The Rockaverse

Before Maximilian could move, the slab of rock slammed into the chin area of his helmet, knocking him off his feet and sending him backwards. As he hit the ground again, he managed to do a backwards somersault, rolling into a crouching position with his right knee planted on the ground, and left leg in a pouncing position. He gently removed his helmet, tossing it around in his hand a moment so he could inspect. A little banged up, something he'd have to have fixed later, and which he was not pleased about.

Smirking, Maximilian rubbed his chin and stood up once more to face M'Kama. "Well done Mr. M'Kama, I daresay you've done more damage to me than anyone else has in quite some time. You should be proud." He raised his helmet and pointed it in the Yyb's direction, as if some kind of salute. Without his helmet or sunglasses, Maximilian's one red eye was no longer shielded from view. "But you seem smart, so I'm sure you know you've lost any chances at mercy. Though to be fair, you didn't really have that to start with." Maximilian chuckled as he placed his helmet back on his head.

The slab that had connected with Maximilian ignited in flames, and was soon propelled by the Phoenix towards M'Kama, targeting the Yybian's torso.

"I love to blood," Frey commented, cracking a human bone in two.

M'Kama leaped forward and swung Nu-Ender, slicing the slab in two, though the fire caught his sleeves on both sides and the two slabs fell careening on the ground, setting it on fire via a patch of grass.

M'Kama saw this out if the corner of his eye and frowned, unable to do anything able bout it at the moment, but...this fight could not remain in this town. The damage they could wreak would be too great.

M'Kama dashed forward, using hest radiating off of his blade to propel him into the air, darting towards Maximilian in a rapid serpentine motion. The sword was held with one arm, the left, while his right had extended out to hit Maximilian's neck with a Clothesline.

Maximilian braced himself as M'Kama's arm connected with the Phoenix's neck. The instant shot of pain caused the Phoenix to lose his breath, while he felt his body lift off the ground. Turned out the human was stronger than looks might indicate. After a few steps however, another slab of rock broke through the ground, coming up towards M'Kama. It had originally been aimed at the Yyb's chest, but before it could be launched, M'Kama's shins had slammed into it, causing both he and Maximilian to tumble and roll.

The Phoenix quickly got to his feet, as did his opponent. His neck was still sore, but nothing that wouldn't be gone in a day or two. Maximilian held tight to the grip of his sword, but chuckled slightly as he brushed a little dust off. "I thought this would be more of a sword fight than a brawl Mr. M'Kama. You have rather strange strategies and tactics. What exactly are you trying to accomplish here?" He asked, amused by his opponent, as he reestablished a fighting stance with his blade.

Somewhere in the present time, wrapped in skin, and at the beseech by natural urges, Argent sneezed.

~*~

Talideth turned to Seru once the two clowns ran off and smiled brightly. The smile didn't reach her eyes however. She seemed to be studying Seru closely in fact.

"Me? Well, that question seems rather silly, does it not? After all, a vessel serves a higher purpose and has the strength to reflect such a purpose. Does your perception of myself befit such a term?"

~*~

"Treated well?"

Alarisset's eyes closed in on Mohan and she looked over at Ash with a warm and gracious smiled.

"Well, Captain Ash, have you been fed?"

~*~

The worm lazed about, having shrunk down to the size of Horik and Clorik as Horik made sure it was fed the scraps they had found. It ate a piece at a time and Clorik seemed to look at the slimy creature with a bit of envy. Her eyes moved to Horik as the woman got up to leave the little makeshift stable they had created to keep the worm hidden.

"Still no answers?" the clone asked as she leaned against the wall of the rickety stable.

"I have no way of testing or proving anything," Horik sighed. "I'm a mechanic for sand's sake."

"You should have left," Clorik responded and Horik frowned. She said no more and left.

"We're in the process of hyper-inflation!" Crangor the Cook exclaimed as he force fed Ash more Rockain shitpies.

Mohan frowned at the scene before raising an eyebrow to Alarisset.

"Yeah, something about it," Cruise said, settling down in a chair and leaning back in a casual manor. As he did, his vest opened up more and a large revolver could be seen hanging near his hip. "To be honest, I don't really care except that it might have some adverse effects on my crop sales."

