Cooperation
Bina felt her head starting to hurt. What in the name of devils and demons tempted her to send Eti with Itel and Rosie to this tavern. Itel's hotheadedness, Rosie's kindness, and Eti's unhingedness were the perfect combination for disaster. Itel was looking for the most dangerous place possible for them to go to, Rosie was so nice and friendly that everyone let their guard down, and then Eti did something insane and everything went up in flames. Together they were the triad of doom. And because of the romantic tension between them, it facilitated the escalation of chaos... And she, as their guardian, should have anticipated all this. They may have all been of age, but they couldn't be called sensible. So if they did something crazy, it was her fault that they did it. Although luckily Lika and Alatar were not there, otherwise the disaster would have been complete.
As soon as this Ikeshi brought the news that someone had started a brawl in the local bar, she broke into a run and immediately turned back when she realized that she didn't know exactly where to go. So she let Huntara lead them. The orc warrior seemed shocked by what she learned. However, Bina was sure that the time for a real shock would come when she got there and met Eti. She had to admit that this woman was in pretty good shape. She had a hard time keeping up with her, let alone Alatar, who was panting so hard it seemed like he was going to spit out his lungs. Only Lilka kept up with Huntara, she obviously couldn't let look weak in eyes of another orc, even if that orc didn't know she was an orc. Once they were in place, she doubled over and gasped, and Alatar fell to the ground, gasping. Huntara and Lilka, they didn't even break a sweat... It's so unfair... He needs to start training more.
They stood on a scarlet rock and looked at the smoking building. It was made of stone, leather and bone. It looked quite menacing, if not for the neon sign depicting a colorful flower and hang laundry drying on a line. A large number of Bone Shelter patrons gathered near the skull that served as the entrance and attempted to extinguish the fire, with only moderate success.
"You know, it could have been worse. – she said to Huntara , who stood with her mouth open in disbelief, staring at the smoking building. Then the orca turned to her and spoke in an angry voice.
"How worse? Gang wars broke out in the wastelands for things like this?"
She grinned.
"It's still standing, and considering that Itel is a Solarian and Eti likes explosions, I would expect smoking ruins here."
Lilka nodded with absolute seriousness.
"It's only because we weren't there. We're really good at breaking things. I swing my axe, and Alatar breathes fire."
Dragonkin lowered his wings in shame.
"Lilka, you are spreading offensive stereotypes!
The redhead tilted her head to the side.
"You spread them yourself when you breathe fire... But they are very nice flames! Then everything burns so beautifully!"
Huntara , whoever she was and whatever she had been through, wasn't eager to meet her kids, so she just stared at them as if she wasn't sure if they were joking. She walked up to the tall warrior and patted her on the back.
"Welcome to my world." she said in a friendly voice and moved towards the concourse.
She had nothing against Catra. She respected her for her courage, bravery and persistence. She just didn't want the girl to show up here unnecessarily. She stuck a stick into an anthill here and then left. She told this directly to the Grand Marshal and she agreed with her and respected this request. And now she was standing in front of a crowd of her gang members who were demanding an explanation.
"Is Catra back to regain power?" said the hyenaperson
"Will Brightmoon take away our freedom!" exclaimed the emaciated scorpion.
"These were new tables." said Doris, the bartender and her ex, despairingly .
"Silence!" she shouted and the crowd calmed down a bit and she started talking. "I'll take care of everything, you have my word on that, but first, be quiet instead of babbling one by one, or I'll beat the crap out of you. Has anyone died?"
"Rash and Rush have hearing problems, Gorgo had a broken jaw." explained the gloomy lizard technician. "And Sculy …" He pointed to the snake-woman hugging her knees and swaying mechanically. "She got hit by that girl. Good thing she didn't kill her!"
"Eti usually doesn't seriously hurt anyone, Itel is the hot-headed and dangerous one." Bina explained, smiling nervously.
"Usually?" she snapped at the burgundy-haired woman, who just shrugged. Meanwhile, Lilka approached Sculy, who kept saying "There are two now", and showed her the picture on the datapad. She was too far away to see it clearly, but it seemed to her that it was a catgirl with a disturbing resemblance to Catra, staring menacingly ahead and giving someone an insulting gesture with her metal hand. When Sculy saw the photo, she screamed and started crawling on all fours as far as she could. The red-haired girl smiled happily and called to Bina.
