Busting Out for the Umpteenth Time

"Oh no, don't worry about here, this happens all the time. Well not the part of discovering a new civilization that worships me, but the running away aspect is very normal. She'll come find me soon when she gets hungry, or has a cut that needs bandaging, or needs her clothes washed, or wants me to brush her hair, or needs a foot massage. Something will come up and she'll come back, if she doesn't in an hour or so, I'll go find her. In the means time... you mentioned having a women tend to my... needs?" Giles smirked.

"Well, you see... there's something I've always wanted, but obviously could never ask. Ako would be horrified if I mentioned it and would probably slap me but... well..." He blushed with a goofy grin "You see, it's annoying to have to wash and dry dishes. If I could have someone stand next to me who could dry the plates as soon as I finish washing them... well... that would be amazing."

Giles zoned out slighting with happy dish washing thoughts.

"Oh yeah, who is that girl that Ako took with her through the portal. Ako doesn't exactly make friends easily. Should I be worried? You don't think she'll attack Akosua, do you?" Giles frowned, looking concerned about Orion, the potential assassin.

------------------------

Orion just laughed while feeling around until her vision started to come back.

"That was fun. Like the time I got hit by a runaway mine cart." She giggled before rubbing her eyes and adjusting the goggles. "oh these are cool. Mine aren't this fancy. I bet this cost more than five potatoes...."

Orion seemed in awe of them as much as she was in awe of the portal powers.

"Oh no, we just didn't know anyone else existed, so anything you show me will be excited. And your friend... Giles? Well he's a boy, and boys with powers are super important. He'll probably live in the top level. If you're lucky, maybe he'll let you mop his floors. Oh, that sounds dreamy." She giggled some more while trying to pry open the portal with her gloved hands. "So, like you said, you want to marry him? I hear that you start off with house cleaning, then if he thinks you can produce male sons, he will let you cook for him, and once you get to the mashed potatoes stage, you are practically his betrothed. Oh! Oh! make a hole to see him and ask him if you can sweep his carpets. This is just like a fairy tale."

"Ah, alright, then. Yes, there are plenty of women here who would be charmed to follow your every command. Uh...Giles...you won't be doing any dishes here, most likely. That's work for women." And embarrassing to boot. What man in his right mind wanted to do dishes? Obviously, the women on the surface had brainwashed him.

"Hm? Orion? She's harmless, don't worry. Well, she's a bit dotty, and talks to rocks and all that, but the last I heard she was planning on keeping your Ako as some sort of trophy. If she left with Orion, she shouldn't get lost; the girl knows her way around. I imagine they'll be at her house, eventually. But yes, the worst she's ever done is thrown her pet rock through windows and tried to steal my pick axe while I'm mining to 'save Phillip's family'. Crazy girl, never listens..." Shaking his head, Ichabod sighed and turned his attention back to the matters at hand.

"So, what do you want to do first? I could take you to the city leader, set you up with a place to stay and women to serve you, give you a little tour, I guess, or show you the bits and bobs I have for your machine." Truthfully, Ichabod just wanted to interrogate Giles about the surface world and the promise it held, but he refrained. After all, he was supposed to be content with life, not thirsting after adventure.

-----

"So the men here are in charge? That's silly. They're much better for cleaning and cooking than politics and overseeing. If I'm lucky he'll let me mop? Ha, what a riot!" Slapping her thigh with a bout of laughter, Ako widened the portal so Orion could see better, snorting as the girl continued with her 'fairy tale'. "Marry Giles? I didn't say I wanted to marry him, I just said I'd rather marry him than that falcon-faced dwarf! Jeeze, why would I want to marry him, anyway? I want a husband who doesn't mind being in the picture booth with me..." Grumbling, Akosua closed the first portal and opened up another, smiling when she found a lavish, but empty, room on the other side.

"See, this is how you should be living. Come with me." Allowing the portal to grow, Ako pulled Orion through it, but left it open behind them, just in case. It was still very dark, showing that they were still underground, and the view from the nearest window beheld the wonders of the city. They were in the uppermost section of the residential area, it seemed. Ako became bored with the view, momentarily, and began to search the rest of the house, hollering triumphantly when she found a real bed.

"C'mere, Orion! You need to lay on this! It's so great!" Flopping onto the cozy mattress, Akosua messed the thick, downy covers, a pleased grin on her face. Pfft, and this house would probably be wasted on a man. Not if she claimed it as her secret fort! Ha! Take that, mankind!

Giles blinked.

"Ako is with an insane woman who keeps stealing a pick axe?" He narrowed his eyes, not liking the sand of that. "and she vandalizes while preventing you from killing... wait... Who is Phillip? And why do you want his family dead?"

Giles held his head slightly. None of this was making sense.

