( SCENE 1: THE PLACE BETWEEN AN ALLEYWAY AND A BUSY CITY STREET. )

SOUND: AMBIENCE OF A CITY STREET, CHASE SCENE.

SOUND: FOOTSTEPS, HEAVY BREATHING, SHOUTING, CARS GOING PAST.

IOLANTHE: "C'mon! We're almost to the base, just keep running, Tolo!"

ALKAIOS: "I've told you not to- hah!- call me that!"

SOUND: SHOUTING QUIETENS, FOOTSTEPS GET LOUDER. IOLANTHE LAUGHS. FEET SKIDDING. ALKAIOS YELPS. FABRIC RUSTLING. BREATHLESS PANTING.

SOUND: MUSIC FADES IN, SIRENS GET DISTANT. FOOTSTEPS FADE INTO AMBIENCE.

ALKAIOS: "Can't believe we actually pulled that off. I- ugh!- Damn it, think I pulled something in my side, during the chase."

IOLANTHE: "Don't be a baby, Tolo. We'll get Pythias to look you over in a bit, but just sit down for now, yeah? Catch your breath."

SOUND: ALKAIOS WHEEZING.

IOLANTHE: (OUT OF BREATH) The adrenaline spikes never get any less thrilling. I can feel the blood roaring in my veins, the ache in my chest, the flush of my cheeks. Everything hurts in a way that makes me feel alive, which is pretty pricey here, but worth it. My feet throb as I slide down the wall to sit, greedily gulping down the somewhat clean air of the slums.

(SIGHING) This is life on Eris, when you live as I do, as we do. Outrunning the Guards, slipping past the Executives, simply living for the thrill of it all, danger and the knowledge that your own life is on the line. But we don't do it just for the thrill. We've all got our vices in this life. But vices cost coins, coins we don’t have without some hard work and elbow grease. Indulgences aren't something we get a lot of here, in the backwater cities that belong to Mercury’s colony. Too busy with the necessities, most people. But we're not most people.

IOLANTHE: "You still got that jewellery, right? The stuff we just risked our lives to grab? Cuz if you lost it!-"

SOUND: METALLIC TINKLE. IOLANTHE LAUGHS.

ALKAIOS: "You think I'd actually lose it? Didn't outrun those guys for nothing, Iolanthe."

IOLANTHE: "Ugh, shut it, Alkaios. Look, full names are for when we're in trouble. And I'd say we're pretty far from trouble! I mean, look at these gems... how many coins d'ya think we could get for them? It's gotta be, like, fifty or so, right? There's gotta be enough to spare to buy you some new strings, trust me, I’ve been doin’ the math."

ALKAIOS: "There'd better be, Leto's been promising me for weeks that she'll get me new strings as soon as we get a new load of coins. I need to get back to making money, or I won't be eating. You know how dad is."

IOLANTHE: My name is Iolanthe. Pretty name for a pretty face, Leto's always said, helps with the job. The boy beside me is Alkaios, son of our city's bakery owner. But he's far more than that, he’s a singer, a performer, and most importantly, my best friend. His skills are handy, for our less-than-legal line of work. Gives him the perfect opportunity to pick at pockets when we need to make a quick coin.

We all have vices, like I said. And I'll make sure Alkaios, my best friend Tolo, gets his. I owe him that; it’s a debt I’ll be paying till I die, I think. After everything he’s done for me, to get me here. To get both of us here, actually.

SOUND: FOOTSTEPS, DOOR SLIDING OPEN. DOOR SLIDING CLOSED. A SCOFF.

PYTHIAS: "Iolanthe, Alkaios. You two succeeded, right? I know that neither of you are dumb enough to come back if you hadn’t, but I really don’t want you two getting your heads bitten off by Mneme if she finds out."

IOLANTHE: "We did, we did. Chill it, Snake Doctor. Tolo's got the score, necklace with actual blue diamonds, imported from, what was it Callisto? If the lady's bragging ‘s to be trusted."

SOUND: TINKLING OF METAL AND JEWELS.

PYTHIAS: (LAUGHING) "By the Stars, just as pretty as I'd heard. I mean, I'd expected it would be stunning with how badly everyone's been wanting to get their hands on it, but..."

ALKAIOS: "We're getting a cut of the cost, right? Thief's Rights."

PYTHIAS: "I don’t know, kid. Usually it's eldest-first regarding coin splits."

IOLANTHE: (HUFFILY, SCOFFING) "That's stupid and you know it, Pythias! Tolo needs new guitar strings, or we can't be making money anymore. Without Tolo's music, I can't dance, and that means no more shows in Strife Square. No more shows, no more coins. Gotta be thinking about this in the long run."

