A/N: hey people!

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

"Alright lads, steady on." Mathias said. In one hand he held his gun and his other hand was over the ax strapped to his side. "Keep quiet."

"Oh shut up." Nikolai hissed. "We know how this works."

Tinos eyes were gleaming with anticipation. "Can we just hurry this up? I want to get them."

Mathias let out a breathy laugh. "And people think that you're the gentlest tone of us all."

Together the five of them carefully walked, trying not to emit any noise.

Ingi looked around the property. "You do realize whose land we are on, right?"

"No clue, doesn't matter." Mathias said, when he grinned they were able to see the whites of his teeth in the dark. "We're the law after all."

Berwalds eyes turned to the side. "I don't think everyone would agree with that."

The barrel of a shotgun came swinging from the dark suddenly and firmly connected with the side of Mathias' head. The gun was flipped and the handle now soared through the air and this time hit the side of Nikolai's head. Both he and Mathias had fallen to the ground.

Tino jumped forward with his gun drawn. When he couldn't get a clear shot he cured to himself and placed his gun back into its holster.

Their attacker moved skillfully in the dark with the three remaining deputies scrambling in an attempt to defend themselves. When Berwald heard the barking of dogs join them he paused.

"Louise?" he called out. "Louise, that you?"

"...Berwald?" their attacker said in a feminine and familiar voice.

The figure stopped for a moment and dug into one of their pockets. They stumbled for a moment before they managed to finally light a candle, illuminating Louise's face.

She sighed aggravated. "What the hell do you think you guys are doing, coming here in the middle of the night? I almost shot you!"

Ingi glanced at the now unconscious Mathias and Nikolai. "Well...you practically succeeded."

"Now, what are you doing running around on my land at this time of the night?" Louise asked as she held her double barrel shotgun. Her dogs sat next to her.

"I'm sure you know of the bad touch trio?" Tino asked. When she nodded he continued "They came into town about a half hour ago and we gave chase. We saw them sneak into the house, your house."

Louise's eyes darkened before they narrowed. "If so much an as single plate had been moved I'll blast their nuts off to see the devil first!"

The three men crossed their legs closed before Ingi stepped forward clearing his throat. "We've wasted enough time as it is. I'll stay with here with Mathias and Nikolai until they wake up; Tino, Berwald, go with Louise to inspect the house."

"I would check on your valuables." Tino advised. "To make sure nothings missing."

Louise nodded as she held her gun tightly and she mumbled to herself in her native tongue.

Together the three of them quickly searched the house only to find no hint of another person other than Louise there.

"I'm going to check the barn." Tino said walking out.

"I checked on my things." Louise said. "Not even the wind blew on them."

"Everything seems to be alright." Berwald said glancing around the sitting room. When his eyes stopped on a picture, that he was barely able to see with the single candle lighting the room, Louise walked to it and placed it so the glass was facedown.

"I like to keep my past where it is." she said feeling his questioning gaze. "In the past with no outsider knowing."

Berwald bowed his head. "Sorry."

Tino came back at this moment. "Barns clean. You got a lot of horses though for one lady."

"A friend of mine is buying and needed a place to keep them for the night." she said. "They'll be out of here by tomorrow night."

"Alright." Tino said casting one more glance around. "Looks like there's nothing here, seems like Mathias was wrong."

"Again." Berwald added.

"Yeah, again." Tino agreed. He bowed to Louise. "I, we, apologize for disturbing you and waking you up at this hour."

Louise waved away his apology. "You were just doing your job, and I was awake either way."

"Good night, Miss Louise." Berwald said as he and Tino left the house to find the other three.

They found Ingi rousing up their fallen comrades.

"Taken out by a little girl." Tino said shaking his head, it was all for show however and they knew it. The women in their town were as strong, if not stronger than, the men.

"A little girl with a big gun." Mathias groaned as he sat up rubbing the side of his head. Nikolai wordlessly accepted the flask Ingi gave him with a nod of thanks. When Matthias started to whimper lightly Nicolai gave him the flask.

"Did you find them?" Ingi asked.

