Messiah in Green 2, Exodus (Part 1 complete, part 2 running)

[Oni Koneko Damien]

A continuation of the story of Lexx and Mael. It would greatly help to read Book 1 first, though not absolutely required I guess. Just be prepared to sort out a lot of names and references. This will be book 2 of a three part series. I'll be collecting this and the rest of my fiction on a hastily created wiki here, along with the occasional write-up on other aspects of this universe and other random ideas of mine.

Anyways...

Part 1, Chapter 1

Lexx grabbed the pillow and pressed it around her ears, trying to drown out the cacophony outside. Why the hell did there even need to be roadwork done on a Saturday? She knew it wasn't against the law, but she didn't recall any work being done on Friday or Thursday. Sort of an odd date to be starting something in her opinion. Whatever, Lexx rolled over and tried to get back to sleep. Her arm flopped over the flat empty expanse where Mael would normally lie. Lexx opened her eyes again, ignoring the steady drone of machinery out there. She envisioned Mael asleep there, maybe muttering something in response to Lexx's arm landing on her.

"Soon," Lexx whispered and closed her eyes again, it was too early in the morning for this.

It wouldn't do any good to call Viktor and ask if there had been any change yet. She knew that even if he were awake to pick it up, there was no change, and though she didn't fully trust the odd man, she believed that had something had come up, he would contact her first. After all, she would be his go-to girl for anything he needed. The bastard had her wrapped around his finger and she knew it. He knew how to revive Mael from the coma she was in, and Lexx was willing to do anything to help him achieve just that.

A week of waiting shouldn't be that long, especially considering that at one point, Lexx had spent two years away from Mael. At least in her head she had, the actual reality of what had happened was still under debate. Even after everything that happened there were very few hard answers to come by, and that was aggravating in and of itself. Together they had done... something. Mael, Lexx, Micheal and Rose had worked together, planned and executed a raid on Maccadyne. They had all gotten out alive, or some approximation thereof. The most tangible results of the raid was that Aaron was once again a part of the family.

But what else? The company hadn't folded up and died in the week and a half since. Zombies hadn't appeared around town, Micheal had been scanning all the news, high and low for that. Secret agents in black hadn't stormed the apartment, demanding Aaron back for study. In fact quite the opposite had occurred. Shortly after the event a massive check came in the mail, along with a typed, profuse apology for the paperwork error on the part of those at Maccadyne. Along with the money came a glowing reference to another company allegedly unaffiliated with Maccadyne, and an explanation that the official paperwork with the police and feds, the hassle of restoring someone who was legally dead back to life, would be mostly taken care of by the company and all that was required were a few signatures in the right places.

The whole thing had the tone of 'Please keep quiet about this whole embarrassing incident and we'll make it worth your while.'

It would be the perfect situation, except Lexx knew it was a load of bullshit. She had extensive personal experience with those who ran the international megacorporation, and they weren't the type to just hand money to troublemakers to make them go away. Maccadyne had a habit of making troublemakers disappear, in fact. And those were the troublemakers who weren't otherwise appealing to the company. According to the now deceased Terrance McNielson, former CEO of Maccadyne, Lexx and Mael had been very interesting to him. He was dead now, Mael had seen to that during the raid, but Lexx doubted they were in the clear. Maccadyne would come for them, she could only hope they could find out when and how, and plan for the inevitable retribution.

The noise outside reached the point where the entire apartment was vibrating. Lexx grumbled in reply and sat up, trying to blink away what felt like vastly insufficient sleep. At the very least they didn't have to worry about Kaitlin raising a fuss over this, jumpy little girl that she was. She had been returned to the orphanage last night, it was nothing more than a 'test run' to see how well she'd be with the family. Of course the jumpiness was to be expected, she'd been traumatized a number of times over the past few weeks. In Lexx's opinion the kid was taking it exceptionally well. And now Sera was dead set on adopting the little girl. Lexx had mixed feelings about that. On the one hand she didn't doubt that Sera could take care of the kid. On the other hand, weird things had a tendency to happen around Lexx, and she didn't want too much shrapnel from those events hitting Kaitlin and further damaging her.

And what the unholy hell were they doing out there?!

Lexx stood up, wondering going out topless with only a pair of black pajama pants beneath would be a sufficiently trashy way to berate whoever was causing the noise out there. Nah, not quite. Lexx rooted around in the hamper as the apartment vibrated again, pulling out a sports bra. There we go, just trashy enough now. Lexx wandered sleepily out of the room, slipping the bra on, and made her way to the other end of the apartment. She waved briefly at Aaron, who was half asleep and making a bowl of cereal in the kitchen.

At the curtain separating the hallway from the family room, Lexx knocked. A second later a quiet voice came from within, "Yeah?"

"Hey Sera," during hotter parts of summer, Sera and Aaron usually left their room and ended up sleeping in the much cooler family room, "Just wondering if I can come in, see what's going on out there, and yell at people."

"Be my guest," the voice was cracked, it sounded like Sera hadn't slept at all.

When Lexx entered the room, she saw that Sera didn't just sound bad, she looked like she hadn't slept a wink. Just as Lexx was opening her mouth to announce this, the apartment vibrated again. Except it was far more than just a vibration this time. The entire apartment shook as if in the grip of an earthquake. Lexx had never truly lived out west, but way back in the day her family had taken yearly vacations out there to see extended relatives. During one of these trips, on the Nevada California border in a cheap motal, Lexx had experienced her one and only earthquake. A loud, thirty-second rumble which had knocked pictures off the walls and woke her from a dead sleep.

This was much worse. Lexx staggered several feet, having to re-plant her cane to get balance back. "Goddamnit, what the hell is going on?"

Sera looked scared, Lexx didn't blame her. It felt like the apartment was about to fall apart. Halfway to the window, the building shook again. This time there was a massive cracking sound from the hallway. Lexx's eyes widened as several of the family-room windows cracked, the entire wall shifting and warping ever so slightly. "Shit!"

Lexx jumped the rest of the way to the window, hearing a confused shout from Aaron somewhere else in the apartment. Wrestling the window open, Lexx stopped cold at the sight outside. For a moment she couldn't believe her eyes, it was a wrecking ball. There was an industrial wrecking ball out there, even now winding back for another blow against the apartment. "Hey!" Lexx screamed, "Hey, stop! There's people up here!"

Several people on the street had already seen her and were rushing towards the machine, gesturing wildly. It was too late, the massive steel ball swung forward and hit the side of the apartment a third time. Lexx's head smashed on the top of the window-frame as the entire east side of the apartment fell several feet, the framework beneath demolished. Sera screamed from behind her. Grabbing her head in pain, Lexx turned to see chaos in the room behind her. The floor had split in half, two bookcases were already toppled. The computer desk teetered dangerously, the widescreen monitor already beginning to slide forward.

The scene tilted further as more supports gave way, causing Lexx's stomach to flip. She saw Sera huddled on the futon, pressed against a back wall that had several large cracks running through it. She saw the floor split in half, a widening gap between the both of them and the curtained doorway. Aaron's head was poking through the doorway, he was shouting questions and orders, most of them simply not registering with Lexx. She thought quickly, glancing between Aaron and the frozen Sera. Set on her plan, Lexx jumped forward.

"Aaron!" she screamed, lunging forward and catching Calvin, who was crouching under a fallen bedside table. Twisting and side-arming the cat towards the doorway, still trailing a few small strips of her flesh in its claws, Lexx shouted, "Take the cat and get downstairs!"

"But-"

"I'll get Sera! Go!"

Lexx turned her attention away from Aaron and moved to Sera's side. Forcing her voice into something more calming, even as the end of the apartment dropped another few feet, tilting further, Lexx made eye-contact with Sera, "Sera! I need you to trust me! Just do as I say and we'll get out of here!"

Panicked, pale, Sera nodded at her. Lexx put her arms around the older woman and began leading her off the bed, towards the doorway, preparing to make the jump with both of them. Her concentration was broken by the sight of the TV tilting, then falling towards the both of them. With a scream, Lexx released Sera and put her shoulder on the forty-pound appliance, knocking it away from the both of them. It fell and struck the near wall, which already had several growing holes in it.

A second attempt to jump to more stable ground failed as the entire floor dropped again, the room now aligned almost perpendicular to the rest of the apartment. Lexx had to devote more attention simply to keeping her grip on Sera than looking for a safe place to jump to. Thankfully they were both still on the futon, which provide some small cushion against the disintegrating apartment around them. A desk-chair crashed and clattered by Lexx. Stomach suddenly opening in fear, Lexx looked up in time to see the computer processor and monitor headed towards her at high speed, followed by the rest of the desk.

Lexx gave up on trying to jump away and simply placed her own body over Sera's, bracing for the inevitable impact. She screamed in agony as the corner of the heavy processor clipped her shoulder, then screamed louder as the even heavier wide-screen monitor caught her full across the back, shattering and slicing easily through several patches of skin. The cheap wooden desk striking and breaking in half over her was almost unfelt after all that. For a few second Lexx's world was drowning in the fiery agony blooming over her back. Through the heat and pain she could feel a wetness spreading and dripping down her sides, she was bleeding.

Several books hit her in the back, a few power-cords fell and wrapped around her, sticking the bloodied gashes, then two bricks struck the open wounds. Lexx sagged with a groan, trying desperately not to black out from the pain as another handful of bricks fell around her. She saw the wall they were both sitting on open up, in a second they would fall through. It was still at least two stories to the glass-littered ground below. Vision blurred with tears and going black at the edges, Lexx held desperately onto Sera and focused as much as she could on a point near the street, hopefully far enough away from the collapsing apartment.

"Bamf."

One final, cataclysmic crash and a wall of dust enveloped Lexx and Sera. Coughing, groaning in pain, Lexx rolled onto her back on the dusty grass and immediately regretted the decision. She screamed in pain as grass blades wormed their way into dirty gashes, pressing maliciously against the exposed nerves. Lexx rolled back, pushing herself to her hands and knees, and regretted that as well. Torn muscles and bruised ribs sent waves of pain through her, most of it directly into her skull, as protest at this unfair treatment. Lexx didn't even bother to scream anymore, settling for remaining on hands and knees, breathing through clenched teeth and drooling slightly as blood dribbled and slowly dripped on grass that was slowly acquiring a fresh coat of plaster-dust.

Sera was groaning and twisting next to her. Lexx would have liked to forget her pain, but it persistently refused to go away as she tried to divert attention to Sera, "Jeez... Sera? Are you hurt?"

"Back," Sera said, arching with a gasp, "Back... hurts..."

Wails, sirens. Help was finally arriving. "Hold on Sera, umm..." the last first-aid course Lexx had taken was in eighth grade, she wondered if her mangled back would let her accomplish anything even if she had the proper knowledge and training, "Help's here... just don't move in case something's broken."

"Not... broken... hurts for weeks..."

"Shh, it's alright Sera, we've got help here," Lexx stroked Sera's cheek, leaving behind a streak of mixed blood and dust.

"Lumps... in my back," Sera whispered.

"Sera?! Lexx? Oh god you made it!" Aaron's voice.

Lexx gasped at the hand on her shoulder. She reached up, clasping the hand in her own and nearly collapsing as her weight shifted, disturbing the brief equilibrium her burning back had achieved with its pain. "The ambulance is here," Aaron said, "Just... keep still, everybody stay back! Give them room!"

More lights, flashing red and blue. Men in black suits with guns moving in, a few escorting a dazed looking construction worker from the machine that controlled the giant wrecking ball. Lexx looked up at him, at the half-collapsed four-floor apartment building, at Aaron, covered in claw-marks, wide-eyed and frightened. "Fucking... asshole," Lexx muttered, pushing herself to her feet, "I'll fucking kill you!"

Her back was having none of it and Lexx was back to her knees, crying in pain and resisting the urge to grab her back. "Stay down Lexx! You're hurt, damnit!"

"Ma'am, I'm going to need you to remain still," someone else at her side, something cold pressed against her back, awakening a lesser, stinging pain.

Lexx gritted her teeth, "Sera... take care of Sera first!"

"She's fine ma'am, you need to concentrate on yourself right now, Sera's already getting help," the voice was soothing, calming.

Lexx let herself be soothed, she sagged a little as the stinging gave way to a cool numbness. The adrenaline was beginning to leave, her eyelids sagged. The good men in the suits would make the pain go away, hopefully. More coolness on her back. A soft adhesion, tape. "We're going to need stitches over here, and more cloth! Let's go."

"One moment," another voice said.

"She needs medical attention."

"In a moment. Alexxia? Alexxia Beltran?"

"Yeah... that's me," Lexx muttered, "Just call me Lexx."

More cold, this time against her wrist. Lexx blinked in confusion as her other wrist was pulled back, more cold encircling it. "Very well, Lexx, you are being placed under arrest."

"What?" Lexx was tired, this was all just a dream, right?

"You are under arrest for the murder of Charles Pinnows."

[Oni Koneko Damien]

Forewarning: This chapter contains some rather graphic content. Yes, even in comparison to the rest of the the story, really graphic content.

Chapter 2

The painkillers helped, but they also slowed everything to a little above a crawl. After the cuffs were placed on her, and two officers were kept on either side of her to prevent an escape, the EMTs were finally allowed to work on Lexx's back. She could probably have escaped, but a number of factors decided her against it. Foremost was the entire sense of unreality that lay over the situation. The adrenaline from the collapse of the apartment... no, the apartment hadn't collapsed, not emotionally. To Lexx's psyche it was all still just a dream. Once this speedbump was done with she'd get to go back home and sleep it off, right?

Following up on that was a more personal concern. Lexx knew the dizziness she was feeling wasn't solely the result of the painkillers. Blood loss, shock, or a combination of both were making a compelling argument for Lexx not to move anywhere with any speed. She could always make a run for it later. Lexx was under arrest? Why was that failing to have any real meaning to her? It would be a temporary thing, and then she would move on to something else, the stable things in life would remain there for her, at least that's what her muddled head was telling her.

Stable things... like Sera. That was what was bugging her, giving her reason to stay put. Sera was in pain, something more than just getting knocked around in a collapsing apartment. Something was wrong with her, something that had the EMTs worried and reserved her a spot on the ambulance. Even so, through whatever pain she was going through, she remained aware enough to realize there was something happening with Lexx, and had protested the entire way to the vehicle. The police wouldn't let anyone besides the EMTs get close to Lexx, but she managed to call out to Aaron, tell him that Sera needed the company more than her.

Now she was alone, relatively speaking. Police, aside from her escort, had given away largely to emergency crews. There were three other apartments in the building, and some of them were occupied at the time of the demolition. Answers were not yet forthcoming. Just drugs, stitches, a lot of cleaning and then some bandages before Lexx was put into one of the squad cars and driven away.

There was no conversation for the entirety of the trip, though Lexx finally satisfied that mild curiosity of what it was like to sit in the back of a police car. So long as she didn't make either the mistake of leaning back, or curling far enough forward to put pressure on the freshly stitched wounds, it was rather comfortable. Clear plexiglass separated her from the front seats, and the doors obviously had no handles on the inside, but at least the two officers were nice enough to have their seats far enough forward to give Lexx a little legroom.

The silence was a little awkward, but Lexx felt any attempt to talk would just make things worse. 'Hi, I'm Lexx, an accused murderer. I don't really care too much about you two, I'm just filling silence, how are you guys?' That probably wouldn't go over too well. Anyways, the occasional radio chatter seemed to keep them occupied, better to use the time to think, even if her drug-addled mind wasn't operating at full efficiency at the moment.

The apartment was destroyed. She was still in emotional denial over it, but she could run with it as a hypothetical given to determine the likely causes. Top of the list was Maccadyne. Of course Maccadyne was also a good explanation of why she was here in this police car as well. Like a certain cinematic empire, they had struck back, and it really fucking hurt. As they drove steadily inward, steadily further downtown, the formerly sunny morning began to cloud over. Locked in the back of the car, Lexx had no way out, it slowly began to dawn on her that things were changing for the worse.

If the windows were rolled down, she would be able to escape in an instant, though she would still have to contend with the handcuffs restraining her. A while ago, shortly before her return to Chicago from an involuntary sojourn that lasted two years in her head, Lexx discovered she had, for lack of a better description, supernatural abilities. She could move to almost any point within visual sight nearly instantaneously without physically crossing the space between. The ability wasn't without its limits: She had to see where she was going, she couldn't 'bamf' through any space smaller than she could physically squeeze her frame through, and the act took as much energy as briskly jogging from point A to point B would. Even with those limitations, it was a nearly infinitely useful trick to have.

Right now, it wouldn't help her at all. In this enclosed space Lexx could jump from one side of the seat to the other and back again, accomplishing nothing useful. Once they let her out? She had to start planning. Theoretically Lexx could make her escape as soon as she was out of their direct grip. But then she would still be stuck with her hands cuffed behind her back, and she would still lack the cane that was required for any extended exertion due to her bad knee. Said cane was being held by the officer in the passenger seat, said knee had been shattered a while ago during a nightmare of kidnap and torture that Lexx had gone through which started this entire series of events. So where did that leave her?

They had to take the cuffs off at some point, Lexx figured. Wait until then, and she would be free to 'bamf' willy nilly around the officers, her preferred method of fighting. Despite the bad knee, Lexx had been well trained in self-defense. Though in normal circumstances that would have done little good against a pair of armed and aware officers, she could combine it with her own little supernatural trick to surprise them, nab one of the stun-guns they both carried, incapacitate them and make off with both her cane and a stun-gun for self-defense.

What then? Lexx sagged against the seat and gave a groan of pain as her back protested the movement. It had finally hit her: The apartment was gone. She couldn't return there. If she escaped, she would be on the run, a wanted person. Things had indeed changed, and the more Lexx came to terms with it, the more hope sank. Could she go to Micheal for help? No, she didn't want to bring the law down on him... if Maccadyne wasn't already doing so. Lexx got worried, sure they did have a valid charge to haul her in on, but what was stopping Maccadyne from bribing the men in blue to trump up some other charges to remove Micheal from the picture as well?

What if they went after Mael and Viktor too?

Dizziness. Lexx was hyperventilating, becoming panicked. As the car pulled to a stop at the station she forced herself to slow down, breath slowly, in and out. She reached for something, anything to bring comfort. Aaron and Sera. They hadn't been arrested, and Maccadyne knew both were close to Lexx. There was hope then, maybe they were just after her and would be satisfied with her apprehension. The door opened, with a patient but firm order, one of the officers grabbed Lexx by the arm and pulled her out of the vehicle. She was led at a rapid limp inside the station, passed a small number of people standing, sitting, pacing and talking in the lobby. No opening yet, she didn't even know where her cane had gone.

A brief stop. She was held in place as another officer, presumably one with medical qualifications, looked over her bandages. A few brief exchanged words, she was asked if she was still okay walking on that bad leg, or if she needed a wheelchair. Lexx shook her head, if she couldn't have her cane, she'd grit her teeth and bear it. She was led through a set of double doors, down a hallway, past a barred gate. She had the feeling she had just gone past the point of no return as the gate slammed shut behind her with a metallic clang.

Another barred door was opened, this one leading into an empty cell. Inches from being escorted in, the gate behind her opened once more, admitting another officer, "Hold on!"

Was she going to get out of this after all?

"Chief's orders, she goes into general holding."

"What?" the officer holding her asked incredulously, "That's not regulations."

The new officer shrugged, "That's orders: Alexxia Beltran goes into general holding, straight from Shrives."

The officer holding Lexx gave her an almost pitying look, "Sorry hon, I have to follow orders."

"What's general holding?" Lexx asked as she was diverted to another hallway.

"Where we put most people until we decide what to do with them," the officer said, "Normally we're not supposed to mix girls and guys but... well, orders are orders."

"Wait, girls and..." Lexx saw where she was headed, "Oh."

She didn't protest as she was put into a larger cell with half a dozen men inside. Not much point really. "Turn your back to the door," the officer said as he shut the cell door behind her.

"Sure, why?" Lexx asked as she complied.

A soft click, and the relaxing of the metallic pressure on her wrists answered her question. The officer removed the handcuffs. "Listen," he said, "If they try anything with you... just scream and keep screaming until somebody comes, okay? I'm really sorry about this."

"Don't worry, I'm a big girl," Lexx said with false bravado.

The officer didn't even look her in the eyes as he left. Lexx turned and regarded the cell, the benches were all taken by the current occupants. Four of them looked to be together, all black. The other two looked to be drunken college students. Lexx leaned back against a barred corner, trying to get a little weight off her legs without applying too much pressure to her back.

One of the gang of four, the oldest looking man turned and gave another a light shove, "Hey man, give the lady a seat."

"I'm alright," Lexx said.

"Hell you are," the man laughed, "Back all fucked up like that? What you do? Bust a glass?"

"Sort of," Lexx said, taking the offered seat.

"So what you in for baby?" one of the others asked.

"Back off nigga, give the lady some space," the old man said.

Lexx leaned forward, putting her chin in her hands, this might not be too bad, "Might be worse than what you guys did."

"You fuckin'? Assault, alla' us!" the other three broke out in cued laughter at that.

Lexx met the old man's eyes, she gave a mirthless smile, "Murder."

"Ah, she shittin' us!" one of them said, "You buyin' this shit, Heavy?"

'Heavy' met her gaze, "You for real?"

Lexx nodded, then yawned. "Asshole deserved it. At least I think he did, I don't really feel guilty about it."

"Aw shit," one of the others said, "Fuckin'."

"She ain't fuckin'," Heavy said, "She got the same eyes Marvin did."

"Marvin ain't shit, Marvin don't know 'is nigger ass from a-"

"Marvin was a dumb nigger, but Marvin killed and din't give a shit, and I'm telling you now, nigger, this girl's got th'same eyes he did, fuckin' scary ass shit."

"Hey, peace nigger."

"I'm cool," Heavy smiled at Lexx, "I'm Old Heavy, those are Spencer and Barry, nigga with the mouth is Dusty."

"On accounta' me bein' a dirty motherfucker," Dusty said.

"And those two?" Lexx asked, indicating the college kids who didn't seem to be affiliated with them, and actually seemed rather scared to be in the same cell.

"Two dumbass crackers," Old Heavy said, "Hey crackers! You scared of us black folk?"

"No," one said while the other looked away.

"Shit motherfucker, you fucking address Ol' Heavy with respect or we'll fuck you up!" Dusty stepped forward.

One college kid half stood, fear in his eyes. Spencer and Barry broke out laughing, quickly joined by Dusty, "Aw shit cracker, I'm only fuckin' with ya! Fuckin' jumpy whiteys all scared of the big black man!"

Footsteps, the harsh grating of the outer doors opening. "Aw shit, busy day for us," Dusty giggled.

Lexx didn't say anything when they came into sight. There were two of them, one an older looking policeman, a well-kept man with an impeccably trimmed white beard. He was carrying something that looked like a cross between a tripod-mounted camcorder and an overlarge fire-alarm.

The other was Veronica.

Lexx simply stood up and walked to the bars, a thousand conflicting urges and thoughts temporarily removing the capacity for speech. "Good morning," Veronica said.

"It was you," Lexx whispered.

"Yes."

"The apartment... the arrest..."

"Yes."

"Because of..."

"Yes," Veronica said, "Just a little demonstration. And since I have a few minutes open, I decided to come down here and see you in person. So much easier to explain things that way."

"Explain? Why? We both know what's going on," Lexx said, "We fucked you over, put a dent in things, and you're fucking us in return."

"Not at all," Veronica laughed, hovering just out of reach beyond the bars, "Put a dent in things? You haven't even caused a delay in our plans. Your little raid did nothing, we lost nothing of value. All of this? Just a demonstration to show how little you are to us, do you think I'm going well out of my way to do this?"

"Over here?" the older policeman asked, setting up the tripod.

"That's good, a little further back, I'll take care of the rest," Veronica said.

"Should I-"

"No," she interjected angrily, "Don't touch any of that, I'll take care of it."

"Okay, then... should I just...?" for all his obvious vanity, the officer looked like he was nearly pleading with her.

"Get out," Veronica said, "Wait for me in the lobby, I'll be out in a second."

"Yes ma'am."

"Jeez... was that Shrives?" Lexx heard Dusty ask.

"Why don't you just kill me?" Lexx asked.

"Please, you can't do anything to us, regardless of the state of your mortality," Veronica smiled.

"Terrance probably thinks differently," Lexx smiled back, "If he were still capable of thinking, that is."

"Of course," Veronica said, moving over to the unidentified machine and fiddling with it, "Your friend Mael is the only one among you that is even slightly worrisome, which is why she's my main target."

"So that's why you're keeping me alive?"

"Please, I won't need you to find her. The only reason you live is because there are certain rules that need to be followed, certain consequences that can be avoided. But as ultimately harmless as your individual actions are, they can't go unpunished."

"Bad idea," Lexx said, "I'll find a way out of here, and I will hunt you down and kill you. Slow, fast, it doesn't matter, you'll still be dead at the end of it. I've done it once and I can do it again, bitch."

"You can try, and fail just as miserably," Veronica said, making a few final adjustments, "As for right now, I intend to make you suffer. More than just destroying your home and having you arrested, meaningless twit. No, you will suffer a lot more than that."

"What's that then? Some sort of torture device?" Lexx asked.

Veronica smiled at her before switching the device on. All it did was make a slight hissing noise, a distorted white statice. "I suppose you could call it that, indirectly. Do enjoy your time behind bars, Allexia."

"You're living on borrowed time!" Lexx called after her, "Demon or not, I'll fucking end you, you worthless bitch!"

There was no reply, Veronica was gone. Lexx stared at the machine, it seemed content to just sit there and continue to make that fuzzy static noise. "Hello?" Lexx shouted, "Hellooooo? Anyone? We've got a problem here!"

"Stop yelling," one of the college kids said.

Lexx gave him a withering look then turned back to the bars, "Hey! I don't think that machine's approved! I can reach it with my bare hands and use it as a weapon! Someone better get over here before something bad happens!"

"Shut up," the college kid growled.

"Or what?" Lexx turned away from the bars, the static noise was grating on her, slowly giving her a headache.

"Or I'll make you shut up," the kid said.

"Now hold on," Old Heavy said.

Dusty held out an arm, "Don't worry, I got this one nigger."

"Yeah what?" the college kid said, though not with quite as much conviction.

"Seems you crackers don't know how t'treat a bitch with respect. Now y'all can shut yo' pearly white holes or these three niggers are gonna make a few new holes in ya."

No reply, the college kids backed down.

"See that?" Dusty said, "It's all 'bout respect, a nigga's gotta earn it, an' I earned it."

Lexx turned and looked at the machine again. Was the sound getting louder? For a moment it seemed to be coincidencing with a steadily increasing pounding in her head. Then something inside her clicked, and the pain suddenly stopped. Lexx's skin tingled, that same dry, static sensation that occurred whenever she was brushing up against an area where the walls of reality were exceptionally thin. Except this time it was a little different. The walls seemed fine, it felt more like something was being drawn from somewhere else, some foreign substance or energy not normally meant to be on earth, coming in waves from that hissing machine. The entire cell veritably vibrated with it.

"Hey bitch, how about some thanks?"

"What?" Lexx asked with a start, turning away from the machine.

"Sorry, would you prefer 'honey'? How about 'babe'? 'Princess'? Look, I jus' did y'all a favour and this nigger'd like a little recognition for it."

"Oh... thanks," Lexx said hurriedly before returning her gaze to the machine, wondering what it was doing. Was it going go rip a hole in reality and transfer them all to the Dark, that strange incomplete place that lay concurrent with her own reality?

"Thanks? That's it? I save you from these crackers an' all I get is 'thanks'?"

Lexx sighed and turned back, "Fine, what do you want?"

"I think you know what I want, bitch."

Nervousness bit at Lexx's innards. Part of her mind wanted to make a connection with the machine out there, the sounds it was making, and what was going on in the cell. Another part of her mind refused, it was scared, it realized Lexx was confined in a jail cell with six men. "I don't think so," Lexx said, making sure to keep a body posture that expressed assertiveness but not outright aggression.

"This ain't up fo' negotiation," Dusty said, taking another step forward.

"Look," Lexx said, "That thing over there, that sound is fucking with our heads, let's just back down and keep cool."

"Bitch, I ain't cool. I hot, an' you jus' makin' me hotter, struttin' that tight shit here!"

"Back the fuck off!" Lexx said, deciding to favour aggression after all.

"Dusty, you sure you wanna-" Spencer started.

"You with a brotha o' not?" Dusty turned on Spencer, then on Barry, "You two help an' that fine white ass is y'alls when I'm done."

"Dusty, easy nigga," Old Heavy said, "Maybe she right, y'ain't actin' rational, yo."

"Back the fuck off, Heavy. Y'keep that fat ass there an' I won't haf' t'get violent with a bro, aight?"

Old Heavy looked Dusty in the eyes, saw what was there and sat back down. He didn't look at Lexx, "Sorry babe... nigga's gotta look after himself."

"That's right," Dusty said, "Gotta watch out fo' our interests, an' this white bitch is my interest."

"Right," Lexx said, bracing one hand against the bars, just enough so that her bad knee wouldn't be taking all the weight.

"Now that's what I'm talkin' about," Dusty said, stepping forward.

Lexx struck, her good leg planting a solid kick into Dusty's crotch. He must have been expecting it, immediately twisting to the side. He was still obviously in pain, but most of the strike was contained by his inner thigh, "Grab that bitch!"

"Bamf."

Lexx was behind Barry. This time the kick caught him square in the groin, eliciting a grunt of pain and surprise. Lexx prepared to jump again, but was then made away of the hideous stretching and tearing sensation in her back. The exertion had torn open some of her stitches, the sensation nauseated her, making her stagger. Spencer grabbed her from behind, holding her tight. Lexx struggled, then stopped as the struggles brought further broken stitches. The feeling of coagulated blood ripping apart with an audible 'plop' was worse than the actual pain.

"Shit, bitch is bleedin'," Spencer said, noting her injured back.

"Hold 'er tight, bitch gonna' bleed more," Dusty said, rubbing his thigh, "But not from the face, bitch's got a pretty white princess face."

Lexx made a hoarse barking sound as Dusty punched her full on in the gut. She sagged in Spencer's arms, gasping for breath. "Lay the bitch down," Dusty said, "Jumpin' round like that, she possessed or somethin'! Gonna need a motherfuckin' exorcism, aight? Hold her arms up o'er her head like that, see?"

"Got'it," Spencer said.

Lexx was on her back, her arms pinned above her head at the wrists. Dusty looked down at her, intentions obvious, "Yo Barry, y'think y'all can get it back up after that?"

"I'm good," Barry's pained voice came in reply.

"Damn right, you a soldier, motherfucker. You get this bitch second, fer bravery in battle an' all," Dusty began yanking Lexx's pajamas down, "Mmmhmm, hot damn, no panties o' nothin'. You beggin' fer this!"

Lexx tried to keep her legs together, first to keep the pants on, then because it was the only defense she had left. "No! Wait!" she coughed, "Please, don't! You don't have to!"

"Don't have to, I wanna!" Dusty said, pushing a pair of fingers in between Lexx's legs.

Lexx gasped in pain and surprise as she was violated. It was a hideous, burning sensation, she was completely dry as Dusty forcefully shoved a pair of fingers inside her body. "Aww, shit! This bitch's a virgin!"

"Ain't gonna be when we're done!" Barry said with a laugh, "We doin' this bitch a favour, aight? Showin' her a new world!"

Dusty crawled on top of her, undoing his pants, "Yo, Barry, do a nigga a favour, soldier!"

Barry moved behind Dusty, grabbing Lexx's ankles as she writhed and pulling them tight. Dusty pulled his fingers back out, spat on them, and with barely a pause shoved them back in, causing Lexx to cry out again. With his other hand he went to work on himself. Through tears Lexx could see something growing larger. "Mmmhmm, that's right bitch."

"No..." Lexx's voice was barely above a whisper.

Old Heavy looked the other direction. The college kids seemed very interested in studying the floor and walls on the opposite end of the cell. For a moment Lexx was left empty as Dusty pulled his fingers out. A second later something else pressed between her legs. Something massive, something that felt far too large to ever fit inside her. It pushed harder, Lexx screamed at the stretching pain, pulling against the hands that held her wrists and ankles.

And just like that, it was inside her. The pain between her legs reached a boiling point, as if the skin around her other lips were splitting in half, then it was immediately overshadowed by another pain, another tearing much further inside her. Lexx screamed again, somehow louder than before. "Mmm yeah... this bitch is tight."

Lexx didn't place much value on her virginity. It just wasn't something that was very important to her. She always felt that sex would happen when it and she was ready for it, and until then there was no point in worrying about it. She could masturbate without a problem, and as far as poking through that annoying piece of skin known as the hymen? Well, that was something that was always put off, she could always take care of it later, after all. During her time in the Plant, that strange alternate dimension somehow associated with Maccadyne and the demons that ran it, her virginity took on a slightly greater importance, but still only symbolic. There Lexx was one of the elite few, the fertile 'First Caste' that was responsible for maintaining the semi-human population of the Plant. Her virginity there was more a sign of her defiance against the Plant and its intentions of turning her into a breeder, of her constant will to escape and find her way back to Chicago. Even in those days, though, sex itself, virginity and the loss thereof was never something that weighed heavily on her mind.

Now, in a jail cell in Chicago, pinned down by two men and raped by a third, Lexx still regarded the loss of her virginity with a numbed lack of emotion. She wasn't losing any sacred gift, she wasn't being 'defiled' or 'deflowered'. She was being pinned down and hurt, a lot. She was being torn apart from the inside out and her world at the moment had become a mass of screaming, of pressure and burning pain inside her, of an ever more insistent thrusting and throbbing as her back echoed with a lesser, but still potent agony. She was certain she was bleeding, both from her back and her violated cervix. She was pinned down, being crushed to death by a grunting, thrusting monster on top of her, squeezing the air from her, killing her.

"Awww... fuck... yeah..."

One final thrust, an explosion of burning liquid pain deep inside Lexx, then a vacancy. Small snippets of dull sensation and awareness ventured back. Had she really zoned out for all of that? Memory was unclear on the subject, the past eternity was nothing but pain and pressure. The smell of alcohol, pot and sweat. The sound of grunts and hissing breath, a streamer of drool spattering down on her face from above. Her mind refused to comprehend the entirety of it, so instead it focused on individual details. Look hard enough at a single tree and you could forget the rest of the forest.

Pain. Burning, liquid pain. On top of torn pain, and throbbing bashing pain coming from her back, as well as numb tingling pain from her wrists and ankles. Her insides feeling like they were slowly leaking out of her vagina, pulverized and liquefied by whatever industrial tool had just been forced between her legs.

He had raped her. Lexx had just been raped. He came inside her. Even now she could be on the way to pregnancy, as the result of being held down and raped in a prison cell.

No, not her. This was a dream, that was another Lexx, in another world.

Just a dream.

[Oni Koneko Damien]

Chapter 3

Micheal was taking a huge risk doing this from a home computer, as opposed to one of the four disposable laptops he normally kept around for this purpose. But they were all dedicated machines, lacking the capacity for certain algorithm-breaking programs located on the larger desktop. Normally he would turn off the wireless router and make sure there were no network connections running before uploading any of his pilfered emails and other network files from a laptop to the center computer, but he wanted to keep an open connection just in case he needed to get into contact with certain people in a hurry. It was worth the risk of a remote observer finding their way onto his computer while he worked.

Hacking, cracking, or whatever it was called these days wasn't Micheal's specialty, even if he found himself in possession of supposedly secure information quite often. He mainly used programs created by others to decrypt the information, and simply thought of himself more as a courier. It was a capability he discovered when he had stumbled upon his own supernatural affinities. Along with something which had more immediate physical applications, Micheal found that with some sort of interface, he could almost place his entire consciousness on a computer network. Depending on the processing power and versatility of his own brain, rather than a computer, he was able to easily bypass most forms of security on many networks without the direct aid of programming skill.

All that was needed was a direct connection to that network, which meant that Micheal did a lot of traveling throughout the city of Chicago. Ironically, the proliferation of 'secure' wireless networks made his own work a lot easier, all he had to do was be in the general vicinity of the router to boost his own consciousness onto the system and start digging around. Maccadyne had insisted on remaining wired, which meant that he had to hang around outside the building, or sneak his way into a bathroom or closet, drill through the wall and directly wire his laptop into the building's system. Rather a hassle, but often worth it.

