Idiot's Guide to Babysitting

Day 3

Namarra's eyes wavered as she looked out the car window. She didn't want to fall asleep, but at the same time she was so damn tired. Her body still ached from the explosion and scrunched in the back seat of downed sedan was only as comfortable as the seatbuckles jamming into her back. It was better shelter than the burning playscape she had fallen unconscious near before, but with a prowling Berserker around, "safe" was more of a concept than a reality.

Then again, the Natural thought, shaking her head and patting her cheeks to keep her eyelids from drooping, Lexi hasn't even showed. Namarra had lost track of time a while ago, but it had to have been nearly three days since the two of them had come to Mendel and she doubted Eclipse would have changed back to her normal self. Not without a jolt, that is. Whatever had happened—whether her parents' death was enough trauma to push the Berserker out—was enough to give her other half strength to take over completely. If she had still been in the military, the switch might have been more on the positive end, but sleeping around a bunch of peace-loving Orb and Earth Forces renegades probably appealed too much. But now that she was wandering about with no babysitter, Namarra had to step into the role and shock her back to existence. Somehow, she doubted any normal person would willingly have her babysit a child from here on out.

Her stomach rumbled as she rubbed her eyes, knowing her belly wasn't the only body part complaining, but she figured she should appease something. Opening the car door, she caught herself as she stumbled out, taking a moment to assess the damage before limping off to find some kind of grocery store. The walk was eerily silent and—since her hearing had finally returned to normal—she felt her sore muscles tense at every shifting stone.

Thankfully, she didn't have to walk much further to find a store—a soft whine was what brought it to her attention—but the door was jammed tight when she went to open it. The low drone of an alarm murmured through the crack in the doorframe, just loud enough to be annoying, but since it had been running so long, the sound was wearing out. It sounded more like moaning dog, at the point where someone should put a bullet to its head and stop the suffering.

"Of course," she muttered, taking a couple of steps back and picking up a loose cement chunk from off the street. Tossing it up twice, she got the feel of it and started ramming it into a weak corner of the door. It was long, tiresome, and no doubt causing quite the racket, but it was most likely the closest place for miles. Her injuries still throbbed and scouting out another area seemed like more wasted effort. She would hit the door, stop and listen, then continue until there was enough of a give to kick the doorframe in and step inside.

It was only a small drug store—four aisles in front of a register with cigarettes and lottery tickets lining the wall—but there were three good things about it, food, beverages, and a bathroom. "Oh, thank God," she said and limped towards the back hallway. It was amazing how much the little things were missed.

The alarm quieted the second she shut the door and, welcoming the brief semi-silence, she leaned back against the wall. Her leg throbbed by that point, a painful reminder that no matter what demon swam below the surface, she was still human and very brittle. Cursing, she scanned the room to occupy her mind.

Everything was, surprisingly, clean. For the place being a small store, she didn't expect it to be sparkly and after all the years it had been abandoned, she didn't even think the plumbing would be working. A toilet was a toilet at that point, but she couldn't help the amazement on her face when she pushed down the handle and watched the water swirl away. "For once I'm impressed with my own genetic comrades. Congrats, Naturals, you still have a working toilet on a dead satellite." Laughing, she washed her hands—mainly to get the blood and grime off—and was about to test the dryer when the alarm gave a high-pitched squeal and died. Namarra tensed and refused to move, her dripping fingers spreading a mixture of clear and light red water onto the tiled floor. Most of her prayed for a power shortage, but still seeing the light on above her head made her curse.

Getting shanked on the toilet was so overrated.

Knock, knock.

Namarra jumped. She probably wouldn't admit it to anyone who asked in the future, but her hand jerked to the handle as her heels sat back onto the ground. She covered it up well, but still had to take a calming second before turning the handle. She hid behind the door as she opened it and peeked through the gap near the hinges. Thankfully, Eclipse wasn't there pointing a gun at her, but she did see someone ducking through the aisles, making her—or his—way to the door.

"Hey!" the Natural shouted but the only response she got was the Berserker's toothy grin as she slipped through the door and out of sight.

Namarra should have followed her, but with an empty stomach and injuries in desperate need of bandages—not to mention pain killers—she wouldn't be leaving the store for a while yet.

After walking around to gather her supplies, she set them down on the counter and frowned. A note with some other packaged food was already lying there, the groceries spaced out and labeled as the eight food groups. Frowning, Namarra picked up the letter.

Remember to keep your strength up and lay off the drugs; you're tougher than that. We'll be seeing each other very soon!

Bob

Oh, and don't forget to eat your meat.

The Natural knew what was going to be under the slip labeled "meat" before she even looked, but she still—despite her psychological intelligence—felt her eyes trickle in that direction.

Two more of Melanie's fingers.

"Son of a bitch!"

The Berserker stretched as she walked up the stairs. Screwing with Namarra was quickly becoming a favorite pastime. She had no idea why her comrade had decided to pitch camp in the back seat of a car, but Eclipse was definitely going to make the most of her situation. Opening her apartment on the second floor, she traced her fingers fondly over her bloody signature and shut the door.

Stretching again, she started peeling off her clothes, dancing her way to the bathroom with a trail of garments littering the floor behind her. They were already beat up anyway, so after the drug store she had done some shopping at the mall. The outfits weren't stylish, per se, but she could make the most of them. Naked, she braced herself on the window frame in her living room as she pulled off her last sock and threw it next to the other one. She smiled and waved through the glass to the dangling corpse just outside. "Lovely day, isn't it, Melanie?" She was going to continue the conversation like some puppeteer longing for company, but stopped, her smile flipping to a frown.

A silhouette moved on the other rooftop. She doubted any animals still roamed around so it had to be human based on the size and female, seeing its ponytail flip up then down as it ducked behind some debris. Eclipse would have noticed if Namarra had followed her back, so it had to be someone else. "If that's who I think it is," she growled, "Namarra better not lay off those painkillers after all."

