A:N/ Another week, another chapter.

This week's chapter focusses on both of our protagonists and our budding third protagonist as Hamilton continues his search for answers and Denis continues to play 'nurse' for Jynx, who is desperate to get out of Denis' shadow and prove herself.

Enjoy and remember to review, all reviews help the story in their own way, remember to check the bottom of the page for Letter Hacks (review responses and trivia).

It wasn't until late afternoon that Hamilton reached Rivet City, yet he was still impressed with how quickly he had managed to travel from Paradise Falls. He had met little resistance on the road, besides the occasional wild animal but even they were somewhat easy to dispatch and actually livened up an otherwise uneventful journey.

Hamilton had managed to find some rounds for his Colt 1911, in the tower's armoury, once a single clip would make him feel like his situation was a little precarious, it wouldn't have even got him to Big Town, back in the day but now he'd made it to Rivet City, still with half a clip to spare.

The Slaver was delayed a little, when he saw a large amount of activity by the Jefferson Memorial, caravans seemed to be passing through that area and heading straight to Rivet City and other places, presumably Megaton as well. He paid the site a quick visit and found that it was the central bottling operation for 'Aqua Pura,' also known as Project Purity.

Apparently, the Brotherhood of Steel had erected a gargantuan water purifier and were giving drums of the stuff away for free. Hamilton had no idea why they didn't just sell the water or even better, make people work for it, make it addictive and charge more for it, to keep people coming back.

So many possibilities…

The slaver cared not though, as this didn't change his current objective, he needed to find Flak, of Rivet City and get some answers out of him. He only hoped that Flak wouldn't try to fob him off, even if he did, Hamilton could be very… persuasive, if he got his hands on a pair of pliers or some shards of glass…

He wandered up the tower, keeping his eyes fixed on the giant aircraft carrier, opposite him as he reached the top. From the looks of things, it hadn't changed much but he got the feeling that, it would most likely have changed on the inside…

He wandered up to the intercom and pushed the small, black button, underneath the speaker, it buzzed, like every fucking thing does in this place and he was left hanging, until someone picked it up.

"Welcome to Rivet City, state your business."

Hamilton glanced to the speaker, his business was none of this prick's concern but unless the Slaver planned to grow wings and fly across the river, he wasn't going to get across until he shared it.

"I'm looking for Flak… Older guy, bald, stupid moustache, owns a store, I believe."

The speaker cut off as the voice went to check with someone, most likely a superior officer. Hamilton could see something on the horizon, two black armoured guards, talking among themselves. Eventually, the closest one to the speaker went back over to it and hit the button.

"Yeah, you're clear to enter, just don't cause any trouble."

"Who, me?" Thomas smirked as the voice cut out, listening to the loud creak of the bridge as it extended across the rover and met with the tower, stopping at his feet. The Slaver slowly raised his foot and placed it on the walkway as he made his way across, hands in the pockets of his suit, fingers wrapped around the hilt and trigger of the pistols in his pocket.

He had an assault rifle, strapped to his back but he always preferred handguns, much easier to conceal and more fun to shoot with. They were also far more reliable and accurate than the piece of American made dog shit that he had clinging to his back.

Speaking of dog shit…

"If you have business in Rivet City, I'd suggest that you see to it, you're free to wander around the non-restricted areas but know that I have eyes everywhere in here, so don't try anything…" The Captain warned him, with about as much impact as a small child threatening a Talon Company Merc.

"Cause any trouble and you'll end up in the river."

Hamilton didn't even dignify the fool with a response and stepped into the door conveniently marked 'Market.'

Flak had better be here, traitorous fuck…

It had been a few days since Jynx awoke and Denis had practically been glued to her side since, she told him of her adventure, leaving home to try and make her fortune.

Though he was incredibly sceptical at first, he found himself to be a little more understanding, once she told him her plan. She had hoped to travel from settlement to settlement, selling spare parts. It was amazing how many times places like Arefu needed fission batteries and Sensors and other random pieces of junk.

