Hades

For what it's worth, I've always thought you represented the community well. I remember some other talk show you were on, and I really think you surprised the audience with how normal and sensible you were, even as the host kept trying to portray you as weird. You've done a good job of keeping calm in a tough situation.

Thanks for the comment. I'm glad you're enjoying the story. Honestly, it's comments like yours that make me eager to keep going. As for the story, it is really starting to feel like a fallout story to me. The main story, as it is, was supposed to be about Rain's lost memories, but between the side quests of the story and how long it's been taking me to send out chapters lately, I worry it's being forgotten. Still, we are reaching the end, swirling the drain you could say, so we'll be getting back to Rain's story eventually. Thanks again.

Viktor watched calmly as Surra rushed toward him. His sword was still stuck in the ground, leaving him unarmed. It was a foolish and cocky move admittedly, but he didn't want the sounds of metal on metal giving their position away. Stealth was imperative, and he refused to let this crazy woman's pride threaten his purpose for coming here. Her speed surprised him for sure. In a moment, she was right in his space, swinging her machete with reckless abandon. He kept his movements slight, just enough to dodge the blade each time. He wanted to tire the woman out, but her failures to draw blood seemed only to inflame her more. She was becoming faster and seemed to have an endless reserve of stamina. Viktor wasn’t too concerned. In his days as a slave, his master, the bloodthirsty bastard, had made him fight a variety of opponents. Viktor had always hated fighting, but he had also always been good at it. His former master had delighted in forcing him to fight opponents who were bigger, stronger, or faster. That being said, Surra was certainly one of the fastest and vicious fighters he had ever been up against. As he moved just outside her range though, he did notice a fatal flaw. She wasn't aiming for any vital spots. She continuously swung at his arms and legs, trying to hobble him. She didn’t just want to kill him, she wanted to humiliate him first. That flaw would be her end. He could have taken a dose of Invictus and ended the whole group in a few seconds, but it was the last thing he wanted to do. When he did take the drug, it became very difficult to tell friend from foe. Everything became blurs and barely formed shapes. He would end up slaughtering every living thing in the area, which was unacceptable. He needed to be cautious. There was one prisoner in particular that he had to save, the only one who mattered to him. * Two weeks earlier: “The Witch is still alive.” Jericho fumed. “I put the biggest bounty imaginable on that girl, and she's still kicking. I figured by now someone might have gotten a lucky shot in.” Viktor sighed as his friend paced the room. Indara’s death had sent his once logical leader into a frenzy, but Viktor didn't know how to calm him down. Every day that passed by without news that the Witch was dead made things worse. Viktor had never realized how much Indara meant to his leader. It was no secret that they had been sleeping together, but he had figured it was a simple fling. It was only after her death that he realized exactly how much she meant to Jericho. In a way it shamed him. It was his job to look after Jericho, but he hadn't seen such an important connection despite knowing how depressed Jericho had been. “Maybe this whole thing is karma, eh?” Jericho asked with a smirk. “Right? I killed Miles, his son, his whole fucking band of self-righteous nothings, and this is the price. A seemingly immortal Miles hunting me, and a goddamn kid kills Indara.” Viktor frowned. The loss of Indara was hardly comparable to the horrors he and Jericho had inflicted in the name of peace. If karma was a thing, more punishment would no doubt be heading their way. Maybe they deserved it too, but he wouldn’t ever say it. “Well? Am I talking to myself or what?! Why don’t you say something?” Jericho demanded. “What do you want me to say?” “Something! Anything! Don’t just stand there looking at me like I’ve lost my mind. Tell me what you think. How should we handle the girl?” This wasn’t going to go well, but Viktor had always been a tad blunt. “Leave her be. You sent Indara after her, and unfortunately, she didn’t make it. You can’t fault the girl for defending herself.” Jericho looked about ready to lash out, but reigned it in at the last moment. “If it had been you who died, she would have been the first calling for blood.” Viktor shrugged. “If I'm ever killed, that wouldn’t matter to me, trust me. I don’t believe the dead care about revenge.” The argument was interrupted by one of the men rushing into the room out of breath. “Boss……bad news….there's been a break-in.” Jericho waved him off. “Tell the guards. I’m too busy to chase after thieves.” “Okay. It’s just.….someone broke in that strongroom in the basement. Took everything in there.” They both shot to their feet. That room housed the leftover slave collars after their war with the slave trade. The door itself was heavy duty steel. It couldn’t be broken down or blown open. “That’s impossible.” Jericho muttered. The guards didn’t have a key to that door. Only Sylvia, Viktor, and myself have a key.” Viktor slung his sword over his back. “It's still just a door. It doesn’t matter how it happened, we need to get back the contents.” “You’re right. I just don’t understand. Who the fuck would even know what’s in there?” “It was a locked door, Jericho. People like to break in locked doors. It doesn’t mean they knew what they were looking for.” They has just left the room when another guard came running down the hall. Jericho almost waved her away, but she clutched onto him before he could. Her skin was white as a sheet as she spoke. “It's…..it's Sylvia…..someone……there's so much blood….” Viktor’s heart sank, his whole body tensed up, and his legs grew weak. He started heading for their room, but the guard pulled him back, informing them that whatever happened had occurred in the lab……in the basement. Jericho was right behind him as the guard practically ran them downstairs. The lab was in shambles. There was shattered glass and destroyed equipment strewn all over. Sylvia was on the ground in a pool of her own blood. Viktor scooped her up gently into his arms, feeling relief as her soft moaning confirmed she was still alive. She had lacerations across her face, defensive wounds on her hands, and maybe seven stab wounds to her abdomen. The world seemed to be going in slow motion. Jericho was calling for a doctor, guards were either rushing to obey or standing in slack jawed amazement that someone had dared to harm his wife. He heard nothing but the stuttering breathing of his wife. He wouldn’t have been able to put his feelings into words now. He had loved Sylvia since he was sixteen years old, back when they labored under the same harsh master. She had endured as much cruelty as he or Jericho had, worse really. Their former master had abused his female slaves in the way that sick men often treated pretty girls. Yet she had risen above the horrors of her youth, given him her love and their daughter, and used her incredible intelligence to aid their people. “She'll be okay, buddy.” Jericho assured. “Is she awake? Can she tell us who did this?” She had been unconscious when they had arrived but now her eyes fluttered open, looking around the room as though she wasn’t sure where she was. “Viktor…..my body feels heavy….” “Don’t speak.” Viktor told her. “A doctor is on the way. Just relax.” “How bad…..is it? It feels pretty bad.” Jericho had knelt down and taken her hand. “Don't worry, Syv. I’ve seen plenty worse. We'll get you back on your feet in no time, just you wait and see.” He was lying. They all knew it. She had lost a lot of blood, her skin was pale and her body was cold. She was a strong woman, but things looked grim at the moment. Her eyes widened suddenly. “Aimee……he took her…he took her.” Viktor and Jericho both shared a look at the devastating news. Viktor felt himself trembling and had to take a deep breath to stay calm. He hadn’t wanted her to waste her strength talking, but now he needed to know. “Who? Who took her? Who did this?” “A man…..He had a big scar across his face. I've…..seen him around before. I had Amiee doing her lessons…..he didn’t say a word, just came at me. I…..I couldn't stop him. He took her away, Viktor…..our little girl……” She fell into unconsciousness mere moments before the doctors arrived. With great reluctance, Viktor let them take Sylvia into their care. He himself made a beeline for his room. He had to prepare. He gathered as many supplies as he could fit into a bag and two vials of Invictus, should he have the need. Jericho came to him shortly before he finished his preparations. “What are you doing? Where do you think you're going?” “To get my daughter, obviously.” “Hey, I want Aimee back too, but let’s think a moment. It took a bit, but I found out the man’s name. Garret Tucker. I guess he's been with us for years, but I don't know him. I don’t know what his game is, but he can’t have gotten far. I’ll send out a call for his head. Trust me, he won’t get out of our territory with your daughter. I promise.” “No. Don’t send out any alerts. Call back any men you’ve sent. Leave him to me.” “Viktor, that's your pride talking. You need to be here for Sylvia….in case….well….” “In case she dies? That’s what you were going to say right? Let me answer. It doesn't matter. If I don’t get Aimee back she'll be furious with me when she wakes up. And if she doesn't make it, she'll haunt me forever if anything happens to Aimee. I have to go. I have to get my daughter. Alone.” Jericho shook his head. “We have a goddamn army at our beck and call!” “And Tucker has my daughter. Not to mention, he has the slave collars. Think about it. That storeroom gets broken into the same day one of the only people with a key is attacked? It's connected. If you send an army after him, he’ll see it coming and Aimee will die. That’s what he's counting on. So I'll go and shadow him until I can get my daughter back safely.” Viktor could see the gears turning on Jericho’s mind. The full plot revealed, he was doing what he did best. Scheming. But on this occasion, emotion was getting in his way. “Then let me come with you. We'll just go. Right now. You need someone to watch your back.” “I appreciate that you want to help, but I’ve never needed someone to watch my back. Stay here. Watch after Sylvia for me. She needs someone here that loves her. If she doesn’t make it…..well…..bury her somewhere nice.” Jericho sat down and sighed, wringing his hands together. “You astound me sometimes. You're talking like it's someone else on their deathbed, not your wife.” “Sylvia knows how I feel, and right now I can’t think about anything but getting Aimee back.” “Yeah, yeah. I get man. I still think you should accept some help.” Viktor clapped him on the shoulder. “You know, I've never thanked you…..for everything that you’ve done for us. Sylvia and I have always appreciated it, but…..things can’t be left unsaid at this point. I know I haven't always had your back, and you've suffered for it.” Jericho held up a hand, eyes closed. “Stop it, Viktor. Y-you don’t have say anymore. It’s all in the past.” “Just…..no matter what happens in the coming days, just know that you're a brother to me. Look after Syv for me, okay?” Jericho nodded sadly, maybe reflecting at the road the three of them had traveled. “She'll make it, Viktor. I know it….. and Aimee should be the first person she sees. Go bring her home.” Nothing more was said and the two friends went their separate ways, each hoping to see the other again. * “Stop dancing around!” Surra cried in frustration. “You're embarrassing yourself. I thought you were a badass?” Mr. Happy was the only one truly enjoying the spectacle, spinning in place as though the battle was driving him into frenzy. “Get him, Miss Surra! You show that brute what for!” Rain stood beside Miyuki, watching in disbelief as Viktor effortlessly dodged each one of Surra’s attacks. Ten minutes ago, she would never have believed that someone could make a fearsome woman like Surra look so ineffective. Rain had seen her tackle entire groups of people by herself, but Viktor just kept swatting her away like a fly, barely moving, his sword still stuck in the ground behind him. Then he appeared to make a mistake, didn't move fast enough. Surra managed to get in close and slash his left leg, just barely. This made him pause for a second too long and Surra sunk her machete into his side. And that's when she lost. She had gotten too close and she realized at once that Viktor himself had allowed it. She had only gotten the tip of her blade into Viktor’s side, and in the next moment, he struck out with his fist, hitting her nose and knocking her backwards. His other arm reached behind him and grabbed his sword from the ground. He brought the large blade down before the disorientated Surra could get away. It slashed down her body, from her collar bone to her navel. She stumbled back and looked shocked for a few moments before toppling over into a pool of her own blood. His opponent fallen before him, Viktor raised his blade high and pointed it downwards for the killing blow. For some reason which she didn't understand, Rain reached out with her mind and tried to wrench the blade from his hands. Though the blade jerked towards her, he kept ahold of it, just barely. But her display had surprised him, and suddenly she saw his terrible eyes latch onto hers, so fearsome that she actually let the sword go. Still though, he lowered the sword, having decided for whatever reason to relent. Miyuki looked like she could have screamed, she nearly did. Instead she just sunk to the ground. No one else moved. No one could muster the strength. They all stood by as Viktor calmly stuck his sword back in the ground, walked over to his bag, and began bandaging his minor wounds without a word. Mr. Happy even deflated for a moment. Just for one moment. “Oh my. I think I’m in love! Did you see that?! What technique! What utter skill! I thought Miss Surra was my one true love, but I fear I’m tempted to stray in the face of such……masterful work.” Rain could hardly process what had just happened and she certainly wasn’t sure how to feel about it. She had no idea why she had stepped in and saved the heir to the Oro. Surra had never been kind to her, far from it. She was a cruel, mocking, heartless woman at the best of times. But looking at her now, lying motionless in her own blood, it almost seemed sad. Tali was the first to break her body free from the astonishment of what had happened. She ran over to the motionless Surra and got to work like it was natural. It took a few more moments before the rest of them moved in to help. “It’s not too deep. She'll be fine. Probably.” Viktor called over as he finished patching up his side. Miyuki looked at Tali with desperate eyes wanting to hear her agree. “If I can stop the bleeding, yes, she’ll make it. But right now….it's pretty bad. I need time to try and patch her up.” “In the meantime, we still have a crazy person with an army of hostages.” Miles said with a sigh. “Okay people, let’s get to work. Gabe and Rocco, keep an eye on the facility, tell me if there's any movement. Rain, go find somewhere private and clean yourself up, then come back and help Tali and Miyuki.” “And what will you be doing?” Viktor asked. “I told you before this is my concern. I want you gone.” “Well that's a dumb idea.” Tali hissed, eyes still focused on her patient. “Do you have some semblance of a plan, or are you just gonna waltz on in and start swinging?” “I figured I'd sneak in, knock out whoever is in my way, kill Garrett, and get home in time for breakfast.” This time Tali did look up with a look of utter annoyance. “That's a dumb plan. One mistake and everyone in there goes kablooey.” Rain brought her hand to her mouth, utterly shocked at how Tali was mouthing off to the man who had just taken out Surra. Much to her surprise though, he actually smiled. “I’m assuming you have a better plan?” “I might…..if I wasn’t elbow deep in your butchery. As it is now, I’m a wee bit busy.” “We need to talk, Miles. Privately.” Viktor finally said with a deep sigh. Miles tensed up, his hands hovering near his weapons. Rain could feel his hatred from here, could sense how badly he wanted to gun Viktor down on the spot. Finally, he took a deep breath and followed Viktor. Rain watched as the two enemies moved away from the rest of the group. She reluctantly headed in the opposite direction to change herself, and prayed her captain wouldn’t make any rash decisions. * Miles took out his pistol, wishing desperately that he could have gotten a silencer from his bag. Viktor walked in front of him, totally exposed and unguarded. It would be so easy. Years back, Viktor had walked at Thornes’ side during the massacre of the Regulators, killing anyone who got too close to Jericho. Now he was right here, and Miles couldn’t bring himself to take him out. They stopped not too far from the others. Viktor didn’t speak right away, perhaps waiting to see if Miles would shoot him in the back. He didn’t seem all that concerned. “You have a good team this time, Miles. I've been following your exploits. Very impressive. That’s not even including the most recent one, where you almost took out Jericho, and that girl killed Indara. That being said, I'm a little surprised. You don’t look good, Miles. You look…..sick.” “I’d say I look pretty good for a dead man.” “That's true. That's very true.” Viktor said, looking up at the sky, hands on his hips. “Jericho understands your pain a bit better now, I think. He and Indara were close.” Miles took a few steps forward. “Not as close as you though. How would he react if I took you down right here?” Viktor didn't move at the threat. His response was flat and monotonous, a mere statement of fact. “You can't hurt me. You know it and I know it. Not only that, but you can't hurt Jericho either. You've lost your chance I'm afraid. You will never get close to him again. I won't allow it.” “I’m immortal. That’s a significant advantage I have. I’m willing to bet that I'll get another chance one day.” “No.” Viktor said with utmost seriousness. “If you were to try it, I would have no choice but to neutralize you in whatever way I could. Maybe I’d take your legs, your head possibly. Immortal or not, you wouldn’t be able to threaten Jericho again.” “Your threats don’t scare me.” Miles said with a confidence he didn’t feel. This man was terrifying for reasons Miles couldn’t understand. His display against Surra was one thing, but Miles had heard far worse stories about Viktor, too many of them to think they were made up or exaggerated. Viktor moved closer, his presence bearing down and making him appear larger than he was. His calm demeanor seemed to vanish like melting snow. “Your team, if they followed you, would be killed. All of them, Miles. I would take each and every one of them from you, one at a time, until you're alone again.” Miles found himself looking over to where his team was stationed and he suddenly found himself thinking of Rain. His own secret weapon, and possibly the only one who could win against this monster. “It’s time to give it up. Don’t give Jericho any more reasons to come after your group. He likes you, he really does. He respects you, and to some extent so do I. But Jericho, no matter what horrible things he's done is the best thing for this land. I won’t let anyone threaten the peace he's sacrificed so much to establish.” “Sacrificed?! What in the hell has he sacrificed aside from my friends and family? He used us as his pawns and got rid of us once we weren't useful anymore.” Viktor sighed and sat back down, his calm demeanor returning. “You don’t know him, not really. I’m not interested in arguing. Stay away, or I'll kill you all, orders or not. Consider this your only warning.” * Everyone joined together again as Tali finished binding Surra’s wounds. The blue-haired warrior lay unconscious on the field, her face pale from blood loss, her breathing slight. Miyuki held her hand, her eyes willing her lover to pull through. Rain sat beside her, wanting to give some kind of comfort to make her friend feel reassured. Viktor returned with Miles close behind, but neither met her eyes. “So, have you thought of a plan?” Viktor asked as he gazed at the factory. “Maybe.” Tali mused before pointing at the radio tower near the factory. “That tower is amplifying the signal to the collars. An EMP attached to the tower might be able to take out the collars ability to detonate.” “I’m sensing a ‘but’ incoming.” Rocco mumbled. “But….the problem is that these collars have a history of malfunctioning. If we take out the signal to the collars, it might shut them down…..or it could cause them to detonate.” “Is there any way to know for sure?” Viktor asked, a hint of anxiety creeping in his eyes. He looked calm to the eye, but Rain could sense something else under his seemingly uncaring facade. Something about all this was worrying him, but he kept it well hidden. Only his longing gaze betrayed his true feelings. Tali ran her hands through her hair. “I don't know. I haven't seen a slave collar up close before. If I had one to take apart and tinker with, then maybe I could be more certain.” Viktor went over to his bag without saying a word, searching through it quickly before pulling out a slave collar and tossing it to Tali, who looked at it with an excited gaze that she failed to hide. “What the hell?” Gabe asked. “You just carry that around do you?” “This one is special, personal.” Viktor explained. “It used to grace my neck a long time ago. I had the idea of putting it around this Overlord while I dragged him back to Jericho.” Rain was taken aback by his admission. She couldn’t imagine how anyone had managed to keep someone like Viktor as a slave. The idea seemed ludicrous. Rocco grunted as he sat down in the grass. “Just so I'm understanding the plan here, we're trusting a woman who manages to blow up most of her inventions everyday, to make something NOT blow up?” “Sounds ridiculous when you say it.” Gabe offered. Tali’s face grew red, as she began to proudly name everything she had made that had not blown up. Gabe and Rocco nodded halfheartedly while her list grew. Only Rain noticed how Viktor glared at her, and only she saw how a trace of fear entered his eyes. Meanwhile, Tali continued to argue. “What about, Mr. Happy? I didn't blow him up.” “But if there's a God, I'll blow you up one day.” Mr. Happy mused. “Blow you all up. Maybe chop you all into pieces first or boil you all alive in acid. I haven't decided yet.” “If an insane, murderous robot is your crowning achievement, we are all screwed.” Rocco sighed. Conversation died down as Tali worked, carefully disassembling the slave collar. Whatever she was seeing made her squeal in delight but they all left her to it. Rocco and Gabe kept an eye on the factory, Miyuki kept watch over Surra, and Rain watched Miles. Her leader seemed lost in thought as he gazed over to where Viktor sat nearby. He had murder on his mind, and every minute that passed made his feelings grow. She could feel how badly he wanted to take some small measure of revenge. But he didn't move. Not yet. An hour passed this way until Tali sat back, finally satisfied. She had put the collar back together with painstaking precision but she still looked like a doctor about to give bad news. “Well I'm pretty certain an EMP will do the trick and deactivate the collars, but the glitches on these collars are well known, especially when they are tampered with. Nothing I do will totally negate the risk.” Viktor didn't look happy, but without a better plan he didn't have much of a choice. “One other problem.” Tali continued. “I'll need to fit the device on the radio tower itself, but they have it surrounded. We could try talking to them I guess. Maybe they'll let us try. After all, we're trying to help them.” “More likely they would attack and try to make us slaves too. It's too risky for them and us.” Miles said. “Maybe a distraction?” Rocco offered. “We could try to draw them away. Not sure how though. It would have to be a big distraction.” Miyuki stood up suddenly. Without a word she matches over to Tali and snatched the slave collar from her. It was clear in an instant what she intended but no one was fast enough to keep her from clamping the device around her neck. As she did a small red light appeared indicating that it was armed, no doubt connected to the same network the other collars were attached too. “Have you lost your mind?!” Tali nearly screamed. “What have you done, babe?” Rocco barely got out. “Why…..I-I don't get it.” Miyuki looked over to the factory. “You need a distraction. Trust me, I'm the best one. Garret won’t be able to resist. This is the best option.” “Bullshit!” Rocco cried. “A better option would be one that doesn’t get your head blown off. Don't you do this.” “It's already done. I'm a bit committed at this point.” Further protests didn't move her, didn't change her mind. She walked up to each of them and said her goodbyes, lingering on Rocco and Surra the most. She knelt down and kissed Surra on the lips and whispered soft words to her. “This is a brave thing your doing.” Viktor said as he offered his hand. “If it's possible, I’ll do whatever I can to make sure you come back safe.” Rain was last. The threat of death was always near, but this time it seemed closer and it made her feel close to tears. Miyuki brushed off her concern and picked her up like a child. Normally, Rain hated being picked up like this. It was demeaning for one. Even worse, it meant her diapers were no doubt visible to the others. To his credit, Viktor turned his head as soon as he noticed. It didn’t matter though, not now, not when this might be the last time she ever saw Miyuki alive. “Don't you start crying, Rain. Whatever happens today, it’s of my choosing. This has to end by my hand. And if I don’t make it, that’s okay too.” “It's not okay! How could you say that?!” Miyuki took her hands and put them to her face, her eyes burning. “Look! You look into my eyes…..tell me what you see. Tell me.” After a few moments of hesitation, Rain opened her mind and delved into Miyuki’s, and once again she found herself looking through her eyes. * In the years that followed her escape from the arena of her childhood, Miyuki had roamed the wastes. She trusted no one, she let no one near her. She stayed away from towns and villages, choosing instead to live in squalor and solitude. She kept her sword close to her, clutching it until her knuckles grew white and her fingers lost feeling. She attacked anyone who ventured too close to her, convinced that they meant to steal her few possessions, whether it was her food or her life. She never gave them a chance to explain otherwise. But that winter was particularly cold and harsh. Her ruin of a home kept a roof over her head, but the holes in the walls let in the freezing air and burning snow. It didn’t come as too much of a surprise to her when she grew ill. The fever scorched her to the bone, and the moments when it passed only brought back the cold that so tormented her. One night as she slumbered, a lone figure made it's way into her home. The footsteps were loud enough to wake her, but she couldn’t force herself to her feet. She drew her blade anyway and swung at the figure from her knees. The figure leapt back in surprise and pulled down the covering from it's face. A ghoul. It didn’t matter to her. He was an enemy plain and simple. It took all her strength to stand up, but she managed it. “Take it easy, babe. I'm not looking for trouble. I just got caught in the storm. I was freezing my balls off out there. I didn't even know anyone lived here.” “Fuck you.” Miyuki spat out with great effort. “Get out of here before I cut your head off.” She swung again, but ghoul stayed just out of reach “No offense lady, but you don’t look like you're in any shape to cut my head off. You look pretty sick actually. I got some medicine that might help if you ask nicely.” She swung again, this time falling over in the attempt. The ghoul laughed and put up his hands. “ I was only kidding. Of course I'll give you some. Damn. Name’s Rocco by the way.” She screamed at him, she raged that she didn't want his help. He didn’t listen. He kept her safe from marauders, cared for her through her illness, and made no attempt to steal from her. It took all winter, but in the end, she actually trusted him enough to share her story. The world shifted. The world was dark and filled with screams. One scream in particular. Rocco lit a candle, illuminating the small, dank room. Miyuki wished he hadn't. She hadn't wanted to see what she was doing, not so well anyway. “How's our guest? Has he learned the errors of his ways?” Rocco spoke with a lighthearted tone that Miyuki couldn't share. The man tied to the chair before her deserved the pain he was getting. He had been running a group of bandits, tormenting villagers. What's more, he was an evil man, inside and out. That’s what Miyuki had told Rocco when she asked for his help. His name was Bill Tucker, the eldest and most violent of the Tucker brothers who had taken her captive so many years ago. She had killed the youngest brother when she had escaped years before. Garret Tucker had vanished after the arena had been destroyed. But old Bill had made enough noise that she had been able to track him down with Rocco’s help. “The punishment should fit the crime.” Rocco mused. “A month of torture doesn't hold a candle to the years he took from you. Maybe take an eye next?” He was right. She knew he was right. But it didn't feel right. Bill Tucker was beyond speaking at this point. He only moaned and screamed as she picked him a part piece by piece. He had been the most physically violent to her when they had kidnapped her, but even so this felt wrong. Despite everything he had done, she couldn’t bring herself to enjoy his suffering. On the contrary, it sickened her. But every time she looked into his eyes she couldn't bring herself to end it, even though her actions made her a monster in her own eyes. So she kept him, hurt him, over and over again. She barely felt human by the time he finally died, but she did feel a great relief. Of course her nights were plagued by nightmares of his screams long after he died. He tormented her in death as he had on life. It was a bitter irony. She began to believe she could never be free of her pain. * Rain returned to the present at last, jolting in Miyuki’s arms. She felt like she had been Miyuki for years, lived those events herself, and felt all her pain. Digging into another's memories was always hard, but this time was somehow worse. The memories, though painful, shed light on why Miyuki was so close to Rocco. Not for the first time, Rain marveled at how her own relationship with Miyuki had evolved over time, considering how hostile Miyuki was to just about anyone new to her. Miyuki didn't say anything at first. Instead, she carried her away from the others and laid her gently on the grass. Rain looked up at her confused until she saw one of her pink diapers on the ground beside her. She reached her hand down and gave her current diaper a few pokes. Sure enough, she was wet again, though probably not enough to warrant a change. Miyuki went right to it though, and looking in her eyes, Rain understood this would be the last time Miyuki changed her diaper. Her thoughts seemed so clear now. Miyuki didn't plan on coming back. She was going in with every intention of settling her past before her end came. “Why did you show me that? Why did you make me watch that?” Rain asked. As horrible as seeing Miyuki and Rocco torture a man was, Rain still couldn’t bring herself to blame her friend for it, not after everything she had gone through. “I needed you to see it. You needed to see what kind of person I really am. No matter what happens today…..it's okay. I deserve it, you know? If I don't make it.” As she spoke, Rain noticed her hands shaking as she finished wiping her clean. Rain knew what she was feeling. She had felt it herself many times, and had seen it many times in others since she had joined with Miles. It was terror. Pure terror. “But you will.” Rain interrupted, sitting up only to have Miyuki force her back down and finish putting her diaper on. “You have to come back. We can’t get by without you.” Miyuki shook her head, and a few tears fell down her face. “I'm a bad person, kiddo. I've hurt people my whole life. Sometimes to stay alive, sometimes for revenge. I'm still hurting people. The only person stupid enough to love me is Surra, and that's just because she's a shit person too. She'll probably die soon anyway.” As soon as the last tape was in place, Rain sat up and wrapped Miyuki in a tight hug. Her friend began openly sobbing as they clutched each other. Rain held her close, but couldn't find words to calm her. She could count on one hand the times Miyuki had cried. “Listen to me, Miyuki. Surra is going to be fine. You're going to be okay. We're gonna save the day like always, and then we're all going home, okay?” “I'm so scared, Rain. I thought I could do this, but now…..I don’t know. I don’t want to die alone in there!” Miyuki sobbed, her courage having evaporated. “Stop! You are not going to die. I promise you. Look at me. You're going to be fine. You just have to keep it together until we get to you. Can you do that?” “Yeah I think so.” Miyuki said after a few deep breaths. “I’m sorry. It's just….the idea of seeing him again, of being at his mercy again….” “Don’t worry. You're not the same little girl that he tormented in the past.” Rain said calmly. “Trust me, by the end of this job, Garret Tucker will be at your mercy.” * The inside of the factory was filled with blood and screams. So like the arena of old. Garret Tucker watched as two of his prisoners hacked away at each other with machetes. He sat in what passed as a throne on one of the walkways, high above the circle of combat. One of the combatants would win soon and the fun would be over. He unfortunately couldn’t afford to keep killing his slaves, not when there were only a few collars left. He still needed his army for a little while. His plan had gone better than he could have hoped. In one move, he had propelled himself up in the world. He had marked himself as a man of importance, someone to be feared. Very soon, he would no longer have to worry about the collars. All because of a certain brat he had locked up, waiting to be rescued. To think he had almost overlooked her. The attack on Viktor’s wife was just to get her keys, but taking Aimee was a stroke of genius if he had ever heard of one. Viktor would no doubt come to rescue her, he knew he would. Jericho sat unprotected from his enemies and soon the rebels who had helped him find the collars would take the opportunity to end him once and for all. An ignominious end to the great and powerful Jericho Thorne. He was snapped from his scheming as one of the two fighters fell at last. The winner stood triumphantly above his adversary, ready to make the killing blow. The winner, a large bald man no doubt used to working on a farm, looked up defiantly. “I won’t kill him. I can’t.” Such rebellion was bound to occur from time to time. These villagers weren't used to having a to take orders yet. But of course it wouldn’t last long. “What do ya mean? You got him on the ropes, big guy. Just squat down there and stab him. Look at him, he can’t even fight anymore. If ya don’t kill him, I'll have to kill you, and to be honest I was rooting for you the whole time. It'd be a shame to pop yer head off.” Garret pointed his remote a the man with a wolfish grin. The remote itself looked similar to an old television remote. All he had to do was type in the number of the collar he wanted to explode and the poor sap would go out with a wonderful bang. A larg red button would detonate all the collars if he was truly desperate. Finally, there was a password that would release all the collars, but that wouldn’t be happening. Garret didn’t even know what it was. No one was escaping. He watched with fascination as the farmer turned fighter debated and wrestled with his conscious. Sure enough, he did as he was told eventually and ended the losers misery. “Well done!” Garret cheered. “A true champion in the making right here ladies and gents!” He looked down at his gathered army, soaking in their hatred and resentment. I pointed the remote back at the winner and smiled before typing the number to his collar. For a few seconds he got to enjoy the look of fear on the man’s face before his face vanished forever in a fiery explosion. Oh the screams, the outrage. It was like music to him. He ignored them all, got up and walked happily to the small office that housed the most important girl in the world. She was typical for a five year old, he supposed. Ever since he had taken her all she had done was scream and cry, all day every day. Currently she had taken to kicking the walls with the energy only a child could muster. He unlocked the door and strolled inside, pushing the child backwards when she tried to run by him. Once the door was secured he turned back to his prize. “What's the matter, little rat? Ain't ya enjoying my hospitality? I thought you'd be grateful. I haven't hurt ya, have I? I'm keeping you well fed and warm. Lot's a people don’t get treatment like that.” The small girl moved herself into a corner and glared at him from over the collar around her neck. When it came to looks, she favored her mother, but that glare? That was pure Viktor. “I wanna go home! My mom’s gonna be mad if you don't take me home.” Garret knelt down to her level. Something about the look she was giving him bugged him. “I wouldn’t worry about your ma, kiddo. See I messed her up pretty good back there. She's probably dead. Like Indara you know? Theres another bitch whose no longer with us. Hell, maybe I'll take ya to visit her grave sometime.” Aimee kept glaring at him, but couldn’t keep her eyes from tearing up. “Aw….I’m sorry, darlin. Did I make you sad? Well hey, that's life. People die.” “You're gonna die.” Aimee said with difficulty. “My daddy is gonna come get me and then you'll be sorry!” He moved closer and took her small hands in his. “Ya don't get it, do ya little rat? Of course he's gonna come. He's gonna be wanting some vengeance most likely, and of course he wants to save you like a good old man should.” He said softly as he tightened his grip, making the child squirm in discomfort. “I want him to come find me. Know why? Cause as soon as he does, blam! I'm gonna put collar on him just like yours. Once I got big bad Viktor under my control, ain’t nobody gonna want to mess with me. Hell, they’ll be lining up to join me once Jericho is dead!” He squeezed the girl's hands tighter as he spoke, smiling when she finally cried out. “And of course yer pa will do whatever I say, cause if he doesn't……well you get the idea.” Viktor’s daughter kept up her glare, eyes brimming with tears. Garret was so focused on her face, he didn’t notice her tiny foot flying towards him. It hit him hard in the nose, making him finally release his grip and fall backwards. He got back up with a laugh at her spirit, his hand touching his nose and coming back with blood. “I'll let ya have that one, little rat. You're owed that much I guess. After all, you're the key to my future, the key to my rising power. You're gonna make me a king, girl! You feel me, girl?! I'm gonna be a fucking king!" Without really meaning to he began laughing uncontrollably. A knock at the door ended his fun and he briefly considered killing whoever was bothering him. With a grunt he got to his feet and unlocked the door. He didn’t recognize the fearful woman, but he rarely bothered to look at their faces too closely. “You have ten seconds to tell me why you're bothering me before I pop your head off. I'd hurry if I were you.” She kept her eyes to the ground. “I'm sorry m-master. A new slave was brought in just now. A w-woman.” “Okay? So what? Is she a particularly beautiful woman?” “She knows you, master. She called for you by name.” His interest was admittedly peaked. Who was this woman? Someone from Jericho’s territory maybe? He locked the office door behind him and followed his slave back to his throne. But the sight that awaited him when he looked down took his breath away. A face, all grown up, glared up at him with a burning hatred, a hatred that he recognized from long ago. “As I live and breath. If it ain't the little rat that done escaped the maze.” Miyuki tugged at the collar around her neck before spitting on the ground. “Hello, Garrett. Long time no see.”

