Help, Part 2
Save for a few select spots where the corruption had been cleansed away, the Etherdale was sick with madness. The broken minds of dozens, perhaps hundreds of madwomen had forced their insanity into the very landscape, until it was nearly indistinguishable from the labyrinth of a witch in some places. The trees grew faces and their branches became hands. The flowers sang, the grass became literal blades in places, and the water refused to remain one color.
In this, not even the sky was exempt. In the places where the corruption lay strong, the sky was often of strange colors and filled with even stranger clouds that twisted into perverse shapes and frightening images. And at night, the stars took on the form of spinning flowers and blinking eyes, staring down on the forest and all of its twisted denizens.
But even with all that strangeness, the sudden arrival of a furiously spinning train wheel at the attached screaming girl descending from above like a runaway drill bit came as something of a surprise.
It smashed into the treetops and shattered into sparks. The girl, however, kept going, banging and crashing through a painful succession of hard branches before coming to rest in a small, leafy shallow nestled in one especially gnarly tree, her body as broken as the wreckage she had left behind.
When Ticky Nikki finally came to, it was much, much later. Her body had mostly repaired itself, straightened out her broken limbs and healed the blunt force trauma, but she still hurt all over, from the small twinges of pain in her toes to the loud drum pounding away in her head. She was filthy, her clothes were torn, hunger was twisting her stomach into knots, thirst ravaged her throat, and for the life of her she could not figure out why she was in a tree. The beating she had taken had left the last few hours a muddled mess.
And to top it off, there was some kind of disgusting giant bug thing, sort of like a cross between a wasp and a praying mantis blown up to the size of a panther, that was busily coating her lower legs in pink slime and working its way up.
"Ew!" Nikki cried, leaping to full consciousness. "No!" A knife appeared in each hand, and she immediately drove them into the startled insect's bloated head. "Ugly, nasty, stupid buggy-thing get off!"
She kept on stabbing until the thing's head was a ruined mess of ichor. A shove, and it slid out of the tree, leaving a slimy trail behind.
Shuddering, Nikki turned her attention to the mess on her legs. Even now it was congealing into a hard lump. She scraped away at it the best she could with her blades.
"Yuck, she said when she was done. She gingerly held the knives up by the ends of their handles. Both were covered with bug juice and pink goop up to the hilts. Gagging, them she tossed them away and soon a fresh pair was in her grasp.
Well, she was awake and the immediate danger had been disposed of, but Nikki still hadn't the slightest idea of how she had gotten where she was. The last thing she remembered was a big fight in the pretty, floaty city. She recalled that it had been fun, but if she had somehow ended up in a forest, then clearly somehow somewhere things had gone very wrong.
Nikki wasn't very bright. She was a horrible planner and quite often was rather slow on the uptake. But she was very good at surviving, and she was one hell of a fighter. And when it came down to it, she could match any monster for base predatory cunning.
First things were first: she needed food and she needed water. After that, she would be strong enough to see about finding her sister. Nikki slipped from her perch and entered the maze of branches.
Stalking through the trees was a far cry from the patrols through Genocide City, and the pain and weariness she was experiencing made movement difficult. But her long years of service as a Void Walker had hardened her. She prowled forward as much grace as she could manage, senses extended to pick up anything of importance. There was a bad energy in this place, similar to Genocide City, but different enough to throw her for a loop. But still, she made do.
Then she heard the sound of something moving nosily through the forest below, something human. Tikki Nikki crouched among the branches and waited.
Then her prey came stumbling out of the underbrush. Nikki almost fell from her perch. It was Shooty Sameface, proving that Nikki could not escape those two no matter what happened. However, it looked like something had badly messed her up. Like Nikki, her clothes were torn and she was covered with dirt, and her big stupid hat was missing. She was holding her side while limping on one leg, and was quite obviously crying. That was a surprise. The Samefaces could get real whiny sometimes, but she couldn't recall them ever crying. Or maybe they did. Nikki found it hard to remember things sometimes.
Shivering and whimpering, Shooty Sameface limped her way under Nikki's tree. Every few seconds she would stop and fearfully look around. "Hello?" she said. "Arzt? Sweetheart? Where are you, my love?" When her lover failed to respond, she said, "Annabelle Lee? Ticky Nikki? Where is everybody?"
She stood there for a few seconds, listening. Far away, a wolf howled. Shuddering, Shooty Sameface stumbled on her way. "Hello?" she called again. "Is anybody there?"
Nikki dispassionately watched her go. She felt no compulsion to answer her so-called companion's cries. She hated and feared the Samefaces, and had done so for as long as she could remember. They were always grabbing her and touching her and talking to her like she was a baby. Annabelle Lee had warned them off a hundred times, but they always came back. Let her stay lost and get eaten by a monster.
Once she was certain that she was alone, Nikki started moving again. She was growing hungrier by the second, and her limbs were getting stiff, a dangerous sign.
The forest was a weird one though, and she wasn't sure if she could trust any food she found. The tree's trunks kept swaying back and forth in the middle as if they were dancing, the individual blades of grass were popping up and down in rhythm to an unheard beat, and the flowers had eyes in the center of their dials. Again, she was reminded of Genocide City. Back when they had patrolled there, Annabelle Lee had warned her never to eat the food they found, no matter how normal it seemed. So even if she found some berries or a fruit tree…
Then she heard the sound of slavering, of flesh being torn and bones being broken. She smelled freshly spilled blood. Nikki brightened, her sister's warning immediately forgotten. Girls didn't have blood or bones, so that meant and animal was being eaten nearby. And that meant the possibility of meat.
Egged on by her empty belly, Nikki eagerly scrambled her way toward the sounds of feasting. They grew louder and the smell grew stronger as she approached. And then the trees opened up and she saw it.
A dead deer was lying on the ground, its stomach split open and one of its hind legs torn apart. Crouching over it was one of the craziest looking girls Nikki had ever seen, and that was saying a lot. She had tanned skin and bleached blonde hair, and wore the tattered remains of a pair of jeans and a pink tank top. She was, if anything, even filthier than Nikki was, and her hands and face were streaked with blood. She tore hungrily at the deer's flesh, and her pale eyes glinted unpleasantly in the shadows.
Nikki stared down at her and licked her lips longingly. She wasn't at her best and the moment, but the element of surprise was in her favor. If she moved quickly, she could cut the girl's throat and make off with her prize before she even knew she was being attacked.
Hunkering down for the pounce, Nikki held her knives at the ready. Below, the nasty girl continued feasting, oblivious to the fact that she was about to be sliced open as well. Nikki tensed up, ready to spring.
And then her leg chose that moment to cramp up.
"Ow!" Ticky Nikki howled. She rolled out of the tree and fell to the ground below, where an unfortunately placed thornbush was waiting to break her fall.
"Ah! Ow! Ow! Owie, owie, owie, ow!" Nikki rolled around, desperately picking thorns from her body. They seemed to get everywhere, and by the time she was done, she was all scratched up and her leg still hurt.
