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The boy looks between Faith and Rust with a defiant look, as if he is going to continue to push the rescue of his friend. However, his eyes grow softer as he looks at them and opens his mouth to speak.
"Well, there is something else... There's a double ganger in my house. My parents think it's me, but it's not... I'm me. Brother Lucas said he'd banish it back to Hell, but he's been awful busy. Do you know how to get rid of double gangers?"
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Rust wonders what that was like, finding a double living your life. Rust had no life to come back to, it was all lost in Arcadia. "We can help with that. But you need to pull the trigger.We have a rule, you win your own battles."
Faith hesitates before she answers. She does throw a look up at the King's face. "Damn it Aslan, he's just a f*-", but stop just short of calling the boy a kid. Of course she has to bite her tongue to hold back that reply. Bite hard.
She then looks to the boy. "Look, kid." Well, so much for tongue-biting. "We can help, but we can't do it all by our-f**king-selves. What's Brother Jonas or whatever been telling you 'bout getting rid of the ganger?"
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The boy's eyes go wide at Rust's words.
"I have to shoot it?"
His lip quivers slightly as he looks back at Faith.
"I don't even know if I could shoot it. It looks just like me. Brother Lucas said double gangers are hell-spawn... demons that the Devil puts in place of people like us that get kidnapped and taken to Hell. He said he'd banish it, but he didn't say anything about shooting it. Will that really work?"
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Rust wants to tell Faith to back off with the momma-duck intinct crap. The kid wouldn;t be helped any if allowed to cop out.
Or maybe Faith was just not a heartless beast-thing. He holds back his answer, allowing Faith to help the kid.
Faith looks at the kid. She resisted the temptation to pity the boy. In a way, it was obvious he wanted to man up. That he wanted to prove he was strong enough. At the same time, it was readily apparent that he wasn't. That, the Fairest could sympathize with.
"It f**king dies just like the rest of us." Apparently 'no-potty-mouth' mode takes no time falling back into dormancy. "It isn't easy shooting someone like that, but you wouldn't be the first to do it. is there a Reecy 'ganger, too?", she asks.
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The kid shakes his head in response to Faith's question.
"No, and his parents are real upset. They think he ran away."
He's silent for a moment, almost as if he is listening to something the others cannot hear. Slowly, he starts to nod his head, then looks up at Faith and Rust.
"When I saw you walk into the Church, I got scared. I kept real quiet and didn't move a single muscle, 'cause I wasn't sure if you were bad guys, or not. I snuck up as you were talking to Emily and listened, but it wasn't 'til I heard you talking out here that I was sure you were good guys. You are good guys, right? So, I'm scared the double ganger's gonna hurt my mom and dad... will you help me get rid of it?"
Faith frowns as the kid listens to what is apparently some unseen voice. It could be enough to worry her, if she didn't think of the issues she herself has left from Back Then. Which led straight back to the fact that she was going to need to have a talk with Rust afterwards, about the things lions had better not share, ever, if they want to keep all their teeth.
"Yeah." She nods. "Yeah, we're the good guys, and we'll try and give you a hand." She punctuates the statement by standing back up straight and sending an elbow straight into Rust Mane's ribs. She looks the lion in the eyes, daring him to say otherwise. "Right?"
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The king gives a *umph in responce. "Right. You have our aid as much we can provide." Sharp eye drill a hole in Faith's skull. They already had enough problems.
"We actually were here to speak with Brother Lucas. I think you over heard that. So are you staying here?"
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The boy looks relieved that his new friends seem willing to help him out.
"I better go with you... you don't even know where I live."
He looks at Rust as if he is trying to decide if the large, metal lion-man might be a bit on the slow side.
"My name's Owen."
Owen looks from the dour Rust Mane to the more sympathetic Faith. He seems eager to go before he loses his nerve.
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