So I'm going through a weird time. Not sure what I'm feeling. My wife and I have tried for years to have a second child. After our first, we suffered through two miscarriages, and those were so painful I don't know how we recovered. Four years have passed from our second miscarriage and we haven't gotten pregnant again, until yesterday. On this momentous occasion, I should be rejoicing, and part of me is. But the other feelings are there too. Fear that we might lose another and shame that I can't help but think that losing it might be for the best (we aren't in a greatest place financially) I had that same feeling the first time we got pregnant again and for as horrible as the miscarriage was, there was a very small part of me that felt a little relief. That's a horrible feeling to have. If the worst happens and we lose this baby....I want to be clear too, I don't want to lose it. It's weird I guess to feel responsible for something that's not my fault, but I constantly feel like that. Can't win really. I'm going to have internal conflicts no matter what. I'm bitchy that way. lol. Cross your fingers folks.

I'm still around and I do apologize for the wait. You would think I would have had more time to write during this virus thing, but actually I have had far less. It's nice to see that my story hasn't been forgotten and people still get excited whenever it pops up. I promise the next chapter is coming soon. Maybe Monday if I'm lucky and get time to finish it. Talk to you soon everyone!

Could be better, could be worse. I'm glad you're enjoying the story. I will point out that you predicated a fight between Surra and Titus. You weren't dreaming big enough. lol. Let's see here, we got this current arc, then another really cool arc, and then we will have reached the endgame. Exciting stuff.

“People are disappearing. It started off slow at first, but more and more vanish every day, whole villages at once.” Tali brought the news reluctantly. They had only made it back to the base maybe a week prior and they were all still exhausted. Travel had been rough on Miles especially, and Rain had laid awake many nights listening to his ragged hacking and coughing. Even Rocco and Miyuki, normally always psyched for battle, looked grim at the idea of moving out once more. Rain was sitting on the floor in a pink nightie Tali had found for her. She shifted a bit, hearing her diaper crinkle as she accepted a bowl of noodles from Gabe, who took a seat at the table with the others. “The last time people started going missing, it was the work of that crazy priest.” Rain muttered as she ate. The thought of the Good Priest possibly being back unnerved her more than she let on. He should be dead though. They had left his cult in utter ruins and the priest himself had been left for his hungry monster to devour. That creature, whatever it had been, haunted her still. But Miles squashed that notion quickly enough. “It's not him. He never took so many at once. It was always a few at each village, whoever they could ensnare with that water of theirs. This is different. Whole towns vanishing overnight……” “There is one good thing in all this.” Tali continued. “There's a pattern, a clear one at that.” She pulled out a map and spread it on the table. Rain got up with a grunt, not caring that her diaper was peeking out from her nightie, it's white plastic no doubt tinged yellow by now. At the map, Tali traced the path of the disappearances. “It started up north, about midway between here and Thorne’s area. Then it spread south, straight south, taking every town along the way. That's four by now.” “So it's just random? Whichever place is closest from the last?” Miyuki asked. “Exactly. What I can’t figure out is how it's happening. From reports, there's noticeable signs of struggle left over, but not a single body left. So where are they going?” “How much time between each attack?” Gabriel asked. “A large group would draw attention unless the majority was based somewhere. If someone is capturing people, they must be going somewhere.” “I don't know about that.” Tali answered. “Everything we have is scattered rumors, but I do know that people have caught on. Towns are on alert, keeping an eye out.” Gabe looked over at Miles, wondering if he should take point once again. The captain just waved his hand wearily as an affirmative. He still had neither the energy nor the inclination to lead. Gabe cleared his throat and pointed to the map. “Good news is that we can predict where the next attack will be, assuming of course the pattern stays the same. Bad news is it will take a good while to get up there and who knows how many towns will be taken by then.” “Can't we just wait for this thing to come to us?” Rocco moaned. “No dice. If we're going to get ahead of all this, we need to move. Tonight. Now.” If looks could kill, Gabriel would be a smoking and charred pile of ash. His old days of soldiering made him immune to the groaning and evil glares of his teammates. But still, Miles didn't object. He had made it clear that Gabriel was in charge, but even he looked dampened at the thought of travelling so soon. He didn’t complain of course, just got to his feet sluggishly and limped to his room. After more arguing and complaints, they rest did the same. Rain changed out of her nightie and began putting on her clothes and armor. There was too much ground to cover for the whole baby in the stroller idea to work again. Tali came by to change her, but she informed her that she wasn’t wet enough to warrant a change, not in one of her night diapers anyway. Tali looked a bit shocked, but nodded and got back to packing. She packed her bags and headed to the armory. She chose a carbine rifle, a pistol, and her arc rifle. She figured that if the firepower she packed wasn’t enough, her powers would do the rest. It was going to be a slog, no doubt about it, but she would have been lying to say she wasn’t a little excited to use her powers again. The more she used them, the more intoxicating they became. Lately she had been using them for pranks, pulling or pushing things just out of people’s reach with her mind. It was stupid, juvenile, and almost not worth the associated headaches or fatigue that came with it, but damn it was hilarious. Gabe looked befuddled each time he entered his room to find it different than when he had left it. As a small measure of vengeance for his stupid idea to turn her into an overgrown infant, she had been moving his room around with only her mind to mess with him. It took effort and precision, but she felt it was worth it. Before the hour was up, they were ready to mobilize, with Gabe leading the way in his power armor. They were even taking Mr. Happy as a back-up measure if the fighting was too hard. Looking at them all, standing tall and fearsome, armed and armored, there was nothing they couldn’t handle, Rain was convinced of that. The journey north was spent trudging through mud and muck, moving though the woods and avoiding the main roads. Another one of Gabe’s ideas. The threat of bounty hunters or another assassin meant that they needed to forge ahead with caution. It also meant that she had to spend a good hour each night cleaning dirt from her boots. After the fourth day of travel she was utterly sick of it all. Maybe Hudson’s desperate search for a way to restore a vehicle was a worthy mission after all. She moved to her tent almost dead on her feet and collapsed onto her sleeping bag. Miyuki came in about two minutes after. “Look at you. A little walking and you fall to pieces. I think all those rides on Gabriel’s shoulders and in strollers have made you lazy. When we get back, I’m gonna make you run laps around the base again, you clearly need the exercise.” Rain narrowed her eyes in confusion. “What's up your butt?” “What's up my butt is trying to keep your butt alive. With everyone in the state coming after you, it's important to keep in shape. Now, speaking of butts, I'm here to clean yours, your highness, so turn over and assume the position.” Rain obeyed. “I don't see a problem. I have enough power to face anything, why should I run?” Miyuki unfolded a clean diaper and sat down in between her. “That's a good way to get yourself killed. You assume that your magic tricks will always keep you on top, but it's stupid to think that way. People adapt, kiddo, better believe it. You start relying on one trick and you'll be helpless if someone finds away around it.” Rain grumbled and tuned her out for the remainder of the change. She could fight just as well with her bare hands or with any kind of weapon. So what if all the walking got to her a bit? Miyuki closed up the new diaper and prepared to head out, probably tired from lecturing her. She left and Rain got into her sleeping bag along with her stuffed monkey and bear. She had come prepared for sure. Reaching into her bag, she pulled out one last item, one that the others didn't know about. She looked at the white and pink pacifier in her hand. It had mysteriously gone “missing” shortly after the last mission. Rain couldn’t explain why, but she had grown attached to the sucker, there was something……soothing about it. Tali would have loved it, but she had been busy with Miles. If the walking had been rough on anyone, it was him. Each day he moved with an almost determined gait, only to sleep like the dead each night. No one asked him to do any watches like normal. Rain blew out the candle and placed the pacifier in her mouth as she curled up for the night. It was her little secret. No one would know. * It was late in the night when an explosion woke her from slumber. She shot up at once, pulling on her skirt and grabbing her pistol. She spat out her pacifier onto her sleeping bag and stepped out into the night. She saw the rest of the team already up and about. The explosion had come from the west. Miles, Rocco, and Tali were headed that way. Gabe, Miyuki, and Happy stayed at the camp but kept their eyes on the others. Rain took a deep breath and moved to join the others. Then a hand clamped around her mouth and an arm began dragging her backward into the woods. She kicked and fought until she felt a powerful shock to her side. It hurt so bad, she couldn't focus on anything else. She might have passed out for a few moments, but when she came to she was being bound by a lovely dark skinned woman, while a large man looked out for others. He was bald with a handlebar moustache. But it was his armor that shocked her the most. It was power armor, but it looked……crude looking and unfinished, with one arm and one leg entirely devoid of a protective outer shell, the frame the only part left. Her arms had already been bound with duct tape, with the woman sticking two strips over her mouth when she stirred. Her legs were left for last, the tape encircling them several times. The dark skinned woman looked her over with a sad glance, then flipped up her skirt. “It's her. Diapers and all. Horace, this feels wrong. I can’t believe she's the target. She's so small.” The man turned his head a bit. “Don't be so sentimental. It's a job, that’s all. We haul her up north, drop her off, and collect the bounty like we always do. Anything other than that isn't our concern.” The woman still looked unhappy, but nodded anyway. She sighed and looked at her bound prisoner. “I’m real sorry about this. Fucking wasteland, y’know? I need the money. It's nothing personal.” “Don't talk to it.” Horace barked gruffly. “We head out in five minutes whether the others are back or not. Their little explosion trick worked, but we have the prize. Maybe we should just go. The money will split better between two rather than five anyway and I’ve gotten tired of those idiots. You're the only one I like working with anyway.” “This is the rendezvous point. They'll be here.” Horace seemed unconvinced. “Maybe. My worry is that they'll be followed. I'd rather not fight if I didn’t have too. A lot can happen in a firefight, like our cargo getting shot up.” Rain trashed against her bonds, whimpering with effort. Once again the woman looked her over with sympathy. “Don't mind Horace. He's a dick. My name is Bryn. I'll do what I can to keep you comfortable as long as work with me. Cooperate, yeah? If you don't the trip is going to be a whole lot harder than it needs to be, and we'll still get you there in the end.” Horace knelt down and grabbed her roughly by the chin. “What the nice lady means to say is don't fuck about or we'll beat the living shit out of you. We want you alive, but the bounty never said your legs couldn’t be broken.” Rain glared at her captors with fury in her eyes. She could have tossed the woman into a large tree if she wanted too, but that left the dude in the power armor and she wasn’t sure if she could lift him, power armor weighed a ton. And if she failed, then they would know what she could do and she could either be seriously hurt or worse. Then again, she'd never know unless she tried. “Shit.” Bryn exclaimed, still looking at her. “She's got one hell of a glare.” Horace just laughed, still looking out for his comrades. “I bet. She's pissed. I bet she thought she was safe, that she was a badass. The truth hurts sometimes.” Bryn actually reached up and checked her diaper. “Uh, Horace? Her diaper is wet. What should we do? We didn’t grab a diaper bag did we?” “We did not, but honestly, who cares? Let her sit in it.” “But she'll get a rash.” Horace kept his back turned. “Don't care.” She decided to test the waters a bit. She pushed out as hard as she could, directing it at the armored giant with his back to her. It hit him hard, but he didn't go flying, merely stumbled and fell forward onto his face. After a moment, he got back up, blazing with anger. His forehead was bleeding, must have hit a rock or something. “Jesus, Horace.” Bryne whispered. “What the hell happened?” “I don't fucking know! It felt like I got hit by…..something. Goddammit, my fucking head.” That’s when Rain made a mistake. She laughed. Horace turned on her with a murderous look. In two mighty steps he had crossed the distance between them. He lifted her up quickly and slammed her back down to the ground. All the breath left her body at once, and she could hardly sputter or catch her breath beneath the gag. “You think that's funny, bitch? How about I take out one of your eyes and see how funny that is!” He started choking her, his metal fingers wrapped around her neck. Bryn ran up and tried to stop him, but the man knocked her away effortlessly. She began screaming at him to stop, but she didn't seem to be getting through. Just when Rain thought she was going to pass out, he stopped and tossed her away. Bryn ran up and quickly tore the tape away from her mouth, supporting her as she coughed and gasped. “Are you alright?” Bryn asked before rounding on her partner. “What the hell? You got that pissed cause she laughed at you for falling over. Get a grip and act like a professional.” The bald merc took a deep breath and actually looked ashamed. “Yeah, you're right. I’m sorry, I was just pissed off. I think it's just tension. I hate waiting here when we have what we came for. We should just go already.” Bryn sighed and grabbed her canteen, letting her prisoner drink deeply. Her captor frowned at the marks on her neck. Rain drank a bit, still coughing, trying to find her voice. “Horace……you…..you should…” She couldn’t get it out. He turns back to her. “What? I'm warning you, I wouldn't advise saying anything rash. I’m not in a great mood right now.” Bryn kept supporting her, concern in her eyes. Maybe she feared Rain would say something smart, something to anger her partner again. Instead, Rain stared at the woman’s boot, and the knife inside it. Finally, she looked up and straight at him. “You……really should have worn a helmet.” She focused again, and Bryn’s knife flew from her boot. With a final thought, Rain sent it right at Horace. The blade sunk itself into the bounty hunter’s head before he could scream. As Bryn watched in horror, the large hunter fell over, his power armor crashing and breaking the earth beneath him. Bryn scrambled back away from her. “What the-what the fuck was that?! How did you-oh god, Horace!” “You should really let me go. I'm the worst person in the world you could have come after.” Somehow, her kidnapper found some reservoir of courage and grabbed the electric rod that she had used before. Rain tore it from her hands at once, and sent it flying away into the night sky. “Last chance, Bryn. You were nice to me, compassionate. I don't want to hurt you. If you let me go I'll spare you.” She didn't respond, having fallen to her knees in shock. She couldn't believe what she was seeing, couldn't register or make sense of it. But she did register the gun at the back of her head, looking up to see a ghoul dressed in black staring down at her. “Finally found you. I was worried I might not. Those other idiots weren't forthcoming with your location.” Rocco said with ice in his voice. Bryn looked up fearfully. “The others…..are they okay?” “Dead I'm afraid. Three of them. If you value your life, you'll listen to my friend. Cut her loose.” Rocco said. “Or I'll kill you and cut her free myself.” Bryn nodded at last. She was terrified, near tears. In one night, everything she had known of the world had crumbled. She scrambled and went to cut the tape away, only to realize that her knife was currently lodged in her partner's skull. She looked up at Rocco, trembling and whimpering at whatever she saw in the ghoul’s eyes. He realized at once what the issue was. He spoke in a low growl. “Go get it. Quickly.” She crawled over to Horace and tried to pry the knife free, but it wouldn't come free. Finally, she did start crying. She pulled with all her strength and fell backwards at last when it came free. Rocco watched her the whole time. Rain was getting an odd vibe from him as he stared at the bounty hunter coldly. “I promised her safety, Roc. She's not a bad person, she was just doing a job.” The ghoul smirked slightly, but he didn’t answer. At last Bryn cut her loose, dropping the knife after. “I'm sorry. I wasn’t going to hurt you. I t-told you I wouldn't. It was j-just a job, I swear. Let me go and you'll never see me again I-I swear.” Rocco knelt down close to the hunter. “What are you waiting for then? Pick a direction and go. Nobody is stopping you.” Bryn swallowed and smiled at Rain with tearful eyes. Then she managed to get to her feet and run. Rain watched as she almost made it into the trees. That's when Rocco shot her in the back. She dropped like a stone, but was still alive. She tried to crawl away as the ghoul followed behind her. Then he began whistling that haunting song of his, the one that made her skin crawl and her head ache. Rain watched frozen with surprise…..and fear. She was actually afraid of Rocco in that instant. Indara’s words came back to her, and she started to wonder if she had been right. Of all of them, Rocco was the most ruthless. It was hard to tell sometimes since nobody on the team left survivors, but on rare occasions, she got a feeling from the ghoul. He enjoyed what he did. He liked the violence. Bryn gave up trying to escape and went still. Her words carried on the wind, only just audible. “It's not fair…..It's not fair. I wasn't going to hurt her.” The ghoul laughed a raspy laugh and knelt down to her. “You would have given her to someone who would have hurt her. It's over, lady. Have some dignity and die with a bit of courage.” “It's not fair…..” “Life isn't fair, lady.” “Stop! What are you doing?! I promised her she could go!” Rocco looked back at her and smiled lightly, before finishing her off with a final shot. “I didn't.” Rain felt the rage welling up. She looked at Bryn and hated that the hunter had died so afraid. She wanted to instill that sense of fear in her savior for a moment. Then he walked over and wrapped her in an embrace. “Scared me, kiddo. I was afraid I wouldn’t find you in time. I’m glad you're okay. Sorry if I was harsh, but she did kidnap you. When my someone takes a person I care about, I tend to take it personally.” He meant it. In an instant her anger abated. He cared for her, he was the one who saved her when no one else had. How could she blame him for going a bit too far? She remembered that no matter how much she had liked Indara, and no matter how sympathetic she had been to the synth, she was still an enemy in the end. Indara had been wrong about Gabriel, it only made sense that she had been wrong about Rocco too. She did her best not to look back at Bryn’s corpse as they left, but failed. It turned out the bounty hunters had taken her farther away from the camp than she had thought. After almost fifteen minutes of walking they finally reached the others, all of whom were overjoyed to see her. Tali and Miles both seemed to want to stick to her like glue. They figured she was scared after her kidnapping, but she really wasn't. Even if Rocco hadn’t come for her, she would have escaped on her own. Either way, she indulged them for a few moments before she made her way back to her tent. Daylight would come all too soon, and thanks to the night's distraction, she knew she wouldn’t get much sleep. That was the worst part. She wasn't afraid about being abducted, she was annoyed. If this was how life was going to be with a price on her head, she was going to be faced with a lot of sleepless nights. What a bother. Tali of course came to change her diaper, but unwittingly found the pacifier Rain had left on her sleeping bag. She looked accusingly at Rain, who currently laid before her in a wet diaper. Rain sputtered for a moment trying to think of an excuse, but her guardian just popped the soother in her mouth. “You don't need to explain anything to me.” She said. No matter how hard she tried though, she couldn't hide the smirk she wore. * They arrived at the next targeted town too late. They had heard screams in the distance and had moved as fast as they could. They found the settlement empty and dead, not a soul around. Houses lay empty, their doors kicked in. Signs of conflict were strewn about, with a few bloodstains decorating walls and the floors. However, they still heard sounds of a struggle coming from somewhere nearby. The screams led them through the forsaken town and out the other side into the wilderness once again. Gabe stayed back to check the town over as the rest of the team continued. They moved closer, hearing faint gunfire as they went further and further out. They slowed down and hid themselves as best they could, laying flat on their stomachs and crawling forward. They found two survivors, a man and a woman, holding each other tightly as they looked around in a panic. They were clearly aware of some enemy nearby, though the team had yet to see anything. Rain fidgeted, wanting to get up and protect the couple, but Miles kept his hand up, firmly refusing to move. Tali and Miyuki seemed to have the same misgivings, but still they remained. From the darkness, small orbs came flying through the air from multiple directions, landing and bouncing until they were right near the couple. Before they could react, the orbs detonated, emitting a blinding light. The team was far enough away that the flash grenades didn’t faze them, but the poor couple twisted about helplessly, now unable to fight back. Five figures rushed forward as the pair stumbled about. The couple clutched each other tightly, but the figures tore them apart anyway. Two grabbed the girl, two grabbed the guy, while the last stood ready with a strange device in his hand. It looked faintly like a collar. “Slave collars.” Tali muttered. “I haven’t seen those in a long time.” “I thought Thorne had destroyed them all years ago.” Rocco whispered. The team watched as the couple were tackled to the ground and the last figure approached each one and began fitting the devices over their necks. Again they looked to Miles, desperate to intervene, but he wouldn’t give the signal. Rocco had his weapon ready anyway. “Captain, if we don’t do something now, we're gonna lose these guys.” Miles shook his head with a somber gaze. “There's nothing we can do. Look closer.” They looked closer and discovered what he meant. The attacker’s had collars on their necks as well. Slaves gathering more slaves? The couple screamed as the collars were fixed into place. The attackers backed off, looking dejected themselves. The one who had attached the collars gave a heavy sigh before motioning to his men to get the couple on their feet. “Sorry. We don’t have a choice, and now you don’t either. You belong to the Overlord now. If you value keeping your heads attached to your bodies, I suggest you fall in line. Let’s get back to the others. We don't have time to waste.” The group started heading out, their two new members clutching each other tightly as they followed behind. Rain watched them leave with a heavy heart. What could they do? “Well shit. What now, boss?” Rocco asked. “Fighting against men and women held against their will is a fairly gray area. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m all for helping people, but if I’m gettting shot at, I’m gonna shoot back.” “Even if they don’t have a choice?” Rain asked. “We can’t hurt innocent people.” She was shocked that it needed to be said. Surely he wasn’t suggesting they fire on people forced to fight them? “That's not what he meant.” Miyuki said, shooting the ghoul a look. Miles interrupted the argument. “We need to follow them. If they lead us to whoever has control, we might be able to figure out a plan. We need to avoid any type of engagement for now. They'll have to fight us, and we can’t fight them, so stealth is key here. Let’s get back to Gabe and then follow them back to this Overlord character.” They found the slaves fairly easily, the group they followed had merged with a much larger group, probably half of which were composed of the remainder of the town. They kept their distance, but it wasn’t hard to follow such a large group. “Something is off here.” Tali mused. “Those collars should have a fairly small range, these people shouldn’t have been able to move so far away.” “Why not?” Rain asked. “The whole purpose of the slave collars are to keep people from running off. Normally, if a slave were to escape, their heads would pop off as soon as they got out of range. But it seems these guys are miles away from their base.” “Think the collars are duds?” Miles mused. “Something to trick them into obedience?” The gears in Tali’s head must have been turning quickly, because she answered immediately. “Not likely. Whoever did this has probably made an example already to prove they were serious. No, I’m guessing they must be using some kind of radio tower to boost the signal.” “The bigger issue is how to solve the problem.” Miles said. “We can't even get close. Either the innocent people will be forced to fight us, or whoever is holding the strings could detonate the collars as soon as we're spotted.” It was a problem they had no answer for, as they followed the band of slave soldiers through the endless plains. Rain grimaced as she wobbled along. They hadn't had time to stop, and she was soaked. At this rate she would start leaking down her leg before long. She could always ask for a change and then catch up, but she hated asking. It felt so ridiculously infantile to have to do. Then again, having Tali or Miyuki check her diaper was even worse. It was impossible not to seem like a child when she was stuck dressing as one. The base turned out to be close by, but even then it had been hours since the chase had begun. They had followed the group up a large hill, and when they had come over the other side, there it was. A large factory out in the middle of the empty plains polluting the landscape with ugly steel silos. The land around the factory was nestled with broken bits of road, and nearby was a radio tower, just as Tali had predicted. They rested at the top of the hill, watching the prisoners enter the building, before moving further away to avoid being spotted. The next hour was spent doing the normal things that they always needed to do. They set up their tents and made their camp, and every minute Rain had to keep from screaming about the state of her diaper and it's cold contents. Once everything was set up, she managed to find Miyuki on her own and knew her chance to get changed had finally arrived. She started making her approach when Miyuki was toppled over by a figure who seemingly flew through the air. The two rolled and grappled on the ground before Miyuki found herself pinned on the ground with a knife at her throat. Surra smiled down at her. “Long time no see, lover. Happy to see me?” The others had rushed over during the commotion and groaned when they realized who it was. Surra put her weapon away and helped Miyuki to her feet with a look of pride. “What are you doing here?!” Miyuki asked. “Are you crazy, don’t you know what's going on?!” “Of course I know what's going on, that's why I came. I had to see what all the fuss was about. You guys should really be more careful though. I've been following you for days and you never even knew it.” For a moment Rain fumed that Surra had probably witnessed her abduction by those bounty hunters and decided to not help. She left it alone after thinking about it. Surra had never been looking to do her any favors. She tried instead to catch Tali’s gaze, hoping to convey her desperate need for a clean diaper. But of course, that didn’t happen. “This is a delicate situation, Surra.” Miles said with a roll of his eyes. “We're going to have enough trouble without you making it worse.” “Oh come on!” Surra all but whined. “I’ll be on my best behavior I promise. Hell, I’ll even tell you a secret if you let me stay.” Mr. Happy hovered up after doing a spin. “I for one am pleased as punch to see you here, my love. Give me and hour and I'll bring you the heads of every last slave soldier in that factory.” Miles shooed the robot away. “What secret?” “Someone else has been following you as well. Oh, where is he?” Surra looked around before pointing to a distant but approaching figure. “There he is! You know him?” The man was alone and didn’t seem to be wearing any armor, nor did he appear to be armed with anything other than a large broadsword hung over his back. He was maybe a little taller than Miles, with long hair and an equally long beard. The man made his way to them without a hint of fear. The closer he got, the more she saw why. There was something dangerous about this man, she could feel it in her bones, in her very being. Miles actually took a few steps back, and he actually looked afraid, but none of the others seemed to recognize the man. The man came mere feet away before finally stopping. Rain felt Miles oh his hand on her shoulder and pull her behind him. “Rain, get ready to run. When I tell you, just run. Don't stop, do not look back. Understand?” Rain looked back and forth between Miles and the newcomer, who had yet to actually say anything. The others all looked equally confused. “It's him.” Miles said quietly. “Viktor.” As she felt her bladder yet again release into her already soaked to capacity diaper, and felt a small trickle of moisture run down her leg, she mentally cursed herself for not simply changing her own freaking diaper. * Viktor was an enigma. He was everything she had heard and not at all what she had expected all at the same time. There was something fearsome about him for sure, but there was also a strange gentleness that emanated from him. When their eyes met, she could sense no hostility from him. There was a lot of sadness hiding behind his eyes, a wellspring of regret maybe, she couldn’t tell. The whole group aside from Surra had moved in front of her, to shield her from an attack they were sure was coming. It never did. “I'm not here to hurt the girl, you don’t need to worry. I’m after the same person you are. To that end, I’m here to tell you to leave this matter to me and go home.” “Why would I do that?” Miles asked. “Your presence here endangers those men and women taken by this Overlord person. If you move against him, he might detonate the collars. I won’t allow that. Turn around and leave.” Rain watched him closely. There was something he wasn’t saying. She felt desperation and fear, not for himself, but for someone else. But he had also added something else interesting. “He?” She asked. “You said…..he might detonate the collars.” “Very astute.” Viktor offered with a nod. “The person responsible for this was one of our guys. He stole the collars from us. After we had crushed the slave trade, we thought about destroying them all, we should have. But Thorne and I couldn’t do it, we didn’t know if they might be useful one day.” “So that's what this is about?” Miles asked angrily. “You fucked up and now you're here to fix it, is that it?” Viktor didn’t raise his voice above a whisper. “I don’t owe you any explanation. Leave this to me and go, or I'll be forced to wipe you out here and now. You will not interfere.” Rocco raised his shotgun. “Might want to rethink that. I don't care how badass you think you are, I could blow you away right now if I wanted.” “But you won't. Shoot me and the gunfire will give away your position and the Overlord might get nervous enough to kill those people. Physically, none of you can stand up to me. I do not want to fight, but there's more at stake here than you know. Turn back. I will deal with Tucker.” Rain winced as soon as she heard the name. She turned, hoping to stop her comrade before it as too late. Miyuki moved faster, rushing up to Viktor and grabbing him by the collar. Her voice quivered as she spoke. “Tucker? Garret Tucker? Handsome guy, southern accent?” “Not very handsome to be honest. Someone carved his face up good, left a nasty scar as a parting gift.” Now her voice changed, the fear gone, only anger left. “Garret Tucker was with Thorne this whole time? My mother gave him that scar before he killed her. He kidnapped me as a little girl, sold me to some arena to fight for his amusement! He kept me prisoner for eight years! How could you have allowed him to join with you?!” Her voice had risen high enough that the whole group looked around nervously. Rain almost tried to quiet her when she suddenly burst into tears and slid to her knees, still clutching Viktor. Even Surra had lost her bored gaze and almost appeared concerned. Maybe Miyuki had never divulged her past, maybe it hurt even the headstrong heir of the Oro. Viktor thought for a moment, watching the tearful woman in front of him carefully. “He told us he was a prisoner of the arena. We didn’t know what he was. I am sorry you went through that.” “Fuck your sorry! What do you intend to do about it?” “I'll kill him personally. You have my word.” Viktor assured her immediately. Miyuki couldn’t be mollified. “He’s mine. He took my life away, not yours.” “All the more reason for you to leave. I’m sorry, but I can’t have you going after Tucker for revenge. The risk is too great. Please, I'm asking you one last time to turn back.” “I’m tired of you.” Surra said suddenly, a wild smile appearing on her face. “You know what I think? I think you're used to everyone jumping to do whatever you say out of fear. But I’m not afraid of you, see? In fact, all I want to do is carve you down to size and show everyone what a nothing you are.” “Surra…….don't.” Miles said quietly. “You won’t win. Think about this. Everyone who had ever gone up against Thorne has failed because of this man. I don’t know how, but something tells me they aren’t idle rumors.” “Even better. Maybe I'll get a workout for a change.” Surra said with glee, drawing her machete. “Bring it on!” Viktor sighed and drew his own sword. He sat down his bag and from it brought out a small thin black box. He studied it for a moment before changing his mind and putting it back. “What was that?” Surra asked, moving closer slowly, looking every inch the predator. Viktor moved the bag away and stuck his broadsword in the ground. “A secret weapon, but I won’t need it, not for you.” “Oh, I am gonna enjoy this!” Surra said before charging straight toward him.

