I was exhausted. After spending several days and nights preparing for a wedding that didn't even follow through, I was now sitting on a train with Betty and Brose, with Tommy disappearing off somewhere in the meantime. We kept our distance from my dad, though we still rode in the same car. I decided to turn my hair a mix of silver and red to help disguise myself, while the others just kept their heads low. The train car itself was mostly a deep moss green color, decorated heavily with the most tacky-looking carpet design I had ever seen. I was bored out of my mind without even a newspaper to read, and Betty didn't seem like she was in a very talkative mood. So I tried to crack a joke.

"What a weird way to start our honeymoon," I awkwardly laughed.

Brose chuckled. She did not.

"Do you love Tommy?" She suddenly blurted out, catching us both by surprise.

"Now, Betty, there's no need to-"

"No, I want to hear what she has to say. Because you know that Tommy hasn't been himself lately."

"Betty-"

"He's our brother for crying out loud. I know you've noticed him acting differently, too. Haven't you?"

"....He...hasn't necessarily been acting like his usual self, no."

"Exactly. Because of her. Everything changed because she showed up. And don't get me wrong, Ember, I'm happy that you did show up, because Tommy needs someone like you in his life. I just wish that wedding was a real one, that's all."

"...Betty."

"There's no denying how much he aches for you, Ember. I hope you know that. Of course, he'd never say that, but he doesn't need to. I can practically read minds."

Just then, Tommy began walking toward us. Betty turned at the window, trying to make it seem like she was distracted. Tommy didn't buy it, though.

"What have you been telling my silver dime, Betty?"

"Nothing at all. Just girl talk. Right, Ember?"

"Hm? Y-yeah, that."

Tommy furrowed his eyebrows, then looked over at Brose, who simply shrugged at him.

"I was ignoring their entire conversation."

"Yeah, right. Y'all are weird."

Tommy plopped down next to me, giving me one long stare before looking ahead.

"We shouldn't be much longer now. I have a gut feeling about it. As soon as he steps off that train, we move. And quickly. We'll follow your dad, find someone close that he trusts, and-"

"We should target Mr. Richardson."

"Who?"

"The man my dad is currently sitting across from."

Mr. Richardson's face was covered by a newspaper, but he eventually brought it down to speak with my dad, who looked very displeased. It didn't seem like they got along well.

"I remember...ah, yes, that's the man from the letter. You remember the one I read from your dad's drawer?"

"I knew his name was familiar."

"Yeah. He'll be a good man to talk to. We just need to get a hold of him somehow. Catch him when he's by himself. But the problem is, we're currently headed towards a farm full of guards and workers, so catching him by himself might be incredibly challenging. We don't have much time to wait around and see when he'll leave the farm to go somewhere else."

"Well, he does have a business of his own he has to take care of. A restaurant. If it's toward where we're going, we could catch him there. Possibly before it opens or after it's closed."

"After it's closed would be a better shot. That way, in case our plans go sideways, we can at least disappear into the shadows of the night. But where is this restaurant? If it's in Midnightsville, we're out of luck since we've left the area hours ago."

"I think I heard him mention something about Westwood," Betty mumbled.

"West what?"

"Westwood. It's a smaller town. We're headed straight toward it."

"Do you know for sure his restaurant is there, though?"

"It's my best guess. He mentioned Westwood quite a few times back when they were arguing in that one room. I saw her dad heading that way, and I decided to eavesdrop just a bit."

She heard them? She must've slipped away before I got there.

"If that's the case, then the farm should be at Westwood too. If not, it should at least be near it."

"We can set up camp in the neighboring woods and stick around," Brose pitched in. "I wonder if they got a good general store. I've been waiting to stock up on canned goods."

"Just make sure you don't forget we have another mouth to feed this time. Hey, Ember, can you hunt?"

"I've never gone hunting a day in my life."

"Oh, come on. Seriously?"

"She grew up in a mansion, remember?" Betty laughed. "She's probably never needed to hunt."

"You're right, Betty. I've never needed to hunt. But it wouldn't hurt to learn how. Especially since situations can change in an instant. Besides, Ellie used to hunt a lot before she saved up her money and moved to Midnightsville. I could learn in honor of her."

