Bell leaped into his arms, kissing him long and deep. Bert lost himself in it, a feeling of warmth and complete happiness wiping all thoughts from his mind.

She let go, dropping to her feet as she stepped back.

Bert’s head snapped to the side as she slapped him.

“How can you tell someone you love them out here?” She demanded. “Do you have NO sense of timing?”

“You demanded I tell you!” Bert pointed out. He looked around at the desolate landscape of dead trees and bare earth. “Not the place I would have chosen.”

“Bert!” Bell caught his attention. “I want you to know it is your fault,” She smiled.

“What is?” Bert asked, exasperated.

“I am not having sex on this dirty floor!” Bell said in outrage.

“Of course not!” Bert protested.

“So everything I do between now and when we find a nice place is your fault!” She held out a hand, Ringer flying into it.

“Come on!” Bert laughed. “What are you going to do?”

“Payback,” Bell grinned in a way that set him on fire. She turned her back on him, walking away, her hips swinging like a cat. She laughed long and dirty as he found himself swallowing hard.

“You know, we could head back to the Waystation?” He offered.

“Uh uh!” She looked back at him, winking. “You have to suffer first.”

“You know, I’m okay with that,” Bert grinned, watching her butt wiggle as she walked.

“Come on!” She waved to him. “The sooner we get this place searched, the sooner we get laid.”

Bert hurried to catch up.

They approached the colossal building from behind. It wasn’t stone, to his surprise. The outer walls, at least, were wood and steel. Thick steel plates between tall steel beams. The wood took over about halfway up, extending the wall up to at least fifteen feet. A complex series of floors and towers were visible over the top of the wall.

“See you, slowpoke.” Bell grinned, popping back into pixie form and flying over the top. Bert grinned, taking a run up and launching himself up, grabbing the top of the wall and vaulting over; he rolled as he landed, coming upright just as Bell popped into human form a few feet up.

“Oops!” She called theatrically as she fell into his arms.

Bert leaned down and kissed her, tasting the faint chocolate taste of her mouth and tongue.

“Thanks,” She winked, blinking into pixie form, and back again stood upright a few steps away. “Guess I’m a little clumsy!” She giggled and dropped Ringer, bending over theatrically and picking it up.

Bert chuckled, trying to ignore a growing tightness in his armor.

“Oh, shit, this place is actually kind of impressive.” Bell looked over at the multistory building in front of them. Wood and metal wove together to form what looked like a rambling mansion.

“It really is,” Bert said, coming up next to her and winding his fingers through hers. “Kind of having difficulty focusing on it, though, can’t imagine why.”

“Me either,” She grinned and looked down, the top three buttons of her shirt popping off one after another. “Oops.” She laughed and walked off around the side of the building, leaving him to follow.

“Oh, that’s just evil,” Bert laughed, catching up to her.

“Not evil, just bad,” She turned and winked at him. “Evil would be if I was just playing.” She stopped, turned, and placed a warm hand on his chest, her eyes boring into his. “It’s just bad because all of this,” She waved at her body, leading his eyes down and up her body, “All of me… is yours.” Bell looked deep into his eyes, “Just as soon as we find somewhere to play.” She kind of groaned the play bit, and Bert pulled her into his arms, pushing her up against the wall of the building.

“I can’t wait,” He panted into her ear as he kissed down her neck.

“Me either,” Bell clicked her fingers, her clothes disappearing as she wrapped her legs around him. “So don’t.”

============

“Hey Slothy!” Wendy gave the giant sloth bear a few pats and scratches. “Can I take Gavin with me? I promise I’ll look after him.”

Slothy tilted her head for a minute, then nuzzled Wendy and chuffed.

“Thanks!” Wendy hugged Slothy’s head and walked off.

“Dead embarrassing, tha’ was.” Gavin grumped as they headed over to the Bear’s Fall.

“It’s just because she cares.” Wendy shrugged.

“Aye, lass. I ken.” Gavin said, only slightly mollified.

Wendy pulled open the door and saw Rose sitting at a table near the back, playing with a small ring. The little half-pixie looked utterly absorbed in the little bit of metal.

“Hey, Rose,” Wendy called. “We are off to search some nearby houses for any good loot; want to come?”

“No!” Rose laughed. “And no one can make me!”

“Uhh, okay,” Wendy frowned. “Lily’s coming if you change your mind.”

“Good,” Rose said dismissively. “I want some alone time anyway.”

“Suit yourself,” Wendy sighed. She was about done with Rose. She knew what she tried to do when Scruff was hurt was wrong, but something about the girl just rubbed her the wrong way.

“Just the three of us, I guess,” Wendy told Gavin as they headed towards the Express.

“Tim, come!” The little gnork ran up. “Tim wants to go to.”

“The four of us then,” Wendy pulled the little gnork up onto her shoulders. He was tiny, and she was already in her skeleton suit, so she didn’t even notice the extra weight.

