Madness!

After Belle hung up her hailer, Kabule chimed in again. "Oh Fun time! Blondie...I mean Belle you better be fuckin careful! It be hunting time! What better way to take out a mark, than to get them to go bug fucking hunting! He fucking shoots you and it looks like a damn accident, or he throws Hellbug pheromones on you and it is Bye-Bye Belle and hello bug bait! So Big Sister Erika and you better be fucking careful and she better watch you fucking closely or no more you! He gets you alone or almost alone in the damnable wilderness and it is Goodnight Gracie!"

  "So here's some advice:

1. (As Atticus would say) No such thing as over-prepared, but one can be under-prepared. SO always take enough that you feel over prepared.
2. Always have a backup plan or three
3. Always find a way to turn it around, so you are now the one hunting the hunter
4. Oh and as he thinks he is me, there is a poison that I sometimes would apply to my bullets or blade. Nasty shit! It will have you in extreme pain within minutes, and bleeding from both ends, all within an hour! And from all your pores within minutes after the multi-end bleeding starts! If that happens then you will be dead by the start of the next.

  As Atticus and I can not see each other's memories and thoughts, unless the originator of the memory and thought allows it and he doesn't like to share, he does not know much about it, as he never used it, and I never shared the exact details with him. This sharing goes BOTH ways, Brother! However since I agreed to play nice and Atticus cares so fucking much about all of you, I will tell you about the only known antidote, which I created, for this nasty fucking shit. There is a plant that only grows in Hell-bug shtako, but it is somewhat rare, or at least it was during the Pale Wars, and only grows in areas with high concentrations of the shtako, such as in or near hell-bug colonies. There are some berries on it that look like eyeballs. Strong things full of anti-toxins. It works well on lots of poisons actually. So they will usually clear your body of the other poison. However on this poison and some others, you need to find a catalyst that will help it bind to the toxins completely and pull them out. This one's catalyst is very common, surprisingly, as it is just mint. However there are a couple of catches. Here's what you need to know about it:

• Do not eat any part of the stem, as it will kill you. So make sure none is attached when you pick the berry.
  
  
• Only use the ripe ones. They are off-white.

• If you are an adult under 130 pounds then eat no more than 3 berries. 131 to 230 no more than 5. Much bigger like Atticus, then you must use no more than 7. Never tried on children so can't help with dosage there.

• They will only stop the toxin if they are consumed, BEFORE you start bleeding from both ends.

• So blood just from the upper body is your last warning, as your lower extremities will start bleeding any minute from then, and once that happens this antidote will not save you, for the poison is now the most plentiful chemical in your body.
  
  
• Before you eat them, they must be crushed into a paste and mixed with some mint as the catalyst. I have tested with all Votan and Earth mints that I could find. Don't ask how because fucking goody-goodies never actually want that fucking answer! Of course the baddies out there, want to know too damned much, and despite what you fucking think of me, I am NOT evil. I have always just done what must be done for my Superiors, Atticus' and my greater goods! Anyway, they all seemed to work effectively. But you must have that specific berry, and some mint of your choosing, as it is the only one that will completely destroy the toxins of this poison.

• As I said you will need mint as the catalyst between the eyeball berry and the bloody poison or it will not stop the poison. I am not a scientist so I do not know why that is, as it doesn't need a fucking catalyst to fight most other toxins.

•  If you have that catalyst, then the berry paste will react to and neutralize the poison. Bada-bing bada-boom. Bye-bye poison!

• Oh one more thing. Do everything the way I said and it will work, otherwise it is Bye-bye Belle. And none of us want to see that fucking happen. Do we?!

• However, afterwards you will feel like you are on your Earth drug Cocaine, or some other such nasty fucking drug, and have to deal with such affects. However it's effects will be more intense than Cocaine and last from between an hour and about 4 hours. Depending on one's resistances to such drugs' effects and such of course. Let us hope that Big Sister and this Wolfram guy can handle all of that, if this antidote must be made and used on your hot ass!"
  

  I looked back at Kabule and said, "Kabule! Watch it!"

