Yes, I am back, with one of the most important chapters of the story! (I think you can guess why from the title). Anyway, moving onwards...

RECAP:
Lovino and Feliciano are on Rela, and Lovino has decided to tell his brother the truth
Lukas and Emilia are ? (who knows)
Tori has joined the crew of bounty hunters, and Gilbert is uncomfortable with it (for some reason? that may be revealed? such mystery?)
The Resistance fighters are planning to rescue their friend from pirates

WARNINGS: (SPOILERS) Mentions of incest (quite a few), language, some odd conversations. Also if you don't like the first 'confession' in this chapter, soz. It sort of came about when I was planning this story, and is an important part of the character's past and future. Sorry if it makes anyone uncomfortable (hell, it makes me uncomfortable), that was not my intention!

The most traumatising experience of Gilbert's life really only occurred because of a pineapple. That was the most poignant thought he had about it at the time. Later, he would have the time to consider it a bit more, but at the time… well, yeah. A pineapple. He didn't even like pineapples, so maybe it was a definitive sign to avoid them.

Oh yeah, and Tori. It was also fucking Tori's fault.

28th Janwir

Tori had been a part of their crew for what, four days? Boy, it felt more like four years. She slipped into their routine so easily it was like she had always been a part of it. All of the others loved her (especially Feliks, god fucking dammit was that bastard infatuated. Tori could have told him to murder someone, and Feliks would have asked how violent she wanted it to be.) but whenever Gilbert found himself alone or remotely close to being alone with her, he tried to exit that situation as quickly as possible.

Matthias had told him to be nice to her because Feliks liked her, but Gilbert and Feliks got along about once a year, so that was a stupid thing to try to tell him. If Gilbert and Feliks were fighting all the time, having known each other for years, what was it that made Matthias think that a girl he'd met like a week ago, who was a close friend of Feliks', would garner offers of kindness from him? Seriously, Matthias had the disposition, personality and expectations of a golden retriever. And Gilbert loved dogs, but some of them (like Matthias) were fucking stupid.

In addition to fitting in well, the reason that it felt like Tori had been here for years was that so much drama and random shit had happened since she'd joined them that it could not physically have occurred in less than 100 hours. They had gotten deep into their vodka stash while they were celebrating Tori joining their crew, and when they woke up the next morning, Antonio had been duct-taped to the ceiling, Francis was wearing three pairs of pants, one of their windows was covered in glitter, and their steering wheel was missing. The rest of the morning had been a group of hungover people (save for Louise, because Gilbert refused to let his baby sister drink in excess) trying to find and reattach their steering wheel (so they could, you know, steer the fucking ship), getting Antonio down from the ceiling (the entire duration of which Antonio just made bad puns until they threatened to leave him up there) and scrubbing their windows. And that had been day fucking one.

Things had gotten progressively weirder, and though yes, some of what had happened had been incredibly entertaining; such as when Francis had been cussing out Alfred, and Tori had put her hands over Louise's ears to 'protect her innocence', even though she was a whole year younger than Gilbert's sister; and when Tori had faceplanted on the floor, and stolen Ivan's shoes when he laughed at her, beating him with them when he tried to get them back. But today's dilemma took the fucking cake.

Tori and Ivan had decided that the control room was the best place to have an argument. Gilbert was a bystander in this particular situation, and an unwilling one; he'd been eating his lunch while trying to fix the fuses for the lights in his room, which kept flickering on and off without prompting. Tori and Ivan had entered the room arguing, and upon spotting him, had tried to get him to decide who was right and who was a complete idiot. Their argument had continued to escalate, to the point that Tori had produced a pineapple from her pocket (at this point, both Ivan and Gilbert had exchanged the same, perfect 'why the fuck' expression) and threatened to throw it at Ivan's face, which Gilbert had to admire, especially considering that Ivan was a good foot taller than her and a lot stronger.

Ivan had continued to scoff about her being wrong, and the words exchanged had become more and more charged until Tori made good on her threat.

And now Gilbert was on the ceiling, staring at the shattered panel, wondering how fruit could do so much damage.

