A life on the run has it’s up and downs, that’s for sure.  Okay, mostly downs.  But hey, got to look at the good in it.  In any case, I can definitely handle it.  I’m just too awesome to let this junk keep me down.  With me and the big guy working together, there ain’t nothing that can stop us.  Not even our so-called “brothers.”

Same old routine: keep one step ahead of them, beat up some hired goons, and try and track down where little Quatrice is.

(Author’s note: Quatrice is pronounced “Ka-treece”)

But something feels a little different about today, you know?  Like something big is going to happen today, or we’re going to meet somebody important.  Whatever, probably just me being weird again, right?

Sortie 2: The Guardian, The Assassin, and the Flamboyant

“They went this way, I’m sure of it!” the red-haired man called to his two accomplices as he darted around a corner of a building.  About five minutes ago, this street had been relatively quiet, no more than a few people out on the sidewalk.

Now, any bystanders there might have been had wisely hidden away in their homes when the first shots rang out.  The man wouldn’t have noticed anyway.  Not when his quarry was within grasp.  His two accomplices, a heavyset dark-haired man, and a thinner man were not but half a step behind him as he turned the corner.

Their syndicate was being paid good money for this job…REAL good money.  Hell, he might be able to take that short vacation he wanted.  Find himself some shallow dame to go along with him…yes, it would be very nice indeed. And all that stood in the way of that week of no cares was the capture of these two targets…wanted alive by the client.  Odd.  Normally Mr. Rochester didn’t take jobs where the client was to be left alive.  Then again, if the money was right.

“Jesus, one of them was decked out in frickin’ purple, orange, and pink!  It shouldn’t take this long to find them!” one of his allies grumbled.  He had to agree, this man shouldn’t be hard to find.  To top it off, the other one was not a short man by any means of the imagination, he would stand fairly well above a crowd.  But blast it all, these two had RAN when they saw their pursuers.  Maybe they were used to this by now and knew what to do?

He doubted it.  One of the two couldn’t have been older than 17.  A teenager at best.  No way some snot nosed kid could outsmart them.  Wouldn’t be long now, he figured.

They crossed underneath the arch of some footbridge that serviced the upper level of the town, and begin heading down this street, when a voice called out to them.  “Yoo hoo!  Oh nice pursuers!”

They spun around to see a young man sitting on the edge of the footbridge, letting his feet dangle off the side, as he spun a lock of his long, unruly blonde hair around a gloved finger.  “Would you happen to be looking for me?” he called.  The red-haired man couldn’t quite place it, but this young man’s tone was almost…mocking.  “What ever could such low-lifes want we with, only the greatest thing before, during, and after sliced bread?”  Okay, the boy’s tune was definitely mocking.

“Come on down, boy, and we won’t pump you full of lead!”  the heavyset man called.  It was an empty promise, but he was hoping the boy did not realize that.  To his chagrin, though, the boy just stood on the footbridge, spread his arms wide, and crowed “Take your best shot, blimpy!  I know for a fact I’m worth more to you alive.”  He did a rather precarious, yet well executed pirouette, grinning at his pursuers the whole time.

The thinner man growled with contempt at this oddly dressed young man, decked in purple, ribbons of orange and pink, and pink gloves and shoes.  Thinking of nothing else to say, he merely uttered “Damn fairy.”

Ignoring it as an insult entirely, the young man merely grinned.  “You’re just jealous because I’m a strong, vicarious youth whose parts probably still work, Captain Impotence!  But I suppose if you were to call me a fairy, I’ll play along with it!  Yes, I am a mere sprite, sent in this world to spread cheer and mischief, with the power of love and the wind being mine to command.”

“Quit kidding around and get down here!”

“Oh, but sir, I’m not kidding.  The wind really is mine to command.”  At he said this, he pointed towards the three, who suddenly felt the wind pick up…and continue to pick up.  The red-haired man gritted his teeth, and then cried out in pain.  This wind had picked up so much, it was literally cutting him.  Was this the young man’s doing?  He could do nothing but stare in shock and scream in pain.  The young man lowered his hand, and the three pursuers looked in shock at the various lacerations that had been gouged into their arms, torsos, and faces.  The young man laughed merrily and bowed.  The red haired man looked up just in time to see the young man’s eye with a purple glow in it, before it receded to its natural color.  “Wasn’t that delightful?  Oh, and one more thing my jolly compatriots, now that I’m sure I have your undivided attention.”  He pointed behind the three. “I should inform you that you forgot your ‘fairy’ has a friend.”

The three of them turned around to see the tall man who they had also chased standing behind them, brandishing a long wooden pole—a bo staff.  At least, that’s what the red-haired man guessed it was, in the brief moment he had before it collided with his temple, knocking him clean out.  His compatriots soon met a similar fate.

The tall man held his staff at his side, and looked up at his smiling ally.  “Nice performance, Quincy.”

