Chapter 19: Cracking Alliance

January 26, 2024 3:25 PM

Sanders was...bewildered, stunned, confused, and more as he stared down at Pyrrha's head. She...she had talked! She had said she was hungry! How...but...

"W...what?" he stammered out, unsure if he was hearing right or just going crazy. He had to be going crazy.

"Hungry," Pyrrha whined up at him again, dispelling any chance Sanders had heard wrong. She had, without a doubt, said hungry. And a quick glance at Gabby told him he wasn't the only one to hear it.

"Woah...she can talk? You never mentioned that," Gabby said looking completely amazed by this development.

"That...that's because she couldn't," Sanders said as Gabby snapped around to him. Her look of amazement turned to a bit of worry as Pyrrha's stomach rumbled again. She whined again, but didn't talk this time.

"Well...that is...I'm not really sure what that is. But, we...we should probably worry about this later when we are not beside a dead catgirl that is going to attract attention. And when Pyrrha is not slowly getting hungry enough to try to eat one of us," Gabby suggested as she backed away from the edge of Pyrrha's head. Sanders was about to snap at her for suggesting Pyrrha would eat them and that they needed to find out what was going on with her when Samantha interrupted him.

"Sanders! Darius gave the all-clear! He said to get us moving and find Pyrrha some food!" Samantha yelled from the other side of Pyrrha's head. Pyrrha's ears seem to perk up at the mention of food and her stomach gave another rumble.

He must have heard that wrong. There was no way anyone on the platform hadn't heard Pyrrha and yet he was fine with them still moving? Then again, the only other option would be to get off and risk the attention of whatever was brought by the dead catgirl, which could very well be another feral. As much as Sanders wanted to stop and find out exactly what was going on with Pyrrha, they needed to get moving or they would be risking deaths on their side. Sanders was not going to be the cause of more allies deaths. Barely stopping himself from rubbing the whistle in his pocket, he sighed and turned forward.

"Alright, Pyrrha, we can get going now. Let's go find you some food," he said wondering what kind of reply he would get. Sanders wasn't sure if he was more or less happy that Pyrrha gave her usual happy meow in response. She, slowly, stood back up onto all fours and started forward, already sniffing the air for her next meal. Sanders glanced back toward the platform, unable to see it because of Pyrrha head. He wondered what they all thought of this and whether the next stop would be the end of this alliance.

Sanders spent the rest of the trip worrying about what would happen when they reached their next stop. Would Darius see a talking catgirl as a boon or a potential problem that needed to be dealt with? He hoped for the former and thought it more likely considering how cold and logical Darius seemed to be. Talking or not, Pyrrha had not shown any hostility toward anyone, well save Jacob and Derek but they had caused said hostility. Surely he couldn't think she was still dangerous after all this. Still, he couldn't help but worry, doubly so about the other Phoenixes. Darius might be all logic, or at least seemed to be, but everyone else...

Gabby tried to distract him with kind words and such, but Sanders barely heard anything she said. He just stood there thinking on what to do if the worst should happen...Hopefully, Darius would just let them leave if they decided to stop, but Sanders had his doubts about that being the likely end. If Darius tried to force him to stay, was Sanders willing to fight and potentially kill to escape? He...he honestly was not sure. At least Pyrrha had found a herd a deer along the way and eaten her fill. She would be fully ready if the worst should come...and God help him if it did...

They arrived at the northern edge of the Phoenix's territory a few hours later. By then, night had covered the area in a dark blanket that made it near impossible to see thanks to the moonless night. Thankfully, Pyrrha seemed to be able to see well enough to keep going, but slowed down a good bit. They had to stop a few times as William and a few others got down to try and figure out where they were. They were supposed to find a watchpost and stay near it for the night, but the fight with the feral had delayed them and the pitch black night was making it hard to find.

Finally, William returned with the watch commander, a woman named Meredith, and a group of soldiers from the watchpost. They had been out looking for them and had stumbled onto William while he was out trying to find them. Sanders had Pyrrha, carefully, follow Meredith and the rest as she lead them to where they would be hiding. Slowly, a large form loomed out of the darkness and Sanders was just barely able to make out the form of a shed. The shed was made from old pieces of sheet metal and looked to be on the verge of falling apart. However, it was still together enough for Pyrrha to hide in and give the other's plenty of room to set up camp. They headed inside and Pyrrha nearly collapsed once Sanders told her she could lay down. She gave a big yawn as she stetched out before lifted her hand up to bring Sanders and Gabby down to the ground.

Once on the ground, Sanders glanced around Pyrrha's head and saw people climbing down the ladders leading off the platform. A few of them were carrying large bundles on their back, likely filled with supplies or food. He tried to see if he could pick out Darius among them, but it was simply too far to tell who was who. He needed to find him and make sure Pyrrha's talking didn't cause him to rethink this plan. He turned back to Gabby as he tried to think of what to say.

"Gabby, could you stay here and make sure Pyrrha doesn't move or anything. Just tell her no if she starts to move," Sanders asked, only half paying attention to her. He had to keep this mission going or, at the very least, keep himself going toward it. He wasn't going to let Manchent and Isabella's death be in vain, no matter what.

"Huh? Oh yeah, sure. Aunt Gabby will make sure she doesn't get fussy," Gabby said with a confident smirk. Pyrrha gave her a confused look as Sanders nodded and headed toward the ladders. Some part of him was a bit worried if Gabby could keep Pyrrha under control, but he was far more worried about the potential problems Pyrrha talking could make. Worse came the worse, Samantha was still around and could takeover.

Sanders was nearing the ladders when he saw a few people splitting off from the mass to come toward him. Sanders managed to pick out Darius leading the group followed closely by Derek and the bald squad-leader. A few soldiers were with them along with William, Kimberly, and Jimmy. Great...Sanders would had preferred a private talk, but that was unlikely with all of them coming too. At least William was along and he seemed like a reasonable person.

"Sanders, good of you to meet us. We need to speak about Pyrrha," Darius said, his face and tone giving no hint to what he was thinking. Sanders swore as he realized why all these people were with him. They were going to be discussing what to do and whether to call off the expedition. Dammit...

"I wouldn't have thought her simply being able to talk would have needed a full meeting of everyone. You all knew she was smarter than normal," Sanders said, hoping to get some of them to agree with him. Maybe he could defuse this before it started.

"You thought wrong. We knew she was smart, but being able to talk changes everything. Animals don't talk," Derek said with an angry glare. Sanders was tempted to return the glare, but stopped himself. Getting mad at Derek wasn't going to help this mess, doubly so now that it was obvious there was no avoiding it.

"Indeed, this does change things, but we can get into this debate once we are away from any wondering ears. Come," Darius ordered as he started off back toward Pyrrha's head. Sanders sighed as he fell in at the back of the group, getting a sympathetic smile from William. They moved past Pyrrha's head, both Gabby and Pyrrha giving them a confused stare, till they were near the entrance of the shed. The moved into the corner as the soldiers with them created a perimeter around them to keep out anyone.