"You mean your drugs?" Otis asked, raising an eyebrow. "To be honest, I expected you to be more upfront about that."

Cruise just smiled. "Yes, Lemon Cruise the drug lord. It's my persona, and I'd have to say, a handy one. But my main focus is as you see, growing actual food. Actually, I wouldn't mind giving you a tour of my operation here later, but for now, I think we need to chat about our mutual friends: the dwards."

"You know about their sanctuary, as I understand it?" Cruise asked, moving as if to study his fingernails but instead giving one of the chilliest glares Otis had ever seen. "I've been asked by a little birdie to let you through there, but I'm not so sure. You're Guardians, but I've seen a lot of bullshit in my day, and I don't reckon y'all are saints."

"I... I was simply asked to go there," Otis said after a moment. "I don't know what to expect."

Cruise was silent as food and water were brought in to the room by Voll, who Otis noticed was a scruffy dward with multiple deep and long scars across his face and throat. Voll placed the refreshments on a table next to the Guardians, then his hands flashed towards Cruise.

"That's right," Cruise said to Voll. "He's the one."

Voll studied Otis for a moment, then shrugged.

"Well," Cruise said, smiling and visibly relaxing even further. "Voll says you're fine. So eat up, Guardians. I'll ask Tackel to look after you while you're here."

Nodding to the warriors, Cruise rose and walked out the door without another word, leaving only Voll behind. Voll gestured for the Guardians to eat, then stood in a corner, his good eye never blinking.

***

Falcon met every attack Snart threw at her with overwhelming force. Snart was a raging center of unholy fury, moving faster than the eye could see with teeth and claws sheering through solid rock and metal. One blow would rip Falcon's body clear in two, just one blow.

But that blow never landed. While M'Kama and Max beat their chests at each other, Falcon went to the business of wearing a Seed beast down. After landing that first hit on Snart, Falcon simply kept moving, always one step ahead of Snart's reach. Even a Seed beast had limits, and Snart was hardly in control of himself. After only a minute or two, Snart was breathing heavily.

This is when Falcon struck. Snart swung heavily and missed, only to find his legs swept out from under him by a strong gust of wind. At the same time, another gust slammed him downwards into Falcon's fist, once again sheathed in a condensed pocket of air that exploded into his gut. Snart's brain exploded in pain, before Falcon's true pummeling began, her hands a blur as she smashed blow after blow into his cranium.

Snart's eyes glazed over and his heavy body crashed to the ground, unconscious. Falcon wiped a trace of sweat from her forehead, considering her options for a moment. She was limited in her choices thanks to the rules she was under, and certain obligations required that she not reveal her full hand just yet.

Still, her father couldn't have predicted that what appeared to be a fully formed Seed beast would appear before her. The rules had changed. Falcon bit her lip in thought, then leaned over Snart. She would have to break the rules for a moment. She could explain later, if need be.

Falcon stretched out her hand and concentrated, a black mist oozing up out of Snart and swirling around her palm for a moment before dissipating. Snart twitched, then lay still, his breathing steadier. Falcon watched the slumbering beast for a heartbeat, then turned to where she could hear the battle of Max and M'Kama ongoing about a block away.

"Don't run off," Falcon said over her shoulder to Snart, who said nothing as he was still passed out, then moved towards her companion's battle.

"Sure, why not! I mean...ain't you strong, Talideth? Don't you have purpose?" Seru shrugged and began walking again, "Truth be told I don't know much 'bout either of y'all. Tell me, Qunith, what you a vessel for?"

"Drugs?! The lowest of the low," Girthfield commented as their guest ordered food for them. He watched the ganglord exit into the sun of his psychedelic plantation...

***

"The gods," Qunith replied, their little face brightening a bit at the question. "I am how they communicate to the corporeal. If you are hurt, I am how they heal." Qunith shifted their head. "Would you like to speak to your maker, Seru the Scruffy?"

***

"I do not... want this," Was all Snart's voice could say as it's body collapsed.