Namarra pulled her phone out of her pocket for the fifth time in as many hours. She had had one bar left roughly five hours and two minutes ago when she had turned it off and knew it would take that much energy just to turn the damn thing back on. She wasn't expecting any calls so she was going to save it for an emergency, but hadn't anticipated it to die so soon. Maybe the grenade did more damage than originally shown.

Sighing, she shifted on the tiled floor and reached up to her earpiece. "Chicabo App, tell me the date and time."

"Date, July 2 Greenwich Mean Time is 1900 hours and our current position is four hours earlier."

"So, 1500 hours? Why didn't you just say that in the first place?" There was no response and the Natural sighed, imagining the Decay shrugging in the hangar. Eclipse had warned Namarra about the potential bitchiness, but, in her mind, machines and personalities really didn't go together. She thought differently now. Rolling onto her back she popped a potato chip into her mouth. "How far are Athrun and Waltfeld from your current position?"

"No one with either name is currently on board."

So, they're not there yet. She had figured as much, but thought she would ask anyway. Groaning, she shifted back over to lie on her stomach when the chip went down wrong and coughing on her back did about as much as drinking water as a person drowned. "What about Lathan?"

"Confined to quarters."

"Dare I ask why?"

"Tried jumping ship when everyone was ordered to stay aboard."

Namarra cursed. He had probably tried to find them or something, especially since their cryptic call to Erika and how neither of them had bothered checking in. Paranoid big brother was being—well—paranoid. It was amazing he survived her whole military career. "Anyone else try pulling together a search party?'

"The Orb Princess."

"That's a given." The Natural took a big gulp of her water bottle, not having enough guts to try anything else in the store. Then again, perhaps that was more smarts than courage given the amount of time they had been stored there. Refrigeration or no, things spoil. "Would you be able to tell if Lexi had contacted the Stealth?"

"Yes, we are the same program so we have a shared database."

"So, have they made contact?"

"No."

Well, that was both a relief and a disappointment. Good because that meant she wasn't sending the Stealth around the ships and wreaking havoc, but bad because it could mean she tore the earpiece out completely. Berserkers weren't above masochism, after all.

"Could you tell me if they were still connected?"

"If the mobile piece was destroyed, Coffee Addict's performance stats would drop dramatically."

"And have they?"

"Negative."

There was a chance it might work then. Crawling to her knees, she sat back on her ankles, staring at the bag with a red cross just behind the counter. "Chicabo, would you be able to talk Addict into something?" It was rather funny how she had been reduced to speaking to her machine like it was another human being. Sooner or later they would probably end up having to bribe them with repairs or weaponry in order to get their cooperation.

"Most likely."

Namarra smiled and shoved another chip into her mouth. "Perfect. I have an idea on how to bring back our charming redhead."

The Berserker had hoped for a longer, more relaxing shower, but with that other shadow running around, she couldn't put her bloodlust at rest. Killing another Berserker was still at the bottom of her list of lifetime achievements so she had to take her frustration out on someone. If there was some wounded prey scampering about, she had to hunt it.

After putting on a new outfit, she headed to the door. Bending down, she double knotted the ties on her knee-high boots and readjusted her black tank top before running a hand through her damp hair. Pulling at her gloves, she left the apartment, blowing a kiss to Melanie's corpse.

Namarra ducked back around the corner when she saw Eclipse leaving the apartment building. She had no idea how she could have missed such an obvious hiding spot but the Natural didn't have much time to wallow. The Berserker looked to be going on some kind of mission, so to speak, and Namarra planned on taking full advantage. Eclipse had even bothered to get a new outfit for the occasion so her trek had to be more for pleasure and pain than necessity.

Namarra inched further behind the corner and listened to Eclipse as she skipped out of sight. Her creeped out meter was still high when it came to the Berserker so the Natural was unsure when it came to reading her moves. Eclipse could be balking and just leading Namarra into a trap, but that was more of a thing the redhead would do, not her other half. It was a small comfort when she realized that, but she still waited another ten minutes before opening the door to the apartment building.

"Chicabo, tell me if Lexi contacts Addict."

"Roger that."

Namarra had seen a lot in her military career, but the apartment stairwell was still a sight. The first things she noticed were the bloody footprints littering the entryway. There was a carpet the ugly shade of puke green, but it was more like a runner going down the middle of the hall and stopping at the first step. The footprints, however, danced on either side of it, the owner probably liking her paint job better than the grey cement. What Namarra found most disturbing though was not so much the fact that the prints were there, more like they were of bare feet and not boots. The outline was so pronounced she found herself stepping around them, not wanting the crazy person to know she had been there.

On the stairs was a dried stream of brown, but Namarra knew better than to think it was paint. Taking a breath, she swallowed hard and put mind over matter when she started gagging from the stench. Poor ventilation was probably a good reason for the smell, and somehow the Natural doubted Eclipse had cracked open any windows. Stepping forward, she took a giant stride over the mushy carpet at the base of the stairs and headed up.

The next stairwell had even more blood than the first, a giant pool of it sitting at the corner base. Taking a closer look, Namarra could see some curlicues off to the side of the pool along with skid marks and a handprint on the wall. More prints were smeared on the way up and it looked like the middle finger was missing from most of them.

"Well, shit."

She checked each room, but all of them were locked save for the furthest one across from the next stairwell. It didn't take long to figure out that was where her comrade was staying. Hesitating a moment, Namarra stared at the designs drawn on the door. Most were just elegant swirls, but the phrase, "Home Sweet Home," smeared in blood onto the door made her mouth grow dry. The trail leading down to a severed finger made her shiver, just thinking of how the Berserker wrote all of that with the handprint's missing middle digit.

"Damn, you're creepy," the Natural whispered and pushed open the door, trying not to rub her body against anything.

