Okay so tbh before I updated that last chapter I had lost my motivation to write more for this story and then I updated and I felt powerful and then Falconface (Thank) reviewed and that just inflated my ego (whose ego doesn't get inflated when they get a review though?) so I powered through and wrote another chapter you're welcome.

However- *cue gross sobbing because I torture one of my otp's in this chapter but also cue hysterical laughing because y'all could cry too and that makes it worth it* (My friend told me this is why we can't have nice things and tbh I can't find the lie XD)

P.S The time span starts from pretty much after Dirk picks up the boys and then goes through about half the night.


KANAYA:

Kanaya knew what the next call Vriska had received was about. It was all in how the other woman reacted in outrage that told her just enough to feel smug. They had failed yet again to capture the children, in their own territory too no less. How fitting of a show this is for the Imperials capabilities, or should she say, lack there of.

However the rage from Vriska's temper did not go undirected. Just as the night was settling over the capital city they arrived at the holding facility meant for people like her that had supposedly committed great acts of treason against the Queen. It's a dark and looming fortress, amongst all the modern buildings it could either be classified as a corporation building or a fictional castle. The aggravated woman had spared Kanaya the tour and hassled her all the way down to her very own cell in the basement. The shove she received was practically complimentary along with listening to the series of muttered insults not meant to be repeated. And the topper had been when Vriska has stormed off and slammed the door behind her.

With that Kanaya had been allotted time to process the new semi-news (for she really hadn't heard much of anything) about the happenings around her. This also includes her critiquing of the interior design of the cell she's in. Ugh, what a drab setting. If this place were meant to frighten her then the least they could have done is used a darker shade of grey on the walls and installed less furniture. Possibly have made the lights flicker. Unidentifiable sludge on the walls and floor. Unsanitary conditions and the like. As of right now she simply feels quite at home, although that might possibly be contributed to the feeling one might like to equate to running victory laps.

After what seems like a considerable amount of time standing around and contemplating the various things she moves to settle herself down on a seat hanging off the wall, resting her backside against it and closing her eyes. By now the children should be reaching Rose's estate or are already there. If Rose had made it back as well then she can help the children on the next leg of the journey to meet up with Ampora. But if Rose isn't there then Roxy can take care of it, both Lalondes' are very trustworthy, holding much disdain for the Batterwitch.

A low groan resonates through the air, piercing her thoughts; it's very close to her. Kanaya stands up once again and reaches the bars of her cell, straining to catch a glimpse of whoever had made the noise. The cell across from her is empty, as is the whole line on the opposing wall. She tries to look on either side of her but the bars are too small and visibility is restricted to a margin of seeing only what can be considered the horizon line of her side of cells.

Hesitantly she calls out to see if she can better locate the source. "Hello?"

The cell to her right makes some noise and she sees, barely, pale hands grabbing the bars. Sun-bleached blonde hair pokes out where the face cannot. In return the person making the noises responds with a slight, dry, and almost sick texan drawl. "Kanaya?"

She gasps. "Dave? What are you doing here?"

"Same as you, I guess. Got caught," He chuckles darkly and without humor. A sense of dread rises within her, molding into a pit stuck painfully in her throat. He shouldn't be here. And if he's here then that means...

"What happened to your wedding?" She whispers cautiously, wincing as the words come out of her mouth. If Dave is here then that means something went terribly wrong before, during, or after his wedding.

She sees the hands tighten around the bars, the knuckles whitening until they look ready to pop out of the skin. For a moment Dave remains silent. Then he takes a shuddering breath and starts to relay the events of his capture to her.

"I'm just gonna start by thanking you for that wedding dress, Kanaya. Jade was like a dream in it," Kanaya closes her eyes tightly, gripping the iron bars harder. Did something happen to Jade? She can only imagine what it must have been like to watch her walk down the aisle, glowing a dazzling white and radiating the joy that one feels when starting their new life with their significant other. How Dave must have felt when he saw his soon-to-be wife, the overwhelming loving bringing tears to his eyes. It hurts Kanaya to think of how the Condescension could have possibly ruined this couple's happy day.

"The drones came crashing in just after we said our vows. I don't know how they found us- they shouldn't have! Our wedding was a-"

"Secret," She finishes quietly. "I know. A lot of things are supposed to be a secret, but they're turning out to be more public than we thought. The Queen somehow found out that I'm a Patron."