 He shrugged his shoulders and said, "What I say? I gave very useful advice and was telling the truth! From what I can see of it in that armor, her ass is hot! Thought you were on an honesty kick these days?! But fine I will re-phrase that to: Let us hope that Big Sister and this Wolfram guy can handle all of that, if this antidote must be made and used on our lovely blonde friend, Belle. I trust that's better, for you?"

  I said, "Some, yes. However if you actually want them to convince me to let you keep coming out on occasion, you need to learn something these humans call tact. I have learned it. Sazri Kakusi even uses it. Now it is your dakking turn to learn it!"

  Kabule thought for a second, then said, "Fine I will ask Kakusi and our little sister about it, and learn what it is. But I am NOT promising to use It, unless your tact is like a tack, and can be used to my advantage!"

I grumbled, "Well that is better than nothing, I suppose. So I will accept that for now. But remember compliments are fine, but overly-specific ones annoy and piss people off."

  Kabule said, "Wow have people really gotten THAT sensitive since the Pale Wars ended?!?!"

  I shrugged and said, "Well from what I can tell, they always have been. However things changed some when Votans came to Earth, not to mention we grew up in what they would call a wild land. You did that holo-western with me. That Tombstone place seemed a lot like Omec Colony but with nicer buildings and people than Omec Colony. They are eveb more civilized here though."

  Kabule smiled slightly and said, "I loved that Tombstone program! But who's was it, anyway? I know it wasn't yours, as it confused you as much as it did Wormy and me. Oh well, it had Lots of killing and great partying afterwards. Hell it was even fun being a team with you and the fucking worm! That was damn new but felt...well very fucking funny where my figurative heart is. Damn it! I....I think I liked it and liked helping the two of you and even that holographic fucking town! Damn it Assicus! Maybe you were right, I would like being part of a group or family if we found common ground! Damn it, I am still NOT fucking giving up my fun and vices though! But fine!! Time to be a little more fucking helpful, as your brother then! Damn it to hell Assicus!"

  Kabule looked at the giant screen in the War Room, then walked over to me and started to reach for my controls, then thought better of it and stopped. "Atticus?" I nodded and Kabule continued, as he punched in a couple of keys on my pad. Kabule then announced, "It's picture time!" Just then a picture of the plant and it's berries appeared on the huge screen.

  Kabule said, "See! Eyeballs! See that green little bitch, the second one down from the top, on our fucking right? It is way too damn green and will not work. So do NOT fucking pick it and eat it, or it will also make your belly feel like it is on fire and perhaps it will be! Oh look I did fucking show AND tell! Now I need another god damned drink!"

  Kabule walked back to my desk and took another huge drink and lit another cigar cigarette, as he thought about what just happened. As well as watching the team take in his information as they got ready to leave the War Room and head on their missions.

Sandy Bell listened intently to the mission briefing, but couldn't help but notice the look that crossed Volodja's face when he got the picture on the phone. They had been a couple long enough that just little facial ticks, around his eyes and the corners of his mouth, would give him away, at least to her, that something had bothered him. Whatever it was that was in the picture, and she couldn't tell from her angle what the picture was, just that it was a picture, was definitely disturbing him, but she could tell he was trying to suppress showing that feeling as well.

Sandy gave him a reassuring squeeze of his hand by one of hers, but reluctantly resisted leaning over and kissing him as she didn't want to invade his privacy by inadvertently seeing a picture he perhaps didn't want her to see, even though she was incredibly curious about it. Instead, she stared at him with big blue eyes and a warm grin on her pretty tanned face, asking, "Anything I should know about Volodja?"

*****

Lena Marr sat cross-legged on the ground sharpening her twin Bowie knives as Bert and Ernie, her and Marcel's henchmen, worked on fixing the plane. As henchmen go, they were not on the high end, but their criminal enterprise was just beginning so she supposed that any beginning was a good beginning. On the other hand, the two knives that she had looted from their adventure with Lady Christianna were a treasure, and she planned on putting them to good use whenever possible.

