---

^{@Atrophy@Zombiedude101}
... Beyond Farmer Hill

---

---

"Me?" The child questioned and looked at Cyrus, the newcomer to all of this madness. "I am a Primordial, something that was born from the source of life itself intended to watch over and guard the multiverse. Or at least, I should..." The being said with absolute certainty before they looked off to the side.

"Do you know what's even going on?" Justin asked, and had a feeling that this being would dance around their questions. Justin was no religious person but he could only feel unnerved being in this being's presence. He wanted his questions answered and he didn't want to dance around anything. "How do we beat the Glutton?"

"I was going to get to that, I have a long line of explaining to do... and for the most part, your friend Britney Williams laid the groundwork," The Child nodded towards Britney as they folded their hands behind their back. "But, for me to explain things to you properly, I have to show you something..." They trailed off, and Justin was already getting aggravated.

"... Are you ready to see something beautiful?" The Child asked as they extended their heavenly hand outwards toward the group, expecting each of them to grab.

"I was born ready." Lynette eagerly said as she gave her hand.

"Long as we get to the bottom of this shit." Justin gave his hand.

"And if we don't? Will we just be staring into a blank space?" Jordan asked rhetorically as she gave her hand.

"... I could go for anything to ease my mind off the suffering and death." Kimberly said.

"Are we going to see..." Britney trailed off, as she had to contain her excitement.

"Yes." The Child answered as a portal opened behind them... it revealed a white light that pulsed with thousands of different colors. It was... beauty if any of them ever saw it. The support group were lifted off their feet and gently moved into the portal by the Child and they were flying above it. The most beautiful place they've seen, what seemed to be a mass of foggy light that flowed beautifully and created some kind of enormous tree. A tree that, they estimated, to be the size of countries. And on the base of the tree, there were spectral beings similar in appearance to the Child playing, and there were all sorts of chatter and laughter. The group was floating above all of it, as they went towards the tree.

"... Behold, the Godforce." The Child finally went and said what it was.

"... Luminescence." Britney said to nobody in particular.

"The wha...?" Justin asked.

"Ages ago, my predecessors, in the act of ultimate compassion seeded a barren universe and given up parts of themselves so you all may think. May feel. May be able to decide the fates of your own lives. They created the Godforce, the accumulation of all sentient conscious, emotion, thoughts, memories, and personality across the multiverse."

"Ooooooooh." Kimberly was awestruck by the sight.

"When someone is born, they borrow a piece of the Godforce that gives them the ability of free will. They will go out and gain memories and experience emotions that are absorbed back into the Spectrum when they finally pass which allows the Godforce to go in size and power... to what you see here today."

The Child made a ball of the white Godforce appear in their hand, as they held it out for the group to see. "The God-Force is everywhere and is life itself." The Child turned backward as they faced the tree. "As without the ability to feel, to think for yourself, to experience memories... you are considered dead...."

The orb disappeared for a moment, as the Child added on,

"... The Awakened owe their powers to the Godforce."

---

Somewhere Else

---

"... Are you ready to see something beautiful?" The Child asked as they extended their heavenly hand outwards toward the group, expecting each of them to grab.

“For some answer, yeah, sure,” Caelea rolled her eyes as she gave her hand.

Min was more than willing to give his hand, in silent contemplation. If it led to more knowledge, then why wouldn’t he? The more he knew of this the better.

“As long as it doesn’t kill us,” Rien put their hand in. A bit hesitant, but doing it nonetheless since both Kimberley and Jordan had. They’d rather stick with the people they knew.

Tuyen raised their hand, their shadow copying and doing the same. It was better than not knowing what was going on. Anything to get out of this situation.

Then they were transported to what seemed like another world, filled with so many colours. It truly was beautiful. Tuyen looked around in awe, practically speechless. Even their shadow was silence for once without her having to concentrate on it. The tree itself was even more beautiful and unlike anything they’d ever seen. It was beautiful.

“Shit, I wish I had my sketch pad,” Rien’s mouth was slightly ajar as they stared. Not that they would be able to do it justice in a drawing. They could always try.

"Ages ago, my predecessors, in the act of ultimate compassion seeded a barren universe and given up parts of themselves so you all may think. May feel. May be able to decide the fates of your own lives. They created the Godforce, the accumulation of all sentient conscious, emotion, thoughts, memories, and personality across the multiverse."

“Kinda like god, huh,” Caelea murmured with a raised eyebrow. Even see was awestruck by the sight.

"When someone is born, they borrow a piece of the Godforce that gives them the ability of free will. They will go out and gain memories and experience emotions that are absorbed back into the Spectrum when they finally pass which allows the Godforce to go in size and power... to what you see here today."

The Child made some kind of beautiful white ball in their hand and held it out to them all. "The God-Force is everywhere and is life itself. As without the ability to feel, to think for yourself, to experience memories... you are considered dead...."

"... The Awakened owe their powers to the Godforce."

It was difficult to process. Being awakened was one thing, but this Godforce? It was even stranger. It was more than just powers. It fuelled everything. Tuyen couldn’t quite wrap her head around it. So if they used Godforce for their powers… what did the make them? Or was it just that they had more Godforce than normal people? She couldn’t quite understand.

“Do our powers come from memories and experiences then?” Tuyen asked, quietly and more to herself than anyone else as she reasoned it all through.

”The glutton it craves Godforce, doesn’t it?” One of the new people asked a question that seemed far too close to reality.

“…Is that why Scott ripped off the tattoo things of the people he killed?” Rien asked, remembering an all too horrible vision they’d had from a long time ago. It seemed like a different century when all they’d had to worry about was Scott. “Because of the Godforce, and the glutton wanting it?”

“My question is,” Caelea clenched her fist, looking away from the beautiful tree made of flowing fog. “If you’re predecessors had enough power to make us all think, why can’t you defeat the glutton. Why do we have to do it? Why the fuck are we the ones who landed with these powers and shitty situation?”

A Strange Place

---

It took some time getting caught up, but Paige had reunited with the rest of the group soon enough, and changed back into her regular clothes just in time to see the vision of Britney hiding Andrea's body. It was not a pleasant thing to see - though Paige had guessed while they were there that she was dead, it was not something Paige was happy to be right about. It did mean that her quarrel with Sharon before had been justified. Not that Paige was worried about Sharon right now, though. Britney was the center of her focus right now, as Paige's heart fought against her mind. Logic said Britney had made the smart choice, emotions said it was a cold and cruel thing to do.

Her decision didn't matter much, anyway, because she was interrupted at that point by a being she had never seen anything like before. Those members of the group who'd been around for longer than her seem to recognise it, though - and she did, as well, when she heard its voice. That voice had been in her last dream before she woke up, a few minutes ago.

She murmured, quietly "This shit gets weirder by the minute."

A little more magic-talk later and they were being asked if they wanted to see something beautiful. Paige was halfway through coming up with a sarcastic comment about how anything was beautiful compared to them when she took the child's hand and- Oh.

What she saw was near impossible to describe. Beautiful, yes, but she hadn't been prepared for the sheer scale of it. This was beyond what she was capable of imagining - the human mind simply wasn't built for understanding things like this, and when one was placed directly in front of it, it struggled to do its job correctly.

Anyway, she had to focus. Big tree or no, her life, and the lives of many others, were in danger, and this could provide them with the information they needed to win. Greater understanding of their Abstractions would no doubt be useful, as Abstractions had been the only thing that even slightly affected the Glutton, and there the "slightly" really was correct. If Paige understood this correctly, they were in front of the source of their Abstractions - since an Awakened is essentially just a person with an Abstraction - and the same thing was also the source of human emotions. Presumably, the two were linked; pretty much all of the Awakened she knew of had, well, big personalities, in one way or another. If there was a link between how emotive a person was and whether or not they were Awakened, that would explain a lot. For example, it would explain why the Glutton was so fixated on them; Britney had said before that it fed off emotions.

---

Somewhere Else

---

Billy sighed. Just when there looked like there was about to be a good old fashion catfight, his damn sister and her pal came in and ruined everything by making sense for once. He wasn’t as interested as Penny was in trying to act the hero and take down the Glutton. It seemed like quite a bit of work that was also very much improbable if not just straight up impossible. He would rather just enjoy their final days then stress out over something he couldn’t control. They were in a hospital, and there seemed to be not figures of authority around. It wouldn’t be tough to find a key that led to some of the fun, mind-melting meds.

