In Which Dani Gets Cornered and Things Get Messy
"Skipper was so happy to see another person, and you know how infectious their mood can be. I explored and after a couple of days they showed me the Metastone and I met you. So anyway. That's Lupe."
Xanaria didn't look at Justina, ~I don't want to know how she's looking at me, I… I don't want to know.~
Justina didn't say anything, just slid her chair around the table and hugged her. Xanaria gasped with relief and collapsed into the hug. Her chest felt tight but she didn't cry, she had done her crying months ago. Dani didn't say anything but Xanaria could feel her there, uncurled from her defensive ball, listening. Eventually, Xanaria pulled away with a sigh.
"Thank you. I'm going to get us more of these." She gestured at the empty glasses on the table.
At the bar Xanaria paused, listening with half an ear to a slight energetic woman ordering for her table. Grateful for the moment to herself, Xanaria took deep breaths and tried to banish the sound of hunting horns from her ears.
"...have a boring beer, Vanessa will have a Cherry Seduction, and I'm gonna ride it!" The woman finished, grinning.
"Alright. A Poison Ivy, a beer, a Cherry Seduction, and a Rider coming up. Is that all, Helen?"
"Hell no! But it's a start. Thanks, Jess, you're the best!"
Jess smiled as she drew and mixed their drinks with practiced hands. Then she turned to Xanaria.
"Two more of these, please." Xanaria made an effort to smile and returned the empty bottles.
"Are you okay?" Jess asked.
Xanaria nodded without saying anything.
"I heard your mercenary friend was on station." Jess said placing two more bottles in front of Xanaria, trying to look unconcerned. "You aren't planning on leaving us, are you?"
"No, not planning on it." Xanaria hoped that sounded like something Dani would say.
"Good." Jess nodded. "We'd miss you around here."
Xanaria smiled a little weakly at her and retreated with the bottles to their table. As she went Dani mused. Oh, you have no idea how much I want to go back, but that way leads to madness and I am light years from Wonderland.
~You could actually talk to Noah about how you feel. I'm sure he would forgive you. He might even be able to help.~
I don't think I can. There is too much blood in the space between our words.
Dani retreated again. Xanaria sighed, and let it go.
Back at the table she and Justina drank their drinks- which were still very good- and talked carefully about nice and light topics; the color of Skippers moss, the structure of the station, what could have happened to Pegasus 3a, and which planets Pegasus 1, 2, and 4 could be in orbit around. By the time they had finished Xanaria was in control of her emotions again. She was still sad, but it was muted and tamped down in the bottom of her heart the way it had been since she had stumbled into Skipper's pocket metaverse.
Justina smiled and looked at her empty bottle. "Shall we see if we can find another bar? It's not a proper bar crawl unless we visit at least three."
"I didn't realize this was supposed to be a crawl," Xanaria said, but she was already standing, ready to move on and think about something else.
They paused by the bar on the way out. "Can this go on my tab, please?"
Jess nodded absently, busy mixing a complicated drink, "Of course, Dani."
Out in the hallway, Justina leaned against Xanaria. "Whoa, it's been a long time since I've had this much to drink."
Xanaria looped an arm through hers, "I've never had this much to drink, but Dani's body seems pretty used to it. Lets see if we can find Becklin's, I'm getting more and more curious about this Cross Time Ale."
They walked a little aimlessly through what seemed to be a rougher part of the station. They passed several bars, none of which were appealing, and Xanaria thought at least one might also be a brothel. From Justina's uncomfortable snicker as they passed, Xanaria guessed that she thought so too.
The crowd thinned, and everyone seemed to be minding their own business. Xanaria carefully avoided eye contact with a trio in sharp Astrea ensign uniforms; darker than Noah's, and with a simpler collar. She didn't think Dani would want them to notice her. Xanaria stiffened when she heard them start to follow.
Leaning over she whispered, "We might have a little trouble incoming."
Justina looked at her concerned. "What is it? Please tell me we won't have to run, I'm not sure if I can run."
"I don't know yet. It's just a bad feeling so far. Let's see if we can lose them."
Justina nodded, her brow pinched. They wove across the hallway, ducked through an alley, and turned several sharp corners trying to find a way back to the busier corridors. Xanaria wanted more witnesses and it would be easier to lose them in a densely packed area. Xanaria bit her lip as the already sparse crowd seemed to evaporate instead.
