She wandered from one section of the city to another effortlessly, stepping out of one black shadow only to emerge from another. She could feel the darkness wash over her and she would melt into it like water, feeling the shapes and the shifts of the darkness until she pulled herself free again, emerging from the shadows somewhere else. She felt a morbid satisfaction each time, as though some dark part of her nature was exulting in flaunting this simple power. When she submerged herself into the black oblivion underneath the world, it was as though she was at one with something...something wonderful, primal, and powerful.

As she swam through the deep rivers of nothingness throughout the city, she decided upon her prey--a human woman, sleeping alone in a dark room. She was very heavily guarded...from the outside, anyway. The guards were no barrier to Liliandra; indeed, not even the space of the room itself posed any obstacle. She emerged from the shadows as if she were a leviathan rising from the depths to swallow a ship, engulfing the woman before she was even aware there was anyone in the room; indeed, by the time there was someone in the room, she was already trapped in Liliandra's belly.

The woman screamed as she awoke abruptly, her voice muffled by Liliandra's body. She kicked and squirmed to no avail. Liliandra licked her teeth as she felt her body begin to shudder with the taste of the squirming creature inside her. Pleasure washed over her skin and she lilted her head back, ignoring the pitiful cries of her meal. The heavily armored door would ensure no one would hear her. She took deep breaths and laid back in her victim's own bed, wrapping her arms around her bloated stomach and smiling.

Gradually, her victim began to realize how much pleasure she was feeling herself. This, in turn, pleased Liliandra. She felt her gentle side begin to arise and it caused her to pull the bedsheets around herself, comforting her naked body. She caressed her belly softly, feeling a sudden affection for her nameless meal. She suddenly wished she could take her into the darkness with her, show her it's beauty, but she knew she could not. The woman's body anchored her in the physical world for as long as it was inside her. So she did her best to simply cradle her and radiate the love--and pleasure--that were her birthrights.

The woman churning in her depths did not know how or why, but she felt at peace now--Liliandra knew that. Her panicked thrashing gave way to slow gyrations of pleasure. Her screams became the labored breathing of someone overcome with their own sensations. Liliandra smiled.

An hour passed, the glow of pleasure never leaving her nor her meal. Her belly gradually began to shrink as the woman inside her was slowly digested, turning to mush and being fed bit by bit into her intestines. Two hours later her belly was as flat as it had been when she was born, but her hunger had been replaced with a deep satisfaction.

She turned her senses to the rest of the room. In the darkness she could feel the features of the room rather than seeing them. There was a dresser with several sets of clothing. She walked over and found an outfit that suited her--a skin-tight leather bodice and a long silken robe to go over it.

As the silk slid onto her shoulders she found her thoughts straying to her mothers...an angel and a demon who had never met. Suddenly she felt sad. She was unlikely to ever see them either. A single tear fell from her left eye as she brought herself into acceptance of this fact and, in spite of her sorrow, she smiled. They had given her a wonderful gift.

Herself.

She felt the powers they had given her swimming at the edge of her consciousness, waiting for her to reveal them to the world. She did not need to see her face to know it; it, too, was a precious thing. She almost cried with joy at the feeling of her wings, flowing back like a dweomer through the invisible ether.

And now there was a whole world for her to explore.

And the warm, blessed darkness was waiting for her.

******

They had been on Scyther for almost two days. Eternity had given them a way back to their world--a map of largely unknown star portals that would lead them home in a fairly short time. Still, there was little celebration at the fact. They weren't even sure they could get the Starslicer back in the air without several more days of repairs.

It seemed the only person who wasn't exhausted was Cassandra. Her crew visibly carried the weight of their dead comrades on their shoulders, and while Cassandra's swagger still had not returned, she seemed to be leading the effort to repair the Starslicer with at least a shred of optimism.

Something about this seemed strange to Annelique. Though Annelique's thoughts had long been on Sudvana, she increasingly found herself thinking about Cassandra. She wasn't sure why. It was fairly obvious that Cassandra was hiding her feelings for the sake of her crew--or herself--but something else was nagging at her. It wasn't the fact that Cassandra was trying to keep her spirits up...or at least, that wasn't the only thing.

Annelique helped when she could, but it wasn't often. She wasn't an enchanter or an engineer...she wasn't even an architect or a mason. She spent most of her time simply wandering or talking to the others in the group. Yet sometimes even in the middle of a conversation her thoughts would be steered to Cassandra. She felt a strange fluttering whenever she thought about her--it was simultaneously distressing and compelling. She felt an urge to speak to her, but whenever she tried to comfort her or asked how she felt, Cassandra simply said something along the lines of "I'll feel a lot better when we're not beached anymore."

She knew she wouldn't speak her true feelings easily, or in front of the others. She wanted to speak to her during the few times when she was alone in her quarters, because pirate or not, Annelique was sure she had been affected by the loss of her crew. Even so, she rarely went to her quarters and was visibly exhausted every time she did--Annelique did not want to disturb her.

But her instincts just wouldn't leave her alone, so in the end, she decided to go ahead and disturb her anyway.

Tip-toeing below deck to Cassandra's room, she knocked softly before pushing the door open just enough to poke her head in.

Cassandra was in her bed, just beginning to groggily pull herself up from her silk pillow as Annelique came in and quietly shut the door behind her. She realized this was the first time she had ever seen Cassandra without her armor and sword; she was wearing a simple grey robe under the bedcovers and her hair was unusually dishevelled, almost giving her the look of an entirely different person. In fact, she looked a lot less like a swashbuckling swordswoman and a lot more like...well, kind of like a black-haired version of Blast, actually.

"What's wrong?" Cassandra muttered, her eyes still mostly pinched shut from sleep.

Annelique wasn't quite sure what to say. "Nothing...at least...well, nothing is wrong outside. Repairs seem to be going well."

Cassandra rubbed her face and stared at Annelique, quite obviously expecting an explanation.

Annelique suddenly found herself feeling distressed again. "Listen...Cassandra...I just wanted to--"

Cassandra waved her hand and dropped back on her pillow. "Yeah, I know. I'm fine, angel."

"No you're *not!*" Annelique blurted out before she could stop herself.

Cassandra's expression shifted a bit against her pillow, but she didn't rise again. "I appreciate your concern. It has been noted," she said. "I'd like to sleep now. I've had a shitty day."

"Don't you even hear yourself, Cassandra? I don't even know you, but I know you well enough to know you don't talk like that. You're Cassandra, Crescent Corsair Extraordinaire."

An angry look came over Cassandra's face. "I have off days. Having two thirds of your crew die while you watch will do that to you."

"That's exactly what I'm talking about."

"And I don't want to talk about it," Cassandra said, sitting up abruptly, her eyes suddenly wide open. "No offense, but we're not friends. You're not part of my crew. You didn't know *any* of them. I doubt you could even name one."

Cassandra's words bit at Annelique, but her response was simple.

"Elvet," she said.

Cassandra sighed with annoyance as she flopped back onto the bed, her eyes now transfixed on the cieling above. Her hand was on her forehead, rubbing it in frustration.

"Fine, so you know one."

She was silent for a moment, but her expression gradually softened.

"Look, Annelique," Cassandra said, "I really do appreciate your concern. I just don't see anything you can do, unless you can bring back the dead."

Annelique looked away. She knew she had to do something...she just wasn't sure what. She just didn't know how to help her.

She thought for several long moments...then she remembered what she was, and that there was one thing that she could always use when all else failed.

"Alright," she said. "Just do one thing for me, Cassandra."

"What?" Cassandra said, still staring at the cieling.

"Let me stay with you while you sleep."

"What?" Cassandra muttered, her eyebrows stitching together in confusion as she looked at Annelique. "Why?"

