Sera sighed as she looked at herself in the bathroom mirror. Joseph had gone above and beyond with his needle-work, he could get a solid tailor shop running had he so desired. He had made her new pants, a shirt, and a coat like the one he so often wore, complete with a hood. The shirt she wore was a simple undyed cotton, with the pants and coat being a deep shade of umber. All she was missing was the armor and she’d look like a miniature version of him…

Even still there were armor plates sewn into certain sections of the coat, just beneath the cloth. He had told her that the coat would be able to shrug off smaller blades with ease, and that when she returned he would armor it up even more. Joe had lamented that he had no more time to work on it, as she needed to meet with Gerad today. He had even managed to cobble together a pair of boots for her, again a smaller version of what he wore.

How could one man learn so many talents in just a hundred and two years of life? Many elves couldn’t do this much… but maybe that was because her species had a horrible problem… Procrastination. Humans had limited lifespans, unlike the elves. If she wanted to learn something, she could take as long as she needed to learn it. Sera could afford to after all, she’d never die from old age.

Humans though? They were always in a hurry, always rushing to learn or work, rarely putting anything off unless they were lazy. Joseph seemed to be on the more extreme end of this spectrum of humanity, and his natural intellect seemed to make picking up new skills a breeze. He could now speak Faesh fluently, and he had only appeared on Faenor a few months ago. Well, it should have been expected from someone that had won her heart.

Sera would need to hurry and finish her contract with Gerad, she didn’t want to be separated from Joseph for longer than necessary. Especially now that she’d been catching him staring at her like a man his (biological) age should be. Who knew? Maybe they could progress things once she returned… would he make the first move, or should she? Maybe-

A loud knocking cut off her thoughts, “Hey! You alive in there?”

“Yes, just making sure everything is fitted right!” She replied, moving over to the door and pulling it open.

Joe had his hands on his hips, “For fifteen minutes?”

“So what?” Sera asked, copying the motion, “I want to make sure I look elegant.”

“That’s made to keep you alive, not make you look elegant.” Joe told her, “Now come on, it’s time I see ya off.”

Sera pursed her lips, “You won’t come with me to Shian after all then?”

Joe shook his head, “No way, Gerad could have got a trap set up fer me remember?”

“I don’t think he’d do that.” She said, “But I understand your reasoning.”

“Thanks, but I got a gift for ya before you head out.” Joe told her, “See that thing attached to your belt?” He said, pointing to it.

“It’s a holster, right?” She asked, “I don’t have anything to put-” Joe grabbed her hand then, lifting it up before producing a pistol from his belt.

“This is yours now, I packed you a couple extra mags for it too, you’ll find em’ in your backpack. It’s a good pistol, uses 9mm for ammo. Hopin’ that you don’t really need to use it.”

“But we only went shooting yesterday…” She said, though she didn’t hand it back, “I’m not ready.”

“Not ready?” Joe asked her, cocking a brow, “You shot that mage fella well enough, that was without some practice. I ain’t taking it back by the way, that’s yers now. Don’t worry, I got like ten spares in one of my lockers.”

“You have ten of these?” She asked, awkwardly putting the weapon in its holster.

“They were pretty common back on Earth. I got other guns too but I don’t think yer ready to use a rifle yet.” He told her, moving toward the workshop, “C’mon, we’re about a mile outside of town right?”

“...Yes.” She said, following after him, “My contract with Gerad ends in three months time, if it expires I won’t renew it, and wait for you in Shian. It won’t be necessary for you to come into town, it is an unwalled settlement, simply drive Betty around and honk a few times, then I’ll come to you.”

Joe opened the door, allowing Sera through first, “That’s a bad idea.” He said, “Think about it, I’d be scaring folk for no reason other than to get yer attention. I’ll come in and find ya.”

“If you’re sure.” Sera said with a smile.

Joe then opened the door that led outside, the chilled air hitting her bare face. Morning frost covered the browning grass, and the sky was a deep gray and overcast. She found herself grateful for the clothing Joseph had made for her… it seemed this winter would be a cold one. She turned to Joe, who picked up a large strapped bag that had been laying by the door. He offered it to her with a smile.

“This has everything you need to rough it in the wild.” Joe said as she took it from him, “Good luck, see ya in three months.”

She frowned; just like that? No tearful goodbyes or even a hug? She crossed her arms after slinging on the backpack, glaring up at him sullenly.

He frowned, “You alright?”

“You seem pretty happy to be rid of me.” Sera told him, frustrated.

“You keep havin’ an attitude like that and yeah.” Joe told her, crossing his own arms, “Look, I don’t like long goodbyes… the sooner yer out there the quicker you can get yer work done. I’ll stop by Shian once a month to check if yer done yet alright?”

“There’s nothing wrong with long goodbyes.” Sera told him, “And are you really going to make me ask?” She said, opening her arms.

Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

Joe sighed, shaking his head before he gave her a hug. She felt so wonderfully warm, no longer noticing the frigid cold leaking in from outside. She wanted to be held like this forever… and soon, she just might be able to do that. All she needed to do was finish her contract with Gerad. She’d been taking their work slow before, but that was going to change now that she had a reason to quickly finish it. She looked up into Joseph’s eyes, wondering if she should take the initiative then and there… but she instead released the hug.

She did not want to be left craving the touch of his lips for potentially three months, she would exercise patience… for now. Once they were reunited however… she’d be a lot more aggressive with him. Maybe. She descended the ramp slowly, turning to wave goodbye to her (hopefully) future lover.

“Git!” He yelled, making a shooing motion.

She frowned, and stuck her tongue out at him. He smiled, waving goodbye in proper. Once Betty’s ramp closed fully… she turned, making her way into Shian. There was an old legend she had heard about, about a monster beneath the mountains of Ugals. Killing it would surely count as a great feat… it would be a treacherous journey, as she’d need to travel through the Dark-Wastes in order to find the beast.

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

Joseph sighed as he entered the frontroom… it was a lot colder now for some reason. Maybe it was all the open space and the chill of the outside air? He shook his head. Betty’s temperature almost always stayed stable. Perhaps it was because he’d gotten used to having company again. Without Sera here, it seemed a lot more… lonely. He moved over to the cockpit, started Betty up, and drove off in the general direction of Pienturshuld manor.

He had made a promise to Prolo and by God he was going to keep it. He should be able to sneak in easily enough, he knew the layout pretty well. There was also a real chance that the kid wouldn’t be there either, perhaps having gone out on the road somewhere. It was how they had first met after all, Prolo had been out n’ about.

If he was gone, Joe would simply sneak into his room and deposit the book somewhere obvious… but he hoped Prolo would be home. It’d be nice to talk to the kid properly now that Joe knew Faesh. He drove south, toward the other end of the grassy plains where Betty had first emerged. It took several hours, and by time he reached it it was already nighttime. He’d not be taking Betty with him, he didn’t want to maneuver through the woods again and he wanted to be as clandestine as possible when he got there.

It would take him a while to actually reach the manor again on foot, but that was fine. He’d pack up his normal gear and bring his poleaxe along for the ride. He hadn’t gotten to use the damn thing once since he’d bought it back in Letsher. Hopefully he wouldn’t have to, but it would make a good walking stick at least. He parked Betty far away from the cobbled road, not wanting her to be in sight of strangers. If someone decided to follow the flattened grass, they’d find Betty for sure… but they wouldn’t be able to get in.

He’d need to be ready in case a veritable siege had built itself around her in his absence, so he packed a couple grenades into his belt. Better safe than sorry, just one of these would be enough to scare away anyone trying to catch him. Hell, they might think he had explosion magic or some crap like that. He stood from his chair, and went to the workshop, armoring himself up before he grabbed the poleaxe.

He hadn’t done all that much to it in truth, but its wooden haft was now shod with iron. It would be a fair bit harder to swing with the extra weight, but the shodding should both protect the wood and provide yet another bludgeon for him to use. Sure, it could have been used for that already, but that wouldn’t have been good for the shaft. That, and the hammer side of the poleaxe had made it unnecessary to use it that way. It might be situational, but it was neat regardless. It was awesome and he loved the work he had put into it, but damn was it heavy. Thankfully his newly restored youth made it easier to carry, he couldn’t imagine swinging this thing around when he had been in his fifties.

He opened the ramp, and said, “C’mon, let's go.” To nobody.

That’s right, Sera was gone now, had to remember. She had better not die out there. He moved out, closing the door and sealing Betty. He could sleep till the morning and then head out but… he wanted to be out and about. With Sera gone it was far too cold in there, roughing it in the woods for a bit sounded far more palatable then his recliner.

He’d be able to find the trail again well enough, all he had to do was follow the path Betty had carved in the grass. Once he reached the mouth of the road, he entered the forest. It was a cold night, making wearing his gear far less miserably hot than it normally was. As walked across the trail, he kept his eyes peeled for any shadows moving through the trees. Something was off about the woods, it was far too quiet…

He could not hear insects, no animals, nothing. It was a void of silence. This wasn’t a good sign… and after some consideration, he decided to return to Betty for the night. His gut screamed at him to get out of those woods before it was too late. He saw no real reason to ignore this warning, so he turned on his heel and quickly followed the trail out of the woods. Right as he was about to leave however, he heard something rustling in the bushes next to him.

Joe whirled, readying his poleaxe. He saw a long shadow emerge from the bush, and he clicked on his flashlight to see a humanoid form emerge. Joe gasped as he saw the shiny steel flesh, the glowing red eyes of glass, and the glowing blue gun aimed directly at him.

“Drop it.” The robotic voice demanded in English, “Don’t argue or you die.”

The cyborg! Joe dropped his poleaxe to the dirt, hesitantly raising his hands above his head.

