lynara,” he scolded softly. Are you a bookworm?” She shrugged a shoulder, but didn’t reply. “Lynara. That can’t be comfortable. Don’t you wanna curl up in a soft bed?” Still no reply. “Okay. I see. You’re mad at me, aren’t you?” Another non-committal shrug. Maybe she was taking hints from Meli as she likewise stared at the ‘borg, just watching him dance delicately around the Pandori’s hurt feelings. “I’m sorry,” he apologized again, “but that was a dangerous place. Bad people were there. I didn’t want to see you hurt by the bad people.”

 

Now Lynara whipped about, fire in her eyes. “I am Not a child so quit Talking to me like I am one.” She slid off the bookcase and landed deftly on her feet. “And I am Not a ‘THAT’!”

 

Meli looked to the outraged girl and muttered a soft spell, trying to calm the wild creature down. She noted that BS stepped back a few steps, probably feeling the incantation rolling over his skin and not wanting his “signature” to screw it up. Constant conflict. She sighed. “I really wanted to talk to you, but I can see you’re busy. Good Bye, Brimstone.”

 

The poor metal man didn’t know Who to deal with. Meli’s fair well sounded so... final, but he sure didn’t want to make Lynara any more enraged than she was. He looked up and caught Drac leaning against the doorway opposite from him. Apparently the Vashtalian king had been eavesdropping all the while. All BS could do was give the man a slight wave while trying to keep an eye on both women. He now was beginning to see where Aurora got her headaches. Not from the big battles but from the undermining small ones. He finally made one. “Excuse me a sec, Drac,” he apologized, then grabbed Meli’s arm and dragged her out into the hallway. He simply wasn’t going to lose her. Only when he released her did he see the problems. Her wounds hadn’t ebbed at all. The lose of blood was making the psi-hunter light headed. “Drac!” he hollered. “I need a medic!”

 

“I’m fine,” she insisted. “I just need a little prayer. And she tried, but once again, nothing happened.

 

The ‘borg didn’t give her a second chance. He scooped her into his arms and came running back to the Red Dragon King. He truly looked panic-stricken. He needed to rush her.. Somewhere.. A hospital, and infirmary, something; but Drac just blocked his way. “Put her down, Brimstone.” he commanded.

 

He almost did, until he saw Lynara come steaming around the corner, filled with pent up fury and rage, knocking everything over; vases, end tables, filled bookcases, and items larger and heavier than himself. He lifted Meli up just as the Pandori swung. Of course he was fully exposed, but there was nothing he could do, and he went sprawling. He just managed to twist so that he hit the ground first, with Meli curled up on his chest. Not satisfied, Lynara marched over and shoved Meli aside to stand on the ‘borg’s chest, then reached down and yanked out his metal eye, along with much of the wirebound tendons that held it in his head.

 

It was Meli that grabbed Lynara by the collar, saving BS from becoming scrap metal. She was clearly still injured, but had managed to either spell or pray herself into functionalbility. Brimstone was in bad shape. There were lots of zarks, arcs, and nasty sounding pops. Lynara had done a good deal of damage, but he still had that nice mop of hair. The dryadish child pouted, then tossed the red lensed eye across the room. BS looked up at them. “Can I resign?” he asked.

 

Meli wasn’t sure what BS was to resign from, but as she spoke her spell, they had yet another uninvited visitor. Dusk seemed to just pop into the room, hovering a second before landing, surveying the damage before her. “Maybe you should stop that, “ she suggested, looking a bit concerned at the intensity of the violence, surprising knowing Dusk’s history.

 

What was more surprising was the prayer’s result. The eye that Lynara had thrown rolled to a stop, then slowly turned. Small wires slipped out from the round housing and slowly pulled the eye back towards BS. It crawled slowly up the ‘borg’s chest and re-inserted itself back into his eye socket. As the cyborg slowly pieces himself together, Drac managed to grab Dusk’s elbow, taking her aside and calmly talking to her. There were several small concessions on both sides, but Dusk heartily agreed to help heal Megan, once they got Defender back from Nine, if she would part with it. Rowan also popped up and took Lynara under his arm, giving Meli a chance to rest. Soon the room cleared, each one heading off on his own errands.

 

Megan had watched tow whole scene from her vantage point at the top of the second floor. Once Drac and Dusk left, she sighed and retreated back to her room.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aurora had made herself scarce the second Dusk appeared. Drac thought it downright eerie how these mutants could sense each other and avoid each other’s paths when they put their mind to it. He took advantage of the relative “quiet time” to head up to Nine’s room and attempt to get his own plans in motion. He knocked at the door, but had to wait a full minute before he got a muted reply of “come in’

 

Nine was staring out the window. No jumping now. Very hard to do when there was a set of 3 inch solid metal bars on all the windows. For her sake of course, both he and BS agreed. She seemed pensive, not necessarily broody, but still in a gilded cage. “How are you feeling?” he ventured.

 

“Fine,” she answered flatly, clearly not fine in any definition. He walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed.

 

He thought it best not to mince words as that would just irritate her. “As soon as Dusk feels up to it, we’ll need to use Defender to heal Megan, if that’s okay with you.” He sensed no change in temperament, so he continued to lay out his plan. “If you wish, you can be there as well so we can make sure you get the sword back afterwards. I’ve... seen... your reaction when you don’t have it around.”

