Archive of Our Own

For an ace thief like Henry, his ultimate desire in life at this point was to become rich. It just so happened that this profession suited his skill-set the most handily, especially in comparison to every other option where menial work was involved. He found this life to be thrilling and the risk factors negligible. Oh sure, he'd nearly died plenty of times already, more than half being the result of his own lack of foresight... There was a line, a literal line, between the illegal acts of breaking-and-entering to steal something valuable, and the extravagant drama he seemed to always embroil himself into!

But, that's just the way he liked it. The fear of dying a pointless, if not flashy, death was tempered by the excitement he felt, basking in the knowledge that, yes, Henry Stickmin did live to tell the tale, and all the wealthier for it! He didn't think he could live any other way.

So, when it came to his knowledge that the Toppat Clan had not only placed themselves into a nigh untouchable position in space, sitting pretty while they lazily orbited the planet, but had also secured themselves the final jewel in the triple set collection, Henry couldn't resist! Just popping up within the last few years, various criminal circles have been whispering to each other about the amount of prestige one could obtain if they had the complete jewel set in their possession.

The Tunisian Diamond, Romanian Ruby, and now the Norwegian Emerald, recently pilfered from the Queen of Norway's holdings. It'd just made the news recently that the Toppat Clan, secure in their new dominant position, had gone for a super bold move and had stolen an almost priceless artifact from the Norwegian Royal Family. Like, seriously, talk about balls!

Since not many were fully in the know, a lot of people assumed that the Toppat Clan had the complete set. It made headlines some time ago that they'd acquired the Romanian Ruby while it was in transit between Romania and Turkey, where it was supposed to be the new crown jewel of the Istanbul National Museum of Fine Arts & Mineralogy.

Yeah, turns out Giant weapon-clad airship beats cargo plane.

This would've been more than enough for the military to rescind on their previous pardon of the Toppat Clan, and they would've never had to put Henry up to infiltrate their airship in the first place, had they been able to get at least one confession. But, alas, the surviving crew had been greatly pressured by whoever stole from them not to identify exactly how they lost the Ruby mid-flight. So, that left the awkward situation where everyone kind of knew who'd done it, but without any evidence, it was all hearsay. The criminal underworld had talked and laughed about the seizure for weeks.

The Tunisian Diamond was also suspected to be in their vault, since it was never leaked to the public that it was an anonymous thief (Henry) who had single-handedly broken in and stole it. The military was at least kind enough to leave that detail out of most official reports. The former mayor had been ousted for his plans to smuggle the diamond out of the museum, as well as him being a high-ranking Toppat Clan member. So it only made sense if you were working off of bits and pieces of information.

But yeah. Now, Henry was in possession of the Romanian Ruby, as well as the Tunisian Diamond, and he was on track to getting out with this big, green beauty, too, and completing the set. He'd been pretty dead-set on selling them for a while, were it not for hesitant contacts unsure about buying them, until he'd listened to that BBC report. So, of course, the next logical course of action was for him to outfit his scooter with a rocket, put on a space-resistant suit and target the Toppat orbital station in order to take that emerald for himself! To complete the set!

Private collectors would pay a literal fortune to get their hands on these jewels, so Henry had an incentive to acquire the emerald either way. He could either sell them for so much, a ridiculous amount of money, that he would never worry about anything money-wise again. Or, he could stand to mark his name in the underworld for having all three super expensive gems in his possession and bask in his skyrocketing prestige, continuing his work as a lone thief.

Henry was partial to the latter option, and victory was so close! He was so close to crossing the finish line.

And boy, would he have, were it not for one more small obstacle...

Well, technically two obstacles, but when all of them were packed into a single lounge room, the distinction didn't really mean much...

Except when while one of them was pointing a pistol at you, the other one was pointing a damn harpoon gun. And the face behind the harpoon gun...

"You!" the voice of who may as well be his new worst nightmare growled.

Henry, having just used his whole body weight to push this damn emerald through the hydraulic door, felt like all the breath had been sucked out of his body, like the woman in front of him was a ghost of his past come to reap him for his sins.

And to be fair, that description wasn't as far as off as he'd wish it was.

"Oh no, you don't," Right Hand Man warned, getting up from the lounge booth, his pistol sights set on Henry with a menacing aura. That would've been bad enough on its own, Henry thought, hastily rising to his feet as the two Toppats(?) stared him down.

"Today's your lucky day, girl." RHM walked up to the girl in question's side, still glaring at Henry, but now giving off newfound amusement at the scene in front of him. "Didn't think we'd be usin' your skills so soon, but looks like fate wanted to repay you sooner than we thought."

The redheaded girl nodded, not letting up on sighting Henry down the barrel of her harpoon gun for even a moment. She steadied her grip. "Hey, I'm all for some pleasant surprises. But this," she said as she chuckled, a very nasty grin donned on her face. "This is too perfect." The inflection in her voice made it clear to him that she was so angry yet so happy at seeing him here. He wished he could say the same...