"Yes, it was definitely Eti!"
"I didn't guess that at all." Bina muttered sarcastically and turned to everyone gathered.
"Hey. Recently, one of my wards started a brawl here. As we all know, they happen regularly in places like this because we bad to the bones. I know that because I've spent almost my entire life in places like this, as have my kids. I know my warsds and I know that they don't start fights for any reason. Had someone stared or, gods forbid, touched her?" she asked, looking at the gathered people smiling conciliatingly. They looked at each other in surprise and several nodded. "Well, you see." she continued. "None of us likes it when someone stares at us and then everyone wants to punch that person, and if someone fucked you up, it means you deserved the fuck and there's no point in making a big deal out of it, just solve the problem by yourself... And so I'm just saying that this girl with white hair recently fought with the living dead, the green-haired, pointed-eared girl survived the destruction of her own planet, and this cat-like girl was trained from birth to be a murderer, so you can say that you're lucky that nothing serious happened to you. And apart from her appearance, she has nothing in common with Catra. She's just a wronged girl, who has problems with aggression, raised in barracks by a megalomaniac and his right-hand woman…" Bina explained. Everyone stared at her with very gloomy eyes. She sighed and whispered to the woman with burgundy hair.
"You just described Catra from a few years ago..."
"I guessed..." Bina said with a smile plastered on her lips. Scorpion stepped forward and said.
"I remember the last time Catra was here. A week later she tried to fuck up the planet because she was pissed off"
Then Lilka looked thoughtful and said.
"Eti could probably do the same if she was in storm days or really bored...
"You're not helping." Bina said through gritted teeth, and then added. "I promise to compensate you for the damage..." she looked at the snakewoman, who was staring blankly ahead." To pay for psychotherapy and, most importantly, to share with you the treasures that we will find in the tomb of the famous Mara, the previous She- Ra , because I recently came into possession of maps leading to it." she waved the sheets of paper that Goldeneyes gave them, "And if you don't trust me, the terrible and invincible Huntara here has pledged to personally ensure that I fulfill her part of the contract.
She clenched her jaw tightly, trying not to show anger or surprise. She was going to find the tomb anyway, but alone, or with trusted friends, and she wanted to give what she found there to Adora and Glimmer, not to the regulars of the Bone Haven, who were a bunch of greedy bastards. Only if she said something now, another brawl would break out and she would look like an idiot or a fraud, she could already see the burning greed in their eyes. Will deal with them again...
"Lady Huntara is an Orc, and orcs never ever break their word, always act honorably, and always wash behind their ears. "Lilka began to tell in a cheerful voice, focusing everyone's attention on her. "I'm an Orca, so I know best what we are like."
And there was silence as everyone tried to fit what they had just heard into the Huntara they knew, which was probably beyond their abilities. Hers too. She took a deep breath and spoke in a tone that brooked no objections.
"It's as this woman said, we will find Mara's Tomb and obtain its riches, although of course I will keep most of the treasures, for I am the ruler of the Scarlet Wastes and if anyone doesn't agree with it, draw out their weapons and fight with me." she looked at everyone menacingly, and when she noticed that Lilka was looking at them with admiration, she growled at her.
"And you have to explain to me what's going on with these orcs!"
The red-haired girl smiled broadly, her eyes shining with pure delight. However, Bina made a face that suggested that she had gotten herself into something very smelly.
"Let's go. I guess now we have to find your people and make sure they don't do any more damage. Only if you don't keep up, I'll leave you behind." She said, but Bina grinned and said
"Hey, we have transport, and the girls have transmitters, and even Itel isn't crazy enough to throw them away. Oh, look there!" The burgundy-haired woman pointed to a vehicle driving towards them, surrounded by a cloud of red stripes. When it came close, she saw that it was a military transport with eskers and teeth painted on it.
"Huntara , meet Crusher. Crusher, this is Huntara." Bina said. The door opened and she was horrified to see that the interior was empty.
"Huntara is an orc, like Wagar. She just doesn't know it yet." Lilka explained, and then a voice came from inside the vehicle.
"Listen Hunti , it's good that you're here. Countless enemies await us here. Bugs, birds, small cars, But together we will face them, we are invincible!"