 

He also noted that she seemed more cognizant of the world around her, if not totally interactive with it. She slowly turned and looked him over with those sad dark eyes, and he saw a twitter of some sort of emotion way back in the iris. Slowly she reached back behind her and plucked Defender from her spine. “Go ahead and take him. I trust you to return him,” and she handed the weapon, hilt first, to the Vashtalian king. When he hesitated, she nodded slowly but encouragingly. “You better take him now. You may not be able to get him when you need him later..”

 

Drac did take the blade, but didn’t leave his post just yet. “Look, I’m sure you’re tired of hearing this but neither I, nor anyone lese here, care whether you match up to Aurora or not. The fact is that you are Nine, regardless of what happens or has happened.”

 

“I know. I’ve already told Randall that I’m not gonna fight her, so you don’t have to worry about that anymore.”

 

He nodded. “As soon as this entire thing is over, I’ll make sure the others return to their own world. I expect Dusk to be gone as soon as Megan is healed anyhow.”

 

 

 

Brimstone had mired himself in whatever planing Aurora and her militant mini-regime were harping on, adding his two cents, quite vocally, to the discussion group. After a few hours, he excused himself for a break and headed to the kitchen, almost bouncing off Randall whom seemed to have the same general idea. “Whoa there, Champ.” The metal man handed him a beer, his own smuggled mundane Coors stock, then suddenly twisted, skirting his mass around Lynara as she padded into the kitchen, climbed up on the counter and began a search of her own. At least she didn’t rip off anymore functioning body parts. In fact he had recouped very quickly and found less metal pieces to contend with. Meli’s prayers had set something in motion, but wasn’t exactly sure what.

 

Randall sighed, taking a few sips of the beer. “I was hoping to grab a snack to bring back to Nine. She’s missing meals again.”

 

The ‘borg grunted then opened the icebox and pulled out several protein laden... things. Maybe the chicken was a bit too fuzzy for normal consumption, but then again, Nine wasn’t normal. He handed Randall the plate, then paused as he fished out a small pillbox from the depths of his ever-present tan trenchcoat. “Here. Dose her with one of these. It’s not quite what she needs, but it will help. Wedge it under the skin.” He squirmed a but under Randall’s hard stare. “Prozac,” he confessed. “It was either that or tranks. I picked the lesser of two evils.” He shuffled his foot a bit. Have you given any thought, about you and her? About what we talked about before?”

 

If he had, he didn’t say anything. Instead he took the offered dish of moldy chicken and quickly made his way out of the kitchen and back to Nine’s room.

 

The metal man now turned towards the woodland child. No. Wait. Not a child as she clearly reiterated to him the day before. He thought it best not to scold her for climbing in the cupboards. “You hungry, Lynara?”

 

She nodded vigorously, even as she now crept up, shelf by shelf, looking in every crevasse she could. BS could guess her intent, but figured to start broadly and narrow down the search from there. “So, what do you eat? Animal, vegetable, or mineral?” That was quickly answered when Lynara managed to find a small beetle on the top shelf, grinned down at the bionic man, and shoved the wiggling critter into her mouth, crunching loudly on the carapace. If she had meant to gross-out the metal man, she was sadly mistaken. In fact what BS had on his plate could easily harbor insect life as well. “Ah. Insectivore. Should’ve guessed.” BS nibbled at the chicken leg, pulling off the black and green infected skin and sucking it down with relish. “So, what kind of bugs do you like? Spiders? Worms?” He paused, then pulled something from withing the flesh on his meal. “Grubs? Maggots?” He held out a small squiggly white pupae. Lynara pounced on the meal, swallowing it down with a smile. He then pulled out several spoiled trays, finding ample bug life for the both of them to snack on. His only thought was that Drac must have started stockpiling stale food just to keep them placated because nobody’s fridge was this disgusting.

 

 

 

Randall walked in on Drac and Nine as they softly chatted, just barely overhearing the comments about Dusk. “It would be for the better is she splits as soon as possible,” he added. “She has her own agenda.”

 

“I trust her as much as I trust Tim,” Drac added.

 

Nine offered her first contradiction of the night. “Dusk is alright. I imagine she’s more worried about Tim than the rest of us.”

 

Drac looked the girl over again, wondering where this insight had come from. It had been Dusk, after all, that had run Nine through. Of all transgressions, attacking one’s own kin had to be high on the mutant standards, yet she was forgiving on this point? “I trust your judgement,” Drac finally consented cautiously, feeling there was something more at work here than he was able to deduce. Something intangible to all except these strange people.

 

The recuperating mutant gave his one of those smiles, condescending, knowing that the dragon king may never fully understand. “We all have alliances drawn. Dusk is just real particular as to where that line is drawn.”

 

 

“Though it seems to be a very blurry line at times,” Randall had to add dryly.

 

“It’ll work out,” Nine insisted as her eyes slowly drifted to the plat Randall had brought for her. She picked at a few selections, pushing several other offerings around on the plate.

 

Drac tried not to wrinkle his nose in disgust, because the stench wafting off the plate was rather rank. He tried to change the subject, as if it would change the prevailing winds. “Have you two decided on Melissa’s offer?”