"What? Surprised?" She mocked, deciding to milk this for all it was worth. "Thought convincing me to help you escape and having the audacity to leave me behind was the last you'd see of me? You think I was gonna take that crap lying down?!"

Henry was still trying to process all this, wide eyes taking in the scene in front of him like it was some sort of drama fiction. It may as well have! Why is she here?!

RHM let her have her moment, and pressed a finger on his walkie-talkie. "Hey, Reg." He said, probably calling his leader, Henry thought. "Yeah, I found that intruder." He looked Henry up and down, scowling just as much with his eyes as he did with his mustache. As if he was disappointed he didn't have to turn the station upside down to try and catch him. Henry had practically fallen right into his lap.

"Excellent work," a posh, refined voice sounded over the walkie-talkie. Henry didn't recognize it. "I knew I could count on you."

"Funny story, that." He continued, grinning with a touch of arrogance as he shifted his gaze to the rigid, glaring girl. "Remember that girl we beamed up, Ellie? The one I told you would be great for huntin' down the guy who stole our ruby?" Reg hummed on the other end, listening. "Well, done a fine enough job with it already. Was just talkin' to her when that intruder came in, and turns out it's the same guy."

"The same guy..." he repeated, a hint of disbelief in his voice.

"Yep." He confirmed, dryly. "Just waltzed right in, lookin' like he was about to pilfer our prized emerald, too..."

"What?!" He yelled on the other line. "The audacity! I trust you two will be dealing with our mutual... friend, appropriately?"

"Heh, I have a feelin' there ain't gonna be a scrap left of him when she's finished." He ignored how Henry's face practically lost all color from that implication. "I'll keep you updated." He switched off the walkie-talkie, returning his sight fully focused on Henry, gun still raised.

Henry hadn't felt dread this suffocating in what felt like forever. It was like her glare was burning a hole right through him, like she was channeling her red hair into hot, laser-focused energy. Seriously, his luck absolutely sucked!

"You're probably wondering why I'm here, aren't you?" Ellie asked rhetorically. "You're not the only one skilled enough to break out of max security, y'know?" Her gaze only sharpened, gritting her teeth visibly. "It definitely took me longer than it would've if you'd brought me with you. And I might not have made it out at all, and spent all of my days in that damn, cold place! If it wasn't for you!"

"Really not much of a team player, are 'ya?" RHM added, seeing as Henry was still too shell-shocked to say anything. He tsked. "Leaving behind someone who helped you out, just to save your own hide?" He shook his head, disgust clearly evident on his face. "That sorta thing would definitely get you kicked out of the Toppat Clan. Not that we'd take in someone like you, mind, not with what you did... Really coulda' made something of yourself if you hadn't been so selfish..."

"And if you weren't so selfish," the girl, Ellie, Henry reminded himself, continue, "you wouldn't have made so many enemies! As soon as I busted myself out, I was searching all over the damn place for you." She smiled viciously. "Lucky for me, then, that I learned the Toppat Clan was hunting down a fellow. Some bastard who stole their precious ruby, who they happened to learn the name of. Henry Stickmin. And who was everyone talking about at The Wall after your little escape?" She stepped forward, prompting Henry to take back a step in turn, still holding onto the Norwegian Emerald for dear life. She gestured her weapon to the floor. Taking the hint, he set the emerald down. She refocused sights on him.

Henry couldn't believe this. This was a turn of events that was so out of left-field, he'd think some higher power was out there, specifically screwing with him. He had a feeling, even back at The Wall, that his decision to escape on his own after Ellie helped him wasn't great, but this is the result?!

"Now, now, hold on." RHM reprimanded, grabbing Ellie's shoulder with his free hand. She glared at him from over her shoulder, but didn't shrug him off. "I specifically brought you here to help us out. I'm all for helping you fulfill your revenge against this guy, but first things first. The Toppat Clan are owed their due."

Ellie grumbled, but did lower her weapon. Slightly.

He pointed at Henry, raising his voice. "You still got that ruby, don't 'ya? Hasn't appeared on the black market, so I'm throwin' a guess you haven't sold it yet." Henry hesitated for a second, but thought better of it. There was no way he could lie here. He nodded, shakily.

RHM chuckled darkly, lowering his gun. "Well then, how 'bout we call it even?" He offered, laying out his arms in openness. Henry lifted his head, confused. Ellie didn't appear perturbed. If anything, her smugness only increased. "No need for this to end too horribly for you. Say we take you in as a very special guest... We keep you onboard for a few days, we have a nice chat about how you've been, what you've been up to, where you're keepin' that ruby of ours, and in the meantime, we send some of our boys down there to collect it. I'm sure you and your friend can also catch up in the meantime..." His eyes flitted meaningfully toward Ellie.

His proposition was sounding worse and worse the longer Henry listened to it. Ellie appeared quite content with the arrangement, though.