"She hunted? So-"

"She grew up poor. Dirt poor."

"...Oh. I never knew."

"Nobody did, really. Not even my own father until they got married. Once she moved forward, she never looked back. Especially since she had to raise herself for the majority of her life. My grandparents died of an illness on her side, and my grandparents on my dad's side...I just never knew."

"That's...incredible to think of that. Someone like her became someone so big. That's inspiring."

"She was an inspiring woman."

I looked toward where my dad was sitting again.

"My dad? Not so much."

"Sheesh. Well-I don't blame you for saying that. Have you thought about what you're going to do when this is all over?"

I looked toward Tommy, silently asking him if he had told them about my plan. He shook his head.

"I'm going to live like she did. In a cabin on my own, with just myself and my thoughts. I need it."

"Sounds lonely."

"More like necessary."

"Well-okay. If that's what you want, then go after it. But don't forget about us. Every once and a while, we're going to have to stop by your cabin to check up on you, okay? Right, Tommy?"

"Yeah."

It took a while for him to break eye contact with me after he said that. I couldn't read his face. Was it full of regret? No-dissapointment? I wanted to make things better between us. But what else could I do? He said it himself: "I don't think anything ever will change the way I feel about you." He was so set on me. All the time. I considered that keeping my distance from him might work...only if he wasn't always so close to me to begin with. He knows we can't be together. I know we can't be together. It'd be too impossible. I want to get out of the mansion, while he wants to sit in my father's chair. There was no way we could work out.

"I'm taking a nap," I sighed, shutting my eyes in defeat. "Let me know when we get to Westwood, please."

"We will. Get some rest, silver dime."

And just like that, at least three hours passed. I had nightmares the entire time I slept, and eventually my mind went back to the night of the thunderstorm. I remember being on the bridge again. The cool feeling of Reggie's gun against my head. I was helpless in the situation. I couldn't move. All I could do was turn my head...but it wasn't Reggie who was next to me, like I had thought. It was my dad.

"Traitor," he spat, his voice full of anger and hatred. "You're nothing but a back-stabber. You and your mother both. You are no longer my daughter."

"Dad," I wept, my face wet from both my tears and the rain pouring down on us. "Don't do this."

"This is what I have to do. You should understand that by now. It's how business is handled."

Then, just like Reggie did, I was pushed. I felt that same rush of wind I did when I fell for the first time. When my body crashed against the water below, my eyes suddenly burst open, scaring Betty and Brose.

"Whoa there, how'd you know we're arriving at Westwood now?"

"I-"

"She obviously had a bad dream," Betty said, flicking his forehead. "Come on, brother. Be more observant."

"I'm not as observant as you and you know it."

She took my hands. I hadn't even noticed that they were shaking until she took my hands.

"You're okay. Right?"

"...Right. Y-yeah, I'm fine.

She still looked concerned, but said nothing as the train finally stopped. We let my dad and Mr. Richardson get out first, then hurriedly followed them once we collected our horses. We had to at least figure out where Mr. Richardson's restaurant was. Luckily, since the town was small, it was easy to spot. We watched as they slipped inside, probably for a quick bite to eat.

"The Metal Pot, Saloon and Restaurant?" Tommy laughed, reading the sign dangling from the building. "What kind of restaurant name is that? He could've at least named it The Bottle...or The Bowl...something else. Anything else."

"He obviously isn't a very creative man," Brose said, rubbing his face. "The place doesn't look too nice on the outside, either."

He wasn't wrong. Aside from the extremely non-creative sign, the restaurant itself, at least on the outside, looked old and run-down. The outside wood was stained with who-knows-what, with some of the stains being covered with a sloppy, maroon paint job. One of the windows had a bullet hole, and another had a crack. The swinging doors were the nicest part, with them having a neat, dark, wooden finish to them, complete with what looked like intricate swirled carvings. They seemed to be the nicest part of the restaurant.

"We'll return to it at night. We'll linger for a bit until the place shuts down for the night. So, in the meantime, we need to go ahead and find a place to set up camp. Somewhere in the woods."

"We shouldn't have a problem finding a place. Hey Ember, have you ever gone camping before?"

"....Does my backyard count?"

"Uh-"

"She does have a pretty big backyard," Betty laughed. "But let's just say it doesn't count. We're going to do some real camping."