A sudden idea crossed her mind causing a wicked grin to cross her beautiful chalk white face, as Lena said, "Hey Marcel, I think I'm going to name my twins after Lady's twins," She lifted the twin blades, throwing them so that they landed on either side of Bert's frightened face, as she remarked, "Meet Cosmic and Capricorn, my new babies!"

*****

Erika Widowmaker looked at Kabule with intense jade eyes, remarking to Atticus erstwhile brother, "Again, you prove yourself very useful, without even having to prod you for the information. Thank you little brother."

Erika said it so naturally that she hadn't even realized she has used the term "little brother," and if asked she would not remember saying it, however her subconscious knew exactly what was said, for Kabule was whom her little brother had become, and her subconscious blamed her for that fact in not finding Atticus in time to save him from that fate.

*****

Belle Starr bit her lower lip in thought, and had to admit that Erika was right. Kabule's information was very useful, so she replied, "Thank y'all Kabule! That was mighty neighborly for you to tell me that, although that was an awful thing to do to the folk you shot! I've got to ask one question though: Why would you shoot some folk with the poisoned bullet, and others, like Sandy, with a bullet not poisoned? I'm mighty curious on the moral calculus that you used to determine who should suffer a long lingering death and others who got a quick and, I guess by your measure, merciful one!"

*****

Lady Christianna laid on the couch in the family bunker nursing the twins. She had wondered why all the while she was the Mistress of Sorrow her breasts had hurt terribly and were lactating all over the inside of her black with red trim polymer armor. Now she knew, and as the twins sucked voraciously, she sighed, feeling personal relief in so many ways.

Sandy narrowed her baby blue eyes trying to think what Volodja could possibly be talking about, still loathe to invade Volodja's privacy by sneaking a look at the picture he had yet to offer to show her. Then suddenly she laughed heartily as she remembered the incident with Taffer, and explained, "Volodja, the only thing I did on that mission that could possibly be twisted into something slimy by a scumbag like Marcel, other than my being hugged by a giant centipede, and Marcel wasn't there for that, was when I sat in Taffer's lap in the pilot's seat on the way back from Lima. Taffer had hurt his leg, and needed help operating the foot pedals, and that was most effective and efficient way to do it. You've seen how great a pilot of a plane I am, and Taffer was our only qualified pilot. I can do helicopters by myself - not so much planes and spaceships! Taffer is a great guy, don't get me wrong, but I loved you then and love you now, even when you are being hard headed, like then, or hard on yourself, like now. Simply put, I love you Volodja Uljanov!"

With that said, Sandy leaned over and kissed Volodja passionately, not caring who was watching or what they thought about it.

As Sandy and Volodja kissed in the war room, Sarge sat on his army cot in Sandy's EGO implant in his dress uniform with virtual fresh cut flowers and a virtual box of candy laying next to him. He really wanted to see Sophie in her Bottega, smell her sweet perfume, and listen to her call him "Mike" in that wonderful accent of hers. Instead, he looked at a worn picture of an attractive woman hanging up clothes and the two children clinging to her as she did so. Once again, Sarge told himself that he wasn't the real Sarge, just an EGO psyche patterned after Sandy's old squad Master Sergent during the Pale Wars, and not even the real Sarge's brain patterns, but on Sandy's idealized perceptions of him.

"So why, when I look at this picture, do I long for these people I don't even know?" Sarge asked himself, "And why, when I really want to see Sophie, who I do know, and who I really would like to develop a relationship with, do I feel like I would be cheating if I did?"

Sarge didn't have an answer for himself, so he continued to sit alone looking at the picture, wishing he could just burn it and go to Sophie, but unable to make himself do so.

*****

As Lena's nipples got hard, Lust took over control of Lena's EGO from Pride, and as Lena's hand snaked into Marcel's pant's, her EGO triggered the blur power, giving Marcel the fastest hand job that he ever had in his life.

*****

Erika's EGO psyche, Amber, was not at home at the moment, for she was in the holo-room bedroom of Dinara, Atticus' EGO psyche. They writhed naked together on Dinara's plush bed; each with their tongue enthusiastically wriggling in the other's nether regions, unconsciously competing to see which would give the other the most pleasure. So far it was a tie!

