ABOUT THE GAME: CTF2187 from Advanced Gaming Enterprises features teams of Battle Bots pitted against each other in Arenas. Two or four sided contests are possible, as well as a yearly Free-For-All contest where a group of Bots fight to see who's "the Best in the Arenas". Some players act as Independents, allowing the GMs to put them with anyone. Others organize themselves into teams, either official (on record with AGE) or unofficial. This story centers on actual Pilot characters in CTF2187, with moderate basis in game play; mainly it captures the historical and political climate in which the ‘backstory’ of the game is based. The events come not much long after "The Lion's Maw," previously published by Sabledrake Magazine in August 2003. Some material contained within is copyrighted by Advanced Gaming Enterprises and used by permission. I’ve been playing the game for over ten years, but that’s my only association with the company. For more information, write Advanced Gaming Enterprises, Post Office Box 214949, Sacramento, CA 95821-0949 or see their website at http://www.ageforfun.com.

“Stop the battles! Talk, don’t shoot! Don’t leave kids without their parents!”

Femme pushed her way through an angry mob of protestors as she tried to reach a charity fundraiser for the children of deceased pilots. The event, hosted at one of the area’s major Bot factories and where Helen (H.A.L.) Mayne’s father Harold worked, attracted a lot of press. Equal amounts of airtime went to both the cause and the ever-growing peace movement, led by the young and mysterious Hope Frances. Femme marveled that a woman about five years or so younger than herself had grown to a position of such power. Finally, Femme broke through the sea of protestors and in the sight of waiting security to let her into a portioned-off area of the Bot factory.

No sooner did Femme enter the facility then Kibitz came bounding up, dragging along a slender beanpole of young girl with delicate features who barely looked eighteen.

“This is my friend, Rose McKinley. She’s from my old neighborhood back home. Rose didn’t plan to be a Pilot originally, didya?”

Rose shook her head.

“I wanted to be in the holo-movies. I wanted to be a star.”

“Hmph,” Femme responded. “You should go ask Red Hot Lover about that. She got into the Arenas to get noticed and then go off and do the acting thing. Sure hasn’t done much for her career.”

“But that’s the thing,” Rose said excitedly. “I don’t want to be in the Arenas as a way into holo-movies. Watching Kibitz, I think being shown in the arenas is better than any holo-movie! And the Sisters are the most awesome team there is!”

Femme shook her head.

“There’s no place in the Sisters for those who can’t take the duties seriously. I run a tight ship here.”

Kibitz, in a rare turn for her bubbly personality, pouted.

“You mean you don’t appreciate me?”

Femme tried not to swallow her tongue in shock. She’d not even though of possibly offending Kibitz.

“Of course I appreciate you, Kibitz. Your humor and positive thinking brings a lot to our team. But it was your Team Victory and Bot Kill that brought you onto the recruitment list for our elite Women of Weaponry subteam.”

Kibitz put an arm tightly around Rose.

“Well, if the Sisters can be a place for me, it can be a place for Rose too! Just give her a chance.”

“Kibitz, I…”

Femme cut her sentence short as someone hurriedly tapped on her shoulder. She turned around to find her childhood friend, former husband, and once-again love, Racubus Sterling, behind her.

“Rus! What a surprise! I didn’t think you’d brave the protestors to be here.”

Rus held Femme’s hands in his.

“My buddies and I just got the call to go out into an Arena. It’s taken a while to get the four teams together and the parties are impatient to get this settled. By the time you got out of this shindig, I’d be gearing up to get in my Bot. I couldn’t go without saying goodbye.”

Femme put a finger over his lips.

“Hush now. This won’t be the last time we see each other.”

“I’m glad you have more faith than me,” Rus sighed. Then, totally oblivious to the world around them, Rus swept Femme up in his arms and gave her a passionate kiss. The media turned all its attention on the pair, who seemed to be rising again as one of the Arena’s supercouples.

At the opening of Arena 377, Rus found himself out the in the open with a pretty lousy group of terrain choices. Other than a Heavy Building five sectors dead ahead, and a hill off to one side, the rest of the nearby area was dotted with craters and gullies.

“Enough of the standing around,” Rus heard Miles Zillio impatiently snap through the headset. “Rus, take the crater over in eight-six. Let’s show them we mean business!”

Femme worked in her office, concentration full on her computer screen. She didn’t want to think about Rus off in the Arenas again. They’d already lost so much time, and she worried they might never get another chance.

