"Respect was invented to cover the empty place where love should be."
― Leo Tolstoy

Tommy sits in the passenger seat, leaning against the window glass with his arms crossed over his chest. His eyelids keep sliding over his eyes, but he's able to snap himself awake before his exhaustion pulls at him. He hasn't had much sleep in the past few days, and what little sleep he did get wasn't restful considering he woke back up in the ocean. His little talk with Monarch did very little to rejuvenate him. Thinking about his family always made him depressed, and thinking about his time with the Hunters sapped away what little energy he managed to store away inside his chest. A combination of the two simply doesn't settle well with his mind, and now he's finding it increasingly difficult to stay awake when the car keeps humming and rocking him gently.

Serenade thrums his fingers across the steering wheel, occasionally humming along to a song that is playing inside his head. He will look over at Tommy when the hero jolts. He, surprisingly, does not comment on it. Tommy is grateful for his silence. He is just a little concerned about the fact that he has so thoroughly relaxed around Serenade that he's chasing away sleep. He should be tense as a taut rubber band right now. He should constantly be on edge for a surprise attack.

"When did you start sleepwalking?" Serenade asks, his voice a breathy whisper. Tommy looks over at him from his peripheral vision. He wishes, not for the first time, that Serenade's mask was not a veil that covered his entire face. It isn't so much that he wants to find out Serenade's identity, but that he would rather have some sort of basis of what Serenade is feeling beside his voice.

"A long time ago," Tommy shrugs. The first anniversary of his family's departure from this world, Tommy found himself standing in the center of Reishi's personal garden. This was suicidal for two reasons. The first is that Reishi only cultivates plants that can be used for poisons. Sure, some can be used for medicine, but none of them were grown with that intention. All of them are meant to inhibit opponents in some way or another. The other reason is because Reishi's personal garden was the very definition of personal. Reverie built it for Reishi, so it was a gift that either of them would have willingly killed Tommy over. He was lucky enough to walk out of that room before anyone found out he was there. He, unfortunately, became deathly sick. Reverie convinced Reishi to cure Tommy. The only reason Reishi didn't kill Tommy for being there was because he was impressed that Tommy had managed to survive. Once he was healed, Tommy practically begged Reverie to throw him in a cell instead of a proper bedroom. He was given the middle ground of a room with a bolted iron door. He hated every second of it, but at least he didn't sleepwalk into areas he definitely wasn't allowed in again.

"Do you always end up in the ocean?" Serenade continues. He doesn't sound malicious. Tommy lets his eyes close, wondering how much is too much when analyzing someone's voice. With most heroes and villains, it would be pointless because of all the inflection lost by the voice changer. Serenade is difficult, but it isn't useless to try.

"No," Tommy answers plainly. The few times he slept at the tower, he would find himself standing on the rooftop, precariously balancing on the parapet. He would always wake up to the wind brushing his hair, his face strangely cold without his mask or glasses. He would stare out across the city under the astronomical twilight sky. The city was awake during that time- it never sleeps- but everything was subdued. There weren't many people. There weren't many vehicles. There weren't as many lights as there would be during the night. It was a peaceful time, and Tommy was never too surprised that his feet led him to the edge.

"Do you always end up somewhere... dangerous?" Serenade asks, his hesitation making it abundantly clear what he's actually asking. There is no curiosity in his tone, but Tommy can't find a trace of concern, either. He genuinely doesn't know why Serenade is asking.

"Often," Tommy replies, though the truest answer is almost always. Every single time except once, really. No, that one time, Tommy wandered all the way to L'Manberg, a former residential area in Prime Heights. It was once a beautiful place, but now it is caged by iron fences and warnings that gunpowder still lingers in the air. The place that had once been Tommy's home was little more than a shallow pit in the ground. Tommy wasn't close to the hole, though. He was at the edges. It was a place where a warehouse once stood but was now crumpled sheets of metal folded in on each other. Tommy stood at the very edge, his feet stuck in the ashes. He was crying even before he opened his eyes to see a brilliant sunrise climbing across the symbolic graveyard.

