Roan was a star burning twice as bright, but half as long. He was in his bedroom, smoking opium. Kyro was somewhere in the shadows, strung out and mumbling to himself. It was the pitch of night before the rise of the sun. Roan felt strange.

"Where's Ugly?" He asked, distantly.

Kyro groaned. "Where do you think she is?"

Roan thought. His brain was grinding slowly. One more puff, maybe it would stop, he thought smiling. What would that be like? "I sent her on a job, didn't I? She's out plugging some bastard. Sendin' 'im to hell," he chuckled to himself. Kyro was silent. Roan was fucked completely off his head. Kyro was vaguely aware that he'd never seen him so far gone. It scared him a little. Roan needed to be the one in control, Kyro needed to be led, needed some god to worship. Then Kyro heard it, a whisper in the dark, "Maybe we should send her to hell."

XXX

Ugly was on an endorphin-induced high by the time she reached the docks. She slowed, something seemed different. For one thing, it was dark. She had always pictured them bathed in light. She saw a figure sitting slumped against a post, smoking a cigarette. She quickened her pace.

"Spot!" She yelled, unable to help herself. He turned and she gave an involuntary shudder. He had a black eye, a fat lip and there was an "X" scratched into his forehead. It brought back a frightening memory. On one of her first hits with Roan, he'd bent over the victim and scratched the same letter into his skin with a fingernail. "X is for Xavier," he'd said, grinning. "You won't forget me, will you?"

"Ugly," Spot said, the corner of his lips twitched up in a painful smile.

She sat down next to him. "Are you okay?" She asked, reaching out to wipe the fresh blood that dripped from the corner of his lip. He nodded.

"I ain't never lost a fight," he said, improving the truth a little.

"How does it feel?" She asked.

"Like it ain't over." Ugly shuddered again. She felt tears well up in her eyes and slide down her face. "You're crying," he said gently, "don't cry." He reached out a battered hand and wiped her cheek.

"What are we going to do?" She moaned.

"You don't need to worry, sweetheart, I'm going to go out there, and I'm going to kill him, and we won't ever have to worry about him again." For some reason, his response caused a catch in her throat.

"You can't kill him," she said. He looked at her strangely.

"You say that like you don't want me to," he said. Ugly felt confused.

"I just…I just…I don't know…" she sputtered. Spot's blue eyes narrowed.

"You don't know? Roan is a crazy fuck who has killed dozens of innocent people, who just nearly killed me, and you say you don't know?" Spot yelled.

Ugly felt like a steam engine was roaring through her head. He was right, wasn't he? But still, she didn't want him to, why didn't she want him to? In fact, there was a part of her that boiled at the very thought of him trying to harm Roan. Perhaps it was force of habit, but something screamed stop him, stop him, he's the enemy.

A million memories accrued over years together flooded her mind. Him leaning over in his bed, brushing back her hair. "You're so special, do you know that?" He whispered in her ear, in a way she couldn't help but believe. The way his smile lit up the room. His perfect stance and dead-on accuracy as he shot an enemy across the room.

"Roan is my family," she mumbled. Spot looked at her in horror and she felt ashamed.

"I guess I was wrong about you," he said. "I thought you weren't like them. I thought you were different. But you're not."

Ugly didn't respond. Spot was silent. They sat frozen as the sun began to rise over the horizon, mocking them with another day.

XXX

Ohh! The tragedy! Seriously, I just can't handle it, such drama!

So, is someone really going to die here? I mean, that seems a little extreme, don't you think? I just know that if they all sit down together, they can resolve their differences! This is just too much drama. I should probably change the title to The Young and the Restless or something.

Anyways, is Roan starting to lose it/ headed for disaster/ doomed?

Is Ugly seriously choosing Roan over Spot, or can she just not stomach anymore bloodshed? If you think about it, it really would be hard to kill one of your friends, even if they were a crazy, murdering fucker who seems to have no problem with the idea of killing you.

Is Spot becoming disenchanted with Ugly now that she seems to be protecting his mortal enemy? Is there any hope for them, or have things gone to crazy?

What will Kyro's role in all this be, now that Roan has stolen the "stoned off hishead" role?

Do you absolutely hate me for being a wicked, wicked writer? And how am I possibly going to end this mess? Seriously, give me hints. ; )