A trail of tattered clothing led her inside to a modest apartment. There was a couch, a kitchenette, a bedroom in the back and a bathroom. The clothes led to the bath and—now squirming from how dirty she remembered she felt—the idea of cleaning up didn't sound too bad. If the Berserker didn't shank her on the toilet, maybe the shower was a safe zone too. There were some other shirts lying on the couch and Namarra looked down at her own. While it still functioned as a piece of clothing, the burnt holes were starting to fray and expand, allowing for a nice breeze to chill the ointment under the bandages there. Shrugging, she sat down on the couch and checked them out. Holding one up, she twisted it towards the window and slowly brought it down. Two feet were plastered against the glass and as the shirt dropped, Namarra saw the awkward twist in the back as it arched to bring the upper torso forward. Its knees were hooked over some draping power lines, looking amazingly acrobatic considering the circumstances. The body was black—so nudity was only a guess—and still whole save for the fingers missing from both hands dangling to the sides. The forehead was leaning against the glass as well, eyes merely bloodied sockets and a hole through its open mouth to the back of its head. The flames must have burned the gap wider because it wasn't a perfect circle.

Namarra gulped and slowly stood, feeling the fabric grow moist from her sweating hands. Melanie's corpse was dangling upside down in the Berserker's living room window and the curtains were tied off to the side, displaying the body like a prized animal mounted above a mantle.

"Oh, Lexi, I hope you don't know what the Berserker's been up to." The Natural backed up and headed to the bathroom. She would need to place her trap eventually, but right now she had to adjust to what she was looking at. "I'm gonna shower," she said, feeling it was respectable in some way to let Melanie know her plans. "If you need anything," she paused, glancing at the open mouth, "just whistle."

Smiling briefly, she left the room and closed the bathroom door quietly behind her, not wanting to disturb the dead.

Day 4

The Berserker wasn't sure where to begin searching for that strange shadow, but somehow she knew it would come to her. Call it arrogance. "Come out, come out, wherever you are!" There was no response and Eclipse climbed up onto a car then hoisted herself up to a garage roof in order to get a better view.

She had walked all the way to some housing complex. With the size restrictions on satellites, this kind of a complex was improbable, but sometimes the citizens' happiness was more important. They weren't large houses—about the size of a typical one-story on Earth—but they were expensive. Basically, only the rich could afford such establishments, so what may seem like the low-end on Earth was the high-end in space. The insides were no joke, however, having more useless gadgets than mobile suits built solely for ceremonial purposes.

There were approximately twenty homes in this complex and one of them had to house the silhouette. This place was only an hour walk to a space port and—from what she could remember—near a very ritzy hotel with a ballroom to kill for.

Eclipse frowned with the thought. "Alright, c'mon! Which one are you?"

It wasn't a response so much as a mistake. A car alarm went off nearby, the suspect probably not aware most of the vehicles in this complex had one—let alone one that was working. Looking down at the car she had just climbed up on, Eclipse shrugged. Perhaps hers had died. That one alarm caused a chain reaction, however, making it hard to pinpoint the exact vehicle, but she didn't have to look long when she saw someone running down the street behind the garage she was standing on. Cursing, she looked for the quickest way down. She found the safest, the deadliest, the slowest and the most fun, but none of them were overly quick. Seeing her prey gaining some distance, she took the most risky path.

Leaning onto the balls of her feet, she crouched down and leapt forward. Grabbing onto a hanging branch, she used her momentum to fling herself over the backyard fence and into the next property. It wasn't called the risky plan for nothing because on the way down her boot lace snagged on the top of the fence. Her hands hit the side of the wood before her face did, but she was now hanging upside down with her prey getting away.

"Damn double knots," she grumbled, steadying her body so she could reach up and untie herself. Holding her breath, she swung and twisted her free leg up, hooking her ankle on the top. Now having a hold, she used her arms to help crawl herself up until the knee was hooked between the boards. With a more stable base, she crunched her abs and lifted her upper torso to be at eye level with the snag. The lace was jammed in between two spokes; in there so good Eclipse knew she'd never get it out in time. Cursing, she pulled out her knife, held onto the fence with her left hand and cut the laces. Finally free, she dropped down and ran into the street to see if her adversary was still in sight.

Gone.

"Son of a bitch!" she shouted, kicking her foot and watching with vague amusement as the boot did somersaults in the air. Leave it to some personal obsession to screw her over. But maybe I can make the best of it, she thought, swinging her leg back and forth as she petted the cement with her toes. "Fine then, it's a race. Let's see who can get to the port first." Smirking—feeling a bit better about her mishap—she started humming Heine's song, pumping herself up for the chase. Bending down, she picked up the boot, tightened the laces once she put it on, stretched, and then started at a jog.

Eclipse had been gone quite a while, at least longer than Namarra had expected. It was good because the Natural's preparations had given her a bit of trouble, but the wait was still unnerving. After sifting through Eclipse's new clothes and getting squeaky clean in the shower, she had to find some durable—preferably plastic—twine and cut it into various pieces. She had to tie at least one end to something sturdy and shove the other side out of sight. She hadn't gotten far when she decided to shut the curtains over Melanie's corpse, still a bit unnerved by her eyeless stare. She could understand how the Berserker would find some kind of aesthetic value in it, but Namarra decided it looked better hidden. Now, everything was set, the small, red-crossed case within easy reach and the two CA systems ready for the go ahead. All they needed now was the psycho.

Shrugging—deciding to make the best of the situation—Namarra jumped onto the couch and shut her eyes. If the Berserker had taken that much care to dress up, perhaps she was going to be out for a while. Might as well get some proper shut eye since the backseat of a vehicle is far from comfortable.

Eclipse had been running for a good half hour to an hour, but she had yet to gain any ground on her prey. She wasn't entirely sure how far away her position was from the apartment, but she was determined to take her time walking back. Maybe waste another day or two and let Namarra rot—and heal, for that matter—that way she could spend a little time in luxury and enjoy the fact that the Natural was quivering in the back of that immobile tin can.

Taking a moment, she stopped, cursing the injuries she had obtained and the lack of endurance from all the days stuck in a bed. Both halves were to blame, the Berserker knew, but she hated how fragile her body was. Stretching, she checked her surroundings and frowned when she realized she was in an office-infested area. The business sector meant she was near the port, but somehow the new-found congestion was annoying. More places to look, more places to hide, and more adrenaline to waste.

Grand.

