“We're on strike,” she said matter-of-factly and crossed her arms. I blinked.

“You can't be serious,” I said.

“I am, and we are,” she answered and looked around the collective. The other women nodded their heads in agreement.

“Alright, Pek, let's--”

“Pekmae,” she interrupted me.

“I'm sorry?”

“My name is Pekmae,” she said. “Only my friends call me Pek.” It was pointed, and caustic, and I wouldn't have expected any less from the saucy pirate-scoundrel. But, somehow I was still surprised.

“Pekmae? Seriously?” She nodded, and I sighed. If there was one thing I'd learned through the last decade, it was to avoid arguments with Pek. “Fine, Pekmae,” I said. “Let's talk about this. Why are you on strike?”

“You don't use us anymore. We feel neglected, and so we're on strike.”

“That isn't true.”

“Oh yeah? Look at poor Cora, there. You beat her to a pulp and dragged her through nine parts wondering if she was pregnant or not,” Pekmae said. “Now you don't bother her at all. Not even a hello.”

I shrugged, but felt guilty. I watched Cora; she sneezed and multiples split away from her body, tumbling around like shadow-ghost clones. Each was different; one held her hand over a swollen belly, and one shape-shifted into a kitten. One kissed the winged Bash, and another climbed into a Jeep with Marilyn. Then they all faded and the one remaining Cora wiped her nose.

“She's been doing that since you 'finished' her story,” Pekmae said scornfully. “You don't know where to put her next.” That part was also true.

“Look, I've been busy,” I started in a vain attempt to defend myself. Pekmae had her finger in my face.

“And what of poor Mary-Elizabeth-Audrey over there? You left her with a gaping hole in her chest and haven't thought of her since,” Pekmae said. I didn't have to look at Mary-Elizabeth-Audrey to see the bloody shirt or gaping hole.

“Now Bits isn't my fault,” I said.

“You can't call me that,” the immortal interrupted and I blinked again. Was this a mutiny?

“Excuse me?”

“Only Sinclair can call me 'Bits.' You'll have to call me something else,” she explained. I rolled my eyes.

“Fine, then. What do you want me to call you?,” I asked. “Want me to call you Mary, your birth name? Or Elizabeth, which Sinclair gave you? Or maybe Audrey, which Sinclair also gave you. Or, do you want a new name altogether?”

“Bits is fine,” the blonde immortal said after mulling her options. I wanted to bang my head against the wall, but settled for sighing patiently. They were like dealing with children.

“As I was saying: blame the Muse for her.” I pointed into the corner where a green pixie with rainbow wings divided into many pixies of single colors, then fell back into one again. The pixie snapped her fingers, making Cora sneeze, and the shadow-ghost Coras tumbled around the floor. “See?”

Pekmae shrugged and toed at a spot of paint on my kitchen tile. I recognized the spot as a speck of loam and had a sudden terrible feeling that it would rise up with grievances of its own. I held my breath, but it was just a paint speck and perfectly content to let Pekmae scuff at it with her boot.

“Well, maybe she isn't your fault,” the pirate admitted.  “But the rest of us are.”

“Wait a second,” I said and narrowed my eyes down into my best impression of a Pekmae scowl. “You shouldn't be in on this. You've gotten more play lately than the lot of them combined!”

Pekmae looked stricken and the rest of the scorned females circled in around her.

“Recently, yes,” she stammered. “But not all the way. You still haven't explained how I got my memory back after crash-landing in Tullgren, or exactly what happened to me after the massacre OR how I left Kef and Starla the first time.” She was jabbing her finger at me again. “Besides, I've got seniority. I've been here the longest.” Now she was standing nose-to-nose with me, and I felt her finger poke against my sternum. She smelled like spiced oranges. I closed my eyes and opened them again and when I did, her arm was in a sling. “Hey!” she shouted. I smirked.

“Play nice, Pek,” I said gently. “At the rate I'm moving, it could take me a year to fix you.” Her eyes flashed dangerously and she opened her mouth, then turned on heel and stomped into a corner where she sulked. “Now, for the rest of you,” I started then looked around. “Wait, where are the others?”

“The guys have their own group,” Pekmae said quickly and shot a look at Cora, who dabbed at her nose with a tissue.  

“So where's Rei?” I asked Pekmae.