Annelique couldn't think of any rational way to put it. In the end she just said "Please?"

Cassandra sighed, then scooted over to one side of the bed. "Fine, knock yourself out."

Annelique moved over to the other side of the bed and slipped under the covers as surreptitiously as she could. Cassandra seemed content to ignore her at this point, but Annelique wasn't done.

As soon as she was sure Cassandra was comfortable, she wrapped her arms around her and hugged her tightly.

Cassandra sighed again. "What are you doing?"

"I'm being an angel," Annelique said stubbornly. "I don't know what else to do, so I'm going to sit here and love you until you feel better."

"That might be a while," Cassandra muttered darkly.

Annelique didn't care. She just clung to Cassandra, keeping her as close as her little angel arms could pull her. She buried her face in Cassandra's neck. When she felt Cassandra squirming, she just hugged harder.

She didn't know how to project love like Miss Sara did, but she tried. She tried to remember how it felt to be with Miss Sara, and with all the other angels, and tried to make Cassandra feel the same way. She wasn't sure if it was doing anything, or if it was ever going to--she just tried. She imagined Chia's beautiful embarassed smiles, Yuma's laughter and even Saccarine's "mischievous" tail. She remembered Miss Sara's warm hands, her gentle arms, and her soft voice. She did what she could to share--to radiate all she remembered, short as her time had been in her now-distant home.

For a long time, Cassandra didn't move. Annelique wondered if she had fallen asleep. She continued to cling to her, trying to help her. Time passed and nothing changing between either of them.

Annelique lost track of time. She started to worry that it wasn't working--that she truly wasn't going to be able to do anything. But she kept trying.

Suddenly, Annelique noticed Cassandra's body had started to shake, ever so slightly. She wasn't sure what was happening, so she raised her head to look.

She was slightly shocked by what she saw. An agonized look had covered Cassandra's face. It was flush and slick with tears. Annelique felt a lump in her throat as she realized Cassandra had been sobbing silently in her arms. She gently moved her arm to Cassandra's head and pulled it towards her. Cassandra did not resist--in fact, she turned towards her and buried her face against Annelique's chest, openly sobbing against her and clinging to the angel like a child. Her fists clenched tight around wads of Annelique's clothing.

Annelique simply held her, saying nothing. She wasn't sure how long she waited there with Cassandra as she shook in utter silence.

She simply knew that it was a long time.

When she finally stopped, Cassandra began to pull herself up off the bed. Annelique sat up with her, seeing the same agonized look on her face.

"I don't deserve this," Cassandra said, her head hung low, tears pattering onto the sheets as they dropped from her face.

"Yes you do," Annelique replied.

"You don't know me," Cassandra said in a choked voice. "You don't know what I've done."

"It doesn't matter," the angel said simply.

Cassandra sniffled and put her hand against her head. "You know, I still wonder if I should think this is my fault..." she said. "At first I even thought Klayer set us up...like she was trying to get rid of me. But I'd heard the reports...I knew at least part of what we were walking into."

"If it weren't for you, none of us would be here," Annelique said.

"You say that like it's a good thing," Cassandra said. "If it weren't for me you never would have left the planet."

"We would have, just with a different captain. One who isn't as skilled as you are."

"No...because nobody else would have been stupid enough to go out there. Now my crew has paid for me thinking I could beat an entire brood zone by myself."

"You almost did."

"And your redheaded friend almost died, and technically you actually did...and I saw the look on your face when they told you about the one who didn't make it. I...I'm ashamed to say I can't even remember her name."

"Sudvana," Annelique said.

"...Was she important to you?" Cassandra asked.

Annelique almost didn't want to answer.

"Yes," she said.

Of course, it was a massive understatement, but she didn't want to make Cassandra feel any worse than she already did.

"They almost got the blue-haired girl, too...but she's a fighter. She just wouldn't go down. She'd make a fine member of Cassandra's Corsairs..." Cassandra almost choked on these last words. "I'm surprised they didn't get the mindreader. She passed out on the deck in the middle of the attack, shortly after you got eaten. She says she...felt the same things you did just before she passed out. She didn't describe them as being pleasant." Cassandra gulped hard and looked away before continuing. "That was the worst part. You and your friends risked your lives for my crew. Two more would be dead if it weren't for...Shiara? Is that her name?"

"Ishiar," Annelique said.

"You see my dilemma," Cassandra said. "I owe the lives of half of my crew to people who's names I hadn't even bothered to learn."

She gave a long, moroseful sigh.

"Normally we lose someone here or there...sometimes a few people," she continued. "But it's not a big deal. We're Cassandra's Corsairs. Danger is part of the fun. But...what happened out there..."

She stopped.

"Wasn't fun," Annelique finished for her.

"Wasn't fun," Cassandra confirmed.

"Tell me..." Annelique hesitated, "tell me what happened to Sudvana."

Cassandra bit her lip. "She was at the railing of the main deck, casting spells towards one of the monsters when one of them flew up and grabbed her. Your redheaded friend grabbed her chain before it had even finished swallowing her. She climbed down the chain and planted her feet on either side of the thing's maw and just started yanking," Cassandra said, as if she were telling an old war story. "We thought she might even pull it off until it's tentacles started going for her feet, pulling her down into it's mouth. Apparently she kept trying even after she was swallowed because we kept seeing tugs on both of the chains. When we actually saw the first chain whipping out with it's end burned off we weren't sure which person it belonged to, until the redhead pulled her way out on the other chain...she was in bad shape. Besides being mostly digested, her skin was smoking and it looked like the inside of the creature had literally caught fire."

Knowing Blast, that was not actually all that unlikely.

"After the redhead pulled out it veered off, and that was the last we saw of it."

Annelique was blinking back tears. She didn't want to imagine Sudvana going through the same thing that she did.

"I sometimes wonder what the Goddesses are thinking..." Cassandra said, a melancholy half-smile crossing her lips. "Good people are being gobbled up left and right on your planet and nobody cares. Cassandra the scumbag has a bad day and they send her an angel with same-day delivery."

"You keep talking like you're a terrible person," Annelique said. "But it's obvious you don't want to be. Why?"

"I don't know..." Cassandra said. "It's like...once I start really getting into it, I stop caring. If somebody offers me a better deal, it just doesn't seem like a big deal to backstab somebody...it's not until later that I come to my senses. Even if I know I'm going to regret it I still screw people over."

"You're not the first one to be betrayed by her own instincts...a dear friend of mine had to sell her lover into slavery because of something she did."

Cassandra nodded. "Must have been a succubus," she said.

Annelique nodded back sadly.

"I think one of your friends mentioned her...she sounded interesting. And the one you were fighting...I think I've heard of her. Rea, right?"

"Yes," Annelique said.

"Not someone you want to scuffle with...she's good. Really good. One of the few who got off of Ripley."

"Ripley?"

"One of the planets Mnokugura ate."

"Wait--she was on it when it was attacked!?"

"Yep...and I needn't tell you that it takes serious steel to survive having your planet eaten. I've heard it's pretty grisly...tidal waves of acid and all that."

"That sword that Rea had...the one that Ralier has now...what do you know about it?"

"Only what Ralier has told me. Apparently it's a soulkiller."

Annelique nodded. "We hoped Eternity would heal her...apparently it's more complicated than that."

Cassandra nodded back. "It seems I'm not the only one who's been screwed by fate lately."

Annelique smiled weakly. "You've been working hard. I should let you sleep."

"I suppose I should...considering it's taking an effort to speak coherently at this point," Cassandra said with a grin.

Annelique took Cassandra in her arms and gently cradled her down, lying down on the bed next to her and placing her arms in a comfortable position.