"Owwwww," she moaned, clutching at her still-spasming calf. Then she looked up to see the nasty girl staring at her with a look of complete befuddlement.
Nikki stared back, fearful that she was about to become dessert. The nasty girl blinked. Then, with a loud snort, she picked up the deer carcass and slowly backed away, never taking her eyes off of Nikki. Then, once she had gotten far enough, she tuned and ran, the deer bouncing over her shoulder.
Distraught, Nikki scrunched up her face as she fought tears. Now she was in more pain than ever, and her dinner had gotten away. The thought of those lost steaks made her want to cry. "Stupid," she growled, hitting the ground with her fist. "Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stu-"
"Hey! Pssst!"
Nikki in mid-tantrum. To her surprise, yet another girl had appeared, this one considerably cleaner than anyone Nikki had seen in the last few minutes. She had orange hair done up in two braids, orange eyes, and her face and arms were splattered with freckles. She wore heavy boots, brown breeches held up by suspenders, a tan jacket over a white shirt, and a wide-brimmed brown hat. In her hands was a sleek, steel shotgun, and a machete was slung in a sheathe on her back. A pair of handguns were holstered on her belt, and a hunting knife was strapped to her calf.
The girl was sticking to the shadows, eyes mostly focused on Nikki but occasionally flicking to the dark recesses of the forest. "Are you…okay?" she whispered.
Nikki blinked, her misery forgotten. "Dunno," she said. "Who're you, ticky-ticky?"
The girl glanced around nervously. "Abigail," she said. "Abigail Clemming. Look, there's not a whole lot of time to explain, but you need to come with me if you don't wanna get eaten."
Well, that sounded reasonable enough. But there was one matter that needed clearing up first. "Do you have food?" Nikki asked.
"Yes."
"Oh." That was all Nikki wanted to know. "Well, okay then!"
…
Leaves and sticks brush past her face, and thorns tear at her skin. The smell of wet soil and rotting leaves fills her nostrils as she passes forward, forcing her way through a thick and hostile forest.
Kyoko Sakura is near, Annabelle Lee knows this in her gut. She never manages more than an occasional glimpse of her quarry: a flicker of a red ponytail here, a flashy of a natty green sweater there, the briefest of glances of a heavy boot as it disappears into the underbrush. Annabelle Lee tries to catch her, to finally lay hands on her prize, but she is just too weak. Even moving forward is exhausting. She's sick, horribly sick, burning so hot with fever and she can feel the heat radiating from her skin.
Still, she forces herself onward. She can't give up now, not when her salvation is so close. She just needs to catch Kyoko Sakura, and then she and Nikki (where was her sister anyway?) would finally be able to rest, to drift off to sleep in the comforting arms of Oblivion.
Above, she hears the patter of rain falling against the leaves. The forest canopy is too thick to allow the drops to reach her though, which is downright maddening. She longs to let the falling rain cool her burning skin and soothe her parched throat, but she dare not abandon her hunt to fly.
Desperations grows, and Annabelle Lee forces herself to go faster. Her fever flares up and her stomach twists with nausea, but she could not stop, could not even slow down. She has to press on, has to catch Kyoko. It is her only chance to be free, only chance to die.
And then the dark trees open up around her, forming a small clearing, though the canopy remains thick and knotted overhead, holding back the rain. At the other end of the clearing is the stone of a mountain, rising up out of sight. It is not the end of her hunt though, as she has two paths to choose from. One traces upward, hugging the mountain's side and leading high above the trees and into the rain. Blessedly cool air drifts down from above. The other goes down, descending into the yawning mouth of a cave. Inside it is pitch-black and hot, with heat so thick that it almost feels physical.
Annabelle Lee is not alone. Sitting on a rock where the cold air met the hot was the arms witch, the one that had defend Kyoko Sakura and Oktavia von Seckendorff back at the lighthouse. She lifts her head and smiles when she sees Annabelle Lee, as if greeting and old friend.
"Hello," she says. "Whom is it that you seek?"
"Kyoko Sakura," Annabelle Lee says without hesitation, her voice rasping harshly through her parched throat."
"No, she isn't," says the witch. "Why would you seek her?"
"So I can give her to Oblivion."
"And why would you want to do that?"
"So I can die."
The witch's smile becomes sad. "Then why do you seek Kyoko Sakura?" Without waiting for an answer, she turns in her seat to point down in the cave. "Okay. Kyoko went in there. If you go after her, you will catch her in time, though it will bring you no joy." Then she turns to point up the cold path. "But the one you seek is up there, waiting. She has always been waiting. Choose with care."
Annabelle Lee licks her dry and chapped lips. Her fever is burning hotter than ever. "Please," she begs. "Let me have some wat-"
There is no one there. The rock is empty, and Annabelle Lee is alone.
She stays there for a time, puzzling over the witch's words. What did she mean, Kyoko Sakura wasn't the one she sought? Of course she is! Kyoko was the key to her escape, she had always been the key. Reibey had promised her as much.
Then she casts a longing glance up the cold path. She can see ice forming on the stones, higher up. Annabelle Lee yearns to follow it, to cool her fever and quench her thirst.
Instead, she plunges into the cave, chasing after Kyoko. Everything would be all right once she caught her. Until then, she would withstand whatever torments lay before her.
But then the heat and darkness close in around her like a suffocating blanket, and though she can't see the walls, she can feel them pressing in all around her, threatening to crush her. The sweat on her body evaporates in an instant, and what little strength she has left gets sapped away.
Annabelle Lee tries to push on regardless, but she just ends up collapsing on the ground. I'm being swallowed, she realizes. The heat is swallowing me up. I can't get out. Despair chokes her, and she lays shivering and she burns without and within, while the darkness closes in from all around-
Annabelle Lee woke to the sound of falling rain.
She couldn't see; that was the first thing she noticed. This caused a momentary burst of panic as she assumed that she was still in the cave, but then she felt the cool wetness and realized that someone had simply laid a damp cloth over her eyes. Given the fever that had scorched her, she wasn't feeling especially motivated to remove it. However, she had no idea where she was and needed to take stock of her surroundings. So, with great reluctance, she reached up and pulled it off.
Her arm felt incredibly heavy, which wasn't a good sign. In fact, her whole body was seek, indicating heavy loss of soul vapors. She still felt sick, though not as feverish as before, which was something of an improvement. Still parched though.
The room was dark, but light was seeping in from under the doorway, and her eyes eventually adjusted enough for her to deduce that she was in a rather rough infirmary. She could make out the shapes of cabinets and a counter, and she was pretty sure that there were posters of some kind on the wall, though damned if she could read what they said. On her end was a row of about five wireframe beds with weathered old mattresses, very thin sheets, ancient feather pillows, and fuzzy wool blankets. Annabelle Lee was lying in the second bed from the door, with the blanket and sheet tucked in tightly over her and pulled up to just under her armpits. A girl she didn't recognize was sleeping in the bed up against the far wall, a red-haired doll clutched to her chest. There was a closed and shuttered window in the wall above the girl, from which Annabelle Lee could hear the rain pelting against the glass.