 

Randall had moved to say they were still discussing things, but Nine had other ideas. “We will,” she stated, cutting off the scientist’s response, “once we have Megan back on her feet.” He gaze had drifted back to the window, and to the fields beyond. She may seem a bit unfocused, but Randall noted that is was not broodiness anymore, but the gaze of deep thought, and he wasn’t sure if that was a better condition.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tim had been hanging out, looking a little less than perfect. In fact he was smelling rather rank. He’d been living out of dumpsters for a few weeks now. His mutant conditioning only allowed him to lose maybe ten pounds max, but the five-o-clock shadow was running more like half past ten. The black leathers had worn elbows and frayed ends, giving him quite the scrungie vagabond look. What was really wearing him down was the lack of sleep. The ‘other’s’ mind was becoming more insistent so he tried to stay awake to keep the other in check, but was failing miserably. He fall back net was to keep away from crowds, people and social gatherings.

 

He felt her before the message slipped through the forefront of his brain. <<Don’t fall asleep>> she warned.

 

Timothy Rex lifted his head slightly, giving a wry grin even when she wasn’t close enough to see him yet. “Come back to haunt me some more? May not be a wise idea right now.” So he had replied out loud. It kept him more focused that way, even if the occasionally passer-by scooted further around him thinking him mad, which he was.

 

She continued to taunt him some. << Just came by to wish you luck.>>

 

He winced a bit, as if suffering a hunger pang, or a muscle twitch in his side. “Thanks, I guess. Whose gunning for me today? Care to give me a clue?”

 

Meli stepped from the shadows, sporting an oversized needle. “No damn clue,” she muttered. “It’s not me, I can tell you that much.” She squirted most of the air and some of the clear liquid from the prepped shot. “Need a pick me up?”

 

Tim’s eyes also settled on the needle, but he didn’t flinch away either. “I supposed I should count what blessings I can get. Whatcha got?”

 

“I dunno. It’s got some weird name. I just keep one of these around just in case.”

 

The psi had to wonder what the “just in case” scenario would be for Meli. He should say no, really he should, but he Was tired. Even Death would be welcomed over letting the Other out. “Can’t possible do anything worse than what I’m in now. Give it to me.”

 

Suddenly his left arm spasmed upwards then twisted out as if to grab the needle away for Meli. Tim dove after the appendage gone bad and wrestled it to the ground, standing on it with his right foot even as it threatened to buck him off. The black robed psi-hunter lunged forward, seeing an opening, and impaled the poison directly in the back of Tim’s neck. “Oh, so sorry. That was the tranquilizer.” She pocketed the empty needle and dusted off her hands. “My work here is done,” she announced.

 

She had to wonder why it was so easy. Did Tim know that she had planned to trank him the whole time? How would he know, since he couldn’t scan her mind. At least she was mostly sure he couldn’t. She hadn’t felt him inside her brain. As she mulled over these possible angles, she suddenly bent over, something having plowed into her stomach like a mule kicking her in the ribs. Now she knew why Tim was worried. His body may be out of commission, but the mind surely wasn’t. At least This mind wasn’t. “Whore!” Tristan spat as tried to smash her with a telekinetic punch. He however was losing his focus as the drugs pumped through the body, and he only managed to knock her several feet back instead of grinding her to a pulp.

 

Meli tried to rally, bringing her prayers up to the forefront. “May the bowels of hell consume you!”

 

“Not if I take you there first,” he snarled back, even as the prayer seemed to crackle around him, losing it’s bite as he unleashed another crushing mental blow as he thrashed about, trying to get the numb limbs to move.

 

Watching this exchange of psionic vs aetheric, two tiny winged figures hovered over the alleyway. One in silver, the other in black they seemed mesmerized by the whole exchange below. The darker one winced. “Oh! Good one!” he giggled.

 

Meli’s jaw had been dislocated, caused by Tristan mentally compressing her head like a grape. Once again the power he had was fading as he had wanted to squish her brain like a grape. He was struggling, finding it difficult to breath somehow. Perhaps the tranquilizers were too strong, but he sure wasn’t going out without a fight. Finally he rolled to his back, unable to fend her off anymore, and found himself staring up at the two figures. “What the hell...?” he gasped before losing consciousness.

 

(Capture of Tim, part 2.. Oh and Megan’s cure)

 

 

Tim had fallen back in a faint.

 

 

Now the dainty duo hovered closer their tiny wings beating much like hummingbirds, though the wings were not shaped to act as such. The silvery female dipped down even closer. "Should we help him?" she asked?

 

Her dark male escort snorted. "I wouldn't. No telling What disease he's carrying."

 

 "Don't Touch Him!" Janis barked out as she emerged from the shadows and looked over the wreckage both combatants had wrought in the alleyway. She knelt down next to Tim's body, then hefted him over her shoulder. "That was entertaining," she mused, then repeated the performance with Meli's battered frame. She then turned and murmured something at the brick wall. It bowed in, shimmered, then dropped open into one of the secret portals Drac had installed to give his allies access to his world. With a grunt, she stepped through with her burden.

 

The two six-inch creatures hovered only a fraction more before zipping into the opening behind her.