She knew that her adoptive father, Frank Forsythe, fully believed that enclosing the world’s battles in a way that only a few must put their lives on the line for the needs of the many was the ultimate way to peace. Despite being framed and going to his death with the world believing him a traitor for decades, Femme found that most days she agreed with her Dad’s philosophy. Every so often though, something in the back of her mind nagged with doubt. Could the growing peace movement be right, and that there were workable alternatives in their current world?

Her commscreen beeped and Femme reached over to answer. On the screen came an image of her adoptive mother and biological aunt, Aria Forsythe.

“Mom! Is everything all right?”

“Yes, dear. I was just following up on a request you made me some time ago. It’s taken a while to go through your father’s old things, but I found some items I believe might interest you. Shall I send them?”

“I’ll come pick them up from you soon, Mom. Maybe after Rus is out of this current Arena. I’d kind of like Rus and H.A.L. and Derrick and I to come over together. I know I need all the emotional support I can get.”

“As you wish, dear. I’ll have them waiting.”

“Thanks, Mom. I love you.”

After saying good-bye to her mother, Femme tried to go back to work, but realized someone was staring at her. She looked up to find it was in fact two people, Kibitz and fellow Sister Lela.

“She won’t stop complaining to me about how you won’t let this Rose girl in,” Lela said through clenched teeth. “It is absolutely driving me crazy!”

“Now, wait a minute. I never said—“

“You told Rose there was no room in the Sisters for those who can’t take duties seriously!”

“That’s true, but I never said no to her specifically, did I? I just wanted to test her to make certain she was sure about her choice. She never said no to me did she?”

Kibitz quietly backed down.

“Well, that’s true. You didn’t.”

“Tell her to come by the office and we’ll chat.”

Kibitz immediately returned to her boisterous, bubbly personality instantly upon hearing that remark. She shuffled out of Femme’s office, going, “Oh boy, I can’t wait to tell Rose! She will be totally, absolutely thrilled! Oh boy.”

Lela turned and coldly said to Femme, “I hope you know what you’re doing. Kibitz drives me crazy enough. If this girl’s anything like Kibitz, do we really need two of them?”

Femme shrugged.

“Worst we can do is find out.”

Rus made it to the Crater, taking aim for the Nearest Enemy Bot. He only got one Mini-S hit to Bot #8, a guy crazy enough to be driving the rarely-used Ravager. This time Miles suggested a Crater in Sector 5-9; not like there were tons of options anyway. Though Rus and Miles equaled in rank now as Lieutenants, Rus knew he’d have an easier time letting Miles lead than trying to get his sometimes maverick friend to follow Rus’ lead. Besides, Miles allowed himself to operate without a lot of the emotional constraints of most men and women. Rus envied Miles extremely for that.

As Rus moved from Crater to Crater, changing his targeting focus to hit Command Post #3 for four rounds and taking a few hits from the unit in exchange, his mind wandered to Femme and what she must be doing…

As promised, Kibitz brought Rose to meet with Femme at her office.

“I see you’ve brought starstruck Rose to visit,” Femme noted. “Now you’re really sure you want to join the Sisters?”

“Starstruck Rose!” the young girl said eagerly. “That’s the perfect Pilot handle! Thank you!”

“That didn’t answer my question,” Femme said impatiently.

“I want to be somewhere I feel safe and belong. Kibitz is my only friend in this whole Arena business, and I want to be where she is. She says great things about you and all the other Sisters. I feel like we could be family.”

Rose’s last sentence moved Femme. To her, the Sisters definitely were her extended family.

“All right then, I promise to give you a chance in our next Arena. I’ll put in the applications today. Turns out we’re just one short for our next team.”

The rest of the team agreed Rus was best off trying to finish off the Command Post, so Rus kneeled in the Crater for best protection and fired off five rounds at the bunker, hitting it four out of five attempts. Meanwhile, their own Command Post began to report taking fire and Rus wondered who would wear down first.

Command Post #3 only hit Rus a couple of times. Given his past track record, Rus felt quite fortunate to have escaped injury this far into the game.

Despite his best efforts, the Command Post destruction would not be his, but rather go to Bot #5 at the very last phase.

Femme finally made it home, hoping to relax and unwind after that crazy interview. Lela may have been right, Kibitz and Rose – Starstruck Rose as the young lady had dubbed herself – might very well be too much to handle.

For now, though, Femme just planned to tune that out.

Those plans quickly were dashed when Femme noticed the blinking “message waiting” light on her commscreen console. She pressed the button and on the screen appeared her mentor and old family friend, David Blaze, now an influential member of the High Council of the Arenas.

