For Fame and Glory

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"Kusanagi." Dahlia DeAngelo was grinning from ear to ear as she flopped into the seat opposite her partner in crime. This bar was their favourite haunt when trying to relax, and she had known where to find the other woman right away. She let the word hang for a moment and waved for the attention of the bartender and gestured that she wanted a beer. Dahlia leaned back and let her arms hang over the back of her seat, though it was clear she was damn near bursting with excitement.

"I never used to sleep." Erik pointed out, kissing Gabbi's temple lightly. It was then that the odd thought struck him; had it been safe to leave Lilly and Dahlia alone like he had? It was no secret their mother had never truly loved her daughter. "Are you hungry?" He asked, pushing the thought aside.

"What's the matter? You don't like it when your prey bites back?" Dahlia sneered, tossing Rama into another table of valuables. Clearly she was not letting him leave unscathed after what he had put her through. "Because that's all I was, wasn't it? Something to chase until you got what you wanted!"

"Starving." Gabbi confirmed. "There's a bakery down the way from here. I've been smelling it for hours." She said with a grin. 

"What?" Rama's ribs were broken. He could feel it without having to do anything. He took even longer to get up this time. "No...Dahlia, stop this. You are ruining things...you don't understand." He grunted.

Erik smiled, wondering if the normal people on the street below realised how lucky they were to do things as simple as going to the bakery. "Then why are we still sat here?" He asked, though didn't get up just yet, he first dropped a light kiss to Gabbi's slender throat.

"I'm ruining things?!" Dahlia hissed, her slender fists still balled up by her sides. "You fucked me, then dismissed me, how much clearer could things have been?!"

"I...uh..." The gentle kiss was enough to make her forget what they were even talking about. She couldn't remember ever having woken up with someone beside her. She'd done nothing but grab her clothing and leave before her partner ever woke up. She spent so much time searching for the love that she had with Erik. She never found it.

"You have no idea what that night was about." Rama growled. He stared hard at her, wishing her soul had awakened. Dahlia reminded him so much of his mate. He liked this version better than the others.

Erik understood perfectly. That day he had seen her at the bar as she and his sister had set off for Japan... it had been bitter sweet. He was there upon orders of his master, and it pained him that enough time had passed that Gabbi no longer even recognised him. "I'm afraid you may chew on my arm if I don't feed you soon." He teased when his thoughts began to turn dark.

"I'm a big girl, I can put the pieces together." Dahlia hissed, remaining inbetween Rama and any path he could take to the door. "If you're hoping your minions will come for you... You're all alone." She informed him with a dark smile. "They fell like tin men." The young woman added, clear bloodlust in her eyes as she watched Rama closely.

"Huh?" Gabbi opened her eyes and stared at his face. She'd missed his words. All she'd heard was the whispers of sweet nothings he'd breathed in her ear all those months ago.

There it was. The look that made his long dead heart twist painfully. "Dahlia...that was her name too." He didn't seem to have heard what she said about his men. "I loved her. I worshipped her. But I made a stupid mistake.."

"Come on." Erik reluctantly got to his feet, then pulled Gabbi up to hers, though his hands were on her slender waist, simply standing there with as much desire to move as when they had been seated.

"Well I'm not her." Dahlia spat, hating herself for how much she had wept when Rama sent her away. How she had questioned everything, looking for some reason she hadn't been good enough for him. In the end the answer was simple; she wasn't who eh thought she was.

"Will you...tell me about the tattoos?" Gabbi asked him, finally snapping out of the blanket of desire that covered her. 

"I see that." Rama said bitterly. "She'd have noticed long ago that items in this room have been disappearing one by one." His lips turned ever so slightly, a wicked smile taking over his scowl.

"What is there you think I need to tell you?" Erik asked curiously.

This infuriated Dahlia not because he again compared her to whoever it was he did love, but because someone had been stealing from her father. "But you don't have them." She purred. "You are by no means powerful enough to remove items without physically being here, else you wouldn't be here with your tin men right now."

Gabbi shrugged. "Everyone has a story to their ink." She handed him his jeans as she spoke. "I've got one too...if you'd ratter talk about that." She added with an impish grin. 

"I had to see the items before I could remove them. I had to make sure your father wasn't lying to me. Even in the face of absolute torture." Rama chuckled.

"You do? How did I miss that?" Erik asked with a wolfish grin. "What if I told you I just liked how mine looked?"

Dahlia had crossed the distance between them before Rama could even take another breath. The blade from her belt was now pressed against his throat, nothing but hatred in her eyes now that they were nose to nose. "You'll never break Justice. Ever." She warned.

"Then I would know you're not the real Erik. My Erik never did anything without thinking it through and having a very good reason for it." Gabbi chided, grabbing his hand and leading him toward the door. "I demand you tell me your reasons, Erik DeAngelo."

"I break everyone." Rama said darkly. He glared at the young woman practically holding him hostage. "Not even your mother could resist me." He purred.

"You see, there was this girl I was trying to impress..." Erik teased, allowing Gabbi to simply drag him along. "She liked tough guys, and thought my sister was cooler than I was..." He added with a playful chuckle.