Although maybe he didn’t need them, because everything shifted away to some kind of ghost realm. At first Billy thought he was somehow tripping, but then it became clear that everyone else also saw the weird ghost kid and could hear the weird ghost kid and could touch the weird ghost kid and oh god they were being transported to somewhere else by the weird ghost kid and—you know what? The place they were taken wasn’t half bad. In fact, it was pretty wonderful. Billy let out a little delighted chuckle as they floated above some massive tree while little other God kiddies played around it like they were characters in an early Disney film.

The Child went on to do his little spiel like it was Sunday morning and they were all stuck in a sermon, and like the days when his parents dragged him to church Billy spent most of the time half-listening and instead letting his eyes wander around the area while his mind drifted even further. The others seemed a bit more invested and peppered the Child with questions. His sister was strangely silent, although if Billy had paid more attention he would’ve noticed that she was watching Britney and Sharon for reactions. The mousy girl spoke instead.

“Maybe we should just let it continue,” suggested Rita, curious to see what the Child had to tell them.

---

... Beyond Farmer Hill

---

---

“Do our powers come from memories and experiences then?” Tuyen was first to speak.

“My question is,” Caela was far more aggressive in her questioning, and if the Child had to honest she wasn't entirely unfounded. “If you’re predecessors had enough power to make us all think, why can’t you defeat the glutton. Why do we have to do it? Why the fuck are we the ones who landed with these powers and shitty situation?”

The Child sighed as these were the questions that they were expecting and they knew the exact answers to their questions. Of course, it wouldn't make it any more difficult or harder for them to grasp. It was a difficult situation for the child themselves.

"... Because I lack that power." The Child said with sorrow as the view of Godforce seemingly faded away. It was almost as if it was an illusion that the Child was breaking. It was replaced with pitch blackness. "In fact... I do not even exist in the same plane of existence as you all, nonetheless the Godforce."

"Then where do you exist?" Jordan was the one who insightfully asked the question, being rather impartial to the whole Godforce nonsense. If this was heaven, then she definitely didn't belong there.

"I am trapped in... The Void... space outside of reality itself which contains... nothing, except other beings beyond your comprehension," The Child gestured to the blackness that was around them. "My predecessors, when defining what is creation and what isn't... made it nigh-impossible for even them to get into the other side. So, I can only assist you for short amounts of time, as I am so disconnected from my true power."

Then the illusion faded and they were back at the Godforce, the massive tree that was the source of all creation. The Child knew that they had plenty of time to explain the rest of what they needed to know. Of course, they wanted to clear up any and all ambiguity about the Awakened and your powers.

"As for why you are the ones who have the powers, and in the situation; it's simple," The Child smiled as they looked across the group they all seemed to be rather expectant of the knowledge... except for Britney and Sharon. "The Primordials, during the act of ultimate compassion, decided to bless humanity with a tiny fragment of their power - but, only to certain humans."

The Child raised their hand up into the air and the God-Force disappeared again and hundreds of silhouettes of different people appeared. They were of various of different shapes, sizes, and so forth, but otherwise featureless. Until a light appeared in their brains, and the Child continued.

"Those who possess a powerful emotion inside themselves gain the potential to open their minds, hearts, bodies, and souls to the universe. To the Godforce. By doing so, they allow themselves to gain an ability that reflects them. Reflects their memories, experiences, and emotions. You all may have noticed that by now?"

"Yeah, I had a feeling," Justin said as he grabbed onto his wrist and fire appeared directly in his hand. He was always told he had a firey, larger than life personality, but a few things about his abstraction still puzzles him.

"However, it's a lot more than just that," The Child started off, "By awakening, you become connected to the Godforce. Thus you are all connected to the memories that have been absorbed, and each other."

"What does that mean...?" Justin asked.

"When the time is right, you can see a vision of the past or see a vision of the present if your connection is strong enough with a perfect. It also allows you all to communicate with each other, and possibly share abstractions."

Though, the area shook, as if it was static on television, which was a sign that the Child had to be brief. There was one thing that they had to answer. It was their duty...

“The glutton; it craves the Godforce, doesn't it?”

The Child shivered for a moment upon hearing that sentence, the Child turned their head towards Cyrus. "... The Glutton craves creation itself." The Child started off, if they had a face it would most likely have been contorted into a horrified look.

"Do you know what the hell it even is? Where it came from?" Sharon finally spoke up as she put a hand on her hip.

The Child replied with a shake of their head, before adding on, "It was no being created by my predecessors, it just... appeared and devoured everything, but there is something I must show you all..."

Everything went pitch black for a moment again, before millions of orb-shaped lights that were connected by a web-light thread. It appeared above them and it was almost... beautiful.

"When my predecessors made creation, they created countless alternate universes... infinite worlds you might say," The Child started off, "And it was beautiful... but now there are only a tiny fraction left."

Then the lights faded away one by one, and the Child looked rather... sullen. Until there were only fourteen universes left, and Britney pointed at each of them and silently recited,

"... And they are Shimmer, Glint, Spark, Gleam, Shade, Halo, Shine, Illuminate, Flash, Halo, Beacon, Flare, Torch, and Ray."

"What happened?" Justin asked with a raised eyebrow.

"... The Glutton consumed them all."

---

_{@Ruler Inc}
Somewhere Else

---

Rita didn’t know how to feel. It seemed to her that the more she learned about what was going on, the less everything made sense. Things were already more complicated than they needed to be when there was just one world; infinite worlds and endless possibilities meant unlimited questions. If she had all of the answers would things truly be better? The Child seemed to know it all, and its words failed to inspire any kind of hope inside of her. She wrapped herself up in her sweater and longed for the comfort of the wall she could disappear against that was now gone, replaced by some abstract barrier.

The Child said that she was picked to have their gift because she possessed some kind of powerful emotion, but did she really? Rita doubted that. Likewise, she doubted that her power was even a gift. It was just another source of uncertainty. What would happen if the others knew about it? It may have been useful, but why couldn’t it be something powerful? And why did any of it even matter, if the Glutton was just going to consume their world like it had the others? Questions swirled and swirled around her head, but she couldn’t pick one to ask. Was there even an answer she could seek that would get them out of this horrible situation? She sucked in her lips to stop them from quivering.

Penny, on the other hand, had only one question, “So if you’re powerless to do anything, then how do we stop it?”

Her face was pinched into a scowl and her fists were clamped down tight underneath her folded arms. She had begun to grow annoyed with this Child that claimed giving people these powers was some wonderful act of compassion. There had been horrible consequences that had affected the lives of hundreds of people. It had even ended several of them. And, in an even bigger “Fuck you!”, their powers seemed completely ineffective against the Glutton. Only Claire’s abstraction had even been able to touch it, and in the end it had done nothing but add yet another tally to the death count.

“I don’t fucking care about the stupid universe, or the multiverse, or the origin of creation. I don’t care about the Void or Primordials or the dumbass Godforce. I don’t give a shit about how beautiful things were, especially when I barely grasp how ugly things are about to become. Stop jerking us around,” she said through clenched teeth. “How. The. Fuck. Do. I. Stop. It?”

---

... Beyond Farmer Hill

---

---

There was a brief second of silence from the Child as they blankly stared at Penny. Britney took it as the insolent Penny offending a God with her impatient. Justin figured that it was just irritated at her. But, either way, when the Child spoke, their words carried some significant weight.

"... You can't."

The Child responded to Penny and remained completely silent for a few moments as the group processed what the Child meant. Kimberly was wondering; if they couldn't kill it, then why were they even here? Listening to it ramble about something beyond their mere comprehension. Part of her wanted to turn on her heel right now and leave, get far away from this hell town as fast as possible.

However, Lynette was the first one to speak.

"... But, is there any way for us to stop it?"

The Child nodded.

"Your power is not capable of killing it, only a being like my Predecessor could even attempt to kill a being of that level," The Child started off but shook their head. "But, everything I've told you so far was instrumental to defeating the Glutton - the Godforce and the universe are the keys."

That piped their interest for a moment, as Lynette was curious as to what the Child meant.

