The Dumas train station was just beginning to show signs of activity, the smell of coffee and pastries filling the air, mingling with the burning coals that powered the trains, as the citizens began their daily travels. Seated at one of the many benches inside of this particular train station was the trio of Romeo, Banksy, and Azalea. Cleaned up from the previous nights activates, and sharply dressed, courtesy of Harold Sani's considerable wealth that Azalea still had access to, they sat in silence, waiting for their soon to be departing train.

"Well, this went better than expected, all things considered," Banksy said as he leaned back against the back of the bench and let out a yawn. At his feet were two large cases that contained samples of both the magic poison and booster, along with the majority of Sani's notes and other relevant information that would be more than enough to send him away for years to come and put a considerable dent in the Son’s future plans.

"Not too shabby," Romeo agreed with a follow up yawn.

Azalea nodded. "Once we get this to the Dumas government, they can go get Sani and his friends out of that vault. It shouldn't take much convincing with all this as evidence."

"Hope not," Banksy said. "Not sure how much air they will have. Bummer if anyone is claustrophobic, that thing was a lot smaller on the inside than I thought it would be. True work of art."

"Ah they'll be fine," Romeo said with a wave of his hand. "Everyone was unconscious so they are breathing pretty light. I don't think they're gonna wake up for a while. I might have over done it… a little."

"A little," Banksy snorted. "You? Mr. Subtly? I couldn't even imagine."

"At least I kept from frying Azalea along with the rest of them.. You know how hard that was? It was a lot of magic to control, you know? Oh right, you wouldn’t. Poor thing." Romeo grinned and turned to Azalea. "So, what's next for you anyways?"

"I-I'm not entirely certain," Azalea said, clasping her hands together and placing them in her lap. "To be completely honest, I had true intentions to marry Harold and settle down, but it seems that isn't to be."

"Probably for the best," Romeo said with a shrug.

"Yes, I suppose marrying a Son was a foolish idea," Azalea said.

Romeo rubbed his chin. "Well yeah, there is that, but also, you know, you didn't actually love him. You shouldn't marry someone if you don't love them. That's just asking for some heartbreak down the road. That's why it's important to find the right person."

"I suppose you are right." Azalea smiled as she popped up from her seat and spun around. She leaned down towards the boys. "Banksy, Romeo, I must thank you again."

"Don't mention it." Romeo waved his hand. "I mean, sure, you did kind of royally screw us before, but that's in the past. Or allegedly did. But it's whatever."

Banksy threw Romeo a wide-eyed look but Azalea only laughed.

"I thought I felt a bit of an attitude change from the pair of you. It seems my charms have out worn their welcome," she said as she gave her head a small shake. "I am sorry for that, truly I am."

"Don't worry about it," Romeo said. "Wasn't like I was that much better."

"Yeah, same I guess," Banksy chimed in. “It’s… it’s the past or whatever.”

"Such maturity you two are showing." Azalea's smile grew. "I might become smitten all over again."

"I know. It's my curse." Romeo said dramatically. Banksy punched him in the arm.

"I am so glad we are all friends again!" Azalea exclaimed as she reached down and grabbed either boy's hand. She leaned down and gave Romeo a peck on the lips before sliding over and doing the same for Banksy. "But with that said, I am also sorry for this."

"Sorry for what?" Romeo said before he listed to the side and knocked into Banksy's shoulder, already unconscious.

"Lipstick?" Banksy said, fighting against the sedative as he reached up and touched his lips.

"Always so clever," Azalea whispered as she dropped down and picked up one of the cases. "I can tell that you haven't forgiven me as easily as Romeo has. You’re not a good liar. Not in the least bit.”

"This… this won't help," Banksy said as his lips went numb and he started to slide down in his seat.

"I know," Azalea said with a soft smile. "But at least you two aren't mad at each other anymore. I couldn't bear to think I had ruined a friendship."

"I can never tell when you're lying," Banksy said as his eyes closed. "You're too good."

