Familial Relations

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<sub>The man looked over to Reuben, but gave him a disinterest look. For now? He would focus on Benedict, and laugh at the boy. Boy they were snarky. Exactly like how he was informed. He then eyed the boys, Benedict reaching for the pistol. Lila herself was shaking. This was not good.

"Well, long story short, your bounty is in Dula with the head honcho himself. I don't care what town this is, I was hired to pick you up." He then pulled back the hammer. "Now come quietly. Head honcho wants to meet the spawn of Satan himself."

"... Why would Dula-wait..." They had entered Sine's shop. This cannot be good. What did they do to Sine?!

In a flash, a blur, Lila reared up to try and knock the man down, a shot got fired somewhere, which ended up in the poor horse herself. Benedict's mind went blank then.

"LILA! NO!" Benedict pulled out his pistol and aimed it at the other man, his eyes conveying something that could be seen in Andromeda himself. "I SWEAR I'LL SHOOT YOU SON OF A-" He didn't get to finish his sentence as he was pistolwhipped and struggling against the guy. Lila heaved, feeling the bullet in her shoulder and pain. Okay so it wasn't that deep, so she would rear back again, her eyes wild.

LEAVE THEM ALONE!</sub>

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Reuben's eyes narrowed, his hand going for his sword. He hadn't started carrying a pistol around just yet, but maybe he should invest in firearms one day.

"...Dula? Wait a second..." Sine's shop. The woman had a family, she had a husband, a son. Had something happened to the three of them?!

Lila went too fast for Reuben to catch, but the shot that went off and the blood that came from her clearly showed that she had been shot. Oh hell no, and now Benedict had lost it completely. Crap!

"Ben!" Reuben didn't hesitate to jump into the fray, either, his hat falling off in the struggle. He tried to hit one of the two bounty hunters with the sword, but was likely manhandled himself considering that this sort of thing had never really been his strong point.

Either way, Reuben let out several words that would probably make Benedict's ears turn red.

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<sub>So now both men had the boys in their grip. Benedict was never really that strong like his dad, and not Reuben either. Benedict struggled violently before he looked over to Lila. No, he didn't want her hurt again. There was blood on her... oh God save her from this!

"Lila! Listen!" Benedict cried out. "Run! Get help! Find Reuben's Airship if need be! FIND HIM!"

Lila backed up. No she couldn't leave him! She reared forward again, but the injury hurt, and the men were aiming their guns at her! No, Lila wasn't that strong. She couldn't take those bullets head on. She wasn't Super Horse.

I'm sorry, Master Benedict. I will come for you, I'll get help! She then turned around and ran, as fast as she could. She knew where the docks were. maybe by luck Andy would be there, or Cardinal.

Benedict found himself hit in the head and knocked out by then, and the man slung him over his shoulder.

"We'll take this kid too. Heard he caught Andy's attention." The man spoke up.</sub>

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Of course, Andy's first sons wouldn't inherit the strength. Either way, Reuben squirmed a bit, managing to grab his hat and stuff it in his pocket. But at the least Lila got away, and if she was as smart as she appeared to and Benedict claimed to be, then maybe Cardinal could do something about it.

"Damn it!" He flailed, before he too was likely knocked out. It was more dangerous to have alive and kicking Reuben than unconscious Reuben.

Cardinal was, in fact, at his ship, and checking up on something. Usually the Clockwork didn't interact with the others too much, only people that he knew or that Reuben knew. Whether Andy or someone else was there, he didn't know.

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<sub>Lila had a painful trot over to the docks, making sure that she wasn't spot by anybody, she would try her best to try and locate a ship. ... Who was Cardinal? What did Reuben's ship look like? Intuition would have to lead her now.

Well, at an unspecified time that it would take for an injured horse to reach the docks, Benedict would find that he and Reuben had been dragged down, and deposited in the cargo area of a large and very fancy ship. Obviously it was Dulan. Benedict groaned.

"... Now what?" He grunted, glancing over to Reuben. "... Dad's going to be pissed."

Footsteps were heard and Benedict looked over to see several people talking, exchanging payment, and the man looked down at the two boys. Benedict looked up at the obviously aged man, with various spots and wrinkles on his face, and grey hair. His eyes conveyed a strange glint behind a pair of spectacles.

".. Hello, my name is Dr. Frederik Thompson."</sub>

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<sub>Andy wouldn't be in a rut yet, just that he was on a convenient restocking appointment, and he contemplated leaving Nerys with Sine for a bit, but decided against it. After all, Sine was on his shit list anyway.

