Verdurous Seas, Cerulean Skies

Femme Fatale I

Amy was sick and tired of getting stuck in these sorts of situations. Why was she always the first one to be taken as a hostage? Sure she was small, but Melty smaller than she was. Was it her outfit? She highly doubted that; granted her apparel was a little… risqué, it was the norm of her demographic, so she didn't think she stood out too much. But for some reason, whenever there was some sort of crisis on Gargantia, she just always happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.

When did it all go so wrong?

To think she thought that today was supposed to be a regular day, but who was she kidding? She was dating a boy from outer space; nothing about her life was normal from the day they first met! And today wasn't any different…

~VSCS~

"Why are you giving me your gun?" Amy handled the weapon precariously. She never liked weapons, and she wasn't used to being near them, let alone holding them.

"It's just in case I'm not around."

"Ledo, I don't need a weapon."

"I know, but… I've been meaning to give it to you, anyway."

"Why…?" Amy looked up and finally noticed how stiff he had become. His fists were so tight they were trembling, and his jaw was painfully clenched. "Ledo?"

"I know I've changed, but sometimes… I'm afraid that one day, I may turn back into the old Ledo, the one that instilled fear into the hearts of the people of Gargantia. I want to get rid of the temptation, and should I turn back into him…"

Months ago, there was a tiny part of her that was afraid something inside Ledo would trigger and he would revert to his old ways, but the paranoid thought barely lingered for more than a few days. She knew Ledo would never hurt her. It broke her heart that he thought otherwise. "Ledo don't ask me to do such a thing!" Dropping the gun, Amy wrapped her arms around his abdomen firmly and buried her face into his chest. "Please… if you're going to give me a weapon, don't ask me to use it on you. I could never…"

Ledo rested his head on top of Amy's and held her tenderly in his secure embrace. After almost two years he had actually grown quite a bit, and Amy was as small and delicate in his arms as she had been when he first took her as a hostage. He knew she would never use a weapon for as long as she lived, especially not on another human being, but he couldn't take any chances. After the incident with Reema and her Machine Caliber, Muzzle, he wanted to make sure that Amy could at least protect herself, in the event that he wasn't there to rescue her, or, God forbid, if he was the one she needed rescuing from.

"You don't have to use it," he relented. "I would never make you. It just makes me more comfortable knowing that you're armed in case anything happens and I'm not around."

"I won't use it. Ever." After she removed herself from his embrace, she wiped her eyes, inadvertently glancing at the gun. With utmost caution, Amy picked the alien pistol back up, biting her lip in contemplation. "But if it makes you feel better, I'll keep it somewhere safe where no one can get to it, not even you." Despite the uncertainty in her voice, Amy put on a reassuring smile. If this would help Ledo, she'd do it, no matter how uncomfortable it made her.

Ledo seemed to physically sag in relief at this. "That would make me feel a lot better." He pulled her back against his chest, kissing the top of her head, and she leaned against him, relishing their intimacy.

"Yo, Ledo! Stop making out with your girlfriend and let's go!" With a groan, Amy pulled away from Ledo once more and glared down at the irritant that disrupted their moment, not at all surprised that it was Ledo's nosy coworker, Haru.

"We weren't making out! Mind your own business!"

The older boy shrugged indifferently. "Boss-Lady is going to poach our asses if we're late. Now come on or I'm leaving without you!"

"I'll never understand why Melty has a crush on him."

Ledo chuckled. "He's not that bad." Giving her one last kiss, he slowly backed up to the stairs. "I'll see you later."

"Stay safe!" Amy cried as he ran off to work.

Speaking of which, she was going to be late too if she didn't hurry. However, the cold metal of Ledo's weapon reminded her of her current predicament. There was no way in hell her boss would be okay with her traveling around the fleet with this thing, not that she had any desire to keep it on her person. But she had no other choice unless she wanted a dock in her salary for tardiness. After finding a safe compartment in her satchel, Amy went off to work.

Something felt off as soon as she arrived at the post office. Melty and Saaya weren't there. In fact, the entire mailroom seemed like a ghost town. Spotting a fellow coworker running off towards the cargo hold, Amy stopped him, asking why the place was seemingly abandoned.

"A new ship just approached Gargantia!" he said. "Apparently they got separated from their fleet."

Amy didn't follow her fellow courier, still processing the news. She was still getting over the last time a strange ship approached Gargantia. Ever since that incident with Reema, she wasn't too eager to see any new visitors on their fleet.