"Eons ago, in the last stand of the people of Glint, the Glutton was weakened to the point where it was sealed inside of the mountain that overlooks the town," The Child started off. "Sealed behind three seals crafted from the Godforce, where it should have remained dormant for all eternity - but something damaged the seals and allows it to not only awaken but exert it's dark will through the cracks."

Both Sharon and Britney looked very uncomfortable upon hearing the part about something damaging the cracks. Britney had a vague idea of what happened, but Sharon... knew exactly what occurred.

"You all have the ability to reach a level that is far stronger than you are currently at, and you have the potential to manipulate the Godforce itself," The Child created the orb of white light again in their hand. "And you can use that to repair the three seals and render the Glutton dormant again."

"Good, some good news for a change!" Justin's fist pumped, but Kimberly asked a pressing question.

"... And how do we do that?" Kimberly asked. "I don't even know what the hell my own power is!"

"It's not an easy task, you all have to bath yourselves in the raw Godforce... and the only way you could do that is by entering the mountain," The Child made the orb disappear. "But, you must also enter it with clear, open, minds, and with a clear understanding of the universe at large. With no doubts, with nothing holding you back. Or else the raw emotion, the raw memories, overwhelm your minds and break them."

The child took a step back as the scene changed to Farmer Hill... in ruins, with dead bodies and people armed with weapons roaming the streets as the snow came down hard on them.

"Do you understand? Will you do it for not just the town you live in, but what's left of the universe?"

---

"I am a Primordial, something that was born from the source of life itself intended to watch over and guard the multiverse. Or at least, I should.. are you ready to see something beautiful?" Nate felt hesitation before he could take the outstretched hand, even if the Godkid didn't quite resemble a multi-tentacled eldritch horror like the kind of thing that had been chasing them in the school. What if this thing was fucking with them? Playing mindgames - he really didn't understand any of it, couldn't have understood even if he had really tried. It had helped them before, so there was at least a good chance it was telling the truth or at least what it thought- no, decided was the truth. But what would the Godkid consider beautiful? So far all he knew was that the least few hundred years of fundamentalists had been simultaneously proven right and wrong with their doomsday conspiracy theories and angel sightings.

Reluctant nonetheless, Nate finally pushed through his reservations and joined the others in their linked hands, pondering just what it was that had Britney so excited, that made it obvious she knew more than she let on. Light flared form behind them, he twisted around to get a view only for the floor to elude his weight, floating through to bear witness to a monolithic structure of light taking the form of... a tree? Stretching for miles, maybe continents in length. It reminded him of something he'd read about when idly looking up viking explorers and their beliefs. A vast tree which branched out into many realms...

"Yggdrasil," he involuntarily murmured, just barely aloud that the others might've heard it.

Yggdrasil. That was the name it had, if he recalled correctly. So far, if any kind of faith or religion had been debunked or disproven then this had just demonstrated that perhaps some of them were closer to the mark than others. They'd just been pulled through a portal to this place, from their world.

"Behold, the Godforce." Nate listened, making no comment. For this, he had no words - only a mass of formless questions and noises in his head, taking in the vastness of it. The Godkid was right, it was beautiful - or at least that word was the closest they'd ever get to describing it in human terms. Britney's voice was heard to utter the term 'Luminescence', though what she'd meant by that was unclear, unless she was referring to the light surrounding them. He listed as it casually explained why the universe existed, why they existed, that in essence it and its 'predecessors' were Gods in both the biblical and literal senses. Why they thought, felt - and why they had powers. Because of the 'Godforce'.

Questions steadily came in but, as for Nate, he could only watch and listen - this was beyond the help of phrases such as weird or mindfuck. Either this was real or it was all a bad dream, a really bad trip, or maybe, just maybe, he was still in the hospital bed, comatose, maybe hallucinating this whole thing. He ran a few fingers up the sleeve of his jacket and dug in hard, raking the skin until he felt himself wince and pull away. Flakes of skin were bedded under his nails, the pain real in contrast to the surreal nature of this experience, floating without weight before the norse vision of the universe.

"Do our powers come from memories and experiences?"

“…Is that why Scott ripped off the tattoo things of the people he killed? Because of the Godforce, and the glutton wanting it?”

Why did you allow for people like my mom to die? Like the guys at camp? Like Claire? Why have you just fucking watched while acting like we need to do all the work?

That last one from himself, no less, went unvoiced. A stupid question. It was a God, sure - but not their idea of the bearded, omnipotent asshole that Christian America had so eagerly latched onto.

Caela pressed on with a question about the Glutton, one he'd have probably asked if he'd not been beaten to the punch. "Why can’t you defeat the Glutton. Why do we have to do it? Why the fuck are we the ones who landed with these powers and shitty situation?”

It was disappointing to hear the Godkid tell them it couldn't. with each line of questioning, each answer they got was a riddle that unfolded into more questions and riddles with no plain solution in sight. Only the answer to why they had their powers, the nature of htem - that made sense, just a little more than the rest.

"Those who possess a powerful emotion inside themselves gain the potential to open their minds, hearts, bodies, and souls to the universe. To the Godforce. By doing so, they allow themselves to gain an ability that reflects them. Reflects their memories, experiences, and emotions. You all may have noticed that by now?" Ironically, it went through him. Nate didn't quite make the connection as to why his particular personality, his attitude to life meant he was able to stick his head through walls. Maybe he was a closeted voyeur, looking to get into some of that shower room peepshow action? He latched onto a select few words, "When the time is right, you can see a vision of the past-" and perhaps found some understanding. He wanted to walk away from it, at least - the past. Didn't want to be sat next to that bed, watching her connected to a machine as her automated breathing let out distinct rasps, a husk of what she was.

Surprisingly, it was the new kid, Cyrus who broke through that collective awe, that degree of wisdom and understanding to ask the Godkid about the Glutton once again, its features crinkling into something he could only describe as consternation. "... The Glutton craves creation itself." Not that it settled for being the eldritch horror seeking only to devour their group before, it would consume everything? And from showing up out of nowhere - it felt like they were getting into biblical levels again.

"It was no being created by my predecessors, it just... appeared and devoured everything, but there is something I must show you all..."

All of it blacked out, only for the space around them to fill with a mass of light, each connected to one another by a glowing thread."When my predecessors made creation, they created countless alternate universes... infinite worlds you might say,"

A vast tree which branched out into many realms...

"And it was beautiful... but now there are only a tiny fraction left."

By the thousands, the lights died out, until but a few remained. Nate had expected the Godkid to at least say something, but it hadn't slipped his notice that Britney had been pointing each one of them out and naming them. "-Shimmer, Glint, Spark, Gleam, Shade, Halo, Shine, Illuminate, Flash, Halo, Beacon, Flare, Torch, and Ray." Definitely involved, definitely in some illuminati conspiracy shit beyond understanding.

"What happened?" Justin had asked, receiving an answer which explained the God's saddened demeanour.

"The Glutton consumed them all."

Nate couldn't even think the phrase shit without beating himself over the head with a brick that it was an understatement. They were supposed to stop this thing, something that not even the Godkid or what came before it had managed to do. Was this a fucking joke? "How.." he began to form the words, but couldn't. Others spoke up for him, or at least he pretended they were when in fact they were probably just asking for their own sakes.

He felt like an ant going up against a tank, except an ant could be on the tank and go unnoticed. If it was killed by the tank, it would've just been as collateral damage, nothing more. Crushed and rolled over. The Glutton was after them and had already taken people with it for lunch. As the Godkid told them, they couldn't kill it and neither would anyone or anything else be up for the job. They couldn't stop it either, or at least not as Penny had asked. But it was leading them along, so that meant something, right?

"Eons ago, in the last stand of the people of Glint, the Glutton was weakened to the point where it was sealed inside of the mountain that overlooks the town," The Child started off. Midway through, Nate had echoed "Glint" aloud in a quizical tone, "Sealed behind three seals crafted from the Godforce, where it should have remained dormant for all eternity - but something damaged the seals and allows it to not only awaken but exert its dark will through the cracks." Cracks? Was that why he always felt uneasy when looking at the mountain, especially at night? Was that why there were so many rumours about people going missing around it? But now, they had a way to stop this thing - that energised him just a little bit more, a hopeful expression faintly creasing his features.