"okay, I'm not ready to talk to your leader. Why don't you show me your technology first." He kept an eye on Ichabod though, in case he really was a family killer.

-----------------------

"He seems like a nice god though." Orion murmured as she was pulled through the portal. As she looked around, she panicked. Because, even though she's crazy, she could still be executed for being in the king's bedroom uninvited. "Oh no... oh no... you're on his bed! Ah! I'm on his floor! ahhhh!!!! We're in his room!!!!"

Orion began to run in circles, not knowing what to do.

"Phillip, think of something!" She yelled. Then there was a knock on the door.

"Your majesty? Are you in? We're waiting for your command." A guards asked outside the door.

That's when Orion pulled Phillip out of her pocket and cleared her throat.

"No, I am naked, and bathing, and naked, please do not enter." She said in as low of a voice as possible, which wasn't very low. Then she gasped and stared at the rock. "Phillip! You can't impersonate the King! That's treason!"

"Ah, Phillip is her pet rock, and she takes my pick axe so I can't break anymore rocks. I'm a miner, but she's just...eccentric." Embarrassed to actually know and acknowledge the rock's name, Ichabod rubbed his blackened cheeks, pulling his goggles back over his eyes. "It's just that, after you hear her stories enough, you expect other people to know them, too. I apologize. Let's get going." Standing, Ichabod began to put his coats back in order, leading the way out of the storage cave and confronting the crowd that had gathered.

"God wishes to be left alone for the time being. I am to show him around, but no one else; please, return to your homes and respect his wishes." Clearing his throat mildly, Ichabod watched the crowd begin to disperse, reverent whispers flanking them as he led Giles away.

After weaving through copious pitch-black tunnels and climbing amongst several sets of stairs, Ichabod showed Giles into his home, which was not opulent, but rather well-lived in. Fetching a key ring from the depths of his pockets, Ichabod nodded to himself, approaching what seemed to be the basement door and unlocking it. This was one section of his home where no one, maid or not, was allowed to go. It was his best-kept secret, too, but he imagined that it wouldn't matter to his companion.

Leading Giles downstairs, he gave a nearby gear a swift crank, and dim lights flickered into existence amidst the rocky ceiling. Machine parts, gadgets, gears, and many finished projects lined the thick stone tables and the heavy-shelved walls. "You're free to use whatever you find, here; go ahead and look around."

-----

"He's not a God, though." Ako stated, wrapping herself up in blankets. Ooooh, this was heavenly! She could just take a nap right then. "Calm down, no one's here, so no one needs to know, okay?" Soon, that was not the case, for guards came a-knocking. Akosua froze beneath her blanket burrito, staring at Orion as male voices drifted in. Silently willing the loony girl to stay quiet, Ako swore under her breath when she tried to impersonate the king, failing miserably.

"Hurry, go through the portal!" she whispered, wriggling free from the blankets and hurriedly finding the bathroom. "Go, go, go!" Turning on the water, surprised and thankful that they had it underground, she began splashing her hands around in the filling tub, hoping that that would make things more convincing. If not, she was dashing through that portal after Orion and zipping it right up!

Giles whistled as he saw all the parts and machines down there.

"Really impressive Ichabod. I mean, even without digital technology, you've some really amazing stuff..." He squatted down beside some, carefully inspecting them. "I've never worked with these types of materials, but I think with your help, we can make it work. And the sooner the hovercraft is repaired, the sooner I can get Ako out of your hair and out of the village. Unless of course you want to join us and see our city too."

Giles laughed, thinking that no one would willingly spend more time with Ako than they had to.

-------------------------

Orion nodded and tossed Phillip through first, becuase he had PJ to take care of and Orion wasn't anyone's father. then she dove in after him.

Meanwhile, the guard was suspicious and stepped inside, walking over to the door. He knocked.

"Your majesty? I'm sorry to bother you but... what the hell is that?!!" The guard shrieked, seeing the portal and Orion's face stick out, levitating in the air. He screamed and started running for the guards. "Red alert! Red alert! Intruder! or something!"

Orion blinked and steam whistle alarms began to blow.

------------

Giles heard the whistles even from Ich's basement.

"I have a bad feeling about that... should I be worried?"

"I would be honored to see your city," Ichabod blurted, a bit too quickly for his own tastes. Didn't Giles say that women ruled his city? That sounded awful...but, still. How often did one get an opportunity like this? "But...do you think you could maybe...gag that woman of yours? She's very..." Leaving Giles' imagination and personal experience to fill in the blanks, Ichabod began toying with one of his flying flares, which could transport a light signal to any entered coordinates. It seemed like a nifty adventure tool, when he had first begun making it.

He was about to mention his tinkering hobbies when the shrill sound of the steam whistles pierced the air, making him freeze in place.