With an energetic step to his walk, Price made his way to the two Lords of Rock who greeted him, giving a slight bow of the head to both of them, and a polite nod to Azure. "It's a pleasure to see you both again and to meet some of the new faces around here. And the fort itself, I must say you seem to be doing rather well so far. I hope you don't mind my asking, but how are you feeling about... Well, all of this?" Price asked of the three who stood before him, referring not merely to the fort, but the canon, the new position of power they found themselves in, and all the incredible changes that had been occurring in their lives.

Syra looked through Price as she contemplated an answer to his question. In three short weeks, they'd gone from virtual nobodies to the talk of the town. It was all a little strange, and the air hung heavy around them all. She could see it written on their faces, they truly had no idea what they'd do should someone come knocking for the gun. She imagined they'd simply do what they'd done thus far, survive out of sheer dumb luck, and some guerrilla warfare.

"We're all doing just fine," she began, "We have a place that is our own, four walls, beds, food, people who are working together, and for the most part, a sense of purpose in this world," She grinned, disingenuously, but what was it they'd say, "Fake it until you make it"?


Azure nodded in agreement, warry of the man. She'd last seen Price at Aurbak's after the skirmish just before she's left in search of Syra.

"Truly though, what is it you hope to find here, Mr. Price," Syra continued after a few seconds of silence. "It's not as we've truly made any prosperous ventures, or have any odd jobs that would require a man of your, talents. So how is it that we can help you? Food? Water? We've plenty to go around, you only need to ask."

"Personally, I was hoping to find Otis," Eimln said from Syra's elbow, having seemingly appeared out of nowhere. "Have you seen the lad recently?"

***

"Oh you got that right, it's low, it's real low," Tackel said as he strode into the house, cracking his knuckles as he towered over the Guardians. "And I put a right stop to it when I arrived, you can be sure. 'Cruise', I said, 'you ain't gonna sell no drugs no more!' And Cruise gave me, like, a thumbs up or something, which I didn't know what that meant, but apparently it means 'yes', so now we don't sell no drugs."

Tackel seated himself on the other side of the table. "Been a time since I've seen y'all Guardians, reckon you probably don't remember Deputy Tackel here, but I sure remember you. Clear as day, and I don't trust you."

"Get in line," Otis muttered, and Tackel squinted at the young man. "You're from Schittle, aren't you? What are you doing here?"

"Made a promise to find the ones responsible for that devil cannon," Tackel said ferociously. "And bring them to justice. Cruise has got an antenna that can talk to people in space, thought maybe he could figure out who done the crime, y'know?"

Otis glanced at Girthfield. "That could be useful."

"Could be," Tackel agreed. "'Cept the damn thing don't work right since the bird lady came through here a while back. Or so Cruise says."

"Think we could fix it?" Otis asked Girthfield. "It can't be too complicated, can it?"

"Wish we knew," A gruff voice added. From the entranceway a blonde man with a white-hat strode in, pistols hanging loosely from his belt. White-Hat flattened the fluff of his moustache with a brown gloved hand before looking up at Otis with muddy green eyes. "Our gracious host ain't exactly letting us get near it."

"Who exactly do you plan to contact even if you got this relay working?" Girthfield questioned.

***

The camera went behind Qunith and did an obligatory ass-shot as they waited for Seru to reply.

Talideth swatted the camera away.

~*~

Horik walked around, looking for Ash, trying to preoccupy her mind with anything else other than the words of her look alike. She was frustrated and the worm provided little answers. It didn't even speak to Clorik and that bothered Horik immensely. She was in the middle of shit nowhere and her ship would only make it so far. Years living among the sands provided little knowledge to an ignorant one like her.

Eventually, she saw Ash along with Syra and new guests. She lingered back and studied carefully, not wanting to interrupt just yet.

M'Kama nearly collapsed, only able to keep on holding his ground by plunging Nu-Ender into the street below to stay upright. His shins were in blistering pain, they may have been split. Not the worst injury, but one that would be a pain to fight through. Still, he knew he must fight on. If but for a few moments more.

He glanced around the alleyway. Fire had started to streak all across the back alleys, bathing the Horenor beyond it in a bright red glow. This couldn't last for long and it wouldn't. Loathe as he was to admit it, the offworlder was a master of the magma, with likely years ahead of him in it's mastery. The city could not withstand this.