"It's not an easy task, you all have to bath yourselves in the raw Godforce... and the only way you could do that is by entering the mountain. But, you must also enter it with clear, open, minds, and with a clear understanding of the universe at large. With no doubts, with nothing holding you back. Or else the raw emotion, the raw memories, overwhelm your minds and break them." Nate's expression dissipated. No pressure then, he thought, then blinked as the view before them changed to that of their hometown. Decayed, in ruin - snow-blanketed corpses littering the frozen streets as others pressed through, shivering with torches, axes, knives, hunting rifles and pistols desperately clutched in their grasp. He saw a cruiser from the local sheriff's office crumpled against a fallen street pole, the driver's frozen husk slumped against the wheel. No distinction was required, he recognised it even from this distance.

And then the colour bled from his sight, and he saw that for each living figure were a dozen silhouettes. Nate felt the cold, biting at his face and fingertips.

"Do you understand? Will you do it for not just the town you live in, but what's left of the universe?"

"Okay..." Nate broke the silence and let slip a nervous chuckle, "No pressure, right? Just the Scooby gang here versus the closest thing to Cthulu-Satan the universe has ever known, what could go wrong?" He glanced towards the others, shrugging with his hands up before shifting his attention back towards the Godchild. "Y'know, I gotta ask. If we die - where do we go? You're the closest thing we've have to God, right? Am I gonna be fighting with Tupac and Elvis in fucking Valhalla if the Glutton takes me off the buffet plate or... like if-.. if our minds, thoughts and powers are made from this energy, we don't just disappear when we die, right?"

Somewhere Else

---

For Paige, this was a lot to get her head around. It was a lot easier to think about all this multiverse, end-of-the-world stuff in the movies than when actually experiencing it. There was a lot she'd probably want to know later, but for now she'd just like to take in what she'd learnt without having to experience another existential crisis as she struggled to comprehend her own smallness and insignificance compared to the vastness of the dozen-or-so universes, and the many more that once were. Besides, the god-child seemed to be busy with other questions, so it was probably best to stay quiet.

Something was nagging at her a little, enough for her to voice it, though only quietly. It was more a question for herself, but anyone who cared to listen would be able to hear.

"Why'd they have to pick this one mountain, then? The one planet in the entire of the known universe that has life, and the people of Glint think that's the best place to put the eldritch super-being. Thing feeds off emotions, would've starved to death years ago if it were stuck in Mars, and that's fucking close compared to some places out there."

Maybe Paige was being unreasonable in this situation - she had no way of knowing whether starving the Glutton might actually kill it, for example - but stress at trying to understand what she was supposed to be doing, and how, was getting to her. It seemed unfair to her that she and the people she knew were in danger because of the poorly-made decisions of people from another universe.

---

... Beyond Farmer Hill

---

---

"Why'd they have to pick this one mountain, then? The one planet in the entire of the known universe that has life, and the people of Glint think that's the best place to put the eldritch super-being. Thing feeds off emotions, would've starved to death years ago if it were stuck in Mars, and that's fucking close compared to some places out there."

The Child could only shake their head, but it was unclear if they were annoyed with Paige or if they were voicing disapproval of the people of Glint. Either way, they voiced their reasoning.

"The final battle against of the Glutton was quite a desperate one, where the few living beings left in that universe made their final stand against the Glutton. They weren't thinking rationally when they made the decision..." They shook their head again.

"So, basically, they wanted to get that thing the hell out of their universe without a thought for the others?" Justin, at the very least, tried to understand their motive, even if Justin didn't agree with it. Well, he heard that people make very impractical decisions under duress.

"Not just that, but the Lumin- The Godforce draws people to it," Britney started off, finally speaking up. "They tried sealing it in a mountain in the middle of nowhere with all the Godforce in our world hoping to forget about it - but the Godforce only drew people to the mountain and inadvertantly substained the Glutton."

"Correct." The Child said with a nod of their head.

"Y'know, I gotta ask. If we die - where do we go? You're the closest thing we've have to God, right? Am I gonna be fighting with Tupac and Elvis in fucking Valhalla if the Glutton takes me off the buffet plate or... like if-.. if our minds, thoughts and powers are made from this energy, we don't just disappear when we die, right?"

Nate asked, and the Child could only look at them disconcertingly; as what Nate said would lead to two topics that the Child desperately needed to go over. Just two topics that the Child knew would make their mission even direr.

Because they weren't just saving who's alive.

"That's the thing... whenever you die your essence is returned back to the Godforce where you can live in relative bliss before your consciousness is recycled for the next cycle. Or that's how it was supposed to go before the Glutton came into the picture..."

The Child trailed off for a few moments and that worried the group greatly, especially Justin, who just had to voice his concerns

"Hey, you glowing bastard," Justin said, "What are you on about?"

The Child was silent for a few moments, before they came out and said it, "... If the Glutton or his thralls kill you, you won't return to the Godforce, you'll be absorbed into it's being. Eternally tortured in its dark realms as it tries to absorb what emotion they have left until there is nothing left. Only a soul that floats around with no form or thoughts or conscious until the end of time."

"That means Dexter..." Britney trailed off as the horrifying realization overcame her.

"Claire..." Justin said.

"Aliana..." Lynette added on.

The Child nodded to confirm their thoughts. "They are being tortured as we speak. Perhaps some of them have been broken by now."

Everyone went silent. Completely silent.

“yeah, yeah I will. Though I have one question. After we force our way through the streets that are crawling with enthralled people, into a mountain housing the most dangerous creature to ever exist, how will we know if we are mentally ready to receive the gifts of the Godforce?”

The Child looked between the group as the scene finally began fading away into darkness... and soon the Child themselves was fading away. They valiantly raised a fist to their small chest as they gave a rousing speech;

"That is a question you all must ask yourselves... what is holding you all back? What keeps you all up at night? What do you look back and ask if you could have done better? Who do you think you could have treated better? Once you reach a point where you can answer those questions..."

The Child has practically faded away until their head was left and once that was finally gone, they said,

"... you are ready."

Everything was gone.

---

Grand Ridge Academy.

---

The cast found themselves back in familiar territory; Grand Ridge's lobby... and Britney figured that the Child teleported them there because they were mulling around too long. Which was their own foolishness, but now they've been renewed with a new mission, and they're all able to get a fresh change of clothes.

"... Fucker tells us all this shit and then he fucks off." Justin swears up a storm before he shakes his head in irritation. "Where the hell do we even start?"

"I have an idea..." Lynette spoke up, and everyone listened. "When I was doing research on this town, I learned that the town was built around a mining community to mine Mount Ever Reaching, and they mined it bare...." She explained.

"... Which means that there might be maps out there somewhere."

"Well, good luck findin' maps from God knows how long ago." Jordan skeptically said.

"I wouldn't say it's that big of a stretch," Britney started off. "There's an archive in city hall, and giving the old library that's been here since the town started would be a good idea."

"... and also changing out of these old, dirty, clothes is a good idea, too," Jordan said. "Maybe a shower."

"Oh?" Britney looked down and saw that she was flithy. "That too."

---

Somewhere Else --> Grand Ridge Academy

---

“...You can’t.”

“Fuck,” cried Penny. So that was it then? There was nothing they could do against the Glutton? She buried her face into her hands. She was torn between crying out in anguish or exploding like a volcano, so instead her body did a weird amalgamation of the two and left her shaking between short, staccato gasps of breath. She was pissed. She was so pissed that when Lynette clarified the question and the Child gave a different answer she erupted with mean laughter, more at herself than at the Child. When Penny spoke next, her relief could be heard battling with her anger.

“You-stupid-literal-fucker-I-hate-you,” she said, shaking her head as she wiped her eyes after the Child asked if they’d stop the Glutton for the whole entire universe. She quietly added on, “How is that even a question.”

Penny was resolute, but it was clear from the Child’s answer to her question that she couldn’t be the only one jumping at the call. She looked at her brother; he didn’t meet her gaze. Nate tried to keep things light; his levity only gave the Child another excuse to drop more hurtful information on them. Penny walked over to Lynette and put her hand on her shoulder as her friend mentioned Aliana. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the mousy girl choke up and turn her face from the others. The Child was prompted once again to unintentionally fill them all with self-doubt, and as Penny mulled over its questions everything vanished and they were in the lobby of their Academy. Penny bit her nail as the others talked.