Especially this trip. Email and the like had been flying since the raid had taken place. The company had covered incredibly well, by the day after it looked like nothing was wrong, at least on the surface. The zombies, or whatever they were had already been removed, back to the disused sanitarium. The cleanup had taken place. The news quietly, almost embarrassedly released a story about another attempted attack on the facility, resulting in the injury and death of a few guards, nothing major. But under the surface information and concern were flying back and forth. There was plenty of instances of both Micheal's and Lexx's addresses showing up in the system. They were planning something, though exactly what it was was well hidden.

The program ran, slowly decrypting individual Office and Word files he had plucked from the servers, looking for certain keywords and prioritizing all depending on content. Out of several thousand emails and documents, a few were rising to the top. Micheal began opening them and flitting through, rapidly darting his eyes back and forth, getting a general gist. Micheal's eyes widened as he saw what the email was actually about. It was a cash order, a rather large amount of money was being routed through several placeholder accounts, and ultimately ending up in the coffers of a municipal demolition company.

A number of other documents were done. Acting on a hunch, Micheal ran a keyword search on the company's name. Two more documents came up. One was another money order going through to them, the third was only partially translated. Running over most of the gibberish, Micheal's eye was caught by a half-translated address. The few characters that had been decoded gave the impression that it was Lexx's house. Micheal put two and two together. He immediately brought up another window, this one a web-browser, an email window already set up to deliver to Lexx. With a few keystrokes, he changed the message from a general warning to a far more specific one: Her house was in danger, get out and get everyone else out of there.

Glancing briefly over a few more documents confirmed Micheal's suspicions. Maccadyne was moving. He sent out the email to Lexx, then sent out a chain email to a number of other contacts, warning them to get off the radar if at all possible. No sooner had he sent everything out when there came a knock at the door. It was a very firm knock. Micheal closed the browser and shut the desktop down. The knocks came again, rather more insistent this time. He could hear someone talking loudly and forcefully on the other side of the door.

"Hello? Is there a problem?" Micheal asked, calmly unlocking the studio apartment door.

"Micheal! Open up, we know you're in there!"

"Okay, okay, hold on," Micheal opened the door, nodding his head politely to the police officer, "So, what can I do for you fine gentlemen?"

"Micheal Wescott?"

"Maybe, depends on who wants to know."

"We'd like to ask you a few questions concerning your affiliations with Alexxia Beltran and Drusilla Gahn."

"Who and who? Never heard of them."

"Regardless, we would like you to come down to the station and answer a few-"

"I'm really sorry, but you caught me at a bad time, I was just heading out. Maybe sometime later?"

"Micheal, if you would calm down we can-"

Micheal had been watching, he saw the hand reaching for the belt, it was now or never. Being able to remotely access secure networks with his mind was only half of what Micheal was capable of. A well rounded self-defense training, combined with the more physical side of his abilities came into play next. Micheal focused, bending his will towards making a very deep impression on his local space-time geography.

It was an incredibly useful ability. The cops' movements slowed to a crawl. Micheal's own movement slowed a little as well, but he was still experiencing time at least five times faster than those around him. As one officer's hand moved towards his gun at a glacial pace, Micheal stepped between them at nearly normal speed. The other officer began to react, very very slowly. Micheal easily slid past the arm crawling outward to stop him and jogged briskly to the window a the end of the hallway. He saw three more policemen coming up the stairs, step by seven-second step. A flick of the lock, an opening of the window and he was out on the fire escape, five stories up.

Already Micheal was beginning to feel stretched thin. Maintaining that sort of temporal imbalance played merry hell on his body, and he knew his joints and muscles would deeply punish him later for this. Right now they would just have to bear it until he made his escape. Another story up and he felt one of his calves begin to sing in agony, protesting the abuse it felt it should be going through in a more temporally uniform state. Reckoning he had enough of a head start, Micheal relaxed his focus. The chorus of bass notes and rumblings rose until they once again became the normal sounds of a Chicago mid-morning. Micheal was already on the roof when the police discovered the open window and started clambering onto the fire escape. A running jump and he was onto the adjacent tenement. Without breaking stride he jumped to the third building. At some point he would head back to ground level and disappear into a tangle of alleys leading deep inside a nearby Mexican neighborhood.

Micheal had made his escape, and until he got some calls, he could only hope others had been as lucky.

----------

Lexx didn't start crying until Dusty spoke again. Until that point she had been content to lay unfeeling, hands pinned above her head, face to the side, looking at nothing, feeling various fluids start the slow drying process all over her body. She had reached a relatively happy medium, a very nice sense of disconnect where she could hold all sorts of thoughts and scenarios that had no connection to her current situation. Then she heard Dusty's words and simply broke down.

"Ah hell yeah. Got 'er all loosened up for you, Barry."

The tears came suddenly, a torrent, as if they had just been switched on. There was no more sound than a few hitches and sobs, but her entire body convulsed with her misery. Wasn't it supposed to be over now? She had been raped, had gone through the pain, and now had the proper feelings of being entirely used up and worthless. Weren't they supposed to leave her alone so she could slowly try to rebuild her shattered self-esteem in private? Lexx had given it all for her first rape, and now... no, she simply didn't have any energy left for another.

She sure as hell couldn't fight any more. She was hurting now, but she knew it would hurt a lot more once she was penetrated again. Still, technically it didn't hurt nearly as much as having her kneecap shattered with a crowbar, so she should be able to get through it, right? No, no, this hurt worse in an entirely different way. As bad as her knee being destroyed was, she could at least scream and distract herself from the reality of it. This wasn't just physical pain. Screaming would only make it worse.

Lexx's sobs increased as the walls of denial crumbled. She had been raped, and she was about to be raped again, and there was nothing she could do about it. It was cold in here, but she was sweating. She hurt all over, and she knew she was going to hurt a lot more in a moment. She was nothing but a tool for someone else's sick, dirty urges, she-

"Excuse me, what the fuck is going on here?"

Madness, that had to be it. Lexx opened her eyes, craning her head to see, trying to blink away the tear-streaks in her vision. Still blurry, but what little she could see matched the voice... it was Rose.

"Shee-it, you gonna offer us a two-for-one, babe?" Dusty asked, giving Rose a once over.

Rose didn't respond, she was looking at the tripod-mounted machine, "I wonder if this is causing all the problems."

Lexx opened her mouth to respond, to get everything out. She didn't say a word. How could she? She was so focused on reaching a mental state far away from what was actually happening that she had relinquished control of her own body in the process. Rose didn't needed the advice anyways, she picked up the object, folding the tripod's legs together. She swung the entire device against the wall, grinning as it shattered into several dozen pieces. "There we go!"

"What the fuck bitch? You crazy?"

"Did you do that to her?" Rose asked Dusty.

"Bitch please, you wanna come in and join?"

"Sure thing, I was in the mood for a bit of penetration."

From the depths of her trenchcoat, Rose produced a set of keys. It took four tries before she found one that fit the lock on the cell door. Dusty had stood up, a look of disbelief on his face. His pants were still unbuckled, seminal fluid forming several dark spots on his underwear. Barry and Spencer were still on the ground, holding Lexx down even if it was entirely unnecessary by this point. Rose stepped forward, ignoring them and focusing on Dusty. It was such a quick and elegant movement, her hand darted in and out like a snake, pressing against the center of his throat. Dusty looked shocked for a second, staggered backwards a few steps, the collapsed with a choking gurgle.

Rose whipped aside her trenchcoat and drew a long, curved sword. The blade flashed in the dim prison lights, and the pressure on Lexx's wrists and ankles disappeared. Spencer and Barry fell to the floor, clawing at the large gaps in their throats and making their own gurgling sounds. Lexx immediately curled up into a fetal position, one hand reaching weakly for the elastic hem of her pants while the other wrapped tightly around her abdomen. She wondered if it was somehow possible to vomit the sperm out.

More gurgles, more thumps. A droplet of something wet and hot landed on Lexx's cheek. At least her back wasn't bleeding too badly. Thoughts were running together then separating in ways she felt weren't wholly correct. Eventually Rose's voice broke through the fog, "Lexx, can you stand?"

What was that even supposed to mean? How did it connect with anything that was going on?

"Lexx, can you stand?" Again.

Lexx gulped, if her face was so wet with tears, drool and snot, why was her throat so painfully dry? Two, three tries and something coherent came out, "Yeah... I think."

"Stand up."

"What?"

"Stand up. Just concentrate on putting your feet beneath you and using them to support your weight."

Stand up? Was Rose insane? She was just raped, how could she stand up when it felt like her legs were separated from the rest of her body by a black hole originating somewhere in her lower abdomen? Lexx experimentally pulled her knees up. She tried pushing herself up with her hands. No good there, her arms were loose rubber bands.

"Lexx, stand up. I know you can do this."

"I don't want to."

"Doesn't matter, you're going to stand up."

"Why?"

"Because it's something you can do."

"I can't."

"Bullshit."

Lexx tried again. Arms found some shreds of strength. She pushed herself up, made the mistake of looking down at her own body and fell back down again. She never thought she could look that disgustingly ugly. A strong hand caught the back of her neck before she hit the ground. "Jesus, you're torn up," Rose said.

"Today... really sucks," Lexx said dully.

"Come on, stand up," Rose said, pushing her back up to a sitting position.

"Can't you help me?"

"Nope, you're doing this on your own."

"You stopped me from falling back down."

"You've played enough video games. I'm your save spot. You made it to the sitting position, so I can restart you there if you fall down, but if you want to get further you're going to do it on your own."

Lexx's good leg had fallen asleep. It was an effort to remain on her hands and knees. Lexx gave a deep snort then spat a glob of mucous on the prison floor. That felt sort of good, actually. At least her throat was a little more moist now. Okay then, pushing some feeling into her leg now. Somehow Lexx found herself slowly standing up. She wobbled in place for a moment, reaching out to the bars for support. Rose made no attempt to stop her. Lexx looked around the cell, wordlessly noting the five corpses, and one living person hacking up his lungs in the corner.

"Why?"

"They fucking raped you, Lexx."

"Not them... not Heavy, he was sorta cool."

"He let them."

"It was..." Lexx waved a hand vaguely, "That machine... it made them..."

"No," Rose said, "They still made their own decisions. He could have helped you, but he didn't."

"Okay," Lexx said, she didn't feel like she had the energy to defend the fat corpse. "Why'd you let him live then?"

Rose smiled, she pulled out a knife and wrapped Lexx's fingers around the handle, "For you."

Lexx nearly dropped the knife, but Rose held it firmly in her hand. "No... I can't."

"You can and you will, Lexx."

"Why? Will it somehow magically make me better?"

"Of course not, even I'm not stupid enough to think you'll be fine after that. But it will give you a little happiness."

"I'm not a murderer. I'm not like you."

Rose shrugged, "Maybe not exactly like me, but I've seen it in you before Lexx. Maybe I'm a little further gone by society's standards, but like me, you need this sort of release. Maybe not as bad, but it's there, you want to remove life from those who don't deserve it. Do it, give it to someone that's fucking earned it. You want this, Lexx."

"Why aren't there police all over in here?"

"Don't worry about it. You've got the man who raped you right there. You're in control now. Do something about it, stop him from ever doing it again. Make him incapable of hurting you anymore."

Lexx stared down at Dusty. He was finally catching his breath, staring up at the two women in fear. Rose stepped forward and kicked him harshly across the face. "Come on Lexx," she snapped, "I don't have all day for this, seriously."

One limping step forward, then another. Carefully Lexx fell to her knees. There was no emotion in her face, no true form of thought in her head as she raised the knife. The knife fell, Dusty screamed. Lexx twisted the knife, directly in the man's groin. Fabric and flesh were more difficult to cut through than she thought. Rose kicked Dusty in the face twice more when he struggled too much. "Hold on," Lexx said, her voice flat.

"What?"

"I want to see his face."

The knife moved, now covered in blood. Rose put a knee on Dusty's neck, holding him firmly in place, reducing his breath to a pained whistle. Lexx shifted position and stuck the knife in him again. Slowly, carefully. This time through his closed eyelid. She felt the resistance to the blade, ignored the choking screams. She continued pushing until it looked like the blade had sunk in about an inch, then twisted. Then she repeated the process.

"Now the legs."

"Come on Lexx, can't you just kill him?"

"The legs."

"Fine, fine."

The ankles took the most work. Dusty was now mad with pain, thrashing weakly as Rose sat on his legs. Lexx sawed back and forth, one ankle, then the other, hamstringing him. Finished, she handed the knife back to Rose. She was halfway through standing up when the nausea truly hit. Lexx doubled over, fell painfully back to her knees and vomited up a thin stream of transparent bile. Her stomach contracted again, this time in a dry heave. And a third time. Once again the switch was hit and Lexx erupted in tears. A sob transformed seamlessly into laughter, then back into a sob a moment later.

Lexx allowed herself to be helped back to her feet by Rose.

"I... I..."

"No, don't talk about it," Rose said, "We're getting out of here."

"Why did you...?"

"Come for you? You have obligations. You still owe my boss a favour, and you can't do that rotting in a jail cell."

Lexx laughed, it wasn't a very happy laugh. She paused halfway out the door. "M...my cane."

"I think I know where they keep those things, we'll swing by there on the way out. Come on, we don't have much time."

"What do you mean? And where is everyone?"

"There's pretty much nobody here," Rose said, "I think Veronica had something to do with that. She somehow fucked with people's heads so that most left the station, that way no one would come to help you."

"Why... why didn't she kill me?"

"I know why, but why didn't you kill him?"

"I'm not a murderer... I mean..."

"You are a murderer Lexx, I can see it in your eyes."

"What the fuck? Do I have 'murderer' stamped there or something?"

"I just know these things, Lexx. Now why didn't you kill him?"

"I..." Lexx hesitated, then broke into tears again, "I was doing like you said... I made him harmless..."

"That was pretty brutal," Rose admitted.

"Rose... I... thanks..."

"Don't thank me," Rose said, "You did that yourself."

"What?"

"If you couldn't get back on your feet back there, I would have just turned around and walked right back out. I like you because you're strong, Lexx."

"I don't feel strong. I feel... damaged."

"You look damaged too. But you're still walking."

"I was raped."

Rose hesitated. She looked into Lexx's eyes, "Yes... you were."

Lexx nodded, "Everything's changed. How pathetic is that? I... I wanted change, and now it's come... and I want to go back."

"You can't, Lexx. Now lets go, our ride's waiting."

[Oni Koneko Damien]

Okay, boatload of posts because I haven't been keeping up with updates here...

Chapter 4

The Holy Name Catholic Cathedral rose stark and gray in the partly cloudy morning. Veronica sneered up at the arches and expanses of beautiful stained glass. A small crowd made their way out the doors, none of them recognizing the head of PR at Maccadyne in a pair of sunglasses, despite the limousine parked nearby. Such things weren't an uncommon sight. Sunday Mass was a perfect time to arrange this meeting. "Arrange" was a strong word, it made it sound like the other half of negotiations even knew a meeting was going to take place.

Veronica walked through the massive double-doors of the cathedral. Her skin failed to hiss and spit upon entering such an allegedly holy place. The sunlight filtering through the stained glass windows did not suddenly dim. Birds and bats did not fly away shrieking in terror. In fact nothing happened to suggest her entrance was a blasphemy. Two heads did turn at her presence though. One turned to the other and nodded quickly, the other disappeared, walking briskly through one of the side doors. There were still a few knots of people left over from mass. Veronica took a seat in one of the middle pews, removing her sunglasses and waiting patiently.

Footsteps, someone stood beside her, Veronica didn't look up. The dry sound of metal sliding against metal, followed by a sharp click drew her attention. Veronica's eyes raised, she saw the silenced pistol drawn from the smart suit of one of the cathedral's caretakers, a giant of a man with short trimmed hair. "You know that won't do any good against me, I'll always come back," Veronica said, "And you know that I wouldn't come in here unless I had a good reason to want to talk to you."

"I also know," the man said in a deep, resonant voice, "That while this won't send you back to the Pit you crawled out of, it will at least slow you down. Why are you here?"

"A mutual concern. Get Wallace, now."

"Doubtful, and you forget where you are, you have no power over us fiend. You'll tell me, I'll tell him, and he'll decide if it's worth talking to you directly."

"Fine, Chad, enjoy your delusions," Veronica said and stood up.

"Excuse me, the exit's that way," Chad said.

"I'm not leaving yet," Veronica said, walking towards the altar, "Not until I speak to Wallace."

"Leave now," Chad said, "Or I'll remove your blasphemy from this building myself."

"Please, you're as impotent as the hollow god you follow," Veronica said, running her hand sensuously along the alter, letting a single finger linger on the corner, twisting it back and forth on the hardwood.

Chad raised the gun, "Last chance, demon."

"Do your worst, slave."

"Chad, ease off," another voice said.

Chad didn't reply, he merely lowered his gun right away, but still kept it pointed down at the ground, ready to be used at a moment's notice. Veronica looked over to Duncan Wallace, still in his priestly vestments. Not as tall as Chad, but a little more broad. Long hair and slight goatee contrasting with Chad's clean shaven, close-cropped hair. "You know," Veronica laughed, "I've always wanted to make a joke about you two, something about how Catholics and Jehovah's Witnesses shouldn't be this close."

"There are no denominations among us, we're beyond that," Duncan said.

"Of course you are, all devoted slaves to the God of Delegation. Eagerly goose-stepping to the voices in your heads, thinking you're doing the Divine Will of something that is too incompetent to make a human body correctly-"

"Yes, and I'm sure you have all sorts of scathing criticisms of the Divine Voice lined up and ready to go," Duncan said, "Surely enough to raise the ire of any believer, press buttons to goad them into the frothing rage of a righteous zealot. Yet they won't work on me, and you know it, so why are you even bothering?"

"Because it seems to be irking your crony, Chad over there, and that just awakens such fluttering joy in me."

"And you know that a single threatening movement from you will guarantee that Chad will empty a clip into you, then probably two more to be sure. Of course you'll be able to recreate your body, but surely it's not an easy or painless process. So what is so pressing that you'd risk that inconvenience and come here?"

"Sir, she is from the Pit," Chad protested, "Anathema to the Divine Voice, I strongly urge-"

"...me to remain aware that everything she says is probably a lie?" Duncan said, "Have faith, Chad, at least have faith that I know how to do the job the Divine Voice has chosen me for. Veronica... or perhaps I should call you by your true name, Ose-Dantalion? Why are you here?"

"Like I told Chad over there, a mutual concern. Something that threatens both of us. Something which, to put it bluntly, overrides the animosity between us, at least for the moment."

"Nothing can override that," Chad growled, "Lucifer is, was, and always shall be the primary antagonist to God, and you as his servant fall into that same category."

"I'm not a servant of Lucifer, you presumptuous fucking twit," Veronica said with dismissive wave, "Duncan, didn't you ever teach your yappy little puppy the finer points of Hell?"

"It makes no difference if you think you operate independently of your dark lord," Duncan said, "Lucifer is the master of deceit, and being one of his spawn, born in his realm, you are party to his unholy rebellion. But we're not going to solve anything with a debate on semantics. What is this 'pressing concern' of yours?"

"Sadly enough, one of your kind. Homo Sapiens, God's little wonder-children. Among the pathetic mass of inconsequential sockpuppets, one has become... concerning. To put it a way you guys could relate to: He's eating from the Tree of Eternal Life."

"What?"

"Want it in simpler words? A human has somehow found out how to rip knowledge and power directly from me and other beings like me. Do I need to outline the consequences of this sort of power? Like what would happen if he set his sights on one of your masters?"

"What are you talking about?" Chad asked, intrigued despite himself.

"We may not see eye to eye," Veronica said, "But one thing I think we can all agree upon is that Man was not meant to have the power of God."

"You propose an alliance?" Duncan asked.

"Not at all," Veronica laughed, "Your uptight masters would never allow such a thing, and I'd be far too embarrassed to admit public affiliation with you morons. No, I simply propose an information exchange. I give you what I know about this human that wants to recreate the Tower of Babel, and if you happen to remove this threat to the 'Divine Plan' before me, I certainly won't hold it against you."

"Why should we trust anything you say?" Chad asked.

"You shouldn't," Veronica said. She reached into her smart business coat, pulling out a thick envelope and placing it on the corner of the altar, "You'll find all the information in there. You can do all the tests you want to verify my claims. But remember that every moment lost is more time for him to gather power and strike again, and who knows if he'll choose a demon or an angel as his next target?"

The giant double-doors slammed ominously as Veronica left. For a few minutes afterward the only sound as the tear of an envelope opening, and the quiet shuffle of paper. "Sir?" Chad eventually asked.

"What do you think?" Duncan asked.

"She's lying. Even if she's telling the truth, there's a lie in there, or multiple lies, or maybe a smaller truth hidden in a shell of lies."

"Obviously. So what do you think we should do?"

Chad took a deep breath, "What can we do? What would the Divine Voice have us do? Ignore it? It's our job to do anything but. Investigate it and risk falling into whatever trap she's obviously setting up?"

"My thoughts precisely," Duncan said, "Call the others. We'll start the investigation of this 'Drusilla Gahn' immediately."

"Sir?"

"What choice do we have? According to this, there's another demon involved. An unknown one, she promises to stand aside if we want to destroy it. If this is true, we cannot pass this opportunity up."

"Even if it's faulty information?"

"Then we'll have to find that out. Something does stand out though: Apparently this Drusilla... or 'Mael' as she's called, has associated with... him."

"Him?"

"Viktor."

Chad paled, "The Defiler?"

"Call the others."

"Yes sir."

Neither Chad nor Duncan noticed the slight discolouration near the corner of the altar. Where Veronica's finger had lingered, a small, almost imperceptible drop of blood. A few seconds later the droplet was absorbed, disappearing silently into the woodwork.

------------

"Shrives? Veronica here, meet me in my office, thirty minutes. No, I don't care, get your ass over here, I've got a new set of files for you to work on."

Veronica disconnected and leaned back in her seat, watching the tightly packed mass of human achievement slide by the car outside. The day was going rather well, actually, considering how far behind she had considered things. Hopefully the information she had left behind for the Divine Order would scare them into taking care of an annoyance for her. If not, she had already set things up so that they could be used productively in other ways as well.

It had been ten days exactly since the disappearance of Lexx and Micheal. The timing overall was infuriating, nearly as much as the failure of everyone involved to simply do their jobs and apprehend the two. Since that day, Veronica had been necessarily distracted to make several public appearances in both France and Germany, to promote the acquisition of several new subsidiary companies in the former and to put in a word against certain restrictive legislation currently on the table in the latter. Before she could return, there was also a brief trip to India to make a public announcement disputing the allegations that child labour had been used in several factories with strong ties to Maccadyne. It was the stuff that dictated a majority of her public time, which made the fact that this was pressing even more into her schedule all the more annoying.

Shrives was already well aware of Veronica's wrath, and probably living in fear of what was going to happen to him next. The Chicago Chief of Police had been completely under her thumb now for several years, an invaluable tool for not only diverting attention from any of the less outwardly legal actions of the corporate headquarters, but also pointing Veronica towards a constant supply of human volunteers for certain experiments and research that no one would miss or ask questions about. Now he was in the 'dog-house', so to speak. Both Lexx and Micheal had fallen off the radar, and in the ten days she had been otherwise occupied with company matters, nothing had been found regarding either. What angered her most was the lurking suspicion that this otherwise forgettable matter might actually turn into something of a threat to her.

The main evidence for it lay in Lexx's escape from the holding cell. Though it would not be prudent to admit it to Shrives, Veronica was partially at fault for that. She had used some of her own powers of influence to make sure the station remained mostly empty while Lexx suffered. At least she had suffered before escaping. What was disturbing was the manner of her escape. Another, as of yet unidentified human was involved, and the human wasn't alone. Security footage showed that they both entered an unmarked vehicle, which was apparently driven by a third, unseen person. Through her own means Veronica was able to shed some light on that third unknown. The second, the girl that helped Lexx escape was Rose, the now infamous Burger Blitz Slayer. Veronica didn't much care about that, a headline-generating serial killer wasn't really her concern unless it directly affected company objectives.

It was Rose's employer that concerned Veronica. His identity was still unknown, but a certain lingering aura, perhaps deliberately left before, told her all she needed to know. Rose, and now probably Lexx, were working for a demon.

Veronica considered herself the territorial sort. In fact much of the reason she had ended up on earth was because she had even more of an expansionist drive than most of her kin, and the place she hesitantly called 'home' was simply too small and too crowded for her tastes. Why waste eternity fighting to be a baron of Hell when, with the right application of power and influence, you could become the emperor of Earth? Of course she wasn't the only one here, Veronica was no fool. But so far potential competition had been too far away, or too focused on other interests to pose much of an immediate threat to her.

But another, unknown demon in this very city? Interfering with her interests, no less? Every paranoia center in Veronica's alien mind was firing off, and the whole situation was rapidly heading towards the closest equivalent she had to a headache. Shrives needed to double-time his efforts, as Veronica already had too little time to devote to this distraction. Running the public face of the company was time-consuming enough. Personally supervising the continuing research in the basement, where the majority of the international corporation's profits were directed? She didn't have time for this. The mass of humanity lacked the cohesion, motivation and singularity of purpose to change the world for the better, and Veronica's research was aimed at changing that.

------------

It billed itself as the best Philly cheesesteak joint in Chicago, near the corner of Belmont and Clark. Like any restaurant worth its reputation, its walls were decorated with the pictures and signed testimonies of the various celebrities that had stopped by. Right now it was rather sparsely populated. A party of four ravers in one corner, eating and laughing, winding down after a particularly successful club night. Two random tourists at another booth. And near the front a single black man in a hoodie, quietly eating by himself.

For the moment Micheal looked every bit like the stereotypical black criminal. His hood was pulled up tight, mostly obscuring his face. His pants were somewhat loose-fitting and nondescript. He got all the looks he deserved for his appearance. It didn't matter, he payed for his meal in cash and wasn't causing trouble. Micheal found it helped to remain inconspicuous by adopting a conspicuous way of life that was at odds with what one was normally associated with. The police were on the lookout for Micheal Wescott, well-spoken hacker and conspiracy theorist. What they weren't looking for was Random Gangsta #45229.

Racial stereotypes could be quite beneficial when you used them correctly.

Someone walked by outside the window. One of the Gifted, Micheal could feel the strange rush of power even through the window. The sudden, brief drop in his stomach, as if he were just cresting the top of a steep roller-coaster, leading into the black dip of a crevasse in the local reality, created by someone else who had the ability to manipulate these sorts of things. Micheal tensed, whoever it was also felt it. A short man, almost hilariously clad in a tweed suit and bowler cap. Glancing briefly inside Philly's Best, the man altered his course and entered the restaurant. Stereotype 1, meet Stereotype 2.

The man bustled in and sat next to Micheal, increasing the awkwardness of the situation by a factor of ten or more. For a while neither said a word, both staring wordlessly at the nighttime view of Belmont Av., limited as it was by the overhanging tracks of the El. Finally the man spoke, a mere two words, "Lexx Beltran?"

Micheal looked over, "No."

"You know her, yes?" he actually had an English accent, unbelievable.

"Would you believe me if I said 'no'?"

"No."

"Then I don't have an answer you'll believe," Micheal said and stood up.

"I want to help get her to safety," the man said.

"Then why not ask her?" Micheal asked.

"She's very hard to find, so I thought I'd ask you instead."

"Why? What would that accomplish?"

"You know her, yes?"

"Do you know me?"

"No."

"Then why would you assume I know her?"

"Because I could feel it. You're one of the steps I have to take to reach her. I didn't know you were involved until I passed by here. All I knew was that somewhere in this vicinity was the next step I had to take."

"Who the hell are you?"

"Bernard," the man extended a hand, "Bernard Anderson, and you would be...?"

Micheal shook the hand, "I'm someone a little too suspicious to be giving my name to a stranger who comes in at random and fails to explain themselves."

"I thought I already had," Bernard said, taking off the bowler hat and revealing a receding patch of dyed black hair, "I'm looking for Lexx, I wish to take her to safety. From what I hear she's rather wanted in this city."

"Yes, and how do I know that you're not working with those who want her? They want me too, you realize."

Comprehension dawned, "Ah yes! Then you must be Micheal? The third part of the criminal triad?"

"A regular Holmes you are," Micheal said. The 'triad' was what the news referred to the alleged eco-terrorists who made the strike at Maccadyne Incorporated. All three missing and still presumed at large. Micheal didn't know the exact location of either Lexx or Mael, but he was capable of getting into contact with both in short order, in a sense. "That still doesn't answer my question."

"I'm with the Summer Festival Committee," Bernard said, "It was a close vote, considering Lexx's current position, but they wish to offer sanctuary to both her and Mael."

Micheal stopped, "The Summer Festival?"

"Yes, you may not know it, but-"

"I do know," Micheal said, "You guys run some sort of energy nexus up there under the guise of a renaissance faire. I've never had the time to go up and check it out for myself."

"Both Lexx and Mael were regular visitors before their remarkable changes. Due to their positive history with the Festival, it is the wish of the committee that they both be offered positions and responsibilities to the festival grounds."

"That's wonderful, but again there's the whole matter of proof. Forgive me for not being the trusting sort, I'm kind of on the run from the police."

"But of course," Bernard said, "If you could take me to see one or both of them, I could put them in contact with other members of the committee-"

"No, it doesn't work that way," Micheal said, "I'm sure you'll follow me, and I can't really stop that. But if you want to see them, that's the way you're going to do it, on your own time, and I will be watching you the entire time."

"Thank you so much for your help, Micheal, this is a matter of great interest to us."

"I'm sure it is," Micheal said, "Now why not show some proper gratitude and pick up the tab?"

[Oni Koneko Damien]

Chapter 5

"Lexx, just sit back down, no one's following us," Rose said.

"Are you sure?" Lexx asked, "I think I've seen that car before."

Rose rolled her eyes, "That's because it's a police car, there's lots of them in the city, strangely."

"Exactly, police, just like the ones that want to catch me. They even have pictures of me on the internet... and the TV, so I'm told."

"That's why you have a hoodie," Rose pointed out, "Look, we're almost there. Sit down and don't be an idiot for, oh, five more minutes. It's the least you can do for us."

"Do you think Micheal's going to make it?" Lexx asked, "I... I don't think he should have come out. I've got a personal stake in this trip, he shouldn't risk-"

"Would you please shut up? Unlike you, he managed to avoid getting arrested. I wouldn't worry about him at all," Rose grumbled.

Unsatisfied, but having no comebacks to Rose's points, Lexx allowed herself to sag down in the seat. It was next to impossible to be petulant in a limousine without appearing highly childish and spoiled. Even her attempt at angrily slumping failed as the rich Corinthian leather seats softly gave way to her slight form. Rose was right, after all. Not only had she and her still unseen boss helped Lexx escape from prison a week and a half ago, but they had given her a place to stay during that time. Of course both refused to let her out in public, and this trip was probably only granted because Rose was just about ready to kill Lexx for her case of cabin fever.

The 'apartment' they were staying at was a town house, about thirty stories above the ground. Lexx's room was about four times as large as the one she had shared with Mael, yet it was all her own. That was good, the first two days out since the prison break, she had wanted very much to be alone. She would have preferred being with Mael, but since that wasn't an option, she instead spent most of the time napping. Rose and her boss, Mr. Eisei seemed to understand, though the subject was never really brought up aside from Rose's brief admission of it during the jail-break.

Lexx strongly suspected she was still very much in denial over the whole situation. She would like to have claimed the two days were spent thinking about it, trying to find some mental stability over the whole situation, but that was untrue. The time had been spent actually running over the plotlines of several dozen horror movies, entertaining herself by trying to recreate sound-effects from her favourite video games and trying to come up with fun stories inside her head.

The walls of denial had shaken a bit when Lexx took her first shower at Mr. Eisei's place, taking extra time to clean between her legs, being doubly careful due to the bruising. Still, Lexx managed not to think about where that bruising had come from, and what might still be left inside of her. When she had finally emerged for more than just food, her first stilted conversation with Rose had been almost businesslike. Rose had been polite, patient, but ultimately distant. Lexx could see that she was a somewhat valuable resource to Rose, and thus merited fragile treatment for a fragile emotional state. This had probably served only to increase her state of denial over the whole thing, maybe it would have been better if Rose had simply bluntly told her she had been raped.

As it was, Lexx figured she was distracting herself from that issue. She had wanted to see Mael, the request was repeatedly denied. Same for requests to see Micheal. Same for requests to see even Mr. Eisei. Though she lived with the man, Lexx never once caught a glimpse of him. When Rose was out running errands, which was fairly often, Lexx seemed to have the whole apartment to herself, aside from the one constantly locked room. It wasn't as good as it sounded. La Casa de Eisei was a very uncomfortable place to live. The decor was the height of Spartan, and even if it weren't, the lack of lighting would render any decorations mostly invisible. Lexx ended up spending a majority of the time in front of the computer, growing ever more impatient.

She realized she could have left at any time, really. The door out was never locked, and she could easily get out to the balcony, focus on the street below, and traverse thirty stories in an instant without having to worry about that pesky terminal velocity. Lexx didn't simply leave because, on some level, she realized how futile that would be. Sure, she could probably find her way to Micheal, or Mael, or Sera and Aaron, but what would be the point? Any visitation would have to be highly covert due to her wanted status, and where would she hole up afterward? She didn't have any experience with being a fugitive, really. Lexx wasn't sure she could survive being homeless.

And besides, as uncomfortable as it was, the apartment was safe. Mr. Eisei was rich, of that there was no doubt. The building itself had the best security, and the computer was all but untraceable, allowing Lexx to maintain a rather tenuous connection with the outside world. Of course Micheal was never on. Paranoid at the best of times, now that he too was on the run an online appearance by him would be out of the question. As for Viktor, Lexx couldn't find anything. What she had found, though, was an interesting email from the Summer Renaissance Festival. Apparently she had inadvertently netted herself a job. Now if only she weren't a wanted criminal, she would be set, at least for the summer. The only other direct communication was an email from her sister. Lexx still had no idea how she had been found, she was not a big fan of her sister and was perfectly content with no communication whatsoever. Still, apparently Jessica was in town, and would love nothing more than to have lunch with Lexx and talk about Jessica's new outlook on life.

"We're here," Rose said unnecessarily.

Lexx watched out the polarized window as the limousine pulled into the underground parking structure connected to the Illinois Masonic Medical Center. It was the one request for a trip out that had been granted. Lexx wanted to see Sera, and some brief research on Rose's part revealed that she was currently at this hospital, though why she was still here after a week and a half was unknown. Amazingly enough, Rose had even managed to get into contact with Micheal, who had agreed to meet them here.

The limo stopped in front of the sliding visitor doors, and there was a click as the car doors unlocked. Lexx opened the door and put a foot out. Pausing, she looked back at Rose questioningly. Rose shook her head, "Your family, we'll be keeping an eye out here."

Lexx nodded and exited the vehicle. Her cane clicked softly on the pavement, echoing slightly in the enclosed structure. She got inside the doors and looked up at the signs. Inpatient surgery, that was what she was looking for. Lexx really didn't like the sound of that. As she walked down the hall, a nurse gave her cane a slightly pitying look. With her hair as short as it was, Lexx probably looked like a recovering cancer patient. With a start she realized she wasn't doing a very good job of concealing her identity, and pulled her hood up.

At this time at night, there were few people in the reception area and waiting room. Lexx cast a glance around, not recognizing anyone. She wondered if she should check in at reception, or just make an official looking beeline for room 220, when someone called out softly, "Lexx."

Was it that black guy over there? Lexx's eyes widened as she realized it was Micheal, in a hoodie, looking more... gangsta than she had ever seen him before. Hobbling over quickly, Lexx embraced Micheal, feeling the warmth even through the hoodies both of them were wearing. "Oh god I missed you!"

Micheal was smiling when the embrace finally broke, "How are you doing?"

"Shitty. Really fucking shitty."

"I heard you and the Burger Blitz Slayer made quite an impact downtown."

Lexx opened her mouth, but found no words coming out. She shut it again and bit her lip. "You okay?" Micheal asked, suddenly concerned.

"No," Lexx whispered, "I'm not fucking okay. I'm on the run, holed up with a mass murderer, my mom's in the hospital, the love of my life is... is a fucking vegetable... and I'm... I was..."

Yes. Denial. Lexx couldn't say it, wouldn't admit it.