And she didn't lie. We traveled for about an hour away from Westwood, deep into the neighboring woods. We thought about settling down at one spot, but Tommy managed to hit the jackpot.

"A cabin!"

There was an older cabin-one large enough for all of us to fit in. We hastily got off our horses to take a peek inside. The inside was quite worn; I could tell it had been years since it was first built. A few of the planks from the wall were missing. But other than that, the cabin was in fine shape. Though the cabin was large, there was only one bed, which was unmade and dusty. There was a kitchen area with plenty of cabinets, shelves, and pots and pans hung up against the wall, as well as a cast-iron stove. In the middle sat a wooden square table with four chairs, which was just the right amount. On the table was a single dirty plate, however, which made me wonder if the last resident was in a rush to leave without cleaning up. And, if that was the case, was the cabin actually abandoned?

"Check out that big, brick fireplace," Brose cackled. "Y'all see those antlers too, right?"

Above the fireplace was a taxidermied buck, one large one with great big antlers to show off for it.

"I wonder who shot that guy down."

"Whoever it is, I just hope they aren't too mad we're taking their cabin."

"It'll be alright," Tommy said, rubbing my shoulder a little. "We've never come across issues. And, even if the owner does show up, we'll act all innocent and be on our way. You know we can act. Anyway, Brose, you can go ahead and go to the store if you'd like. You know where we're at?"

"Like it's the back of my hand, yup. Betty, you coming?"

"Might as well. I need to see if there's a gunsmith nearby while we're out."

"Y'all got time. Just remember to meet up at the restaurant when the sun's fully down."

"Gotcha. Ember?"

"...I'm going to clear my head for a little while."

They all shared a look-one of concern.

"I'm fine, guys."

"I ain't buying it."

"Seriously-"

"Well, one of us is going with you," Betty argued, acting like she wasn't going to give me another choice. "And I feel like I should be the one."

"But didn't you say you had to go to the gunsmith?"

"It can wait, my guns ain't in horrible shape. Come on. We'll leave the guys and have our own time."

I couldn't even say no. She took my hand and practically dragged me out of the cabin, and further into the woods so that we could reach a far enough distance away from it. We kept walking in silence until we reached a river, with the sound of the rushing water replacing our silence.

"This seems like a peaceful area, don't you think?"

"Yeah...listen, Betty, I appreciate what you're trying to do here, but I really am fine."

"Nothing was fine about the way your hands were shaking on that train."

"I-"

"Is it because of the situation we're in? If you need to go back home, we can take you back, like nothing ever happened."

"Except something did happen, Betty. Multiple things happened. My mom left, my sisters and I were forced to stay at the mansion while my dad expanded his business, then when my sisters married off, my dad focused on marrying me off too, and, as you can obviously see, I did not go through with that wedding. Maybe I should've-"

"You shouldn't have done anything. Nothing is your fault."

"But-"

"Nothing is your fault, Ember. From what I'm hearing, everything is your dad's fault. Or Tommy's."

"Tommy isn't at fault for anything," I smiled. "As annoying as he can be."

"Oh, tell me about it. When we were kids, I was underweight-well, we all were, I guess-but I was the worst one of the three. And every day that we shared a "meal" together, he'd always talk about how full he was, and always attempted to get me to eat his share. I tried my best to refuse, but you know how Tommy is. He bothered me day and night about getting enough to eat, even if he didn't get to eat anything for himself. Funnily enough, he got on my nerves so much that I ate just to get him to shut up."

"And then what happened?"

"I got chubby," she said, roaring with the loudest laughter I've heard from her yet. "That idiot! He was always pushing food in my face! It felt like it took forever for me to get the weight off. But now I know to make sure I take care of myself. You need to do the same."

"I will. And speaking of him...on the train-"

"I stepped out of line. I'm sorry."

"But you're right. I wish I could be in his life. If we were normal people and we actually met under normal circumstances, I'd marry him immediately. But you know we want different things. And a relationship between us would make things really complicated."

"Do you love him?"

"I can't answer that question."

"You do."

"Betty, please."

"You kissed at that party, right? So don't tell me you still don't feel that connection-"

"I feel it every time he looks at me, alright? But Betty, I promise you, us getting together would not be the right call. It would distract him. Wouldn't it?"