"For yourself, no. Those are the upper residential area alarms. Someone must be too close to the king, but our guards are good; whoever it is will be caught and executed in due time. It happens, every so often, but we really do have a good track record, so I wouldn't worry."

-----

"It's nothing! It's nothing!" Akosua shouted, leaping in front of the portal instinctively and pushing Orion all the way in before hurriedly closing it. She felt like a child again, caught trying to sneak sweets, or other nonsense. It was then that she realized that she had just closed her escape route.

"Nooooo! Crap! Stupid me, stupid, stupid!" Flapping her arms, she opened up another portal, only to be thrown off of her feet by a surge of seawater that slammed into the room. Scrambling from beneath the spray, she snapped the portal shut, drenched and disoriented as she caught her lost breath.

"Okay...what the heck was....wait, I still haven't escaped, have I?" Akosua began considering just using the window like a normal person, but it seemed too high up, and she was never good with daring acts of climbing. Well, if any guards tried to man handle her, she could always wait until they got to her, then open up a portal for them to run into. Yeah...she was brilliant. See, she didn't need Giles to protect her. This stuff was easy.

"You'd really want to come?" Giles blinked, then smiled. "Well, I guess our poker night could use another member. Remember to bring coupons instead of money. And you're sure about that alarm? I have a bad feeling."

He shook his head and grabbed some parts, handing them to Ich.

"Okay, well lets go take a look at what we have to work with. The navigation computer seemed to be okay, so this might actually work." But this planning was cut off someone running around, screaming inside of the house, along with confused barking, and the sound of a window being broken. Apparently the whole family dropped by.

"Ichabod! Ichabooooooody! Body! Body where are youuuuuu! I need the fake god!" She noticed the basement door open. "...are you down here in this secret room... Icky! Icky Icky Body! My trophy was stolen by the King's guards!"

Giles went pale and cursed.

"I have to go get her. If I don't save her, she'll do something else stupid, and then none of us will be able to go to the city." He started running up the stairs.

----------------

Several guards walked in, they looked confused for a second, but quickly surrounded Ako.

Coupons? Ichabod cleared his head of the womanly thoughts, and gave Giles a nod of assurance. "We're a good distance away, the alarms are just obnoxiously loud." Much like Giles' woman, but less irritating. He accepted the parts handed to him and grunted in approval, heading for the stairs when he heard an all-too-familiar sound of glass breaking. The news Orion brought from the top of the stairs didn't surprise him as much as he felt it should have.

"How did you even--nevermind! I'll come with you; you'll need help through the tunnel system. Orion, grab that mutt of yours and make him hush; we're going. Hurry up, now." Shutting the door behind him as the lock clicked into place, Ichabod led the group out, internally wishing that Orion would stop sounding so obnoxious with that awful nickname that she had come up with.

By the time they reached the scene, they were met with a gaping hole in the floor as rain fell up into the ceiling, the results of yet another failed portal attempt.

"Well, if she isn't here, she must be locked up..." Ichabod shook his head, taking a guard aside and speaking with him briefly before nodding in affirmation to his companions.

And, indeed, Akosua was in jail. The guards had figured out that she couldn't open portals without use of her hands, and had shackled them to the walls with metal gloves, leaving her dangling uncomfortably above the floor. A row of men stood outside her thick-barred cell, watching her for any funny business as she kicked and flailed her legs.

"Hey, let me outta here! I'm very dangerous, you know! You don't want to be on my bad side! I went easy on your pals! When I get out of here, oh, you're all in sooo much trouble!" Huffing and puffing, she strained against her shackles, overhearing some men down the hall while she caught her breath. Her eyes widened a fraction.

"What?! Execute me?! You can't do that! All I was doing was exploring, not trying to kill your king, idiots! I demand a lawyer!" Her loud protests did little to make her feel better. Execution...oh, running away this time was NOT worth the effort! Why wasn't Giles here? ...not that she needed him. No, she just wanted him to be here when she busted out and showed him just how great she was without him! Yeah...

Orion gave PJ the 'we have to listen to Ichabod or else he'll leave us behind' look and PJ nodded back, then ran into a wall. Luckily, Orion shooed him out the door quickly and was able to lead he pack of men to the tunnel and out beside the jail

Giles could hear Ako's yelling, even from outside. He pinched his brow and walked inside.

"Can I have a minute please." He asked the guards, still trying to keep his cool godlike attitude. Luckily it worked and he was allowed inside the cell. He then took a second to take in the sight of Ako finally being caught.

"Well, Miss Ako. Seems to be quite to arrangement you have going here." He whistled, leaning against the wall beside her. "Breaking into the King's house and causing massive water damage. Seems like you're really in trouble this time. Hmm, I suppose I could help you out. But, since we're not back home, I'll allowed to ask you one little thing..."

He circled to stand in front of her with his arms crossed.

"You have to say please." It was all he could do to stop a projection from jumping out and skipping gleefully around the room.