"Do you think there's something there?" Serenade asks plainly. Tommy doesn't know. He never allows himself to think about it. He hasn't seen any type of doctor about it. He hasn't told anyone unless it was absolutely necessary, and even then, no one knows to what extent. No one but him and now Serenade knows that he always ends up in a location that is hazardous for his health. Reishi's garden, the ocean between Empires and Las Nevadas, the top of the guildhouse, and near the heart of a location infamously known to kill even when the dust has settled.

"Are we there yet?" Tommy asks instead of answering. He leans up a little in his seat, blinking away the blurriness in his eyes. They're on the Great Bridge- the large bridge that connects Empires to Las Nevadas. Since they are almost across it, Tommy knows that they are getting close to their destination. Tommy smiles softly, something familiar about it all that eases his dreary heart and weary bones.

"Almost," Serenade replies despite seeing that Tommy knows where they are. Tommy rolls his eyes. He remains upright but quiet the last few miles. Serenade is not near as tense, but he does not utter another word. Whatever their conversation had been, it was over. Tommy only answered because he wasn't in the right state of mind, and clearly, Serenade was having an off day, too, if he was asking Tommy questions without a hint of malice in his tone.

Serenade parks in the main plaza of Las Nevadas with the others. Their nondescript car matches well with the other vehicles. Everyone in Las Nevadas either wants no one to know that they're there or they want everyone to know. There is no in between, and that is made clear by the wide assortment of cars surrounding the black one Serenade drives. There are other nondescript vehicles, and then there are what Tommy will generously call floats because of how extravagantly they are decorated. The one right beside Serenade is covered in neon tubing writing out a lot of unsavory phrases that Tommy will definitely tell Enderwalk and Jolt about later.

"Croupier is not going to be happy that Vendetta showed up with Serenade," A voice calls out to them as Tommy slams the door shut. He looks up from the tinted windows to see a figure standing on the car parked in front of them. Ultraviolet wears a black bodysuit with tactical gear. Over that, he wears a purple jacket tied loosely together with a black string that could be a professional tie if Ultraviolet were to properly tie it. His face is physically unmasked, but with the moving galaxy pattern surrounding his eyes makes for a better mask than anything Tommy has ever seen before. Even with all his training and intentions, he can't look away from the 'mask' long enough to piece together Ultraviolet's physical characteristics beyond glowing purple eyes with black sclera and light brown or dark blonde hair- Tommy isn't sure.

"I don't give a fuck what Croupier thinks," Tommy notes even though he completely agrees with Ultraviolet's assessment. The one reason Tommy is allied with Croupier despite the fact that he's trying to assassinate some of Croupier's business partners is because Croupier does not care for Serenade or Ravager. He's fairly neutral about everyone else- oddly kind to Jolt but he's never explained that. Croupier likes Tommy well enough, but they both understand why the other one is helping them.

"A good mentality to have, honestly. Croupier is a bitch," Ultraviolet agrees as he slides off the car. Tommy raises a suspicious eyebrow at Ultraviolet. It is never a good sign when Croupier's Ace of Spades is criticizing his boss, but Ultraviolet has never minced his words before. He's mainly there for the money and the thrill, not so much because he's loyal to the cause. As long as he's getting paid, Ultraviolet will complete his job as head of security with a scary proficiency. If not, he'll leave. Really, all of the aces are the same way. The Ace of Diamonds is there because Croupier funds his architecture projects, and the Ace of Clubs is there because he doesn't have anywhere else to be. Only the Ace of Hearts is there because of loyalty and want.

"Agreed. Now, take us to this bitch. We both know what I'll do without an escort," Tommy explains, flicking his hand to summon Ultraviolet to his side as he passes the car the ace had been sitting on. Serenade starts to follow after him, the jerkiness in his moments conveying surprise. Ultraviolet rolls his eyes, but he doesn't walk away from Tommy and Serenade. He knows what Tommy will do without someone guiding him straight to Croupier's office. He'll start by hitting up the casinos, flirting with anyone that will look at him and freaking out should they choose to flirt back. He'll definitely visit the Needle, stealing all of the gapple juices he can from the vending machine. He'll sip away at the top until Croupier finds him and drags him to his office, threatening to make Tommy pay for damages- including psychological. Tommy has never paid a cent even though he's done that act at least five times already.