"Now that we are alone, we can discuss this issue in full without worry of our words spreading to the soldiers. We cannot afford to present a divided message to them if we hope to keep them cohesive. Therefore, whatever decision we make here must be the decision we all, at least in front of the soldiers, support. Any dissention from that will spread to the soldiers and doom this expedition. Is that understood?" Darius asked with a glare that made it clear there was only one acceptable answer. He turned to everyone as they nodded in understanding, including Sanders. At least he was still making it seem like the expedition would keep going. If he had already decided they were stopping, Darius wouldn't be so concerned for their morale.

"Good, now Pyrrha's...change has made a number of you less than sure of continuing with this mission. Others, however, feel this does not warrant a change of plans. Rather than allowing this to turn into a shouting match, we will each be given a chance to speak our minds on what needs to be done. Once that is finished, we can try to find a proper compromise that we can, at least, live with. Derek, you can start," Darius said as he motioned for Derek to go ahead. Sanders guessed this was the fairest way to do this, though he would have preferred someone else going first. Derek nodded and turned to the group.

"It is my opinion that we need to call off the mission, for now, till we understand just what is happening to Pyrrha and if we can fully trust her. Before, we thought she was a simple, though rather intelligent, animal. However, her sudden ability to speak suggests she is not just an animal, but something closer to a person. If that is true, then she may start thinking like a person as well. I doubt, no matter how she might change, she will turn on Sanders, but the same cannot be said for the rest of us. What are we to do if she decides that protecting him overrides aiding us, or starts to view us as a threat? Even if you think that is unlikely, just remember we have no idea what is happening to her and she is our only way back to Hope. It's simply too dangerous to go so far from our territory using something we can no longer guarantee will be available to us on our return. We are better off returning to Hope, testing just how trustworthy Pyrrha is, and try this again when we know we can count on Pyrrha rather than risk all of our deaths or being months away from our territory," Derek said in a, as much as Sanders hated to admit it, convincing way. Despite himself, Sanders couldn't help but understand Derek's worries. Sanders had nothing to fear from Pyrrha, no matter what was happening to her, but... but he wasn't sure he could extend that to everyone here. And if she ever did feel Sanders was in danger and leaving them could save him...

Dammit, no! He trusted Pyrrha more than that! She wouldn't leave them to die even if it meant saving Sanders and she sure as hell wouldn't turn on them, unless it was Derek or Jacob...she might turn on them. Sanders wanted to debate Derek's words and show them to be false, but Darius spoke up before he could get anything out.

"William, you can go now," Darius said with a hint of annoyance in his voice. Sanders closed his mouth as he was a bit surprised with that tone and Darius' face. For once, it was not completely emotionless and had a bit of anger on it. Was he angry at what Derek had said or was he angry at William? Either way, Sanders decided to keep silent and let William get his say. The older man had seemed a good deal smarter than Derek and Sanders was interested with what side he would take. William stroked his large grey beard in thought before starting.

"Alright. Well, I can't completely disagree with Derek's points. Pyrrha talking does seem to show that she is more intelligent than we thought and does add a bit of an unknown variable to the mix. However, I don't think we have the luxury of going back to deal with this unknown how we would like. I read the reports on what happened with the first test of Pyrrha as a weapon, including the part Samantha submitted about Sanders'...encounter with his old partner," William paused as he glanced over toward Sanders with a sympathetic look. Sanders turned away and had to fight to keep his anger from raising to the surface. Aviel...

"According to Samantha, the Society patrol realized that the giantess was killed by a catmonster acting with Resistance aid. Worse, they guessed it to be Sanders' doing. That means they will know Sanders has joined a Resistance group and passed along his information to us, information that they will know as well since his partner was there to hear Manchent's last words as well, or at least that is what I would guess," he paused as Sanders looked up to see him and the rest staring at him.

"Yeah...yeah she heard it too," Sanders said with a depressed sigh. Derek swore under his breath while the bald guy seemed kinda bored. Jimmy rubbed his head while both Kimberly and Darius keep their faces passive.

"It is highly likely, then, that the Society will be sending their own forces to Lindale to find our objective and destroy it. Currently, we have a head start, but it will still take us at least two days to reach Lindale. The Society, however, will only need two to three hours to arrive, and that is assuming they have to stop to clear the road a few times.  I don't disagree with Derek that we are taking a risk, but I think the risk is necessary. I knew Gregor and he would not have told two strangers about this unless it was direly important that it was found. We have to find whatever this thing is, no matter the risk," William said with a determined look that reminded Sanders of the look Manchent had had just before... Sanders had to fight not to shiver as he tried not to relive that horrid memory.

Derek crossed his arms and seemed less than happy with William's words, but slumped a bit as if in defeat. The bald commander rubbed the scar on his chin as he nodded at the words.  Jimmy sighed to himself and looked bored with this whole thing, his gaze drifting back toward Pyrrha. Maybe they wouldn't need to go through them all, after all. It was looking like William had convinced the bald guy and Derek they had to keep going.

"There is still one thing no one has answered, though," Kimberly suddenly spoke up, giving both Sanders and Darius a glare.
"What, exactly, did Manchent leave? You said it would turn the tide and yet Derek, your second, seems to be ready to let it go. Seems odd if it was something so important," Kimberly finished as her eyes narrowed. Jimmy turned back to the group after her words and looked just as curious. The bald man, however, just rolled his eyes. Darius returned Kimberly's glare for a second before speaking up.

"Fine. The truth is we do not know what it is. All we know, as William pointed out, was that it was valuable enough that Manchent risked telling two Shields about it when it was clear he was going to die, but did not tell Derek when it looked as if he could survive. That would-" Darius was interrupted as Kimberly butted in.

"Imply it was very valuable, yes yes. But you and our...hero still have no idea what it is. Meaning it might be completely useless to us. You are risking people's lives on an unknown thing and, now, want to risk them while using a transport that might be dangerous. One is bad enough, Darius, but two is too much. We should turn back now before you get us all killed," Kimberly said with a harsh glare and a tone to match. Sanders wanted to be angry at what Kimberly was saying, but couldn't as he knew she was right. They were risking all these people on a prayer, maybe even less than that. Maybe...maybe they should turn around and leave Sanders to go look for what Manchent left alone. At least then it was only him and Pyrrha at risk...

Sanders glanced over to Darius and saw his eyes narrow at Kimberly as his face sneered a bit in anger.

"Before I get us all killed? Do I need to remind you that I have yet to say what I think is best and that you had no issue with this mission before now? If we all die, the fault is mostly mine, but plenty falls on you as well, Doctor. Just as it always has," Darius said as Kimberly's face reddened in anger.

"How da-" Kimberly started to say before Jimmy butted in and moved between the two of them.

"Alright, that's enough. Doctor Kimberly, stop trying to put the blame all on Darius for things that go wrong and Darius, stop holding her own past failures against her. We all are going to pick what happens here so the fault lies with all of us if we wind up dead. Now, let's get back to figuring out what we are going to do before the Society decides for us," Jimmy said as he looked between Darius and Kimberly. They both glared at the other, but looked to back down. William sighed to himself and shook his head as Darius' glare shifted to him.