Apparently, she's from Big Town, Denis should have guessed that with a name like hers, he spotted Machete's nickname in Canterbury Commons…

The girl wasn't very talkative the first day, so they mostly sat in silence, second day she was quiet in the morning and incredibly chatty in the afternoon and now she was spewing her guts out, just happy to be talking to someone. Denis didn't leave until quite late, not that he minded, she was rather fun to talk to, upbeat and cheerful and incredibly enthusiastic. He almost felt bad about leaving but he then realised that it was getting late and that they'd both need their sleep.

Denis returned, early morning, he brought some breakfast for the girl, some squirrel chunks on a stick. She'd never eaten squirrel, until yesterday, she was always put off by the idea of eating a small rat-like creature as she imagined that it tasted rather nasty. However, to her surprise, it was actually rather good. Denis promised to bring her some for breakfast today and so he did.

"Here, fresh off the grill, should be just right for eating." He told her, with a smile as he took a seat opposite and opened a box of cram.

The scavenger took it, gracefully and gave him a smile before taking her first bite, he wasn't kidding, it was perfect for eating. She continued to help herself to more…

"Mmm… You were right, this is good." She said, with her mouth full, making Denis chuckle as he helped himself to more food. He was supposed to be eating properly, proper meals and that but he was told that he technically didn't even have to be here anymore.

Still, he was enjoying his time with Jynx, he was her only visitor and he felt kind of mean, abandoning the poor kid, in a strange town before she'd fully recovered. He wondered where she was earlier that week as he could have used her then.

"So, how do you feel today?" He asked, leaning back with a grin as he put his feet on a nearby crate, using it as a footstool.

The girl just shrugged, giving him a smile as he got comfortable, she waited until she'd swallowed her last bite before answering.

"G-Good, my stomach barely hurts now." She grinned, pulling her bedding back and taking a look, it was definitely improved over the other day, there was only a faint lingering of yellow at this point. She then covered herself up again and lay down, looking over to Denis, and giving him a troubled smile.

"To be honest, I'm bored of lying around…"

"Heh, I was like that, last week." The Regulator replied, sitting back in his chair and placing a foot over his knee as he brought his hands together.

"I was shot to but… I wasn't lucky enough to be wearing metal armour." He informed her, getting a wince from his, now, kindred spirit.

"Ouch… How'd that happen?"

"Raider, bullet went clean through and it didn't hit anything vital, still I was lucky, I barely got back here before collapsing." He then scratched his head and looked away, awkwardly.

"I was under house arrest, until I healed. It was kind of fun at first, since I've never been under house arrest but it got old, real quick." He added as the door opened and Doc Church stepped in.

"Hourse arrest? Is that what you call it?" The Doctor snorted, walking over to Jynx's bed and gesturing for her to pull her sheet back.

"Don't let this boy fool you, he's an idiot. Worse, he's an idiot, who thinks he knows better than a Doctor who has more experience than he does years." He said, turning back to Denis and giving him a smirk, one that Denis returned. Church liked to give everyone shit and Denis couldn't lie, he kind of enjoyed it himself sometimes, so the two of them had a sort of rivalry, that they mostly kept up in front of others.

"Oh Doc, so unoriginal, you practically repeated Overseer Almodovar's file on me to the word…"

Jynx remained silent as she pulled her covers back, revealing the injury, the Doctor examined it before standing up and placing his hand on Jynx's shoulder.

"Well, good news little lady, you're going to be able to walk out of here by sundown and I'll have a bed free." Doc Church informed her as he made a note on his 'chart.'

"Oh? That's… Great." Jynx replied, not sounding remotely convincing, she didn't want to seem ungrateful but she'd had everything in this bed, food, water, shelter, a bed. She knew that she'd have to go back on the road, after this and short of getting shot and surviving it again on the outskirts of this town, there was no way that she could get herself in a situation as good as this one again…

"Erm… I don't really know how to thank you… Or… Pay you…" She muttered, swallowing as she said so. She knew the deal, this was the wasteland, nothing was free and those without money had to find other ways of paying.

"That's okay, Denis took care of that, when he brought you in." Doc Church mumbled as he filled in the chart, getting Jynx to look over to Denis, now she really was suspicious.

"W-What? Why would you do that?"