Dahlia snorted, Rama's spiteful words only giving her more reason to lower her knife somewhat and gut him like a fish. "You think I care if you get the pious Lily on her back?" She sneered. "She sees no one but Justice and her lost son."

Gabbi stopped in midstride and turned to look at him. "There you are." She whispered, standing on top toe to press her lips to his.

"If only that were true." Rama laughed darkly. "Shall I tell you a story, child? About the day a frightened free Djinn who traded her first born for her husband's life."

"I've never stopped thinking about you." Erik breathed, then ran his fingers through his hair with a sheepish grin.

Dahlia shook her head, but didn't lower her weapon. "She wouldn't." She breathed. "Erikw as everything to her!"

Gabbi sighed softly. She'd been longing to hear those words a long time. "When you were...i thought I would die with you." She whispered. "I missed you so much."

Rama laughed openly at this. "Your mother loved only herself. I'm fairly true that is still so. She didn't want Justice to die because she would lose her security. Think to yourself...has she ever gone looking for him. Even once?"

"I'll admit... Some of the things Rama had me do... Death would have been kinder." Erik confessed softly.

"Lily is nothing if a dutiful wife, he told her not to!" Dahlia hissed, a trickle of blood escaping from under the blade at Rama's throat now.

Gabbi threaded her fingers through his hair, her blue eyes sad. "I'd have come through hell if I'd known you were still alive. But your mother...and father...were so adamant that you were gone. They had a funeral and everything..."

"Tell me something..." Rama's black blood hissed as it touched her blade. "If you loved someone would anything keep you from them. Even if he told you not to?"

"Of course she did..." Erik snorted, though didn't elaborate. "Come on, it will be lucn time before we get to this bakery." He teased, again trying to seem cheerful and upbeat.

"I've never loved any one." Dahlia replied thinly, her gaze holding Rama's steadily.

Gabbi was feeling rather heartbroken when she stared at the bakery counter. It all reminded her of Dahlia.Her best friend would have ordered one of everything and eaten it all happily. "I'm not hungry." She muttered after another long minute of staring at the cinnamon buns. 
It was all a reminder of the friendship shed ruined. Her best friend hated her. What was there to enjoy about that?

"Good for you." The distraction was enough for him to grab her wrist and toss her across the room. 
He didn't flinch when she went crashing through another table of artifacts. "Keep your father's toys." He hissed as he turned to leave. The necklace was dangling from his fingers. "I have what I came for."

"Liar." Erik breathed, his lips brushing Gabbi's ear as he leaned down close from where he stood behind her. "I can hear your stomach."

Like Rama, Dahlia too was now nursing a broken rib or two, though she still forced herself back to her feet. The gun that had been taken from her was on the floor and fair game for her to scoop up once more. "I'll take all your toys apart piece by piece if I have to." She warned, a bullet sliding neatly into his shoulder as he walked away.

Gabbi's skin tingled. She lifted her head slightly and it was just in time to see a woman on the far side of the room lift her hands. Around her the people were frozen in place and she was whispering something. "Erik...witch..." Gabbi hissed, not sure hope she knew this. 

"Damn you, girl." Rama hissed, disappearing into the shadows.

Erik's arms had slid around Gabbi, though he made very little movement beyond that. He had followed her gaze to see the other woman, and the truth that everyone else was indeed frozen. For the moment he didn't think the witch knew that the seeker and her Djinn were unaffected, or perhaps that was her sole reason for being here.

Dahlia slumped to the ground, an arm held around her ribs as she simply stared up at the ceiling. "At least... he's bleeding..." She wheezed quietly.

Wisely, Gabbi didn't move either. She watched the witch's fingers as they danced in the air. All at once a black cloud began to rise, sweeping over the legs of the non moving crowd. And then Rama was stepping out, stumbling like he was drunk. His shirt front was soaked with black blood. 
He fell to his knees beside the witch's, gasping in pain. "Erik...i..i wish for you to help me..." He breathed before falling flat on his face.

Erik was still poised with his lips close to Gabbi's ear. "Once I move to him, get back to the hotel." He instructed, knowing the last thing they needed was for Rama to get his hands on the seeker.
"Well, this seems unfortunate." Erik mused when he appeared beside his 'master'.

Rama watched slender legs as they sprinted past him. His senses were dulled but even then he could tell it was the Seeker. 
He groaned as he turned himself over and stared at the darkening sky. "I should kill you for disappearing, boy." He snarled.

"But you wont." Erik pointed out cheerfully. "What can I say, you find me more irritating than usual when I have oats that need sowing." He purred.

Rama snorted, grimacing when his own blood showered his face. "I've made my wish. Let's go." He grunted. The witch who'd brought the fallen god turned her head toward Erik and sneered. "Obey or I'll tell where she is. You know he'll order me to capture her."

That was enough to silence Erik's smart mouth. He nodded and returned them to Rama's home. Erik was easily controlled when it came to Gabbi, even he knew it. Though it took very little effort to save Rama from his wounds, Erik had brought them here to put distance between his master and the Seeker.

"Did you tell her who you were?" Rama asked. A few days had passed and he was doing better. He had chained Erik with the use of the witch's magic. "That's going to make it harder when I wish for you to bring her here to me." He added darkly. "Does that mean I can force you to watch as I take her for my own?" He added, feeling even better while mocking the Djinn.