"Still staying, huh?" Cassandra said.

"There's a lot more work I need to do on you," Annelique replied.

******

Annelique and Gairanda walked along the barren, crystalline rock of Scyther, trying to clear their minds of the last few days' events. Both had walked in silence for a long time, and they had now gone so far that the Starslicer was only a speck in the distance.

In fact, that was a lot of the reason they had come out here. Most of the crew were resting now, and the more people were sleeping nearby, the harder it was for Gairanda to hold on to her own consciousness. Intense emotion and dreams alike tended to drag her into them, rendering her disoriented at best and comatose at worst. So far she hadn't been of much use as either a psychic or a warrior except when things were calm--facts she was painfully aware of. It was useful in that she could often get enough info to give a general sitrep on someone's mind, but only if she could stay conscious for long enough to relay it.

She knew Elvet's story well; she had brought her back to her senses more than once in the short time they had been on the Starslicer, and their contant mental contact had not gone without it's side-effects. She was indeed a kind-hearted Dark Angel. In fact, she was the kind of person who was utterly uncompromising on her personal ethics, being unwilling to eat anything bigger than a critter. Unfortunately, her species was not meant to live on such meager rations, so she was hungry more or less all the time.

She knew Cassandra's story too...she had shafted, backstabbed or screwed over about a third of her employers, and the remaining two thirds would have stopped doing business with her anyway if not for her rather spectacular skills. Apparently she was not just an ace pilot, but also a very talented con artist, thief, spy, and basically everything else the Black Crescents were known for and then some.

She was even a good leader...when it suited her.

But most of all--something they would never had known, were it not for Elvet's memories--Cassandra was a nearly unbeatable swordswoman. She had told Annelique that she knew who Rea was, but she had left out a major detail--Cassandra and Rea had met in person, on opposite sides of a sword.

This information would have been especially relevant considering Cassandra had won.

Rea was terrifying...Cassandra was worse. The memories Gairanda had seen in Elvet's mind were disorienting for reasons that had nothing to do with her unstable psychic abilities...watching Cassandra swordfight was like trying to keep track of twenty games of speed chess all at once. Rea was brutal, but Cassandra was unbelievable. Every attack Rea threw seemed unstoppable, but Cassandra would not only stop it, but turn it against her. She never seemed to do the same thing twice. Rea made a broad swing; Cassandra stepped back and actually struck the back of the blade so that it went even faster, increasing it's momentum so that Rea couldn't bring her arm back fast enough to stop Cassandra from shoulder-ramming her. Rea tried a stab and Cassandra jumped straight into it, using her own sword to guide the point of Rea's away from her so that she could grab Rea's arm and slash her from underneath. Rea broke free and sent a rapid swing at Cassandra's throat, only to have Cassandra fall back onto the floor, fling her body forward with her arms, and wrap her legs around Rea's, using them to wrench her to the ground.

Every time Cassandra used a conventional move, she followed it up with something new. Rea started expecting to be thrown, grabbed or slashed by surprise, so she started grabbing Cassandra every time they got close. Even this turned against her. When she grabbed her arm, Cassandra spun into it and bullrushed, knocking Rea down with her other shoulder. Rea got behind Cassandra and outright flung her backwards--Cassandra fell, but she landed on her hands and did a back handspring. Rea even lost out when she grabbed Cassandra's hair--Cassandra actually used it to yank her back into a throw and maneuvered just so that she was cutting her own hair free of Rea's hand just as Rea was falling away from her--and best yet, in the same move she had cut Rea yet again.

As ambivalent as she seemed to be, one thing seemed to be universal about Cassandra.

She was dangerous.

This wasn't what she was thinking about now, however. Those thoughts--compelling as they were--had been left behind on the Starslicer. Now she had only the thoughts of the angel beside her...thoughts no angel should ever have to have. Of course, she was thinking about Sudvana. Holding some hope that she had been reincarnated and would seek her out...but that was unlikely. Being reincarnated, sure, that was likely...but she would be reincarnated as someone else on one of the planets in the middle of the brood zone where she had died. It was unlikely they'd be meeting one another again anytime soon, and it seemed like Annelique knew that full well.

"I know how you feel about Sudvana," Gairanda finally said. "I'm sorry."

Annelique bit her lip and didn't say anything.

They walked for a short while longer, then Gairanda spoke again.

"About Cassandra..." she said, "I don't think you should be getting involved with that woman. Even if it's to help her."

Annelique turned to her abruptly. "What? Why?"

"She backstabs people. She cares about you now, but she's telling the truth when she says she can't help it. It's in her nature."

"People can grow beyond their natures," Annelique replied.

"Are you willing to bet your life on it?" Gairanda asked quietly.

"I'm an angel, I can't d--" she stuttered for a moment. "I can't die..." she finally finished, but it was too late. Sudvana's face had popped into her head again, and she knew that her own immortality was not enough.

"I think once we get back home, we should let her go on her way," Gairanda said. "Since we don't have anything to pay her with she won't have any reason to help us anyway."

"I know," Annelique said. The fact was, she regretted that not because they would be without Cassandra's help, but because she would be unable to help her any more.

"But she has a point about Klayer," Gairanda said. "So far she's tossed us from one lethal situation to another, and she hasn't done anything to help us."

"That's not true. She taught me a lot," Annelique said.

"A lot that's nearly gotten you killed. Just like everything else she has done. For all we know she only taught you and sent you off to serve her own ends."

"That's not true. She's a good person," Annelique said.

"Then why isn't she here? She must have known what was going to happen. And if she's anywhere near as powerful as she sounds, Sudvana might still be here. For all we know that's the whole reason she sent us."

"No, she just...she has a lot to do."

"How do you know? All we have is her word that she's always got somewhere important to be."

"She's the reason I'm alive, Gairanda. She's the one who made sure I was born an Angel."

"Angels are very trusting creatures, Annelique. That may have been her only reason--to make sure you never questioned her."

"Well, the next time you're around her, you can mindread her and we'll see."

"I keep telling you, it's not that simple," Gairanda said. "If I focus on someone else's mind I lose my own. If it weren't for Elvet I would have spent half of the last few days passed out on the deck."

Something occurred to Annelique.

"Why does Elvet work for Cassandra?" she asked.

"I don't know. I never picked up on that part. But it does it seem strange that a saintly creature like Elvet would work for a self-acknowledged backstabber like Cassandra."

"Maybe she isn't as saintly as she seems either..." Annelique said sadly.

"No...she is," Gairanda said. "Or at least she seems to be. Honestly, most people trust this new ability of mine a lot more than I do. I was happier back when I could just rely on my sword."

"Yes...there was something else that was bothering me about that."

"I think I know...You've been wondering why Cassandra was considering digesting you before she got the Starslicer back, since at that point she wouldn't have gotten it."

"Yes."

"Cassandra doesn't trust Klayer either. In fact, I they basically hate each other. She was in it for Eronmar's treasure. She didn't think for one second that Klayer would risk letting her have her ship back. She was...surprised to find it there."

Annelique couldn't find the words she needed. She didn't want to think that Klayer could have been using her, and it never really felt that way...they were trying to save the world. She probably didn't even know that there were so many powerful space monsters on the route they would need to take to Scyther.

"Well," she finally said, "regardless of whether Klayer can be trusted or not, we still need to do our part. We have to stop Aerothi."

Gairanda's face had a heavy look. "That's...a problem too."

"Well, I know it's going to be hard, but we have to try."

"That's not what I meant..." Gairanda replied. "What if she's right? That...what we just went through, all of that was because of Mnokugura alone. Half of those gigantic beasts were her children. What if Aerothi's plan really is the only way to stop her? Because I sure can't think of another one."

