Azura knew that the last few performances she gave to the injured and exhausted survivors had not been her best, but they still provided some degree of restorative aid. With her work done and her energy thoroughly sapped from the physical and magical exertion she’d expelled, she turned to her dancing companion. Shantae’s sensual movements had done little beyond afford the survivors something nice to look at, but Azura appreciated the young woman’s assistance all the same. As her fatigue had built, she’d found the strength to push on thanks to Shantae dancing just beside her. She could only hope the woman’s performances had been equally motivating to the others. Azura thanked Shantae for her help before breaking away from the main group.

Hiding the full extent of how drained she was had only further drained Azura. She didn’t want the others to see just how weak she was, but she needed rest. She found a small jewelry store that seemed vacant and slipped inside, ducking behind a display counter. Apparently safe from prying eyes, Azura let her exhaustion flow into her. She nearly collapsed onto her ass, leaning back against the counter and letting her head dip forward, eyes drifting closed. She could sense how easy it would be for her to sleep, but the persistent threat of the Necropolis kept her clinging to consciousness. Azura doubted she’d be able to keep the fight up for long. She also knew she would need to eat to really restore her energy, but she simply lacked the strength to get anything from their small cache of supplies.

“Azura.”

The concerned voice roused the woman from her semi-sleeping state. She strained to open her eyes, looking up to see Baroness standing over her, energy bar in hand and extended towards her. “You look awful,” she said. “Come on, you need to eat.”

Azura accepted the gift. When she struggled to find the leverage to tear open the packaging, Baroness did it for her without comment. She nodded her thanks and started to nibble at the protein bar. The urge to cram the whole thing into her mouth was strong, but she knew it would only make her sick. They were far too low on supplies to waste precious food that way. She still wanted to be alone, but her secret was apparently out. It seemed rude to ask Baroness to leave after she’d offered the much needed assistance. So instead, she sat quietly, recovering her stamina as best she could as she enjoyed the small, simple meal.

“Why do you do it?” Baroness asked, finally breaking the thick silence between them but keeping her voice low. “Push yourself so hard?”

Azura responded with a meager shrug, chewing away another bite of protein bar. “I want to help, in any way I can. My healing abilities are limited, and they come at a cost, but it’s the right thing to do.”

Baroness considered her words, nodding slowly. “It’s very noble of you,” she concluded. She sat down beside Azura, turning to give her face a curious look. “In that case, I imagine you must hate Azula.”

The conclusion brought a frown of confusion to Azura’s face. She swallowed her bite of food and turned to look at the woman beside her. “What do you mean? I can hardly blame her for the situation we’re facing. She didn’t bring us here. She didn’t make these monsters. I suspect she’s doing the best she can to keep us all alive.”

Baroness tilted her head to the side, unconvinced. “Is she, though? Were any of the Bunker leaders? I mean, granted, this is an impossible situation. I don’t envy anyone put in charge of it. And maybe it’s just hindsight, but you really have to look at all they’ve done for us and wonder if they were ever the right people to lead us to any kind of survival, any kind of victory.” She lifted a hand, counting out her points on her fingers. “In all the time we were locked up in the Bunker, they made little if any progress in combating the monstrosities of this city, or finding a way out. They let that sadistic whore of a woman Bathory in, when any idiot could take one look at her and see that whatever benefits she might provide paled in comparison to the danger she represented. They even gave her a position of power. And it wasn’t long after that before the disappearances started happening. So many convenient excuses… but we both know how tightly they kept that place locked up, how important it was for them that no one went out unless directed. The only one I know of who broke those rules was Anna, and she wouldn’t have let anyone in on her secret passage. Trust me, I tried, more than once, to get her to tell me. Do you really think she would tell some homesick or suicidal survivor?”

Baroness’s points were valid, but not enough to sway Azura completely. “I don’t know what happened to the ones who went missing. But connecting them with Bathory’s arrival doesn’t mean she was necessarily guilty of whatever happened to them.”

“Perhaps not, but it is quite the coincidence,” Baroness pressed. “What about the mismanagement of the defense of the Bunker? They – Azula, in particular – were more than happy to allow a panic to break out. Rampant looting. An unsanctioned explosion in the Bunker, seemingly from Bathory’s private lab. Disposing of evidence, perhaps? And then there was the lynching. People driven into such a panic that they strung up one of our own with little hesitation.”

The mention of the lynching cut through Azura’s fatigue and doubt. She turned to look at Baroness. “I thought that was just a rumor. The fear talking.”