Quincy laughed and waved to the man standing in the street.  “You know me, my dear Matthias, I aim to please!  Oh, do tell me, are our friends going to be all right?”

“Yes.  I only aimed to put them out cold.”

“Hmmm, isn’t that splendid?”  Matthias frowned.  That tone indicated that Quincy wouldn’t really have cared either way.  “Oh, Matthias, what do you think about my being a fairy?”

Matthias rolled his eyes. “They didn’t mean that in the literal sense, Quincy.”

“Oh, of course they did.  Such a fine compliment for such a grand, graceful messenger of the skies!”

Matthias laughed. “You’re a loon, Quincy.  A very HUMAN loon.”

Quincy pretended to pout. “Awwww, now you’re just spoiling my fun.”  He laughed.  “I’ll be down in a second, and then we get lunch, I’m starving!  The master of graceful poise and acting needs his strength, you know.”

Matthias rolled his eyes. “Come on then, oh Gracious Lord.”

Quincy indicated the three knocked out goons.  “Ah, but Matt, how about our friends pay for lunch, hmm?”

Matthias turned his head away.  “You won’t I do it myself.”

Quincy nodded “Right, right, morals and what not.  Tis why I like you, Matty boy.”

Matthias audibly grunted in annoyance.  “Don’t call me that.”

“Sorry, sorry.  Now, keep they gaze averted, I’m about to do some pick pocketing.”

Quincy rifled through the pockets of each of the three men.  “Bingo!” he cried as he took a wallet from each of their pockets.  He began to extract all the cash from the wallets.  Still looking away, Matthias quietly stated, “Leave them some, Quincy.”

Quincy scratched his head. “Aren’t you being a little nice to guys who just tried to capture us?”

Matthias turned his head and looked right at Quincy.  “They probably did it because they needed the money.  They might have families to support.”

“With types like this, that’s a big might, Matt.”  Quincy sighed half-heartedly.  He knew Matthias wouldn’t budge on this stance…not that he was really trying to convince Matthias to change his mind anyway.  He was just playing with him.  He left each of the three with some cash, and look at what he was keeping for them.

“Ehhhh….maybe you got a point…I’ve only got like 20 bucks here.”

“So, that’s enough for lunch, and then…I guess we just find some abandoned loft or something to rest the night.”

“Meh, you know me, find me any random piece of floor, I’m out like a light.” Quincy laughed, “And now, my good man, I espied a noodle shop when we were walking about town earlier.  What say you we make that our eatery of choice?”

Matthias shrugged.  Food was food, and he was certainly had never been a picky eater.

********************

Matthias carefully chewed on a mouthful of noodles, just thinking as he listened to bizarre symphony of chewing noises, smacking of lips, and giggles of glee coming from Quincy’s direction.  Matthias glanced over, and couldn’t help but roll his eyes.  To watch his comrade eat was like watching a steam shovel barreling through a pile of coal—it didn’t last long, but you had best be careful for flying particles of food.  Matthias had tried to politely correct Quincy’s eating habits a few times before, but Quincy had just shrugged it off every time, and Matthias never pushed the issue.  Quincy respected his wishes when it really mattered, so Matthias backed off when it came to the little things.  Despite being seven years his elder, at 24, Matthias considered Quincy an equal.

“Yo, dude, you gonna eat the rest of that?” Quincy pointed to the paper take out carton their noodles had been in.

“Oh, no.  Go ahead.” Matthias politely handed Quincy the rest he hadn’t eaten, which Quincy voraciously tore into.  Another irony—despite Matthias being quite taller and much bigger than Quincy, his appetite was certainly dwarfed by that of his flamboyant ally.

Before, During, and After Sliced Bread – Theme of Quincy (“Cat Blues”, Cowboy Bebop)

Quincy polished off the last few bites, and then belched loudly.  Instead of apologizing, he smiled, and proudly crowed “Boy, that tasted almost as good coming up as it did going down!”

“Charming,” Matthias said with a wry smile.  Quincy, with a mischievous grin, pointed to the empty take out box.  His eyes glowed a light purple, and the box was lifted from the ground.  Matthias frowned.  “Quince, how many times have I told you not to use your powers lightly?”

“Hey, I’m exercising my mind.”

“You’re doing parlor tricks.  Save it for when we need to get out of danger.”

“Geez, listen to Mr. Conservation here.  You don’t use your powers even when we ARE in danger.  The number of times you’ve gotten pounded on when you could’ve prevented it…”

“Yes, but because I don’t use my powers as a crutch like they do, I’ve certainly got a physical advantage.”

“Well, excuse me, but some of us have the physical endurance of a toothpick.  It’s not like I have a choice in the matter.”  Quincy’s expression showed he truly was flustered by the crutch comment.  Matthias immediately cast his eyes to the floor.

“I’m sorry, Quincy, I didn’t mean to…”

“Hey, no offense taken, buddy.” Quincy shrugged and grinned.

