"Look," you say. "I know the odds don't seem good from where we're at right now. None of us expected to have to face Lady Rastan. But now we know that she's involved, we can plan. We can prepare."
"And so can she," Sonia points out, her voice weary. "She might have been preparing this for years; we've just found out about it today."
You nod. "And if she'd been preparing for years, then she couldn't have planned for us: she couldn't have known that humans, vampires, werewolves, a zombie, and a ghost would work together. How could she?" You look around at the rest of them. "If we come up with a plan, a really good plan, then I think that we can pull it off."
Sonia looks at you for a long time. Then she nods. "I'll help," she says. "Of course I'll help. It's just…." She leaves the rest of it unspoken. She doesn't really need to say it.
"Nice speech," Matron says in the silence that follows. "Inspiring and, more importantly, short. But I need time: time enough to finish this." They gesture at the components on the table in front of them. "Whether it works or not is in the hands of a higher authority than mine," they continue. "But I need the chance to put this together. I need to not be disturbed by whatever Lady Rastan might send against me. And I will need you to ensure that that is the case." They cast a gaze over you all as a whole. "You had best get ready to move out."
Michelle nods. "Everybody ready?"
Fritz rises, still somewhat unsteady on his feet, still pale but upright. "Ready enough," he says.
Sonia and Val look at him; Val seems stunned, while Sonia merely looks surprised.
"Don't be stupid, mutt," the smaller vampire says. "Your arm's off. We could be walking into anything out there."
"Then you'll need all the help that you can get," Fritz tells her, his voice calm, though with a faint tremor running through it. "Werewolves heal fast, Sonia, faster even than vampires. Besides," he adds, "Matron's given me enough adrenaline that I could lift up an elephant. I should be okay for the next few hours."
"Fritz," Val says, even paler than usual, "think. You could die out there."
If you hadn't spotted that single moment between the pair of them in the lab, you'd never have suspected that there could be anything beyond simple concern for Fritz's well-being behind Val's words. After what Val had tried to conceal, however, it's impossible not to see the truth behind what she said.
Fritz shrugs. "And if you all mess it up, I could die in here. Given the choice, I'd rather not stay here." He hesitates before, addressing Val directly, he adds, "Don't ask me to wait and not know if you're going to come back."
Val winces, her whole body becoming motionless as she makes the expression. Then, slowly, as if she's trying to put off the moment for as long as possible, she turns to look at Sonia. The smaller vampire is gazing at her, her own face utterly devoid of emotion, though there's a certain glow to her eyes as she regards Val.
"You didn't," Sonia says quietly. "You aren't."
A tremble goes through Val, but she manages to maintain eye contact with Sonia, refusing to look away.
After a few moments, in fact, it's Sonia who turns away, though less out of intimidation than disgust.
"Pathetic," she murmurs. "Absolutely pathetic."
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