"You... are right, Jimmy, I apologize. Why don't you give your opinion now so that we can move on?" Darius said as his face went back to its passive mask. Kimberly crossed her arms under her large breasts and still looked angry, but keep silent. Jimmy seemed content with that as he stepped out from between the two. Good thing Jimmy was here to defuse that situation before it got out of hand.

"Huh? Oh yeah...right. Well everything I wanted to say has already been said, mostly. I do think we are taking a risk using Pyrrha when we don't know what is going on with her, but it would be a shame for all that work on the platform to go to waste. And I think Manchent wouldn't have made such a fuss over something stupid, but I didn't know the guy so... Hell, we might as well go for it. Pyrrha and this platform are our only chance of turning the war around and if we don't have enough faith in them just to ride them, how the hell are we supposed to fight on them? They either work and we have a chance or they don't and we are all fucked. Might as well find out now rather than waiting around for it," Jimmy said with a shrug. It wasn't a great vote of confidence, but it was a good point. If they gave up on Manchent's thing and the platform, what hope did the Phoe- hell anyone, have? 

Kimberly didn't look convinced, though, as she shook her head in disgust. Derek looked less than happy as well, but William nodded his agreement. The bald man didn't seem to be listening anymore and looked rather bored as he silently whistled something to himself. For his part, Sanders was still torn. Jimmy did have a good point, but he still wasn't sure he was willing to risk all these people on this. But...but if he failed...

"Gerard, do you have anything the say?" Darius asked after a second of waiting. The bald man looked back to the group and thought for a second.

"Naw, I'm here to fight and burn some damn giant bitches, not do all this talking. I don't care what we decide to do, just wish we would hurry up and pick one so I can roast me up some giantess," Gerard said with a grin that made Sanders more than a bit uncomfortable. He was starting to see why the group keep further away from him than they did everyone else. He was, also, sure what was in those canisters Gerard had brought on-board and that made Sanders very, very worried.

No one looked surprised by Gerard's answer, or rather lack of one, and they all turned to Sanders. Sanders realized he was going next a second before Darius actually spoke. Great...

"Sanders, do you have anything to add?" he said as Sanders got a bit of stage-fright. He fought it off as he gulped down his fear. Fuck he had stared down catmonsters and giantesses, what the fuck was he worried about this for?

"I..." he started to say, but stopped as he realized he wasn't sure what he was going to say. He agreed with William that this was necessary and that whatever Manchent left had to be important, and yet Kimberly's point of risking everyone on a unknown thing keep coming back to his mind. He was sure Pyrrha wouldn't hurt anyone...but then he had been sure Pyrrha couldn't talk. And then there was the threat of the Society showing up...

"I...I don't think I can really give an opinion on this. I'm biased toward saying we keep going, but that is because I have a personal stake in finding what Manchent left. And, unlike all of you, I know for a fact Pyrrha would never hurt me, I...can't in all honesty give that same guarantee to everyone else. The only real thing I want to say, or rather ask, is that if you all do decide to turn back, you let me and Pyrrha keep going. That...that's really all I got to say," Sanders said with a halfhearted nod. He looked over the group and was half expecting to see them angry about him not picking a side. However, they all looked to understand his reluctance and looked to accept that answer. Even Derek looked...not happy but not angry either which was an improvement. Darius, though, seemed to be looking at something else in the distance.

"Fair enough. Then we have a split of two opinions to head back and two to continue on. The general theme is that Derek and Kimberly believe using Pyrrha is too much of a risk now, while William and Jimmy think the potential rewards are worth the risk. I am more inclined to lean to Jimmy's line of thinking, but I think there may be a way to settle this without an argument," Darius said as he looked between them all. Everyone, including Sanders, gave him a curious look, interested in what he had in mind.

"The crux of the problem is that Pyrrha's sudden ability to talk implies she may be gaining a more...human outlook. However, talking does not truly mean intelligence. After all, a parrot talks and we would not say it is of human level intelligence. Therefore, I think we need to establish whether Pyrrha is truly talking or simply repeating words she has associated with her wants," Darius said as he motioned toward the massive prone form of Pyrrha. She was giving Gabriella her confused look as Gabby yelled something at the catgirl, though Sanders couldn't hear what.

Derek gave an unsure look to Darius for a second before, slowly, nodding to himself.
"That...is a good point. All she has said is hungry and she went right back to meowing afterwords," he said as he glanced over to Kimberly. Kimberly didn't look as convinced as she keep her arms crossed under his breasts.

"Its a fine thought, but how do we prove she can't talk?" she said with a skeptical look.

"Well...we could try talking to her. If all she does is repeat what we say then we have our answer," William suggested as he ran his hands through his beard. 

"So we go talk to the catmonster and if it talks back, we go back, but if it don't we keep going? Sounds good enough to me, now can we get to it so we can get back to important shit?" Gerard barged in, looking very impatient and over this whole thing. Everyone nodded in agreement to the idea, Kimberly looked less than happy with it however. Despite nodding, Sanders couldn't help but be worried. On one hand, if Pyrrha could talk it would be...he wasn't sure what it would be, but he would lose the Phoenixes. But if she couldn't talk and was just repeating words... He and Gabriella had said hungry more than a few times before she said it, now that he thought about it. Was she really just copying him?

The group headed over to Pyrrha's head in silence as the soldiers fell in along side them. As they got closer, Sanders was able to pick up on what Gabby was saying to Pyrrha, who was still giving her a confused look.

"Come on, say Gabby! G-A-BB-Y! Fine, how about Sanders can you say that?... Come on, I know you can talk, you did it a few hours ago!," Gabby said as Pyrrha tilted her head back and forth at her. She glanced up and saw the group coming toward her and smiled a bit at Sanders. It vanished, though, when he eyes settled on Darius and was replaced with a nervous look. He still couldn't figure out why she got like that only around Darius. Sure he was a bit...intense, but so was Derek and yet she just glared at him.

Gabby turned back and gave a stiff nod to the group. Darius ignored her as he moved up to Pyrrha, seemingly oblivious to the discomfort he was causing her. Sanders moved up to stand beside him, worried she might swipe at him if he wasn't there to stop her. He motioned Gabby back and she shrugged before stepping away.

"Hello, Pyrrha. I am Darius, can you say that?" Darius asked as Pyrrha seemed to want to look anywhere, but at Darius. She said nothing as she shied away from him.

"Maybe someone else should try, Darius. You seem to be making her nervous, not surprising really," Kimberly said as she moved forward. Darius glanced back at her and nodded. He moved back with the rest of the group as Kimberly walked up to join Sanders. Pyrrha seemed to calm down a good deal once Darius turned away and glanced down at Kimberly in curiosity.

"Hello, girl, are you hungry, hmmm? If you are just say hungry," Kimberly said in a kind and sweet voice that Sanders was stunned could come out of her mouth. Pyrrha stared at her, but didn't say anything.

"No? Not hungry? That's ok, you had a big dinner. Mind if I pet you? Yes, that's a good girl. Hey, who is that, hmm? Do you know his name," Kimberly asked as she moved up and began to rub Pyrrha's cheek. She pointed to Sanders and made sure Pyrrha could see her finger pointing toward him. Pyrrha looked at him, but gave no response save her purrs at the petting. Kimberly sighed in annoyance and stopped petting Pyrrha as she put her hands on her wide hips in a huff.