"That I am," Azalea said and Banksy could have sworn he heard a twinge of sadness hidden in her prideful tone. He felt her lips against his temple. "Goodbye Banksy. I do hope you don't hate me for this."

There were many things that Banksy would have liked to say, but they seemed so unimportant in the face of his sudden exhaustion. Instead, he murmured a simple goodbye and allowed himself to slip into unconsciousness beside Romeo.

xXx

Lara chewed on her bottom lip as she carefully removed the arrowhead from Adella's shoulder. The large woman was tense beneath her fingertips, but did not move as Lara slowly pulled the piece of metal free and dropped it into a container with a soft clunk. With one hand she swiped the wound with an antiseptic before quickly applying a bandage. With the operation finished she fell back into her chair and slumped over.

"All finished," Lara said, her voice shaking ever so slightly.

"Amazing," Adella murmured as she twisted her head to get a glance of Lara's handy work. "Even Galen can't do that with so little pain."

"You'll need to be careful still," Lara said, sitting up straighter in her chair for emphasis. She was still having trouble with giving orders to her patients. "I can only take away the pain until you upset the injury, then fresh pain will take its place."

"Still," Adella wiggled her arm and winced slightly. "The fact that you can do this, it's going to make surgeries much easier. And you can subsist off of this?"

"I can," Lara nodded. "Pain is a form of life force, but it's one that I don't think people mind me feeding off of."

"Not at all.”

"Now, I just need to set your arm and you should be fine." Lara moved to Adella's side and gently took her broken arm between her two small hands and began to work. She lifted her head and looked at the other occupant in the room. "Makina?"

Makina, who had been staring out the window, not one for stomaching much blood, glanced over her shoulder. "Yes?"

"Could you give me that salve, please?" Lara said with a nod of her head.

Makina popped out of her chair and grabbed the small jar and handed it to Lara.

"Thank you." Lara uncapped the lid and spread the thick paste over Adella's arm. "This will speed up the healing process."

"You're so useful here." Makina pouted as she watched Lara work. "I have nothing to do until Cross gets back."

"Do you miss him?" Lara asked as she wiped her hands clean.

Makina bristled. "Of course I do not miss him! He is simply my servant and as such he should not run off without my permission. I am simply terribly bored without him to command."

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"Mister Cross doesn't act like a servant," Lara said, a look of confusion on her face as Adella let out a snort of laughter.

"Well, he's not a very good one," Makina grumbled, drawing even more mirth from Adella.

"I still think he is very nice," Lara said.

"He is an idiot. You should have heard the way he spoke to me when we were first acquainted. And his attitude towards magic, even while in the presence of a divine being such as myself," Makina said, waving her hand. "He is useless."

"So, where has Cross run off to this time?" Adella asked, looking down at Makina with a large grin that Makina returned with a larger frown.

"I do not know, somewhere far away. He did not leave much explanation. Nor did those other two imbeciles," Makina said.

"Ah," Adella nodded. "That would explain why little Lexi has been so on edge."

"What do you mean by that?" Makina tilted her head and glanced at Lara, but received only a shake of her head. She turned back toward Adella. “Explain, please.”

Lexi's always gets a little twitchy when people go out on jobs without much intel, or when they don't return when they are supposed to," Adella said. “'Specially when it's one of her boys."

"Miss Alexis is a good friend. It is normal that she would worry," Lara said quietly as she wrapped Adella's arm in a thick bandage.

"That's part of it." Adella looked down at Makina. "You don't know much about the Hart family, do you?"

Makina shook her head. "I know they are quite a prominent family, and have been throughout the history of Voy. Members pop up from time to time at major events and battles."

"Every member of the Hart family has served in a guild, and most went on to achieve many great feats and accomplishments. Unfortunately, this means that many of them have also perished in their attempts to find that glory," Adella said, her voice growing quiet. "Lexi's mother was a member of a guild, same as the rest. Shooting Star. After Lexi's was born, she quit the guild, but was requested for one final mission from her old team. They succeeded in completing the job, but… Lexi's mother, during the raid… Well, she never made it home."