This might be my favorite chapter that I've written so far. And seeing as how I hate and loathe my own writing, that's saying a lot. I had a lot of fun with this one. Also, I made an oopsie! The vault where Rain gets her diapers from: I called it Vault 21, but in replaying New Vegas, I discovered it was already taken. My shame is endless. I've changed it to Vault 31 but have no intention on going back and fixing it cause I don't wanna. Anywho, hope you enjoy. Have a happy Cthulhumas readers! May he eat you last! They had been back at base for nearly a week when the bad, yet expected news, finally reached them. As per the usual, it came from Elijah Freeman, the travelling salesman, when he arrived with Rain’s diaper shipment from Vault 31. She could tell before he even spoke that the news wasn’t good. He greeted her with an enthusiasm that didn't match the nervous energy he was giving off. His bodyguard, Yusef, looked at her with a worried sympathy. They had all come into the main room of the base, knowing that Elijah would bring them word from the wider world. Even Miles had left his isolation to greet the trader. While his coughing had lightened up under Tali’s care, he still looked extremely lethargic, moving slowly like a man much older. Gabriel had kept a close eye on him from a distance, but gave his captain space to rest and hopefully heal. After payment for the diapers had been rendered, and business was over, Elijah sighed and finally spilled the beans. “Miss Rain….I don't know what happened but you've made a powerful enemy. Jericho Thorne has put a rather large bounty on you.” “He said he would.” Rain said quietly. That news didn't surprise her. That is, until she found out how much. Elijah handed her a flyer. “He's offered 10,000 caps for you alive, and 5,000 for you dead. As you can see, the description is pretty accurate.” It was too. The flyer listed her physical description amazingly well, not even leaving out her diapers. One of Indara’s men must have provided that detail. It also mentioned that she travelled with Miles. At the top, just below her name, was her new moniker in bold. The Witch of the Wasteland. There was a somber silence as the team took in the news. Miles looked crushed, Tali pulled her closer, Miyuki was cursing softly. Rocco was the only one who differed and gave her a thumbs up. “Hell yeah, kiddo. You're a certified badass now. Damn, I haven't seen a bounty like that……..well……ever. You might be more infamous than Miles even.” She wished that she could share his giddiness, but seeing the proclamation made the whole thing seem terrifyingly real for the first time. With a price that large hovering over her, she would be in danger no matter where she was. “I would take this a bit more seriously.” Yusef said, glaring at the ghoul. “The word is already starting to spread. Soon the hunt will be on. You'll have bounty hunters coming after you down here, and Thorne’s army waiting for you up north.” “What should I do?” She asked, knowing there wasn’t an easy answer. Elijah shrugged, shaking his head. “I'm not sure. You're best bet would probably be to try and get out of the state. Disappear. Head east to the Capital Wasteland. Maybe go west and seek the NCR’s protection.” Miles shook his head. “Any populated places will have hunters. Bounty hunters can make a great living in NCR territories, where they put prices on every ragged band of raiders that pops up.” Rocco shrugged as he lit a cigarette. “That’s true. The NCR have always been spread too thin to deal with marauding bands. So they hire bounty hunters. Got to hand it to them, there's no problem they can’t fix by throwing money at it.” “Why run at all?” Miyuki asked. “Rain still has the advantage here.” Rocco agreed. “No kidding. Indara’s killer will give most people a reason to think twice. Although, for that kind of cash, they might not think too long.” “The biggest advantage is her looks.” Miyuki said, giving Rain’s diapered tush a slap. “Thanks to these diapers, people will always underestimate her, and believe me when I say that’s a big mistake. Plus, she's got all of us to protect her. I feel sorry for whatever idiot tried anything.” Rain blushed even as she moved out of Miyuki’s reach. It was a good argument. With her powers and her looks, she had the potential to really ruin a bounty hunter’s day. She didn't like the idea of running anyway. Her family was here, and she would always feel safer in their presence than alone. Elijah was wringing his hands, looking at the ground while Yusef tried to get urge him on. There was more news, evidently bad. Miles sensed it and managed to wring it from them. “There's one final thing. We heard about it on the way here. It's about Hope’s Folly, that place you saved from the mutant attack in the winter.” Rain could feel her heart sink. The others seemed deflate as well. They all guessed the news. “What happened? Are they okay?” “It happened about a week ago. The Super Mutants returned in force, and attacked at night. By the time the sun rose the next day and some traders passed by, it was all over. The whole place was torched. No survivors.” She was at a loss for words. How could they all be dead? She thought of Erin, the friendly nurse that had taken care of her while she was hurt. Or their leader, Samuel Agrippa, that hard as nails ghoul. True, there were plenty of people there that had lashed out at her from fear, but many had also stood with her. She looked down at the locket Tali had given her, a picture of their team just after that terrible battle. Now it all seemed pointless. “No survivors?” Tali asked, jaw open. “Are you sure? Maybe they're hiding.” Yusef shook his head. “I doubt it. We've had no word of survivors showing up in any other towns. I guess it's possible, but it seems unlikely.” “They've gotten smarter.” Miles noted. If he felt a similar grief, he didn’t show it. “They came at night, rather than charging in during the day. They also kept up the attack, not giving them time to call for help. I guess they held a grudge against the town. Damn shame.” Conversation dwindled but carried on as Rain tried to come to terms with the news. Things were fucked. An army of mutants on the prowl, Thorne raging up north, and she was worth more money than most people would see in their lifetime. The bounty especially worried her. What if too many attacked at once and someone got hurt trying to protect her? She couldn't live with that. Miyuki put an arm around her. “Don't worry so much. We'll keep you safe. Anyone comes at you, we'll kill them. If more come, we'll kill them too.” That was easy for her to say, but Rain could tell she meant it. Miyuki’s world occupied a clear and easy space. Everything for her was black and white. If it was either her family or the rest of the world, she wouldn't hesitate in her choice. Rain loved that about her. As for herself though, she was starting to think that the best thing for everyone would be for her to vanish. Maybe she would never feel safe again, but she would be happy knowing everyone else was safe. * The attack came in the night about three days later. Rain was awakened by loud, blaring alarms and the sound of gunfire. She leapt out of bed, clad in just her diaper and shirt. The others were already up and gathering weapons. However many the enemy had, they had not made it into the compound yet. From the sounds of things, they were taking heavy losses from the security turrets Tali and Gabe had set up years ago. She pushed herself in between Miyuki and Tali, and both responded with various kisses and hugs. Miles, Gabe, and Rocco watched the action outside from a nearby window. “These ain't professional bounty hunters.” Rocco mused. “Professionals wouldn’t have rushed in blind. These punks are probably just some raiders looking to make a quick buck. They shouldn’t be too much of a problem.” “Worry not, young Rain.” Mr. Happy chirped. “I shall not let them take you alive. If it comes down to it, merely give the word and I’ll cut off your head. You won't feel a thing, I've been sharpening my saw for months.” “They still get paid if I’m dead.” Rain pointed out. “Better than being captured by the enemy.” He assured, willing to take any excuse available if it meant murdering her. “Enough of this.” Miles said. “They'll be past the turrets soon. All of you mobilize and deal with them. Rain and I will stay here.” “I can fight!” Rain whined. “You need to stay here.” Tali said, giving her a reassuring look. “We can’t rule out the possibility of a trap. What if the plan is to grab you in the chaos of the fight?” Rain sighed, hating her logic. “Okay. Just be careful out there everyone.” The poor raiders didn't get far. After they dealt with the turrets, they were picked off one by one courtesy of Tali and her rifle. The final nail came in the form of Gabriel in his power armor. The few survivors that managed to escape the compound were cut off and cut down by Miyuki and Rocco. All in all, the attack only lasted twenty minutes. “Are we sure they came for me?” She asked Miles, the only other person to have not taken part in the slaughter. “No other reason to attack us in such force. This screamed of desperation. Like Rocco said, professionals will be worse, because they won’t be stupid enough to attack a heavily fortified compound head on.” He didn't add anything more, just squeezed her shoulder affectionately. Rain could see he still felt guilty. He had already apologized before for getting her involved in all this, but she had rejected his attempt at self blame. She had voted for their attack on Thorne, and she was partly responsible for Indara’s death. If she had backed off of Thorne like the synth had asked, maybe things would be different. Miles didn’t seem to believe her, convinced he had done her wrong. Maybe his intentions hadn't always been honorable. Maybe he did try and use her for his revenge. That didn't change the fact that he had taken her in when she had nobody else. He had trained her so that she didn't always have to be afraid. Those were facts. She was who she was today thanks to him, and with his fragile health, she wished he wouldn't worry so much. While this attack wasn’t serious, it cemented the fact that she was probably going to be hunted for some time to come. How would they be able work like this? Tali returned from the roof, sat down her rifle and gave her a half hug. “Now that the excitement is over for the evening, how about we get you back to bed?” Rain nodded, still worried. She didn't even know why, but she was afraid. “Do you……would you stay with me for a little while?” Tali smiled down at her. “Of course, darlin. From the looks of things, you're in need of a diaper change anyway. Let’s go.” Rain called Miyuki over as well and asked her the same thing. “Sure. You don’t need to be afraid though. Even if one of those idiots had gotten past us, you could have just thrown them out with your mind. You're the last person who should be afraid.” The three of them went back to her room where she immediately laid down for a diaper change. Miyuki and Tali worked together, like it was a routine. It really was by this point, and Rain wasn't even embarrassed anymore. Back in the day, she had nearly had a heart attack at the idea of Miyuki changing her. Once she was in a dry diaper, she climbed in between the two in her bed. It was a bit cramped, but she felt like she could relax for the time being. Everyone seemed to think that she was afraid for her own life, but that wasn’t true. As she continued to develop her abilities, she found that she was far less worried about herself. The truth was she was terrified of losing anyone else. Having them close to her now soothed her. She just wanted to keep them close for now, just for a little while. * Two weeks later, they received a request for help. The town was called Barrow Heights, an old gated complex that had originally been inhabited by a band of Super Mutants. Some enterprising survivors had managed to drive them off or kill them off. Either way, a town had sprung up about six years prior and had been going strong ever since. Their troubles started when the mayor had been assassinated in the night. Some hired killer had gotten in his heavily guarded home undetected……and drowned him in his own toilet. Then a group of raiders had stormed in and taken over, treating the inhabitants as their servants. As long as everybody did as they were told, business continued as usual, although the raiders took a large portion of the towns money and resources. However, as was often the case, the townsfolk wanted revenge for their lost mayor, and evidently blamed the raiders for either killing him or hiring the assassin who had. Miles had called a meeting soon after. Rocco and Miyuki seemed ready for some work. The rest was good for everyone, but boredom often trumped near death encounters. With her arm back in shape, Miyuki had been going stir crazy. Rain was less excited. How would they do this? She was half scared to even leave the base. Then Miles had announced that he wouldn't be leading this mission, leaving it up to Gabriel. The old man took charge quickly enough. “Well the smart move would be to have Miles stay here with Rain and Happy. We should be fine on our own, and that way Rain wouldn't be put in danger.” “I don't want to stay behind!” Rain protested. As much as she worried about the price on her head, being excluded somehow seemed worse. Gabe smiled a grin that said he had figured that. “It just so happens I do have a plan B. I was watching an old spy vid a few days ago and the hero often used disguises. We could do the same.” Miyuki snorted. “That's your plan? What the hell kind of disguises would hide a bunch like us? We tend to stand out. And what about Rain?” “This seems a little far fetched, Gabe.” Tali admitted. But Gabe kept smiling like a master tactician who had considered all the angles. He looked so proud of himself, it was kind of reassuring. Until his plan was revealed. “Here's what I got. Miles and Tali, you would go incognito as a young married couple, with Rain being your daughter, young daughter obviously, still in diapers after all.” “That's stupid!” Rain protested. “I love it!” Tali exclaimed, her earlier doubts no where to be found. “Miles, we could put you in a nice suit, and I have that green dress I've never gotten to wear.” “What about me?” Rain asked, but already she feared the answer. Tali clapped her hands happily. “You have a pretty dress yourself that you’ve hardly worn. We'll do your hair all cute too. It'll be perfect.” Miyuki was laughing while Rain panicked further. She could see Tali already making an outfit up in her head. “B-but I’m not supposed to wear that outside. Miles, say something.” “It's Gabriel's op. What he says goes.” He said with a smirk he couldn’t hide. He leaned back in his chair, unwilling to help. “What about the rest of us?” asked Rocco. “My ugly mug is going to be tough to disguise.” “Two words my friend: Fake moustache.” “That will never work!” Miyuki complained. “I’m interested.” Rocco said. “I’ve always wanted a moustache.” Gabe continued. “Get this. Your cover will be a rich pre-war ghoul whose made it big playing poker. With your card skills, it'll come easy. Miyuki will be your…..uh…..escort for the evening, y’know kiss you for good luck and all that.” “I'm in. I mean, his logic is sound. This may be the greatest plan of all time.” Rocco said happily before turning to Miyuki. “You'll have to wear something sexy, low cut maybe. I'm more than willing to assist you in that regard.” “Have you lost your mind?!” Miyuki asked. Her face was as red with anger as Rain’s was with embarrassment. Miles was openly laughing at this point, either from Gabe’s hair brained idea or everyone’s reaction to it. It was nice to see him laugh. Gabriel ignored her. “I'll go as an old raider looking for a new gang to join. I'll try to get in undercover. Miles will ask around quietly and find out where they are. You all meet up, and I'll start fighting once I hear shooting. We'll be in the best position to take them out.” Tali raised her hand to ask a question. “Can we have some time to scavenge for more costume stuff? I have so many ideas!” “Well of course!” Gabriel beamed. “We need a fake moustache and fancy clothes for Rocco for starters. Plus, I need some good raider clothes. I may have to go hunting. Besides, it's not like these guys are going anywhere until we arrive to flush them out. We have time still.” “Yay!” Tali yelled, high fiving Rocco. “Let's get started!” They all split in different directions except for herself and Miyuki, the only two who continued to protest until the end. “What just happened?” Rain finally asked. “That's easy. Gabe has lost his mind and is planning this mission based on something he saw on a two hundred year old vid. We got the short straws, kiddo. I get to be some low class strumpet, and you'll be knee deep in baby land.” She didn’t like the sound of that, but she figured she wasn't going to be left much choice. Miles wasn't going to step in and the others were all too excited to say otherwise. She figured it was either go with the plan or stay at the base. How bad could it be? * Rain spent the next week in a type of horrible anticipation, often sitting in with Miles, who mostly stayed in bed lately, while the others went off scavenging for their costumes. Miles didn't say much, but it seemed like he enjoyed the company. Miyuki and Rocco had finally been informed of the truth of Miles’ immortality after his weakened state alarmed even them. Before that, the two had lived in absolute certainty of their leader's invincibility. Now everyone knew the truth and no more secrets were left between them. It was funny in a way. The others still seemed so protective of her, while she grew more protective of Miles. Everyday he didn't improve, she feared he had passed some terrible line that could never be uncrossed. So she sat by his side, talking to him when he was awake, gently holding his hand when he drifted to sleep. He looked so frail now it hurt to see. She practiced her mental abilities during this time too. If Miles was going to continue to deteriorate, she needed to become stronger herself. For both their sakes. At first she had little noticeable effects, but by the end of the week it seemed like she had a bit more control. Eventually, the day of reckoning came at last. Everything was ready and she waited in Tali’s room preparing for her descent into babyhood. Miles was up and about, looking sharp in a crisp, black suit. He still looked pale and bit fatigued, but he was getting better at hiding it. Tali finally arrived with her outfit. The blond haired woman was wearing a gorgeous green dress that had an elegant yet simple look to it. She had also styled her hair, putting it into a bun that screamed pre-war mom. “Ready to get dressed, pumpkin?” She asked cheerfully. She placed a few items on the bed, the standard stuff. One of her pink diapers, the wipes, the powder. Then came the dress, that pink abomination that even now made Rain’s eyes hurt to look at. The last two items she had hidden under a blanket. Not a great sign. Rain gulped and nodded fearfully. She laid back so Tali could change her wet night time diaper and deposit her into her humiliating pink one. Rain could hardly breath as her new diaper was put on nice and snug. The dress followed next, and Tali was barely containing her glee. “Let's get your shoes next, then I'll do your hair.” Tali said before putting on the black dress shoes on her. Rain kept quiet as she was slowly transformed into an overgrown toddler. Her hair was put in pigtails and then the final nail in her coffin came out from under the blanket. A pacifier, white with pink hearts. After Tali assured her she had managed to find a clean one from a box, she allowed the thing into her mouth. She felt like an idiot as Tali encouraged her to try it out. She sucked the thing, which did nothing to sooth her. Soon she was going to be out in public looking like this. “You look adorable!! I love it. I wish I could keep you like this everyday.” Rain grumbled behind her pacifier as Tali picked her up and cradled her. The woman was strong that was for sure. “Now for the last touches.” Tali sighed. “Even looking like the epitome of cuteness, you’re a bit too tall to pass as a toddler. So I managed to find a stroller for you. It’s pretty great, let me tell you. You get a nice comfy ride, and we'll just cover your legs with a blanket to hide how long they are. No one will ever know.” Rain popped out her pacifier. “Tali, I’m not sure about this. No one is gonna buy it.” “Ah ah ah, no talking, little one.” Tali said as she put the pacifier back into her charges mouth. “You haven't seen how cute you look. Trust me, no one will notice. All you need to do is sit back, be adorable, and maybe wet your diapers a bit. And that last one you do anyway, so you'll be great. Let’s get you in your stroller.” Rain could only whimper as Tali carried her to the waiting stroller. It looked ordinary enough, but Tali had clearly adjusted it and made it bigger. This made a certain bit of sense as she would seem smaller in it. At least it wasn’t an obnoxious color, but she was still mortified when she fit into it. Tali buckled her in, the strap pushing her diaper up close to body. “Oh. I almost forgot. Here's a bottle in case you get thirsty.” “Tali!” Rain whined, looking at the small pink baby bottle filled with water. “This is too much!” The woman was having too much fun to listen to her complaints. “Hush now. Mommy has to go find your Daddy.” She literally skipped off to find Miles, leaving Rain trapped in the stroller in the hall. She sat despondent for a few minutes before she heard Miyuki laughing at her. She looked beautiful. She wore a black sleeveless dress that fit her form perfectly. Her hair looked beautiful, long and black, with that single crimson streak down the right side. Rain could have killed her. Miyuki looked so sexy, while she was stuck in a stroller, the toddler she was always meant to be. The fact that she actually felt the need to pee a few seconds before it happened didn't do wonders for her dignity either. Miyuki knelt down, smiling smugly. “Oh my goodness! What a cute wittle baby you are. Oh I could just eat you up.” Rain narrowed her eyes and spat out her pacifier. “Don't you have a street corner to stand on?” “You little shit.” Miyuki muttered and began to pinch both of Rain’s cheeks while she couldn't get away. “I'm gonna pinch those little cheeks of yours until they fall off.” “Aghh! Get off me, you meanie!” “Now ladies, no need to fight. You should learn to play nice.” Rocco’s voice said, echoing from down the hall. The ghoul was dressed in a red velvet jacket with gold trim. Truthfully, it looked a bit ridiculous. Along with the jacket, he had managed to find a small fake moustache at a party store a few towns over. The final touches included a pair of sunglasses and large cigar. “I don't know about you two, but I'm dressed for success. Look at me! I'm gonna roll in there and take those suckers for all they're worth!” Rain was about to tell him that just because Gabriel never realized he cheated didn’t mean no one else would, but before she could, Tali showed back up and shoved the pacifier back in her mouth. Miles walked behind her, entirely too amused with the situation. “Alright everyone.” Tali said. “We're ready to go. Gabe already left. Miles and I will follow with Rain. Rocco and Miyuki give us an hour head start or so. It’s important that we all arrive separately and act like we don’t know each other until it’s time to move.” “I’ll get your attention when I know something. I don’t like Gabe going in alone, but I trust that he can take care of himself. Be careful everyone and look out for each other. Let’s move out.” * And so began their long trip to Barrow Heights. The three of them made decent ground despite the stroller. At first every bump in the road threatened to drive Rain mad, but after a time she almost got used to it. A relaxing rhythm formed. Miles and Tali walked hand in hand, talking quietly to each other and laughing. They made a cute couple. It was just a shame that it was only the mission that forced Miles to actually treat Tali like the wife she practically was. For her part, Rain did her best to get comfortable. As mortified as she thought she would be, once the first pair of travelers commented on how cute she was, she began to lighten up a bit. Eventually, so many people were seemingly fooled by her, that she stopped worrying completely. She relaxed, drank from her bottle when needed, got changed when needed, and thanks to the oddly hypnotic pacifier, napped for more than she had any right too. If this is how easy a toddler had it, she could see the appeal. The nights they made camp have her the chance to stretch her legs, albeit in the seclusion of the tent, wouldn't do to get spotted. How no one had gotten close enough to discover that she was actually a sixteen year old girl and not a toddler was beyond her. On the third day of travel, they finally arrived. It had cost them 200 caps before the raiders had even allowed them through the gate. The town reminded her a lot of Pride. Both were once a tangled complex of homes. Barrow Heights was different though in a few aspects. It just seemed so oppressive. The atmosphere was one of quiet tension. The walls and gates were covered with barbed wire. The inhabitants walked with their heads down and their shoulders slumped. The saw three raiders beating some poor drunkard that had gotten in their way, but of course, it was too early to do anything. “Everyone is staring at me.” Rain mumbled behind her pacifier. “I'm guessing kids aren’t all too common around here, probably weren't even before the raiders came.” Miles said. “They're probably all blown away by how adorable you look.” Tali said happily. Miles looked around. “Well, we still have time before Rocco and Miyuki get here, and I don’t see Gabriel around. What would a happy family fresh from the road be doing? A little shopping maybe?” Tali let out an ecstatic cry of joy. Rain however, could have screamed. Since they had gotten within a few miles from the town, she had been having stomach pain. It was a pain that foreshadowed a rather serious bathroom emergency. She knew she should have asked to use the bathroom before they had gotten here. Now she was trapped in this infernal stroller with people all around. Still, she had to try. “M-mommy?” She whispered, keeping her cover. Tali stopped and knelt down to face her. She looked so happy. This whole trip had been like something out of her dreams. “What's wrong, baby? You doing alright down here?” “I…..I hafta potty.” Rain said embarrassed. She could barely look at Tali. Her pretend mother gave a very real look of confusion before reaching in and checking her diaper. “What's wrong? You're only a little wet, sweetie. I'll change you in a little while.” Rain latched on to her arm. “No. I really…..really have to go potty. Really.” “Oh. Oh dear.” Tali said as she finally understood. After a moment she whispered back, still in her mommy voice. “Sweetheart, I’m really sorry, but we can’t exactly let you out to do your business. You're supposed to be a baby, remember?" “Can’t we go to a hotel?” Rain pleaded. “Please, mommy…..please.” Tali looked torn as she turned to Miles, who was looking around not paying attention. “Honey, maybe we should hit the hotel first. Our little girl…..uh…..she's a bit restless.” Miles agreed still not aware of Rain’s desperate situation. They made their way to a small building literally labeled “Hotel” only to get the worst possible news. They were full. No freaking vacancies. Now the only option was one of the public restrooms, and Tali squashed that hope. “I’m real sorry, darling. We can’t exactly risk you being seen just yet.” Rain strained against the straps keeping her in the stroller. “B-but I can’t hold it!” She said in a desperate whisper. Tali gave her a sympathetic smile. “Telling me this now that we're in town sort of leaves my hands tied. It'll be okay. Believe it or not, I’ve dealt with that kind of diaper too, a few times with you. Just do what you have too and I'll keep an eye out for a discreet place to change you.” Rain wanted to cry out that all the other times had been true accidents, the side effects of first using her power, but Tali kept her finger on the pacifier, effectively muffling her. Rain knew they couldn’t draw attention yet, but she was truly upset at the prospect of purposefully messing her diaper. Miles had wandered a few feet away, examining the defenses. This meant he still had no idea what was about to happen! If he had known, she knew he would have demanded a room. “Shopping then?” He asked with a serene smile. “You got it, honey!” Tali answered back before looking at her again. “Baby, don’t try to fight it. You're in a diaper already. You mind as well make use of it.” “Mmfph!” Rain whined as they got moving again. Her stomach felt like it was going to implode! How was she supposed to crap herself in a town full of people?” The happy couple wandered around the town, looking at the few stores that dotted the area. At each store, a raider was standing guard, preparing to take the gang's cut from any sale. The shopkeepers could do nothing but sulk and hand over their profits. Then they came to the general store, a small building on the edge of town. Tali spent an inordinate amount of time in the store, looking at the assorted junk and electrical components, with Miles smiling and nodding as she explained what she could make with each. Rain did her best to hide herself in her blankets as her stomach continued to grumble angrily. She didn't know why she was fighting it so hard, but she just couldn’t let go. She looked up miserably when Tali knelt down to her again, this time with stuffed monkey in a space suit in her hands. “Look at this, baby. He's called Jangles the Moon Monkey!” She said, her voice all syrupy. She also gave a subtle sniff of the air, checking to see if the inevitable had happened. “Maybe he needs a new home, huh? Would you take care of him if I got him for you?” It was taking all her concentration to not scream and cry, but Rain managed to hold her arms out in a pitiful affirmative answer. She had forgotten her teddy bear anyway, and she needed something to cuddle at night. “We need to pay first, okay? Be patient.” So she was rolled over to the counter, slowly losing her battle as Miles counted out the caps for her space monkey. The cashier was a younger woman with a sour expression, no doubt because of the armed guard waiting to take her money, but even she gave Rain a little smile when she saw her. Too bad she had no idea what was about to occur. Rain felt herself rapidly sucking on her pacifier right before it happened. She felt her diaper grow warm as her body released an unexpected stream into her diaper. This evidently gave her body the okay to release everything. Rain felt tears falling down her cheek as her body gave up and a slow, but steady mess pushed itself out of her bottom. She even had to lift her butt off the stroller as she forced the rest out, only to have the goo smash against her when she sat back down. Both Miles and the cashier looked over at her with surprise as she sobbed louder. She did her best to muffle her cries with her blankie, clinging still to her cover. Tali knelt down right away and handed her the stuffed monkey to cry into. Tali felt her diaper real quick and smelled the air. “I’m so sorry, is there a private area around here where I could change my daughter?” Miles just looked away, doing his best not to embarrass her further. Judging by the look the cashier had, she had already begun to smell what occurred. She gave Rain a sympathetic look. “Of course. You can take her through this door behind me. You can use my room. Bye-bye, Little Stinker. Take care of that monkey, okay?” Rain nodded while she continued to sob hysterically. Miles stayed out in the store as Tali took her into the back. Right before they made it to the back, she heard the large raider gag a bit. “For fucks sake, what are you feeding that brat?” Miles just shrugged. “Too much radiation in the food. It’s bad for digestion.” At last they were alone. Tali quickly put down a changing mat and helped Rain out of the stroller. Her tears, very much real, had started to subside. She laid down heavily, regretting ever coming to this town. Tali lifted her dress and opened the soiled diaper. “It's okay, little one, it's alright. Mommy will make everything all better.” Was she still acting? It was getting hard to tell. Rain focused on steadying her breathing while her “mommy” got to work. Wipe followed wipe until her bottom began to feel clean again. She simply stared up at the ceiling and sucked on her pacifier. What else could she do? Tali spread out a clean pink diaper and slid it under her. “There there. So much fuss over a stinky