"The Yybal Guard are trained in the art of the blade and the art of the physical. I don't blame you for being confused, if you can't keep up," he shrugged, casually, getting up to his feet. "As for what I'm up to, you could just say I'm buying time...for what? That's not for one such as you to know!"

M'Kama ripped Nu-Ender from the ground, magna rising up above both his knees, cooling as quickly as it rose to form a pair of molten grieves around M'Kama's legs. The Yybian leaped into the air, where he quickly landed on a rising platform of magma, cooling as soon as he landed on it, soon followed by another platform rising slightly above it. M'Kama ascended each like a flight of stairs three stories high, his sword radiating enough heat to boost his ascent and once he reached his aim, high above some of the Horenor' smaller buildings, he leapt.

His swords boost of heat rapidly accelerated his plunge as Price could see another coat of cooled magma, covering M'Kama's arm, which he bent and raised upward to land an Elbow Drop upon the Phoenix of ill intent.

***

"HaHA!" a Dreadhound pointed to Frey. "She likes to blood! ...Wait, who's blood?" He asked before Frey had impaled him through the skull.

"BLOOD! BLOOD! BLOOD! BLOOD!" The crowd in the Dead Kennels cheered, excited by the display of violence. It was as entertaining as entertainment could get. And. rhat was hard to come by in the Rock. Almost as difficult as food, if not moreso. Especially nowadays when everything was all business. The Mad Dogs were preparing for war.

That's why Frey would soon find herself far from the home she'd known for weeks, the Arena. That is why she would be asked to meet with the leader of the Dead Kennels himself. Mad Dog II.

Thrum. Thrum. Thrum. Thrum. Thrum. Thrum. Thrum. Thrum.

The hollow but boisterous beats of bone club against anteater skin drum would Thrum as fires were lit all across the Kennels as night set upon the area. Frey was sent to be cleaned, that is to say they simply dumped water on her and called it a day as she was escorted by several beleaguered Dread Hounds.

"Skull-Thrasher of the Frost, blood-letter. Be respectful for Mad Dog II. Or not. Try and kill him! HeheheheHAHAHA! It's always funny when people fall from NECK! and break their NECK! Don't care who. Always funny..." he chuckled as they descended up the spinal column stairs of the great hound they all resided in. "But if Mad Dog II dies...if Mad Dog II I dies...Dead Kennels die. Be dead for real. Almost did before....Look!" he pointed.

Hanging from a watchtower on a link of chain, was a cage. In it was a old man, covered in shaggy hair and and pelt of some sort, gnawing on a bone. He appeared rabid. Upon seeing Frey pass he smiled before leaping at the cage, attempting to gnaw on it with his teeth.

The dreadnought responded by picking up a Rock, and tossing it at the cage, causing the old man to back down, snarling even so. "Mad Dog I," the Dread Hou d explained. "He once led us. Led us to DEATH. Or tried. He's weak. Begged for his life. Like a SKINSACK from Holy Land. Mad Dog II can be merciful..." he raised an eyebrow as Mad Dog I began to gnaw on his own foot
"Or not...HAHAHAHA!"

"We saved now. We return to what called us... Mad Dog II is the guide. Mad Dog III the key..." The Dread Hound continued. "Key to the Beast World," he finished, using a term Frey had heard often but had yet to be explained to her in any rational way.

But they had arrived arrived the neck, the collarbone, specifically, where there was arrived large cavern adorn with weapons of war, all carved from bone. Within sat two thrones with two massive figures looming before Frey. The Dread Hound spoke no more and simply bowed. Frey stood before Mad Dog II.

At the alleyway entrance the Horenor militia finally pushed away the rubble, letting the prying eyes of the main-street in on the chaos of the alley. "Halt! Put your hands up!" A guardsman screamed, pulling out his shortblade.

Suddenly an amplified bell rang in conjunction with a growling motor. The guards turned back and dived out of the way as black automobile shot forward on rickity wheels down the alleyway, looking to plough straight into M'kama and the pinned Max. "Get in!" The driver, Kilakanji, yelled as he floored the vehicle toward the two...

***

"You're the Mad Dog," Frey said simply, staring up at the Mad Dog.