Well, drop by Reuben's ship, mainly because he's annoying like that, and back to stealing milk from his fridge. At this point, it's pretty much a given.

"Hm, note to self. Get a cow." He muttered to himself.</sub>

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Cardinal was there, of course, and soon heard the mumbling. He glanced up, staring at Andromeda as he purloined the milk again. That man had gotten much bolder since his fearless captain ended up being his son. But at least it meant that the lot of them were safe from him for now.

"He's not here right now. He went to go visit Caden for his own birthday." He eyed the milk critically, placing a hand on his hip. Seriously, did he have to do that every time he came?

As for Reuben himself, he finally blinked himself awake, not too sure where he was. As long as they didn't drug him, he'd probably be fine, but other than that... This was Dulan. Great.

"No kidding. He's going to kill them first, and then us."

Either way, there was a psychopath likely near them. An old man of a psychopath. This was not going to be pleasant.

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<sub>Benedict stared up at the old man. Who the hell was he? Definitely someone he didn't know, but knew Andy. He seemed to know that he was Andy's son, if 'spawn of Satan' meant anything. He wriggled in his seat, hoping Lila could get to Reuben's ship.

"I really couldn't care less who you are, old man." Benedict spoke between his teeth. If his head didn't hurt so much he would hurt that man, but Ben didn't know if he was armed either, and anybody who dealt with Andy was dangerous in his book.

The old man put his hands behind his back and paced back and forth, keeping his bespectacled eyes on the pair of boys. He held a frozen smile, hell his entire face was stoic so Ben had no idea what his true intentions were.

"It didn't take much to corner the Rosin family and take Sine. It wasn't that hard to take you two either. I'd suggest not trying anything..." He adjusted his glasses. "... Lest I have to get my hands dirty."

"Not like I have any choice." Benedict muttered. Apparently when the guy was in trouble, the snark level certainly went up in his case. "... Where is she and what do you want with us?!"

"Safe and asleep. She's sweet, I tell you." He smiled, a sickly sweet smile. "Oh, we're just going to keep you around, Benedict. You're the son of a dangerous soldier I trained from Dula. I'd like to see if you inherited any of his brutality. Besides... let's see how Andromeda Callidum takes this news, either way. He'll have to come back to Dula and we intend to get rid of him for good."

"It's not going to be that simple, stupid geezer." Benedict hissed at him. "You far underestimate the brutal cunning of the Callidum family and their allies. Right now, I hate you and hope you rot in Hell, and I'm pretty damned sure that my father and his twin feel the same way, if not more."

---

Lila was on a rampage, pretty much, knocking over stands at the docks and frantically looking for a ship. Wait, that ship1 She had no idea if that was Reuben's ship (it was), but intuition told her that it was a ship, Reuben owned a ship, and this must be Reuben's ship!

She skidded to a halt near the ship, chased by angry people who wanted to lasso her down and take the bullet out from her, and she let out a loud whinny, and then various other sounds.

Maybe the panicking of people would get Cardinal's attention!</sub>

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<sub>Andromeda put the milk back, wiping his mouth with the back of his sleeve and grinned at Cardinal. Granted, he stopped grinning when Cardinal mentioned it was his birthday. Wait it was his birthday? Andy let out a choice word under his breath and stood up.

"Not surprised he didn't tell me his birth date." At least now he could easily gauge when he violated that woman. He put a hand on his hip and then looked over to Cardinal.

"So he went to visit Caden? I'll have to check there, then." Well, he would, but the sounds of commotion and a horse caught his attention. Horse usually meant Benedict. Which meant Andy was in a much more pleasant mood. Aww.

"... Sounds like Benedict is around, though. And his horse." He'd hop outside and lean over the railing.

His smile vanished. There was blood on the horse.</sub>

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Reuben was in quite a bit of pain, too, given that he had been knocked on the head to get him unconscious. He muttered a few more choice words under his breath, cautiously glancing around. If they were in the air, there was really no way off other than to jump and hopefully survive everything in the water. Aka, not really feasible - he'd get sick immediately if shark didn't eat him first.

"Well, what about me, then?" he said, somewhat bitterly, and banking on the fact that they didn't know who he was. "Was I just a convenient hostage slash friend slash witness or something?"

He rolled his eyes. Getting rid of Andy easily? As if that would ever happen. "I've met the man, had to escape from him several times. If you think you can get rid of him easily, then you're a bigger fool than I thought." He had to admit though, getting Benedict to say and feel all of that? That was quite an accomplishment.