diaper, but look! All clean and dry. All better.” “It's not funny Tali.” Rain said quietly, spitting out her pacifier. “This isn't just some game for me. You have no idea how I'm feeling. How it makes me feel even more helpless than wetting my diapers. At least I can’t control that. Don't you get how important even a little thing like being able to poop in a toilet is to me?” Tali dropped the smile and brought her into a hug. “You're right. I’m sorry if I got too much into all this. You just look so cute. You saw I tried to find a private bathroom. I didn’t put you though that on purpose. But you're right. I shouldn't make light of what you had to go through. I’m really sorry. Can you forgive me?” As angry as she had been, she found it hard to stay mad at Tali. After all, it was her own fault for waiting until they had reached a town where secrecy was vital. She knew Tali would only ever do what was best for her. It wasn't a big deal for Tali because she literally didn't mind changing a poopy diaper. It just didn't matter. Tali saw a problem and simply resolved to fix it. And no matter how stinky or gross it was, it wasn't a big deal for her if it helped Rain feel better. Who could be mad at that kind of love? She nodded her forgiveness and held on tight. Then she finally looked up and put her pacifier back in her mouth with a sigh. “Can I have my monkey now……M-mommy?” Tali smiled and kissed her cheek. “Of course you can, sweetheart. Let's get you into the stroller first though.” Back into the stroller she went, but at least she was clean and dry. She was given the stuffed monkey and wrapped once again in her blanket. The whole ordeal had served to make her quite tired and she stopped worrying as she fell into a peaceful slumber. * She awoke to the sound of merriment. She pulled her blankie up to her chin and looked around. It appeared to be a bar. People crowded everywhere, drinking their fill. Miles and Tali were sitting at a table talking softly to each other. In the corner she saw a small table where a few ruffians were playing cards, just as Gabe had predicted. On a small stage, a man sat playing a guitar. She stayed quiet for several minutes watching and wondering what they were doing here. After nearly another ten minutes, the door flew open and two familiar faces entered the bar. “Hey! The party has officially arrived! I got money to burn and I hear there's a few decent poker players around here! Come on, you dirty plebs, give me a challenge!” A dozen hostile eyes focused on Rocco as the ghoul laughed maniacally, his cigar lit and hanging from his lips. A number of gazes quickly focused on the beautiful woman hanging on his arm and the tension began to cool. Over the top he may have been, but it had the desired effect of keeping all the eyes away from Miles as he went quietly up to bar area. She heard him speaking to the bartender. “It would appear that this town has a raider problem. Any ideas on where they're based?” The bartender looked around quickly and nervously. “We do indeed have a problem here. The raiders take what they please except, oddly enough, from here. They always pay their tabs here, which I then have to funnel to the rest of the town to keep people afloat. But I'm not the one you should talk to. I didn't contract any mercenaries.” Miles ordered a beer and drank it down while speaking. “Who should I talk to then? Who here might have been interested in hiring some problem solvers?” The bartender looked around once more as a cheer erupted from the gambling table. Rocco had won his first game. “Talk to Seven." “Seven?” “The guitar player. It's a nickname. Seven fingers, get it? He hasn’t given us any other name. Anyway, he showed up about a month before the mayor was assassinated. He seems to know the most about these miscreants. Doesn't seem to like them much neither.” “Tell him I'd like to buy him a drink.” Miles said before heading back. For the next fifteen minutes they listened to the mixed cheering and cursing of the card players as Rocco continued to win game after game. Every time their discontent threatened to overflow into a fight, Miyuki would lean over the table and whisper honeyed words. Whether it was her words or her cleavage that had such a calming effect was anyone's guess. A few times some of the actual…..uh……ladies for hire would wander over and coo over Rain, having gotten tired of being ignored in favor of Miyuki. The craziest part was that Rain was beginning to enjoy all the attention. She was starting to find the idea of being seen as cute rather flattering. At last the guitar player known only as Seven came to their table. He wore a black sports coat over a crisp, white shirt, unbuttoned at the collar. His hair was a sandy blond that fell midway down his neck. Rain hid further in her blankets as he looked at her with perhaps the greenest eyes she had ever seen. Her heart fluttered in her chest. He may have been the most handsome, most beautiful man she had ever seen. He kept looking at her with those eyes. Then he smiled at her. She could hardly stand it. “I hear you might be the problem solvers I asked for. I must admit, I expected someone….different, and more of you at that.” Miles leaned in and spoke quietly. “If you know anything about us, you know why we needed to travel incognito. My team is all around you, ready and waiting.” He gestured to the stroller. “Including our youngest and most promising member.” “I'm afraid I know you only by your reputation. I didn't realize there was any trouble.” “Is that so?” Seven looked down at her again, a kind look in his eye. “Well…..disguise or not, you're still the loveliest lady around these parts.” Rain literally vanished under her blanket in an effort to hide her burning face. He wasn’t serious of course, he was clearly just being nice. Oh, but he was so beautiful she wanted to believe it. “One of ours may be with the raiders as we speak.” Miles continued. “An older man, dressed as a raider. You seen him?” Seven nodded. “Oh yes. Though at the time I would never have guessed. He came in with a great deal of boasting, drank his weight in beer, and then beat one of the raiders bloody over some small argument.” “He did?” Tali asked, bewildered. “Our Gabe?!” “Yes. It makes a lot of sense now. The best way to get recruited is to give one of their men a beat down. Smart plan.” “Mmmfh mmmfph.” Rain snickered from behind her pacifier underneath her blanket. Gabe’s plan was asinine as sure as the sun was bright, and nothing could convince her otherwise. How she wanted to speak up and say it. Being a baby sucked worse every minute. “And what interest do you have in getting rid of these raiders? Have they done you some personal wrong?” Miles asked. His eyes had taken an intense look. Seven raised an eyebrow and laughed. “Strange question. They've wronged the whole town. However, it is personal I must admit. I was a drifter for a long time. The mayor of this town was good man, took me in, helped me settle. He was my friend. Then one day he ends up dead and a pack of raiders barge into town the same day. They had to be behind it.” Miles calmed and gave a small smile. “Very well. Tell us where they're based and we'll handle them.” “I'll do you one better. I'll take you there. They have watchers ready to alert the others if they see anyone they don’t like. But I've spent the last few months learning every back street this town has. I can sneak you past them.” Miles looked over at Tali, who shrugged. “We don't really have a choice, Miles.” “Very well. You head out first. We'll meet you in ten minutes in the alley outside. The rest of our team will follow shortly after us. Once we're all together, we'll strike.” Seven nodded and stood up. “You got it. I'm happy to help.” He gave Rain a final glance. “See you soon, cutie pie.” “Oh my god!” Rain screamed in her head. Seven made it to the door where one of the raiders blocked him. Whatever he said seemed to make the raider angry, but he was allowed to pass unmolested. Rain and her happy family waited the ten minutes, then followed. The raider at the door didn't even glance at them, too focused on the poker game. Miyuki looked over at them as Miles gave her the tiniest nod. The signal. The whole back of the bar was a network of back alleys, but they had been instructed to simply go straight until they found their guide. Rain stretched, wanting to be up and about and in the action at last. Once they reached the alley where Seven was waiting, she was finally allowed out of the stroller. She looked up a the handsome guitarist. She didn't exactly make for a fearsome merc in her pink frilly dress, or her equally pink diaper, which was of course soaked by this point. Miles retrieved his guns from their luggage and handed Tali a small machine gun. Rain also retrieved her own pistol, quickly shoving a magazine into it. Seven kept looking at her strangely. She couldn't understand it. Why did he keep staring? Did he find her constant blushes amusing? Was she just a joke to him? She felt Tali nudge her. “Sweetie, you look real fearsome, but you could at least spit out the pacifier. Unless you feel like keeping it in of course.” “Oh my god!” She once again screamed in her head, quickly spitting the paci out into Tali’s awaiting hand. She kept her eyes on the ground while Tali slipped it back in her stroller. What Seven must have thought of her. Why did she have to be this way? “Now we just wait for the others.” Seven said, pulling out a pack of cigarettes. “Want one?” Rain thought about it. Rocco smoked and he looked pretty cool. Maybe this was her way of proving she was grown up. She reached out with her hand, but to her surprise, Miles slapped her hand. “I don't think so, kiddo.” He said, and she could have sworn he and Tali were smirking. Her attempt at maturity had been ruined, so she did her best to remain unfazed. Seven just shrugged and lit one for himself and nothing more was said. She tried not to sulk and instead thought of the one person she could blame for her constant degradation and humiliation. “I am going to kill Gabe when we get back to base.” She thought wistfully. “Maybe I'll give him a wedgie with my mind powers. Death…..by wedgie.” She began laughing quietly to herself at the thought until she saw Tali glance over at her with a raised eyebrow. “You got a creepy, evil smile going on there, darlin. What's the deal?” Rain put on her best innocent look. “Nothing. Just in a good mood I guess.” * “Great game once again, gents.” Rocco said, rising from the table. “Unfortunately, I must be going. This beauty has an insatiable appetite if you know what I mean. I'm afraid I must bid you all a most fond…..bonjour.” He gave his best charming bow and “escorted” his escort out back. This might have been the best mission he had ever been on. He had made a sizable profit from the morons at the table. He had nailed his part to perfection. He thought he had managed to accurately portray the snobby, yet charming veneer of a wealthy pre-war ghoul. Who else had managed their parts with such style? They had barely reached the alleys outside when Miyuki ripped her arm away. “You're an idiot.” “Whoa there. Don't hate me because I'm impressive. It's okay to be in awe of me.” Miyuki grabbed him by the collar. “In awe? I’m gonna murder you and bury your corpse in a trash heap. You couldn't have lost one or two games? You just had to win them all? Do you realize how many times I had to talk all sweet and practically flash my tits?!” Rocco looked astonished. “You were flashing people?! Damn. I didn't notice, must have been too busy winning and being awesome. Come on, I won so much money.” Miyuki raised her fist, ready to pound him, when several men appeared from behind them. Men from the card game. “Trouble in paradise?” One of them asked. Rocco slipped back into character. “Not at all, good fellows. She uh…..likes it rough?” “Is that so? She must have expensive tastes as well for all the money you fleeced from us. Thank god for that guitarist giving us the tip. Now we have a chance to win it back.” Rocco threw up his hands. “Gentlemen please. You all look like reasonable fellows. I assure you there was no foul play involved.” There had been, but that wasn’t what they wanted to hear. Miyuki stepped forward, cracking her knuckles. “Don't bother. Your cheating ways have finally caught up to you. More importantly, didn’t Miles and them follow after that guitar guy?” That was a good point. Could it have been accidental? Maybe it was just an astute observation from a guy who didn't realize who they were. If it was anything other than a mission he might have believed it. But he never believed in coincidences on the job. No matter the case, they didn’t have time to waste on these idiots. “Go get them, beautiful. I got your back.” Miyuki just laughed. “Actually have my back, Rocco, don’t just stare at it. Oh I needed this. I've been in a foul mood since we started ridiculous job. Whose first?!” * The man known as Seven waited calmly for his plan to take shape. Sure enough they soon heard the sounds of a struggle coming back near the bar. His tip on the way out had worked. Now to sell it. “What now? Sounds like trouble back there. I'll go check it out.” He offered. The merc leader stopped him as expected. “No. Tali, go check it out. Call if you need us.” The woman seemed reluctant to go, but she obeyed. Seven kept his face neutral. His plan was going smoothly. In his line of work, he had learned two important things. Always have a plan, but always be able to adapt and change that plan on a dime. It's what made him one of the deadliest contract killers around. If his plan hadn't worked, he would have made his move while they fought the bandits. The fact that the merc team were using disguises tickled him. He often made use of disguises as an assassin. Memories from his time in New Reno and New Vegas came to mind, but also more recently. He had dressed as one of the mayor’s guards the night he had murdered him. He had been hired by the raiders occupying the town to rid them of the troublesome man. The mayor had taken to hunting them down for attacking his caravans before Seven had been hired. Not hired directly of course. A select few knew how to contact him, and even fewer knew his face. But as he killed the mayor and opened the gates for the raiders, an idea popped into his head. He looked to the girl in the pink dress, the one who seemed so smitten by him. The price on her head had been too big to ignore. So he hired Miles and his team to deal with the very raiders who had hired him, hoping they would bring her along. Sure enough, they had brought her right too him. Now the target was in sight and there was only one man in between him and his prize. He reached into his jacket for his pistol, and quietly attached the silencer to it. It was a shame though. He never liked killing kids. A gun was suddenly pushed against his head. The pale merc leader, Miles. This was unexpected. The target looked on baffled, innocent eyes looking at her leader and her crush. “Who are you?” Miles demanded. “I know you're no ordinary guitar player so spill it before I end you here and now.” He thought about lying, but it seemed unlikely to help in this situation. He needed to keep the man talking. “What gave me away?” “You said you only knew about us by our reputation, but word about the bounty on my friend has been circulating for weeks. That put me on edge, but to be honest it was your eyes that really set me off. I caught you looking at Rain like she was prey. You probably thought your quarry was right in your grasp, huh? The target looked confused, hurt. At least she hadn't run, that would have been annoying. For the first time in years his job had taken an interesting turn. Most of the time his targets never saw him coming until it was too late. This one was shaping up to be different. It made sense since this was one of the only occasions where he hadn't been hired, a contract he pursued on his own. Seven laughed. “My eyes, huh? Well goddamn. I never thought my freaking eyes would give me away. You're good. Truly. But if you think you have me dead to rights, I'm afraid I’m going to have to disappoint you.” He dropped low to the ground in an instant, his leg sweeping around to knock Miles over. He rose quickly, grabbing the targets wrist and disarming her before spinning back to Miles gun in hand. His gun emitted a small flash and the fearsome mercenary leader fell over dead, one bullet in his skull. He pushed the target onto the ground and raised his gun once more to finish it. How disappointing. “Wait!” She cried out. Did she really expect that to work? “I'm worth a lot more alive.” He paused. “That's true, cutie pie, but kidnapping isn’t my thing. There's too much distance from here to Thorne, and far too much could go wrong. I'll take an easy 5,000 over a risky 10,000 any day. Either way I'll be sitting pretty for quite a while.” Still she begged. If he had been the type that begging worked on, he might not have had the heart. “Nothing personal, cutie pie. Hold still. It'll be over in a sec.” He pulled the trigger. The bullet stopped an inch before her face, just stopped in midair. He fired three more times, but every bullet stopped before it got close. Then they all fell to the ground at the same time. Seven narrowed his eyes, trying to adapt and find a new plan. None were coming to mind. “Shit. I didn't anticipate this.” The target actually smiled at him as he saw a figure rise up behind him. He spun back around only to see a dead man looking back at him. The bullet propelled itself out of the man's skull and he watched in horror as the wound shrank to nothing before his eyes. The dead man raised his gun. Seven shook his head, quite perplexed. “I didn't plan for this kind of shit.” * Rain watched with a sad smile as Miles fired. It hit the assassin's shoulder and spun him around to face her. She focused, containing her power until he looked in her eyes. He didn’t seem frightened, just resigned. She hit him with a psychic blast that sent him flying into the air. The assassin known as Seven landed heavily on the roof of a building, laying there still for a moment before his body fell to the other side. Miles gave her a thumbs up. “Sorry about that, Rain. I was too careless. It's easy to do when you know you can’t die.” Rain wanted to kick herself. She had been so caught up in some stupid girlish crush that she had let her guard down. Unfortunately, it was Miles who paid for it. Miles who only seemed to get worse and worse each time he died and rose again. She should have acted sooner, should have protected him. For some unknown reason she found herself crying. “Are you okay?” “Hey, don't get upset. I'm okay I promise.” He said with an easy smile that didn’t reach his eyes. She found herself buried in his chest. “Why did you send Tali away? If you knew what he was why send her away? You might not have gotten hurt if she had been here.” “I needed to make sure Miyuki and Rocco were okay. I knew you could handle yourself if he got past me.” He hugged her tightly. “I hate to say it, but you don’t need me to protect you anymore.” That was the Miles she knew. Always worried about everyone else, never enough about himself. She kept sobbing, not at all ashamed of how much she had cried on this stupid mission. “Don't say that! Please don't say that. I do need you. I always will. Forever! That's why you have to be more careful from now on. For me.” Miles looked shocked for a moment, unable to respond, maybe simply surprised at how she felt. Didn't he realize how much he meant to her, to all of them? Not one of them wanted to see him hurt on their behalf. “Yeah. I'll be more careful, Rain. I promise. You don’t need to worry so much about me.” He let out a sigh and picked her up, holding her like a father holding a small child. “What happened. What’s going on?” Miyuki asked, Rocco and Tali behind her. “Did she have another accident?” Tali blurted out without thought. “Ugh. Dignity, Tali.” Rain whined. “Think of my freaking dignity.” “We're alright.” Miles reassured. “Our client's true goal was to lure Rain here. He tried to kill her to claim the bounty. His body fell over that building over there.” “Shit. I guess that means we aren't gonna get paid for this job?” Rocco sighed. “It doesn't matter. These people are in need. Maybe the townsfolk will pay us, maybe not. But Gabe is there still, waiting for us, so we have to go. Besides, I think you've earned plenty of coin, Rocco. Or were you planning on keeping it for yourself?” “No of course not.” The ghoul grumbled before muttering under his breath. “Even though the card game wasn’t a team effort. That was all me, but sure…..” Everyone ignored his whining as they got their weapons ready. They had only been able to pack small arms in keeping with their cover, so they would have to operate a bit more carefully. First they moved to the building where the assassin Seven had fallen. His body was nowhere to be found. It was an unsurprising surprise, and Rain couldn’t help but feel like she would see him again one day, hopefully not on the other side of his gun. Seven had at least pointed them in the right direction. He had also spoken true about how the alleys hid their approach. It took them longer than they liked to find the compound without a guide, but at last they found it. A large mansion, fenced in by a large black fence and guarded by three raiders at a heavy iron gate. The team no doubt looked rather odd, more so then usual. The guards began sizing them up as soon as they approached. Rain saw their eyes pass over Tali and Miyuki lustily, Rocco and Miles with caution. Then they saw her. And laughed. She put her hands on her hips indignantly. She must have struck quite an image dressed in her pink dress, with a pink diaper sagging just enough to be seen. Now standing at full height, she no longer looked a toddler in size, but her clothes looked infantile at any height. “What are you people supposed to be?” One of the guards asked. “Travelling performers?” “I might have thought they were a couple of pimps selling the ladies for the night, but the one looks too young for that.” The other guard mused. “I'll never tire of the wit of raider scum.” Miyuki muttered quietly. “What now?” Rocco asked. “We just going for it?” “Get the hell out of here before we make you.” The first guard roared. “On three.” Miles whispered. “One.” The team moved closer to the gate, gripping their weapons behind their backs. The three guards moved up, becoming annoyed at the intruders. “Two.” Miyuki and Rocco pushed to the front, guarding Miles. Rain moved to the left, Tali to the right. “Hey!” a new voice yelled. “I know that ghoul. He owes me money! I'd recognize that stupid moustache anywhere.” A large raider was approaching from the house. He was clad in the leather armor common of the raiders. His mouth was set in a scowl so convincing that only his eyepatch gave his identity away. Since he almost always wore his power armor, it was easy to forget that Gabe was the largest and most physically fit of the group, but the raider garb showed off the old warriors physique quite well. He looked fearsome indeed. The guards at the gate turned to him. “You know these freaks, new guy? Should we shake them down a bit?” One of the raiders moved closer to Tali. “I think maybe we should pat them down. I know who I think is the most suspicious.” The other guard looked at Miyuki leeringly and chuckled. “Yeah, the ladies seem very…..suspicious. We should probably start with them…..somewhere…..private.” “Nah. It's that ghoul you got to watch out for.” Gabriel insisted. “He's more dangerous than he looks. He's the one who took my eye. Gouged it out…..with a rusty spoon.” The guards looked over at the ghoul who had puffed himself up in an attempt to appear more fearsome. An attempt spoiled by his ridiculous garb. “You took his eye with a spoon?!” The third guard asked. “That’s pretty messed up.” “Why a spoon?” asked another. “You eat it or something?” “Probably did. Can't trust a ghoul I always say.” The guards proceeded to get into a philosophical debate about whether or not ghouls could be trusted so long as they weren't feral. The first guard swore they were all monsters in disguise, ready at any moment to pounce on normal humans and devour their brains. The other two accused the first of being racist, insisting they were as normal as everyone else. During their moral debate, the whole team stood by, nearly forgotten. Gabriel motioned for quiet as he pulled a knife from his boot. Rocco and Miyuki did the same, drawing blades and closing in. The team ended up gaining access to the mansion undetected…..mostly because the hapless guards were in fact…..idiots. Three slit throats later and it was done, the gate open. Gabriel looked over the group and broke into a big smile. “You all look fantastic! Wow, I'm just blown away. Miyuki, Tali, your outfits are spot on, really well done. Rain, you're cute as a button! And Rocco, that damn moustache suits you, honestly you look more…..dignified somehow.” Rocco flashed a wide grin. “Oh yeah. I'm keeping this beauty for sure.” Miles managed to get Gabriel to calm down enough to tell them the plan. He led the team to several different doors with the aim of them entering at different places at the same time. They would move in quickly and quietly, and strike the raiders from the earth before they had a chance to fight back. They grouped together in pairs of two. Miyuki and Rocco at one door, Gabe and Tali at another, and at her insistence, Rain would go with Miles through another door. The plan set, they gathered ready to enter and end this mission. “Keeping an eye on me, Rain?” Miles asked at their door. “You get reckless. You said so yourself, but as long as you stay by me, nothing will touch you. I promise.” “I feel safer already. I'll be relying on you.” Gabe let out a single whistle and three pairs of two moved in quietly. Moving in with Miles, first they encountered little resistance. Isolated guards or pairs of raiders were silently taken down with blades. But it wasn’t meant to last long. A shot rang out eventually and the house was alerted. Raiders began pouring from every room and corner, and from the stairs as well. A group of five found them as they exited a hallway. Rain moved in front of her leader. Her arms spread out wide. The raiders were armed with carbines and rifles, but she caught their every bullet in an invisible net before her. She let them fall and scatter on the floor as Miles began firing. They moved further into the mansion, with Rain simultaneously shielding them from fire, and sending enemies flying against the ceiling and walls with waves of her hands. She didn't even fire a weapon. She was the weapon. For the first time she felt like she had control, it wasn’t all instinct. It had gotten easier, less painful to maintain. She sent three more raiders upwards to the ceiling, and looked back at Miles. He had a grin on his face that equal parts amazement and pride. The battle didn't last much longer as the team converged in the middle of the house and moved up the stairs. Room by room, hallway by hallway, not a single bandit was left to escape. Finally, it was over. There were still a few raiders in town to handle, but that would happen soon enough. Rain had reached her limit near the end anyway, and stood on wobbly legs. “Everyone okay? Is anyone hurt?” Tali asked, checking for injuries. “All good except for Rain.” Miyuki reported. “W-what? I-I'm fine.” She stammered out, hardly believing it herself. “Ooh. Your ears are bleeding.” Rocco pointed out. “Is that normal?” “It's fine. I just overdid it a little.” Rain assured them. She wasn't entirely lying either. Her head hadn't started pounding yet. She was just exhausted. Yet when she tried to take a single step forward, she stumbled and would have fallen if not for Gabe catching her. He lifted her into his arms and carried her as they made their way to a large living area. Everyone took a seat where they could while she was deposited on the couch. “We need to head back into town, clear up any raiders and see about a reward.” Miles said, taking charge once more. “Gabe and Rocco, you're with me. Tali and Miyuki, take Rain and slip her out of the city. I don't want anyone getting any bright ideas. Keep an eye out for that guitar playing assassin as well, he may still be on the hunt.” Rain chuckled from the couch. “For the first time since we got here, I'm actually excited about that stupid stroller. I don't want to move for days.” Tali looked at her with a silly grin. “Ready to play baby again?” “Not playing anymore. I'm going to need my mommy and my auntie to change my diaper and get me home. I’m going to be totally useless for the next week at least.” Even though they knew she was mostly kidding, both Miyuki and Tali looked at her like she was a lost puppy and wasted no time in descending on her with coos and smiles. She reached out her hand to Miles as she was being lifted away for a much needed diaper change. “Promise me you'll be careful? I still need you to protect me, remember?” Miles the Deathless gave her perhaps the most genuine smile she had seen him use before, got up from his seat, and kissed her forehead. “You have my word, my little soldier. Get some rest. That's an order.” “Yes sir.” It was one order she was happy to follow. * Back at Jericho’s capital: “What's up, Pretty Boy?” “Piss off.” Garrett Tucker yelled as he passed a group of men in the street, his middle finger extended. He had never taken to that nickname, but it didn't stop this legion of assholes from using it. It had been an odd journey getting to Jericho Thorne’s capital city. After his elder and younger brothers had kidnapped and sold that little Asian brat, life was looking up for a time. Eight years worth of time in fact as the brat had proven tougher than expected in the arena. That began to end the day he had arrived to collect on nearly a month's winnings only to find his youngest brother, Jim, had been strangled and killed by his little rat, who had then cut a bloody path as she escaped her cage. His elder brother, Bill, had also vanished after forming his own band of raiders. The final nail in the coffin happened six months later when Jericho Thorne, a minor but growing power, had marched his men down to the stadium to end the operation for good. In a mad attempt to survive, Garrett had stripped off his armor and locked himself in one of the cells. So it was that Garrett Tucker joined the rising power in the north after being “liberated” from the arena. Luckily, none of the slaves recognized him, or he might have burned with the rest of his one time compatriots. For years, he had fought for Thorne and obeyed him like a dog, but that time was coming to an end. He grew tired of peace, tired of pricks like Hudson and Viktor looking down on him. Viktor’s wife too, acted like she was above him, even though she relied on her hubby’s reputation to keep her safe. Stupid bitch. He would soon show her the error of such thoughts. He finally found the building, a small eatery that concealed a rather spacious basement. He made his way through with nary a look and descended down below. They were there, various former tribal leaders, former only because they were kept leashed by Thorne. If only Thorne knew of the rebels in his very capital. “We all know why we're here.” Said the speaker at the front of the group, the leader of the tribe called the Mad Ones. “All of us have had enough of Thorne and his tyranny. The question now is what we do about it.” “Kill him!” yelled one of the assembled. “Chop off his head and burn his body!” “We won't be able to get close, not with Viktor around.” Said another. “Plus, Titus hasn't left the city yet. It's impossible.” “Why go after Thorne now?” asked another. “We should be going after Miles and that girl first, then worry about Jericho.” The head speaker gestured for silence. “Don’t forget, my friends, the rumors that Jericho himself sent the Regulators after us, to weaken us so he could take over.” “So what do we do about it?” asked the crowd. Finally Garrett stepped up. “I can help you get rid of him. It would be pretty damn easy too.” The speaker looked at him warily. “You've been his creature for years. Why would we trust you? You don't even belong here!” He gave his best charming smile, no doubt looking more hideous than charming. “You should trust me because I hate Thorne as much as you do. I want him dead and gone as you all do. But most importantly, I have a plan to do it. All I need is help finding something.” The crowd looked at him with suspicion until one person asked what Garret had been waiting to hear. “What would you need?” “A few relics of the past that Jericho and Viktor should have gotten rid of but couldn't seem to bring themselves too.” He couldn’t help but smile. He had their attention now. Things were about to get very interesting. The fun would soon begin.