~Dani?~ Xanaria asked, ~I know you're busy wallowing, but I could really use some directions.~
Dani ignored her completely.
Justina whispered to Xanaria, "I think we've lost two of them."
Xanaria glanced around sharply, "Just two?"
"Yes, but now there's only one. That's better, right?"
"Not exactly." Xanaria began when ahead of them the other two pursuers popped out around the next corner.
"Oh. Shit." Justina said.
Xanaria looked around for any other exit but there wasn't one. There were no doors in this section of corridor and no side hallways to slip away through. A smiling man, and a grim woman blocked their advance. Still following them was a well groomed younger man, sauntering with a forced casual air Xanaria didn't believe. The other two seemed to look to him for their cues and as they closed in Xanaria couldn't decide who to watch.
~Who's more dangerous, the leader or the lackeys?~
"Well, if it isn't the infamous Dandelion Wine. What an honor." The young man's voice was flat.
Dani bristled in the back of Xanaria's mind, but refused to respond. Justina looked to Xanaria, confused and failing to hide her fear. Xanaria swallowed panic.
~I know I've been in more fights than her, but that doesn't mean I know what to do!~
Her strategy with her cousin and the kids from town had always been to run and if she couldn't escape she'd take the beating and pretend it was worse than it was. The trick was to go down on the second or third hit, not on the first. If she went down on the first they would just keep hitting her on the ground, but if she could hold out a little sometimes dropping her would be enough for them.
That's dark. Dani thought appalled.
~That's life when you are a prey animal.~ Xanaria snapped back. ~Besides, what do you care? You keep saying you want to be punished. Well, I guess you get your wish.~
Ignoring Dani's shock, Xanaria focused on how she could get between Justina and any incoming blows. It would be tricky since they were surrounded.
~Maybe I can fall with Justina under me?~
Xanaria would never be able to pull that trick in her own body, but Dani was taller and broader than Justina, so it could work.
The three came closer, but their leader still seemed intent on talking. "You know Commander Marx still uses your training videos. Everybody gets ranked in comparison to the great and powerful Dani Wyn."
Xanaria didn't answer as he looked her up and down disdainfully.
"You don't recognize me, do you? That's fine. I almost didn't recognize you either. What have you been doing to yourself? Let me remind you. My mother was the woman who used to bring you water, hold your tools, and do anything else you asked of her. She worshiped at your feet, before you got her killed."
Xanaria was planning to glare at him silently but Dani said in a soft voice, "You're Mira's son. Cole, wasn't it? You've grown. She'd be proud to see you in that uniform."
"You do not get to talk about her!" Cole snapped, and lunged at her. He got in a solid hit across her face before Dani took over. As he came at her with his other hand, she deflected the blow in a move meant to redirect momentum slightly and send him off balance. Instead, he spun halfway around and staggered into the wall.
The woman came at her from behind, trying to get an arm around her neck, but Dani twisted out of her hold and punched her. This blow also had way more power behind it than she was expecting. The woman crumpled to the floor and didn't move.
Dani froze, fists still raised, utterly horrified.
~Patience lent me some strength,~ Xanaria realized.
Dani ignored her, staring at the too still woman.
There was a pained and disgusted yelp from behind her. She looked around. It seemed the smiling man had been holding Justina back from the fight but had not expected her to bite him. Justina took advantage of his recoil to dive at Cole who had recovered and pulled out a stunner. Her arms wrapped around his chest. He didn't fall but the stunner's beam went wide, glowing gently on the wall for a moment before fading.
Cole cursed and drove his elbow backward, right into the soft spot in the middle of Justina's chest. She made a wheezing whimper and let go of him, sliding to the ground and curling into a ball as she tried to breathe.
Dani shook her head, focusing on Justina. We have to get her out of here.
~Agreed.~
Cole tried to shoot Dani again, but she grabbed the stunner first, twisting it from his hands and pulling the trigger in one move. The beam caught him in the gut. Cole collapsed with a sigh and a burning smell, but Dani didn't have time for relief as the other man hit her at full speed. He slammed her against the wall hard enough she expected to hear bone crunch, but while it hurt like hell, nothing broke. Her vision went sparkly for a moment. The stunner fell, knocked from her hand. She blinked, twisted, and headbutted him backwards. She felt his nose crunch against her skull. He screamed and staggered back, eyes squeezed shut and hands covering his face as he tried to stop the blood pouring between his fingers.