“Fran, it’s David Blaze. Wanted to give you a heads-up. They’re calling that team you just submitted into an Arena. I know it’s short notice but it’s been really slow lately. They think people have been intimidated by the peace movement somehow. Be ready to go anytime.”

Femme sighed, knowing the promised chance to Starstruck Rose would come far sooner than she was ready for.

Rus made sure his first order was to get his Gunfighter Bot standing again. The target choices proved relatively poor now, and he went to settle back in the Crater at sector 8-6 hoping to get better shots. Given the situation, he set himself for nearest and managed to get one shot to Bot #4’s Right Arm and one to the Right Front Torso of Bot #6.

That said, it felt like very little really happened for him this turn. Now he did wish for a little excitement, so as to not die of boredom versus combat wounds.

As he moved into position and knelt down in the Crater toward the turn’s end, the displays told him their team’s Command Post was no more. That meant his team’s targeting abilities would drop down a notch or two.

And that everyone else would come looking for another target.

Arena 378 proved to be a cold and wet combat field. The inclusion of artificially created weather to vary the combat challenges was a fairly recent addition to the Games, and one Femme took as a mixed blessings. While she loved keeping things challenging, she also knew that this kind of environment increased the dangers for her team.

With a deep breath, Femme surveyed her terrain choices and began inputting her first set of moves.

Miles, deciding the terrain choices poor, instructed Rus to hold fast in the Crater and work on Bot #6. It worked, at first. The Rail Gun, the incredible new advantage of the Gunfighter and the class of Bots that followed it, hit Bot #6 on the Right Rear Torso and Right Arm before Rus discovered the open terrain now blocked his shots! That feat was only possible if Bot #6 also kneeled in a Gully, Crater, or Lake. This would mean Rus would need to shift strategies.

As Rus contemplated how to do that, he found his kneeling form eclipsed in shadow, and looked up to see the Legionnaire-type build of Bot #4 towering over him. Bot #4’s pilot was one of the toughest Pilots in the business. Rus knew him by reputation, though not from personal prior combat.

And already hoped he’d never have to come this close again.

Moving along a pattern of Right and Forward, Right and Forward, and Right and Forward a third time, Femme positioned herself in a Light Building at 13-8. Though she’d intended to attack the nearest Bot, either one was not in range or terrain blocked her shots.

Femme kept an eye out for Kibitz and Starstruck Rose. The others were seasoned veterans and she wasn’t worried about them. Even though Kibitz also fell in that category, Femme worried having Starstruck Rose around would distract her.

Sure enough, the two were hanging right next to each other out in the open, an excellent target for Bots #14, #16, and #18 all staked out in the Heavy Buildings. Kibitz not only proved to be bubbly but brash at times. While it was true terrain choices were far from optimum, it seemed a poor to lead a newbie into danger.

“Cadet Starstruck Rose! Hide behind the Hill terrain level 2 at Sector 23-9! That’s an order!”

“But Kibitz said she’ll protect me!”

“I don’t care what Kibitz said, this isn’t a party and I’m your boss. Get behind the Hill!”

“Yes’m,” Starstruck Rose said hurriedly and meekly, then signed off.

Rus’ fears disarmed his concentration. Bot #4 Battle Bladed him to the Left Front Torso as Rus stood up and then missed a Battle Fist point-blank. The follow up from Bot #4 is a Battle Blade to the Right Front Torso, causing explosions in the locomotive systems. Luckily, this time, Rus returned a hit to the Left Front Torso with his Battle Fist. The third phase brought destruction of the Left Front Torso as Bot #4 hit hard with the Battle Blade; Rus’ Rail Gun failed to strike back. Again Rus missed as Bot #4 struck with Heavy Laser fire to the Right Front Torso, and took a hit to the locomotive systems when Bot #4 hit with Heavy Laser to Rus’ destroyed Left Front Torso. Rus’ valiant strike-back with a Rail Gun to the Right Leg was too little too late.

Now worn down to only four engines, and his teammates and team score suffering, Rus could now bail out. But he’d just finally made Lieutenant, and bailed out too many times before. Now was not the time to backslide.

Then Rus thought of Femme Fatale, his darling Fran, and all the losses she’d suffered of late. Could she handle one more, if things did not go his way?

Rus entered codes into his keypad as he made a choice between life and death…

Femme decided to face to the northwest, then kneel down and continue to shoot for nearest Bot, planning for the enemy team to come rushing down. However, the other side did not come in her direction, and Femme continued to find herself being blocked by terrain. All her shot attempts with her Mini-Missile S-Pack aborted, leaving her frustrated.