Tino shook his head. "They weren't there, either they just passed through to throw is off or…" he trailed off and his eyes fell on Mathias.

"I wasn't wrong!" Mathias exclaimed as he jumped to his feet. He stumbled lightly as his eyes crossed for a few moments. "I'm never wrong!"

"The incident with the laborers." Ingi said as he helped Nikolai to his feet.

"The train incident in February, April, July, and October." Nicolai said as he took a few steps forward.

"The sheep incident three months ago." Tino added.

"Yesterday with the alcohol." Berwald finished.

"All of you can go to hell." Mathias mumbled as he started to limp towards their home, the others slowly followed.

"Hey." Tino said glancing back at the house. Berwald looked at him questioningly.

"Louise said…that she had already been up when we apologized for waking her, right?" Tino asked.

Berwald slowly nodded.

Tino pulled his watch out and attempted to read it in the moonlight.

"It's nearing midnight." he said sliding the watch back into his pocket. "Why in the name of our good Lord was she still doing up?"

Louise glanced once more out of the window to make sure her 'guests' had left before she picked up her candle in one hand and gathered her skirts in the other and made her way towards the cellar.

Letting go of her skirts her hand went to the key that hung on a necklace around her neck. She inserted the key into the lock and the door swung open easily.

To reveal Gilbert, Francis, and Antonio reclined on the three beds there.

"Well?" Antonio asked. "Is everything alright?"

As an answer Louise walked to them, placed the candle on the table, grabbed one of the pillows lying on the bed, and began to beat the three of them with it.

"What! The! Hell! Do! You! Think! You're! Doing!" she yelled, punctuating each word with a hit using the pillow. "Bringing! Them! Here!"

"It's not like we wanted to bring them!" Gilbert said, his arms up to cover himself from his sisters hits. "They saw us and we had to run."

"So you bring them here?" Louise screeched. "Here, where if I'm caught I go to prison if not a hanging!"

"Sister." Gilbert began.

"If I go to prison one of two things will happen. One is that I get sent to prison and then to escape I will have to kill people, people I think of as friends, to escape." Louise said. "The second is that I'm in prison, I will get sad. When I get sad I start to cry, if I start to cry I will kill someone in order to feel better."

"Well if all that happens you can officially join us." Francis said happily. "We will be more than happy to-ack!"

Louise hit him once more as hard as she was able to with the pillow.

"I have a perfectly good life here." Louise said through clenched teeth. "Even with all your meddling's. I have no desire to give it up."

Gilbert sighed heavily. "Look, I know you hate it when I involve you period, that's why I try not to have anything with you that can hurt you. Sometimes. But I only involve you when I absolutely have to, like now."

"What do you need?" Louise asked placing the pillow back on the bed.

"Medicine." Antonio said wringing his hands. "A close friend of mine and her brother have fallen ill. And the only medicine I've heard that works comes from this town."

"Hard to believe that only this town has what we need." Francis said.

"We get folks from even New York City and Chicago asking for Yaos medicine." Louise said. "It's not that big of a surprise."

"I have the money." Antonio said pulling out a bag and placing it on the bed. "It's from a clean place, not stolen."

"I'll go in the morning, first thing." Louise said. "In the meantime we should all get some sleep."

Gilbert walked to her and hugged her tightly. "Good night sis."

She hugged him back. "Good night, you know where the candle are if you need them."

She took her candle and left, leaving the three men.

Antonio still looked worried. "You think she'll come through?"

Gilbert jumped into the bed and sighed happily as he nuzzled closer into the sheets. "I think by now you should know to trust my sister."

"I do trust her and what about that Yao?"

"If Louise trusts him then so do i." Gilbert said. He yawned and turned over onto his side. "We told her and she promised to get the medicine, all we can do is wait and we might as well get some sleep."

Antonio shook his head lightly before he noticed something. "Gilbert?"

"Mm?"

"Where did Francis go?"

Louise sighed as she pulled on her nightgown. "Giving me headaches each and everyday. Always worried sick about them and when they come, they bring nothing but trouble. Ah my head." she sighed.