"Maybe on occasion. But I promise you, he's a better man when he's around you. It's something I can't explain. Just take it from me, Ember, because Brose and I have been with him for nearly our whole lives. That man loves you so much. I know he'd do anything for you if you asked."

"Betty-"

"Okay." She threw up her hands. "I'm done, I'm done."

"Thank you. Why don't we shift focus to your love life, actually?"

"Huh?"

"You heard me. Since you always want to talk about Tommy... where's your husband at?"

"Uh! I am appalled that you'd even ask that question, Miss "Silver Dime-"

"Nope! Don't try to distract me with my nickname, I'm being serious!"

"So am I! Listen, I move around a lot, and my job is frowned upon. No guy can be in the picture for me unless I quit being a gang member."

"Maybe you could one day. You said yourself you'd be a detective if you weren't a gang member."

"Oh yeah, but that's just talk. Nobody wants to have a female detective in their town. It's considered absurd."

"Maybe in some towns. But not all."

"...Hm. Well, I still have to put my brothers first. Wherever they go, I follow. It's always been like that."

"But have you ever considered following your own path instead of theirs?"

"...You know what-"

"Hey, all I'm saying is to take a risk. If you want. It's your life, isn't it? It's not theirs."

"...Well. That's all easier said than done, sister."

"Sister?"

"It's just a saying."

"Oh."

"...Unless...do you want to be sisters? I know you already have two of your own, and I am nothing like them, but-"

"You're a true friend who took the time out of your day to spend time with me when you had other things you could've done. And, unlike my other sisters, I can open up to you about this entire situation. So yes, despite the short time I've known you, I will consider you as my sister. You'll always have my back like Tommy, won't you?"

"As long as you have mine."

"Then that's all we need."

I hugged her, not too tight, but also not too gentle. One that let her know that I was there for her. She hugged me back with the same force, sealing our sisterhood together with just that. I was grateful to have her on my side. Of course, I always had Lizzy and Emilia, but they couldn't always be around, especially during this time. So I was incredibly thankful to have someone-another woman-that I could talk to about anything.

"We should start heading back," she sighed, beginning to let go of me. "That sun sure is setting fast."

"Should we make our way to the restaurant?"

"Might as well. Hopefully, this plan isn't a bust. I'll have to remind Tommy and Brose not to make a fool of themselves, especially Tommy."

"And what do you mean by that specifically? Does he..."

"Get drunk? Like...crazy drunk? Yes, when he gets his grubby fingers on a beer bottle, he will. So let's not let him order too many beers. Especially when we have a plan to follow."

"What about Brose? Is he the same way?"

"Brose doesn't touch alcohol," she giggled. "He got drunk one time and swore off it forever. Such a wimp."

"And you?"

"Oh, I'll drink on occasion. I'm not much of a drinker myself. The taste throws me off. What about you, though?"

"I've never had alcohol before."

"What!? Your dad must've been strict!"

"Well, it's not even that! I've just never been interested in trying something alcoholic. But I'm not against trying it."

"Good to know. I'll buy you something tonight."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I don't see why not. If you don't like it, I'll just drink it myself."

"Sounds fine with me."

So we went back into town, meeting up with the guys once we arrived. By the time we regrouped, we could hear how lively the place was compared to when we first arrived. Considering that this was the only saloon in town, I could see why people decided to hang out here.

"Y'all ready to start partying?" Tommy had a wicked grin on his face. Of course, he was ready. He was excited to get his hands on something alcoholic.

"Don't go crazy," Betty hissed. "Remember the plan, please. We hang until closing."

"I have another plan."

"What, Tommy?"

"Since I couldn't get drunk on my wedding night-"

"No."

"Hear me out, will you? Anyway, since I couldn't get drunk then, I might as well should go ahead and get drunk now. When the restaurant is getting ready to close down for the night, I'll be so drunk that I can barely move up off the floor, giving y'all an excuse to hang around for even longer to make sure I'm okay."

"....That's not a bad plan...but I bet there are several flaws with that. See, if something goes wrong, we'll need you to use your gun and-"

"No need. Ember's an even better sharpshooter than me. She can handle anyone."

