Ashen Crucible

Chapter Sixteen: The Trump

Chapter Sixteen: The Trump Card (Part 1)

Su discovered that his life had completely changed.

Parsifene showed no intention of forcibly taking him back or killing him, which naturally extinguished Su's thoughts of suicide or desperate resistance. Like all living creatures, Su harbored an exceptionally intense craving for survival.

As for escaping or countering Parsifene, Su remained prepared every moment while nurturing not a shred of delusion.

Parsifene's abilities utterly surpassed Su's detection range. He couldn't discern her primary capability domain. At times, his perception even suggested she possessed no supernatural powers at all, yet his instincts screamed incessantly of imminent danger. This contradiction between subconscious warnings and apparent reality often left Su disoriented when observing her.

But Su vividly remembered Parsifene's overwhelming display of power during their first encounter - how she'd effortlessly disarmed him. These weren't hallucinations or coincidences. The only certainty was his complete defenselessness against this mysterious woman. Since Parsifene maintained superficial respect, Su saw no reason to attempt foolish, ill-conceived actions that might invite humiliation.

Carrying Parsifene's luggage - a finely crafted ladies' canvas tote contrasting sharply with his tattered clothes and rugged Barrett rifle - Su trekked along the ridge toward N958. Even without using his enhanced senses, the faint floral fragrance lingering on the bag's handles seeped through his right palm.

Parsifene walked beside him, hands clasped behind her back, a black pencil dancing through her nimble fingers. She chatted incessantly - probing Su's age, experiences, preferences, skills, even his height, weight, and romantic history - while periodically interjecting, "Let's return to the Dark Dragonriders."

Su answered most questions except those about his abilities. To every homecoming suggestion, he consistently replied: "You can take my corpse back."

Though skeptical about Parsifene's claim of cohabitation, when asked about lodging, Su led her to N958. Concealing this pre-war private bunker was impossible anyway. Perhaps she could repair its water recycling system. Even if restored under Dragonrider control, more water meant more life.

The mountain lacked trails. Su traversed boulders with runway steadiness, while stiletto-clad Parsifene hopped between rocks, arms occasionally flailing for balance. Her carefree demeanor - hair fluttering, limbs brushing against Su - resembled a bygone era's naive, fantasy-prone girl needing protection.

An hour later, Su stood before N958's entrance with his animated companion. The retracting door revealed a pitch-black interior lit only by faint emergency lights. Su's night vision adapted instantly, but Parsifene pressed closer, clutching his shirt like a frightened kitten despite her near-equal height.

The bunker gradually illuminated as Su activated systems. Machinery hummed to life, purified air circulated, and the entrance sealed behind them.

Thousands of miles away, in the Dark Dragonriders' headquarters, an elderly man choked on his coffee watching surveillance footage of Parsifene clinging to Su's arm. His coughing fit required urgent cleanup before his stone-faced assistant intervened.

The tour concluded at the empty swimming pool. "I still can't imagine this filled with water," Su remarked.

"Neither can I," Parsifene murmured.

"...You're not helping."

"Hey! You're the man here. Don't be stingy!" she retorted.

"Fine. Seems we're the same," Su surrendered.

In the master suite's expansive bathroom, Parsifene's eyes sparkled under ambient lighting. As warm mist filled the shower cubicle, she struck a coquettish pose. Su deposited her luggage and exited without backward glance.

Seated outside hugging his rifle, Su mentally unraveled. Every possible scenario had been considered except this surreal situation. Parsifene's true motives remained opaque.

Emerging later in a silk chemise that barely covered her thighs, damp hair piled carelessly, Parsifene carried whiskey and glasses. "Hugging that gun like a lover?" she teased, legs sprawled before Su.

"Guns don't betray," Su countered, eye measurements involuntarily confirming her lack of undergarments.

After downing mutual shots, Parsifene leaned close, breath tickling Su's ear: "I hold the ultimate trump card to make you willing...and I'll see your face when you choose to show me."

