Rebirth in the Apocalypse: Third Time's a Charm

"She doesn't want anything?" repeated Ripper, the disbelief in his voice was a tangible thing.

"Not a single thing," I reassured him. "But I do."

"You want something for what she does?" he asked, not sure how that made any sense at all.

"Yes," I said simply. "I want you to protect her."

"Protect her from what?" asked Rip as he pushed Ripper aside. "Do people want to hurt her too?"

I nodded sadly. "I want you to protect her from everyone that wants to hurt her. You don't like being hurt right? So you shouldn't let anyone hurt her."

Ripper stared out at me. "You want me to protect her against those that hurt her? What will you give us in return?"

"What do you want?" I was willing to negotiate in order to make this happen. Ripper would be the best protection that she had until Bai Long Qiang had a chance to get to her.

"I don't know," he smirked as he sat up, Hades cuddled in his arms. Maybe I should leave the cat with him. As if Hades knew what I was thinking, he hissed at me. "I'll tell you later."

"Fine, you look after her and I will give you anything that you want." I agreed. Holding out my hand, I waited for him to shake it.

"Even if it is to eat you?" he asked with a smile.

"Even that," I agreed. I mean, he didn't say kill. If he wanted to take his pound of flesh I would give it up, but only for her.

Ripper took my hand and shook it. "What makes her so special that you are willing to go this far to make sure she is safe?"

I paused for a moment and searched myself for that answer. Taking a deep breath, I opened my mouth to answer his question…

"Li Dai Lu! We need to get going!" shouted Liu Wei from the door at the end of the hallway. Closing my mouth, I gave Ripper a half smile.

"I got to get going, I'll tell you that secret later," I assured him. Standing up, I plucked Hades off of his chest and vanished into my space to get cleaned up.

----

"Look, I'm sorry, okay?" I said for the hundredth time. "But I would like to point out that you are not the worse for wear." Hades did not look impressed from where he sat on my bed, his tail swishing back and forth. I was getting dressed after showering off all the blood I fell into. I would have to remember that it was there when I went back because I really didn't want to fall into it again.

Putting on my version of the boys' combat boots, I attempted to pet Hades only to have him take a swipe at me. "Seriously?!? I said I was sorry! What more do you want?!?"

As soon as I opened my mouth, I regretted it.

Hades jumped off of my bed and I dutifully followed him down the stairs and into the kitchen. Whoever believed that cats do not own their humans was either stupid or in denial. Let me tell you, Hades was the king of this castle and I was merely the servant sent to wait on him.

He went to go sit down in front of the lower cupboard where I kept his food and gently poked at the door with his paw. Huffing, I opened the door and took out a single serving of the wet food that I had stocked up for him.

Closing the door, I placed the serving on the counter and turned around to get a plate to put it on. Before I could even grab it, Hades was meowing and pointing to the cupboard again. "No," I said in my firmest voice. "I have already given you one. You don't get two. You won't have anything in the future if you eat it all now."

As I tried to reason with the cat, he hissed at me and swiped at me with his murder mittens. "Fine!" I said giving up. Reaching into the cupboard, I grabbed a second portion of the wet food and looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

When he didn't look at me or point to the food again, I rolled my eyes and plated his food for him. "There, I assume all is forgiven and you won't be planning my murder any time soon?" I asked as I put his food onto the floor. He turned around and showed me his tail as he ignored me in favor of the tuna-flavored food.

Sighing, I flashed back into the hallway and where Ripper was still laying on the floor.

I started to slip in the same puddle as before but thanks to the boots and a lot of frantic waving of my arms, I managed to stay standing. I looked at Ripper with a smile. "I'll see you soon," I said as I turned to where Liu Wei was waiting for me.

"Make sure to bring the kitty!" shouted Rip as I walked away. With a wave of my hand, I joined Liu Wei and the rest of the guys in the garage.

"You got change?" asked Liu Yu Zeng as he looked me up and down.

"Yeah," I said, refusing to admit that I slipped in a puddle of blood in the hallway. It was embarrassing enough; I didn't need to keep reliving it.

"Ready to go?" asked Wang Chao as he smiled at me. I was sure that he had already seen my version of what happened to me in my head so I stuck my tongue out at him and walked over Cerberus. He only chuckled and climbed back on his motorcycle before putting his helmet on.

"By the way," I shouted as soon as I got to the truck. "Where did the helmets come from?"

Chen Zi Han just shrugged his shoulders. "They just appeared," he said completely unconcerned about it.

So many questions. I sighed as the step lowered and I was able to climb into the cab.

"Welcome back, Li Dai Lu," said Cerberus. "Where are we going?"

"You know what? That is a really good question."

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