Hey, just thought I would update this thing today, been boming my place with inseciticide all day (flea season) and figured, hell with it. Thanks for lunagoddessoffoxes for her idea, I might just throw that in here. BUT I'M NOT SURE YET!

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"Dis is de place wheres we practice," announced Toki. They had been through most of Mordhaus by now and Joanna was getting a little bored. It was the first time they had met face to face and she had been pretty much all over Mordhaus by now, yet she wasn't bored in the slightest.

"Waits till you see de libroary ys," he tried to say library, but his english, while better than Skwisgaar's, still proved a little difficult.

He led them to the library tower and Jo's jaw fell.

Book, books, books, from the floor to the very top of the tower, well over 180 feet high.

"Yous cans picks ones if you wants," offered Toki generously.

The librarian of Mordhaus, a woman in an executioner's mask and a tank top, came over just then and introduced herself as #100.

"Could I?" asked Jo.

"Of course, sweetie, just don't tell the others is all. Over there are a lot of copies," she said and she pointed towards a series of low shelves over in a shady corner.

Joanna went over and selected the first book her fingers touched A history of Metal, which there appeared to be several copies of. She stashed it inside the plastic bag she carried.

"What's in the bag?" asked Naetasha curiously. It looked like a box.

"You birthday gift. Here, happy 21st!" said Joanna brightly, grinning.

She took it and lifted out the box. It was a moveable dinosaur model that made sounds. Contrary to appearances, she had always been a dinosaur freak as a kid. It was cool.

She hugged her best friend and thanked her.

Meanwhile...

Nathan and the rest of the band were busy. Getting drunk, that was. Nathan, however, abstained from more than a few shots of vodka, claiming he had stuff to do.

"I'm's goings to punchk that ladies," Skwisgaar said through a mouthfull of beer.

With Nate around, Nathan seriously doubted that and if he did get a punch off, Nate would probably do something to his balls again.

"Hey, look at me, I'm ... uhh... yeah... that guy... whoever he is..." slurred Murderface. He was standing on the saw table in the middle of the room.

Nathan merely sat on the couch, amusing himself with nonsense mouth sounds until Toki and his little tour group returned.

Twenty minutes later they did. Joanna loked ecstatic and Nate looked happy to see her friend. He was glad he was able to get someone something they wanted for a change. He remembereed Murderface's birthday all too well. They had gotten him the blackest most worthless gift of all. A box full of nothing.

"Hi guys," said Nate, sitting on the couch next to Nathan. Toki patted the seat next to him and Joanna sat next to him. The guitarist seemed to like her.

"Oooh, what's dat?" asked Toki, motioning towards the box Nate held in her lap. It was way too colorful and depicted a dinosaur.

Nate stabbed it open borrowiong Murderface's dagger and pulled out the model-sized action figure and pressed a button. It began to walk across the floor and roar at random things.

"Wooooww, cools!" exclaimed Toki.

"Ja, dat's cools," agreed Skwisgaar, not really paying attention. He was glaring at Joanna.

Before she could notice him he had clocked her in the back of the head, knocking her glasses off.

"Hey! What the fuck?" she demanded, putting them back on and rubbing the back of her head angrily.

"It's yous faults dat Nate was almost goings choosingk to dies! De Dutch are scum," he said angrily.

"What? What the hell are you on about?" she demanded angrily, her eyes wide, obviously confused.

"Whens we was fighting ze Tribunals, she gotsd hurt and almost chose to dies! You saids "Die for Dethklok"!" he accused.

"Total coincidence!" Joanna broke it up. Now the two were staring each other down, almost forehead to forehead and Nathan wasn't sure which one would move in for the kill first.

Nathan tried to break it up but to his surprise the smaller girl pushed him away. He staggered but not much.

"My friend met you once, Skwiggy! She slept with you! She says to tell you you'r an asshole!" Joanna spat.

Skwisgaar got angrier than Nathan had ever seen him.

"NO I'M NOT!"