The dark-haired woman looked solemnly at Azura, shaking her head. “It happened. I was there. I’d arrived too late to stop it, to help, but I saw that poor girl’s life end. Saw the way the mob cheered it on.” She let the silence complete her argument, letting them both dwell in that dark thought. “That was the moment I realized just how badly we’d been misled. Just how badly the women we’d chosen to lead us, to keep us safe, had failed us.” She let Azura sit with that for a few more moments, seeing the leeway she was making. But her task was just as tactical as any battlefield. She needed to manage her potential recruit with care.

“I’m not saying they meant to,” Baroness insisted. “Or that they were bad from the start. They simply were not the right women for the job. Emily was quite adept at training people to defend themselves, in her own way. Satsuki had a harshness about her, but she was fair in her judgment. Elsa and Daenerys were too young and too inexperienced to be effective leaders, but they at least showed that, above all else, they did genuinely care about the greater good.” She let her voice drift off, leaving an obscenely pregnant pause in her words before continuing to her main selling point. “But Azula…” She shook her head, let out a sad sigh that she thought was quite convincing. “I have stood by her side, because I want her to do the right thing, to be the woman we all hope she is, but it’s only afforded me a front row seat to her actions. We’ve all trusted her perhaps a little too much, afforded her certain leeway because she was one of the first to find the Bunker. But I can tell you, with certainty, that she has taken advantage of the power she has, used it for her own means. I can’t say she won’t lead us somewhere safe, but I can guarantee you we will suffer far more losses than we need to along the way. Because, to her, we are all expendable, just a living shield to keep her safe.”

Azura was teetering on the edge, so close to agreeing with her. She just needed one more little push. One last reason to turn on their current leader. Baroness had just the sort of juicy nugget required. All it needed was a bit of reshaping. “When you were out there dancing for the others, did you notice anyone was missing?”

Azura thought about it, recalling the many faces she’d performed for, compared those faces to the ones she’d seen escaping the bunker with them. It was difficult. The escape had been so frantic and their group had been so big. But she did seem to recall seeing someone outside the Bunker but not in the mall. “Minako,” she gasped. “Did she fall behind? We should send someone to…”

Baroness cut her off, shaking her head. “No point. I’ve been keeping a close eye on Azula since leaving the Bunker. She relies on me for certain things, but I caught her sneaking away, arranging for Minako to be used as bait to get the horde off our scent. I couldn’t dare reveal what I knew then. She’d have had me used as bait alongside the poor girl. I tried to make a more direct interference, reach her before Azula’s pair of cohorts could, but by the time I could find where she was, it was already too late. She’s sacrificing us like pawns, Azura. If she’d seen how much you drained yourself helping the others, who knows what she might do about it? Do you see? Do you see why we need to get rid of her? Like I said, I do not envy the role of leadership, but I cannot stand idly by while she leads us into ruin.”

Azura nodded slowly, suddenly looking even more tired. “You’re right,” she agreed. “But we can’t just kill her. That would make us no better than she is. You have to promise me we’ll at least try to talk her into stepping down.”

Baroness made sure her smile was a strained, humorless one. “That is a I promise I can easily make,” she replied. “I just hope she sees things our way and doesn’t try to put up a fight. If she does… We might not have a choice.” Despite her assurances, Baroness had no intention of letting Azula live. If her coup was a success, she would need to make an example of the previous leadership, and ensure that she would not be overthrown by an enemy she’d already vanquished once before. “I still have arrangements to make. I need to see who else in the group feels the way we do. But you will know when the time has come. Be prepared. Until then, get your rest.”

Baroness left Azura and the jewelry shop with a fresh confidence in her swagger. She caught the eyes of Nena and Lola and gave them a nod, signaling that her little talk had been a success. Returning to Azula’s side, she offered no hint of her oncoming betrayal as she helped the woman organize the group of survivors and their supplies, planning the next stage of their journey to the airport. The scouting and looting pairs began to return. Their task seemed partially successful, although Lioness and Black Cat failed to come back. Astrid and Hinata seemed to have also met with an unfortunate end. The recon groups reported in that they’d managed to secure a clear path from the mall to the hospital, but they’d also spotted a sizable horde making their way towards the mall. They could not afford to wait around for the missing pairs to make their return. The group was advised of what was happening, mostly the broad strokes. Asuna Yuuki was sent to collect Azura from the jewelry store.

“Is she doing okay?” Azula asked Baroness. “I noticed you go in there after her. If there’s a problem, I need to know about it. Her abilities are too valuable.”

“You have nothing to worry about,” Baroness assured her. “Azura will do what’s right. She understands everything that’s at stake.” She stifled the sly grin that ached beneath the surface of her face, far too amused by the double-meaning behind the seemingly innocent exchange.