Okay, so she had definitely been found by someone. And she had taken one hell of a beating along the way. Great. Unfortunately, she wasn't exactly clear on how she had gotten there. She remembered working with Kyoko Sakura to escape that engine, but after that things had become a muddled mess. She dimly recalled something about a puddle and being carried roughly through a forest, but was unable to come up with context.
She wondered if she was a patient or a captive. Waking up in an infirmary wasn't always a good thing, and granted, the terms weren't mutually exclusive. For all she knew, they could be healing her and the other girl up just to throw her into a gladiator pit. Though the fact that they had put her in a bed without tying her up had to count for something.
Well, whatever. If she wasn't restrained, than it was time to go. She needed to find Nikki and resume the hunt. She wasn't sure how, but one way or another she was going to find Kyoko Sakura again, and her little mermaid too.
The Twins she was just going to have to write off as unavoidable casualties.
Annabelle Lee tried to push the covers away, but they were tucked in too tightly. Annoyed, she pulled harder, trying to tug it out from under the mattress. Then she tried to squirm out from under its embrace, but the angle was against her.
Frustration grew, and Annabelle Lee lifted her arms to extend her blades so as to cut the damned blanket and sheet away. After a couple of failed swipes, she came to the realization that she was no longer in possession of her weapons. Her jacket and headband were gone too, leaving her with just her shirt.
Well, this was no good. Annabelle Lee tore at the blanket with her fingernails to no avail. Frustration gave way to desperation, and she grabbed a metal bedpost and started tugging as hard as her weakened body was capable.
Then the door creaked as it swung open.
The girl who entered was physically about Annabelle Lee's age, with glasses and green haired tied into a ponytail that just brushed her shoulders. She was dressed in a shapeless grey sweater and black jeans.
Seeing what Annabelle Lee was doing, the girl sighed and muttered, "Okay, here we go again."
Annabelle Lee stared. "What?" she rasped, her tongue feeling thick and swollen. "What…what are you talking about?"
Frowning, the girl entered the room, leaving the door slightly open behind her. "Wait, are you lucid this time?"
"Lu…lucid?" What in the world was she going on about?" "I…I guess. But what do you-" Annabelle Lee's eyes suddenly focused on the girl's feet. Or rather, lack thereof. "You have hands!" she blurted out, pointing.
"What?"
"Hands!" Annabelle Lee said again. "Instead of feet!"
That she did. A second pair of hands protruded from the bottom of her pants where her feet out to be. She was walking monkey-like on the palms with all ten fingers splayed out, though the odd arrangement didn't seem to be giving her any difficultly. "Yes, yes I do," the girl sighed. She lifted her left leg and clenched and unclenched the toe-fingers. "And you have no legs at all. That doesn't seem to be giving you much of a problem." She went up to the side of Annabelle Lee's bed and peered down at her. "But at least you're noticing your surroundings now." She knelt down to pick up the cloth Annabelle Lee had cast aside. Then she went over to the counter and dripped it into a bowl of water. "This is the third time you've woken up," she explained as she wrung the cloth out. "The first time you were in a panic. Babbled something about being eaten by bugs. Lasted about ten seconds before you passed out." She walked back to the bed. Annabelle Lee cringed, but didn't protest as the girl dabbed at her brow and carefully wiped the pus away from her eyes. "The second time you kept grabbing at the nurse and calling her Coco or something like that. That one lasted a little bit longer, though not by much." She pressed her palm against Annabelle Lee's forehead. "Hmmm, looks like your fever's broken already. That was fast, been scarcely nine hours. You're a tough one, aren't you?"
Annabelle Lee feebly pushed her hand away. "Who…who are you?"
"Me? My name's Patricia."
Annabelle Lee scowled. "Who. Are. You?" she repeated.
Patricia sighed. "You're in the Etherdale Wayhouse, if you want to know. Here." She lifted a hard plastic thermos to Annabelle Lee's lips. The exiled Void Walker wanted to pull back for fear of being drugged, but then the cool, cleansing water touched her tongue, and the decision was taken out of her hands.
"Mundy found you in a nasty puddle out in the swamp," Patricia explained as Annabelle Lee sucked greedily at the thermos. "Fortunately, she got to you before anything really bad did, and brought you here."
Annabelle Lee finished draining the thermos dry. "Mundy?" she said, wiping off her mouth.
"Mmmm-hmmm. Mundoroun, our vaskergoros. She's the biggest muscle we've got, so she does a lot of the patrolling," Patricia told her with a shrug. "Anyway, you had picked up some real nasty parasites. Hence why you're feeling so weak."
"P-parasites?" Annabelle Lee sputtered. Good God, what was with her luck?
"Yeah, couple of hell leeches got in you tummy. We got them out, but you lost a lot of vapor in the process. Honestly, I'm a little surprised you're awake already. Thought you'd be out for a couple of days at least."
Hell leeches. Annabelle Lee shuddered in revulsion. Like the name implied, they were nasty slugs that liked to suck out people's soul vapors. Normally they would just latch onto the skin and pierce it with those barbed mouths of theirs, but if they could they would burrow all the way in and end up gorging themselves until they had bloated up like a balloon. With that image in mind, being hauled along by a vaskergoros and split open to get the slugs out was a welcome alternative.
"Anyway, awake or not, you're in no condition to be getting out of bed." Annabelle Lee's chest seized up when she saw Patricia holding up a syringe.
"No," she moaned as she tried again to extract herself from the bedcovers. "Got to...got to get out. Can't stay. Go to…got to find…"
Patricia pushed Annabelle Lee back down with an ease that was downright embarrassing. "Take it easy, Annabelle Lee. You won't even make it out the front door, much less out of the swamp. This Coco person isn't going anywhere.."
"Yes, she is!" Annabelle Lee protested, clutching at Patricia's arm. Couldn't she see? "She's going to-" Then she realized something, something so important that even her fuzzy mind was able to pick up on. "Wait, you know my name? How?"
Patricia shrugged. "Well, we found some people that seem to know you. One's this really talkative little girl that says that she's your sister, and there's these two that look exactly the same, and…" Patricia made a face. "Well, they make for interesting company."
Ticky Nikki and The Twins? Well, one out of three wasn't bad, it seemed that fate had decreed that she was going to be stuck with those self-loving bimbos forever. "Nikki's here? Is she-"
"Bedridden, like you. They were all pretty banged up, though you had it the worst." Patricia moved away from the bed. "You can talk to them when you're up."
"I'm up now!" Annabelle Lee insisted. What was she going to have to do to get that through her head?" "You don't understand, I need to-"
Annabelle Lee blinked. Her arms had suddenly refused to stop working. Then she saw the syringe in Patricia's hands and realized with a jolt of fear that it was empty.
"Sorry, but like I said, you're in no condition to be going anywhere." And right before Annabelle Lee lost consciousness, she heard Patricia say, "None of us are going anywhere."
…
Some time later…
"Annabelly!" Ticky Nikki squealed as she joyfully leapt into her sister's arms.