---

Cardinal shrugged as Andromeda actually seemed surprised. "Not like he ever made a big deal about it, but Caden tended to remember and that's why he went. So he's probably over there, unless he got sidetracked in some way."

The commotion of course, got his attention, so he followed Andromeda outside and look over the railing. Yes, that sounded like the horse of the priest that Reuben claimed was his half-brother or something through this... strange... pirate.

"...Shit!" He'd go to climb off the ship so that he could reach the horse. "Steady, girl!" If that was Benedict's horse and she was bleeding and panicking and there was no Benedict...

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<sub>Benedict glanced over to Reuben. No, the man probably didn't know who this kid was. After all, if they're looking for Andromeda Spawn, it'd be likely they'd start with Benedict, but they probably knew Andromeda had other kids. Which meant... they would be trying to track them down through police reports of Andy...

"So what, now you're trying to recruit victims of Andromeda's outburst now?" Benedict asked. It was genuine. Though the old man would address Reuben first.

"Probably for extra bounty money. I'll let them deal with you however they please. But considering you're a friend and you happen to attract the attention of that particular pirate..." He paused, waiting for the surprised looks on the boys' faces. "It's Dula. Swire Inc has access to all the bounty and police reports."

"... So you know about every crime that Andromeda has ever done." Benedict spoke simply. The man paused and then smirked.

"200 accounts of theft of private possessions, 85 counts of aggravated assault, 15 confirmed rapes though I assume it's less or more depending on what country you live in and what the definition of 'rape' is in the law. 53 accounts of arson, 20 accounts of manslaughter. 5 counts of disorderly conduct. Some are piled on, some are separate."

"... I didn't need a list of the amount of times my father had broken the law against you since you clearly don't follow it yourself. Who kidnaps people from other countries and abuses them through training, huh?" Benedict snapped. "The only reason Andy is so infamous in Dula and Truesdale is because he normally targets you lot. And it's a damn good reason why, considering you take children and turn them into monsters. Children from other countries like Lapis and now Reuben and I. So really, who are the real monsters? The monsters themselves or the people who make them?" That's pretty much the theme of Lilac's storylines.

"I didn't need a moral lesson from you, Father." The man pushed back his glasses. "Sacrifice is necessary to create a powerful empire."

"WHAT IN THE NAME OF JESUS H. TAP DANCING CHRIST IS THAT KIND OF SACRIFICE FOR?!" Benedict just flipped. He stumbled up. "Is this what you want to see?! ME BEING ANGRY?! CAUSE YOU'RE DOING A GOOD JOB!"

----

Lila was pretty upset. People were everywhere, but then she saw Andy, and... Cardinal. Sweet relief! HEr intuition was right! Lila flicked her tail, stopping so someone would try and clean up her shoulder injury but it wasn't Benedict! Argh!

BENEDICT WAS KIDNAPPED! I TRIED TO PROTECT HIM! She started neighing but completely forgetting nobody speaks Horse here.</sub>

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<sub>Andy slowly nodded. Right, it's not like he ever remembered his own birthday and only started remembering cause Cepheid was around. Especially since they both shared the same birthday. ... no duh since they're identical twins. Andy didn't make a comment about it, just a mental note to get Reuben a present.

Except now he had priorities. He ran over to Lila, putting his hands on her carefully and looking at the injury. Just from the injury and how it didn't penetrate that far, he could make some easy assumptions.

"Looks like a small gun did this. Maybe a glock." His voice deeper and a tinge of anger. Except he completely forgot that he was a wanted pirate until a guy pointed to him and yelled.

"Wait a minute, you're that infamous pirate! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" Some people scattered. Andy just rolled his eyes while trying to blot out Lila's injury.

"Yes I'm here to rape your churches and burn your women." Pause, awkward silence in the crowd. "To hell I'm not. You all should know the owner of this horse, where is Father Benedict?!"

At that time one of the ships lifted off and Lila started neighing, pointing her muzzle to the ship. Andy looked in her direction, and his eyes narrowed.

"... That's a Dula ship." Oh the amount of hate in his voice... Scared the nearby people. "... Why the fuck do you people still trade with those jackoffs?"</sub>

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It was a good chance that he didn't know, but even Reuben could tell, with every word that came out of the... creature's (that was no human being or Clockwork, that was for sure!) mouth that even if they couldn't confirm him as Andromeda's kid, they likely suspected it. Sure, Reuben's parents had probably kept it hush-hush so that no one knew that he was illegitimate, but some people would know...

