"What... are you thanking me for?"
"That..."
There was an obvious discomfort in Dominique's voice as she looked around the yard. And as soon as she saw people starting to look at them, she quickly shook her head and looked Riley in the eyes.
"Perhaps we can talk privately?" Dominique whispered as she leaned closer to Rhys.
Rhys did not immediately answer her. He glanced at Talia instead, only to see her quickly avert her gaze while crossing her arms — for an old woman who killed millions of people, she was starting to act like a girl.
Was he... finally getting through to her? Rhys then turned to look at the Hearts floating above Talia's head, but aside from the one he had already filled, the other four showed no signs of flickering at all.
"Rhys?"
"Hm...?" As for Dominique, there weren't initially 5 Hearts floating above her head, but there were now — with 2 of them already filled up, "Okay...
...let's talk in the Solitary Ward."
***
"Wow. This place... looks completely different."
"I had them redecorate it a bit. This is one of the most secured areas in the prison second only to the warden's quarters — we can use it for something else."
Dominique's amazement was more than justified. She had been put in solitary a couple of times because of abhorrent behavior, but it was almost as if this was her first time entering the hall since it was completely different from how she remembered it.
The grey walls were just that, grey — no more black molds and stains painting them. The smell of sulfur, excrement, and urine was also completely gone. If anything, it almost looked like they were inside a bunker.
Dominique then took in a very long and deep breath before just letting out an even bigger one,
"It doesn't smell like Old York anymore. I kinda miss it."
"Hm," Rhys only smiled in response.
"Anyway..." Dominique then let out another breath as she stood in front of Rhys and saluted him, "...Thank you for saving me and my crew's lives."
"Save you...?" Rhys squinted in confusion, "When did I do that?"
"There's no need to be so humble," Dominique chuckled before lightly hitting Rhys on the chest, "You knew... You knew that Talia had the remote to our necks, and that's why you deliberately refused my offer and even antagonized us. You escalated the situation to de-escalate it...
...that's an Underworld Corps specialty."
"Right..." Rhys blinked a couple of times.
"All of us would have already been dead if we actually tried to attack Talia that night," Dominique once again let out a heavy breath, "So, thank you, Rhys. Thank you."
"Don't... mention it anymore."
"I'm not 7 feet," Rhys sighed and shook his head, "And I am not playing any games."
"You are," Dominique pointed her finger right at Rhys's face, "You want something from her, that's the only reason I can think of. I mean... she killed millions of your people for fuck's sake — revenge fuck? Is this a revenge fuck? Is that it?"
"No," Rhys shook his head again, "I'm truly not playing anything at all. I want...
...I want to understand her, I truly do. And for that, I need to love her."
"So, you're just weird and into GILFs, got that," Dominique snapped her fingers while nodding, "Enough about that — what was your rank back in the corps anyway?"
"I... was just a Master Sergeant."
"I'm First Lieutenant."
"Oh..." Rhys quickly saluted and straightened his back as soon as he heard that. Dominique, however, only scoffed and waved her hand.
"Pft, none of our ranks matter. We're both technically discharged now that we're bonafide criminals," Dominique lightly hit Rhys's chest, "What did you do anyway, for you to get thrown in here — I never imagined I would ever see a Lowborn here in Typhon's."
"Well..." Rhys hesitated for a second before just smiling and saying, "...My sister made a Noble lower his guard and then killed him, mutilating him and cooking his limbs and insides before eating them. I found her and decided to take the blame for it, and also ate some of his flesh so that I could feel what my sister was feeling as well as hide any evidence that she cooked parts of him...
...there's also the fact that I am a terrorist that wants to topple the entire Amerkan government, responsible for the violent deaths of many. And I also wanted to rule the entire world."
"What. The. Fuck," Dominique could really only stare wide at Rhys as he said all of that in one single breath,
"So, you do belong here. I mean, what the fuck."
Dominique did not really know whether to laugh or be nervous as she looked at Rhys from head to toe, "Now I suddenly don't feel comfortable being alone with you here...
...you're a cannibal?"
"No," Rhys looked Dominique in the eyes and smiled, "I just wanted to humiliate him as much as possible. I don't think I am going to do that again."
"Okay... I'm backing off now," Dominique raised both her hands in the air, "I'll just... see up there, where there's light."
"I'm not—"
"I'm just kidding, Rhys. Pft," Dominique let out another chuckle as she walked away, "I've done worse than you — everyone in this prison is a monster, it's best you don't forget that. But seriously, though...
...let's just talk where there's lots of light next time."
And with those words, Rhys could really only watch as Dominique's laughter very slowly faded in the distance. Rhys, however, just stayed inside the solitary ward for a few good seconds.
Until finally...
"...Topple the Amerkan government and rule the entire world, huh?" Talia stepped out of the shadows and approached Rhys,
"Alright...
...let's talk more in my room."