The Cursed Clock

[Abbygale Porter]

"That's what I said isn't it?" Abby asked. "So we work with the Alliance to rid ourselves of the Dominus. I think our way in is through young Ms. Ryder. We convecer her that we are on their side, she'll do the rest."

[Victoria Underwood]

"The fact that we haven't really tortured her too much should help her realize that we're not the evil bitches that I'm sure she'd want to make us out to be." Victoria said with a smile. "Although I was sort of looking forward to her being our slave... she's so tiny and cute. BUT... ally would be better than that." she kissed Abby's cheek. "Then I think we have no other real option... we convince her that we're on her side and throw our support behind the Alliance in exchange for safety. Still I do not think we should let her continued survival be very well known, like she told us, there are advantages to being 'dead'. There are plenty of moving parts in this and we may need her to handle those. Bellatrix is going to take all my Ajem'dasis followers anyway, Walker is hanging on by a thread... but we really should keep her close. If nothing else because Mari... Queen Marissa is annoyed that she's still around is helpful. Clearly she was just a fling back in our younger days, I never could stomach that in fighting and pettiness."

[Cece Ryder]

Later that evening --

Cece was in her usual spot in the dark cell, the small light had gone out a couple days prior and she found she really didn't need it, as she spent most of her day in a meditative state, despite the psi blockers set up that prevented her from using her telepathy or even experimenting with her telekinesis. She did know however, that Victoria was losing her resolve to be an Ajem'dasis. At first she was convinced they were going to do something and make her a slave. Granted for the first couple of weeks Victoria took advantage of her mental confusion, as a telepath she was not completely used to relying on her other senses to 'read' people, she could simply listen into the mental chatter. Even the way she saw the world was not how "normal" baseline people saw it. Victoria would challenge her to combat and most of the time, she would lose and end up a bit more bruised and bloody than she would like, despite being trained by Selene as a child and again later as an adult.

It was clear that her skills had dulled and while she kept in shape and did some training, she was relying on her abilities to give her an edge, to keep her one step ahead in a fight. Plus, she usually had a variety of weapons and options at her disposal, even her shoes or jewelry had a purpose, she always wore a pump with a reinforced heel and toe box. Her nylons were not stockings, they were strong enough to carry the weight of a man two to three times her size and not tear, they could be used as a garrote, as a wrap for her knuckles, as bindings for prisoners, or to secure something. The buttons on her jacket had a rotating metal disk that could be used like a throwing star, or to cut her way out of something. Her necklaces usually had a back up communicator hidden in a bead or a pendant, some of the beads even were made of a plastic explosive material. Even dressed as a civilian she still carried as much, if not more 'standard gear' as any other military officer.

Now, kept for an indeterminate amount of time, as she had no real way of knowing how long the days were and how long she really slept, usually she was pretty good at keeping track even without sunlight and other time keeping devices, just part of being a good time traveler, but this threw her off entirely. Kept mostly naked, save for thin, almost tissue like strips of fabric for clothing and bedding, she had enough of it to be comfortable, but she had never enjoyed being nude. As a telepath it felt like she was 'too' open and she typically didn't indulge in sexual acts like her siblings and partially because deep down she feared being too much like her birth mother, who used sex as a weapon as well as a drug. K'n'zy was addicted to how it made her feel and how she felt when she seduced or manipulated others. She didn't want to be that way. Even with RJ, they were intimate but not often. It still took her a lot of mental coaching to allow herself to let him in. At least with Fred, she intentionally blocked off the more intimate parts of it, the sex was just physical, yet it still affected her more than she realized. Of course she didn't enjoy being used for both his and Victoria's pleasure. All Victoria had to do was just threaten to use what she used on her last time she was with Fred and she instinctively clenched up.

The door to her cell brightened up and she saw Victoria standing there, her hair a bit disheveled, make up mostly rubbed off and holding a glass of wine. "And to what brings you here?" Cece said and internally screamed.

"Abby and I... are changing our minds about a few things." Victoria said as she staggered a bit on her four inch heels. "Namely... what the fuck we're doing." she leaned against the door. "I think we're ready to make a change. Throw in fully with your Alliance."

"So does that mean I'm free to go?" Cece said as she crossed her arms.

"Not just yet, just because we think that maybe it's time to put this whole Ajem'dasis manipulating thing behind us doesn't mean that ya'll free to go missy. But you CAN get out of that cell at least." Victoria gave her a visual once over. "I love Abbygale more than I love having you as my little Xenexian doll in the basement. If you can actually believe that. Don't care if you do."

"You are so wasted Victoria." Cece replied with a chuckle.

"Ohhh just planning on throwing decades of schemes and shit out the window so yeah... I'm drinkin' and have been drinkin'... " Victoria said as she used the Iljuna to pull her closer. "But I'm still a Master of the Iljuna. C'mon... let's get you dressed and bathed or bathed and dressed. Personally I could entirely stand with you just walkin' around in the buff, hot enough out there. It took a lot of mental prep to even put clothes on this morning and not go to the office in a bikini."

"Should have run for office in New Honolulu... I hear that's entirely acceptable... sometimes." Cece was actually rather amused by all this. "So what do you mean... throwing decades of schemes and shit out the window?"

"Abby and I are done with all of this. Dominus isn't going to work with us for long and I really do not plan to work for him. It would end one of two ways, either the Alliance kills us or he kills us. Way we're working it, we throw in with you... we keep all this... between us and when this is over and your people do to Dominus and Bellatrix what you've done to every other enemy... we go our merry way."