Fortunately Starstruck Rose listened and took refuge behind the hill. Kibitz boldly moved forward into a Heavy Building at 25-12, while Bots #16 and #18 came down to nearby heavy buildings to put them within close range of one another.

That was one melee she’d rather keep Starstruck Rose out of. Femme wanted no more deaths on her hands so soon. Kibitz might be brash but she could handle herself.

Bot #4 struck Rus in the Right Arm with a Battle Blade, and Rus breathed a sigh of relief as the ejection sequence began.

“5… 4…. 3… 2… 1… FWOOSH!”

Femme stood up and stepped out of her cover hoping that would allow her to lend assistance to her team. She decided this time to change her efforts to target a specific Bot, Bot #14, whom she felt would end up within her sights. However, Bot #14 moved away and constantly stayed out of range of her scanners.

Starstruck Rose figured out how to stay cautious and moved around the hill to a Heavy Building at 20-10. Femme was relieved the girl could think for herself somewhat, even if only in self-preservation.

Kibitz, however, seemed intent not to let Starstruck Rose stray far she turned left and moved across the 12^{th row, exposing
herself in the open to a lot of fire as she moved toward Starstruck Rose.
Femme begin to worry that Kibitz concentrated too much on protecting
Starstruck Rose and not enough on herself.}

Rus waited in the Post-Arena exam room following his Ejection.

“Let’s see how you’re doing, soldier,” Rus heard a familiar voice say as he entered the room. Rus turned and made eye contact with what felt like a razor-sharp gaze.

Dr. Lawrence Wright.

“I would have to get your shift,” Rus sighed, openly. After all the tension and frustration against Bot #4, his decorum definitely was shot.

Dr. Wright started checking Rus’ vitals.

“You know from Ms. Forsythe’s treatment that I do quality work.”

“Need I remind you she was still Mrs. Sterling at the time.”

“And whose fault is that?”

“You let a patient fall in love with you.”

Dr. Wright stopped cold and put down his medical gear, turning his eyes away from Rus.

“I can’t deny that I am somewhat at fault in this situation. It is true that Ms. Forsythe developed an interest in me and I did little to discourage it. My hopes were too focused on saving my own teenage daughter, whom I now cannot figure out how to rescue from the clutches of this Lion’s Maw despite her near-brush with death.”

Rus felt for the man. The charismatic Petruchio borrowed what he liked from maniac Ryker Lorne, a former important person on the High Council of the Arenas, and then sucked in insecure Arena hopefuls like Dr. Wright’s daughter Kristi, or ‘Speedy’ as she’d come to be known. However, her attitude had gotten the best of her and in her first Arena ‘Speedy’ was anything but and had suffered for it.

“However,” added Dr. Wright, now turning to look directly at Rus. “I truly believe Ms. Forsythe would never consider looking for comfort in another if she hadn’t felt betrayed by what happened between you and the late Cadet Alias.”

Now it was Rus’ turn for a hard mental slap.

“She set me up! It was all Alias’ fault. She let Fran believe—“

“But instead of rushing straight to you, her husband and childhood friend, Ms. Forsythe was willing to believe Alias’ lie and also fall for her physician. My professional opinion is that your relationship had deeper issues. Did it?”

A nurse entered the room, breaking the exchange.

“Is everything OK in here, Dr. Wright?” she asked, distressed. “We’d expected you to be on to the next patient by now.”

Dr. Wright picked up his medical tools.

“I’m done here,” Dr. Wright said, adding, “PN861 Racubus Sterling gets a clean physical bill of health.” Rus noticed what he thought was an unusual emphasis on the word “physical.”

Determined to make a difference, Femme moved to Light Buildings at 11-13. This time she switched to Bot #13 as her target, believing it would be her best chance. Finally, she obtained mild success by hitting Bot #13 one of five times, using a Mini-Missile S-Pack to the Left Leg. Fortunately, she took no damage in return. However, her performance seemed to be typical for the team as the gap between her team and the winning one remained wide.

Keeping a motherly eye on Starstruck Rose and Kibitz, Femme noted Rose holding fast in her Heavy Building and that Kibitz had – somewhat smartly – taken cover in an adjacent Light Building. Femme couldn’t help but notice that Kibitz’s readout on the radar already was at Moderate damage and Medium Heat in only Turn #4. She hoped Kibitz would stay put and her heat would go down.