"But resurrecting our world into an even bigger space monster will just create an even bigger problem!" Annelique said.

"That's just it--Aerothi has to have realized that. There's something we don't know about what's really going on. Maybe Aerothi has some way of killing our world again after she resurrects it."

"But if she can do that, why doesn't she just kill Mnokugura?"

"I don't know...I'm almost tempted to just ask her."

"We'd be captured. Or killed."

"That's why I don't actually plan to. But we still have to find out somehow."

Annelique paused for a moment. "Gairanda...I hate to say this, but at this moment I only know of one person who's sneaky enough and skilled enough to steal secrets from Aerothi and make it out alive," she said.

Gairanda sighed before sending a grudging look back at the Starslicer.

"Dammit," she muttered.

******

Three more days passed. The Starslicer still wasn't spaceworthy--at least, not enough to survive the dangerous trip home. And the lack of food was becoming dangerous.

The human crew were doing fine eating from the ship's stores, but Annelique was getting hungry. Very hungry. Angels couldn't live on normal food alone unless there was a great deal of love energy to make up for it, and generally only Caremistresses--the powerfully empathic Rose Angels--had enough power to do so. From the pained looks she occaisionally caught on Elvet's face, she was guessing that she too was suffering from the lack of living food. They had not encountered a single life form on Scyther; not a bunny, mouse, snake or even a blade of grass. Even Eternity had vanished, along with the strange temple she had appeared in.

Annelique was increasingly awash in uncomfortable thoughts as the crew went about the business of repairing the ship. She had never been so hungry before--the sudden urges she was having were unnerving. Every time she saw a silken leg pass by her, her mouth would water no matter who it belonged to. Every time she laid her eyes on the chest of one of the hard-working crew, her throat would moisten and uvulate as though readying itself to escort the person to her stomach. When she looked at the faces, hair, skin, and pretty much everything else, her body would beg her to grab the person and stuff her down her slavering maw, bringing the sweet bliss and relief of a full meal.

It had reached the point where she had taken to hiding in the least frequented parts of the ship, holding her rumbling belly and trying not to think of how delicious all of the crew looked, and smelled, and...everything else. Even the way they moved made her hungry...the curving lines of their steps, the subtle shifts in their shoulders, the way they craned their necks as they turned their heads. Even a slight smile would cause a powerful surge of raw desire to erupt inside her like a geyser.

She had spent two of the last three nights with Cassandra, trying to make her feel better, but she had not done so last night sheerly out of fear that one of them might wake up in an empty bed with a swollen belly. Eating the normal food from the galley helped a little, but it was not nearly enough, and she didn't want to bankrupt the ship's stores by stuffing herself silly just to sate her own hunger pangs.

It seemed all she could do was pray that the repairs finished soon, but Cassandra was estimating it would be at least another two or three days.

That did not bode well. The last time she had ventured out of the storage room she was hiding in she had nearly eaten Ralier. She might have actually done it if not for the fact that Ralier seemed to notice the look on her face and promptly locked herself in another room.

So Annelique had taken the proactive route and isolated herself in a remote storage room where she hoped no one would ever bother to go. For a while, she was right. But it didn't last.

She was almost horrified when she heard the door the room opening. She instinctively clamped her hand over her mouth and turned her head away, hoping that if she didn't see who it was she wouldn't be as tempted to immediately eat them.

She heard a light set of footsteps approach, then whomever it was tapped her on the shoulder.

She ignored it at first, but before long, she felt the tapping again.

"I really don't want to talk right now," she said.

Suddenly a pair of hands grabbed her shoulders and spinned her around.

Grudgingly, she looked at the girl who was now directly in front of her. It was Blast.

She swallowed the large amount of saliva that rapidly accumulated in her mouth before speaking. "Blast, I don't think you should be in here. I'm really, *really* hungry, and I'm afraid I might..." her tongue was already subconsciously working it's way back and forth, seemingly protesting that she was using it for talking.

Blast simply nodded and held up one finger. The little redhead closed her eyes for a moment and cleared her throat, then simply stood there silently.

Annelique rubbed her teeth together and pushed herself away from Blast with her legs, terrified of what might happen if the creamy-skinned, delicate and wonderful-smelling morsel was still in front of her in ten seconds.

"Blast, really, you need to--"

"Shh," Blast whispered quietly.

Annelique buried her face in her fists and tried desperately to hold herself back. Of all the people in the world, the last one she wanted to eat was Blast. Well, no, that wasn't exactly true. She DESPERATELY wanted to eat Blast. That was the problem. But she really didn't want Blast to be dead.

Just as she was starting to think she couldn't clench her eyes shut behind her fists for any longer, she heard a sound. It was clear, high, and perfect--it wasn't quite like anything she had ever heard before.

It was a musical note--someone was singing.

A song began, and though it was in a language Annelique didn't understand, it seemed to speak to her on a level that went beyond her mere mind and her conception of language. It was beautiful--too beautiful to be just words.

She kept her eyes closed, almost afraid of what she might see if she opened them.

Could that really be Blast singing to her?

Her hunger was quickly forgotten, washed away by this strange song that seemed somehow to strike a chord inside her with each perfect note. The words were gibberish, but it was gibberish that managed to be both touching and powerful.

The minutes blurred together as Annelique gave herself more and more over to the beautiful song, letting it carry away all of her long worries. Eventually she found herself smiling and sobbing, crying and laughing.

She didn't even notice the long silence at the end until she felt Blast's soft fingers on her cheeks. She opened her teary eyes at last, seeing Blast staring back at her with a meek but caring smile.

Annelique smiled back. She had thought of a solution.

Strangely, Blast was already hopping back to the door of the storage room, rapping it a few times with the back of her knuckles.

The door opened slowly and Elvet gingerly stepped in. She gave Annelique a long, measured look.

"I..."

"You don't need to say anything," Annelique said with a smile. She turned to Blast. "Can you find my egg before the ship leaves?" she asked.

Blast blushed fiercely for a moment and nibbled nervously on her forefinger. "I won't have to," she said with a wide smile.

With that, she padded out of the room, blushing and smiling all the way.

"What does she mean?" Elvet asked, her eyebrows stitched in concern.

"I don't know. But I trust her," Annelique said with a smile. "So, we're both hungry, and I'm immortal, so..."

Elvet blushed and shook her head slightly. "I could never ask you to..."

"I know. But that doesn't mean we can't do it anyway." Annelique said as she slipped out of her clothing and let it drop to the floor. "I know you must be crazy hungry by now," she said, slipping two of her fingers into Elvet's mouth, "so eat me up like a good girl."

Elvet jerked slightly as she tasted Annelique's fingers. After a moment, she gently took hold of Annelique's wrist and pulled them out, though it took a visible effort--her jaw was still trembling slightly. "This would be the first time in a long time I've eaten...a person. I...don't think I should."

"Hey, it's not like you're going to turn into a completely different person and go on a rampage and start eating everyone you've ever met. If it makes you feel better, we can make it a rule--you can't eat normal people, but you can eat angels."

"You don't know what you're saying, Annelique."

"How so?"

"I have...something of a problem with eating...angels." Her face looked strangely pained.

"Problem? You mean you don't like to?"

"Not in the sense that you mean...but yes."

"Well, which is it? Aren't I appetizing?"

"Quite the opposite," Elvet said. Annelique noticed she was avoiding her gaze--something that was not normal for her.

Annelique looked disappointed. "Well then, what's the problem?"

Elvet didn't answer.

"Elvet," Annelique continued, "it's either going to be me or someone you care about. So you can either think of this as terrible for whatever reason or you can think of it as your reward for being such a good person. And honestly," she said, taking Elvet's hand in her own, "it would be a nice change for me to be eaten by someone nice for once."