*****

Alfred, Belle's EGO psyche and mad scientist father, was in his lab still studying the results of the ballistics on the bullet that was covered with nanos that made Belle almost go insane reliving her rape over and over again. With Kabule's new information that he used poison rather than Olmec technology on his bullets, Alfred wondered if Senator Cael was being set up to take the fall, or whether Fakebule was just capable of learning new tricks, especially under the tutelage of the Mistress of Judgment. Alfred had no doubt that she was the ultimate mastermind behind the assassination attempt on Belle, if that was what it was, for mind games were the Mistress' forte.

*****

MOM, Lady's EGO that housed the brain patterns of Belle's actual mother, was happier than she had been in ages, instructing Lady on the care and feeding of the infant twins. In many ways, MOM was finally in her element, although she never got the chance to care for her own children as much as she wanted to, having died when Belle was a toddler. MOM, however, was a voracious reader of childcare literature when she was alive, and now looked forward to actually applying what she learned. 

  Kabule continued his drinking of MY rum and I listened to everything going on. The couples in the room with there sweet moments, such as Vo hugging Belle and Sandy cuddled into Volo, now made me want to just leave the room this very minute and go see my wife, even if just for a quick hug and kiss. However I took on the role of Commander, not only by necessity but also, by choice. So I will go see her and OUR children, as soon as the meeting is over.

  Kabule just kept drinking from his glass and watched Belle and Vo hugging as he thought about if he wanted to answer her question, on the moral calculus that he used to determine who should suffer a long lingering death and others who got a quick and, by his measure, merciful one, or just ignore and brush it off, or just give a partial answer to dismiss it without having to truly answer it!

  For some reason, he couldn't explain even if asked, he waited until Vo and Belle released their tight embrace. Then Kabule, Started to laugh maniacally as he chose complete honesty instead of a brush off answer, but stopped his shortly after it started and smiling, in a predatory way similar to mine but some how more unnerving, said, "Calculus? Oooh I am now a fucking math major and didn't know it! Hmm who to give such a painful death to? Obviously that one seems simple, so I will start with the simple and main answer. If my superiors insisted the target suffer a long and horrifically painful fucking death that could not be traced to anybody, then I used that Nasty poison on the bastard. After all it is just as affective ingested as it is injected in some way. Either way it is fucking undetectable once the blood has cooled and coagulated, again not a fucking scientist so can't say for sure why, but I do fucking know it has some fucking thing to do with the chemicals and oxygen in the air breaking the fucking Nasty shit down and vaporizing the poison in the blood after it comes out of the victim and meets the air.

   No fucking moral dilemma there, I did what my superiors wanted, to ensure Atticus' and my lives. Besides I heard you met and killed one of our superiors and saw the remains of the fucking other. Nim fucking Shondu and Seto the experimenter that merged us with the worm! So you know damn well that once I was transferred to their unit, I was to do everything they fucking wanted or fucking else! The one time I objected, we ended up in the experiment where we got our wormy, Kakusi! I did NOT want to go through that fucking torture again or put Brother Assicus through it again. So after our survival and Atticus' temporary presence where he dispatched of all the guards and scientist in the room before he once again retreated into our mind, I vowed to follow Nim and Seto's without fucking questioning them directly again! Although we could have done without the fucking "medical and psychological" exams and medicines they, and others, insisted on to keep us in check! Fuck that shit!

   I know you have all faced all kinds of fucking people, so you know that I also fucking used the Nasty poisons without being ordered, if I desired. After fucking all, I created the Nasty lil thing without my superiors' knowledge, and NEVER told them I had created an antidote to the Nasty either, even after they learned of MY Nasty. No way was I going to let that fucking secret be slipped to those evil fuckers! I needed the antidote for if they every used it on me and didn't want to risk them finding a fucking counter to my fucking antidote! So I kept that fucking knowledge to my fucking self! So obviously I must fucking like all of you, or some fucking thing, to not only tell you there is an antidote but also to tell you just how to recreate the damn thing and when you should use it or kiss your sweet asses good bye!