M'Kama sighed and stood up, sighing at eho had arrived to their aid. "Falcon he called out, leaping up onto the hood of the car to ghost ride on the whip. "Looks like we're hitching a ride," he went on, before turning his head slightly to face Kilakanji. "We're gonna get two more passengers. A guard and a banker."

***
"Two..." Mad Dog II indicated, raising two fingers as he stood up. He was an imposing figure, wide and tall. On his head and shoulders a long fur coat of a horned, fanged beast was draped. He slowly approached Frey, looking down on her literally and perhaps figuratuvely as well. She would notice he held his other hand, close to his chest and on further inspection, she could see way it was.

A baby. Sound asleep and clutching onto Mad Dog II's fur coat. "I've heard talk of your arrival. We don't get visitors from the Frost. You've made a name for yourself in the arena..." he sighed, reaching onto a shelf with his free hand and placing a bowl down gently, in front of Frey.

"They love you, don't they?" Mad Dog II smirked. "The violence, the bloodlust. You've assimilated nicely. But do not think you've fully won us over," he continued, scooping a hot liquid from a pot and pouring it into the bowl. A sort of stew, it seemed. " You have adoration but not respect.That's earned through more than just murder."

Mad Dog II sat back down on his throne. "I've seen you. Your attitude. I know what you are. I have seen it and it disinterest me. But what I'm interested in...is what you want. What brings a frost-blood out to the cracked desert?"

***

In the past Leup glanced betqeen thr Legionnaires and Argent warily as the troupe marched through the desert. "Argent...ARGENT!" he muttered, kicking the man who was once his compatriot in the back of the leg. "You're not gonna live if you run away. You know that?"

"Ya!" Was all Kilakanji replied with as the car smashed into Max, running over him mercilessly.

***

"Two years ago you aided a man named Koh," Frey replied. "I'm going to find out where he went. And then I'm going to kill you."

The baby started to whine to which Mad Dog II quietly patted her to calm her nerves. "Then you're out of luck...perhaps. Koh taught us much about tunneling in exchange for his life, but from there..." Mad Dog II shrugged. "I don't know where he went ..but I have my suspicions."

Mad Dog II stood up once more, the baby sniffling as she grabbed tighter to his shoulder, finally calming down as he glanced at a map pinned to the wall. "To the west, he went I feel. Only two groups may have made contact with him, my scouts have gathered. Cobran or the Dwards."

"And one more thing," Mad Dog II grimaced as, without warning, he kicked the scalding hot bowl of stew over onto Frey. "You are very disappointing. The last thing I needed...another blood-letter. No purpose, no dreams. Just a rat-child, rabid and stupid." He sat back down. "Like the others before you, you'll try and kill me only to find your own ruin. You are stronger than most however."

Mad Dog II picked up a mug of water and drunk from it. " You want to find this Koh? Help us wage our war. We march against the Dwards."

The Captain eyed up Price for a few moments, feeling uncertainty about this man. He shows up out of nowhere, from the desert, with their belongings, and asks to discuss 'business'? And the dward with him, Eimln... They'd met before? Was it at Mariglen? "As Syra said, we've been doing well Mr. Price, but I too am unsure as to what you can offer us." Eimln's appearance next to Syra surprised Ash, as she seemed to appear out of nowhere.

Price chuckled at Eimln's trickery, taking another puff from his cigarette. "Yes, she's been rather eager to meet your Mr. Otis. I wish I could tell you why, but unfortunately my cohort's reasons are still a bit of a mystery to me." He gave a shrug and smiled.

"Otis... Isn't here right now..." Ash muttered. "But you've not answered our questions Mr. Price."

Price smirked as his gaze looked around the Last Rest, eyeing up the canon a few moments, the work on the walls, and anything else his eyes could find. Finally they landed back on Ash, Syra, and Azure. "Some food and water would be appreciated. But I suppose I should tell you my business before we get to that. Miss Syra, it occurs to me that you like it when people can be honest, upfront, perhaps even blunt. So I'll stop mincing words. You're not doing well here." His smile transformed into a more serious, stoic look.

"You have the canon, yes, but you lack an army. You lack proper, consistent access to supplies like food and weapons. Honestly, do you even have the bullets for the canon yet?" Price cocked an eyebrow. Before anyone could respond, he raised a hand. "I know they're no longer in the Holy Land, so question is if they've made it here or not."