 

**********

 

Janis's first stop was not the med ward, but a different room, where she dropped the psi's limp form. "Here ya go, Tim. One nice magic- free room for you." She merely kept up the conversation because she felt that the psi could hear hee, even if he was unconscious. She even swore that she saw him smile in his slumber, as if realized that the whole sordid mess was finally over and that he could rest. All of these assumptions she knew were based on sketchy circumstantial observations of course. She was now beginning to understand somewhat why the mutants acted more on feelings than facts. This also almost made her smile as she had to wonder if she was too close to them to be impartial anymore.

 

Brimstone came around the corner, his focus on a handful of papers as he tapped lengthy figures into a palm sized calculator and muttered to himself. He paused, looked up briefly at the scene, then back down at his papers, then stopped short, slowly looking back up. He gawked a moment, then removed his red lensed eye and cleaned it off on his shirt before popping it back into place. "You.. you got him?"

 

"She got him," Janis corrected as she opened up a hard leather case and drew out an oversized syringe, then quickly injected Timothy with a gelatinous looking substance. She then nodded towards something just around the corner. "She's an impeccable liar."

 

BS peeked around the edge to see Meli crumpled on the floor. "Oh crap!" He darted to the delayed rescue, scooping her bettered body carefully into his arms. Clearly, he was not happy with his discovery of the plethora of wounds, cracks, scrapes, and other nasty bumps, especially the one ballooning across her skull. He quickly headed up to the med lab, brushing past Randall as he made his way down the stairs to see what the commotion was about.

 

Janis continued her tender mercies on Tim, taking a moment to brush the wild blond hair from his face. "Enjoy that for a bit," she whispered. "It'll keep the pain away for a few more days." She stepped out of the padded room and dropped the iron bar into place before following Brimstone's trail to the med lab. She grabbed Randall by the elbow before he headed up the stairs to help Brimstone. "This is important," she hissed, showing the scientist the case filled with vials and needles. "You need to make sure to dose him twice a day. First thing in the morning. Last thing at night. Starting tomorrow morning. Do you understand?"

 

Randall nodded, though it was clear that he was more concerned with Meli's condition than Tim's level of consciousness.

 

Dusk was just stepping out into the hall when she was nearly run over by Brimstone, whom skirted around her at the last second. She was prone to complain; not so much to actually complain that to irk the others around her. "What is it with all you people?" she asked as she took up the tail end of the group. "Do I have some sort of evil aura that just keeps you all at bay or something? Geeze! Youse guys never treated Emily this poorly!"

 

"Emily?" Janis asked.

 

"Her mom," Randall explained.

 

But Dusk couldn't let such a simple explanation lie still. "Actually, in the loosest of definitions, Aurora is my mom. Heck, if you wanted to get technical, Aurora is my dad and Estor is my mom."

 

Janis turned to look the gothic girl over. "Explain this. How can a female be a father?"

 

"Aurora wasn't female at the time. Those two are a lot kinkier than you think."

 

Janis snorted, then turned, hearing the hubbub down the hall. "Come with me," she insisted, grabbing Emily's wrist and dragging her along. Dusk could have easily broken the grip, along with Janis's hand, but she just let herself be dragged along.

 

They found BS leaning over Meli's head, lasering his way into the damaged part of her scalp, draining out the two hemorrhaging points and pulling the swelling off her brain.

 

Brimstone ignored her, laying Meli out on the operating table, combing over the prone body, analyzing the damage as he ran several scans over her torso and head. The concussion seemed to be the worst. It was to the point that one of the cranial plates had been crushed inwards. The cracked ribs and severe contusions were minor compared to that. As he bent over Meli, her body contorted and blood started gushing from her nose. "Janis!" He bellowed, even as Randall darted in to assist. "I need help! She's crashing!"

 

Randall darted around one side, setting up IV's to stabilize the poor girl. Janis came around the other side, trying to pull Brimstone off Meli. "Don't Cut Her!" she snarled, then slugged the cyborg in the face.

 

"Little to late for that, Janis." He was surprisingly calm and collected, even as he brushed the blood off his face from where it trickled down his now broken nose. Perhaps it was because he couldn't afford to lose his cool with Meli's braincap hinged open and dangerously exposed. "I had to reduce the swelling somehow. Now back up, or do you Want her brains all over the floor?"

 

Janice swore again then gestured and Meli's skull seemed to seal up on its own, the boney plate popping back out into it's domed shape. The 'borg had to step back as he felt the spell skittering along his arm, and when he did retreat, Janice charged in, cradling the injured woman in her arms and rocking her slowly. She looked up, then gestured for Dusk to join her, seeing the somewhat pained look in the goth girl's eyes. In fact Dusk seemed a bit shell shocked at the carnage laid out before her. "Geeze. How many people have to die or get injured around youse guys?" BS just glared. His expression prompted her to add the barb. "I could always try a little of that ol' black magic..."

 

"You Leave her Alone, Dusk!" That definitely was not normal coming from the 'borg. In fact Brimstone was seething, and the more he thought about the damages wrought by the psi, the madder he got. finally he turned and left the room, determined to fix things in a more permanent form.

 

Dusk pouted. "I only offered," she insisted, letting Janis brush her black and red wayward hair from her face. She looked as if she only tolerated the gesture, but deep down she reveled in it. Still, it was Brimstone's reactions that had her put out.