“I don't know. Where'd you put her?” Pekmae smirked, and I rolled my eyes.

“She's your daughter, you should know,” I said sternly.

“She's with Xav, at the moment. Den's got her next. If you're that worried, take it up with DJ,” Pekmae said sullenly. I wasn't really that worried; little Rei was taken good care of, for a collaboration.

“Now, as for the rest of you. I'm sorry I haven't had much time to get you unstuck or more comfortable. I've been busy. I got a real job, remember?” They grumbled and scowled at me. I blinked. “Wait a second, are you all scowling? Pekmae, have you been giving scowling lessons?”

The pirate shrugged, but I knew that light in her eyes. I'd put it there, after all.

“Alright, all of you back to your typical expressions. C'mon, go!” I said and tapped my foot. Marilyn smiled sweetly, and Cora looked demure. Pekmae scowled meanly, and Bits frowned, but her eyes did not smolder.

“Is that the look I gave you?” I asked her. She nodded. “Oh. Sorry... We'll work on getting you a new one.”

“Eko is on strike too,” Pekmae jumped in before I could properly soothe the blonde immortal Bits. Typical Pekmae, minding her younger brother's business.

“He is? But he's with Xav too.”

“Yes. He knows it's Xav's turn, and technically he's with her,” Pekmae admitted. “But he wants to know what happened in this dark past you keep alluding to, or how he became such fast friends with Kael, or how he ever decided I was alive in the first place.”

“Really? He wants to know all that?”

“Yes,” she said and nodded her head. I rolled my eyes again. I knew Eko better than she did, and knew he didn't care about that. He was too easy-going.

“Subtle, Pek.”

“Thank you,” she said and smiled.

“I didn't mean it. You're about as subtle as a bantha in a bar.” Now she was scowling again, and hmphed.

“It's your fault,” she said. The head-smacking urges were becoming stronger and I felt myself being sucked into an argument. Arguing with Pekmae was like an athletic event, and I really didn't feel up to it.

“Alright, fine. A new look for Bits and subtlety for Pekmae. Anyone else need anything?”

A girl in a halter-top and flip-flops raised her hand. I nodded.

“Could I have a name? And maybe an ending?” At least she was nice about it. I pressed my fingers against my eyes and groaned.

“Yes, narrator from 'Squash-picker,' I will give you a name and an ending as soon as the Muse delivers.” Everyone looked at the Muse. The Muse shrugged and snapped, and Cora sneezed. “Now, anyone else? Cora?”

“Well,” she said slowly. “I think I'd like a kiss.”

I was surprised, yet again.

“A kiss? Alright, who do you want to kiss?”

“Surprise me,” she said and smirked. That could be dangerous, and I could see the gleam in the Muse's eyes, but left it alone. Not yet.

“Is everyone else satisfied with where they are, or how they are?” There were murmurs of general agreement. And then I noticed the tomato. “What's that?”

“Tomato,” Pekmae said helpfully. How she knew what  tomato was, I wasn't going to ask.

“Yes, I can see it's a tomato,” I said between my teeth. “But why is it on the counter? I didn't put it there.”

“You owe it a story,” Pekmae said. I couldn't resist the urges and smacked my forehead with the butt of my palm.

“Fine. New face for Bits. New subtlety for Pekmae, and a name and ending for the squash picker. A kiss for Cora, and a whole story for the tomato. Does that cover it?” I didn't wait for anyone else to think up anything else I owed. Back to task.

“You'll have to be patient; I don't have as much time as I used to,” I said to theatrical groaning. “I don't like it any more than you do, believe me. But I will be back at the end of the summer. And I promise I'll stop by and say hello from time to time.” Now they looked hopeful. “Think of it as a vacation,” I said. “Walk away from wherever I put you, take a few months off, and we'll pick back up in August.”

“Deal,” Pekmae said and stuck out her hand. She didn't notice her arm wasn't in a sling any longer, but I didn't expect her to. I shook her hand and looked around at the assembled females; they all nodded and a few of the more even-tempered ones smiled.

“Good,” I said. “Spread the word to the boys. Wait... where are the boys?”

“Playing Halo,” Cora explained before Pekmae could stop her. I blinked again.

“Really? How is that --”

“Don't ask,” she said.