“You don’t have to keep up the act with me, Quincy.  If I’ve done something to bother you, you can tell me freely.”

“Hey, I’m cool, I just think you need to develop your powers more if we’re to get Quatrice away from them.  At least, that’s what he’d say.”

Matthias scoffed. “Right, because he’s the end-all be-all expert on everything.”  Quincy saw a brief flash of anger in Matthias’s usually calm green eyes, and he decided it wise not to upset Matthias further.  A moment passed, and Matthias looked off into the distance.  He sighed, as if he bore a heavy weight.  Life on the run wasn’t easy, Quincy thought.

“Yo, Matt, let’s get the heck outta dodge.  The lead on their whereabouts turned up a dud again.”

“Yeah, Quince, I know.  Another trapped laid for us.  Seems those two know what leads we might be following then.  And I don’t even know where to go next from here.”

“Eh, we’ll figure it out.  Let’s just get away from this noodle shop before I start chewing through the walls to try and get more of that sweet, noodly flavor.”

***********************

It had started as a bit of nagging question, but now was burning into her mind a little bit more with each passing minute.  She tried to downplay it, despite all the circumstance surrounding this feeling, she tried to focus on the job at hand, but there was still that worry:

“Why am I here?  I’ve never been brought on missions like this before.”  Her boss turned and looked at her with his visible eye.  She was sure that gaze would be even more unsettling if an eye patch wasn’t covering the other eye.  Then again, maybe it was more unsettling because of it.  Still, she pressed on.  Some part of her mind had to know this…even as another part of her was warning her not to.  “If I heard, weren’t you told to keep the clients alive?  Then why would you need me?”

“Hmmm…well, Ellen, I supposed while my men are off scouting for the targets…we could talk.”  A huge chill ran up her spine as he said the word “talk.”  His tone indicated his purpose was a bit more sinister.  She wanted to at least place her hand on the handle of her weapon, but then it would be obvious that she suspected him.  “Ellen, I’ve been noticing a growing hesitation on your part in for awhile, now, but it was most apparent on the last job.”  Ellen blanched.  She knew that her letting a target escape would be brought up.  Still, this could have been down back at the headquarters, right?  Unless…

“You intend to make me pay for that mistake.”

“Very good.  I must admit…I’m more than disappointed.  I trained you, made you to be one of my best, one of my very top…my elites.  And to think you have become soft like this…heart-wrenching.”

She brushed a strand of her brown hair back.  Well, since we’re being so honest here… “I’ve always had my doubts, Rochester.  It’s not like you ever gave me a chance to speak them.  It’s not like you gave me a choice for this life.”

He smiled.  Even as he smiled, all Ellen could sense was his mirthless demeanor.  “A bit late to be sharing your shortcomings over this, no?  I have no room for weakness in my operation…and you have come to represent weakness.”

No more words were exchanged between the two as they stood and watched each other’s movements.  Finally, she saw his hand slide to the handle of the blade he carried at his side…she would only have a second to react now.  Her hands flew to the handle of the axes.  Even then, she was preparing to have to move out of the way.  No matter how fast or fluid her attacks, it always took a brief second for her to draw the axes at her sides.  She wondered if she was taught to fight with these weapons for that very reason…to give him this advantage if they should come to blows, like now.

It certainly gave him that second’s advantage, and Ellen couldn’t move out of the way fast enough.  She saw the blade slide into her hand, and saw the axe drop out of it as her grip went limp as an effect of the stab.  No time to think about it, react! Her mind screamed at her, and she obeyed.  Two hands meant two weapons, and she capitalized on the one advantage she was sure to have in this.  The two swung their weapons at the same time.

Ellen clutched her stomach, as Rochester gripped his throat in surprise.  The cut wasn’t horrible, but he needed to attend to it soon, or it would be…bothersome woman…he wouldn’t have trained her to be this skill level had he known she was so inherently soft.  Still, he had to respect her, as well.  She had just enough time for one attack, and she made the most of it.  I’ll just leave her a small goodbye gift before I go, he thought.

He batted aside her parry as he lunged forward with one stab.  He didn’t bother to look to see if he had hit and vital organs as Ellen dropped.  He simply turned and walked off, bound for some place to receive medical attention.

Ellen picked her head up and looked at her former boss as he walked away.  Well, she could assume now that he was a “former” boss.  Could she really be considered lucky for him not having hit anything vital?  No.  Here she was, an injury to her hand, shoulder, and a very worrisome deep cut to her abdomen, lying in some street of some city she didn’t know, losing blood fast.

She muttered only one word as her consciousness started slipping.  “Careless…”

******************

Rochester sat there, smiling, as a member of his organization, a medic he had convinced to work for him, attended to his injury.  “For someone who just received quite the cut to the neck…you seem awfully happy.”

“Why wouldn’t I be?  The game is afoot.”

“Pardon me, sir, but I’m afraid I don’t quite catch your drift.”