Micheal hugged her again, "I'm so sorry hon. I didn't expect it to be like this."

"Fuck that," Lexx hissed, "We should have. We swatted Maccadyne, what the hell were we thinking? Of course they were going to flatten us."

"We had good reason to," Micheal pointed out, "You had a friend in there, I needed to show them they weren't invincible."

"Yeah, look where it got us."

"It got Aaron out, didn't it?" Micheal said, pointing to a man walking towards them, "Why don't you ask him yourself if what we did had no effect."

Lexx didn't asked, she merely transferred her embrace from Micheal to Aaron. "Oh my fucking god I'm so sorry," Crap, here came the tears, "This was all my fault."

Aaron immediately broke the hug and held Lexx at arm's length by her shoulders, "Lexx, no. I'm not letting you say that, not in my presence. Micheal explained to us, this was Maccadyne's doing, not you."

"But I-"

"But you what? Signed the work orders? Pushed forward an illegal demolition and arrest? Operated the wrecking ball? How could you do all that when you were too busy saving Sera from a four story fall and keeping her from getting hit on the head with a ton of bricks?"

Lexx once again found herself without words. Aaron's expression softened a little, "She's been wanting to see you, you and Mael. Whenever she's awake it's the first thing she asks for."

"Awake?"

Aaron looked at Micheal, who shook his head. Aaron pursed his lips, rubbing the his thick goatee, black with a smattering of wirey gray hairs. "We... the doctors found out why she had collapsed after you got her out of the apartment. Why she was in so much pain."

His tone of voice scared Lexx. It was that special tone used specifically to deliver bad news, very bad news. If you wanted to say 'happy birthday' to someone, you tried to find the exact opposite tone, because no matter how happy their birthday, if you told them in this tone, it would still shatter their world. Lexx waited, Aaron was still building up to it. He took a deep breath, "Sera has cancer."

Lexx's eye twitched. For a moment the statement made no sense. To her momentarily stunned brain, it made about as much sense as Aaron suddenly announcing, 'Sera has a pet ferret'. "What?" Lexx asked.

"It... it's something she had been covering up for a while. Months, probably, the pain it was causing, there was no way she couldn't have noticed..."

"Wait, how..." Lexx stopped, thinking back. Thinking about the past few weeks with Sera, the times she had suddenly bent over in pain, or complained about old cramps in her back. Now it seemed so obvious.

"According to the doctors, it had metastasized a while ago, but it had started in her back... on her spine."

"Her back," Lexx repeated, trying not to go numb.

Aaron looked away, "There's no cure."

That did it. Lexx went numb. The tears stopped and she looked up at Aaron, "How long?"

"A couple months. A few weeks, maybe less."

---------

Sera was in the hospital for two reasons. First because she was still recovering from multiple surgeries to remove the most painful of the cancerous nodules. Despite the foregone conclusion that she didn't have much to live, the doctors said the surgeries would end up lowering the amount of pain she was in. The second reason was that Sera had no home to go to. The city had compensated healthily for the 'sad, unforseeable accident', but new living arrangements hadn't been finalized yet.

Lexx stood at the edge of Sera's bed. Sera didn't look bad, just really tired. She wasn't even bald. With no chance of survival, she had refused any chemotherapy. Sera half opened her eyes and smiled weakly at Lexx, "Hi beautiful... thanks."

"Thanks? F...for what?" Lexx's voice hitched.

"For saving my life hon. You're one of the strongest people I've ever known, and tied for the best daughter I've ever had."

Lexx laughed, a few tears escaping in the process, "You... you're the best mommy I... oh fuck, I'm sorry, I need a tissue."

"Why so sad? You should be proud of yourself," Sera said.

"I just... it's not that," Lexx laughed again, ending a sob, "It's just... I feel so stupid..."

"Why?"

"It's nothing... well... it's something. It's... perspective... I guess. I'm just looking at things differently. I'm sorry Mommy I... how are you feeling?"

"Just tired. The meds really keep the pain down, it's amazing. They say I might walk in a few days... if I want to."

"Yeah," Lexx said, "I can see the... well..."

"Go ahead and say it," Sera said, "I'm dying."

"Goddamnit," Lexx hung her head.

"It's okay, I'm the one in the wrong here," Sera said, putting her hand over Lexx's. Now Lexx saw the subtle evidence of change, skin grown taut and dry with pain and exhaustion over the past few weeks. "I was the one who insisted on covering it up instead of just telling you two."

Lexx shook her head, "Don't worry about it, Mommy, it's in the past. We'll find a way to... to..."

Sera smiled, "Don't worry, you've already helped me live, hon."

"How fucking cliched," Lexx said, re-wiping her nose, "God, I guess it became a cliche for a reason."

"Lexx, you've already proven yourself a hero in my eyes-"

"I'm not a hero."

"You are, and there's one thing I want you to do for me, one thing I need."

Lexx looked at Sera, questioning.

"I want to see my other hero, before I... before I go."

----------

"I'm sorry Lexx," Micheal said, putting an arm around her shoulder.

"Sorry? What for? Did you give her the cancer?"

"No... no, I mean, I'm sorry you have to go through this," they were walking back towards the visitor entrance.

"Why feel sorry for me? I'm not the one dying of cancer," Lexx said.

"Still, you've got to be feeling-"

"Better. You know that? I'm feeling better," Lexx turned on Micheal, "I feel guilty for feeling that way, but I can't help it. I feel better because I just saw everything get put into perspective."

"Sorry," Micheal backed up a few steps, hands raised apologetically, "If you want to be alone or something, I'll just-"

"No, wait, I'm not mad at you. Get back over here you doofus, I like it when your arm's on my shoulder. What I mean is..." Lexx came to a stop, she looked at Micheal, "I've been in denial for a while now, and I think all of that just came crashing down... but in a good way. It... it sucks that it took my mommy dying to do it, but that's just the way it is. Micheal, I've been raped."

Micheal's face simply locked, "...What?"

"During that one day I spent in prison? That bitch, Veronica, visited. Made a whole lot of talk about how great she is and whatever. Then... I got raped, because she wanted me to suffer. And it fucking worked. She has a lot of power, and because I managed to piss her off, my home's gone, we're fugitives, I was raped, I don't even know what happened to you. But her timing was off, because now I understand."

"Understand what?"

"That when you really look at it, getting raped is really not that bad compared to slowly getting eaten alive by your own body because your cells have some faulty code."

"Jesus Christ Lexx, I'm so sorry."

"Quit being sorry," Lexx said, "At least I pretend to have some of the blame, something to be sorry for."

"Sorry about that."

"I fucking hate you."

"Lexx, are you, do you want...?"

"Help?" Lexx took a deep breath, "Yeah... yeah, I probably need it. Can I ask a huge favour? I'm kind of on a giddy shocked high right now, but when that wears off, well... I was still raped. I'm pretty sure I'm still damaged, mentally. Could you, like, be really patient with me if I occasionally flip out? I mean, it's more of a warning than a request: I'm probably going to flip out a lot while I deal with this."

"You don't even need to ask," Micheal said, "Yes, of course I'll help you deal with it. If necessary, I'll be a punching bag for your frustrations."

"I don't know," Lexx released a short laugh, "That's sort of creepy, you getting off on my therapy. Listen, there's one more thing."

"Yeah?"

"You know Sera's not really my biological mother, right?"

"What?"

"Yeah, my real mother's a fundamentalist bitch. Sera's been more of a mother than she ever was. Sera's... I'm sorry, I'm getting sappy, Sera's one of the best people I've ever known. I'd give my life for her, really. And right now she only wants one thing."

"What's that?"

"Mael."

Micheal smiled, "I think I can get you to him."

[Oni Koneko Damien]

Chapter 6

Rose felt around in her purse for some gum. Finding the package with a smile, she drew out a single stick of the official Black Black caffeinated gum and popped it in her mouth. The brand was a difficult one to come by, the only local supply being found at the Mitsuwa shopping center just outside Chicago. But it was decent tasting and gave quite a pleasant caffeine rush to boot, so Rose was willing to go out of her way to get it.

The parking structure was about half full, Mr. Eisei had no problem finding an out of the way location to place the limo while they waited. Rose had, partially out of boredom and partially because it was a good idea, gone for a walk, checking out the rest of the parking structure for any odd activity. Rose briefly considered going in to see Lexx, then decided against it. It was a family matter, and though Lexx was somewhat tolerable, Rose wasn't very interested in meeting any relatives.

Family, Rose realized she hadn't talked to her father in over a week. She made a mental note to give him a phone call later that night. Maybe she might even shoot him an email with a few recent pictures. Her mother? Well, Rose might visit the gravestone and express her feelings there, maybe. The only things preventing her from doing so were the fact that California was a long ways away, and Rose hated going to the bathroom in public settings, so decorating the gravestone as she felt it deserved would be unfitting.

Occasionally Rose questioned her position in life. Mentally, socially, academically. Four more months of work under Mr. Eisei, and he would fully cover costs for her remaining years at college and grad school. He would even go out of his way to make sure she would have a new ID and extra security just in case her old name got tied to the 'Burger Blitz Slayer'. Rose had to laugh at that. After everything she'd done, her great claim to fame was a moniker gained from slaughtering fat morons at a shitty restaurant. Often Rose's soul-searching was the result of an initially humourous examination of that basic fact.

Rose knew that by society's standards she was quite psychotic, and accepted it. Normal functioning people had some tripwire in their brain that prevented them from killing others with no ill effect. For whatever reason, Rose was missing that. She didn't kill because she got off on it, or because great stress or trauma forced her to it. She killed because it simply didn't cause any psychological damage to her, and it was profitable to do so. Case in point: Rose's mother had died as a result of a botched surgery. Rose hated her mother, despised the psychotic, intolerable bitch with all her being. She had been legally separated from her for several years when her mother died, but if she had to spend any length of time in the same space as her mother, Rose would have no qualms against killing her.

But she wasn't the slightest bit bitter that she hadn't been able to do so herself. Even if that psychotic bitch of a mother had made Rose's childhood a living hell, even if Rose had just the right sort of mental damage to be able to kill without a second thought, she didn't care that it was a botched surgery that did the job rather than her knife. Rose's mother needed to die, in her view. The means of death wasn't important, all that was important was that her mother needed to cease to be. Rose didn't have any psychological need to kill, she just had no aversion to it.

It was what Mr. Eisei had seen in her, and it was why she was now as financially stable as she was. Rose had no doubt she could easily make it in another field if she applied herself, hence the desire to get back into college in an art-related field, this was just the most convenient at the moment.

Rose heard the footsteps a few seconds before the cop rounded the corner. She had heard sirens outside a few minutes before, suspected something was happening, and was heading for the elevator when she was accosted.

"Excuse me, ma'am?"

Rose turned and smiled. The long duster she wore was quite effective at concealing the sword belted to her side, "Yes officer?"

"Sorry to bother ma'am, but you might want to clear out of here, we've received reports of a dangerous... wait..."

Rose's smile widened as she watched recognition dawn in the cop's eyes. He had seen her face before, probably on TV, in grainy security footage shown on news reports about massacres at certain restaurants. "A problem, officer?"

His hand went to his gun, "Alright lady, I'm going to have to ask you to turn around and put your hands on your head."

Rose shrugged and did as she was told, "I'm sure this won't take long, officer? I'm on a schedule."

"Just keep your hands where I can see them ma'am," the policeman's voice dropped as Rose heard the crackle of a radio, "Peterson here, I've detained a suspect on level 3, she matches the description of one of the targets."

"Detained?" Rose laughed, "That's a bit of a stretch, isn't it officer?"

There was a click, a weapon had been drawn. "Lady, I'm going to need you to stand still and do exactly as I say, understand?"

He was about four feet behind her, with the gun pointed directly at her. Rose turned, hands still on her head, "Come on man, we don't need to do this."

"Turn and face the wall!" The officer's voice was raising.

"You're not going to shoot me," Rose said, winking at him.

"Ma'am, just do as I say..."

"No," Rose said, maintaining eye contact. That was the key, "No, I don't think I will."

"Goddamnit lady, just-"

"Do shut up, your voice is annoying," Rose said and turned around. Peterson's hands shook, but his finger persistently refused to squeeze the trigger. Rose never broke eye contact as she closed the distance between them with a single step. She reached out and slipped a finger between the trigger and the handle, now preventing any attempt to squeeze off a shot. Her other fingers curled around the barrel. She pulled, there was resistance. "Let go."

Peterson let go. Rose took the weapon and examined it, taking the time to click the safety back on. She turned her attention back to the policeman, who was now shaking and sweating, "Having a problem?"

"Shit," he said, "...shit."

"Yeah, sucks to lose control like that, doesn't it? And I bet you didn't even believe in mind control." Rose transferred her gaze to Peterson's belt, "Ooh, I think I'll take this."

Rose held up Peterson's taser. She squeezed the handle and let out a delighted laugh as an arc of electricity snapped between the two metal prongs. "Oh man, you should thank Lexx for this. Normally I'd just kill you to make sure you're out of the way, but she told me about how this makes people spasm and I've been dying to see for myself. I'm not certain you're supposed to use it like this, but hey, at least you have a better chance of survival now."

The taser struck the side of Peterson's head as Rose gave it a roundhouse swing. The metal prongs easily punctured his scalp, and the electricity arcing between them immediately transferred from open air to his far more conductive blood. Officer Peterson collapsed with a grunt, his arms spasming madly at his sides and his jaws clacking harshly together. Rose examined the taser, one of the prongs had broken and the plastic casing was cracked. She shrugged and tossed it over her shoulder. She took out the pistol again, then nudged the body at her feet, "Hey, you still alive down there?"

The radio crackled with orders and questions. From the sound of it, there was a sting going on inside the hospital. Over the sound of the radio came unsteady breathing. Rose sniffed and wrinkled her nose, something stank of urine. "Oh dear, guess you are alive, at least for the moment."

She took the pistol and removed the magazine, then cleared the chamber. "You know, I hadn't touched one of these since my dad took me to hunter's education about... oh wow, ten years ago now. Guess some things never leave you. Okay, here's the deal, the pistol's going to be going that way, but the ammunition's going this way. When you feel up to it, you can grab them in whatever order you want, but it'll still give me some time."

As Rose walked away she pulled out her cell phone, "Hey boss. Yeah, you saw too? I dropped one on level 3, I'm going to head in and pick up Lexx and Micheal. Will you have to car ready? Okay boss, see you in a few."

---------

"Hey Lexx, there's been something I've been meaning to tell you, I'm being tailed."

"Is this some sort of furry thing, or just an extension of your natural paranoia?"

"No, this guy came up and talked to me," Micheal ran a hand through his hair, "He said he was from the Summer Festival and-"

"Wait, what?" Lexx asked, "I just got an email from them, about a job offer."

"Yeah, he was talking about that, you know what really goes on there, right?"

Lexx thought about it, "Umm, aside from a really bad pseudo-historical re-enactment, a bunch of smelly people in bad costumes, a handful of girls in totally historically accurate chainmail bikinis and a paper-thin excuse for public displays of affection? No, not really."

"Yeah, well, underneath the seedy underside is a conspiracy of sorts. The festival grounds are kind of a nexus of energy, and from what I hear, pretty much the entire festival is secretly dedicated to maintaining and feeding that energy well."

"Have you ever been there?" Lexx asked.

"Not for, oh, five or six years now," Micheal said, "Not since before my own awakening, so I don't really have any first hand knowledge of it. Apparently they're really strict about who gets in and out, supernaturally speaking."

"Cool, so maybe I should take this job offer?"

"Lexx, are you insane? You should be keeping under cover... even if it is with a mass murderer."

"What? Rose? I... I really don't know what to think of her at the moment."

"She's a murderer, but she's also keeping you alive, what else do you want to think?"

"I'm a murderer too," Lexx pointed out.

"What? What the hell are you talking about?"

Lexx sighed, "You know why they were keeping me in jail? Because I was accused of first degree murder of a security guard back at Maccadyne. And if I went to court over it, I'd be found guilty. I don't know what to think about it... I don't feel guilty about it... I-"

"Look, we can talk about it later," Micheal interrupted.

"Why not now?" Lexx demanded, "I feel like getting it off my chest."

"We can't talk now because right now we should be running," Micheal pointed.

Two cops were talking with the receptionist fifty feet up the hall, directly between Lexx and Mael and the exit. One looked up at the two of them and got the other cop's attention. "Oh shit," Lexx said as she turned and hobbled down the nearest side-hall with Mael.

There were shouts and running footsteps behind them. Lexx gave a silent thanks as she saw that a sign indicated a stairwell around the next corner of the hallway. She couldn't run with her bad knee, but with the occasional warping of space and her relative position within it, she was easily able to keep up with Mael. They rounded the corner and pushed open the stairwell doors just in time for two more police to rush out. One reacted faster than Lexx and grabbed her, dragging her down to the floor. Lexx thrashed and tried to push the weight up off her back, but was only rewarded with being driven into the ground again. One wrist was grabbed and dragged behind her back. Lexx heard the now familiar rattle of handcuffs.

Suddenly the weight was gone and the pressure on her wrist relieved. A second later and Micheal was helping her back to her feet, she noticed that both officers were down on the ground, groaning in pain. Whatever he had done, he had done it in the space of a second or two. They both rushed into the stairwell and slammed the double-doors behind them, just in time to bar the entry of the other two cops chasing them. Micheal threw himself against the door, holding it shut as the cops tried to push through. Lexx immediately fumbled at the doorhandle, breathing a sigh of relief as she found the locking mechanism was on their side. "It won't hold long," Micheal said as Lexx clicked the lock in place, "Let's get the fuck out of here."

They went down a level as the hammering against the doors behind them increased. As Micheal peeked out, checking for an ambush, Lexx heard a very unwelcome sound coming from upstairs: The sound of keys rattling in the lock. Micheal gave an all clear and they went through. Lexx hobbled out, then paused as she watched Micheal yank open a red cabinet. He dragged out a heavy firehouse and ran back to the stairwell doors with it. Working quickly he tied the push-bars of the door together with the hose, looping the canvas around several times and knotting it tightly. A moment later someone tried to yank the doors open from inside the stairwell. The knot held and the doors refused to open. Micheal grinned at Lexx, "It'll take more than keys to open that."

"They'll find another way down here," Lexx said frantically, "We still need to get the fuck out."

"Someone must have recognized us and called them," Micheal said as they made their way in the direction of the parking garage.

"Gee, ya'think?" Lexx replied.

They were at the doors when someone shouted behind them, "Freeze!"

"Fuck!" Micheal said, coming to a stop and glancing behind him.

"Come on!" Lexx said.

"Stop right there or I will shoot!" the officer shouted.

Lexx looked back. The female officer had her gun out and trained on them. She realized that even if she could get out of sight in a second, Micheal couldn't. "Okay!" Lexx said, "You win, let's talk."

"Shut up!" came the reply, "On the floor, both of you!"

"Wait, hold on," Lexx said, "We're being reasonable, let's just talk this out, okay? You've got the gun, we're not-"

"On the floor!"

"Fine! Alright! I'm on my knees already, see?"

"Move it!"

Goddamnit. Lexx was scared, despite everything. She had been shot at once before and discovered it was one of the most terrifying experiences she had ever gone through. She was determined not to repeat it again. The sliding doors opened up behind them, Lexx debated whether or not she would get shot for looking up and seeing who it was. "You! On the floor now!" came the officer's shout.

"Problems?" Rose asked, walking in to join them.

"I said on the floor! I will shoot you!"

"Hold on," Rose opened up her duster, taking out the katana hidden inside it.

Lexx groaned, rolling her eyes, "What the hell are you going to do, throw it?"

"Drop the weapon now!" the cop shouted.

Rose raised the sword and pointed it directly at the cop, "You! Drop your weapon!"

"You drop that goddamned weapon right now!"

"No! You drop yours! Do it!"

There was a metallic clatter as the cop's pistol hit the floor. Lexx's eyes snapped open in surprise. She hadn't even realized she had shut them, just waiting for one of them to get shot. Rose continued, "Good! Now turn and run away!"

The officer didn't move. Rose took a step forward, her eyes locked on the policewoman. Lexx could feel the anger and authority coming from her, "I said run away you bitch!"

The cop turned and ran.

Micheal stared at Rose, "Wow."

"Come on guys, more are on the way and our ride's waiting."

The limo pulled up in front of them as they came into the carpark. The three immediately piled into the spacious back seats. As soon as the door was closed the car sped away, taking a tight corner and heading up a level, to the ground floor. Lexx saw flashing lights ahead, "Great, how are we supposed to get past that?"

Rose just smiled, "Watch, you might be entertained. Or maybe I'm the only one sick enough to enjoy it."

Lexx watched. At least a dozen police had their weapons leveled at the vehicle, which was slowing down as it approached the blockaded entrance. The door-locks clicked shut. "Mr. Eisei's driving, isn't he?" Lexx tried to peer through the tinted glass to the front seat.

"Don't bother," Rose said, "The real show's outside."

"Oh wow... holy shit," Micheal said, looking out the polarized windows.

Lexx joined him. Her jaw hung open in amazement. Outside, one by one, the officers were falling over. One would suddenly develop a horrible nosebleed. Another would clutch his chest in pain and collapse. The process continued until there were no police left standing. The limo edged forward and started pushing against the police car parked in front of the exit. The reinforced bumper slowly nudged the squadcar out of the way and the long vehicle made its way to the nighted Chicago streets. "What the hell was that?" Lexx asked.

"Mr. Eisei is a very persuasive man, even more so than I," Rose said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Micheal asked.

"All he did was convince random parts of those pigs' bodies to shut down or act up. It's pretty hard to concentrate on doing your job when your heart suddenly starts skipping beats."

"Who the... what the hell is Mr. Eisei?" Lexx asked, "Is he like us?"

Rose laughed, "No, not even close. Look, if Mr. Eisei wants you to know, he'll tell you himself. Or he'll tell me to tell you. Okay, where do you want to be dropped off, Mike? Sorry, but we can't let you stay with us, Mr. Eisei doesn't much care for coloured folk."

"What?!"

"Just kidding, calm down. But seriously, he's going a long way just to let Lexx stay over, you're out of the question, and Lexx will be earning her keep soon enough."

"How so?" Lexx asked, "You never did give me an answer."

"Don't worry, it's nothing too morally questionable, not that you seem to have much trouble with that. All he wants you to do is kill a vampire for him."

"What?"

[Oni Koneko Damien]

Chapter 7

Chad rubbed his temples, leaning his head back and closing his eyes. "Are you serious? We have nothing on these people?"

Mark, a smaller man, stocky in a muscular sense tapped the computer screen, "Almost nothing, at least nothing useful to us. Here's the thing, Lexx, Mael and Micheal were barely even blips on the radar before they decided to make a scene at Maccadyne. Micheal had a forum, Mael, and to a lesser extent Lexx have popped up occasionally online, but it was all thoroughly mundane stuff. The biggest things I could find were the reports of a mistaken death of someone living with Lexx and Mael who worked at the company headquarters, and a still-open report of abduction of Lexx shortly before their attack on Maccadyne. Even the attack has almost no coverage, seems that PR chick wanted to keep things under wraps."

"Veronica," Chad said, "A human skin over the demon Ose-Dantalion. Great, so the information she gave us is more comprehensive than that available elsewhere, which means we have no way of verifying if most of it's true. What about that Rose girl?"

"Well there's more on her, for obvious reasons," Mark said, "She's the Burger Blitz Slayer, now it turns out she's working with the other three. Unfortunately no one's been able to find out who she really is yet, so we're still in the dark concerning anything before she started killing people at restaurants."

"What about Viktor?" the third person in the room asked. She was slight to the point of waifish, with short black hair.

"We're not going to involve Viktor in this if there is any way to avoid it," Chad said with finality.

"Why not? We're already working with a demon," the girl persisted.

"We're not working with her!" Chad exploded, "We're investigating information unearthed relating to her."

"Information that she just gave us."

"Gabriel!"

"Okay, okay, I was just saying maybe this Viktor guy knows more," Gabriel muttered.

"He definitely knows more," Mark agreed, "That bastard doesn't care how he gets the information, unlike us."

"It doesn't matter how much he knows," Chad said, "We're not going to him. Even if he were willing to share, the price he'd ask is more than we could pay."

"Really? How much does he ask for, and why should we care about money?" Gabriel asked.

"He doesn't ask for money," Chad said, "If you had any experience with him... you'd know."

"So if not money, what does he ask for? Drugs? Blood?"

"It's not as simple as that," Mark said with a shudder, "He... well, there's a reason we call him 'The Defiler'. He takes innocence and spreads corruption, there's no easier way to put it."

"The matter's closed anyways," Chad said, "There is to be no involvement with Viktor. We'll just have to find a way to get to these four without touching him."

Mark nodded and brought up a new browser window, "Yeah, I've been working on that. Someone's been working overtime to cover up their movements, someone way better at it than me. But while I can't find any sign of them directly, I have been able to get some information on some people connected to them."

"Family?" Chad asked.

"Yeah. Did you see the news recently? There was a minor item about how police responded to a report of Lexx and Micheal at the hospital. It turns out that this Mael girl has a family member at that hospital. On top of that, I did a little digging and found out that Lexx has a sister that recently moved back into town and has been trying to meet with her."

Chad thought about it, "I think the best course of action is to keep track of the sister. I doubt they'd try going to the hospital again after the police got involved."

"Okay, so what are we going to do when we finally get one of them?" Gabriel asked.

"Duncan's orders are to simply talk to them, get their side of the story and find out their knowledge and involvement with Ose-Dantalion. Depending on how that goes, we proceed at our discretion."

Gabriel giggled, "Ever since you got back from the marines... you're so military all the time."

Chad rolled his eyes, "We are at war here, Gabby. Does it ever phase you that we are directly tangling with the forces of Hell?"

-----------

Lexx walked out to the living room with a bowl of cool whip and two peeled bananas. She sat down next to Rose and proceeded to dip the end of one banana in the cool whip before taking a bite out of it. She watched Rose continue to play for a few seconds before asking, "Devil May Cry?"

Rose nodded, "The third one, best of the series actually."

"Cool, I tried to get into it, but it just wasn't doing it for me," Lexx offered Rose a banana, "Phallic object covered in a white creamy substance?"

"No thanks, I just ate."

"Okay."

A few moments were spent in silence, Rose playing and Lexx eating. After a while it began to grow awkward. Lexx finally got up and moved over to the computer desk, logging in under a guest account. She opened a web browser and checked her email, "Well, would you look at that?"

"What's that?" Rose asked.

"My sister's emailing me again, she really wants to meet up for lunch."

"Why don't you?"

"Because I really don't like her. She's the main reason I had to scramble so hard to find a place to live four years ago. She fucking stabbed me in the back."

"I've seen your back, then only wounds you have there are from a collapsing apartment," Rose said, "I've stabbed people in the back and in the front and they tend to look a little different than you. More dead-ish, for one thing."

"I mean metaphorically," Lexx explained, "My parents, my real ones are sort of fundamentalist twats, right? Well my sister and I, when we were a lot younger, we rebelled, kind of."

"Kind of? So it was a pseudo rebellion? An almost-insurrection? A coup-de-sorta-tat?"

"No, I mean we got into a bunch of... unchristian stuff. Snuck to the library to get on the internet... that's where I met Mael, online. Looked through a bunch of books on pagan stuff. Brought some of it home. By the time I was seventeen, I'd pretty much deconverted, and I thought she was on the same boat."

"Let me guess, you got caught?"

"She got caught. The 'rents found the loose heating grate, dug under and found Buckland's Complete Guide to Witchcraft inside. Of course this was in my sister's room. They went psychotic and tore the place upside down looking for more, finding some. Basically my sister threw me under the bus. She said that I was the one who drove it all, and she was so scared and trying to stop me but I threatened her. Of course they believed her over me because of the two of us, I was the only one who actually had the guts to stick with my beliefs at the time. I ended up getting kicked out of home and... well, that's where Mael came into the story."

"I remember your sister, two grades ahead of us. I always thought you were the cooler of the two, the twit from the religious family who had a little redeemability," Rose laughed, "I ran into her a few times after high school."

"Yeah?" Lexx looked up, "Then you've probably seen her more recently than me. I kind of lost contact after school, don't really care to re-establish it."

Rose shook her head, "Maybe you should. Last time I saw her, she seemed really cool."

"Sorry, no."

"I think you should, couldn't hurt. Make up for stupid things that happened earlier."

"Stupid things?"

"Well yeah, exactly what did you have to gain by sticking to your moral high ground?" Rose explained, "Sure, you score a moral victory, but is that worth going homeless for? Your sister was just trying to survive, same as you are now."

Lexx raised an eyebrow, "Not that I'm not still rather scared of you, but is a mass murderer really in any position to be giving family advice?"

"Do you love your family, Lexx?" Rose asked.

"I thought I made that pretty obvious, I hate them."

"Not them, your real family, you know?"

"Mael? Sera and Aaron? I think I made that pretty obvious too."

"Family, real family's something you don't ever want to lose, yeah? And if you ever find someone that can fit into that category, it's the best thing in the world, isn't it? Why turn down the chance to do it again? At least with your sister, you already have the advantage of knowing her for years, it's something to start on."

"Fine, alright, I'll see her, you win."

"I don't really care, I'm just pointing it out. Yeah I kill people, I don't give a shit about those people. The ones I do give a shit about... I'd do anything for."

"I would too, I just..." Lexx paused, "No, fuck it, now's not the time to be all sappy about it. So what's the deal then? All last week you've been demanding I stay under cover, now you're telling me to go out and meet this girl?"

"I just wanted to make sure you had the time you needed to stabilize after, you know, what happened back at the station."

"Please, I'm not stabilized by a long shot, probably won't be for years. I'm just somewhat more functional now. Thanks for caring though, really."

"Yeah, about that," Rose smiled mirthlessly, "I don't really care all that much. You're cool and all, but I just want to make sure you're not going to flake out when you do what we need you to do."

"Hooray for me, I'm loved," Lexx persisted.

"Please, you want love, go snog your comatose love-bunny Mael," Rose grinned, "And yes, it is that obvious between you two. If a novel was written about you guys, it would probably end up being more intolerable than Twilight."

"Yeah, except she doesn't watch me when I sleep, she's too busy sleeping herself. But really, what is it you guys want me to do?"

"Exactly what I said before, kill a vampire. Hell, you should be eager to, it seems your buddy April's gotten involved with it, and not in a good way."

"So extra incentive to be Mr. Eisei's pawn?"

"Call it what you will. You want more? Veronica's also on Mr. Eisei's list of targets."

"Okay," Lexx nodded, "Alright, I know you aren't going to tell me what Mr. Eisei is... could you at least drop a hint of what he's doing?"

"Cleaning up the city, obviously."

"Yes, right, but what for?"

"Well, if you were to take over a city, you wouldn't want it to be dirty, would you?"

[Oni Koneko Damien]

Chapter 8

The day was cloudy, threatening rain. The cloud cover served to seal in the mid-summer heat and humidity, making Lexx's baggy hoodie seem even more out of place. She was just north of the loop, on the borderline where moderately tall brick tenements gave wholly away to the stainless steel corporate monstrosities. It was a subway trip to up to a stop two miles north of here, then a trip confined mostly to alleys and back roads, always ready to 'bamf' away from any suspicious police cars. Lexx realized just how long she had been cooped up in Mr. Eisei's apartment, and was suffering from an acute case of agoraphobic paranoia.

That wasn't going to keep her from this meeting though. A trip across the surface of Hell might have, but then again Lexx didn't really know what Hell was like, if it existed. Yeah, the Observer said it did, back when the Observer still bothered her. Sure, Veronica was a self-admitted demon, and Lexx suspected Mr. Eisei ran along the same vein, even if she didn't know exactly what a 'demon' was as far as they were concerned. She tried to keep an open mind, but when she did, she realized that once you dumped all the Christian baggage, being told that the person fucking with your life was a 'demon' from 'Hell' made absolutely no sense.

It didn't matter. Well it did actually, but only so far that figuring out just what the hell Veronica was could give Lexx a better idea of how to end the living shit out of that bitch. Lexx was curious to finding out more, but the curiosity was secondary to the primary goal of making sure Veronica was no longer a threat in her life. Either way her curiosity about the finer points of demons, Hell and the religious implications thereof, and the necessity of finding out what made Veronica tick, and how to make it stop ticking, all allegedly lay in the same place: Mael.

Lexx pressed the buzzer and waited. Cars passed by behind her, she persistently refused to turn and look, instead keeping her eyes on the glass panel in front of her and waiting for one of the reflections to stop. None of the cars did, but presently she was joined by her doppelganger. Lexx waited, feeling the level of discomfort slowly raise between the two of them. The second figure, about as tall as her, also in a baggy hoodie, reached forward and pressed the buzzer. Lexx spared a glance beside her.

"You look terrible in that sweatshirt," the figure said.

His voice was just on the border between male and female, and while most of his face was shadowed by the hood, enough angles showed to give the impression of vague masculinity. She noticed he was wearing jeans that were damn near skintight, with a few holes in the knees. "Well, I'm not wearing it by choice," Lexx muttered, "Though I have to admit, it looks better on you, evil twin."

"Evil what? Wait, I know you, I saw you on the news... well, internet news."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, you and that other girl who used to come here, and some black guy. Except you're the most popular of the bunch."

"Popular? What?"

"Your picture... pictures keep popping up on certain image boards, you're sort of a cult hero for that jail bust."

"Fuck, I'm an internet meme, please tell me they didn't dig up the various camwhore pics I used to put up."

The man rolled his eyes, he looked a little younger than Lexx, "Please, this is the internet, they've found everything of yours."

"So what are you going to do? Turn me in?"

"What would I get out of that? The police are offering crap as a reward for you, I'd be far more entertained if you did more stuff like that."

Heavy footsteps sounded on the stairs beyond the door. Lexx saw a hulking shadow beyond the window. "Keep watching the news," she said as the door was unlocked from the inside, "You might be surprised."

"Mornin' Schindler," Viktor rumbled as he opened the door, "Hi Lexx, get in before you bring the law down on us."

"Why's she here?" Schindler asked, squeezing past Viktor, "And there better be some pizza left over."

"Where's Mael?" Lexx asked, stepping inside.

"One thing at a time," Viktor said, closing the door behind them, "I haven't seen you in ages."

"Two weeks," Lexx said, "And I saw you a total of twice before that, we're barely even acquaintances."

"And somehow you manage to make it seem like so much longer," Viktor said, "You seem to share Mael's ability to be personable and friendly with people."

"Yeah, and Mael used to share my ability to be conscious, but for some reason that's come to a stop, why is that?"

"That would be Mael's own choice," Viktor said, "She knew the possible consequences going into this, and if it weren't for her, you wouldn't be here right now."

"Sorry for being a bitch," Lexx said in an insincere monotone, "The one I love is in some sort of supercoma and all I know is that you altered her to be that way. Her choice or not, you're the one with the most knowledge about what you did, and thus the most responsibility."

"Hey guys," Schindler called from the kitchen, "If you keep up with your little tiff, I'm going to eat the last of the pizza."

"Who the fuck is that?" Lexx asked Viktor.

"Another... client. Unrelated to you guys. Come on downstairs," Viktor said.

"Let me guess, I'm waiting on account of these terrorists?" Schindler asked.

Lexx gave him the finger as she walked by and followed Viktor down the basement stairs. He flicked on the lights and smiled at Lexx's slight reaction to the various abominations scattered throughout the sublevel. She had seen them before, but the grotesque reality of them still elicited an involuntary aversion in her. Whatever Viktor did, he did it well. What were once human bodies now became works of very morbid art. There were few changes from the last time she had been here, now she noticed a chair made completely out of pulsing human flesh had been added to the collection. "My latest work," Viktor said, "Took nearly five months to get it right, I usually keep them in the back room while I'm working on them."

Lexx was interested, despite herself. "Can it... can they..."

"Sense things? Yes she can, it's just one person. If you notice, one of her eyes is up there on the back of the chair, the other's a little closer to the legs. Her mouth and a few other orifices are on the other side," Viktor smiles, "She had a bit of an objectification fetish before coming in here. Now she's the perfect shape to be sat on."

"Can I touch it?" Lexx asked.

"Be my guest, just don't do anything that would hurt a normal person, that's what she is after all. Just a little differently shaped."