"And once we've got our jewel back in the vault, you'll be free to go." RHM shrugged, lazily twirling his pistol. "No hard feelings. We'll even forgive you for bringin' the government to our doorstep last time. After all, you were just caught in a bind, nothin' you coulda' done about that." His eyes shifted over to Ellie again at that suggestion. Henry winced. "This whole arrangement between us and her is temporary. She doesn't want to be a Toppat, and that's fine. Once this whole mess is over with, we'll beam you back down to the surface." He paused. "Together."

That sounded like something he really, really didn't want to happen! He kept the terror he was feeling behind a face that could only be considered slightly nervous, though. He needed to get out of this situation, and fast. His life was on the line... Again... but he really didn't want his life to be in her hands.

Henry needed to act NOW!

Okay, okay, okay, okay! Calm down. This is not the time to ruminate on what ways this girl will attempt to repay him for his stunt a few weeks back. Now is the time for a solution, and running the possibilities through his head, he only had a few...

He had a a bubble blaster gun on him. The newest review from Gadget Gabe had basically said that the not-toy gun was a bit of a mixed bag. Its specific chemical ammo-pack supplies the 'weapon', which can allow it to produce a relatively large, resilient and transparent bubble compound onto any surface its fired upon. Good for bouncing on if you need a bit of fun, a semi-solid surface to climb up on for height-related challenges, and a bunch of other miscellaneous purposes. Inconsistent results during testing gave the product a mixed review. It's also highly recommended you don't shoot this in someone's face if you don't want them suffocating inside a bubble bowl.

He also had a few playing dice on him. The guy who he bought it from said the dice had magical properties to call upon the cosmic forces of luck. Depending on your situation, it'll play in or against your favor. He would've been confident enough to use it if he only had to deal with one person. Say, RHM. But, with a pissed-off Ellie in attendance, he was feeling less confident about relying on the very luck that brought her here in the first place...

Henry also had knowledge of an ancient chant called "Song of Soothing." He picked it up in a shady bar, of all places, last week. Said to produce vocal currents that directly affected the mood of whoever heard it, anyone who's in a sour state will feel much more amicable after hearing it. Which he would be tempted to use... if there wasn't an exception in that people with red pigment were apparently immune to it... Which would explain why he's never heard stories of it being used on a drunk Irishman. Using it on RHM and Ellie, then, was out...

Which left him deprived of all of his options, except one...

"So, what's it gonna be?" Ellie asked, stepping forward intimidatingly. "Are you going to fess up to what you've done, or are you just that difficult?" Her face cracked for a second, showing some semblance of sorrow, before being shakily slapped back on. "Why would you even d-"

She didn't have time to finish.

Both Ellie and RHM yelled out in agony. Ellie, caught off guard, swung her weapon way off course, pulling the trigger and firing the harpoon in the spaceship wall. Both of them quickly dropped their weapons, desperately trying to cover their ears to protect from the unbearable clink that sounded off in the room.

Henry, grinning devilishly, pocketing his Vibro-Hammer. A device Gadget Gabe had specifically given a bad review for, on account of one of the editors going deaf upon using it, Henry had a feeling it would come in handy at some point. He had already covered his ears, banging the hammer against the emerald. Ellie and RHM were very disoriented, terrible ringing going on in both of their ears.

Scooping up the heavy emerald, spurred from adrenaline brought forward from the fear of what will happen to him if he stays, Henry jogged out of the lounge. Desperate to find a way off this floating, steel deathtrap.

"No!" Ellie yelled, barely hearing herself above the ringing that she was sure was going to leave her going deaf several years earlier than normal. Fueled by her anger at him, mustering what hot emotions had been building up towards him these past few weeks since her escape, Ellie pushed past the pain and stood up from her kneeling position. She ignored RHM writhing on the floor and pursued Henry, sprinting after him, as much as she could.

Henry's labored breathing echoed through the spacious hallway, exerting so much energy trying to move this giant pretty rock to whatever means of escape he can find. Looks like he got lucky and arrived on this station when it was encouraged to already be in bed. No one stood in his way as he carried the valuable gemstone, trying to put as much distance between him and those monsters as possible.

Feeling hope bloom in his chest, Henry turned right past the corner and bore witness to a line of familiar entrances. He grinned an open-mouthed grin. These were the escape pods he'd caught a glimpse of while closing in on the station. Jackpot!

Feeling particularly satisfied, Henry stumbled forward. In fact, he felt he should ride down back to the surface in style, with his new prize. Luxury escape pod, baby!

Hitting the button, Henry watched the hatch open for him. Knees starting to shake from the weight wearing down on him, he stepped inside, gently setting the emerald down in the seat. This beast and the other jewels were pretty damn resilient, and probably wouldn't take so much as a scratch under the harshest of abuse, but he worked hard to break in and get this thing. He felt better treating it with a modicum of respect.

Lifting himself up from the crouch, he rubbed his hands. Besides the setback with Ellie and RHM, pretty successful mission. He turned around, intending to punch the console and get the hell out of here.