Stretching again, she was about to start up the chase once more when she took a step and the ground shattered, her mind falling backwards as her breath slowed then stopped. A scream echoed in the Berserker's head, growing louder and closer as the time passed, but she knew it couldn't have come from her mouth, because it felt as if a greasy rag had been shoved between her teeth. Blinking, she knew she had to push the darkness away, but she had fallen too deep into her subconscious. Shit, shit, shittity, shit.

"I'm coming back."

The Berserker paused, realizing the screaming had stopped; however, no matter how threatening her other half sounded, she couldn't help the smirk. "Courage is nothing more than ignorance to the weak," she said, her mouth sluggishly muttering the words.

"You can consider me naïve," the voice continued and the Berserker felt a cold hand touch her shoulder, "but never weak." The fingers tightened its grip and a frigid wind blew across her face. Flinching, she tried to see some kind of source, but saw nothing. The presence was there, though, the scariest thing the Berserker had met in years.

"Your time's running thin."

"So says the big bad whisper," she mocked.

Two silver eyes opened in front of hers, eyelashes combing up her cheeks as the pupils focused, stared, then narrowed.

The Berserker snapped back, the darkness melting away to the rural scenery she had come so accustomed to. Staggering, she stumbled over to a parked car and braced herself. She gagged, spit on the cement then cursed, making her way to the port once more. The car alarm erupted behind her, tearing a frustrated scream from her throat.

This time, the Berserker heard Eclipse laugh.

Namarra awoke to the most disturbing scream. Disturbing it the way that her own throat ached with the effort. She had been told of her apparent night terrors, but had never believed the stories until she felt the air scratch against her dry mouth and hear the sound echo against the silent room. She jumped awake, thinking the Berserker was going to be standing over her or something, but—thankfully—there was no sign of her. Sighing, Namarra lied back against the cushions and stared at the ceiling. "I wonder where she is," she said, rubbing her eyes and yawning once more. "What do you think, Melanie?" She stopped herself before turning to look at the window. A part of her feared the corpse would actually talk back and another part of her wondered when the hell Eclipse's insanity had rubbed off on her.

Shivering, she dozed back off to sleep.

The Berserker didn't even see her prey until she walked into the terminal. For the sake of looking like Earth, the space terminals were much like airports on the surface. The only differences were the airlocks, gravity fields and shuttles instead of airplanes. There were still bookstores, bars and luxurious bathrooms, just little more space-conscious. It was amazing how much the outer satellites had tried to copy its original homeland.

Eclipse stepped into the main lobby and took the stairs up to the digital screening area. She could have taken the escalator, but somehow the moving stairwell seemed like cheating and since she had no baggage besides a couple of concealed knives and handguns, taking the steps two at a time was a welcomed diversity from jogging on a flat surface. Taking the hallway next to the screening machines she secretly hoped they would beep or something in order to scare her prey into the open, but she never stepped close enough to set off their alarms. As it stood, the Berserker had no idea where to even start looking. There were roughly seven hangars: two for shipping, two for commercial travel, two for personal shuttles and one left over for emergency military transportation.

Eclipse stood at the trunk of all those branches, looking down each hallway for some kind of sign. Cursing, she didn't find anything until she spun two 360 degree circles and stopped at a small tourist shop. Some of the munchies were messed up and thrown onto the floor near the display. The trash was so similar to the carpet she almost overlooked it, but a corner was bent up against the wooden display, giving off enough variation the Berserker was able to spot it. Looking back down the halls, she saw a piece of the same wrapper and started sprinting towards the shipping docks. Her prey was either sloppy or in a hurry and—judging by her careful undertaking the rest of the chase—she was starting to panic. Leaving a trail was a novice mistake.

Turning the last corner, the Berserker was forced to duck behind some abandoned shipping crates when a bullet ricocheted off the wall next to her head. It wasn't a bad shot, but when Eclipse heard the gun fall useless to the ground she laughed. "Really? You had one bullet left and you wasted it on that shot?" As expected, there was no reply and she jumped out of her cover to dive into a forward roll, only to feel herself spinning towards the opposite end of the dock. Someone had switched off the gravity and—based on the shushing of a shuttle door closing—was about to open the outside hatch. No matter how impressive the Berserker was, she couldn't survive in space in her current condition.

Her back hit the top of one crate, forcing her to ricochet off at a less than advantageous angle. Reaching out, her fingers barely brushed the end of the crate and—by mere luck most likely—the seam of her right glove snagged on the wood. With no gravity, it was enough to stop her momentum but she was still running out of escape paths. Her only real option was to flee back to the hallway before it locked, but since her tumble to the other side of the hangar, she would never make it in time. Cursing, she took off her glove and looked for an alternative. Secretly, she was impressed by the trap, but still didn't make any plans to be turned inside out and frozen. There was a door with a blinking red light behind her roughly a hard shove away.

It would do.

Kicking off, she grasped the handle and turned it, pulling herself inside before the light went completely red and the door locked automatically. Sighing, she leaned backwards and—expecting a wall—tried to calm herself down. However, she tumbled backwards again—she would have to check her sense of balance—and hit some more stairs. With the shuttle still beginning its preparations, Eclipse figured she had a little time to try another sabotage. Smirking, she turned and pushed herself up to the next room, smiling when she saw it was some kind of control room. A large window stood between her and the hangar, the leaving shuttle now closer to its take off.

Finally, some good luck, she thought and stared down at the panel. Rubbing her hands together, she was about to just start pushing buttons when she noticed she needed some kind of password to override the shuttle's preparations. The hatch was halfway open by that time and the craft was already inching its way out. Whoever was on that ship had thought ahead because there was no way the Berserker could figure out the password in time.

"Damn it!" she yelled, pounding her fists against the panel. How could she have let her prey escape? She had never lost to such an adversary; one at least two steps ahead of her. Perhaps she was losing her touch, but even she had confidence her counterpart wouldn't screw things up that badly. "Damn it!"

"I'll…et…for…illing…sist…."