Lexx shivered partially with revulsion, partially with something else as she ran a hand along the seat. She watched in amazement as goosebumps rose on the flat surface. It felt just like a woman's flesh... but human flesh had no right to be that shape. The physical sensations coming through Lexx's fingers went against everything her brain considered acceptable, which made it all the more attractive.

"Do you like it?" Viktor asked, "You know, after this little thing's over, I could do something with you. I can already tell you're just the right type to properly enjoy it."

Lexx closed her eyes, "I'm really at a crossroads here. I want to say yes right away, but then there's the issue that I fucking hate you for putting Mael into a coma."

"Oh come on, don't be so retarded," Viktor said.

"What do you mean?"

"You're just projecting, think about it," Viktor explained, "If I hadn't made those modifications to Mael, modifications that I again stress were entirely voluntary on her part, none of you would have escaped from Maccadyne. You guys are the idiots who simply could not be deterred from running in there."

"Yeah, well I think I have sufficient justification to be a little irrational and belligerent about things," Lexx said.

"Fine, don't be surprised if I get a little impatient with all the whining," Viktor said, "Now come on and see Mael, I don't have all day and Schindler's probably already finished the pizza."

--------

"She looks thinner," Lexx said, staring down at Mael's scantily covered body.

"Two possible reasons," Viktor said, "One: While an IV drip covers her basic nutritional requirements, it's not exactly a good way to bulk up. Two: You haven't seen her for a while and have forgotten just how gangly she is."

"Okay," Lexx said, "Are there similarly good reasons for why she's nine tenths naked, and not at least covered with a blanket?"

Viktor nodded, brushing dreadlocks back over his broad shoulders, "Of course. It's easier to examine her medical state, the room's kept at a comfortable temperature, and I rather like looking at her body. Wouldn't you want to do the same?"

"Do you actively try to make people want to murder you, or does that come naturally?" Lexx asked.

"Look, are you going to have a sappy moment with her or did you want me out of the room first?"

"Whatever, stay if it gets your rocks off," Lexx muttered and turned her attention back to Mael.

She knew all the bedside coma cliches, and she was about to commit all of them. Lexx held Mael's limp hand. She kissed lips that made no response to her affection. She brushed aside strands of hair that had no way of bothering a comatose patient. She silently cried, just a few tears. Next to death, Mael was just as beautifully flawed as ever. The entirety of her slightly triangular face tapered down to that pointed nose, and Lexx loved every square centimeter of it. Well, maybe everything except the more heavily pored parts of Mael's nose. But if push came to shove, Lexx was more than willing to kiss those too.

"Okay," Lexx said, little above a whisper, "You never explained what you meant last time I was here."

"About what?" Viktor asked, he hadn't left after all.

"You said her brain had just shut down, and the only way to restart it was, well, something about supplying additional power of a supernatural sort. But you were really vague."

Lexx trailed her fingers down Mael's pale arm. She could feel the hard wires just beneath the surface of Mael's skin, following intricate, circuitboard-like patterns. Viktor stood up from the computer chair he was in and walked up to the other side of Mael. "I used a computer analogy because it fits, I had altered her to be a bit more computer-like. Basically I set her up so that, when confronted with a certain type of being, the alterations I put in her would activate and attempt to forcefully rip out all physical information contained in that being, with no real regard to its body. It was supposed to work out for both of us, I would get a detailed archive of information on what exactly Veronica and Terrance are, and Mael would get to make the both of them little more than empty, lifeless husks."

"It almost worked," Lexx said, "Terrance bit the dust, but I think Veronica managed to forcefully break the connection and get away. Whatever happened, it spooked the hell out of her and she wants Mael out of the picture."

Viktor smiled, "Exactly what I was hoping for. Well... I wasn't hoping Veronica would still be alive, but at least we know the process worked to an extent."

"Except for the fact that my girlfriend is now a vegetable," Lexx said, "Or did you forget that part?"

"I want her awake just as much as you do," Viktor said, "All the information I want is sealed up in that pretty little head of hers and I can't get it out of her when she's like this. Look at it like this: I gave her operating system a big upgrade and switchover, okay? Like trying to add Linux to a Windows platform and still have them run side by side. Well, Linux then made a huge download while Windows was still running. Windows freaked out, took a crap on the processor, and Mael's brain blue-screened. Understand?"

"Sadly, yes," Lexx sighed.

"Right, and now, every time I try to wake Mael, to boot her back up, she crashes on start-up. The BIOS tries to load, then I get the equivalent of an insufficient-memory error message and she shuts right back down."

"Okay, now what about the part where you need an extra energy source?" Lexx asked.

"I need the equivalent of more memory," Viktor said, "I need to find some other energy source, not electrical or anything like that, to hook Mael up to. Basically her brain can't handle the load of physical information that's inside, it needs an outside source to take some of the load off. To switch metaphors, her brain's a car battery that's out of power and it needs a jump start."

"Well... couldn't you just, like, hook me up and do it that way?" Lexx asked, "I'm more than willing to... and if it gets Mael awake, I promise to let you do whatever the fuck you want to me."

"Sorry hon, if it were that easy I would have done that long ago. It's just... human brains aren't geared towards that sort of thing. What we need is some sort of energy source, a sentient seed or battery that's either from completely outside this world, or the result of some specially designed nexus of energy."

"So where can I find one?" Lexx asked.

"That's the problem right there," Viktor said, "I don't know of any inside the city, and the only one I know of outside where one of these sources might be found... well, it's pretty much a no-go zone for me, I'm not very welcome there."

"Then I'll go," Lexx said, "Come on, I'm offering anything for this, pretty much."

"I doubt they'd let you in, they're really picky about people like us getting in and out, and outside Maccadyne it's one of the best regulated areas, supernaturally speaking, in the Midwest."

Lexx stopped, "Hold on... this energy source is in a... a nexus of supernatural power, knowingly created and focused? And that nexus itself is tightly regulated and guarded in a location somewhere close to Chicago? This is a really hopeful shot in the dark, but you wouldn't happen to be talking about the Summer Renaissance Festival, would you?"

Viktor looked up, "Lucky guess."

"You have no idea how lucky," Lexx said with a smile, "I can get in there if you want me to."

Viktor walked slowly around the table, straight up to Lexx. She considered herself pretty tall for a girl, but the top of her head barely reached Viktor's shoulders. "Lexx," he said, taking her chin in his hand, "Get me that energy source, and I can make your darkest fantasies come true."

"I don't like dark fantasies," Lexx whispered, "It's hard to see them on account of the lack of light. But right now my biggest fantasy involves the unconscious person next to us whose mere inanimate presence is making this entire scene just awkward enough to stop me from getting turned on."

[Oni Koneko Damien]

Chapter 9

Lexx looked around the pier. The sun had just set and the evening crowds were in full swing, taking advantage of the Navy Piers tightly regulated illusion of colourful, free-wheeling Chicago life, carefully watched and kept in order by a legion of police. Lexx was certain more than a few eyes were on her and Micheal, but of the smattering of people dressed vaguely hoodlum, they were the most sedate. Hopefully that would be enough to dissuade any questioning, cause no trouble, receive no trouble.

"Thanks for coming along with me," Lexx said, "It's sort of a risk being out here."

"Did you sister have to meet someplace so... public?" Micheal asked, "I mean, I don't want to sound ghetto, but this place is crawling with the po-po."

Lexx shrugged, "It's open air. Out of all the places she was willing to meet up at, this one's the only one that's not in an enclosed space. I like our odds of escape should things turn bad a lot more here."

"Yeah, but if it came to that, it would mean a very public demonstration of us doing things which, to most people, are physically impossible," Micheal said.

"Wait, aren't you the one who was all for enlightening the masses about the greater world hidden from them?"

"Of course," Micheal said, "But that doesn't mean we should be stupid about it. How about doing so in a manner that doesn't involve a potential riot situation with large crowds, common sense you know."

"With the number of cops here, a riot will be the only way we can safely escape should they try to jump us," Lexx said.

"With how many trampled in the process?" Micheal asked, "Just saying."

Lexx changed the subject, "I've been meaning to ask, how have you been holding up during all this? The police hit your place too, didn't they?"

"Yeah, I got out easily enough. I've been building up a small nest egg for just this sort of situation and managed to get most of it out before they froze my bank account. It's enough to keep me fed and cover motel costs while I keep hopping around the city. I'm just extending it by occasionally couch-surfing at the places of friends who owe me favours."

"Good, I've been worried that you were living off the streets while I was comfy in a posh loft."

"Please, give me a little credit. What about Aaron and Sera? The apartment's gone, what's their living situation?"

"Yeah, funny thing that," Lexx looked away, "Maccadyne's being extra generous with them. Aaron's staying at the hospital with her, but he has the funds available and is also getting a place slightly out of town."

"Are you-"

"Going with? No, the police will probably be watching for any sign of me there. I don't want to drag him into this more than I already have. Oh shit, it's her, did you want to hang around?"

"Your family, I'll be nearby," Micheal said as he got up to go.

Lexx waited while watching Jessica move about the open-air cafe they agreed to meet at. She had filled out quite a bit, of the two Jessica used to be even thinner than Lexx, but now her body stopped just short of 'curvy'. It actually looked pretty good on her, it made her look more alive. Jessica obviously didn't recognize Lexx, she would need a little extra encouragement. "Jessica, over here," Lexx waved her down.

"Lexx? Oh my goddess, Lexx?!" Jessica ran over and sat down, "Oh wow, you look amazing!"

Lexx smiled without much feeling behind it and pulled back her hood, "No I don't."

"Come on, look at you. I love that look," Jessica burbled.

"This look isn't voluntary," Lexx said, "That's how I know you're lying. You, on the other hand, are looking pretty good."

"Really? I know I've put on a few pounds, but I guess I have been a little more affirmative with my self-esteem."

"You needed the pounds, Jess," Lexx said, "I just can't break the barrier's my metabolism's set up. So really, what has been going on?"

"Well I was about to ask you, but I'll go first: Lexx, I'm sorry."

Lexx sighed and looked away, "Jess, it's not going to change anything, I'd prefer not to even address the subject."

"No, it needs to be said. I know it won't make everything better, but I feel any healing process can't start until I admit how I... fudged up and show remorse for it."

"Jessica, maybe I'm not interesting in starting any 'healing process'."

"Well I am, and since you showed, I'm pretty sure you're at least open to the idea. Look Lexx, I was envious of you. Between the two of us, you were always the smarter one, you were the one who could go further. I... I'm so sorry, I was weak and I messed up. I threw you under the bus to save myself."

"Whatever Jess, it happened, it's over. I've been optimistic, I seem to have come out a lot better for getting kicked out of home, and I was content to leave it at that, you fucks were out of my life and that was that."

"I'm not content, Lexx, I've changed."

"That's nice, have you learned the important life lesson of accepting that you can't change everything to your definition of 'better' and moved on?" Lexx asked.

"I'm not going to give this up, Lexx. You're my sister, you're that darned important to me."

Lexx was only half-listening. Something had been gnawing at the edge of her consciousness, something that had been growing for the entirety of the conversation. She raised her hand and looked away distractedly, trying to figure out why the dry, tingly feeling was bothering her so much. Jessica kept talking, ignoring Lexx's offhand signal. Lexx waved her hand a little more insistantly.

"What the heck is going on Lexx?" Jessica asked, "You're not even listening are you?"

"I am listening," Lexx said, "Just not to you!"

"Lexx, please?"

"No, you don't understand, this isn't about us."

"It is about us Lexx! It's about-"

"No! Goddamnit Jess, something's going on!"

Lexx had it identified, it was something she hadn't properly experienced in a while. Something she had been too distracted to focus on. It was the Dark. Here among the throngs of the Navy Pier there was a weak point in reality. Lexx found herself wondering what it would look like on the other side, with no light and no people. Maybe there wasn't a pier there at all, maybe it was one of the areas that didn't correspond to any earthly analogue. But something was different this time, probably the reason it took Lexx so long to recognize the feeling for what it was.

This weak point had been moving.

"Lexx? Lexx, are you okay? You're, like, zoning off."

"Yeah, I'm fine. Jess, listen, something's come up," Lexx was trying to focus on where the feeling was coming from. With a little luck she might be able to track it down, "Jess, I have to go."

"So soon? We haven't even eaten anything yet," Jessica said.

"Jess, have you paid any attention to the news recently?" Lexx asked, standing up.

"What? Kind of, what are you talking about?"

"You might want to run a search on my name next time you're on a computer. You really shouldn't be hanging around me."

"Lexx, wait!"

Lexx was already up and walking away. She stopped, making sure she didn't lose track of the feeling, "Jess, I can't promise everything will work out, or that I even like you... or that I even want to like you, but I will promise not to completely ignore you if you want to try and keep in contact, because... well, just because. I'm sorry, I really have to go, and it's nothing to do with what went on between us."

If Jessica had said anything, Lexx had zoned it out. She had a decent idea of where the weak point was, mostly because it was corroborated with visual evidence. Someone, a small girl with short black hair, looking somewhat like Winona Rider, was staring rather intently at Lexx from another cafe. She caught Lexx catching her staring at Lexx and diverted her gaze, walking quickly away. Lexx immediately followed but was briefly delayed by a sudden surge in pedestrian traffic. She looked left and right, whipping her hood off for the second time that night to increase her visual range. She caught sight of the girl further down the pier.

Lexx gave chase, ducking and weaving rapidly through the crowd, hearing occasional swearing as her cane stabbed feet and cracked kneecaps. Every few seconds Lexx would poke her head up long enough to re-acquire the girl, then duck down again in pursuit. There was no doubt about it now, the weak spot in reality, the point that could possibly lead to the Dark was centered right on that girl. She was nearing the edge of the pier, right along the shoreline, edging between an overpriced tourist shop and an arcade. Lexx ducked between two snarled couples, deftly navigated through a large, babbling family... and directly collided with a bicycle-mounted policeman.

"Shit!" Lexx went down hard, taking bike and cop down with her.

Hands wrapped around her left arm, "Jesus! Sorry about that ma'am, I'll help you up."

"I'm fine," Lexx said distractedly, pulling herself to her feet and staggering slightly on her weak knee. She fumbled for her cane.

"Here, I've got it ma'am," the officer, a young man with short blond hair, held the cane out, picking his bike up with the other hand, "You should really watch where you're going-"

Lexx grabbed the cane, but the cop held on for a second longer. Lexx saw confused recognition on his face. A girl with a cane, with hair that didn't even reach her shoulder, kind of like the kind that had been reported on the- Lexx gave a sharper tug on the cane, the cop let go. She yanked her hood back up and turned to leave before he could come to any firm decisions, "Thanks."

There was an audible crackle of the police radio as Lexx hobbled her way between the shop and the arcade. Whatever was being said, though, was lost to the confused rumble of the night crowd. Lexx hoped whatever lay beyond the alley was less crowded than the pier, she had lost a lot of ground in the chase with her unfortunate tumble. There was a small walking space behind all the buildings, then the fence which prevented any drunks from accidentally falling off the pier to the rocky shoreline below. The weak spot in reality was still there, beyond the fence, somewhere below. Lexx cast a quick glance around. There were a few people on the thin walkway a couple hundred feet away. One worker in a stained polo shirt hauling a full trashbag to a dumpster, a couple seemingly interested only in themselves, and what looked from Lexx's position like a blunt being passed back and forth between them. The only other visible people were mere specks on the nearest publicly accessible portion of the Lake Michigan shoreline.

No one who could reliably witness what she was about to do, then.

Lexx looked through the chain link fence, to the rocks twenty feet below. She chose one that looked exceptionally flat and stable, a good six feet wide and unlikely to wobble or tip when she landed on it. Lexx concentrated on it, ignoring the gloom and chain link between them. She stared at the rock that suddenly seemed close enough to simply step right onto.

"Bamf."

The rock wobbled slightly, it was a little less steady than Lexx would have guessed. She fell to a crouch until the rock stopped threatening to tip her off. The dry itching sensation had now moved behind her, back near the pier. "That was awesome," a voice said.

Lexx spun and nearly lost her balance again. She caught a glimpse of the girl she had been chasing. The girl was half crouched in the shadows, she looked younger than Lexx, somewhere in the sixteen to twenty range. "Okay, who are you?" Lexx asked, "And why are you watching me?"

"It's okay Lexx," came Micheal's voice from further in the shadows, "They just want to talk. At least that's what they told me."

"Talk? They? How many are we talking about here?" Lexx asked.

"Just three of us," came another voice, this one Lexx didn't recognize.

Three more people came out of the shadows from underneath the pier. Micheal was one of them. The other two were a stocky man with red, curly hair and a receding hairline, and someone who looked like a slightly more militaristic Lurch. "Lexx, we've been looking for you, and Micheal," the tall one said.

"Congrats, you've found us, now who the hell are you guys?"

"First off, is Dru anywhere around?" the man said.

"No," Lexx said flatly, "And she won't be here anytime soon. Again, who are you?"

"I'm Chad, this is Mark and Gabriel. We're agents of the Divine Order."

"The what?"

Micheal raised his hand, "I've heard of them before. They're sort of a church-based society of Gifted."

"Gifted," Lexx said, "Is it just me or does that term sound gayer each time it's used?"

"We prefer to refer to ourselves as Touched," Chad said.

Lexx exploded in snorting giggles, then quickly regained her composure, "Sorry, sorry, the irony of that was just too much for me. I take back what I said, I would much rather be Gifted than Touched, especially if the church is involved."

Micheal made no sound, but Lexx could see him suppressing a smile. Chad shook his head, "That's not quite accurate, we do base our operations from a church, and we do act in the service of God, but after that, we really don't share many beliefs in common with that organization. The church focuses on conversion, we're more about fighting the forces of Hell on Earth."

"Oh man!" Lexx said, "That was like the best game ever!"

"Wait, you played Doom 2?" Gabriel asked.

"Wow kid," Lexx said, "I'm surprised someone your age had even heard of that game, it's sorta before your time."

"Look, this is serious," Chad said, "We've been looking for you for a while now, we need information and we don't have a lot of time."

"Okay, what do we get out of it?" Lexx asked.

"Possibly some help," Micheal said.

"Can we trust them?" Lexx asked.

Chad started, "Of course, we go with the blessing of-"

"I wasn't asking you," Lexx said, "Your religion means nothing to me."

"No, we can't," Micheal said, "But think about it Lexx, we're desperate here, we can't keep going the way we are indefinitely, and we need allies anywhere we can get them. At the very least we have a mutual enemy."

"Veronica," Lexx said.

"Ose-Dantalion," Chad corrected, "Spawn of Hell."

"I've heard that name before, the Observer called Veronica and Terrance that before," Lexx said.

"The what?" Micheal and Chad said at the same time.

Lexx shook her head, "Nothing, at least nothing that can help us right now. So what do you want to know?"

"Who do you work for?"

"Look at me, I've been unemployed since before Maccadyne helped me gain super special awesome powers. I've forgotten what a paycheck even looks like," Lexx spat.

"No... I mean who's protecting you?" Chad asked.

Lexx shrugged, "A real sweetheart and complete unknown of a guy, Mr. Eisei. Best of luck ever contacting him though."

"Eisei... eternal life," Mark spoke up. He looked embarrassed as all eyes turned to him, "Sorry, I used to be a bit of an otaku anime geek. Tried learning Japanese, but yeah, 'eisei' is sort of a name that also means 'eternal life'... I'm pretty sure."

"It would fit," Chad said, "Demons, as fallen angels, would share the immortality of the Heavenly Host."

"No," Lexx said, "You are not telling me I have to accept that angels exist too. I'm sorry, demons I can handle. Demons fit in with a shitty world, but angels? Get the fuck out."

"Whatever, that's your choice," Chad said, "What do you know about this Mr. Eisei? And Mael, what's her objective in all this?"

"I don't know anything about Mr. Eisei aside from the fact that he has his own agenda which currently agrees with mine, and Mael's none of your goddamn business."

"What agenda?" Chad pressed.

"Taking out Veronica, and a few other nasties in this city," Lexx said, "Look, what's the deal with you guys? How did you even find out about us... other than the news, that is?"

Chad exchanged glances with Mark and Gabriel, "I think we can trust you with this: Ose-Dantalion wants you taken out."

"Chad has transformed into the Master of the Obvious!" Lexx waved her hands theatrically.

Micheal's eyes narrowed, "Wait... she told you about us, what's your angle in all this?"

"We need to fish out the truth hidden within the sea of lies Ose-Dantalion told us in an effort to manipulate us," Chad said, "That involves finding out about you, but more importantly, about Mael."

"Mael's none of your goddamn business," Lexx repeated.

"Your anger speaks worlds," Chad said, "According to rumour, Mael has a unique ability to affect demons. Yes, I can already see the truth in your eyes. Listen, for the good of all, you need to tell us where Mael is so we can bring her in."

"Bring her in?" Micheal said, placing a silencing hand on Lexx's arm.

"To see our leader, Duncan, to determine how much of a threat she is and if that power can be used for more righteous ends."

"Yes, well we're going to give that some thought," Lexx said, "Okay, we've reached a decision: Fuck you."

"Lexx?" Micheal asked.

"We need allies, not religious fucking psychotics," Lexx said, then her eyes widened.

"I'm sorry we couldn't come to an agreement," Chad said, he was pointing a pistol and Lexx and Micheal. Mark had also pulled out a firearm, keeping it at the ready. "This is of the greatest importance to us, you can't even begin to understand the implications of a human having that sort of power, we need to make sure it isn't misused, no matter what it takes."

"Chad!" Gabriel said, "Duncan said only if things got violent!"

"Mark, get their hands?" Chad said.

Mark was already reaching into his backpack and pulling out handcuffs, "Sorry Gabby, Chad's right, there's too much at stake here. Duncan won't hurt them, I promise."

"I'm so fucking sick of having guns pointed at me," Lexx grumbled, "This is another fine mess you've gotten us into."

"Sorry, I slipped," Micheal said, "That'll teach me to ignore my paranoia for once."

A sudden shaft of heavenly light fell upon the majority of the group. Lexx shielded her eyes, as did Chad and Mark. A divine voice called down from further up the beach, "You down there! Put down your weapons and come out with your hands up!"

Lexx spared a glance to Chad and Mark. They were momentarily distracted, looking up at the police. Without hesitation Lexx grabbed Micheal, then focused on the gloom farther underneath the pier.

"Bamf."

Lexx and Micheal were now far underneath the pier, a good sixty feet away from where they were a moment before. Lexx looked back, seeing the three members of the Divine Order fleeing the police, heading underneath the pier themselves and trying to lose the cops in the maze of thick supporting pillars. Lexx looked in the other direction, the shoreline extended out the other side of the thick pier, another fifty feet or so away. She should be able to make that.

"Bamf."

Moonlight once again fell on Lexx and Mael. Lexx gave a single gasp, then collapsed. Thankfully the shoreline was a bit sandier here on the north side of the pier, they were close to a public beach, and thus less of a jarring impact. Micheal helped pick her thin frame off the ground, "Jesus, Lexx, are you okay?"

"Don't... take... the Lord's... name in... vain..."

"Come on Lexx! We have to run, the law's going to be on this side any second now!"

"Then... carry... me. Fuck you weigh... a ton."

Lexx's own ability had its limitations. One, she had to have a clear line of sight to her intended destination. Two, there had to be an unbroken line of physical objects between her and her destination that could support her weight. Three, she could not 'bamf' through anything she could not physically fit through herself. Fourth, and most importantly in this case, the energy expended with each 'bamf' was the equivalent of jogging or briskly walking from point A to point B, carrying whatever happened to be on her person at the time.

In this case, Lexx had just done the fifty yard sprint, while giving Micheal a piggy-back ride. Words faltered to a stop while Lexx decided to concentrate solely on sucking in more oxygen and hoping the searing cramps in her arms and legs would be nice to her and go away. Micheal nodded, understanding enough and offered his own shoulders for a ride to relative safety.

[Oni Koneko Damien]

Chapter 10

Lexx wrinkled her nose. The bed she was on didn't feel familiar, and what felt like a rusted spring was digging into her back. She rolled over, feeling several muscles protest angrily. "It smells bad."

"Yeah," came Micheal's voice, "But we're less likely to be found here."

"That's comforting," Lexx testing other springs on the dubious mattress. She opened her eyes and looked around the ill-kept motel room, "Okay, maybe I asked this before, but where are we?"

"Safe... well, safer. Just a motel on the near South side."

"Ouchie, how long was I out of it?"

"Just over an hour now. You've been conscious the entire time, but I think you were zoning for most of it."

"Cool, I feel like crap now. D'you have any painkillers? My legs are really hating me right now."

"Yeah, hold on," Micheal rummaged around in his bag, "I figured I'd stay up and keep an eye out while you rested."

"That's nice, you should come to bed."

"I've got my own here, and one of us should really stay up. Just in case the law tracks us here."

"No. Bed. Here. Somehow this place manages to be smelly, uncomfortable and cold. If you have some deodorant in that bag too, you can solve all three problems," Lexx pushed herself up and yawned, "If you have some pizza hiding in there, it'll just make my day."

"Wait, how is deodorant supposed to solve our problems?"

"Simple, you put on the deodorant and come to bed. I lie on you, which solves the comfort problem, you're warm, which solves the temperature issue, and I'll smell you instead of the room. QED."

"Guess I can't really argue with that," Micheal said, moving to the bed, "I'm not going to sleep though. You probably should."

"Give me a minute," Lexx scooted over to give him room, then carefully placed her head on his chest, "Have I ever told you that you have a perfect chest? It's just the right shape, warmth and firmness to be perfectly comfortable to lay on."

"I've been told that before."

"Just a regular player, aren't you?"

Micheal laughed, "Hello, conspiracy geek here. I'm not a player, I just happened to get lucky a few times. There's something I've wanted to ask you for a while though, Lexx, and always felt too awkward about it. That thing on your neck, is that a tattoo?"

Lexx's hand unconsciously reached up to her neck. "Thing? What... oh, that. The collar."

"Collar?"

"Take a look at my wrists," Lexx offered up a pair of slim forearms.

Micheal examined them in the poor light of the motel room. Even in dim light the brown, veiny patterns were plainly visible. Experimentally he ran a finger over one. The texture of Lexx's skin was different there, slightly rougher. "So what is it? If you don't mind me asking."

"Souvenirs from Maccadyne," Lexx said with a sigh, "I told you they had kidnapped me shortly before I met you, yeah? That's when I got the bad knee. I got these at the same time. It was... they fucked with my mind, a lot. These were part of it, some sort of physical alteration, it came at the same time I lost my hair, it was something that prevented me from escaping."

"What the fuck did they do to you?"

"Nothing I couldn't survive, obviously," Lexx said, "Bad knee or not, I think I came out of it stronger, I think. Strong enough to be still willing to fight them, to want to destroy them for what they did to me, to Aaron. To you. Really to anyone else. They simply need to go."

"We can do it together," Micheal said, "I'm just as much for it as you are."

"Really?" Lexx asked, "I admit, I'm not certain just how much you want to be on my side during all this."

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Because I'm not even sure I want to be. I mean... taking out Maccadyne and Veronica in particular, yes. But... Micheal, I killed someone. I still don't know how I feel about it. I mean, intellectually I feel guilty, but emotionally? Nothing. I feel like the fucker deserved it, I have no actual remorse over it. I don't think that's right. And intellectually? That's just selfishness. I... my main motivation for not doing it again is because I don't want to become desensitized, so I don't just end up casually killing someone."

"You're worried about ending up like Rose?"

Lexx nodded slowly, "I guess I am."

"You're not like Rose, Lexx. I think you do feel guilt over it, you're just having trouble coping with it. Just give it time hon."

"I've got sort of a lot I need to cope with," Lexx whispered.

"Agreed," Micheal said, "I'll do what I can to help."

Lexx smiled, then turned to face Micheal, "I can think of something you do to help right now."

"I should have seen this coming, shouldn't have I?" Micheal asked.

"Are you saying no?" Lexx asked, crawled a little further up his body.

Micheal allowed himself to slide further down the bed, "Ask me again in thirty minutes."

------------

"Pulling a gun was the stupidest idea ever," Gabriel said.

Chad didn't even look at her, "Your opinion's noted. It doesn't change the outcome."

"But it does," Gabriel persisted, "If you guys hadn't pulled the guns, they-"

"What? They wouldn't have run when the police showed up?"

"No, they might have run with us," Gabriel, "Instead of splitting at the first opportunity."

"Run? Did you notice the girl Lexx was on a cane?" Mark asked.

"Did you notice how she still went faster and got farther than all of us?" Gabriel shot back.

"Enough," Chad said, "It's done, we can't do anything else about it. Let Duncan decide what to do next."

Gabriel sighed, "Alright, I just think it could have gone better."

"It may have," Duncan said, returning from deeper within the recesses of the church, "Unfortunately it is a little hard to tell right now. Chad, I do trust your discretion, but do keep in mind that we are not a violent organization."

"Yes sir, I had no intention of actually firing on them, merely using the weapons as incentive to follow us."

"And did you take into consideration that they might take the weapons as incentives to violence, rather than compliance?"

"Did you manage to find anything out about Mr. Eisei?" Gabriel interrupted, "Sorry, I just thought the whole thing was a stupid argument, even if I did start it."

"Things are unclear right now," Duncan said, "I've unearthed some interesting facts, but doing so, communing with the Divine Voice has proven very difficult, almost alarmingly so. Would you have anything to do with that, Veronica?"

Chad and Mark immediately spun with weapons drawn. Veronica was leaning on the doors, smiling. She straightened up, walking down the aisle and casually dragging her finger along each pew she passed. Ignoring the weapons pointed at her, Veronica made her way to the altar. She licked her finger, then touched the massive bible sitting on the podium, causing a slight sizzling noise and a small wisp of steam to rise. Gabriel carefully backed away several steps, reaching behind her for the door which led to the back stairs.

"Okay, I admit that book isn't really burning me," Veronica said, turning and leaning against the podium, doing a crude mockery of crossing herself, "It's just an entertaining little trick I learned."

"Why are you here?" Duncan asked, "You're not at all welcome."

"I'm wondering why you haven't kept up your end of our agreement," Veronica said, "Why is the girl still alive?"

"We made no agreement, hellspawn," Chad said, "Servants of the Divine Voice do not stoop to such a level."

"Could you please tell your little puppy to shut up?" Veronica asked with a sweet smile on her face, "He looks about ready to make a mess on the floor."

"The girl has some good protection. Something which seems to prevent even a multinational corporation from rooting her out," Duncan said, "At least that's the way it seems."

"Please, if I actually cared enough to lean the entirety of Maccadyne against her, this whole city would be torn apart until she was found and smashed," Veronica said, "But thankfully I have you guys to take care of that for me, if you weren't so incompetent about it."

"I have a new offer for you, Ose-Dantalion," Duncan said.

"You? Offer me something?" Veronica laughed.

"You are going to tell us what your real purpose is here. And in return, we won't completely ruin you, at least not immediately and deliberately."

"Is this some sort of joke?" Veronica asked.

"Ose-Dantalion, outcast of Hell. I've heard there are some who would very much like to know exactly where you are at the moment. Does the name 'Decarabia' mean anything to you? How about 'Flauros'?"

Veronica's smile disappeared, "You've done your homework, slave of God. Aren't you the slightest bit concerned that opening yourself up to so much infernal knowledge might also open you to corruption?"

"I trust my sources," Duncan said, now smiling, "The Fourth Order is known for their reliability."

"Fourth order?" Gabriel whispered, her hand now firmly on the doorhandle.

"The Powers, the angels the Divine Voice sends to deal directly with Hell," Mark whispered back, "I never thought Duncan had the... faith to even dream of contacting one of them."

"They also tell me that the benefactor of your 'annoyances', Mr. Eisei, is someone you should be rather concerned about. Which is why you came here in the first place, isn't it Ose-Dantalion? Mr. Eisei is an outsider, one not directly descended from the Fallen One, but from somewhere outside Heaven and Hell entirely. He doesn't follow all your rules, thus you fear him and hoped we would take care of him for you, or weaken him slightly while we wiped ourselves out in the process."

"I fear nothing, Duncan," Veronica spat, "Though I admit it was wrong of me to assume you would get anything useful accomplished here. You are as useless as your impotent god."

Gabriel, Mark and Chad all flinched at the ear-splitting crack of the double-barreled shotgun. Just as quickly as Duncan had pulled the weapon from the depths of his robed, he cracked the chamber and replaced the spent shells in a single fluid motion. Snapping the gun shut, he fired both barrels again. The first shot had stopped Veronica mid-tirade, blowing a melon-sized hole in her blouse. The second blast sent her staggering backwards, clinging desperately to the podium for support. Another reload and blast and Veronica was spun around, sent careening and collapsing against the altar, pulling down the cloth and candles in the process.

"Forgive me Lord, for making a mess of your house," Duncan said, crossing himself, then reloading.

Veronica's breath came in pained whistles. Blood bubbled from her mouth with each exhalation. Still not fully cogniscient of what happened, she tried to pull herself to her feet. Staring at her mangled belly in surprise, Veronica slowly collapsed down into a fetal position, her eyes slowly transferring back up to Duncan, who once more snapped the chamber of the shotgun closed. He leveled the weapon at her, waiting for movement. Veronica coughed, blood and lung-tissue spraying out of her mouth. "You..." she whispered.

"You forget yourself, demon," Duncan sneered, "This is more than just a church, this room is sanctified by my faith in the Divine Voice. Your connection with the Maccadyne building makes you strong, but here that connection is severed. When I kill you here, you will be banished straight back to Hell, where I'm certain your collegues wait for you."

Gabriel had been watching all of this with her mouth hanging open. She had been the youngest member of this chapter of the Divine Order, only having heard the Voice of God last fall. But she had quickly made herself useful to the Order, calling upon her own heavenly gift to great effect. In all that time, she had never seen Duncan become violent. He had always maintained a slight distance between himself and the rest of the Order, but there had always been the feeling that he would never raise his voice, or raise a hand unless there were the most dire need for it. For all she had been taught, all she had seen about the violent nature of the Divine Voice, Duncan had seemed to embody the opposite, the firm belief that there may just be a chance for peace.

Now Gabriel was just stunned at how quickly that went away, and now she genuinely believed she saw the wrath of an angry God briefly flashing in Duncan's eyes as he leveled the shotgun at Veronica. But Gabriel had been watching the demoness as well. In the moment of Duncan's threat to send her back to Hell, Gabriel saw an expression cross her face. Lips dribbling with blood curled up in a smile for just the briefest moment. Gabriel immediately renewed her grip on the doorknob, something told her things had just gone very wrong.

There was a blinding flash, causing all to cover their eyes. As Gabriel tried to blink away the stars, she heard the sound of every lightbulb in the room bursting at once. A moment later came a unique noise, the sound of flesh and cloth ripping. Gabriel blinked again, her eyes adjusting to the sudden deep gloom as someone, possibly Chad, called out, "Duncan!"

Duncan was still standing, though not under his own power. Gabriel gasped in fear as she saw what had happened to him. He held the shotgun still, but his arms had been forcefully contorted, until the weapon was pointing into his own mouth. But it was Veronica who had inspired the fear. She was now standing, though that wasn't a fully accurate description. She appeared to be rooted and growing out of the altar. Her flesh had stretched and warped, flowing seamlessly away from human to a glossy, chitinous shell. But the insectile texture was arranged in the form of a warped tree or shrub. Veronica's abdomen had healed over, but the skin was a leathery, shiny texture. One of her arms had also deformed, growing to several times its original size and branching out in a dozen locations with twisted spikes and barbs.

These protrusions held Duncan wickedly in place, wrapping around his body, piercing him in countless locations and twisting his arms around. Veronica smiled as the last few tatters of clothing fell off her body. Her head was one of the few parts that had remained wholly unchanged. "How... how did you..." Duncan gasped.

"How is that faith in God going for you?" Veronica asked, "Will it sustain you as I completely absorb your body? Will it do you any good when I go through all your memories, finding out all you know of the Heavenly host and using it to my own advantage?"

Gunshots filled the air as both Chad and Mark emptied their pistols into Veronica. Her body jerked and small holes opened up in both her human flesh and chitinous exoskeleton, but she remained unmoved. Her smile didn't even fade. "Idiots," she said, "You should know by now that one of my kind cannot be killed like that. Now Duncan, how does it feel to know that you are going to die very painfully, in the process betray everything you have faith in, and there is absolutely nothing you can do to stop it?"