The sound of pattering foot drops made him freeze for a moment, a sense of dread resurfacing. "You're not going anywhere!" A feminine voice shouted, prompting Henry to turn around in frenzy.

The wind was knocked right out of him as Ellie crashed into him. His body flew backward, his face hitting something metallic. His focus shifted away from the pain in his face as his instincts screamed at him to move out of the way. Ducking into a roll, he dodged Ellie's incoming kick, having recovered from her own crash. Henry's roll cut short as he hit the wall below the ornamental window. This pod was way too small for a fight like this. He stood back to his feet, getting into a fighting stance, disoriented as he was.

Ellie looked to be much the same. "You're gonna pay for what you did to me, you bastard!" She yelled, diving to tackle him. Because there was so little space, he could only slightly veer to the left. She still caught him, crashing her torso into his and forcing his upper body into the velvet cushions. Ellie, gritting her teeth and glaring him with such an overwhelming hate that he couldn't believe, raised her fists and started pummeling him.

This girl really preferred to get into the hard and gritty, Henry thought. He had a feeling she didn't want to kill him (at least, not yet...), but the fact that she opted to beat the crap out of him told him a lot about her mental state.

He resisted her onslaught as best he could, dodging his head when he could and getting a jab to her ribs when an opportunity rose. She still kept going.

"Oi, there you are!" A voice from outside the pod sounded. RHM. Panic filled his system. There was no way he could withstand both of them at the same time! He would be dead meat! Feeling a second wind come in, Henry's grunts turned to a scream as he pushed Ellie off of him. She still held on, so he opted to push his body weight against hers towards the console. She yelled out as he shoved her body against it.

To his right, in his periphery, he saw the pod door close. RHM started pounding on the glass, but before he could reopen the pod from his side, Henry moved Ellie aside and scanned the console for a lock button. Finding it, he pushed and felt relief as the click from the pod confirmed that at least he wouldn't have to deal with both of them.

In his reprieve, Ellie grunted out of his grasp and grabbed his head. Pain flared as she shoved his head against the console.

"Critical Escape protocol engaged. Activating emergency thrusters."

Henry and Ellie crashed into separate sides of the pod, the entire thing shaking as they blasted away from the space station. The emerald dislodged from its seat, falling hard to the floor.

Henry shook himself out of his stupor and moved to the front of the pod. They were blasting away extremely quickly, making great distance from the station. Ellie seemed to recover, shaking her head with her against it, taking a glance to the back window.

"Oh sh- Henry!" She yelled, grabbing his attention. He tensed, preparing for her to hit him again. Instead, the rapidly approaching Earth atmosphere faced it, along with the back of Ellie's head who was staring at it.

"Dammit! You hit the emergency thrusters button!"

Henry groaned, moving his feet towards the console, which had suffered bumps of abuse from their fight. "Ugh, you shoved my head against it..." He made to turn off the emergency thrusters, but the button was jammed... "Uhh... I can't shut it off..."

"What?!" She yelled in despair, pushing him aside as she mashed the thrusters button, willing it to turn off. "Crap! Oh, this is bad..." Ellie said in terror. "No, we're moving in too fast. We're gonna burn to ash if we reenter at this speed!"

Henry looked out the window, seeing that the edge horizon of Earth was starting to become visible. He also noticed orange trails surrounding the window, indicating they were facing the resistance of reentering the atmosphere. If they didn't shut it off...

Seeing how to stop their rapid descent, Henry moved Ellie aside, ignoring her protests, as he turned the inserted key which held closed a panel on the side. A lever lowered as he removed it, and he pulled.

"Wait, what are you doing?!" She asked, panicking and not sure what to make of this impromptu peace between them.

Almost immediately, the sound of the engines outside the pod died. They could immediately feel the difference, as now the engines were no longer pushing them any faster. They were now in free fall.

She got into his face, a fierce scowl setting in on her own. "We need the engines on the other side to slow our descent. We're gonna die crashing to the ground without power!"

He shook his head, sitting down on the velvet cushions momentarily. She didn't immediately jump back onto and pummel him again, so that was a good sign that they at least had a short truce going. "The engines on that side will just keep pushing us to the ground faster if we turn the power back on. Besides, don't escape pods like these have chutes in case of an emergency? Like this?"

She didn't say anything, instead opting to look out the window again. The orange flames were definitely visible from the inside, as clouds became visible. The pod was holding, though. "At this speed... I don't know. All I know is that even going in slower than this, we're gonna hit the ground hard..."

Henry had an idea on how they could maybe get out of this, but he opted not to say anything. Ellie was still standing up, looking at him with a complicated expression. She didn't acknowledge the emerald in the middle of the pod. She had opted to work with the Toppat Clan to get him. And he was in her sights.

"So," he voiced, catching Ellie's glare. "What's gonna happen when we land?"

