The transport shuttle was quiet, save for the hum of a refrigerator and the distant buzzing of an old-fashioned desk lamp on one of the counters.

And for the soft, even breathing of a peacefully sleeping Lilith who was resting inside of one of the sleep pods.

The door to the shuttle slid open and a set of heavy black combat boots thudded casually into that small metallic space. These heavy boots didn't belong to Jin--or to any of the Noon Moolites. But they strolled comfortably in, no alarms triggered from forced entry.

They belonged to a lightly muscled man in a white t-shirt, black jeans and black leather jacket who had a hooked earring hanging from each earlobe and black feathery ink of a twig and floral pattern tattoed up the left side of his pale neck. Short blaster holsters were strapped to his hips, and one of them was propped up in his strong hands--which were covered in black fingerless gloves.

He had the smokey eyes and smooth jaw of an East-meets-West James Dean, and his slightly shaggy black hair was trimmed around his ears in a jagged fade. His eyebrows were thick and black, with a scar tracing through the left brow and leaving an edgy gap.

The young man shuffled around the room. He plucked a small USB-like chip from his pocket and snuck it into a small slot next to the pilot's seat. As information crackled into a neat little copy for him to take, he aimed his body towards the antiseptic-clean back area of the small shuttle, where the short table and two chairs rested like a Space Age living room.

He inhaled deeply through his nose. Then exhaled slowly.

His drive pinged. The download was complete. The young man quickly plucked up the drive and shoved it into his pocket. Then he went about digging through the drawers of the shuttle, rummaging for anything that might be mildly useful.

And that's when he cracked open the first sleep pod.

"Well, I'll be damned."

There lay an unconscious Lilith in perfectly clean black leggings and a cowl neck black sweatshirt. Her breaths were peacefully slow and even, and her hands were clutching to her chest a small yellow pillow shaped like a crescent moon.

"Suga didn't say there was a hot dame." The young, smooth-talking man gave a sweet-as-cigarettes smile at Lilith's sleeping face. "He knows me too well."

Lilith's eyes shifted beneath the closed lids. The delicate skin there wrinkled and tightened, and the edgy intruder shifted out of sight just as Lilith gave a groggy yawn and opened her eyes. She stretched inside of the sleep pod, looking up with slight confusion at the open door to her tiny sleeping abode.

"Jin? You still here?"

There was no answer to her sleepy call. She stifled a yawn and, through her tired squint, pushed herself out of the pod and down the short ladder, her bare feet landing with a gentle thud onto the cold, hard floor.

She put her hands on her hips and looked about the shuttle.

"Where did those boys get off to?"

She sighed.

Then suddenly, there was a hand clamped down over her mouth, and thick masculine arm pinning her from behind into a strong chest. Her body stiffened, but she didn't cry out.

Hot breath spread against her cheek as a voice purred into her ear, "Hey there, sweetheart."

Unbeknownst to her attacker... Lilith was good at thinking on her toes.

She pushed up from the tips of her feet and, in a flurry, twisted up from her core so that her legs were suddely flipped up and wrapped around her attacker's neck. Her whole body shifted upside down against his, as his arms slackened in confusion. Her core gave a twist. Her elbow made a strategic dig as her legs twisted and pulled--and in a flash, her assailant was on the floor, his shoulders pinned down beneath her knees and his face getting a pretty close view of her backside.

He laughed, too amused to struggle against her.

"Take your time, sweetheart. I'm just here enjoying the view."

Lilith shoved her knees painfully hard into his shoulders before pushing herself to her feet--then she sent a hard kick into the strange man's gut for good measure before taking a step back from him.

"Who are you? What do you want?"

He just smiled up at her, shifting to prop himself up casually on one elbow. "The name's Dean. And who might you be?"

He laughed to himself as he noticed that she'd managed to snatch his stun guns from his hand and his hostler both, and she was pointing them down at him on the floor.

"The name's Lilith. And what, may I ask, are you doing breaking onto this ship?"

Dean lay back flat on his back and propped his hands lazily beneath his head. He closed his eyes casually, still smiling.

"Have you heard the joke about the doctor, the murderer and the madman?"

Lilith felt her body grow rigid and tense. Ger grip tightened on the stun gun she held in each hand.

Dean went on lazily, "They all walk into a bar, you see. But only one of them walks out. Any guess which one that is?"

He opens one eye to peak up at Lilith's tense, lovely tan face as she continues to hold her aim steady.

"No. Who?"

His smile got a touch sweeter somehow. "Me either. But I don't mind makin' bets"

Lilith couldn't help it. She sent another solid kick into the man's gut in her fury.

Only, the strange man Dean rolled just in time, took Lilith by the ankle, and managed to pull her hard--so that she fell down on top of him, straddling his stomach.

She still was pointing the stun guns down at his face. He didn't bother trying to steal them away.

"That's more like it, sweetheart."

She growled angrily and raised the butt of a stun gun up over her head, preparing to strike a heavy blow to the man's smooth face.

His voice came out in an amused rush, "Hold up, hold up--Suga-nim sent me, alright!"

Lilith lowered her threatening hold of the gun.

"Wait... what?"

"You heard me, little lady. Suga-nim sent me here. He thought you all could use a little extra help."

"Why the hell would we need some stranger's help?"

"Eh, call it the benefit of a pair of outsider eyes. Besides. I hear you's lookin' for an unlimited power source. And if you're lookin' for that kinda swagger, then I want in on that jackpot. So Suga-nim cut me a deal, and I'm here to deliver my half of the bargain. Honest."