Ash bit his lip into a snarl. "So you've come here to bloody insult us! Or perhaps you're expecting some kind of surrender of the gun? That's what you think you're going to do you -"

Before Ash could continue, Price lifted a hand again. "Now hold on a moment, don't get yourself worked up before I've even told you what I'm doing here. I'm here alone, with just Eimln as company. I have no army, no means to threaten you." Price patted a pistol that was clutched in a holster around his hip.

"This is about the most dangerous thing I have with me, and if you don't trust me with it, I'll let you hold onto it. But let's face it, this canon is going to have a war fought over it. And right now, you're the losing side. Price took another drag of his cigarette, the smile finally returning. "Which is why I'm here. Despite what you may think of me from the Holy Land, I'm not a gambler. Gamblers rely on luck or probabilities to get an outcome. I rely on action, effort, and force of will to create the outcomes I want. And you people, you Lords of Rock, I believe you want the same outcomes as I do."

Ash paused as he gazed at Price, still trying to size the man up. He was certainly... Different from any of the warlords on the planet, indeed probably different from a great many people here. But that didn't mean he could be trusted. "So what do you think you can do?" Ash asked curiously. Out of the corner of his eye, Ash had noticed some movement. He turned to see Horik looking over in their direction, the Captain smiled and waved her over. "Horik, care to join us?" He called out.

Price smiled as he nodded in the direction of Eimln. "Well I can do a lot more than firing a rifle. I can help you establish trade routes. Supply chains. I can help you gather an army, and develop lasting alliances that will help you change the face of this world forever. Lords of Rock, if making this world a better place is your dream, then I can help make it real."

___________________________________________________________________________________

Past:

Ash gagged and sputtered as some disgusting substance made it into his mouth. It was absolutely vile. The substance he was being fed was composed of some kind of almost unchewable, rubbery meat. Truthfully, he almost thought it was rubber except for the over powering flavor of salt. He was pretty sure it was cured meat or something, but it had been cured FAR too much, and would have been better as a door stop then food. There was vegetables as well, he thought, but they were so overcooked they were practically mush. The fact they practically liquefied upon entering his mouth was revolting, and caused his body to spasm from the disgust.

Then there was the crust... It was burnt, and yet still managed to be soggy! Soggy pastry, of almost any kind, was a travesty to food. But how could they burn it AND have it soggy? And the liquid inside... The brown, watery liquid... It was the worst part. He was pretty sure it was meant to be some sort of beef broth, or gravy, but the stuff was practically water, save for the fact it had large granules of salt salt. It was like eating sand in water, and to make matters worse the 'gravy' didn't even have any flavor! It was basically just salty water!

The Captain continued to gag on the nasty substance. "Ack!!! Please, get that vile, putrid stuff away from me! Just... Just go kill a rat, roast it, and throw some salt on, please! That would be just fine, I ASSURE you!" The Captain looked back to Alarisset, an apologetic look on his face. "I'm terribly sorry my lady... But I do think you may require perhaps some chefs with more... Diversified skills and palettes when it come to making food."

___________________________________________________________________________________

Maximilian had heard a thud in the distance, and upon looking could see Snart now on the ground, with Falcon fast approaching. He sighed. "What a useless being." The sense of annoyance at the wasted potential grew to agitate him greatly, more so now that he realized the woman in the mask was a Phoenix. She was clearly fighting for the wrong side, a fact he greatly wished to impart to her, but Mr. M'Kama was not about to permit that.

Buying time? Maximilian smirked, not sure yet if the Yyb was bluffing or not, but before he could appropriately react, M'Kama had already made his way up well above the ground, and sent himself hurtling back to the ground, aiming at the Phoenix. As the human's rock covered elbow came down, just a few short feet above the Phoenix, Maximilian brought his sword up, colliding with M'Kama and sending a ripple through the stone surface of the street from the force of the impact of the two men. Maximilian held M'Kama there, both pinned for the moment and unable to move, but a series of shouts cause the two to look in the direction of incoming guards... Followed by a car.