"Have you been sleeping?" Ultraviolet asks, tilting his head over to Tommy while keeping a careful eye on Serenade lagging behind them. Tommy breathes out slowly, determining what lie will work on Ultraviolet. It's rather easy to lie to Ultraviolet because even though Ultraviolet knows a lie from the truth the moment he hears it, he's willing to brush aside the smaller lies if they're believable enough. At least, he does when Tommy tells them. Ultraviolet and Tommy are a strange pair where they don't meet the qualifications of any term: not friends, not enemies, not acquaintances, not coworkers, not anything remotely close yet not too far away. Tommy doesn't have a word to call them, and he knows that Ultraviolet does not care about those social norms enough to find a word for himself.

"I sleep as much as anyone in Las Nevadas does," Tommy settles on, deciding that's close enough to the truth. No one in Las Nevadas sleeps unless they've drunk thrice the legal amount or slipped a drug. The hotel is for staying the night, but the night does not have to be spent sleeping. Tommy, when he stays, stares out of the window in his room to watch the city light up like the stars have gathered to the ground. Except stars are sacred, and nothing about this collection of sinhouses is.

"If you need me to, I can arrest Serenade for being here. You can take a nap while we fight," Ultraviolet offers with a cheeky grin on his face. Although his offer is predominantly because he wants an excuse to fight Serenade that Croupier will be okay with, Tommy feels some warmth in chest because the smallest part of Ultraviolet is offering because he's concerned for Tommy's wellbeing. Like Tommy mentioned before, he has an odd relationship with the Ace of Spades. He failed to mention that he doesn't mind it too much. Less responsibility than the average relationship, and more comfort than none at all.

"Nope. I showed up with him for a fucking reason. You know me, I wouldn't do this bullshit for no reason. It's hard enough putting up with him when we're at odds; why would I willing get in a car with him if not for an important fucking reason?" Tommy shakes his head in refusal. He did not utter a single lie, but he does think about how his car ride with Serenade wasn't all that awful. He was a little too out of it to be certain, but he thinks he had a civil conversation with the villain.

"Whatever you say, man. My offer stands. I'll pummel that guy in a heartbeat," Ultraviolet says with a wicked smile, hooking a thumb towards Serenade. The villain's body language shifts to show his anger, and Tommy finds himself laughing beneath his breath.

Tommy, Ultraviolet, and Serenade enter the casino at the end of the main street. Tommy switches a flip on his mask to turn off the smelling function. Ever since he first came to Las Nevadas, he asked the designers at the guild to make a switch that will stop scents from traveling to his nose. Tommy despises the scent of alcohol. He has no other reason except for the fact that Tubbo always hated the smell of it. The older kids in their group would sometimes drink a little on holidays, and Tommy and Tubbo would hide away on the torn mattresses shoved together that they all slept on. Since Tubbo hated it, Tommy learned to hate it. Now, it only brought up painful memories of his brother and the man he fought when he first got his hero license to earn the A-rank.

Instead of delving further into the casino, Ultraviolet and Tommy turn to the side. Serenade nearly misses them, but he manages to turn to follow them behind a pillar. Ultraviolet presses his fingerless gloved hand against the spade-shaped stone in the wall's design. The spade glows faintly with a purple light before a door slides open. Ultraviolet enters first, Tommy and Serenade following one after another. They travel down the dimly lit service tunnel with red velvet carpet and gold-leafed pillars attached to the walls. Tommy runs his fingers against the cream-colored wallpaper, the soft texture soothing his fears as best as it can. Before the narrow space becomes too much, Ultraviolet opens another door at the end of the hallway. He holds it open for Tommy but lets it swing close for Serenade. The villain manages to push the door open before it completely shuts, and Tommy just knows that Serenade is glaring. He doesn't utter a word about it.

