In the end we got six of the twelve remaining F-ranked chits to split between us, and left Dale's with everyone else heading to dinner with Wren and Vector. They had arranged a meal with the rest of the Spear Legion, but I was confused about where. "So wait." I said, perplexed. "They aren't staying at the Blue Robin with you? I figured they were in their rooms or just not around. Why aren't they sharing accommodations with you guys?"

I said they, but it was more like she, since Lament was the one we were all most interested in. Wren just shrugged. "The Robin is one of the safest places in Doomtown, but Lament doesn't really care about that. Our handler is E-ranked, and got special dispensation to come down here, though he can't act except in self defense. The two of them decided to stay in one of the more...exciting areas. Some of the Doomtown hotels run by the local forces have interesting games and activities if you're willing to accept the possibility of death every time you turn around."

Mel groaned. "She's staying at the Chaotic Wombat, isn't she?" I turned my eyes to her, confused by the statement. She shrugged. "The Wombat is infamous. Abel went once, though I never bothered. The Wombat has a gimmick where every person who enters is stamped with a marking. Once every twenty four hours, at a random time, the markings all light up green. One person has a red marking and everyone else is supposed to attack them. The person who kills them gets ten F-ranked chits, and if they survive they get ten E-ranked chits, though to my knowledge it's only happened three times."

Abel grinned. "Oh yeah, the Wombat is a blast. Since the rooms are all in various wings and levels the whole mess turns into kind of a scavenger hunt. I was kind of hoping to get picked as sacrifice when I went, but it ended up being this annoying F-ranker named Kamahl. His ability was changing the size of things after touching them. He did it on a delay so he would throw like, rocks at you and they would turn into boulders. He was only early F-rank, or he wouldn't have been down here, but he still didn't last too long. I think one of Silent Dagger's people got him."

"That's horrible." Callie said, appalled. "Who would even go somewhere like that? Does everyone die when they get picked?" She looked horrified by the casual nature of the violence, and I didn't blame her. It was horrible that there were places you could die just for going. Hell, even knowing how lawless and awful Doomtown was supposed to be, the whole macabre nature of the game was just unconscionable.

Seeming to sense how upset she was, Mel put both hands up placatingly. "Not at all. Plenty of people escape. Usually the ones who get killed are unlikable. Your friends are free to intervene even if you get picked, and most people's do. You just don't get the payout if you leave the premises. The sacrifice lasts for three hours, and if you leave it's considered a forfeit." She patted Callie's shoulder to console her. "It's really not that bad."

It was easy to forget Mel and Abel weren't Unity. The WCP seemed like a quirky but stable place most of the time, but there was a reason it was considered a black market underground force. Then again, based on what Zeke had said it was probable that other factions might not be much better. The Black Sorrow Cult seemed like a pretty horrible environment based on their ruthless use of sleepers. Maybe the universe was just kind of a shithole. It was something to think about when we finally got off this planet. Being an Ascendant wasn't all wine and roses. Monsters weren't necessarily the biggest dangers.

With the knowledge that we could have friends step in though, I wasn't QUITE as opposed to going. Abel chuckled at the indecision. "It's fine kid. It's still early for dinner, and while it IS random when they do the sacrifice, it's usually when there are plenty of people around. It's what..." He checked his scan ring. "Five PM? Most people won't be eating for a few more hours. We'll be gone before they start the festivities."

I was sort of ambivalent here. With Abel and Mel, not to mention Wren, we should be fine even if one of us got picked, and if it wasn't likely to even happen, it might be safe enough. The sacrifice could happen at any time during a twenty four hour period, and it could happen to only one person. That made the chances of being there and being picked vanishingly small if we were only there for a short time. In the end, I just left the decision up to Callie, cocking my head at her so she knew it was her call.

She bit her lip, looking indecisive. In the end though, we came here for the danger, so we could improve. If we avoided dangerous situations we might as well have stayed up in G-district. I could see that same realization show up on her face. She nodded grudgingly. "Ok. Fine. But I want to make it clear that if the sacrifice DOES happen while we're there, even if we aren't picked we're not participating. I'm not hunting and killing another person for fun. That's awful. If possible I even want to help them. Is that ok with all of you? If not we'll skip it."

I beamed at her. I was so proud of her for coming to that conclusion. I don't think I would have thought to specify everyone help whoever got picked. To my surprise Abel just shrugged. "Sure. Sounds like a party. I prefer odds to be against me anyway. Still don't think it's likely to happen, but if it does I'm down to play defense."

