Warning: Explicit language, violence, some torture, mentions of sexual assault/rape and cannibalism.

Kida looked down on the man kneeling in front of her in mild disdain. He had been caught creeping in her territory but no matter how many lines Sabor carved into his skin, he still hadn't told her anything useful. "Tell me why you're here, Le Fou. You don't have to suffer like this. I'll even let you live if the information is valuable. Leave Rourke and swear fealty to me." She was lying, but if he bought it, she might at least get some useful information.

Le Fou's eyes widened with palpable fear. "N-no, I-I can't do that. H-he'll kill me. He'll hunt me down and kill me!"

Kida gave him an unimpressed once-over, absently noting the red-tinged sweat dripping down his arms, and stood up from her throne of scrap metal. She was almost amused by his flinch as she drew near; her reputation was hard-earned. "Not in my territory, he won't."

Sabor, who was holding him down, rolled her eyes as Le Fou once again refused to give Kida any pertinent information. He tried once more to argue, "He has eyes everywhere-"

Kida stepped on his hand with her steel enforced boots, crushing his fingers, "I'll ask you once more, why are you here?"

Le Fou shrieked in pain, "I-I was foraging under Rourke's orders! It was a-an accident!" The security around her territory was tight. Sentries and checkpoints covered any openings or areas where her territory overlapped, so it was impossible for him to have arrived on innocent terms, especially not under Rourke's orders.

She tilted her head to the side and gave him an unrelenting stare, "If you keep lying to me, you're not going to live much longer."

Sabor sighed, "Just kill the damn fool." One of Sabor's specialties had been interrogation after all. She knew well Le Fou wasn't going to betray his leader if he hadn't yet, or if he did it would take a lot more convincing she just didn't have time for. His cowardice outweighed his self-interest and she didn't really want to waste her time on someone so pathetic. Blood already covered enough of her clothing, and though she could appreciate the initial aesthetic appeal of it, she still hated having to wash it out after it dried to an uglier crusty brown.

Kida finally nodded and Sabor snapped Le Fou's neck before he could finish pleading, "No! Pl-"

As his body fell to the ground, Sabor stood up to her full height of 5'7" and brushed her hands on the side of her clothing trying to wipe off the blood. Sabor was easily the most beautiful woman in Kida's territory, and with her dark golden brown skin, short-cropped tightly curled blonde hair and molten eyes of liquid gold, she struck an impressive figure. She also happened to be the most dangerous woman in Kida's territory, and thus most of the men who knew her or knew of her, stayed well away or they didn't last long. Sabor's lithe body was heavily trained, Kida knew, and her supple flexibility was evident even in the way she slung Le Fou's body over her shoulder and dumped him down the processing chute where all their organic waste was deposited. His body would be processed and converted into fertilizer for their hydroponic gardens, which didn't work quite as well as they were supposed to. Surprise, surprise.

Basil, a tall, pale young man who looked to be in his late twenties, came up to Kida with an approving, if grim, look in his bright brown eyes. "He was most likely a spy, we couldn't let him live anyway," he said as he reached her side. He was an extremely smart and agile individual and she depended on him for his plans and political intuition, probably more than she should. But he spied in enemy territory and kept her abreast of the mood among her own men as well, thus making himself indispensable to her. He was also the reason why her reputation was so far spread and so detailed. Most of its embellished nature came from his silver tongue.

Kida shrugged in response to him, she felt rather apathetic about taking the life of another criminal. Besides, killing criminals was what I was imprisoned for in the first place, so why not continue? Wasting empathy on murderers, thieves, and rapists had never appealed to her. Although, her lack of remorse was most likely what sealed her fate in being sent here instead of having a lighter sentence somewhere else. She didn't regret killing any one of the men she'd eliminated. The thieving bastards who dared to attempt colonizing her people had fully deserved their annihilation at her adept hands. She only prayed her people were able to hold them off after she'd been incarcerated.