“Oooh, this is real comfort, aye!” Gavin grinned as he perched in the far passenger seat of the Express. “Bloody good machine this is!”

“Thanks,” Wendy grinned. She loved getting compliments about the Express.

Lily and Tim had the seats next to Wendy, although Tim spent more time standing on his seat staring out the windshield than actually sitting in it.

“Tim, get down!” Lily tried to pull him back down, but Tim dodged her. “You’ll get hurt.”

“Tim, safe!” Tim insisted, “Leave alone!”

Lily laughed but kept a hand out, ready to catch him in case he fell.

“I’ll tell!” Wendy warned him.

“No tell,” Tim begged.

“You told!” Wendy argued back.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Tim sat in his chair and folded his arms, clacking his jaw in irritation.

“So, which end do you think we should start with?” Wendy asked Lily as they approached the cluster of squat houses.

“The far side feels the best,” Lily said, then laughed. “It is so weird knowing that, without knowing how I know that.”

“I bet,” Wendy grinned. “It is incredibly awesome, though.”

“Thanks,” Lily blushed.

The houses themselves looked more like bunkers to Wendy as they drew near. At least in design. They were all identical, like the kit houses that her Dad remembered from back on earth, but these were slabs of stone laid roughly over large wooden squares. Small openings served as windows, the only sign of anything like a nod to a livable structure.

The flat, slightly sloped sides rose to a four-sided slate roof. Wendy wondered if they were built after the arrival of the mists, as it would have rendered them almost invisible. With no decoration, grey stone and slate would have been impossible to see in the blank grey murk of the previously constant mist.

A faint road was visible between the two lines of bunker houses, and Wendy carefully drove down the center, parking at the far end as Lily suggested.

“Okay, everybody out, but stay close.”

“I’m leaving two of the Pretties to guard the Express, just in case,” Wendy said to her ramshackle troops. It was a far cry from fighting with Scruff or the Bud Patrol, but she was determined to do well.

They all nodded.

“We will also all have a Pretty with us at all times.” She waved, and the Pretties unfolded, scuttling along the floor and taking position next to each of them.

Tim happily jumped on his, and Lily patted her’s affectionately. Gavin tried to lean away from his without anyone noticing.

It leaned with him, and the dwarf took a half step away; the Pretty moved a half step closer. Wendy watched as this devolved into the dwarf, running in circles with the Pretty merrily following.

“Ge’ away, ya creepy bugger!” Gavin yelled.

“Gavin!” Wendy snapped, and the dwarf stopped. “It stays, or you go back in the Express.” She said sternly.

“Och, come on!” Gavin protested. “I cannae have this wee creep followin' me e’erywhere. I’ll go spare!”

Wendy gestured, and the door to the Express opened invitingly.

“Fine.” Gavin stomped back over to the others. “Aye, let’s go, ya wee fuck.”

The pPetty looked almost smug as it stood next to him. Wendy was almost sure it was standing closer to him than before.

“Right.” Wendy huffed, “Let’s get moving. Lily and I will check the nearest house on this side of the road. Gavin and Tim check the other side. We meet up back here after we are done and move to the next one in line.”

They all nodded.

“Keep the doors open and call if you need help.” Wendy said, “Stay safe, everyone.”

With that, they moved off, and Lily Joined Wendy as they approached their first house.

Her suit helped her pull aside the heavy stone-wrapped door. Its extra muscles came in more and more useful, and thanks to her ability to cast Reclaim Flesh, she could actually help it to self-repair if needed.

Lily peered inside, clicking her fingers to summon a small light ball in the large room before them.

“Hey, I didn’t know you could do that!” Wendy said, happy to have the extra light.

“Neither did I until I saw Bell do it!” Lily grinned. “I tried to visualize a light and clicked, and there it was!”

“Hmm,” Wendy thought for a second. “You know, I never even thought of that.” She clicked, adding a second light ball. “It works, you’re a genius!”

“Didn’t you get taught when you were growing up?” Lily asked her face a picture of confusion.

“Ha!” Wendy grinned. “I never grew up; I was a Multi-Bell originally.”

“What the fuck?” Lily slammed a hand over her mouth. “Really?” She mumbled from behind it.

“Yeah, a magical attack severed me, so I joined with the Express’ core. I got a bunch of stuff from Dad then… and poof instant me.” Wendy grinned.

“That’s so awesome!” Lily grinned.

“It really is,” Wendy agreed, moving into the now bright room. It didn’t seem to hold much. A few bits of dusty furniture. A moldy couch along one wall was the biggest thing in the room.

“Hey, look,” Lily called, and Wendy turned to see a weapon rack nailed to the wall next to the door. “They look like the sky metal weapons we found in that other place!”

Wendy moved in for a closer look. There was a pair of swords, an axe, and a metal bow with no sign of a string.

“Grab 'em,” Wendy smiled. “Dad will be glad of the sky metal.”

“Okay,” Lily swept a hand over the rack, each of the weapons disappearing in turn.