"You can't be ser-" The vehicle slammed into Maximilian, sending him backwards, and then below the undercarriage of the car. He managed to just barely get a slim shield of broken rock and pebbles to buffer his body as the tires rolled over him, and then onward away from him, towards whatever direction they planned to go. M'Kama and the masked woman seemed to already be occupying the car now as Maximilian stood up unsteadily, brushing himself off as he let out heavy breaths.

"How very embarrassing..." He muttered between gritted teeth. As he did this, two spikes began to form on his left and right side. The spikes shimmered and glowed, their glittery appearance giving away that they were made of glass. The spikes soon hurtled themselves at the car, with one piercing through the trunk of the car, the other going through the window of the backseat, briefly grazing Kilakanji's shoulder, and finally embedding itself into the front window, with about half the spike protruding through each side.

The sound of guards approaching brought Maximilian's attention away from the car, and with an exasperated sigh, he reached into a pocket of his uniform, and pulled out... A black leather item, quite like a wallet. He quickly flashed it to the guards. "Official Matranical business. You can all leave now." The tone of his lie was dark, aggressive, and full of authority.

Seru suddenly stopped and didn't turn to face them and their porn camera for some time. She seemed to be thinking.

"I know but one God," her eyes eventually met theirs, "...'N she is a snake."

Falcon seated herself inside the car, seemingly lost in thought.

***

"It's been weeks since that ship crashed," Otis said, frowning at Girthfield. "Weeks since we had any contact with anyone from the outside world. Guardian leadership, at the very least, should be made aware of our situation. Wouldn't you agree?"

***

Iomer flexed his arm, it being the first day he'd removed it from its sling since the crash. It had healed surprisingly well, and his adaptation to life in the desert had been mostly painless. Leup had helped a lot with that. The other man, Argent, had stayed mostly to himself, not making any friends but also not killing anyone, so Iomer thought it was a win-win so far.

They'd traveled mostly east, and had eventually settled down in a small valley carved out by what had to be an extremely rare sight on the Rock: an actual river. Their camp was nothing special, but at least it would keep the wild animals out.

"I'm surprised no one lives around here," Iomer said to Leup, looking out at the small but encouraging presence of water. "I'd think the area would be crowded with people, considering there's a fresh source of water."

"Us? Yes, indeed," Girthfield nodded before squinting at Tackel and White Hat. "These two characters however I suspect have less friends off-world, who were they planning on contacting?"

***

Kilakanji grimaced as the spikes smashed through the vehicle. They had made it out of the side-street and onto a main road just as it began to steam before rearing left and colliding into a shop wall. "Sorry!" Kilakanji announced to the shop-keeper, leaping out the vehicle and turning to M'kama and Falcon. "And who was he?" He asked, motioning over the damage to the car.


***

"Hm, Snake. No doubt, no doubt," Qunith nodded at Seru's insane ramblings. "In contrast to... snakes, the gods live, but rather in unity. Who protects the snakes, which master do they serve, even unwittingly?" Qunith gave a half-smile. "Everything is connected We all belong to a high being. And to speak to them, to cooperate with them, means we can figure out our purpose in life."

***

Frey reached their hand out. The metal bowl of stew went flying to the wall before it could reach them, the stew skidding along the compound floors and releasing steam into the air. "Dwards haven't done anything to me," Frey replied. "You have. So why should I help you?"

"So you could, in theory, speak t'her, yes?" Seru's face lit up and she suddenly swooped forward and grabbed Qunith's hands in her own. Her eyes were wide, staring up into their green ones with a look of desperation, "Is - is that right? 'Cause I could really do with some guidance right now! I - I need..." she looked down to her hands that gripped Qunith's tightly, "I need t'know that I'm doin' the right thing. I need t'hear her to say it."

Qunith looked down at their hands and then at Seru. "In thirty minutes come to the tower."

Qunith's hands were slowly freed from Seru's as she dropped them to her sides and swallowed. Her thoughts were dark and questioning. Would it even be possible? Would she even be able to communicate through them? The snake of Cobran was a mystery, a God in her own right, and she had always been a guide knowing that Seru's path was different from the others. Now, after all those years, Seru finally understood.

But it all felt wrong.

"Right...right..." Seru nodded and took slow steps backward, feeling awkward, "I'll meet y'all there."