 

********

 

In fact the 'borg's actions would have made quite a stir if Nine hadn't snuck into the dungeons first. She had heard all the commotion and had slipped into the cellar when they all rushed out. She had to stand up on tip toe to look at the man laid out on the cushioned floor. This was the guy they all fussed about? Yet even she could sense that something was not right with the man, and not just by his looks. She could feel something unsettled enveloping him.

 

Her musings were interrupted as the 'borg entered the ante-chamber and she turned to face him. It was righteous fury against her unsure sense of things. He made the first gesture. "Nine. Move," he commanded.

 

She looked at the guard whom seemed somewhat ill at ease with the growing situation, then drifted her gaze back at the man in the cell before looking back up at the cyborg. She pondered a moment. "No," she replied calmly.

 

"Now is Not the time, Nine. Move!" and he brought his arm up, the plasma cannon primed to go.

 

She gathered her robe around herself, having just slipped from her bed to venture a peak at the new prisoner, not expecting there to be an armed showdown. Yet she was obstinate. "No," she replied, more confidently.

 

"Don't make me, Nine."

 

Her answer was to reach over and slowly pull one of the staff torches from the wall, then turning it groundwards to snuff out the flame on the cobble work before bringing the metal rod up to bear. "Make me," she challenged.

 

BS shot, but something in the mechanism in his arm misfired, sending an array of sparks skittering up his arm. Nine tried to take advantage, but the metal rod was unevenly weighted and she missed her strike, the staff reverberating off the rocky floor and up her arm.

 

"SIT!" This from Meli whom had heard the battle and bounded up from her parking space on the operating table and stormed down the hall to the cells. BS's behind suddenly planted itself to the floor, dragging the rest of him down as well. Janis, Randall, and Dusk rushed in behind her in time to see Meli's divine prayer take hold. She seemed unimpressed with her own machinations, instead storming up to the cyborg. "Don't be an asshole!" she spat.

 

"You... your alive?" he stammered, a bit stunned.

 

She showed no signs of slowing down. "You Cut My Head!" She pointed to the slight scar across her left temple, now showing no signs of recent damage thanks to Janis's magical medicine.

 

"But you were dying! Blood was back washing into your brain! I Had to!" He still hadn't managed to get up off the floor.

 

"You Cut My Head!" she reiterated.

 

Dusk saw her chance for a little fun. There was many a time when she had wanted to try her talents against the 'borg but something had interfered. With him in this state, she would never get the chance again, even though she would have preferred a more even testing ground. She marched up to her uncle and kicked him upside his head. "Dumb Oaf!" she bellowed.

 

"OW!" he answered, covering up his cranium, warding off further attacks.

 

"OW yourself!" she barked back. "I think I broke a nail!"

 

What she had broken was her toe, but by the time she had worked her army boot off, the newly set green bones were already in place. She Had left a nice dent in his head, but that too just popped back out, thanks to his nanotech - flooded body.

 

Randall tried to intervene on BS's behalf, pleading to Meli. "We were trying to stabilize you. You were at death's door."

 

She whirled about on the scientist. "And You Let him!" she snarled.

 

BS now got his second wind, and his senses. "And what did I tell you about messin' with Tim? Bad Idea, right? You almost got squished to death. And if he killed you, then I would have to had to kill him and Drac would've gotten all pissed, not to mention Aurora. Do you even See the trouble you could have caused?"

 

And she spun back around on her prior target, even as the rest of the room backed away, sensing the fight. "But we Got him, didn't we?"

 

Now the metal man was able to stand. "And what good would it have done if he'd killed you in the process?"

 

"I don't die that easily!" she snorted.

 

His face scrunched further. "And how do you know he's not faking? Maybe he Let you catch him so he could get in here and cause all kinds of trouble. Did you think of that?"

 

"We could keep him sedated," Randall offered again, trying to tone down the escalating argument. Janis gestured for Dusk to join her, all quite concerned at how this was turning out.

 

"I can put him back," Meli threatened.

 

BS gestured to the cell that contained the slobbering, snoozing psi. "He is the most dangerous creature in the universe! What would make me feel better is knowing that you're not gonna pull off another hair-brained stunt like that again!"

 

"I didn't Plan on coming here!" she growled

 

"And I didn't Plan on drilling into your brain today either!"

 

"And I won't forgive you for that," she spat back.

 

"Hopefully you won't forget either!" Poor Brimstone was now gesturing to the sky as if some deity above was doing this to him intentionally. He then turned, took one step towards Tim's cage, paused, then turned and stormed passed all the observers and back out into the hallway.

 

"Fine! Run away, you Coward!!"

 

"Can somebody turn the volume down, please?" This from Megan as she leaned against the opposite doorway. Clearly it had been an effort just to get down the stairs. “What’s all the hubbub about?”

 

“Meli got attacked by Tristan,” Janis started.

 

“But we have Tim in custody,” Randall amended.

 

“Meli almost died, but she’s better,” Janis noted.

 

“And she’s casting some sort of spell on BS,” Randall added, pointing at the girl as she stood in the doorway, glaring in the direction the cyborg had taken, her fists clenched tight.

 

“Damn piece of metal,” she swore. “I wish he wasn’t so metal.”

