All That's Left

Dark Lady Devinity

A/n: We need more fanfiction based on the current manga arc on Gaia online. Seriously. Anyway, if you aren't reading the Interlude pages then this might be out of context and have spoilers.

All That's Left

Gino Gambino had been through a lot in his short life. His father had been murdered and the demigod Meili had been severely injured and potentially killed defending the boy. Edmund had been so concerned with getting Gino to safety that he hadn't thought to check on the demigod. Even before that, Gino had been a stowaway on Overseer and Sentinel's ship, having no place to go after he was kicked out of his friend's apartment when Overseer stole Gino's naked body. There was every possibility that Gino had been through worse again but that was before Overseer and Sentinel had met him.

It was enough to even make Sentinel feel sorry for the golden haired child. Which was why the crew was still up that night waiting for Edmund to come out of Gino's room and declare that the kid was alright. Ladyhands had made lemon tea with honey but only Sentinel was acting calm enough to drink it. Soon the trio would have to start preparing for another day. Edmund had told them that in the morning they would be rendezvousing with Brennivin. Edmund was going to take Gino home where he and his friends were better able to protect the kid. Sentinel and Overseer intended to head back to Meili's apartment and do what they could for their friend. This made the most sense logically. Sentinel, Overseer and Ladyhands could take care of themselves and without worry for each other's safety. Gino was small, effeminate and a poor navigator who had never been to this part of the world. Still, he was their navigator and Overseer and Ladyhands really didn't want to see him go. Sentinel was the only one to see the situation in the most practical light possible: which was to tear the head off anyone (that wasn't her) who tried to bloody up the piglet ever again.

"We should head on to bed." Sentinel said. "You guys look like you could really use the beauty sleep."

"Maybe Edmund wouldn't mind if we checked on the kid." Ladyhands mused.

"I'm right here guys." A quiet voice said.

"He's not going to let us all in there." Overseer said.

"Guys." That young voice insisted.

"I don't see why we have to check on him. He'll be there in the morning. It's not like he's going anywhere when we're on a floating ship far away from land." Sentinel said.

"Oh come on."

"Shut up Gino, we're having grown up time right now." Sentinel snapped. It took about three seconds for the group to realize what Sentinel had said before they whipped around to face Gino. The kid looked the worse for wear but he wasn't bleeding all over the place and the only visible bandages were on his wrists and head. Sentinel and Overseer were in the process of getting up from their chairs as Ladyhands, with uncanny speed, had maneuvered around from the far side of the table to engulf Gino in a crushing hug. Gino struggled for a bit before Ladyhands remembered that Gaians still needed to breathe.

Ladyhands looked bashful as he apologized but then he remembered what had happened all those hours ago. "Next time you stay on the ship with me kid. There's vampires out looking for you. It's dangerous."

"I think I may have already discovered that." Gino said. "Is that tea?"

"I'll make you some. If you want, while you're drinking it, you can tell us what happened to you." Ladyhands said.

Gino nodded and sat down. Overseer patted the boy affectionately on the shoulder and Sentinel managed a somewhat friendly grimace.

"I know that Edmund wants to get me out of here and out of this whole mess with the vampires and the god killings." Gino said. "But I want to go back to the city. You are going to go see if Meili's still al… if he's okay, right?"

"That was the plan." Sentinel said.

"Where is Edmund anyway? I would not have thought that he would let you out of your room unsupervised." Overseer said. "He was really worried about you."

"He was all badass about it too." Sentinel said. "I was impressed."

"I told him I had to go to the bathroom." Gino said. "We talked about a lot in there and I needed to clear my head. My dad's dead."

Ladyhands set the tea down and patted Gino on the head. "I'm sorry for your loss Gino. Are you sure that staying with us is the best thing considering all that you've been through?"

Gino frowned and took a deep sip of his tea. He made a face as the hot beverage hit his tongue and burned it. The slightly goofy flail he made was so typical of pathetic, goofy Gino that the others were relieved. There was still some of the boy in him even after all he had been through. When Gino had made his way through a quarter of the cup, he gently placed his tea down and looked at his crewmates.

"It seems that I've lost a lot lately. All that's left for me is to make sure my friends are safe. I want to see for myself if Meili's alright or not. And I came this far with you guys. There's no way I'm being left behind. If we get attacked by vampires and assassins then maybe we can finally learn what's going on. Whatever this is it affects all of us." Gino said.

"I see you've finally grown a pair." Sentinel said, laughing. "Back to the city we go. They won't think to look for us there where they've already attacked us there."

"Great." Gino said. "Now who wants to tell Edmund?"

No one volunteered for that duty.