Still not fully recovered, Annabelle Lee was nearly bowled over by the little yellow-haired missile. "Oompf! Take it easy, Short Stuff. I'm still a little woozy here. Oh, and don't call me Annabelly."
Nikki chortled and nuzzled Annabelle Lee's neck. Sighing, Annabelle Lee shifted her hold on her. Well, on the upside, at least their new friends had gotten Nikki out of that stupid outfit and into something much more practical, replacing her pink skirt and yellow blouse with thick khakis; a black shirt; and a heavy, moss-green jacket. As for herself, Annabelle Lee's own jacket had been repaired and returned, much to her relief. Her blades were still locked away though.
The Etherdale Wayhouse turned out to be a five-story building: three stories above ground and two below. It was well sheltered by the surrounding swamp, though the immediate area had been cleared away to allow for a tool shed, a greenhouse, and what amounted to a small ranch, primarily of goats and chickens. A wall of wooden stakes surrounded the area, turning it into a stockade. "We were going to have a new wall built, one made from concrete," Patricia had told her once she had woken up again. "Unfortunately, that's all gone to Hell."
Wayhouses were risky ventures, though undoubtedly noble ones. They were normally set up near spawn sites with the intention of helping the confused and scared girls that had just died adjust to their new worlds, as well as treat them for any trauma they had sustained, whatever the source. The ones with greater funding also worked to break apart covens and nurse those already claimed by madness back to sanity.
On the whole, Annabelle Lee was fairly supportive of the practice. Above all else, she hated being trapped, and being a captive of one's own mind had to be a nightmare. She would never have the patience to actually work at one though. Keeping Ticky Bikki from going completely around the bend was a full time job in of itself.
"They wouldn't let Nikki see you," Nikki complained as Annabelle Lee carried her along. "They said you got sick, ticky-ticky."
"Yeah, well, I did."
"They said you got worms!"
Annabelle Lee sighed. "Yeah, well, I did that too."
Nikki made a face. "Why'd you go and do that for?"
"Because after that bitch Kyoko cut me down and threw me into the swamp, I had a bunch of new holes for them to crawl into," Annabelle Lee said as she scratched the top of Nikki's head.
Nikki let out a low growl. "Fishy stuck Nikki on a wheel and threw her out the window."
A wheel? Where had she gotten a wheel from? "Well then, there you go. We owe them both."
Though truth be told, Annabelle Lee was at a loss on how to collect on that debt. She hadn't managed to put together the full story, but from what she managed to pick up, the Etherdale Wayhouse was currently in conflict with some other group in the forest, the Something Protectorate. There was apparently a blockade involved, as well as a jamming station and various anti-air artillery. Until those were dealt with, no one was going in or out of Etherdale. In the meantime, they had enough supplies laid aside to last them a while, and were growing and hunting enough food to keep them sustained. It wouldn't last forever though. And they had several girls that were beyond their ability to treat and needed to be moved out to a more appropriate facility. Until then, they couldn't take any more in, meaning that as a wayhouse, they had gone stagnant.
Annabelle Lee wondered if she had a chance to escape. Sure, the other side had all that anti-air firepower, but those were designed for use against aircraft. Maybe if she and Nikki took off, they might have a shot of slipping away unnoticed. And from there, they could go…
Where? Kyoko Sakura and her cronies were long gone, and Annabelle Lee knew not where. The most likely place to find them now was Seagirt, but even if they managed to reach it before their quarry headed back to Cloudbreak, the chances of finding four girls in that big place were slim to none.
And that was assuming they didn't get shot down before they even got out of Etherdale. Annabelle Lee had no idea who those people were, but anyone that would willingly set themselves against a wayhouse was not someone she wanted to be in the hands of.
For now though, she needed food. Rest alone would only let her soul recover so far. And she was so hungry that she was about to start gnawing on the walls.
Her hosts had offered to bring her food, but Annabelle Lee was sick of lying around and wanted to get a look at the place. And so Patricia had agreed to take her to the dining hall.
As Patricia explained, the Wayhouse was run by a woman (woman, not a girl; Patricia had been very clear on that point) who went by the name of Demmi and was something of a recluse, if only because the administration duties kept her holed up in her office most days. Patricia was one of the assistant administrators, though her duties were a bit more hand's-on. She, and a few others, were the ones who kept track of the Wayhouse's constant list of problems, solved the ones they could, and passed along the one's that required Demmi's attention directly to her. And they were the ones that she entrusted her decisions with.
These days, most of their problems apparently came from their inability to send their problem children out and take in new supplies. Keeping the worst of the wild girls they were trying to treat under control was putting a real strain on things, and the place's upkeep was becoming an issue. Food they could grow themselves, but everything else was growing dangerously short.
Again, Annabelle Lee wondered who exactly was causing these people so much trouble. Patricia had been annoyingly tight-lipped about it, and no one else seemed willing to talk to her about it. Annabelle Lee wondered what Nikki and The Twins had been telling them about their mission. If word had gotten out that they were working for Reibey with assistance from the Brothel, then that would explain…But no. If her companions had let that slip, they would have been tossed right back into the swamp.
Clearly, Annabelle Lee was going to need a cover story. Bounty hunters sounded like it would work. They could simply explain that they had been transporting criminals back to their client, but things had gone horribly wrong. It was factually correct, and they could leave all the bits about Reibey and the Brothel out.
Then she glanced up from her private musings and realized Patricia was talking. Mentally kicking herself for allowing herself to daydream, Annabelle Lee made sure to pay attention.
"…tell the truth, we actually have it easy," the hand-footed witch was explaining. "I mean, comparatively speaking. Keeping track of leaky plumbing and cracks in the greenhouse is tough, yes, but it's the counselors and therapists that really do the real work around here, helping these poor kids find their way and bringing back the ones that have gotten lost."
A trio of small girls ran by, laughing as they chased each other through the hallway. Annabelle Lee watched them go, wondering which category they fell into. "Sounds hard," she remarked.
"Oh, definitely. But-"
"HUNGRY!"
Out of nowhere, a blonde girl with blood-red eyes pounced onto Patricia's head and started gnawing on her hair. She looked to be about Nikki's age originally, and judging by how enthusiastically she was chewing on Patricia's head, she was in possession of even more problems.
Annabelle Lee reared back in surprise, instinctively holding her arm up to display blades that she wasn't actually wearing. Nikki squealed and scrambled up onto her shoulders.
However, Patricia no only didn't seem distressed that someone was trying to eat her head, she didn't even seem surprised. "Okay, Hungry, that's enou-Ow! That's enough of that."
Patricia lifted the girl up off her head and gingerly set her squirming bundle on the ground. "Hungry, you know better than that," she scolded. "You that there's no food in my head. If you're hungry, go to the dining hall."
Abashed, the girl called Hungry whined up at her. "Hungry…"
"Then you know where to go." Kneeling down, Patricia gave her a gentle push. "Go on now."
Annabelle Lee watched as Hungry scampered off on all fours with a disturbingly Nikki-like chortle. Patricia glanced at the pair and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry about that. She's sweet, but a real handful sometimes." She glanced up at Nikki and her face became troubled. "Erm, would you please put those away? We really don't allow bared weapons inside the wayhouse."