We all rolled our eyes, because that was the most Abel answer possible and we probably should have expected it. Mel, to my surprise, also nodded though. "That's doable. I'll be honest, it's been a long time since I worried about that kind of thing. It's so common down here there doesn't seem to be a point most days. Still, if that's what you feel you have to do kid, we're behind you."

Callie looked poleaxed. "But...you're teaching us. Shouldn't you demand we toughen up and do what you think is best? Don't you think I'm being naive?" She sounded so confused at the concept of her teachers not forcing her to follow their example it broke my heard. I was pretty sure I had a guess at why.

Either Mel didn't figure it out or was too nice to bring up because she just laughed. "No. We're not trying to turn you into us. You kids are talented and you've helped us out, so we're giving you some lessons and a hand with this. Plus we might benefit, but we aren't you. Trying to brainwash someone into doing what you would do isn't teaching. You're ultimately Unity members, and doing things their way isn't always wrong. Sure, it might seem a little naive to us sometimes, but being naive is fine as long as you're smart about it."

Based on the shine in her eyes Callie looked ready to cry for a second, but she shook it off. "Thanks. I guess I didn't realize the baggage I had about teachers." She gave a steady nod. "Yeah. Like I said. If someone gets picked, we help them. Even if it isn't to our benefit. I won't stand by while someone gets hurt for no reason." Her voice strengthened as she repeated her decision, steel in her tone.

Wren cleared his throat. "So...we ARE going? As for the sacrifice you won't need to worry about us if you get picked. Lament isn't one to gang up on others. It's beneath her dignity, and she wouldn't let any of the rest of us pile on either. Though if she does get selected probably don't try to help. She would be more annoyed at you for getting in her way than anything else."

With that decided we headed back into the city, following Abel to the Chaotic Wombat. He was the only one of us who had been there, so he took the lead. Once again we walked through Doomtown, and as we moved the streets around us subtly changed. Unlike Sunshine Avenue, the red light in this new area didn't fade, it got just deepened to a darker color. Not just dimmer, but more scarlet somehow.

Abel took in a deep, happy breath. "Ah, Damnation Row. Been years since I've even thought about this place. If Doomtown could be said to have a 'bad part of town' it would be here. Most of the city is anarchy, but the Row is always just a little worse. Don't you just love the smell of complete mayhem in the afternoon?"

As we walked, the stone facades of the buildings became more dilapidated and worn down. I wondered in passing what all the other buildings were. We passed dozens of them everywhere we went, and they couldn't all be casinos and fighting clubs or whatever. On second thought though I kind of didn't want to know. Considering how messed up the stuff we had already seen was, I had a feel random back alley businesses might be even worse.

When we finally came to a stop, I was a bit underwhelmed. All the other places we'd been had stood out from the outside, been taller or more ostentatious than most of these places. This one was just one of a parade of squat stone buildings. I looked over at Abel, my tone disbelieving as I said. "Really? This is the Chaotic Wombat? How can you even tell? It looks so...average. You'd think they would put up a sign around here or something at least. We could've walked right past this place and never noticed."

It was hard not to be disappointed at the lackluster exterior. I wasn't exactly looking forward to our visit, but this place seemed significant if nothing else. Abel just shrugged. "The Wombat isn't really a standout kind of place. Most of the places we took you were important or well known. The Wombat is the kind of place that only desperate or stupid people go." He paused, getting a strange look. "Or...you know. Really confident warriors who aren't afraid of death."

Mel choked back a snicker at her boyfriend calling himself an idiot by mistake and cut in. "Yeah, plenty of places don't bother to make their location easily noticeable. Damnation Row is the kind of place where successful businesses get raided. Of course, they STILL get raided by neighbors and customers sometimes, but keeping the outside nondescript stops random tourists from paying attention and joining in."

We all approached the door, but Abel stepped up ahead to pound on the dark metal. A hatch on the door at eye level slid aside. "What?" Snapped a hostile voice. I was starting to feel like no one in the WCP knew how to hire someone to watch their fucking door. Was a hello too much to ask for?

Abel just glared. "Let me the fuck in, that's what. You think anyone would come stand outside this shithole for no reason? Like I picked this one building to ask to use the bathroom out of this whole gods forsaken street? We're here to ride the Wombat, now let us in." I had to stifle a chuckle at the ridiculous password, but it seemed to work because after a few clicks the door swung open and the man let us in. As we entered he took out a stamp pad and placed a tiny mark that looked like an animal head on each of our hands. I REALLY hoped we weren't here when they changed color.