"Assuming we don't die on impact?" She joked grimly. Letting her crooked smile fade, she surprised him by taking out another gun, a pistol. She flicked the safety off. "First, you're gonna tell me where you're keeping the ruby. Then, I'll radio the Toppats on the location, and once they've got it back from you, I'll shoot you."

"Huh..." Henry voiced unintelligibly. Wow. Not many people have been so... straightforward about their intentions before...

Her eyes were hard, daring him to try something. The pod was still shaking pretty heavily. "I'll let them know where the pod lands so they can recover their precious emerald. After that, I'll be on my way."

"I-I don't suppose we can let bygones be bygones...?"

Her eyes flashed. "You piece of-!" She reeled herself in, momentarily. The way she was shaking though... She couldn't hold it. "YOU ABANDONED ME!" Her voice and gaze were both downright murderous.

Henry's shoulders tensed, drawing into himself as she exploded. Losing all cool.

"You-You left me left me to rot in that stupid, cold prison! I helped you escape, gave you a helping hand, thinking you were gonna return me the favor! Like, I wasn't expecting us to be best buds or lovers or any of that crap if you took me along, but I wanted... something!" She yelled, body moving all over the place as she paced inside this cramped, metal space. She was seeping all of her energy into this rant, as it had probably had been building up for a long time up to this point. "N-Not, betrayal, deceit, stabbing me in the back! I was totally expecting to die in that place, you know that?!"

Henry couldn't bare to look up at her, shamefully keeping his gaze to the floor.

"I got lucky, y'know. I managed to duck out before things got really bad. You were the talk of the prison the day after you left. The Warden was having a meltdown, saying he would crack down on guards and prisoners alike because you managed to escape! He said he was even adding years to existing sentences, to all prisoners, because of you!" Henry's gaze flew back up to meet hers, hard eyes full of pain and frustration and fear. That was... She groaned loudly, holding her head in her hands. "I mean, that wasn't your fault; that Warden is psycho. But, still! What you did... What I almost lost..." Her voice broke, anger giving way to fear-stained sadness as she let her arms drop. She closed her eyes so tight he could barely see the pricks of tears in them. Her lips were also pulled incredibly tight. Her frame was shaking.

He... didn't know what to say to that... It made sense, in a cruel way. Researching the Warden following his escape, that guy too way too much pride in the fact that his complex hadn't suffered an escape in over half a century. The fact that he was the one to break that record was a pretty damn good honor, but to think it was to the cost of the rest of the prisoners... Including potentially Ellie, if she hadn't escaped after him... There wasn't really anything he could say that was good enough.

Still, he couldn't leave it in complete silence... "I'm... sorry." Henry whispered.

Ellie only shook her head. "...I can't accept that." She denied. She was carrying herself very poorly, already spent. "Like, why?" He lifted his head back up to look at her. She couldn't do the same. "What reason could you have had for not helping me out? D-Do you hate me, or something? Like... what was it...?"

He would've tried to answer her, were it not for the sudden jerk in the escape pod. Ellie, still standing up, nearly topped over if Henry didn't steady her from his own seat. She didn't say anything back to him, but at least didn't glare or punch him for it. They both looked above the window. Huh, looks like the chute did deploy. But...

"That's still not gonna be enough..." Ellie said, drained, and perhaps resigned. "We're coming in way too fast. As soon as we hit the ground, our bodies will get crushed..."

"Maybe not..."

Ellie, drained but annoyed, looked to him. "Unless you can teleport us out or something, I don't see how you can be hopeful right now."

God no, Henry internally denied. He did not trust the teleporter in most circumstances, let alone while he was in violent motion. No, he had something a little more safe in mind...

He took out the bubble blaster gun from earlier. He calmed Ellie down a second later, who drew up her own pistol. He held her shaking arm. "I'm gonna need you to trust me." He said, showing her it was not an offensive weapon.

Ellie scoffed, putting down her pistol. "Jeez, that's a tall order."

He only stared at her. She stared back. Henry couldn't exactly blame her, but for the sake of both of their lives, she needed to put aside her hatred for him.

In the end, she folded. She sighed. "Fine... what do I got to lose at this point?" She acquiesced.

Henry immediately got to work. Checking to see there was no hole in the cartridge, he aimed the bubble blaster at the corner, adjusting the size dial. When he pulled the trigger, a sharp blast produced a transparent bubble in the corner of the pod. It stuck to the corner. Ellie looked on with interest, beginning to see what he was up to.

Henry stepped up to it and poked it with his finger. It held. Then he tried slapping it full force with his hand. Didn't pop! Internally congratulating himself, he turned back to Ellie. "If we get cushions like this all around the pod, it should absorb most of the impact."

Ellie looked pensive for a second before taking a quick glance around the pod. As long as the walls and some of the floor were covered, then they might be able to make it... Turning back to him, she let out a small smile. She was still pissed at him, but his plan was sound. She nodded.