Glancing up, Annabelle Lee saw that Nikki had a knife tightly clutched in each hand. "Nikki, down," she ordered. "Put those away." As her sister sulkily obeyed, Annabelle Lee turned to Patricia. "And her name is…Hungry?"
Patricia shrugged. "It's the only word she knows, so that's what we call her. Come."
The wayhouse's dining hall was about two-thirds the size of an average elementary school cafeteria. There were long rows of wooden tables and benches, with about space to seat roughly around a couple hundred people. According to Patricia, the wayhouse had nearly four times that number, with less than a third of that being staff. The rest were all wild girls they had brought in to send off to be rehabilitated but now couldn't get rid of. Of course, they could just release all the really bad ones back into the forest until the problem was taken care of, but that probably violated some sort of altruist handbook. Annabelle Lee was mostly puzzled as to why they hadn't stopped bringing new ones in when the blockade had gone up. That was the problem with idealists. They meant well, but usually ended up causing more problems than they fixed in the long run.
Despite this, the room was less than half empty. Seeing the puzzled look on Annabelle Lee's face, Patricia leaned over and whispered, "Most of the girls aren't well enough to go out of their rooms, so we have to bring the food to them."
Then you shouldn't have taken in more than you can support, was what Annabelle Lee thought, but all she said was, "Ah."
As she and Nikki approached the line over where the cooks were serving breakfast, she noted with amusement that Hungry already had a bowl and was enthusiastically burying her face in it. Immediately after, she spied something at one of the far tables that brought a rare smile to her face. Oh, this was going to be wonderful…
Breakfast turned out to be fried tomatoes, oatmeal with a dash of honey, and a tiny wedge of hard goat cheese. A far cry from the high class dining they had enjoyed during their brief stay in Cloudbreak, but when compared to standard Void Walker fare, it was actually an improvement. Annabelle Lee and Ticky Nikki loaded up as much as they could (which wasn't much).
"If you like, I can go introduce you to some of the counselors," Patricia said as they left the line. "They're the ones that do the real work around here. Honestly, my job may be a pain, but I'm constantly amazed by how much they-"
"Yeah, that's great," Annabelle Lee said, her path already set. "Maybe some other time. Hey, thanks for the tour, catch up with you later."
"Uh, okay," Patricia said in bewilderment as the Tick-Tock Sisters abruptly left her.
When Nikki saw where they were headed, or to be precise, whom they were headed for, she immediately quailed back. "No, Annabelly," she whined. "Not them."
"What?" Annabelle Lee said innocently. "They're our teammates after all? We should at least say hi."
"But Nikki hates them!"
"I hate them too. That's why I want to go pick on them."
"But they always touch Nikki," her sister wailed. "And Nikki doesn't like getting touched!"
This pronouncement drew some odd looks from those seated nearby. Rather than risk making a scene, Annabelle Lee sighed and said, "Fine, fine. Find us someplace else to sit. I'll catch up as soon as we've touched base."
Nikki immediately scampered off, not to one of the tables, but a far corner and shadowed corner, where she hunkered down like a sulky, blonde Buddha. Shrugging, Annabelle Lee continued on her way to talk to The Twins.
It seemed that out of their merry party, Annabelle Lee was the only one who had managed to retain her outfit. Gone were The Twins' corsets, skirts, and stockings. Gone were their big, stupid hats. They weren't even dressed identically anymore, which had to rankle. Nie had on a red-and-black plaid button-down-shirt and a pair of workwomen's overalls, while Arzt was wearing a black-and-white striped shirt, a pair of grey shorts, and (Annabelle Lee had absolutely no idea how she had found one here of all places), a black beret. The two of them were huddled so close together that they were practically leaning on each other's shoulders, while their legs were taking turns rubbing up on each other's calves under the table.
Annabelle Lee also noticed that there was absolutely nobody else sitting anywhere near those two, and she was willing to bet that this was not due to The Twins taking the time to find a secluded spot. The wary glances people were sending their way confirmed this. Annabelle Lee grinned. No matter where they we or how they dressed, some things just never changed.
At an rate, The Twins were so caught up with their borderline masturbatory conversation that they didn't notice Annabelle Lee approaching until she had plopped down across from them with a cheery, "Gooood morning, ladies! How y'all doin'?"
Their reaction was a treasure. Both jolted up with matching looks of surprise while letting out the exact same squeak as they stared at their so-called "leader."
"You," Arzt said, which Nie followed up with, "My God. What does it take to be rid of you?"
"Funny, me and Nikki were thinking the exact same thing about you two," Annabelle Lee said with a shrug. "But fate seems to have decreed that we must suffer. Nice outfits, by the way. Gone from Victorian prostitute to farmer and a mime. Interesting combination."
The Twins settled down into their seats, their faces now wearing the exact same scowl. "You don't have to sit here, you know," Nie said. "And there was nothing else that fit."
"Yeah, and in a minute I won't be," Annabelle Lee said. She cut a tomato into pieces with her fork, mixed it into her oatmeal, and scooped a large wad into her mouth. Her eyelids fluttered with ecstasy. Plains s it was, vapor depletion made everything taste heavenly. "Buh ah figgered weeshe ood caff umph," she as she shoveled more food into her mouth. She chewed for a few moments, savoring the taste, and swallowed. "You know, since we're teammates and all."
Arzt clicked her tongue. "And what, pray tell, makes you so sure that still holds true?"
Laughing, Annabelle Lee ate one of the tomato slices whole. "You wanna stay, be my guest. I'm sure they could use more washerwoman and vegetable pickers. Hell, Nie's already dressed for the role."
The Twin's faces darkened at the suggestions. "One of the little beasts threw up on me," Arzt muttered, and Nie added, "And another tried to eat my head."
"Who, Hungry? I met her. Cute kid." Annabelle Lee knocked back the last of her juice and looked mournfully at her empty tray. Then she stared at The Twins' barely touched breakfasts. "You guys aren't eating? Because seriously, you're missing ambrosia over here."
Sighing, Arzt pushed her plate aside so she could lean over the table and glower at Annabelle Lee properly. "Annabellle Lee, by chance do you have a reason for burdening us with your presence? You know, other than your sick, twisted amusement."
"Surprisingly enough, yeah." Annabelle Lee glanced around and lowered her voice. "Something's got these people scared, but they won't say what. You two have been awake longer than me. By any chance have you figured out what's scary enough to put a whole wayhouse on lockdown."
Nie frowned. "No," she admitted. "At least nothing conclusive. Just bits and pieces here and there." She pushed her food around on her plate. "They don't seem to like talking to use very much."
Can't imagine why, Annabelle Lee thought. Aloud, she said,"What about our quarry?"
"Nothing," Arzt spat. "Of course there's nothing. Those…horrid creatures are long gone by now."
Annabelle Lee shrugged. She tried to make it look nonchalant, but it was hard to keep the worry from her face. "Once we figure out how to get out of here, we'll find them."