"Might as well give it up. I have been trying to get her to talk since Sanders left me with her. All she has done is purr and yawn. Oh and growl when I bopped her one in frustration," Gabby said as Pyrrha glared at her a bit.

"Gabby! Are you trying to get hurt?!" Sanders yelled at her getting an unconcerned shrug from Gabby.

"Pfft, she knows better than to mess with me," Gabby said with a cocky smirk. Sanders groaned at that and wondered what limb Pyrrha would break when Gabby, inevitably, pushed her too far. Gerard, however, gave a hearty laugh at Gabby's confidence, getting an annoyed glare from Derek.

"It would seem Gabriella has already done our test for us. Pyrrha has not talked since this afternoon and shows no signs of talking now. Most likely, her talking was a fluke of some kind brought about by her hunger. These catmonsters ARE modeled after humans so it should not be that surprising that they can form words," Darius said with an air of finality. Kimberly looked about to debate, but was stopped as William spoke up.

"Sanders, or I suppose Gabriella might know this as well, does the Society keep their catmonsters around people a lot?" he asked as he rubbed his beard in thought. Sanders and Gabby glanced between each other in confusion before Sanders answers.

"No, they keep them locked in cages whenever they are not being used on missions. Its to keep tin- smaller people away from them. Also keep them from pissing and pooping all over the floor," Gabby answered, beating Sanders to the punch. William nodded as everyone, save Darius, gave him a confused look.

"So it is not typical that one would have so much contact with people or hear so much talking? Perhaps the answer to the talking issue is right there. Maybe they all can mimic human speech just they never hear it enough to manage it, unlike Pyrrha," William suggested. That did make a lot of sense. Even when it was just him and Pyrrha, he did talk to her a lot and even carry on one-sided conversations with her. He was sure that kind of thing didn't happen to other catgirls. Add in her higher than average intelligence and it seemed highly likely that she simply had learned how to mimic them.

Kimberly thought on that for a moment before sighing to herself. She stared at Pyrrha, who stared back, for a second before nodding.

"You...you are probably right, William. Still, we should be careful near her from now on. We do not want her mimicking us when we are trying to sneak away or learning...things we would rather not be repeated," Kimberly said as she moved back to the group. Derek nodded in agreement, but looked to have accepted defeat as well.

"It...does seem like the most likely explanation. And she did only say one word," Derek added, though it sounded more like he was trying to convince himself rather than anyone else.

"Then we are all in agreement that the mission is still on then?" Darius asked as, one by one, everyone nodded.
"Good. Return to your duties and spread the word that we are still on mission. If anyone asks, tell them Pyrrha was just parroting Sanders and was not truly talking. That should calm everyone down and keep people from freaking out. Derek, Gerard we need to discuss our plans for the rest of the journey, come with me," Darius said before he turned to Sanders.

"Sanders, make sure you and Pyrrha are ready to move out bright and early. If you need some food, don't hesitate to get it from the platform," Darius said with a nod. Sanders nodded as Darius gave him an odd smile only Sanders saw. Before Sanders could say anything, Darius turned away and started off toward the camp the others had set up. Derek, Gerard, and most of the soldiers followed after him. William gave Sanders a weary smile before following after Darius and the rest, despite the fact he was not asked to come. Kimberly didn't look or say anything to Sanders as she headed off toward the camp. Jimmy shook his head at her and shrugged to Sanders before following after her. Sanders watched them go for a second before turning back to Pyrrha, who still looked a bit nervous.

"She really doesn't like that Darius guy does she?" Gabby said as she watched them go.

"Yeah...just wish I knew why," Sanders said as he rubbed Pyrrha's cheek. If she had been able to talk...

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Derek was less than happy with the results of their debate. While it did seem William's theory about Pyrrha was the most likely, Derek still couldn't shake his worry. Pyrrha might not be on human level of intelligence, but it was obvious she was far smarter than a normal catmonster. That alone made her far more dangerous and keep him from being totally for this mission. Still, he had agreed at the debate that they should keep going and he wouldn't suggest they stop. But that didn't mean he couldn't suggest ways to help lessen the risk. At least Jacob wasn't here for this...

"Darius, I know we agreed to continue with the mission, but I still have some concerns I think we should address," Derek said, unable to keep his fears to himself any longer. Darius glanced back at him as they headed to the command tent that had been put up along with a few others.

"Such as?" Darius asked as he continued toward the tent.

"We know Pyrrha will not harm Sanders and that he has a good deal on control of her, but what happens if we lose him? If he dies and we lose control of Pyrrha while we are outside our territory, I am not sure any of us would be able to get back," Derek said, letting his fear and worry into his voice. Trying to act tough wasn't going to help his position.

"We'll just roast the damn thing and anyone or anything that gets in our on the way back. Burn 'em up real good," Gerard said with a grin that made Derek groan. Dammit, he had told Darius it was a bad idea to let him come, but Darius had still relented when Gerard demanded to be allowed on board. Madman should be in a cell, not leading troops, no matter how good with fire he was. It was obvious to everyone that he was a pyromaniac that barely keep himself under-control.

"Yes because all our problems can be solved with the proper use of fire. Gerard, Pyrrha is not like a normal catmonster, she is far smarter and far more dangerous. If she turned against us-" Derek started to say before he was interrupted.

"We would be lucky if even half of our numbers survived her attack. I may have sided with continuing forward, but Derek does bring up a good point. Losing Sanders would be a blow, not just in possibly losing Pyrrha, but in morale. After all, he is supposed to be our hero come to save us all. We should discuss how best to keep that from happening and how to deal with Pyrrha should the worst come to pass," William said from behind them. Darius glared back at him for half a second before turning back forward without a word. Derek sighed to himself as Darius held onto his grudge with William. He supposed he wasn't in a position to judge, but this damn feud between them was getting old. Doubly so when they were the two smartest people in the Phoenixes.

Darius brushed aside the flap to the command tent and headed inside. Gerard and Derek followed after him, but Darius motioned for William to be kept out. The soldiers by the door locked their guns together to keep him from coming in.

"Darius, William is our scout here. He needs to know what we are doing and planning if he is going to be any help," Derek said in his best advising tone. This was a touchy subject and one of the few where Darius would let emotion override his sense, but Derek was hoping he could get through that. They needed William and his abilities if they wanted to make sure their losses were minimal. Unavoidable losses were one thing, but losses that were caused just simply by a feud in their ranks was not something Derek would allow.

Darius gave Derek a glare that might have caused someone else to back down. Derek, though, had been on the receiving end of that glare too many times to be kowtowed by it. He crossed his arms and returned the glare as he refused to back down. Finally, Darius turned from Derek with a annoyed huff and motioned for William to be allowed in. William nodded a thanks to Derek before he took a seat in a nearby chair.

"Let's get straight to business. William," Darius gave him a glare, "is correct that we need to keep Sanders safe, however, the plan for Pyrrha is not needed. Gerard, Jimmy, and myself have already taken care of that."