Reema had been a part of Kugel's fleet, and she became a quick companion of Amy and her friends. They later found out she was actually from Land, a military country of fleets that was currently at war. Reema and a group of engineers stole a military vessel from one of Land's ships in the hopes of turning the tide and ending the war. The weapon, Muzzle, was a mech similar to Ledo's Machine Caliber, Chamber, so Reema was assigned to enlisting Ledo to their cause to help with research. It didn't work, and as a result, Amy was kidnapped and Gargantia was attacked. In an act of redemption, Reema helped Ledo stop the attack on Gargantia and rescue Amy. Muzzle was eventually destroyed, and at the end of the chaos Reema left with Lukkage's crew and hadn't been seen since.

Amy had forgiven her lost friend shortly after getting rescued in spite of all she had done, and she missed her dearly. Reema might've lied, but she still helped them even when she didn't have to. But that event still shook her to her very core. As much as she trusted Ridget's judgment, Amy had a suspicious feeling in her gut about these strangers, and the last thing she wanted was to be put in the crossfire if this casual meeting turned into a nefarious farce. Again. And now Ledo and the other excavators were long gone, so if anything were to happen…

"Amy!"

Amy nearly fell over as her rambunctious, strawberry blonde friend jumped on her back, and she was terribly relieved to have been driven away from her fretful train of thought. "Melty!"

"Did you see the visitors? They're so cute!"

"Haru might hear you, Melty," Saaya teased. "You might make him jealous."

"It's not like we're dating or anything. Besides, a little jealousy never hurt anybody," the younger girl replied coyly. "Anyway, I kind of feel bad for them. Getting separated from your fleet isn't fun. They could have starved to death if we hadn't come along."

"Good for them." Amy began to depart, not wanting to think about these mysterious strangers anymore. "I'll see you guys later." If they were going to talk about this all day, then she'd rather lose a day's worth of pay than stick around.

Aside from the fact that she just absolutely couldn't be at work right now, there were a few errands she had to run. She and Bebel were running low on food and some of his clothes were getting a little snug. The hustle and bustle of the marketplace really helped take her mind off of things she'd rather leave forgotten. But the more she wandered the market, the closer she found her hand to the weapon she vowed never to use. As soon as touched the cool metal, she ripped her hand out of her bag as if it had burned her.

What's wrong with me? It's not like I'm going to run into those people. What are the chances of that happening anyway?

"Miss!"

Amy was abruptly pulled out of her thoughts once again when someone grabbed her shoulder. She jumped from the contact and stifled a scream when she saw it was just a boy. His tan face shone with sweat and his arm was stretched out as he was offering a piece of bruised fruit. Once he had caught his breath, he stood up. He was about the same height as Ledo, dwarfing her by about three inches, and almost as robust. His viridian eyes were bright with a kindness and zeal that was akin to the kind of excitement Amy usually displayed on a daily basis.

He smiled, contrarily shy to his initial approach. "This fell out of your basket."

Amy eyed the tainted apple hesitantly before she took it from him. "Thanks…"

"I'm Connor. I'm not from around here, obviously. My brothers and I got lost and thankfully we found your ship before we ran out of food. They sent me to run errands while they talked with your commander…" Amy looked away as he rambled and tapped her finger on her bicep testily. She hadn't said anything to turn this impromptu meeting into a conversation, but with no intention of being rude, Amy stood impatiently as Connor continued his origin story.

Why did it feel like the universe was out to get her? She'd never done anything wrong, and yet for some reason, her very presence seemed to draw unwanted attention and she no idea why. Sometimes she wished she and Melty could trade places; she was sure the strawberry blonde would appreciate the attention more.

Still oblivious to her discomfort, Connor turned his attention to the bag in her arms. "Do you need help?"

"N-Nope! No thank you! I'm fine—" As though proving her universe theory, the bags in her arms spontaneously tore open, spilling all the contents on the ground.

Why me?

Connor immediately bent down to retrieve the scattering produce. Kneeling next to him to pick up the rest of her ruined groceries, Amy looked at Connor shyly. "Thanks, again."

"No problem! Hey, since you probably need to buy more food, you wouldn't mind if I accompanied you, would you? Since, you know, I'm not familiar with your fleet and you live here…" Connor scratched the back of his head timorously, and Amy couldn't help grinning.

"Sure, why not?" Her answer caused his grin to beam a little brighter, and all of a sudden he had her hand, jabbering on as they walked through the marketplace.