Elvet smiled slightly. "I suppose it has been a while since you've had any comfort of your own. I know what you have been doing for Cassandra, and though she would never admit it, I think it has meant more to her in this difficult time than anything else could have."

"So let me do the same thing for you," Annelique said. "And give me the chance to snuggle up inside someone good and kind-hearted."

"You're a very brave little cherub, Annelique."

Annelique smiled at the compliment--though it brought a sudden moment of sorrow along with it. Now, more than ever, she knew that her courage brought with it a high cost.

"So does that mean you'll let me help you?" Annelique asked.

Elvet's belly rumbled loudly, as though forbidding her to give the wrong answer. Nonetheless, she waited a long time before speaking.

"I...suppose I cannot forstall my needs any longer without endangering the others. Just...give me a moment to prepare, if you will?"

"Of course," Annelique replied.

Elvet stood still and closed her eyes, almost as if she were meditating. She took a deep breath and held it for several moments, repeating this several times before opening her eyes again.

"Very well. I am ready."

"Yay!" Annelique smiled and gave Elvet a kiss on the cheek. Placing her wrist back in Elvet's hand, she guided it up to her mouth. "Time to eat me," she said cheerfully.

A deep pensiveness was still visible on Elvet's face, but so was a small line of saliva, escaping the corner of her mouth alongside Annelique's fingers.

Elvet's eyes closed. Her arm slowly wrapped around Annelique and she gently cradled her head towards her. The dark angel sniffed quietly at the shorter angel's hair, her open mouth moving over it ever so slightly as though tasting the air around it.

To her surprise, Elvet tipped Anneliques head up and gave her a deep kiss on the lips. Annelique blushed, excitement and heat suddenly shooting up her body like lightning. Just as suddenly, Elvet stepped back, holding her hand over her heart as though she was just as surprised.

"I'm sorry, I...I can't." she said, looking utterly ashamed of herself.

Annelique looked at her capriciously. "Oh, you can too!" she said as she hopped forward and put her arms around Elvet's neck. She gave her a kiss on the neck and noticed that Elvet's skin had grown hot. She heard the dark angel gasp as her lips touched her. She felt a light touch as Elvet's fingers found their way to her back and stroked it so lightly that it felt almost like a breeze.

"Masalla help me..." Elvet said, her voice suddenly broken with laughter as Annelique tickled her with her feathers.

"Come on," Annelique said. "If you want to have sex first, great! You can't deny yourself of every single thing that you want all the time."

Elvet smiled slightly. "I suppose not...and that might make it easier."

"Well then, come on!" Annelique said. "I'm supposed to be the shy one. So let's get that robe off of you before I blush myself to death."

Ironically, it was Elvet who blushed, an earnest look on her face. Slowly she began to unzip the long white robe that she was wearing and a moment later it fell to the floor without a sound.

It was all Annelique could do not to gasp. She could hardly believe what she was seeing; it was as though she was seeing Elvet for the first time. Her skin was so pale it practically glowed, but her nipples and lips were both as dark as her wings and hair. She had fingernails almost like talons. Despite this, she had an allure that was incredible; it was as though her body was desire personified. Her breasts were perfectly shaped and positioned on her body in a way that made Annelique stare in awe. Her curves were rivalled only by those of a succubus, and even then, it would be difficult for any succubus to match this creature.

"You're...the one...who's supposed to be desiring...me?" Annelique said very slowly, her eyes wide. "No wonder I don't measure up."

Elvet blushed slightly again, looking down at her own body for a moment. "I...um...not many people have seen me..."

"My goodness...it's like you were sculpted by Saclia herself." Annelique found her heart beating rapidly in her chest. "I can't let something so magnificent suffer on some hard wooden floor..." she said, gathering up their robes and handing Elvet's to her. "We need to steal a bed."

"I do have my own room," Elvet said.

Annelique smiled. "I just hope it's closeby," she said as she did a very half-assed job of yanking her robe back on. The two headed out the door, Annelique practically jumping out of her skin as Elvet calmly led her to her quarters; a simple room like most of the others, containing a bed, a bookshelf, a closed dresser and a desk with papers and pens. A single painting of a woman Annelique didn't recognize adorned one wall; it appeared to be another dark angel, not entirely unlike Elvet herself, though she was dressed much more like Annelique imagined a dark angel would--in other words, more like a demon, covered in black armor and blades.

She didn't give any of it much more than a glance. No sooner had Elvet closed and locked the door than Annelique had shed her clothing and hopped into Elvet's bed.

Elvet stood next to the door, her fingers hovering uncertainly over the zipper to her own robes. Annelique knew this wouldn't work if both of them were standoffish and shy, so she resolved to do the only thing she could think of--she would do whatever she thought Saccarine or Arandra would do.

"Come on, it will take forever if you stay over there," she said as she hopped back out of bed and wrapped herself around the tall dark angel, tugging her towards the bed.

"Wow...um...are all angels like you?" Elvet said softly as the two sat on the bed together.

Annelique blushed fiercely. "No. Honestly, I'm not like this either. I just figure, if we both stand in the corner blushing, nothing will ever get done."

Elvet laughed.

"I'll tell you what. I'll do what they did for me during my first time. I'll do what you ask. I'll start slow and nice, and won't do anything that might scare you. Well, at least, that's sort of what they did. It's kind of complicated. But just let me know what you want...we'll take it however you want."

"Thank you, Annelique," Elvet said, a warm smile finally adorning her face.

Annelique tenderly took Elvet's neck in her hands and kissed it.

Elvet's eyes closed and she took a slow, deep breath. Annelique stroked her cheeks gently with her fingers, letting her sweet angelic breath wash over Elvet's face.

Suddenly, with an almost violent motion, Elvet jerked away, flying off of the bed and almost crashing against the opposite wall.

"No, I can't do this!" she said.

"I thought we'd been through this," Annelique said.

"No, it's not that!" Elvet said. "If we keep doing this...if you keep showing me your kindness and beauty, then by the end of the night I'll love you...I can't. Not again."

"I...don't understand," Annelique said, a sudden heavy sensation in her chest.

"You have just lost your love. I can't just step in and replace her."

Annelique felt a sting. "I..."

She stopped. For a moment, she simply gave a hollow look, then she replied. "I still love Sudvana. I can't forget her, but I can't abandon love forever...but if it isn't forever, how soon is too soon? I don't know! How can I decide something like that? I can't! But you need me!"

Elvet was taken aback. "I'm sorry, Annelique, I should not have..."

"It's alright, I know how you must feel..." Annelique said. "It's just that there's only one thing I know how to do, and that's love. I'm an angel. If I can't love and I can't help people...I'm helpless."

Elvet gave her a measured look. "The others have spoken of you...you are not exactly helpless. They...you may not realize this...but they speak of you as being the strongest of all of them."

"What?" Annelique said. "How could I be strongest? Blast and Kaboom can do all kinds of things I can't do, Gairanda is a way better fighter..."

"It was Gairanda who said you are the superior swordfighter. Ishiar agreed...in fact, Ishiar claimed to be embarassed when comparing her skills to yours."

"I..." Annelique sat back on the bed. "But I never even swordfight!"

Elvet turned and paced slightly, her footfalls barely audible against the wooden floor. "Cassandra has a saying," she said. "You only have to fight if you miss."

"I don't understand."

"If your first attack cripples an enemy, there is no need to fight them. Your combat style evades the enemy's blade, is that not correct?"

"Well, yes...Klayer taught me that way."

"That gives you the power to end a swordfight before it starts. I think Cassandra may want to spar with you sometime...the two of you would be interesting to watch."