"You have? How?" Derek asked in surprise. Gerard gave him a wicked grin as William's face turned to a frown.

"You don't think those four little canisters are all the fun juice I brought, did you? Got a shit ton more hidden in parts of the platform ready to be set off if the pussy gets a little uppity. Or we just need a distraction," Gerard said with a chuckle as his eyes seemed to light up in anticipation. Both Derek and William were shocked by the news and stared at Gerard in disbelief. Derek recovered first as he turned to Darius and saw him frowning at Gerard.

"Why wasn't I told about this?" he demanded as Darius shook his head with a sigh.

"Because of what you did today. If you knew that we had a way to take Pyrrha out of the picture with a push of a button, you would not have been so...convincing with your attempts to get us to stop. That may have tipped off Sanders that something was wrong and if he had discovered what we had done..." Darius stopped to let Derek fill in the rest.

"He would have been furious. Possibly mad enough to leave," Derek finished for Darius. Still, he should have been told about this! He was second in command and he felt like he was being left out of the loop more and more. He glared at Darius for a second before he started to reconsider. Then again...he had always been terrible at acting...maybe that had been the best option.

"And well he should be! Darius, Pyrrha has shown no sign of trying to betray us so you rig her up with explosives?! What will happen if they go off by accident or are triggered when she is still on our side?! We could lose the one thing we have that can fight a giantess!" William said in a mix of anger and confusion as he stood back up. Darius looked away from Derek and turned to glare at William.

"And what will happen if she turns against us? You said it yourself that we would be lucky if half of us survive if she attacked us. That is too big a lost of life take without some kind on insurance that it will not happen. Doubly so when many of those lives are some of our best soldiers. As for being triggered by accident, Jimmy and Gerard took every precaution to make sure the chance of that is as low as possible. I deemed it worth the risk, as leader of the Phoenixes," he said, his glare turning more angry at the last part. William looked about to say something in response, but stopped. He nodded in understanding before looking away and sitting back down.

"Do you have any problems with this plan, Derek?" Darius said as he turned his gaze toward him. Darius was shaking his head before Darius' eyes even settled on him. It would be a shame to lose Pyrrha, but this put most of Derek's fears to rest. They could put Pyrrha down if needed with minimal losses and, while getting back would still be a problem, it was one that had dealt with before.Being stranded with eighty to seventy percent of their forces alive gave them a good chance of getting back. He was worried about trying to make it back with less than fifty.

"Good. Then we can move on to keeping Sanders safe. The most obvious way is to keep him away from battles. However, his own personality and general need to be in the thick of everything makes that a near unattainable goal," Darius said as his face went back to his usual passive look. William went to stroking his beard as Derek tried to think of some other way to keep him safe.

"Why not just give him a bodyguard or something? Someone who could drag his ass to safety whether he likes it or not," Gerard said before glancing over toward Derek. Oh hell no, he was not going to be the bodyguard for Sanders.

"I am not guarding Sanders. I need to stay with my soldiers. Not to mention Pyrrha is not a fan of me after I had to deck Sanders," Derek said, ready to fight that idea tooth and nail. He was not leaving his soldiers just to guard one man, no matter how important. Thankfully, Darius nodded in agreement.

"It is a thought, but Derek is too important to waste him on guard duty. We need someone else, someone who is not in a command role," Darius said as he glanced toward William. Derek turned to see William walking toward the tent entrance. He pulled the flap back and looked out toward Pyrrha.

"Someone strong enough to overpower Sanders, in case he gets testy, and is not in a critical role. I think I might have an idea of who best fits that," William said as he moved aside. Derek looked out and saw Sanders and the ex-Society woman, Gabriella, talking near Pyrrha. Dammit, she fit that bill perfectly. Derek turned back to Darius and saw that gleam in his eye that he hoped not to.

"Jefferson, bring the woman who just joined us here. We need to discuss something with her," Darius ordered one of the soldiers outside. He saluted and double-timed it over toward Pyrrha. Derek turned back to Darius as his mind filled with all kinds of horrid situations that might come from this. They didn't even know if this woman was on their side!

"Darius, I think this is a mistake. We still are not sure how loyal this Gabriella is! We should be keeping her as far away from important things and people as possible, not making them inseparable," Derek said with a worried tone. He trusted Sanders enough to know he was on their side, at least when it came to the Society, but Gabriella was still a wild card. Her anger at the Society might have seemed genuine even to Darius, but that didn't mean she was with them.

"Got to agree with Derek, on this. I mean, that Gabriella is a fighter and as feisty as they come, but she is still an unknown. You don't put a lose wire near the gasoline unless you plan on being burned," Gerard said, looking just as worried about this as Derek was, though his eyes lingered on Gabriella a bit longer than was needed.

"I am bringing her here so we can find out if she can be trusted or not. Depending on how she responses, she will either be our bodyguard or not. If not, we will find someone else. If she is...then William will have another job he will need to keep in mind," Darius said as he gave a slight glare at William. William didn't turn to look, but nodded in understanding. Good for him because Derek didn't get what Darius was talking about.

Jefferson brought Gabriella to the tent and the large woman had to bend a bit to get in through the flap. While Derek was taller than her, it was still a bit odd not having to crane his neck downward to see a woman. She crossed her muscular arms as she looked between them.

"Is this the point where you give me some kind of crazy initiation? If it involves any of you dropping your pants, I hope you don't expect to use it every again," Gabriella said as she glared suspiciously over them all. Gerard gave a loud laugh at that while Derek just rolled his eyes.

"We have no crazy initiations, Gabriella. All we want is for you to answer some questions. And no, they are not about personnel anything," Darius said in a more pleasant tone that normal. Gabriella raised her eyebrow as she looked at Darius.

"Alright, I'll play a game of twenty questions," she said as her glare softened.

"You said you were part of the Society security, so I will assume you have a good feel for their base's defensive strength. Do you believe we could breach the base's defenses?" Darius asked, getting a confused look from everyone in the room, save William. What did that have to do with finding out she was loyal? Gabriella paused for a second before she answered.

"Do you want brutal honesty or not?" she asked.

"If it is the complete truth, than be as brutal as you want," Darius answered as Gabriella smirked.

"Alright, then no you guys have no chance in hell of making it through the defenses. Even if there were over ten thousand more of you, you still wouldn't breach it. The base has hundreds of giantesses on it and thousands of catgirls and fairies ready to join the fight. A frontal assault would end about as well as you trying to punch out a wall. A full-sized wall, mind you. As for trying to sneak in, yeah not happening. Every sewer system, water system, or anything else that tinies could use to sneak it with were sealed and had robots, and worse, dumped in them just to be double sure. There is no getting into the base save the front door, and you would all be wiped out before you even got within sight of it," Gabriella said with all the brutal honesty she had said she would bring.

"Could have been a little less brutal," William said as he sighed to himself. Gabriella shrugged in response as she keep her smirk. None of this was news to Derek or Darius. Darius had sent scouts to test ways to get into the base and they had always come back empty, if they came back. Derek understood why Darius wanted into the base so badly, but Gabriella had only confirmed what they both should know. There was no way into that base and Darius needed to accept that.