"There is... something..." Duncan gasped as the coils tightened around him.

"Yes?" Veronica asked.

Duncan's fingers squeezed both triggers of the shotgun. Gabriel screamed, but the sound was lost amongst the twin gunshots. The majority of Duncan's head disappeared in a haze of red mist. In that moment Gabriel felt like she had lost her faith. She lost something, self-control at the very least, as she was through the door and halfway up the stairs before she realized what she was doing. On the second floor, on the balcony overlooking the main room, Gabriel managed to stop herself. Part of it was the guilt of leaving the Order behind, part of it was the practical concern that the only way to escape from this part of the church was directly through one of the stained glass windows and a two story drop to the grass outside.

Rooted in place, trying to convince herself to go one way or the other, Gabriel became aware of two sounds. One was the pained cries of both Chad and Mark. The other was Veronica's voice, "One, two, three, oh dear it appears I'm missing one. Little girl? Come join us!"

Gabriel found herself on her stomach, crawling as quietly as she could to the edge of the balcony, peering between the bars to the scene below. Her throat dried at what she saw below. Duncan's body lay in a tangle near the altar. The giant cross had been ripped off the wall and dragged into the aisle. The life-sized wax figure of Jesus had been ripped off, torn into three pieces and thrown carelessly to the side. Chad and Mark were sitting in the aisle, each had a single leg draped over the cross. Gabriel saw that one of Veronica's spiked appendages had been thrust right through both Chad and Mark's calves, pinning them both inescapably to the cross in a mockery of crucifixion.

Veronica was sitting between them, in her single undeformed hand she held both pistols. She placed both on the ground in front of her and patiently reloaded them, ignoring the screams of the two men. "Now, Duncan's no longer feeling pain, at least no more pain on Earth," Veronica said as she leaned forward and ran a hand up Chad's pierced leg, "But he did blow his own brains out. Isn't suicide a big sin or something to you guys?"

"Fuck you, bitch!" Chad spat, shivering in pain.

"If we had time, I'd love to degradate you by doing just that, in a highly painful fashion. Unfortunately I don't have the luxury of time right now, so we'll do this quickly."

Veronica allowed several more of her appendages to wrap around the legs of Chad and Mark. Their screams reached a new pitch as dozens of serrated blades cut slowly through their flesh, painstakingly removing skin, inch by inch. Gabriel gulped, fighting back the urge to vomited as she watched. The process went on for another eternity-spanning two minutes, the screams never died down, before Veronica finally stopped the movement. The break only lasted a second before the chitinous tentacles suddenly contracted. Even over the agonized cries, Gabriel could hear the sound of four legs breaking in multiple locations.

"Mmm," Veronica said, "You two will never know just how delicious that is to me. It's... nothing personal, or vindictive. It's just what feels good."

Of the two, Mark was in the lead. Their legs were a mangled, useless mess, ripped forcefully away from the spike that had held them on the cross. Mark was pulling himself away, inch by agonizing inch, sweating and shivering the entire way. Veronica stood up again, picking up the pistols. "Now here is the deal, you two," she said, speaking up over the crying and screams, "I'm not going to ask you to commit suicide like your dear departed leader did. You guys don't want to sin, after all. But I can't let either of you live, you realize. So here is what I'll offer you. You can't kill me with these weapons, but there is someone here each of you can kill that is not yourself."

Veronica handed them the pistols, having to wrap their pain-numbed hands around each. "I warn you," she said, "If you don't do the deed yourselves, then I'll just have to do it for you, and you'll end up in the same place anyways. The only difference is that if I kill you, it won't be for quite a while. And until then I will have a lot more fun with your bodies, fun that makes this seem tame in comparison, understand?"

Mark was weakly pointing his weapon at Veronica, but his hand shivered and the gun dipped. He exchanged a glance with Chad, who gritted his teeth and looked away. "Come on now," Veronica said, her voice full of sweet sympathy, "There's no shame in it for either of you. God designed you in this flawed way, you can hardly be blamed for a divinely designed human weakness."

Gabriel's throat was dry, the fluid seemed to have moved to her eyes, which were now brimming over with tears. She watched Chad's expression falter, his resolution quiver and begin to crumble. For a second his eyes caught Gabriel's, and she wanted to stand up, to make some last-ditch attack on Veronica for the both of them. Then her eyes drifted Chad's ruined legs and all the strength left her limbs. Gabriel continued to merely watch, screaming at herself inside her head in helpless fury and guilt.

Veronica's smile got ever wider as Chad and Mark each put their weapon in the other's mouth. "Don't worry," she said, "Your pain will soon be over."

Gabriel closed her eyes as both weapons went off. When she opened them again, she saw that Mark lay twitching on the ground, a large hole in the back of his head. Chad, on the other hand, remained alive, a shocked expression on his face. It took Gabriel a few seconds to piece together what had happened. It was the bullethole in Veronica's left eye that clinched it for her. Mark had shown defiance to the end, turning to shoot at his tormentor rather than kill his friend. Chad on the other hand...

"Things always have to be complicated, don't they?" Veronica asked, "After all the effort I went through to leave my touch on this building. Subtle, yet tangible, to leave just a portion of myself to grow upon the ephemeral power you and countless worshippers you give this building. Duncan was right to be suspicious of why communication with the Divine Voice had suddenly become difficult, the building had been mine for quite a while now.

"But what to do, and what to make of this? Is Mark the fool, or are you? Was it more foolish to murder your best friend, or for him to condemn you to further torture with a futile gesture of resistance?"

Another gunshot interrupted Veronica's monologue. Chad had turned his weapon on himself. "Oh dear," Veronica said, standing up and cracking in multiple locations as her body began to reform into something approaching human, "I guess his faith wasn't that strong after all."

A few more seconds and Veronica was wholly human again, though her clothing was still in shreds. She stood naked and unnaturally perfect in the moonlight. "Gabriel? Is your name Gabriel? You can come out now, you don't have to share their fate. This building is my territory now, if you want you can serve me, if not, all you have to do is stay out of my way and you can live on, unmolested. Gabriel?"

Veronica's eyes settled on Gabriel's hiding spot. She smiled, "Gabriel, please, come down."

Gabriel finally moved. She couldn't hope to fight Veronica, Ose-Dantalion. She had hesitated too long to save her friends. The only thing she could do was refuse to do the will of Veronica, and have faith that the Divine Voice would show her the right way. Gabriel jumped to her feet, ran and jumped through the nearest window.

"What a bother," Veronica said.

-----------

It was hard to tell exactly when things went sour. It had started off with some heavy making out between the two of them, then hands had started to move to certain parts of the body. Things had gotten competitive, both had probably wanted it that way. Lexx and Micheal had fought for dominance, both shedding most of their clothes in the process. Lexx had been vicious, scoring several long scratches up Micheal's sculpted belly, but in the end he had the strength and training. He flipped Lexx over and straddled her, grinning down at her as she grinned back up at him. Then Lexx panicked.

A single strong buck of her hips lifted Micheal into the air long enough for Lexx to twist and fling him off of her. She screamed, it sounded alien and unfamiliar to her as she wriggled out from underneath him, scratching and tearing just to get away. Before she knew what was happening, Lexx was off the bed and at the motel room door, breathing deeply and making some token effort to cover herself. She glared an animal hatred and fear at a confused Micheal as her mind flooded with images of a dark-skinned monster pinning her down and devouring her from the inside.

Micheal was saying something, but not moving. The fury and terror faded slightly and Lexx could make out individual words, "...stop ...okay ...sorry ...panic."

Lexx blinked in confusion, she looked down at herself, then over at Micheal. "Oh shit," Lexx whispered, "...oh shit, I'm so sorry."

She reached weakly for a chair and sat down, shivering. "No... Lexx, that was my fault," Micheal stammered, "I shouldn't have let things go that far, I just have a thing for... you know..."

"It was consensual on both our ends," Lexx said, half to herself, "Goddamn, I'm sorry, I fucked up. I... shit, I think I have baggage."

"Lexx..."

Lexx shook her head, "No, this really sucks. This wasn't supposed too affect me this much. It was just pain... and pain... and helplessness. It's not you, it's me, it's... fuck."

"You freaked, I should have been more careful," Micheal said.

"Don't fucking handle me with baby-gloves!" Lexx screamed.

"Do you... um... want your clothes back?" Micheal asked, reaching for his own shirt.

Lexx nodded, wiping her nose off, "Fuck you, you're a saint."

"What?"

"Look at me, damnit, I'm having a breakdown here, and you're just being patient and supportive."

"Well... you did ask me to be," Micheal shrugged.

"I know, but, yell at me for being a psychotic bitch or something," Lexx caught the shirt that was tossed to her, "I mean, I deserve it."

"Who gives a fuck about what you deserve? It's what you need for mental stability that's important at the moment," Micheal argued.

"Fuck you and your rationality," Lexx said.

"Do you... I don't know, did you want-" Micheal started getting off the bed.

"No! You stay right the fuck there!" Lexx snapped, standing up and backing up against the wall. Her voice softened as she forced herself to sit back down, "Sorry, I'm really sorry, but no. I know you mean well, but I really don't want to be touched at the moment. It's... it's for your own good. Move towards me and... I can't help it, I'll see you as the enemy... as... the rapist."

Micheal nodded, "I'll... I'll just chill right here then."

"Yeah... you do that," Lexx said, "Look, you said you wanted someone to keep watch, right? Why don't you just go to sleep? I'm not going to feel comfortable closing my eyes for a long time."

----------

It was several hours before Lexx was convinced Micheal was asleep. Slowly, she got up and completed dressing herself. She crept forward and carefully rummaged through Micheal's bag, eventually pulling out his cell phone. She went through his quickdial, eventually settling on a name that looked appropriate. Lexx held the phone up to her ear.

"Hello? Is this, er, Bernard? ... Yeah, I'm just using his phone. Are you the one from the Summer Festival? ...Yeah, this is Lexx ...I kind of gathered, I got the email. Listen, is there somewhere we can meet? ...Yeah? ...Okay, I think I can be there. ...Yeah, well, let's just say I'll take the job offer. You do know about- ...yeah ...yeah, she can't come, I'll explain later ...you can get me safely out of town? ...Okay, it's a deal ...I'll see you there ...thanks, bye."

Lexx opened the desk drawer, cringing each time it creaked. Inside was a Gideon bible, a notepad and a cheap pen. Lexx scribbled out a quick note, then left it where it would be obvious to Micheal. She stared down at him, he was a heavy snorer. Lexx took a deep breath, trying to keep the irrational fear down. With effort she leaned down and kissed him on the foreheard. "Sorry," she whispered to him, "I need to do this... and I'd feel safer doing it without you. It's nothing personal, it's just emotional baggage."

Lexx grabbed her cane and hobbled quietly out the door.

[Oni Koneko Damien]

Chapter 11

Lexx was shocked into wakefulness when Bernard hit the breaks. She gasped in horror, gripping the armrest until her knuckles turned white. Lexx hadn't even realized she had fallen asleep, the soft drone of the car combined with her failure to get any sleep the night before had completed an insidious assassination of her consciousness. It was the last thing she wanted to do while in a vehicle with a near stranger, but it seemed she had no choice in this case.

"What's going on?" Lexx asked, looking out the front window at the backed up traffic.

"We've hit morning rush-hour," Bernard said, his slightly British accent rather soothing, "I'd reckon we're still a little over an hour away."

Lexx nodded, leaning her head against the doorframe. Cool, moist air blew on her face, carrying with it the rumble of distant thunder. There, that was the other member of the conspiracy to keep her from staying awake. The sky was heavy with clouds, and the storm, though distant, was still palpable. The effect of all of it was to make Lexx far more relaxed than she should have been.

"Something the matter?" Bernard asked, sensing a little of her lethargic tension.

It would probably take a fair bit of energy to explain things to him. The fact that Lexx was on a paranoid binge, that due to recent events Lexx instinctively distrusted the male gender, and black males in particular, that the main reason she insisted on keeping her window open was in case she needed to suddenly flee the car, no matter how unreasonable that sounded. That she was having nightmares again, this time combining the worst of her ephemeral time as a prisoner within the Plant with the far more recent rape. Lexx thought about how long she would have to keep talking to get all of it across.

"No," Lexx decided to keep it simple.

They were still an hour away from the festival grounds. Thunder rumbled again, this time closer, and Lexx involuntarily drifted back to sleep.

-----------

"I'm not asking for a hand-out," Micheal said again, "I'm asking to see Mael."

"I'm afraid you've caught me on my way to work," Viktor said, "I'm not running a museaum here anyways, why did you need to see her?"

"Just to check if she's okay."

"She's fine. If you don't trust me, just say it to my face. In fact, don't bother, I know you don't so any statement you make would either be inane or mendacious. Why do you need to see her now, of all times? Blue balls?"

Micheal gaped at Viktor, "What?"

"Call it a hunch. You nearly got lucky with one, but were denied at the last second, so you don't know why, but you're desperately hoping the other will wake up and offer? Or are you too going to go on some amazing quest in your search for pussy?"

"Fuck off, you creep," Micheal spat, "I... just wanted to talk to someone, really."

"Why don't you go home and get some sleep?" Viktor said, "You look like you could use some."

Admittedly Micheal hadn't gotten much sleep at all. What sleep had happened in the motel had been fitful, and as soon as he realized Lexx was gone, he had immediately checked out. The note she left provided no address, a quick check of his stuff had revealed that she had used his phone to call Bernard. Calls to both her phone and Bernard's had been left unanswered. Micheal was a little ticked about the entire situation and feeling personally betrayed. The lack of sleep was probably responsible for a good deal of the incoherent nature of these feelings.

As if to punctuate the less than wonderful start to the day, Micheal's phone started ringing again. Viktor took the cue to give an insincerely respectful nod and leave. Rolling his eyes, Micheal snapped open the phone, "Hello?"

"Oh good, someone's fucking answering," came Rose's voice on the other end.

"What? What the hell do you want?" Micheal said, his voice a little harsher than he intended.

"I want Lexx, but she's not picking up. This was the whole damn reason we lent her a phone in the first place. Is she with you?"

"No, she split on me, what did you need her for?"

"Oh you've got to be shitting me. Do you know where she is? We need her, like, right now."

"What for?"

"She's got a friend that's fallen in with a bad crowd, and suddenly this dumb broad's back on the radar, so this was her chance to get a little redemption."

Micheal laughed, "Like you're one to talk about redemption, Burger Blitz Slayer."

"Laugh it up, do you know where Lexx is?"

"I think she skipped town," Micheal said, "To pursue her lifelong dream to be the theatrical equivalent of a carnie."

"Oh fuck. Great, he's going to be pissed. I really thought she was better than this," Rose growled.

"Yeah, same here, I'm a little pissed," Micheal said, "But I'm trying to be reasonable, she has gone through a lot."

"Bullshit. We've all got crap to deal with," Rose interrupted, "I kill some of the most disgusting people you can imagine for a living, it does take its mental toll. And aren't you homeless right now? I'm sorry but there's a point where you just have to fucking deal with it and survive."

"Maybe she's not cut out for it," Micheal said.

"Fucking excuses," Rose said, "Hey Micheal, a thought just hit me. You are homeless, right?"

"Yeah."

"How would you like to not be? Before you ask, the catch is that we have a mutual threat here. You help us out, we'll do the same for you."

"Yeah, the thing is I'm on the run from Charles Manson. Someone offers me a safehouse, but when I get there, I notice the name of the mailbox is 'Gein'. Do you get where I'm going with this?"

"You have five seconds to choose which one's the lesser evil," Rose said.

"Fine, you've got yourself another tool, at least until Maccadyne's knocked down a few pegs."

------------

Micheal didn't know how he ended up in the subway. He had been thinking a lot, and brooding. He hoped he was doing more of the former than the latter, but suspected that his mind was in a negative rut at the moment. He was pissed at a lot of things at the moment. Pissed at Maccadyne, pissed at Lexx, pissed at that murderer, Rose, and pissed at himself. He was tired and irrational, angry at the world yet guilty for making so many concessions to it. Micheal wandered to the far end of the 35th St. station and found a vacated bench. It wasn't too busy this time of day, just after the morning work rush and still a few hours before lunch.

It would be a good thing just to take a short break and think about things, here, away from any immediate obligations. Hell, maybe watching lots of people deal with lives completely unaware of his own would help put a little calming perspective on things. Micheal realized he was just looking for things to lash out at, and that wasn't a good way to approach problems. Living like this was not something he could maintain for much longer, it was fraying at his nerves.

Okay, so he was pissed because Lexx left him. Micheal admitted he had a thing for her, but he was still pretty certain it was still mostly a casually sexual interest rather than a desire for some in depth relationship. They had hit it off as friends pretty well, and he was accepting that he would likely never see the sort of single-minded devotion from her that she showed Mael. Maybe the lack of sleep combined with her just waltzing out into peril had inspired a bit of jealousy in him. Maybe that's why he had got the sudden idea to see Viktor, to ask Mael's comatose form what the hell he should do. Maybe he had a bit of a white knight complex going on.

"And maybe she shouldn't have been so fucking stupid," Micheal grumbled.

He was still pissed, it wasn't fading at all. It had been a few minutes since the last train but the platform, at least this far corner of it still seemed to vibrate and hum mockingly at him. Wait a minute, it was humming. It wasn't just the fluorescents above, not even that aggravatingly flickering one over there. Micheal tilted his head, trying to identify that high-pitched whine in his ear even as thoughts of taking his frustrations out on helpfully inanimate objects threatened to distract him. He realized that it seemed to be vibrating in tune to a vague itching sensation on his flesh, as if the Dark were near... but wasn't. It was different, it was-

"Hey nigger! What the hell you doin' on our platform?"

Micheal's head snapped up, his eyes glaring. There were three of them, skinheads all, lounging against the wall. Either Micheal had been truly zoned out, or they had come out of the depths of the tunnel, because there was no other way they could have snuck past him and gotten to the far wall. "Excuse me?" Micheal said.

"Are you deaf, porch-monkey? Try a q-tip, clean some of the shit outta your ears... not that it would do much good, you look like you're full of shit anyways."

The other two burst out laughing while Micheal stared, trying to make sense of what didn't even qualify as a bad joke. The vibration was making the back of his head itch, and he wanted rather badly to scratch it. Micheal stood up. The three skinheads straighted up a little. The de-facto leader glared at him, "You better just get walking, shit-skin. Ain't no room for your kind here."

"My kind?" Micheal asked, "That a challenge... honky?"

"Ooh, honky!" the underlings chorused, "Ooh, he got you good Jake!"

The leader's eyes flashed pure hatred. Micheal was actually taken slightly aback by it. It was indefinable, but he felt there wasn't a single trace of sanity in that glare. Still, probably too late to go back on things now. Jake took a step forward, "Last chance, boy. Get the fuck out of here while you can or we'll make you wish you were bank on the plantation."

The underlings giggled and went 'ooh' at the insult. Micheal shrugged, "Make me."

Jake attacked. There was no hesitation on his part. A moment later his two friends joined in. Micheal nodded and concentrated, watching with satisfaction as their movements slowed down to a crawl. It was like a training exercise, stepping easily to the side to miss the thrust of a drawn switchblade and bringing one arm up behind, pressing against the elbow and applying just enough pressure to pop some bones out of place. The other two were even easier, the first collapsing to a straight blow to the throat, the other having his legs taken out from beneath him and his head cracked against a pillar.

With the immediate threat out of the way, Micheal allowed his concentration to lapse a little. There was no sense wasting additional energy slowing down his perception of time when the attackers were already down. But no sense wasting an opportunity when it presented itself. Micheal kicked Jake in the gut, knocking back to the floor. Jake alternated between cradling his arm and clutching his gut. Micheal helped him out by giving another kick. Then a third, slightly higher up. A floating rib snapped, simply giving Micheal the urge to kick harder.

He forced himself to slow down and eventually stop at the realization of this. Micheal had stopped acting in self defense and was now only continuing to attack out of sheer vindictive anger. This wasn't right at all, he had made his point and found a way to vent the frustration that had been building up all day. He should be okay now, not quivering with a fury that was as aggravating for its helplessness as it was for its intensity. There came the sound of an approaching train on the far end of the platform, heading up north back to the Loop. But even above that sound Micheal could here the steady whine and hum of something electronic, yet still vaguely organic. He looked around for the source.

There was something on the roof of the tunnel. It looked newer than the surrounding pipes and stonework, looking like an overlarge fire alarm. Micheal couldn't be certain, but it seemed like the vibration was originating from it. A moment later and another noise distracted him. Whoops and hollers, overjoyed and maddened coming from the darkness of the tunnel. A wheezing voice from the floor said, "You're dead nigger."

Micheal counted eight psychotic bums rushing out of the tunnel, clamouring onto the platform, holding steel pipes and shards of concrete before he turned and ran back to a more populated section of the station. The shouts behind him continued unabated, now sprinkled with the surprised cries of other pedestrians. The train on the other end of the platform had stopped and now its doors were closing. Concentrating, Micheal put on a burst of speed that compressed five seconds of sprinting into less than half a second and slipped through the doors a moment before they closed. Hands on knees, trying to catch his breath as the train started to pick up speed, Micheal only had a moment's glimpse of a panicked crowd on the platform running away from the dirty, crazed mob, several already fallen to their weapons.

---------

Lexx woke up again to see that the city of Chicago had been left behind. Now heading north on Interstate 94, they were less than ten miles away from the Illinois/Wisconsin border. Even fewer away from the festival grounds. She glanced over at Bernard, then down at herself. She didn't appear to be molested, he didn't seem very interested in doing such. She still felt nauseous, possibly as a result of sleeping during a car trip. The storm, sadly, seemed to be passing. Sunlight filtered down, glaring off the street and threatening to add a headache to her nausea.

"We're almost there," Bernard said without invitation.

"I know," Lexx said, "I've made the trip a lot of times."

"Yes, I've seen you at the festival quite often. I can't express how wonderful it is that you've decided to join us this year, to be on the other side of things, so to speak."

"It's not like I have too much of a choice," Lexx said, "With how popular I am in the city, I could use a vacation."

Bernard nodded, "I can't promise a vacation, but as long as you remain on the grounds, you will be kept safe, we have seen to that. It's only a pity Mael couldn't come along as well."

"Mael has other obligations at the moment," Lexx said. She didn't know how much they knew of Mael's situation, and decided to hold her tongue with the details just in case the Festival Committee were being less than honest in their intentions. She transferred her gaze from the street to Bernard, "I promise you, once Mael's schedule is freed up, I will do my best to convince her to join me though."

"Good, we could use the help," Bernard said enthusiastically, "Things have been difficult lately, for all of us. It's times like these that we need each other the most."

"Exactly what sort of times are these?" Lexx asked, "And what actually goes on here? Behind the scenes of an historical re-enactment and tourist trap, I mean. I have vague hints, but no details."

Bernard smiled, thumbing the indicator and taking the next exit, "You'll see. It's what people like us are meant to do, to work towards."

[Oni Koneko Damien]

Chapter 12

The storm returned with a vengeance that night, as if gleefully attacking following a deliberate attempt to lull the landscape into a false sense of security. The sides of Lexx's tent bent inward under the steady onslaught of heavy rains. Looking out the screen window, Lexx noticed that visibility was down to a couple dozen feet. She poked her head out the front flap, feeling the fine cool mist that filtered under the awning and looked down the row of identical tents. There was no chance that she would get back to sleep tonight. Even if she didn't want the energy, the storm would still keep her up. Lightning briefly removed the impediments to visibility before the shadow came crashing back down, bringing with it a deafening peal of thunder.

Lexx cringed, but managed to stop herself from hollering in reaction to the sound. There was one other tent with its lights on, but it didn't look like they would be venturing out anytime soon. Lexx doubted there were many people sleeping right now, but no one was up to wandering around in the rain and violence. Lexx was likely the only one who actually enjoyed this sort of thing. Disappearing briefly into the tent again, Lexx came back out with the cheap poncho Bernard had provided her.

He had provided the tent as well, in the sense that he showed her where her spot was located, and that spot had supplies provided by the Summer Renaissance Festival. For a number of years Lexx had made several trips up to this festival each summer. She, often along with Mael, would put on outfits of debatable historical accuracy, often a scattered mix of punk, goth, Victorian and medieval/renaissance wear. Staying historically accurate wasn't as important as simply having a good time with other people at the festival. Often, a 'good time' involved working either independently, or with the festival crew to have fun at the expense of the masses of tourists on the grounds, and doing so with a theatrical flair.

This was the first time Lexx was actually acting in the employ of the festival. Even though technically she wasn't legally employed yet, not in the sense that tax forms and other paperwork hadn't been filled out yet. William, introduced by Bernard as the general manager of the festival grounds, had assured Lexx everything would be fine. She wondered just how much he knew of her situation, though she had been too shy to ask at the time. Lexx had avoided most everyone there due to a fear that any discussion of why exactly she was here would reveal her wanted status in Chicago, and put an end to the strange generosity the festival was giving her.

Bernard said all the official matters would get taken care of tomorrow, another reason for the nervous inability to sleep. Lexx knew there would be an interview, and guessed there would be some paperwork to fill out as well. She was depressingly certain that most of what had gone down in Chicago would be brought to light, she could only trust Bernard's word that all had already been taken into account, and the invitation still stood. It sounded easy to believe then. Now, with the hours counting down to that day, in the stormy night, Lexx was running scenarios through her head of being humiliated and exposed by a panel of faceless judges, being deemed too risky to be let into the festival staff and thrown out of the grounds.

The worried depression was combining with the heavy storm, brewing volatile results. Part of Lexx wanted the storm to get stronger, to flatten and destroy everything around her, up to and including the entirety of Chicago, just so she didn't have to worry about this anymore. Lexx pulled up the plastic hood and headed out into the rain, despite the knowledge that a walk would probably do nothing to calm her nerves. Lexx's ankles and feet were immediately soaked and caked with runny mud. Mist clung to her face as the rain formed a thrumming pressure against the plastic hood, plastering the poncho to her body.

Lexx didn't mind, it wasn't the harshest weather she had gone through. There was a time when she was caught in a much worse storm, with less to protect her from it. Lexx slapped at an errant mosquito, the downpour did little to dissuade them from her warmth and blood. She made her way through the aisle to muddy passageway beneath the trees, leading to one of the backstage areas. The festival ground lay mostly in the depths of a small, but thick forest. It was essentially a small village made entirely of several blocks worth of false building fronts, stages and a handful of amphitheatres. Lexx pushed through several errant branches and ascended the steps, ending up on the westernmost stage on the grounds.

This was the first time Lexx had ever been here after dark. Electrical lights were few and far between here. A couple dozen miles north of Chicago, the closest actual town to the festival was a good three miles away. The grounds were lit by four lights spread over a half mile area. The majority of it was in complete darkness, only occasionally lit by the electric lightshow going on above. Lexx walked across the stage and carefully down the stairs, ending in the thick grass below.

The grounds were an alien realm here at night, before the start of the actual festival itself. It wouldn't be starting for several more weeks. Lexx marveled at how, even in the midst of the storm, the place had such a beautiful serenity from its sheer contrast to what she was used to. The spaces looked somewhat smaller and more comfortable when there weren't droves of tourists swarming about. The grass was not yet trampled flat and ground into the dry dustbowl the the festival grounds always became by the end of its summer run. Even if she were limited to just human senses, Lexx would be able to feel a calm magic about the area.

Having access to senses beyond normal human capabilities, even if not fully understood, allowed Lexx to realize just how special this area was. The storm only served to increase the sense that the entire area only remained as part of this reality by a carefully maintained 'net' anchoring it down. Lexx paused, wondering what gave her that mental image. Every moment she stayed here, it felt like it would be the most natural thing in the world if she were to stumble sideways and end up on a completely different frequency of reality. Maybe the Dark, maybe somewhere else entirely, it seemed like endless possibility was here.

Lightning flashed again, and in its afterglow, Lexx thought she saw a hooded figure walking far ahead of her. Attempts to get a better glimpse of it failed utterly as darkness fell again. Sweeping her cane ahead to make sure she didn't accidentally run into any benches, Lexx gave pursuit. Progress was slow, there were a number of obstacles hidden by the pouring rain that Lexx didn't care to trip over. Eventually she made her way to a cross-street between two rows of storefronts. When the festival opened, they would house a number of shops containing outfits, weapons and various overpriced doilies. Right now they presented a series of closed doors and lowered wooden barriers. In one a dim light glowed from the second story windows, one of the merchants arriving early to start sorting goods and cleaning up.

Not knowing if she were actually on the trail or not, Lexx continued in the general southerly direction she thought she had seen the hooded figure moving. She began to wonder if she had really seen anything at all, or if it was just a trick of the lightning combining with her nervous tension. Another flash and Lexx saw that she was in one of the three main clearings, this one home to the single largest tree on the grounds. There was no doubting it this time, there was a distinct figure in something dark and hooded standing by the tree. Lexx made her way up the short hill, shivering a little as the sticky plastic poncho continued to sap her heat.

There was no one at the tree when Lexx arrived, she wasn't very surprised. They had probably seen her coming a mile away and didn't want to be disturbed. Lexx's teeth chattered in the cold as she looked around the clearing. Nearby was one of the smaller stages, slightly further away was a large, half-carved statue. It had remained unfinished for as long as Lexx had been coming to the festival. The tree itself dominated everything, looming twisted and gnarled over the entire scene. During the Summer Festival, the tree was the site of a lively drum circle that marked the official close of every festival day. It was here that Lexx first met Mael in person. In between shivers, she smiled at the memory.

Lexx shivered again, her teeth now starting to chatter. There was something unnatural about the cold, it bit far more than the summer should have. Lexx closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around herself, trying to keep some little heat within herself. Even so, her fingers slowly began to lose feeling, as if the air around her were greedily sucking out the heat. Coming on the heals of that was another sensation, a small but insistent itch beginning to spread across her chest. In between shivers, Lexx was forced to rub her chest in growing frustration. The itch was intensifying faster than the cold, and soon Lexx was reaching into her poncho to scratch her skin directly.

What she found was surprising. Her fingers brushed across skin burning with a feverish heat and slick with sweat. Her fingers didn't feel the slightest bit cold either, her body was radiating heat in a stark contrast to the numbing coldness she was feeling. But any real contemplation of the matter would have to wait as the itch became even greater. In frustration, Lexx ripped off the poncho, heedlessly exposing herself to the downpour in her attempt to remove the irritation.

"Do you need help with that?"

Lexx gasped and jumped, nearly falling as she spun to confront the owner of the voice. It was the dark, hooded figure, or someone in similar clothing. They pulled the hood back, revealing a face that was so familiar to Lexx, yet all the more irritating because she couldn't quite place it. It was a woman, with long dark hair pulled back into a simple ponytail. In the near non-existent light it was hard to tell skin tone, but her features looked slightly Mediterranean. Lexx caught her breath and forcefully ignored the itching and phantasmal cold, "Hey... I didn't notice you, are you part of cast?"

The woman stepped forward, "You look like you're in discomfort."

She reached forward with surprising speed, caressing Lexx's shoulder with a cool, rain-slicked hand. Lexx gasped again and stopped rubbing her chest, she hadn't even realized she had started again. In the moment the woman touched her, all the cold and itching pain had stopped, as if switched off. Lexx found her dropped cane and carefully held onto it. She considered reaching for the poncho but decided it was already well too late for that. In the few seconds she had been exposed to the showers, Lexx was completely soaked. "Who are you?" she asked, "You look familiar."

"Really? I have seen you once or twice before," the woman said, her gaze dreamily transferring back to the gnarled tree, "My name's Kristin."

"Lexx," Lexx said, "Are storm-inspired walks a normal thing with you too?"

"The weather's not important to me, it's the location that catches my interest," Kristen said, "Can't you feel it? It feels like an entire world is waking up again, after a long winter nap. And we're going to be here to experience it."

"With luck, yeah," Lexx said, "This place does seem a little more... fluid than average."

Kristen smiled, "Of course it is, it was designed that way. These grounds and those who maintain them are pretty much an anomaly that hasn't been regularly seen for... oh, centuries at least. Even with the massively higher population density of today, such a public collection of people who have peered beyond the veil that covers a majority of humanity, all working to maintain and empower a place like this... it simply doesn't happen."

"So I'm guessing you're in the know then," Lexx said, leaning her head back and allowing the cool rain to run down her neck. She slapped her forearm, managing to slay one of the mosquitoes feeding on her, "I haven't had it all explained to me yet, I'm just learning as I go along."

"You can't explain it all, you should know that already. Once the veil of ignorance is lifted slightly, the only thing you can be certain of is just how even in your new paradigm, your own ignorance of the greater world around you is only marginally less than the average person on the street. For every answer you might receive about the things you once considered physically impossible, it only raises several more questions, and before you know it you are caught in the web of ever expanding ignorance and uncertainty," Kristen looked back at Lexx, her dark eyes flashing with a strange hunger, "Of course it always keeps things interesting."

"Interesting is one of the nicer words I'd use to describe it," Lexx said, "I prefer 'aggravating', especially when I try to make some things go right in this bloody universe."

"And who's going to determine what's right or wrong?" Kristen countered, "The people here have set things up to fleece tens of thousands out of both money and energy, year after year. The money goes to continue the charade and attract more prey, the energy is slowly and subtly sucked out of every participant and patron and funneled right here, to feed the beings which truly run things and help honour the agreements which initially set up this plot of land. Such wholesale predation on an unknowing populace could hardly be considered 'right', even if the draining of energy is so spread out, it still affects tens of thousands of people. Yet, should something truly threaten humanity, something so alien to everything they consider a part of normal reality that people have no means to counter, overcome or even survive the attack, let alone comprehend it, this is one of the only places in the world that has the means to hold out and possibly counterattack. So is it right to deceive and spiritually dessicate on such a large scale, simply to prepare for an eventuality that might simply never occur?"

"You've thought this through, have you?" Lexx asked, "I've so far been okay with simply doing what I can to counter the aims of Maccadyne. Unfortunately it's left me... damaged, and someone very close to me pretty much comatose. And now I'm... well, I'm not very popular in Chicago."

"Yes, wanted for murder, so I hear," Kristen said, "Which is why you're hiding out here."

"So you know who I am too," Lexx said, "Great."

"Don't worry, most everyone in charge of making decisions around here does. Your suitability was discussed at length before the invitation was offered."

"Just who are you?" Lexx asked, "And why the hell do you look so familiar to me?"

"I'm sure you'll catch it soon enough," Kristen said, "I'm more of an ambassador than anything. I'm sort of a middleman between the people here, and things which would otherwise have a very difficult time conveying things in terms that humans would comprehend. Right now it's basically my job to make sure they wake up without a hitch."

"Wait!" Lexx's eyes widened, "I know you! Queen Mab, you were on the... the world with the Plant!"

Kristen smiled, "So it's not a mistake in my perception, you truly do bear her mark."

"What?"

"Look for yourself," Kristen pointed toward's Lexx's chest.

Lexx stared in awe. It was initially difficult to see, but once caught, it was unmistakable. All along Lexx's upper chest were spiraling, branching lines of iridescence. They glimmered and sparkled like liquid glitter, refracting in the streams of rainwater that washed over them. Lexx breathed more heavily, she knew where those lines had come from, just like she knew where she had seen Kristen before. "It was all real, then," Lexx said numbly.

"Reality is entirely subjective," Kristen said, "The fey simply understand that and utilize far better than most. It looks like you will be needed here, as my masters would be very interested in seeing that message."

"But... you're the one who wrote it on me. To contact... to send..." Lexx faltered, "Wait, but how the hell are you here? You sent me here to petition-"

"A case of mistaken identity," Kristen said, "You may well have run into someone who looked and sounded exactly like me. Because they are me, sort of. I'm just the one who took her place when she agreed to leave."

"You're Mab's changeling," Lexx said in disbelief, "This is fucking insane."

Kristen smiled, "Insanity is just a matter of perception. Tell the average person all about the things you regularly see and deal with right now and they'll happily have you committed."

"Okay, you know what? Fine. I'll roll with it, so when can I see yours, er, Queen Mab's masters? She might owe me a favour if I get the message passed on and she gets allowed to return here just like she wanted."

"Not for a while yet, they are not yet awake for the season," Kristen said, "Though I get the impression you have entirely ulterior motives for being here."

"Aside from running from Veronica of Maccadyne and her pet cops? Maybe," Lexx said.