"I can?"

"You can."

"Mm. And are you sure you aren't just saying that so that you can get drunk?"

"Listen, maybe I don't have to get drunk. But somebody does-"

"Why don't you just act, Tommy? Drink a bit, sure, but you can just stumble around and act like you're drunk."

"...Getting drunk is more fun, though."

"Are you a teenager?"

"No-"

"Just go do whatever," Brose laughed. "As long as you can sit upright on your horse on the way back to the cabin, I don't care what you do. You're the leader anyway."

"But don't bring too much attention to yourself, either. We don't want people realizing who we are."

"Y'all are forgetting that y'all are talking with the one and only Mr. Midnight here," Tommy chuckled, hopping off his horse. "There ain't nothing to worry about. Unless a fight breaks out or-"

Just then, as if on cue, shots were fired inside. People immediately began screaming and running out, completely ignoring our presence.

"Change of plans," Betty mumbled. "Everybody's running away, so the chances of us being recognized are pretty slim. Let's get on Mr. Richardson's good side by swinging in and saving the day."

"Fine with me!"

We all jumped into the action. There were two sides of men fighting each other, one wearing mostly black, the other brown. The restaurant was all over the place. Tables and chairs had fallen, there were shattered plates all over the floor, and some of the men were even coming behind the counter to throw several bottles of beer and whiskey at each other. It was complete chaos. Mr. Richardson seemed to be hanging more on the brown side, yelling at the men wearing black to get out while they still had the chance. Still, though, it didn't seem like either side was doing any damage to the other. The restaurant was suffering the most.

"Get those men in black!" I shouted, quickly turning my hair silver so that Mr. Richardson wouldn't recognize me. "They're the ones causing the most trouble!"

Tommy quickly ran over to one guy who tried to cross him, grabbing the man by his shirt and slamming him against a wall. I've never seen how much strength he really had until this moment. Brose was busy fist-fighting another guy and was able to disarm him through his agile movement. Brose had less muscle than Tommy, but still held his own perfectly fine. Betty, however, used her intelligence. She noticed a long rope hanging from a wall and decided to take it, tying up both ends and using it to lasso two guys at once. Confused and knocked off their feet, she quickly snatched their guns and dual-wielded them, pointing toward their heads.

"That's enough from you two," she spat. "Causing all this mess for no reason."

There were three guys left, with one running directly at me. I didn't even need to pull my gun out on him. It was time to test my powers, anyway. So when he got close enough, I swiftly extended my arms and gave him the jolt of a lifetime, causing his body to violently vibrate and fall to the floor. It was a quick and easy takedown with no weapon necessary. I did, however, pull out my revolver once I noticed that one of the men remaining was aiming at Tommy. Tommy and Brose were busy attacking the other guy, so their backs were turned. Betty hadn't noticed him either, since she was focused on the two men she tied up. I was the only one who could stop him. So I fired a shot. One single, electrical shot that blasted from my revolver and straight into his skull. A headshot. The shot rang so loudly that the others had to turn around in wonder at what just happened. It was a little loud...but at least it did the job.

"H-he was aiming at y'all," I explained. "I had to shoot him down."

Tommy looked at me like he couldn't have been prouder.

"You four," Mr. Richardson muttered, stepping away from the men in brown. "Who are you four?"

"We are people with a goal." Tommy stepped up to him before looking around the disaster of a restaurant. "But to achieve that goal, we need your help. We helped you get rid of those men. So we ask for your help in return."

"And what if I decide not to help you?"

"Noticed how quickly we took down those men and y'all didn't? We can do the same thing again-with y'all as our foes-if you don't want to comply."

"Is that a threat?"

"It's not a threat. It's a statement."

Mr. Richardson looked my way, his face softening just a little. "You look familiar."

"I don't believe we've met."

"No-no. We have, I know we have. Hang on."

He made a swift motion with his hand, and in an instant, the men on his side were all leaving the scene, taking the bodies, both dead and alive, with them.

"First and foremost...you do look completely different, but I can remember face shapes quite well. You're his daughter."

"...I-"

"I won't tell him anything, you have my word. Especially since y'all came in here and did what my men couldn't. The least I can do is give y'all something to sip on."