Tori was screaming, Ivan was shouting a great deal, and no doubt the rest of the ship was doing the same, considering that it was now doing a barrel roll at 32,000 kilometres an hour. The worst thing was not the spinning, it was that their gravity field was still on, so they were being thrown around like ragdolls. Gilbert felt a metal bar slam into his side and grabbed a hold of it, desperate to avoid getting his spine broken by the violent movements of the ship. He could hear Matthias screaming outside the control room, and suddenly his movements slowed. He almost sobbed his thanks at that point. Matthias must have turned off the ship's gravity.

He released the bar and spun in mid-air, having spent enough time in zero-gravity to know how to get around. He faced Tori, who looked completely out of her depth, squirming in mid-air.

"What the fuck did you do?" he yelled, propelling himself toward the damaged control panel even as he said it. Her eyes were wide, and though she was clearly apologetic and terrified, he shoved her roughly out of the way, ignoring her shocked, fumbled apologies. He cursed. It was an important panel of wires and fuses, which helped support the propulsion and direction of the ship. No wonder they were in such a shitty situation. He could see severed wires and shattered disks and gears. This was going to take ages to fix, and Gilbert certainly didn't have the skill to do it. Louise might, but he wasn't sure if she had ever fixed any of these specific panels before; the chance that she might damage them further was too great.

He almost screamed in frustration, turning away, sending a nauseous-looking Tori a vicious glare before clambering out the door. Most of the others were assembled near the entrance. Matthias looked completely bewildered.

"What the hell happened?" he asked, "The ship just went crazy."

"Yeah," Gilbert growled, "Fucking Tori broke some of the components for the ship's suspension and propulsion. I can't fucking fix it, so I don't know what we're going to do."

Matthias frowned, looking deeply troubled at the news. Gilbert cast his gaze up, where there was another window facing outwards into open space. The stars were little more than blurs as the ship shot past them. They weren't going to slow down any time soon.

Alfred, who had made his way into the hall to hear the news, cursed and bit his lip anxiously. Louise looked like she was on the verge of a cardiac arrest when she heard one of the central control panels was damaged. Gilbert shook his head.

"We'll have to try to get into a solid gravitational field to re-orient ourselves and land safely." He said, "That's the only way we probably won't die painfully." They all nodded, looking grim. This was a dangerous situation, and everyone knew it. There was a high chance of death or injury, but they'd done things like this before, so if they could just keep their wits about them, they would probably be fine.

Matthias, Antonio and Alfred made their way to the cockpit to try and determine the nearest planet with an appropriate gravitational field. Louise ducked inside the control room to evaluate the damage, with Ivan assisting no doubt. Tori drifted out, and when she saw him, opened her mouth, likely to try and apologise again. He just scoffed at her and made his way toward the cockpit.

When he got there, the other three seemed to have found a few places.

"Those are our two options" Gilbert heard Matthias say.

"What are our two options?" he inquired. Matthias didn't even turn when he heard him.

"Galee and Misor." He answered, studying the dashboard where a map was displayed. "Likely Galee." Gilbert felt himself freeze.

"No, I think we should try Misor instead," he hurriedly said, "it'll be easier to get the panels fixed."

"I don't think so," Alfred said, "I've been to Misor, and if we land on the side that we would have to land on, it'll be more difficult to get a professional mechanic. It's mostly rural areas. You know, rice farmers and that. Galee's the better option."

Gilbert was shaking his head before Alfred had even finished his sentence, "No, no, no, we should go to Misor." Matthias turned, frowning at him.

"It doesn't make a difference, so long as we get the panels fixed." He said. "It's no big deal."

"Seriously," Gilbert said, even as Matthias nodded with finality and drifted, along with the others, out into their communal area, leaving Antonio in the doorway so he could pilot the ship "Galee isn't a good place to stop, can we please go to Misor? I don't mind rice farmers." His voice was rising in volume and desperation. Alfred gave him an odd look.

"Do you have something against Garvichs or something? They're actually quite friendly, in my experience. And besides, I've never been to Galee, so it'd be fun to finally see it. If this is some prejudice you have, I don't wanna hear it." Matthias nodded in agreement, giving Gilbert an almost reprimanding look. Gilbert stared at him, unsure of how to respond. Ivan, Berwald, Feliks, and Francis drifted through the door on the opposite side of the room, with Tori clumsily following them through a moment later.