"... and also changing out of these old, dirty, clothes is a good idea, too," Jordan said. "Maybe a shower."

"Oh?" Britney looked down and saw that she was filthy. "That too."

“That’s!” The heat was still in her voice, and for a moment it appeared as if she was going to rip the girls a new one. Then Penny stopped, looked around at the dejected group of misfits, and lowered her voice in acceptance of their situation, “That...that actually sounds kind of nice. I doubt the Child would put us anywhere dangerous, but we should probably check around and make sure we’re safe here, too. See if there’s anyone even here.”

“I vote raiding the cafeteria,” pipped in Billy, “I don’t know about you nerds, but all that doom and gloom talk really made me crave a shitty slice of ‘za right about now.”

"It is the end of the universe," said Penny, mildly cheered up but her brother's inability to take things seriously. "What's the harm of a few extra calories?"

Rita had already walked away from the group. She didn’t say it out loud, but she needed to be alone.

---

Grand Ridge Academy.

---

“That...that actually sounds kind of nice. I doubt the Child would put us anywhere dangerous, but we should probably check around and make sure we’re safe here, too. See if there’s anyone even here.”

Penny noted and it was the kind of thinking that Justin was doing - more than getting a shower or taking a rest. They had more important things to do than rest! If... she was here, she'd probably be yelling at him to take a look around instead of standing here gawking. Naturally, Justin raised his hand and said, "I'll do it, but let's buddy-"

"... I assure you that there are no threats here, at least not from her," A strange voice rattled the group as they all whipped around to see a... child? They couldn't discern which gender the kid was. It was a bald-headed white kid wearing a dress, but their manner of speech and facial shape was both female and masculine. The stranger stared at them with... strangely orange eyes.

"Who the hell are you?" Justin asked as his fist immediately exploded with fire as the Soul-Self was ready to explode. He got a bad feeling from the thing... almost like when the Glutton first appeared. That cold, unnatural, sensation they got. Just directed towards one child and he got the feeling the others were feeling the same way.

"I... long ago abandoned my name, so the better question would be what," The stranger spoke to them in a completely monotone manner. "What I am is a voice, a Speaker, you'd say, for a being with no voice, that cannot speak."

"... So you're with it?" Justin asked.

"Yes, I have given my everything to it, but I have a question," The Speaker said, "... Why are you all so naive?"

"Huh?" Justin asked. "Why are you so creepy?"

"Is it because the False God put on a friendly face you believe everything it says?" The Speaker asked, "Don't listen to it; you got the whole story so wrong."

"Well, the "False God" may have a friendly face..." Jordan said, "... But it hasn't fucking tried to kill us thirteen times!"

"But, if you go through with its insane ramblings, you will all die...." The Speaker put their hands out as they looked out the door. "There is one natural order, and it is where we all are in complete bliss. As one. A world with no conflict, no misery, no pain... no form. Just peace, where we can all live forever together."

Alright, Justin had enough. An aura of flames engulfed him from head to toe as the soul-self, in the form of a phoenix, came flying out of his body and went straight for this weirdo! Right, when the Soul-Self made contact... he disappeared. Justin raised an eyebrow as a "Huh?!" Left his lips.

"... Don't worry," They saw the Speaker sitting on a bookcase behind them. "You all will have a chance at redemption... just fall... into the light...." The Speaker faded away into orange sparks, embers, and darkness and was gone as fast as he appeared.

"Okay." Kimberly flatly said. "Who the fuck was that?"

"I don't know..." Britney said. "Even with my knowledge of the thing, I can't tell ya' who the hell is that."

"Don't matter who, or what, that bastard is," Justin said. "We're gonna stop him."

"I don't trust his claim," Jordan said as she took a seat on the nearest chair... her leg was starting to kill her again and she didn't have the energy to run around searching. Kimberly took her side. "Go look around, the last thing we want is get caught by another fuckin' ax murderer."

"Got it, I'll get started," Justin said.

"I'll come with you," Lynette said.

"Me too," Surprisingly... Sharon said as she walked up. "From here on in... we have to work together. Despite what happened before."

"That's what I want to hear, Sharon," Britney said. "Let's get moving."

---

The Outskirts of Farmer Hill.

---

"... REEEDEMPT-"

Was the last word the possessed woman said before she met her end with a sword straight through the gut. The boy in the red robe kicked her off his sword as a group of other corrupted wielding weapons came after him. They all screamed of redemption and other chants for the Glutton. The man with the sword merely stood there as intricate symbols appeared all over his body - going all the way up to his sword. He pointed his sword at the crowd as a firestorm came from the tip of his blade and immolated a group of them as they burned to death. Some of committed suicide as they burned; but the ones that survived merely dove off to the side and charged them.

Two of them were hit with very precise arrows to the neck and dropped dead while the man with the sword swung his blade around and jammed it deep into the side of another corrupted. Pulling the blade out a man rushed him with a pitchfork and tried to stab him with it but he stuck his sword in between the blades. Another corrupted rushed him only to get hit by an arrow straight through his eye and dropped dead. He was still struggling with the man with the pitchfork.

Suddenly, someone with a massive purple robe came marching up with a dagger in hand and jammed it hard as she could into the corrupted's neck. The man in the red robe was given the perfect opportunity to jam his super hot sword straight into the man's gut and rip downwards. The sword was steaming with blood, and the man in the red robe merely shook his head as he pulled out a rag to wipe it off before sheathing it.

"Goro," Amethyst said as she turned around.

"Corrupted have been eliminated," Goro pulled off his hood and revealed that he was a young Japanese boy with short black hair. "What is the next objective?"

"You did well, but I am here to speak with the Obott twins," Amethyst turned towards the two twins in hot pink robes and they pulled their hoods down and revealed one was a girl, and the other was a very effeminate male.

"Yes, lady Amethyst," They both said in unison.

"Has that bastard awoken with the rest of them?" Amethyst asked and the Obott twins both nodded their heads.

"Yes, however, there is only a small amount of them left," The male Obott, Trevor, said.

"And lady Britney hasn't reported it to any of us." The female Obott, Theresa, said.

"She is acting independently from The League," Trevor said.

"Independently from the Watchers," Theresa answered.

"Hmph, typical," Amethyst said, "This means we have to find them and... persuade them."

"We will find them, lady Amethyst," Trevor said.

"Find them swiftly we shall," Theresa said.

A woman - she was dark-skinned, clearly had African features and was average height - with a red robe came running up to them. "Lady Amethyst!"

"Yes, squire?" Amethyst asked, and the Watcher could only point at the hilltops behind her... as they were quickly filled with the silhouettes of tall, skinny, beasts with massive deer-horns and long snouts like they were the skulls of goats. They began chuckling.

"League dogs..." One of them shouted as they grabbed a rock off the ground, they pulled their arm back to toss it. "Go back to Glint!" He tossed it, a rock the size of a basketball, right at the group. It was only because of the sheer reflexes of the newcomer that she was able to erect a shield made out of glass that tanked the rock.

"Go back home!"

"This is our town now!"

"League dogs are not welcome in our town!"

They all chanted as they threw rocks at the barrier, and it survived but it was quickly cracking. "Apparitions!" She shouted.

"Let's go," Amethyst said as she pointed her dagger into the air and intricate symbols appeared all over her body as a beam appeared out of the dagger. It quickly opened a portal that they all retreated into before it was too late.

---

After a little while, it was determined the coast was clear and the support group fell to rest. With various members taking turns keeping watch in case something came after them. It seems Grand Ridge was largely abandoned when the town went to hell; so they have the entire academy to themselves. When they drifted to sleep, they experienced yet another recollection...

... Another one?

Kimberly thought to herself as she looked at her hands; transparent with a purple hint as she looked around. It was obviously another... recollection?. After the third time, she knew exactly what was happening. This time, she found herself in an open field in the middle of Farmer Hill; she figured it was Mason square. Beyond a certain point, there was nothing but fog and shit. There were two kids, and they were crouched over something. Kimberly walked over to it, and then she saw a bloody dog - and the sight made Kimberly utterly cringe - with brutal claw slashes through its body. It was losing blood fast, but it was shivering, still alive - Kimberly figured that, whatever happened to the dog, it was fairly recent.