Rochester nodded.  Of course the man couldn’t understand what he hadn’t explained yet.  “Have you ever gotten bored of your lifestyle?”

“Wouldn’t know sir.  You do all keep me awfully busy.”

Rochester allowed himself to smile at the medic’s offhanded comment before continuing.  “Well, I have.  Endless fights, and with it…endless cheap victories.  There’s no thrill, no fun in it for me.  But Ellen…she has the skill.  And I didn’t hit any vital area.  If she’s strong—which she is—she’ll survive.  And I can only hope she comes looking for revenge.”

“If you’ll pardon me saying it, seemed an awful waste of your time to train someone you were just going to kill.”  Rochester grimaced at the comment, but he didn’t do anything else.  It was unwise to piss off the man who was suturing your neck.

“Well, you’ll have to pardon me, it wasn’t like I initially planned for this.  But if she truly comes after me, oh I will relish fighting her.  I will relish the challenge.”

“Finished, sir.”

Rochester nodded his thanks to his medic.  “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a job to attend to.”

****************

Ellen opened her eyes, and looked around for a brief moment.

“Am…I alive?”  As she sat up, she gazed around her surroundings.  And her eyes widened as she recognized where it was.  

BGM: Nightmarescape  (“Abandoned Pit”, Castlevania Symphony of the Night)

Twisted, gnarled tree branches ran overhead, creating a disturbed canopy through which a blood red sky was visible.  The sounds of several kinds of…well, she wasn’t even sure they could be called animals…but their wails and screams purveyed throughout the landscape.  A river ran by, but the rushing, gurgling sound now seemed…ominous.  And a thick, disorienting fog purveyed through the whole area.  You’d think you’d get used to a place that invaded your nights whenever you closed your eyes.  Then again, that’s probably what made it a potent nightmare.

Ellen instinctively put her hand at her side, where her axe would be, as a small dark figure cut through the fog.  But of course, no weapon was to be found.  Same as every time.  She’d gotten use to this, but there was still this growing anxiety.

The figure that approached her was a small girl.  A small brown haired girl clutching a stuffed rabbit.  “Hello, Big Sister.”

Ellen was forced to stare, wide eyed.  “You’re me.”

“Very good, Big Sister.  I came all this way, to tell you about the friends that came to see you.”

There was no malice in her voice, but Ellen still felt additional terror crawl into every inch of her.  “F-friends…?”

The small girl, the young Ellen, simply smiled and receded back into the mist.  In her place, what appeared to be a middle aged man walked forward.  And then a younger man.  And then another, and then another.  Their injuries…most likely their fatal injuries had clearly been caused by an axe blade.  “Repay the blood…” she heard the middle aged man utter.  And that was when she noticed…every person who came out of the mist had an axe…so very much like her own.  No questions need be asked about what their intention was.

She glanced to the river as another figure emerged from it.  The river was now blood red.  Better yet…it was blood.  Ellen felt a wet drop fall on her forehead.  She reached up, and wiped it away, to find her fingers now encased in red liquid too.  A cursory look revealed the trees were now oozing blood too.

“Repay what you’ve spilt.”  The middle-aged man darted forward, and plunged the axe into her neck.  The would bled, and quite extremely too, but otherwise her head was attached to her shoulders.  But the pain was immense, like her whole neck had just been lit on fire while being stabbed repeatedly.  She tried not to but Ellen involuntarily screamed.  Then the next axe came, and then the next.  With each, a shearing shot of pain, without loss of limb or life.  Now she knew why.  They weren’t going for lethal cuts…they wanted her to experience as much pain as possible.  And it was working.  Strike after strike, scream after scream, continued until…Ellen could feel herself being shaken.

**************

“Miss!  Miss!  Wake up now.”

Ellen slowly opened her eyes.  Sitting over her was a long haired, blonde young man.  He pushed back glasses.  “You know, the greatest thing before, during, and after sliced bread, was attempting to get his required beauty sleep.”

Ellen did not respond to the odd statement immediately.  She allowed her eyes to take in her surrounding.  It was some loft…somewhere.  From the state of it, it seemed to have been abandoned some time ago.  She was lying on some old mattress, which she now sat up on.  She could only assume in the same city, but it was best to confirm her location.  She could probably ask this young man.  She assumed that if the young man had wanted to harm her, he would have done it already…wait, harm.  She had been injured, so why did she feel perfectly fine?   She looked down to see the cut on her abdomen.  Except it was not there.  The wound to her shoulder—gone.  Even her hand felt perfectly fine.

“What—what happened?”

“We found you passed out in the street, so we dragged you to this loft.”

“We?”

“My associate and I.  Oh yes, by the way, I’m Quincy Flamberge, but you may address me as the Elegant Awesome at any time.”

Ellen still was a little too shocked for humor, but still offered her name. “E-Ellen…”

“Ah, well, Ellen, you seem to be having a little trouble sleeping.” Quincy chuckled at his own understatement.  Ellen’s eyes felled to the floor.  Despite the inevitability of their happening, Ellen felt ashamed because of her nightmares.