So, for the next few minutes, as the pod descended closer and closer to the ground, Henry set about covering the whole pod with surface bubbles to absorb the energy from the crash. Ellie helped point out spots like around the window and floor for him to cover. He grimaced as he started going through his third canister... this stuff wasn't exactly cheap...

He glanced at Ellie, who was looking out the window in worry, but not nearly as much as before.

...Henry smiled. But, if he could at least partially correct his previous mistake, then it was probably worth it.

About a minute's distance from the ground, Henry finished covering the inside of the pod. The walls and parts of the floor were covered in these resilient bubble surfaces. That should save them; the worst they should get from this is a splitting headache, but both of them would live!

Ellie stretched up her arms, letting a genuine smile blossom on her face. Henry had to admit it was a pretty sight. Which made what was about to happen next all the worse...

She turned to him. "I have to say, this plan of yours might actually sav-" She didn't finish. Unprepared for him suddenly elbowing her ribs, she couldn't stop him as he shoved her to the other side of the pod, opposite the door. As she fell to the floor, cushioned at least, he didn't miss the familiar expression of betrayal and anger that resurfaced. But still, he had to do this...

He set the size dial to large, quite a bit bigger than the bubbles lining the pod. He aimed at the floor between them and fired. At the same time, gun shots fired within the pod, Ellie quick on the draw...

...Only for them to hit a giant bubble now separating the two from the middle, catching the bullets and dropping harmlessly to the floor. They were about to hit the ground now.

Ellie's face said it all. "You betra-!"

Pain flared up in Henry's ribs. He opened his weary eyes, taking note that all of the bubbles in the pod were still intact. He felt around his rib cage, applying light pressure, much to his body's protest. He sighed in relief. Okay, nothing broken, at least.

"Hmm...?" A muffled voice said. Henry immediately sat up, lucidity returning to him. There, on the other side of the pod, was the distorted image of Ellie. The bubble he'd shot in the middle of the pod appears to have held, he thanked his lucky stars. If it hadn't, he had a feeling he wouldn't have woken up again, or worse.

Ellie was sitting against the window, lightly dozing. When she looked up at him her slightly tired gaze took on an annoyed quality, glowering. "Oh, you're up..." She said dryly. She crossed her arms. "You were knocked out a little while ago. Couldn't do anything from this side, so I thought I'd take a nap, or something." She rubbed an area in her upper torso, looking particularly annoyed "Still feel that jab in my ribs, by the way. Thanks for that." She said sardonically.

He raised his eyebrows and smiled apologetically. She only waved her hand, not taking it. He honestly didn't want to hurt her, but he needed at least some guarantee that, even after having survived a near-fatal experience together, she didn't have the option to kill him. This bubble was probably the best he could get without goodwill. And uh... yeah, he didn't really have any with her.

"Hey," he shrugged. "Least I didn't betray you again."

It was a poor answer. She obviously didn't hold any ill will against him for putting the barrier in-between the two; he had saved her life, too, after all. But it was the only thing he could think of at the moment as a response that he didn't want to kill her. He knew it was a poor response, but given this entire situation was freaking poor, he wasn't gonna kick himself too much for it.

Immediately, any light in her eyes dimmed. The only force working on her lips was gravity, and she just looked... broken. "Yes, you did."

That was all she said. That was all she probably could say, Henry winced internally.

"I mean..." She continued. He looked up, taking in her form. She just looked... done. "you didn't kill me at least..." She snorted, shaking her head. "Probably couldn't have." She looked down at her pistol, still holding onto it firmly. She looked to the middle of the pod, specifically inside the bubble. She let out a short chuckle. "Looks like you're not getting your prize, at least."

Henry blinked, wondering what she was talking abo—oh.

There, sitting placidly, dead in the middle of the pod, and the resilient bubble dividing them, was the Norwegian Emerald.

Henry's insides felt like they were shriveling up, just from the sight of it. All of that prep work, nearly dying multiple times, again, to the Toppat Clan, the act of infiltrating a damn space station, as well as the existential scare Ellie's return gave him. All of that...? For this result.

It was a Mission Fail, no way around that. Henry glanced up at the sitting Ellie, who only smiled, shaking her head. She wouldn't let him take it. There was nothing that could be done at this point. Even if he waited the several hours it took before this bubble faded away, Ellie was no less vengeful against him. She wanted blood. A few hours time likely wasn't enough to convince her to run away and share the profits. And when it did deflate, and he was still here, Ellie would still kill him.

She would still. If the opportunity presented itself. Kill him.

Kill.

Him.

It wasn't too often that Henry felt a remorse this deep. He dropped the bubble blaster, leaning against the cushion that survived the fall. It was really hitting him now. This girl in front of him, the one he had consciously chosen to abandon, wanted him dead. Because she hated him. Hers was an anger that would only be quenched from either revenge, or time. And this, not nearly enough time has passed...

But he could only shake his head. This was his fault, and there wasn't much of anything he could do now. But at least...

Maybe today didn't have to end on an absolutely terrible note.