Sometimes she thought she should probably feel something when they died, but she was so jaded at this point, it hardly seemed to matter. Besides, feeling anything in this hell hole was weakness she couldn't afford. Perdition, such an apt name. It was the private moniker the inmates bestowed upon the wretched piece of scrap metal they now called home. Perdition was an old abandoned asteroid refinery ship in deep-space orbiting endlessly around a barren asteroid.

The spaceship was retrofitted for incarceration by the Conglomeration to house the worst criminals in the galaxy. They thought it was a quick and cheap way of clearing out overcrowded prisons and focusing on the offenders who had a "legitimate chance at rehabilitation." Kida had her own ideas about its original purposes, but she wouldn't dwell on that just now. There were no guards and no wardens in Perdition, only rusted metal and whoever was deemed too dangerous to exist elsewhere. Oh and rats, lots and lots of rats.

Kida grimaced as Chef Bouche walked by carrying one of those rats still wriggling around in his hands. It was a younger one, as it was still pretty small. Due to the radiation the rats were exposed to, the adults were much larger than average and provided a good source of protein. At least they weren't small enough to creep in the piping and chew on the wires anymore. She knew rats were preferable to other options for dinner, but she still couldn't repress her distaste for the creatures.

She appreciated Chef Bouche being hers though. Originally she had recruited him due to his great size, but she soon realized his interests didn't lie in fighting, but instead in food. Not that he was weak by any means. He terrified most of the convicts under her rule as he spoke little and wasn't afraid to knife any people in his way before he went back to chopping the vegetables. He didn't go on raids or do much else other than cook, though. Kida didn't mind once she found out how talented he was. She definitely appreciated the increase in the quality of her food, and she really liked the fact that he wasn't into chopping up human corpses like she had heard Chef Louis in the Mad Hatter's domain was.

Kida shuddered at even thinking of the territory they'd dubbed "Wonderland". She felt no shame for her fear either, after all, even the hardest criminals were creeped out by anything having to do with that accursed place. Kida shook herself and started heading back to her room to clean up when she noticed Bruce studying her. Bruce was a huge, scarred, muscular white man with a reputation for being particularly bloodthirsty when in the heat of battle. He also happened to have been Ares' right hand man, the same man she had killed to gain her macabre throne. She ignored him, a deliberate insult, and continued on her way. When he finally decided to make his move, she would be more than ready.

Esmeralda crept back through the ducts after one of her more successful reconnaissance missions, and she had a good feeling Clopin would be very grateful for the information she'd gathered. What she did was risky, but so far she hadn't been caught and she hadn't yet seen anyone else inside the ducts no matter how far she'd traveled either. Her only company was the droppings from the baby rats, as their parents were too large to fit inside. She winced as she did her best to avoid their shit. As she finally stepped out into the open air of the abandoned hallway that led to Clopin's main territory, she took a deep breath of the slightly fresher air and made her way to find him.

Clopin's territory included what used to have been the miners' rooms so his subjects were afforded a privacy and comfort that not many others in Perdition had. The rooms were cramped and the bunk beds had shitty mattresses at best, but they were still a place to rest your head at night. And since there were plenty of them, Clopin's subjects didn't have to worry about someone trying to steal their space as much. She'd heard Kida's territory held the bedrooms for what had been the kitchen workers as well, but other than that, most were left to their own devices in finding or creating some sort of private space. Some shacks made of scrap metal sufficed for those willing to defend their space, but you had to be strong and vigilant enough to ward off the scavengers and those looking to take it from you by force.

As Esmeralda walked towards Clopin's room she paused as a tall leanly muscled white man with slightly tousled brown hair made his way towards her with a grin on his face that only spelled trouble, "Esmeralda, you look stunning today. How've you been?"

Esmeralda rolled her eyes at his poor attempt at flattery, he was a relatively new fish who hadn't learned to leave her be yet. She would bet a good amount of money that the other men had put him up to this. Whatever 'this' was, "What do you want, Sinbad?"