Think of Miyuki and her past.

Yeah, they all know that. But they thought he was really immortal. They didnt know about the implant. The only ones who knew about it and that his body is rejecting it were Tali and Rain Miles wanted the others to not have to worry about him.

Sorry for the delay. November has been a very busy month. I'm not a huge fan of this chapter, cause not too much happens in it, but it needed to be told. As per the usual, I'm sure there's typos here and their that I'll discover after the fact. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it, but I'm glad to be moving on. Also there's been less and less diaper content, which I don't like and will try to fix for future chapters. The next week was spent running. Nearly every minute of every day they ran. Jericho and his forces were constantly at their heels, with a vengeful Thorne leading the charge. They only stopped for a few hours each day, enough for a few of them to rest and Rain to get in a quick diaper change. They were all exhausted, and the group was running on fumes. Rain had recovered quicker than normal after using her power, and she was probably their best hope of getting away at this point, especially considering how low their ammunition was. Miles had been almost completely silent since they began fleeing. While his physical wounds had healed, Rain guessed he was a mess internally. Pale, feverish, and lethargic, Miles was having trouble keeping up with the rest of the group. Several times a day he would be doubled over with coughing attacks, spitting up large amounts bloody phlegm. He couldn't hide it anymore, and so Gabriel kept a constant vigil on him, even carrying him on his back when needed. Gabe hadn't asked anything yet, but he glared suspiciously at Tali, his eyes wanting answers. Mentally, Miles had almost checked out. He seemed…..less…....somehow, as if something had gone out of him. The only direction he gave was to keep heading south. Maybe it was the fact the Jericho was still alive, Rain couldn’t be sure. He stared ahead almost as though he no longer cared what happened anymore. They had been hunkered down for the last hour in an old gas station. Rain was exhausted and was happy to lay down for a diaper change. Her own thoughts were a whirlwind, with Indara’s death at the forefront of her mind. Her face kept flaring before her eyes, that and her death. She felt horrible about her death, as bad as her first kill a year ago. Every time she closed her eyes she saw Indara either alive and vibrant and smiling, or dead, mutilated by Rain’s own attack. Tali was keeping close to her like the worries mother she was destined to be. She had checked Miles over, but evidently the diagnosis was bad enough that she didn’t want to check again. Rain wondered how far the corruption had spread on his body, and quickly decided she was better off not knowing. “It wasn't your fault, Rain. When bullets are flying anything can happen.” Tali tried to comfort her. Rain was laying in her most vulnerable position, her legs splayed, wet diaper exposed. “It wasn’t any bullet. It was mine, one that I sent flying back at Thorne. And now she's gone, just…..gone. It’s my fault.” Tali ripped the diaper open and got to work. “You didn't put her in front of your gun. That was her choice. She made that sacrifice on her own. I know I can’t do anything to help you feel better, but try not to let guilt weigh you down.” They were quiet for the remainder of the change. Rain had her feet lifted in the air as Tali slid a clean diaper under her. “I…..I thought I lost you, Rain. I thought you were gone and I’d never see you again because I let you get taken.” Rain gave a sad smile. “What were you just saying about guilt? It wasn't your fault, Tali. I can handle myself. I’m not a kid.” Tali cleared her throat and Rain blushed as her bottom was set on the new diaper. God, it was hard to be taken seriously like this. Once she was finished and back on her feet, She followed Tali into the other room where Rocco was begging Miles for a plan. “Shit’s not good here, Miles. We’re running low on just about everything. I got four shells left for the shotgun, Gabe only has his laser pistol, and we have five pistol magazines to split between us. Where are we going, Cap? What's the plan once we get out of Thorne’s territory, cause he's likely to follow us.” Miles didn’t reply, didn't even look at him. His eyes remained on the floor. “Captain!” Rocco begged. “Leave it be.” Tali ordered. “We only have one way to go, and that's south. The border is close, we just have to keep moving. Hopefully, Miyuki will meet us there. Back me up here, Gabriel.” Gabe stood against the wall, silent and watching. He made Rain uneasy with his accusing stare. He seemed to have realized he was left in the dark about his leader and friend, and she could almost feel the anger rolling off him. It wasn't a surprise when he marched over and demanded to speak to Tali in the room they had just left. Rain followed, but kept hidden behind the corner of the wall. “Tell me what's wrong with Miles. I've never seen him like this, the coughing, the blood.” “I don't know what to tell you.” Tali protested. “Bullshit. I've noticed how you rush to his side after every fight. I didn't think much of it because I know you two are a thing, but now I wonder. You know something, and I need to know too. Is something wrong with Miles, something you haven't told us?” Tali sighed. “Do you really want to do this now?” “He looks like death in there! That's my friend, my captain, and you're hiding something important.” Rain poked her head out from behind the corner. “You should talk to Miles, not take it out on her. She's only doing what she thinks is best.” Gabe looked disheartened, and gave a final glare before he turned and head out. Rain grabbed his hand as he passed. “If there is something that Miles kept to himself, you should wonder if maybe he did it because he cares about you, not that he wanted to hurt you.” “Hey, heads up, people, we got company!” Rocco yelled. Rain barely had a chance to react before gunfire began blasting through the walls and windows of their hiding place. Tali got clipped in the side as they all hit the deck. Gabe rushed back to Miles, no doubt planning to shield him with his armor. The gunfire continued uninterrupted as they crawled out to main room. She heard Rocco’s shotgun boom as plaster and glass flew through the structure. Rain stood and readied her pistol, taking aim at a raider she saw coming through the door. She didn’t fire. The raider looked right at her, beautiful red hair blowing in the breeze. The sight almost took her breath away. “Indara? I thought…..” Indara raised her rifle, pointing it right at her, only to be blown away by Rocco. “What the fuck, Rain?! Did you forget how to shoot?” “It…..it was her. It was Indara. She…...she's not…..” “Rain….” Tali said with concern. “That’s not her. Look.” The raider that she had been so sure was Indara had somehow changed before her eyes. The now dead woman had black hair, not red, and her face wasn't anything like Indara at all. Rain dropped her gun and fell to her knees, feeling sick as Tali wrapped her in a hug. Rocco fired his final shot, hitting someone judging by the scream. He looked over exasperated and increasingly panicked. “Why is no one else shooting? Am I the only one who wants to survive this?!” Rain took a deep breath and stood up. Her mind might be playing tricks on her, but she could certainly help make sure they got out of this. She took a breath a concentrated on that feeling, that power inside herself, and was surprised that she actually found it. It was becoming easier to summon it, at least when she truly felt in danger. “Let's run for it. I'll take the rear and keep the bullets off our backs. Just keep in front of me, all of you. I can handle the rest.” “Can you really do this?” Tali asked. “Don't bite off more than you can chew.” “Don’t worry I got this. And if not, we'll all be dead anyway.” Rocco chuckled. “Hell yeah. Let’s get the fuck outta here. Rain, let me borrow your gun, I'll go first. Gabe, you stay behind me, Tali will follow you and try and lay down covering fire. Rain’s got the rest.” He kicked the door open and the team burst through the door. Almost immediately, Thorne’s raiders were yelling and following after. Rain kept back from the others, facing the approaching raiders as they took aim and fired. She put up a barrier, sighing with relief as the storm of bullets stopped in mid-air. “Keep running! I got this for now, but I don't know for now long.” Rocco lead the way, jumping over debris and finding the clearest route he could. Gabe followed as best at he could with Miles on his back. Tali was closer to her, occasionally firing at their pursuers. Rain kept catching their fire and throwing it back at them, but it didn't seem dissuade the raiders from continuing to try as they sent a steady wave of continuous fire at them. More and more enemies seemed to pop up, and Rain figure there was at least thirty men behind them. They ran and ran, hoping for some kind of light at the end of the tunnel. She could hear Gabriel’s harsh breathing from under his helmet. They were all on their last legs, moving ever onward despite their exhaustion. Rain could feel her head starting to hurt once more, and pushed it down and away. More enemies approached from the side, forced into cover by Tali and Rocco. They were just everywhere, like ants. Someone got a shot out, hitting Miles in his side. Gabriel took out his laser pistol and fired back, his shot vaporizing the offender to ash. “I'm out!” Tali yelled. “So am I. Just keep moving.” Rocco cried out. It didn’t look good. The city blended into one, long, endless stretch of road, with no end in sight. Her own barrier began to fail, and bullets began getting through, hitting and ricocheting off of stone, or hitting the ground right at their feet. Suddenly a wave of gunfire came from in front of them. For a moment, Rain thought it was all over, she thought they had been surrounded at last. But once she had caught up with the others, she saw something quite unexpected. “How's it going, Princess?” a voice called out. “I heard you might be in a spot of trouble.” Lined up were at least twenty men from Pride, with Oz standing at the front with his usual dumb grin. Miyuki stood beside him, cradling her arm and looking relieved to see them. Rain had never though she would be glad to see Oz again, but right now she could have hugged him, still might if they made out. Even more surprising was second force nearby, which were none other than the Oro, with Surra, Arax, and Hanno all there as well. Together, both forces had at least as much, if not more firepower than Jericho. Rain was admittedly less happy to see Surra, but she would take any help she could get. Hanno met her eyes and smiled goofily. She couldn’t help but smile back. Oz gave a little salute. “Miyuki ran her broken self near to death trying to reach us. As for these Oro fellows, they were already here when we arrived.” Surra lit a cigarette and blew smoke into air. “The old lady had some weird feeling or dream or some shit, sent us here without any explanation. Once we saw Miyuki, I figured it out.” The team ran the final stretch, getting safely behind the line of armed fighters. They nearly collapsed once they did. Gabe slid Miles off his back as he began having another coughing spasm. Miyuki met them as they stood over their leader, unable to help. Miles waves away her questions and spat out more blood onto the ground. Jericho’s men had fallen back a bit, unsure of what to do. They had been given so much trouble from just four people, and now found themselves outnumbered. The two forces stood opposite of each other, each hunkering down into cover. Rain was trying to help Tali with Miles when she heard Jericho from the front. He strode up, looking at the Oro and Pride forces in near disbelief. “What is this?! This is my territory. You have no right to interfere.” Oz shook his head. “Your territory ended half a mile back. You need to back off. We have more guns and probably more ammo if all the shots I heard are any indication. This is over.” It's not over until that witch is dead!” Jericho yelled. “We aren't afraid of fighting a larger force. Hand her over or this gets bloody.” Surra whistled and suddenly four red dots appeared on Thorne’s chest. “Unless you want to die here and now, I'd run back to your nest. Then what happens to your little empire?” Then Oz delivered a final blow of his own. “Firing on me is a bad idea, Thorne. I'll suspend all trade between Pride and your people. Trust me, I think it'll hurt you more than us.” Rain poked her head out and watched as Jericho paced about, trying to think of some way to retake control. He looked over the amassed forces of Pride and the Oro, then he met her eyes. “You aren't safe. Don’t think for a second you are. It doesn't matter where you go, you will never be safe! I'll leave for now, but you better believe we'll see each other again.” He took one final bitter look and then ordered the retreat. His men seemed relieved that they had avoided a battle in which they didn’t have the advantage. Rain watched them go, seeing Indara staring at her from the group, knowing she wasn’t really there. Once the threat had passed they were lead to a large, comfortable looking camp. Tali and Gabe immediately took Miles to a waiting tent, and Rocco looked to have passed out in the grass, leaving her to make the necessary thanks. She stumbled over to where Oz stood talking to Miyuki and Surra. There was an awkwardness in seeing the Oro heir once more, given their almost forced mother/daughter relationship. Surra must have felt it too, because she gave a deep scowl almost immediately. Miyuki’s arm was in a sling, but it certainly looked bad, the flesh was a deep and angry purple, and the pain in her face showed. Nevertheless, she smiled at seeing Rain alright. “Thanks for saving us, both of you. I don't know what we would have done if you hadn't come.” “Probably would have died.” Surra said dismissively. “What the hell did you do to piss off the biggest dickwad in the wasteland?” Rain closed her eyes, thinking of her latest kill. “Indara……she……I killed her.” “You? Really?” Surra smirked, almost laughing. “Maybe you're not a total loss after all.” Oz cleared his throat, trying to ignore the tension in the area. “Well…..uh……I was happy to help, Princess, happy to help for sure. But I gotta say, I really don’t need an enemy like Thorne. I may have overstated how much damage losing our northern trade routes would do. Plus, he's still got a lot more men than we do. If he marches down here……Look, I said I would help and I have, but I might not always be able to keep that promise.” “I understand. Thanks again, Oz, really.” She said shaking his hand. She offered the the same to Surra, but had her hand slapped away. “Oh, please. Like I came for you. I figured Miyuki might get herself killed, and I can't allow that. She's mine, after all.” Miyuki was blushing more than Rain had ever seen before, but it didn't last long. Oz wrapped his big arm around Miyuki’s shoulder, making her scowl. “I gotta get this little lady to my doc. She messed her arm up good getting to us. I'll see you around.” “I'll see you later, Miyuki.” Surra said with a sly smile. Her eyes though, were fixed on Oz. Rain chose to ignore this fact. Rain moved on, looking for an uninhabited bed to crash on. At least she was still dry, but her head was pounding and she felt sick to her stomach. “Looking for a place to crash?” Arax asked as she passed. As usual, Hanno was beside him, staring at his own feet. He didn't seem to be completely aware that she was there, but it was nice to see him anyway. Rain put her hand on her forehead, trying to keep the pain at bay. “Any place is good. I’m pretty beat. Thanks for the help by the way.” Arax just shrugged. “Aw, happy to do it. I'm a bit bummed we didn't get to fight, but oh well, I’m sure I’ll find something to kill on the way back. Anyway, there's a tent on the end there you can use. Get some sleep, we'll catch up later.” She smiled and waved goodbye. Hanno finally focused, giving her a happy wave. She moved onward, ready to get some rest of her own. “By the way, I heard I was almost your uncle!” “Yeah, just about. It's weird to think about, isn't it?” Rain laughed weakly. “Maybe you missed out on having me and Hanno as uncles, but I'd say you dodged a bullet in the end. I’m pretty sure Surra is the type of creature that eats it's young.” She would have laughed, but she was in too much pain, so she just waved again and made it to her bed. With a final sigh of relief, she crashed down at last and closed her eyes. She opened them once more to find Indara in the tent with her, staring silently. She stuck her head under her pillow and closed her eyes as tightly a she could, listening to her own erratic breathing. It didn't matter. Eyes open or closed, Indara was still there. Rain wondered if she would ever leave, then wondered if she really wanted that. Sleep wouldn't come for some time. * “You're in luck, gorgeous.” Oz said proudly. “It just so happens I got the best doc in the wasteland and he arrived this morning from Pride. He'll fix you up in a jiffy. He's kinda odd though. His name is Dr. Edgar Payne.” “Dr. Pain?” Miyuki asked with a frown. “Please tell me that's some kind of joke. An oxymoron like naming our homicidal robot Mr. Happy?” “Nah, not like that. It's Payne with a Y. Trust me, he's the best there is, a bit unorthodox, but the best.” “How unorthodox we talking about here?” Oz just chuckled and led her to a closed tent. The inside looked clean and immaculate, with a few beds, one of which had a disheveled old man sleeping in it, and a table with two empty bottles of absinthe. There were also a few books laying scattered on the ground as well, displaying the anatomy of the human body. It all looked pretty complicated to her, but at least it was doctor like, and that made her feel better. The quiet of the tent was interrupted by a loud snore from the old man in the bed. She looked over at him, smelling the booze on him from where she stood. Miyuki ignored him, still searching for the doctor. Oz however, moved to the bed and promptly shoved the old fella out of the sickbed. He shot up suddenly, coughing and sputtering. He wore a pair of plain brown slacks and a white shirt. His hair was white and frazzled, but his beard was neatly trimmed. He was clearly still drunk, his eyes were bloodshot and he nearly fell over upon trying to stand, so he settled on sitting back on the bed. “Mr. Oz…….what a pleasure. I seemed to have fallen out of bed, but no worries. Please, feel no need to help me up. How can I be of assistance?” He asked with a yawn. “I need you to take a look at my friend here. She's a bit messed up.” Dr. Payne looked at her through squinted eyes. “Hmmmm. Is she another one of your lady callers? I think I've seen three since I arrived at Pride.” “Not yet, but hey, I'm still trying. You never know.” “It's not like that at all!” Miyuki exclaimed, punching Oz in the arm to get rid of his dumb grin. “Hmmmm. Right. Well let's just have a look at you.” The doctor said, trying twice and failing to get to his feet. In the end he gave up and simply waved her closer. Despite her ever growing doubts about this so called doctor, she stepped forward. He studied her in silence for a while, and he looked so serious, he almost began reassuring her. Finally he stood up and cleared his throat. “Your arm's broken.” “I know that already, you ignoramus!” She yelled. He ignored her and stumbled over to a shelf, picking up a black bag, a dose of jet, and a bottle of absinthe. The more rational part of her wanted to turn and run out of the tent, but Oz didn't seem worried. Then again, it wasn’t his arm. “From the looks of things, I'd say you used a stim-pack right after. Well, somehow you've jostled it so bad it's starting to heal wrong. We'll have to re-break it and start again.” That wasn't what she had hoped for, but she didn't let her fear show. Dr. Payne was rummaging through his bag, pulling out various tools, settling on a large, blackjack type rod. He smacked it in his palm once and nodded. Now terrified of what was to come, she struggled to keep her good hand from shaking from nerves. “That booze and jet are for me, right? For the pain?” Dr. Payne looked at her agog. “Well….uh….yes, of course. I just need a bit myself, I don't really like all this medical stuff. It's yucky.” Her mouth dropped open. Was this old coot for real?! “Yucky?! You're a doctor! Why'd you become a doctor if you don't like medical stuff?” He took a large gulp of the absinthe and handed it to her, followed by a hit of the jet. “Don't recall. My mother made me, I think, the old shrew. Don't get me wrong, the science behind it fascinating, but for actual procedures, I need a bit of help. No worries though, I'm a much better doctor when I'm a teeny bit tipsy.” The old man started cackling at that, and Oz was practically splitting his gut. “I told you he’s a bit out there. Anyway, I'll leave you too it. Have fun now.” “Hold up, now.” Edgar whined. “I need you to hold her still. She’s looking like she wants to hit me already. I dare say, she won’t like me much better after I do this.” Oz groaned, but did as he was asked. Miyuki felt his heavy body drape itself over her, keeping her pinned. Dr. Payne had her stretch out her arm as much as she could, then grabbed her hand tightly. He gave her a large smile. “Say cheese!” “What?!” “Atcha!” he yelled as he brought the rod downwards. She had downed the rest of the green alcohol beforehand and sucked the jet dry, but still the pain shocked her into a loud scream. Thankfully, she passed out shortly after. * Surra had few things on her mind as she walked the large camp. First and most important was that Miyuki was going to be unable to provide her with any entertainment, not with her arm. Her second thought was how she planned in dealing with the first issue. Either way, her fun would have to wait. She had one last job before she could go home, and she preferred to get it out of the way now. Maybe the timing wasn't ideal, but she rarely let that stop her. She entered the tent Miles was staying in, despite the big Brotherhood goon standing outside. Clearly the two lovebirds inside were in the middle of something, as the Scottish girl jumped and quickly covered a shirtless Miles’ up with a sheet. Miles just looked at her with a weary gaze. “Oooh…..It looks like I interrupted something steamy. Normally, I'd ask if I could join in, but I bet you don't like to share.” “What do you want?!” Tali asked. “We're grateful and all, but we're in the middle of a medical examination.” “Is that what you call it?” Surra asked with a sly grin. “Don't get me wrong, I love role play, no judgements.” She heard Gabriel come in behind her, but she kept her eyes on Miles. Something seemed off with him. She had always heard such stories about Miles the Deathless, hell, she had even seen it. Now though……..He looked different, not nearly as legendary as the stories painted him to be. “In all seriousness I have a message from my grandmother.” When Miles finally spoke, it was hardly a whisper. “Give your message and go.” “My grandmother wanted me ask if you had forgotten your earlier conversation with her, something about using the girl for your war?” Miles kept his head down and voice low. “And she expects me to give you an answer, does she?” “She also wanted me to relay her earlier promise that if you can’t keep that brat safe, she will. We both know what that would entail, and I'm still very opposed to it. So for my sake, get your shit together.” Miles didn’t answer, his eyes staring into nothing. Gabriel stepped closer to her. “It's time for you to go. Now.” Surra shrugged. “That's fine. I don’t