Taking a look at the kids... it was obviously John and Amy Reid; just a few years older. Going from kids to high schoolers.

"Oh my God..." John muttered as his hands hovered over the dying dog's body.

"Do it, John, we don't have enough time?" Amy said and John did nothing except shiver some more, "... I SAID DO IT!"

That was enough for John to finally swallow it and place his hands on the dog and a white light engulfed its wounds. They glow brightly with the white light; before the wounds started to close up and disappear. The blood was still soaking both kids and the dog, but in less than a few seconds the dog was brought from near death back to perfect health. John sighed as the dog wagged it's tail and hopped to its feet and even licked John's face.

"See, John?" Amy said with a smile. "It was easy."

"I jus- I didn't want to hurt it."

"This is the only way you'll learn to stop doing it," Amy said, looking at John.

"... Hey! You nerds practicin' your magic?" A voice from behind them said as they heard a group walking up... and they saw a bunch of kids that were around their own. They had baseball bats as weapons as they looked at Amy and John, grinning. The leader of the group was a tall kid with black shoulder-length hair and had on a leather jacket and jeans with heavy combat boots. Of course, John couldn't help but eye the symbol of a raven on his neck and the symbol of fire on the back his left hand that was hanging freely.

"Damien..." John hissed. "What do you want?"

Damien pointed the baseball bat at him. "You know what I want, dumbass. Just give it to me and nobody gets hurt."

"Well, you can't have it, Damien!" Amy shouted.

"Well, did you forget what happened last time?" Damien walked up and snapped his fingers at Amy and suddenly she dropped to her hands and knees in utter pain. She screamed at the top of her lungs as felt like she was on fire... the symbol of fire on Damien's hand glowed brightly as she tried to crawl towards him. A blue wave traveled outwards from her body and froze all that it touched - but once it touched them they weren't frozen solid but chilled to the point where Damien's focus was thrown off. Amy got up, giving Damien a death glare.

"... Yeah, I remembered we kicked your ass!" Amy got to her feet and ran straight at Damien and one of his goons swung a bat at her - but she ducked underneath it and quickly gave him a knee straight to his balls. He loudly hissed in pain as he fell over and John quickly ran over to him and tackled him over to the ground. However, he was barely prepared for Damien quickly clocking him square in the jaw. He stumbled over as Amy shouted "John!", and was hit square in the ribs with Damien's baseball bat.

"I told you, we want it!" He raised the bat over his head to give Amy the killing blow - but John felt a surge of adrenaline go through him at the sight and he tackled the boy. However, he did more than that - the other aspect of his abstraction activated and the parts of Damien he was touching began to glow. It glowed brightly as his torso began to turn into ash... and soon he fell apart until there was only his top half and legs left.

John was frozen in place as he did nothing but silently stare at what he did. He shivered; slack-jawed at what he did... before he fell to the ground and looked at the dead remains of his former bully burned itself into his mind. "... What have I done?"

"Oh my God, you killed him!" The last of Damien's group shouted. "I can't believe you, you are sic-"

An arrow hit him square in the back and fell to his hands and knees as someone else walked up and he looked over his shoulder to see a woman in a robe with a sword. He almost pissed himself as the woman raised the sword overhead and he shouted, "No!" The woman brought down the sword on him and killed him.

Amy immediately embraced John as he turned away out of shock and was crying. Amy looked up at the woman and muttered, "Floris..." Before her mild surprise turned into anger, "... Floris! What the hell are you doing here of all time?!"

"We have to talk," Floris said as she sheathed her sword and looked at the two flatly. "The situation in Farmer Hill has changed... and it's gotten far more dangerous."

"I can see that," Amy said. "But, what's that have to do with us?"

"I'll show you," Floris said as she knelt down and ripped open the boy's shirt - revealing the glowing sigil of a brain, on his chest somewhat splashed by blood. The woman twisted her head towards them as she commanded, "Touch it."

"But-"

"Touch it." Floris demanded as Amy finally released John and hesitantly reached out for the symbol... the closer she put her hand towards it; the more she felt drawn towards it. Eventually, she touched it and the sigil disappeared, and Floris pointed at her chest on the same area as the boy's sigil and Amy reluctantly opened her shirt...

... The sigil on her chest.

---

The three stepped through a portal and returning to a dark room, that was an enormous cave with a staircase illuminated by candles and torches. There were groups of people wearing robes and that sort of outfit as Floris walked over to the stairs.

"So, what the hell is going on?" Amy asked.

"Allow me to start from the top... remember what we talked about so many years ago?" Floris said. "About Abstractions, Lux, and Sigils?"

"Yeah," Amy said, as John was fairly quiet given what just happened; she couldn't blame him.

"It's all in this town... and it needs a Guardian," Floris said.

"What?" Amy asked. "A guardian?"

"Every generation there's a guardian of Farmer Hill, to protect the people in it from the Awakened and Apparitions, and to protect the Awakened and Apparitions from the world," Floris started off, as she took a few steps up the stair. "He or she must inherit the powers of the other Awakened; and become the most powerful being in Shimmer, to accomplish this task."

"... And how do we do that?" Amy asked.

"I just showed you one method," Floris said, "However, the Awakened may willingly pass their powers onto you... but there may only be one guardian."

The two looked between each other.

"As we speak... other Awakened are discovering their ability, and they're discovering the ability to take powers from each other - as Damien has - and they're using it in an attempt to become the strongest."

Floris shook her head.

"The Light-Bringer only knows what they'll do with that power."

"But why us?" Amy asked. "Why can't you pick anyone else to do it?"

"You are all we have, everyone else let the power get to them," Floris said. "Besides... you'd get dragged into it one way or another. You have the mark."

For a moment the two looked between each other, before nodding. "Fine. What do you want us to do?"

"You must go out and find the other Awakened with me," Floris said as she stepped down the stairs. "Then we will claim their powers, and then we will protect Farmer Hill."

"Okay..." Amy said. "Where the hell do we even start?"

"Come with me, then," Floris said as she hit the last stair and a portal opened in front of her. "We will do just that; find the other Awakened."

They both nodded their heads and went along, and after they left the portal closed and the other people in robes spoke to each other.

"The plan is going well," One said, "Soon, all the Lux in this realm will be in possession of a few."

"It's unfortunate that we have to kill so many of them," One of the other said, "But the fact of the matter is; less Awakened there are, less likely they'll reveal themselves to the world and ruin the masquerade."

They all shook their head.

"We're best to ensure that Floris does her duty to the letter."

---

Grand Ridge Academy.

---

After that Vivid Recollection faded; Britney was the first to wake up. Last she remembered; it was her time and her shift was relatively uneventful as she recalled it. All she did was wander around and maybe read a book or two and pass the time. She thinks that the Corrupted had nary a clue where they were but after their encounter with "The Speaker"; better safe than sorry. Though, once it was Britney's turn to sleep; she hit the pillow like no other. It was a comfort that she missed, as she longed for the days when she could just let all of her problems melt away with sleep. Though, sleep came with new dangers as she experienced the recollection... and she was certain that everyone else saw the same vision.

It was her worst dream come to life; they now know one the secrets that she wanted to keep as long as possible. The second that the group realized that they could take each other's powers; then it was all over. Britney shook her head; it was going to end horribly, even with the Glutton being the greater evil. What about after everything was said and done, and they defeated the Glutton...

Wait, she honestly can't see them defeating the Glutton. Even after the speech with the God-Child, she wasn't confident they could stop it. The odds were just... too stacked against them. Britney realized that she was staring at the ceiling, and finally forced herself to get out of the bed. The girl was completely nude as she never slept wearing clothes, and she walked over to the bathroom - the first thing that she did was turn on the cold water on the sink and splash it on her face. The cold water against her face definitely helped her wake up, but it helped her prepare herself for the upcoming fight. She would need it.

Britney walked out of the room and shivered as she realized how cold she was. Fortunately, she had just the remedy; she walked over to her duffel bag against the wall that she unzipped to reveal her clothes. Britney made a quick trip back to the Williams Estate to grab herself an outfit; which consisted of brown heavy winter pants, black steel-toe boots, and a tan winter coat. She also had on a tan beanie with ear flaps and a pom-pom and thick winter gloves. She was well-equipped for what was about to happen as she glanced out the window and saw the winter storm was still going on.