“I’m sorry.”

Quincy shook his head. “No trouble at all, really.  My face is so fresh and dainty that it’ll take more than one sleepless night to ruin it.”

Again, Ellen was a little too bewildered to find Quincy’s humor very humorous at all.  Her hand touched her shoulder where the injury had been.  “I was injured…what happened?”

For a brief moment, Quincy’s eyes darted over to a nearby door, but he immediately looked back, as if looking at that door was a taboo.  “Injured?  Don’t know what you’re talking about.  You were perfectly fine when we found you.  You probably were just tired.”

Ellen looked at him directly.  And Quincy blanched.  There was something about her eyes…the pupils were like pinpricks, smaller than they should be.  But this effect…it was almost as if she was looking right through, boring into his soul.  “Where is this…associate of yours?”

Quincy couldn’t lie, not with her gaze upon him.  “He’s in the other room there.  I ask that you not disturb him, though, it’s been a long day for him, and he’s awfully tired.”

Ellen wasn’t stupid, this Quincy was hiding something.  “Well, I would like to thank him for his help when he wakes up.  And thank you as well.  You both probably saved my life.”

“I don’t doubt that…”  The young man’s eyes darted about for a second, and then he laid back down on the floor, where he had set a mat for himself.  “Anyway, I’m going to get my beauty rest, if you don’t mind.”

Ellen laid back down on the mattress, pretending to go to sleep.  Not like she’d be able to, not if that nightmare would happen again.  Many a sleepless night had occurred because of that.  But this time, it was curiosity that kept her awake.  Who were these guys, and especially who was this associate of this Quincy?  She had to know, and that door held some of the answers for her.

She lied there for awhile, until she heard the sound she wanted to.  The young man named Quincy had started snoring, and quite heavily.  She stood up and started sneaking towards the door, her footsteps hardly making any sound as she focused on making her movements as quiet as possible.  She reached the doorknob, and slowly, gingerly turned it as she carefully pushed the door open.  The hinges creak, and she shot a concerned look back at Quincy, afraid she would wake him.  Still, he slept on, his snores loud enough to mask any sound she might make.  She pushed the door open, which lead to a small room.

BGM – Caught Between Past and Present – Theme of Ellen

“Is this his associate?”  There, lying on a mattress in the middle of the room, was a rather tall, brown haired man, asleep.  At least, she hoped it was asleep and nothing anything else, the bandages on him indicating he had seen some rather rough action today.  But there was something about those bandages.  Where they were placed…abdomen, shoulder, hand.  “It couldn’t be…” Ellen murmured to herself, “Unless…”

Unless these two were the two Rochester’s organization had been hired to find and apprehend.  It would make sense why Quincy was so secretive about things, and why he didn’t want her to see this man.  It confirmed that there was something…special about these two, at least, something that had been mentioned by the client.

A brief thought crossed her mind…here I am, one is injured, the other asleep…I could easily apprehend them.  And if Rochester sees me as successful, he’ll accept me back, won’t he?  She instantly refuted that thought.  Rochester had made it clear she was no longer wanted as part of his organization.  He had made it clear what his true colors were.

She thought about the end of an era.  The era she had known since a small girl, that of servitude and loyalty to a man she found she could not stand more and more with each passing day.  An era of having to shove her morals down her throat as she split blood both innocent and guilty.  An era that left her mind and soul feeling tarnished, plagued by nightmares and her own misgivings about the whole.  But that was done.

And then there was this young man.  She wasn’t quite sure how, but he had taken on her injuries as his own.  Such a selfless act for someone he didn’t even know, didn’t even speak a word to.  It was an alien thing to her.  No one in Rochester’s band, even if they had the capability of doing something like that, would have lifted a finger to do so.  This…self-sacrifice was a foreign thing to them.

Ellen looked at his face.  And could see that the young man was probably feeling worn down even before this had happened.  It had a trace of melancholy to it as well.  Both things she could see well, having experience with both those feelings herself.  Still, even with the injuries and all…there’s still something noble about him, she thought, something almost handsome.

“Your friend is right.  You do need your rest.  But I would like to thank you when you awaken, stranger.”

She turned around to go back, to find Quincy had gotten up, and now faced her, his gloved hand held up.  “Tell me what you were doing over there.  I swear, if you did anything to harm Matthias further, I’ll flay the flesh from your bones where you stand.”  His lighthearted tone was gone completely.

Ellen’s mind, as a result of her training, immediately did a quick survey of her surroundings, looking for anything she might defend herself with.  She now knew this man was capable of extraordinary things, and she had to find a way to defend herself.

It was then that she spotted her axes, lying on the floor of the room she was standing in.  Quincy however, saw her eyes dart over there.  “I get it.  I thought it was weird that you would have axes on you…but it makes sense.  You’re one of the people pursuing us.”

