The truck tore across the dusty landscape at the highest speed Natasha could force it to go. The peddle was already pressed against floorboards, which grew hot under her boots as the old engine strained to handle the pressure she was putting it under. Still, she urged the vehicle forward, eyes on the calm blue strip of sky at the horizon. When Nat glanced at the reflection in the rearview mirror, she saw a raging storm that unleashed sheets of pelting rain down on the land, massive bolts of lightning that struck the ground again and again, and rolls of thunder so loud that they rattled the eardrums and caught inside her chest.

'This is no normal storm,' she thought to herself, ignoring the screams of women and children mixed with the howling of Rena and Dog Meat.

While Natasha's view of 'normal' had been shattered and rapidly reconstructed since waking up in the vault, nothing she had seen while wandering the Commonwealth suggested that men had gained the power to summon massive storms with the power of their voices.

'What the hell is he?'

In the back of her mind, Nat remembered what Kravos had said early about how she may see things he couldn't explain. And she certainly had! Fire women, chains of lightning, explosions... Natasha had watched it all from the scope of her sniper rifle, picking off slavers whenever she could, and not one of those phenomena had come from any sort of weapon she could see.

As a girl, Natasha's Nana had told her myths and legends about the heroes and gods of the old times, before science and religion replaced magic and wonder in the hearts and minds of those who live in Ireland. As a child, she'd listened with awe and excitement to stories about Medb, Queen of Connacht, Cú Chulainn, Brigid, and, of course, the sinister Morrígan with her blood-splattered wings; this gradually faded away as Nat grew older, but now she wondered...

'The second we're somewhere safe, I'm grilling that man for all he is worth!' Natasha promised herself, jerking the steering wheel to the side to avoid hitting a tree that had been torn from the ground and thrown in their path by the gale-force winds. 'He ended up being able to save everyone, so I'm glad he did... whatever that was but I deserve some answers, damnit!'

But, as it turned out, Natasha didn't have to wait as long as she thought because, almost as suddenly as the storm came, it vanished.

The rain peated out, the winds died down, the lightning stopped, the clouds dispersed, and the thunder ended with one last long, low rumble. All that was left was a bright blue sky, a muddy ground, and the wreck wrought upon the landscape.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Nat jumped in surprise at the noise, glancing up in the rearview window to see Kravos face staring at her.

"Stop there!" he mouthed, pointing a finger at a small outcropping of rocks ahead of them.

Natasha pursed her lips and looked over their surroundings with narrowed eyes. Seeing no immediate danger, she lifted her foot from the gas pedal and let the truck slow to a crawl until they came to a rest.

"Is it... over?" the little redheaded girl asked.

The boy sitting next to her peaked out from between his fingers, hands still clamped over his face. "Are we safe?"

"Yes, I think so," Nat said, cautiously rolling down her window. The air was cool and damp, fresh and clean smelling. It would have been nice if not for... "Well, the storm is over at least. Everyone out, I want to talk to everyone!"

All the rescued would-be slaves blinked at the order and hesitated for a moment, looking at Natasha with a combination of fear and distrust.

'Considering what they've gone through, I can't blame them,' she thought. 'Oh, what would Grant do? He was always better with people than me.'

Forcing a smile, Natasha tried again. "It's alright. I'm with the Minutemen, I was sent to rescue you all. Of course, I had some help from my friend, Kravos, back there but I swear that I mean you no harm."

"Minutemen?" the woman with the port-wine stain asked, holding the two small children with her close. "Thank the heavens!"

She kissed the crown of the little girl's head. "See sweetheart? I told you someone would come to help us."

"Yes, we got news of some slavers kidnapping people from the coast and I was dispatched to help," Nat explained, glad she was getting somewhere. "Now, I want to work on getting you all home but first I need to take stock of who is here and where they're from."

"Some of us are injured," the woman said. "I hate to be a bother, especially after you've done so much to help up but..."

"Say no more, I'll get everyone matched up as soon as possible," Natasha explained. "I've got some drinks and snacks too; I'll pass those out once we get everything situated."

'And after I talk to Kravos.'

Natasha had never been good with words but, once in a blue moon, she seemed to say the right thing. Thankfully, now was one of those times.