Were they under that long, or was the Glutton screwing with the weather?

Either way; it didn't matter as the technology was acting up so they couldn't get an accurate measure of the time, and it was irrelevant to Britney at this point. She just wanted to get this mess out of the way so they can leave it all behind them, and that was just what they were going to do today. Find a map of the mountain, go in, and defeat the Glutton somehow. Eugh. They'd work out these details when they meet later.

Britney decided to go to their meeting point; the lobby, where a few of them were already there and ready. They had to discuss their plans before they get a move on. In addition, Britney wanted to talk about the dream, so she found herself a seat and sat down with her legs crossed and her hands on her lap.

---

Grand Ridge Academy
_{[@Surtr Inc]}

---

Paige woke up early, as had been her habit for a long time. She'd taken up residence in her old room in Grand Ridge, though it didn't feel familiar any more - more like she hadn't been there in years, which was technically possible, since she still had no idea how long she'd been unconscious. She wondered if there was anything else worth taking, having already stuffed a backpack full of spare clothes, water, and what non-perishable good she could find. She looked over at the violin, conflicted - it had great sentimental value, but it was extra weight and would be easy to lose if she was put in danger. In the end, she decided to bring it down to the lobby, as that couldn't do any harm, and she could always leave it behind without too much worry if a quick exit was necessary. Besides, once everyone else was up, she might have time for a performance without having to worry about waking anyone.

That decided, Paige slung the backpack over her shoulders and walked to the lobby, dressed for the cold weather but as usual with barely a spot of colour. She was audible before she was visible, and her distinctive gait meant that Britney would have known she was coming several seconds before she walked in. For Paige, though, Britney's presence was a moderate surprise, and she rose a single eyebrow slightly as she entered, dumping the bag on the floor next to the seat she took. She sat so that she could see Britney's face, but only in her peripheral, so that her own face was slightly obscured by the angle. She also sat quite far away from Britney - they would be able to hear each other at a normal volume of speech, but they were well out of reach of each other. Ultimately, Paige was still unsure whether to trust Britney.

Paige laid her crutch over her legs and sat in silence for several seconds before speaking. "I understand why you didn't tell us," she said, plainly. "The Abstractions, I mean, how we can give and take them from each other. That knowledge, that greed could rip us apart. So I understand your choice. However, I do not agree with it."

She let the words hang in the air for a moment. Paige was not facing Britney, but was watching her dead in the eye for any kind of reaction.

---

Grand Ridge Academy - Night

---

The grasp of sleep was about to completely consume Penny when the knock came upon her door. She grumbled underneath her breath, turned over in the bed, and pushed a pillow down on her head. Her night shift of patrolling the halls for any wannabe Scotts had been entirely uneventful, and the thought of actually getting some real sleep—not whatever coma bullshit escaping the Glutton had put her in—had been quite appealing. For a second she thought her ruse of pretending to be asleep had worked, and then there was another knock. And another. Penny threw her pillow off of her and rolled over so that she could sit up. Whoever was outside her door must be desperate, because only a desperate person or someone with a deathwish would try and ruin her beauty sleep. She slipped into a pair of pajama pants, flicked on a lamp, and stomped over to the door.

“What!?” she barked as she threw the door wide open. Rita stood there, her fist raised up to knock once again. The mousy girl stepped back, an apology already forming on her lips as Penny sighed and dragged her inside. She had promised the other girl a talk. She had only figured it wouldn’t have been in the dead of night.

“Sorry to bother you,” said Rita as Penny closed the door behind her with a slam. She looked around the room. For someone who obviously put so much effort into her appearance, it was quite the mess. Piles of clothes haphazardly thrown this way and that covered damn near every free surface that wasn’t taken up with untouched school books. The handful of posters on the wall gave the impression that the room belonged to someone who had picked up a few Greatest Hits albums of commercial punk bands without ever skimming deeper into the genre, and the few burnt up pieces of incense couldn’t hide the stale stench of cigarette smoke that would blow back in through the bathroom window when Penny didn’t feel like taking the walk outside.

“Trust me. If it had been anyone else, they would be,” said Penny, sitting down on her bed. She gestured to her desk chair for Rita to take it. As the other girl sat down, she spoke again, “So, we’re alone now. What the hell did you want?”

Rita shuffled in her seat and didn’t look up at Penny.

“You’re not gonna confess your feelings to me, are you?” asked Penny. “I’m flattered, but I’m not really into that sort of thing. And this ain’t the time for that kind of shit anyway.”

“N-no!” said Rita. “I-I-I-I—”

“It was a joke,” said Penny. “Although judging by your reaction…”

“It’s not that!”

“No shit. So since it’s not you embarassing the ever living piss out of yourself, why don’t you just sack up and say it?”

“I don’t know if I really can,” said Rita. “It’s just...I don’t understand you quite yet. You act all standoffish and like you’re better than everyone else, but whenever something crazy happens you always jump right in with no hesitation. It’s weird.” She pulled her sleeve up over her hand, and then looked directly at Penny. “If you don’t like everyone, then why are you helping them?”

“Because it’s the right fucking thing to do,” said Penny.

“So you would help me if I was in danger?”

“I already have. I wouldn’t stop now.” Penny blinked. Her head felt funny. What was going on? She glared at Rita. “What’s with this fucking interrogation?”

“I have to know if I can trust you,” said Rita. ”If someone in the group was trying to harm one of us, would you stop them?”

“Yes,” said Penny, and then she shook her head. “Rita, is—”

“Do you completely trust me?”

The question hung in the air for a second, and then Penny crossed her arms, “Not entirely.”

The stony mask of zero emotion that hung on Rita’s face cracked as she choked back her words. She broke eye contact with Penny and looked at her knees. This had been a stupid idea. Even if Penny had trusted her, it wasn’t as if she would take the word of what amounted to little more than an unfortunate acquaintance over her brother. She rubbed her face and stood up, ready to bolt for the door. She was stopped by Penny grabbing her other arm.

“Wait. Clearly there is something wrong that you want to tell me. If you want to be a little bitch about it and runaway, fine. I mean, no, not fine. It’s too late for that. You already got my attention. So I might not take your word as gospel. Shocker. You’re lumped in with everyone else. Fortunately for you, there is another way.” Penny let go of Rita’s arm and sat back on her bed, and then she gestured at the empty air between them. “Show me.”

Rita stared into nothing for a moment, “How?”

Penny paused. “I don’t know,” she said. “But let’s figure it out.”

---

Grand Ridge Academy - Morning

---

Another night, another trippy vision about the cute bug girl’s dad as a child. Billy was thankful that he hadn’t taken any psych classes, otherwise his inner Freud would’ve been having a coke-fueled field day of psychoanalysis. He didn’t have any dorm of his own since he stayed at home, but due to the events of the past few months there were more than a handful of empty rooms in which he could crash. And crash he did, but only after a pleasant raid of the school’s cafe and a hot shower. Weird vision aside, the sleep was kind of nice once he discounted that fact he was sleeping in some other dude’s bed.

Of course, not having a fresh set of clothes was kind of a bummer, but one Febreze bath later and he smelled like canned mountain spring. He just hoped that they weren’t going to be going to build a snowman that day, since cargo shorts and a thin hoodie weren’t much to protect against the blizzard. In fact, he kind of hoped that they weren’t going to be doing anything today. Maybe they should just roll with what the Speaker had said, what with his whole one love schtick as if he was Bob Marley. Honestly, it was a pretty crazy idea, but then again fighting against a world-eating son-of-a-bitch was also totally nuts.

Billy made his way down to the lobby. He figured he’d find some way to stay in the school while the rest of the Justice Friends went off to Mt. Doom, but if he didn’t make an appearance his sister would tear apart the school looking for him. Speaking of which, she was already down in the lobby dressed to go, a red peacoat folded up to act as a cushion as she sat on the windowsill next to the mousy girl, whose sweater finally seemed reasonable. Both of them had coffee and the tired look in their eyes of a college student after an all-nighter of studying. Penny caught Billy’s eye and then leaned over to Rita to whisper something in her ear before beckoning him over to them. Billy was hesitant as he approached; that Rita girl had always been weird, and she had been even weirder ever since they awoke in the hospital.

