Chapter 16

Valencia stared at the door to the dining room with a frown. She'd finished her breakfast a while ago and had been waiting for Callum since then. It had been a late night last night but it was far past time they usually met to train. To think she'd been nervous she would be late when she woke up! Did Callum think they didn't need to anymore? Valencia didn't think he was that foolish. Until this fie princess came, if she was ever coming, they needed to be able to defend themselves. The carcha were coming back. That was for sure.

Now that she thought about it, Valencia realized that Yemoramato was the only pilot she'd seen this morning. Nita had gotten roaring drunk last night so she was probably sleeping it off but Valencia hadn't seen Chajin or Mikan either. She hoped that Mikan didn't think the fight was over. Valencia didn't want to burst that sweet girl's bubble. She still didn't understand why Riley had given up and let the shy girl take his place. It was cowardly and Valencia had never considered Riley to be a coward. She'd tried to talk about it several times but he'd wriggled out of it every time and was now avoiding her. Not for the first time, Valencia wished she had the same power as Callum and the other pilots. She, Riley and Callum had done everything together since they were kids. It was unfair that the boys could do something she couldn't. Also not for the first time, she thanked God that there was a place for her in Angra Mainyu. She would have gone crazy sitting the fight out.

With a sigh, Valencia pushed herself up from the table. It seemed she was just going to have to roust Callum from his bed herself. As she walked to his room, she had a small smile on her face. It might be fun actually. When she poked her head in, his bed was empty, however. It didn't even look slept in. A cold feeling settled in her belly. Hadn't he come back here last night? If not, where was he? A vision of a drunk Nita pulling him into her bed flashed through her mind. 'No! He wouldn't! He couldn't!'

"Looking for Callum?" a soft voice asked behind her.

Valencia jumped, her heart thundering in her chest. She spun to find Chajin right behind her. The carcha had a lazy smile on her face like she usually did. Valencia did her best to school her face into impassiveness. She didn't want to look weak in front of the carcha woman. "Do you know where he is?"

"I don't," Chajin said, but the smirk on her face said she knew something that she wasn't telling. "I'd be very curious to learn, though."

"Why?" Valencia snapped. "What do you know?" Chajin only grinned wider and then sauntered away with that bizarre almost boneless stride she had. Valencia glared at her until she turned a corner. 'Where is that idiot?' Valencia had an idea. "Cosmos, can you tell me where Callum is?" The VI was everywhere in the base now.

Cosmos responded instantly. "Answer: Callum is currently in the room designated as storage area seven." What the hell? Why was he there? Where even was that? "Query: would you like me to lead you to storage area seven?"

"Um, sure…" Valencia wondered how she was going to do that but a little light suddenly started blinking above a door just a little ways down from Callum's room. Valencia shook her head, wondering what in the world was going on. She walked to the door and asked, "Is this storage room seven?"

"Affirmative."

Valencia's stomach was roiling and she couldn't understand why. Something was telling her to turn around and not open the door. She shook it off. 'I'm being stupid.' Valencia activated the door.

It took her several long moments to perceive what she saw. Her brain tried to reject it. But reality ruthlessly forced itself in. Callum was on his back, sleeping, and completely naked. Curled up against him, her head on his arm, was Mikan. She was also sleeping and also nude. A dozen little details that she couldn't ignore made it clear that there could be no misunderstanding. Callum and Mikan had had sex.

'Mikan? Mikan?! Fucking Mikan?!' Valencia couldn't believe it. She'd been worried about Nita for years now and now there was that slut Yemoramato to deal with. Valencia had seen the way Callum looked at them. But she hadn't actually believed he would sleep with either one of them. Not truly. Mikan...she'd never even considered Mikan. They had just met her for fuck's sake! More than that, she was a scared little bunny. How had she seduced him? Or had he…?

A wave of nausea hit Valencia and the room seemed to spin. She fell sideways and had to catch herself on the doorframe. Her breathing stopped and she prayed to God that Callum hadn't woken up. Her eyes flicked to Callum and she saw that his eyes were still closed. A brief feeling of relief flashed through her. Then her guts turned to ice. Mikan's dark eyes were open wide. And the girl was absolutely terrified.

Valencia turned and ran. She sprinted down the hall and around one corner. She had to stop, though, because tears were blurring her vision. 'Damn it! Damn it!' She scrubbed at her eyes viciously but it didn't help.

"M-Miss Valencia." The voice was quiet and laced with fear. Valencia glanced back and saw Mikan coming around the corner, her hand half raised toward Valencia. The girl was still naked. As the lights played across her, Valencia could see a sheen of dried liquid on her hips and stomach and thighs. Nausea so strong that it made Valencia clap a hand to her mouth roiled through Valencia. She ran.