"I see...a shame," Darius paused for a second as he took a deep breath, "Next question, what is your relationship to Sanders?"

"So much for nothing personal... Fine, he was a scout in my best friend's Ranger group, Isabella...who is dead and I am so glad you reminded me," Gabriella said with a glare at Darius. Darius ignored the glare as he continued.

"So he is just a friend or...?" Darius said making Derek confused again. What the hell was he trying to prove with this? Gabriella's glare darkened as her body tensed a bit.

"If you are asking if I like him, that is none of your damn business. We are friends and that's all you need to know," Gabriella answered as she looked less and less happy to be here. Derek didn't blame her for that, these questions were beyond stupid. What was Darius even trying to prove?

"Fair enough. Moving on, why were you out in the middle of nowhere in our territory?" Darius asked, finally getting to a question Derek was interested in. That had been bugging him since she had first arrived and she had avoided it when he had first meet her. He wouldn't have let her on Pyrrha at all if she hadn't mentioned Isabella. Gabriella's glare shifted to a worried look for a second before going back to the glare.

"I...I was looking for you. Not you in specific, but you as in the Phoenixes," Gabriella admitted with an annoyed look.

"Us? Why would you be looking for us?" Gerard asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Because the Elves told me you guys had a catmonster," she said before sighing and rubbing her head.
"Alright, full disclosure OK. I wasn't completely alone the entire time I was out there. I did get shrunk and I was left to die by those fucking Sword cunts. I was alone for, three, maybe four, days. Might have froze to death, but an Elf scout squad had seen the whole thing. Guess they figured I was honestly left to die when I started to get frost bite. They helped me get the clothing I was using and gave me that gun I had. I stuck with them for a week or so till we meet another scout squad. They said that you guys had a tamed catmonster with you and I figured the only person who could have pulled something like that off was Isabella. So I left them and headed for you guys. Just dumb luck I happened to be in the right place at the right time," Gabriella said as she looked everywhere but at any of them.

The Elves helping someone, doubly so an Ex-Society, was the most ridiculous thing Derek had ever heard. And them giving said stranger a WEAPON?! Those bastards were so reclusive that it was a miracle to see one anywhere outside the northern mountains, and a full squad had stumbled onto her? That was the biggest pile of bullshit Derek had ever heard. He glanced over and was happy to see both William and Darius giving her equally unbelieving looks.

"I...see...and you are still willing to kill your ex-comrades now that you know what happened to Isabella?" Darius asked, coming out of left field. What? Why the fuck was he asking that? He should be asking about that obvious lie! Gabriella's glare turned into a look of pure hate as she growled in anger.

"More than willing. Let me at them and I will butcher them. Every last one of them," she growled out with a look of anger that was...unbelievably realistic. Derek was almost more than sure it was real...but...it wasn't, right? She had just lied about where she come from, but that look...

"Good. If you would step out a moment, we need to discuss something in private," Darius said as he waved her away. Gabriella gave him a curious look, but did as she was told. Once she was outside and a good few feet away, Darius motioned for them to come closer.

"She is lying about how she wound up with us. There is no way that story happened and all of you know it," Derek said, going straight on the attack.

"Obviously, but that is not what the issue is," Darius said as Derek got a confused look.

"It's not? What the hell is the point if it's not that she is lying to us?" Gerard said looking just as lost as Derek.

"The point is how stupid and unbelievable that lie was. Anyone could have saw through it and it was beyond obvious that it was made up on the spot. Lying is, obviously, not Gabriella's strong suit considering even you two could tell. Which would suggest that her anger toward her old comrades is genuine. If she was faking that, it would be rather obvious," William answered, getting a nod of agreement from Darius. Derek wanted to debate that, but...but it did make sense. That lie had been worse than some of the duds Jacob used to use. But the look of anger on her face was perfectly believable...because it WAS real.

"Which means she ain't lying about being pissed as hell at the Society. So she is on our side!" Gerard said looking rather happy with that revelation. Derek was not so sure if he should be ecstatic about that or not. Another ally was good, but...

"She is not on the side of the Society, at least. Whether she is truly on our side or not is debatable, but of little consequence for what we want her for. She will protect Sanders' life and is not a spy for the Society, that is enough," Darius said with his usual passive tone.

"Really? That's all we need? We don't even care about what happened between when she shrink and when she happened upon us?" Derek said with a tone of incredibility. How the hell could that not be an issue?!

"Of course we care about that and it is something to keep in mind. However, we now know she is not working with the Society. And while she might be working with another group, those other groups we can fight much easier than we can the Society. Not to mention, most of those groups stand to gain more by letting us find what Manchent left than trying to stop us. We should keep an eye on her, of course, but we can trust her to keep Sanders safe, which is enough," William said in a soothing tone. Derek sighed to himself as he still had reservations about this, but couldn't think of a good reason to scuttle this idea.

"Fine, but we should have someone very good watching her," Derek said, angry that he had lost a debate yet again. Dammit, this mission was becoming less and less appealing to him by the minute.

"And we will. William, make sure you keep a close eye on Gabriella when she is not with Sanders. I have already told Samantha to listen to them when they are on Pyrrha's head. If she tries anything someone will be there to stop here. Good enough, Derek?" Darius said giving him a slightly annoyed look. Derek sighed as he nodded. Both William and Samantha were some of their best and he couldn't deny their skill. He just hoped this didn't come back to bite them in the ass.

"Good, bring Gabriella back in!" Darius said loud enough for the soldiers outside to hear. They waited a second before Gabriella came back inside looking rather annoyed with this whole thing.

"You boys finally decide if you trust me or not?" Gabriella asked as she crossed her arms. Darius didn't even respond to that.

"I have a new job for you. Rather than working in Squad Three, I want you to keep Sanders safe," Darius said without any hint of emotion. Gabriella gave him a confused look and glanced between them before shrugging.

"Fine, rather do that than have to take orders from Sergeant Muscles, anyway," Gabriella said before turning and heading out of the tent. Derek sighed to himself at the pot shot, but didn't bother returning fire. She was not worth it.

"Now that that is taken care of, Derek I am leaving you in charge till I get back. I need to go give some instructions to General Holcomb. Make sure everyone knows we move out at first light and gets well fed," Darius said as he turned to Derek. Derek was a bit surprised by this sudden order, but recovered quickly. At least he was being given the responsibilities of second in command still.

"Yes, sir," Derek said as Gerard got an annoyed look. Darius gave them one last nod before heading out of the tent. William watched him go with a curious look and rubbed his beard absentmindedly.

"I supposed I should get to watching our two friends. Gentlemen," William said as he nodded to them both and headed out as well. Derek followed after him, having no wish to be left with Gerard. Gerard just shrugged and began to whistle the tune to believe in magic as he headed for Darius' drink box.

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Sanders frowned as he watched Gabriella be lead off by the Phoenix soldier. He watched as they headed straight for the command tent and sighed to himself. Seemed Darius still had some concerns with Gabby, concerns he wanted addressed without Sanders around. Sanders grumbled to himself as he started to wonder if this alliance was falling apart before it had even got off the ground.