"Now you're talking my language!"

Tommy's face cheered up immediately. He was more than excited to get what he had hoped for. Everyone got their own bottle, but Brose gave his to Tommy, and I barely sipped on mine. The beer tasted...metallic. Bitter. It wasn't enjoyable for me one bit. So I let Betty have my bottle.

"I have many questions already," Mr. Richardson sighed. "But my most important one is this: who are you people, and what do you want?"

"That's two questions," Tommy giggled. "Also, we'll tell you once you get me some more to drink."

"You drank those two that fast?"

"It's been a while since I've had any, yes. Pour me a few shots and I'll happily tell you everything."

Mr. Richardson looked at us all in disbelief. Yes, unfortunately for us, Tommy was the leader. And he was going to be very drunk by the end of the night. So, after he got his wish granted, he started talking.

"We're the Midnight Gang. Well-plus a temporary member. Anthony's daughter joining us wasn't initially our plan, but she's been a great help. And speaking of help, we want yours. We need to take him down. And before you-"

"Alright, I'm in. Just give me a day or two."

"What? You agreed that fast?"

"Yes. When I first met Anthony, I believed we had plenty of potential working together. But he's a loose cannon. His decisions have heavily impacted our business-and because of that, a lot more men, like the ones y'all were just fighting-have come to wreck up my place of business. Any more instances like this one and I'll have to shut this place down for good. And I'll be able to fix it up over and over...but it's one thing to keep fixing, and it's another thing to start again. I've grown quite fond of Westwood. I'm not going anywhere. So yes, I'll help."

He looked at Tommy's way, noticing how Tommy was beginning to sway a little.

"That moonshine getting to ya boy!?"

Tommy nodded, saying nothing. Mr Richardson chuckled while he took the glasses away from him. Once he got the area at least semi-cleaned up, he looked at me.

"Did you ever get married? Or did I ruin everything?"

"Oh, you didn't ruin anything at all. It's all my dad's fault."

"But I wouldn't be against having another wedding."

Now we all had to turn to look at Tommy, who was obviously too drunk to even think about what he just said.

"Y'all heard me. When's the next wedding, Ember?"

"Uh-anyway...Mr. Richardson..." I tried to ignore Tommy, but I could feel his eyes on me. "We need to know what exactly makes my dad's business tick. We need to know the exact locations of these farms if you have them. We want to hit the biggest farms my dad owns."

"If that's the case, then I have two in mind that the business is heavily dependent on. One of them is just a bit further south of here, and the other one is headed back towards Midnightsville. If you four manage to hit those two, all you'll need to worry about is Anthony Evans himself."

"You know that if you're lying to us about these locations, we will come after you. Especially after helping you."

"I am aware. But I promise you that I am telling the truth. I've been thinking about leaving the partnership anyway, and I believe that this is the perfect time to do so with y'all here. Ah, I'll even get a map."

He spread a map across the counter, marking the exact locations before handing it to Brose. "Now you know. Be safe out there. Those farms are heavily guarded."

"We will, Mr. Richardson. Thank you."

"No, thank y'all. And come back anytime-well-anytime after I fix this place up."

"You got it."

It took a few attempts to get Tommy to go through the swinging doors, and even longer to get him fixed on his horse.

"He's gonna fall off," Betty laughed. "I guarantee it."

"I ain't gonna fall off!"

He did, indeed, fall off multiple times. But each time he fell, he got right back up, so at least that was a sign he was probably okay.

"Is he always getting drunk like this?"

"Whenever he gets the chance," sighed Brose, watching Tommy fall off yet again. "It's a miracle he's still our sharp-minded gang leader. We'd hate for him to end up at the wrong place during the wrong time like that."

"Maybe he'll stop one of these days. Seeing how y'all care about him."

"I know for you, Ember, he'd change his habits in a heartbeat."

"Brose-"

"He does love you. You can't deny it."

"Brose, she knows. We talked about it earlier by the river."

"Ah. Well, I'll quit stirring the pot. Sorry, Ember."

"No...it's fine. I'm sorry, myself. I hate for things to be this way."

"Hm. You love him too, don't you?"

"Brose!"

"I thought you said you wasn't gonna stir the pot no more!"

"Sorry, sorry!"