He slowly walked over to the bubble, getting down to his knees. Ellie, curious, sat up against the window, looking at him with a blank expression.

He licked his lips. They were incredibly dry. He also cleared his throat. He tried to get a noise out of his throat, but it felt really tight. He swallowed once more. There we go. "I left you behind," he started shakily.

She looked at him, a bit of a hard edge to her eyes.

He placed his left hand on the bubble, which still held the pressure strong. "I don't have a good reason, okay? But, I'm just gonna say it, 'cause you pretty much deserve it. It's kind of all personal, but I don't care... I was afraid." Her eyes took on a little more life. At least he'd gotten her attention.

"It feels stupid thinking about it now, but when I looked down at the hatch, the one you gave me a boost toward, I was thinking about it. But, I stopped."

Ellie shook her head, eyes scrunching and lips pulled into a deep frown. "Why...?" She whispered.

"You asked if I did it because I hated you, or something. Nah, but I didn't trust you..." She continued to stare at him. "I've always worked best alone, that's what I think. Been burned by partners in the past for a lot stupider reasons. I'll give you some of the worst things I was thinking. This girl is going to slow me down. We won't be able to work together. I'm going to get caught because I was stupid enough to think two people, who don't know each other could break out of a place like this. All the worst things..."

"Honestly, I don't know if we would have worked together well. But, since you made it out on your own," Henry grinned. "I think I was wrong."

Ellie didn't say anything to that. Instead, she looked back down to the ground, a scowl on her face. Probably picking apart what he said and ripping his argument apart. As much of a argument as it was. He really did screw up. He'd faced probably worst odds then that niflheim knockoff! He should've taken that risk, tried taking her with him. Instead, he was left here, with broken opportunities and regrets.

"Those aren't very good reasons..." She finally broke the silence. She looked pretty unsatisfied with what he said. What he said probably cooled the fires in her heart somewhat, but not in relief.

Henry shrugged, reaching into his pocket. "I know, but it is what it is." He took out a tiny chip, laying it on the metal floor. Ellie eyed it curiously, probably half-expecting it to be a miniature bomb that he would use to blow her up and be rid of her. "It's a shrink n' grow." Her eyes sharply moved up to meet his, surprised.

Henry turned around, placing his hands against the crooked bottom of the escape pod. Grunting, he started lifting from the bottom. Looks like the electronic lock gave out. Lifting with his legs, Henry exerted enough strength to lift the pod door to the top, where it promptly clicked, leaving itself open. Taking in the outside, they appear to have dropped in a relatively empty field, barring a nearby meadow. Much more pleasant than a desert, at least!

He turned around, noticing Ellie had stood up. She looked at him sharply from behind the bubble shield. His words probably hadn't dissuaded her feelings by much, and didn't expect them to. They were at least partially for his own benefit, too, and while he hoped she walked away from this knowing he didn't do what he did out of malice, he would live with whatever came out of this.

His eyes flitted to the emerald and shrink n' grow on the ground, before looking back up at the redhead. He saluted. "I don't expect this to be our last meeting. Hopefully next time we meet, you're not pointing your pistol at me." He said humorlessly.

Ellie could only watch as he gave her one last look, an enigmatic smile, before walking off. By the time the bubble shield finally deflated, he was long gone...

"Hmm," the rough hum from Ellie's speaker sounded. "Made a right mess, didn't he?"

"I'll say," Ellie agreed. She was standing outside of the pod now, using her phone to share a live video feed with RHM at the other end of the call. She walked out of the broken pod and filmed the entrance and surrounding area. She began to walk around, showing everything of relevance to the second most powerful figure of the Toppat Clan. "Pretty clever, I'll give him that. We would've definitely died had he not used that fancy gadget of his to wall the pod. It kept both of us from getting crushed on impact."

"A little advice..." RHM intoned disapprovingly from the other end. She stopped walking. "Never take your eyes off your enemy. Even as a temporary ally, they'll always be looking for any opportunity to get 'ya when your back's turned. Especially a snake like Henry..."

"I... I won't let him get the better of me again." She said awkwardly. She really was foolish in that moment. She had basically told him only a few minutes prior that even if they both survived, she was going to kill him. Of course he would take any chance to prevent that, and she practically gave it to him. What really fascinates her, though, was the fact that even when he caught her completely off guard...

He didn't kill her.

"See to it that you don't." RHM reinforced, emotionless. "Ah, but already got your eyes on him again, don't 'ya? He's gonna be extra cautious from here on out, looking at every shadow as if it's gonna jump out on him. And he's right to." He chucked menacingly.

"Yes," Ellie agreed immediately. "I'm not done with Henry Stickmin just yet..."

"Henry's gonna be on our watch list as long as he's got our jewels. Still can't believe we lost the emerald..." He sighed. "He caught all of us off guard, and you weren't ready for the kinds of things he was willin' to do, so I won't blame you too much for this. No doubt he'll be looking for a buyer soon, so we'll be keepin' our eyes open in the meantime. Otherwise, can't be wasting resources on a small fry like him. We got bigger things to worry about, especially in the coming months as the governments look to take out the Toppat Clan."

