Outcast Villiage

Evelyn looked at patience. "He's back, so that's all I'm doing for him." She headed upstairs when Ariadne started to cry.

He followed her.

"How close are they?" Patience asked quietly and Ranger mumbled something about Ephraim and a few miles out.

Patience nervously twisted her hands together, glancing to the door as Chiquita walked in, glancing at the numbers curiously.

"A few miles out."

Xander walked in with her.

"They've got five," Patience mumbled quietly. "It could be worse. He can't get hurt."

Chiquita sat down on one of the chairs, running her fingers through her hair.

"He turns his power off." Evelyn told her, before she left the house.

Xander sat on the arm of the chair that she was in.

"I doubt he'd turn it off being tortured." Patience took in a slow, painful breath. Ranger was unconscious and breathing shallowly.

Chiquita leaned into him, starting to get a little frightened about the situation.

Evelyn was already walking towards where she had last seen Ephraim.

"That isn't what she is worried about." Alex told her. "She doesn't want them to take away what memories he has of her or their month old daughter."

Xander gently smoothed her hair.

"It takes more than twenty minutes for it to happen. They can't do it on the spot, they'd have to break him down little by little, utterly destroy his mind and then put the new memories in. It takes days, weeks. One was easy because she was dead. She had no conscious mind to fight back."

"Is someone going to get hurt?" Chiquita asked, looking pale and ill as she looked at Ranger.

---

Ephraim was in the middle of a circle of solider like people, looking far too calm about the fact he was on his knees and his arms were shackled behind his back.

"Nice circle of friends here love." Evelyn told him as she lent against a rock watching them.

"Somehow, I doubt it's that long." Alex looked at Chiquita.

"Most likely."

"I think I made a good impression," Ephraim mused quietly as the soldiers turned guns on Evelyn threateningly.

---

"They tried to put me through it once. I know how long it takes. Clockwork has been rewritten four times since we've been numbers."

Chiquita rubbed her hands nervously on her thighs, her temperature hitching up a few times.

"Yeah and I thought I was the only one allowed to handcuff you." She told him, walking to one of the men holding a gun and before he could use it, she absorbed the material, moving to kneel in front of him. "So, you're just going to kneel here and do what?"
_________

Xander wove his fingers with hers. "It's okay." He whispered to her. "You know that I won't let anything happen to you."

"I was going to wait until boss lady showed her face. You come to join me? You seem to be pissing these guys off."

---

Chiquita squeezed his fingers. "I know what it's like. Just a little. I don't want to go through the whole thing."

"Yeah sure, do you actually know what's happening here?" She looked at each of the men around them and she smiled sweetly, waving.
_____

"I won't let you."

"I know exactly what's going on here." Ephraim jerked back as he was shot in he shoulder, but it bounced off. "I sort of hate Ranger but I can't fault that he was being noble and taking one for the team."

---

"Anything could happen." Chiquita flinched briefly at a gasp from the doorway. Citlali had heard the commotion and come to investigate. She was staring with horror at the unconscious, bleeding Ranger.

"Noble for the team? I'm the one who had to get the poor bastard out of it." She moved her shirt out of the way, and she had a cut on her shoulder which still hadn't healed. "At times I wish I was as untouchable as you."

"Don't ask Citlali." Alex told her.

"The shit he was talking inside? Was to make him leave sooner so they couldn't track him by what was in the base of his skull. He wasn't enough of a jerk to get us to kick him out sooner." Ephraim moved his shirt to show a bruise where the bullet had hit. "It's not perfect."

---

Citlali seemed to not notice him, stumbling forward with a mumbled, "D-Daddy...?" She fell to her knees next to him, violently shaking.

"At least you bruise." She gently lent forward and kissed his lips quickly, before pulling away.

"Alex, calm her before she has a panic attack." Xander told him, and Alex done as he was told.

"Only if there's a lot of force behind it. Are you going to eat in our little circle or despair?" Ephraim shrugged his shoulder to try and get his shirt back into place. He'd yanked it down with his hands behind his back and was having trouble getting it back into place.

---

Citlali pushed at Ranger with shaking hands, breathing quick and frightened. "D-Dad...wake up. W-Wake up please." She gave a shaky sob.

"Is she going to be okay?" Chiquita sounded worried and concerned.

She shrugged, before helping him.

"He'll be fine Citlali."

Xander shrugged.

"Will Ariadne need you? I don't think you should stay."

---

Citlali ignored him still, shoving more violently at Ranger and breathlessly sobbing at the blood on her hands.

"Do we help o-or leave Alex to do it?"

"Ariadne is asleep, she will sleep for a while."
_____

"Leave Alex to it."

Alex held her in a soothing way.

"You gonna sit and wait then? Maybe they won't shackle you if you're lucky."

---

Chiquita nodded slowly.

"Is he g-going to die?" Citlali slumped into him as she quietly cried.

"If they want to try and restrain me, then I say go ahead." She laughed.

Alex shook his head. "No."

Xander kissed her forehead.

"Its best not to struggle Evelyn. Not at this moment in time. They might not be able to hurt you so bad but I'm pretty terrified considering they have their grubby little hands on our contracts."

---

Citlali gripped tightly onto his shirt. "P-Promise me."

Chiquita smiled weakly at him.

"I was told that you didn't know about that. And what are these fucking contracts."
_______

"You have my word."

He smiled back.