Teylon: Continues to be raked over the coals by his caring Angel of Death Teylon slumped further into his chair and planted his face onto the table. "Ouch, that hurt." Obviously, he took that a bit too far. But, more importantly: "Oh shit, just then I got a reading of the time when that man tried to pick you up. Geezes, some men are so disgusting." "Yes they are!" screamed Devina, "And will you get out of my head!" Teylon started shouting back. "It's not up to me! Do you think I like suffering your pain? But at least accept that I, alone of all the people on this blasted planet, really understand what you have been suffering." Tamara, a witness to all of this but not having a clue as to what to do, finally made an effort. She got up from her seat and moved around to Devina. She put her hands on her shoulders. "Please, I know you are in pain, but what Teylon says is true. He's got the memories of all of your pain. Being on your side is his only option." "I suppose so..." Teylon was back to cradling his head in his hands. Bloody hell, fuck this soul reading business. What the hell am I supposed to do with all of this. He was struggling not to be overcome with the memories of the pain of burning skin, the smell of burning skin, the expression of insanity on her father's face. Esmeralda, why the hell couldn't you have exerted some of your power and stopped this. Even if by sending a nice person to help her, instead of those two shitty men. It's almost like they were deliberately setting out to stomp on her... "What the fuck!" Everyone else was surprised by his sudden outburst. "That doctor... that man at the hamburger stall... those bastards! It was a set up!" "Sorry?" said Francesca. "It was a set up! Devina was set up for a fall! I know a con job when I see one! I might have never conned people like that, but I'm sure as hell that those two men were deliberately stringing Devina along, just to make her fall! That must be why Esmeralda gave me those two particular memories!" "I say, calm down, Teylon. And just repeat that, but slower, and with more explanation?" said Francesca. Teylon hyper ventilated for a few breaths, and then got his emotions under control. "Devina thought she was going to a genuine doctor, but, in retrospect, he was obviously a fake. After all, he was by himself, with no other patients or clerical staff, in an isolated factory unit, and he was completely unprofessional in his conduct. The only reason Devina didn't notice it herself was because she was so stressed. And, then, the encounter with the creepy benefactor - remember, he was the one who picked her out, she didn't pick him. And it is also obvious, at least to me, that he was faking it from the very start. Some of his reactions just did not make sense, otherwise." Devina stared at him, with a ten kilowatt death stare. "Ah, Devina, if you continue to look at me like that my hair will catch fire..." She did not look very amused by that attempt at a joke. Francesca appeared to be trying to think things through. "So, you're saying that someone was deliberately preventing Devina from escaping her abusive situation? But why?" Teylon had another soul reading. This time about Devina trying to find accommodation and only coming up with one candidate. "Right. When she went searching for places to stay at, she only got one result. And she specified a pretty broad criterion: low cost, female only lodging. In other words, they, whoever they are, made sure that she ended up with the then existing Girls in Pink." The three girls in question were very thoughtful for a minute or two. It did not appear that they were particularly impressed with this information. "Sooooooo - it appears that Devina and possibly Tamara were deliberately manipulated, without their knowledge or consent, to end up as suitable candidates for certain jobs they wanted done. Hmmm." said Francesca. As she was saying this, she was creating miniature pink fireballs, which drifted upward and then faded out before they had a chance to singe the ceiling. Eventually: "Well, I think that is clear, from now on we're not accepting any more jobs from our anonymous source. Agreed, girls?" Both of them nodded their heads. "Course, we are happy to accept any jobs from Teylon, in so far as they involve eliminating this evil from our society. Also agreed?" Two more nods. Francesca did a bit more thinking. "And that means that we no longer have any source of income..." She looked at Teylon with a very meaningful expression. Teylon merely waved his hands vaguely and said. "No problems. I was sure it was going to come to this, anyway. I'll just pay you lot the same amount that I'm paying the teenagers." Francesca looked pleased. Tamara did not seem to be objecting. Devina glared at him, then looked away. "Well, that's settled, then." said Teylon. He settled back in his chair, clearly looking exhausted. "And right now, I'm going to have a rest. Wake me up for our evening meal, please. And, may I suggest, we wait until Juniper and Kaydence have gone to sleep before talking this over with everyone else?" Not getting any objections, Teylon went to his room and crashed. The evening meal came and went. Such sumptuous big feeds had become so common that for once even Sarsaparilla did not make a comment. Then came the point where everybody sort of pretended that they were all going to bed, but ever so casually delayed their actions, thus resulting in Juniper and Kaydence being safely tucked away and drifting off to sleep while everyone else were still awake. One this time, once Juniper was drifting off to sleep, there was a slight hitch in the operations. "No, I don't want to go to bed right now!" said Kaydence, "I know that you all have a talk after me and Juniper are