Sinbad acted affronted, "Why must I want something? Can't I merely want to speak to a lovely lady?"

Esmeralda glared at him, "No you can't. Now tell me what you want or leave me be. I have business with Clopin."

Sinbad's eyes darkened as his grin grew predatory. "Business is what you call it? Why use euphemisms here? Surely you're not worried about protecting some sort of reputation? Everyone here already knows you fuck him for his protection and other favors. Why don't you just call it what it is?"

Esmeralda smirked, "Oh? You think I need or want his 'protection' do you?" She pulled out a shiv from her belt, "Do you want to test that theory?"

Sinbad backed up and laughed. "I don't fight women. But I was wondering if you were open for business with the rest of us. Some of the boys could use an outlet to let off some steam." He eyed her body with a lustful gaze of his own. "I could too."

Esmeralda sighed; she really didn't have time for this. "Whatever. Look, I don't know who put you up to this and I don't care. If you know what's good for you, you'll leave me the hell alone from now on, and if you don't, you'll end up dead. You're choice." She moved quicker than Sinbad could keep up with and he found her shiv digging into his neck before he could even begin to react. "I don't like playing your stupid games and I don't have the time for it. If you want to 'let off some steam', go visit our lovely Cheshire Cat. Although, perhaps I should warn you, his toys don't always end up in one piece. Got it?"

Sinbad nodded just barely, not daring to say anything. Esmeralda sneered, "Wonderful. I'm glad we can understand each other." She let him go, deliberately turned her back on him, and continued walking without glancing back once. She was sending a clear message that she had full confidence in her ability to subdue him, even should he attempt to sneak up on her or try to stab her in the back, and he found himself reacting to her strength even more intensely than he originally had to her physical beauty.

Sinbad had first noticed her immediately after he was recruited into Clopin's grisly Court of Miracles, as she was one of the most beautiful women he'd ever seen, even including his time before Perdition. Her bright green eyes framed by her untamed curly black hair and dark tawny skin had enraptured him. Her tight black clothing hugged her generous curves in a way that made his mouth run dry and his pants seem too tight. When the other men saw him staring, apparently, they had decided to play a trick on him. He realized now, just how well they'd played him, but he didn't find himself regretting it much. Maybe he'd made a shitty first impression, but he had all the time in the world to get to know her better.

Esmeralda made it the rest of the way to Clopin's room with no more interruptions and she sighed in slight relief as she finally knocked on Clopin's door. He opened the door and smiled brightly when he saw her, "Esmeralda, my dear. Come on in."

Esmeralda frowned slightly at the affectation, but she shrugged it off as she usually did. It didn't pay to fight Clopin over something so relatively small. Clopin's room was the largest of all of them, since he was crowned their King. She assumed it had been an overseer's when the ship was still being used for productive purposes. She took a seat on his bed and leaned back against the wall, her mood lightening considerably in the presence of her good friend. "I have some interesting news, your Majesty." The teasing light in her eyes, betrayed her poor attempt at formality and Clopin laughed at her.

"Well then, lowly peasant, let's hear it." He sat down at the foot of his bed and faced her. Clopin was a handsome man with straight black shoulder-length hair, skin as brown as hers, and penetrative brown eyes that held a cruel spark of mischief. He was lean and strong, and well known for his acrobatic agility and stealth. He had a great proclivity for killing quickly and quietly, and his talent earned him a reputation even among these inmates. He was a terror to his enemies and even most of his subordinates, but not to her.

Esmeralda cut him a sardonic smile, "Apparently there're rumors going around that I'm sleeping with you to garner your protection."

"Really?" he asked with a widening grin spreading across his face.

Esmeralda rolled her eyes at his enthusiasm. "Yeah, really."

"They clearly don't realize that I protect my favorite regardless."Clopin reached out to gently caress her hand and looked her in the eye, "But we can certainly make the first part of those rumors true, if you wish. I'm not against it." This wasn't the first time he'd made her this offer, and it probably wouldn't be the last.

