Spoiler Alert –contains movie scenes and stuff (if you haven't watched the movie then I don't know if my fic is making sense to you, however this is a warning in case you are one of these people )

Ride the Fury

Chapter 4 – Race the Sun

Furiosa shook Tempest awake and pulled her still sleepy sister to her feet. They had to move quickly as they would need to collect Immortan Joe's wives as soon as they could. It was a speech day and Immortan Joe always woke with the sun to prepare to speak to the Below People and bestow on them the life giving water.

Tempest slung her travel prepared bag over her shoulder and quickly tied her boots closed, they would have to hurry as Furiosa was set to leave as soon as the speech was finished. Furiosa had her battle gear already strapped and her mechanical hand clipped into place. Tempest pushed her hood over her head and shadowed her sister down the corridors, ducking away from Servitude or young War Boys who worked in the Sun Spire and were hurrying to finish the preparations for the speech.

They made it into the Abode with no one from the Citadel seeing them and Tempest felt her optimism rise from that small success. Immortan Joe's wives were ready to do, they were dressed in similar clothing but had a smuggled Servitude cloak over their shoulders and hoods to conceal their faces. Tempest and Furiosa did not speak, though they did fare well History Woman who would try and stall Immortan Joe if he learnt of his wives disappearance.

The seven women made their way to the loading dock where the War Rig stood proud and strong, waiting for its final cargo before it would be lowered to the Below Ground and set off along the Fury Road. Tempest was surprised to see that there were no War Boys doing last minute checks on the Rig or the surrounding Battle Vehicles, she turned a curious look at her Sister but Furiosa ignored her.

Splendid was helped inside the Rig first as her swollen belly made it harder for her to fit and also to find a comfortable place to rest. Capable followed her, the red headed woman helped to support Splendid so that the blonde woman's back would not hurt.

The Dag pushed in front of Toast and Cheedo angry but eager to get inside so that if someone did accidentally walk past the loading dock, she at least would be hidden away and safe. Toast glared at the tall slender blonde but helped the youngest wife into the rig before she followed. Tempest helped to close the entrance hatch and held it against the rig while Furiosa fired up the welder and melted the entrance shut. Furiosa then threw the unneeded tools away and grabbed her sister's shoulder roughly, manoeuvring her towards the cab of the Rig.

"Get in and stay down until we set off along the road, then check the passage from the cab to the rig to make sure that it's safe enough for the wives to travel through if we get caught in a fire fight." Furiosa ordered, her voice cold and with such authority that Tempest did not even try to speak or ask questions.

The hole in the cab floor was small and sharp edged, Tempest opened up her travel bag and pulled out a roll of bandages to blunt the cut of the metal. She then hunkered down to wait. The place she was sitting in was cramped and dark and smelt strongly of oil and gas. She hoped that everything would go well, that they would escape and that no War Boys would die. Tempest closed her eyes tight to hold back the tears that had sprung to her eyes, she was intelligent enough to know that they were going to have to kill War Boys to get their freedom. She just wasn't sure if she could justify her life being more important than another's. The only good thing she could think of was that Nux was stuck with his Blood Bag and would not be part of the retrieval team when they came to try and bring Immortan Joes wives back.

A loud grumbling shook the Rig and Tempest almost cried out when the Rig moved, it was only when her mind caught up with her heart that she realised they were being lowered to the below. Tempest trained her ears and she could hear War Boys shouting and yelling in excitement. This was it, if they were being lowered then it meant that the final checks had been done and none of the stowaways had been discovered.

A clank and a thud and the War Rig was ready to be started and to head away from the Citadel. Tempest could see Furiosa's leg and the underside of the driving console from where she sat, huddled and cramped. Furiosa was tense, her face hard and axel grease painted her face. "Stay down and keep quiet, don't speak at all," Furiosa said over the thrum of the War Rigs engines.

Tempest ducked her head down to rest against the cool metal as the Rig lurched forward and then took off down the dirt road, speeding away from the Citadel and surrounded by the quicker and more agile Wav Vehicles, fire stick springing from the backs ready to be used. With the Rig moving across the dirt Tempest became aware of just how uncomfortable it was to sit in a metal can that shifted and bumped and shook, that sounded incredibly loud in her ears and that was slowly heating in the unforgiving sun.

Making herself as comfortable as possible Tempest waited in silence and tried to keep her mind from thinking about anything. It didn't work very well, the darkness and the rumbling made her feel uncomfortable and so she tried to think of something comforting…her mind brought up the image of Nux smiling at her, his bright blue eye shining, his strong hands holding her. Her heart rate slowed and she sighed happily as her mind replayed every meeting the two of them had had. She frowned when the image of him strapped to his Blood Bag flashed across. She had said she would see him the next day.

She wondered what Nux would think when she didn't come to the Workshop or when she didn't come to unhook his Blood Bag, or when she never came to see him again. Her heart turned to led and fell to her stomach making her feel sick and cold. Her hands tingled and sweat beaded on her forehead. Tempest hadn't even said fare well to Nux, she hadn't promised to meet him in Valhalla. She felt tears gather and fall from her wide, staring eyes and she allowed herself to cry silent tears of sadness in an opportunity missed and a friendship lost.