Gilbert could feel his whole body reacting to his mounting fear; his windpipe restricting like an iron fist was squeezing it, his pulse was beginning to race and thunder in his chest, and his breaths started to grow more and more laboured. He shook his head almost wildly.

"No, no, no, no, no, we have to Misor, okay? Not Galee, please, please not Galee." He was begging now, but he could mourn his lost pride later. For now, he was trying to make sure his pride was the only thing he lost. Matthias was giving him an almost disgusted look, as was Alfred. The others just looked very, very confused. Gilbert was running his hands through his hair almost manically, his entire body shaking gently. He didn't think he'd ever been this afraid in his life. Distantly, he heard Francis asking Matthias what was happening, and Matthias replying that he had some aversion to Galee and it's Garvichs. He heard more muttering, probably their disgust, before Matthias announced "We're going to Galee anyway."

"No! Please, don't make me go there, please, Matthias, they'll kill me."

Matthias blinked, looking completely baffled.

"What?!" he asked, "What do you mean they'll kill you? Why would they do that?"

Gilbert was clutching his own head at this point, breathing deep but erratic. He looked up and made eye contact with his friend. With his Rywanese friend. Perhaps, whatever his views, there would be some part of him that pitied him. He wished Louise was here, even if she was only his half-sister. He had to force his mouth open, and just managed to utter those damming words before throwing himself to the side of the room, pressing himself to the wall like it would protect him.

"My parents were brother and sister."

Taint (Definition)
Derived from 'Political and Social Terminology in the Saijani Union' by Ankka Merid

Noun:
(1) a person born from first to third degree incest (slang)

Antonio guided their ship to the ground as carefully as he could, and the fact that he managed to land without killing anyone, either on-board or on the ground, was incredible. If Antonio was religious, he would have called it a miracle. His mind was nowhere near where it should have been, but he doubted anyone's was. He stuck his head over the dash, gazing out the front screen at the shocked and curious people approaching the ship. Alfred was right, they were all farmers in this region of Misor.

Antonio had never changed a course setting so quickly as he had after he'd heard Feliks' brief explanation for Gilbert's terror. Switching their landing plans from Galee to Misor must have taken him less than ten seconds. That simple statement was still ringing in his ears, rattling around his head in a manner that was honestly horrifying.

He remembered watching the scene from the doorway, waiting for them to get within range so he could attempt to land. Remembered the stunned and vaguely revolted expression on Matthias' face, but the confusion that had taken over it just a second later. The tall blond had just muttered 'why...?', in confusion, before Feliks had offered an explanation. One that had, as they all noticed, made Gilbert flinch.

"Taints are hunted for sport on Galee."

And that statement had shifted Matthias' expression to absolute shock. Antonio hadn't seen what their leader did next, he'd been too busy resetting their landing sphere. But now that they were safe, their entire ship had descended into complete silence. Antonio exited the cockpit to greet his friends, many of whom gave him thankful nods, glad that his piloting skills had won out over inconceivably bad odds once more. Many looked drawn or shocked, no doubt still trying to process the news about Gilbert.

All of them, anyway, but Tori. She was looking around at their pale faces with a look of utter confusion on her face. She was glancing from Gilbert, to Matthias, to Antonio, to the others standing near the couches, and back again.

"Wait, what?" she broke the silence suddenly, and though her voice was at a normal volume, after the quiet of before, it was shockingly loud. "I don't understand what's going on here."

Matthias sighed, and turned to face her. "A taint is –"

She cut him off mid-sentence. "I know what a taint is, okay? Aralos isn't that far removed from you civilised fucks. What I don't understand is why you all look like your mothers have just dropped dead. We're not even on Galee, so no one is getting hunted for sport, right? And we're all alive, since Antonio landed this metal miracle – nice job, by the way – so what's wrong with all of you?"

Matthias floundered for a moment, blinking at her bluntness. He opened his mouth, closed it, and opened it again, managing to speak this time.

"His parents were siblings. Like, his father was his mother's brother, okay?" Tori stared at him like he was stupid.

"Yeah, Gil just told us that. I'm asking why you all look like a puppy that's been kicked in the face."

Feliks snorted, though quelled his laughter when Alfred gave him a sharp look. Matthias didn't seem to understand how to explain it to Tori. He just gestured vaguely in Gilbert's direction, like he didn't quite want to look at him right now, and managed, "He's a taint."