Esmeralda smoothly pulled her hand away and waved him off, not bothering to state that she could protect herself, and instead merely gave him a pointed look that he deliberately ignored. It was more than a dead horse between them at this point. "Honestly, I think it was merely your men playing a joke on the new fish."

Clopin pouted slightly at her casual rejection, but it was mainly for show, he had expected no less. He leaned back and sighed, "Ahh, Sinbad. For some reason I didn't think he'd be so gullible."

She shrugged, "Most men are when it comes to women."

Clopin laughed once more and pulled out his favorite knife and started playing with it, "If he's bothering you…" his threat was clear.

Esmeralda shook her head, "He's one of the strongest men we have in terms of brute strength and he fights relatively well. He's too valuable a resource to waste on something so petty."

Clopin shrugged, almost looking disappointed, "You always were too damn practical."

She smiled. "It's good somebody in this place is. Besides I also have other news for you."

Clopin perked up, "Oh?"

Esmeralda leaned forward, Sinbad forgotten. "Yes, it seems Rourke and the Mad Hatter are looking to team up against our dearest Dread Queen Kida."

Clopin's grin turned cruel. "Ah, that poor woman. Whatever shall she do?"

Esmeralda continued, "Kida can't face both of them on her own, considering they flank her on both sides and together they outnumber her, so my guess is she'll seek either our help or Zira's." Zira was the other Queen of Perdition. She and her lover Jadis ruled with an iron fist and if you weren't of use to them, they'd dispose of you without a second thought. Not that that was much different than the rest of the compound, but they were known to be particularly vicious in their methods of disposal.

Clopin nodded, "So the question is, what would be the more favorable scenario for us?"

Esmeralda's brow furrowed as she thought it over, "If we help Kida, we'll have the upper hand in negotiating who gets what spoils, however if Kida goes to Zira, then we can sit back and watch them all kill each other. And when the fighting's over, no matter who wins, we'll temporarily have the upper hand in strength against their weakened forces. If there's a particular side we want to win, I'm not too crazy about the Mad Hatter or Rourke increasing in power myself, we can help from the shadows as much as needed using the excuse of raids. It's honestly a win-win situation for us."

Clopin grimaced, "Yes, Hatter is a problem. I would certainly feel better if he were gone. Everyone would." In Perdition, having almost everyone want you gone was one hell of an achievement. No pun intended.

Esmeralda sighed, "Unfortunately if Kida goes to Zira for aid, and they win, that means Zira will become that much more powerful. She's already too strong for comfort. Even if her forces are weakened by the fight, with her newly gained ground and the stockpiles of weaponry Mad Hatter supposedly has, she won't stay incapacitated for long, especially if there are new fish to bolster her forces."

"I've also heard the Mad Hatter has access to a cache of medicine," Clopin added.

Esmeralda's eyes narrowed, "Why on earth would that madman keep something like medicine?" Medicine was hard to find in Perdition, so if you got injured or sick, you didn't have much of a chance. After all, there weren't many doctors or healers that ended up there, and even if they did, if they weren't equally as proficient at taking life as they were at giving it, they wouldn't last long anyway. Most of the medicinal supplies on the ship were left over from the days the ship had been a working mine and medicine was needed to keep the workers healthy and productive. Sometimes access to an area that had been closed off would open up when one of the groups found a way to break in, and some medicinal supplies were found that way, but that didn't happen often. And new supplies coming in with the fish were rare to begin with, and those that actually contained anything close to first aid supplies were sparse at best.

"Maybe he uses it in his experiments?" Clopin suggested.

As it was actually a legitimate proposal and the only one that currently made sense, Esmeralda decided to leave the issue be. She really wasn't interested in delving into the twisted evil that was the Mad Hatter. "Hmm, if the rumors are true though, it could be a large help to us to have a say in his goods' distribution, especially his weapons."