"And if we don't?" Nie pressed.
Annabelle Lee laughed. "Kinda don't have much of a choice there, buddy." She rrose, taking her empty tray with her. "Let me know if you hear anything. Only, you know, make sure it's something I want to hear first."
"Then you'll be waiting for a long time," Arzt said icily. "But if you don't mind some of the other kind, then we have plenty saved for you."
Rolling her eyes, Annabelle Lee left to fill up her bowl and then rejoin her sister. She noted that Patricia's eyes following her and had a feeling that she had been told to keep an eye on the sisters. That was fine. She could watch them all she wanted, so long as she stayed out of their business. Idly, she wondered if someone had also been told to watch The Twins. If so, they were now no doubt sitting as far away from them as possible.
Given the blockade, the cooks were reluctant to give her a second helping, but her recent injuries fortunately made additional rations her doctor's orders. With a freshly filled bowl and cup, Annabelle Lee floated over to Nikki's corner, where her sister was still working on her first serving, in this is case "working" meant using the oatmeal and tomatoes to build monster faces.
"Yeah, that's going to piss off the cooks," Annabelle Lee said as she plopped down next to her. "Pretty sure they don't go for wasting food around here."
"Uh-huh," Nikki said distractedly. "Why is Pointy Sameface a mime?"
Annabelle Lee had to laugh at that, mainly because she had made the exact same observation. "Oh, if only she was." She started working on her second helping. "Never having to hear her screechy voice again," a shadow fell over the girls, "would be…"
She looked up and stopped talking. A member of the staff had come over to join them. She was…
Well, she was.
Thanks to their sadistic natures, savagery, horrifying appearances, and nigh-invulnerability, dockengauts were undoubtedly the most feared of the races that the Incubators had come into contact with But when it came to sheer physical presence, the vaskergoros took the prize. Standing on average almost four meters tall, the vaskergoros were a predatory species, and a damned good one at that. Their bodies were heavily muscled, but they still moved with surprising speed and grace despite their immense size. They had four arms apiece, and were capable of hunkering down and charging on all six if needed. Their faces were vaguely bat-like, with large, squished-up noses; small, beady eyes; and large, wing-like ears. Their teeth filled maws were more reminiscent of saber-toothed tigers though. Fine fur ranging from inky black to pure white covered their bodies, growing especially thick on their forearms, lower legs, and the backs of their necks, though this one had mostly shaved down, likely because of the swamp's humidity. She wore a pair of grey overalls tailored specifically for her size and a heavy black long-sleeved shirt.
Nikki glanced up. "Oh, hi Mundy," she greeted her casually before going back to her crafting.
"Hello," Mundy said softly, her voice surprisingly shy for someone so large.
Annabelle Lee found her tongue. "Oh…hey. You're, uh, Mundy? Patricia said that you're the one that found me."
Mundy's eears lowered and rose, her species' way of nodding. "I hope I didn't hurt you," she said. "But I needed to get you to safety as quickly as possible."
"Hey, I was lying in a swamp getting eaten by hell leeches. I ain't complaining. Thanks."
Mundy's ears twitched again. "I'm glad you're okay." With that, she turned to go.
"Hey, wait!" Annabelle Lee pushed herself up off the wall and floated up so she and Mundy were eye-level. "What are you guys so afraid of?" When Mundy hesitated, Annabelle Lee pressed harder. "I mean, obviously there's more than just covens out there. Something's got you guys running for cover. So what were you getting me away from?"
Mundy winced in a very humanlike manner. "I'm…I'm not sure if it's for me to say…"
"C'mon, please!" Annabelle Lee begged. "We're trapped here too, you know!"
Heaving a heavy sigh, Mundy glanced at her and said, "Don't go into the forest. There is more than one of leech in there." With that, she stomped away, her footsteps softly rumbling through the floor.
Annabelle Lee frowned. What was that supposed to mean? More than one kind of leech? Well, granted, there were probably several different species. But she didn't see how that was relevant to-
Wait.
With a sharp jolt of fear, she got it. A small whimper escaped her lips. Oh no. No, no, no, no.
Not this.
Anything but this.
Mundy hadn't been saving her from being savaged and raped by wild girls. She hadn't been getting her away from hungry predators either. She had been getting her away from something much, much worse. God Almighty, they hadd fallen right into leecher territory.
No.
No, no, no.
No, no, no, no, no, no, NO!
…
Some more time later…
Annabelle Lee opened her eyes. Patricia was staring down at her in worry.
"You should have told me," Annabelle Lee rasped.
Shaking her head apologetically, Patricia moved away. "Just rest," she said. With no other choice, Annabelle Lee lay back into the bed, staring once again at the infirmary's ceiling.
She didn't remember many details, but she knew that she had panicked. The blur of raw terror and frenzied motion, at least, still stuck out in her mind. After that, she supposed that she had been subdued and sedated. If there was any place that would be ready to quickly contain a berserking witch, it would be a wayhouse. However, Annabelle Lee didn't regret her outburst one bit. In her mind, it had been entirely justified. How dare these people hide something like that from her? If they had been that worried about her reaction, then they should have explained things to her back when she had first gotten out of bed, instead of letting her wander around oblivious to the danger she was in. It was a good thing she no longer had her blades, because if she did, she just might…
Annabelle Lee slept.
When she awoke again, it was early morning, if the grey light seeping through the window was any indication. Still angry, Annabelle Lee grumpily rubbed her head as she sat up. This time, she was at least strong enough to wriggle out of the covers to do that at least. She supposed that she should be thankful that they hadn't handcuffed her to the bedpost, but it was hard to summon up any feelings of gratitude.
As she shifted her position, Annabelle Lee suddenly became aware of a small form curled up against her. Nikki was there, lying on top of the covers and fast asleep. Groaning, Annabelle Lee settled back down. They had probably let her sleep there to discourage Annabelle Lee from freaking out again. Either that, or she had knifed someone in the head in her sleep again, and no one else wanted to share a room with her. Either way, Annabelle Lee wished she had a heavy book at hand. Nikki was nigh-impossible to wake until the nightmares started to happen, and those usually didn't occur until later in the morning. Even so, it paid to be prepared.
And then she became aware of the whispering. Glancing to the side, Annabelle Lee realized that they weren't alone in the room. The girl she had seen before sleeping in the far bed was still there, but now she was wide awake and kneeling on the bedcovers, holding a hushed conversation with her doll, which was sitting on the pillow before her. In many ways, she reminded Annabelle Lee of the arms-witch, in that she had long, tangled hair of midnight black and a noticeably pale complexion, though this girl at least looked as if she bathed regularly. She wore a pink nightgown and had unnaturally large, black pupils that glimmered with an unpleasant light. This told Annabelle Lee that this girl was definitely not one of the staff, or would have had the fact that she was talking to a doll had not already made that obvious.
"Uh," Annabelle Lee ventured.
The girl reacted like a startled cat. She spun around and wound up cowering in the corner of the bed with seeming to have moved her legs, her doll clutched tightly to her chest. Her large eyes stared unblinking at Annabelle Lee, their monstrous pupils swallowing nearly all of the whites.