 

Suddenly a howling screech of surprise echoed down from the hallway. Meli’s eyes popped open and she broke out into a run, rounding the corner to a bizarre sight. There were metallic pieces of the ‘borg all over the floor. One of his legs now appeared to be wholey fleshed again, along with his non-gun left arm. He was standing is if he stepped in dog doo doo and didn’t want to track it on the clean floor. He finally managed a gasp. “WHAT DID YOU DO?!”

 

She started laughing.

 

********

Megan had hung back since she was more interested in the information than Brimstone’s health status. “No way,” she whispered, even as she stood on tip toe to peek at her sire lying prone on the floor. “The Rex. Here.” The guard tried verbally pressing her away from the door, but Janis told him to back down. This was Megan’s father, after all.” Finally Megan stepped down. “You sure he’s safe in there?”

 

Dusk finally peeked in the window herself. “Hey. What the hell happened to Tim?”

 

 

 

*******

Meli stared at the scene, smiling in amazement as she had no idea her power of prayer could pack such a wallop. “I,, I just wished that you here just a little less metal. I.. I keep wishing that... Sorry?”

 

“Well Stop Doing That!” He picked up one piece and tried to replace it, only to have it slide off his body once again. “I’m gonna end up naked and defenseless if you keep wishing my parts away!”

 

“Well I can’t help it if...well...”

 

“If ‘well’ What?!” The poor guy was near panic mode as she could tell by the crack in his voice.

 

“It’s just that I don’t really like all that metal.”

 

“But You’re not the one wearing the metal! I am! And in case you haven’t noticed, it’s just a Tad bit dangerous around here of late. You wish away my armor and I’ll be a dead man in days!”

 

She hung her head a bit, though it was hard to tell if she really meant to be guilty or just wanted to placate him. “I’m sorry. I let my malice come out.”

 

Brimstone took the apology and issued one of his own. “Well, I’m sorry I had to cut into your head, but I Was trying to save your life. You understand that, right?” When she nodded, BS just about melted and he pulled her in close and gave her a gentle hug, damning any repercussions.

 

“You are such a woman,” she grumbled a bit, thought she didn’t try to punch him this time.

 

“Not anymore,” he snickered, then gave her a kiss on the check before releasing her. He was now definitely in better spirits.

 

 

 

*******

 

Megan turned, finally recognizing Dusk. “When did you get in?” she asked.

 

It was strange how Megan could pick up a vibe from one of her own all the way across the building, but somehow still be so blind to one physically in the same room. Stranger still that as the residing Alpha female, she didn’t fly off in a rage when she did spot Dusk. The goth girl seemed to be just as myopic. “Wow! You noticed me!” When she couldn’t get a reaction with the barb, she settled down to business. “I’m here by invitation, actually. They want me to do something or other with a sword dohickey.”

 

“Oh. They want you to fix this.” Megan rolled up the oversized T-shirt, exposing the original wound. It was festering in a variety of nasty colors, running from grey to yellow to purple. “It won’t heal. They think you can undo the damage using Defender, though I’m not exactly sure how.”

 

Dusk was entranced with the wound, kneeling down to examine it closely. “Wow! That’s really nice. Great necromantic workmanship. Do you guys know who did this?”

 

“You did, Dusk. That’s why they need you to undo it.” When Megan saw the confusion in the gothic girl’s face, she sighed, realizing her “sister” didn’t even have a clue. Chalk that one up to the short term recongizant feature that seemed to be broken in most of their kind. For good reason. They probably wouldn’t go back into a fight if they remembered how much it hurt the first time. “You had grabbed Destroyer and things went haywire. You ran me through with him. The poor blade’s all broken up about this too. Estor had to take him away from me.”

 

 

********

 

BS waited for the punch, but it never came. He opened one eye. “You’re not gonna slug me?” She shook her head no, seeming a bit shy suddenly, and making him just as fumble-mouthed in her change of behavior. He shuffled his feet. “Well.. Uhm.. Okay then. I.... I should go and see if everything is alright in the dungeon. I don’t trust Tim at all.” Something about the mood between them had changed and Brimstone tried hard to veer away from any unfamiliar territory.

 

Meli shrugged her shoulders. “You can if you want. I just really need to get one.”

 

“Well... okay then,” he replied, a bit more softer in tone before turning and nearly sprinting from the scene.

 

Meli managed a few more steps before she slid to the floor. The migraine she had been sporting had finally risen into an unbearable crescendo. That was the state that Aurora Del Mar found her in. “Whoa! You okay there?” She turned Meli’s head a bit and saw the roaming scar across her brow. “BS didn’t to this to you, did he?”

 

How Aurora was able to determine this was lost on Meli, but before she could even say anything, much less react, Aurora had bounded back to her feet and was sprinting down the hallway and nearly tackled BS before he made it to his door. “What in the Hell did you Do to her?”

 

Wham. Bamp. And the duo tumbled into the wall. BS rolled clear but was definitely confused. “Who? What?” he replied.

 

"Meli, of course! She's all crumpled up in the hallway sporting one hell of a headache. You're the expert. You go fix her!" And she bodily picked up the big man and flung him back up the hallway. Only after she had released her grip did she realize that the 'borg was quite a bit lighter than normal.