Ellen thought about denying it…but she had no reason to lie to this young man, and perhaps the truth would help her out of this.  “I was.  Needless to say, my membership with that group has been terminated.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“You found me in an alleyway, bloody and unconscious.  What do you think I mean?”

Quincy’s angry expression faded, replaced by one of realization.  “Oh…yeah…I guess…it’s not a trap, is it?”

“If you believe that’s the case, then strike me down right now.”

Now Quincy was just confused. “You’d seriously let me kill you just to prove your innocence?”

“Consider it atonement for a past life.  If that is what meaning my life is to have…”

Quincy visibly cringed.  “Ack…if Matthias heard you say that…” Quincy turned away for a moment, mumbling something to himself.  Ellen wondered if she should prepare herself to be attacked, but when Quincy turned around, he had his wide grin plastered on his face again.  “So, sorry about that misunderstanding.  Let’s just forget that ever happened, yes?”

“Well, I don’t think I could easily forget that you threatened to…”

“AMNESIA DUST!” Quincy bellowed, as he pretended to throw powder on her.  He then immediately clapped a hand to his mouth after realizing how loud he had been.  Luckily, Matthias did not stir, and Quincy sighed in relief.

Ellen just blinked. Either this goofball persona was just an act, this man was bipolar, or this man truly was schizophrenic.  But it was clear he was embarrassed about his outburst, and wanted the situation to be left at the wayside.  “Riiiiight…” was all she could manage to say, though.

“So…Miss Ellen…you were part of that nasty organization, no?  And I assume by your axes you weren’t exactly hired on as a greeter, hmm?”

“You’re right…I was an assassin.  I won’t hide from that truth.  I’m not proud of it, but I can’t deny it either.”

Quincy blinked.  “Assassin?  Matt figured they’d be wanting to bring us in alive?”

“They were.”

“So why were you sent?”

Ellen’s eyes were fixed on the floor.  “To get rid of me.  I have been…increasingly uncomfortable with that job…that lifestyle.”

“Yeowch.  Well then, it’s a good thing we found you, hmmmm?”

“Yes, I am eternally grateful to the both of you.  Especially Matthias…I don’t know how he did it…but to take on my injuries as his own...”

“As you can tell, we aren’t exactly normal men.”

“Is it a problem that I now know?”

“Well, you’ll have to ask Matthias when he wakes.  What we do with you now is a decision that the both of us have to have a say in.”

“I see.  He seems like a very decent hearted man.”

A mischievous grin spread on Quincy’s face.  “Well, he certainly is, but Miss Ellen…don’t go falling for him or anything because he saved your life, okay?”

Ellen’s eyebrow rose.  Of all the things to suggest… “I’m a former assassin. Do you honestly think my affections are so easily given out?”

Quincy sighed in an overdramatic and showy manner.  “Oh, I don’t know…your lonely heart could be calling out for companionship, comfort from the horrible dangers of life…but oh, where, where, will you find such a gentleman, such a knight?”

Quincy blanched once more as Ellen’s piercing gazed set upon him.  “You really want to see me use these axes, don’t you?”

“I kid, I kid.  Honestly.  Though I am curious as to what you will do now.”

Ellen thought about it for a moment.  “I’m going to help you two get out of this town.”

“Oh?”

“Yes.  I know how these people work, and I can help you slip right past them.”  Ellen placed a hand over her heart and bowed solemnly.  “I have a debt to uphold to you two, who acted so selflessly.  This selflessness is unknown to me.”

Quincy shrugged.  “Well, the help is appreciated, and I’m sure Matt will be glad to have it as well…but I need to remind you, don’t read into what he did further than necessary.  That’s…just who he is.”

Ellen shook her head.  “I’ll keep that in mind, but I think you’re the one who is reading too far into things.  This is simply a professional courtesy, a matter of honor.”

“The only reading I do anymore is comic books,” Quincy laughed as he gave thumbs up. “Brain rotting material is fun!”

Ellen just rolled her eyes.  She wondered if Matthias was anywhere near this weird.
***************************

Matthias could feel himself return to consciousness, but did not open his eyes immediately.  He just lay there, focused intently on the soreness in his hand, shoulder, and midriff.  Not surprising that he felt that way, considering what he had just put himself through.  Still, if it only felt sore, that was a good sign—it meant the injuries had more or less healed.  He’d probably move a little stiffly for a bit, though.  It couldn’t be helped.

Now quite confident he was still alive, he slowly opened his eyes and sat up.  His surroundings were quaint at best, some kind of abandoned loft or something.  The paint was starting to peel from the walls of the room, and there was no furniture to speak of, other than a dingy mattress that he was currently lying on.

“Ah, the brave hero finally awakens!” Matthias turned his head at the sound of his ally’s chipper voice, and found Quincy leaning against a wall, twiddling his thumbs.  So like Quincy, Matthias thought, even when standing in one place, the guy can’t sit still.