asleep, and I want to take part in it too!" OK, then, fine, let her stay up... "But, Kaydence, you need your sleep." said Sarsaparilla. "I can sleep in tomorrow!" Ah, I think that Sarsaparilla is having problems with this, I'll have to lend a hand here. But before Teylon could make a move, Leroy stepped in with his own help. "Actually, I think she should be allowed to stay up a bit longer, after all she is supposed to be regaining her ability to function in society, and this is certainly good practice for that." Both Sarsaparilla and Adalace gave him a look. Not quite a death glare, no, not that much. But enough to make him just a little bit uncomfortable. And now even Francesca joined the fray. "Aww, ladies, I agree, let her stay up. After all, we have a pretty entertaining story to tell you, and I see no reason why she should miss out on the fun." "Hmm, OK, OK," said Sarsaparilla, "And, exactly, what story is this?" Francesca told the story, and did a pretty good job of it. She made sure to emphasize all of the dramatical bits, especially the scene where Teylon was rolling on the floor in pain, and even to the extent of imitating Tamara holding her nose against the smell. Of course, she also gave a complete description of Teylon saying he loved Juniper and was committing himself to looking after her. Throughout all of this, Teylon sat, head in his hand, staring at the middle distance and making subdued agreements whenever Francesca made a rhetorical question to him. Well, well, she has somehow forgotten to mention the bit where I asked her and Tamara if they had ever had boyfriends. I'll just have to let that pass. Long silence as her audience digested all of this. Leroy was the first to break the silence. "I'm, ah, sorry Devina. I didn't know just how badly you had been hurt, ah, if you ever need any help, you can ask me. Ah, you know, not all men are like that..." Forever the hero. It generally doesn't work, but he always keeps on trying. Devina looked at him - and then looked away and mumbled a thank you. Then Erasyl added his bit. "Devina, I realise how you must hate men so much, but, perhaps now you can at least treat Teylon somewhat more nicely. Ah, not that you mistreated him all that much before, that is. But, you can't deny it, he knows your pain like no one else on this planet." And Erasyl, a good heart but forever blundering around. I hope Devina doesn't crush him on the spot. But Devina must have taken something to heart. She nodded her head and then walked around the table to where Teylon was sitting. Trembling slightly, she reached out and briefly touched the back of his hand with her index finger. "Thanks, Teylon." I wasn't expecting this. For her, this is a pretty big action to take. He looked into her eyes. She looks - frightened. Fearful and frightened and alone. Well, it looks like it's up to me to try to save her, also. Just don't come on too strong. And definitely don't even try to touch her. "That's fine." he said, with as kind as smile as he could manage. There was a brief smile back. Then she retreated and looked down at her hands as she clasped them together. "And now, could you all stop looking at me!" It seems that nobody else is foolhardy enough, or brave enough, to make any more comments to Devina. "Soooo, we get a little bit more information about Teylon's deplorable past life, do we?" said Sarsaparilla, with just the faintest touch of a smirk. Yeah, I guess I'm fair game at the moment. Give Devina time to calm down. "I suppose so." said Teylon, with an exaggerated sigh. "How come we didn't hear that bit the first time round?" said Adalace. "Because I must have so completely suppressed it all that it has taken all of this time for me to uncover the memory." "Anyway, it's good that you are committing yourself to Juniper, she certainly needs it. She had another couple of episodes today. Fortunately they didn't last long." said Sarawatch. Teylon, looking weary and sagging even further into his chair, massaged the area above his eyebrows. Oh shit. This is beginning to wear me down. "Just great. I'm sure we'll all be looking forward to more of the same." There was another awkward silence, broken finally by a yawn from Kaydence. "Oh, sorry. I certainly got more than I expected, didn't I?" she said. She was bold enough to give Leroy a hug, and to pat Teylon's hand, before allowing Sarsaparilla and Adalace to lead her off to bed. Ten or so minutes later, these two ladies came back. They appeared to have something on their minds. Sarsaparilla wasted no time, she walked up to Leroy, poked him in the chest with her finger, and said: "I hope you are not trying to subvert our influence over Kaydence for your own devious needs, Leroy?" "Ah, no, no, definitely not. It's just that I really did think that she should be allowed to have the choice of staying up late, just like we do. I mean, honestly, she asked to stay up, she doesn't want to be treated as a child all the time, so what's the harm." There was a brief staring match between the two. But, since there were no supernatural powers called into action, both managed to survive unscathed. "Hmm, I suppose so. But, next time consult with me first! OK?" "Yes, yes. But you have to admit there wasn't any time to do that on this occasion." "Sure, sure. We'll just leave it at that." said Sarsaparilla, as she made a show of irritation, and turned away. At this, Adalace stepped in. "Just make sure you behave yourself, OK? We know what you were like in your past, so we don't want any repeats." "No, definitely not." said Leroy. "Remember, between the two of us, we can take you down anytime we want." said Adalace. Both Sarsaparilla and Adalace loomed over him, looking menacing. Leroy gulped and moved backwards just a