The Secret Wars.

Hailey looks at Etrigan coldly.. ''Yeah.. I want to know how to fight it... and why it is already affecting me...'' She says not caring about his comments.

He hopped he would show enough interest to give her an answer.

"What happens if you fail to shut it down? I'm assuming that would lead to a repeat of the factory incident." Helena chimed in, she tapped her chin. "Well, if it's machinery and what-not you need transported, I'm sure Kropp could help."
"Why me?"
"Because you have a rather high clearance in the military, my dear boy; and unlike me people won't question you. Besides, it's just a thought." She shrugged.
"Maybe that mage friend of yours would be able to help? Then again, I'm no expert on mages." Kropp shrugged.
"It really depends on her abilities. Not all mages can do certain things. Some are healers, some are more suited for combat; it all depends on what she can do."

"He's right," Henry said gently. "Safer to stay out. Besides, we go in dragging equipment we might as well give up any pretence of stealth." And if the demons were worse than before, stealth might be their only hope of success.

"Now, Ms Valentine..." He suddenly narrowed his eyes, thinking. "I'm not sure the extent of what she can do," he said, "but she creates with magic. She might be able to create some barrier?"

He cleared his throat. "More importantly do we know where it is?"

Helena glared at both of them.
"I've already fallen far down this 'rabbit hole'; and I have my own reasons for wanting to do this. Kropp can stay out of it if he wants but there's no way in hell I am walking away from this." She straightened her back. "Think about it this way; you have three people. Three. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm sure you're all capable, but maybe you haven't considered the possibility that maybe having another fighter or two on the time wouldn't be such a bad idea? Especially two who can actually see them. Now like I said, Kropp makes his own decisions; whatever. But I am not leaving; I'm helping."
Kropp shook his head.
"As much as I'm sure I'm going to regret this; I'm with her."

Hailey's eyes widen at Etrigan's words... A curse? How was she not aware of this.. Her family had not spoken of anything related to a curse.

She frowns and says ''Is there a cure for this curse? And do you know how it came upon my family?'' She asked still shocked.

Also.. why had they been cursed.. was it simply for the fun of a demon, or was it to seal a threat...

Henry closed his eyes as she started ranting, his hand resting down on the sword at his side. Her aura had swelled with determination and righteous anger. She was anything but too far down the rabbit hole, or at least he could hope. That demon didn't know much about them. They could just leave.

"Two extra fighters is just two extra bodies if this goes wrong," he said shortly, opening his eyes to look down at her. "These will be stronger demons than tonight, far stronger. It could prove to be suicidal." She'd followed him, at first, so he couldn't help but feel responsible for her. If she died...

"You've both suffered enough at the hands of demons. There's no shame in backing down now." Please just listen this time, you stubborn idiot.

Helena bit her lip, resisting the swelling urge to smack him. She composed to herself, taking a breath and looking at him with eyes of steel.
"I lost the woman I love to demons. So I will either do something about them or join her in deaths embrace. That has been my mission since I lost her, and it will continue to be." She looked at Kropp. "You can leave, if you want. I give up all rights as your commander. You're free to go."
Kropp raised an eyebrow. "And I give up all rights as your subordinate; but that doesn't mean shit, I'm not leaving."
She turned back to Henry and Alfredo; shifting her gaze between them.
"So either you let us come with you or we'll surely find a way to do something on our own."

"My love and my mission are no concern of yours." She glared at him. "If all that you had loved and the only person to ever have shown a speck of concern for you died protecting you from something you couldn't see; you would look at things a little bit fucking irrationally. Also, I'd appreciate it if whatever the hell you have against me, you drop it. I didn't insult you, I was worried about your safety; and I will make sure never to do it again because you obviously don't appreciate it. Now I know I should be grateful to you, and don't get me wrong; I am. But your mouth is making it really difficult."
Kropp sighed. Looking up at him, shrugging. "She's sorta right about that last part, mate. Sorry to say."

"And you don't know the first thing about me! Or people in general for that matter! You think just because you're smart you can hop around saying whatever the fuck you want!"
Kropp hit the back of his head against the side of the room and gave a groan.
"Oh? Well at least I fucking try to help people without marching around with an air of superiority that's thicker than the fucking smog of London! As for your Nutter comment; I'm not a mad teenager who spends at least 80% of my time curled up working on machines. At least I'm trying to do something fucking practical with my life; you know how hard it is to make something useful of yourself as a woman, here, now? So call me a nutter, call me whatever the fuck you want. I don't give a shit about what someone like you thinks of me, anyway."

"ENOUGH!"

Henry's voice rang through the tiny space of the room, his usual kind demeanor vanished. He stepped in between the two of them, crossing his arms. "Both of you are arrogant little shits, so shut up!" He glared between them. "You've known each other all of two hours and we're already ready to make vast judgments of character, aren't we. Alfredo, leave."

Their aura had both swelled, almost as big as their damned heads, and the girl seemed ready to claw at Alfredo. He'd be damned if he ended up with a catfight on his hands.

Helena looked at Henry, surprised. She sighed, silencing herself as Henry had said. Taking a seat, crossing her legs and then crossing her arms over her chest. At the boy calling her a shrew she bit her lip and clenched her hands under her arms so she wouldn't do something stupid like 'accidentally' hit him.
'He fucking started it.' She wanted to say, but quickly became embarrassed with herself when she realized that's what a child says. She looked down at her feet, feeling rather ashamed of herself. Little shit or not, she should not have been baited like that.
Kropp picked his cards up off the floor, shoving them in his pocket and looking awkwardly about the room. Well at least they hadn't come to blows.