"Thank you, Miss," the woman said before turning to address the children. "It's alright everyone, we can trust her."

The red-headed girl raised her eyebrow and gave the woman an unamused look but obeyed nonetheless. The boy reached past Rena and Dog Meat to open the door; the dogs hopped out immediately, shaking themselves out and stretching as they ran circles one another. The boy -'This must be Westley,' Nat realized, the resemblance between the boy and the couple from a few days ago only now dawning on her. 'I guess I've been under a bit of tunnel vision.'- followed, as did the rest.

'This is better weather than I've seen since waking up in that damn vault,' Natasha thought as she stepped out, tilting her head to catch some warm rays of sunlight and enjoying the cool weather.

The other rescued prisoners were climbing out of the truck bed, comforting one another and checking over their own bodies, searching for injuries. Kravos was helping a young woman get into a comfortable position, her ankle propped up on one of the canvas sacks he'd brought along when the little Ashe threw herself into the man's arms.

"I'm! So! Sorry!" she sobbed. "I! Was! Such! A! Brat!

Kravos smiled and hugged the girl closer, smoothing her disheveled hair back. "Oh, sweetheart, there is nothing to apologize for! If anything, I should be begging for your forgiveness; it took me so long to rescue you."

Ashe just shook her head, wrapping her arms tighter around the man and sniffing into his shirt. Natasha watched the scene play out and had to fight back tears as memories of Grant and Shaun flooded her mind. She was glad Kravos had her family back and the girl was now safe in the arms of someone who could protect her, but all Nat could think about was how her family was gone and how they could never come back. No matter how many slavers or raiders she killed, no matter how strong Natasha got, she could never turn back the clock and save the ones she loved.

'I'll let them have this,' she thought. 'Let's hold off on the interrogation for now.'

She reached into the truck bed, pulling out a crate of ration bars and protein shakes. "Alright, who's hungry?"

"I'm Nancy O'Brian and they got me from Dock Port, it's a small fishing settlement about five days east of here. We're so small that no one really bothers with us. We don't even have a real defense force, just some men who patrol once or twice a day. They probably weren't even out to hear me scream."

Nat nodded sympathetically and added that to her note. Handing over her map of the surrounding area, she asked, "Can you mark where your settlement is? That'll help us get you home easier."

On top of saving those abducted and putting an end to the slavers' operation, Preston had given Nat the tertiary mission of trying to discern the routes used by the slavers' to travel and find victims. Safe travel routes were a valuable thing and, if the Minutemen could secure them for their own use, it would give them a major advantage. And, even if they couldn't manage that, then, at the very least, it gave them an easier way for snuffing out other slaver caravans.

The scruffy, dark-haired young woman shoved the rest of her ration bar into her mouth and nodded, taking the map and pen.

"I'm afraid I was so preoccupied with my own worries that it never occurred to me to ask," Kravos said, appearing by her shoulder, "but how are you planning to transport all of these people home? They won't all fit comfortably in your carria- truck, and you don't strike me as the type to just leave them here to find their own way home."

"What? Of course not," Natasha snapped, offended by the very thought. But, after a minute, she sighed, "But I don't know. There were more than I expected. Preston thought there would only be four to six victims tops; it would have been a tight fit in the truck but doable. I could radio back to our settlement and call for backup but it would take them a few days, maybe even a week, to get here. And there isn't anywhere nearby that we can hole up in for that time."

"You'd all be vulnerable camping out here," Kravos nodded, scratching his scruffy chin. "There has to be a way to transport everyone safely."

For some reason, it was that line that snapped Natasha back to reality. She glanced around his shoulder to make sure Ashe had wandered off to cuddle with Rena and then grabbed Kravos by the sleeve, "Hey, we need to talk."

The man didn't resist as Nat pulled her away from the crowd and his face was calm when she started in on him.

"What the hell was all of that?"

"I assume you are referring to the storm?" he said gently, like he was addressing a frustrated toddler.

For some reason, that sent a sudden hot rush of anger coursing through her body. Natasha was not stupid and she wasn't a child; Kravos had no right to treat her like one, "The storm, the fire, the disappearing. And that scream, for god's sake! I've never seen anything like it! Was it some sort of technology? Or some sort of... some sort of..."

"Magic?"

The words left Natasha's lips.