The Regulator shrugged before leaning back and rubbing his eye with his right index finger and grinning as he refrained from laughing.

"I've just got more money than sense." He shrugged, though this was actually quite true, Denis had amassed a ridiculous sum over the years, he scavenged ammo in the wastes and only ever paid for repairs. If his common weapons, like his Chinese Assault rifle, broke then he would just simply throw them away and take another one or buy one, if he saw one cheap enough.

Denis didn't drink or insist on hiring 'company,' so he had stashed quite a lot of caps over the years, of course, he kept this quiet, not wanting to earn himself any trouble or end up robbed for his money. Many assumed that he paid through his nose to keep his weapons and armour upgraded, thus making him near penniless. A rumor that he 'confirmed' as often as possible, for his own safety.

"So, where will you head to next?" He asked, curiously as he tried to move on and avoid discussing his finances.

"Erm… I was thinking Rivet City?" Jynx said, scratching her head.

"I was hoping to stock up on parts, maybe do some repairs for caps." She leaned back and folded her arms, staring at her feet.

"Either that or I could go and look for some old toasters to fix, they often contain all sorts of weird things in them."

"Toasters?"

"Y-Yeah, not those… Small ones, I mean the big ones, the old bulkier ones? I once found a magazine in one once, I didn't think that I'd get much for it, because it was about cats and a lot of the pages were stuck together but still, I managed to get quite a lot for it."

Denis had some idea of what magazine she was talking about and shuddered to think why the pages were stuck together but he decided to avoid speculating, for both of their sakes.

"Yeah… I imagine that Flak and Shrapnel will have a few some spare parts, since its part of their job to fix things. Of course, there's also Moira, here, she could help you."

"Moira?"

"Yeah… She owns Craterside Supply? It's… Well, literally above us." The Lone Wanderer smirked, folding his arms and glancing upwards.

"She could sell you some spare parts."

"Oh, erm… I well I don't really have any money, hence why I said that I'd make my money, doing repairs." Jynx explained, with a weary sigh, she wondered how some people ended up with so much money.

Was there some sort of a trick to it or was it just luck? She had no idea…

"Oh, well…" Denis paused, in all honesty, he practically envied her, he missed the days where his eyes were still adjusting to the bright sun above. He often had dreams of falling upwards, into the huge void that was the sky, that plagued him for months after but most of all, he missed having nothing, every enemy was a challenge, every day was an adventure, every day could be his last and now…

Now things were routine, nothing really surprised him anymore, nothing really excited him, not to the extent that he was really excited and he mostly just went around, helping whoever he came across to keep himself stimulated.

"Erm… Well, I could get you some of your basic components, to help start you off…" Denis suggested, he didn't know how she'd take this as a lot of people often grew suspicious and were even afraid of him, when he tried to help them.

"N-No, I… I can't let you, you've… already done me enough favors, I… I don't want to be in someone else's pocket, you know?"

Denis nodded, understanding perfectly, if anything he was kind of hoping that she'd say that as it meant that she was serious about making her own way in the world.

"Well… Now that I think about it, Gareth's leading out a Scavenger group, which will be scaving the metro tunnels for supplies. If you want, I could talk to him about taking you to Rivet City, since if you're going, you might as well get paid for it, right?"

Jynx paused to think about it before nodding, she slowly pulled the sheet on her bed back and swung her legs over the side, hopping down. She felt uneasy, like her stomach was being held together with duct tape, it tingled with a sensation that was one up above pain, whenever she moved, so she knew that she'd have to be careful.

"Al-Alright… I've been in a metro tunnel before." The girl recalled, though she didn't seem very happy about being reminded of it, it was a… harrowing experience to say the least. It was obvious, even to Denis, that she had no desire to set foot in such a place, ever again.

"We patched your armour up and I unjammed your pistol, I can give you a hunting rifle, if you want some extra fire power." Denis offered, looking around the room, with his arms folded, earning himself a concerned frown.

"N-No… Thanks…" She muttered, brought into a state of unease by the Regulator's charitable nature. She glanced up at him, to see that he nodded respectfully, turning around and heading towards the door.