The Berserker glared down at the speaker. Based on that statement alone, she was certain it was the other Lust girl. Namarra had grown weak indeed if she had let her adversary escape. All she was asked to do was kill the girl, but no, she had to let her get away and now she was probably going to skip back to her comrades.

And Eclipse couldn't even track her.

"Fuck you!" she shouted back at the speaker, but knew the girl couldn't hear her since she didn't press the outgoing button. "Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, fuck you!" she repeated and kicked the panel. It buzzed loudly and sputtered some sparks, but nothing could stop the departure, only piss off Eclipse when one of those sparks nicked her hand. The hatch closed a couple of minutes later and Phoebe was gone.

The Berserker was not pleased.

Namarra sneezed and squeezed her arms closer to her chest.

I hope it's the guys who are thinking about me. She sneezed again and shivered. With her brothers in the state of mind that they were, they probably didn't even remember her let alone have a conscious thought about her existence. The people on the Archangel and Kusanagi kind of knew her, but doubted she frequently aired in their daydreams. Lathan was a rare older brother figure, but he was probably more concerned about Eclipse than her rag-tag teammate. So, that left the Berserker.

Oh shit.

She sneezed again.

Day 5

Namarra was bored.

Her mind had gotten tired of fear and went straight to physical laziness. It had gotten so bad the Natural found herself folding Eclipse's clothes and organizing them by color and style on the coffee table. When that was done, she took a break to eat and found herself back at the drug store munching on something close to popcorn. She was careful walking back to the apartment, but there was still no sign of her fellow psychopath.

"Damn it, Lexi! Where are you?" Shouting was normally satisfying, but not even the echo was amusing this time. "Chicabo—"

"No, now stop asking!" the automatic voice bitched back.

She gave another frustrated scream.

The washcloth slipped from the Berserker's eyes, her cheekbones pushing the fabric off center as they rose in a smile. "I think she's getting bored," she muttered, folding her hands back behind her head after she switched the hot tub on for one more massage session. She wasn't as far from the Natural's hideout as Namarra probably suspected, so the scream held a delicious tone the Berserker found herself toasting to. She raised the glass in her hand and downed the wine. Why waste such a good opportunity to do a little pampering? After all, her other half had been neglecting their body for nearly a year, so it was about time the knots in her neck loosened and her fingernails actually resembled something other than crusty red-brown.

Oh wait, that was her fault.

Eclipse smiled as Namarra screeched again and put the washcloth back over her eyes. Let her stress 'd go beat the shit out of her eventually.

In all reality, it was a choice between evils. Namarra could go through with her plan and—hopefully—bring the real Eclipse back, but the hand-to-hand for that fight sounded painful. If she chickened out and waited for Eclipse to come back on her own, who knew how bored she could get and—since the Natural was the only one really around—guess who was the perfect target? Quick torture and possible failure? Or prolonged suffering for—well, she really had no idea.

She was determined to debate it even longer, but finally one of her window staring sessions—the one opposite Melanie's corpse, obviously—ended up being fruitful. The Berserker was walking down the street, her stride a cross between a skip and an angry stomp. It was hard to tell her mood based on that spectrum of emotions, so Namarra just sighed. No matter what, things were about to get very complicated. Somehow, she had to get Eclipse onto the floor and wrap the twine around her wrists. An easy—and probably kinky in any other circumstance—task in theory, but really tackling the Berserker to the ground wasn't going to be that simple. Hell, tackling her wasn't going to be easy, let alone to the floor.

The Natural sighed. "I'm screwed."

There were two options: catching her by surprised and hope to overpower the Berserker or seriously wound Eclipse and hope her medical skills weren't too rusty. Surprise seemed like the opportune plan, but somehow injuring the Berserker sounded like the smarter option of the two.

Sighing again, Namarra shrugged and crouched down in the little space between the back side of the door and the bar. Simplistic? Maybe, but those plans seemed to work better than her more elaborate ones.

Eclipse whistled as she climbed the stairs, an eerie melody Namarra hadn't heard before. Given her wide range of the music repertoire, that was surprising, but she didn't have much time to think on the short comings in her life. The Berserker must have taken the stairs two at a time because she was there quickly, but she took her sweet time opening the door.

Namarra—antsy as she was—took a couple of the steadying breaths, but she hadn't expected the hesitation. The Berserker was smart, apparently.

Too smart.

There was a loud thud and the Natural jerked her head to the side, looking across towards the bar and down a little bit near her left hip. Half a blade was sticking through the wall and based on its size and shape, Eclipse had decided to do some machete shopping.

Shit, she thought and started shuffling away from the wall when the blade started moving forward and then back quickly, sawing its way towards her. So much for the surprise option. As quietly as she could, Namarra looked for another good ambush spot, but the machete had been pulled from the wall and Eclipse was already opening the door. Namarra was stuck in the middle of the entryway, the bar to her right, a hallway behind her and a couch to her left. In front of her was the Berserker flipping the machete up into the air and casually catching it.

"Seriously?" Namarra whined.

"What?" Eclipse caught the blade and shrugged. "You broke in."

"At least you didn't say something korny like, 'Honey, I'm home!'" The Natural rolled her eyes, faking interest and devising a Plan C. Somehow, seriously injuring the Berserker didn't seem like a good idea when she was the one with the big ass blade.

"I figured we were past all the pleasantries." Eclipse walked into the apartment.

"Hence the pumpkin carving in the wall?"

"That's mainly for letting the Lust girl get away. You're lucky I enjoy the personal touch and it wasn't a shotgun in my hand."

Namarra really couldn't argue that one. Turning, she lunged to the side and tumbled over the back of the couch down to the front as the Berserker attacked. Eclipse's first chop hit the top of the sofa, narrowly missing the Natural's left shoe and welding the blade so far in it stuck. Cursing, she ducked behind the piece of furniture just as Namarra threw a high heel from the coffee table at her.

The Natural's attack missed, but it gave her enough time to go for the blade. Stepping onto the cushions she ran back up the couch cushions and jumped down at the Berserker squatting there. Eclipse bailed backwards toward the bar and Namarra grabbed the machete's handle. She was hoping her momentum would help pull the weapon out, but instead it jerked her backwards, the blade barely budging.

