Chapter Sixty-Three: The Song That Never Ends

It was too late. The train yard was a complete mess.

"My guess is that with the tank they managed to strike from a distance." Giggles flew over the wreckage. Down below, Sir Lionheart was talking with Sir Dark about Judith Jofrey.

"She's pretty furious." Sir Lionheart said, leaning against the remains of a blown-up train.

"Do you MIND?!" Sir Dark shooed him off, and went to inspect the wreckage. "You're damaging evidence!"

"The police have already been through already, what evidence is there left?" Sir Lionheart pointed out.

"You seriously think my co-workers did their job properly?" Sir Dark raised an eyebrow.

"Fair point."

"Anyway, why are you so wrapped up in Jofrey anyway?" Sir Dark continued to browse the area.

"I am not!" Sir Lionheart protested.

"Mate, the five of us have known each other since we were tiny. I think we might be able to tell when one of us is falling in love." Sir Dark raised an eyebrow at his best friend. "Remember how much crap you, Sam and Tammy gave Petunia and I until we finally got together?"

"Totally different!" Sir Lionheart snapped.

"Find anything yet?" Chuckles walked over as Giggles landed beside him.

"Plenty. I'm almost certain you're right about the tank being used, it was probably fired from Pleasant Ridge over there." Sir Dark pointed to the Ridge in the distance. "They're so much smarter than the DVM, Marion would have simply bulldozed the place with the tank, giving us a chance to stop her."

"Calculating is the word you're looking for Sir Dark." Giggles sighed. "Marion's smart enough, but she allows her selfish desire and emotions to get the better of her. Master Revolver should have thought twice about merging the Death Valley Gang."

"But look at all the power he has now." Chuckles pointed out. "And all he has to do is keep Marion happy."

The others all raised their eyebrows at him.

"Fair point." He agreed. "That woman is impossible."

"WHAT did you say about my sister?!"

"Sidewinder!" The four friends jumped a mile. Sir Lionheart gripped his replica Scythe tightly as Sidewinder twirled the original around in her fingers.

"I called her impossible. Which even you have to admit is true." Chuckles pointed out.

"She can be difficult, yes." Sidewinder shrugged.

"But you ARE Marions sister! I thought she had no siblings!" Giggles yelped.

Sidewinder groaned. She hadn't meant for anyone to find out about that!

"So what if I am? You guys had better get out of here before I hurt you all. Badly." Sidewinder pulled out the Mystic Eight Gun. "Scram."

"We have as much right to be here as you do!" Sir Dark protested.

Sir Lionheart knew he should back his fellow Knight, but he was entranced by the eyes of the Emerald Mobster. Something in those eyes stirred something in him.

"We're leaving Sir Dark." He finally said.

"You're…what?" Chuckles and Giggles looked dumbfounded at their friend.

"If we're going to take on an Emerald Mobster who has the power of the Mystic Eight Gun and the Dragon Scale Scythe on her side then I want the power of the whole Order behind me." Sir Lionheart tried to rationalise his position, sweat beading on his forehead.

"Oh you're not getting away that easily sugarpie." Sidewinder grinned. She leapt from the train she was standing on and landed in front of the leader of the Noble Knights of the Last Order.

"Draw." She held the Dragon Scale Scythe to his throat.

Thinking quickly, Sir Lionheart swung the blade of the replica at the hands of Sidewinder, very nearly removing them. The two blades clashed, before Sidewinder kicked at the unprotected shins of Sir Lionheart. He dropped to his knee, and it was only the intervention of the Lions Claw Blade that stopped his head from being removed.
Sidewinder smirked.

"His head is already in a bucket, all it needs is removing." She said, poking fun at the fact that Sir Lionheart had been wearing the same bucket on his head since Masked Revolver died.

Sir Lionheart groaned.

"Let's get out of here." He muttered to Chuckles. Chuckles looked up at Giggles, who sighed.

"Why do I always have to be the distraction?!" She whined.

"Just do it." Chuckles narrowed his eyes at her.
Giggles sighed again and started divebombing Sidewinder from the sky.

"Are. You. Serious?!" Sidewinder tried to swat Giggles away with the Dragon Scale Scythe.

"I'm not exactly thrilled about this either." Giggles deadpanned, firing a shot from the Desert Eagle at Sidewinders foot, narrowly missing her toes.

"FINE then, I'll GO!" Sidewinder stamped her feet, before stalking off in a huff.

"Definitely a relative of Marion." Chuckles grinned.

—

"We probably do need new outfits." Sunny agreed, looking at her old gas mask, a present from the late Joe Masters.

"I can get some stuff from work, no one will notice it's gone." TJ looked at his old hockey mask, which was being barely held together with tape. "This old thing has had it."

"I want to keep my mask though!" Petunia piped up.

"I LOVE your new hairdo by the way!" Tammy grinned at her friends new blue 'do. "I'm not so fussed on my outfit, but I would probably prefer to stay away from the fighting. I've already had one life-altering injury, I don't need another."

Sam put an arm around his twin sister. Her voice still croaked, no matter how strong it sounded now.

"Why are you so worried about what Sidewinder says anyway? I thought you were all about Judy Jofrey?" He grinned slyly at Daniel, who glared at him.

"Poor, confused Danny." TJ laughed, dodging a blow from the older man.

"I wonder what Sidewinder was at the train yard for?" Sunny mused. "Why would the Mob be worried about the trains for?"

"Who cares?" Sam shrugged. "The Mob are weird."

"It may have something to do with their influence over the Council." TJ pointed out. "Maybe Dannys little crush on Judy can help us."

"Are you serious?" Daniel glowered at his fellow Knights, who were all giggling. "How old are you guys?!"

—

"I cannot believe I'm going to do this." Daniel muttered the next day at work, pulling small logs off the conveyor belt. Sure enough, Judith was back, looking very harrassed and micro-managing anything she saw.

"You look a little stressed." He said to her as she walked past.

She looked at him for a second.

"You were at the Masters place. Daniel, wasn't it?" Judith asked.

"Yeah. What happened at the train yard? I heard it was destroyed." Daniel ventured.

"The Crusaders sniped it with the tank they got from the Mob." Judith growled. Daniel frowned.
"Bastards." He sighed. "That's going to affect us isn't it? Our wood comes in via train."

"We have a truck route too, so it shouldn't be too bad. I have contingencies." Judith smirked. Daniel laughed.

"Of course, you'd have to be smart to be a Councillor. Unlike layabouts like me." He did his best to flirt. It must have worked, because she chuckled.

"How about you have lunch with me? My break is at noon." Daniel ventured, his heart pounding in his chest. Judith was shocked. No one had ever dared ask her out to lunch before.

"Sure, I'd like that." She stammered, beginning to feel a nervousness she had never felt before.

"Okay…I guess I'd better get back to work I suppose…" Daniel tripped over his own words trying to keep his excitement under control. "See you at lunch time!"

"See you at lunch time!" Judith echoed, with a small smile.

Daniel grinned as he went back to work. Life was grand!