If this is the frontline...

[Volume Virus]

If "there" means the point when I am seriously considering smacking you really, really hard with my gun, yes, we got there a while ago. Just...please shut up. *I pick up the gun with one hand and stare at it a bit. Of course, out of everyone in Battery City, the only one sympathetic to us Killjoys is the most irritating one.*

[Alexander Ludovico]

*I ignore her request for silence* There's no need to get all antagonistic, Volume. We're all friends here! Well, I say friends. More like acquaintances. Well, I say acquaintances... never mind. Look, chances are we're going to see each other again soon. We might as well get along. How about I apologize for flirting with your beau, and you apologize for being so damn touchy?

[Volume Virus]

How about neither of us apologize for anything? I'd be annoyed at you but I think he flirted a bit in return. If he's happy, there's nothing to be mad about. *I sigh an shrug.* He's probably going to evict me when I get home, anyway, so who am I to get angry? another one of his exes?

[Alexander Ludovico]

Again with the moping about! *I try to fling my hands into the air dramatically, but there isn't enough room in the car* You're just a bundle of laughs, 24/7. And you really think I was serious, do you? You've spent half a day with me, sweetheart. It takes most people less time than that to realize I'm rarely serious about anything, but especially not about flirting. Your hubby is safe from my lecherous talons.

[Volume Virus]

We're not married. And what makes you think I care enough to figure out your habits? *Okay, I am done. It's lucky for Vico that the city is in sight when I slam on the break and do an impromptu donut. Otherwise, he'd have to wander the desert forever.* Here's your stop. You walk from here. Or do you want me to drive you closer, get a bunch of Dracs on my tail and lead them back to your allies?

[Alexander Ludovico]

*I pull the bandanna up over my head, blinking in the light* I don't particularly care either way. Getting yourselves caught would save me a trip to the hardware store, and save Wilson the trouble of getting any and all information out of me. I'm hoping to avoid that second one, as it is.

*Climbing out of the car, I close the door and pause to lean down by the half-open window* I'll radio when I'm back in the Zones. Don't expect the transmission until tomorrow. Have a Better - ah, my mistake. Have a good day, and give Afterdoo a kiss for me!

[Volume Virus]

Yeah, that'll be something I do before he puts my head on a pike. *I roll my eyes a bit. I'm being overdramatic in saying that Aftermath will kill me. He'll just kick me out. And then something else will kill me.* Um...hey, I'm sorry that I dragged you into this. Is it really going to end up with you being, like, whipped nearly to death? *Well, if that doesn't remind me of Basilisk, I don't know what does. If BLI eats corpses, I'm going to lose it.*

[Alexander Ludovico]

Ooh, now /that/ sounds kinky. Mm. *I spare a moment's thought on Riley and a whip, but then laugh and shake my head* Unless I'm extremely unlucky and nowhere near as silvertongued as I know myself to be, no. Besides, whips aren't in fashion, and I'm not loyal enough to you lot that I'd put up with torture. Just wait for my transmission, yeah? And like I said earlier, if you don't hear from me in 24 hours, it means the deal's off. Afterdoo took that as a threat that I'd tell BLI, but if for whatever reason I /do/ tell all, I certainly won't be giving up an opportunity to get a ride back to base. You won't know /they/ know until the crows bust down the door.

*I pause, replaying the words in my head* That... wasn't nearly as reassuring as I thought it would be. Oh well.

[Volume Virus]

No, it wasn't. I guess I'm going to be sleeping outside with a gun in my hand. *I say this as if I haven't done it before.* I'm sure Igor would think you're a pretty alright snack. Just about the right size. Maybe he'll still be hungry, if we're lucky.

[Alexander Ludovico]

*I just wink at her and smile, then start off down the road at a good pace. The city's not far, but it's still hot out, even this close to the walls. It would be rather anticlimactic for me to get sun stroke after all this. I can almost feel the air conditioning already.*

[Volume Virus]

*Vico leaves. I wait for a while to make sure no one kills him, then turn around and head back toward the school. Part of me tells me to go another way completely, avoid returning, and escape before it's too late. The rest of me thinks that I should at least return the car first; it's only common courtesy. So I continue home, ignoring the growing urge to veer off course and go anywhere but home.*

[Incendiary Aftermath]

*I sit at the table waiting for Volume to get back. I hope that Vico hasn't completely screwed us over. I hope she's okay, and Vico hasn't done something disastrous to her. I grab my rifle from the floor and began taking it apart and cleaning the bolt mechanism.* Tower. *I scoff* Vico, if you double cross me, ain't nothing aside from a bomb shelter gonna keep you out of my sights.

[Volume Virus]

*When I arrive home, the Doctor and Sona are nowhere to be found. It's quiet in the living room, other than a few mumblings coming from behind doors. I walk quietly to Aftermath's room and knock on the door, a bit frightened of what will happen when it opens.*

[Incendiary Aftermath]

*I place the bolt back in and slide it forward. It clicks and I place the rifle to the side. I look back at the door and open it.* Come in. I trust everything went alright with Vico? He didn't do anything to you, did he?

[Volume Virus]

No, I'm unscathed. *I don't move very far inside. Instead, I sort of lean against the wall near the door and fold my arms when I notice them shaking. I don't want to look like that much of a wuss.* So...what's my sentence for bringing the pet Drac home? Death or exile?