bit. Actually Sarsaparilla was not really looming over him, more like up at him, however that did not detract from the effect in any way at all. "Ah, ladies, you know, when you're like this, you're really cool." said Leroy. "Huh?" said both of them. "You do realise that we're trying to threaten you?" said Adalace. "Oh, certainly. And you're succeeding. But, remember, back in my past, one of the reasons I ran off the track was because none of my peers could be bothered to pull me up short and tell me in no uncertain terms that my behaviour was unacceptable. Now, if I had you two around back then, then things could have be so much better. So, that's why I think you're great. If I can pass your judgement, then I'm succeeding in my goal of being a better person." "Oh. OK." said Sarsaparilla. The Girls in Pink, and Sarawatch, were looking on with extreme interest. "Say, what disreputable past does Leroy have, anyway?" asked Francesca. Sarsaparilla and Adalace shared a two-way look. They smiled at each other. Uh-oh, I recognise those smiles. Fortunately, it's at a pretty low power level. I think Leroy will survive. "Well, now, I guess you four weren't there when we had that discussion, so I guess we'll have to tell you. Even if it does embarrass Leroy, all over again." said Adalace. The two gave a description of Leroy's confession. But, without any mention of what came out concerning Adalace's dark past. And Leroy, not being suicidal, kept his mouth shut about that also. Devina and Tamara didn't look too pleased about this. But, after thinking it over for a while, Francesca decided to be a bit more kind. She slapped his back hard enough to push him forward, then said: "Oh, I don't know, considering it's all in the past and that he is trying to atone for his sins, I think he is pretty good. Don't you think so, girls?" "I suppose so." said Tamara. "Hmm" said Devina. Francesca rubbed the left side of her face with her hand. "All things considered, I still wish I had met a boy like one of you two when I was younger. But, that's the way things work out." said Francesca. Everyone was quiet for a little, until Erasyl decided to make a comment. "Francesca, you keep on making these references to what is presumably a failed relation with a boy back when you were in school - and whenever you do, you touch the disfigured side of your face - ah, is there a connection?" Shit, Erasyl just can't help putting his foot into it, all the way up to his neck! What can I do if she starts with the pink fireballs? But Francesca just stood there, a look of surprise on her face. "What? Oh, yeah, I suppose it was obvious - " At this point she noticed how worried Teylon looked. And how all the teenagers, except Erasyl, appeared to be taking up defensive postures. "Oh, really, I'm not that bad. I'm not going to blast him just because he asks a few impertinent questions!" Maggie and the others relaxed. Erasyl blinked as he finally realised that he could have been in some danger. "Well, it could be appropriate I suppose to tell you my story. After all, I've certainly learned a lot about some of yours..." She gathered her thoughts together, then spoke. "You should realise by now that I've always been a bit of a mean bitch, it wasn't being exploited by a certain dickhead in my past that made me that way. And, well, let's just say that I was even more of a terror in my late teens. That is, I never killed anyone or anything like that, but I guess you could have called me an outright juvenile delinquent." She patted the left hand side of her face. "And Erasyl is correct, I do have a bit of a complexion about my face. At least I did have. Especially during my high school days, you know how school kids can be when someone is a little bit different. According to the medicos, I must have gotten the birthmark from before I was born, in fact at the time I got my esp implant. Apparently, back then they hadn't fully worked out how to control the process. Anyway..." She took a breath. "Anyway, what with all of the teasing and taunting from my fellow students, and my, shall we say, somewhat excitable reactions to their bullying, I didn't have much in the way of friends. And certainly no boyfriends." "Naturally, I wasn't very happy. Until I did get a boyfriend. Let's skip the details, shall we? Let's just say that I was completely smitten with him, and that I thought that life was wonderful after all. Hmm, did you know that most teenage romances don't last? Just thought I'll throw that in. I certainly didn't know that back then. Ah, I thought he was so wonderful, I thought that he was my prince charming. I totally believed him when he said I was his one and only. You're getting the message, I'm sure. So when it came to the time that he suggested we go to bed together, I, being all swept up in my emotions, happily agreed." She made a sigh of annoyance. "Course, it never occurred to me to wonder why he was always careful to kiss, or to even touch, the right side of my face. He always tried to be on my right hand side. I mean, he reassured me that he truly didn't mind how I looked. Truly! Yeah, and I believed him." "I'm sure you can work out what happened next. I managed, without meaning to, mind you, to overhear him talking to his mates. To hear him boasting about his 'conquest'. And when one of his shitty little friends asked how he could cope with the horror face, he laughed and said it was a real effort, he always tried to avoid looking at my left side. Another of his stupid friends asked if it was really worth the effort. And he said - " She paused and looked pained. "Well, he said the sex was fine, but, really, he wasn't all that sure it was worth it." "And they all laughed in that really creepy way that men do when they are