The next hallway they enter is much bigger, though it is decorated in much the same way. The walls are covered in paintings of beautiful landscapes from all over the world- even beyond the boroughs of the city. Tommy has laid in these halls several times, staring up at the pictures. In each one, he takes one of his siblings to a new place. Tubbo would love the snowy landscape dotted with tall evergreens. Niki would sit with him on the shore as the waves lap lazily at their feet. Jack and Tommy would climb to the peak of the volcanoes, marveling at the plant life that manages to furnish the ground. Tommy would chase Fundy around the greenery of the forest, laughing alongside his brother's giggles. Eret would tell Tommy stories about the dilapidated, overgrown ruins from a time long ago. And while Wilbur would go anywhere with Tommy, the blonde would want to stand at the top of the world with his brother, staring up at the thousands of stars that line a sky that isn't polluted by light. His brother would wrap Tommy up in a hug, whispering the secrets the stars try to keep tucked away in the darkness between each twinkling wink.

Tommy smiles sadly as he passes the very last picture in Croupier's hallway. Ultraviolet doesn't give any of the pictures his attention as he opens Croupier's office doors, but Tommy finds that Serenade has lingered behind to look at the very painting of the stars that Wilbur and Tommy would go to. Tommy watches Serenade, wondering what the villain could be thinking right now.

"Vendetta, my dear friend," Croupier calls from inside the office. Tommy shuffles away from Serenade, deciding that it's time to face the music. Serenade trails after Tommy, and the blonde misses his chance to ask about the painting. The doors shut behind Tommy and Serenade as Ultraviolet leaves. Croupier is leaning against his desk. He is wearing a casual outfit right now, a pale shirt with dark blue suspenders holding up his business pants and showing off his buttery yellow duck wings. His dark hair is held down by a beanie matching his suspenders in color, and his face is covered by a blue and white painted mask that resembles the manic face of a theater mask. Despite the smile on his mask's face, Croupier is not the least bit happy. "You do know that you are my friend, don't you? Of course you do. Only friends exchange favors as easily as we do. So, with the necessary information self-evident... I don't understand what the hell you're doing here with... that."

"An alliance is unfortunately fucking necessary, but Big C, I'm friends with you, not that shitty thing," Tommy assures Croupier, degrading Serenade just as Croupier did to gain some brownie points. And also because he doesn't like Serenade. "As my friend, you would hate to see me in a shitty situation. So, you just tell us what we want to know, and I can get out of this toxic relationship with the Syndicate."

"I reckon I can," Croupier hums in agreement without actually providing anything substantial to the conversation. Tommy and Serenade came all the way from the guildhouse to Croupier's office to get information on the Cult of Erythr and the Red Army for the Syndicate. Tommy can guess why he was assigned this mission, but he doesn't have a clue why the Syndicate would send Serenade when Croupier has a horrible relationship with him. Simply another reason why the Syndicate are inferior.

"We wish to know more about the Cult of Erythr, and their more commonly known alias, the Red Army. The Syndicate is willing to pay a substantial amount of money for this information; although, we are not above negotiating other payments," Serenade explains smoothly, stepping forward with an ease in his gait.

"The Syndicate already pays me a lot for gossip, for potions, for safehouses across the city, and many more things. I have more than enough money from the Syndicate. Why should I bargain for more?" Croupier asks, his eyes narrowing as he glances over at Serenade. Tommy freezes when he sees the glow illuminating the edges of Croupier's mask from his eyes. Serenade is not as aware or intelligent because he takes a step forward. He instantly slips, floundering in the air before he's collapsed on the ground. He huffs angrily, trying to rise to his feet. As he grabs the back of the couch surrounding the fake fireplace to the side of Croupier's office, the throw blanket flutters to the ground, causing Serenade to fall on his face once more.

"You want to stop now, Croupier, because you know this will not turn out in your favor," Serenade demands, using his powers on Croupier. The moment the flowery word is spoken, Croupier's eyes fade back to darkness. Tommy knows both of their powers, so he is more amused than confused about the situation. Croupier can manipulate probability. He can't change it too much without negative consequences, but increasing the likelihood that Serenade trips is something he's willing to pay the price for. Serenade, on the other hand, can use a special inflection in his voice to convince people to do things. Like Tommy, Croupier usually isn't affected by Serenade's power, but sometimes, the silver-tongued villain can string together the right words to get what he wants.

"Although I don't mind seeing you beg on your knees, it is highly unnecessary, Serenade," Croupier mentions with a smugness in his voice.