She really was too old for all this.
Tung Lashor bared his fangs in a smile when he heard the news his subordinates brought him. First he learned that new guests had arrived in the Scarlet Waste, his wasteland. Of course, his friends didn't know the real reasons for his interest in that group. They probably thought he wanted to rob them and took the technologically advanced equipment they brought with them. Maybe that's what he'll do! But he must question them first. He looked at his whip, metal and segmented, a real gem that he had bought from recently Icarus during his secret trip there. He was completely broke and had to take out a loan on the account of Lonnie and her People's Rebellion. After all, they were friends and allies, so he would definitely understand and pay as soon as he found out about everything. Unfortunately, he didn't discover anything there, but it didn't change anything, he had been loyal for twenty-five years and had been carrying out the mission entrusted to him by the management with great trust.
And then he heard that Catra, or someone very much like her, had set the Bone Haven on fire. At first he felt… mental discomfort. He wasn't at all afraid of the Grand Marshal, but he just really didn't want to be in the same place as her, and it had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that she had defeated him during the duel. Besides, she cheated then anyway and this time the outcome of the fight would be completely different. But then he realized that it must have been Lonnie who had hired a shape-shifting creature like Double Trouble to provoke a conflict between the alliance and the Wasteland, it was a brilliant plan! He knew that Lonnie saw him as her most valuable ally and decided to support him.
Now standing before him was one of his officers, a petite Lizardman called Krask , who gave him a soldier's salute, earning a chuckle from the rest of the gang.
"Huntara is heading here with the remaining crew members of that ship. From what I understand, they are looking for Mara's tomb , as a reminder, the previous She-Ra,' she said in an official tone, as if she were a soldier reporting to her superiors.
"I know who Maru was." he said, although it was the first time he heard this name, he would have remembered it otherwise. "We will set a trap for Huntara and trap her, and then the wasteland will be ours!" he shouted and all his gang members responded with the same shouts. "Almost like I was a member of Thunder Reptiles !"
Eti was feeling bad. She knew she had caused trouble for everyone, especially Bina. She complicated everything because of the anger in her heart. Ever since Icarus, what Moonshadow had done, and the sight of tears in the eyes of that kind Blondie, a Cold Fire had flared up in her soul. She didn't feel much except excitement, power, and anger. Those were stormy days that ended with a terrible outburst of anger in that inn or pub. At first she didn't want to react like that, she just wanted to have fun without Bina's supervision ... But everyone was staring at her and, worst of all, they saw the other one. HER! SHE WAS THERE…she couldn't explain the rage she felt. Then a cold flame erupted and consumed her self. If it weren't for Rosie, she didn't know how it would have ended. However, a cold flame still glowed in her soul . She wasn't sure if this was really the end of the stormy days or if she was just in the eye of the storm.
Rosie… She really liked Rosie. She was so different from everyone she had ever known. She had so much joy in her heart like no one else she had ever met. She may have been deaf... But she saw the world completely differently than all of them. Maybe the rest were just blind and she saw the world as it was? She looked beyond the outer dirt and meanness and saw the inner beauty. And she hurt her, made fear appear in those beautiful blue eyes. It was thanks to her that she understood how wrong she had done. She felt embarrassed, and that happened very rarely. Usually, though, it had to do with Rosie. Why did she care what she thought of her?
"There is something written here." Rosie said, pointing to a wooden sign embedded in the gravel floor. When they approached she read it. "Land ruled by the Aspis Gang. Everything here belongs to Tung Lashora . Any servant of Huntara or the princesses who comes here will only find a Skull."
"This reads as death" Itel corrected her with barely concealed impatience.
"But it just says skull. In letters."
They looked at each other and shrugged.
The Aspis Consortium was the largest, oldest, and most importantly, most ruthless corporation in the known galaxy. They stopped at nothing, from corruption and blackmail, through murder and smuggling, to trafficking in weapons of mass destruction and genocide. But that could just be a coincidence. After all, this planet had been out of the galaxy for centuries or something.
"So what do we do next?" Rosie asked Itel with an uncertain face.