"May I offer some service?" a familiar voice asked. Holding the candle higher Louise made out the image of Francis on her bed.

"What do you want Francis, we all need to go to sleep." Louise said placing the candle on the nightstand.

Francis smiled at her. "I understand that we, most of the time, add stress onto your life and I wish to help you get rid of some of the burden."

Louise said nothing as she raised her eyebrow and sat on the bed against the headboard.

Francis placed a hand on her knee. "Please excuse me for such a personal question but when, if ever, have you last been with a man?"

"A while." Louise admitted emotionlessly.

Francis smiled as he crawled over to her. He placed a hand on her knee and spread her legs. Louise simply watched him quietly.

Francis used his thumb to massage the inside of her knee before he allowed himself to go lower.

"You won't be able to." Louise said.

Francis flashed a grin at her. "Allow me to try."

"I don't know." Gilbert said. "And I don't care."

"You don't care that we don't know where Francis is while we are in the same house as your sister?" Antonio asked raising an eyebrow.

A blood wrenching scream, rang through the house at that moment.

"I'm not worried about my sister." Gilbert said smirking. "I'm worried about Francis. She would never let him touch her."

"Louise!" Im Yong Soo exclaimed and waved her over. "Are you here for your regular medicine? Because brother hasn't been able to finish it just yet."

Louise gave him a small smile. "No, this is a little different."

"I have an order for you Yao." Louise said when she entered the shop and spotted him. "And it's a bit of a rush job."

"You know that I can have any medicine you need by this afternoon." Yao said. "What is it that you need?"

She told him the name of the sickness and medicine.

Yao raised an eyebrow. "That's a bit bigger than your regular order, it's going to cost you."

"I have the money." Louise said. "Just please get it ready as soon as you can, it's for a close friend."

Yao nodded. "I'll have it ready for you by lunch time."

"I appreciate it, I honestly do." Louise said, turning to leave. "Please give my regards to Kiku."

Emily raised an eyebrow at Louise as she came in.

"Now this ain't somethin' ah'm used to." she said, her voice still carrying its southern accent combined with the western accent. "Ya comin' in after ah do."

Louise shot her friend, who often called herself 'Louise's best friend' a smile.

"Don't get used to it." Louise warned mockingly as she walked to the closet where her apron was hanging and opened it. "I had to make a stop at Yao's."

Emily glanced at her worryingly as she pulled her dress lower. "Is everythin' alrigh'? Ya don't seem ill."

"I'm just fine." Louise assured her as she tied the apron around her. "It's for a friend of mine but they don't live here."

Emily bit her lip as she pulled out her makeup and started to apply it. "Ya know. Sometime's ah get the feelin' that yah hidin' somthin' from me. Somethin' big."

"We all have our own pasts and our own secrets." Louise said tiredly. "You do too and I know it."

The blush on Emilys cheeks had nothing to do with the powder in her hands.

"Exactly." Louise said nodding. "I'll admit that there are some things that I keep from everyone else. For everyone's protection I assure you."

"Well ah don't care what's in yer past." Emily said. "Yer my best friend and ah'm nothing if not loyal."

Louise hugged Emily from behind. "Thank you, it means a lot."

Emily grinned. "Think nothin' of it dahling. Now come on. We got work that needs to be done."

"I'm sorry that I haven't been able to come during lunch." Louise said apologetically. "We turned out to be very busy today."

"It's alright." Yao said. He made one more note in his book before he slowly brought his head up to look at her. "Anyway I got you medicine he-what in the world has happened to your face!"

Louise gently touched the bruise on the side of her face. "I didn't think that it would be this noticeable."

"Not that noticeable! It covers half of your face!" Yao exclaimed. He took a piece of cloth and soaked it in the basin of water he had next to his medicine. He placed it gently on her face. "What the hell happened?"

"Bar fight." Louise answered. "A group of men were coming through town and decided to get a drink. Then they started to get rowdy; pulling the women onto their laps, yelling at the card dealers, demanding more even when they couldn't pay. I had to 'encourage' them to get out."