-----------------------------

Orion waited outside with PJ and Ichabod. She shifted her weight from foot to foot, trying to be patient.

"Ichabod? Do you think they'll make it out okay?" She sat against the wall to get her restless feet off the ground, and then pulled out her leather bound book. Inside the pages were full of watercolor painting of plants and information on each. But on one of the back pages, she started painting something different. "You know... Akosua showed me what it looks like on the surface, and what their city looks like. Wanna see?"

But she held it to her chest so he wouldn't be able to look without permission.

"You can look, but... in return... I want to be able to make you lunch everyday." She whispered seriously. It was a pretty bold statement, and who knows what she's ever thinking. It could be an elaborate trick to poison him. Who knows.

"Giles! Thank goodness, I...uh...thought you'd miss my moment of triumph! Without your help!" What started off as a delighted chirp swiftly evened off into a self-confident gloat that wasn't entirely convincing. It wasn't like she needed his help or wanted it or anything...she was capable on her own. "All of that was a part of my plan! You just can't see the big picture, yet. Actually, even this is a part of my plan, my being captured and your showing up. Great job following my very subtle mental orders, Giles; it's good to see that you're following my plans." Face darkening with pinker hues and she rambled madly on, Akosua paused, sucking in a breath and staring his smug expression down.

...he wanted her to say "please"?

"Giles, now is not the time for crazy talk. Now if you would please get me out of here so we could do..uh...my top-secret plan, that would be great. You should do that. Right now." Glaring at him as if to dare him to make her say it again, Akosua knocked her heels against the wall behind her, agitated and flustered. Honestly, saying "please" to a man...

---

"I imagine they'll be fine. No one wants to offend God, you know." Arms loosely crossed as he leaned back against the wall, Ichabod found his attention diverted from the door by Orion's small movements. Was that a notebook? The pictures inside that he managed to see were well done, which caught him off guard. He never took Orion for an artist.

"She showed you the surface?" he found himself whispering back, his attention now fully in her hold. Unfortunately, she was withholding the image from him, so he carefully listened to her odd demands. Why did she want to make him lunch? He already had a woman for that...but that woman also didn't have a picture of the surface. It seemed to be a simple trade...

"Alright, I'll let you make me lunch in return for seeing the picture." He waited expectantly for her to show him the picture.

Giles' eyebrow twitched. He had thought that being shackled to a jail cell wall in a city that thought that men were superior and that he was a god would be enough for her to say 'please' for the first time. Apparently not.

"Oh no, I think I'm misunderstanding your plans. I could have sworn that 'please' was our code word for me to carry out the final leg of the mission. Hmm, I really cannot commit to any action without hearing that word. Surely you understand, Miss. It would be going against your very own plan for me to do so. I cannot abide by that, obviously." He grinned and leaned in closer, tilting his ear towards her. "Did you say something?"

------------------------

Orion nibbled on her bottom lip with expectation. This was her only chance to get inside a real home. It wasn't actually her idea. Phillip had explained it on the way over and it made so much sense. All she needed to do was get inside Ichabod's home enough time to memorize the layout, then all she had to do was find some nook that he didn't use much, and live there! It was so perfect.

"Alright, you can see it then." She smiled, feeling like a genius as she pulled him down to sit beside her. "Imagine a light so bright that it blinds you without fancy goggles."

She placed the drawing in his lap.

"Then imagine dry heat, like standing in front of a wood burning oven full of fire. Then, off in the distance is a city full of tall tall buildings. They look like they reach up into heaven. There's this blue air above it with fluffy white pillow floating around, and the city shines like it's made of ice." She whispered, so no one else could share their secret knowledge. "And most importantly, what is your favorite soup?"

Now both her and PJ and Phillip (via her holding him up to Ichabod's face) were staring at him with wide eager eyes, and he would know he just started something that is impossible to stop.

Akosua's face continued to redden out of a mixture of embarrassment and irritation. He had some nerve now, didn't he! Just because they were in a male-dominated city where he was seen as a god and she was shackled to a jail cell wall didn't mean that she was ready for a helping of humble pie.

"Of course it is, Giles, which is why I just said it a second ago. Didn't you hear me? Are you deaf?" Waiting until he leaned in, Ako snatched him up with her long legs, cinching them tightly around his midsection and drawing him close with a bright-eyed glare. "Just in case you are, I thought it best that you were here. That's perfectly logical. Now, Giles, would you please get me out of here for the sake of my very important plan, of which this is a part of?" Before she decided to pretend to be an anaconda and eat him whole after squeezing his intestines out...little brat.

She was still almost considering being secretly relieved, though.