Mikan chased her. She was slightly shorter than Valencia but she was surprisingly fast and actually managed to tackle Valencia after just a few strides. They crashed to the floor together. Valencia squirmed out of her grasp and scrambled away, pushing herself along the ground on her backside with a frenzy of hands and feet. Mikan, on her knees, held out one hand toward her in desperation. And then the girl's face crumpled. She started to sob. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! It wasn't his fault! Don't hate him!" That was all she managed before her racking sobs made it impossible to talk.

Valencia watched, wishing she could take pleasure in it. Instead, she just felt bad. These weren't fake tears. Valencia didn't think it was possible for a person to sob like that unless powerful emotion was forcing it out of them. Valencia had sobbed like that before and it didn't feel good. Valencia stood and walked to Mikan. The girl actually shied back like Valencia was going to hit her. 'Damn it.' Valencia knelt down and rubbed Mikan's back lightly. "Come on. Let's get you out of here before someone sees you." Mikan suddenly seemed to realize she was naked and tried to cover herself with her hands. She was still crying, though. "Come on," Valencia repeated. She helped Mikan to her feet and led her to Valencia's room.

Valenca gave her a robe and seated Mikan on her bed. She leaned against the far wall and watched the girl cry herself out. Valencia wanted to hold Mikan in her arms and comfort her but she couldn't quite bring herself to do it. Eventually Mikan wound down to the occasional sniffle and Valencia asked, "So what were you trying to tell me before you lost it?" Her tone was cold.

Mikan flinched and Valencia felt bad and then got angry for feeling that way. Mikan had fucked Callum. No matter how pitiful she might seem, she had fucked Callum. 'I need to remember that.' "It wasn't his fault," the girl mumbled. She was staring at her knees. "He told me to leave. Please don't blame him."

"You said that before." Valencia's voice was steady and cool. "Explain it."

Mikan flinched again. "He-he told me to go. He told me what was going to happen. I decided to stay. I...I made the decision."

Valencia felt a flash of rage and her face twisted into a snarl. Mikan gasped. Valencia took a long breath to calm down and said, "Start from the beginning."

Mikan nodded. "I was going back to my room when I saw Mister Callum." 'Mister? A little late for Mister after you fucked him.' But Valencia didn't think she was lying about seeing him. Her room was in the same hallway as Callum's. "He seemed like he was hurt and he stumbled into the storage room. I followed him in to see if he was okay. Um…" Mikan suddenly blushed and stared hard at her knees. "He had pulled his jumpsuit down...exposing himself."

Valencia shook her head. This was not what she had been expecting. "Why?"

"He said that carcha...Chajin did something to him. Some kind of...poison. He said that it put him into...heat." Her voice went quieter when she said the last word. "When he saw me, he pinned me against a wall. His...manhood...was very stiff already. It poked me in the belly." Valencia glared at her. That didn't sound like Calum at all. At all. But the girl was blushing fiercely and washing her hands together. It didn't seem like she was lying. Which meant that Callum hadn't been himself. Chajin had done something to Callum. It was simultaneously a relief and enraging to know that. Callum hadn't willingly betrayed her. 'I'm going to wring that bitch's neck!' But first, she had to know.

"What happened next?" Valencia pushed.

"He...he told me to go." Mikan squeezed her eyes shut. "He said...he said he was afraid he might rape me if I didn't go."

"He wanted you to leave?" Valencia asked slowly. She was getting confused now. "He was going to let you go?"

Mikan nodded. "I'm sorry, Valencia." Two fresh tears streaked down her cheeks.

"What did you do?!" Valencia asked, her voice strangled.

Mikan looked down at her lap. After a long pause, she said, "I kissed him."

Valencia was halfway to her before she knew it, fingers curled like talons. Mikan flinched away but didn't make a move to defend herself or scream for help. That stopped Valencia. "Why, Mikan?" Valencia asked, her voice choked. "Why did you kiss him?"

"Because I love him!" Mikan said, in as close to a shout as Valencia had ever heard. Her eyes were still screwed shut and her hands were balled in her lap.

Valencia stiffened, her anger sparking up again. "Love him?! You don't even know him!"

"I know enough to love him." Her voice was quieter now but there was a firm undertone to it. "He's kind and handsome and gentle and a hero and…" Mikan's face heated and Valencia started to shake. 'And, what? He's a good lover?' Valencia was about to scream. Then Mikan's shoulders slumped. "But I never meant to try to be with him," she said in a soft, sad voice. "I know he deserves someone better than me."

Valencia settled, her desire to attack Mikan momentarily lessened. "What do you mean by that?"

Mikan's hands tightened on the cloth of her robe. "I mean that I am nobody. I'm not cute. Everyone always tells me I look like my brother." Valencia's eyebrows rose a little. Did Mikan think that was an insult rather than a comment on how feminine her brother was? Valencia shook it off. 'Not important right now.' "You and Miss Nita are much more beautiful than I am and have known him for longer. I know that I don't stand a chance. That's why last night...I thought it was the only time I might be able to...be with him like that. I know it was wrong but…" She shook her head. "I'm sorry."