A long breath passes through the silence that follows and she imagines that Dave is trying to deflate before continuing his story. It made her heart pound madly in anticipation to find out what happened next. The lump in her throat now felt as hard as the iron bars she clung to so tightly.

"John, my best friend, my best man, he-he jumped in front of me when they started pointing their guns and shooting. That idiot," Dave chokes. "that selfless idiot."

The lump sank to her stomach like a rock as she connected the dots as to what happened to John. She let go of the bars with one hand to cover her mouth. She presses her forehead against the cool metal, bowing her head in mourning. She may not have known John very well, but the few times she had met him she admired him. He was one of those people in the Resistance that could unite everyone and lead them without realizing he had done so in the first place. He was kind and a bit corny, but that was a given because of his choice in professions. Still, the loss will be felt by many, including her.

"I'm so sorry, Dave," she apologizes through her hand. It's awful to hear about it, terrible to imagine, but the most damage it will inflict upon is the ones who survived in place of the ones who did not. Dave lost his best friend right before his eyes, maybe even held him in his dying moments. And Jade had lost a brother all on her wedding day.

Her head snaps up suddenly. "Where's Jade?"

It has abruptly come to her attention that Jade is, in fact, not currently present with Dave.

"The Batterwitch has her upstairs, trying to brainwash her," Dave says bitterly and helplessly. Kanaya's heart aches for her friend, and she sends strong thoughts out to Jade to remain strong, even bordering along the lines of being prayerful. She would like to say something in reassurance to Dave but she holds her tongue. What can she offer him besides a fickle hope and wavering promises? The Resistance won't be coming to rescue, at least not anytime soon, as they're already tangled far too much in their threads of war. And she can't expect any more of her daughter and employees; they have to focus on getting to her vault.

The silence that had enveloped them is once again broken as Dave speaks, using this as his turn to ask questions.

"How did they get you?"

She lets go of the bars completely to rub her temples, chuckling much the same as Dave had before. "I think the Queen just likes crashing parties altogether, because I had been hosting one when a droid put a gun to my head."

"Where's your kid? Does the Batterwitch have her?"

Kanaya lets out a soft 'ha' to let him know that the Queen hasn't come even close to touching her daughter. "I have her bodyguards and other employees to thank for keeping my daughter safe."

She can hear the frown in Dave's voice as he continues to build his cache of information. "Wait, you've got a bunch of kids in your staff, right? How have they managed to keep themselves out of the Queen's grasp when so far all of us professionals have been doing a shitty job at it?"

The question causes her to reflect a little on the skills of each of the children, and the reasons she had hired them in the first place. Karkat had been orphaned when she met him; his quick skills as both a thief and a fighter had been influential in her decision to hire him as Nepeta's Lower bodyguard. He is also just a young boy and she felt a strong and motherly urge to take care of him, as she did with all the children. Equius had been apprenticed as the Higher bodyguard because of his many skills physically and mechanically, and as a form of payment to his brother Horuss Zahhak. Sollux had been hired for his expertise with computers and because he could not find his father and brother. Aradia was hired because she had been posted in the area as an intel "Maid" to traffic information for the Resistance, but she couldn't find any work except with her.

A tiny grin ghosts Kanaya's lips. "They're a talented and resourceful bunch of children. And I'll tell you the same thing I told Vriska: When they don't wish to be caught they do everything they know how to keep it a secret. That is to say not that they won't be receiving help along the way."

Dave remains silent and she wonders if he's nodding his head, forgetting that she cannot see him.

A loud clang resounds from down the hall and footsteps tap sharply along the stone. In a moment a livid Vriska stands in front of her cell. The woman's spidery, clawed hand darts forward and snatches the collar of Kanaya's shirt to yank her forward. She winces as her chest collides painfully against the bars.

"You think you're real clever, don't you Maryam? Sending kids to do your business, ha! We'll see how clever you think you are when this is all over," Vriska hisses. Kanaya's eyes narrow and she smirks with a tilt of her head.

"Get in trouble with your boss dearie?" She asks innocently. A snarl highlights Vriska's appearance. She looks intimidating yet her temper oozes immaturity just by throwing a tantrum.