-----

Ichabod came down to her tugging without any further insistence, eager to hear of what she had seen while viewing her rendition of it. His mother had used to tell him many fairy tales of the surface, but he had never known that it was a real, hospitable place. While he listened to her description, rapt on every word, he traced the picture with his eyes, wary of touching it, lest his dirty gloves soil the image. He was so caught up in picturing this magical place that he almost didn't catch Orion's final question, though the combined stares of the girl and her...family were enough to gather his wits.

"My favorite soup?" he paused, blinking slowly. "Potato and zucat, I'd say." Somehow, he felt like he was doing something he would regret quite a lot, later...

Giles let out a very unmanly yelp as he was captured. His face went red out of embarrassment as he was forced to flail.

"Why are you thighs like an iron vice?! This isn't normal human length strength!" He frowned, trying to pry her off. He was so embarrassed by this turn of events that he couldn't even appreciate the 'please' and he knew he was going to pay for this when they got home. "This has got to be steroids..."

Wincing at her final squeeze, apparently trying to kill him becuase a project flopped to the ground, gasping for air, he was able to pry free and stumble to the door.

"G-Good plan, Miss... good... plan." He wheezed then went to talk to the King about the issue. Half and hour later he was back with the key. "Okay, no way am I getting near you legs again. It's a death trap."

He stretched an arm out but kept his body as far from her as humanly possible while trying to unlock the restraints.

-------------------

"I win!" Orion smiled, throwing her hands into the air. It was the only thing she knew how to make. This was her lucky day indeed. If she made it delicious enough, he might even let her mop his floors. What a dream come true. "I will make you really happy, I promise. Even if that means keeping my trophy quiet, or to stop breaking your windows. I also think PJ might have chewed a cushion while we were there..."

She nodded seriously, sticking out her hand for him to shake.

"I promise on Phillips life that I will serve and protect your home and your face or anything else that you require Akosua to stop making fun of." She smiled, throwing her hand back and giving him a hug instead. People don't really hug in this city, so it's kind of weird.

Giles' fllapping and flailing was pulling her away from the wall, giving her body an uncomfortable stretch as he attempted to escape. Her legs cinched more the more he attempted to escape, like some crazy leg Chinese finger trap, but with his body. Despite her discomfort, though, she still had her pride, and refused to complain about the pain until after he had escaped and left. In fact, she spent the next half hour complaining loud enough to severely annoy the guards, but stopped as soon as she noticed Giles' return with the key.

"...you're not going to reach me from there, Giles. Get over here and get me down, already! I feel like I've grown an inch taller from gravity pulling my bones apart. Look, I promise I won't grab you again, just hurry!" Wriggling with discontent, Ako crossed her legs to emphasize what she had said, severely wishing that she had stayed at home today. All she wanted to do was crash in the king's fantastic bed and catch up on the sleep she lost to find this crazy place. And she was hungry. And sore. Those guards had confiscated her bag, too, and that's where her oranges were kept!

What a horrendous, ugly day.

-----

Orion may be his new lunch lady now, but she certainly wasn't any less crazy. He'd have to make sure she didn't do anything bizarre to his lunch before he ate it. "Keeping that woman quiet, not breaking my windows, and keeping your dog from doing anything to my house are all good things." As Ichabod made to shake the girl's hand, however, she yanked it back, throwing herself at him for a hug, instead. Brows furrowing, he sat there, taking it motionlessly since he didn't exactly know what she had going on in that head of hers.

"Orion..." He waited a beat, then placed his hands on her waist, removing her from him gently. "We're not married. I don't really think you should be doing that." His sallow face was flushed in the minimal lighting, and he quickly cleared his throat. "I take my lunch when the mining whistle goes off for the third time after the steam whistle's first. After lunch, I go back to the shafts until the seventh whistle, so if you need to talk to me about something, do it at lunch. Stay out of the basement, and make sure the kitchen is clean before you leave." Picking himself up off the floor and handing Orion her sketchbook, Ichabod began to wait for Giles to return.

"Oh...and thank you for showing me that picture. If you are shown anything else, I'd be willing to barter for the pictures or information. Keep that to yourself, though."

"F-Fine." Giles grumbled, but kept a careful eye on her in case it was a trick. He walked over unlocking it with one hand while his arm wrapped out her waist to keep her from a straight fall to the floor. Out of spite, that arm squeezed a little harder than it needed to. Finally after some fumbling with the key, she was out and he lowered her down.

"I was only given the key on the promise that you would stop messing around, so please Miss, at least try to keep a low profile." He sighed trying to brush some coal dust off his shirt and frowning as it just smudged. "I'm in desperate need of a washing machine. If you see one, let me know. In the meantime, Ichabod is going to help me fix the hovercraft. So don't talk to him, or else we'll never get out of here and you'll always have to be a slave or something."

He hoped the was motivation enough as he walked out and spotted Ich.

"Okay, that's taken care of. I also asked that your evening shifts be cleared so you can help me with my machine." He grinned, proud of himself for thinking of that.