SOUND: PYTHIAS SIGHS.

PYTHIAS: "I'll do my best. But you know how Mneme is when she wants to get her hands on new gears. She and Leto are in charge of it all, it's their say in the end."

ALKAIOS: "If they know what's good for us all, they'll give me my cut."

SOUND: DOOR SLIDING OPEN.

PYTHIAS: "Get in, you two. Routine injury checks, yada yada, you two know it all."

IOLANTHE: "I'm not injured, but Tolo's busted his hip or somethin’."

ALKAIOS: "Yeah." (GROANING) "Can I get a hand here?"

SOUND: ALKAIOS AND PYTHIAS GRUNT. FOOTSTEPS. DOOR SLIDES CLOSED. SHUFFLING OF FABRIC.

PYTHIAS: "You feeling alright, kid?"

ALKAIOS: "Yeah, yeah. Just a bit," (COUGHING AND WHEEZING) "out of breath. I'll be fine, chill out, just need to sit down."

IOLANTHE: Alkaios looks, tired. The bags under his eyes are deeper than they usually are, which is saying something, really, because it’s Alkaios. But he gives me a smile, like he can read my thoughts. He's always been good at that.

DESDEMONA: "Welcome back, you two. Glad you didn’t die on the job, cuz that’d be annoying to explain to the Angel and her girlie."

IOLANTHE: As always, Desdemona is hunched over in her armchair. Legs tucked to her chest, her one eye lit up by the cigarette clasped between her shaky fingers. Her eye narrows at me, and I hold up my hands in an apology.

SOUND: DESDEMONA SNORTS.

IOLANTHE: "Glad to see you too, Des. ...Hey, where's Leto?"

DESDEMONA: "What? Ain't my presence enough for ya, huh? ... She's with Oedipus, last time I checked."

PYTHIAS: "You're enough for me, Dessy."

SOUND: FOOTSTEPS. COUCH CREAKING. A KISS.

IOLANTHE: (GAGGING, PLAYFULLY DISGUSTED) "You two, are disgusting. Vile. I hate you both, you’re terrible, and I’m disgraced by just living with you."

PYTHIAS: (LAUGHING, FOND) "Let me love my girlfriend, Petal."

IOLANTHE: "No. Desdemona doesn't deserve love."

SOUND: DESDEMONA SCOFFS. CHAIR SQUEAKS.

DESDEMONA: "You wanna go, little man? I'll break your jaw again."

IOLANTHE: "Nah, not really in the mood to fight an old lady. ... Speaking of old ladies, I'm gonna go bother Mneme."

DESDEMONA: "Weren't you just talking about Leto and Oedipus? Why aren't you gonna bother them? And isn’t Leto olde-"

IOLANTHE: "Cuz you said Leto and Mneme are apart. So, for once, I can talk to her without having to watch them dance around each other."

DESDEMONA: “Can you stop cutting me o-”

PYTHIAS: "No, no, you're not wrong. Trust me, it's worse on my end, I've been watching them do that for ten damn years!”

SOUND: DESDEMONA GROANS.

“Mneme, Mneme, Mneme... you'll wanna go take a look in the training room? Last I checked, Perdita pulled her off to go do some practice. They've been sparring for the past hour, I think. Or whatever Perdita pulled her off to do, you know that girl. She’s always got some scheme or another."

IOLANTHE: "Thanks for the heads-up, Snake Doc. So, Tolo, you wanna come with me, or?”

ALKAIOS: "Nah. Uh, you go ahead, Petal. I'm just gonna... chill out here. Kinda winded from the job."

IOLANTHE: I give Alkaios a look, and he smiles back at me, more of a smirk. The beauty mark under his eye crinkles in a way I’ve learned is exhaustion, but I won’t point it out — I've seen that expression on his face enough. I know not to fight it anymore. I nod, and watch him settle on the floor by the couch. Before his eyes close, he raises his eyebrow and gestures to the necklace still in his hands. I know what to do, and so I give him a grin. His eyes close near-immediately after that, and I mess up his dreadlocks with a hand as I pass him by.

SOUND: FOOTSTEPS.

The base we've taken up is an old, hidden safehouse. It used to be some Government base for Mercury's operations, but nobody's touched it for, like, three decades. Mneme hacked all surveillance cameras long before I was even in Discordia, back, when I was… y’know. Uh, we've been in control of the place ever since, really.

The training rooms are five consecutive rooms, in a row, all with doors that connect to one another, and entries on the other side. But our sparring room is the second room along, the one just in front of my dance studio — the third. I pull my key card from my pocket, where it always is unless I misplace it, and swipe it across the scanners, the door sliding open.