"Yes, I'm not too fond of the idea of Zira gaining even more power. Let's see if we can persuade Miss Kida to come seek our aid. You're still in contact with our rat, right?" Clopin asked as he started calculating the costs and benefits of helping Kida fight Rourke and the Mad Hatter.

Esmeralda briskly nodded, "I'll tell him what he needs to know."

Clopin smiled at her, "Good. You know, by killing each other so systematically we're playing right into the Conglomeration's hands. They'd probably be surprised at how well most of us have survived until now."

"Yes, although with how broken down and torn apart this ship is, they knew we'd eventually die one way or another." Her matter-of-fact tone didn't surprise Clopin at all. Perdition was old, and anything used for weaponry, homes, borders, and whatever else usually came from the walls of the ship itself. If someone pulled the wrong piece loose they'd all asphyxiate together, it was really only a matter of time. Perdition was the Conglomerate's way of dealing a death sentence without any weight on their conscience. On her worst days, Esmeralda found herself despairing over the pointlessness of all of their territorial wars. In the end, it wouldn't make so much of a difference if I died today or ten years from now. She shook her head to clear her thoughts. She couldn't afford to be so bleak right now. After all, she was well aware of the fact that Rourke only took slaves for prisoners if he took prisoners at all. Her life now was tolerable, but life under Rourke would be worse than death, and though she'd never admit it, she didn't wish the certain death and torture, which would come with Rourke's empowerment, on any in her Court either.

Clopin shrugged and replied, "It'd be nice if they would make our escape a little easier."

Esmeralda laughed at him. Escape was impossible as any convict who'd been there for more than a few months was willing to tell you. Esmeralda had tried though, most had, but as with the rest, she'd given up months ago. "Yes, if only they'd provide a nice fully supplied spaceship for us to get away in."

"Exactly! Would it really be so hard? We'll keep out of the Conglomeration's way and be good law abiding citizens from now on." His overly pious tone made Esmeralda grin.

"Oh yes, perfectly good little citizens who never ask any questions and devotedly follow every rule and regulation," she added.

"Naturally, what other type of citizen is there?" The confusion in his voice was so sincere Esmeralda couldn't stop a laugh.

She shook her head at him as he kept up the act and then looked up as all the lights temporarily went out. Because of Perdition's deteriorating condition and old machinery, any new shipments of fish coming in stressed the circuits. The ship couldn't efficiently light the whole vessel as well as go into total lockdown. "Shall I go fishing?" she asked him as she stood up and stretched out her tight muscles.

Clopin took a moment to admire the way her body pushed against her clothes as she stretched and nodded, "If we're going to be engaging in warfare, we need all the backup we can get. Although I'm a bit surprised there's another shipment so soon after last month. This doesn't usually happen."

"Yeah, who knows? Maybe the Conglomeration found some particularly vile garbage they wanted to throw away faster than normal." Esmeralda waved goodbye before she shut his door behind her. Clopin keenly felt the loss of her presence.

Kida walked out from her bathroom, drying her hair with a towel, one her favorite luxuries, as the lights flickered. She set down the towel and went to search for Basil. Luckily he had been on his way to see her as well, so it didn't take long. "Should we go recruit?"

Basil nodded, "We lost a few in our last skirmish with Rourke."

Kida called out to Sabor, "Hey! Do you want to be my bodyguard?"

Sabor smirked and walked over to stand next to them, "What? Little Genius isn't enough on his own?"

Basil frowned as Kida tried to keep a smile from her face and replied, "We're hunting for some new flesh, and I figured you could help us out."

Sabor laughed, "Well, I was known as quite the huntress back in the day, but I'm sorry I can't help you out with this. I draw the line at cannibalism."

Kida grinned this time without hesitation, "But you know how much I like them fresh."

Sabor sighed heavily, "The things I do for you. I deserve a better salary."

Basil huffed, impatient with their friendly, if twisted, banter, "Come on, we only have half an hour before they arrive. We don't want to be left with the scraps."