"We can't go back to the Valley, because the guys we pissed off will definitely be there. Perhaps we should warn Bina , then call the ship back and go somewhere else." Surprisingly, the Elf wasn't mad at her this time. It was strange and a little disturbing. She understood that it had to do with why she was angry. She couldn't quite name it, but when everyone started looking at her as if she was THAT ONE, she felt furious. Normally, if it weren't for the cold fire, she would somehow control it, but the... She wanted them to stop seeing her as that person, but she also didn't want them to look at her and see who she was. She would love to make everyone blind and gouge out their eyes. Itel would allow it, but not Rosie and Bina... Even though all three of them cared about her.
She looked at the sign and turned to her friends.
"I have a much better idea!" she shouted loudly, and both girls looked at her in surprise.
"What's the idea?" Itel asked skeptically.
"It's simple, my dear itel . I'm pretty sure those guys in that bar are from Huntara and the guys here are her enemies. So I came up with the idea that we would join a gang, and they would welcome us with open arms as a thank you for the brawl we all did together."
Rosie grimaced.
"You know, I don't think joining a gang is a really good idea, especially one that writes ideograms in letters." She said, but itel looked like she was considering her words, so she added to convince her.
"These guys definitely know the wasteland, so if there are any ruins somewhere, they'll definitely know where they are."
That was enough. The elf nodded and said.
"Okay Eti, just please don't do anything stupid. And we will do it discreetly..."
"Just like we always do." she said and turned on the masking field.
He looked around with binoculars pressed to his eyes and looked for the transport in which the Huntara was supposed to be traveling . He was crouching on a tall red rock. He intended to use the effect dramatically by standing up here, pointing his whip at the vehicle and ordering his gang members below to attack. In his opinion, command was all about drama. The Horde never understood this and that's why they lost. He put down the binoculars and smiled at his own thoughts, admiring his own genius. Then he saw a piece of paper with the word CV in front of his eyes.
"I'm applying to join your gang. This is my CV." he heard a slightly dull voice coming from the side. At first he started looking through the document, because in the old days his job consisted mainly of reading CVs, but that was in a previous life. He hadn't seen one in twenty-five years. And then he looked to the side and screamed because he saw HER. It was true after all! She was here. And she stood by him. She wore some strange armor and had a rifle on her back, with a scope... sniper one ... and behind her were two girls and. A dark-skinned and green-haired elf hid her face in her hands, and the other, a white-haired one wearing strange glasses, waved at him and smiled serenely.
"Go away! Leave me alone." he said, retreating in fear, but she did not stop walking towards him. He finally fell over and she climbed up onto his chest with her heavy boots. She was even meaner than last time. She tilted her head and said in a slightly offended voice.
"You know, you could at least read my CV. I irretrievably lost five whole minutes of my life writing them."
"Why don't you leave me alone?" he said, feeling his voice break.
"Hey, well... Listen, you're Tromlin ! The Azlanti have enslaved your species, and I've been shooting at them quite a bit lately, and Itel has been hitting them pretty hard with her moon sword as well!" she exclaimed, wagging her tail violently. He blinked. Since he got here, no one has called him Tromlin . And she knew about the damn Azlanti. He looked at the girl more closely. He wasn't very familiar with mammalian faces, but she almost certainly looked a bit different. It's because of these eyes. That one had two different colored eyes, and this one's eyes were gold with blue spots. And also this prosthetic hand, strangely made of a single piece of metal. This wasn't Catra... And that meant an opportunity. The company always taught them to be ready to take advantage of every opportunity possible. He slipped out from under the girl's shoes and stood proudly in front of her.
"Hello! I'm Tung Lashor. Boss of the Aspis gang. The most feared gang in the Crimson Wastes. Whip!" he said and cracked his whip.
"What he did? I guess my glasses can't describe it." said the white-haired girl, waving her hands and a voice coming out of her gloves.
"I think he says Whip when he cracks the whip." the green-haired girl said in disbelief.
- But that's very stupid." said the white-haired girl.
-"It's like saying blade when I attack with a blade." added the Elf.
"I can't even make sound of my blows at all." concluded the white-haired woman.
"Nah" the cat girl interjected. "This could be fun!" she quickly drew her rifle and shot, saying loudly " rifle", at the feet of one of his subordinates, a small and emaciated lizard, who screamed and rolled down the slope.