Rus raced back to the Sisters of Silicon headquarters, eager to bust through the front office and hold the woman he loved in his arms.

But as the doors to the main office slid back, he found not Femme Fatale there but Lauraic Vileslayer, leader of the subteam Women of Weaponry.

“Lauraic!” Rus said, surprised. “I was looking for Fran. Where is she?”

“You haven’t heard! She and H.A.L. are off in Arena 378.”

“Hey, I just got out of an Arena myself! What do you expect?”

Lauraic scratched her scalp, embarrassed.

“Well, I guess it’s me that needs to be up on things. Life just passes me by sometimes.”

“I think that’s happening to us all,” Rus replied sadly.

Holding fast in the Light Building, Femme decided that she would target the nearest Bot for all five phases. The nearest Bot turned out to be Bot #11, a Light Cobra-class Bot. Femme succeeding in hitting two times out of five with her Rail Gun, once to the Right Rear Torso and once to the Left Front Torso.

Femme looked at her displays. Across the board, her team hurt. Several were at Moderate damage and Medium heat, with one at Moderate Critical. Red Hot Lover already tightbeamed in her intentions to Eject, which didn’t surprise Femme in the least. Even going back to when they were in high school, Red Hot Lover – or Geraldine Montgomery, as she was know then – was always more about the fame and saving her backside than facing any real danger.

However, the call that grabbed Femme’s attention was from Kibitz, whose bubbly perky personality was nowhere to be seen when she called in to Femme.

“Sir, things are looking pretty tight down here. I may be showing Medium damage, Low Heat, but that’s a top-end Medium if you know what I mean. And I can’t bail out on the team just yet. Especially not Starstruck Rose.”

“Yes you can, don’t let pride get in your way.”

“It’s not pride, sir. It’s about honor. I promised I’d see this fight through.”

Femme sighed heavily. She was running out of time between turns and couldn’t continue to debate this, as much as she wished Kibitz would leave the Arena.

“I’ll hold the line here and protect the two of you, Kibitz,” Femme promised, knowing she was the only one close enough to help out in any way.

Rus watched the latest turn play out on a big screen at Lazer’s, the Pilot bar that started with humble beginnings and after a major restoration following a fire, continued to thrive. It certainly wasn’t exactly the way he’d remembered it when he and Fran hung out here in the early days, but just being there evoked so many memories.

He realized at that moment, for as much as he’d wanted to be an Arena Pilot despite not being top-of-the-class material, what mattered more to him was knowing that there was a life after the Arenas. Good medical techniques kept Pilots fit for many more years of service than generations past, but in the end, what were they all fighting for? Yes, countries hired them to settle disputes over territories and resources, but what about the individual men and women doing the fighting? What’s in it for them?

What’s in it for me?

Frustrated he couldn’t find the answer within himself, Rus raced home to catch the rest of Fran’s Arena on television. He didn’t feel like dealing with the loud, rowdy crowds while being introspective.

Femme didn’t know who was more relieved when Red Hot Lover finally ejected from the Arena, her or the bratty actress wanna-be. Looking at the displays at the end of Turn #6, Femme sucked in breath seeing that Bot #18 parked in the Light Building just below Kibitz and next to Starstruck Rose.

She knew she could hold up here no more. With determination, she plotted a course to fire down directly to Kibitz and Starstruck Rose’s aid, as their attackers were at maximum missile range. Femme berated herself for not helping them more earlier, but Kibitz had gotten herself out of bad scrapes before. She just wouldn’t be able to help Rose if the newcomer fell into trouble.

Femme agonized waiting for the next turn, though the mandatory pause for commercial breaks that seemed like an eternity. A news ticker flashed the headlines of the outside world in part of her display. One of the headlines mentioned a large scale riot being organized by Hope Frances, leader of the peace movement, outside one of the Bot factories. Before the Blaze’s youngest daughter, Dayandi, Femme knew little of the movement that fought against ending Arena combat. Her own father, Frank Forsythe, went to his death believing the Arenas were the way to peace. Now here was Hope Frances, someone that thought differently. As she had back in her office just a short time before, Femme wondered again if putting one’s own personal life on the line like this truly carried worth.

Just before her preprogrammed orders took effect, Femme watched in horror as Bot #18’s Battle Fist struck Kibitz in the Left Arm with a follow-up by Bot #16’s Battle Fist blow to the Right Front Torso. Vidscreens around the globe turned red-orange fire as Kibitz’s Ronin lit up the camera lens, obliterating everything.