Orion was blushing happily on the floor giggling to Phillip about how hugging was exactly how she thought it would be. Cold and awkward. So Great. But he mentioned not being married. That didn't make any sense. Orion hugged PJ all the time and they obviously weren't married. This required a test.

When Orion spotted Akosua coming out of the courthouse, she ran over and hugged her.

"You don't feel the need to marry me, do you?" Orion whispered seriously.

Akosua shook out her arms once her hands were freed, feeling her spine pop as Giles squished her in retaliation for her earlier actions. She would have griped at him for it, but she was too sore to argue much, so she settled for a very brief frown.

"Why not ask one of the women that worships your Holiness to wash your clothes?" Speaking of washing, that sounded like something Ako seriously wanted to do. Nothing better for aches than a blisteringly hot bath. "And I didn't want to talk to that mole, anyway..." Crossing her arms, she brushed her hair out of her face, then realized that she couldn't remember what she had done with her tie. Maybe Orion had something; after all, she had that long braid of hers to keep. She followed Giles out, grouching under her breath and rubbing her arms before settling to watch the men blather.

Ichabod didn't seem thrilled to see her, but when he noticed that she was making a point of not speaking to him, his mood lightened.

"That so? Well, let's get started, then. I can have one of the women bring us out some food while we work, and we can figure out where you'll be settled later."

Akosua heard the mention of food and perked up, but was distracted by Orion suddenly hugging her.

"Marry you? Nah, I just feel the need to eat, bathe, and take a really long nap. Now, Orion, I know I'm great and all, but I'm pretty sure I am attracted to men. Not that you're unattractive, and I know that a lot of men are awful, but that's just the way I was born, and no offense, but I also don't think you'd be able to handle me if anything were to happen. Sorry. Wait. What brought this on, again?" Ako was incredibly confused.

"...how about we go do that now?" Ichabod piped in, now uncomfortable around the two women.

Giles was blushing seeing the two women like that. It wasn't unheard of in their city. Since women were so powerful, being with a man sometimes seemed like an annoyance. He held back a giggle.

Orion just smiled giving the hug a last squeeze before letting go.

"Oh, it's nothing. Just a test. And I won!" She cooed with glee, spinning around in a circle causing her braid to slap everyone. "See? It's simple, if hugs don't equal marriage, then marriage can be sub divided by friendship which is multiplied by gender and the outcome isn't necessarily awkward, right? And while we're talking about maths in my brain your ship won't be able to work unless you get gold to meet the conductive levels of the wiring. Copper will probably cause it to explode. Ooh Oh, can I watch if you make it explode?"

Then she spotted a pretty leaf and got distracted. She started wandered away towards it. PJ followed, becuase he sensed a snail that wasn't his friend yet.


Giles was silent for a moment, blinking in disbelief.

"Wait... what the hell...."

Akosua had no idea what Orion was talking about until the end of her speal, which caused an enormous grin to seize her mouth. She glanced to Ichabod, who looked as stunned as Giles, if not moreso, and laughed loudly.

"That is why women rule our city. Ha! I love you, Orion! If you come home with me, I'll throw you a party, and you can see Giles in his flouncy butler outfit." Proudly puffing out her chest, Ako trailed after the shorter girl, looking as if she was about to cause some mischief in the near future. That was because...she was, essentially. She had mentally decided to wait roughly five minutes, then go searching for food and cleanliness on her own, if nothing mysteriously came her way.

"I...don't know. If it's true, though, then I'll still have some mining to do. There isn't much gold, here, at least not that we have found, so stores are very limited." Ichabod rubbed his chin, wondering how Orion knew such a thing. After all, women weren't taught to do men's work. Was it more crazy babbling? If not, how much gold would they need? He began to pace, wondering where to begin.

Giles was struggling for the words, but after a minute he found them.

"F-First of all, she's not coming home with us, Miss Ako. Secondly... I don't know where that sound advice came from, I think she might be possessed. And Lastly, that statement about this being why women rule our city... is probably true." He sulked, dreading the idea of everyone seeing his flouncy butler outfit. "Okay, well we probably just need enough to connect the wires. See if you can find any, if not, I'll go asking for it. In the meantime, that's Miss Ako's hungry face, so I should probably find her something to eat. We'll meet back here in a couple hours."

He walked over to get Ako's attention. Orion pluck the leaf from the ground and braided it into Akosua's hair with a smile.

"Ichabod should check for a gold vein near the underwater lake, not near the mines. Everyone knows coal and gold don't like living together. Ever since that Christmas party 5 years ago, I think they haven't even spoken." Orion whistled, playing more with Ako's hair.

Giles sighed.

"Leave the crazy girl alone, let's go find you some food." He whispered to Ako.