"Would you care to take part in an experiment I'm running as of right now?" Kristen asked.

"What are you talking about?"

"You're here for someone else, aren't you?" Kristen guessed.

Lexx looked at her, "Look, are you digging into my head or something?"

"Yes, I am, at least some of your emotions. You're rather desirous of a certain form of company. Unfortunately I can only get feelings, rather than specific facts, so I'm only taking a guess from what little I do know of you: Is it Mael?"

Lexx looked down.

"Have the police gotten her?"

"Not exactly," Lexx shook her head, "Mael is... out of commission at the moment."

"But not dead," Kristen nodded, then walked a little closer to the tree, "Is she sick?"

"No, it's kind of hard to explain," Lexx said, hesitating briefly before adding, "She's in a bit of a coma at the moment."

"From some sort of injury?" Kristen had jumped nimbly into the tree. Lexx noticed she had bare feet, they caught and held firmly, despite the rain slicked bark.

"You could say that."

"How would you like for her to get better quicker?"

Lexx looked upward as Kristen climbed higher, she appeared to be rummaging through the leaves about twenty feet above the ground. "Don't get my hopes up," Lexx said, fruitlessly wiping the rain from her face and trying to shield her eyes from the downpour while still looking upward, "I will be very, very unhappy if you can't back up that implicit claim."

"You will, of course, owe me a favour for this," Kristen said from above, "Catch."

"Catch? Oh shit," Lexx scrambled as she caught the slightest glimpse of something other than rain falling towards her.

Despite the odds against it in the dark downpour, Lexx felt the weight of something solid practically fold into her hand. Blinking rapidly to get the remaining rainwater out of her eyes, she looked at the dark, ovoid object in her palm.

"An acorn?"

"That's it's physical shell, yes," Kristen dropped to the ground next to Lexx, falling the twenty feet without so much as a grunt, "But inside... this is just one of a dozen or so growing over this tree, this one's about two summers old."

"Okay, I'm guessing there's something special about it?" Lexx asked, she rolled it around in her hand, "It does feel a little heavier than it ought... but that might just be my imagination."

"Give it to Mael," Kristen said, "See what she does with it."

"What? Is this supposed to wake her up?" All pretense at disinterest evaporate as Lexx eyed Kristen hopefully.

"Maybe, depends on how Mael feels about it," Kristen said, she took Lexx's hands in her own, they were very cold, "I'd suggest keeping this close to you at all times, though. I don't know how long it will remain effective if it's separated from another life to sustain it."

"Are you saying it's going to feed off me or something?" Lexx asked.

"It might, but if it does, it shouldn't even be noticeable," Kristen said, "Think of it like a battery, it can hold a lot of power, but disconnect it from the power source, and its charge will slowly go down."

"You sound like Viktor."

Kristen's eyes widened in mild surprise, "The corrupter?"

Lexx narrowed her own eyes, "You know him?"

"Everyone knows Viktor, dear, he is not very welcome around here. If you're involved with him... you would do well not to mention it to those in charge."

"I've heard it from him," Lexx said, "You're not going to tattle on me, are you?"

"If you were too deeply involved with him," Kristen said, "Your body would make it so obvious that my own testimony wouldn't be needed. Be careful around him, Lexx."

"So being a suspected murderer won't disqualify me, but hanging out with the creepy guy will?"

"There are some things worse than murder," Kristen said, turning to walk away, "Have a good night's sleep."

Lexx debated pursuing her, asking, demanding more information. Kristen had mostly disappeared into the falling sheets of rain when Lexx decided it probably wasn't going to show any results. She headed back to the campground, batting ineffectually at the growing number of mosquitos. The rain was beginning to die away, though there was still the occasional rumble of thunder. Maybe Lexx would be able to get some sleep after all... if she weren't completely soaked and with only the blanket to use as a towel. Maybe she could ask Bernard tomorrow to loan her enough money to get one.

"Ms. Beltran?"

Lexx jumped, she hadn't seen the light until it was nearly upon her. It was attached to a flashlight, which itself was being held by the night watchman, someone whose name she hadn't gotten yet.

"Ms. Beltran? Is that you?"

"Yeah, sorry, you scared me."

"Oh, sorry about that, is everything okay?"

"Yeah, it's fine, just taking a walk," Lexx said.

"Hmm, bit of an odd night for that, Ms. Beltran."

"I have trouble sleeping during storms," Lexx said.

"Yes, scared of them?"

"The opposite, I love that."

"Oh, well, heading back off to bed then?"

Lexx yawned, "Getting that way, I need to try for a little sleep at least."

"Well, a little cocoa to warm you up from the storm before you go?" the watchman offered, taking out a thermos, "It's a hell of a night, it can only help."

"Thanks," Lexx said, taking the offered cap full of sweet smelling liquid without thinking. She took a long sip, "It's really good."

"Thanks, my wife taught me this recipe, she says it came from her mother."

"Okay, I better get off to bed then, it's good knowing you're looking out for us though," Lexx yawned again.

The watchman nodded respectfully and headed off in the opposite direction. Lexx pushed her way through the wet trees, developing a slight stagger as she finally reached her tent. She pulled the flap aside with one hand and tossed her cane in with the other. Lexx hunched over and walked the two steps in, then turned and flopped on the air mattress. No one else stirred in the campground. Lexx yawned again, this one nearly painful, then stretched. She had removed the poncho and stripped down to a mildly damp bra and panties.

Lexx held the acorn out in her hand, debating on what to do with it. Kristen had said to keep it close to her, Lexx tried to figure out the best way to do that while she was asleep. Eventually she settled for pulling out her sports bra and allowing the acorn to settle between her minimal cleavage. It would be a little uncomfortable, but no more so than sleeping in the sports bra would normally be, it wasn't the first time Lexx was lamenting the inability to pack a more thorough wardrobe for this.

Thoughts on asking Bernard about possible loaner-clothes were interrupted by another yawn. Lexx nearly tipped over in dizzy sleepiness. Perhaps she would be able to get a proper night's sleep after all. Lexx aimed for the pillow, pulling the blankets up and making it halfway before consciousness simply left her and she collapsed into the air mattress.

[Oni Koneko Damien]

Chapter 13

Samuel Hudson used to be suicidal. He had wanted to die, but as a good Christian, he felt suicide would be a sure ticket to Hell. Having been raised in a strict Catholic family, Sam had very firm ideas of what was moral and right. To this day Sam still bore the scars that represented the difficulty of growing up right in the Lord's eyes, and work to justify the effort that had gone into his upbringing every day. For his dad it was too late already, after a night of heavy drinking, the old man had solved his marital problems and unemployment with the aid of an illegally purchased glock.

Though his mother tried her hardest, Sam suspected that she didn't quite have the faith her husband did, and set out to find his own way to Christ's Salvation. His father had stumbled, and Samuel knew only faith would see him through the chronic bouts of depression he suffered from. His mother died of liver failure when he was twenty, and after a brief stint in the army, he was left with their small apartment in the town of Racine, just south of Milwaukee. For several years he lived alone, like his father he shared the vice of drinking, though he indulged himself fully only after thoroughly checking that it wasn't heavily prohibited in the Bible. Sam wasn't certain about a lot of things, he read his Bible and tried to live by its dictates just as he was told by his father and the priests. But they themselves seemed to ignore so much.

Samuel eventually came to the conclusion that while the Bible may be the divinely inspired word of God, it was also written by the hand of Man, and thus subject to Man's folly and margin of error. Even those who said that everything within the great book was to be strictly followed seemed to realize this on a subconscious level. For instance, Samuel noted the great, if overzealous Christian Pat Robertson, despite his alleged faithfulness to the dictates of the Bible, failed to let his beard grow out in direct violation of the rules laid out in Leviticus.

The apartment was paid for by a series of short term temp jobs, but eventually the worsening economy forced even those to give out. With no job and an ill-advised marriage on the rocks, Samuel began to turn desperate for the means to survive. Things came to a head when his wife, Margaret left him and the final warning came for his past-due rent. It was then that Samuel met Buckley at a bar. Buckley was a police sergeant with a problem. There was an homicide case so very close to getting cracked, but legal red tape was holding them back from raiding the suspect's known hideout and apprehending both him and the key evidence in his possession. Samuel, ever the lover of rightfully administered justice, offered his own help in the matter and after some haggling and promises to secrecy an agreement was reached.

Sam was amazed at how much money was earned simply by doing God's will and punishing the wicked when the government appointed forces of justice had their hands bound by the laws they themselves had created. The rent was paid and food was on the table. To Sam it was a vindication of his own views, divine proof of that he was on the correct path. The written laws, accurate or not, were not to be followed on their say-so alone. What was important was following the living laws of God, here and now. Serving Him and protecting His creation without worrying about being burdened by ancient and possibly outdated laws for a society that simply did not exist anymore.

Several years were spent honing his skill on a case by case basis. At the same time his popularity among the less scrupulous aspects of law enforcement, and some other agencies as well, grew immensely. Before long it seemed a number of people all knew about a certain someone who could take care of certain dirty work or cut around bothersome legal boundaries for a manageable sum of money. Now Samuel considered himself to be living the good life, but all the same he continued to read the Bible every day. Maybe those who wrote it weren't entirely correct in what they wrote, but it was still enlightening to see into the minds of others who were close to the Spirit.

Today was meant to be the beginning of Samuel's first official vacation, the first time he was deliberately taking time off before opening himself up to more jobs and requests. The money made from the last run would be more than enough to last him at least four or five months, and he was only planning on spending a few weeks kicking back. Perhaps a trip to one of the coasts? Samuel had never been that far before. Though his work took him almost anywhere from Minnesota to the bottom half of Illinois to the eastern border of Ohio, he had never left the old Racine apartment he had grown up in.

Maybe someday he'd retire and do what he truly wished to do: Set up his own ministry. There were so many churches and organizations all about, but one thing Samuel had learned in his life was that you had to forge your own path to God, and none of the churches taught that. He could make something new, with self-discovery as a focus and hopefully give others a better chance at finding their own redemption in the Spirit. Until then, it was good to keep his head down and do his work, helping to protect God's creation in his own little way. Bringing the wicked to justice and acting as the hidden arm of the law.

Samuel was heading down I-94, planning on going to Chicago, but first making an exit marked by the sign, 'Summer Festival Grounds'. He wove through the directions given to him, exiting onto County Road B, further following the signs pointing toward the festival grounds. Samuel had heard of the Summer Renaissance Festival, he had been there a few times when he was much younger. Despite its claims to be an historical re-enactment, Samuel had seen then what he would come to fight against, in his roundabout way, now. It was a den of idolatry, a location where pagans, satanists, witches and other sinners came to revel in their damnation.

There was a dark figure on the side of the road, barely visible in the fine drizzle, save for the small flashlight it held. Samuel pulled his van up on the side of the road, the wheels grinding into the dirt embankment. He rolled down the passenger window. "Mr. Valdez?" he asked the poncho-wearing man.

The man nodded, "Mr. Hudson?"

"Just Sam," Samuel said, "Now that introductions are done with, perhaps you can explain why I simply have to come out here on a night like this? You did say it would be worth my time."

Samuel had a revolver hidden just out of sight. You could never be too careful with things like this.

"I promise you it is," Mr. Valdez said, "And for a little compensation, I can lead you right to something which might stand to make you a lot of money."

"First thing's first," Samuel said, "Exactly how did you hear about me?"

"I've been working security for eight years," Mr. Valdez said, "I have a few buddies in the Kenosha PD, they've dropped your name a few times, said you were really good at bringing in the type that the police simply couldn't."

Samuel nodded, "You could say that. I don't want to be prideful, but ain't no sin in lettin' others do your bragging for you, is there? So, why do you need my services tonight? On such short notice?"

"Mind if I hop in, Sam?" Mr. Valdez asked, "I can explain it to you on the way in."

"Hop on up," Samuel said, reaching over and opening the passenger door. Mr. Valdez got in, closing the door behind him. He indicated that Samuel should continue driving down the dirt road, into the thick forest. A barely visible sign said 'Staff Parking Only'. Samuel took at look at Mr. Valdez, noticing the thermos he clutched, "Whatcha drinkin' there?"

"Oh this?" Mr. Valdez asked, "You probably don't want any of it. It's the best damned hot cocoa you've ever tasted, but it's got a little extra something of my own mixed in."

"Alcohol?" Samuel asked distastefully.

"Nah," Mr. Valdez chuckled dryly, "Roofies."

Samuel nodded, "I'm guessin' this is related to why I'm here then."

"You could say I'm making both our jobs easier," Mr. Valdez turned to face Samuel, "Tell me, does the name 'Alexxia Beltran' mean anything to you?"

Samuel slowed the van down. He looked long and hard at Mr. Valdez, "How much is she worth to you?"

"One thousand, I'll show you the tent she's conked out in, and even help you load her into the van."

Samuel smiled, "Deal, you're going to make a lot of people very happy with this. You might even get a medal or something."

[Oni Koneko Damien]

Part 2

Chapter 1

Lexx didn't want to wake up yet, Lexx hurt all over. She had slept in a bad position, it felt like. She tried to remember what she had dreamed about, but all that came to her were fuzzy non-recollections of suffocation and repression, half-formed mental images of being dragged and trying to open her eyes but being unable to.

In a sense, it was almost the same as what she had just woken up to. For a moment Lexx wondered if she were still dreaming. The somewhat rational nature of her thoughts argued against it, Lexx was in that somewhat steady mindset and mostly clear chain of memory that suggested she was awake, even if she knew nothing else. She could hear the sound of a vehicle, and wondered if she were still in the car with Bernard, the most recent similar experience.

Lexx's thoughts were interrupted by the spasms of pain. The primary sources were in her neck and back, muscle cramps that suggested she had not kept her head in a very comfortable position while she was sleeping. Another pain was in her wrists, a harsh, abrasive sensation, as if something had been steadily rubbing away the skin there. There was a similar pain in her chest, though this one was more like a bruise than anything. Finally her stomach turned with a low, constant nausea. She had eaten something that disagreed with her badly.

With a groan, Lexx slowly, painfully twisted her head back and forth, trying to work out the worst of the cramps. As she did, something shifted and moved with her head, maybe she was caught in the blankets. An attempt to reach up and massage her own neck failed, for some reason she couldn't simply move her hand up there to do it. Every attempt resulted in more of that burning, chafed pain around her wrists. Lexx felt about them carefully, discovering the metal rings encircling each, and the chain connecting the two rings.

"Mornin', you feeling okay?"

Lexx moved her head back and forth a little faster, trying to ignore the pain and think. It was slowly dawning on her that perhaps her head wasn't stuck in the blanket after all. Something pressed against her chest and her midsection, preventing any attempt to move from the relatively soft seat she was in. A little creative thought and she managed to connect the pressure to a seat-belt. Lexx tried to move her hands again. A metallic clink suggested she was currently wearing a pair of handcuffs, looped around the waist-band of the seat-belt. Lexx slid her wrists along that band until she had reached the buckle. She pressed the button.

Nothing happened, the seatbelt remained attached.

Lexx pressed it again, growing a little nervous.

"Sorry hon, that belt's got a special lock on it, I'm the only one that can release it."

Lexx tried to place the voice and failed. She tried reaching up again, only to be once more restrained by the cuffs and the seat belt. She finally figured it out, a cloth bag of some sort was over her head, preventing her from seeing anything. Lexx groaned once more, partially out of pain and partially out of desperation.

"You okay hon? Just let me know if you're feeling ill and we can get that taken care of," the voice said again.

"You're not," Lexx's voice was dry, it hurt to speak. She coughed several times and tried again, "You're not letting me go... are you?"

"I'm not the one who's making that decision," the voice said, an adult male, "As soon as I had you over to the police... well I won't lie, I doubt they're going to let you walk."

"Do you have a name?" Lexx asked, "Mine's Lexx."

"I know, I know what you did too, Lexx."

"I really doubt that," Lexx said, the stomach cramps were getting to the point where they rivalled the back and neck cramps for worst pain, "Look... what are you getting for this? What can I do to make you rethink it?"

"Well hon, I'll be getting close to ten grand for your delivery to the police, I don't think you can beat that, even I were accepting higher bids."

"No... no I can't..." Lexx searched, "Umm... you sound like a nice person Mr... uhh..."

"Just call me Sam."

"Okay, Mr. Sam. Can I appeal to you on moral grounds? Something other than just profit?"

"Doubtful Ms. Beltran. I try to do right in the eyes of the Lord, and turnin' a murderer over to the cops definitely seems like the right thing to do to me."

"Okay," Lexx licked her lips, trying to find some leverage, "Alright, so you serve the Lord and want to do good in the world. I can... I can get behind that. It's just, I was framed. I didn't murder that man."

Did she just outright lie about that? Lexx was getting ever more nervous, and the pain wasn't helping things at all. At least she hadn't starting crying yet, though it was getting close to that point. All of this was far to reminiscient to her first involuntary trip to Maccadyne's basement levels, and Lexx was pretty certain that's where she would be sent, one way or the other, once she was handed over to the cops.

Lexx continued, "The thing is, these cops, they're on the payroll of Maccadyne Incorporated. Do you know who they are?"

"That I do," Sam said, "But forgive me for not taking you at your word. I understand you're in a bad situation, but I also understand that someone in your situation is going to do anything they can to get out of it."

"You have to believe me," Lexx persisted, hearing her own voice crack, "Maccadyne is... fuck it, I don't care how crazy it sounds, Maccadyne is run by demons, alright? I don't know what they're doing, but I got involved... and they kidnapped me and... and tortured me. They gave me this bad knee! They have the Chicago police in their pocket, and the police are just going to send me right back to them!"

There was silence after the outburst. Lexx took in a ragged breath, "You're not even listening, are you?"

"I'm listening," Sam said, "But I'm not hearing much sense out of you. I'm guessing you're not exactly a Christian yourself, which means you're on the wrong path. I'd like to guide you there myself, but I don't believe that's my role in things, not yet anyways. You've done wrong, and I'm handing you over to the people who can help you make amends for that. Then it's up to you to find the right-"

"Oh fuck your proselytizing!" Lexx exploded, "They're going to torture me! Please.... please I'm begging you, don't do this to me..."

"You're a murderer, Ms. Beltran, you've brought this upon yourself."

Lexx sniffled loudly, the tears were running now, "Fuck you... just... fuck you..."

There was silence for an unknown period of time. Lexx spent most of it crying until she had some semblance of control over herself. The van had slowed down several times, even come to a stop once. Several turns were made, and finally the van pulled to a stop and stayed that way. A second later the engine was killed, "Okay, we're here. I'm gonna have to ask you to keep quiet while I'm on the phone. Shoutin' ain't gonna do you no good, it's just gonna irritate me, and if I'm irritated, you're not going to like it."

"Whatever," Lexx muttered, "I'm already not liking this, you fucking false Christian."

"What was that?"

"I said you're a false Christian, pretending to do the Lord's work, you're just another kidnapper for hire."

"At least I don't have blood on my hands, Ms. Beltran. I sincerely pity your soul if you're too prideful to seek salvation for that sin."

Lexx looked away, or at least tried to. She folded her hands and waited, it was effectively all she could do.

"Hello? Sam here, where do you guys... inside? Understood, I'll bring her right in."

The driver's side door opened and shut. A few seconds later Lexx felt the hot, humid air outside hit her as Sam opened the passenger door. "Okay Lexx, I'm going to switch your arms behind you, which means taking off the cuffs. I've got a little needle on me full of stuff that will put you right to sleep, but I don't want to use it. So don't try anything stupid, you've still got the seatbelt holding you down, and we can just get this over with quickly, understood?"

Lexx nodded, then realized the hood probably obscured the motion. "Fine," she said, her voice broken and quiet.

Roughly callused hands grabbed Lexx's forearms. There were several clicks and the handcuffs were removed. Lexx rubbed the sore patches on her wrists, they lay almost adjacent to the darker, rougher patches of skin that marked her captivity in the Plant. "Okay now, just lean forward and put your hands behind your back."

Lexx did so. There was a harsh tearing noise, then her wrists were bound right back together with something sticky. Duct tape, probably. There was another click, and the seatbelt was suddenly no longer biting quite so deeply into her. A second later and it was removed entirely. "Okay hon, out you go, watch your step, as it's a bit of a drop."

Guided gently, but firmly out of the van, Lexx felt one hand wrapped around the back of her neck, the other held her restrained forearms. Lexx nearly collapsed against the side of the hot vehicle, her legs were both half-asleep still. "Come on Miss, we don't have all day here."

"Hold on," Lexx protested, "My bad knee... where's my cane?"

"You'll do without Miss, let's go," Sam said.

Sam was nice enough to support her a little as he forcefully led her, barefoot, down a concrete path. Lexx made two turns, her limp steadily growing worse after each one, then she was led through a doorway. It felt like an interior space now, open but musty, not air-conditioned.

"Well I'll be damned," someone said.

"Is that really her?" someone else asked.

"You damn right it's her," Sam's voice said, "Now where's the money?"

"Here's the receipt," one voice said, "The actual transaction will go through once we verify it's Alexxia."

"Why not take the hood off and find out yourself?" Sam asked, "Because I'd rather like my money right now if it's all the same to you."

"Not a chance," the voice said, "Have you seen what this bitch is capable of? I'm not letting her see a thing until she's in the back of a patrol car at the very least."

"Well we're at a bit of an impasse," Sam said, "Because I'm not giving her up until I get my money."

"Chief's orders," said the second unknown voice, "No money until her identity is verified."

"Aw fuck it," the first voice said, "Just give him the money."

"But the chief-"

"The chief ain't here right now, and Sam's good business. He knows better than to bring us the wrong mark, doesn't he?"

"My business depends on my quality," Sam said, "I give you my word it's her."

"Okay," said the second voice, "Here's the stuff."

Lexx felt a new set of hands grab her, these ones a bit colder than Sam's. Sam said, "Pleasure doin' business with you boys."

"I'm going to hunt you down," Lexx muttered in Sam's direction.

"I pray it will be to tell me you've found Jesus," Sam said.

Lexx heard a door slam. A second later she was nearly sent sprawling as her new handler gave her a push, "Okay hon, let's go."

She was grabbed and led along again. This time, though, it was by the top of the hood. Perhaps the cop thought he was also grabbing her hair underneath, failing to remember that Lexx's hair wasn't very long at all. If that was the only portion of her being grabbed, fabric only indirectly connected to her, Lexx could...

Lexx couldn't see where she was going.

That was her biggest limitation, that was why she had felt so hopeless this entire time. She had the ability to warp space and literally jump from one location to another instantaneously, but only if she could see where she was going. Doing it blind would be like jumping through a doorway in pitch black. She didn't know if there was ground on the other side, didn't know if she was going to actually make it through the doorway, or hit the frame or wall. She didn't even know if the door was open or closed. It was literally a shot in the dark.

"Okay bitch, in you go," the voice said.

Lexx heard the sound of a car door opening. It was now or never. She took a deep breath, she really wasn't going to get any other chance than this, and when it came down to it, fucking up and dying might be preferable to what would happen to her if she fell into Maccadyne's, and Veronica's clutches again. More than anything else, she wanted to avoid that. In the darkness of the cloth bag that covered her head, Lexx closed her eyes, trying frantically to concentrate on sound, on just spatial awareness rather than vision.

After all, why should her ability be limited to just vision? It wasn't her eyes that were 'magical', it was her whole body. She had managed to reach out and fundamentally twist the way she viewed the nature of reality itself, hadn't she? When she did the impossible, she was likewise drawing upon that understanding that the purely physical was obviously not the entirety of what she could depend on. Thus it would be silly for Lexx to assume that her vision, something that relied on her purely physical eyes and the nerve-relays that connected them to her brain, would be the be-all end-all for deciding when and where she could use her power.

Lexx concentrated, for a second just allowing herself to feel out what would be the best direction to go in. She opened her mouth, and with some sense of authority, said, "Bamf!"

There was a sensation of dropping off, Lexx's already nauseated stomach nearly jumped into her throat as, at the same time, something tried fervantly to rub the skin off of her cheeks and rip her nose away. It was the cloth bag over her head, pulling rapidly and painfully away. Lexx staggered, her bad knee threatening to give away. She blinked rapidly.

She could see.

Lexx was standing a good six feet from the cop who had been holding her. He still had the black cloth bag in his hand, a dumbfounded expression on his face. The other cop, Lexx didn't pause for details, was halfway in the act of opening a steel gate behind the police cruiser. They were all inside what looked like a rather dusty warehouse. The moment of surprise was over, "Hey, what the fuck?!"

"Bamf!" Lexx stepped toward the cop who had been holding her.

Her hands were bound, only one of her legs was good and she would need that for balance. Lexx used the only real weapon left to her, her head. Crossing the space between them in a fraction of a second, Lexx stepped forward and firmly head-butted the cop, getting a scream of pain in reaction. He sprawled across the open door.

"Hold on!" shouted the second cop, abandoning the gate and running towards Lexx, hand going for his gun.

Lexx looked around, "Bamf."

She was on the other side of the Crown Vic, obviously an older model cruiser than the new Mustangs. Lexx collapsed against the wheel well, dropping painfully to her knees. She offered a quick glance behind her. The edge of the wheel well wasn't very sharp, but it should do. Lexx pressed her duct-taped wrists on the edge of the metal and began vigorously rubbing back and forth. The tape began to fray, then a small portion of it gave away entirely. It was only a few seconds, and both cops were circling the cruiser, aiming for her.

"Bamf."

Lexx was on a walkway, near one of the second-story windows. That was a longer-distance jump than either of the others, and she was already getting winded, her knee was killing her. Lexx placed her palms together and forced her wrists apart. The duct tape tore loudly, but finally gave away, freeing her hands. She ripped the matted chunk of tape off her skin and staggered towards the window. Flipping the lock over, she pushed it open and looked over the gravel roof beyond.

"Freeze!" the cop's voice was accompanied by the metallic sound of a pistol being cocked, "Don't move, I've got a clear shot at you, bitch!"

"Just come on down slowly," said the other cop, "We don't want to hurt you."

Lexx looked over the gravel roof, she offered the cops one last tired glance, "Bamf."

The gravel hurt under her bare feet, but the pain in her knee was outweighing everything else at the moment. Lexx collapsed. She could still hear voices inside the warehouse, "What the fuck? ... How did she do that? ... She's on the roof, come on!"

Still not far enough then, Lexx looked across the street, summoning up what willpower she had left.

"Bamf. Bamf. Bamf."

Three blocks away and four stories higher, Lexx allowed herself to simply roll off the parapet she had jumped onto, hiding on the antennae-studded rooftop. She fought madly for breath, curling into a fetal position and clutching her knee, this was a lot harder to do without her cane. For the next few minutes she remained this way, trusting the assumption that she had put enough distance between her and the cops to be safe while incapacitated with pain and exhaustion for a while. Lexx continued rubbing her knee, but she was trying to look around a little more.

From the look of things, she was back in Chicago. What portion of town, she didn't know, it looked like a combination of heavy industrial, bordering on tenements and slums. Possibly on the south side. So here she was, a white girl, stuck in possibly the middle of gangland, having a bad knee and no cane to support herself with, wearing nothing more than panties and a sports bra. Lexx decided she was going to stay right here on this roof-top for as long as it was safe, or until she had fully caught her breath again, whichever came first.

From there... well since she was back in town, Lexx reached into her sports bra and checked. Among the countless other pains that dotted her body, another briefly flare up. The freshly rising sun reflected off a small bruise that had formed in the very heart of Lexx's cleavage. The acorn that was still there had chafed and pressured, obviously. She picked it out and looked at it, trying to wipe a runny nose. She needed to get this to Mael, the sooner the better.

[Oni Koneko Damien]

Chapter 2

The Holy Name Church was not where Micheal wanted to be at the moment. He never considered himself very religious, in the sense that he wasn't religious in the slightest, really. When he was younger, he was indoctrinated in that sort of passive belief in a generalized Father deity and His Son, just like a majority of people in the country. Gaining in years, Micheal went through the rebellious satanic phase, which eventually degraded to a more comfortable atheism. Ever since his transcendence, though, a form of spiritual belief had been making a steady comeback in his mindset.

And as far as his spiritual belief was concerned, the Holy Name Church wasn't a good place. Not necessarily through any deliberate effort, but then again precisely because of that sort of effort. Micheal was never a fan of large, organized religions, and this church pretty much typified them. It seemed to have left its own spiritual imprint too, the few times since his transcendence that Micheal had been in the vicinity of this place, he had felt... oppressed, shackled. Nothing physical, just that nagging itch in the back of his head that freedom of thought and movement were greatly disapproved of.

Except for tonight, tonight things were very different. It was more than the mostly clouded sky ensuring constant darkness, and the warm, wet breeze representing the last of the storm which was still lashing the countryside just north of the city. Something felt very wrong here, as if the breeze were constantly keeping that vague scent of rot just out of Micheal's reach, yet occasionally leaving just a hint of something nasty festering in the area.

Maybe part of the bad feeling stemmed from the fact that Micheal felt like a complete and utter tool at the moment. For a while he was able to distract himself with thoughts of still being a little pissed at Lexx, but the setting was genuinely creeping him out. It didn't matter if he was doing a job that was originally meant for her, he simply didn't want to be here.

But if he wasn't here, doing this, then come morning, he wouldn't have a guaranteed safe place to stay, far away from being tracked down by certain corrupt police. That was the arrangement: Do a favour for Rose and her still-hidden boss, Mr. Eisei, and have a nice place to stay. Sure, the favour sounded innocent enough, go to the Holy Name Church and observe what happens, report any unusual activity to Rose. Great. Except Micheal knew he wouldn't be sent here unless there was a damn good reason to suspect something was going on, and one of the transcendent wouldn't be sent unless the risk was too great to just buy off some punk on the street to do it.

Micheal tried to find a comfortable position as another warm breeze hit him. It was hard to do on the roof of a church, doubly so in the aftermath of a storm. Most of the surfaces were highly slanted, and those that weren't still had standing puddles of dirty water. For the moment Micheal was content with alternating between two uncomfortable crouching positions that did a relatively good job of preventing his legs from falling asleep. From here he could keep a good view of the main cross-streets, several stories below.

It was an hour and a half into his vigil that Micheal saw the car pull to a stop half a block down the street. Aside from the occasional patrol car and the rare metra bus several blocks away, this was the only traffic this area had seen. The car merely idled there for a few minutes, finally the engine cut and three people exited the vehicle. Micheal got out the cheap binoculars and focused on them. Streetlights were an intermittent thing in this portion of town, but the trio passed under several just bright enough to make out some identifying features.

One male, two females. The male had pale, shoulder-length hair and looked somewhat wirey. Both females were far better dressed. The shorter in a dark red or brown miniskirt that offset her pale skin with black hair cut into a short ponytail, she looked uncomfortable and uncertain. The taller was either black or Mediterranean, it was hard to tell in the dark. She had long, dark curly black hair and was in a dark business suit and miniskirt, she strode with an authority that seemed to take the others in her wake.

They were all heading directly for the church. When the got to the front doors, Micheal shrank back a little, just in case one of them decided to look up to his own little shadowed corner. He heard the doors open far below and decided to move to his other location. Tapping across the roof, Micheal found the small domed skylight with the loose screws. Earlier that night he had moved it partially to the side, revealing an almost complete view of the large vestibule below.

The altar was the only lit place in the entire vestibule, a few hastily rigged tripods with bright halogen bulbs reflected off police tape and splintered wood. Micheal dimly recalled seeing an online story about how vandals, or gang members had broken into the church with intentions of property destruction and got into a fight with the night staff, resulting in three deaths. At the time Micheal hadn't thought to question it. Now, seeing what he did, he was reminded that this church was the general meeting place for the 'Divine Order', a group he and Lexx had had an unhappy run-in with.

Now standing at the altar, they must have come in by one of the back ways while Micheal was watching the front, were Veronica McNielson and an older man that Micheal didn't recognize for a few seconds. He gave a start when he realized it was Police Chief Shrives of the Chicago PD. There were more people standing in the shadows, just out of the direct light of the tripods. Micheal couldn't get enough details to recognize them, and most seemed to be in dirty, but random clothing. Quickly Micheal took out the small dish with a microphone and headset attached to it, a sound amplifier.

The three from outside entered the picture as Micheal pointed the dish downward and listened in. As far as he could tell, it was an arranged meeting between the two groups. Shrives was obviously with Veronica, the police being under her control would make it much easier to keep her own plans, whatever they were, under wraps. The other three, though, Micheal had no idea who they were. For a moment he wished he had a gun with him, but that was back at the apartment the police had raided so long ago. Its absence, and the frustration that came with it acted together as a voice of reason: Even if he had the weapon and could shoot Veronica in the head, what would it do? He had seen her partner, Terrance get shot in the head and continue like nothing, he had seen her transform into something entirely inhuman and was giving more and more credence to Lexx's theory that she was an actual demon. He wouldn't be able to end things that easily.

"It's nice to see you again," Veronica said, "I see you've found another... convert."

"She was a bit of a happy accident," the blonde man said, he looked early or mid twenties.

"You know why we're here," the tall black woman said, "We have a problem with them."

She was indicating the group standing in the shadows. Veronica smiled innocently, "Of course, I'm terribly sorry they've been bothering you."

"Father is concerned," the man said, "They're spreading, and we know they tie back to you somehow."

"I'm afraid Father is mistaken," Veronica said, "The Incomplete are not my creation, I am merely studying them."

"The Incomplete?" the black woman asked, "More like the Mad if you ask me."

"Call them what you want," Veronica said, "I am currently working on ways to control them, guide them to productive ends. Look at the ones around me, they haven't attacked you yet, have they? I'm making progress, but these are just the ones directly under my control, there are far more than that in total."

"Do you know where they come from?" Steven asked, "Or what causes them? Have they spread beyond the city?"

Veronica shook her head, "You're not getting the results of my studies for free I'm afraid. I'll tell you this: The Incomplete aren't just Chicago's problem, not by a long shot."

"So they have spread."

"Wrong, and right. They do spread, but it didn't start in Chicago, this has been around for as long as humanity, or somewhere close to that."

"What is it?"

"Again, Steven, no freebies on what I've discovered, now we had a specific purpose for this meeting," Veronica said.

"Yes, getting them to stop attacking us," Steven said, "You said you could do that for us."

"I never said that," Veronica protested, "I said I could help. Have you ever had an ant farm, Steven?"

"No, what does that have to do with anything?"

"Ants are truly vicious creatures. They are blind and deaf, communicate with each other through nothing more than scents and physical communication. They are notoriously violent and will attack anything they perceive as a threat, namely anything that moves and doesn't identify itself as part of that ants' colony, no matter the size difference. The Incomplete are much like this, they are ants, they violently attack anything that isn't themselves. Sure, they can suppress the urge for a while, but put them in the same space as a human that isn't like them, and eventually they will break down and kill that person."

"Yes, we already know that, what's your point?" the black woman asked.

"Getting to it, Johanna. Did you know there is a certain species of spider that preys on ants. Now understand almost nothing preys on ants other than parasites too small for even the ants to notice. They are simply bags of acid that are too violent to be worth the effort, but this spider does it anyways. It can't mimic the ants' smell, but it can copy the ants' manner of speaking, using its forelegs as fake antennae and tapping the ant on the head. It lures ants, one at a time, back to its nest, where it bites them, paralyzes them, and eats them."

"Yes... and...?"

"I cannot dictate the actions of the Incomplete in this city, not those still out of my control. But I can make you three like that spider that preys on the ants. I can make you effectively invisible to them, so they see you as a non-entity," Veronica said, "I just need some of your blood."

Veronica was holding out a book in one hand, Micheal couldn't see the contents from where he watched. In the other hand was a small knife. Steven looked uncertain and whispered something to Johanna. Johanna shrugged, looking impatient. She took the knife and made a small slice on her middle finger, then squeezing a few drops on the page of the book. "I'm going out for some air," she muttered, turning and leaving the halogen spotlights.

Steven was next, he sliced his thumb and likewise allowed a few droplets of blood to spatter on the opened page. The last was the hesitant looking pale girl. Steven took her by the hand, leading her up the the stage. She whispered something that Micheal wasn't able to catch even with the sound-amplifier. He thought it was, "I don't like her."

"Let's go," Steven said, louder, and slice open her thumb himself.