SOUND: BEEP. DOOR SLIDES OPEN WITH HISS.

SOUND: GRUNTING, BREATHLESS LAUGHTER, RUNNING.

And there they are. Perdita charges at Mneme with all of her speed, young legs carrying her far. She makes a smart sweep for Mneme’s legs, a tactic I haven’t seen her use before. But Mneme is smarter, stronger, more experienced— as always. With one arm, she scoops under Perdita and drags her backwards. They’re a blur of movement, before Mneme lets go and Perdita gets kicked to the floor with a foot to her chest. Even I have to wince when she falls.

SOUND: PERDITA YELPS AND WHEEZES. THUD AS SHE HITS THE GROUND.

The smell of sweat and oil is pungent in the room, familiar. Mneme's hair shines a rainbow glint in the dim room. It’s pretty, always has been. Her chest heaves, and she brings up a hand to wipe the sweat from her brow. She looks like a Goddess in the lighting, powerful and fearless, completely in her own element. I've always admired her strength, even if it's not something I have.

She holds her hand out to Perdita, buck teeth poking into her bottom lip as she smiles.

PERDITA: "How," (GASPING) “how are you so good at that? It's scary!"

SOUND: SLAP OF HANDS.

MNEME: "I’m a lot older than you, Dita. Seen a whole lot more of the world, and a whole less empathy. I’ve been training a long time. But if you keep it up? Keep trying, keep getting stronger? Maybe you’ll get to where I am someday. …Keep in mind the someday bit, though, you overachiever. Don’t need you taking my title just yet."

IOLANTHE: "Why is it that every single time I see you, you're giving some inspirational quote like we're in a film? Knock it off, Min."

MNEME: "Petal! Hey, lil' guy! Didn't even see you there!"

IOLANTHE: And then I'm getting wrangled into her arms. (LAUGHING) “Alright, alright, cut it out, Minnie!” I shove her off of me, and she gives me a look. Up and down, once, twice, before she frowns. Mneme’s always been so good at that, knowing exactly when someone’s come to her with a purpose.

MNEME: “Spit it out, Petal. What’re you wanting to tell me?”

IOLANTHE: “We got the new score. The necklace from the woman who owns that fancy restaurant downtown, on the outskirts of Mercury’s Military Base.”

MNEME: (DELIGHTED) “You did? Hah! Knew I could trust you two. It’ll be enough to get me at least a month-”

IOLANTHE: “No.”

I’m not usually the one who stands up to Mneme. That’s Pythias, usually, who’ll stand up and face her without fear in their eyes. But… this isn’t something I can just give up. Tolo needs this. So I’ll get him it.

MNEME: “...No? Oh? You’ve got a different idea for what we’ll do with the coins, do you?”

IOLANTHE: It takes a moment. But I swallow, and I straighten my back, and I look her dead in the eyes.

“Yeah. First priority, we pay for Alkaios’ guitar strings, and a repair for his guitar. It’ll cost about a quarter of the coins we get from the score, I already did the math the other day with a rough estimate. We split the rest for food, and whatever’s left over you can get more equipment with.”

Mneme is silent. Then she laughs.

SOUND: MNEME LAUGHS.

It’s mocking. Not cruel, but near disbelieving. I think. It’s always been hard to place her tone, between her accent’s thickness and her odd mannerisms.

MNEME: “Alright, little boy.”

SOUND: IOLANTHE GROWLS. MUSIC CHANGE. AMBIENCE FADES IN.

“Down, down. Let’s say I agree. We get Alky-boy his strings and a fix for that old instrument. What do I get out of it? Prove to me that it’s worth my time.”

PERDITA: “Why don’t we do a trial?”

SOUND: MNEME TAKES A SHARP BREATH. IOLANTHE HUFFS.

IOLANTHE: I’d forgotten she was there. Perdita is quieter than she should be.

PERDITA: “Sorry. But, a trial makes the most sense, right? Whoever sides with Io agrees that Alkaios gets new guitar strings and a fix. Whoever sides with you agrees that we spend it on equipment.”

MNEME: “A good idea, Dita! If you think you can convince the others to agree, Iolanthe?”

IOLANTHE: She cocks her head to the side. Her oilslicked hair shines in the light, her eyes look like a predator’s in the shadow of her bangs. She looks terrifying. I don’t back down, either way. Backing down now would be giving up my pride, and, well, if my pride is my fatal flaw, then so be it.

“A trial it’ll be!”

I look her straight in the eyes till she smiles, not menacing this time, but gentle. For some reason, her kindness comes out as far more terrifying than her malice.