"Possessed by the genius encoded into her x chromosomes, maybe." Akosua watched with a pleased expression as the leaf was braided into her hair, feeling charmed by Orion's easygoing knowledge. The good word of food, however, was still far too powerful to resist. "I thought you'd never come around!" she sighed in good spirits, patting Orion's head and giving her a brief, but firm, hug.

"You should help the schnoz sniff out that gold vein, Orion. I'm pretty sure he'd be terribly lost without your wisdom." Whispering conspiratorially, she sent the smaller girl a wink, then smugly noted Ichabod's scandalized expression.

"Let's go!" Hopping up and seizing Giles' hand, she began to drag him away, having absolutely no idea where she was going. Ichabod sent a silent prayer of good luck to Giles, assuming that the man would need it to continue surviving that awful beast of a woman. His attention turned back to Orion, and a pondering hum filled his throat.

"Near the lake, then?" He watched the dark-haired woman with soft eyes, wondering why she had to be so intriguing and estranged. And was it becoming warmer in the tunnels? Undoing a few layers of coat, he began to slowly meander in the direction of the lake, trying to see if Orion would follow him.

"You were doing so well... then you just had to ruin it, didn't you." Giles rolled his eyes then took Ako's arm and began leading her in a different direction. "One of the people here offered me dinner at their shop, so get rid of that look like you're going to go hunt your dinner down. I know we're in a different surrounding, but it's still my job to take care of you. So, knock it off and let me work."

He went a little red with a smug smile on his face while leading her to a tiny building.

------------

Orion blinked at Ich, then at Ako as she left, then back to Ich.

"If it makes you feel any better, I think your nose can do anything it wants. Don't listen to her, she just doesn't' know what amazing it is yet." She replied sincerely then walked past him, heading towards the underground lake with PJ in tow. Once they reached the cool damp entrance, Orion looked over he shoulder seriously at Ich.

"Look, despite your rock killing nature, I trust you to not tell anyone about the stuff I know, okay? Life is a lot easier if people think I'm crazy." She slowly smiled. "Besides, everyone knows that Gold doesn't have a soul, unlike Phillip. So, we've talked and we both agree that it's okay for you to dig it up. It's right over by that stalagmite."

Akosua was actually a bit surprised at Giles, hearing that he still wanted to take care of her when he had the whole city here worshipping him. She was almost positive he'd want to ditch her with the nearest pack of vicious mole-wolves and live a life of luxury. After all, he used to fantasize about killing her in several different ways, according to his projections. Why the sudden change? Not that she was complaining, or anything...it was kind of nice. Taking in a small breath, as if about to speak, she paused, then glanced at the smug smile on his face as he guided her towards a rinky-dink building.

"Thank you," she murmured, tucking her hair behind her ear with her free hand and focusing very hard on the stony walls around them. "Hrm. Well. They still think I'm your 'Angel', right? Do I need to swoon all over you while begging to comb your hair, or something?" Her pliancy to the situation was highly unusual, and it was obvious that she was trying very hard. She felt Giles had maybe earned that much.

-----

Unsure of what to expect from Orion next, Ichabod trailed after her and her equally special dog, inhaling the increasingly moist air. The lake wasn't far off, and he could see it further onwards, spreading out seamlessly like a giant's mirror. He appreciated the girl's efforts to console him about his nose, though it only really made him more sensitive, just in a more peaceful manner. That didn't make much sense to him, so maybe her crazy was contagious.

"I have no reason to tell anyone differently." Speaking softly in return to her startlingly clear words, Ichabod approached the stalagmite and removed a pick-handled shovel from his back, where it had been previously strapped. As he set to work, he spoke again.

"Now, I don't know how you know these things, Orion, but I can understand wanting a simple life." Even though he didn't really want one. He just wanted to want one. Was that such a complicated wish? "I won't tell a soul here, if that's what you want. Just don't let Phillip poison my soup." The last portion was a joke, of course, though Ichabod found that he was oddly proud of himself for speaking to the woman so casually, as if she were a person, and not just a woman. At the least, she was much more pleasant than that surface girl.

"Oh no, please don't." Was Giles response to the offer while helping her in her chair then pushing it in and sitting across from her. "Yeah... that would be really weird. I would probably assume that you are trying to kill me, then my projection would probably make some vulgar hand gestures, and nobody wants that. Haha, let's just get home and back to normal. All this power is honestly freaking me out a bit. And... I miss those custom oven mitts you bought me for christmas last year. I hope no one is breaking into my room to steal them. I locked them up, but criminals are tricky when they really want something."

Giles looked off into the distance with a 'I'll kill the man that touches my oven mitts' expression before the whole wait staff hurried over to take their orders.