need an answer. I think the message is pretty clear. I'll let you get back to your…..examination.” She left the tent as requested and set her mind to more important matters. She scanned the camp, quickly finding her objective. He was big, handsome, and had a swagger she could appreciate. The leader of Pride saw her coming. “Oh, hey. Miyuki is gonna be fine. Yeah, the doc is fitting her for a cast just to be safe.” Surra didn't care about that. “You. My tent. Now.” He looked at her with a small grin. “Whoa. Not that I'm not tempted or anything, but I thought you were with Miyuki? I don't want to cause any spats y’know. I’m no home wrecker.” She jumped at him, wrapping her legs around his waist and began to nibble on his ear. “That wasn't a request. My tent. Now.” Now his smile widened. “You're kinda a freaky girl, you know that? But what the hell, I’m game.” She breathed heavily in his ear. “Shut up and go already. It's bad manners to keep a princess waiting.” * “Tali can you give Gabe and I the room, please? He's right, he deserves answers.” Miles said quietly. She nodded and left the room while Gabriel pulled a chair and sat close to his friend. Then he went about explaining everything. The advanced Phoenix system in his body, and his bodies unfortunate rejection of it, where the trouble stemmed from. Gabriel sat quietly, taking it all in stoically. “I'm sorry for keeping this from you. You were the first person to join me on my path, to share my dream of making the world a better place. I couldn't ask for a better friend. I am sorry.” Gabriel took his hand and squeezed it. “You don't have to apologize. If I had known………” “What? You would have protected me? Shielded me with your own body? That's not how I am and you know that. All of you risk your lives every day for me. I've just had a little way of cheating, of not sharing that risk. That doesn't make me a hero. Actually, based on my recent actions I'd say I've made that very clear.” “What the hell does that mean?” “Old Lady Oro was right. I went into all this specifically because Rain and her gift. I…..used her and then when she got taken......” Gabe shook his head. “Cap, that's not true. We all understand your reasons, we voted for it. You can't be so hard on yourself.” “I didn't care. The moment I saw Thorne, nothing else mattered. Rain could have still been a hostage, but I just……didn't care. I was ready in an instant……to sacrifice all of you to get revenge. That's not who I used to be. I must have really died all those years ago.” “Everything worked out though, Cap. She's fine, we're all fine. Look, you should get some rest.” Miles had his face buried in his hands. “I feel like I’ve lost my way. I can’t even promise you I won’t do it again. Whenever Thorne is involved I just lose it. Gabe…..for a little while I want you to take over leading the missions. I need rest……I need to……to figure some things out, make peace with it.” Gabe kept quiet for a moment. “Let me see. Your body, let me see it.” “No.” “Captain, I can take it. I just want to see how bad it is.” Miles shook his head and began coughing again. “I don't want you too. Not that, not yet anyway. It won't change anything.” “Is it painful? Besides the coughing and all?” Miles pursed his lips and thought for a moment before nodding. “Yes. But I deal with it. It's my burden to bear, and at least this device has allowed me the chance to keep helping people. Don't worry so much. Everything is as it should be. Will you do as I’ve asked?” “Of course, if that's what you want. No one is expecting you to be perfect, Miles.” He laughed bitterly and shifted in the bed. “Well, that's a relief. Check on Rain for me, would you? Make sure she's okay.” “Right. Sure thing, Miles.” Gabe stood with a sigh and left the tent. Tali was outside, and glanced at him, and he at her. There would be time for apologies later. Right now he just couldn't. He was still reeling from what he had learned, and a part of him couldn't even look at the woman without feeling angry. He walked the tents, looking for Rain. Might be that she would be asleep, but he needed to talk to her. It was clear that Indara’s death had hit her hard, which meant the two had talked together. Enough that she probably had questions for him. He wasn't relishing the idea of dredging up the past, but she deserved to know his role in the synth wars up north. Miles had never asked, simply saying that most soldiers had a regret or two. He had never pushed further. As for regrets, Gabriel had plenty of those. Maybe talking to Rain would make her feel better, or maybe it would be all for himself. When he finally found her, she was sitting up on her cot, pink diaper exposed for all to see. Her eyes were red, probably from crying. She looked like Miles in that moment. Exhausted and broken. He could feel the questions in her gaze, and the space those questions had put between them. He sat down beside her and considered his words carefully. “I'm sorry about Indara. We had a brief scuffle, but I could tell she was……a good person.” “Maybe there are no good people, Gabe. I can't say anymore. I liked Indara, but she had a lot of blood on her hands. But so do we. So do I. She begged me to stop, Gabriel, begged. But I didn’t listen, I couldn't. All I felt was that sense of righteousness, and the power flowing through me. I didn't want to stop. So I guess I'm just wondering if I’m the hero or the villain right now.” “It’s easier when they're definitely assholes.” Gabe said. “When you know they killed for no reason, or because they were looking for some fun. Other people are a mix. Trust me, Rain, it's good to question these things. People who don't question usually end up regretting it.” She looked at him coldly. “Are we finally going to talk about what Indara said about you? You've told me stories before about your adventures back east, about the Enclave or the Institute. You always made them sound……fantastical, like you were telling a little girl bedtime stories. How much of what you told me was true?” He swallowed hard and closed his eyes. “All of it was true. If I made them sound like something other than what they were, it's because talking about them seriously was too hard. And maybe because they were some of best and worst times of my life.” “I'm all ears, Gabe. My diaper is only a bit wet, so I got plenty of time.” Gabriel nodded and began. “I wasn’t born in the Brotherhood. I was found as a baby, abandoned in some godforsaken ruin they were searching. There was a scribe there, who just couldn't leave me to die, so she took me in and became my mother. My whole life was spent wanting to wear that power armor. I believed in the Brotherhood and their mission, to keep dangerous technology out of the hands of those who might misuse it.” “When I was twenty-five or so, I was sent east, to D.C. under the command of Elder Lyons. Things were…….different there. We lost contact with the Elders back west. So unlike back west, we actually protected people, along with collecting tech. I loved those days, felt like a hero I guess. Anyway, that's where I first fought against the Enclave.” “It was over a water purifier, right?” Rain asked. “You won using a giant robot? That real too?” “Indeed it is true. I got promoted after the battle to the rank of Paladin. It was the proudest day of my life. Then…..we took over the purifier from the scientists that made it. Made sense at the time. We had fought for it after all, bled for it. Looking back now, maybe that was the first sign of what was to come.” “After a few years, I got sent to Boston. We protected people there too, I guess. Except we were more like an occupying army and people didn't see us as heroes anymore. I had my own unit under my command just as the war against the Institute began.” “That's when you started killing synths like Indara.” Rain guessed. “Not like her, no. They were more basic, just walking robots, killing machines with no conscience. At first anyway. The discovery of synths that looked human, some even believing they were human, shocked us to our core.” “The order came down that we were to eliminate all synths on contact. It was strange to me. We dedicated our lives to preserving technology, keeping it safe, not destroying it. But the answer was pretty obvious. What's the difference between a nuke or a giant robot or a vertibird, and a synth? Control. We couldn’t control the synths, so they were of no value to us. In fact, since the Institute controlled them they were a threat. And we hunted them without mercy.” “You hunted them?” “Yes. Never killed a human looking one myself, but…..I gave the orders. Until the day we captured some escaped synths. They were being escorted by some sympathizers, the Railroad. We caught them, had the synths on their knees.” He paused. What came next must have been very painful. He started and stopped several times. “There was a girl, young, or made to look that way. She was begging…….for her life. I had to give the order, that was my job. The Brotherhood couldn’t be wrong.” For some reason, Rain smiled. She could guess what happened next. “You didn't give the order though.” “No. I couldn’t do it. I stopped my men and in the chaos…..I killed one, a young soldier, one who used to look up to me. Then I locked the rest up and went back to headquarters. I took as much as I could, schematics and weapons. Then I left, got as far away as possible. I wandered until Oz found me and took me to Pride. I spent a while there until a lone gunslinger showed up, and Oz suggested I go with him.” “Miles.” Gabriel nodded. “Until he came, my life didn't seem to have much purpose. I had betrayed and ran from the only family I had ever known, I had given up everything I cared about, and even though helping out at Pride was comforting, most days I just wanted to put a bullet in my brain. Miles saved me, gave me a purpose.” Rain nodded. For the first time she saw Gabe as he saw himself. An old man, tired and full of regrets. Despite how painful the tale was in the telling, she was relieved to know that Indara had been wrong about him. He had a good heart, but then again Rain had always known that really. She leaned over and gave him a hug. “Thanks for being honest with me.” He just sighed and squeezed her hand. “Every person has to have a line, Rain. Now, I only follow orders I agree with. Don't ever cross your line, yeah? Stay true to who you are no matter the cost.” * Sleep came in waves, but never for very long. Her dreams were a constant replay of what had happened, of Indara’s head popping like a balloon. Even once when she did manage to sleep, she was awoken by Tali coming to change her diaper. And when she had drifted back to sleep the nightmare began again. This time when she opened her eyes, she found Tali and Miyuki sitting in her tent. Miyuki looked better, despite her arm being in a rather unsightly cast. On the bright side it was pink. If she had been feeling more cheeky she might have pointed out that her diapers matched the cast. Knowing Miyuki, who on earth would have dared to put anything pink on her? Miyuki noticed her before Tali. “Hey, glad you’re up. I’ve been worried about you.” “I’m okay.” she said glumly. She couldn't even muster the energy to lie effectively. They knew it too. Tali changed her diaper once again while explaining that they would be staying with the combined Pride/Oro army at least another day. Miles needed the rest. Miyuki expressed a certain level of shock at this. Miles had never been down so long. Once she had been changed, she decided to go for a walk. Talking seemed to be just too much of a chore. Unfortunately, both Miyuki and Tali didn't get her desire for solitude and they walked alongside her. She could have said something, but she didn't. The sun was slowly rising, bringing with it a new day. Gabriel fell in beside them as they walked, but honestly, there wasn’t much to say. So they just small talked while Rain moved like an automaton, feeling numb to the world. As she looked for a way to escape the noise, they just happened to come across Oz leaving a tent, completely shirtless. He had a strange, haunted look in his eyes. “Oh……uh……hey everybody. How’s it going? “ Oz looked uncharacteristically shaken. His ebony body was coated with a noticeable layer of sweat. Rain figured they could all guess the reason, but what she couldn’t understand is why he looked so frightened, like he had just faced down Thorne again. “Geez Oz, can't you at least get dressed before you leave whatever poor girl you tricked into your bed?!” Miyuki complained. “Whose the lucky lady, anyway?” Tali asked with a smirk. “Oh, well…….you wouldn’t know her. Besides she's uh….” “She's what?” came a familiar voice from inside the tent. A moment later Surra strolled out, looking annoyingly beautiful after just awakening. Miyuki tensed up and Rain couldn't tell what she was feeling. Jealousy was a big one, shock, and a sense of hurt and betrayal. Oz looked around, his hand running the back of his neck. He didn't look as guilty as he should have. Rather, he also tensed up when Surra emerged, nearly jumping on ace away from her. “You fucked Oz?!” Miyuki asked at last. Surra let out a big yawn and stretched her body. “What in the world is an Oz?” she actually laughed when when Miyuki incredulously pointed to him. “Oh, him? Yeah we banged. I was bored. Or wait….what did you call it big guy? Making love?” Oz kept moving closer to Gabriel, but still couldn’t seem to commit to his escape. He looked miserable. As Miyuki and Surra argued back and forth Gabriel put an arm around him. “You know how to pick them, buddy. You know she literally eats hearts right?” Gabe chuckled. Oz started walking away, his shoulders slumped. “When I get back to Pride, I think I'm gonna have a church built.” “How come?” The big man had that haunted look again. “Last night, man. Let’s just say I feel like I need a priest.” Rain watched as Miyuki and Surra bickered, while Gabe and Tali teased Oz, then she took the chance to finally slip away. She wandered the camp aimlessly. The two armies were getting along famously, despite their differences. The Oro whooped and danced as they engaged in fighting bouts, the men and women of Pride cheered them on. She saw Arrax playing poker against Rocco and losing badly. Despite his unstable temper, he was showing some restraint as he handed over more and more caps for the shifty ghoul to take from him. Of course, Rocco was cheating, but everyone made their living somehow. She thought about checking in on Miles, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. She couldn't bear to see the dead look in his eyes, it reflected too much how she felt inside. Eventually, she found Hanno sitting by himself, seemingly enjoying the morning air. She took a seat on the ground beside him and found him to be the perfect companion. He was a presence, but one who didn't fill the air with noise. She wasn't even sure if he knew she was there. For a while she thought she had found a bit of peace. But thoughts of Indara refused to leave her be, and she found herself crying again, softly. She buried her head in her knees and sobbed. After a moment, Hanno awkwardly put a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him, wanting him speak all of a sudden, to curse her, to tell her that she was a horrible person for what she had done. But he didn't of course, he didn't even understand why she was upset. She laid her head on his shoulder as he was either comforting her or playing with her hair, it was hard to tell. It was enough in the end and she felt a little better after her crying fit. But she couldn’t help but wonder one thing. How was she ever going to get past this? How could she ever be what she had been before she had tossed that bullet back? * Viktor stood outside Jericho’s room, standing guard against……something, he didn’t know what. Jericho had been locked in there since his return, permitting no visitors. Viktor himself had only gotten the bare basics of what had happened. It was a shit show to put it lightly. Indara’s death would cause chaos in the east, and while the men who had been there were keeping it under wraps for now, it would get out sooner or later. He still had no idea how he was going to break it to Aimee. He should have been there, but by the time he had made it back home it was too late. He had been forced to wait for Jericho’s return. Sylvia came from down the hall and wrapped her arms around him. “Is he still not eating?” “Nothing.” “It's been days. Indara must have hit him hard. I can’t believe she's gone.” Viktor had been surprised himself. Of all the generals, she was probably the toughest. But her death had thrown his already shaken and depressed leader into a darker pit of despair. There were things that needed his attention, but he kept his door locked and hid himself away. “Titus is here.” Sylvia said reluctantly, still buried in his chest. She wanted to grieve too, but her responsibilities wouldn't let her. Viktor nodded. That settled it. Grieving or not, this needed to end. He turned and moved his wife back. Then he kicked the door in. The room was totally dark, with Jericho sprawled on his sofa. He sat alone, surrounded by the luxury he scorned. Jericho didn’t seem surprised at the intrusion. “I was wondering how long it was gonna take for you to break my door down. You showed admirable self restraint.” “Hudson left this morning, headed back for his territory. News of Indara’s death is going spread fast. We need to appoint a successor.” Jericho ran his hands through his hair. “We don’t have someone trustworthy, someone from our tribe.” Their tribe, the one Jericho had formed originally as he battled the other tribes that now followed him. Many were dead, and the ones that were left had been spread out to the other territories, publicly to try and establish comradrie with former enemies, privately to be spies for Jericho. Either way, that wasn’t an option. “Indara had picked her own second. He’s here now. Titus.” He choked back a laugh. “The Centurion? The ex-Legion guy?” “He uh……he doesn’t like that nickname.” Sylvia said quietly. “Yeah well, that’s normally the case with nicknames, isn't it?” Jericho said dismissively. “I can’t trust some Legion lapdog.” “Indara trusted him. And we don’t have anyone else.” Viktor said, trying to manage his patience. Jericho thought for a few moments. “Send him in then.” Titus was a dark skinned man with short cropped hair, average height. He had a notable tendency to wear blue, maybe because red reminded him too much of his Legion days. Viktor didn't know too much about him, aside from the fact that he was an excellent swordsman. He must have some skill and no small amount of luck to have walked away from Caesar and live to tell the tale. Jericho stated him down, finally taking a bite from his uneaten plate of food. “So you want to take over Indara’s spot?” “If you like.” Titus said. “Things were going well out east. Hopefully I can fill in the gap.” “Why should I trust you? How do I know you're not still Legion?” “I am Legion. That part of me runs too deep. But it’s also why you can count on me. I was loyal to Indara and the east. I still am.” Jericho stared deep into the man's eyes, a small smile on his lips. Viktor had seen it too and knew what he would ask next. “You don't like me much do you, Titus?” “I don't.” He said bluntly. “I left the Legion to get away from needless slaughter. Then I found you and your burnings and your cruelty. But she was different. Indara and I were building something good out east. The tribes might not have liked you, but they respected her. Things were good. Then you drug her back into your war with Miles, and now I find out she's been killed by some girl with magic powers. So here I am, once again forced to be the minion of a bloodthirsty warlord. Apparently that's all I'm suited for.” “Not really inspiring confidence here, Titus.” Sylvia said. Jericho laughed. “No kidding. I appreciate the honesty, but why would I want you for my general?” “Indara cared for you. So for her sake at least, I’ll help you. I'll keep the east under control, because I care about it's people…..and because that's what she would have wanted.” Viktor wondered what Jericho would do. He looked like he was considering shooting the man on the spot, and his mental state was hardly great right now. Titus seemed a flimsy choice, but then again most people here were. At least Indara had trusted him. The two men stared each other down and the result was anyone’s guess. But Jericho surprised him once again. “Alright. I'm trusting you for now. Let’s hope I don't regret it.” Titus didn't say another word. He just turned and left, and they had a new tenuous ally. At least Titus was open about his dislike, and Viktor figured his sense of honor wouldn't permit him to plot treachery. Jericho sat back on his sofa and took a bite out of a pear. “That was either the best choice I could have made, or the very worst one. Anyway, what’s done is done. I want to talk about the girl. Rain. Have you posted the bounty like I asked?” Viktor nodded. The bounty in question was ludicrous. 10,000 caps for one person was simply insane. Villages and entire populations had been wiped out for less. Viktor wasn't one to count caps, but even he knew that such an expense was going to be disastrous for their economy, at least in the short term. Jericho sunk back into his dark mood almost instantly. “Viktor….if I asked…..would you kill her?” “Yes.” He answered without delay. To be honest, he hoped he didn't have too. He didn't like the idea of cutting down some young girl, regardless of what she was capable of. The look on Sylvia’s face said she felt the same. Jericho shook his head thankfully. “No. I want her hunted for a while. I want her to see that killing Indara was the worst mistake she could have made. But mark my words, her death will be avenged.” “Indara’s dead?!” They looked over to see little Amiee standing on the open doorway. She was all dressed for bed in her pink nightgown and must have gotten tired of waiting for her mother. Viktor closed his eyes with frustration. Despite her young age, she understood death, the finality of it. He hadn't wanted Her to find out this way. Her eyes filled with tears and she ran off before anyone could stop her. “Aimee, sweetheart wait!” Sylvia called as she chased after her. “Aw, shit. I'm sorry man. Really.” Jericho said. “She would have found out eventually.” Viktor said. “I'll talk to her.” * Aimee had found many hiding spots in her time in this tower, mostly to avoid her schoolwork. This time it was just to be alone. She was in a supply closet, one of many. Her mother wouldn't find her for a while. She couldn’t believe Indara was dead. She was so nice, at least to her. Aimee used to sit on her lap and play with her hair. Occasionally, Indara would tell her about her adventures. It was hard to think that she would never see her again. The thought made her start crying all over again. She wasn’t sure how much time had passed as she sat in the darkness of the closet. She knew she would need to leave shortly. Her dad might get upset if she hid too long. She just didn't want too yet. Leaving would make it real, she would have to face it, and she didn't know if she could face it yet. The door opened, flooding the closet with light. For a moment she figured her parents had found her. The figure in the doorway was familiar, she had seen him around before. He was called “Pretty Boy” by the others, probably as a mean joke Aimee figured. With his wavy hair and rogue smile, he might have been nice looking once. Now his face was marred by a long diagonal scar that ran down from his forehead to his chin. “Hi, Mr. Tucker.” She squeaked out, finally remembering his name. Garret Tucker. She wasn't a fan of him. He always called her by a really annoying nickname. “Well now. What do we have here? What's wrong, little rat?”