Valencia wanted to hate Mikan but it was growing increasingly hard the more Mikan talked about herself. If this had been virtually any other situation, Valencia would have grabbed Mikan by the shoulders and told her to value herself more. She was cute and sweet and even a pilot! But since Mikan was a competitor for Callum's affections, she also didn't want to do any of that. It was confusing and made Valencia dislike herself. All of her instincts told her to comfort Mikan but at the same time told her to hate her. It was tearing her up. So Valencia circled back to a different topic, one that reignited that smoldering, comforting rage. "You said Chajin did something to him," Valencia said. "What did she do?"

Mikan slowly shook her head. "I don't know. Callum only said that she poisoned him. I don't know why."

"Well, I think it is time I figured that out," Valencia growled. She made for the door. Mikan got up and began to follow. Valencia whirled on her. "Don't follow me! I don't want to be near you right now." Even as she said it, Valencia realized how incredibly harsh her words were. Mikan jerked, as if she'd been physically struck by Valencia. She stared at her toes and seemed to be on the verge of tears again. It hurt Valencia's heart but she turned and walked from the room.

She found Chajin out near her mech. The rage that had been boiling in her simmered over and Valencia actually charged her. She took a swing at the carcha woman but Chajin flowed around her fist casually. "Hello, human," Chajin said cheerfully. "What can I do for you?"

"You know exactly why I am here, you bitch!" Valencia snarled, swinging at Chajin again. The carcha just leaned out of the way this time. It was so easy for her that it made Valencia even madder. "What did you do to Callum?!"

"Ah, that." Chajin giggled. "Just a little love bite. It seemed to really get him raring to go but then he ran off. Where did he go? I don't suppose you know?" Chajin said, her voice full of mockery.

Valencia stopped trying to hit Chajin. Mostly because it wasn't working. "A love bite? What the hell are you talking about?"

Chajin smiled, revealing her sharp teeth. "We carcha produce a venom that acts as an aphrodisiac for our partners. The effect is fairly minor among carcha but I've heard that it acts more powerfully on humans. I was curious to see if the rumor was true."

"You were curious?!" Valencia screamed. She tried to surprise Chajin by kicking her but the carcha leaned out of the way without apparent effort. "You bitch! Why Callum?!"

Chajin shrugged. "Why not? He's interesting."

Valencia was breathing hard and couldn't seem to catch her breath. Why couldn't she hit the carcha just once? Didn't she deserve at least that much? "Do you love him?"

Chajin's black eyes widened and then she laughed. It wasn't the contrived, mocking laughter she normally had but a horrendous shrieking. Was this what Chajin laughed like when she actually found something funny? It was terrifying. "Love him?" Chajin repeated when she was in control of herself. "You are too precious. Perhaps I should have bitten you instead."

Valencia's face was burning. "If you don't love him, then why did you bite him?"

"I told you already. He is interesting. I wanted to see what would happen. He might have lost himself enough to fuck me. That would have been fun. Unlikely but you never know." Chajin winked at her. "I thought the most likely outcome was that he would find and fuck you and that would have been interesting, too. Would it have made your partnership stronger or weaker? I feel safe guessing that wasn't what happened so who was it? The Torpedo?" She bit her lip with sharp teeth. "The fie? Please tell me he bent that haughty bitch over. That would be too much."

"Mikan," Valencia muttered.

"What?"

"Mikan," Valencia repeated. "He slept with Mikan." She expected saying it out loud to hurt but instead she just felt numb and empty.

"Who is that?" Chajin asked. For once there was no teasing or humor in her voice.

Valencia stared at her in confusion. "Mikan. The...the other pilot."

Chajin's jaw actually dropped. "Her? That little minnow? Now that is an unexpected outcome." Chajin stared off into the distance. Valencia got the feeling that she wasn't shocked very often. 'She's not paying attention to me.' It was the best shot she was going to get. Valencia swung with all her strength behind it. Chajin's red eyes instantly flicked to the fist and Valencia was sure she would duck away. But the fist crashed right into her, hitting the cheek just to the left of her mouth. Chajin didn't even roll with the punch. She took it full in the face and remained still as stone.

Valencia pulled back her fist, cursing. Her hand hurt badly. It felt like she'd punched steel. What the hell were carcha made of anyway? Chajin moved like she had no bones but her jaw was like metal. The carcha snaked her tongue out and licked the drop of blood welling from the corner of mouth. She stared down at Valencia. Her eyes weren't angry or amused. They were...bored. "Weak," Chajin said. She walked away.

Valencia sank down to her knees. The numb, empty feeling spread through her body. She thought she should be crying but the tears wouldn't come.