"Excellent," Veronica said, snapping the book closed, "All I need to do is make a few modifications to the traces of your Father that's in this blood, and the effects should spread to all of you, and anyone else in service to Father."

"And in return?" Steven asked.

"Yes, it's something of a mutual concern," Veronica said, "I believe you're familiar with the individual named Alexxia Beltran."

At this, the small pale girl jumped. Steven merely nodded, "She's of interest to us."

"She is not of interest to me," Veronica said, "However she is connected to someone who is, and I intend to get that information out of her. Unfortunately the last time she was apprehended, certain elements failed to perform their duty and she slipped out of my grasp.

Veronica offered a pointed glare at Shrives, who was suddenly very busy looking elsewhere. Steven coughed, "So you want us to catch her for you?"

"Yes," Veronica said, "You can do whatever you want with her, she's meaningless to me. All I ask is that before you do, let me have a brief conversation with her."

"I will see what I can arrange," Steven said, "Come on April."

As Steven and the small pale girl, 'April' apparently, left, Shrives finally spoke up, "Can we trust them?"

"Shut up Shrives, of course we can't trust them," Veronica said, "Thankfully we don't need to."

"So do you intend to hold up your end of the deal?"

"Not really. It sounds good, sure, but I have no way of doing what I promised," Veronica said, "All I wanted was enough blood, freely given, to extract some of the pure essence of their... patron. There's a lot of power in that, and I have use of it now."

"But then they'll know it didn't work when the Incomplete continue to attack them," Shrives said.

"Of course," Veronica said, "It's an honest mistake. Obviously the properties of the Blood were different from my own experiments, and it will take more research, and possibly more Blood to find out how to compensate for that. There are dozens of plausible sounding excuses I can come up with."

"You know, if you wanted, I could use my own men to hunt them down."

"Your men couldn't keep hold of Lexx, properly arrest Micheal, or track down Mael, let alone handle their benefactor," Veronica said, "Besides, they are still useful. Now try and be useful as well, take the Incomplete and secure the outside of the church while I put this Blood to good use."

"Damnit!" Shrives exploded, "I'm getting a little sick of this Veronica, I've worked hard to get into this position and I think I've earned a little respect."

"So?" Veronica shrugged, "If you're sick of it, leave. Best of luck finding someone else who can give you what I give you."

Shrives smiled craftily, "I don't know, I may have found someone else who can do that. I've been doing a little of my own research, there might be another like you in this city."

"You're really an idiot," Veronica said, "One: Even if that's true, what makes you think they'd be willing to match my offer, or even be interested in you at all? Two: Even if you did come to an arrangement with them, you still have to deal with me when I am fully displeased."

"You can't kill me," Shrives said defiantly, "I know that you have to follow certain rules."

"You'd be amazed what you can live through," Veronica said, "Now be a dear and scram."

There was a sound from behind Micheal, a footstep. He turned to see a gun pointed directly at him. "Eavesdropping?" Johanna asked.

Micheal bit off a scream as the sound-amplifier made her words nearly deafen him. He ripped off the headphones and shook his head before looking back up at the woman. "I have information," he said.

"I'm sure you do," Johanna said, "And I'm sure I could get it from you if I put enough effort into it, but I'm not sure I really care."

"Okay," Micheal said carefully, watching the gun and keeping his hands visible. She didn't look at all unfamiliar with using a pistol. Micheal wiped his nose nervously, "Alright then... so where does this leave us?"

"Depends," Johanna said, "I could leave you as a gift-wrapped present for Veronica."

Micheal's eyes narrowed, "I'm afraid that's crossing the line, it would be a very bad idea to try that."

Johanna nodded, "Okay then, what do you propose to do otherwise?"

"We could just forget this little meeting and go our separate ways," Micheal said.

"No, I don't really think that's practical," Johanna said, "I really like to know where all the pieces lie on the board. You, you're an unknown piece. I don't like that, I cannot simply leave it be."

"Then what would you like out of me?" Micheal asked.

"More than you can provide," Johanna said, "But maybe we can swing a deal. You're Micheal, aren't you? One of those that Shrives is hunting down on behalf of Veronica?"

"I won't say I'm not."

"Good, then you know this Lexx girl," Johanna said.

"I won't say I don't."

"You know that she is capable of more than the average human? Far more?"

"I know she's a little like me in that regard," Micheal said.

Johanna looked at him, "Yes, that makes sense. We might be able to help each other out then."

"How so?" Micheal asked.

Johanna flicked a business card at him, "Call me, daytime is usually best. Just remember that I chose not to kill you, despite the fact that you could greatly complicate things."

"Muchas gracias."

Johanna put away the gun, "I should get back to my associates, tell Lexx I said 'hi', if she remembers me. Tell her... tell her I'm not like Steven, she might understand. Then again she might not."

Micheal watched as Johanna disappeared around the corner of the roof. He pursed his lips, that suit she was wearing did an incredible job of showing off all the right curves, and that aggressive walk did even better at demonstrating how those curves could move. Micheal shook his head, apparently he needed to get laid if he was busy checking out someone who had just pointed a gun at him. Granted, a few of his fantasies involved that. Micheal got up and headed for the corner of the roof he had ascended by.

It was a difficult path down the slick bricks, but the construction of the church had provided plenty of spaces to jump and climb over, as well as certain areas with iron lattice-work and similar climbing aids. Even so, at night with the dampness, it was a job which required his full concentration. Perhaps that's why he didn't notice the person waiting for him below until Micheal's feet touched the ground and something hit him from behind.

Micheal hit the wet wall with a grunt, feeling someone slam into him again from behind, trying to pin him there. There were no words, just harsh breathing and a near growl from his attacker. Micheal planted his hands against the wall and pushed back hard, providing a little space and forcing the unseen assailant back a few steps. Stepping back up against the wall, Micheal brought up an elbow and spun in place. The attacker was already rushing him again, and collided with Micheal's elbow full speed. Micheal heard and felt the satisfying crunch of his attacker's nose collapsing. He turned and followed that up with a straight punch to the man's gut, and as the man bent over, fighting for breath, a third strike aimed at his throat.

"Fucker!" someone screamed, and Micheal saw two more people rushing him.

He ducked the first one and managed to tackle the second, but was punched in the head from behind. Micheal fought back, trying to keep himself measured and tense, but for every hit he landed, they landed two in return. There was something vicious about the way they attacked, all out. Micheal briefly slammed one into the wall and, in the dim light, had a glimpse of his attacker's eyes. It made Micheal pause in shock.

He was back in the subway station, back with the creeps from the tunnel that had attacked him there. There was nothing, no plain physical signs of what was wrong. It was just a general, empathic feeling, looking into those eyes, that this person simply could not tolerate Micheal's existance. It was something beyond hatred, beyond racism or bigotry, it was a pure spiritual repulsion. The pause was unfortunately, it resulted in Micheal taking a hit to the side from his other attacker. As he staggered, pain blossomed in his right calf. Micheal screamed and looked down to see the first attacker, still on the floor, grabbing and biting his leg. He hadn't broken skin, but was pinching tightly with his teeth through Micheal's pants.

Micheal ripped his leg away, kicked the biter in the face with his ankle, looked at the other two attackers and concentrated. For a second time slowed, their rush towards him reduced to a crawl. But it was actually the other way around, Micheal's own existence and perception was increased. It had its limits, but it had its uses as well. Micheal stepped back, then ran around the two rushing towards him, making for a side-alley. Halfway down it, his body protesting in pain, Micheal allowed his time to revert to normal.

Being able to move several times faster than most people was advantageous, but it had its price. The body was made up of physical matter, just like the rest of the universe. It was used to interacting with the rest of the universe at a certain rate. Micheal was no physicist, but he guessed that when the atomic particles outside one's body, the electrons, atoms, molecules and whatever were only heading at one fourth or one fifth the speed of those within the body, the normal interactions between the two were going to get severely fucked up, and if it went on for too long, that accumulated stress would lead to rather nasty damage. That was his own explanation for the pain caused from using his own ability too much.

There were shouts, curses and footsteps following him down the alley. Micheal wasn't out of the clear yet. What were these people? Were they the same as the ones that attacked him in the subway? The 'Incomplete' as Veronica had called them? They must have been the same ones hanging around the altar, sent out to 'secure' the church while Veronica did something with the blood she had gained from whoever that 'Father' guy was. So what were they? Were they related somehow to the zombies that Veronica kept in the disused hospital on the south side?

Micheal turned down another alley and hit a chain link fence. He was still being pursued, and climbed frantically. He dropped to the other side and turned to see four insane, shrieking people hit the fence behind him. Two immediately started climbing while the other two howled obscenities at him. Micheal was grabbed from behind. He twisted and fought everything inside himself to not hit the small, short-haired girl who had grabbed him. She stopped flinching long enough to pull at him, "Come on! I know a safe place!"

[Oni Koneko Damien]

Chapter 3

Leaning heavily on the pole, Lexx reached up and hit the buzzer again. "Come on you creepy bastard, just open the door."

She didn't hear any noise on the other side of the thick door, not that any noise could really get through that massive slab. It wasn't quite a bank-vault, but that certainly wasn't for lack of trying. Lexx fiercely jabbed the buzzer a third time, then pounded ineffectually on the door. With no response, she worriedly glanced behind her, at the traffic going by. No one was slowing down. She supposed that was one of the benefits of living on one of the busier thoroughfares of downtown Chicago, it was hard to get a good look at the place when traffic was whipping by constantly.

Lexx sagged against the wall, slumping down and taking a deep breath. If that bastard wasn't home, or if he had completely moved due to any number of valid reasons, she had no idea where she could go. She had no phone, no money, was out of energy, and had nothing more on her person than her pajamas and a discarded metal signpost that she was currently using as a makeshift walking stick. If any police recognized her, she doubted she would be able to effectively flee.

There was a sound on the other side of the door. A muted click, a louder one, then the door opened a crack. A face peered out from the darkness, framed with long, thick curly hair and sporting a diabolic looking goatee. Lexx painfully got to her feet, wobbling unsteadily in place, "You... fucking... bastard..."

"You look like shit, Lexx," Viktor said, he looked like he had just woken up. Pushing the door slightly closed to undo the chain, Viktor continued, "Get inside before someone sees you and starts thinking weird things about me."

"Please, I'm the least cause for those kind of thoughts," Lexx muttered, staggering inside, "So where's that Schindler guy?"

"Dead," Viktor said bluntly, "Why are you here, waking me up at this horrible hour?"

"It's gotta be close to ten," Lexx grumbled.

"I have a very delicate constitution and require a carefully regulated sleep schedule," Viktor said, pausing to yawn and stretch his well-muscled, nearly seven-foot frame, "Rest assured that if you have cops chasing you, I will happily hand you over to them. I have my own concerns to look out for."

"If they are, they're doing a damn good job of hiding," Lexx said, "Which couch is softest? I'm about to collapse."

"You're not touching the couches, you smell like a landfill," Viktor said.

"I haven't showered in a few days, I think," Lexx said, experimentally sniffing her armpit. She was really too exhausted to register anything, "I have something for you."

Viktor was in the kitchen, rooting through the fridge, "Hand it over."

Lexx grimaced in pain as she gingerly removed the acorn from her cleavage. Viktor came over, a pair of eggs in one hand, he accepted the acorn in the other. Pursing his lips, he tossed it up and down a few times, "It's pretty warm, and smells as bad as you... or maybe that's just you."

"It's spent a day in my cleavage," Lexx said, "So will it do the trick?"

Viktor wrapped his overlarge fist around the acorn, looking thoughtful and distant for a few seconds. He smiled at Lexx finally, "It might work, it's definitely the kind of thing I was looking for. You got this at the festival grounds?"

"Yeah, I ended up leaving there sooner than I intended," Lexx was interrupted by a vicious yawn, "The police have some questionable types doing contract work with them, I kind of got dragged back to the city and had to get myself away."

"Lucky break for you," Viktor said, "So how did you know this is what it is? I'd guess there are thousands of acorns on the festival grounds."

"An old friend hooked me up," Lexx said, leaning against the counter, "So, I don't mean to be impatient, but could we get this started? I'd like Mael awake, you know?"

"First, you're taking a shower," Viktor said.

"I want to see Mael," Lexx persisted.

"Too bad, shower first," Viktor turned Lexx and guided her gently but forcefully down the hall. He stopped at a small closet and removed a black towel, shoving into her hands and giving her a gentle prod into the bathroom. "Use whatever cleaning stuff you want in there, just make sure you're not disgusting when you get out."

"Thanks, you're such a gentleman," Lexx said as the door closed behind her.

"Toss your clothes out the door, I'll get a fresh change for you there when you're done," Viktor's muffled voice said, "You can thank me later."

The shower passed, dreamlike, for Lexx. She dimly remembered undressing, opening the door just a crack to toss her foul-smelling bra and pajamas outside. She couldn't help but notice the bathroom mirror was almost perfectly angled to see her from outside the bathroom even if she were hiding behind the door, but she couldn't see Viktor anywhere out there, peeping or not. She didn't bother to lock the door, if Viktor really wanted in, that wasn't going to stop him. She placed the iron walking stick by the shower door and began the cleaning process.

Hot water came immediately, a thousand minor cuts and bruises sang in mild agony as Lexx just sat beneath the shower head for a while. Eventually she decided to start moving, for fear of simply falling asleep where she stood. Movement woke up other pains, muscle aches and cramps, but Lexx pushed through it anyways. She was thorough, even shampooing and conditioning the short mat of hair on her head. For hair anywhere else, Lexx managed to fish out an unused, disposable razor. Not exactly her brand, but beggars couldn't be choosers.

The hot water lasted the entirely of the shower, despite the fact that she had to have spent at least thirty minutes in there. Getting out to towel herself off, Lexx saw some folded clothes sitting on the toilet, all black. Before dressing, she opened up the mirror, peering in the medicine cabinet behind it. Q-tips, several were used. There were several toothbrushes, but Lexx wasn't as certain about them. She settled for rinsing her mouth out a few times with water, alternating with toothpaste, and scraping her teeth with a fingernail. Not the best, but it would have to do. She finished with gargling some of the Listerine on the sink, she hated the taste, but considered that the lesser evil to cleanliness at the moment.

Lexx pulled on the cloth shorts, sniffing them to make sure they were clean first, then pulled the elastic-waisted skirt over them. She finished with the extra-large Iron Maiden t-shirt, there was no bra offered. Lexx shrugged, grabbed the sign-post and exited the bathroom. Viktor was sitting at the kitchen bar, eating some scrambled eggs, he looked up at Lexx, "Feeling a little more human now?"

"Thanks," Lexx yawned, then indicated the skirt, "I didn't figure you to be a crossdresser."

"A client left that with me," Viktor said, "Sorry about the lack of panties and a bra, I've got a few from certain people stashed, but I never really took the time to figure out how womens' sizes work."

"I'll live without," Lexx said, leaning against the wall, "Did you wake Mael yet?"

"No, and I'm not going to yet either," Viktor said, "The process is going to take a few hours."

"How much is 'a few'?" Lexx asked, yawning again.

"Long enough for you to take a nap," Viktor said, "The guest room is that door right over there."

-----------

Morning light came through the dusty windows. During the last remnants of night, the place had been a series of dark rooms, claustrophobically crowded with large, imposing objects, some tarped, others bare, but no less menacingly suggestive of their true size or purpose. The path here had been somewhat roundabout. The girl had led him across several main streets. Though the sounds of pursuit had died away after the first two blocks, both had considered it prudent to keep running.

The warm night had been sealed away as, with impresive strength for a girl her size, the woman had hauled open one of the cast iron manhole covers, revealing the ladder into the darkness below. Micheal had been doubtful, but for the moment followed without question. Once underground, with the cap pulled back in place, the girl had produced a small flashlight. She led them both through the tight tunnels, getting their feet and shins thoroughly soaked in the process. There was still a good deal of runoff from the storm earlier on.

Checking the number on a maintenance door seemingly at random, the girl handed the light over to Micheal, "Hold this."

The first attempt at turning the handle and opening the door was a failure. Planting her feet on the floor and giving a grunt, she succeeded in lifting the door half an inch up on its loose hinges. This time the handle turned and with a victorious gasp, the woman hauled the door open, "In here."

There was a short hallway beyond, a few doors, one looking like it led to a stairwell. The woman opened the last door and indicated for Micheal to follow her through. They ended up in an elevator shaft. After climbing the access ladder an exhausting four stories, passing by a disused elevator carriage on the second floor, Micheal and the lady swung over into a dusty hallway. Micheal noticed the elevator doors here had been propped open with a screwdriver jammed in one corner.

"These floors are unused," the woman said, "The rest of the building is some accountancy firm or something, they don't even bother with the broken elevator anymore. We should be safe here for a while."

"Gabriel," Micheal said, "That's your name. I remember you, with the Divine Order."

"It's not a good time to talk about that," Gabriel said, leading them to one of the side rooms, a ancient office with archaic machinery stacked in the corner, "If you're tired and able, it's probably a good time to grab a nap."

"Where are your buddies?" Micheal asked, "Were they a part of that shootout I read about?"

"Shhh," Gabriel said, "Don't interrupt, I must give thanks to the Divine Voice for our safety.

'Giving thanks' had taken the better part of an hour, Micheal was keeping track. Once Gabriel had finished with her trance-like meditation, she had taken up a position by one of the windows and was gazing down at the streets below. She refused to answer any questions, simply repeating her earlier suggestion that Micheal get some sleep.

In the end, Micheal had consented, seeing nothing better to do. It was a very fitful rest, one uncomfortable, half-seen dream leading into another, then into passive wakefulness, then back into uncomfortable sleep. Through it all, he caught occasional glimpses of Gabriel looking out the window. Once he thought he saw her crying, but he couldn't be certain it wasn't a dream.

Micheal knew he had slept for a bit longer when he opened his eyes to see sunlight streaming in through the window. Moving his head, he checked out the rest of the room, nothing appeared to have changed other than the lighting since he fell asleep. Stretching painfully, the lack of a bed or adequate pillow was going to leave him with some cramps through the day, Micheal finally looked over to Gabriel, still sitting by the window. She was slumped over in the chair, her chin touching her chest.

For a brief, paranoid second, Micheal thought she was dead. This fear was dispelled a second later as Gabriel's chest rose and fell with the hiss of her steady breathing. Several joints cracked as Micheal got to his feet, he yawned and stretched a little more before walking towards Gabriel. He wasn't quite certain how to wake her. Noise might be a bad idea in this place, and he didn't know how high strung she was, how likely she would be to reactively scream or stab him upon being jostled awake. Eventually Micheal settled on patting her forearm a few times.

Gabriel woke quietly, peacefully. One moment she was asleep, the next her head rose and she was looking at Micheal with those deep brown eyes of hers. "We're on the same side," she said quietly.

Micheal gave a lopsided, tired smile, "I guess so, enemy of my enemy and all."

"No, it's what I've heard, the Voice told me as much."

"You don't strike me as the heavily religious type," Micheal said, "Then again, of course, you do work with the Divine Ord-"

Gabriel shook her head, "No, not anymore, that's gone."

"Oh," Micheal saw an inscrutable expression cross Gabriel's face, "Umm..."

"No, it's alright. I've come to accept it. I've given myself the pain where it was insufficient... they died fighting the diabolic. Now I have to do it in their stead... but if you're with me, I won't be alone."

Micheal took a deep breath, "Yeah, I'm assuming you're talking about Veronica and Maccadyne in general. I'm with you all the way on that. Listen, I did my best to respect the good things your Order did and generally tried to stay out of your way, but-"

"But you don't believe in the Divine Voice, not the way we do... did," Gabriel smiled, understanding, "It's okay, I'm not going to think less of you because of it. Some people might, but for me it's actions, not belief."

"Okay, that's good," Micheal said, "How'd you know to show up and bail me out?"

"An angel told me," Gabriel said, "Besides, I've been keeping an eye on the church ever since... since..."

"Hey, hey, if you need to let it out, it's alright," Micheal said hurriedly, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"No, I'm fine," Gabriel said, looking away, "I've cried over it, I'm punished myself, I need to look on."

"Your friends died, you're entitled to more than just a day or two of occasional crying and... wait, did you say punish?"

"Will it do them any good?" Gabriel asked, "I need to avenge them, and do the world a favour and send that demon back to Hell."

"It will do you good," Micheal said, "They're beyond needs, but you're still alive. Look after yourself."

"It's my job to look after the world, to use my own divine gift to do what others are incapable of," Gabriel said.

"You can't do that if you don't see to yourself first," Micheal said.

"When the choice has to be made, I have to choose the world over myself," Gabriel said, "Anything less is a disservice."

"Fine, can we at least agree that choice hasn't come yet and simply focus on making sure we're okay?"

"Yeah, I guess," Gabriel looked out the window, "I think it's safe to head out now. They usually don't come out during the day."

"They? Are we talking about the ones chasing us last night? Those people... Veronica called them 'Incomplete'. I think I've seen them in other places too," Micheal said, "They kind of hate everyone not like them... almost religious when you think about it."

"They are soulless," Gabriel said, standing up and grabbing the backpack she had left next to her chair, "The weak of spirit who have been corrupted into serving the infernal."

"Yes, or they're some sort of insane with supernatural causes. We're still on the same level, if not the same belief. So why don't they come out during the day? If you know, that is. Are they like vampires or something?"

Gabriel laughed, it was the sort of laugh that forced a smile out of Micheal, despite the situation they were in, "No, I'm not going to attach weird mystic causes to everything, I'm not that much of nutter. They don't come out during the day just because it's easier for them to kill and torture at night."

"Ohhh, that actually makes sense," Micheal said, "Oh shit!"

"What?"

"Fuck, I forgot to call Rose and tell her what's up... she's probably pissed at me."

"So yeah, what were you doing at Holy Name last night?"

"Same thing you were, trying to find a way to get back at Veronica and Maccadyne."

"What did you find?"

"Hold on," Micheal dialed, hearing two rings before the other end picked up, "Rose?"

"I was going to give you until noon to call," Rose said on the other end of the line.

"Yeah, I'm alive, nice to hear from you too," Micheal said, "I even managed to find what you had me looking for... I think."

"Yeah? Do tell."

"Do the names 'Steven', 'Johanna' and 'April' mean anything to you?" Micheal asked.

"What?" Gabriel interrupted, "Who are they... who's Rose, and why are you telling her about the church?"

"Who's that?" Rose asked.

"An unexpected friend," Micheal said, then turned to Gabriel, "Rose is an ally, she has the same goal we do."

"Okay, what did those three do... and was anyone else there?" Rose asked.

"They gave some of their blood to Veronica, they had some sort of arrangement where they would get Lexx for her, and she would protect them from the random insane people in the city."

"The Incomplete," Rose said.

"Oh, so you know to, it was just fucking wonderful of you to let me know about them before I got mobbed," Micheal snapped, "Oh wait, you didn't."

"You're alive, aren't you?" Rose asked.

"What do you know about them?" Micheal asked.

"Only that Maccadyne's studying them," Rose said, "More interesting are those three others. They want Lexx, you said?"

Micheal's phone suddenly beeped. "What was that?" Gabriel asked.

"Well aren't I the popular one, a text message," Micheal said. He took a few deep breaths, "Okay, Rose, I've got a bone to pick with you and your boss, but that can wait. Keep your fucking hospitality too."

"Whatever, so what's this about Lexx?" Rose asked, "Those three want her?"

"Yeah, they want Lexx, Veronica only wants to find out where Mael is from Lexx, we're the unpopular ones of the bunch I'm sad to say."

"Do you pay any attention to the news?" Rose asked, "You guys are forgotten, I still have the highest body count and a manhunt after me."

"Right, congrats, being a serial killer puts you at the top of the request charts," Micheal said, "Who are those people anyways? I've never seen them before."

"They're on our to-do list," Rose said, "You can help out if you want, but you've already done great. We now know we can use Lexx as bait to drag them out into the light."

"What?!" Micheal shouted.

"Shh," Gabriel said, "There are people working below, they don't need to know we're here."

Micheal looked at his phone, Rose had hung up. He sighed, "I feel like a tool."

"I'm sorry," Gabriel said, she sounded sincere. Giving his arm a rub, she said, "Hey, I've got an apartment on the north side, if you need a place to hole up for a while. It's... well protected, if you know what I mean."

"Is that an invitation?" Micheal asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, you called me a friend, that's what friends do, isn't it?"

"Okay, hold on," Micheal said, "I have to see what this message is about, it's from Viktor."

"Wait... Viktor the Defiler?" Gabriel looked scared and interested all at once.

"Yes," Micheal said, "Quite the rep he has, isn't it?"

"I've heard about him... not much good," Gabriel said, "Umm... you didn't... I mean..."

"I haven't done anything with him," Micheal said firmly, "And I've heard the stories too."

"Okay," Gabriel smiled weakly, "I don't want to judge but... well, rumours usually have a grain of truth, don't they?"

"Ooh... I might have to put your offer on hold," Micheal said, "I'm going to have to stop by Viktor's place first."

"Really? Oh... er... can I come along?" Gabriel looked hopeful.

"I thought you didn't like him," Micheal said.

"I've never met him, how can I dislike him? I just want to see how many of the rumours are true," Gabriel said, "Besides, I've heard he's really good with computers and machines and stuff."

"Yeah, so?"

"I figured he might be able to tell me what this is," Gabriel pulled something out of her bag.

Micheal's eyes widened. Gabriel didn't hand him the object, but he didn't ask for it, "Where did you get that?"

"I found it outside the church, had to pry it off the wall," Gabriel said, "After Veronica... well... recently."

Micheal looked at the object, it had the shape of a large smoke detector, with a lot more wires, inexplicable curves and openings, and a dull green in colour. "I saw one of these before," he said, "Back... well, it was around more of the Incomplete... the Soulless. I wonder if they're connected."

Gabriel shrugged, "Maybe Viktor knows a way to find out... why are we going there anyways?"

Micheal headed for the door, "He says Lexx is back."

"Huh, I didn't even know she was gone."

[Oni Koneko Damien]

Chapter 4

The slow, steady hum of electricity running through the lines was soothing, lulling her back to sleep. But that couldn't be right, she was already asleep, wasn't she? Was this all a dream? Eyes were still unwilling to open, and when she moved to force them open by... hand? Appendage? She couldn't, had no available limbs to do so. She? What was she? Gender became a confused subject, was it even necessary? Sexual reproduction became superfluous when information could be perfectly copied and perfectly transmitted at will. Far too messy and unpredictable, why leave things to a random combination of possibly desirable and undesirable traits when, if you truly desired randomness, you could simply design an algorithm to choose between several more desirable traits?

Body type and gender were open to debate. Best to go with 'she' since that was the initial assumption, but what about name? Lexx? Not a uniquely identifying feature, others could hold the same. There had to be something better, more reliable and better able to relay the necessary information about self.

Movement, she was capable of movement. Part of her didn't like this, energy was a finite resource and anything not directed towards a productive end was a waste. She fought against that line of thought and forced her eyes open anyways. She didn't recognize any of her surroundings. Actually she couldn't get a clear idea of what her surroundings were constructed off, she refused to focus on it. It was unimportant anyhow, merely a medium she could exist in. So what of her body?

Looking down, she saw nothing. She would have screamed, but lacked the parts to make such a noise, did noise have any meaning here anyways? The momentary panic was abated by the understanding that since the normal rules concerning matter and energy didn't apply the same way here, it was perfectly reasonable for her to exist without a physical form. She still had form, it was just something else, or somewhere else. Theoretically she could be anywhere, it was just a properly applied extrapolation of her understanding of what constituted reality.

Lexx opened her eyes, flexing her fingers and trying to work out the numbness, it seemed her arm had fallen asleep. As feeling came back, she realized her fingers were partially obstructed. Checking the view, Lexx recognized the features of Viktor's guest room, memories of them fished out from her dazed collapse on the bed. The blanket was pulled up around her, but something still wasn't quite right. She was cocooned, but it was incomplete, someone was sharing her space. Someone who had an armed partially draped across her side, fingers intertwining with her own.

Turning and yawning, Lexx took a look at who was in bed with her. She blinked, looked away, then looked again. Her lips twitched a little, she looked away again, as if expecting Viktor to jump out and say, "Surprise! Gotcha!"

Lexx touched the other person's long black hair with her free hand, "Mael?"

Mael's eyes opened slowly at the sound, she snorted a little, then rubbed her nose, "Oh, you're up."

"I'm not dreaming, am I?"

"That's a really corny line," Mael said and yawned, "Here, let's test."

"Ouch," Lexx said as Mael pinched her arm.

"Well, we're still both here, aren't we?" Mael said tiredly.

"I'd like to believe that," Lexx said, keeping a tight rein on her emotions. If this was a dream, she didn't want to risk shattering it with too explosive a display of joy. Lexx settled for placing a hand on Mael's cheek, "Viktor woke you up?"

A smile pulled at Mael's lips, "I didn't even know I fell asleep until he was standing over me. Not exactly the most comforting thing to wake up to, I thought I had just been knocked out back at Maccadyne."

"So you don't remember anything?" Lexx asked.

"I remember Maccadyne, and everything before that, that's about it. Viktor said I was out for a while."

Lexx was breathing heavily, "Listen... I can't really hold this back for much longer... so before I lose it, if this is just a dream and I end up waking up for losing control here... I'm sorry..."

"You're an idiot," Mael said.

"Goddamnit!" Lexx wrapped Mael up, "I was so scared we wouldn't be able to wake you up!"

"Easy," Mael grunted, "I'm feeling a little fragile at the moment, physically."

"Shit, sorry," Lexx loosened up a little and sniffed, "I mean... so much shit has gone down, and I don't want to sound pathetic but fuck it... I need you Mael. Even if it's not a real physical need, just psycho-somatic, it's there."

Mael smiled, "I repeat, you're an idiot."

"A happy idiot," Lexx said, giving a short laugh that nearly broke into crying, "This is bad... really bad."

"Why's that?"

"Because on an intellectual level I know that having you back isn't going to magically make everything better, but emotionally... I don't give a shit, everything's going to be fine. All the stuff that's wrong, it doesn't matter, you're here and that's cool, and-"

"So take a moment and enjoy it," Mael said, "Unless we have something on the schedule."

"I... I don't think so."

Mael slowly edge forward and gave Lexx a brief kiss on the lips, "I'm still too tired to do much at the moment, I think I need a bit of a nap, and I'm going to use you as a pillow, okay?"

"Yeah, that's cool," Lexx said, trying not to laugh more.

"I figured it might be," Mael said, then curled onto Lexx's chest, "Ah... minimal boob-pillow, how I've missed you."

"Pervert."

"Shh, I'm going to see if I can't get them in my dreams."

Lexx ran a hand through Mael's hair, staring at the ceiling. She sniffed again and swallowed. Wiping her other hand across her eyes produced wetness, she was crying after all. Lexx took a deep breath, trying to regulate her respiration and remove any jerking hitching that would disturb Mael. Lexx watched Mael's head raised and lower along with her chest. In a few moments Mael's breathing grew slower, deeper. Within a minute she was releasing barely audible snores.

How long was spent like that, Lexx didn't quite know. She might have been there, staring at the ceiling for over an hour. No matter what the time, it wasn't long enough. She never grew uncomfortable in that position, with Mael's head on her chest. It didn't become too warm or chafe her already tender cleavage anymore. All Lexx knew was that this was a weight, a comfortable weight she had not had on her for a very long time. A weight that, Lexx was finally admitting to herself, she feared she would never feel again.

"How long was I out?" Mael whispered after an unknown eternity.

Lexx blinked, "Umm... maybe an hour? I wasn't keeping track."

"No you doofus, how long was I in that coma?"

"Oh!" Lexx thought about it, mentally tallying up the days, "Umm... two weeks, give or take a few days. I could pop on Viktor's computer to check the exact date, I kind of lost my phone."

"Hmmpf, I can't leave for five minutes without you falling apart you overdependent twit," Mael said, tilting her head back and smiling at Lexx.

"It's not my fault, I was kind of busy working my ass off while you were napping," Lexx smiled back down at Mael.

"You realize you're going to have to tell me what happened."

"A lot," Lexx stopped smiling, "And not much of it good."

Mael pursed her lips, "I'm guessing Maccadyne is still around?"

"Yeah. The good news is that you scared Veronica, she doesn't know what you did, but she doesn't like it one bit. The bad news is that you scared Veronica, and so now she's actually putting forward some real effort into eliminating us."

"Viktor said that Terrance is no more."

"Viktor's right," Lexx nodded, "And if Viktor weren't the only one who knew how to get you out of that coma, I'd be doing everything in my power to kill him."

"Have you killed again?" Mael asked, "You know... since...?"

"No," Lexx said, far too quickly. She thought about it, "... actually... I don't know."

"How do you not know?" Mael asked, rolling onto an elbow and staring at her, "It isn't exactly something that's hard to determine, either you ended someone's life or you didn't."

"Well, the thing is I don't know if he actually died from his injuries or not. He could have bled out after I left," Lexx said, "I was kind of in a rush to escape, and not exactly stable at the moment. Oh fuck..."

"Hey," Mael put a hand on Lexx's arm, "Look at me. I never got a chance to say it back at Maccadyne: I'm not going to stop loving you if you kill someone, even if you do it in cold blood, with malice aforethought. What happened in Maccadyne... I think that was spur of the moment, you weren't rational then. But I will do everything I can to help you keep sane if I see you're acquiring some sociopathic tendencies, okay?"

"Fuck, I'm just thinking about it all now," Lexx said, "I mean, I was thinking about it earlier. But now you're here, I keep wondering if I was just cruising on some emotional numbness."

"As long as you keep thinking about it, there's always hope," Mael said, "So come on, fill me in on what's been going on."

"Hell," Lexx said.

"Hell exists," Mael replied.

"Bullshit," Lexx countered.

Mael shrugged, "Don't ask me how I know, a few things have been switched around in my head since I was conked out. But that's one of them, I'm just certain that there is a Hell, a literal one, the kind where certain people go when they're dead."

"What other things have been going on with your head?" Lexx asked, "I remember Viktor telling me you were altered, voluntarily, to try and, um, he described it as sucking the information out of Terrance."

"Yeah, I think that's what happened," Mael said, "Maybe that's where the certainty that Hell exists comes from. Oh... and he's definitely a demon, too."

"So, what now? Do you have all of his knowledge stuck in your head?" Lexx asked.

"I... think so, it's hard to say," Mael said, "I don't think my brain is handling it very well. Something's there, like lyrics you're just short of remembering, but you have them right there on the tip of your tongue. But every time I try to think about it, my headache gets worse. I think my brain's afraid of frying itself like it did the first time."

"Headache? How are you holding up?"

"Badly, really badly," Mael said, "I'm tired, my head hurts, my body hurts, I keep having these weird thoughts pop out of nowhere, like some information is leaking into conscious thought, and now my foot won't move."

"What?!"

"Wait, there it goes," Mael said, "I've had that too. When Viktor was walking me to this room, my left arm just fell asleep. No warning at all. I don't think my body's taking this whole thing to well, Viktor agrees."

"I'm sorry."

"What do you have to be sorry about?" Mael asked.

"Because I wish I could give you something other than a stream of bad news."

Mael looked at Lexx and gave a pained smile, "How fragile do you think I am?"

"Right now? Do you want an honest answer?"

"Just tell me what's up, and we'll see if I can take it. I'm going to have to deal with it at some point anyways."

"Okay," Lexx said, "Okay... where to start?"

"Bullet points," Mael said, "We'll worry about context later."

"Fine," Lexx said, "Oh shit, here goes: The apartment's demolished. Sera has terminal cancer. I was raped. I'm homeless and depending on the aid of a serial killer. Veronica wants you dead, big time. The police are paid off by Veronica and after us, we were on the news... umm..."

"Yes?"

"...Well, I think that hits the major points, actually," Lexx said, "Not as long a list as I had thought... but still, big nasty points."

"And kind of what I was expecting, with most of it," Mael said.

"What?"

"I want to see Sera."

"She wants to see you too."

Mael looked down, "I've known there was something wrong with her, I knew for a while, she couldn't cover it up perfectly. I figured she'd tell me if and when she was ready."

"Yeah, I was kind of getting that inkling, but still had to have it spelled out for me," Lexx said, taking a deep breath, "I think I already did my crying for it... but if you, you know..."

"No," Mael said, shaking her head, "I'm pretty emotionally dead right now, don't ask that of me. It's bad, it sucks, but I'm too tired and hurt to much to devote energy expressing how bad it is. I just want to see her."