"Oh," Tori said, understanding in her eyes. She straightened up, able to stand properly given that gravity had reappeared once they'd landed. "You're one of those then?" When she was greeted by nothing but a blank stare, she elaborated. "One of those people who thinks that his existence is a crime to all of humankind." She pointed at him, actually looking at him when she did – unlike Matthias. She sighed when she received no answer, and dropped her hand. She clasped them together and eyed him sharply.

"Did you ask your parents to fuck?" she asked bluntly. Matthias stared at her, looking baffled. She arched an eyebrow. "Did you ask your parents to fuck so you could come into existence?" Tori didn't wait for a response this time. "No, of course you didn't. You didn't exist then, so you couldn't control shit. Your parents made the decision, or maybe didn't, to have sex, probably knowing, depending on the circumstances, if they would get a baby out of it. You can't be blamed for you own existence, do you think that's fair to say?" Matthias, still looking dumbfounded, nodded. Tori nodded, almost in satisfaction.

"Exactly, so you can't be blamed for your own existence, and I doubt anyone else would blame you for it either. You can't blame Gilbert for existing either. He never asked for his parents to fuck either. And you know what? Okay, maybe his parents are a little weird or mentally off, or they just have weird fetishes or something, and yeah, they are siblings, but it isn't Gil's fault he was born, just like it isn't your fault that you were born. If you want to blame someone for incestuous grossness, blame his parents, since they're the only ones who have done something wrong. He hasn't done shit." She shrugged to end her speech, and made eye contact with Gilbert then. "He has nothing to be sorry for."

Francis applauded, and Tori jumped in surprise as he started laughing.

"An excellent speech, though I personally would have appreciated it if you had allowed us a chance to speak before launching into it." He was smiling, and that smile didn't even waver when he looked over at Gil, not even hesitating to throw his arm around his friend's shoulder. "You are all free to think what you want, but I've never really cared about things like that."

And though he thought his mind was playing tricks on him, when Gilbert looked around, he saw Ivan, Berwald, Feliks and Alfred nodding. Matthias was staring at Gilbert intently. He sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"I'm afraid I was raised in a place where it was taught that people like you were revolting, and not to be treated kindly. And though I strive to pick and choose my own values, that one I haven't been able to quite remove. I don't think anyone should ever be killed for something their parents did, though I'll admit I'm not entirely comfortable with the idea of your parents either." He grimaced a little, "I mean, come on, siblings? That's fucked."

Gilbert laughed weakly, "Believe me when I say that I think it's as disgusting as you do. I don't condone it, not at all." Matthias looked up, and smiled.

"In that case," he said, extending his hand to grasp Gilbert's shoulder, "I can live with it."

They all pretended to not be able to see the tears running down the albino's face. He hated emotional vulnerability, and they all knew it. They did have some small drama when Louise entered the room only to be completely shocked and worried when she saw her brother, but they explained the situation. Gilbert was quick to affirm that Louise wasn't like him. They were technically half-siblings, and had the same mother, but different fathers (Louise's obviously, wasn't a close relative).

The most traumatising event of Gilbert's life was caused by a pineapple. And Tori. But it was also solved by Tori. So she was back at square one. But he was more inclined to not yell at her now. So they both benefitted from this.

But, as the entire crew would agree when the costs of fixing their ship became clear, fuck pineapples.

Bibesti,
Rela,
1st Fybwari

Feliciano's silence was worse than any yelling he could have done. Just a minute of complete and total silence, before he stood up, walked outside and sat on the balcony in the cold night air. Lovino exhaled slowly, waiting in case his brother wanted to re-enter their apartment and break his nose. He wouldn't blame him. He'd just unloaded 19 years' worth of secrets onto him. Lovino had spent half a night crying, had given himself some more time to heal, then decided to just do it. So he'd sat Feli down and started from the very beginning, and unravelled every lie he'd ever told him, feeling like a worse and worse person the further along he got.

He placed his hand over his eyes, feeling deeply nauseous. He was distantly aware of the fact that he was shaking slightly. He didn't know how long he sat there before he heard footsteps. He removed his hand from his face. Feliciano sank to the carpet, folding his legs under him. He stared Lovino down for a moment.