"If you change your mind, just tell me, I have a whole closet full of old hunting rifles that I'm desperate to get rid of. You'd be doing me a favour by taking one, to be honest…" He informed her as he pushed the handle down and opened the door, looking away as the former Lamplighter got dressed into her metal armour.

"Thanks, seriously I…" Jynx ran over to Denis and looked up to him, looking incredibly concerned at this point.

"I'm not sure if you're being kind or brilliantly evil but… Thanks, for everything…

I owe you a lot, I know that."

The Lone Wanderer smiled and pulled the door open a lot wider, to avoid the risk of her accidentally walking into the doorway, judging by her name, this was likely going to be the case.

"You don't owe me anything…" He said, with a warm smile as they stepped out, into Doc Church's lobby.

"Couldn't leave you out there, not in your condition. Besides, I was er… 'bed ridden' to, so it's no trouble."

Jynx gave him a smile and a slight laugh as she thought on it for a moment before hugging him. He was considerably taller than her, so her face was practically buried in his chest. Denis felt a little awkward, he didn't like to be fussed over, it was almost demeaning for him, like they were implying that he found that doing the right thing was difficult. Still, he knew that, that wasn't Jynx's intention and returned the embrace, by wrapping his arm around her back, holding her shoulder.

She held it for a brief moment before stepping back, giving him one more smile and then walking out, leaving the Regulator alone, with his thoughts.

Hamilton opened the large, steel door, by turning the wheel at the center and gave it a good push as it pried open before he noticed that it opened out onto a small stairway, which he used to descend into the Market district of the ship. He was overwhelmed by the smell of radroach meat, cooking on the grill at Gary's Galley.

As the Slaver climbed down the stairway, he used his eyes and ears to try and find Flak, he looked to his left and saw Potomac Attire, the sight of which made him shake his head and smirk. There was never a shortage of queers who sold impractical status symbol clothes and there was never a shortage of dick heads who were willing to pay for them. Of course, he wasn't one of those 'dick heads' as he found his suit in a hotel, several years ago.

Next to him was a chemist, owned by an African American woman and her pale looking douche bag husband, who were both arguing about something, leaving their inventory on display as they turned their backs on it. Hamilton took note of it, he didn't want to risk getting caught for a few medical supplies that he didn't even need or even want.

He turned to his left and immediately saw it, his target, 'Flak and Shrapnel.' Mother of Mercy, was that a name, it was like one of those duos on the radio, 'the adventures of Flak and Shrapnel, partners in sodomy.'

It was there that he saw the traitorous slaver, in his Merc Troublemaker vest, with an intense handlebar moustache and a shaved head. The two of them were serving some kid, who didn't look like he possessed the caps to purchase and maintain a firearm or the scrote to fire one. Hamilton observed from afar, hoping that he wouldn't be recognized…

It didn't take them long to get rid of the little brat, allowing Hamilton to wander over to the stand, with his arms folded, his narrow eyes fixated on the traitor, who had turned away and was doing something, possibly a stock count or counting his daily claim.

"Ah, haven't seen you before." The other one said, appearing from nowhere and getting in Thomas' face.

"I'm Shrapnel, of Flak and Shrapnel's, if you want to arm yourself with something that isn't an over glorified BB gun, you're best coming to us.

Now then, what can I get you?"

"Your whore…" Hamilton muttered, he noticed that Flak's head raised as he began to recognize Hamilton's voice, it was like he was frozen on the spot…

"Excuse me?"

"I'm here for Flak…"

"Oh? Well, you should've said… Flak, there's a customer for you."

Flak panted heavily as he turned around, his face was incredibly pale, the lights on the ceiling reflected in the sweat on his brow and his eyes trembled in their sockets.

"You…?" He asked, slowly turning around as Thomas invited himself into Flak's shop, the former Slaver showed a side of himself that Shrapnel had never seen before.

Fear…

"Yes…" Hamilton replied, staring the cowering traitor down, practically seething at him.

"Me…"

"Shit…" Flak whispered before turning to Shrapnel, it was obvious that this wasn't going to be good, even with Eulogy dead, the threat of Paradise Falls was very much alive as long as Hamilton drew breath. Flak knew that he was on their shit list but he'd never thought that he'd be at the number one slot.