The initial picture of the newcomers she had painted in her head was completely differently from this sweet, overtly generous boy. Once she was actually contributing to the conversation, Amy started to enjoy Connor's company. He was funny, charming, and a gentleman, taking her bags as they were filled bountifully with food items and even taking Bebel's newly tailored clothes. She felt so ashamed for assuming the worst in someone so considerate, and, to compensate for her initial rudeness, offered to lead him back to the docks to find his brothers.

"Thanks for your help, Amy! Are you sure you don't want to stop by your home before taking me to the docks? I'm sure my brothers won't mind if I'm a little late."

"No, it's okay. You and your brothers probably want to go home as soon as possible. Besides, I don't live too far from here."

"Well that's good. I wish I could stay a little longer, though. Gargantia seems so nice compared to our old fleet…"

The melancholic tone that had suddenly replaced his exultant one worried Amy. It sounded like Connor didn't want to go home at all, and from the look of his equally despondent face, that seemed to be just the case. "You could… stay here."

"My brothers would never let me," he said solemnly, reconciling the absence of joy by playfully adding, "They'd miss me too much!"

Amy grinned emphatically. "I know what you mean. I don't think I'd leave Gargantia if I had a choice. Leaving Bebel, all my friends…" Ledo. "It's unfathomable. Are you and your brothers close then?"

"You could say that…"

Amy was about to ask him what that meant when someone called out, "Hey, Connor! The hell took you so long!"

On the docks stood two identical twins if she wasn't mistaken. They looked to be around Pinion's age, tall and broad and obviously handy with a wrench if they needed one. They were just as tan as Connor, and one of them even had the same viridian eyes. The resemblance among the brothers was so uncanny there was no denying that they were all related to each other.

"Sorry, Ken. I lost track of time," Connor apologized.

"I can see that." The twin whose eyes resembled the suddenly abashed young man meandered right over and stood in front of Amy, eying her in a fashion that also reminded her of Pinion whenever he looked at Lukkage. "Who's your new friend?"

"I'm Amy." She reached out to shake his hand, but he pulled hers up to his lips instead.

"What's a lovely thing like you doing with an idiot like Connor?"

"Hey!"

"Connor was helping me run errands. I didn't mean to hold him up for so long."

"No harm done! Right, Taro?" The other twin, whose eyes were a dark brown, sneered, and Amy nearly trembled under his severe gaze. She quickly looked away in fear of offending him from a mere glance. "I'm sorry if this guy caused you any trouble." Ken put his little brother in a headlock, much to the young man's chagrin. "He's helpless without someone telling him what to do."

"It was no trouble. I was happy to help." Amy took a moment to look at their ship. It looked similar to Bellows's excavation ship. "Are you guys excavators?"

"Something like that…" Ken's smile turned mischievous, but Amy was too rapt with the ship to notice.

"Really? What sort of things have you guys found?"

"You wanna see?"

Amy eyes lit up immediately. "Can I?"

Connor took advantage of this moment to escape his brother's air-tight grasp and went back to stand next to Amy. "I'm sure Amy wants to get home as soon as possible. She does have to haul all of this stuff to her place by herself, and we'd hate to have to hold you up, right Amy?"

"I have time."

"Yeah, Connor. Relax." The young man deflated a little as Ken led the excited young woman onto their ship.

Just as Amy predicted, the ship was almost an exact replica of the Bellows' excavation ship, except the bow was a little smaller and there weren't any hangars for Yunboros. She wondered if they even used them at all. Stern-faced Taro pulled up a giant rusty chest on deck. How he was able to lift that heavy thing by himself was beyond her, and she made a mental note not to piss him off by accident. "We found this baby on an abandoned freight a few days ago," informed Ken.

"Wow…" Amy's eyes scanned the ancient trunk hungrily as she thought of all the mysterious things that could have possibly been locked away inside. This was how she always was whenever Ledo brought back something to show her and Bebel. And even though Bellows and her crew usually found the same trinkets, Ledo somehow managed to find something unique. It always reminded her how marvelous the world truly was.

Ken shrugged at her response, not seeming to share her enthusiasm. "It's nothing special. More often than not we just find a bunch of keepsakes, but we finally found something worth selling."

"What is it?"

Taro opened it up slowly and Amy was practically bouncing in anticipation of seeing whatever treasure they had found. But once she saw that it was completely empty, she was left disappointed. "There's nothing in here."