“Damn. I lost again. You'd think I would get better over time, but it doesn't feel like it.” Miles sighed and took another swig of beer. Tobias grinned from the other side of the chess board. “I was always told that every defeat is a lesson, but I’ve found more often than not that old habits are hard to break, no matter how much you want too. You just need a plan, Miles. You can't just rush in.” Tobias had already given his information on the next raider band the Regulators would target. Now they were just enjoying the weather and each other's company. Miles watched as Aiden stood watch with the others, who never seemed to mind the long chess games their second in command played with their informant. Aiden was getting bigger every day, and Miles found himself eyeing his son more and more, wishing he could somehow slow the clock and keep his son small. Tobias was also looking at Aiden. “He's a good kid, Miles. His resemblance to you is astounding.” “Well, I’m no expert but I think that’s how it's supposed to work. If he looked like someone else I think I'd be worried a bit.” Tobias laughed, nearly spitting out his own alcoholic beverage. “You know what I mean. I don't know what his mother looked like, but he is your spitting image that's for sure. He even acts like you.” Miles nodded proudly. “He never got to meet his mom, she passed giving birth to him. I’ve done my best to keep him safe and raise him well. I hope…..no, I know she would be proud of him. Maybe she would be proud of me, despite our beefs with each other near the end. That's all I can do. You ever think about having kids?” “No, I don't…….don't think I'm cut out for it. My best friend though is due to have a little one soon. He's hoping for a boy, but his wife is sure it's a girl. I think I'll settle with being an uncle. The consequences will be less severe if I mess up.” “Every parent messes up. Believe me, I know I have. You haven't told me much about your people, Tobias. You got a big group?” Tobias took his time answering. “Sure. More people seem to join everyday, but we lose our fair share as well. The core group, I guess you could call them, shrinks every year. That's a shame too, cause they're the best people I know.” “Well, they got a good guy leading them. In my opinion.” Miles said, sensing his friend's unease. Tobias seemed to darken further however, despite the praise. “No, not a good leader. I do what I have to in order to keep them safe, but not all of them see it or understand it. Shit, sometimes I have trouble seeing it.” Miles raised his bottle in a salute. “See? You're a parent already. That's exactly what Aiden is like. Stubborn even when he know it's for his own good.” “It seems like he wants to follow in your footsteps.” No. He’s an explorer at heart, you know? He knows what I do is important, but I think the concept of why it's important eludes him. He’s never around the fighting mind you, but he knows what we do. Killing people and all that. And I don't know if he looks up to me for it, or if I even want him too.” “And are you so sure it's important? Your mission, what you do? How do you justify all the killing?” Miles just shrugged. “All I do is try to make the world a better place. For that, there needs to be some form of justice. It's not perfect, but it's all I can do.” “Making the world a better place. Some might call that foolishly idealistic, but I like the idea of it; Making things a bit better than they were the day before.” Miles sighed. “It's not easy, and there was a time I questioned how more blood could make a positive change. I believe it now though. I've seen it work.” Tobias grinned sadly. “Not to get weepy or nothing, but I kinda look up to you. You got this optimism to you. Maybe it's cause of Aiden, maybe it's how sure you are in what you're doing. Either way, you make me feel more confident in my own choices. Even the hard ones. You've become a sort of light in the darkness.” Miles nodded and blinked rapidly, then cracked a smile. “Right, right. I’m glad you love me, but I don't swing that way.” Tobias rolled his eyes. “Asshole. You know, I was trying to be deep. Philosophical.” “Oh, yeah, I got that. I'm your guiding light! Your shining star!” Miles mocked. “Fuck off. Geez, I try to give a compliment.” He opened another beer and handed it to Miles, then opened another for himself. Miles raised the bottle. “To making the world a better place.” Tobias gave that sad smile again, or maybe it was a little less sad, as he raised his own drink. “Hell yeah, brother.” * There are times when even the most well thought out plans crumble as though they had never been laid in the first place. Everything had gone wrong in an instant, despite all of his plans and safeguards. Miles was coming. He had appeared out of nowhere, with two others in tow. They took his guards by surprise, that classic Regulator technique. The panic was nearly instantaneous, although they had recovered quickly enough. Jericho had ordered a fighting retreat to a nearby multi-floored parking structure. Many fell as they were pushed further by Miles, who was leading the charge more than his companions. Jericho made it inside the parking lot and then began moving up. Miles didn't let up, continuing the assault while his friends fought off some of Jericho’s men who had lagged behind. “Jericho!!!” He heard Miles scream. He needed a plan. But what? He kept moving upwards until there was nowhere to go. The way to the roof had collapsed and couldn't be crossed. He was pinned in. Still, he was already formulating a plan. He still had twelve men with him, and Miles had separated from his support. All he had to do was wait for Indara. She would show up with the kid, and join her forces with his, and then he would force Miles to relent. “Tobias!!! Jericho!!!” The yell came again. He took cover behind a column, as did his guys. Every gun was pointed toward the ramp that Miles would be coming up from. The battle below became a distant hum. There was just the slow steady echo of footsteps growing closer and closer. Miles walked up at last. Their eyes met. Those eyes were filled with a pure hatred that was almost chilling. His men attacked at once, automatic fire ripping into concrete columns and Miles himself. The noise was deafening, and Jericho could barley see from the swirling dust of the exploding columns. As it cleared, he saw that Miles was still standing, his torn coat billowed in the breeze. He was bleeding, shot up with holes, barely standing, but standing nonetheless. His guys had reloaded and kept firing. Miles took one ragged step after another, his body was practically a pulpy mess. Still, he kept coming, looking less and less human as he raised his own pistols and began firing. Jericho took cover, too shocked to fight back. What was he?! How could anyone keep standing after such wounds? He saw two of his guys fall, then a third. Another tried to run, and Miles shot him down without looking. His body was jerked again and again as he was riddled with bullets, but he kept coming. “He…….He won't die.” Jericho said numbly. Jericho stayed behind his guards, watching helplessly as they fell one after the other. It didn't take long until he was alone, facing his former friend. Miles wasn't looking at him, didn't seem to be able move. His body was torn to near shreds, his breathing was ragged and harsh. Then he tossed his head back and screamed, an inhuman, animalistic scream. And in that scream Jericho felt all his former comrade’s pain, his suffering and anguish and hatred. For the first time in five years Jericho realized how deeply he had wounded Miles. Enough to turn him into this……thing. A lifeless body motivated only by an intense desire for revenge. The bullets seemed to force their way out of his body, piling up in small, bloody piles. Miles had dropped his guns and fallen to his knees, blood pouring out his mouth. Then he began healing as though nothing had happened. In mere moments he looked as though he had never been hurt at all. Jericho had never seen anything like it. Slowly, he managed to get to his feet, hatred brimming behind his eyes. Jericho tossed his own gun aside and showed his hands. “Miles…..let's talk. Don't forget, I have your teammate in my hands.” In response, Miles launched himself at him. * Gabriel had been trailing Indara and her group for some time, hoping to catch a glimpse of Rain. But his loud and bulky armor meant that he had to stay far back. He feared what might happen to Rain of he was discovered. But he still hadn't seen her, and with every moment that passed he worried what that meant. Everything was going strange. Why was Indara moving south again? He knew he should wait until he got closer to Miles and the others, but if the synth had hurt Rain or did before he got there he would never forgive himself. Even though she had only been with them a year, she was one of them, and he had grown quite fond of her. He had been the first to teach her how to shoot, and every time she raised a weapon, he could see how his training had taken hold. He had never taught anyone before. In the Brotherhood, others fulfilled that roll. After he had left, after he was forced to flee the only family he had ever known, he figured he would live in obscurity until he died in some civilian shithole. He had never expected to find another family again, one that would accept him despite his past, although Miles was the only one who knew his whole past. He couldn't wait any longer. There was only one move he could make now. He had to get Rain back no matter what. Abandoning any attempts at stealth, he rushed toward Indara and her guards. Even with his armor, he wouldn't be able to hold on long against Indara’s troops, so he was counting on a new addition on his armor to help. He had fitted it during the long winter break, although he had been forced to seek Tali’s help. Ironically, it was her help that was the reason he hadn't tried it out before now. Brilliant though she was, her propensity for inventions that exploded was too well established. It was now or never. He sprinted toward the small army, probably making the ground shake as he did so. He was certainly making enough noise. They noticed him fairly quickly and began firing at once. Gabe just kept running, hoping that his armor held up, otherwise he was gonna look pretty stupid as he died. The raiders were too shocked at this near kamikaze attack, that they couldn't see what his plan was until it was too late. Indara didn't realize it either until his arms were around her. As soon as he had her, he triggered his new toy. The pack on his back let out a burst of fire, sending both himself and Indara into the air. For a few moments, Gabriel felt almost weightless, until gravity once again took over, sending them hurtling through the window of a broken skyscraper. “Holy shit! That was awesome!” He muttered as he got to his feet. He looked out the window and whistled. They had landed on maybe on the fourth floor, far lower than he thought. The room looked like it used to be an office of some sort. Cubicles decorated the room, the lights hung from wires from the ceiling. Indara’s men were currently trying and failing to find a way into the building. He managed to buy himself some time. Now he had a hostage, leverage to get Rain back. Well…….maybe. Indara had recovered by this point, and he suddenly had the feeling that he had caged himself in with a wild animal. Maybe this wasn't a great idea after all. “Madam, I must inform you that you are officially being take into custody.” Indara was already rushing toward him. She leapt forward with both of her legs out, drop kicking him straight in the chest. Any normal person would have bounced off his power armor. Instead, she sent him flying backwards. Gabriel groaned as he began to get back to his feet. “Seriously, surrender now……and I won't have to hurt you.” She leapt onto his back and stuck there like a deranged animal, trying to rip off his helmet. His next move was to run backwards. With Indara still on his back, he rammed them straight through the wall and into the next room with only a large oval table decorating it. The hit managed to knock Indara off, and before she could recover, he had grabbed the table and hit her with it, once again sending her through a wall and into another room. He stomped through the hole and swung his metal fists at the synth. She was too fast and he knew it. She dodged and ducked each attack, his fists breaking through cubicles, sending office supplies flying. Once again the synth managed to knock him away with a powerful kick, but otherwise she couldn't hurt him. Both had now managed to draw their side arms, probably mutually aware that neither would be much use. They fired anyway, unloading on each other with everything they had. Indara was using a familiar energy pistol unique to the Institute. Bullets would have been no issue, but her energy pistol was blackening and denting his armor. His own weapon scored a hit across her side, her wound deep enough to show bloody muscle and wires. Both ended up taking cover behind some flimsy office furniture. “This is pointless, Indara. My armor can take more damage than you can dish out. Give it up, already!” “My guys are coming up as we speak. We'll see who gives out first. I was supposed to leave you be, but I don't care anymore. I'll rip you out of that tin can personally and end you.” “I just want the girl! Hand her over and this ends now. I don't want to kill you, but if I have too, I won't hesitate.” Indara kept quiet for a moment, then to his surprise, tossed her gun aside and left cover with her hands raised. “If it's Rain you're after, she got away early today, probably headed to Miles and your friends.” “Like I'm gonna take your word for it.” Gabe scoffed. “Listen to me! Jericho is here. I just had a runner tell me he passed me by a few hours ago. Rain is heading right toward him, Miles has probably already found him. If we don't both get there, we won’t have anyone left to save.” Gabe listened, trying to hear if she was lying. Something in her voice rang true, and it chilled him to the bone. He put his own weapon away. Ancient enemies stood feet from each other, both ready to put their differences aside for the ones they cared about. “I don't know why, but actually believe you. Okay then, I guess I better get moving. Hopefully we can continue this another time. I had you on the ropes.” “Right.” Indara laughed. “I could hear that old heart of yours about to hop out of your chest.” Gabriel heard angry voices as Indara’s forces began knocking their way through the offices. He didn't have long. He moved to one of the shattered windows, preparing to make the jump. “Wait!” Indara called. “You never answered me before. How many synths did you kill when you were the Brotherhood?” Gabe felt his breath stop in his chest. The question brought a lot of painful memories for him. “If they attacked me, I killed them. Plenty of them in fact. As for the other………less hostile synths……I didn't kill any personally y’know, but……I didn't stop it either, not at first anyway.” Indara nodded. “I believe you. It doesn’t change anything though. I'll still kill you next time we meet.” “I'll watch my back. Look, for what it's worth…….we were wrong. The Brotherhood should have treated you as people. That's what you are. I can’t take back anything, but I am sorry.” “Don't be. I don't want to hear it, I don’t accept it, and it still doesn't change shit. Next time, I’ll kill you, and I’ll enjoy it. Now get lost. Keep that girl safe.” Gabe nodded, his helmet hiding his grimace. He jumped out the window, his landing shaking the earth beneath him. He started running immediately, heading south. “Hold on, Miles. I'm coming.” * Miles attacked with all the pent up fury he had built up for the last five years. Jericho didn't even try to defend himself. Miles rained blow after blow, marveling at his strength. His body had never taken such beating before. His body had taken everything Jericho’s guys had sent him and he was still standing. He never healed so fast before. Maybe his adrenaline was pushing the contraption in his body into overdrive. Either way, he felt stronger than ever. His right hook sent his old friend into a concrete column, his head bouncing off with a satisfying crunch. When Jericho tried to get up, he kicked him in the ribs as hard as he could. Jericho sputtered and coughed as he tried to get away. “Get up. That’s not nearly enough.” Miles spat angrily. Jericho staggered to his feet, supporting himself against the broken column. “I get it, you're angry. I don't blame you, but you don't understand. I had to make a choice. My people or yours.” Miles punched him again, knocking him to the ground. “Don't you dare. Don't you even try to justify what you did. You killed everyone I ever cared about. My friends, my family, my son!” He kept up his assault, his voice cracking as he picked Jericho up and threw him again into a broken stone column. Miles stopped as a wave of coughing knocked him to his knees. His body shuddered violently and he could see blood on his hand when he took it away. Jericho watched him silently, holding his ribs. There was a strange look on his face. Pity maybe, or possibly disgust. “Enough of this. Look at yourself, Miles. You're sick, man. I don’t want to hurt you, hell I didn't even want to come down here. But like last time, you just had keep pushing.” Miles was having a hard time breathing, taking desperate gasps for air and forcing himself to his feet. “You killed my little boy. An eleven year old boy.” Jericho opened his mouth to reply, but the words seemed to get stuck in his throat. He swallowed hard. “You're right. Aiden’s death was my fault. Killing me won't change anything, Miles, it would just make things worse. The north will be thrown into chaos until someone else takes my place.” Miles looked around and found his guns, putting one back in it's holster, pointing the other at his enemy. Maybe Jericho was right, but it didn't matter either way. “I don't care. You're murderer and liar. You manipulated me, you pretended to be my friend, and then you destroyed everything. Everything! You took my son from me! Now it's my turn.” Jericho nodded, looking resigned. “I pity you, Miles. I hate what I turned you into, I really do. And you deserve your revenge. But I can’t let you have it.” Miles heard a loud crack as Jericho pulled a rusty rebar from the column he was against. It whistled through the air, hitting him square in the head. Miles fired, but only managed to hit Jericho in the shoulder. His gun flew from his hands and he reeled backwards. Jericho hit him two more times, once across the back, and then across the face once again. With an enraged roar, he flung himself one more time at his enemy, getting his hands around Jericho’s neck right as the raider leader shoved the rebar through his chest. It went all the way through his body and exited out his back. Miles felt his strength leave him as his hands fell to his sides. Jericho moved him, leading him to the edge of the parking structure. He could feel a breeze on his back, but he couldn't manage to do anything. He couldn't feel his legs. “The problem with you and your pals, Miles? Always been so damn naïve. Things aren't so simple that pointing and gun and shooting people will solve everything. I'm sorry, pal but that's the truth.” Miles managed to weakly raise his right hand, clapping it around Jericho’s throat, but he knocked it away contemptuously. The two of them stood there in silence for a time, the gunfire from below seemed like a faint echo. Finally, Jericho sighed and gave a small smile. “I already put you in the grave once, old friend. I think it’s time for you to go back where you belong.” Jericho gave a single kick, pulling the rebar at the same time. For a few moments, Miles felt weightless as the rushing air blew in his ears. The ground caught up with him at last, breaking every bone in his body. * Rain had begun panting even before she heard the first gunshots. The winter had evidently left her a bit out of shape. For a while the day seemed peaceful enough, then the air came alive with a fury. She didn't know what was going on. Indara was further north, along with all her men, so who exactly was fighting? She worried about her friends, seeing as how they had taken a beating last time. Poor Miyuki had suffered a pretty bad broken arm, she probably wouldn't be much help in a fight. So she ran, despite her exhaustion, her aching legs, and her increasingly damp diaper. At least she was in a skirt, although the plastic covering of the diaper had the habit of sticking painfully to the skin of her thighs. She moved closer to the sounds of battle, so close now that she was surprised she still couldn't see anyone. She saw a large parking garage in the distance and skidded to a halt when she saw Miles on the third floor of it. Then to her horror, she saw him fall, losing sight of him before he hit the ground. It was when she looked up again that she saw him. Jericho Thorne. She could see the edges of his fiery tattoo from where she stood. She felt stunned, slowly feeling the familiar power flooding her body. He had hurt Miles. Again. After everything he had already put him through, he had hurt him again. Maybe Indara could see some small bit of goodness left in Thorne, but from her vantage point, she couldn't see any. As if by instinct, she pushed the power down her body until it reached her feet, then she jumped, feeling the air almost part as she soared upward. The feelings coursing through her at this moment were beyond anything she had experienced yet. She felt invincible, powerful, and righteous. She knew the backlash would be bad, crippling maybe, but right now that didn't matter. Enough was enough. It was time for Jericho to meet his maker. She had one moment where she got to enjoy his face as he saw her flying thirty feet into the air straight at him. She managed to go just over his head and land behind him. Before he could react she lashed out with her hand, her power slamming into him and doubling him over. Once again she wielded her power like a giant proxy hand, gripping him and tossing him across the room before he had a chance to be surprised. If only he knew his killer was still in diapers. He scrambled up and managed to grab a fallen AK. Before he could fire, Rain was twisting her power yet again, drawing it in close to herself, like a second skin. She stood motionless as Jericho fired at her, watching with a giddy joy as the bullets bounced off her. Jericho ran out of bullets and tossed the empty weapon aside before grabbing another discarded AK. He looked at her with a mixture of fear and disbelief. “What the fuck?! What the hell are you?! Who are you?!” Rain smiled a cheshire grin. “I thought you would know. You sent Indara after me remember?” He suddenly looked pale. “Indara…….you…..If you hurt her, I swear……” “You'll do what? You can’t touch me. As for me, I don't even have to touch you to kill you.” She grabbed him again, lifting him high into the air and began to squeeze. He dropped his weapon as he squirmed. She loved how he started to turn purple. She slammed him down hard on the ground, lifted him again, and slammed him again. Something hit her from behind, and she skidded across the floor. Her concentration broken, Jericho fell to the ground with a groan. Rain looked up to find Indara looking down at her. “Stop. Just stop, both of you. This is going too far.” Indara pleaded. Jericho managed to get to his feet. “Fucking freaks everywhere I look. First Miles, now this pint sized witch. What the fuck is this world coming to?” He picked up a large calibur revolver and pointed at her. Indara stood in his way. “No, wait. Stop now please. There has to be another way.” “There is no other way.” Rain said as she stood and prepared another psychic attack. “Either he dies, or I do.” Jericho smiled. “Right. You haven't seen what I have, Indara, what Miles can do, and now her. Our enemies have abilities I can’t hope to match, and they aren't interested in talking. In order to keep everyone safe, they both have to go away. Step aside.” “No! I'm not going to stand here and let you kill each other! Let’s just go home, Jericho, please.” “He's not going anywhere!” Rain said as she lashed out at last. She knocked Indara aside with a blast and turned her attention on Thorne. He fired three times, but she deflected them with ease. The next time he fired, she would send it right back at him and end this. Jericho scoffed and took aim. “I don’t know how you're doing this, but I bet you can’t keep it up for long. You're ear is bleeding.” Rain felt something warm running down her cheek and knew he was right. It was all the more reason to take him down as soon as she could. With his gun still aimed at her, Jericho pulled a grenade from his belt with his free hand and tossed it at her. Before she could deflect it she heard a shot ring out and it detonated. She barely got a barrier up in time, and the blast knocked her over. She scrambled to her feet as fast as she could, and saw him fire once more. She caught it at the last second, the bullet still spinning an inch from her face. She heard Indara screaming and Jericho staring slack jawed. She turned the bullet around slowly, then sent it flying back. * A few weeks earlier “Where would you go if you could go anywhere in the world?” Sylvia asked as the group sat down over a few beers. They had gathered the night before everyone went on their own ways. Jericho sat at the head of the table, Victor and Sylvia to his right. Hudson came next, and Indara rounded the group out. “I don't know that there's anywhere to go.” Viktor said stonily. “One wasteland looks the same as any other.” Sylvia slapped him on the arm. “Don't be so negative. Let’s just pretend that there's a larger world out there, and maybe out there somewhere is a place that was untouched by the nukes. Come on.” Hudson sighed. “Why settle on just one place? There's a huge world out there and Sylvia is right. No way everything is shit. I’d like to see it all, you know? At least all of the United States. Just wait until I get that car running.” Indara snorted. “Where I came from we just teleported wherever we wanted. Instantaneous travel.” “Bullshit. Nobody can do that. Besides, fast travel like that is just unrealistic, no matter how practical or advantageous it is.” “It’s not bullshit. I'm being totally honest. I'm a little surprised those eggheads never tried to make a running vehicle. Then again they tended to look on anything surface level as inferior.” “Lovely people, your lot.” Hudson grunted. “What about you, boss? Where would you go?” Jericho shrugged, unsure if he should be honest. “Probably some place far away. Some place out in the middle of no where.” Inwardly, he thought what he really wanted was a place where no one knew who he was. “Anti-social much?” Sylvia teased. “What's wrong with all of you? I can't get a decent answer out of anyone.” “Maybe you should give us an example of what kind of answer you’re looking for.” Viktor offered, a slight smile on his lips. “Paris! The city of love and romance. I mean, can you imagine how beautiful it must be? I’ve only seen pictures, but I'd love to see Paris for real.” “Indara? What about you?” Jericho asked. She thought for a moment. “The ocean. I'd really like to see the ocean.” Hudson scoffed. “What for? It's just water.” “Shut your face, Lucas.” Sylvia snapped. “That’s good, that's a good answer. Yeah. Sandy beaches, gentle waves……..” “Dead fish.” Viktor said. “Trash and junk.” Jericho joked. “You're all the worst.” Sylvia grumbled. Indara smiled. “In with you, Sylvia. Can you imagine Aimee at the beach? I bet she'd love it.” She sighed. “One day. I'm gonna see the ocean one day.” * Indara's head exploded in a shower of blood and circuitry. She had leapt in between them to quickly to react, the deflected bullet was moving at too high of a velocity. Rain and Jericho both yelled out in horror as her body hit the ground. Everything seemed to go quiet. Jericho rushed to her side, but they both knew she was gone. She was tougher than any human probably, but everything had come together in that one horrible moment. If she hadn’t been in that exact spot at that precise moment then maybe it would have been different. But that's not what happened and she was beyond any help now. What had once been a vibrant, living being was now just a hunk of flesh and wires. Rain fell to her knees, her power leaving her. The pain was already setting in, but she was too distraught too think of it. She had just spoken to her an few hours ago and now she was gone. “I…….I don't…..I didn't mean…….” Jericho was cradling her in his arms and sobbing. When he finally looked up at her, she saw a familiar hatred in his eyes, one strikingly similar to Miles. “You'll pay for this. If it takes the rest of my life, you'll pay. I'll turn this whole state, this whole country on you. I'll set a bounty so large that every hunter in four states will come to collect. Every day, everywhere you go, you will be hunted! You will know no rest, no comfort. Villagers you go to help will be more interested in the price on your head than the aid you can give them. It will never end, do you hear me? It won't end until I hang your lifeless body from my penthouse window for the crows to devour! Witch! The Witch of the Wasteland, that's how you'll be known from now on, I swear it.” Her head was already splitting as she struggled to her feet. She could have ended things there maybe, but she just couldn't. She gave him one last look, then limped her way down the ramp. She could hear his curses the whole way down. Tali was near the bottom with Rocco, having finally pushed their way through. Tali ran to her and wrapped her in her arms. Rain collapsed from exhaustion and grief and began bawling. “It's okay. I got you, little one.” Tali assured her. “Everything's okay.” “What happened? Rocco asked. “Indara got past us, what the hell happened?!” “We need to leave!” Gabriel yelled, running as fast as he could He had a broken Miles in his arms. “Indara’s people are right behind me, we gotta go. There's too many.” “Shit.” Rocco cursed. We're almost out of ammo too.” “What happened to Jericho?” Miles asked. His voice was hoarse, his eyes spoke of a deep exhaustion. “What happened up there, Rain?” She had was being carried by Tali as the group began running south. She had to force herself to stop crying on order to answer. “He’s still alive. I……I killed Indara……...I didn't……I killed her.” Even saying the words was painful. “Good. I hope she rots.” he said, his voice a whisper. It was harsh. She wanted to yell that he didn't know her, not really. But she couldn't do that. Miles had only experienced the bad side of Indara, he hadn't seen her inner frailty or beauty. She had killed his friends, but she was also so much more than that. Could Rain really say he was wrong? Was he any better of a person? Was anyone? Maybe they were all just victims, both of their groups. Maybe the past was just a perpetual cycle of wrongs by some that lead to other wrongs. Rain was starting to wonder if there was even a way of making a right choice. “Later go home.” She asked. “I wanna go home.” “Let’s hope we make it.” Rocco said. “We're outmanned and outgunned, and there's a shitload of pissed off raiders on our tail.”