"And they hit you?" Yao asked as he shifted the wet cloth.

"I'm sure it looks worse than it actually feels. And yes." Louise said. "Don't give me that look, I put in plenty of good punches before they got one onto me. At least they got the message to not come back. Or underestimate me or any of the women here."

"And what did your friend Emily do about this?" Yao asked.

"At first nothing." Louise said as she held the cloth to her face and sat down on one of the chairs. "But when one of them men hit me in my face she lost control, picked one man up in both of her hands, and threw them onto the floor and then into the shit that their horses had done."

Yao shook his head. "A pretty girl like you shouldn't be working in an establishment like that."

"I want to work there." Louise protested. "It makes life more interesting."

Yao shook his head once more. "I will never understand the western world and all of its ways. Sometimes makes me wish that I had stayed in China, poverty or not."

Louise smiled at him. "If you had never come here then you wouldn't have made all these friends that you have. And the money of course."

Yao didn't say anything however Louise was able to see the slight blush on his face.

He rummaged through his boxes for a moment before he pulled out a small container. He handed it to her.

"It's a cream." he said when she turned it in her hands. "Should help make the bruise go away faster." He pulled a bag out of his pocket. "And this is the medicine that you ordered."

Louise smiled at him once more. "Yao, you don't know how much this means to me."

"Well you know how much it means to me." Yao said snorting lightly. "I'll take nothing for the cream, I can get it anywhere, but the medicine is expensive. Eighty dollars."

Louise gave a low whistle as she pulled out the bag Antonio had given her and counted out eighty dollars. "And you're sure that this medicine is going to work?" she asked mockingly.

Yao had a look of mock hurt on his face. "You doubt me?"

Louise laughed. "Never."

Yao huffed. "And about your regular medicine, I'll have ready for you in two days."

Louise bowed her head. "You really are too good to us Yao."

"Glad someone finally noticed."

"Ride slowly and quietly, you don't want people to notice you." Louise said as she watched Antonio and Francis get onto their horses. She smirked lightly when Francis had slight trouble and winched when he sat down.

"Yeah." Gilbert said standing next to his sister with his arm around her waist. "We know."

Louise glanced at him and looked him up and down. "You're too thin, make sure that you eat more."

Gilbert grinned. "I will, mother, I will."

Louise rolled her eyes as she hugged her brother. "Please take care. And if you do ever get arrested make sure to find a way to make me know so that I could at least break you out."

"I will." Gilbert laughed as he got on his horse.

"Sis." Gilbert said looking at her. "Don't worry so much, alright?"

"Settle down onto a clean life and I won't worry so much." Louise retorted. "I can't help but worry other way."

"I really can't thank you enough Louise." Antonio said.

"You paid for it, that's thanks enough." Louise said dryly.

"My offer to you still stands my darling." Francis said.

Louise rolled her eyes. "Just go already."

Gilbert placed his hand on her shoulder. "Take care."

Louise placed her hand on top of his. "And the same to you." she said softly.

One more smile, a squeeze on the hand, eyes not breaking contact before Gilbert clicked his tongue twice and the horse started to gallop slowly away. Antonio nodded to her and Francis blew her a kiss as they followed him.

Louise watched the three of them leave until she could no longer see their figures in the dark. She clasped her hands together in front of her as she walked back to her house.

"I don't have work tomorrow, I clean their room tomorrow then when there more light." she murmured to herself.

Her eyes fell on the picture that Berwald had glanced at a couple days ago when he and his brothers had come looking for her brother and his friends. It was still facing downwards.

She walked to it and picked it up to look at the picture.

She and Gilbert were smiling at the camera, arms around each other's shoulders. It was the day before he had left to find himself and become, in his words, "One of the best bandits in the world."

Louise brushed the back of her hand against her eyes to wipe away the tears that had gathered there. She placed the picture back in its place. Holding her candle she blew it out and made her way towards her bedroom.

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.

Questions? Comments? Leave them in a review.

Until next time.

This is Phoenix-Fire Power over and out.