-------------------------------

"Simple life?" Orion sat down off to the side, staring at her reflection in the water. PJ tried to copy this action but then got really confused by who this other dog was looking back at him. He tried to make friends with the reflection dog, but ended up drinking the water instead. "Yeah, I like the simple life for now, but only until something better comes along. PJ, stop trying to lick your reflection."

She flopped back into the small patch of sand beside the water as Ich started hammering away.

"You know... my mother left me something called a 'photograph' of somewhere on the surface. She says it was my great great grandmothers and it's a really nice picture. in the picture there's water as far as you can see. Like a million times bigger than a lake. That's where I want to go. I've looked in all the passageways except one. Tomorrow, I'm going to see if the big water is there." She sighed happily at her plans. "I'll show you the picture if you let me clean your room..."

apparently she was holding out on him and is a very good negotiator. Not to mention, she was sounding pretty sane. That was... until Phillip's evil plan was brought up.

"How did you know?!" She gasped sitting up and wrapping a hand around Phillip. "You must have overheard us earlier. But, don't worry. I talked him out of it. I told him that your nose is not in fact a sign of demonic powers and that instead it was a sign of being a good person. He doesn't quite believe me, but he promised not to kill you tomorrow, so that's progress."

Heaving a sigh of relief, Ako leaned back in her chair, a loose smile hooking her lips. It was difficult to keep up such a well-behaved demeanor, and it would probably be absolutely horrendous to pretend to be Giles' servant. No, scratch that, it would be.

"Thank goodness, because I'm pretty sure I'd fail horribly at being your servant. Worst servant in the world, actually. Aaaagh, home sounds so nice...with a real bed...and cleanliness... Oh, no one will steal your oven mitts. Besides, I didn't break the security system before we left, just my door." Sagely nodding, Ako perked up when a swarm of staff clustered around them, and had no qualms in telling them that they wanted a bit of everything, and no, they were not worthy of hearing 'God' say it himself. Oooh, she could eat a mammoth right about now...going all day without feeding the machine that was her metabolism! Insanity!

"Hey, Giles," she whispered, leaning across the table towards him, "I was wondering...does all of this mean that you don't really want to kill me?" It was something she had feared for ever since she had first ticked him off, back when they first met. She had been a walking disaster then, too, but moreso.

-----

A photograph of the surface? Ichabod tried to picture the scene, the vast expanse of water somewhere on the surface...everywhere you could see. He was made to see how little he knew of the world when he found himself shocked that it could hold enough water for such a grand scene. He just had to see this photograph for himself!

"You have yourself a deal." Picking diligently away at the stone, his pace almost jolted at her sudden outburst, and Ichabod was reminded that she wasn't entirely sane as Phillip was caught...red...whatever it would be for a rock. Demonic powers? How flattering. "He won't kill me tomorrow? What about the next day? If it helps, you can tell him that I don't like being a miner." Once again, stooping to humor her in speaking to inanimate objects. Surely, he was going soft, or perhaps he was that desperate for news of the surface.

...maybe he was just off his rocker.

"And what are you going to do when you find that place on the surface?"

"You can't know that no one will still my oven mitts. You're not psychic, and Steve was eying them just last week." Giles grinned, placing his order and sending the waitresses away. He was then going to tell her not to touch or even look at the hovercraft once it's fixed, so her curse won't end up breaking it mid flight, but instead, he found himself stammering something about 'no touchie' when she leaned in close to whisper.

It took him a minute to process what she was saying.

"Wait... you took that stuff seriously? Oh... hmmm." Apparently he didn't realize how intimidating it can be to have a projection chase you with a knife. "Don't worry about that. I obviously don't want to kill you. I just don't have control over my powers yet. Like, for example, if you step on my toe, my projection will take that feeling and multiply it by a million and probably chase you around with a hammer. Or, if I see a woman I find to be slightly attractive, my projection may try to jump her. There's not much I can do about it right now. Have you really been worrying about it? You should have just said something."

Without thinking, he reached over and flicked his finger against her forehead. Then he paled, freaking out that she might fire him. This caused a projection of himself to curl up in the corner and cry.

----------------------------------

"A deal? Really?" Orion's expression perked up even more as she got her way. "And don't worry about Phillip. This may alarm you, but he doesn't actually have hands. So as long as neither I, nor his son PJ, act as an enabler, you should be okay. PJ is the one you have to look out for. He has a past record of assault with a deadly weapon."

The dog rolled over and sneezed, scaring himself and running into a corner to hide from the noise. It was pretty intimidating.

"Wait... what do you mean you don't want to be a miner?" She realized what he said. The very thought could be enough to land yourself in jail. Orion quickly looked around then covered Phillips 'ears'. "Are you trying to tell me you've been thinking of leaving? Because mining is all we do here. Ah, that's why you're hanging out with the copper skinned fake god! I thought maybe... it was... something else."

She lowered her voice to a whisper.

"I thought maybe you wanted to hug him..."