putting a woman down." Another pause. "Ok, I admit it; I did get just a bit over excited there. Nevertheless, I didn't kill anyone! I mean, he might have gotten a few burn marks, well, he did have to spend a few days in hospital and get a very small skin graft, but he was completely recovered within a week, well, within a month. He completely deserved it! But everyone was so bloody difficult about it all. I was expelled from the school, and my parents got so stroppy about the whole thing that I left them and moved to new accommodations elsewhere in Verdant to live. I told myself that I didn't care about anyone and set out to live by myself." "Trouble was, I couldn't get any jobs in anything, until this bloke rang up and suggested I could do a really special type of job for them. And so I started to knock off these men who were completely horrible and worthless. I never felt sorry for them." "But I now realise that I was set up for that job. And that the subsequent recruitment of Tamara and Devina was also part of someone's plan. And, really, I'm just getting sick and tired of my current life. Of course, I have never had a boyfriend since then. Or any friends, for that matter. And I have decided I really don't want to continue on the path that I have been. " "Thanks to Teylon and his teenagers, I realise that I can do other things in life apart from just kill dickheads who deserve it." "So, ah, thanks!" Erasyl, looking somewhat surprised as such a detailed answer, said: "Sure!" So she just took orders from an unknown bloke? "I have a question here, did you just take that bloke's word for it that those men deserved to die?" said Teylon. "Well, actually, no. Right from the start I insisted on having enough information to make up my own mind, and to be able to cross check the facts via the Martian Web. And his information always did check out, no problems at all. After my first experience at being used as a weapon, I made a firm resolve to always be in charge of my own fights; to always decide myself about when and how to fight." She clenched her fist and looked grim and determined for a moment, before relaxing. Erasyl, startled, jumped back a step. "Oops, sorry! Wasn't meaning to frighten you." said Francesca, putting a big smile back onto her face. "Eh, your first experience as being used as a weapon?" said Teylon. "Well now, I wasn't planning on saying so much; but yeah, I suppose I can add a bit more." "Way back, when I was only eight or so, you know, just a little innocent girl, I was waylaid by some nice lady who asked me if I would like to help her destroy something. She spoke so nicely that I wanted to help her, blah, blah, she managed to talk me into going with her on a maglev ride. Yeah, I know, I was really dumb and susceptible, but then I was only eight. Need I say that even at that tender age my pink fireballs were pretty effective? Anyway, my memories are vague about what exactly happened, but we ended up in some underground place and I fired some fireballs at something or other. Apart from it being a glowing orange colour, I can't even remember what the hell it was. Then things got even more confusing. Not only did I totally fail to destroy the thing, but some sort of fire fight with lots of people erupted. There was a lot of noise and frantic running, and the nice lady ended up lying on the ground. I do have a strong memory of some woman holding her and sobbing her head off. What I most of all remember was the terrible feeling of not knowing what the hell was going on, and not knowing what I had been asked to do, nor why. Eventually the woman who was sobbing got herself composed somewhat, and came and gave me a hug - she was still crying - and took me out of the chaos and gave me some chocolate and took me back to the park where it had all started. She left me, with another hug and another bar of chocolate. So I ate it and went home. Since I was so confused by it all, I couldn't work out what to say to my parents, so I ended up never saying anything at all. And that's why I decided, when I was a middle teenager and could process the experience better, that I would be the one in charge when my abilities were to be used as some sort of weapon." After this, everyone went silent. After a while, everybody decided, considering everything that had happened today, that there could not possibly be any more excitement. Therefore, they said good night to each other and went to bed. Ten minutes later, Teylon was lying in his bed, staring up at the darkened ceiling. I have certainly started something here on Mars. But how is it all going to work out? By Narrative Causality, Francesca's story must be connected in some way to my quest. Maybe the mystery orange object is something to do with the esp implantation process? And there were two different factions fighting over how to use it? Or, maybe, one group with some serious internal divisions? I'm getting a headache. Let's move right along and think about something else, OK? Yeah. Like how I'm now committed to looking after and loving Juniper. He felt a touch of panic. In my past life, I have never gotten to this point. Never. How am I going to cope? I wish I could have just died back then and not come back to this absolute mess... Say, am I actually so frightened of commitment I would actually want to be dead? He furiously turned over several times in his bed, getting his blanket completely tangled. Shit, it was so easy back then! Wasn't it? Or did I just keep on running away and blocking out my feelings? Oh hell. What am I going to do? He had great difficulties sleeping. Nightmares about his skin being burnt kept on waking him up. In addition, now I'm supposed to look after Devina? Why am I supposed to look after Devina? Why me?