Sulana felt like her whole body was on fire. She lay on her tattered cot gasping for air, staring blankly up at the moldy ceiling as the fever inside her took its course. It seemed her patch job had done little to stave off infection in the wound. Now she was laying there, helpless as can be as the Limirens no doubt were already on their way to arrest her, hang her, exsanguinate her, or whatever it was this farce of a Link did to their criminals.

"It looks like you're dying." The voice in her head stated matter of factly.

"How very astute of you," Sulana croaked. She rolled to her side, winced as a fresh wave of pain radiated up her abdomen, and uncorked the bottle on the nightstand. Gingerly, she tipped the bottle over and swallowed the contents, coughing as the cold, spicy mixture burned all the way down.

"If you die, do you think I'll return to the Whole One?"

"I doubt it" She corked the bottle and returned it to the nightstand, grimacing as the taste finally hit her. Like swallowing tree bark mixed with medical grade hooch. She wiped the cold sweat off her brow and fell back into the cot, praying the panacea would kick in soon.

"You can't die then," The voice demanded. "Not until you send me back."

Sulana rolled her eyes skyward. "I wasn't planning on it." Stars above, for something so auspicious as The Whole One, he sure was a needy son of a bitch. "I've still got a lot to do before I can send you home. Still more Links out there. Still more of you I need to take care of."

"Us." The voice said.

"Huh?"

"Us. There is only us."

Sulana snorted, soon regretting it as another jab of pain hit her. "Hate to break it to you but there's only you I hear."

"This isn't right!" The voice was starting to sound like a child now, throwing a tantrum over an outcome it had no say in. "I'm not supposed to be this way! You ruined everything!"

"Oh cry me a river," Sulana said as she nestled in, her extremities already starting to go numb. "It's not like I wanted you trapped in my thoughts. If you want someone to blame then blame your stars damned Whole One."

"If only you'd done what they said. Then we wouldn't be in this mess."

"And if by we you mean you?"

"No, there is only us."

Sulana puffed her cheeks and balled her fists against her eyes. She didn't know why she kept arguing with the voice. It always proved pointless, both the first time and the thousandth time after. If the damned thing wasn't preaching it's supposed collective consciousness with the Whole One, then it was whining about why it wasn't. She'd gladly get rid of the little bastard if she could, which in fact she had on so many occasions in other Links, but she needed it. At least for now.

Fingering numbly through her pocket, Sulana produced the second matchbox and held it before her. How ironic that something so amazing came in such a small package. She'd found it by happenstance, a chance encounter that had changed her life forever. She thumbed the lid open and peered inside. Two match heads stared back at her, their bulbous yellow and purple heads planted almost comically over their slender graywood bodies. Two left. Two more Links. Two more deaths. And then she could go home.

Sulana slid the lid back to the matchbox and pocketed it. The thought of returning home after everything filled her thoughts with a gentle warmth. Either that or the panacea was finally kicking in. She closed her eyes, waiting for sleep to gently embrace her when something cold and hard pinched her. She opened her eyes groggily.

Three cold blue eyes stared back, attached to a little square metal man peeking up from the bottom of the cot. "Momma." the metal man whined like a child, his voice tinny. "Momma, wake up."

"Alphy?" Sulana perked up. "Is that you pinching me?"

"It's me momma!" Alphy raised his stubby arms, revealing two blunt pincers he had for hands. "I need to tell you something."

With some difficulty Sulana was able to pick Alphy up and place him on her chest. His six stubby appendages skittered to find purchase, as a cat would knead before settling in. Once he had, she said, "All right. What's going on?"

"Sister Bee saw something!" Alphy said. "She said it was a limerick. Two of them. With some weird metal dog that isn't a dog."

Sulana puffed her cheeks. Of all the rotten luck. Guess she was out of time. "What about Brother Gamm? He see anything?"

Alphy shook his head. "No, Gamm says he hasn't seen any limerick's for hours now." That gave Sulana some relief then. The Limirens were close, but not too close. Just enough time to pack up her shit and leave.

With some difficulty she pulled herself up into a sitting position while Alphy skittered off into her lap. "Alphy sweety," Sulana said as she placed her feet on the floor. "Be a dear and tell Bee and Gamm to come home. We gotta head out."

"To a whole new world?" Alphy clacked his pincers together and danced about the bed.

Sulana stifled a laugh as she pulled herself up off the bed. "That's right. And I'm betting that this one will be ten times better than the last."

"Really?"

"Stars I hope so." Sulana lifted her satchel off a nearby chair and tipped it open. "Come on now. Get inside. Momma's got to leave soon." Alphy did just so, leaping off the bed into her awaiting satchel. "That's a good boy." She said, patting the pack as she slid it over her shoulder. She pulled her patchwork cloak on next, secured her belt around her waist and checked the integrity of the Plaslock in her holster. The fat, round emerald fixed into the grip was still glowing strong, the veins pumping energy into the chamber and out through the barrel.

There was a crash of wood and the tinkling of glass as Bee and Gamm burst through the boarded up window, their assortment of red and yellow eyes flickering respectively.

"Momma we're here!" Bee whined as she rolled towards Sulana. "Don't leave us!"