"You mean you haven't figured it out yet?" All of a sudden, a cloth was pressed over her mouth. Before the chemicals soaking the material could render her useless, Amy elbowed her offender harshly in the gut. Unfortunately, Ken exhibited the same amount of strength as his twin, and it didn't take much effort for him to shove her into the chest as the dizzying effects of the chloroform quickly took hold of her. She hadn't realized how big the rusted box was until she was in it, the alarms in her head ringing a little too late as she realized what was really going on.

"Connor did a good job for once." Ken's sneer was identical to Taro's, his kind viridian eyes now deviant. "She'll sell for a high price on the market." As the last traces of consciousness began to fade, Amy thought she heard someone calling her name and could only think of one other person it could be.

Ledo…

~VSCS~

And now here she was, being held captive on a rogue pirate ship awaiting the dreadful day she would be sold as someone's plaything. And of course the person who she'd heard calling her name wasn't Ledo, though she wished he was here now more than ever. Once she had awoken, she found herself face-to-face with Connor, who was looking very contrite.

"I can explain—"

"Don't bother!" Amy turned away, too disgusted to even look at him.

I totally take back my take back! He's exactly what I thought he was! A no-good, dirty—!

"I never meant to involve you. I didn't want you to come to the ship, but you insisted…"

"So it's my fault I got kidnapped?" Now that she had said it out loud, it did sound like she should've known better considering her string of bad luck. She thought worrying about the strangers had made her paranoid, but perhaps it was just her natural instincts telling her to beware of these slave-peddling monsters.

"Amy, I don't know what else to say to make this all up to you, but…" He brought out a familiar mint green bag and the young woman immediately shot up from her place on the floor to retrieve it. As she began perusing the contents to make sure everything was where it was, the young man sat down and watched, slightly amused but mostly chagrined. "I'm sorry, Amy. I really am. I don't know what else to say or do to make you believe how much I regret what's happened."

Her hand landed on a familiar item when he paused, and as much as she hated his guts right now, Amy chanced a glance and was put back by the glossiness in his eyes and the quivery tautness of his jaw as he used all of his willpower not to cry. Remorse took over his face, and he couldn't have looked more ashamed or submissive if he tried. This was not the happy-go-lucky young man she met at the marketplace earlier today. Connor might have failed to mention a few things about him and his brothers, but he hadn't lied about anything he told her, not even when he was just joking around. The way he was acting earlier as they were approaching the docks suddenly made a lot of sense…

"I wish I could stay a little longer, though. Gargantia seems so nice compared to our old fleet…"

"You could… stay here."

"My brothers would never let me…"

"You guys didn't really get separated from your fleet, did you?"

Connor scratched his cheek guiltily. "Actually, we were a bit turned around for a few days, but we abandoned our fleet a long time ago. Once we started running low on food, we couldn't afford to feed our other captives, so it wasn't long before they…" Amy felt sick. Those poor girls. Even Connor couldn't stomach finishing his own sentence.

He shifted so he was leaning back on the opposite wall to Amy's cell, his head lulling back tiredly. "Before this all started, we were dirt poor. Ken somehow convinced us that leaving our fleet was the only way we could survive. So I went along with it. I was just a dumb thirteen-year-old back then, so I didn't know any better. It wasn't until we came upon another fleet I found out what we were really doing. Turns out there's a whole fleet full of people just waiting to be sold, some by choice, others… mostly end up in your situation, probably by worse means…"

Amy couldn't help shivering as she thought about all those poor girls who were also tricked unto this ship. "If you know it's wrong, why do you stay?"

"Ken and Taro never give me more money than I need to provide for all of us; I think they suspect I'm going to run off one day, but I couldn't even if I wanted to. They tell me I'm only good for my looks, anyway. That's why they always send my off into the fleet to 'socialize' and observe potential 'goods'. I know it's terrible, but I don't know what else to do. I'm not good for much else. And besides, when I'm not trying to lure women onto our ship, I like talking to people, learning about their lives and what they do. It almost makes me feel like I can be more than… this."

A droplet fell on her palm, and before she knew it Amy was crying. She quickly wiped the impending tears away. Crying wasn't going to get her out of here. She couldn't wait for someone to rescue her, either. Not this time.

"I know how you can make it up to me, Connor." Amy looked him straight in the eye, a fierce, take charge look steeling over her features. "Get me out of here, and I'll take you back to Gargantia."

Connor stared at the her in disbelief. "But Amy… I…"

"I know it's scary, and I know you believe staying here is your only option, but it's not. If you really want to leave this place, this may be your only chance."

"But my brothers… they're the only family I have."