"Yeah, Gairanda said..." Annelique stopped, picking her words carefully, "well, she said she was good. Extremely good."

Elvet gave Annelique a serious look. "The Corsairs are known for undertaking the most dangerous of missions for the most treacherous of clients. Of the original crew of the Starslicer, only two people remain--Cassandra and myself. I have seen her strike down the most powerful of foes. I have no doubt she could defeat Aerothi herself if she wished."

"Well, Aerothi uses magic. She doesn't swordfight...as far as I know. She would probably just fry Cassandra without giving her a chance to use her sword."

The dark angel smiled wistfully. "Cassandra wouldn't give her the chance to cast any spe--spells."

She suddenly grimaced, her hands moving quickly to her stomach. She gave a desperate look at Annelique. Tears were suddenly streaming down her face.

"WHAT is WRONG?" Annelique said in an annoyed tone. "I already told you, I'm fine with being eaten, I'm immortal, what's the big deal...?"

She noticed Elvet was looking at the painting on the wall. Annelique glanced at it for a moment before turning back to Elvet.

"What is it?" She asked.

Elvet simply shook her head and hurried toward the door. Before Annelique knew it, it had been slammed shut and, just like that, she was alone.

It took a moment for her to snap out of her surprise and get back out of the bed. "Elvet! Wait!" She awkwardly pulled her robe back on as she headed for the door. By the time she got into the hallway, there was no sign of her. She searched the ship up and down, but according to the crew she had headed straight for the deck and then flown off without giving any explanation.

Annelique simply stood on the deck for a moment, feeling confused and a little hurt.

Well...Elvet had said that she was one of the original crew of the Starslicer...maybe Cassandra would know why this was bothering her so much.

Cassandra wasn't hard to find. She rarely was, assuming she wasn't intentionally hiding. She was in a small office inside the ship; it had served as a secure place for records and valuables before, but since half of the wall had been blown out in the battle it's only real utility now was the fact that it had a desk. Cassandra was sitting there, looking over a list of supplies and damage reports.

"Hey Annelique," the Crescent said as she looked up with a slight smile. "What can I do for you?"

"I'm really worried about Elvet," Annelique said. "I've been starving and so has she, so I offered to let her eat me..."

Cassandra's smile faded. "Oh," she said, her eyebrows raising as she looked down towards the desk.

"What is it? Why does this bother her so much?"

Cassandra's expression was quite serious when she looked back up. "This...isn't something you want to push, Annelique. Elvet..." she glanced around, almost as if she were making sure no one was eavesdropping, "well...just don't push it."

"Why? I'm an Angel, I can't die--what's the big deal?"

Cassandra's lips curled in trepidation--it wasn't an expression Annelique was used to seeing on her face. "Look, if she didn't want to tell you, I probably shouldn't either." She was talking slowly, as if she was picking her way through a verbal minefield.

"So you do know," Annelique said.

Cassandra stood up, taking a small set of papers with her. "Well, there's one thing I will say...Elvet and I have something in common. We weren't always the way we are now."

Annelique didn't know what to say. Even in the small amount of time she had spent with Elvet, she was so strong of character...it was already hard to imagine her as being anything else. She followed Cassandra through the short hallway towards main engineering.

"She left," Annelique said. "Just when it seemed like she was ready to accept it, she sort of freaked out and took off."

Cassandra stopped and looked back at Annelique. Concern was suddenly etched on her features...this was an expression that Annelique had seen before, but it was only when they were in Mnokugura's brood zone.

"But she'll be back, right?" Annelique asked apologetically.

Cassandra didn't meet her gaze, instead seeming to weigh it in her mind. "I don't know...I think you may have hit just the right nerve."

She opened the door to the central engineering room. Several pylons and piston engines lined either side, with the center being dominated by a huge magical power crystal suspended in midair between two crystalline spikes on the floor and cieling. Several crew were inside, some making modifications and repairs to the engines, some merely making patches and reinforcements to the walls. The crystal seemed either undamaged or had already been repaired.

Cassandra walked over to one of the crew and handed her one of the papers. "We don't have the powders for this, so just try to tie it into the starboard axel if you can," she said as she ran her finger along some schematics. "It doesn't need to be perfect; so long as it can swivel we should be okay."

She went to several of the other crewmen, giving technical orders and recieving reports that Annelique didn't really understand. After a short time she left engineering again, Annelique only a foot or two behind her. She stopped just after the doors to engineering and put her back to the wall.

"Without Elvet the repairs will be even harder. It's a good thing we got the matrix done already or there would be no way..."

"Cassandra, even if she ran away, we can't just leave her here. She'll starve to death."

"Don't worry. If she doesn't come back soon, we'll go looking for her...but we won't be very effective until the Starslicer is airborne again."

"I can look for her."

"It would definitely be quicker...though she may well just keep running from you."

Annelique tried to swallow the lump in her throat. She was tired of not knowing why this was such a big deal. Maybe if she approached it from another angle...

"How did you and Elvet meet?"

Cassandra smiled. "She broke up a barfight. That I started." She chuckled. "I was beating the crap out of some poor Mecki girl...honestly, I deserved to have the shit kicked out of me, but Elvet just stood between us and talked me out of it. I actually felt like kind of a bitch afterward..." A distant look came into her eyes. "I guess she sensed it or something. She came and talked to me later, after my crew was gone."

"I still can't believe how embarassed you were..." came Elvet's voice from behind them.

Both girls turned around. Elvet was standing next to them, a sad smile on her face. "She spent the first half hour trying to convince me that she was winning the fight...which was true, of course."

Cassandra buried her forehead in her hand. "I brutalized that poor girl..."

"So...what made you decide to come back?" Annelique asked.

"I cannot eat you," Elvet said. "But we both endanger the others while we remain unfed. So...you can eat me."

Cassandra suddenly looked like someone had pulled a gun on her. Her face and voice held a sudden urgency as she spoke. "Elvet, you're not an Angel. You won't come back."

"I might..." Elvet said simply.

"No, you won't! Your m--" Cassandra stopped, suddenly lowering her voice. "Your mother didn't."

"Mother?" Annelique asked.

Though Elvet's tone was as clear and even as ever, a single tear had run down her face. "Annelique...I trust you saw the painting in my quarters?"

"Yeah...I thought it looked kind of like you, maybe someone from your--well, whatever Dark Angels have. I guess I don't know if they have seasons or halls. Either that or it actually was you, though I can't really imagine you dressing like that..."

"It wasn't me, though you are correct that it was someone close to me."

Annelique waited for her to continue.

"I..." Elvet started, "I was born into a coven of Dark Angels. I was liveborn--I had a true mother. Another Dark Angel. She was a very prominent member of the coven..." Elvet's speech came in spurts, as though each word was difficult to form. "She was the queen, in fact. I was her prodigal daughter, of course...able to commune with the spirits of Faneglut, whispering their secrets...secrets that could be used to keep my mother in power. She taught me the ways of intrigue, combat, magic...and treachery..."

She stopped. Now tears were flowing freely from her eyes, despite her flawlessly controlled voice.

"But we're still not sure who it was who taught her love," Cassandra said. "Whether it was her mother or whether she just figured it out on her own."

Elvet nodded. "Yes. Though sometimes ruthless to others, my mother was always kind to me...she always assured me that someday I would be queen of the coven, leading it to greater heights than anyone could ever imagine. She taught me all the things I needed to know to sieze power and keep it. She taught me how to catch prey, particularly real Angels, which I...indulged in quite frequently. She also taught me how to fight and subdue other Dark Angels, as would be necessary to control the coven. As time went on, I began to build my own power base within the coven...and when...when I thought the time was right...I acted to take my place as queen."