"Yeah Momma." Gamm was by far the most normal of the trio as he ran towards her with his two regular legs.

Sulana feigned a gasp as she scooped them both up, wincing from the pain in her abdomen. "I would never, my darlings."

"Never ever?" Bee demanded.

"Never in a million years." She pried open her satchel and placed them both in. "Now you stay with Alphy and keep him company. We're off to a new world."The three cheered in unison as Sulana clasped the satchel shut and cinched it to her back.

Well, as they say Sulana thought. Get, while the gettin's good.

*

Valena peeked over the screen of her Tome. "Did you see that?"

"Rouse looked up from scraping mud off his boots under the cover of an awning, "See what?" he asked before nearly losing his balance to Sniffer's incessant tugging against the leash.

"Over there," She pointed down a nearby alley. "Just now. I thought I saw something."

Rouse cocked her a curious glance as he righted himself. "Something like what kid? Come on, you know I'm terrible at charades."

"It looked like," Valena paused then, realizing that what she might have seen sounded much more ridiculous when said aloud. "Like a little metal person." She mumbled out the last of her words.

"Like a little metal person." Rouse repeated, staring in the direction she had pointed at. He scratched at his beard before saying, "Did you sneak some of my wine back at Gabbon's office when I wasn't looking?"

"I'm serious!" Valena felt her cheeks beginning to burn. "I swear I saw something over there. Something strange."

Rouse gave her one more look before he turned back to stare at the alley. "Well now, ain't that the same alley we chased the assassin down in last time?"

" Possibly." Valena squinted past the sheets of pouring rain to get a better look. The storm was really coming down now. The cobble streets were practically barren now save for the poor, the sick and the desperate. Even then they had shied away from Valena and Rouse's presence, slinking behind anything they could find as cover. It made her heart sink.

"What do you think Sniffer?" Rouse asked the Kinehound. The creature shuffled up from it's hind legs, the newly mounted carapace that wrapped around it's back gleaming a deep ebony. What the device was Valena could not tell, nor was Rouse willing to tell her. It'll make for a fun surprise he had said. All it did was make her more sour. Damn thick blooded idiot.

Sniffer stretched his neck out as far as the awning's protection allowed. His nose slits flicked as he took in the scents around him. For awhile nothing happened, until Sniffer pointed towards the alleyway Valena had pointed out. The scales around his neck bristled from top to bottom as he grew suddenly very still.

"Ain't no interpreting that wrong." Rouse smiled over at Valena. "Good intuition kid. Seems Sniffer's picked something up despite all this bleeding rain mucking everything about."

"Could this day get any worse?" Valena joked.

"You'd be surprised."

They moved at a decent pace towards the alley and shook off the collected rain. With the roof awnings overhead the place was decently dry save for a few deep puddles that Valena had to navigate around. Pieces of memory from yesterday's chase began to resurface as she and Rouse stepped deeper into the alley. There was the same pile of trash she had nearly tripped over. And the silversmith's shop, now closed. "Here," She pointed at a turn in the juncture. "I remember running this way." Sniffer appeared to be in agreement as he tugged harder on the leash in the direction Valena had mentioned.

"Won't argue with you on that one." Rouse said as he beat feet to keep pace with the Kinehound. Valena dogged closely behind, recognizing more and more of the surroundings she had passed during the chase.

Sniffer suddenly stopped and pressed his nose to the ground. "Oh-ho, looks like he's got something." Rouse beamed. The Kinehound craned his neck, snuffling amidst the mud and grime before stopping at the sill of a nearby door. The scales on his neck bristled as he growled low and gurgully.

Rouse was suddenly all business now. He looked over at Valena, finger pressed to his lips as he slowly moved to one side of the door. He pulled back a coat flap revealing the sheathed Razor strapped to his side. Slowly, he pulled it out, the blade gleaming in the greasy cold air.

Valena dipped low and pressed herself to the other side of the door, pulling her Needler from her holster. Three sets of barbed flechette rounds poked out of the chamber, the seventh loaded and ready to fire.

Rouse made the motion to breach. Valena remembered her training, counting down in her head from five. At zero she backed up and kicked at the lock. The door burst off its hinges and tumbled to the ground. Valena charged in with her Needler trained, Rouse close behind her.

The place was deserted. "Search the rooms." Rouse ordered. He hitched Sniffer's leash and the Kinehound bound forward, head moving in all directions as he searched for the Assassin's scent. Valena moved forward, parting a filthy curtain aside with her Needler as she moved into the next room. A dingy kitchen greeted her, devoid of pots, pans, food or anything remotely useful. Only the sound of pounding rain greeted her.

"Bloody damnation!" Rouse cursed. Valena did a double take, practically ripping the curtain apart in the process.

"What is it?" Rouse was standing by an upturned cot, clutching a handful of something curly and red. Sniffer posed close by, scales bristling, tail wagging with his head pointed straight at whatever it was Rouse was holding.

"That clever bitch shaved herself clean!" He shook the ratty locks before tossing it to the ground, realizing his mistake too late as Sniffer began to devour the hair in earnest. "Oh for Sanguiness' sake you damned mutt!" Rouse roared in disgust. "Don't eat the bloody evidence!"