“How long have I been out?” Matthias asked.

Quincy stopped and paused.  He walked to Matthias, and squatted next to him.  He looked Matthias in the eyes, and made an effort to look dramatic as possible.  “I’m sorry, Matthias, but while you were sleeping the world ended.  We’re all dead.”

Matthias blinked, and Quincy blinked back.  There was a moment of silence more, until a smile started to form on Quincy’s lips, indicating, that as usually, the man’s sense of dramatics was once again making an appearance.  A moment more, and the two burst out laughing.  “Boy, the afterlife’s going to suck if I’m stuck with your ugly mug,” Matthias joked.

“In all seriousness, though, you’ve been out about a day.”

Matthias gazed at his hand, still wrapped in bloody bandages.  “We can be glad I heal fast then.”

Quincy smiled.  “So, that means the injuries…”

“Yeah, all gone.  I’m just a little stiff right now,” Matthias started to stretch out shoulder in attempt to get said stiffness to go away.  “How’s the girl?”

“She’s been up all night.”

Matthias rubbed the back of his head, flinching a bit as she felt a twinge of pain from his shoulder.  “Really?”

Quincy’s smile now seemed far more mischievous.  “Yeah, I caught her spying on you.”

Matthias’s eyes sprung open.  “Oh, crap, she saw the injuries then?  So she knows?”

Quincy breathed in sharply.  “Yeah…I tried to tell her only as much as I could without…you know actually telling her all that much.”

Matthias sighed.  If this girl knew about their powers, which made her possessor of some dangerous knowledge, knowledge that would put her life into severe jeopardy, should their pursuers ever find her.  “Oh, man…”

Quincy shrugged.  “She’s been wanting to talk to you anyway.”

“All right, let me just get out of these bandages then.  Where’s my shirt and jacket?”

Quincy rolled his eyes. “Dude, you took on slash and stab wounds.  With the amount of blood your shirt took in, I reaalllly wouldn’t advise wearing it.”

“So…”

“I got it covered.  Quincy the magnificent will go clothes shopping while you two talk.”

Matthias stared levelly at his friend.  “You mean pilfering.”

“What other choice do we have right now, Matt?”

“Fair enough.  Just don’t gloat about it too much.  As for me, suppose I can wear my jacket well enough.”

Quincy grinned.  “Dude, you totally should go shirtless!”

“Excuse me?” Matthias spat out.

“Yeah, seriously, just go out there and be like “Hey, babe” and take her into your arms and…”

“Whatever the hell you’re smoking, Quince, knock it off!”  Matthias’s face had suddenly gone a noticeable shade of red.

“Awww, Matty thinks she’s pwetty.  How cuuuute…”

Matthias violently pointed at the door as he bellowed. “LEAVE!”

Quincy giggled as he skipped towards the door. “Just remember to leave something on the door should you two…” He coughed in order to make it clear what his insinuation was, and then left.

A couple of minutes later, Matthias walked out of the room where he had been staying, clad in his jacket, to see Ellen sitting on the floor, waiting.  Matthias took a moment to look at the young woman as she stood up.  He hadn’t really taken notice before, as he was handling her injuries, but now he could easily see that she was very gorgeous.  Her complexion was pale, though not pasty, just not very tanned, and her frame suggested a woman of fit and trim condition.  Matthias looked her in the eyes for a moment…they would be incredibly beautiful, if they didn’t have that quality of burrowing right into you.  Her stare was unnerving.  Half out of discomfort, and half out of embarrassment, he cast his eyes to the floor, as he offered his hand.  “Hello, miss. I’m Matthias Kinnear Lawrence.”

Ellen shook his hand.  “Ellen Hibisci, sir.”

Matthias winched a little as he looked up at her. “Oh, please, you don’t have to address me as sir.  Makes me feel unnecessarily formal.”

“Matthias, then,” she said as she gave him a short bow as well, “I understand that you were the one who healed my injuries.”

BGM: The Comforting Guardian -- Theme of Matthias (Himura Kenshin Gut Guitar version, Rurouni Kenshin)

Matthias’s gaze was once again on the floor.  “I had rather hoped you wouldn’t have to find out about that.”

Ellen nodded.  “I understand.  I get the feeling that is related to why you are being pursued.”

“Basically.  I’d prefer for you not to be dragged in this, if at all possible.  You’re in great danger even by knowing this.”

“I’m not sure if Quincy told you this, but I am already involved.”

Matthias’s gaze was back on Ellen and he adopted an expression of alarm.  “No, he failed to mention anything.  Just how are you involved?”

Now it was Ellen’s turn to look away, this time out of fear of a potential lashing out at her because of what she was about to say.  “Until recent events, I was a part of the organization pursuing you.”

A tense moment passed, as Ellen waited for the inevitable outburst of anger from the young man.  Maybe even surprise at accidentally helping an enemy, former or not.  She fully expected Matthias to hate her now, and quite frankly, it would be well within his rights to do so.