"Whoa, take it easy," Annabelle Lee said, holding up her empty palms. "I'm not going to hurt you. Um, is it okay if I ask some questions? Are you all right with that?"
The girl didn't respond, though she did tilt her head to one side. She had yet to blink.
Annabelle Lee. When it was clear that the girl wasn't going to say anything, she sighed and said, "Okay, you're not very talkative, are you?"
No answer. The girl scratched her nose.
"Okay." Annabelle Lee took in a deep breath and let it out as a bitter chuckle. "Well, of course you're not. This is a wayhouse. Gotta expect the crazy to sane ratio to be a little slanted."
Then the doll spoke in a high, squeaky voice. "You'll have to forgive her. Polly often withdraws into herself when she's had a fright. Plus, she doesn't like to talk to strangers."
Annabelle Lee blinked. She opened her mouth to offer a reply, realized that she didn't have one yet, and closed it again. After a few seconds' struggle, she tried again, but could only manage a strangled-sounding, "Say what?"
The doll shoved its hands against the girl's arms and wriggled out of her grasp. It fell into her lap and rolled down her knees onto the bed. Then it straightened up onto its feet, brushed off its tiny blue dress, and nodded to the dumbstruck Annabelle Lee.
"Hello," it said. "My name is Mary Anne. I speak for Polly when she's unable."
"Oh," said Annabelle Lee.
"Um," said Annabelle Lee.
"Huh?" said Annabelle Lee.
"I speak for Polly when she's unable."
Annabelle frowned. This conversation was going in a wholly different direction than she had expected. "What are…Are you some kind of familiar or something?"
Mary Anne stared at her. "I speak for Polly when she's unable," it said for the third time.
Alrighty then. Annabelle Lee glanced down at Nikki. Her sister was still fast asleep, blissfully unaware that her sister was now talking to a children's toy. Thank God. The revelation would probably completely redefine their roles.
Then she looked up at Polly, hoping for some clue ass to why in the hell she was talking to a children's toy in the first place. Unfortunately, Polly's face was as unresponsive as ever, and was now washed of expression.
"Okay," Annabelle Lee said. "Well, that…that will have to do, then."
"Yes," Mary Anne said agreeably. "I believe you had questions that you wished to ask?"
And then Annabelle Lee saw it. Though the voice was coming from the doll, Polly was silently mouthing the words that it spoke along with it, though her face never changed from its blank look.
Annabelle Lee was starting to get the suspicion that Mary Anne wasn't acting independently, but that Polly was animating it through magic and giving it a voice through some kind of ventriloquism. Which meant that she wasn't speaking to a living doll after all, but that…
…that…
Annabelle Lee sighed. It meant that she was probably dealing with a crazy girl with multiple personalities who was transmitting one of them into her doll. And the sad fact of the matter was that this wasn't the strangest conversation Annabelle Lee had ever had. Or even the fifth.
"Er, yeah," Annabelle Lee said. Well, at least the doll was willing to talk to her. "I need to know more about the leechers in the forest.
"The leechers? Oh, Polly knows a lot about them!"
Well, that didn't sound like it was a pleasant story. "Oh, yeah?"
Mary Anne nodded its head. "Yes, indeed. After all, she was a captive of theirs for two months."
"What?" That didn't make any sense. Whenever leechers got their hands on someone, they tended to keep them.
"Oh yes," Mary Anne said. "You see, she was one of the wild girls that they came here to hunt."
Annabelle Lee had to admit, she had suspicion that that might be the case. "Oh, yeah?"
"Oh yes. You see, soon after her death, Polly found herself lost in the woods, searching for her friends. Her death had been very quick, you must understand, and she hadn't realized what had happened. She thought that she hadd simply been transported to a new part of the witch's labyrinth."
Annabelle Lee glanced again to Polly, who was still mechanically mouthing Mary Anne's words. Creepy. "Okay, but I don't see what that has to do with-"
"And then the coven found her," Mary Anne continued as if Annabelle Lee had not spoken. "They quickly overcame and subdued her, and took her back to their den. They then spent the next three days using her for a variety of unspeakable purposes."
Annabelle Lee blanched. She really didn't need to know that. "Okay, no need to go into detail about-"
"It did not take long for her to become one of them. She ran with the coven. She hunted with the coven. What they had done to her, she did to others that they found, and so their numbers grew. Within two months, she was little better than an animal."
"All right!" Annabelle Lee thundered. "You can stop telling me-"
"And then the leechers found them," Mary Anne said. Throughout the story, the voice never wavered nor changed inflection. It might have been giving a lecture on economics for all the emotion it showed. "They call themselves the Persephone Protectorate, and they are well-armed, well-equipped, and well-trained. They captured Polly and several others, and brought them to their base. She was then thrown into a small cage deep underground with five others. They her out only to stick needles in her and suck all the vapors from her body, until she was little more than an empty bag of skin and hair. She was then given a cage of her own and force-fed until she was well enough to be put back with the others."
Nausea welled up from Annabelle Lee's gut and into her throat. She doubled over, covering her mouth as she desperately tried not to vomit. "Stop," she croaked. "Don't…don't want to hear anymore…"
"And then, after repeating the process five more times, they let her go."
Annabelle Lee's head jerked up. "What?" That didn't make any sense. Leechers never let anyone go.
"It's true," the doll told her. "They had taken her for her insanity, you see. The Persephone Protectorate specializes in crazy drops, but if a vapor source becomes lethargic and loses the will to fight, it decreases the product's potency. So they periodically release their victims and replace them with new bodies. After all, there is no shortage of them here. And should they happen to seize her again, she would have regained her savagery."
"Oh." Annabelle Lee knew of crazy drops, of course. Long ago, a fellow Void Walker whose name and face she no longer remembered had tried to pressure her into trying one. Annabelle Lee had declined, though it hadn't been until she had removed the girl's nose from her face that the pest had given up.
"Indeed," Mary Anne said. "The wayhouse found her soon after. Fortunately enough, this was before the blockade had gone up, and they still had available room." The doll let out a very humanlike sigh. "Unfortunately, their attempts to nurse her back to sanity have been…of limited success. That's why she keeps me around, to speak for her when-"
"She'll find you," Polly whispered.
Annabelle Lee jolted, making Nikki let out a sleepy protest. Up until now, Polly had been continued mouthing everything that Mary Anne had been saying, to the point where Annabelle Lee had started to stop noticing. But this time the voice was different from the one she had used for Mary Anne: it was frayed, cracked, and unmistakably coming from Polly's lips.
What was more, the blank mask had melted away. Polly's face was now full of fear, her large eyes darting this way and that, as if trying to spot out hidden enemies. Trembling, she licked her lips and whispered, "She'll find you. She'll find me. She'll take us."
"Who?" Annabelle Lee asked. This experience was growing more befuddling by the second.
Polly's lips moved silently for a bit, though it wasn't to control her doll. She was just having difficulty wrapping her tongue around what she wanted to say. But at last she managed to stammer out, "The F-F-Fairy."