Sabor and Kida glanced at each other sharing amusement at Basil's impatience, before agreeing with him and following him through Rourke's territory. When a ship carrying new inmates arrived, it was the only time a universal sort of treaty was formed between territories. Due to general consensus, recruiters were generally left untouched. Of course, nothing was sacred in Perdition so it was always wise to bring along some strong fighters just in case anyone decided to cause trouble. Since the three of them were fast, they reached the second set of doors before the lights shut down and the barriers rose up that would fry anyone who crossed them. A few screams let her know some recruiters had issues with their timing.

They uneasily shared the space with one of Clopin's fighters, which was slightly unusual. He didn't normally show an interest in new fish. The pretty woman flashed Kida a rather predatory smile, which freaked Kida out all the more. Recruiters normally ignored each other, or sometimes killed each other, but smiling wasn't usually in the cards. Of course, Clopin was known for his twisted sense of humor, so perhaps his followers had picked up on it. The woman could also be toying with her. Either way, it was unsettling to have her enemy grinning at her. Though Kida was smart and had played this game far too long to let any of her discomfort show. Instead, she merely nodded her head in acknowledgment of the fighter's greeting and turned back towards Sabor to indicate her disinterest. Basil's slight tug on her arm let her know that he would need to speak to her later and his hand on his shiv reassured her that he was ready to fight this woman if needed.

The eerie red light emanating from the shock field accentuated their uninvited companion's sharp grin and gave her a spectral appearance. Her black hair looked as if it had been dipped in blood and her normally green eyes were now tinged with red. Kida was sure the lighting was making her and her companions just as striking, but she couldn't help the uneasy, almost superstitious, feeling that rose in her chest at the sight of this singular woman.

Kida shook herself to rid her thoughts of the woman and to focus on the task ahead. The neutral zone, also known as the Ruins, lay just beyond the docking bay. It was Perdition's lawless squalor personified. At least in the territories there was some semblance of order. In the Ruins, you couldn't sleep without getting raped, shanked, or robbed, sometimes all in the same night. It was where many of the new fish lived until they quickly found it was much better to be affiliated than to stay. That was basically the totality of Kida's pitch. If you come with me, you may not die. Those that were smart followed her.

The lights came back on as the security measures turned off, meaning that the ship had left and that it was finally safe to move forward. The woman shot ahead as Kida, Basil and Sabor ran through the two security doors, through the Ruins, to the reception area where the new fish always wandered around, as if expecting to be greeted by guards, someone to tell them what to do, how to get food and water. Poor, stupid fish.

Esmeralda pulled up short as she looked over the new haul. Most of them were rather pathetic but a few caught her eye. There was one particularly ugly son of a bitch that every other fish avoided like the plague due to his deformed figure. He was also clearly the strongest amongst them and she was eager for some brute strength on her side to help prepare for the inevitable battles ahead. He looked up at her with his one good eye, the other practically swelled shut due the large wart right above it. She smiled at him and beckoned to him with her finger. As he approached her, she sensed someone coming up behind her and prepared her favorite shiv to slice their throat with. However before she could move, the lumbering beast of a man she had called to, barreled behind her and grabbed her attacker, throwing him at least twenty feet. She winced as the man crashed to the ground and she heard something snap.

"Well, that was rather impressive," she praised him as she kept her grip on her shiv, in case he decided to turn that prodigious strength on her. She wasn't stupid.

The hunchbacked man turned to her and gave her a twisted grin, "Thank you." His bright red hair, stark against his pale skin, fell down into his good eye and she resisted the urge to brush it away.

"Do you have a name?" she asked as gently probed his mind. Her "gift" was rare but not unheard of. Roughly three percent of humanoid life forms were estimated to possess some form of ESP. She could pick up emotions and sometimes specific thoughts or memories, but only if the emotion attached to them was strong enough. She used her ability here to separate out the ones who weren't totally evil yet. She rarely used her ability, because the memories and emotions she picked up, stayed with her almost as if they were her own.