A phone rings and Vriska releases Kanaya with a shove. She stumbles away and looks up to watch Vriska answer her phone, straightening her shirt out. Vriska mostly listens to the call, nodding and making small sounds in agreement. The call barely lasts a full minute before she's hanging up and turning to face Kanaya once again. Vriska leans forward, tilting her chin so the light o the hall casts strange shadows over her face. A wicked grin tickles the corners of her lipstick stained lips.

"I'd watch what comes out of your mouth, Kanaya, or I'll be sure your kid ends up with a few bruises when I go to pick her up."

A spike of fiery heat spurts through Kanaya's veins, the pit in her stomach turning into a churning hole. She mimics Vriska by leaning forward until they're eye to eye.

"You don't even know where she is," Kanaya scoffs. "Last I saw and heard the droids had failed yet again."

At the challenge the wicked grin is unleashed filled with knowing something that Kanaya doesn't. The heat instantly cools in her veins and runs with ice and lead instead.

Vriska whispers in a teasing and harsh way. "I know they're here in D.C. I know who it is you trust in the fashion industry, therefore I know who it is you would send them to. When I go to pick your brat up I'll be sure she knows the trouble her mommy is putting her in."

Kanaya lunges forward and grapples to get a grip around Vriska's throat. "You bitch! Keep your filthy hands off of my daughter!"

Vriska chokes and chops Kanaya's wrists, forcing her to let go. But not before-very much to Kanaya's deep and seething satisfaction- she claws deep enough to draw blood. Vriska hisses in pain and breathes heavily. Dave in the other cell starts chuckling scornfully.

"Ya ever hear of the phrase 'Don't mess with a Mama Bear's cub', Serket?" Vriska stalks over to his cell and punches Dave through the bars. He grunts but doesn't say anything further about the matter, his hands retracting away from the door. Vriska spits into his cell and then returns to face Kanaya, standing a generous distance away this time.

"Your kid can't run forever, and when I catch her I'm going to make her scream until you tell me everything the Queen wants to know," With that the haughty woman walks away. When the door clangs shut she collapses to the floor. Kanaya rarely breaks down, usually finding that all the things she wanted to cry about were rather silly or insignificant. But in this moment the utter terror welling and coursing through her for the safety of her daughter is no trivial matter. Tears run their own course tracking down her face with increasing speed and amount and her heart jumps hurtles after hurtles trying to finish a non-existent races. What has she just sentenced Nepeta to?

"Kanaya. Kanaya your daughter is going to be fine," Kanaya rubs at her eyes furiously, bring herself closer to the bars so she can try to catch a glimpse of Dave. His words are a source of comfort she must take part in, whether they are a lie or not.

Dave slides his pale hand out and runs it along the wall to reach out to her. Her own darker hand snakes its way out and meets up with him. Their reach is too short, only being able to hold on by the tips of their fingers. But touch is what helps Kanaya calm down a little, though the tears and fear still keep coming.

"Look at this mess we've created," She croaks. "It's like we've cheated our legacy by dealing with the Devil."

"Kan, don't let the spider-bitch's words get to you. Your said yourself that the kids are good, right? I'm sure the help you're sending them to are capable of holding their own so just trust they'll get out of it alright."

Kanaya sighs with a shiver. He's right, she shouldn't be panicking now no matter how much her maternal instincts urged her to. If the Imperials have failed three times already to capture the kids then there's no guarantee that they'll be able to do it any time soon. And the Lalondes' are amazing get away experts.

"Dave?"

"Yeah?"

"I know it's rather silly, especially since this is me asking, but will you pray with me?" Kanaya doesn't consider herself to the spiritual type, but when either she or someone she cares for deeply is terribly stressed then she turns to praying. It helps her feel like the weights on her shoulders aren't causing her to sink and it refreshes her mind to a certain degree. It's her stress reliever in dark times when normal means are unavailable.

"No problem. We can pray all that you'd like," Dave responds softly. She closes her eyes and whispers a thank you, scooting closer to the wall and leaning against it before beginning her prayer.


I swear when I wrote Kanaya calling Vriska a bitch all I could think about was when Molly Weasley pushed Ginny out of the way to fight Bellatrix and I'm just like, yas, good Kanaya. Powerful Mama Bear. Do your thang. XD

Anyways, what'd you think about this chapter? Feels? Yay, nay? Needless to say I feel evilly accomplished and next chapter is gonna be even better. :3