Indara let Rain go mainly out of fear of what Jericho might do to her. While you, the reader knows that he doesn't intend on harming her, Indara didn't. I haven't revealed Jericho's history yet, but he is capable of extreme cruelty if he feels it's necessary. Before the Doctor arrived he made his reputation on it. Indara knows this, she's seen it, she's been a party to it. As much as she cares about Jericho, she can't ignore the possibilities. Hope that answers your question.

Rain woke to the feeling of movement, like she was floating on a pool of water maybe, a gentle rocking. It felt safe and pleasant, and it was only with great reluctance that she opened her eyes. She was in Indara’s room like she was before she had fallen asleep. The room was dark except for a small candle on the nightstand nearby. But this time she was surprised to find herself in her captor’s arms. Indara was….. rocking her, cradling her like an infant. As alarming as that was, it was made even more awkward by the fact that Rain wasn’t wearing pants at the moment, as they had gotten wet in her last accident. So she was in a simple shirt with her diaper exposed. And Indara was rocking her. She was pretty sure Indara didn't know she was awake yet. In fact, Indara didn't seem to be paying much attention anyway. Her eyes looked vacantly toward the wall. With one hand, she brushed Rain’s hair, while her other hand was on her diaper, making small little pats. Finally, Rain felt like she had to ask. “Uh……Indara? What are you doing?” Indara looked almost surprised that she had been caught. It was too dark to tell, but it almost looked like she was blushing. Could she blush? Gabriel had mentioned how human like synths could appear. They could eat, they breathed, who knows what else. “I'm sorry. I know this is probably demeaning for you.” Indara said, smiling down at her. “If it's not too much trouble, would it be okay for us to stay like this for a bit?” “Yeah……okay, sure. But……um……what's going on?” Rain figured she didn't have much of a choice anyway. Indara was strong enough that she probably wouldn't have been able to get free if she tried. Indara was quiet, gathering her thoughts, but she kept a steady rhythm of rocking and patting her diaper. There was almost a kind of sadness in her eyes now. Rain had seen her angry, seen her excited during their fight, and now the all too human machine looked sad. “I just realized I don't know your name. I'd like too if you're okay with it.” “My name is Rain.” She said, still wondering what this was all about. Indara looked confused for a second. “That’s not a typical human name.” And so while being rocked like a child, Rain told her story. Indara listened with an almost blank expression. When she had finished, Indara nodded and gave a small smile. “It was raining that day too, when Jericho found me. You've had quite the journey for such a young girl. I hope you get your memory back.” There seemed to be more that she wanted to say, but couldn't, or maybe wouldn't. It felt like a shadow was over her, hanging heavy over her thoughts. “Indara, are you okay? Is something wrong?” “I wasn't totally honest with you earlier.” Indara said at last. “I told you I was a courser, and I am to some extent, but I'm also not.” “What does that mean?” Rain asked from her cradled position. “My original function......god I hate that word……function. I was not created a courser. I was originally designed as a caretaker, to watch the Institue’s children while their parent's worked. For years and years I helped raise their young. I loved my job, I really did.” “Okay. So all this is what? Nostalgia?” Indara laughed. A sweet and beautiful laugh. “Yes. Although you're a bit bigger than the kids I looked after. Not too much though. I'm not an expert on human biology, but should you be so scrawny? Doesn't Miles feed you?” “I'm just small. I always have been. I don't think I look like a kid though.” Indara nodded, and Rain felt her hand probing her diaper, checking it. “To be fair, the diapers make you look smaller somehow. No offense, I think you look adorable. By the way, you're pretty damp, so I'll change you after I finish my story, okay?” Rain could feel her face going red. Not even Tali had treated her like this, although she got close at times. Indara had just checked her diaper while rocking her and declared that a change was in order. Like it was a simple fact, not up for debate. Indara continued. “You know why I loved taking care of those kids? They treated me like I was a human. They couldn't conceive what I was, only that they had fun with me. I cared for them and they cared for me and I was happy.” Indara closed her eyes and sighed, and the rocking stopped for a moment. Then she moved on. “Time passed however, and those same kids grew up and they began to see me as an object, a machine. A machine that gave them nostalgic memories, but still a thing nonetheless. I didn't understand why, but suddenly I didn’t matter anymore. But I had new kids to care for so it was okay. But the idea had planted itself inside me. They looked at me different because I wasn't a person in their eyes. But I knew. I did matter. I wasn't just some machine. And I asked myself, didn't I deserve love too? It took years before it hit me. I didn't want to be used and discarded anymore. I wanted to be valued and that would never happen at the Institute.” “So you ran away?” “The war between the Institute and the Brotherhood was causing chaos, and many synths had used the distraction to escape. But I was afraid to leave. I knew I would be hunted. The Institute would sends coursers to hunt me down. The Brotherhood would kill me on sight, as they had others who escaped. There was a group of humans who were helping my kind escape, but I couldn't trust them, the Railroad. I thought they would betray me.” “So one day I decided to escape on my own, and to defend myself from whoever came after me, I took extreme measures. I stole the combat data for the coursers and uploaded it into myself. There were consequences, of course. The data changed me, made me more vicious and predatory. I suddenly knew how to fight and hunt, how to kill and butcher and destroy. Still, I was sure that I could handle myself if I had too. Then I left and escaped into the wasteland.” Rain could tell the story was difficult for Indara, and she instinctually reached and put a hand on her shoulder. “So you were like a nanny bot….and then you made yourself into a courser?” “Yes. In a way. But I wasn't built as a courser, and I soon discovered that even with the combat data, a true courser was more than my match.” * Years before…. She hit the ground hard. She was scared and frustrated. Despite uploading the combat data, she wasn’t able to defend herself. The courser they had sent was modeled as a man, tall and tan, wearing the traditional black garb of the synth hunters. He looked down on her with no emotion. She had thought that all synths had emotions, but the coursers were different. They seemed to feel nothing at all. And he was so strong. No matter how hard she had fought, he beat her down. No matter where she ran, he followed. If she hid, he found her. He had chased her for endless miles, across whole states. It had turned into a kind of futile game, and she knew now that it was hopless. She was going to be taken back, and the Institute would tear her apart, rip away everything that she was. She would cease to exist. “Stop this pointless struggle Z-1366. Give up now and things will go better for you.” She scrambled away. “No! I won't go back. I don't want to go back!” “Not your choice to make Z-1366. Stop being hysterical. It's embarrassing. Come along now, or I'll be forced to use your recall code and deactivate you. I'll admit, I was curious to see if you could match me with your stolen skills. An error, no doubt, that I let my curiosity, pride even, dictate my actions. Nonetheless, this is over.” She leapt at him one more time, and when he knocked her back down as she had predicted, she tried to sweep his legs out from under him. He saw through her tactic and effortlessly dodged her leg, at the same time kicking her so hard she was sent rolling across the dirt. “It’s time to go home.” He said. He grabbed her roughly by the hair. She screamed and she kicked but he ignored her and was preparing to teleport. Then, in an instant, his head simply disappeared, exploded in a shower of blood. He let her go and fell to the ground. Behind where he once stood, a man looked down at her, concern in his eyes. He looked young and rugged at the same time. In his right hand, a held a large caliber revolver, still smoking. “You okay? I don't know what that was all about, but whoever that guy was rubbed me the wrong way. It seemed downright wrong to let him manhandle you like that.” She saw more humans approaching, but her savior held up a hand and they kept back. The sky had grown dark and suddenly she felt wet droplets hitting her skin, first slowly, then faster as more and more fell. It was cold, ice cold, but she loved it. It was real, it seemed like the first real thing she had ever felt. Rain. It was wonderful. She was afraid. Who was this man? What did he want? She pushed herself away in fear. “Please……don't hurt me. I just…..I wanted to be free. I wanted to be real.” The man knelt down. The way he looked at her….like she was someone. “You don't have to be afraid. I'm not going to hurt you. If you're a slave, you can consider those days over. You're free. You can do whatever you want.” She sat in the pouring rain, as the man stared at her awaiting her response. Freedom. It didn’t seem possible. “I don't know what to do. I don't have anywhere to go. I'm alone.” “Well in that case, why don't you come with me? I'll get you someplace warm, get you something to eat. You'll be safe. It's up to you though. No one will force you to do anything you don't want too.” “Why? Why would you help me? I'm nothing…..I’m not even real.” Then he stuck out his hand as water ran down his face. “You look real to me. Beautiful, if a bit rough around the edges. You can call me Jericho. What's your name?” She hesitated, staring at the outstretched hand. “I don't have a name. I have a number.” The man kept his hand outstretched and thought for a moment. “No name huh? How about…….Indara? A unique name for a unique woman.” He called her a woman. Not a machine or a synth or a tool. A woman. She nodded shyly. “Come with me, Indara. Let's get the hell away from here. First home, then…..wherever you want to go.” After a moment, she reached out and took his hand. It felt warm despite the freezing water. He smiled at her, and she smiled back. She felt happy again, for the first time in a long time. * “Do you know what it's like to spend your whole existence as nothing, just a tool to uncaring overlords? To be told everyday that you were nothing? Can you imagine what it would be like, after all that, to have one person, just one person, tell you that you mattered? That's what Jericho did for me. Even after he found out what I am, it didn't matter. He still cared for me, he valued me. He kept me safe from the Institute too. There were too many people for a courser to even try and get me.” Rain nodded, hoping Indara was too invested in her story to feel the steady stream of urine Rain was currently sending into her diaper. “So you help him, a murderer, because he was nice to you?” “Is that any different from you with Miles? He’s a killer, Rain. So is Gabriel of the Brotherhood, so is that ghoul. So are you. We murder those we are convinced are wrong, evil, and we convince ourselves that we're right. Jericho saved me, gave me a home, and I helped him in return. Even when he sent me away to be his general and I knew I would only see him on rare occasions. It didn't matter. I was useful to the only person who mattered to me. In time, I even found others to care about and who cared about me in return.” Rain didn't like want she was saying, but she couldn't really argue either. There had been several times, countless hours where she had questioned the morality of what she was doing, but the people she killed were clearly bad, threats to innocent people. It wasn't the same. But still, she was the same as Indara. Where would she be now if Miles and the others hadn't saved her? “It wasn't just me.” Indara continued. “Take Barnabas. A Super Mutant, a monster. There was no chance for him to be anything else, until Jericho saved him. Hudson is the same, a man with few skills beyond violence, and a temper to boot. We were all outsiders and freaks, and he brought us together, gave us something bigger to fight for.” Rain understood this too. Really, Miles was the same. He had brought together an unlikely team, united by a desire to right the wrongs of the world. Miyuki, Tali, Gabe, Rocco, even Rain herself, were damaged in some way, or stood out from the crowd of normal people. “Why are you telling me this?” Rain asked. Indara shrugged. “I don't know. I guess I just wanted someone to know. When you're something that's made, I guess…..I guess I just wanted someone to know who I am, so that I can be remembered as a real person, if that makes sense.” Rain wasn't sure how to respond. Indara seemed very concerned with the idea of her identity, on being a real person rather than an artificial one. What could she say that could reassure her? “I'm afraid, Rain. I feel like something bad is going to happen. I want to tell you everything will work out, that you and I will make it back to our respective leaders. Maybe we'd even call each other friends one day. But……when it comes to Jericho and Miles, nothing can be that simple, and more often than not, the wrong people get hurt. So let’s just stay like this for a little while. Please?” Rain didn't say anything, she just nodded and tried to relax. She didn't know how to feel. The Indara she had seen in Miles’ memories was capable of ruthless cruelty, and her first encounter with the general had reinforced that image, but she also seemed so vulnerable and full of doubt. Rain curled closer to her captor. She was having a harder time viewing her as an enemy. “Indara? Do you have a heartbeat?” She was curious, but she didn’t know why. “Why don't you find out, little one?” She laid her head against Indara’s chest. After a moment she heard the rhythmic sound of a beating heart. Was it real? Did it matter? Just because Indara was made of different parts, did that mean she wasn't a person? Or was her ability to feel what made her real, as real as anyone Rain had met before? “Indara……I wanted to tell you I was wrong before. When I called you a monster. If I make it out of this, I would be happy to call myself your friend.” Her words struck the synth hard. Her face seemed to crumble, and a smile broke free. Indara leaned down and kissed her on her forehead. Then they just sat there together for some time, away from their troubles and uncertain tomorrow's. For a short time, nothing else seemed to matter. “Stay awake, okay? We…….we still have to…..change that diaper.” Indara said shakily. And Rain felt suddenly……tears hitting her face. She looked up astounded. Indara was actually crying. How could a machine cry? “What's wrong? Don't cry, please don't, you'll make me cry.” Rain begged, feeling tears already welling up in her eyes. She didn't cry much longer, but it was jarring to see such a woman so upset. “I just want to go home. I wish it hadn't been you I was told to capture. I don't see the reason for it, why he wants you, I don't understand. His fight isn't with you, so why? Why did he ask me to do this?” Rain was fearful too. She wanted to go home as well. She wanted to do Miyuki’s hair again, play cards with Rocco and Gabe. She wanted Tali to read to her and hold her until she fell asleep. She wanted to shoot with Miles again and ask him about his adventures. More than anything she wanted them all to be together, safe and happy and laughing. Indara composed herself at last. “Sorry. Enough of this mopey crap, it's not like me. Let me change that diaper for you. Maybe you noticed, but I'm pretty good at that too.” Rain let herself be laid on the bed, her face warming as Indara prepared a new diaper. She shouldn't have been so embarrassed. She had been changed by so many people it shouldn't have been such a big deal. Besides, it struck her that maybe Indara needed this right now. The synth took her time with this change. Rain laid quietly, her heart hammering in her chest, while Indara thoroughly cleaned her up, before laying her down on a new diaper. The powder came next, and the smell brought another small smile to the synth’s lips. She taped up the diaper nice and snug, nodding proudly at her handiwork. “There we are. Look at that. You're just too cute, you know that?” Rain raised an eyebrow. “That sounds suspiciously like baby talk. Still, I guess my diapers came in handy at last. I doubt you'd be treating me this nicely otherwise.” For whatever reason, Indara seemed to find that quite funny. She began laughing, quietly to herself at first, and louder as time went on. Then Rain started laughing too. She didn't know why, but she laughed so hard she felt tears forming in her eyes. “Don't say that.” Indara laughed. “I mean, you're probably right. They give you a kind of vulnerability, I guess. But it's you too. You have an innocence about you that's incredible for the wasteland. I lost whatever shred of innocence and naivety quickly once I came to the surface, but it's still there with you. It makes you seem genuine.” Rain almost snorted when she laughed. “What are the odds? Me, a girl stuck wearing cutsie adult diapers, getting captured by a nanny-bot…….courser…….person.” Indara looked thoughtful for a moment. “Or maybe……it’s just because you are very cute, and my original programming has nothing to do with it.” Rain shrugged and batted her eyes. “I guess we'll never know.” * There was several more days of travel. Indara’s men seemed to harbor a healthy fear of their captive after she had brutally killed three of their friends. Outwardly, Indara maintained a cold facade on the road, but she spent most nights talking with her captive. For her part, Rain tried not to worry too much about what would happen at the end of the road. One night, Indara seemed different, deep in thought. She didn't stay after changing her prisoner, although she promised to return. Rain shrugged and climbed into bed. She was tired out after the day's walk anyway. She was both surprised and strangely relieved that Miles hadn't found her yet. What she didn't want was for Indara to have to fight her friends. After putting her thoughts aside, she fell asleep pretty quickly. She dreamed that Miles came to save her, and after Rain explained the situation, he forgave Indara for her part in the massacre of the Regulators and asked her to join them. Indara accepted of course. The next girl's night found her joining Tali and Miyuki. They all had a great time together, although the dream had begun to fade by then so it was hard to tell what they had done. “Wake up, Rain. Hurry, we gotta move quick.” Rain opened her eyes to find Indara changing her diaper at an almost mechanical pace. She wasn’t sure what the rush was, but it was definitely the quickest diaper change she had ever gone through. “What's up? It feels too early to get up. What's the rush?” Surprisingly, Indara shoved her bag at her. “I'm letting you go. Right now. You'll only have a few moments. I sent the guard on duty on a patrol, told him I thought I heard something, so you'll need to hurry. If you go southeast for about 10 miles, you should find your friends. They've been following closely.” “Won't you get in trouble?” Rain asked as her skirt was pulled up. Indara took her by the hand and drug her along, her head on a swivel in case they were discovered. Finally, she opened a door leading outside. “Nah, I'll be fine. Shit happens and you got away. Jericho will understand.” Rain hesitated for a moment before wrapping Indara in a hug. “Thank you so much. I know it's weird but…..I had a good time hanging out with you.” The synth stroked her hair and have her another hug. “Go. Get back to the people who love you. I'm planning on doing the same. If you're ever up north, stop by okay? I promise I'll only baby you a little bit.” “I will. I promise. Until the next time.” With that Rain took off, quietly and quickly, making her way back to her friends with a big smile on her face. Indara stood and watched her go, giving a small wave, until she finally faded into the distance. * An hour later Indara was “woken” to the news that their prisoner had escaped. Her guys seemed afraid she would punish them, and were relieved when she waved it off. “You all saw what she did to those guys that attacked her. Who knows what else she can do. I was worried a small door wouldn't hold her. Hell, maybe she picked the lock, I don't know.” “We're going after her right?” one of her men asked. Indara pretended to consider it. “No. We're low on supplies as it is. We don't have the time to going rutting through the wasteland again. We'll just have to tell Jericho she slipped away.” As if to mock her decision, she saw a runner approaching from the south. He looked exhausted, and she knew right away he wasn't one of hers. “Miss Indara! I'm glad I finally found you. Jericho’s here looking for you. He sent scouts out in all directions.” She felt it again, a sense of dread. Taking a moment to keep her face blank, she finally responded. “Jericho is here. Where?” “Actually, it looks like we passed you, he's a few miles south.” South. Where Miles and his crew were. Where she had just sent Rain to not but an hour ago. She wondered if her artificial heart was beating faster, or if her anxiety was showing. She had sent that girl right into the heart of the conflict. “Okay. Well our prisoner just escaped south. Let's go. Maybe Jericho will have seen her.” She signaled to her soldiers. “Let's get moving guys! Jericho is near by!” Those two were on a collision course, and she feared what would happen if they weren't stopped. * “Captain, I hate to shit in your coffee here, but we've been travelling for day with no sign of Indara or her scouts.” Rocco said, waving himself with his fedora. “I hate to say it, but we're lost. We've even been travelling at night and still we're no closer than when we began.” Tali shot him a dirty look. “So what? We have to keep looking. We can't just leave her to Thorne. She didn't give up on you when you were stuck in that ghoul tunnel.” He stuck up his hands in a calming gesture. “Hey, I'm not saying we give up. I don't know. We could try and radio Gabe if he's in range, but we got no idea where we're going here. How long before we follow Indara right into Jericho’s waiting hands?” Miles turned on him. “That doesn't matter. Listen to me. If Jericho gets his hands on Rain, he will kill her. He'll either shoot her in the head and leave the body for us to find, or he'll burn her alive like he's done to countless other enemies. Do you understand? He's an animal, a murdering psychopath. So we don't stop until she's back safe with us, got it?” “Yeah, I got it. So where are we headed?” “Same way as usual. We're bound to find something if we keep at it, some clue that we're close. That or Gabriel will find them first. We won't accomplish anything just standing here, so let’s go.” They kept moving for about a mile or so, but it all looked the same. The same dead city and ruined buildings, eerie in it's lifelessness. Miles hated to admit it, but Rocco was right. They lacked the numbers to be able to search a city this big effectively. If they had Mr. Happy with them, he could have searched quickly, all day and night if need be. As it was, there were so many places to hide, and far too much territory to check. It was becoming more and more apparent that they might not find Rain in time. That was when they got lucky. They heard a crackle from their radio’s and froze in place. It was Gabriel, but it was so distorted, he must have been only just in range.” “Eye on Indara…….meeting with…….looks like……going the opposite……..heading south?” “South? She's heading toward us? Why?” Tali asked. “Gabe, do you see Rain with her? Gabe?” The radio came to life, but the signal was too unsteady to understand. Tali and Rocco looked worried, but at least they had a direction. It looked like the fight was coming to them. Sure enough they finally ran into a group about two miles later. The group however, seemed too small to be Indara’s. There were only twenty, maybe thirty of them at most. Miles had the team stay out of sight and wait. Something was off. If this was Indara’s group, then Gabe should have been in range of their radio's, but that wasn't the case. The confusion was cleared up the second Miles saw a familiar figure shouting orders. It was him. Jericho Thorne. Right here, only a few feet away. It was unbelievable. What mad notion brought him here, Miles didn't know, but this….this was the chance of a lifetime. “Who is that?” Tali asked. She had never seen him before so it was understandable. Miles could feel his heart pounding at the sight of his target. It had been five years since he had last seen him in person, but he had seen Jericho every day, every waking moment, every nightmare, for years. Now he was here. “Thorne….” He managed to say in almost a growl. He could barely contain the rage that threatened to consume him. He stood and began to move forward, not even noticing Tali grabbing his arm. “Wait, wait! What about Rain?!” Miles couldn’t be stopped, couldn’t think straight. “It doesn’t matter. We kill Thorne and this ends today. We won't get another chance, we have to move now!” “If we attack Thorne, Indara might kill Rain. We don’t know where she is. It's too much of a risk. Miles, stop!” He was already running ahead, his guns at the ready. Nothing was going to stop him. Not when he was so close.

I know how frustrating financial issues can be, trust me. As someone who struggles quite a bit myself, I can relate. Asking for help is tough too, not just because you have to ask for help, but because of how they look at you. Oh, they don't say it, but you know they're wondering why you can't get your life together and be successful like (insert random family member) It can be frustrating and depressing, and at least in my case, leads to self hatred. All I can tell you is to take it one day at a time. Another job will come and this will pass. Just keep hanging on, buddy.