"Quasimodo."

She nodded as she read his character to be surprisingly pure. He was slightly twisted, but mainly due to circumstance and his bitter cynicism towards the justice system that had wronged him and the people who had ridiculed him. "Welcome to Perdition, Quasi. You seem to be able to take care of yourself just fine, but if you follow me, I can promise you fairly comfortable lodging and relatively good food. We also have a distillery."

Quasimodo laughed, "So you wish to tempt me with bribery, Miss No Name?"

Esmeralda shrugged, "You're strong, and we could make good use of you. In return, you won't have to figure out on your own why you should stay the hell away from Wonderland and just how vicious Rourke can be. By the way, I'm Esmeralda."

Quasimodo studied her carefully, "And how am I supposed to know whether or not to stay the hell away from you?"

"I guess that's just a chance you'll have to take." Esmeralda turned on him to go look for other recruits and smiled when Quasimodo willingly followed her.

Her smile fell when she noticed Kida had already picked up two of the women she had eyed for her own territory, but grinned once more as her eyes settled on a young boy. His wiry musculature and natural grace would be good assets. He was also young enough to be molded into whatever she wanted him to be if she played her cards right.

He was taking in the vision of his new home with a mixture of disgust and fascination. He wasn't completely unaware of his surroundings however, as she noticed his muscles tense when she approached. "Hello, my name is Esmeralda and I would like to recruit you."

He gave her a quick once over and a questioning glance, "Recruit me?"

"Yes, you see, there are some very vile people on this ship that we can protect you from, so long as you help us out from time to time."

His eyebrows rose in slight disbelief, "And you expect me to believe you're some gentle motherly soul who'll protect me from the big bad wolves, huh? I wouldn't be surprised if the sick minds of this place used you as bait to lure in their victims."

Esmeralda brightened at his apparent common sense; too many men were needlessly brash and far too interested in her bust to be suspicious of her intentions. "Good point, I'm glad you thought of it. Your good instincts will serve you well in a place like this. You might even survive the first few nights here in the Ruins, but you're pretty too, and pretty young boys are such a delicacy here. I don't think you'll last long unmolested."

The boy shuddered and glanced around to see the men eyeing not only Esmeralda but him as well. He felt a small tremor run through him at the naked lust he saw in their eyes. At least she didn't look at him as if he were prey to be devoured, but merely as a tool to be used. He took a strange comfort in that and quickly made up his mind, "I'm Jim Hawkins. Where do we go?"

Esmeralda smiled at him as she reveled in her success. "Follow me; I think our King will be rather pleased with you two." She recognized another rather pure soul as she gently searched Jim's mind and couldn't believe her luck, it may have even been the first time she found two such good assets in one haul of fish.

She also noticed a tall fish that looked rather agile and intelligent staring at her as she walked away, but she ignored him. He had a look about him that reminded her of their Cheshire Cat and one of those in her territory was more than enough. If the two ended up being even remotely alike, she had absolutely no desire to delve into his mind, no matter how good of a fighter he may or may not be.

Kida felt almost giddy as she took in the red-headed woman in front of her. The woman had just killed a man who'd tried to feel her up with two efficient hits to his kidney and his temple. Standing next to her and grinning was a large white woman who looked like she might even be a match for the monster Clopin's fighter recruited. Kida walked up to them and smiled, "I'm Kida, and I'm one of only two queens in this shithole. The other has a propensity for killing, whereas I only kill when necessary. Besides, we have the best cook in the compound, would you two like to join us?"

The red-head quickly gave Kida a brief appraisal, and apparently didn't find her lacking, as she nodded and introduced herself, "My name is Natalia Romanova."

The woman next to her held out her hand, "And I, darling, am Ursula." Kida loved the look of both of them. Ursula was tall, probably around six feet, and had a lot of weight to throw around. Kida had a strong suspicion most of it was muscle based on the strength in the woman's handshake. Ursula's bright white hair was spiked almost straight up and her grey eyes sparkled with intelligence.