“…I see.  And I’m to take it now that you are not?”

Ellen blinked in surprise.  That was all?  She was certainly excepting a more vehement reaction.  “Y-yes, that is correct.  As I said, recent events forced me out.”

Matthias tapped his shoulder, and gritted his teeth at the still apparent soreness in it.  “Recent events explaining these injuries?”

Ellen nodded in response, then approached Matthias.  “Are you all right now?”

“I’m fine.  The injuries are gone.”

Ellen clasped his hand.  “If I may…”

She looked at it carefully, to see that any sign of injury was now gone.  He truly had been able to take on her injuries, and heal them away as his own.  Matthias was just glad she was not looking at him at the moment, or else she would see the blush he now acquired.  As soon as her grip loosened even slightly, her jerked his hand back, and turned around so she could not see his face.

“That truly is amazing that you can do that, Matthias.  I’m sure you don’t want me to know the how yet…but may I acquire as the why do this for me, someone you didn’t even know.”

Matthias shrugged. “You were in need of help.  If I had the capability to help you, it’s not right to just stand by and do nothing.”

“Thank you, but in the future, you don’t have to waste that kind of sentiment on me.”

Matthias spun around, a look of puzzlement on his face, as if he couldn’t even understand her suggestion that her life wasn’t important.  Ellen saw genuine concern in that expression as well, and knew he was sincere about what he had said.  “No offense, miss, but I’ll make the call on where my sentiments are used or not.”

Ellen couldn’t help but smile. No one has shown that kind of consideration for her life and well being before.  “Very well.  In any case, I would like to help you and Quincy get out of this town.”

“All right.”

The response was immediate; and Ellen was shocked at how quickly he seemed to agree.  “You seem to be more trusting than your ally was at first.”

“Your injuries were no act, Miss Hibisci.  At least they didn’t feel like they were put on for show.”  He chuckled a bit as he grasped his shoulder and stretched it a bit more to try and ease the stiffness.

“I still can’t believe what an amazing thing you are capable of.”

An look of disappointment and anger suddenly crept across Matthias’s features.  “It’s nothing special.  Flawed, more than anything.”

“Hmm?”

“It’s nothing.  You are of course under no obligation to help us – Quincy and I have been able to get out of jams before, otherwise, I wouldn’t have let him go off to get supplies and what not anyway.”

Ellen placed a hand over her heart and bowed.  “It’s the least I can do.  I owe you both a debt, after all.”

Matthias shook his head. “I’m not the kind of person who holds those kinds of debts over people’s heads.  It was just…something I felt I needed to do.”

“Well, consider this something I feel that I need to do.”

“A-all right.  I suppose any help is appreciated.”

“You’re an interesting fellow, Matthias.”

Matthias wondered why she would suddenly make a comment like that.  Maybe she thought him a freak, or had noticed the way he was consciously trying to avoid eye contact with her.

“You seem to trust me with helping you get out the city, something that would require you to trust me with your life, and yet you won’t even look me in the eye.”  

She had noticed.  Matthias sighed.  “I’m sorry ma’am, it’s not you…I’m just…well…I’m not an expert around the opposite gender.  I get incredibly nervous.”

“Ah, so that explains why you’ve been blushing the whole time.”

Matthias cringed.  “You’re an observant one, aren’t you?  Look, I’m really sorry if I insulted you or gave you the wrong impression or something.”

Ellen smiled for a brief moment, but that smile was quickly replaced by a melancholy look.  “It’s all right…it’s new for me too.  I’ve never really been seen as a woman before.  Just an assassin or a professional.”

“You’re…an assassin?”  Matthias looked queasy at the thought.

“I can see you’re uncomfortable with that.  If it helps, consider that position a former title.”

“All right.”
A brief moment later, Quincy came plowing through the door; he tossed a bundle of clothing to both Matthias and Ellen.  “Here’s for changing out of the bloody clothes, though you’d better make it quick.”

Matthias blinked.  Quincy was almost high energy, even a little spastic at times, though now he seemed almost worried and hurried as he darted about the room, gathering some things and stuffing them into a bag.  “Quincy, why the frantic pace?”

“Well,” Quincy started, “I MAY have caused a bit of a ruckus at one of the stores I was using five finger discounts at, and I MAY have been spotted by some of the angry people from yesterday, who MAY have some semblance of an idea where the hell I went.”

Matthias smacked his forehead. “They’re on their way.”

Ellen held up a hand.  “As soon as we are ready to go, which should not take us a more than a few moments, leave the rest to me.  I will do my best to lead you out.”

Quincy looked at her.  “You sure about this, toots?”

Ellen sighed.  “Maybe not entirely, but I have to give it a try at least.  Any less would be an insult to you both.  Give me a moment, and then the three of us are departing.”

Quincy titled his head back and crowed, “Let’s get the heck outta dodge!”