"Magic isn't real," she sputtered, shaking her head. "You can't honestly expect me to believe that is what happened."

That got her another gentle smile, "Perhaps... but you can believe in what you saw with your own eyes. What did you see, Natasha?"

.

.

.

"Something indescribably incredible," she eventually admitted, shaking her head. "Look, Kravos, I don't know what it is but... maybe it isn't worth questioning? Whatever it was helped you save all these people and that is really all I care about."

"Don't sell yourself short. You did just as much as I did," Kravos said. He chuckled, "You remind me of an old friend, Aela -right down to the hair. She was a long-range fighter too, though more than fierce enough to rip a man's throat out if they got too close. A true she-wolf, that one. A little more hot-blooded than you though; she wouldn't have stopped me from running headfirst into that camp without a plan. In fact, she'd have done it with me."

A misty look filled the man's eyes and Nat had to wonder if, maybe long ago, Aela had left this world.

But the look was gone before she could ponder it too deeply. "But, putting all that aside, we still don't have a way to transport all these victims back home. And I'm afraid that I have no... tools at my disposal that can help up. I mean, I'm a decent enough sailor but..."

'A sailor? Huh...'

"I think I may have an idea."

"We're going back there?" One of the men shouted, horror filling his eyes. "Why in the hell would we do that?"

"Because we need supplies," Natasha explained. "And, like it or not, that base is the only place around for miles likely to have any."

"But-"

"Every piece of scum slaver there is dead now," Kravos said, cutting the man off. "Any any who would have survived will be of no threat to you all, of that I swear. However, if you have any better ideas than Lady Natasha and I would be glad to hear them."

.

.

.

"Alrighty then, everyone back into the truck!"

It was an eerily quiet ride back to the base, the only sounds being the soft whimpering from the two little kids and the soft cooing of their mother. Even Dog Meat and Rena had relocated to the truck bed, which at least left things a little less cramping inside the cab.

"Excuse me, miss?" piped up the little redhead. "Can I ask what you and Mr. Kravos are planning?"

"...To be honest, going back was my idea," Nat said. "As for why? Well, call it a hunch, but most of the victims were kidnapped from somewhere along the coast so, logically, the slavers were traveling by boat."

"Yeah, they were!" Westley exclaimed. "They grabbed me from a ship, Miss Wendy and the little kids too!"

Wendy met Natasha's eyes in the rearview window and nodded silently.

"Yeah, me too!" Ashe added. "They grabbed me right off of Mr. Kravos' island! Of course, it was my own stupid fault for running off like an idiot."

Wendy stumbled over herself to assure the girl that no, nothing that happened was her fault. And she was right, but Nat bit her own tongue. As someone who carried her own mess of irrational guilt, she knew that disagreeing with what Ashe was feeling would do no good right now.

"My hope is that there will still be at least one ship left at the base that is seaworthy," she said instead. "I understand that it may be-" Natasha glanced out of the corner of her eye at Ashe, who'd gone pale under her many scrapes and bruises "-uncomfortable to get back on board one of them, but it would be our best chance to get everyone home safely."

"Maybe," Westley whispered. "But it still sucks."

Nat sighed, desperately wishing she'd never given up smoking. "That it does, kiddo. That it does."

"Listen up, here is the plan. We will form four groups and scavenge for supplies: one to stay at the truck with Rena, one to come with me, one to come with Dog Meat, and one to go with Lady Natasha here. Does everyone understand? Good, those who are injured will stay at the truck but, other than that, divide up."

Natasha felt a twinge of jealousy about how easily Kravos assumed control of the situation. There was simply a calm, easy air about him that everyone seemed to instantly respect and turn to. She'd never felt comfortable in any leadership role she blundered into and still didn't.

"Alright people, let's move out," she called out, waving her small group of four people closer. "Give a shout if you find anything. We'll check down by the docks first."

The docks were just as decimated as the rest of the compound, wreckage every, but they were able to pick out some decently in-tact fishing supplies and cans of gasoline -a truly good score. But the best thing of all was the small shipping vessel half-overturned and one high tide away from being pulled out into the sea. Sure, it was banged up and had taken on more than a little water.

"But it'll work," Natasha said to herself with a smile. "We can get everyone home."