Natalia was a little shorter than Kida and she was as tightly muscled as Sabor. Both women seemed like they would be powerful threats on the battlefield and Kida couldn't help but smile at her good luck. She soon caught the gaze of another fish who looked promising and stepped toward him, "Have you ever had any experience in battle?"

The blonde haired, blue eyed pretty boy smirked, "More than you'll ever see in your lifetime."

His surety surprised Kida, and for some reason she couldn't quite bring herself to doubt him as she would any other man who would dare to think so. His eyes seemed to defy his apparent physical age, as they held a weight and coldness to them that she had only seen before in her own people who had lived far too long. "Very well, will you join me?"

"What's in it for me?"

"Good food, an actual room to sleep in, and information on who you should avoid. There are some really sick people in here that creep out even the vilest criminals."

The man's eyes roamed over her body with fearlessness that none in her territory could emulate, and finally nodded, "Very well. I suppose I should introduce myself then. I'm John Smith."

Kida held out her hand, "I'm Kida, and the women next to me are Ursula and Natalia. Now we should probably get moving before we run into any trouble."

John let go of her hand and looked around, "Trouble?"

Kida shuddered slightly, "We have to head back through Hatter's territory. You never know what you'll run into there."

"One of the ones I'm guessing I should avoid?" John questioned.

"Definitely." Kida motioned for them to follow her and took off at a run. Speed was more important than stealth to her at this point. The quicker they got through Wonderland, the better. Her three new fish gagged as they neared Hatter's border and Kida could hardly blame them. She had as well, the first time she'd set foot in it.

"What's that smell?" John asked as he looked around trying to identify its source.

"Rotting dead bodies," Kida replied, much more calmly than she currently felt. As they entered Hatter's territory the three new fish suddenly knew what she meant. Human remains were used for decorations, furniture and other things they didn't even want to try to guess at. Instead of disposing of the dead bodies of his comrades or his enemies, the Hatter kept them around as a warning to anyone who dared to trespass. It was rumored that near the center of his territory there was a large table made solely out of human bones, where he regularly liked to drink his tea. The rumors also claimed that his "tea" actually consisted of the blood drained from his freshest kills, and that the food he consumed was mostly human flesh. Kida wasn't sure how true those rumors were, but with his grotesque choice in décor, she could easily believe them.

Kida was right to expect an attack as some of Hatter's followers rushed at them soon after they'd entered his territory. She was honestly surprised she hadn't dealt with any trouble on her to pick up her new fish. Kida held back a bit to assess the talents of those she'd newly acquired. John and Natalia were both fast and efficient. Natalia was much more methodical in her killing than John was though. John seemed to go with the flow of the fight, whereas Natalia seemed to have every move planned out ahead of time. Ursula used her strength and size to her advantage well, for even though she was a bit slower than John and Natalia, her fists carried much more power behind them.

With Sabor and Basil helping as well, the group that had attacked them was quickly dispatched and Kida felt a little thrill at their impressive efficiency. She felt much more positive about her position now. Even if she was in between the two vilest territories in the ship, she now felt as if she had a little security for the first time since she'd been sent here. Of course she knew well not to trust these fish, and to be on her guard at all times, but she couldn't quite suppress her excitement at her new fish's talents. She'd chosen well.

Luckily after the first skirmish, Kida's group was able to get the rest of the way through Hatter's territory unharmed. As Kida finally stepped foot into her own territory, she smiled at her new companions and held her arm out, "Welcome to your very own special corner of Hell."

AN: I will update this and my other stories that are unfinished about once a month. I have finally figured out how to manage my mental illnesses, and yes it did take that many years to do so:) I hope you enjoyed.

The book that I'm basing this off of is Ann Aguirre's Perdition, so if you liked this, you should definitely go check it out:)