"Show me."

He knew what he wanted without even having to ask. Lovino dubiously looked at his palm, not even sure if he had it in him at the moment.

"Show me." Feliciano repeated, voice sharper. Lovino lowered his arm, unclenched his fist, concentrated.

The pins and needles came again, though they were briefer and milder, considering he had used his gift relatively recently. The warmth gathered in the centre of his hand, and after a moment, a small flame sprung to life, dancing across his calloused skin. It grew until the flames swung and twirled along his fingers, not even coming close to harming him. Feliciano silently reached out and turned his palm so that it was facing him like he was requesting a high-five. He watched it a moment before reaching out to clasp Lovino's hand in his, trapping the flames between their palms. Feli didn't react at all, evidently not in any pain. He withdrew his hand after a few moments, and stared at his unmarked skin.

"I'm an idiot." Was all he said. Without another word, he rose and made his way back out to the balcony, sitting down and curling in on himself again. Lovino waited a few minutes. When it became evident that his brother wasn't coming back in again, he rose from the floor, picking up a blanket as he went. He silently entered the balcony and draped the blanket around Feliciano's shoulders before returning inside. Mentally and emotionally exhausted, he stretched out on the couch and let his eyes fall closed.

He didn't hear Feliciano come back inside.

He woke without prompting, and stretching, content for a full millisecond before the events of the night before came crashing onto him. Lovino searched their entire apartment, but Feliciano was nowhere to be found. As if he wasn't already panicking before, now he was borderline hysterical. He bolted outside without hesitation (barely remembering to close all eight of their locks) and darted down the hall. He promptly threw open Sadik's door and charged inside. The groggy Qyyytish man was able to tell him nothing about his brother, and just told him to get out, throwing a shirt at him while averting his eyes again; Lovino had been in such a mad rush he hadn't even noticed that he'd left his apartment shirtless. He dragged it on and darted downstairs. The hydraulic lift couldn't move fast enough, and the few lingering in the lobby included no-one he knew, so he didn't waste time asking them if they'd seen Feliciano.

He burst out into the crisp, cool morning air of Bibesti, already saturated with the scents of cigarettes, food oil and wood-smoke despite the early hour, twisting from left to right. He couldn't fathom where Feliciano could possibly had gone. His mind was racing. He wasn't at their own place, and he wasn't at Sadik's, so where?

There was a small, almost perfectly hidden concrete square just a few minutes' walk away. Lovino used it to clean himself up after his fights, or to stash things he'd stolen to go back and get later. He had told Feliciano about it, he was sure. It was normally about a five minutes' walk, but he probably made it there in 30 seconds.

All the air left his lungs in one, relieved exhale when he arrived. Feliciano was sitting atop an overturned fruit crate, holding something in one hand, while the other ran through his hair. He was staring at his reflection in a puddle of dirty water, looking at it thoughtfully, as though wondering what his hair would look like naturally. He looked up when Lovino entered the alleyway, watching him silently. Lovino stared, feeling his worry disperse and his anger silently bubble up. To his surprise, though, when he spoke, he sounded remarkably calm.

"I don't care if you're angry at me, you are never allowed to leave without telling me where you're going." Feliciano stood, brushing dirt off the front of his pants, which were, Lovino noted, the same ones he was wearing yesterday.

"I'm not angry at you." He replied simply.

"Then why would you run off like that?" he snapped, anger finally making itself known.

"Well you gave me a lot to think about!" Feliciano cried out, eyes wide, fists clenched, "I needed some time to process it all." Lovino lowered his gaze for a moment, before looking up meekly.

"And?"

Feliciano seemed a little taken aback by the surprisingly calm response. He composed himself, and picked something up from the crate he'd been using as a seat, before tossing it to his brother.

Lovino caught it, surprised. It was one of his daggers, which he'd bought as a pair. Feliciano held it's twin, raising his chin defiantly.

"Teach me." He said.

"Teach you?" Lovino said, taken aback, "Knifeplay?"

"Everything. Everything you can do. I want to be able to do it too." Lovino looked up at him, shocked. "After all," Feliciano continued, "How else will we win this war?"

Lovino watched his brother for a very long time. He walked over to him, and grabbed his arms, readjusting his position.

"First off, you stand like this…"