 

Brimstone continued in the same direction, only because he didn't want to face Aurora again. When he saw Meli, he picked up speed. "Oh dear Lord! Not another relapse!" He pulled out all his gadgetry even as she weakly tried to wave him off. Only when he finished his diagnostics did he breath a sigh of relief as it was just heightened blood pressure. "Migraine from all that quick magical healing," he deduced.

 

She nodded, but instead of backing off, the bionic man scooped her up into his arms, ever so carefully. "Where to, Ma'am?"

 

"What are you doing?"

 

"Look, if you're going to fall to the floor every time I turn my back, then I better make sure you're somewhere comfy before I take my leave. Now... where to?"

 

"I don't care. Somewhere dark and quiet?"

 

He wasn't quite a dolt. He knew what she was suggesting but he still wanted to be a gentleman about the whole thing. He returned her to her room, opening the door to her flat on the third floor before setting her feet down. "There you go, Ma'am. Safe and sound." He even bowed, taking Meli's hand lightly and kissing the back of the palm, acting quite the ham. He felt safer playing the role than actually being in the role. "Gnight, Fair Lady."

 

But she held onto his hand.

 

BS paused. Actually more like froze, waiting for Meli to release him. She kept her grip a bit longer , the reluctantly let him go. “Good night,” she sighed.

 

“Good night,” he echoed, then bent down and kissed her cheek. She stepped back into her room, then very reluctantly closed the door, leaving it open just a crack.

 

He looked up and down the hall, then back to the slightly ajar door. Oh, he had gotten all the hints. Hesitantly he knocked at the door. It swung open from his effort. He bit his lower lip and stepped inside, then aside as Meli closed the door behind him. “I didn’t want you to leave,” she confessed.

 

“I didn’t want to go.”

 

“They why did you?”

 

“I.. Well.. I didn’t want you to think that I was nothing more than some mindless brute.”

 

She walked over to the bed and sat down, rubbing her temples. The migraine had subsided some, but it still lingered. “You are, in a way.”

 

Most would have been insulted. Brimstone wasn’t. He couldn’t when she was telling the truth. “It’s the brute in all men,” he confessed as he sat down next to her. “Here. Let me do that.”

 

Meli found that Brimstone instinctively knew where all the pressure points were and the pain quickly subsided. As he hands rolled down from her temples to her neck, she chided him. “Be careful. Now that you’re whole again, you don’t want to turn into a testosterone whore.”

 

The ‘borg only paused a bit, then continued his attentions. “Figured that out, have you?”

 

“I could tell by your scream,” she smirked.

 

He nodded. “Yep. Was most definitely was a surprise.”

 

There were a few more pleasant surprises between them that night.

 

 

 

********

 

“Well Drac has Defender,” Randall added. True that the scientist didn’t have any mutant blood or mutated senses, but somehow he sensed that the trio of woman were quickly bonding despite their wide backgrounds. They sure did look like sisters.

 

“Then as soon as that oversized gecko shows up, we can get around to fixing this thing.” Megan may have been a diplomat and a master of words, but she didn’t sound to non-plaused about her current condition. There was desperation in her voice as she truly hated this half-life state she was in.

 

“Okay,” Dusk agreed, perking up a bit. “I’ll se what I can do. Maybe everyone will stop treating me like crap if I do.”

 

Megan sorted then tossed her head, gesturing towards Tim’s cell. “And him?”

 

“What about him? I don’t really know how he’s managed to live this long. He’s pissed Everyone off and his body and soul are fairly hollow these days.”

 

Megan signed as she dropped her t-shirt to cover the festering magical wound. “It’s more like two soles of late. Tristan’s locked up in there. Frankly, having one run in with Tristan was enough for me. I don’t want to repeat that particular flavor of hell... but still, that IS dear ol’ dad in there.”

 

Dusk’s brow scrunched up as a thought hit here. “Didn’t your boyfriend do something big and nasty to him already?”

 

“Oh I dunno. In fact Zelgadis doesn’t know. He can’t Remember much of anything.” This clearly was a sore spot with Megan as she crossed her arms over her slightly bulging belly. She was more that nine months along and she still looked like she was in just her third trimester.

 

Megan listed a bit. Dusk more or less guided the sick girl against the wall, then along the brickwork to the floor, then joined her there. "Did you ever try to use one of those spheres to cure your little boyfriend's mind? I mean, since you at least Have a boyfriend to worry about."

 

"But I don't have the sphere, remember? As it was that chaos remnant nearly killed me; and Emily, I might add."

 

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I guess that those things are nothing but trouble." Dusk pulled her legs up to her chin, finding this quite talk to be somewhat fulfilling, like sharing with a sister, though in this case the sisterhood they had was strained. "Am I really that bad?" she finally asked.

 

Megan shook her head emphatically. "No worse than the rest of us, for what that counts for. We're not bad. Just badly misunderstood, right?"

 

"Right," echoed Nine as she joined the duo on the floor.

 

Dusk nodded, but seemed to still be mired in that sullen mood. "Like I said. They must not think you bad. You've even got a boyfriend, even if he is a bit funny looking. I haven't had a bite in the romance department in ages."

 

The oldest of the trio rolled and eye to the darkly clad girl. "You've had bites?" Nine giggled sheepishly until she was stopped short when Megan's baefull eye shifted to her.