"Shrapnel, deal with the customers…" The former Raider nodded, seeing the gravity of the situation as he went to the front of the shop and got himself ready to ambush any potential customers as Flak and the stranger discussed business.

"I was certain that you'd be rotting in a ditch, half way to the common wealth by now. What the fuck are you doing here?"

"Aww… I didn't know you cared 'Flak." Hamilton mocked, obviously that wasn't his name at Paradise Falls, though he wasn't worthy of that name anymore. Flak was a more fitting name for a dog anyway...

"I had it, on good authority, that I'd find you here and here you are… I also have it, on good authority, that you'd be able to tell me where the others were."

Flak looked incredibly confused, who told him? It wasn't exactly a secret, everyone who'd been to Rivet City knew of Flak and Shrapnel but…

Few knew of his past, their pasts…

"Oh? And who's 'authority' did you get that from?"

"Some bitch who's squatting in my pad…" Hamilton grumbled, looking around at the shoddy merchandise, weapons that looked like they would likely explode in your hands if fired.

"She was right about this place though… About you being here, so I'm assuming that she's going to be right about you knowing where the others are."

Flak just stared at him, though it was obvious, even to Hamilton, that he was completely oblivious to the other slavers. That was almost completely believable to, since Flak sold them out years ago and appears to have settled down here. Anyone with any sense would keep their head down, after skipping town on Paradise Falls.

"L-Look… I don't know what anyone's said to you but… I left that shit behind me, I had nothing to do with the massacre or… anything. There was a Slaver here, Sister but he… turned up dead, we have a couple of escaped slaves in the hold but aside from that? Nothing…

No survivors, the Regulators cleaned that place out."

Hamilton hissed, damn cowboys had always lived as an annoyance for him, even back in the day, they'd crawl out of the gutter, just to hinder him. He was amazed that nobody ever looked into wiping them off the face of the earth…

The Slaver had no choice but to believe him, well, he had several choices really, like putting his head into the vice and slowly sawing through his neck, to punish him for not being helpful enough but… Flak had no real reason to lie to him, especially when telling Hamilton the truth would get rid of him faster as Queen Flak did look like he was going to hose his pants.

The Slaver just scowled and shook his head, barging past Shrapnel as he left the squalor of Rivet City's market place behind. His eyes darted around the room as he made his way back to the staircase and began his ascent, heading straight up, towards the bridge.

He needed a drink…

Jynx stepped out of Craterside supply, Denis' rifle was slung over her shoulder, with a full clip, she had enough ammo for two more clips in her pockets, along with two 10mm pistol clips. She'd brought some med-x and a frag grenade from the store, she doubted that it would be of any use but she could always sell it on the other side.

She didn't get far before she was intercepted by a man, with dark brown hair, stubble and wispy hairs on his chin. The man wore leather armour and was also carrying a hunting rifle on his back. He looked like he was expecting her…

"Jynx?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm Gareth, I lead the scout team…

Denis said that you wanted to come with us, when we next go out?"

The Lamplighter nodded, enthusiastically as she stepped forward and looked him in the face, he, like most people was considerably taller than her.

"Great, you look like you're well equipped, just do as I say and stay close and this should be easy." The Scavenger briefed her before looking over to the gate and gesturing to it.

"We'll be heading out soon, so you should head over to the gate as soon as you can, the boys don't like to be kept waiting."

Jynx gave him a respectful nod before turning towards the gate and glancing back to him.

"Thanks, Sir… For taking me with you, I won't let you down."

"I know." He replied, confidently before looking on over towards the gate, nodding towards it again, to give her the incentive to get moving. It worked as the girl descended down the ramp and approached the gates, seeing several Megaton Settlers, who were waiting for her and Gareth, so that they may commence their journey.

As the girl approached, she found herself giving them a nervous smile and a nod, which they barely acknowledged, she decided to keep quiet and took a seat on the floor, her gut flared up as she moved it, prompting her to sigh, heavily.

