The Radix

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!

Chapter Fourteen - Absolution

" " talking
~ ~ thinking
(( )) flashback

Ram was startled from his brooding ruminations by soft footsteps approaching his cell. Expecting to see Zeal or Rider (his designated jailers) he couldn't hide his surprise at seeing a red headed girl with strange eyes approach. Her footfalls were quiet except for the tinkling of unseen chimes somewhere on her flowing skirt. Her appearance seemed out of sync with their stone surroundings. Short of being decorated in flowers and vines, she was one step away from what Ram imagining a forest numph to be. He felt inexplicable irritation at her very presence. She wasn't what he'd been expected and Ram was not in the mood to be shocked.

Without a word or glance in his direction, Quinn unlocked his cell and held the door open in invitation. There was silence as neither spoke, as though they were willing the other to break first. Ram sat watching as Quinn stood next to the open door, not a hint of tension or uncertaintity in her posture. If he had to wager a guess he would figure that it mattered not to her whether he chose to ever get up. Such cool indifference reminded himn of Mega and he couldn't stop the uneasy chill that flitted up his spine.

Finally curiosity won out and Ram pulled himself to his feet with a grunt. He wondered why they would send this waif of a girl to get him when his hands weren't even bound. He wasn't the best fighter but he could certainly take her out without difficulty. From the looks of things she might not even try to dissuade him from escaping. As he approached the door he waited for the inevitable wince from her as he neared her person but no such thing happened. Quinn's only acknowledgement that he'd moved was to walk away from the cell and down the hall.

When she continued to lead him out of the compound building without so much as turning to make sure he was following, Ram couldn't stop the question from spilling forth. "Where are we going?"

"They're coming for you."

Ram frowned. "That's not what I asked."

"No, it's not."

The afternoon sun was dropping toward the horizon and no one noticed as she led him between a row of shacks toward the meeting house. Ram felt unsteady on his feet and he knew it wasn't because he was having trouble seeing where he was going on the shaded path. This girl was throwing him off his axis. Since coming here, he'd perfected a host of emotional responses for ever occurance. Being whisked away by the living embodiment of bewilderment was NOT something he'd prepared for.

After several minutes of following the mysterious shock of red hair Ram came to an abrupt stop. "Will you tell me where in the hell you're taking me?" He growled.

Quinn finally turned to him, the expression on her face stating that she assumed it would be completely obvious. "I thought you'd like to stretch your legs before the meeting."

"What?" Ram was thoroughly taken aback. "Stretch my legs?"

"Dont you feel better?" She gestured a hand toward his lower appendages. "Those cells are quite claustrophobic."

"I..." Ram wanted to argue but he had to agree he did feel better after being allowed to walk about in the fresh air. Still that didn't explain why this girl would bother with his comfort at all.

Without waiting for him to get his thoughts together Quinn smiled and continued on her way with Ram scrambling to keep up. Though she was thin, Quinn was an inch or two taller than him and her stride was sure and long. As they came into the main clearing Ram was startled to see a group of young men waiting. As soon as they saw he and Quinn, the tall dark one started over, irritation in his expression. Quinn simply smiled and gently took Ram's tense arm as Dozer approached looking murderous.

"Quinn, what are you doing!?" Rider and Dean were frantic. Who said you could let him out?"

The redhead smirked at her friend. "Which shall I answer first?"

Noticing Ram's free hands Dozer immediately narrowed his dark eyes. "And why isn't he secured?"

"It wasn't necessary."

"He could've attacked you." The same thought suddenly crossed Ram's mind and he didn't protest when Dozer went to bind his hands behind his back.

"Yet he didn't." Quinn replied calmly. "I'm alright Dozer." She spoke softly and gave him a look of assurance. "They're ready for him."

Dozer glanced over at the meeting house before giving Quinn a nod and leading Ram away. He stopped suddenly and turned to see Quinn dangling the cell keys from a delicate hand, a small smile playing on her lips. Giving her a sheepish smirk of his own, he wordlessly took the keys and continued on his way with Ram in tow.

Stunned into silence at what he'd just experienced, Ram didn't notice when Rider and another young man with bright yellow hair joined them as they entered the meeting house. Why HADN'T he attacked Quinn? She gave him the perfect opportunity to escape and it hadn't even occurred to him to do so. Not that he would stoop low enough to strike a woman, but she didn't know that. Why had she trusted him when everyone else saw him as a monster?

His pondering was cut short when he realized he was once again standing before the stage where all four leaders sat staring down at him. They'd been in mid discussion before his arrival interrupted them. Ram was quite sure that his fate had already been decided and he swallowed nervously. Time to put his game face on. He might be terrified but he wasn't going to let them see it.