Lilith considered this wording for a moment. Well, he's not entirely wrong. But does he not know about the Satoor Ai part of that equation? Hmmm...

"Where are you from, Dean?"

"Nowhere. Everywhere. You know, one of them on the road types." He winked at her.

Lilith rolled her eyes.

"And why the hell would we need YOUR help? What makes you so special?"

Dean only grinned mischievously on. "You wanna know?"

"Yes."

"You sure, sweetheart?"

"Call me sweetheart one more time, and I swear--"

Lilith was fast... but Dean was faster. In a matter of fragmented moments run together like an icy, breathtaking river, Dean managed to steal both guns from Lilith's hands, steal a kiss from her slightly agape lips, and roll her beneath him into a doggy-style choke hold against his left arm. She grunted and growled in protest, but he just chuckled in her ear all over again.

"Childsplay. Gimme a challenge, little miss, and I'll show you what I'm really made of."

Lilith shifted... and snapped her elbow back, landing a hard fist into the man's groin.

"Fuck off."

He groaned and slackened his hold on her, and Lilith got casually to her feet. She dusted herself off with an air of superiority, looking down her nose at this, she couldn't help but admit, delightfully dangerous man.

Lilith muttered, "Perhaps you can be useful."

He grumbled as he got to his feet, still bent forward just slightly. "S'why I'm here. Keep y'all from killin' each other and finding that recipe for clean forever-energy."

Lilith only trusted about 25% of what this strange man was saying to her. Despite the remaining ambiguity... she couldn't help but wonder at the part that might be him telling the truth. She decided to test him out and see.

"Well, alright then. Let's go see if we can find the rest of my crew outside."

Lilith suited up in an insulated black spandex bodysuit with electric yellow trim. Then she positioned her upgraded mask into place, and she was ready to go.

Dean had enjoyed sitting casually in one of the spare chairs and shamelessly watching her do so, while he munched on an energy bar.

"Alright, I'm all set. Where's your mask?"

Dean just chuckled. He pulled a thick black mask from one of his pockets and tucked it securely onto the front of his face.

Lilith couldn't help but think how it made him look even more dangerous and attractive. And how absolutely annoying that was.

"Alright then, let's go."

Lilith activated her comm system before opening the shuttle and heading out into the night. But, strangely enough, she couldn't seem to find her crew on any of the channels.

"That's weird."

When she and Dean stepped out into the dark night and discovered that they also didn't see the three young men of Noon Mool anywhere in sight, she only repeated her confusion.

"So weird."

Dean probed curiously. "You seem like a sharp woman. Did YOU find any clues about how to navigate this Library of Mirth?"

Lilith shrugged. "I mean, I thought I had met some guide when I managed to crawl through some cracks and into the caves, but then after the fact I realized... that this lady was probably just an apparition from my drugged psyche. I mean, she knew about Satoor--- I mean, she knew EXACTLY what I was looking for, and also, conveniently, just where to find it? That doesn't happen except in fantasies. So no, that was just a--"

Dean had folded his arms and was giving her a curious look.

"What?"

"Was this a woman you'd ever met before?" he asked.

"Well, no."

He growled, "Then it's not nothing. Now, where did you meet her? Let's start there."

Lilith was confused. "Aren't you wondering where the rest of my crew is?"

Dean answered matter of factly, "No. I watched them crawl up the side of this big ass mountain. I know they're already inside. I was just planning to pop aboard, steal some data files from your shady as fuck pal Chimin, and then accomplish this whole beat-em-to-it feat myself. But you seem reliable as hell, you're much better company than that solo life, and it sounds like you already have a better lead than me anyway. So let's have at it."

Lilith was shamelessly taking a moment to soak in the weight of this appealing man's shameless praise. For as annoying as he was... she couldn't help but like it.

"Lead? You don't think it sounds crazy?"

Dean smiled seductively. "Honey, I've seen crazy. So far, I can't say that you're it. But if you wanna test that out on me later, babe, then we can--"

"My NAME is Lilith. You could use it," she said grumpily.

"Yeah, and my name's DEAN. And you can whisper it any which way you like, sweetheart."

Lilith rolled her eyes.

"I'm also taken."

He darkly and wiggled the empty ring fiber of his left hand in her direction. "You sure?"

"Dear God, if you don't quit--"

"Sorry. Sorry. I'm done, I swear. So how did you get into the mountain again?"

Lilith gestured towards some loose boulders. "I don't think you're small enough to crawl in like I am."

He smirked. "No problemo, I have my own methods." Dean rolled up his sleeve and Lilith saw a thick mettal bracer was strapped to his skin on the inside of his sleeve. The bracer was jagged and grey like steel, with minute carvings detailing the metalwork's edges.

"What's that?" Lilith instantly regreted how genuinely fascinated she sounded, and the smug look Dean sent her way as a result.

"Hold my hand, and you'll find out."

"I'm not--"

Dean reached out and took Lilith by the hand with his free arm.

Before she could protest, he started to run hard and fast in the direction of the massive boulders she had gestured towards.

He held his arm with the strange bracer up in front of him like a protective guard and Lilith couldn't help but scream just as Dean was about to collide with solid rock. But when he started to dissapear inside that solid surface instead... she only screamed even louder as she, herself, was pulled straight through soild rock—UNHARMED—and into cold, cold darkness.