As her exhale lifted his golden hairs, Su's entire body tensed then slowly relaxed.

Chapter Sixteen: The Trump Card (Part 2)

That night, Parsifene naturally claimed the master bedroom while Su slept curled against the bunker entrance with his Barrett. She raised no objections to his chosen post, seemingly unworried about nocturnal escapes.

Exhausted from maintaining combat-level alertness around her all day, amplified by the liquor's effects, Su fell into unusually deep sleep. Twelve hours later, machine vibrations finally roused him. Morning light filtering through the door c***k indicated 9:45.

His awakening body froze mid-stretch. The Barrett lay beside him instead of in his arms. A pillow cushioned his neck, soft blankets replacing the cold alloy floor. The lingering warmth and faint floral scent made his survival instincts hesitate.

"Awake?" Parsifene emerged from the corridor in blue button-down and jeans, her ash hair now ponytailed. The black-framed glasses remained, framing eyes that shifted between innocence and predation. She carried a steaming plate, industrial wrench protruding from her back pocket.

Su's mind involuntarily calculated her luggage's capacity versus displayed wardrobe changes. He sat up, but she ordered "Stay" while settling beside him. The plate held synthesized nutrients transformed into aromatic cuisine.

"Your share," she declared, invoking wasteland hierarchy where warriors ate first. Su divided portions unevenly, keeping the smaller half. They shared the plate, her stray hairs tickling his face during accidental head bumps.

Post-breakfast, they descended to the flooded basement where Parsifene had spent pre-dawn dismantling the water recycler. Blueprints and alloy fragments littered the floor. She commandeered Su as assistant, lecturing throughout repairs about hydrodynamic processors and corroded elbow joints.

"Why refuse the Dragonriders?" she asked casually while machining replacement pipes.

Su watched lathe sparks. "I killed your people. And I won't be a lab rat."

"Casualties can be negotiated. What if I guarantee your freedom?" Perspiration glistened at her temples under work lights.

"You see wastelanders as subhuman. I belong here."

Parsifene straightened, ash strands escaping her updo. "The man you killed - Lekonar - am I like him?"

After deliberation, Su shook his head.

"Then change the organization from within," she challenged, loading his arms with components. "You claim powerlessness yet charge headlong against the juggernaut."

Su met her gaze. "I choose survival until death becomes inevitable."

By dusk, reactivated machinery pumped purified water. Parsifene's triumphant shout echoed as crystalline liquid gushed forth - life itself reclaimed.

That midnight found them atop windswept cliffs overlooking skeletal highways. "Describe women's status in this era," she demanded suddenly.

Su answered truthfully: "Property. Breeding vessels. Survival currency."

Her laugh bit cold. "My battlefield dominance and family name barely fend off vultures. When strength fails..." She trailed off, then dropped the bombshell: "Su. Join the Dragonriders. Become my protector."

Memories flashed - her calculated allure, morning vulnerability, technical brilliance. "The Dragonriders aren't for me," he refused.

"Because of the girl with spider-queen Lana'kesh?" Parsifene's voice turned glacial. "That silver-haired child you protect can't be shielded by a wastelander. What will you do when real predators come?"

Su's pulse spiked. Parsifene pressed: "The Dragonriders offer exponential growth. Power begets power there."

"Then I'll join."

Her terms came swift: "You'll be my man in name only. Grow strong enough to claim the title truly or be replaced. Die fighting for your causes, but remember - you belong to me until then."

The deal's generosity outweighed logic. Su nodded. "Done."

Parsifene secured her hair with the ever-present pencil. "Had you accepted earlier, this would've been a gift, not transaction. But you forced my final card."

As night deepened, Su realized her unspoken wish from previous conversations - the trivial desire to see his concealed face. Now bound by pact, he finally unwound his facial bandages.

Parsifene's breath caught. Moonlight revealed features matching her wildest speculations - and something far more dangerous.