"Thank you Dozer."

The young man gave a respectful nod to Jet and the others before letting himself out. There was silence and Ram took the opportunity to study the new leader, Brock, whose name he inadvertently associated with his doom. No decision was to be made until Brock's return. ~Well, do your worst~. Ram challenged the dark haired boy with his eyes.

Brock eyeballed the young man before him with amusement. He had already been given the run down by the others and he couldn't help but be a little in awe of what the Techno leader had accomplished. "So am I to believe you're the mighty Ram? The one responsible for our being here?"

"I thought we covered this." Ram replied sarcastically as he rolled his eyes and looked away.

"I only have one question for you. Where do you think you went wrong?"

Taken aback, Ram stared at Brock in confusion before he could even formulate his reply. "Aside from being admittedly overzealous, I trusted the wrong people."

Brock nodded and gave the others a brief look before returning his gaze to Ram. "Well then, I say we pardon him."

"What!?" Lyric cried in disbelief. She wasn't the only one in shock as both Jet and Cipher gave Brock odd looks and Ram stared at the tall leader skeptically. "Did I hear you right?"

"I hope so." Brock gave Lyric a cheeky smirk.

"Brock, what are you playing at?" Jey naroowed her green eyes.

Cipher, catching Ram's expression as he stared at the leaders, cleared his throat. We should continue this in private." Then he made a slight head gesture in Ram's direction.

"Right." Jet nodded hastily.

"Of course." Brock gave another playful smirk. "Rider, Dean, take him back to his quarters would ya."

Once they were alone, Lyric immediately rounded on Brock. "What's wrong with you!?" She shouted. "PARDON him? Have you gone dozy?"

"Calm down." Jet patted the arm of the girl next to her before turning irritated eyes on Brock. "What is wrong with you? You just suggested we pardon the very person who kidnapped and imprisoned us. He took our freedom and is the reaons most of us will never see our friends and families again. He's the reason many of us have suffered..." Jet trailed off and swallowed to regain control over her trembling voice. "When we arrived here you were one of the first to try lynching Jaffa." It was with difficulty that she spoke the Guardian's name without flinching. "You wanted him to pay for everything he'd done... all the lives he'd destroyed. And Ram... you once said you would make him pay as well. Why the sudden pension for leniency and forgiveness, Brock?"

There were a few minutes of silence as Brock stared at his fellow leaders who waited for his answer. Slowly the smirk faded from his face and his brown eyes narrowed slightly. Cipher watched with sudden understanding. He felt he already knew what Brock was about to say.

"I know what I said." He finally spoke in a subdued tone. "I know what he's done... who he's hurt." He and Lyric caught eyes for a moment before he continued. "But now that I look at him, all I see is another scared, power hungry kid desperately trying to stay in control. I also remember what life was like before he came. I'm under no delusions of what kind of world we were living in. Before I was taken I was living with my dimished tribe, in a burnt out shell of a building, scratching for food and spending most of my days fighting over turf and reputation. For Christ's sake we voted Ebony in as city leader!" Brock rolled his eyes. "There was no point in caring about anything or anyone." He turned to Jet. "You say he took away our freedom, but what good is absolute freedom if we only used it to hurt each other? Freedom can be over rated. Why do you think we have leaders and laws here? To protect ourselves fro the consequences of freedom. "Brock sat back in his seat and gazed at the benches below. "Here we are, safe, living peacefully, building something that is actually worth fighting for. I've never felt so damn free in all my life. And the truth remains, Ram is no more guilty than any of us." Brock glanced at Lyric's expression of annoyance. "He isn't." Brock insisted. "Not one of us has been a part of a tribe that didn't at one time or other try to take over and control others. No matter how good our intentions may have been." He added as Cipher gave him a sharp look. "Ram was just better at it."

There was silence as the four young adults sat in deep thought. It seemed even Lyric was hard pressed to find fault in his argument. She remembered how her tribe, the Ravens, had made it their mission to take over the pines, a large stretch of land inhabited by three other woodland tribes. The reasoning had been to unite their forces and have better control on how resources were used. Regardless of the fact that they were working for peace, many kids were hurt in the fights that ensued.

"Well I suppose he's no worse than Jaffa, and we let HIM live." Lyric finally muttered.

"Maybe he didn't come with the intention to harm anyone," Jet spoke carefully. "but there's no denying the damage caused by his virtual enslavement. Not to mention the cruelty we endured at the hands of his men."

"If we were all to be held responsible for the acts of people in our tribes, would any of us be leaders?" Brock's small smirk had returned and Cipher found himself tempted to return the expression.

