Even as Lady gives the kiss, she knows this woman is a strange one. Something within her resists the Malice, even as the rest of her nourishes it, letting it spread through her body. Lady stands, her eyes still on this strange warrior--until she feels the surge of malice to her left.
The boy is glowing red as the Malice seals his wounds, restoring color to his cheeks. Lady knows she has never given him the kiss and she walks closer to study him. His body has grown since she last saw him, but his face, though leaner, has otherwise stayed the same, and Lady feels the floor giving way again.
She is trapped within the tube again, Will covering her, smothering her, poisoning her. His tube is filled with Malice and inside it, he is completely still. The question 'did you die?' flashes in her mind, accompanied by a sharp, stabbing pain to her heart. What is the Will doing to her? Her heart aches despite no injury and she knows he can't be dead--not with Malice surrounding him, giving him life. The only reason he remains inert is for lack of stimuli.
Suddenly the will from her tube flows out, replaced by Malice. His tube is filling with Will; there's a connection between them, but has she poisoned him with her Will or did he give her his Malice? Quiet chuckles from the hunchbacked man in blue snap her out of her daze, and she considers the boy again. He is like her, tainted with Will. From his body, he is obviously worse off--her malice is strong enough to give her a mature body, while he is still growing. Perhaps he could help her release the remaining malice in this world...it would benefit him as well. With this thought, she kneels and picks him up.
"Let him go!" The red-haired man is holding a knife to the kissed woman's throat, preventing her from attacking. But Lady thinks his course of action might be unwise; the woman's blue eyes are filled with fear and gleaming with a certain red light. "Let him go, don't touch him, don't turn him into a monster, you--you--!" Her eyes widen as though seeing something horrifying, and fear is replaced by hatred as she screams. The Malice overwhelms her so strongly it rolls off her body, burning the man holding her. He curses and lets go, and the woman steps forward, her red eyes boring into Lady. "Put him down," she commands.
Lady pauses. The boy is the same as her, she knows it; he was poisoned with Will just as she was. But the woman in front of her has unleashed so much Malice that any procation may result in a transformation. Not only would a fight be troublesome, but it would be a waste of the woman's Malice. So Lady drops the boy, and the woman takes one step forward, her eyes turning back to blue. She cannot understand Lady's decision, but then, she cannot see what Lady does: the tall figure standing behind her as he raises a large, metal stick. A swift strike to the head sends her to the floor. From where she lies, her hand is just brushing the boy's clothing.
The red-haired man tosses the mallet-like weapon aside. His eyes are glowing red with anger. For an instant Lady thinks he will stab the woman, but instead his eyes fix on her. He steps around the two bodies. "What the hell were you thinking?" he spits out. "Giving her the kiss, that power--she's your fucking enemy!"
Lady looks down at the unconscious woman. She doesn't recall this person; if they had met, it had only been for an instant. If the woman bears hatred, it is of no significance--Lady chose her for the fierce desire in her eyes. What is important is the boy. Now that there is no one to object, she can take him.
Long fingers wrap around Lady's shoulder. With a push she finds herself against the wall, staring into burning red eyes. "Answer me," he snarls.
She makes no attempt to escape his grip, though he's preventing her from retrieving the boy. "And just how do you expect her to answer, Mister Killer?" calls the gravelly voice of the hunchback. "She isn't human."
The glare dulls and the grip on her shoulder loosens. "Fuck this," the red-haired man mutters. "I'm gone."
But when he turns away, Lady reaches out, her fingers lighting on his arm. When the timid brunette left them, she had been killed so easily, by these very same people. This man is like her, like Lady; the journey would be safer with a companion, so she does not want him to leave.
The tall, lean man looks back at her with brown eyes. His hands grip her shoulders as he once more presses her against the wall--but this time he leans in, his rough, cracked lips covering her own. She opens her mouth, letting his tongue dart in for a quick taste before he pulls away.
"Your lips are mine," he tells her, his breath hot against her skin. "Kiss anyone else and damn Malice, I'll carve their body into little pieces. Understand?"
She nods, willing to agree if it means he will stay, and he is leaning in for another kiss when someone coughs.
Annoyance flits across brown eyes as the red-haired man turns to the hunchback. "You got a death wish?"
"Of course not," the stooped man titters. "I just thought you should notice that two of her friends are waking up."
It's the cat and the blond boy that are stirring, coming close to awareness. Lady glances at the boy. Because of the Will affecting his mind, he will not come of his own choice, and forcing him would be both pointless and dangerous. She's been delayed too long. For now at least, he will be left free.