"Well, well, look who it is. The big hero come to save us all with his pet," a familiar voice said in a mocking tone. Sanders turned to see the Hispanic man, Henderson, coming toward him along with the woman that had been with him, Taylor. Henderson had a mocking smile on his face as he lead the way while Taylor glared at Sanders. Oh great this is just what he needed.

"Got a different one this time, eh amigo? You upgrade to the larger model cause you needed more rear space, eh?" Henderson said as he walked toward Sanders. Pyrrha gave a low growl at Henderson, but Sanders waved her down. Last thing she needed to do was hurt someone when she had just freaked everyone out by talking, or parroting rather.

"Look, I know you are mad about the fairy thing, bu-" Sanders started but was interrupted as Henderson gave a fake laugh. Taylor moved up to stand at his shoulder before crossing her arms, keeping her angry look.

"Hahah! Angry? Angry...does not even BEGIN to describe it!" Henderson said as his fake happy look fell away to reveal a look of pure anger.
"Do you have any, ANY idea how fucking fucked up that was?! I got eaten by a fucking vagina, a VAGINA, because of you! I have goddamn nightmares about that day and just thinking about getting near one is..." Henderson stopped as he started to shake a bit in a mix of rage and fear. Taylor moved over to him and tried to comfort him, but he shook her off before looking back up at Sanders.

"YOU did this to me! YOU made it where I can't...you damn well know what I mean! Just thinking about those walls...the goop and the pulsing and the darkness...so dark and tight..." Henderson stopped as his shaking got even worse. His eyes didn't seem to be seeing him anymore as they stared off into space and his breathing became a little irregular. Taylor pulled him to her and he closed his eyes as he hugged himself to her, both of them sitting down. Pyrrha tilted her head in confusion as the two sat there while Sanders could do nothing but stare in shock and horror.

"The others might think you are some savior or hero or what-the-fuck-ever, but me and Henderson know you are no hero. A hero would not have done this to my lover. He can't even look at me naked now without this happening," Taylor said as she glared at Sanders. Sanders stammered out a few noises that were supposed to be words, but didn't come out that way. He had given Henderson a phobia...a phobia just as bad as his of catgirls. He...he had never meant to do that, ever, but...but he had. How could he have done this?!

"I'm...I'm so sorry. I never meant...can...can I make it up to you somehow? Just...just name it and I will do it," Sanders said, figuring they had to have come here for a reason. Henderson looked up from Taylor and gave Sanders a glare, his shaking slowing a bit.

"Tell everyone the truth. Tell them that you are no hero and that you are just some piece of shit Society fucker who managed to worm your way into the good graces of Darius. Tell them all what you did to me and everyone else while you were in the Society," Henderson said with a furious tone. Sanders felt like he had just been punched in the stomach as Henderson named his terms. Tell them...the truth...

Truth was, Sanders had wanted to tell everyone the truth from the start. This stupid hero thing that Darius had dumped onto him was something Sanders hated more than he could put words to. He was no hero, Lindsey was proof of that, and he had no right to put on even a fake mantle of one. Telling them the truth would be...so much easier and so much-

He stopped as his hand went into his pocket and brushed against the whistle inside it. He took it out and stared at it. You can't save everyone... He glanced at Henderson laying on the ground in Taylor's arms and sighed to himself.

"No," he said as he put the whistle back into his pocket.

"No? No?!" Henderson said as he got to his feet. He got right into Sanders' face, or as close as his shorter form could, as his face twisted into one of pure rage.

"No, I won't tell them that. I will not lie and doom this mission just so you can feel better I am a hero and you will just have to deal with it," Sanders said as he did his best impression of Darius' passive face. Henderson's look got even angrier as Sanders saw his fists ball up. Sanders turned his eyes toward Pyrrha and Henderson's followed his. Pyrrha was staring right at Henderson with a look of daring. Her hands had moved closer to both of them and looked ready to spring forward to Sanders' defense. There was no need to make any threats now, Pyrrha was a walking one.

"I'm sorry for what happened, really I am, but too many people have died for what Manchent left to allow it to be lost just for this. If you want me to do something else, something that doesn't endanger this mission, I will do it, but I won't doom this mission for this," Sanders said, forcing a bit of edge into his voice. He couldn't let Manchent, Isabella, and Lindsey's deaths become pointless, doubly so due to his own past mistakes.

Henderson turned back to him and looked to be on the verge of striking him. Sanders had no wish for him to suffer more, so he stepped back away from Henderson. Some might call that backing down, but he would rather back down than start a fight. A fight Henderson and Taylor would lose before it even started. Henderson glared at him even more as he backed away and was about to come after him when a hand grabbed his shoulder.

"Henderson, let's just go. It's obvious this...murderer has no intention of making up for his crimes. We'll just have to make him pay when he doesn't have his giant monster around," Taylor said as she glared at Sanders over Henderson's shoulder. Murderer? He...he supposed he was after what he had done to Lindsey, Trent, Lizette, and Blanch. But Taylor wasn't talking about them, hell she didn't even know three of them, so who was she saying he murdered?

"Murderer? Who did I murder?" Sanders demanded as he stopped backing away. Both of them stared at him as if he was a dumb-ass before Henderson answered.

"What, you forget about your attack on our train already? There were good people on that train, asshole, and a lot more in the base. Their all dead now because of you. Sounds like murder to me," Henderson said as his glare turned hostile again. Sanders tried to speak out in his defense, but stopped as his mind was filled with the smears of red that had been on Isabella shoes when he and Flonne had flown past, and the faces of the people he had killed on the train. They had all been fighting on the right side of this war, just trying to defend their home and stop the Society's madness. And he had killed them...He...he had never even thought about that till now...

"Then we are all murderers, Henderson, or do I need to remind you of our mission into Snakes territory, or the battle we had with the Lions?" Samantha said as she came around Pyrrha's arm and toward the three of them. She had a stern glare on her face as she looked at Taylor and Henderson.

"Stay out of this, Samantha, it doesn't involve you," Taylor said as she turned to face her with an equally stern glare.

"It does when you are trying to sabotage a mission simply because you have personal problems with Sanders. I suggest you get over them before I tell Darius about this. I am sure he will be happy to... soothe your issues with Sanders," Samantha said as she got a slight smirk on her face. Both Taylor and Henderson glared even harder at Samantha, but both had an obvious hint of fear mixed in. Henderson glared at Sanders one last time before turning away to head back toward the tents. Taylor waited a second, staring down Samantha the whole time, before she followed after him.

"Shouldn't be surprised you would take his side. You seem to have a thing for murderers and people that should be dead," Taylor said as she slammed her shoulder into Samantha's. Samantha didn't turn or say anything in return, though Pyrrha did give a low growl in response. Sanders let out a sigh of relieve as the two disappeared into the camp.

"Thank you, Samantha, I was worried that would end with one or both of them with broken limbs," Sanders said, trying not to think about the people he had killed. It...was not easy.

"Don't worry about it. Those two have a real knack for holding grudges for far too long, or rather Taylor does. You did the right thing keeping it peaceful. If I know Taylor, she was probably betting on Pyrrha attacking so she could make you and her look bad. Bitch," Samantha said scowling as she looked back to where the two had been lost from sight. Sanders nodded numbly, having only half heard. He keep seeing the faces of the people he had killed, the smears...