They moved further in through a regular wooden door to find a set of collapsed bunks and a pair of storage chests. Wendy poked the trunks several times, then opened them from a reasonable distance away with one of the poles from the collapsed bunks.

“More sky metal!” Lily looked through the seemingly random pieces of armor. They were odds and ends, with vastly different sizes.

“Let’s check the rest of the places, then we can put the chests in the Express,” Wendy said, moving on to what seemed to be a small toilet. It was not great, basically a really deep hole in the floor with a metal cover over it.

“Want the metal cover?” Lily asked doubtfully. “I don’t think it is sky metal.”

“Naah, they can keep that.” Wendy chuckled. “Never nick the toilet; it shows a lack of taste.”

The girls laughed and moved to the final door. This one was metal, heavy, and rusted in place.

“This looks pretty solid,” Lily gave a few tugs to no effect.

Wendy tried next, but it was no good, even with her suit’s help. She stepped back and kicked the door in frustration.

“Do we move on, or?” Lily looked at the door longingly. “There has to be something good in there, right?”

“See, this is why it pays to date a farmer,” Wendy said, pulling a tiny green shoot from her belt pouch and placing it gently on the faint seem in the door.

The plant exploded into life after the first few seconds. Its roots wound into the tiny gaps and grew. After about a minute, the door was completely covered and then opened with a creak and a pop.

The plant began to die off, revealing that the door was stripped of all metal, and a large, seed-shaped lump was left behind.

“What is that?” Lily asked; she leaned down and gently prodded the metal seed.

“That is just the cleaned metal,” Wendy grinned and patted it. “The plant was part of Scruff's continuing attempts to make a metal refining plant.”

“Can you even do that?” Lily asked.

“I doubt it,” Wendy shrugged. “But that never stopped her before.”

They directed their light orbs into the dark room beyond. It had no windows, so there was no ambient light at all.

The room gleamed.

Row after row of armor suits took up most of one wall, with another full of helmets and a final wall of shields.

“It’s all sky metal!” Lily gasped. “This is enough to bankrupt a whole town!”

“Fuckin’ Hell,” Wendy laughed. “If this is what your skill can find, I think I’m jealous.”

Wendy was just carrying out the first of the storage chests, with Lily dragging the other behind her when Tim came dashing over, rattling more than normal. He was covered in sky metal armor.

He had on what looked like a bit of sky metal chainmail, which came down almost to his feet. He had also managed to get a pair of small pouldrons tied on almost correctly and a gleaming helm bouncing wildly on the top of his skull.

“Tim found second sword!” He waved his now-matching sky metal swords.

“Did you find some armor too?” Wendy laughed.

“No!” Tim insisted as he pushed his helm back up.

“Are you sure?” Wendy asked, raising an eyebrow the way she saw her mom do.

“Maybe?” Tim tried. “This mine!”

“Sure, Tim, that stuff is yours.” Wendy grinned as TIm danced around. “Can I put it on properly for you?”

“No!” Tim tried to run away, but Wendy held him down and tightened all the right straps and clips until it no longer bounced around.

“There ya go,” She said, letting him go.

Tim moved around, seeing everything stayed in place. “Thanks!”

“Are ye ever comin’ back, ya bony little bastard?” Gavin yelled. “I need some bloody help wi’ all this!”

“We’re coming!” Wendy chuckled as she trotted over to see what Gavin and Tim had found. She slid to a stop in the doorway of the house.

She gaped.

Not house, warehouse.

She blinked.

Not a warehouse…. An armory.

“Fuck!” Lily swore, slapping a hand over her mouth automatically once more.

Wendy flicked her light orb into the building and watched it drift down row after row of gleaming armor, chests, weapons, crates, and more.

“So, lass!” Gavin asked, his arms full of assorted hammers. “Wha’ we takin’?”

“Everything!” Wendy grinned. “We take everything.” She tapped her foot on the floor, hearing the familiar metallic ring of sky metal. “Then we take the fucking floor.”

=============

Gwen stormed through the halls of the Palace of the Autumn Winds, bursting into the throne room with sparks flying from her eyes. A wild shadow reached out behind her, but not just her own. The shapes of animals appeared and disappeared as if she was surrounded by a veritable army of them hiding in her shadow.

“I DEMAND JUSTICE!” She snarled.

Karl barely looked up from the map of earth he was studying.

“For what?” Myrtle sighed.

“For what they just did!” Gwen hissed. “He has betrayed me with that pixie whore!”

“Told ya!” Crissy laughed, and Jerry handed her a small pile of gems.

“No,” Myrtle dismissed her. “They are Lord and Lady of a Court. They outrank you.”

“Then I demand a trial!” Gwen shook with rage.

“Be careful,” Karl said, looking up from his map. “What is done may not always be undone.”

“I demand a trial,” Gwen said, drawing herself up.

“Then it is so,” Karl sighed and pushed himself away from the table, placing a hand on his throne.

A Trial Is Called!

All participants will be summoned in…

3….

2….

1….