  Now for the harder part, MY moral calculus to determine who should suffer a long lingering death and others who got a quick, and merciful, one when it was my fucking choice and NOT my fucking superiors' call. Hmmm actually that may be fucking easy too. I was merely hired to stop Sandra Bell and her damn squad from going up that fucking hill for some reason, and to kill a certain one of her Captains quickly. I did both fucking tasks, as I slipped a poison that simulated a myocardial infarction into his fucking drinks. Lucky bastard died of a fucking heart attack in his fucking sleep. I altered the plan slightly so the lovely blondie got stopped from the damned charge but didn't fucking die.

   As you see, when the way my mission results were achieved was up to me I could be moral some damn times, even if it was no fucking fun! I didn't even get to see nudity or get a kiss or any such thing! Where is the fun in the lack of those?! No matter, it is always mission before pleasure. then hopefully downtime with lots of pleasure before another mission. Alright I see our favorite panther getting agitated in his throne again, so I will answer on my moral calculus. Me moral?! Never heard that and especially not from Assicus. Of course I had never heard of anybody thinking he is fine folk until now either. So I suppose things change.

  As I said, Assicus doesn't share his thoughts and memories much. You know how secretive he can fucking be, but he was too close to unleashing HIS evil in Lima, that he didn't even realize he shared his thoughts with us, when he found out what a certain Maxxus Zoxx did to young Marla. It brought back horrible memories and IF I had control of Atticus' body at the time, then that fat evil bastard would have met Nasty! That little girl did not deserve what that fat bastard did to her regularly, but HE DID DESERVE WORSE than what Atticus gave him!! IT was too fucking quick Brother, and YOU KNOW IT!!! "

I responded with, "For once I fully agree, but the others needed me right away and I have learned family comes before Retributive justice! So unfortunately his punishment was quick but it was VERY painful! Now on with it!"

  Kabule nodded and smirked as he continued, "Anyway, I originally fucking created MY Nasty to use on a specific atrocious gang of 13 fucking evil bastards and after I did, if I personally chose to use My Nasty, then it was for a personal vendetta or fucking reason, where I felt the fucking atrocious target deserved to fucking meet MY Nasty!

  You see, that little fucking gang that got to meet Nasty first and at it's worst, before it was refined and cleaned up a little and I quit using the unripe berries as even I felt that added fire pain was too inhumane for most, was the same fucking gang that killed several Votans just for fun and almost beat our little Ithma," Kabule noticed my agitation at that name and quickly fixed his slip, as he went on with, "Sorry I mean our big bad Atticus, to death several times a day, every day, his first fucking week in that accursed hell known as Omec Colony, before I was born to protect him and take the pain for him! Young children do not deserve such a horrid thing!

   That fucking scum pack deserved the MOST painful and GRUESOME death I could fucking think of for everything THEY did to Atticus, me, and others just because we were fucking different! Rapes, murders, maimings and other such horrible and gruesome fucking acts just because they could, and we were different! However just so you fucking know, not all their fucking toys and victims were Votan! They did the same thing to animals and other humans! That fucking gang had no stop to their evil...UNTIL I FUCKING STOPPED THEM FOR FUCKING GOOD! THEY DESERVED EVERY FUCKING THING THEY GOT FROM MY NASTY AND THEIR DEATHS WERE FUCKING CELEBRATED, NOT MISSED OR MOURNED!!!

  However your blondie, Sandy Bell, did not deserve such a thing as she was just following orders, like I was. Besides when I saw her in action, a True Warrior, I no longer even wanted to end her pretty little life. So I stopped her squad and it's charge by stopping her without her untimely demise. That was the first and only time that I ever fucking recall leaving my target alive, when killing would have been the quicker and easier option!"

  Kabule then grabbed the bottle of rum and started voraciously chugging it, no longer drinking for pleasure, but now to try to hide his pain, pain he always hid behind his work as a vile assassin, at what we went through during our shared childhood.