 

Dusk snorted again. "Thanks for popping that particular bubble," and she stuck out her pierced tongue.

 

Megan shrugged. "Well gee, I'm quite sure we can find a studly guy for you around here. Damn kingdom’s loaded with lizard fodder.”

 

“Doesn’t Drac have a few kids not mated yet?” Nine asked.

 

“Hey, hey, hey!” Dusk thrashed her hands in the air to break up the chatter. “Mating is not entirely the issue here. Besides, I’m not in a rush. I just want to think that there are options out there. Maybe just get a little attention.”

 

“Attention?” Nine wasn’t up to the social graces that Dusk was exploring. In fact of the threesome, Nine was probably the most romantically inept. “And what options? You mate and that’s that, right?”

 

Dusk stared at Nine, amazed at how clueless the girl was, especially since she Had a boyfriend, and a rather nice, normal one at that. “There’s all kinds of stuff, like romance and dating, and sex, the kind not expressly for mating.”

 

“Really?” Nine paged, entranced with the ideas.

 

Megan just rolled her eyes. “Kids,” she groaned. “Am I the only one Not a virgin in this room?”

 

 Nine was looking at Megan’s distended stomach. “Have you two thought about what that little magic trick might do to that?”

 

“It shouldn’t do anything,” Drac answered. Apparenlty the Vashtalian King has wandered by the rooms and had overheard the girls, then observed Randall sneaking out, obviously letting the women gossip. Oh the subject was touchy enough and he welcomed a chance to get thier minds off of the possibility of merging with his people. “If it was able to withstand Megan’s initial revival, then it should be able to withstand the healing of her wound.”

 

“Famous last words,”Megan grunted, clearly not as convinced. She stood up slowly and dusted off her clothes. “Well, should we play shish kabob roulette now or wait til morning.”

 

“It’s your funeral,” Dusk answered. “What do you thing?”

 

The smirk answered most questions. “Lots of guts, but no glory. Lets have at it.”

 

 

 

*****

Drac escorted them to a small room which Serenity had prepared some time ago, somewhat isolated from the rest of the castle. The chamber had been stripped bare, save for a large stained marble slab. “This doesn’t bode well,” Megan commented cryptically even as she slowly climbed up on the sacrificial alter. “Just don’t hit the kid, okay?”

 

Nine seemed even more nervous, pacing back and forth as Drac held Defender out for Dusk to take up. The gothic girl held her hand over the hilt, then bit her lip as she wrapped her fingers around the pommel. She wasn’t sure if such a pure blade would allow something twisted like her to hold him. It stung like a low level current but she could pick up his vibes. Even the sword had its doubts about the procedure.

 

Serenity and Drac stayed back, as they were only there to observe, but Nine’s pacing became more frantic as Defender continued to argue with Dusk, even as she positioned the blade unsteadily over Megan’s wound. Finally Nine darted forward. “Don’t hold him like that!” she protested as she grabbed the weapon lower down on the hilt.

 

“Hey!” Dusk barked. “This is my sword do-hickey. Go get your own!”

 

Suddenly the blade lifted up with both girls hanging on, both unable to let go of the grips, then plunged down ward into Megan’s midriff. Magic seemed to arc and spark around the triad. Megan convulsed while Nine and Dusk thrashed around each other. Finally Megan’s body spat the sword out, tossing it and the two girls attached to it, into the wall. Dusk moved first, groaning. “Owwwww. Bad Nine.. No interfering in the future.” She tried to open one eye and thought she saw tiny little angels dancing around her brow.

 

Nine managed to let go of Defender, wiping her hands on her tunic to get the stinging sensation off her skin. Dusk’s gaze went from the younger Nine to the older Megan, the body eerily limp for a moment, but finally a groan escape from her lips as well. Dusk stumbled forward and flipped up the t-shirt. Oh there still was a bruise, but it was the healthy healing type of bruise. No festering. No strange colors. No discharge. Dusk almost cheered out loud, then turned, victoriously, to give the blade back to Drac as he stepped forward to take possession. She opened her hand, quite willing to get rid of the defiant blade, but Defender had other ideas as he stuck to her hand, refusing to let go. “Hey!” Dusk protested. “I’m Evil, remember?”

 

Nine gasped, then her gaze narrowed. “Why you traitor!” she spat as she marched over and yanked Defender out of Dusk’s hand. “Yeah. I thought so!” She then flipped the blade over her back to park him on his perch over her left shoulder.

 

The second she released her hold, Defender dropped off her back, zipped around her side and flew back into a stunned Dusk’s hand. “I hate irony,” she groaned, still woozy from the magical healing stint.

 

Nine gasped, her face flashing bright read. She looked like she would literally explode, but instead she spun around on her heel and flew from the room in a tyrannical rage.

 

“But I didn’t do anything!” Dusk insisted, still trying to shake Defender loose.

 

“No,” Megan corrected. “You both did.” She slid off the stone altar, watching as Defender moved from Dusk’s hand to a point off her hip, as if he was ensconced in a scabbard. “I’m gonna be better now. Thanks.” She even leaned forward and kissed Dusk on the cheek. “You might become a good guy yet.”

 

Dusk had to smile at That irony, if only just a little bit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

it.