So, if Henry was smart, he would look for a highly confidential buyer who he can sell the Romanian Ruby to. Glancing down to her own pocket, she had put to good use that shrink n' grow Henry had left behind...

He obviously couldn't take the emerald with him, knowing she would still be there when the bubble wore out. But, leaving behind a device like this, that would easily allow her to carry and store such a valuable item and fool her employer. He didn't benefit from that at all, unless she construed his action as some petty vendetta against the Toppats, but even then Ellie, the girl who tried to kill him, was personally benefiting from this.

She didn't quite know what to think about that.

"In the meantime, even though you didn't capture Henry or get the emerald back, you still demonstrated some serious tenacity today, girl," RHM complimented. "I think your performance today shows us you got some potential. You still sure you don't wanna join the Toppat Clan?"

Prior to Henry barging into the orbital station, Ellie had been invited aboard to speak to the Leader's Right Hand Man about the job opportunity she sought out. Like she said earlier, among criminal circles, the Toppats sometimes talked about wanting to get back at an elusive jewel thief by the name of Henry Stickmin, who had screwed them some time ago. Ellie had come forward with her knowledge and story, and talked with the enforcer. She approached the opportunity with gusto and enthusiasm, and among their negotiations, he even offered a place in the Toppat Clan; they were in a fine time to be getting new members, now that they were so secure, and she had proven her skills. Ellie, a lone thief up to this point, had respectfully declined his offer.

And she would have to do so again.

"Nah, I think I'm good as is. Besides, I still have a debt to settle with Henry. I appreciate the offer, though." She said gratefully. Her interactions with the Toppat Clan had mostly been positive up to this point, so she didn't want to unnecessarily burn any bridges. Not like Henry did.

RHM snorted slightly over the line. "If that's what you want. Can't fault your reasons. The offer's open, though, if you ever change your mind. Keep this number in handy. Otherwise, good luck with whatever else you're doing. Goodbye."

"See 'ya." She returned. The beep signified the end of the call.

Ellie gave out a long sigh, rubbing her eyes and feeling exhausted. It has been a long day.

Stretching her arms up, the satisfying pop made her feel at least a little better. It was mundane and normal, a fresh change compared to the chaotic mess these past few weeks have been. Of course, it wasn't going to stay this way for too long...

Taking the specific item out of her pocket, she stared at it with mixed emotions. The Norwegian Emerald, miniature size. An unbelievably valuable artifact, worth up to tens of millions of dollars, she was free to use it however she wishes. Being out in the middle of nowhere, she had requested RHM provide her transport to the nearest city. A Toppat Clan member was on his way to provide it, along with a quick search of the vicinity to make sure she wasn't lying about Henry taking the emerald. Little did they know...

She... wasn't happy with Henry's explanation. To be honest, she expected it to be something borne out of malice, or an intrinsic arrogance in his character that she could easily identify and hate. Not... whatever that was.

Was she still angry at Henry for what he did to her? Yes, absolutely. Bottom line, regardless of his intentions, he had betrayed her trust that day, and potentially could've sealed her fate within that cold, desolate hellhole. Her life would have been over. And she would have, if Henry had been foolish enough to stay, shot him several times after the bubble finally deflated. She was perfectly willing to kill him today.

But... it was more complicated than that, because of course it was. Ellie frowned, glancing at the broken escape pod. She had hoped to get more satisfaction out of their confrontation. A clearly divided line, victim to victimizer, wronged to wronger, betrayed to betrayer. No moral impunity, she gets to exact revenge on him for his callousness. But then, even though he did fight her, it was balanced out with little gestures that indicated some modicum of care and concern for her. He didn't kill her when he jabbed her in the ribs, having a great opportunity to steal her gun.

And instead of taunting her or immediately leaving, safe in the knowledge that she was powerless in that moment to do anything, he spent the next several minutes explaining himself to her. Granted, they were little more than excuses, but he did acknowledge that...

And the emerald... he absolutely didn't have to do that. She was aware of the price of these little things, shrink n' grows, and they weren't cheap. On top of that, his little act of generosity had effectively given her an opportunity to reap a serious cash reward for this little beauty. Granted, Ellie had to be extremely careful in how she sells it, lest the Toppat Clan knock on her door and RHM comes in to rip her arms off for lying to them, but the principle was still the same. He didn't have to give her this, even if he couldn't profit off of the emerald himself... Some misplaced sense of virtue, a cheap way of buying her gratitude?

Needless to say, her feelings on the matter were complicated.

Did she forgive Henry Stickmin?

No.

...Could she ever forgive Henry Stickmin?

Maybe.

She wondered for a moment where exactly he had gone off to. And if she would ever see him again... No, she smiled, she definitely would.

"You haven't seen the last of me, Henry."

On that, she promised.