"Sanders? Are you alright?" Samantha asked as she gave him a worried look. Sanders snapped out of his memories and nodded to her.

"Huh? Oh, yeah...yeah I'm fine," Sanders said as he felt Pyrrha nudge him a bit with her nose. He smiled at her and rubbed its tip, getting some soft purrs from her. Samantha gave him a worried look as she glanced back toward where Taylor and Henderson had gone.

"Their wrong, you know? You are not a murderer simply because you killed or got people killed during that attack. If you hadn't killed them, they would have killed you. You can't be blamed for fighting to survive," Samantha said in a soothing, calming voice. Sanders knew she was right, of course. The majority of the blame was with the Society. If they hadn't lied to him and feed him their propaganda of the Resistance being evil, he would never have fought them. But they had and he had believed them and those people were dead. Part of the blame was his, no matter how you looked at it. He couldn't just ignore that, but Samantha didn't want to hear that.

"Yeah, I know. Just...not easy to get yourself to remember that," Sanders said as he forced his best fake smile. Samantha didn't look completely convinced, but Sanders was saved as a figured came into view.

"Do you need me to come back later, pipsqueak, or... maybe I should join in?" Gabby said as she walked toward them. Samantha's look of scrutiny vanished in less than a second as she seemed to lose all sense of...well everything.

"WHAT?! N-No! Its not...I mean, I'm not into-...I have a boyfriend!" Samantha finally managed to spit out as she looked like she had just got caught masturbating by her mom. What the fuck? Gabby looked just as confused as Sanders as she gave Samantha a confused look.

"Ooookay, good for you. Anyway, looks like you are stuck with me, pipsqueak. Mr. Expressive wants me to stay with you and make sure you don't get hurt, so you better just get used to having me around," Gabby said as she smirked toward Sanders. Sanders was taken a bit off-guard by that, but could guess Mr. Expressive was Darius. Stay with him and make sure he didn't get hurt? Wait...

"Darius wants you to be my bodyguard?!" Sanders said as he realized what she was really saying.

"Yep, and no bitching, whining, moaning, or groaning. You do any of those ings and...well you don't want to know," Gabby said with a smile that made Sanders very sure he didn't. He sighed to himself as Samantha eyes seem to light up in awe at Gabby's talk. At least someone was happy about this...

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Jacob stretched his back as he stood up in the storage room. His legs, arms, back, hell everything, was cramped so bad that it was painful just to shift a bit, but he wasn't going to let that stop him. He gritted his teeth as he straightened his arms and started to work out the overly cramped muscles.

He didn't even want to try and guess how long he had been in that damn box. Crammed into it like a sardine with no real light, no way to move, and with casings and shells shifting all around him. He had lost count of how many had wound up in his mouth or clothing and he was sure he would be picking ammo out for days to come. Still, at least now with them stopped he could stretch a bit. He might even risk laying down to sleep rather than cramming himself back in that damn box.

He had just started stretching his legs when footsteps caught his attention. He swore as he ducked back behind the box and tried to put the lid back on. He had gotten it nearly on when he heard the footsteps stop by the door. He left it lopsided before diving down into the crates to hid.

The door opened and Jacob held his breath. The room was silent for a moment before the person stepped into the building. They closed the door behind them before moving up to the box Jacob had been in, fuck. Jacob heard the lid be pushed aside and his mind began to race with what to do. Should he just stay here and hope they didn't bother looking? Leap out and try to knock whoever it was out? Maybe steal their clothes and... what? Pretend he was someone else? Oh sure, no one would recognize him. Idiot NO, think of something reas-

"Jacob? Jacob, if you are in here come out, I won't turn you in," a heart-lifting familiar voice said. Jacob slid back out of his hiding place and had to fight back a groan as he showed himself to Samantha. He trusted her enough to believe her.

"Samantha," Jacob said as she smiled at him in a way that was anything but surprised. Had she known he was here the whole time? Or maybe she had figured it out when she had come in a few hours ago.

"Jacob," she said before moving over and hugging him. Jacob had to fight back a groan as he wrapped his arms around her and returned the hug as best as he could.

"I'm...sorry to have to tell you this, but you need to stay hidden tonight as well. We stopped at the northern border of our territory, near a watchpost," Samantha said  with a sad sigh. Jacob gave his own as he cursed his luck. If his dad found him now, he would leave him in the watchpost and make sure he didn't come along. Looks like Jacob had one ore date with that damn box, fuck.

"Great...oh well, just have to suck it up. By the way, what the hell was all that yelling about? I tried to make out what was going on, but everything was too muffled cause of this damn box," Jacob said as he kicked it. He regretted doing that as a lance of pain came from his still cramped muscle.

"It...was a fight. Luke and a few of the others got into an argument over something, I didn't bother finding out what, and it took a bit to get them to stop," Samantha said with a pleasant, but kind of odd smile. Shit, being stuffed into that box had probably made Jacob stink.

"Figures, that asshole is always trying to start trouble. Did they throw him off or anything like that?" Jacob asked, hoping  the answer was yes, but knowing it wasn't.

"No, but he did get a stern lecture from Derek," Samantha said which was, almost, as good. Almost.

"At least its something... anything else happen?" Jacob asked as he started to feel his muscles kinda getting uncramped.

"Not really, no. We did pick up a scout we found along the way, that was who I brought in here, but other than that its been pretty normal," Samantha said with that same off smile. Dammit, he wanted to get some soap or something, but didn't dare go outside.

"Good. You better get back before someone notices you are gone. I'm going to stretch out for a few more minutes before I have to get back in my coffin," Jacob said as he glared at the damn box. Samantha smiled and nodded. She gave him a light kiss before going to the door and heading outside.

Outside, Samantha sighed to herself, hating having to lie to Jacob. However, it was for the best. If he knew all that had happened today, she would never have been able to keep him in there. He would have stormed out and made a big scene and then be on his way right back to Hope. For now, it was better for him to stay in the dark until they were past the point of sending him back. Then... then she would make sure he got his chance to prove himself.

Part of Public Address given by Mayor Browning, mayor of New Atlanta:

"My fellow citizens! It is with great pride that I inform you all that our brave soldiers have won their first victory! A fully equipped, stocked, and manned base of the Resistance, barely miles away from Roswell, was raided and then destroyed by our soldiers! Our troops drove the Resistance out of their holes and into the waiting feet and claws of the Society forces. A battle that may have taken days without our troops took a matter of hours with their help! Ladies and Gentlemen, today we have shown that we can help the Society win this war!"

[Pause for cheering]

"To that end, I have been asked by both Matriarchs to encourage anyone willing to fight for our safety to volunteer as soon as you can! They have seen that we are not helpless and are willing to fight for our peace! Let us show them that those first brave souls are not the only ones! Let us all stand up and, with one voice, yell to the Resistance that we will not hide and cower anymore! That today, they face not only the Society, but New Atlanta itself!"

[end to massive applause and cheering]

End Note:
After broadcast volunteer centers showed a 20% increase in sign ups.