"Family doesn't treat each other like they treat you!" she scorned him, much like a mother scolded their child, and he winced to the same effect. "At Gargantia, everyone's family." Amy could tell from his skeptic face that it still wasn't enough to convince him to perform mutiny, so she took on a softer approach. "I know you're much more than a pretty face, Connor. You're strong; it'll be easy for you to find a job. You can find something you'll enjoy, and you can be surrounded by people who will genuinely care about you. I promise I'll help you, but you have to help me first."

She knew she had him when she saw the hardened resolve in his soft emerald eyes. "Okay, but I don't know how I'm going to get the key without getting caught."

"No need." Whipping out Ledo's gun, Amy aimed carefully at the lock. Connor hit the deck as soon as he saw the weapon, and the door exploded as a result of the powerful blast.

So much for never using it, Amy, you hypocrite. Well, at least it's good for something besides, you know, the obvious…

Connor rubbed the back of his head and whistled at the damage. "Remind me not to get on your bad side ever again."

Amy blushed and put the gun away. "We need to get out of here. That was way too loud for them to not have heard it."

"Knowing Ken, he'll most likely send Taro down here. I know how we can get to the control station without running into him."

Amy followed Connor as he led her through a labyrinth of corridors that eventually up to the control station. It was almost too easy how they were able to make it back up to the surface without running into Connor's brothers, and she knew she just jinxed their luck by thinking it.

You're just a glutton for punishment, aren't you, Amy?

"I'm disappointed in you, Connor." Ken turned away from the controls to face his brother and their most recent captive. "Though I can't say I'm surprised. I knew sooner or later you would betray us. In an ironic way, this work has made you soft." Taro suddenly had her by the hair, but as Connor went to help her, Amy shook her head. Now that they were all stuck in the same room, it gave her an idea, and she needed Connor to keep Ken's attention elsewhere in order for them to get out of this in one piece.

"We can't do this anymore, Ken! It's sick and wrong!"

"It's not your call, little brother." Amy spotted the wrench in Ken's hand, and she knew he had every intention of using it. "What, you think because you've suddenly had a change of heart, you can just turn your back on us and run off with your new girlfriend? After all we've done for you?"

"You mean after you used me as your meat puppet!"

Ken scoffed. "Oh please. Don't pretend you didn't enjoy it. Besides, it's not like you're guiltless. You might not have done any of the heavy lifting, but your hands are just as dirty. You really think they're going to accept you with open arms after they find out that you've been helping us for so long?"

Amy saw Connor falter and for a moment she was afraid he would back out. The hardened resolve in his voice told her otherwise. "Maybe not, but I'm willing to take that chance." All of a sudden, Connor dived for the wrench and got a good grip on it before Kent wretched it out of his grasp. The older brother didn't even realize that he was set up right next to his twin until it was too late. "Now, Amy!"

On cue, Amy aimed for the steam pipe above their heads and fired off Ledo's gun. She then jabbed Taro in the abdomen once he was caught off guard and kicked him down the stairs. As steam began to fill up the room, she lost track of Connor. Someone grabbed her wrist, but the large, calloused hand told her that it was definitely not Connor. "Where do you think you're going, little girl?" She panicked. The only thing that could possibly save her was Ledo's gun, but she swore not to use it on another human being. However, as she stared into the manic eyes of her captor, she didn't think she had any other choice.

I'm so sorry, Ledo…

THWACK!

Amy backed away as Ken's body hit the ground and saw Connor standing over him, glowing with self-satisfaction. "I've been wanting to do that for a long time." In a moment of revelation, her shaky hands dropped the gun and she hugged him. "Whoa! You okay, Amy? He didn't hurt you, did he?"

Looking up at him, Amy shared a tremulous, victorious smile. "I'm fine. Now let's go home."

~VSCS~

Ledo never thought he'd be as anxious to go back home as he was now.

A few hours after he and the rest of the excavators left Gargantia, they had run into a new fleet. He had just resurfaced with his Yunboro when Bellows introduced him to one of the captains. He was a man a few decades older than Bellows, and though they had never actually met, he was very familiar with the legendary man from space. But he hadn't come aboard just to meet the renowned spaceman.

"Some of the women on our fleet have gone missing," he told them, "one of them being my daughter. Before they disappeared, we found a ship supposedly separated from its own fleet. They left shortly after the women disappeared."

"You think this ship is taking women," Bellows surmised. The commander nodded affirmatively. "Damn. A slave ship."

"Slave ship?" Ledo echoed curiously.