"That's horrible," Lara whispered.

"More than you know. That woman was one of the most talented swordwoman I have ever met. Strong enough to even give the Mistress a run for her money. No one ever thought she would go out so young," Adella sighed. "I'm sure Lexi took it hard, I know her father did. He retired almost immediately after and doted on his girls. After that, with so few guilds left, no one thought the Harts would continue the tradition but… well, you've met Lexi. She's probably on track to be just as great as her mother, if not better."

"I had no idea," Makina said quietly.

"She's not one to talk about it. Keeps things bottled up, that one. I wouldn't advise you bring it up," Adella said as Lara finished up her work. She flexed her arm and nodded. "Great work. I'll be sure to pass along the word, get you some more customers."

"Thank you!" Lara bowed deeply.

"You two stay out of trouble," Adella said, nodding to the pair before she ducked out of the small office.

"Poor Miss Alexis," Lara sighed as she cleaned up her office, meticulously putting every item back into its place. "I knew working for a guild could be dangerous, but still…"

Makina didn't reply as she slowly turned to look out the window. The skies were already turning dark, marking another day that Cross had been gone and another night he wouldn't come home. She doubted Banksy or Romeo would return tonight either, and Servilia had told her Lexi had left to fulfill a request, before running off herself to take care of a personal matter. Makina felt a familiar kind of weight settle on her shoulders. A weight she had only felt one time before in her entire existence.

"Come back safe," Makina said quietly as she balled her tiny fists. "All of you."

xXx

The case carrying the remaining magic-enhancing serum prototypes, and notes on how to replicate had been quite heavy, but luckily for Azalea the train station had been filled with quite a few strapping young men who were more than willing to help an attractive, young woman in distress. With that problem solved, Azalea was swiftly seated comfortably in an expensive personal compartment that was heading out of Dumas. She wasn't quite sure where she was going yet, but she did have at least one contact in every Kingdom who would be willing to pay handsomely for the information she now possessed. Maybe even enough for her to retire somewhere nice. While Sani had been a despicable man, the life of luxury he had supplied for her had been anything but.

Azalea smiled, lost in the daydream of her future. She didn't notice the well-oiled door slide open and shut again until the intruder was seated across from her.

"Oh, Servilia," Azalea managed to keep the surprise out of her voice and forced a pleasant smile onto her face. "I didn't realize you would be coming to assist the boys. They should be-"

"They are not aware I am here. Don't worry though, I've already checked in on them. They're still fast asleep where you left them," Servilia said as she smoothed out her pale blue dress. She looked around the compartment. "I see you're still doing well for yourself, despite your impending divorce."

"Ah, you have good sources I see," Azalea leaned back in her cushioned chair. "However, Sani was never anything more than my fiancé. No need for a divorce. I can have a clean break, as it were."

"I will be sure to get a refund from my information broker, then.”

"Care for a drink?" Azalea asked, standing up and moving to a small wet bar and pouring two glasses of brandy. "No charge, of course."

"Sadly I must decline," Servilia said, standing as well. "I try not to drink while I'm working."

"Unfortunate. I've found a drink rather helps relax me," Azalea said, picking up one glass and swirling the fragrant, amber liquid.

"That tends to happen when you slip a sedative into the drink," Servilia said pleasantly.

Azalea drained her drink and put the glass back down on the bar. "You are impressive."

"I do try."

"So, I suppose you already know what is in that case, then?"

"Yes."

"And I can't tempt you to partner with me? It is worth a lot of money, after all. More than enough for two."

"Sadly, no. I'm very happy with my current position in life," Servilia said, reaching up and tucking her hair neatly behind her ear. "Please, don't make this hard on yourself, Azalea."

Azalea stared at Servilia for a long time before sighing. With reluctant movements she reached down for the case and slid it across the floor towards Servilia. Servilia nodded and reached down to grab the handle. In that moment of vulnerability, Azalea made her move. In a single, smooth movement she drew a needle from the lining of her dress and lunged forward.