She waited for some time for Gareth, they all did and the Settlers were growing impatient, Jynx on the other hand had a lot on her mind. She wasn't stressed, per say but she did feel as if she had a lot to think on. Getting shot, meeting Denis and now she was doing this, it was all so exciting, far more so than her last few weeks of travelling.

She was almost tempted to stay but decided against it, she had taken enough advantage of Denis' hospitality and she got the feeling that he was only being nice to her, because he was afraid that she'd go back to Big Town and come back with an army of shotgun toting hoodlums.

"S'cuse me, miss?" A voice called, it wasn't one of the men, too polite and weak. It was also coming from the wrong direction, which prompted her to look over to see a familiar boy, who was just younger than her, wearing a blue coat and carrying a familiar looking hunting rifle, her gut hurt in recognition as she saw it.

It took a minute for her to realize but she eventually saw it, it was him, the Deputy that shot her. He stood before her, looking incredibly nervous, like he was about to try and invite her to go with him, to a dance or something.

"Oh, hey there! You're the Deputy, right?"

"Y-Yeah, Miss, I'm Hardin… Hardin Simms."

Jynx chuckled at his formal response, quickly glancing over her shoulder before standing up and approaching him.

"I'm Jynx, you don't need to be so formal Hardin." She smiled, respectfully, oddly enough, the sight of a child playing 'law man' wasn't that peculiar to her, it felt more right than anything else.

"S-Sorry, M- Jynx." Hardin replied, he was incredibly nervous, the fact that she was taking this so well was getting to him more than anything else…

"H-How is it? Your wound?"

"Oh, that? It's okay, it's left one hell of an ugly bruise but… my armour took the worst of the damage and the Sheriff had that taken care of, so everything's cool." She beamed, much to Hardin's annoyance as he hated it when people referred to Denis as 'the Sheriff.' They had a real Sheriff once and that grinning prick got him killed and put that drunken asshole, Jericho, in charge.

It wouldn't be long now before he retook his rightful place of Sheriff of this town…

"That's… Great." He said, nervously as he realized that he fell silent.

"Oh? Me getting gut punched is 'great' is it?" Jynx teased, folding her arms as she continued her façade of mock annoyance. This, of course, threw Hardin, who shook his head and brought his hands up.

"N-No, I didn't mean that, I meant that it's good that you're okay!" He pleaded, trying to defuse the situation like a bomb disposal apprentice, who was trying to hide the fact that he hadn't studied as he disarmed a nuclear bomb. This of course got Jynx to chuckle again, giving him a smile as she relaxed again.

"I know…" She sighed, he was too easy, it was actually rather endearing.

"I… I am sorry for shooting you though, I… panicked and…" Hardin was cut off as she cut right through his babbling by raising her hand.

"It's fine, you were just protecting the town and no harm was done, right?" She asked before looking down to her stomach and wincing.

"Not… Much at least…"

Hardin gave her a smile and glanced up, keeping his eyes fixed on her as he nodded, it came as a relief that she understood. It was then that Gareth's shadow loomed over them, the Scav team leader gave her a grin before folding his arms.

"You two love birds done?" He asked, hoping to rustle some feathers, he smirked as he saw their indignant reactions.

The girl smirk, pretending to be annoyed by his intrusion, rather than his comment.

"No, I was about to confess my undying love for the dashing Deputy, 'till you blundered in and ruined it."

This got a chuckle from Gareth and a frown from Hardin, he was never one for jokes or light heartedness even before his Father died, he was always reserved and serious in tone.

"Heh, I wouldn't talk like that Sister, you'll make Maggie jealous." The Scav leader mocked, playing along as Hardin grew more and more irritated.

"What!?" The Lamplighter gasped, looking to Hardin with a smirk on her face.

"And here I thought that what we had was special."

Gareth couldn't help but laugh again as Hardin failed to hide the fact that he found this to be annoying and unsettling, to say the least…

"Er… Well, we should probably get out of here before the Deputy's admirers come to claw your eyes out and the boys come out to claw mine."

Jynx nodded, looking back to the Casanova figure, returning to her usual, respectful smile, giving him a brief nod.

"It was nice meeting you Hardin… Erm… Well, you know, first time doesn't count, right?"