“You understood me…” The cyborg said, “And that gear, you’re from Earth, aren’t you?”

“I am.” Joseph replied in English, “I heard about you a while ago, one of the locals thought I was you.”

The cyborg slightly eased, removing his finger from the trigger, “I’m Henry.” He said through clenched metallic teeth.

His whole head looked like a metal skull, there wasn’t a scrap of flesh anywhere to be seen on his frame in fact. How did Henry eat? There still had to be fleshy bits on the inside right? The man gleamed from head to toe, his steel plated skin protecting him from the elements. He wasn’t even wearing clothes, but when you were this deep into cybernetics, it wasn’t like there was anything to hide anymore. Henry’s red glowing eyes remained locked on him, seeming expectant.

“Joseph.” He replied, “What happens now?”

“If this were the wastes, I’d strip you for all you were worth and leave you for dead.” Henry replied honestly, “But we aren’t in Kansas anymore, so to speak. I need to gather more intel on where we ended up.”

“Well, it’s a long story…” Joe said, slowly lowering his hands.

“Keep them up or I’ll kill you.” Henry replied, his eyes flashing red, “I don’t trust you, you think just because we’re from the same world that we’d be friends?”

Joe glared, “Of course not.”

It made sense, this guy was a survivor just like he was. This type of interaction was not uncommon back in the wastes. Joe wouldn’t have let Henry lower his hands if the roles were reversed.

“I’ll ask the questions.” Henry said, “How did you get here?”

“Portal storm I’m guessin’” Joe told him, “Either that or God dropped me off.”

“You weren’t summoned?” Henry asked, “I believe that was what happened to me. I was… absorbed by a glowing green oval, then I ended up in some kind of castle. The locals chanted at me in some weird language and it looked like they were getting ready to kill me, so I killed them and escaped. It wasn’t easy, even with my bionics.”

“I ended up in these woods, just me, my gear, and my backpack.” He lied.

Joseph already knew how this was all going to end, he didn’t want Henry knowing about Betty.

“Give me your backpack and all your guns, extra mags too.” Henry demanded, “I’m a nice guy, I’ll let you keep your armor and that weapon there,” He said, indicating the poleaxe, “After that, I’ll ask you some questions and let you go, sound good? And don’t forget those grenades.”

Joe tried to keep the rage from showing on his face, “Fine.”

He disarmed himself, tossing Henry his bag and leaving his guns on the ground, kicking them over to the cyborg, “Good,” Henry replied, “Now sit down, I have a few questions for you, then you can be on your way.”

They ended up talking well into the early hours of the morning, with Joseph imparting everything he’d learned about Faenor to Henry, who kept his laser rifle trained on Joe the whole time.

“That’s quite a lot.” Henry said, “Thank you, now get out of here. I’ll be keeping the book in this bag too, I need it more than you do.”

Joe grumbled but didn’t reply, retrieving his poleaxe before moving to leave.

“And be careful out there.” Henry told him, “There’s some kind of giant snake monster on the prowl in those grasslands, it's been destroying a lot of campgrounds around here from what I’ve seen.”

Joe grinned, but didn’t reply. This bastard had no idea about Betty, that was good… if he got him out in the open he’d be able to run him down or shoot him to death. Truthfully though, it might be slightly difficult to justify it in his mind. Henry’s behavior was far too nice for a wastelander. Most other folk would demand everything Joseph had, even the clothes off his back. Maybe it was because this environment was far easier to survive in?

Ah well, he’d be getting his revenge on Henry in one way or another. Still… why did he bother telling Joe to be careful, especially after he had just mugged him? Maybe Henry had been hesitant to kill Joe because he was the only person he could talk to? It was hard to tell what he’d been thinking with that metal skull face of his. That could also be the reason he didn’t take everything Joe had… maybe he wanted to speak with Joseph again at some point and didn’t want to reduce his odds of survival more than what was necessary?

Well, Henry should have thought about that before deciding to mug him. That laser rifle of his would work well as an extra turret for Betty. Joe returned to Betty after he was sure Henry wasn’t following after him, entering and sealing the door behind him. He would not be caught lacking like that again! He should have brought up his rifle first, not his damn poleaxe. He’d gotten too lax these past few months, he’d need to correct that.

He had been putting off upgrading his gear for a while now… surely Prolo wouldn’t mind waiting just a bit longer for his book? He’d properly stitch in those scales to his trenchcoat and some of the bone he’d taken from the dragon. It would take some time to forge the new armor from those materials, but he’d get it done.

Then he’d kick Henry’s ass and get the book back. Sure, he could always give Prolo the original copy, Joseph no longer needed it after all… but his seething anger demanded that he go after Henry for revenge first. Besides, he had put months worth of work into copying that damn book, he wasn’t just gonna let it go. There were also the guns he had stolen from him as well, but again, all these things would eventually come back to him.

Joe grinned, Betty no longer felt cold and lonely, for the heat of spite fueled him. Henry would get his alright…