Eclipse ran to the small dining table and grabbed the back of one chair as Namarra was regaining her balance. Dragging it out in front of her, the Berserker twisted her body and slung the chair at the Natural.

Having no other options, Namarra abandoned the weapon and dove off towards the hall. A chair leg clipped her left arm as she dodged and the back of the seat hit her hip. It cracked painfully against the bone, but she didn't have time to digest the damage since that throw had dislodged the machete and the Berserker was already two steps from picking it up. Cursing, she scrambled towards the bathroom door—nearest one in the hallway—and held back her panic. She didn't get far, Eclipse grabbing her foot and pulling her backwards.

Namarra almost screamed, but forced herself to think instead. Eclipse was—most likely—pulling her in for an instant kill, so she had to time herself perfectly or—well—have a blade wedge itself into her ribcage. At the exact moment, the Natural twisted to avoid the machete thrust and grabbed Eclipse's hand once the blade sunk into the floor. Digging her nails into the soft part of her wrist, Namarra kicked her free heel back at the Berserker, hoping to hit something. She didn't manage much, but at least Eclipse dropped the machete.

The Berserker—now off balance from avoiding Namarra's kick—tripped over the chair and fell onto the side table, finally making her way face first onto the floor.

The Natural didn't miss the advantage. Standing, she grabbed the twine around the bathroom handle and leapt on the downed Berserker. Namarra sat on Eclipse's back, one knee jamming into the lower back just above her tailbone. Clotho had done the move on her once a long time ago, so she knew how stunning the pressure could be in that area of her body. The more force, the less Eclipse would be able to feel from her waist down. Actually, Namarra was fairly confident she could paralyze the girl if she pushed too hard.

Both hands were trying to tie the twine in a way the Berserker would have limited movement. She was doing an okay job at that, but Eclipse's struggling was becoming a bigger hindrance by the second. Namarra refocused on her elbow, jamming it into the soft area at the base of the skull, attempting to limit movement in her upper body as well.

"Almost there," she grumbled, finishing the last wrap around. She was just about done with the final knot when she felt pressure and pain on her left knee. The leg was bracing her body on the floor and with such an awkward position, she couldn't just turn and look without seriously injuring Eclipse. "Son of a—" Gritting her teeth against her bottom lip, she focused on the knot.

"Chicabo, now!" she yelled. Her suit must have complied because suddenly there was a loud "Zap!" from Eclipse's right ear. Namarra had moved her elbow just after she gave the command, not wanting to snap her comrade's neck. The jolt might as well have done her in, however, because her head jerked sideways so quickly and so awkwardly she thought she was dead on the spot. Instead, the pain in her knee increased, forcing her to lean over and bail off.

"You motherfu—" Eclipse began, but another jolt—and the twine around one wrist—crumpled her flat on the floor.

"Holy shit," the Natural breathed, glancing down at her left knee and seeing a blue dot there with the pen not too far away. It must have fallen off the side table when Eclipse hit it and Namarra was more than impressed with the Berserker's resourcefulness. The pen didn't go deep enough to puncture the skin, but it was mostly an attack to the pressure point anyway.

Eclipse recovered while Namarra was checking the wound and was lunging at the Natural before she could get up a defense. "Ch-Chicabo!" she yelled again, noticing how Eclipse's eyes had failed to go back to normal.

The Berserker managed a hold, sitting on the Natural's stomach with her one arm bent awkwardly behind her, the rope around her wrist attached to a door handle across the hall. Her shoulder jutted forward, as her face moved in closer to Namarra's, a thumb up and back against the Natural's throat. "You little bitch!" she hissed, drool sputtering down her chin and dripping onto Namarra's cheeks. Her mouth opened in a feral grin, making her look like nothing more than a rabid beast. "You honestly," her grip tightened, "thought that,' her thumb twisted so her nail dug into the skin, "you could—"

"Zap!"

Namarra knew she owed Coffee Addict big time. Scrambling away from the Berserker—who had convulsed and tumbled off to the side—she grabbed the bag she had hidden and flipped it open. The defibrillator had already been charging so she grabbed the two paddles and—thanks to some movie clichés—rubbed them together. Turning, she saw Eclipse kneeling on the floor and shaking her head. Her face was contorted in pain—and given the amount of voltage running through that brain of hers the Natural wasn't surprised—but more disheartening than the scowl on her lips was the muttering slipping out. If she didn't know any better, Namarra would have said she was talking in a different language, and since she didn't know how cultured the Berserker really was, it was a strong possibility. When Eclipse opened her eyes to glare back at her comrade, the Natural thought she had gone back to normal, but her eyes bled back to their pupiless grey. Apparently, it would take more than Namarra had ever anticipated to bring back the rambunctious redhead. Based on how difficult it had been so far, she couldn't help but wonder if it was even worth it. Rubbing the paddles together again she smirked.

Alright, it had its perks.

"You'll thank me for this later!" Namarra yelled, practically lunging in her direction. She would have tackled her completely if she didn't know she'd get shocked too. Reaching out, she put the two paddles onto Eclipse's chest just below her collarbone, avoiding her poor excuse for a defense. The Berserker mouthed a curse.

"Clear!"

And collapsed.

Ouch, I forgot the gel thingies. That's gonna leave a mark. Namarra threw the pads off to the side and reached out to check the pulse at her neck, ignoring the burning stains on the front of Eclipse's new shirt. So, how much voltage does it take to kill a Berserker? Gulping, she took some steadying breaths and felt for the main artery. It took a moment for her to find it, but the blood was pulsing and Eclipse was still breathing based on her chest moving up and down. Her eyes lay open, staring blindly at the open apartment door, but they were slowly shifting back to normal. "Oh thank God. I'd hate to have failed this miserably on my first babysitting adventure."

It was a strange feeling, almost like taking a breath after laughing too hard, or—in this case—the gasp after a bad dream. Eclipse's body twitched on the carpet, her arm screaming in pain as one spasm pushed her shoulder further out of joint. Gasping, she barely had enough energy to twist and put it back into place before Namarra jumped up and untied the twine from her wrist. Laying back down and staring up at the ceiling, she just focused on breathing.