Hardin nodded, looking incredibly tired and unnerved by her friendly, informal nature, still he played along.

"R-Right, good luck on your trip… I hope you find what you're looking for in Rivet City."

Jynx gave him a nod and a smile before turning back to Gareth and following him out, Hardin watched as the large gates opened and the rest of the scav team got up to join the latecomers, grabbing their weapons and beginning their journey to Rivet City.

The Lamplighter watched as the gates opened up before her, prompting her to smile as she saw the Wasteland again as she found herself eager to set out.

It was time to make a name for herself…

The Muddy Rudder…

Hamilton only had to take one look at this place to realize how it got its name, the place was a shit hole. Plenty of depressed customers littered the tables, arms folded on the tables, with her heads hanging in shame as they closed their eyes to shut the world out. A tired hag, in a bandanna, worked the bar, looking like she was old enough to be keeling over soon.

Around the room there were several drinkers, it was midafternoon, so only the truly desolate customers.

Like himself…

The Slaver wandered into the tavern, finding himself under the watchful eye of Brock, a powerhouse of a man, who looked like he could knock most of the riff raff here on their asses, with one punch. Of course, Hamilton knew that he was just muscle, he wouldn't last five minutes in a fight with him.

He immediately went over to the bar and rested his arm on it, awaiting Belle Bonny to come and serve him, she was quick to see him and slowly wandered over, cleaning a glass with a rage that looked like it made anything it touched more dirty.

"Poison?"

"Vodka, hold the ice." Hamilton said, in a rather raspy voice, getting a disapproving frown from the bartender.

"Funny…" She muttered, with bitter sarcasm as she poured him the drink and slid it across the table, prompting him to reach into his pockets and drew some caps and placed them, in a large cluster on the counter. The Barmaid whipped them off and walked away with them, leaving Hamilton to his swill…

The Slaver wrapped his hand around the glass and slowly lifted it to his mouth, starting the first step on a long road to forgetting his troubles. However, his 'journey' was cut short as the glass hadn't even reached his lips before someone spoke to him.

"Good Lord!" A loud voice said, it was… familiar, female, playful… he knew it well…

"How the mighty have fallen."

Thomas slowly lowered his glass to the table and slowly turned around, to see a girl there, in Merc Adventurer armour. Her head was slightly shaved through the middle, so it mostly hung on one side, she stood with her arms folded and cocked her hip as she caught his eye, a smirk plastered to her face.

"It's good to see you again, Lover."

Letter Hacks

My guest reviewer responded to last week's letter hack in their next review and expressed their concerns about the story and what I plan to do next.

I don't really intend to be direct correspondence, so I'm going to try and lay as many concerns to rest as possible, by giving the best answer I can to express my intent.

The first thing that is said is that their problem wasn't so much with it being out of character but rather that Marcia's weakness was a stupid move on her part. As I said last week, Marcia giving Hamilton her gun was an emotional response, not a calculated move.

Though it isn't, as you quite rightly said, common sense, it was intentional that she did something so stupid, because her emotions and mental confliction got the better of her. Not everyone would do things as you would do them and during times of immense pressure and stress, common sense is quite often the first thing to go out of the window.

I've never defended the actions of a character or claimed that they're right, simply, because they're characters, with their own ideas, thoughts, feelings and morals. Not everyone thinks and acts the same, if they did, the world would be very boring place.

As far as Hamilton/Denis rivalry goes, I can assure you that neither of them are 'OP.' Denis is considerably balanced, compared to the Lone Wanderer template and only has high skills in small arms, science and speech. Hamilton has skills in small arms, unarmed and melee, along with a great deal of competence as far as speech goes. Denis is more intelligent than him but Hamilton has the upper hand when it comes to combat, especially if Denis wasn't armed with a small arm.

Hamilton has to rival Denis in skill and ability for him to be effective, their relationship is similar to that of Holmes and Moriarty or The Doctor and The Master, he's essentially the Lone Wanderer's rival, so obviously he is meant to be evil, though it's up to the reader as to whether or not he's likable.

Thanks for reviewing, I hope that I was able to put your concerns to rest and have hopefully kept you on board for the rest of this saga. :)

See y'all next week.