"Hmmm, this is quite strange. I'd have to shoot again to find out." the cat girl said in a pensive voice and started aiming again at his gangsters, who started to hide behind the rocks. This was too much.
"Stop pointing guns at my subordinates and tell me what you want from me?" he shouted
The cat girl tilted her head to the side, frowned, and said.
"I said we wanted to join your gang, didn't you hear? Maybe you have hearing problems? It's no shame, my friend can't hear at all, and the punching is so powerful that it breaks jaws and skulls."
she pointed to the white-haired girl who smiled at him.
"You are my problem! – he roared, and at that moment a laser beam hit the rock. He turned around and saw a large and menacingly painted armored personnel carrier with a cannon operated by a red-haired girl. Before him stood Huntara, a burgundy-haired woman and a true Dragonkin, albeit with multiple cybernetic prosthetics.
"Hey Bina... Whatever you heard, it can all be explained rationally... I don't see any logical reasons for you to be mad at us." said the cat girl.
She didn't like the way the vehicle was shaking, making noise and... talking. This last one was the worst. He kept talking about small cars, big bugs and how he didn't like the sun here. So she decided to talk to Lilka. The girl beamed and started her tirade.
"So you're an orc. You must know that it is a huge responsibility. Orcs are noble, courage and brave. And they brush their teeth every day. The latter is the most important. And we orcs travel in the Hordes... "When she frowned, the girl added hastily. "But these are good Hordes, fighting for goodness and justice, not like the nasty Horde of Primus. And when they are victorious, they drink the blood of defeated enemies or hot chocolate. We really like hot chocolate, I have it here." she handed her a thermos of hot chocolate. Quite tasty. Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea to talk to this girl...
Half an hour later, she felt a growing pain in her head and was glad when they stopped near Aspis' gang territory. They went outside and Bina looked at the datapad .
"So our beloved Eti went there... This could end badly..."
"Tung Lashor rules there, he's a fool and a buffoon, but if your protégé is careful, nothing will happen to her." she tried to calm down the burgundy-haired woman, but she looked at her and laughed mirthlessly.
"I'm worried about this guy." she said thoughtfully.
"Wait a minute, I know that name from somewhere." Alatar said and started looking through his Datapad . It was going to be weird.
They followed the plan... which they improvised when they saw that Tong Lashor, who had been lurking in one of his ambushes, had never understood how they works, was now talking to three girls. Lilka fired a welcome shot from her cannon, and they and the silver-scaled lizard emerged. And then one of Bina's students greeted her... When she saw her, this Eti, she felt that she was making a very strange face. Even from this distance she could see that she was very similar to Catra... But where did she come from, who was she... and why did she go to that idiot? She sighed and said to Tong Lashor .
"You disgusting reptile, scaly creature, lizard spawn." she was saying, but then Alatar interrupted her.
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Huntaro , but you use very speciesist and offensive terms in your speech to Mr. Lashor. And besides, he's a Tromlin, a member of a race enslaved by the Star Empire, so it's even more offensive."
And now absolutely everyone turned their eyes towards him.
"You know about Tromlins ? And everything?" Tung Lashor asked unexpectedly friendly. His gang members seemed a bit…confused.
"You can also accept Alatar into the Gang, I can handle it somehow." the cat-like girl muttered, but the Aspis chief didn't seem to pay any attention to her. Alatar nodded.
"Yes, I watched a podcast about your species. Azlanti treated you very cruelly... But I have another question, because is your name related to Tung Lashor from Thunder Reptiles ? That Sidekick Clow Slashor, the leader of the entire team?"
Tung Lashor was outraged.
"He wasn't any Sideck ! He was the most important member of the team and the greatest character in the history of television!" he said with elation, and Bina standing next to her was clearly trying not to laugh
"What are they talking about?"
"Are you a stupid nerd? Nobody warned me about this! I'm leaving this gang. Rosie, Itel, let's go." Eti said and slowly started walking towards them, and her companions joined her.
"Well, he's one of the most liked characters." Alatar replied. "In the new series, they made him Tromlin instead of a lizardman and the adoptive son of Meow -Ru, the villain of the entire franchise. They did it because they wanted to increase diversity of the show. I have it downloaded here on my datapad , but only one season because no more were made. This series was not very popular."