"So, it is you, right?"

The redhead didn't respond, her free hand rising to her forehead as the other lied limply on the ground. The lumps on the ceiling seemed to move, swimming up and down in taunting arches, but the more her eyes tried to concentrate on them, the more she felt her body sway along. Closing her eyes, she tried to focus once more but one bad swallow and cough sent her retching onto the floor.

Frowning, Namarra plugged her nose and sighed. "Welcome back, Lexi."

They had changed apartments not only for the stench, but Melanie's silhouette had caused a spell of dry heaving so strong Eclipse's stomach bile was forming an acid pond on the kitchen tile. Perhaps opening the curtains for some fake sunshine hadn't been one of Namarra's better ideas.

The walk outside through the bloodbath wasn't pleasant, but Eclipse held her composure a little better that time. Then again, she really had nothing left to throw up. They were now on the first floor and on the other side of the building, just in case Melanie could still be seen.

Tossing a wet washcloth at the redhead, Namarra pulled up a wooden chair next to the couch and sat down. "Here," she said, holding out a glass of water too. "You done puking? Because I don't feel like picking another lock."

Eclipse attempted a shrug and grabbed the water. She took a drink before responding, cringing and shivering as she felt the left over bile trickle back down her throat. "What time is it?"

"Hah, I'm thinking you mean what day is it."

Eclipse frowned. "How long, Nam?"

"In about two hours it'll be six days."

She choked on her next sip and Namarra grabbed one of the seat cushions as a blast shield. The redhead, however, kept everything down. "Fuck."

"Something like that. Do you know how exhausting it is to be around your Berserker?"

"More like scary, right?" Eclipse opened the washcloth and threw it over her whole face. "I saw everything."

The Natural sighed. Normally a bunch of bitchy comments would come to mind, but knowing the struggle first hand, sarcasm seemed more like torture than comic relief. "I was afraid of that."

Eclipse sighed as well, sounding more frustrated than anything. Her stomach cramped with the memories, but there was nothing to vomit. Besides, she was slowly moving beyond the emotional attachment to the cold distance, a place she hadn't been in nearly a year.

"How're your injuries?"

"I'll live," Namarra replied, pulling the cushion back down once the false alarm was over. "What'cha thinking?"

"I just want go back."

"To the Archangel?"

"To somewhere not here."

Amazingly, that made a lot of sense and the Natural stood, stretching as she did. "Then you have to get off your ass." The only thing seen outside the washcloth was Eclipse's smile. It was small, but still a comfort. Maybe they'd both survive this after all.

"You're a bitch."

"I said it before, but I'll say it again, welcome back, Lexi. Someone help us if you pull that stunt again, though."

Someone help me if it happens again.

The Berserker just laughed in the background.

Eclipse had no real injuries—at least nothing fatal—but her muscles ached more than anything she had remembered feeling. Most of it she knew was from being electrified, but some was still from the pulled muscles the Berserker so happily gave her. Too bad her other half never had the chance to feel the pain the redhead did. If she did, perhaps she'd tone it down a bit.

"Damn it. Are we there yet?"

"Why are you complaining? You didn't get electrified. Twice."

"Four times, actually, but who's counting? Besides, that was only recently and I nearly got blown up by a grenade."

"Yeah, and you have no burn damage why?"

"I have some," Namarra corrected, stopping a moment to adjust Eclipse's arm across her shoulders. "Just no where I'd willingly show you." She grimaced and stopped again. "Can we take a break?"

Eclipse was going to say "No" for the sake of argument, but the Natural dropped her hold before she opened her mouth. The redhead was strong enough to stand on her own, but one bad shift on her hip took her down to a sitting position anyway. Breathing slowly, she watched her counterpart carefully. Since she remembered everything from her Berserker moments, she couldn't forget Namarra's conversation with Azrael. Her other half felt betrayed, but Eclipse knew better. Those three pilots meant the world to the Natural; they were family. While the redhead agreed with the Berserker in Namarra's foolishness, she understood.

Leaning back on her arms, she crossed her ankles and shifted to as comfortable a position she could on cement. "What did Azrael have to say?" Eclipse expected her to jump, but instead she took careful breaths before responding.

"I would normally ask how you knew about that, but I think the answer is fairly obvious."

Eclipse shrugged and waved her fingers as an indication to continue.

"If the Berserker heard, there's really no reason for me to explain."

"I only heard half the conversation, so feel free to elaborate."

Namarra didn't reply right away. She fingered the knife near her ankle, but the redhead's gaze shifted in that direction and she stopped, probably realizing it was too obvious of a gesture. "What did you get out of it, at least?"

"Your rash decision to join me was a cover up for betraying me to psycho number two."

"Who's psycho number one?"

"Can we stay in topic, please?"

The Natural sighed and pulled the knife out. Glancing down at the blade, she played with it as she spoke. "I'm not dumb enough to think I could get you with your whole posse watching. I joined because I honestly think you can help me more than Azrael."

"So, you're saying you trust me more?"

Namarra shrugged and started picking out some dirt from under her fingernails. "Whether we like to admit it or not, we have no other options."

"Because we're both Berserkers?" Eclipse made it a question, but there was really no answer needed. No matter how risky it was to work together—if they both snapped at the same time there was no guarantee they'd come back—sticking together was smart. "So, how you gonna save them without psycho two's help?"

She itched the back of her head with the dull side of the knife. "I've been trying to come up with some kind of plan to lure them into a conversation."

"More talking? I'm sorry, Nam, but that's not—"

"I know what you're gonna say, but if we fight them, it's gonna end up with someone six feet under."

"More likely obliterated," the redhead muttered, grimacing as she sat up and rested her hands on her ankles. "But the only time we see them is in their 'battle mode.' How do you expect to sit down and sip tea?"

"Fine, what's your idea?" The Natural was offended, Eclipse was sure, but she wasn't about to waste her sanity on anything iffy.

"We could infiltrate their ship."