"So... you keep me prisoner for gods knows how long... you threaten me with torture and rape... keep me nearly naked and I'm supposed to just let you both walk?" Cece put her hands on her hips, much in the same way her mother did when she was calling someone on their bullshit. "Seriously?"

"Yes... seriously. Because if you don't work with us, then I let Dominus know that Ophelia didn't kill you and try to see if they can make you like your mother... I didn't tell you yet... still drunk... but she destroyed like four planets. Just cracked them open with her mind. Brethren worlds, but still. You think they wouldn't kill to have a telepath like you that maybe they could make do that? Or your siblings?" Victoria pointed at her. "You've been the strongest one... think about it."

"Fine..." Cece grimaced. "Two conditions. You turn off the psi blocker and let me actually live like a human being and two... you and Porter better be damned serious about 'turning a new leaf' because if this is another manipulation I swear to you Victoria... there are things I can do to you that you never even dreamed possible. Cross me... and I have half a mind to go back in time and wipe you from the timeline IF it wouldn't cause a paradox."

[Ashley Walker]

"If it's a scheme it's news to me," Ashley announced and pulled back the hood of her robes. "As far as paradoxes go," Ashley laughed, "Bloody hell this entire timeline is the living definition of a ruttin' paradox."

[Cece Ryder]

"True enough." Cece agreed. "I'm a walking, talking one at that. You've met my precocious counterpart from this time... doubtful she'll grow up like me and I'M PROUD OF THAT." she said and crossed her arms. "So... level with me Walker... this on the level?"

[Ashley Walker]

Ashley shrugged, "Your guess is as good as mine. I've been on Earth working my dear sister, but yeah, I think so."

[Cece Ryder]

"Corrupting a Queen?" Cece said with a half smile. "Way I heard it... she wasn't exactly squeaky clean."

"HAH!" Victoria laughed. "I'll say. Where do you think I got that thing i used on you with Fred? That was a wedding gift. She was never a 'good girl' just next in line to the throne. And two dommes don't make a right."

[Ashley Walker]

"I can't speak as to her sexual proclivities," Ashley said with a wave of a hand, "but she's always been a complete bitch from the very beginning. Though, I must be honest she has mellowed some, but not enough to forget the years of verbal abuse. But, I will have you know, what Dominus did to the Emperor has scared the hell out of her, and many things can be said about my dear sister, but being afraid isn't one of them."

Ashley turned to Victoria, "And I will not ally myself with Dominus. I was his slave for too long, I will not help him. I was coming here tonight to kill you... well I was coming to challenge you so then you could kill me, but that is the way of the Ajem'dasis. The student challenges the master, and the victor carries the title of Seig'ajem. Now, I don't have to. Unless you are lying to us."

[Victoria Underwood]

"Perhaps it's best if the title dies and doesn't infect either of us." Victoria said. "Not that I will ever be a Jase'dasis but I do believe there is something to be said for skirting the line between, the grey... the Bendu of it all." she looked at her kilden. "Your blade... is not entirely red, it hasn't bled like mine had. Your pain comes from Dominus, your sister's abuse... not your own innate hate and anger. I had and have plenty of anger, plenty of hate... but I am finding in my maturity, that all that hate... isn't making me happy. I was miserable with Fred, I loved the power we had. But was I happy? I was in the hope that we'd rule everything... of course Dominus brought that crashing down and after watching the other leaders... do I want that much work? Even this damn planet... can go fuck itself. No one is happy, nothing is right, nothing is good enough, unlimited power... 'is there something above THAT?'" she screamed and threw her kilden against the floor. "Yes, the ultimate power is DEATH. The end, the final sleep, dirt nap, hamburger time..."

[Abbygale Porter]

Abby entered the room and sat at the bottom of the stairs cross legged, "It's funny, and I never understood it. I grew up dirt poor on a little farm in Georgia. Ma an' Pa were practically Amish. Not wanting no handouts from the Federation. Hell, many in that community were that way. Just poor farmers trying to make a living by the sweat of their brows.

"I hated it. I couldn't wait to get away. Of course it doesn't help being a gay woman in a tight knit Baptist community. There was a kid I went to school with and he..." She smirked and shrugged her shoulders, "She went through hell. Her best friend caught her down by creek just before graduation hanging from one of the same trees those same neanderthal Klan scum used for lynchings hundredsof years before."

Abby sighed, "Anyway, with all distractions aside. One thing that shocked me when I made it to Paris how wrong I was. Growning up those men and women worked their fingers until they bled, standing deep in cow and pig shit. I thought there was no way for happiness. Just a path to misery. Nu-uh. This is the path to misery," she indicated around her.

"There's something about an honest day's work. It's natural... it's fulfilling. Those dirt poor farmers you, and maybe even me looking down feeling sorry for them wondering where it all went wrong, they are some of the happiest people alive. They never met a stranger. The old timers sit all morning at the cafe over coffee, and the feed store's the best place for local news. They will invite a complete stranger in for dinner, with no concern about how it means there might be less to eat at the end of the week or month. Maybe we've got it wrong. Power isn't happiness. Simplicity is. Family is. Community is. There has to be a reason why the rehabilitation rates for Marines and Navy who work the Talon Ranch is far greater than as patients at the Veterans Hospital."