"Show!" called Tung and, making an acrobatic jump, he moved towards them. His gang members looked embarrassed. She, too, I guess. As the lizard walked towards them, Bina looked at his gang's symbol. She looked surprised, but then a faint, sly smile appeared on her face. Alatar was about to hand over the datapad , but then Bina spoke in a very formal voice.
"It's good that you make sure that the employees you recruit wear the company logo, the management will be happy with it, even if it is not fully consistent with the company dress code". It is known that the company's policy promotes adaptation to local conditions.
"What?"
Tung Lashor stiffened, stood up proudly, puffed out his chest, and said.
"Are you from Aspis Consortium?" he asked, shocked and delighted at the same time. She gave a questioning look to the burgundy-haired woman, but she waved her hand, signaling that she would explain everything later.
"Yes, but not officially. The company is interested in entering into Etheria We've been watching you for some time, and I must tell you secretly that some of the board is impressed with your achievements." she lowered her voice and said in a conspiratorial tone. – Some even say something about the head of the planetary branch."
In Tung's Lashor's eyes tears welled up. Tears of pure joy.
"I always knew that the company remembered me. I never doubted it. I have always been loyal to the Consortium." he said, his voice breaking. Three girls approached Alatar and started talking to him in whispers, although the white-haired girl spoke in sign language and Lilka was eating a sandwich.
"Yes, we have been wondering for a long time what happened to you. You know well that every employee is important to us." Bina said in a gentle voice, and he nodded with an expression similar to the one she saw on the clones when they talked about Horde Prime. She felt cold sweat on the back of her neck.
"However, not everyone in the company is favorable to you. Your old rivals within the company are still working against you." the woman continued, and the lizard gritted its teeth in anger.
"Mondo , you treacherous Skittermader's piece of carrion. Even after all these years, he still has to give me a hard time."
"Yes, even the most beautiful tree will have worm-infested fruit. Therefore, everyone came to the conclusion that you need to prove your suitability to the company by completing several tasks assigned by the management." Bina explained, genuine concern evident in her voice.
"I'll do anything for Consortium . Absolutely everything." Tung said Lashor, in whose eyes she saw pure devotion. What was wrong with this guy. She had always known him, ever since she came to this wasteland, and even though she thought he was an idiot, he was their idiot.
"Nothing big for now, we are looking for the tomb of a certain Mara, the previous She- Ra, in order to open a theme park related to her, in which the treasures obtained from this tomb will be helpful. For this purpose, I hired a subcontractor, Huntara, who is here, but you will be a key element of our team and thanks to you we will find the tomb. Remember, the whole company is counting on you, won't you let us down?" Bina asked, looking expectantly at Tung Lashor , who saluted the strange burgundy-haired woman and gave her a look of superiority. She wasn't sure whether she should be offended by being called a subcontractor
"Yes, Bina! When can we start?" said the lizard with absolute enthusiasm. Membership jveku .
The gang's mebers looked at each other and whispered, but they seemed to like their leader's new face. This was all getting weirder and weirder.
"Wait, I'll just send my interns back to the ship to Brightmoon" when she said this, both the kids and the white-haired girl gave her offended glances.
The world was becoming far too complicated for someone her age.
Bina watched as the Deadly Sword of Burning Fury landed and the side entrance opened and Miss Daisy and Ireanis stood there. The women were just leaving Mystacor when she called them. Her lovely barbarian band rushed in, greeting the dark sorceress, though Rosie frowned at the dark sorceress, but then shook her head and went inside. Then she herself approached the gloomy woman.
"Listen, Daisy, something came up and I have to stay here and send the kids with you." she said to her, and Miss Daisy looked at her as if scared.
"I'm not sure if this is a good idea." Said the gloomy elf uncertainly, but she patted her on the shoulder.
"Don't worry. I believe you will manage. Just don't drink too much." she said, and the dark sorceress laughed sadly.
"Together with Ireanis, we decided to break the addiction and quit drinking." Miss Daisy said quietly. She looked at both women. The grim sorceress was holding herself up quite well, but Ireanis's hands were shaking. The silver-haired girl was also smiling stupidly, as if she was hiding some stupid secret. She looked at the two women, patted Miss Daisy on the shoulder again, and said goodbye to the kids. As she left, she smiled, thinking about the two sorceresses. Everyone deserves love, right?