"And that's a better idea how?"

"You have an in."

"Hah, not anymore," she scoffed.

"With Azrael. Promise him me and let's see how well his little instruments can handle my other half."

"He'd never go for it."

"We can even bring Erika's research documents. That'd make more than one area moisten, I think."

Namarra watched her carefully, wrestling with the proposal. It was a little riskier than the Natural's brute force, but if Azrael stayed focused on Eclipse, Namarra would have more time to speak to her comrades. A little planning never hurt anyone.

"Is there a moment in their medication cycle when they are most normal?" The Natural looked confused so she continued. "When the dosage runs through their system, do the effects ever weaken?"

"I honestly don't know. I'd assume so, but I'd hate to face Shani again on a mere assumption."

"Too bad we can't tamper with their medication or something."

"We never have direct access and even if I have time when I'm on the ship, I'd hate to hinder their battle performance and get them killed."

Eclipse sighed. "Good point." The two sat quietly for a couple seconds, running the plan over in their heads. Eventually, they would hash out a solid idea, but their minds were only strong enough for pre-assessment at the moment anyway.

"After this—if it doesn't work, I mean," the redhead corrected, "are you done? Will you ever see this as a lost cause?"

"I'll never give up on them, if that's what you're implying."

"So, even on the battlefield, you're gonna protect them? Even if they wouldn't give a damn if you were killed in the process?"

"Lexi, they're family."

"I understand that, but you have to figure out your limitations."

"Who else do I have besides them?"

"Oh stop being so dramatic. You know they're others, you've just not given them the chance."

Namarra frowned and stood, brushing off her pants as she held out a hand. "C'mon, let's figure all this out when we aren't grouchy and achy."

Eclipse frowned but soon grabbed the hand and swung her arm across the Natural's shoulders. "Yes, that and what to do about Lust." Now Namarra frowned and the redhead shrugged. "The only problem is, we're always grouchy and achy so I don't know how much we'll actually accomplish." The Natural snorted and started walking, dragging them both towards the port.

They talked a little bit more as they made their way back to the ships, Namarra mainly updating Eclipse on what had happened to Lathan and Athrun. The redhead was a bit pissed about Athrun skipping out to see his father, but Lathan's confinement seemed anticipated. Their latest conversation involved Eclipse's wrecked shirt and the two burn spots on her chest, but Namarra just countered with her lack of options and the redhead let it go. She would have to have someone check it out on the Archangel along with her other injuries. In fact, it looked as if the duo would end up infirmary patients once again.

As they neared the port, someone was waiting for them and, amazingly enough, it was Athrun. He looked okay for the most part and the relief nearly sent Eclipse falling to her knees—since Namarra had no idea on what had really happened—but him standing there safe didn't mean she had forgotten his stupidity. After all, he had one arm in a sling and the other shaking as he pointed a firearm at them.

"Eclipse?" he asked, walking towards them. "Namarra?"

"For goodness sakes, man, put the gun away," the Natural growled, nearly dropping Eclipse. "Who'd you think it was?"

The redhead expected some snarky reply, but the pilot looked just as relieved to see them as they were him, even if Namarra wouldn't admit it.

They met each other half way and shared an awkward moment when they were so happy to see each other and probably shouldn't have been. So, they stood there, Namarra still keeping Eclipse upright with one arm around her neck and side glancing at each of them.

"So—" she began, but Eclipse reached out with her left hand and punched Athrun across the face. The Natural held her breath, watching Athrun stare at the redhead quizzically while Eclipse just glared.

"Ah," Namarra started, not liking the tense silence that followed the hit, "glad to see nothing's changed."

A/N: Hey, guess what guys I have good news this chapter! (Aside from the fact I made it to chapter 50!) I finally got a job so my stress level has dropped dramatically and I feel a little more focused on this story. I know this chapter took a while to get out, but with a combination of a ridiculous work schedule and family problems, I was lucky if I even touched the power button on my desktop let alone typed on the keyboard. I feel like I keep making excuses every time a chapter comes out, but I believe I need to give you guys some sort of explanation since you are all so diligent. I thank you all for that and I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

This part of the story has been rotting in my computer for over a month now, so I really don't like how it turned out. Many people say I'm too hard on myself when it comes to writing, but I'm always happier with my work when I don't have the opportunity to read and re-read it three millions times, waiting for my brain to develop some kind of creative kick. Surprisingly enough, I pretty much wrote this chapter once the other one was posted, but it was just in chunks and I had to piece it all together. That's time consuming in and of itself and I take full blame for not knowing what to fill in the middle sections. My characters shouldn't be blamed for any kind of boring dialogue and actions I typed then immediately deleted. Just thought I'd get that out there. :P

After reading what the unchained Berserker did in this chapter I can't help but think, if she can be this creepy on a desolate satellite with few resources, can you imagine her back on Earth or in a PLANT? A scary thought, to be sure, and that's with only one. O.o We'll have to see what the other chapters have in store for us because despite the fact that I'm "technically" running this drama, I have no idea what my characters will be doing next. We're all going to be surprised.

Special thanks to my Betas who have braved busy schedules, illness, and Psychology classes to get me some feedback. I think you all deserve some kind of vacation to a deserted island at least. (Betas: CSSStravag, Maderfole, and Death-Scimitar)

Thank you to all the readers. Your suggestions, comments, loyalty, and especially your patience are greatly appreciated.

Corrections to the Narrative:

Didn't change anything again, per se, more like kept the focus on the girls besides jumping back and forth to the boredom on the Three Ship Alliance. It's my way of time traveling.

Questions/Gripes:

OrangeP47: I'd like to thank you for your structure comment. I know I mentioned it in my review reply, but once I looked back at the chapter, I realize you were right. There should have been some kind of interaction before Eclipse and Namarra just jumped right into the fighting. Unfortunately, I can't really go back and change it, but I really appreciate the insight and am keeping it in the back of my mind for future chapters.

As usual, thank you all for the support and I'll see you in the next chapter! Let's just hope Athrun isn't too sore about his "long time no see" punch.

Strata