Her flawless tone was beginning to falter.

"My followers were already in the palace...and of course, I was near my mother, as was perfectly normal...and I...took her."

Annelique suddenly felt sick. "You...you ate your own mother?"

Elvet nodded again. "Yes. I ate my mother...I used everything she had taught me to sieze power, just as she had always told me I would. My agents ambushed her guards, and I overcame her with the sheer unexpectedness of my attack. But once I ate her, she didn't resist...she didn't struggle. She was...she was the most delicious Angel I had ever tasted, despite not even being an Angel. As I digested her, I felt her soul wash over me...she...she was...she forgave me. She loved me. She was sorry to leave, but proud, and glad that I was going to be queen. And then...she was gone."

She took a slow, shuddering breath. "She was gone. It was only then that I realized what I had truly done. I never really wanted power. I never really wanted any of it. I only did it because I loved my mother. All the intrigue, the secrets, manipulating the other sects in the coven, I did it because it made me feel closer to her. And then...she was gone."

There was a pause before Elvet continued.

"I left the coven that very night. I couldn't stand the thought of what I had done...so I ran from it. But in time I learned that you cannot run from your own past. I have only been to the coven one time since...it was to retrieve the portrait of my mother, to remind me always of my vow."

"Your vow?"

"I made a promise that I would never eat another living person. That I would protect rather than harm. I lost the most important thing in my entire life that night. I swore I would never let anything like that happen ever again."

Annelique's face was flush. She was almost ashamed that she had offered herself to Elvet now.

"I...I'm so sorry."

"This was my doing, not yours. You are innocent, Annelique. All you did was try to help me."

Annelique lowered her head. "So what do we do, then? We still can't let you starve."

Elvet's face returned to it's normal, placid state, despite being slick with tears. "As I said earlier, I cannot eat you, but you can eat me."

"What? No I can't! You're not an Angel! Well, not a real Angel. Not the immortal kind."

"That does not matter to me anymore," Elvet said. "Even Cassandra's Corsairs cannot live forever. I do not think I will survive to leave this planet, and perhaps when I pass on, I will have a chance to be with my mother again."

"No!" Cassandra snapped. She pointed a commanding finger directly at Elvet. "You aren't going to pussy out on me now! Not now, and not later! If I have to chain you below decks, that's what I'll do, but you're not just going to off yourself! And here I thought Amelia coming down with voraphilia was bad!"

"Amelia is dead," Elvet said.

"I know! And so is most of the rest of the crew!" Cassandra said angrily. "I don't want to lose what little I have left! Because in case you haven't noticed, Elvet, you're important to me!"

Annelique expected Elvet to reply, but she didn't. In fact, what followed was a long silence. Elvet's features were utterly unreadable--she and Cassandra simply stared at one another.

"Not to be insensitive, but letting you die would be just like you letting somebody else eat your mom," Cassandra said. "I don't have anyone else. I never have."

"But..." Elvet replied, "we were never...close."

"I know. Separate beds, separate rooms, separate fucking lives," Cassandra said flippantly. "When we landed you'd head off to the library while I'd go to the local bar and have sex with any tart I could find," she continued in a frustrated tone. "I didn't like it that way."

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize," Elvet replied.

"I know. But it's not the sort of thing I'm good at bringing up...well, not when it's important," Cassandra said. "It seems I'm fabulous at seducing people so long as I don't actually care about them..." she said bitterly.

"I wish Miss Sara was here," Annelique said sadly.

"What?"

"Miss Sara...she always knew how to deal with things like this."

"Likely her Caremistress from Brightwind," Elvet said.

"Yes," Annelique said, subtly running her fingers along the ribbon in her hair. After all they had been through, it was still completely undamaged...in fact, when she emerged from her egg on Scyther, it had been the only thing she had.

"We're a long way from Brightwind," Cassandra said flatly.

"I know," Annelique replid quietly.

There was a long silence.

"So what are we going to do?" Annelique finally asked. "Elvet won't eat me, and neither of us are willing to see her die herself. But we're both starving."

Cassandra thought for a time before something suddenly seemed to pop in her head. "Maybe your alchemist friend could help," Cassandra said. "Let me go ask her. You two stay here."

Something in her demeanor seemed almost...conspiratorial?

She hurried off, leaving the two Angels together in a very awkward and hungry silence.

"I'm sorry to have placed this burden on your shoulders, Annelique," Elvet eventually said.

"I only wish you'd let me help you," Annelique replied.

"I, too, wish it was that easy," Elvet said.

A few minutes later, Cassandra came back with a small vial. It was filled with opaque black liquid.

"Here," she said, handing it to Elvet. "This will make your hunger to go away."

Elvet looked slightly surprised. "What is it? Honey?" Elvet asked.

"I didn't ask what it was," Cassandra asked.

Elvet moved the vial to her lips and sipped the liquid until the small vial was empty. Only a few drops escaped, falling from the glass or from between her lips as her unconscious body hit the floor with a loud thud.

"So...you got rid of her hunger by knocking her out?" Annelique asked.

"No--it will wake her up again real soon," Cassandra said. "You need to get inside her. Now. Before she wakes up."

"But--"

Cassandra just looked at her. Annelique already knew what the alternative was.

"...Alright," she said.

Annelique hesitantly padded over to where Elvet was laying, splayed unceremoniously across the floor. She stuck her fingers between Elvet's lips and gently tried to pull her jaws apart. She wasn't really sure how this was going to work, so she just hoped she would be able to work her way down her throat without hurting Elvet.

The jaws parted without too much trouble, much to her relief. Elvet's mouth began to hang limply open, oozing saliva onto the floor. Annelique slipped her fingers into the warm wetness at the back of her throat and was almost shocked at how fast it opened up--it was as though her body was trying to eat her all by itself, despite it's owner being out cold. That was fine with her. She pushed her hands into the throat, then her forearms. That's when things got awkward. As she tried to push further, she ended up pushing Elvet's body across the floor. She wriggled and tried to position herself so that she would move into her throat rather than pushing her, but when she did she found it very difficult to move herself.

"Here," Cassandra said, hopping over and lifting Elvet's arms. She started to pull Elvet towards Annelique, helping her get the leverage she needed to get down the throat. Annelique kicked and pushed herself further into the throat; her arms slid in all the way to her shoulders, and she realized from the sudden change of scenery her head was inside the throat now too. She kicked off the wooden floor again, pushing herself a little further; she was now up to the middle of her ribcage, and her hands had reached Elvet's stomach. She figured if she could far enough, Elvet's throat might push her the rest of the way. She tried another kick, but unfortunately, she was now hanging halfway out of Elvet's mouth, with her wings wedged in Elvet's gullet. Her kicking feet simply brushed against the deck

Cassandra grunted and tilted Elvet's body upward, hoping gravity would do the rest. This did little but cause Annelique's legs to splay outward. The angel started flailing her legs--it wasn't helping.

"Um, could I get some help in here?" Cassandra called out.

One of the crew came out of main engineering and very quickly donned a look of surprise.

"Don't ask," Cassandra said. "Just push."

The girl stepped up and, after a moment's hesitation, stuck her hands on Annelique's backside. With a shove, they got her a good few inches further in. After a few more shoves, her hips were fully lodged inside Elvet's neck. Unfortunately, this left them without anything to push. Annelique's legs were too smooth to get any real traction, and pulling Elvet upward wasn't doing much either; it just pulled Annelique up right along with her.

Annelique's face had just barely entered the stomach. "We're almost there," she said as a big drop of hot liquid ran down her face. "Just a little more!"

Cassandra looked around in exasperation, then stopped.