"Oh, you would like seeing me on my knees, now wouldn't you?" Serenade shoots back. Tommy, who had been laughing before, finds his nose wrinkling up in disgust.

"You're helpless; why wouldn't I enjoy this view?" Croupier mentions, and he's started moving towards Serenade. Tommy shuffles a few steps back as Croupier reaches for Serenade's face. Tommy can only assume that Croupier has grabbed Serenade's chin or cheek with the way his fingers disappear beneath the veil.

"Is this your way of telling me that you'll trade information with the Syndicate if this is your payment?" Serenade's voice is snarky- he doesn't mean it. But it's disgusting to Tommy, and he really doesn't like the position the two of them are in.

"Excuse me, I'll leave you two to your flirting while I go fucking barf outside," Tommy hisses at both of them. He marches out of that room, ignoring whatever else the two of them say as he pushes the office door open and back shut. He idly glances at the potted plants outside the office. They're much closer than the nearest bathroom. Tommy grabs the edges of his masks, ready to lift it up to puke- or at least spit- in the plant. Before he can, however, he hears something in the hall. He tenses up, looking around rapidly as he looks around. He reaches for the metal baton attached to his waist. Instead of an enemy, though, the Ace of Clubs, Reynard, blinks into existence.

Reynard wears a white bodysuit with an orange overcoat. He wears black gloves and boots. To complete the look, he has a fox mask over his face. His entire costume is in service to his hybrid traits. He has two tails, fox ears, and vulpes eyes. He has the ability to turn invisible at will, including anything he's touching including clothes and objects. To the public, he works with Croupier as a secretary. To anyone in the know, including Tommy, Reynard is Croupier's best spy, so good that he earned himself a place as one of Croupier's aces.

"Vendetta," Reynard greets with a nod of acknowledgement. Reynard and Tommy are not friends, but there is a mutual respect that exists between them that basically makes up for the fact that they barely like each other. "The last known location of the Red Army's inner circle, the Cult of Erythr, was in an abandoned G-train tunnel in Sandland. You can find it by entering any of the abandoned tunnels out there, but here's the specific one that I discovered."

Reynard passes Tommy a folded piece of paper clearly marked with Reynard's signature paw print stamp. This is authentic information from one of the greatest informants in the city. Tommy flips the paper around in his fingers before looking up at Reynard. "Why are you telling me instead of Croupier getting off his ass and telling both Serenade and I?"

Reynard chuckles, gesturing towards the door. Tommy can't make out any of the words, but he can tell that Croupier and Serenade are no longer flirting and are now arguing. "Croupier doesn't even like Serenade. Why would he trust him?"

"And you think Croupier fucking trusts me?" Tommy takes his turn to laugh. Despite his close relationship with the Jester of Las Nevadas, Tommy will not trick himself into believing that Croupier trusts him. Croupier was the one that taught Tommy and the Ace of Hearts not to trust anyone. That was one of his numbered rules that he instilled in the naive faces that looked up to him. If it benefited him in the long run, Croupier would sell Tommy out in a heartbeat. A sad thought, but not untrue. And it becomes decreasingly sad when Tommy knows that he would do the same. The Ace of Hearts might not have accepted Croupier's lessons, but Tommy adopted Croupier's rules as his own personal code. Every human is out for themselves; Tommy cannot be afraid to selfishly take what he wants because everyone else will do the same.

"He trusts that you'll get the job done," Reynard amends thoughtfully, and that sounds a lot more like Croupier. In order to get information on the Syndicate, Tommy has done his fair share of chores for the Dealer of the Aces. It comes with a territory. Tommy completes his responsibilities; Croupier tells Tommy what he wants to hear. A symbiotic relationship at its finest. "Goodbye, Vendetta."

Reynard disappears from view as the office door slams open. Serenade marches out of the room. Tommy slips the piece of paper in his pocket behind his knife's hilt. He sees Croupier wink at him before the door fully shuts. Tommy rolls his eyes, turning his attention to a fuming Serenade. The villain grumbles something before he finally notices Tommy. He places a comforting hand on Tommy's shoulder, and the blonde just barely suppresses a flinch. Serenade reassures Tommy, "We'll take down the Red Army, with or without Croupier's help."

Tommy will definitely be taking down the Red Army.