Tempest was startled when Furiosa threw sometime at her head and pointed back towards the Rig, "You can go and check on the wives but come back to report to me." Furiosa did not look back from the road as she spoke to Tempest as she could see Braccus moving across the Rigs back to speak with her.

Tempest ducked down into the hole that she was sitting in and found the passage out of the cab. It was a very tight squeeze and she hoped that the wives because of their slender builds, would be well enough to move through it. The path opened up to the small metal gangway that connected the cab to the rest of the Rig. Checking that there were no War Boys near her or looking her way she quickly slithered across the metal and towards the tight, dark opening of the rig. Tempest pulled herself inside of the rig and had to quickly block the strike headed for her face. Looking up from behind her arms Tempest was surprised to see both Toast and Capable with raised fists, behind them Splendid held a metal bar aloft while Cheedo cowered and Dag protected Splendid's belly.

"Sorry, I should have told you I was coming in. It's a very tight squeeze and not much room. You will have to stay here for now. If there is fighting and Furiosa needs you to come to the cab I will come and get you." She looked around the dark space, a few punched holes in the metal allowed for pin pricks of light to filter in.

"It's hard to breathe in here and it's boring." Dag complained as she pealed herself from Splendid's belly, she caressed the bump and then sat back with a deep frown on her face.

"Boring is good." Tempest reassured, exciting meant War Boys dying and the War Rig being shot at. She quickly shuffled over to the many bags packed in with the wives and found the extra bag of food Furiosa had smuggled. Throwing the bag behind her to Capable she sat back to observe the wives.

Capable opened the bag and started to hand around the food, giving the nicer portions of road bread and cheese to Splendid to eat. They worked well together as a group and they supported each other. Tempest supposed that as the five woman had grown up together and lived in the Abode they would have to get along.

"Would you like some Tempest?" Capable asked a kind smile on her face. Of all of Immortan Joes wives, Capable was the kindest, she looked out for all of the wives. Tempest was worried that her kind heart would be damaged by the end of their journey. The women had led such sheltered and pampered lives that this journey to the Green Place would tests the wives in many ways. Tempest wished it could be easier for them, and for her sister.

"I'm well, I must get back and report to Furiosa. Try and get some sleep, it will help make the ride shorter." She then turned back around and went back through the opening in the Rig and back up the tight tunnel under the cab to pop her head up so that she could speak with Furiosa.

"The Wives have been fed, they say that it is hard to breathe, but they are as comfortable as possible. The path might be too tight for Splendid to fit, but we won't know until she tries."

When Furiosa did not comment on her report Tempest lifted her head up to get a better look at her sister driving. She was staring straight ahead, lips drawn into a thin line and her eyes watered from the sun. "Is something wrong?" Tempest asked, her sisters grip on the wheel was excessively tight and she worried that Furiosa might break her hands. Furiosa ground her teeth together before glaring over her should at Tempest.

"Did you tell anyone that you were leaving?" the accusation confused Tempest and she shook her head.

"No, I told no one…why?"

"We have only just left the Fury Road to head to Bike Gang territory and already the beacons are signalling help from Gas Town and Bullet Farm. They are calling us rogue traitors."

Tempest slumped back against the metal wall of the cab and shook her head, trying to make sense of what Furiosa was telling her.

"I didn't tell anyone anything Furi, why do you think I would?"

Furiosa shifted her grip on the wheel and hunched forward, trying to contain her anger. "I see how close you are to Organic Mechanic and the War Boys, I see you always smiling at them. I think that you weren't able to leave without telling them something."

Tempest dashed the tears from her eyes with her fists and shook her head.

"It wasn't me." She whispered and tucked herself more securely inside the hole in the cab, hoping to stop her heart from being disappointed that her sister did not believe her words.

Furiosa ignored her as Braccus appeared at the window again to point back towards the Citadel and the Fury Road. On the horizon they could just make out the War Party headed their way, the glinting silver monstrosity of a war vehicle was Immortan Joe's chariot of fire. The Band Wagon was with them as well, Guitar Hero hooked up to his bungees and playing the death march.

"What have you done?" He yelled, frightened. He had looked back towards the approaching War Party and didn't see Furiosa snap her hand out and punch him in the face. Tempest looked up in time to see his surprised face before he fell from the side of the Rig. She looked at Furiosa startled when her sister opened fire on her own War Party. She swerved the Rig and hit one of the war vehicles, it flipped and exploded sending heat and the smell of gas washing through the cab of the Rig.

Tempest couldn't even move or make sense of what she was seeing. Bullets and fire sticks hit at the cab of the rig but Furiosa was so skilled that she was able to manoeuvre the Rig into position to hit and flip more of her War Party. None of them had had time to spray the Chrome or say the oath…all of them had been bad deaths. The noise was terrible and the heat and smell and blood would cause her to never forget her first War Party fight and she felt guilt and sadness sit high in her chest and choke off her breath.