Annabelle Lee frowned. "What?"
Instead of answering, Polly relaxed back into her blank state, her eyes defocusing and going vague. Mary Anne straightened up and said, "She's talking about the Persephone's Protectorate's leader. They call her the Fairy because her witch remnants have given her a fairylike appearance. It's appropriate, given what she does."
Annabelle Lee didn't like the sound of that at all. "And what's that?"
"Her magic allows her to control people through her voice. It is very subtle, but very powerful, and increases in potency the longer she talks to you. If she says hello, you like her. A short conversation will leave you agreeing with her. A day, and you will feel as if she were the greatest thing that had ever happened to you and that you now owe her an infinite number of favors. And at the end of a week…" Mary Anne paused dramatically.
Annabelle Lee had never had much patience for theatrics. "What? At the end of a week what?"
"At the end of a week, it won't matter anymore," the doll said gravely. "Nothing will matter. She could confess to any lie, and you will go, 'Oh, that explains a lot. Well, I sure you had your reasons.' She could tell you to perform any atrocity, and you will do it, and you will love her for telling you to do it. Every member of the Persephone Protectorate is under her sway. That's why they are so efficient. That's why they are so dangerous. Because of her. The Fairy. Or, to be more accurate…"
And then Polly spoke out loud, her voice overlapping with Mary Anne's as they said the last two words together: "The Siren."
…
It was well past midnight, and Lily was again up late working. With the big attack coming up, there was so much to do: reports to be analyzed, strategies to be drawn up, endless drilling, and three new recruits to be trained. And that was on top of the usual headaches, mostly ensuring that their goods reached clients on time and payments were received in full. Plus, Senator Arristan was breathing down her neck again, fretting about secrecy and public relations like she always did. The irritating part was that she insisted that all their correspondences be done through writing. It was a common demand when one had the sort of gifts that Lily possessed. She knew and understood the woman's fears. It didn't make it any less annoying though. Thanks God she had others to handle restraint, extraction, and production. If Lily had to deal with that nightmare on top of everything else, she would probably go as mad as the raw materials that they had chained up underground.
There was a knock at the door, and Lily frowned in annoyance at the interruption. "Enter," she said.
The door opened, and Janelle entered. "Hey, Boss. Sorry to bother you, but we just came across something you should probably see."
Sighing, Lily leaned back and gingerly massage the back of her neck, easing out the cricks. "Concerning what?" she asked, fearing another headache.
"That Gibson F-22 we found crashed in Sector R-7." Janelle handed Lily a datapad. "The one supposedly belonging to the Void Walkers? Well, we managed to pull up its serial number and traced down the real owner."
Frowning, Lily scanned the report. Then her eyes widened when she read the name: Starlight Motors.
"No way," she said.
Janelle nodded. "Way. This changes things a bit, doesn't it?"
"I'll say it does. Who else knows?"
Janelle shrugged. "As of now? You, me, Erica Hamilton, and Katie."
"The techies? Fine. Keep it at that. What of the ship's cargo?"
"Asleep." Janelle smirked unpleasantly. "You want I should…" She mimed a needle being stuck into her arm.
Lily thought for a bit, but shook her head. "No. Just keep an eye on them. I'll have a word with them in the morning, see what they know." Sighing, she tapped the datapad against her desk. "In the meantime, looks like I have a few calls to make. Thank you for bringing this to my attention. Dismissed."
Once Janelle was gone, Lily leaned back into her chair, folded her hands on her lap, and stared up at the ceiling in thought. Starlight Motors was a dummy corporation, a front for a criminal enterprise over in the city of Marsters, which was the closest non-Alliance city to Cloudbreak. What was more, they were also one of the Persephone Protectorate's most valued clients. Or rather, the people they represented was one of the Protectorate's most valued clients, and Starlight Motors was the branch that Lily directly did business with. Nothing unusual there, but what was of interest was precisely which criminal enterprise Starlight Motors was owned by.
Even with the girls' story, Lily couldn't see what was so valuable about those four that the Withering Lands would cooperate with the Brothel off all organizations to acquire them. Lily knew that there was some sort of business agreement between the two, but this was still some heavy stuff. She would have to tread carefully. The Void Walkers did not take kindly to others knowing their secrets, and the Brothel furiously protected their clients. Compared to them, the Persephone Protectorate was a flea to be swatted should they pose a potential leak. A useful flea insofar as the Brothel was concerned, but Lily wasn't under any illusions that they would support them over the Void Walkers.
After some more consideration, Lily cleared her desk away and turned on the built-in computer and communications array. It was time to make some calls. This was a precarious situation, yes, and one misstep could mean the end of her whole organization. But if she played her cards right, then this could turn out to be a very profitable venture indeed. And Lily was very, very good at cards.
…
Hey, I'm back. Sorry about the two-month wait. So, for everyone that didn't catch the latest IM chapter, what happened is that after the last RD chapter went up, that insomnia problem I mentioned became fully chronic. As if in, I was only able to sleep maybe about two or three nights out of the week while becoming all but immune to over the counter sleep aids. Not a fun time, I admit, though I suspect that that's my receipt for all the incredibly dumb things I've been doing for the last few years to write as fast as possible. So yeah, take it from me: Monsters + crapton of Zzzquil and Melatonin + super late hours every night is a bad, bad idea.
Everything's fine now, though. Finally went to the doctor and got a real prescription, so that's helped tons. Also completely readjusted my schedule so I can keep writing without caffeine while having earlier bedtimes. And I've got to admit, in addition to being much healthier the new method is actually far more efficient than the old one was. Wish I had thought of it sooner. So yeah, everything's cool now.
Anyway, here's the reason why I originally wanted this adventure to take place later in the story: because it's pretty much an inverse of the old, "Heroes and recurring antagonists stumble upon an already active conflict and take sides. Heroes go with the good side, antagonists go with the evil side." Normally this sort of thing really should be used after some more plot and character development, but I just couldn't think of anything else. So, meh.
And congrats to everyone who correctly predicted that Lily was evil. ;) Especially ArmorOfGeddon, who managed to predict everything: up to and including her siren powers. That was impressive. And as for everyone who didn't…Oh, come on guys! I literally went to a list of common Mary Sue traits while creating her character! I thought I was being super obvious here!
Okay, okay, just kidding (about the being upset thing, I mean. I really did go to a list)). Though I have to admit, I was giggling a fair bit after the last chapter went up. :P
Also, just to clear up one misconception that got brought up a couple times: the Persephone's Protectorate armor actually isn't a Halo reference. I don't even play Halo. I just figured that a military-esque force operating in a highly dangerous area would require some sort of specialized armor that would afford them protection but still allow them to move around without encumbering them, and given that technology has had a long time to develop, it would come off looking rather futuristic. And since it was in a forest, I had it be colored green. As for why they were using guns instead of their own magic weapons, it's because given how draining using magic in combat can be, it's simply more practical to use a non-magic weapon first and then turn to magic afterward. So, hope that clears that up.
Until next time, everyone!