She crouched next to Justina, who was still gasping on the floor, and touched her arm. "I need you to get up. Right now."
Justina nodded weakly and uncurled, her breathing still ragged and gasping. Dani and Xanaria, working together, hauled her to her feet. "Alright, now we need to run, it'll be hard at first but it will get easier, I promise."
Pulling Justina behind them, they ran. With both Xanaria and Dani working in sync they were able to run well, despite the alcohol. The hard part was keeping Justina from crashing into walls or tripping on her own feet.
~I thought you didn't want to protect anyone anymore?~
Protecting people is fine, it's being counted on to protect them that I can no longer handle.
~Thank you.~
Shut up and run.
~I can think and run at the same time, you know.~
Dani's only response was a quiet growl and to tighten her grip on Justina's arm.
The third time Justina stumbled, and only Dani's hold kept her from wiping out entirely, Xanaria insisted, ~We have to stop. Even if they've regained consciousness already, we must have lost them by now ~
It's not those three I'm worried about. It's the friends who find them. Or Station Security. They would like nothing better than an excuse to banish me planetside. Diuretic shit stains on the adult diaper of the universe, the lot of them.
~Charming. Still, we have a good head start and running blindly will not help at this point!~
Fine.
They slowed to a stop. Justina stumbled, and slid down a wall wheezing.
Xanaria knelt down beside her. "Are you okay?"
Justina nodded, catching her breath. When she looked up, her eyebrows drew together. Justina reached out a hand without quite touching Dani's cheek. "Are you okay? That hit looked bad."
"I'll be fine, it should be way worse but I think a little of Patience's strength and durability stayed with me. I won't lie, it will leave some nasty bruises." Xanaria smiled, although now that it had been brought to her attention, her face was painfully hot, throbbing, and the taste of blood filled her mouth.
It's just pain, pain is easy, pain will pass. It's guilt and shame that scare me.
~My, my. You are a morbid little poet, aren't you?~
Xanaria had the oddest sensation of someone inside her own mind flipping her the bird. She repressed a grin and returned her attention to Justina.
"I think we're safe now."
As if summoned, they heard the sound of footsteps running toward them. Justina struggled back to her feet as Dani turned to face five more people in heartbreakingly familiar uniforms. They were led by the man with the bloody nose. It was still dripping and his eyes were swollen and darkening to purple. He glared at them with barely suppressed rage.
"There they are! Those are the ones who attacked us!"
"What?" Justina gasped outraged.
Dani tried to back away, pushing Justina behind her, but they were up against a wall and surrounded.
I wish I hadn't dropped that stunner
~It can't be helped.~
Dani turned to face them heart sinking. She didn't want to hurt anyone from Astrea, they were the good guys. It was one thing to defend yourself from people who were going after you with malice; it was another entirely to fight those who were just trying to protect their own, the same as you.
Damn it, we shouldn't be on opposite sides here! But Dani recognized the looks on their faces. She'd been there. This group might not try to kill her, but they were dead set on bringing her to justice.
The Astrea Free Mercenaries acted as a sort of peacekeeping force in this sector and no one would question her banishment from Pegasus if they brought her before Station Security. She had built a life here, clawed it out inch by inch with pain, blood, and fear. She could feel everything crumbling under her feet. She squared her shoulders and stayed in front of Justina, who was clinging to the wall, legs shaking.
"Why won't they leave us alone?" Justina asked in a pitiful voice Xanaria had never heard her use before. "Oh, God."
Justina leaned to the side and threw up, purple liquid splashing across the floor. Xanaria pulled Justina's hair out of the way, and held it. She rubbed Justina's back with her other hand, glaring at the mercenaries around them as Justina heaved again. They hesitated, looking at each other.
Not what you were expecting, I bet. Dani thought grimly.
"Don't fall for it!" The man with the broken nose shouted. "They are vicious, violent, criminals. You saw what they did to Aimee and Cole!"
They hesitated, but began to close in again, just a little less self assured. Dani braced herself.
Then another person turned the corner, and in a voice full of cold quelling authority, Commander Noah Marx said, "What is going on here."
