Still Heading to RRR

[Rick Ferguson]

Naida requested that she could sit with Marcus for a while, something that Rick could hardly deny her.

This meant that he sat across from Skeiron, though, which caused an awkward, hours-long silence to take over that part of the car. Skeiron was still a bit groggy from all of the wine he had had earlier, but he seemed to be coming to.

[Skeiron]

A low, guttural sound came out of Skeiron as he stirred.

"The fuck are we?"

[Rick Ferguson]

"Still on the road to RRR. You've been out for a while."

[Skeiron]

"Not long enough." He tried sitting up, but only succeeded in sitting in less of a slouch.

[Rick Ferguson]

"Yeah. Kinda wish I could drink away what happened back there."

[Skeiron]

"Ya did," he joked, deadpan. "Wanna know a little secret, though? Ya can't really drink shit like that away. Not all the way," he slurred.

[Rick Ferguson]

"Then why do you keep drinking?"

[Skeiron]

"Can't stop." He shrugs. "No reason to. At least it numbs the pain a little."

[Rick Ferguson]

Rick turned to look out of the window, sighing.

[Skeiron]

Skeiron smirked at him. "You've seen who ya turned out to be and ya don't like it."

[Rick Ferguson]

"Nailed it right on the head." He turned to look at him. "Never thought I'd fall apart quite like that."

[Skeiron]

"Just wait 'til ya lose Marcus. Just wait 'til millions die, regardless of what ya do to help. Just wait 'til ya see children slaughtered right in front of your eyes...."

[Rick Ferguson]

"...Naida told me how you found her. At least, what she remembers of it."

[Skeiron]

He closed his eyes. "Guess I almost scared her to death, huh?"

[Rick Ferguson]

"Well, she said you were totally covered in blood. But I'm pretty sure she knew that you saved her. Do you never talk with her about that day?"

[Skeiron]

"Hell no. I don't even like to think about it."

[Rick Ferguson]

He looked over at the saber at Skeiron's side.

"She told me you made it just in time to save her..."

[Skeiron]

"Not soon enough to save the others," he snarled, gritting his teeth.

[Rick Ferguson]

It was a moment before Rick replied. "Yeah..."

[Skeiron]

"The X-Men -if you could still call us that, even then- we were goin' to major cities around Europe, tryin' to free mutants after the Bergerson Resolution was passed. I had already seen some pretty damned bad things that day in Milan, and don't even get me started on Zurich. I've seen mutants starving in the concentration camps, I've seen the bodies piled up after they were shot or gassed. But as bad as those were, nothin' that I saw-" He stopped, shaking his head, unable to speak for a second. "Nothin' compared to what I saw in Venice that night."

[Rick Ferguson]

"I won't press you. Naida told me what happened."

[Skeiron]

"He was hackin' 'em apart," he continued, unbidden. "He could have just ordered them to be shot. But the sick fuck had his sword out, cuttin' up the little kids. I saw him jam the blade halfway through the neck of some kid who couldn't have been twelve years old. He had been mocking them, I think; I remember him calling this girl a 'sick mutie,' as he raised his sword. This scared, small little girl, with blue skin and eyes green like the sea. And from the short glimpse I saw of his face... he was smilin'. The filthy piece of shit was enjoyin' slaughterin' those kids...

"That was when I stepped in. There were no human survivors of that fight. The monsters all lay dead at my feet."

[Rick Ferguson]

It was a little while before Rick spoke again.

"So, if it's something that could remind you of that day, why do you still have the sword?"

[Skeiron]

"This sword spilled innocent blood. It was made for a flatscan who seemed to want every last mutant dead. To pervert its intended purpose, to use it to defend mutants and eviscerate flatscans...it warms the cockles of my heart." He smiled darkly.

[Rick Ferguson]

"I see. Who was the guy who owned it, anyway?"

[Skeiron]

Skeiron drew out the sword and handed it to Rick. "Just above the guard."

[Rick Ferguson]

Rick looked just above the handguard, on the blade. 'Brig. L. Mills' was etched into the metal.

"High rank, to be personally rounding up and killing mutant kids himself."

[Skeiron]

"He didn't have to do what he was doing that night. He did it because he wanted to. The flatscans are sick in the head. I know it, and you know it."

[Rick Ferguson]

"I guess they are."

[Skeiron]

"You guess." He frowned. "I don't remember ever bein' so wishy-washy about the flatscans."

[Rick Ferguson]

"I'm not! It's just...even though I hate them, I never thought I'd want to kill all of them."

[Skeiron]

Skeiron snorted. "Should be pretty goddamn easy to see why I do."

[Rick Ferguson]

“…yeah,” he admitted.

[Skeiron]

“Promise me somethin’. If you get back into the past – well, I’m not gonna expect you to start tryin’ to wipe out flatscans left and right like I would. But if you can take out the humans responsible for this, promise me you won’t hesitate.”

[Rick Ferguson]

“Okay. I won’t,” he said after a pause. “It’s not like I haven’t taken a life before, you know. I’ll help bring down whoever is responsible.” He looked back down at the sword, and the name etched on it. “Including this guy, if I have to. Promise.”