"A ship controlled by pirates. They kidnap women and children and sell them on illegal trading fleets." Bellows thanked the captain for warning them before commanding her ship to turn back to Gargantia. From what the captain told them, that slave ship wasn't too far from their own fleet, so the lead excavator thought it best to go home in case the pirates were already there.

The first pirates Ledo had ever met were Lukkage and her crew. They had reformed after they disbanded Kugel's cult, but then they had returned to piracy after helping defend Gargantia from Land. He never thought he'd run into more of them, not to mention that they would be hiding in plain sight, abducting innocent civilians. It made him sick.

And the more he mulled over it, the more he thought about the discussion he had with Amy earlier that day. Whenever trouble brewed, she was always there, caught in the crosshairs. Now he wasn't there to help, and if something were to happen…

That's why you gave her your gun, for situations just like this one.

But that thought didn't make him worry any less.

As soon as they were on the docks, they were approached by Pinion and the rest of their friends, and from the distraught looks on their faces, they had come too late. As far as he could tell, no one was missing. The girls had been at work all day, and according to Saaya, Bebel was still with Dr. Oldham. Even Ridget, Joe and his crew were there. The only one who seemed to be missing was…

No…

"Amy skipped work to run errands," Saaya said.

"We had no idea she would run into one of them," Melty insisted. "If we did, we never would have left her alone."

Ledo didn't waste any more time with frivolous thoughts of regret and hypotheticals as he raced back onto Bellows' ship to mount his Yunboro. His boss had him by the ankle before he could take another step. "Let go of me!"

"Pull your head out of your ass, Ledo! Running off and swimming about aimlessly isn't going to help Amy. You don't even know where they went."

"I can't just do nothing!"

"Hey, I think I spotted them!"

At Pinion's hopeful outburst, Bellows and Ledo ran back to the dock, the latter immediately snatching the engineer's spyglass out of his hands. He sought out the direction where Pinion was looking and spotted a ship in the distance.

"Well, at least they're making my job easier," Ridget sighed out.

"But why would they come back?" Bellows wondered.

As the ship came closer, Ledo was finally able to make out two figures. One of them was male, most likely one of the pirates who took his girlfriend. But the other was smaller, more feminine and scantily familiar. As they moved closer still, he was finally able to discern who the other figure was. "It's Amy!"

As soon as the ship was docked, the former ensign jumped on deck and enveloped the brunette in his arms before examining her for any injuries.

"I'm okay, Ledo. But I couldn't have escaped without Connor's help."

Ledo looked over Amy's head to see the young man who had steered the ship by her side. He smiled and waved sheepishly, an apologetic look on his face. Ledo glared at him, and the other boy quickly looked away, not wanting to provoke the intimidating boy.

Meanwhile, Amy was literally sagging in Ledo's arms, tired and at ease. It wasn't long until the rest of the gang joined them, Melty and Saaya enveloping her just as her boyfriend did a moment ago. Ridget approached Connor, who humbly confessed his crimes and pointed them to the cell where they put his brothers. While he had helped Amy escape, it didn't change the fact that he had a hand in helping his brother's slave trade practice. But thanks to Amy's sanction and seeing how penitent he was, Ridget had mercy on him and sentenced him to work in the cargo bay with Joe and his crew on probation. Amy didn't think his smile could have gotten much brighter than it had that day.

After such an exhausting endeavor, Amy wanted nothing more than to go home, so after finding all the things that were left behind when she was abducted and saying goodbye to Connor and her friends, Ledo took her home. Bebel wouldn't be back for a while, but it wouldn't be long until he heard about what happened and came rushing home. There was still so much for her to do, but due to the insistence of her worrisome boyfriend, Amy went to take a nap instead, silently relieved that Ledo had offered to put everything away and make dinner before her little brother came home.

Setting her satchel aside, Amy handled Ledo's gun with much more confidence than she had when he first gave it to her. In a way, she owed her life to this weapon and she didn't even have to hurt anyone with it. But when Ken had her by the wrist, she had thought about using it on him, which made her even more grateful that Connor had intervened.

But what if he hadn't? I might have actually… shot Ken…

Yeah, but it was in self-defense.

But does that make it any better? You almost broke your promise to Ledo…

That's why he gave you the gun in the first place!

SHUT UP!

Amy locked the gun away as well as the dark, conflicting thoughts that came with it. As a result, the adrenaline from earlier finally wore off. Her body wanted nothing more than to collapse, and she loathed to deny it the privilege of sleep after such an exhausting day. But even as her head hit the pillow and she slowly drifted into a blissful slumber, she knew this wasn't the end of her conundrum.

But that's a problem for another day…