"-get up here, Tempest GET UP HERE!" Tempest jumped and hit her head on the metal painfully, she felt it scrape against her skull and burn. She pulled herself out from the hole, her ears strangely felt stuffed with cotton and it was hard to hear the whoomp of an explosion or the rata tat tat of gunfire. Tempest hooked herself into the passenger seat and looked over at Furiosa. Her sister was driving with her mechanical hand and shooting with her good one. "Re-load the guns" Furiosa yelled, throwing a spent shotgun at Tempest and going for the hand gun from the box next to her seat. The box was filled with guns, knives and bullets.

Tempests hands trembled and she couldn't breathe properly. She struggled to load the gun and then she placed it in the box and got the next gun. She kept her head down and tried to keep her eyes only on the task. She jumped and dropped the gun she was reloading when Furiosa screamed in fury and wrenched the wheel of the rig to the left to ram into the approaching War Vehicles.

"PICK IT UP!" Furiosa cursed at her and Tempest tried to hold in her sobs as she dived for the gun, quickly reloading it and returning it to the box. She looked up out the windshield and recoiled in shock and the wall of red dust coming rapidly towards them.

"Furi stop, STOP! The red dust kills everything." Tempest said, she grabbed at Furiosa's arm to get her attention and in that moment she caught sight of the War Vehicle that Furiosa had been trying to get rid of. The War Boy that was driving had brilliant blue eyes and a catching grin. Tempest turned her eyes to the front of the vehicle and saw the Blood Bag strapped to the front and her heart lurched painfully in her chest. "no…Furi please, not Nux."

Furiosa snarled at her and shot at the War Boy riding the back, "they are trying to kill us and you want me to stop?" Furiosa laughed humourlessly, "Get your head together and RE-LOAD THE GUNS!"

Tempest shook so much that she thought her whole body would shake apart. She picked up the next gun and refused to look anywhere else but her hands. If she didn't look out the window she would not see the red dust approaching them, nor Nux trying to kill her sister.

Imperator Furiosa rode right into the dust storm, the huge tornadoes of dust and lightning fire swirled around them and she forced the trailing war vehicles to die deaths of explosion and fire and blood. She bared her teeth in victory and looked at nothing else that the hoped for end of the red dust. She did not look away when she heard her sister cry out in grief when the war vehicle holding her War Boy Nux crashed and burned, and she did not look away even as the War Rig spluttered and choked to a stop. Furiosa waited to see if any of their enemies that had followed them had survived, she waited for the red dust to move on and she waited for Tempest to stop crying as if her heart had broken into a million pieces.

xxxXXFURYROADXXxxx

Immortan Joe's wives were finally free of the small rig space they had stayed in while Furiosa fought for their freedom. They pulled out the bolt cutters and cut off their chastity belts and chains that marked them as belonging to Immortan Joe. Splendid was happy to finally clean the dust from her skin and the other wives happily washed themselves in the precious water.

Furiosa was trying to clear dust from the pipes and engine of the war rig and ignoring Tempest who refused to leave the passenger seat in the cab. Capable had tried to talk to her but Tempest had turned her head away from them to stare at her hands in silence, tears still falling from her grey eyes.

Tempest was still sitting in the cab when the door was wrenched open and a strange man stared back at her, gun pointed at her face. "Out," he mumbled, his face twitching and his hands shaking. Tempest was so surprised to see someone other than her sister or Immortan Joes wives that she did what he said. She climbed over the gun box and slid over her sister's seat and out of the door. The man grunted, jumped into the cab and slammed the door. He started the war rig up and then left Tempest watching the strange man drive off with their only transportation.

"Joe comes," Splendid said, her voice wavering in fright.

"Maybe he'll take us back," Cheedo said and she turned towards the oncoming horde of war vehicles.

"What do we do Furiosa?" Splendid asked, turning to their rescuer.

"Pick a spot and run," she said and then took off, not once looking back.

Tempest watched as one after the other Joes wives followed Furiosa towards the disappearing dust trail of the War Rig. She did not know if she wanted to follow anymore, she felt hollow inside and the thought of more fighting was making her want to lie down in the sun and let it make her fade away.

She was so startled by the hand on her arm that she flinched away and looked up. Blue eyes, pale skin and a familiar smile stopped her short.

"Nux?" she asked and before she was aware of what she was doing her hands were cupped around his cheeks and she was staring into his eyes unable to believe that he was truly there.

"Come, let us get back to Immortan Joe." He said and grabbed her hands from his face and started to pull her towards the approaching War Party. Tempest took a few steps with him before she stopped and pulled away from his grip to face the direction Furiosa had gone in. "Tempest Serene."

"I…I can't go back, Nux I must follow my sister."

The War Boy looked confused for a moment before he lunged at her, tackling her to the ground and pinning her beneath him. "I have to go, please Nux I have to go." She whispered through her tears, her heart splitting down the middle between her need to be with Furiosa and help her sister get to the Green Place and her want to be with Nux who made her feel safe and happy and seen.

Nux pressed his forehead to Tempests, his blue eyes fierce and strong.

"Stay…with me."

xxxXXFURYROADXXxxx

TBC

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