He watched Alfredo leave, and turned to glare back over at Helena. He took a deep breath. "You know why he hates you?" he said. "Because of your flippant, arrogant..."

He turned away, clenching his hands into fists. Breathe. He wasn't going to starting bitching as well. "You're welcome to stay until you're healed. Then I'm afraid you must be on your way. Ms Helena," he said, keeping his head down, "for a leader, you're awfully irrational. Excuse me."

He shoved the door to the module open, stumbling the moment he stepped outside it as his headache came back with a vengeance. He stumbled, stepping forward and slamming the door shut, hoping they hadn't seen it.

Helena's lips twitched and she didn't say a word.
As soon as Henry was gone Kropp looked up at her. "You okay?"
"He's right, they're right." She let out a shaky breath, resting her head in her hands. "I am irrational, I am stupid, I don't make the right decisions. I'm overemotional and I can hardly do a damn thing right."
"Hey.." Kropp sighed, pulling himself to his feet.
"With my family, with my 'crew', everyone around me hates me; not because of anything with them- but because of me. The men, they're right; I'm a spoiled princess who had her daddy buy an airship just to keep her under control." She sobbed, she was crying.
Kropp sat down next to her, giving a sigh.
"Now look at me. I'm crying. Because my pathetic, girlish feelings were hurt. And now what? Am I going to expect people to feel bad for me? And look what happened to you. I did that, it was my fault. It's my fault you got tortured and it's my fault Jaxx is dead. If only I had not been such a whiny bitch maybe you would be okay and Jaxx would still be alive."
Kropp leaned over and pulled her into a hug.
"Stop it, Kropp. Don't pity me. I'm an idiotic little girl who despite trying to make something of herself, is more of a worthless burden then those housewives she hates so much. I'm nothing, pathetic.."
"Remember that time none of the boys in our squad could hit a bulls-eye with their pistol from 70 yards away?" He said, raising an eyebrow. "Remember when you hit a bulls-eye when none of them could? How happy you were? Then, remember how all of them kept making excuses about how it was rigged, or dumb luck? Remember how you didn't let that bring you down?"
Helen remained silent. Kropp sighed.
"Okay, another instance. When we were training in hand to hand combat, who knocked the Kat, the biggest guy in the whole division, on his ass in two minutes flat? OR- when Baumer got his arm turned to mince-meat when he got it stuck in the generator during a drill, who had the mind to generator and use the emergency line to call for help? AND what crew still didn't give you any credit for any of that?"
Helena took a deep breath. "A commander who cannot command the respect of her own crew, is unworthy of her position."
"Bullshit." Kropp scoffed. "Listen, Helena; Henry might be right- yeah, you think with your heart a lot of the time. Yeah, you get emotional, and yeah, you're a hot-head. But there's one thing I will never fucking agree on no matter who says it. You're one of the strongest people I know, no matter how much you cry." Helena pressed her head further into her hands and started to cry even harder. Kropp squeezed her tighter.
"I swear to god if you don't stop crying I'll wring the tears out of you like a wash-rag!"

Hailey nodded at Etrigans words... it made sense.. he was actually helping her... she didn't know why but, she was thankful.

''Thank you Etrigan.... I shall try my best to cure my blood of this curse.'' she says before nodding as a sign of goodbye.

She starts to leave when she see's Alfie working at the table and Henry coming out of the Healing module. She starts slightly blushing right away... Henry had seen her at one of her lowest moments.

She shakes her head and slightly slapped both her cheeks before going up to him and saying ''How are your injuries, Henry...?''

Henry leaned back against the healing module, suddenly dizzy. He'd forgotten what it felt like while he had been inside. He swore under his breath.

He looked up, finding Alfredo working at one of his workbenches, and started to go forward towards him. He jumped as Hailey suddenly walked up to him and spoke.

"They're fine," he said, starting to step around her in the hopes that he could get out before he faceplanted into the ground. He stopped near Alfredo's desk.

"You need me for anything at all, I'm in my room," he managed, shoving off the table to start towards the stairs. Hell. The stairs...

Hailey looked down at the ground, saddened as Henry just continued on. She was going to call his name again as he was heading towards the stairs, but she stopped her self.

Insted she goes up to him again, slowly. ''Need help, dont worry... I wont think anything less of you if you accept.'' She says with a small saddened smile.

He stopped in front of the stairwell, looking up at it apprehensively, when Hailey approached him again. He pursed his lips, bracing himself with both hands against the walls of the stairwell.

"I'm fine," he insisted. I'm not even bleeding. It was pathetic. He pressed against the walls of the stairwell, starting to force himself up as his head began to beat like a drum.

On the second step, he stumbled, slipping, and he swore loudly, slamming his hand against the wall. I can climb up the fucking stairs...!

Hailey looks at Henry trying to go up the stairs, with difficulty. She creeps up to him, ducks under his arm which he just slammed on the wall, and gets up, making his arm be around her shoulders.

''Please, let me help you... and I need to speak with you... I will even get dressed to your standards of appropriate if you want me to...'' she says while helping him take a step up.