Dance of the Gods

There were close to or maybe more than a hundred types and styles of revolvers.

One section was full of the usual six shots with long, round barrels. Most of them shot either .44 or .45 rounds, which meant they had a strong recoil and even stronger acceleration.

Veronica spent a lot of time browsing these, but they weren't the weapons a lady could just carry around.

Another section was much more suitable for her. It held a lot of tiny revolvers. Some were only as big as her palm. They could fit into a small purse. They traded the weapon's strength for the ability to conceal it easily.

They shot .22 rounds, which were close to half the size of the .45s.

She soon walked away from that section too. She needed a weapon to be small, but not that small. A thigh holster would hold the weapon, so concealing it wouldn't be too difficult.

She found the perfect section after a good ten minutes of searching. This selection of revolvers wasn't too large or small. They had medium-sized barrels, perfect for close and not bad for long range shooting.

Their caliber was .357, which was the same as Retribution ––Michael's gun.

There were dozens of this revolver kind, and Veronica spent way too much time browsing.

Some held intricate designs and carvings, while others were plain. A few stood out with their vivid colors, the rest were just simple metallic.

Even their weapon styles differed. Some could hold five bullets, while others held six, seven, or even eight.

Their barrels were different, too. Some had the well-known round barrels, while others were hexagon, heptagon, octagon, etc. shaped. The amount of sides on the barrel seemed to correlate with the amount of bullets the gun could hold.

Veronica's eyes went to the eight shots. She spent a few hours talking to both Michael and Suze about this choice. Both suggested getting an eight shot, since they can hold more Ascended Bullets, which meant she would be better prepared for more situations.

Now she only had to decide upon its design. There were three different revolvers she liked.

One was a mix of black and gold, with a longer round barrel and a beautifully carved body.

The second one was a regular metal, but it had a very nice wooden handle, which fit Veronica's hand.

The third and last one differed from the first two. It was pure silver, with a handle made of birch wood. Someone carved and painted flowers onto the entire weapon.

The silver brought out the color of the flowers further and gave the already beautiful weapon a divine look.

It took no thought for Veronica to decide. After laying eyes on the weapon, she just had to choose it.

With a small smile on her face, she walked to the tall woman who stood behind the counter.

"Have you made a decision, Miss?" She asked with a slight enthusiasm.

Turning on the Mind's Eye, Veronica determined after a quick assessment that the woman was nervous. And judging by how the last cashier wasn't here, she must be new to this job and still inexperienced.

"Yes, Ma'am."

Veronica led the woman to the display where her chosen revolver sat. It needed to be opened by the cashier for safety.

The woman fumbled around the large keychain for a bit until she found the right one. The lock clicked open, and she reached inside to take out the silver revolver.

She locked the display, then examined the revolver for a few seconds.

"I must say, Miss, you have an expert eye for weaponry. This is exceptional, both in its beauty and strength... It is pricey though, you sure it's in you range?"

The woman didn't sound haughty or mocking. She was just curious and wanted to help Veronica.

Veronica saw the price before choosing the weapon and it was in her range... Barely, but the woman didn't need to know that.

"Thank you for your concern, but rest assured, I can pay for it. Also, I would like to buy an adjustable thigh holster and a box of ammunition." Said Veronica with a genuine smile.

The woman nodded and walked around the shop, collecting everything Veronica asked for.

The end price for the whole purchase was about 60 gelt, from which 59 was the revolver only. Paying this much money, even for a beautiful weapon like this, was painful.

It brought back memories, when her whole family sat down and ate soup. It was made with water from the sea, so it had salt in it. They also threw in a bone that sometimes still had a bit of meat on it.

When they had money for a vegetable or two, Veronica imagined princesses dined like that every day.

Even just one gelt could've payed for a month worth of food, and now she spent sixty times that on a singular item.

With a sigh, she took the revolver and placed it inside the holster. She then went into the store's bathroom and put the holster on the inside of her left leg. After that, she spent a few minutes drawing and putting away the revolver.

Eventually, she nodded to herself, and after saying a quick goodbye to the cashier lady, she went away.

...

"Well, you didn't lie. It is pretty." Said Michael while turning the gun in his hand, then handing it to Gerald sitting on the other side of the table.

"So? How does it feel to own a weapon? To not be defenseless?"

Gerald asked with a smile and took apart the revolver. Veronica watched with some concern as he checked everything about it.

The weapon's interior also shared the same design, which was odd; someone had even painted the inside of the barrel.

Veronica was very curious about the previous owner, and how did it get under an armaments shop's display?

"I wasn't defenseless before either, but it does make me feel more comfortable. I just hope I never have to use it." She said with a sigh.

She felt a small squeeze on her leg, and looked towards Michael, who was smiling down at her with sympathy.

"Oh girl, we all do, but the real world is not that kind. This is especially true for this line of business... But you do have great taste!" said the only other girl at the table, Billie.

Veronica got to know her better during this past week. She was a kind and obnoxious person, which was a strange combination. She also loved to get screwed by her husband, a lot...

At this point, Veronica knew Michael had lied to her about how often Billie and Rob fuck in the recreational room. They were forced into the kitchen on most days.

Other than that, she was normal and even timid when it came to action. She had a severe lack of self-confidence, which made her second guess herself all the time.

The only members who weren't in the room were Cory Collins, ––Gerald's brother––and Ted Walton ––the Chapter Leader. 

Michael said that they were on some scouting or whatever. He wasn't supposed to talk about it, and Veronica didn't care enough to ask more.

"Why do you call me girl? I'm older than you!" Said Veronica with a small laugh.

"Not if we count in Ascended years, then you are still a rookie!" She answered with a smirk, which was then demolished by Michael's next statement.

"But she will soon ascend into a 7th Order, while you are still stuck at Knowledge Pursuer!" They all chuckled a bit, except Billie, who leaned back with a pout.

"It's not my fault. It's hard to acquire the Knowledge Pursuer's principles!" She grumbled under her breath, which caused everyone to laugh again.

After putting the gun back together, Gerald handed it back to Veronica. She looked it over once, then placed it down on the table.

"Where can I get Ascended Bullets? Only at the Black Market?"

"For most freelancers, that's their only option, but since you are dating a member of the Unbroken, you might get access to a few different types of ammo!" Answered Gerald with a pointed wink, at which everyone at the table just rolled their eyes.

Michael pulled out a box, then started placing half a dozen different types of bullets on the table. He placed ten of each, then reminded Veronica about what each can do.

There were ten grays, which were the Equalizers. There were ones with white and black pentagrams, which were Evil Repellent and Holy Repellent Bullets. He also placed down ten purple ones, that were Stun Bullets, and ten oranges, which were the Loud Bullets.

The last ten was black. Those were the most obvious, since they were Death Bullets.

Seeing them made Veronica remember when he killed his brother with one of those, but she smothered the thought before it got hold of her emotions.

He also gave her a dozen Explosive Bullets with red casings, and about five Smoke Bullets with dark gray casings.

Without further ado, she reloaded her new weapon. She placed a different bullet in each of the empty spaces, then closed the cylinder and gave it a spin for fun.

"What are you going to name it?" Asked Michael out of all people. Veronica looked at him with a raised eyebrow, which seemed to say, 'Why would I name it anything? Are you stupid?'

Seeing that face, Michael chuckled and said... "A weapon like that needs a name. It would be injustice to keep it nameless!"

Veronica just rolled her eyes, then while looking at the revolver, she said the first name that came to her mind...

"Her name is Lady Helper. There you go, happy?"