"Yes, you are! She's stuck living in a shantie with a kid and you're living in the lap of luxury in Mordhaus!" Joanna accused him.

"Um... is anyone else as confused as I am?" asked Nate.

Silence.

"I don'ts gots no kids! I hates kids!" Skwisgaar yelled back. Now the two were standing forehead to forehead but neither one looked in the mood for a kiss.

Nate got up and wedged herself in between the two and Skwisgaar snapped like a live wire. He began trying to pummel every inch of Joanna he could reach and hit Nate on accident.

"That was a mistake," she snarled and she hooked one foot behind Skwisgaar's knee, pushed down on his flat, skinny chest and forced him to the floor. She sat down on his guy, not caring to be gentle.

"Ooofs!"

Joanna was still trying to get at the blonde so Nathan came up behind her and lifted her up by the back of her borrowed shirt with one hand.

"Let me go, you faggot, drop me!" she started to struggle.

NO ONE called him faggot. It was the only nickname in high school that had really gotten uinder his skin and not because he was homophobic.

He was more than happy to oblige, dropping her where she dangled. He was not gentle.

"I'd say this is the best birthday ever," said Nate airily.

"Sorry," grunted Nathan.

"No. I was serious. This is the most fun I've had in awhile, really," she corrected him. He looked at her face. She was quite serious.

"Would you minds gettings off me?"came Skwisgaar's muffled voice.

"Nope."

"Den could yous?"

"Nope," said Nate, smiling.

Skwisgaar went limp and submitted to his fate.

"You're mean," pouted Joanna, getting to her feet and straightening her clothes.

"No one said I was nice," said Nathan, glaring at her. This girl was really starting to piss him off. Then again, so was Skwisgaar. He wasn't usually a mean drunk.

"Jerk," she muttered.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

Nathan punched her.

She fell on her ass on the floor and immediately got back to her feet and started pmmeling every inch of him she could reach. Apparently, she wasn't a very good fighter because she couldn't reach much higher than his neck.

"ENOUGH!"

Before he knew it, his girlfriend had Murderface's blade at his throat, one of her swords at her best friend's. He didn't move. Skwisgaar had gotten to his feet as well but he looked rather mullish and ashamed of himself. He sat on the couch.

"Alright, I'm sorry!" said Nathan, not wanting to suffer the most metal death ever. At least not yet.

She withdrew the blade from his throat and he relaxed.

"So am I," said Nate, giving him some sort of look he might have missed. She was staring directly into his eyes and he thought he detected a bit of something there, but he blinked and it was gone.

"Ok, ok fine. Geez." said Joanna and Nate withdrew her sword.

"No more fighting, got it?" said Nate.

No one replied but they had certainly got the message.

"Here, have a drink," said Murderface, handing her a large goblet full of something that looked like fruit punch. She took a sip and said, "thanks."

"What did you spike it with?" asked Nathan out of the corner of his mouth.

"Vodka," he replied.

"Metal."

"I know. Maybe it'll calm her down."

"Doubt it," he said, frowning.

"Just watch."

Half an hour later and many spiked goblets of fruit punch later, the change in the swordman was remarkable.

"I've never seen you like this, are you okay?" asked Joanna concernedly.

"Fine," said Nate, her eyes unfocused and her body too lax. She was extremely tipsy and Nathan doubted she knew it.

"How much vodka did you put in there?" he asked Murderface.

"I dunno, why?"

"Cause she's drunk."

"Hell with it, let's all get fucking drunk!" called Nate and she stole Pickle's bottle of vodka and downed what remained in a few gulps. She promptly threw up and grabbed her throat.

Pickles burst out laughing.

"Dude, she ain't used to straight booze!" he laughed.

"Hell, I'm with her! Let's all get drunk!" crowed Murderface.

The booze began flowing freely and with it, they all got lost. Nathan switched his tape recorder on just because. He didn't know what he sounded like drunk.

This party was getting to be great.

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please review!