Servilia's blade cut through Azalea's weapon so fast Azalea wasn't quite sure what had happened until moments later when she found herself pinned to her chair with Servilia's knife pressed against her throat until it just drew blood.

"I told you not to make this hard on yourself," Servilia said. There was no trace of anger in her voice, only a slight exasperation, like one would have with a small child who refused to listen.

"I had to try," Azalea said, with a small smile.

"I know you did.”

“Do I get points for at least leaving the poison with the boys?”

Servilia pressed the knife slightly harder against Azalea’s neck before relenting with a small nod. “Of course, but only a few.”

Servilia took a step back and returned her blade to the sheath hidden on her thigh. Leaning down, she picked up the case, easily lifting it up despite the weight.

"I suppose this is goodbye," Azalea sighed, wiping her hand across her neck. The fresh blood smeared across her dark skin.

"It is, but before I go there is one last thing I wished to discuss with you," Servilia said. "I wonder if you know much about dragons?"

"Dragons?" Azalea shook her head, genuinely puzzled.

"Yes, dragons. It's a funny thing about them. They are beautiful, intelligent and caring creatures. They rarely attack without being provoked, instead choosing to lounge around and sleep the days away with their hoard of riches. However, if you hurt one of them… even the smallest of injuries, they retaliate with a fury strong enough to make the heavens shake." Servilia leaned down towards Azalea until they were only inches apart and her blue eyes narrowed to slits. "In case that wasn't clear enough, I will spell it out for you in very simple and easy to understand terms. You dare to hurt either of my boys again, so much as scratch, and I'll cut your tongue out and feed it to the dogs. I’ve allowed you walk freely through our doors more than once undisturbed. Do not test my patience again.” Smiling softly, Servilia reached out and cupped Azalea’s cheek. "Safe travels, Azalea.”

xXx

"Well, at least she left us the poison and the evidence and only took the booster," Romeo said as he settled into a more comfortable position in his seat. Outside of the train’s window the scenery passed by quickly. "The Dumas government will handle everything from here."

"Yeah, and they gave us a nice finders fee, I guess," Banksy sighed. It was clear he was not impressed with how things had turned out. After waking up, and dealing with the fact that they had been outsmarted, yet again, by Azalea, they had delivered the package to a representative of the Dumas government. It had taken quite a bit of explaining, but in the end, and with their copious amounts of evidence, everything had worked out and they were headed back home to Voy.

Though it had been a resounding victory over Sani and the Sons, the end left a bitter taste in his mouth.

Literally.

Whatever Azalea had drugged him with was bitter and no matter what he rinsed his mouth out with, the taste lingered on his tongue.

"Plus, they'll probably give us some more if they end up persecuting some of those other Sons and nobles that Sani was working with," Romeo said as he pulled something out of his pocket and began to fidget with it.

"What is that?"

"Some crystal I nicked from the lab." Romeo grinned before producing another one. He tossed it to Banksy. "Got you one too. Little memento, eh?"

"These might be toxic or something, you know?" Banksy said, though he grinned as he turned the shimmering stone over in his hands.

"Hey, considering what we went though in that lab, I'm not worried about dying. I'm pretty sure I'm immortal right now, so that makes you like, at least half immortal."

Banksy laughed and shook his head. He stared down at the crystal. It was a glorious shade of turquoise with small flakes of pink suspended inside. He looked up at Romeo who was staring out the window.

Banksy said, "Hey, Romeo?”

"Yeah?"

"Well, you know," Banksy frowned and twisted the crystal back and forth between his hands. "That thing you were looking for. That you thought you found with Azalea. You know… You know you found that already, right? The Guild. We're all your family or whatever."

Romeo slowly turned and stared at him and for once didn't say anything. A small smile appeared on his lips and he looked back out the window. "Yeah, I know Banksy. I know."

"Well, good then.”

"Hey Banksy?"

"Yeah?"

"She kissed me first.”

"It was out of pity." Banksy rolled his eyes and slouched down in his chair. He was ready to be home.