The ship had changed course, heading back towards the most dangerous ship in the sky. The Devinus family castle ship that hovered in the air like a constant garish thorn in the sky. Vale was in a daze as Ace and Geo gave her more pointers on proper ladylike etiquette, and nearly jumped out of her skin each time that Dash's name was mentioned.

Once they released her from their seemingly endless list of demands of improvement, Vale made her way to the sparring room, needing to blow off steam. A safe place to drop all pretense of delicate gracefulness and destroy something with her hands.

The sparring room was old, made up of dusty boxes and rusted fighting staffs. Moving over to a muck-covered window, Vale used her sleeve and wiped it down, enjoying the sunlight that peered into the space with a warm set of rays.

Turning, she moved towards one of the staffs, fascinated. She had never fought with one before, often relying on her metal hand to fill in the blanks when she needed a weapon. Plucking one off the ground, she swung it in a tight circle, watching as flecks of blood-covered rust fluttered off and scattered into the air.

Spinning, Vale blindly swung her staff. Her motion was cut short when her staff came into contact with a large palm yanking it to a stop. Mortem stood before her, eyebrows raised. "Ye always got to look where ye are movin'." Vale tried to pull the staff away, but Mortem wrapped his hand around it and held it in place. "The moment ye are unaware of yer surroundings, ye lose the upper 'and."

He dropped his hand and the suddenly free staff caused Vale to stumble several steps back. "What are you doing here?" Vale asked, surprised by the sudden suggestion free of insults.

"Was lookin' for ye." Mortem scanned the room. "Should 'ave known ye'd be 'angin' around a room built for fightin'."

Vale stared down at the staff, and shrugged. "Needed to clear my head." Mortem was quiet. Vale sighed and collapsed onto the ground in a set of exhaustion and confusion.

Mortem crouched down in front of her, his frame so large that it was impossible to see anything past him. "So the boy told ye."

Vale's head shot up in surprise. "How'd you-."

Mortem waved her question away like it was obvious. "I told 'im to."

Vale pulled her knees up to her chest. "Why?" The word sounded broken, making Vale look down in embarrassment.

Mortem stroked his beard, thoughtful. "Standin' quiet and watchin' someone leave when ye 'ave words that need to be said is foolish. Not somethin' I would want anyone to live with." He stretched out his legs, a grunt escaping his lips.

Vale tilted her head to the side as if seeing Mortem for the first time. Behind the gruff exterior was a man of passion. "You speak from experience don't you?"

Mortem scoffed. "What man 'asn't found a reason for breathin'."

"The Libertatem?" she asked, referring to his ship that had been destroyed by the AI's.

Mortem barked in laughter, his voice a deep baritone that filled the room. "Don't be daft. A ship is just that, a ship. No." He stood up, ending the conversation, and moved to pick up another staff. Moving into a fighting stance he urged Vale to join him.

"Enough chatting about the past. Ye came 'ere to fight didn't ye. Let's see what ye are made of." He swung the staff in a large arc and slammed it towards Vale before she was fully standing. Rolling, Vale sprung to her feet, plucked up her staff, and swung it at Mortem's midsection, her largest target.

But he was far faster than she expected, blocking it with a large crack that split the air and sent Vale's bones vibrating with the force of metal on metal. Mortem moved again, swinging his staff towards Vale's head. She ducked and moved for his legs. In a surprising move, Mortem jumped in a flash, the staff hitting air where his legs had stood a moment before.

He brought his staff down and hit Vale's shoulder. She lost all feeling in her human hand. "Come on Lightnin'. Ye 'ave the capacity to disarm me. Stop thinking so 'ard. Use yer instincts!" Vale had enough time to scramble backwards as Mortems staff came inches from her face. Her metal arm dragged the staff with her.

"I want to beat you with the staff. Not my metal arm," Vale protested as she spun out of the way of another onset of attacks. She had fought Mortem before. They had sparred so she could get used to her metal arm, but she hadn't realized how outmatched she was when she was focused on using a regular weapon. He was a fast and wild fighter. Not as fast as she was, but his strength made her cautious. She didn't want any reason to have to go see Dash. Not when she had no idea of how to respond to what he had told her.

Her sudden thought of Dash slowed her long enough for Mortem to land another hit, knocking the wind from her lungs as the staff rammed into her back. Vale fell to her knees. She was too distracted. Too unfocused. "Up!" Mortem ordered.

Vale scrambled to her feet, ignoring the sharp pain that climbed up her back with each breath. "Use that 'ead of yers."

Vale took in several calming breaths and nodded. Mortem swung and Vale used her one working arm up and blocked his blow. Her metal arm was strong and with a quick jolt, she shoved Mortem's staff away. Dashing towards him, Vale slid onto her knees and rammed her staff into his stomache.

He let out a grunt. Vale's victory was short-lived when she realized she had moved directly into his fight path, and wouldn't be able to block his next set of hits. Mortem brought his staff down towards her temple and stopped it an inch from her head. Standing back, he held out his hand. "Better. But ye still need to think long term."

Vale took his hand and was hoisted to her feet. Looking down at her human arm that still lacked feeling she shook her head. "How'd you do that?"

Mortem offered her a dangerous smile. "I pinched the ligaments in yer arm. It snuffs out yer ability to move for a short period of time. Quite useful when ye want to capture someone alive."

Vale laughed. "How'd you learn to do that?"

"I taught him," a familiar voice said walking into view. Vale looked at her mother as Kirss moved into the small bit of light that the room offered, surprise shooting through her.

Vale looked between Mortem and Kriss, in confusion. "You two know each other?"

Kriss and Mortem stared at each other, their eyes locked in a heated conversation. "We go way back," Kriss said, her eyes unreadable.

"Kriss?" Mortem said, his voice oddly quiet. He stared at her with a look of confusion and disbelief.

"Mortem," she replied with an uneasy smile. "Long time."

Vale felt the room shift. The energy between Kriss and Mortem was heavy, thick with a mix of expressions that Vale didn't want to read into, not when Mortem was looking at her mother with a look reserved for moments of quiet, vulnerable solitude. It suddenly hit Vale. Mortem was in love with her mother. The silence grew, neither of them speaking, seemingly frozen in time, in a moment that had been long-awaited.

"Mom?" Vale said instinctually.

Both of them turned to look at Vale, suddenly remembering her presence. A surprised look crossed Mortem's face. "Yer daughter?"

Kriss nodded, looking back at Mortem. "Care to catch me up?" Vale asked. "How do you two know each other? And..." she let the question of romantic history drop. "Just... how do you two know each other."

Kriss answered before Mortem could open his mouth. "We met in the fighting rings." Kriss's eyes filled with an amused glint. "He's one of the many I took down in ten seconds."

Mortem continued to stare at Kriss like he was half expecting her to disappear. "Well ye were the first person I ever fought. 'ardly a fair fight."

At that Kriss smiled. "True. You were a fast learner." They fell into silence again.

"Did you know my dad?" Vale held her breath. The timeline hinted that he either knew her father or... She shook her head, refusing to take the thought further.

Mortem nodded. "'e was an asshole."

"Mortem-," Kriss warned.

Mortem threw up his hands in frustration. "Why lie to 'er? Any man who would leave 'is family. Leave 'er... leave ye... is a blasted fool."

Vale was stunned into silence. Kriss glared at Mortem. "That isn't fair. Nothing that happened was fair."

Mortem's hands shook. "No. I suppose it wasn't." With that, Mortem stalked from the room, radiating rage as he slammed the door open, disappearing from the room, and leaving Kriss standing watching the door with a mix of heartbreak and anger.