"I'll take you to her," Lexx said, "As soon as you're ready."

"Viktor said we should hang around here for a while, he said Micheal's coming over."

"Micheal?" Lexx asked, "Oh shit... I hope he isn't pissed at me."

"Why would he be?"

"I sort of bailed on him to get to the festival grounds to... okay, I'll give the long version later, but I had to go there to get the magical thingie to wake you up."

"Oh yeah, Viktor told me that too," Mael said, "I think he'll understand. You're a hopeless nutcase with a thing for me. But I couldn't help but notice something."

"Yeah?"

"You mentioned you were raped, and kind of breezed over it," Mael said.

"It's a long story," Lexx said, looking away.

"You're going to tell me it," Mael said, "Because I get the feeling you need to."

Lexx shook her head, "Okay. But... that's the thing, I could tell the story, all the details, I just don't know if it will do any good. I... I was stupid. You knew my feelings on sex, I was a virgin but didn't much care, it wasn't important, I'll lose it when the time comes. The time came, I wasn't ready, now I'm damaged, feel like tainted goods, worrying each day that I'm going to get morning sickness. It was... it hurt. Physically. But now that part's over, and nothing's stopping the emotional part of it, the part I thought I was above. I forgot I'm human, that sort of instinct is more powerful than a temporary mindset..."

She was beginning to cry, "... I hope he died. He might have, I stabbed him, right in the crotch... lot of blood there... and I blinded him... and crippled him. But, goddamnit, it was, it is still just more stupid human failings, a need for vengeance. The deed, the damage was done, I was broken. Goddamnit! He shoved himself inside me! People die from having things stuck in them! I wished I was dead at the time... I'm worried I'll wish that again, and feel so stupid because it's over, my feelings aren't reality. I'm not damaged in any metaphysical sense, I've still got so much to live, to fight for... but my emotions don't give a fuck about that."

"Lexx?"

"Yeah?"

"You know how sometimes I get these ideas in my head, ideals? I want to do something, fight for something, make a difference? The latest one was Maccadyne, taking that fucking entity and the demon that controls it out? I admit, I'm not the best at following through on my ideals. I've just ended up losing the will, or the interest, more than once. But there's one thing I've never lost the will for, never lost my interest in: You."

"That's corny."

"You're not broken, Lexx. And even if you are, I'll fight for you until you can pull yourself together. There, I think that's the extent of my capability for motivational speeches right now."

Lexx looked at Mael, "And you call me the idiot?"

"Well you kind of are, but I'll forgive that," Mael said.

"I'm just scared that I'm actually a really shallow person," Lexx said, "But right now, I feel like... whatever. I'll be shallow. I'll wade through whatever pain is necessary, so long as I have you there... or Sera, or people like that. I'll change the fucking world for the individuals. Fuck anyone else, I work on a local scale and am willing to make global changes for it."

"Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war, for Heaven or Hell we shall not wait," Mael said.

"What?"

"VNV Nation lyrics," Mael explained, "But changing the world... it's a nice goal. Something I don't think we have a reasonable chance of achieving... but what the fuck? I'll fight for it anyways, with you. I have the worry that, even with the way we are, the sorta transhumanist-thing we have going here, we're still doomed to be too impotent to enact the kind of changes we want. But that's where hope and faith come in, right?"

"You're not going religious on me, are you?" Lexx asked.

"Please, a vast majority of the religious have no idea what faith really means," Mael said, "You and I do, even if you don't realize it. It's something I've been thinking about. We have it, even if it's only in each other. We have the firm belief that we're worth it, that we have enough value to justify going to any lengths for, right? And if that's the case, and if true faith and really move mountains, then we'll bulldoze the Himalayas for each other, for the people we love, if it comes to that."

[Oni Koneko Damien]

Chapter 5

Lexx's time in the main room with everyone was surprisingly short. Shortly after she had filed out there with Mael, saying hi to Viktor along the way, Micheal had come over, and he brought a guest. Things were a little tense, considering the circumstances under which she had initially met Gabriel, but apparently things had changed a lot since then, in ways Gabriel wasn't willing to speak about. Lexx was pretty certain Gabriel would tell all if she pressed, but Micheal didn't give her much of a chance, he wanted to speak to her in private.

Thus, less than five minutes after meeting everyone in the ample main room of Viktor's apartment, Lexx was once again back in the guest room. The slight feeling of awkwardness from before was back, now a lot stronger as Micheal hesitantly closed the door. Lexx was sitting on the bed, waiting expectantly. For what she didn't know, to be yelled at? To be cried at? Maybe to be told she was just a horrible person, or something else entirely?

Her last guess was closest to the truth. Micheal looked at her, "I'll ask, because I don't want to, y'know, trigger anything bad: Can I hug you?"

Lexx blanked for a second, the words taking their time to sink in. She let out a surprised laugh, "Sure."

Micheal did so, striding across the room and essentially scooping her into his arms. It was a powerful hug, Lexx knew from experience that he was quite well muscled beneath the unassuming baggy clothes he'd taken to wearing as of late. Lexx hugged back, wondering if her own efforts even registered. "I was worried about you," Micheal muttered.

"I'm sorry," Lexx said, trying not to be muffled by his shoulder, feeling a slight rush of emotion, though obviously not nearly to the level he was feeling, "I should have found a way to tell you I was okay."

"Were you okay?"

"Not really, but I am now... as okay as I'm going to get in the near future," Lexx said.

Micheal slowly released her, he looked into her eyes, "For what good it will do, I'll say it right now: Don't fucking do that again."

"If I can avoid it," Lexx said back, "No promises."

"Goddamnit, you had be so fucking worried."

"Yes, you've said that," Lexx said, "If you're mad at me... I understand."

"Mad? I was fucking pissed, and of course I'm still mad. But I'm human, it'll fade, it's just more important that you're alive."

"You know why I did it, right?"

"Seeing that Mael's up, I can guess," Micheal said, "That was your doing?"

"Sort of," Lexx said, "I helped, Viktor's the one who did the waking. Of course, he was the bastard who set it up so Mael conked out in the first place."

"With her permission," Micheal pointed out, "Look, Lexx... I want you to know something. I'm, okay I'll just come clean, I have a bit of a crush on you. I admit it's probably just temporary infatuation, I am a guy, guys get urges and all. But, this sounds so corny, but I respect you as a friend too. And I know that for you, Mael comes way before me, and I can't do anything to change that. You've known her for years and me for... what? A month? I'm not the type to split bookends like that."

Lexx laughed and punched Micheal lightly on the arm, "It's not that sort of relationship. Mael and I, fucking around with other people, we're okay with that so long as neither of us do anything stupid like catch a disease or something."

"Oh, well, actually that wasn't quite what I was getting at," Micheal seemed taken a little off-guard by the statement, "Actually, I meant something different. You're in love with Mael, Lexx, and as far as I can tell, Mael's in love with you too. It's really cool to watch, because from what I've seen, you two actually have a genuine thing going, and that doesn't come often, I kind of wish I had something like that."

"Why do you try it with Gabriel? She seems really cute," Lexx offered.

"What? No... I mean, we're not, look, that's not the point," Micheal stuttered, "I swear I'm getting to it. The point is, you love Mael, rather deeply. Mael comes first in your world, and I can respect that. But... well, it comes down to what I'm trying to accomplish in the world. I'm just afraid that there will come a time when both of us are going to have to make a choice, between the world, or Mael, and at that point, we're going to go in opposite directions."

"What? Do explain further, you're not making much sense," Lexx cocked an eyebrow.

"I want to leave the world a better place than I found it," Micheal said, "It's that simple. Even before the change, that's what I wanted. My goals haven't changed, just the means, and my expectations of achieving them. Now... with the transcendence I've undergone, I know I have what it takes to make the positive change I've always dreamed of. And I know, in my heart, that above everything else, I want to make the world a better place. If I were more religious, I'd say it's my divine calling."

"Okay, I'm with you on all that," Lexx said, "But where does the whole disagreement thing come with us?"

"Do you want to make the world a better place?" Micheal asked, "I mean it in the most literal sense: Do you wish to do something, to lead a change, or possibly sacrifice yourself if you knew that it would leave people with better lives, less pain, and more hope for the future?"

"In a sense, yeah. I'd like to add that I'd be far more amenable to it if it included the probability that people in general would greatly improve themselves in the process," Lexx admitted.

"Okay, that counts as general improvement for the world, I can see your point there," Micheal said, "Now taking it further, if all the good things I just said were to happen, but only if you submitted yourself to torture, horrible horrible torture, would you do it?"

"I'd have to see some very good evidence that that's the case," Lexx said, "That, and there had better be some great fucking improvement, with the general populace being genuinely deserving of it, before I consent to that. I've been tortured before, thank you very much. And while I'm willing to say 'yes' while sitting comfortably on this bed, I'd probably be singing a different tune when strapped to the table with needles in bad places... but then again that's just the way torture works."

"So essentially a 'yes' then," Micheal said.

Lexx nodded, "Given everything I said is true, then yes."

"Okay, now given all the above, change one thing: Instead of consenting to have it done to yourself, you're consenting to someone else undergoing it. For the good of the world, would you consent to, say, Mael getting tortured and killed?"

"Fuck no," Lexx said, "And I see where you're going with this."

"It's something we're just not going to see eye-to-eye on," Micheal said.

"Fuck that shit," Lexx said, "During my whole deconversion phase, I browsed a lot of philosophy. I read up on the basics of utilitarianism. Doing the greatest amount of good for the greatest number of people and all. I liked it, it was something I could put my mind behind. Some people may be douchebags, but they don't deserve death for it, or if you want to be Christian, they don't deserve to suffer an eternity of agony for it. But like in pretty much all things, moderation is a virtue. I can't hope to help everyone in the world out a little, so I have to narrow my focus or I'd never get anything useful done. So keeping to a practically moderated view of utilitarianism, I try to provide a goodly amount of benefit for a small number of people who are close to me, while trying to remain at least neutral to the rest of the world in general."

"Of course, something that could be lauded in anyone," Micheal said, "But now, after achieving your own transcendence, your horizons have broadened, your potential to do good has gone up exponentially."

"That does not erase or override the obligations I have towards the people I love!" Lexx said angrily, "Being able to see the whole forest means nothing if you lose the ability to appreciate the individual trees. If Mael's sacrifice, or the sacrifice of anyone I love is needed for the greater good, they are the ones who will ultimately make that choice and not me."

"And if they cannot understand the implications of making the choice to sacve themselves at the expense of the world?" Micheal asked.

"Then it just sucks for the world," Lexx said, "And fuck the transhumanist crap, it didn't give us any magical maturity or wisdom regarding moral choices, just a certainty about some facts of the universe, and a few nifty abilities to boot. We're still human, just like anyone else, and are just as capable of fucking up or misunderstanding as any 'mundane'. It isn't ours, or anyone else's fault that we lack a deific level of perspective regarding the world and what's best for it."

"So if there was a god, you'd hate it?" Micheal asked.

"Given the way the world is? I'm damn thankful there isn't a god, at least on an intellectual level. Emotionally, I'd like some deity to blame for all the pain and suffering that goes on in this world, that would be such a release to go off on it. Intellectually, if there were a sentient, all-powerful being knowingly responsible for this world, it would be sadistic and demented beyond all human understanding. Believe me, I used to be Christian, I know shit when it comes to evil fucking deities."

"We're getting off the subject here," Micheal said, "Though I don't think it really matters by this point."

"Okay," Lexx said, trying to calm herself down, "Basically, I think you're making a mountain out of a molehill here. I very much doubt that we're ever going to come to a 'sacrifice Mael for the good of the world' scenario."

"Probably not, but you know, life's been a long series of unlikely coincidences lately."

----------

"What the fuck is that?" Lexx had stopped in the doorway to the central area, staring down at the object on the coffee table.

"Well," Mael said, leaning back, "I maded you a creepy technowiz device, but I broked it."

"It's something we found at the church," Micheal said, "We think it has something to do with the people that attacked us, the 'Incomplete' or whatever they are."

Lexx was breathing deeply, "Where is the rest of it? Is it turned on?"

Only the top plate of the device was on the table. "Oh, Viktor's futzing around with it," Mael said, "You know, taking it apart, seeing how it works."

"Oh," Lexx swallowed, turning to sit with Mael, "Okay... I guess I'd know if it were activated."

"What are you talking about?" Micheal asked.

Gabriel looked at Lexx, "You act like you've seen these things before."

Lexx took a deep breath and nodded, reflexively grabbing Mael's hand, "I have... when Veronica had me in jail."

"This would be when you were attacked?" a deep voice behind Lexx asked, it was Viktor.

Lexx turned and looked at him, "Don't sugar-coat it, I was raped."

"Either way, it makes sense," Viktor said, he was holding, of all things, a baggy, "I found this in a compartment inside the thing, all the wires and the battery seemed to be hooked up to it."

The bag had a small lump of crimson red clay in it. Lexx found her gaze drawn to it, though she couldn't explain why. Something about it seemed familiar, picking at some long forgotten memory of a place far away. "Is it safe?" she reached out and prodded the baggy.

To her surprise, the clay collapsed. It wasn't clay at all, just a pile of dust. For some reason that irritated her all the more because she could figure out why, she knew that would happen, knew it was supposed to be dust. Viktor gave the baggy a tap with his own long finger, "If it isn't, we're all fucked, but I doubt that it's poisonous. It's a solid, but as you can see, it's so fine grained, all that's required is the lightest tap to get it airborne. I wouldn't be surprised if we had a number of the particles already hovering about in this room."

"I don't like the sound of that," Mael said, "Should I be breathing through a wet cloth or something?"

"Probably wouldn't help," Viktor said, "I had a look at it through the microscope, the particles are so small they'd probably slip right through cloth, wet or not. You'd need a gas-mask."

"I have one," Mael said with a tired smile.

"Hold on," Lexx said, "What do you mean 'it makes sense', it sounds like you already have a theory on this stuff."

"Well, it's just a guess at the moment. I'd need to do more tests before I can come to any conclusions," Viktor said, "Either that, or dig through the data Mael's provided and see if I can find any references to it there."

Lexx nodded, her expression turning a little sour, "So your whole experiment with Mael worked then."

"Better than my lowest expectations, even if it isn't as much as I dared to hope," Viktor said.

Standing up, Lexx turned on Viktor, "Listen asshole, Mael was knocked into a coma by your little experiment, if your lowest expectation was that something worse might have happened to her, I swear I'm going to-"

"Lexx," Mael said, "I knew what might have happened, I agreed to it anyways."

"Goddamnit, that's not the point," Lexx said, "... or maybe it is. Whatever, I'll damn well get pissed when your life is at risk. If Mael died because of this, you would have been next to go."

"Done?" Viktor asked.

Lexx sat back down, fuming, "I guess so... it's over and there's jack shit I can do about it now."

"As I was saying, I have the data. Unfortunately it's... to draw an analogy, everyone's brain has their own language, of sorts. Since the upgrades I gave Mael depended on her brain to function, all the data is in that language, and I have to translate it. Difficult, but do-able," Viktor turned to Mael, "I'll need to have a few more sessions with you, basically I need to dig into your subconscious and sort of immerse myself in it, so I can see how your mind views the world, and thus know how to translate the data on Ose-Dantalion it spat out."

"Do you trust me with him?" Mael asked Lexx.

"It's not my decision to make," Lexx said, "But... I see the necessity of it. Consider this grudging agreement not to fight your decision."

"Guys, I don't want to interrupt," Gabriel said, a little hesitant, "I have no idea what's going on between you three... but I was getting some of what you were explaining about these devices. Could we go back to that?"

"Oh right," Viktor said, "So like I was saying, you three have all encountered these things. Each and every time, it's been in relation to people acting strange."

"That's understating it," Lexx muttered.

"Obviously the first conclusion we want to jump to is that these machines, whatever they are, are somehow connected to those behaviours," Viktor said, "But there has been a difference in circumstance. In Micheal's and Gabriel's case, it was homicidal aggression. While in Lexx's case, it was sexual assault, which makes me want to classify the two as at least partially separate conditions. From what Micheal tells me, there was already something wrong with the people that attacked him, Veronica referred to them as 'Incomplete', and if her overheard testimony is to be believed, that label has something to do with these peoples' souls."

"So... these machines do things to peoples' souls?" Gabriel asked, "Like, damage them or something?"

"No," Viktor, "Lexx... I'm not going to ask for a full account of what happened, but could you just describe the people you shared a jail cell with. Was there anything really unusual about them?"

"Well... until a certain point, no," Lexx said, "Two looked like average college guys, the other four were gangbangers. Pieces of shit, all of them, but then again so's the average person on the street."

"Exactly," Viktor said, "They were normal jack-offs. According to what Micheal heard Veronica say, the 'Incomplete' have something very wrong with them, and they feel the urge to attack and kill anyone who doesn't share their disease, if it is a disease. So Lexx, did any of your cell-mates look like they wanted to attack you?"

"Not until after Veronica set that damn machine off, no," Lexx said, and took a deep breath, "After that..."

"No, it's okay, you don't have to explain it," Viktor said, "But this is exactly what I'm talking about. The Incomplete are affected by these machines, and so is everyone else. Micheal, you said you had a hard time letting go of your anger while you were nearby the machine in the subway, right? And Lexx, did you notice something a little odd with the machine in jail, even before you were attacked?"

Lexx nodded, "It felt like... well... like it was stretching reality, like it was pulling something from the Dark."

"Exactly," Viktor said triumphantly, "Here's my guess: These machines fuck with people's emotions. Looking at the internal bits, it seems the battery is hooked up to a device set to give off some sort of electromagnetic signal. The wires transmit the signal to the compartment with this powder, and the signal is sent directly through it, sort of filtered or flavoured by it. My guess is that this powder is something, has some property that makes people very mentally suggestible. It doesn't necessarily correspond to the same rules our frequency of reality follows, hence why, like Lexx said, it seems somehow connected to the dark, and its strange ability to possible affect the nature of certain electromagnetic signals. In the jail cell, the signal was probably set to sexual frustration, fine-tuned to act on masculine urges, and thus Lexx only caught the anger and frustration portion of it. In the subway, and the church, I'm guessing it was somehow tuned to attract and... set off the Incomplete."

"So if I'm following this correctly," Mael said, leaning forward and poking the substance herself, "This stuff is just sort of the catalyst. The medium that makes this sort of mental fucking possible. The more I think about it, back when we attacked Maccadyne, and from what Lexx has heard herself, aren't a lot of what they're doing basically amount to attempts at mind control? So obviously this powder is the next step in it... or maybe the first step, just further refined. Either way, we find out how Maccadyne is making this crap, throw a wrench in the works, and give them a good fucking over."

"Sounds good to me," Micheal said, "The only problem is we don't really have much to go on at the moment. I mean, we could probably track down who's making the machine parts, wiring, and whatever for these things, but I get the impression that it's the powder that's the key to everything, and Maccadyne has a tight lock on that. I suppose the only effective way to do something about it is to get back in those labs. I doubt they'd let us do that after last time, I'm sure the first thing they did is close that zombie backdoor we used and make sure the generators are better guarded."

"But what actually is this stuff?" Gabriel asked, "Is it made? We could simply take out the ingredients. Is it mined? That might be easier to hit than Maccadyne."

"It's grown," Viktor said.

"How do you know that?" Gabriel turned to him.

"Like I said, I had a look at it under the microscope. Whatever it is, it's alive. That powder is a pile of cells of some sort. I'm not sure what, I need to do more research to be certain, but if I had to guess, I'd say they were spores of some sort, spores of something you can't find on earth."

"Oh my god," Lexx said.

"What?" Mael asked.

"This isn't God's work," Gabriel interjected.

"Stuff your god," Lexx said, picking up the baggy, "I just realized, I've seen this stuff before. I know what it is... sort of."

"Do tell," Viktor said, suddenly looking intensely interested.

Lexx remained silent for a second. There was a fearful giddiness raising inside her as the connection was made. Slowly she split into a smile, her mind gradually wrapping around a glorious, yet terrifying vindication of one of the biggest areas of uncertainty in her life, "It... it comes from the Plant."

[Oni Koneko Damien]

Chapter 6

It turned out Micheal hadn't quite lost the incomplete yet. Dozing slightly in Gabriel's apartment, Micheal was suddenly jostled into near terror by someone throwing themselves against the door and issuing a bloodcurdling scream. The sound was repeated, then a third time. There was a break as the door-handle rattled, but thankfully Gabriel had shot the lock upon entering.

Speaking of Gabriel, she was nowhere to be found, the dim twilight streaming through the windows showed an empty apartment. The screams and pounding resumed, it sounded like there were several shrieking maniacs outside. Micheal should stand up, had to stand up. He couldn't, fear temporarily rooted him to the spot. Despite the wild urge to flee, a sort of fatalistic resignation sapped the will to move. They had followed him here, they must infest the whole city, where could he run to?

More impacts and the door started splintering around the hinges. Another strike and one hinge gave. A hand appeared around the edge of the door, trying to reach for the handle. Failing that, it disappeared and the impacts started again, the second hinge beginning to give way under the assault. It was then that Micheal finally regained control over his own muscles. He jumped up and ran, nearly tripping over several cords on the floor. With a splintering crash, the door was smashed in behind him, the screaming rose in volume, peppered with curses and promises of the incredible pain Micheal was going to go through.

He could hear their footsteps behind him, hear them breathing. He wouldn't be able to outrun them in the tiny apartment, they would be on him in a second or two. Against all hope, Micheal ran into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him. A body struck the door, knocking it open and causing Micheal to fall forward. Before they had a chance to take advantage of it, Micheal struck the door again, this time it latched. He thumbed the lock a second before the handle started rattling angrily. Micheal tried to catch his breath, staring in naked terror at the door as someone pounded on the other side of it. This one wouldn't even last as long as the main door.

Turning, Micheal wrenched open the bathroom window. He was just a few feet away from the fire-escape. As the bathroom door cracked and splintered behind him, he jumped. Clinging to the iron grating, Micheal carefully lowered himself to the next floor down. Something struck his shoulder softly, a piece of glass. Micheal looked up to see three people squeezing through the kitchen window onto the fire escape, with the hands of at least a half dozen more scrabbling for purchase in the windowframe.

Micheal jumped the metal stairs, one flight at a time, hearing the metallic pounding of countless assailants behind him. He didn't even bother kicking the ladder down on the last floor, instead simply dropping the final couple of feet. Someone immediately dropped into the alley in front of him, there was a sickening crunch as the woman's ankles both gave way under the weight of her body. Glaring venomously at him, she lunged forward, dragging herself with her already bloody elbows. She screamed, half-articulate promises of making him suffer. Micheal shook his head, having no reply, and turned to run.

This was a dream, it had to be a dream. There was no other way the back alley of Gabriel's place could be directly connected to the Loop. There were more thumps and thuds from the alleyway, more people were dropping to ground level, and not all of them were breaking their ankles. Micheal didn't have time to figure out the specific laws of this dream, he could only run. It was a dream he wasn't allowed to escape yet.

More screams came from ahead, as well as the sides. The dozens of Incomplete following Micheal were complemented by hundreds more from in front and the sides. Micheal took the only clear avenue available and ran, making it two full blocks. He came to a stop, realizing he had ended up directly in front of the Maccadyne building. In his dream, the building had changed. It was now a gigantic tree, swollen and deformed with a hundred intertwined, throbbing branches.

Screams from all around, reaching a pitch that equaled near static, reduced to meaninglessness by the thousands of throats it came from. Micheal looked around and realized he was surrounded. Every street around him was packed. Hundreds, thousands, he was the only human left. They formed a living carpet as far as the eye could see, and every building disgorged additional streams of bodies into the press. Every single one howling invectives and imcomprehensible cries at Micheal and Micheal alone.

But they didn't get him, not yet. They formed a ring, being brought to what looked like a painful halt mere dozens of feet away. They fought against their own bodies to get closer, but whatever they fought against was stronger. Something wanted Micheal safe for the moment. Micheal looked back at the Maccadyne building and saw why.

Not all the intertwined sections were plant matter. Among them crawled several insanely large beings. Dozens of stories tall, segmented bodies with hundreds of clicking legs. Centipedes the size of subway trains. One disconnected its upper half from the building, slowly coiling downward with a series of bone-popping cracks in its joints. Micheal was too tired, too scared to run. He had nowhere to run to. He wished the fear would numb his limbs as the gargantuan arthropod picked him off the ground like an interesting morsel of food.

Micheal looked at the thing that held him, he saw that the final segment of the creature, the head was not the same as the rest of it. It was the top half of Veronica McNielson's body, nude and perfect, marked with the glowing sigils she wore in the Dark. She smiled, an unsettling gesture as an alien mind attempted to mimic the emotional signals of a mostly human body. Delicately, she lifted Micheal's left hand by the wrist. The smile widened, Veronica's mouth opened.

She had no teeth, merely endless rows of thin, steel needles. It was then that Micheal found the will to struggle, but her grip was iron. Inexorably his hand was pulled ever closer to those needles, they pressed against his skin, around the edges of this fingernails. Just a little more pressure and they would sink in.

Micheal woke up with a gasp. His wrist was still caught on something, he pulled it into himself, curling into a fetal position.

"Sorry!"

There was a moment's confusion, then wakefulness slowly re-asserted itself. "Nightmare?" Gabriel asked, concerned.

"How long was I asleep?" Micheal asked, rubbing his eyes and trying to sit up.

"About three hours," Gabriel said, "You were out like a light as soon as we got in."

"Three? Damnit, I didn't even realize I had fallen asleep. That wasn't my intent."

"You must have needed it then," Gabriel said, turning back to the TV, "You don't have to be paranoid. You're safe here, the only demons that can get in are the ones we keep inside ourselves."

"What are you playing?" Micheal asked.

"Condemned 2: Bloodshot," Gabriel said, "Not as good as the original so far, but still pretty fun. The scary thing is how prophetic it is."

"Prophetic?" Micheal asked, "How?"

"Well, in this game, there's a huge rioting problem going on in the city. People are being violent for no known reason, destroying property, attacking random people, generally bad stuff. Well, you discover that there are weird devices placed throughout town, emitting sounds which seem to tap into the rage centers of peoples' brains. Sound familiar?" Gabriel leaned her head back and gave a wink.

"I guess it's not that surprising. Plausible horror concepts work best when they're simple," Micheal said, "In this case sound, something invisible and unavoidable, permeating peoples' heads and driving them insane. Scary, simple, and now we can see it's applicable in real life too."

Gabriel pressed pause, "So I've been doing some thinking. We're not going to be able to get into Maccadyne itself, but we know what these machines look like. If nothing else, we could head out at night and see how many of the things we can find and smash. Maybe if we find a pattern, it could shed a little more light on exactly what Ose-Dantalion's plan is."

"Ose-Dantalion," Micheal said, "It referred to itself as that too. It makes me wonder what they really are, Terrance and Veronica that is."

"They're demons," Gabriel said bluntly.

"I don't believe in demons," Micheal said, "I call them that because the label fits for now. I know they're not human, they're powerful, but beyond that I make no assumptions."

"I'm guessing you don't believe in angels either," Gabriel said.

Micheal smiled, "No offense to your beliefs."

"None taken," Gabriel said, "Belief is secondary to action."

With a yawn, Micheal leaned back, "That's not to say I'm closed-minded. I try not to be, doubly so since my transcendence."

"I call it being chosen," Gabriel said, "Being given a greater responsibility towards creation."

"Tell me about it," Micheal smiled, "Since we've got time to kill. Tell me what it's like, what you believe in."

Gabriel, it turned out, did not believe in the Bible. Nor did she follow the teachings of any particular church. She explained some of the finer points of the Divine Order, and the people who staffed it. The only true common trait among all the members was that all of them, at the point of transcendence, had heard what they felt was the Voice of God. Up until that point, Gabriel had been nothing more than the average practicing Christian. Paying lip service, occasionally attending church. Perhaps there was belief in there somewhere, but it was a tame thing, undefined and blurry around the edges.

All of that changed with her own transcendence, the same way it did with anyone who went through it. She had heard a Voice, something containing a power she could barely dream of. The Divine Order held to the general belief that that initial Voice was, in fact, the Metatron. The mouthpiece of God, necessary because such a perfect being as God would be almost entirely incomprehensible to normal, flawed humans if It ever attempted to communicate directly with them. The Metatron, it was said, was a necessary intermediary.

One of the Divine Order's defining features was a general unwillingness to make any unfounded assumptions on the nature of the Divine. Individual members all had there own ideas, but the only things that were accepted as true by the Divine Order was that which could be objectively evidenced, at least among their own members. Thus their actual belief system was very loose. Tangible information on the Divine, on angels and devils, on Heaven and Hell was rather scarce.

All that was known without doubt was that there was the Metatron, who claimed to be the Voice of God, that there was a hierarchy of beings beneath it that seemed to accept the labels of angels, seraphim, and whatever else members of the Divine Order wished to refer them by. There were other beings, the Adversary and its own servants, demons. These beings came from places labeled Heaven and Hell respectively, and according to them, the souls of many of the dead went to one or the other as well.

Other than that, there was very little actually known about these things. From interactions with angels, a general understanding was gained of their desire to see an ordered, functioning world. Thus the Divine Order did what it could to keep things as organized as possible. Apparently they had locations in most major cities across the country, possibly beyond, that kept in loose contact. Gabriel was waiting for word on what others would be doing to account for the loss of most of the Chicago branch.

At this she had fallen silent.

"Look," Micheal said, "I'm sorry for that, it's okay to be torn up about it."

"No," Gabriel said, "It isn't."

"We've been through this already," Micheal protested, "Bottling everything up will do no good."

"No, you wouldn't understand," Gabriel said, "I have been expressing it. Trust me, nothing's been... bottled up."

"What do you mean?"

"It's... nothing," Gabriel said, turning back to the game, "Did you want something to eat? I've got canned spaghetti in the cupboard. Sorry, it's been a while since I've been shopping."

"I want to know what's wrong," Micheal persisted.

"Nothing's wrong, it's just not something that needs to be talked about," Gabriel said.

"Why not? Is it because I don't believe or something?" Micheal asked.

Gabriel shook her head. "Look..." she said, then paused the game. Micheal saw that she was fighting back tears when she looked at him, "You really don't understand. This isn't an exclusion sort of thing, I never even told any of the other members about it. There's no need to."

"It seems like there's a need," Micheal said, "If it's affecting you this much."

"Damnit, don't push me!" Gabriel said, then sighed, "Maybe... maybe you're right. In ways... I've wanted to tell them, you know, just get that secret off my chest. None of them ever asked, ever pushed... I wish they did. But then again, I'm glad they didn't, I feared their reactions. Just like I'm fearing yours."

Micheal held up his hand, "I promise, so long as you aren't skinning hobos in the basement, I won't react badly."

Gabriel laughed, a worried sound, "I'm holding you to that... you're going to think I'm insane... more insane, that is."

"I don't think you're insane," Micheal said.

"Sure you don't, I'm just some stupid god-freak to you," Gabriel smirked.

"So we don't share certain beliefs, big deal," Micheal said, "It's not like you're committing ontological fallacies or anything. Now quit trying to change the subject, what's this secret that's been weighing you down?"

Gabriel bit her lip. She turned away from Micheal. For a second he thought she was hesitating, delaying, but then he saw she was gripping the edges of her shirt. She pulled her shirt up, revealing a long, pale back with railroad tracks of vertebrae and the barely visible depressions of ribs. She had prominent shoulderblades too. It took Micheal a second to figure out what he was supposed to see.

Beneath the white bra-strapped, criss-crossing the expanse of her back at a number of seemingly random angles was an innumerable series of thin red lines. Before he could think better of it, Micheal reached out and ran a finger across one. Gabriel flinched a little at the touch and Micheal drew his finger back. Not before he felt the thin depression though. They were thin cuts, all of them.

Gabriel put her shirt down. She turned a little, but didn't look at him directly. "So?" She asked dully.

Micheal licked his lips, not quite knowing how to respond. He noticed Gabriel's lip was quivering. Gently, he grabbed her shoulders, rotating her to face him, "I don't know exactly what that is or why, but I don't think it makes you crazy," he said.

"Not all of it is mine," Gabriel admitted.

"Quite frankly I wouldn't have believed you if you said it was," Micheal said, "On your back? It's hard to give marks like that to yourself."

"But all of it was done with my permission, because I wanted it," Gabriel said.

"Are you... a masochist?" Micheal asked uncertainly.

"That's not it," Gabriel said, "This is necessary, to maintain the relationship."

"Now hold on just a fucking second," Micheal growled, "Before you say anything else, if you're seeing someone and they're treating you like this, I swear I'm going to-"

"Not that kind of relationship," Gabriel laughed, even weaker than the last one, "I'm single."

Micheal sputtered, but nothing coherent came out. He tried again, "Okay, now I'm thoroughly lost."

"I've told you, this apartment is safe. Nothing gets in here that doesn't get invited, remember? Well there's a reason for that," Gabriel explained, "I have a guardian angel."

"Guardian angel," Micheal repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, this is where the crazy part comes in," Gabriel said, "It watches over me. Protects me, looks after me. When Veronica... when Ose-Dantalion killed my... killed Duncan and... and Chad... and..."

Micheal judged it a good time to hug her. She didn't reject it, but didn't exactly reciprocate either. She merely shuddered a few times before continued, "That night... I ran. I had to, what could I do against a demon like that? But the only way out was through a second-story window. I fell a full story, after diving through stained glass. All I got from it was a few cuts and a bruised elbow."

"This guardian angel was protecting you?" Micheal asked.

"I knew you'd think I was crazy," Gabriel said, "It does protect me. It got me away from Veronica, it told me to keep watching the church until you showed up, told me you could be trusted. It protects this apartment. But... it's a two way street. The angel needs to feed to continue to work its miracles."

Micheal blinked. For a second he was hesitant, "Are you telling me... this thing feeds on pain?"

"Would you believe it if I said yes?" Gabriel looked at him, nearly frantic with a need for some sort of acceptance.

Micheal nodded. He sat back a little, "I really have no trouble believing that. Pain... that's the same thing Veronica fed off of."

"It's different!" Gabriel protested, "Demons take their fuel by force, they rip it away from people without asking. Angels are different... they never do it without consent."

"Or coercion," Micheal said.

"That's a little unfair," Gabriel muttered.

"Sorry," Micheal said, "I'm just, it does make sense. Aren't demons supposed to be fallen angels, after all? Of course their feeding habits would be similar."

"My own... I hurt myself for it. It works best when it doesn't have to do the work itself, when I administer the pain to myself. It works when I have a reason to feel the pain. When we got home, though... it was starving. I didn't have time to... umm, don't take this the wrong way, but 'get in the mood' so to speak. You were asleep, you probably didn't see me head into the bathroom. It started as soon as the door was closed, running its fingers down my back. It takes a lot of energy to manifest physically like that, which is why it prefers to let me do the work administering the pain. It was just hard to keep from crying out too loudly."

"That must have been hell," Micheal said without irony.

"It's... it's not that bad," Gabriel said, "It's never debilitating, it would never ask me to injure myself long term for it. Just something that causes physical pain is enough. Those lines... those were mere touches, it has claws like scalpels."

"What does it look like?" Micheal asked.

"Don't know, I've never seen it full on," Gabriel said, "Just parts. Wings, multiple arms, claws, pale skin. It fed pretty well in the bathroom, and this will heal up in a few days. It's a mutually beneficial relationship."

"If you say so," Micheal said.

Gabriel eyed him, "I do say so, and I mean it. None of this happens without my consent."

Micheal nodded, "Okay, I'm sorry. I mean it, I believe you, at least most of what you say. You never did answer the question though."

"What question?"

"Are you a masochist?"

Gabriel looked at him long and hard. A second later she burst out laughing, Micheal joined in a second later. It felt good, it was a release. Finally Gabriel calmed down enough to wipe away a tear, "So what if I am?"

"Really?"

"What, out of everything you'll refuse to believe that?" Gabriel asked.

"No... no, it's not that," Micheal said, giving one last laugh, "It's just... I don't want to sound perverted or anything."

"Out with it," Gabriel said with mock seriousness.

"Please don't toss me out for being a creeper," Micheal said, "But... if you wanted, I could help you with keeping your guardian angel sated."

Gabriel smiled a little. "Can you?" she turned away, saying nothing more and resuming her game.