"Hey Annie, hold your legs out straight," she said.

"Okay," came the muffled response. The angel's legs straightened out, sticking more or less straight up.

"Now keep 'em straight!" Cassandra said as she tilted Elvet's body towards the wall. "Grab her," she said to the other crewman. Together, they got a running start and rammed Annelique's feet into the wall, shooting her legs down Elvet's throat right up to her ankles, accompanied by a surprised yelp. Cassandra looked Elvet over; luckily, she seemed no worse for the sudden maneuver. She pushed Annelique's feet in just a little further and closed Elvet's jaws over them. Elvet's body's instincts took over at that point and started to push Annelique into the stomach. Only a few moments later she had been pushed all the way inside at last.

"Whew," Annelique said as she strived to get comfortable after her awkward arrival. "Who would have thought that getting swallowed on purpose would be harder than getting away is..." Eventually she managed to maneuver around into a curled position that was comfortable enough, cushioning herself with her downy wings. "So Cassie, is Elvet going to be mad that you lied to her?"

"About what?"

"The potion."

"Oh. I said it would make her hunger go away. It did, didn't it?"

Annelique sighed, but eventually she smiled nonetheless. Elvet might not like this when she woke up, but at least the immediate crisis had been solved.

"I'm gonna haul her to her bed, so don't panic when things start to lurch, 'kay?" Cassandra said. Annelique did indeed feel the stomach lurch, and she heard at least one other crew grunting with exertion. A little while later, she felt herself being tossed upward and then bouncing--she could only assume she was now in Elvet's bed.

There was nothing to do now but sit quietly and digest...

...and so she waited.

Annelique held out her hand and ran it along the wrinkled wall of Elvet's stomach. It was very warm, but not unpleasantly so. In fact, there wasn't anything particularly unpleasant about Elvet's belly at all. In a way, she wished Elvet was awake, just so she could experience this.

She laid down on her side and cushioned her head on her arms. The folds of Elvet's belly wrapped around her, almost like a blanket. She closed her eyes in the darkness, her own hunger completely forgotten. She smiled and gradually let sleep take her.

She hadn't been asleep long before the stomach lurched upward and she heard Elvet's voice.

"What!?" she sounded utterly bewildered. "No, Cassandra, no..."

"No, it's just me," Annelique said.

There was a long silence. "That's not what I meant...though that is a relief, I suppose."

Annelique still felt half asleep, the warmth of the soft stomach fogging her mind. "Well, you seem to be taking this well. That's good."

Elvet did not reply.

Annelique could feel that something was still wrong, but she was getting mixed signals. She simply sat still, not really knowing why except that she did not wish to disturb Elvet.

"Elvet..." she said, "are you okay?"

More silence.

Finally, Annelique heard her voice again.

"Is that really why she did it...?"

"Is what why?" Annelique replied.

"She said I was important to her."

"You're important to both of us! We weren't about to let you die, whether you wanted to or not!"

With Elvet awake, the stomach had become more active--digestive juices had started to flow more liberally, and Annelique suddenly realized she wasn't going to have a lot of time.

"I..." Elvet hesitated. "I suppose there's no dissuading you..."

"Nope," Annelique said.

Though she was sure she was doing the right thing, her feeling of unease worsened, yet there was something else--a strange elation. She wondered if she was picking up on Elvet's feelings directly somehow--then realized that, yes, of course she was. She was an angel. That's what angels did.

"Please don't feel bad," she said. "You can't stay the same way forever...but this doesn't mean you suddenly have to become a bad person, or that you have to forget about your mother."

"I know that," Elvet replied.

Annelique hesitated for a moment. "Can I ask you something? It seems like this is bothering you, but I'm getting positive feelings too. Are you--"

Suddenly the stomach lurched violently and Annelique heard a faint crashing outside.

"Umm..." she said, almost afraid to continue, "was that a yes?"

"I don't want this to feel good," Elvet said, her voice suddenly angry. "I should not be enjoying this. It is not helping. But yes...put simply, having you inside me is the most pleasant feeling I can recall ever having. Perhaps it is only because you are the first angel I've had in a very long time..."

"Or maybe it's because I'm willing, and I want you to be happy," Annelique replied.

"Eating for pleasure is not a habit I wish to reawaken," Elvet said.

"It doesn't have to be a habit," Annelique said. "Just relax, you're starting to scare me."

Elvet paused. "Ironic that you would be afraid for me, even though you're the one who is about to die..."

"I'm an angel. I'll come back."

"I know."

There was a pause.

"Ah, Cassandra, always the schemer," Elvet said.

Annelique was about to reply, but before she could, she heard Cassandra's voice.

"Yeah, I wanted to make sure you didn't puke her up or anything..."

"It seems you are willing to resort to great measures to preserve my life, my captain...far be it from me to stand in your way," Elvet replied.

There was a long silence. Annelique didn't know what was going on outside, but it seemed nobody knew what to say. Eventually Cassandra simply said "Well, enjoy one another...I'll be up top."

Annelique smiled. "Well, Elvet, it looks like we're about to get to know each other a lot better! In fact, uh, I think my thighs are melting..."

"Oh my..." Elvet said, her voice suddenly concerned. "Does it hurt?"

"Um...no, actually," Annelique said, surprised at her own words. "I can feel the acid and everything, but it's like...it's you, so it's okay."

It really did feel okay. For the first time all day--for many days, really--Annelique felt like everything was going to be okay.

"...Thank you, Annelique."

Annelique just blushed and ran her fingers tenderly through the folds of Elvet's flesh.

"Don't mention it."

She smiled as she felt sleep stealing her away again, bits of her body already beginning to flow into Elvet's.

Pity Elvet was so trepidatious. Annelique already wanted to do this again.

******

There was something a little different this time...as her mind came out of the darkness, she felt a knocking. A distant knocking, or a close but muffled one. She half heard it, half felt it, as though it was washing against her.

Annelique opened her eyes, still suspended in the warm liquid that filled her egg. She looked out through the transparent shell and saw Blast, knocking on the side off the egg. Seeing her awake, she waved and smiled.

Annelique had just started to wave back when suddenly the egg case opened and she started to fall backward. Blast hopped nimbly over the shattering egg case and caught her just as she was touching the ground, holding her just a few inches off the ground. Annelique was surprised at her strength, and though Blast's face was still pale, her smile was as warm as ever. Annelique couldn't help but smile back, wrapping her arms around Blast in turn. They stood up together and stepped out of the slippery remains of the egg.

To her surprise, she saw that she was surrounded by people--Cassandra, Elvet, Gairanda, everyone. She was on the deck of the Starslicer.

She looked around with awe. She knew it was all but impossible to move an egg, and the odds against her egg growing right back on the Starslicer were nothing short of astronomical.

"How--" she gasped.

Blast smiled and giggled.

"Your friend Blast seems to be full of surprises," Elvet said, giving Annelique a broad smile.

Annelique suddenly felt her cheeks flush. "Heh...hi, Elvet."

"Welcome back."

"Well, now that that's taken care of," Cassandra said, strutting up to the command deck, "I think it's time we got underway."

"The repairs are done?" Annelique asked eagerly.

"Yep. Finally." Cassandra replied. "Or, if they're not, we're gonna find out really soon," she continued with a whimsical smile. She waved her hands over the control crystals, and the ship lifted from the ground.

As it slowly rose and began to tilt towards the sky, Annelique moved towards the railing and looked into the stars. She turned back and gave one last glance at Scyther as it receded beneath them.

She was almost sure she saw Eternity there, standing where they had been but a moment before, smiling. But just as soon as she noticed her, it was as though she had never been there--but Annelique Felt a voice in the back of her mind.

Good Luck, it said.