"So I see you're hell bent on letting him off the hook." Lyric sighed irritably.

"Off the hook?" Cipher finally spoke surprising everyone who turned to look at him. "We're talking about a guy who lost everything he had in under six months: the city, his power, his men, his dignity... He was betrayed by his own, conquered by those he considered to be his inferiors, and his very life is in the merciful hands of those who clearly hate his guts. I'm not sure we COULD punish him anymore."

"So you're for pardoning him too?" Jet asked for confirmation.

Reluctantly Cipher nodded. "Killing him now... would be more an act of revenge rather than a righteous punishment for his crimes."

"Wasn't it you who tried strangling him yesterday?" Lyric pointed out.

"Yes," Cipher nodded again. "Because I was angry. Angry that he was here, angry that my friends lied, angry for the things he did..." Cipher's sienna eyes glared into nothingness for a moment as he fought that particular emotion from resurfacing. "But it's not a good enough reason to kill him. If he dies by my hand, he'll have to earn it." The look on Cipher's face almost suggested that he hoped Ram DID manage to earn it sometime soon.

Jet sighed and looked at Lyric. "What about you?"

Lyric frowned and glanced from Brock's annoying smirk to Cipher's thoughtful expression. "God I hate this but I think they're both right." She folded her arms in annoyance.

"Okay," Jet nodded. "I agree. He should live. So what do we do with him then?"

"Get him outta here." Lyric said quickly. "The further away, the better."

"We could give him an escort to Trader's port. He can make his way from there." Brock shrugged.

"This might sound crazy but I'm not exactly comfortable with letting him go." Jet said quietly and ignored the incredulous stares she received from Lyric and Brock. "Who knows what trouble he might bring back to us. Remember, he didn't GIVE UP his power, it was taken. Without any proper supervision, and now that he has full use of his legs, he could try to start the whole thing over again. I mean, he doesn't appear to be exactly remorseful for what he's done."

"All the more reason he should go." Lyric argued. "If he's got it in his head to cause more trouble, I don't want him doing it here."

"How much trouble can he cause?" Brock frowned as he considered Jet's point. "He's in unfamiliar territory and he hasn't got a thing to barter with. He's gonna have enough trouble finding people trusting enough to offer him a bed, let alone finding the means to raise another army."

"I agree..." Cipher cleared his throat. "...with Jet. Of what we've learned, Ram is quite resourceful and I think it would be foolish to underestimate his determination to get something done. At least here we can control what he has access to."

"Exactly." Jet nodded. "Keep you friends close and your enemies closer."

"But if we let him stay, people will try to kill him every day." Lyric shook her head. "We'll spend most of our time trying to protect the ruddy bastard."

"Sounds like a fine punishment to me." Cipher's eyes danced deviantly. "His being stuck with poeple who hate him so much. Besides, I don't think anyone will cause him any real harm."

Brock chuckled. "Okay I get it. We keep him and mighty Ram can reap the benefits of his tyranny."

"That's one way of putting it." Jet nodded again. "The point is that's one less enemy we have to worry about. And who knows, he might eventually lose interest in dominating others. We could be doing him a favor."

"I think letting him live is favor enough." Lyric scoffed. "Not that my opinion means anything."

"That's not true." Jet argued quickly. "You're opinion is important to all of us."

"Not when you lot are already in agreement." The dark headed girl shot back. "You all think he should stay and it doesn't matter if his very presence makes my skin crawl. Fine! He can stay." She glared at them, her dark eyes becoming tearful. "But I swear to God if EITHER of those two Technos come near me I'll kill them without hesitation."

The other three watched as Lyric fought back angry tears and stared down at the floor. Suddenly realizing the cause of her anger and defiance, Cipher reached out in an uncharacteristic gesture and placed his hand over Lyric's.

"They're not going to hurt you again. I promise."

Lyric fowned as she gazed into his determined eyes. "How do you know that?" She whispered thinking of the last fearful time a Techno had fought to have his way with her. He'd left her with two black eyes, a twisted ankle and a broken wrist before she'd managed to subdue with a porcelain vase to the face.

"Because if either of them try to hurt anyone... I'll kill them myself."

Lyric shared a look of understanding with Cipher before she nodded and glanced back at the others. "He needs to be on probation."

"Of course." Jet and Brock quickly agreed.

"Confined to the cells until we can trust he'll behave."

"We'll keep him under watch at all times Lyric." Cipher reassured. "I think we'll all feel better having him in confinement for a time."

Glad that the tense, emotional moment had passed, Brock stood and stretched. "As for the Mallrats, Cipher, I think you should be the one to tell them what we've decided regarding them and Ram. Jet and I can deliver the news to Ram ourselves."