Rus could do nothing but keep staring at the flames filling the screen. He thought of the bubbly rotund blond he’d spent time with not all that long ago, filled with hope and eagerness and compassion. Now, that voice was silenced forever.

“Fran, I’m sorry, I—“

Rus caught himself, realizing he was consoling a person he so mentally wanted to be next to right now, but in stark reality was the next easy target of these same Bots.

All he could do was pray and wait that he’d get one more chance to return things to the way they were meant to be.

Femme quickly brought herself back into focus, determined not to fall apart. Kibitz may be gone, but Rose still remained. If any turns followed, someone would have to guide this young girl and step into Kibitz’s mentor shoes. Arenas could end as early as after this turn, or go to ten turns. If there so much as be one more turn, Femme was determined to not hang back and charge into the fray.

Unfortunately, Femme’s attempts at nearest Bot (which she thought would also be near Rose) turned out to backfire as Bot #13 closed on her, leaving Rose unsupported. As Femme hurriedly tried to work out what to do next, the claxons sounded announcing the Arena over.

Femme didn’t know whether to jump for joy or cry.

Femme walked out of the Post-Arena room stunned, drained, and wanting to collapse. Someone else had died on her watch. Her mother had been so right when they met at the family mausoleum where her biological mother – and her adoptive mother’s sister’s – ashes were encased.

"I worry about you and your kind heart, sweetie,” Aria had said that day. “I'm so afraid sometimes you'll break. You treat all of the Sisters just like family, which is as it should be. And when things happen to any of them, it hurts you just as if you've lost someone you're related to."

As the world spun about her, and she staggered every step, Femme couldn’t help but agree. She tried to lift her foot and inch forward, but she just couldn’t do it anymore. Femme felt herself go limp, and her lids begin to droop. She mentally braced herself for the feel of hard floor, but instead felt the comfort of arms catching her.

Femme forced her eyes open long enough to see Rus’ concerned face looking down at her.

“Will you marry me?” he said, clearly serious. “Before I lose you for real?”

“You never were good with timing,” she smiled weakly, and collapsed in his arms.

It took a few days for Femme to build up the energy to go to the Wall of the Fallen, and even then, she couldn’t go alone. Where Rus, H.A.L., and Derrick had expected to be asked, she’d chosen two others instead – Lela and Starstruck Rose. Together they shared stories, Lela of life working with Kibitz before and during their time with the Sisters, and Starstruck Rose painting a picture of the world Kibitz grew up in.

"When we left our old company, she insisted on following me, you know. I never could understand why she did that. Whatever did she see in me?"

"But you let her do it anyway," Rose pointed out.

"And I wish I hadn't! Then she might not be, might not be--"

The words stuck in Lela's throat. Femme nodded in sympathetic understanding.

"I've lost people far too often without ever getting to say goodbye. We know logically going into all this that we are putting our lives on the line."

Femme ran her hand down the cold marble Wall of the Fallen, her fingers gliding over plaque after plaque bearing the names of lost female friends, foes, misguided youth who could not be saved.

”But sometimes, I wonder if we ever really comprehend it."

Feral Feline. Dorian Blackheart. Alias. Crosse Check. E.C. Vileslayer.

Then she came to the next space, prepared for the mounting of a new plaque.

Kibitz.

Without thinking, Femme bashed a fist into the unforgiving wall and instantly recoiled in pain. Blood trickled down her hand where she'd cut it on a plaque edge.

Lela hurriedly reached out and bound Femme's hand with her flight scarf.

"I'll get you to someone to take a look at that stat," Lela responded, tying up the scarf.

"I didn't order you to," Femme told her.

"Some things rise above orders, with all due respect, Sir."

"Like friendship?" Rose asked meekly.

Lela abruptly stopped, held a pose like a statue while the truth of the statement fully sunk in.

"Yes. Just like.”

Lela and Rose started to lead Femme out of the Hall of Heroes, and Femme swore she could hear Lela whisper as they stepped away from the Wall:

"I'll miss you, Kim."

Femme and Rus tried to marry quietly, knowing full well media would jump all over the event. So, only a handful of friends gathered at Femme’s apartment – soon to be shared with Rus again – and with their good friend Richard Shadowhand deputized to marry them, the couple said “I do” all over again. HAL stood by as matron of honor, Derrick as best man, with Lauraic as bridesmaid and Damian head usher.

For better or for worse, for sickness and in health, as long as they both shall live – this time, it would be forever.

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