"So I'm going to be used as a pawn, either for Ben or for Andy or for something else. Lovely, wasn't expecting anything different from you [klack]ers, in fact, this made my year. I think we know what he's done, thank you," Reuben said dryly as Frederick listed all the crimes.

"And as huge of an asshole as Andromeda might be, I don't recall him being the one that kidnaps terrified little kids barely old enough to walk and talk and forces them through unimaginable hell so that you lot can have perfect little soldiers." Reuben wet his dry lips, then his voice lowered into that much colder and quiet tone.

"By the way, Doc Man, remember - the ends never justify the means, and you'll get your just desserts, no matter how late it is. Call me stupid, call me an idiot, but it will happen." I swear that Doc Robot ref wasn't intentional.

---

Cardinal looked over at the horse, honestly more concerned about it at the moment than the fact he was being seen in someone's company. When someone said that, he actually rolled his eyes (with an rather audible creak; he needed to ask Reuben to purchase some oil).

"Priorities, you lot. I'm more worried about the fact that this horse is injured and her rider, a well known priest, is nowhere in sight."

He helped Andy take care of poor Lila's injuries as best as he could, before staring up at the Dula ship.

"...I might be mistaken, but that didn't really look like a trade ship to me. I should go find my captain. He needs to know about this."

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<sub>Benedict leaned against a crate, exhausted. There was too much of a struggle and letting all of that out was a bit much on his body. On top of that, Reuben's defense of Andromeda was really making that old man wonder if Reuben was also a spawn of Andy.

The more, the merrier.

"Well, both of you, yes. You'd make great Dulan solders, granted you seem to have inherited Andromeda's stubborn defiant attitude."

"That only means we'll be that much harder to break now that we know his mistakes." Benedict hissed out loud. "Andy loves children, and seeing what you did to him as a child and to the others only enhances that need to protect them. I know he would never hurt the younger generation Only rich, old, corrupt jackasses like you."

"Yes, and we've had much more effective means to remove those emotions now. Andy after all, never depended on anybody." He paused for dramatic flair. "It'll be much more effective once we get you and Sine. After all, he wouldn't want his his precious girlfriend and sons hurt, and neither would you to your parents, hm?"

Benedict paused, and then laughed. "Is that bribery I hear? I'm a Serian. I don't follow that kind of bullcrap.

"I'm afraid nothing will happen to me, and I will certainly die peacefully in my sleep." He then turned around to exit the ship, and Benedict felt it moving. He then flopped to the ground and muttered.

"And I hope you burn in Hell. I hope you feel the pain of being burned alive and live through it. Every day. You ruined my life, you ruined my father and mother's life. You ruined my brother's and sister's lives, wherever they are... You ruined an entire generation of children's lives." Benedict then went to hug his knees and break down in tears.

"... It was only a month ago, I was just a priest, and now I'm in the middle of this crap..."

---
Lila calmed down, finally, letting people lavish attention on her. She'd be proud and haughty, but... Benedict wasn't here and she missed him terribly. Was he hurt? Will he be okay? Lila snapped a glare at the escaping ship and then whinnied in worry when Cardinal spoke up.

He got taken too!</sub>

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<sub>Andromeda would finished blotting the injury and then take him in the care of a pretty twenty something blonde woman who said she was a vet. She would easily be able to take care of her while he would head off. She seemed trustworthy enough, even tossing her some coinage.

"Take that, see if you can pen her until I find the priest-" He'd speak up to her.

"Yeah? And I bet he was the one who took him and is making a scene!" The man spoke up again, his eye twitching. The crowd seemed to agree.

"Oh for the love of..." Andy rolled his eyes. "Am I really THAT obvious? I'm a pirate, I steal from ships, not poor priests and their injured horses." He then looked over to Cardinal, thumbing down the street. "Get Captain Reuben. I may need his help anyway since your ship is faster than mine. I'll get my crew and stock up. We're heading to Dula."

"... Are you really going to get him back? What's so special about him?" Some voice piped up. Sounded like a child.

"... Everything." He'd glance over to the lady he gave Lila to, who was testing the horse's foot. He paused for a moment and then spoke up. ".. What's your name?"

"Angel." The woman replied.

"... I absolutely trust you." With that he whipped around, the crowd sort of shrinking away from him as he ran back to his ship. He had things to do now...</sub>