"Sure," Nodding slowly, Cipher stood as well, looking less than eager at his task. "I might as well do that before dinner."

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With Ebony writhing excitedly beneath his sweaty body, her gorgeous face contorted with pleasure, Slade was just four or five thrusts away from reaching ecstasy when someone pounded on the bedroom door. Choosing to ignore said person he buried his head into his girlfriend's neck, sucking on her pulse point and moaning at the tightening around his cock. The knocking continued, insistent. Then Jay's unwelcomed voice followed.

"Slade, Ebony." More knocking and Slade groaned, beyond irritated at having his concentration broken. His balls were so tight it was nearly painful. "Come on, the pair of you. It's important."

"Bloody hell!" Slade roared when Jay continued. Couldn't he hear what activity was taken place from out in the hall? It wasn't as if he and Ebony were trying to be discreet. The slap of moist skin and the cringing of bedsprings echoed throughout the room. In fact someone could suggest from the cries of passion that the couple might be attempting to break the sound barrier.

"Ignore him." Ebony panted as she pulled Slade deeper into her enflamed heat but Jay knocked again.

"Sod off!"

"Look I know you're busy," Jay sounded annoyed as he stated the obvious. "but it's about Ram. Cipher has something important to discuss with all of us."

There was a pause as Jay awaited a reply. Ebony shook his head pleadingly as she could tell Slade was considering stopping. Despite her clawing his back and dragging a small finger along his moist cleft (one of his greatest turn ons) Slade sighed heavily and looked at the door.

"We'll be right out." He called much to Ebony's dismay.

"Damn it!" She slammed her fist down on the bed in fiery disappointment. So much for getting off. As if she NEEDED another reason to hate Jay.

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After Cipher's meeting with the Mallrats, in which Slade and Ebony showed up scantily clad (him being both bare chested and barefooted and Ebony sporting his missing shirt half unbuttoned), the group of castaways had a lot to think about. Dinner was a lively affair. Jay sat with Archer catching up and learning the finer points of bow making while Amber was able to pull Cipher aside for a bit of family bonding. Ethos and Astrid skipped dinner and Salene wasn't sure whether she was relieved or disappointed by this development. Jet made a few annoucements before the meal commenced, including Ram's fate and the welcoming conditions of the Mallrats. Both were greeted with acceptance. If not a bit dubious on account of Ram. News of the moon festival was met with cheers and excited conversation followed. The Mallrats were then informed of the preparations to be made in the midst of the clamor.

Night fell and soon the Radix was settled down for bed. It being their second night there (or third in the case of Jay, Amber and Lex) the Mallrats were far more comfortable and sleep came quickly for most. Ruby found herself once more under the watchful and curious eyes of Kale who had not only brought her soup but also an herbal tea to help her rest easy.

Just outside the compound building, Jay and Amber stood kissing goodnight before heading to their seperate rooms. She noticed that his eyes were brighter and he seemed less solemn since finding his brother and for that she was happy. Jay wisely kept silent about his girlfriend's interactions with Cipher. Now was not the time to start an argument, not when the atmosphere was filled with optimism for the first time in a long while.

"So do you think anyone will decide to leave?"

Amber shrugged and settled back against Jay's chest. "Aside from Trader? I doubt it. I think come the festival we'll all be taking the Radix vows."

"I dunno. I wouldn't be surprised if Slade left. He is something of a rolling stone and I'm sure Ebony will follow him."

Amber smirkd. "You mean you WISH Ebony would follow."

"I didn't say that." Jay hid his small smile in the knots of her hair.

"But you were thinking it. I know the two of you have an awkward history. Trust me, if anyone knows about bad blood it's me." The blond shook her head ruefully. "But she did pull her weight when it came to taking Mega down. Not to mention she was one of the few who actively resisted him while the rest of us were sitting around biding our time."

"Wisely waiting for an opening, you mean." Jay quipped.

Amber chuckled. "What you said then. Still I think it's about time we lay all that out and leave it in the past. We've survived... again and I think we need to embrace this blessing for what it is." Turning in Jay's arms she looked up into his eyes, an earnest expression on her face. "Take this place. These kids took a terrible experience and turned it into something beautiful. They succeeded where the rest of us have failed time and time again. And they did it by dropping the animosity and embracing each other. If they can let Ram live and give him a chance to redeem himself then surely YOU can forgive Ebony for a bad relationship."

Jay sighed and gave her an embarassed smile. "Well when you put it like that..."

"Amazing what saying something out loud does for clarity." She grinned cheekily before kissing him deeply.