“You gonna bolt again, dude?” he said to Rita as Penny handed him a cup of coffee.

“Sorry about that. You just startled me,” said Rita, staring at the rim of her cup.

“I would if I saw your lanky ass lumbering around, Lurch,” said Penny.

“Seriously, by the way you were acting I was beginning to think you had a crush on me or something,” said Billy, ignoring Penny.

“W-w-why does your family think I’m into them?” asked Rita.

“I don’t know, our parents were too supportive so it inflated our self worth. Now will you two shut up,” said Penny as Britney entered the room, “there’s gonna be another fucking civil war.” Paige soon joined the others in the lobby and commented on how she understood, although did not condone, Britney’s lie of omission. Penny raised an eyebrow. All things considered, everyone normally was screaming within the first second.

“I think we can all agree that we understand where Britney was coming from and think her decisions were almost all entirely dogshit,” said Penny, nodding as if she had just said something sagely. “I’m curious about this guardian thing. Does taking an Abstraction kill the person or something, or is it just easier to rip it off of a corpse?”

“And if we gave it away, what happens?” added Rita quietly.

---

^{@Ciaran@MagratheanWhale@Atrophy}
Grand Ridge Academy.

---

It was awkward for Britney at first as she took a seat. What Paige said relieved her quite a bit; but she couldn't help but feel like it wasn't quite... genuine. Like Paige had something a lot different to say, or she wasn't saying all she really meant to. Britney sighed as she mimicked Paige in avoiding gazes, as she couldn't face her right now. There was a pain in her heart as the guilt of losing Claire and others was getting to her... and she was getting the feeling that the others weren't far behind. That, or they may fall for the allure of more power and do the unthinkable-

"I am sorry I didn't tell you," Britney just went out and said it. "That was one thing I wanted to keep a secret... because the last generation killed each other for power." They were manipulated by the Watchers, Britney admitted, but in all honesty, she wondered how much of it was really the result of the manipulation. Truly there had to be some personal reasons why they acted so willing to kill each other for their abstractions.

“I think we can all agree that we understand where Britney was coming from and think her decisions were almost all entirely dogshit, I’m curious about this guardian thing. Does taking an Abstraction kill the person or something, or is it just easier to rip it off of a corpse?”

Well... Britney didn't want to answer these questions but she had no choice. After that dream, it was almost like the universe was telling them what went down. She sighed before she leaned back in her chair as she thought about how she was going to answer the question. Before she just decided to tell Penny exactly how it is.

"It is impossible to take an abstraction from someone who is alive," Britney started off before she turned her head towards Penny. "However, if you have an emotional connection with someone; you may give it to them. And they can use properly if they understand and replicate the emotions that spawned the abstraction in the first place." She explained.

“And if we gave it away, what happens?”

"Well-" Britney said before she was interrupted.

“Let’s cross that bridge when we get to it,” He said and... Britney had to agree. Long as nobody goes out trying to kill each other. “I know the time does not call for it, and I certainly do not know if it’s appropriate, you guys mentioned you lost a close friend recently, if you want you can have a drink to remember them - and if not, we might be able to make something more fun out of these if we can find some motor oil and a cork.”

Britney found herself staring at the assortment of alcohol he presented to the group. Now, Britney wasn't a drinker - she tasted a few wines and had other drinks when she went out to party - but she really wanted a drink right now. Just to ease her nerves a little.

“what will we tell our grandchildren about the time we saved the world, eh?”

"Hopefully, for starters," Britney started off as she maneuvered towards the alcohol bottles and grabbed a bottle of cheap red wine. The stuff tasted like piss - but she'd make the most of it. "If we get out of this alive; we probably should never mention this to anyone. Like seriously." Britney grabbed a bottle and disappeared into the cafeteria before she came back with a bunch of cups.

"Now, if you're gonna drink; everyone gets one shot," Britney set the ground rules. "We gotta go out there real soon if we're gonna get the map of the mountain."

Which was a very... loose plan if Britney had to be honest with herself.

"Speaking of the plan; I'm gonna be brief because there's not much to go over," Britney started off before she took in a deep breath as she explained, "We're gonna split into two groups and head down town; one's going to raid city hall, and the other is going to raid the library. We're gonna look for the map of the mountain or any type of information and try to get back here."

Britney explained and shook her head because of how screwed the odds were.

"Since phones and stuff are apparently not working; we're gonna meet back up here in about two hours. If the other group doesn't show up..."

Britney took in a deep breath.

"... Assume they are dead, and if you don't have the information you need to go search the other location."

Now Britney acknowledged how cold she was being, but they had to realize how high the stakes were. What was a possibility? And that was the fact that they could die at any given moment. If the Glutton decided to stop toying with them; they could die right here, right now. Fortunately, that thing loves to play with its food. Britney sighed again as she poured herself a glass of red wine.

"But, one drink... for all the people we've lost," Britney said as she put her cup out. The group probably thought it was quit the whiplash, seeing Britney talk about death then switch to alcohol. That was just how things were right now. "Least we can do right now."

Since we can't bury them.

---

Grand Ridge Academy

---

Even exhausted Tuyen didn’t sleep well. Her sleep was fitful, filled with shadow caused dreams and another recollection. She woke up feeling more tired than she had before she went to sleep. Having helped with guard duty right near the beginning of the night, she took the time now that she was back in her room to take a long shower.

She tried not to think about the recollection and what it entailed. It was possible to steal other’s powers. When would that start to happen? She’d trusted people before all of this went down but now… now she just wasn’t sure. What if someone got just a little greedy and then the power went to their head?

Would it really be so bad if someone took her abstraction? It was as useless as she was.

Shaking the thoughts away, she ignoring her constantly lingering shadow and got out of the shower. After a quick dry she dressed in thicker and more practical clothes than normal. Thick trousers replaced her normal skirts, a wool jumper topped with a winter jacket and some boots. It was still in her normal shades of blue and purple but more muted than normal. Looking good wasn’t exactly important when there was a storm raging outside and their lives were in danger.

Tuyen quickly made herself some coffee in a portable flask and then headed down to the lobby.

---

Grand Ridge Academy
_{@Ruler Inc@MagratheanWhale@Atrophy@Ciaran}

---

Rien had had one of the last shifts watching the lobby, so they were already there curled up in a chair sketching. They drew all sorts of things – images from the dreams they’d had, from the place they’d been taken by god child. Along with this they’d drawn some more practical items. The kind of thing that would be handy to pull out of paper should the need arise.

They raised an eyebrow as Britney entered, but didn’t say anything. They’d had a recollection they were sure everyone else had (that seemed to be the pattern). There was no point in confronting her on it when very few other people were around. Rien wasn’t the confrontational type anyway.

Soon more people arrived. Caelea walked in in the middle of a bunch of questions and answers, and some guy offering alcohol. They recognised him from in the hospital but couldn’t remember his name.

“Dangerous, offering alcohol to a bunch of grieving students,” Rien commented, though they had absolutely no qualms about getting themselves a glass and pouring a generous amount of tequila into it. Immediately after they downed half of it.

Yup, definitely grieving for all the people who died and not using alcohol to help forget it just like they always did. God, they’d missed drinking.

Tuyen arrived in the lobby as Britney began explaining the plan, quietly edging in until she stood close to Rita. She leaned in closer to the girl, the only one in the room she’d vaguely talked to and asked quietly. “Did I miss anything important?”

Britney’s plan was harsh, but Caelea couldn’t argue with it. She didn’t quite know how they’d decide on the two groups but she was sure there’d be a way of getting two that avoided everyone clashing.

She wasn’t much of a drinker but she got herself a cup of something anyway.

“To all the people we’ve lost,” Caelea spoke softer than normal and held her cup out. For Hagan, who had been an idiot right up to the end but had still been her friend. And everyone else she hadn’t even known.

Rien put their cup out, though they waited only a short while before finishing it. Then enough time for it to be appropriate to ask, “how soon are we heading out? And how are we deciding groups?”

---

Grand Ridge Academy
_{@Ruler Inc}

---

Paige nodded to acknowledge Britney's apology, but said nothing. It was good that she'd recognised her mistake - or at least, what Paige considered to be a mistake - but she also didn't seem likely to avoid it in the future. Paige's opinion right now was that honesty was vital among the group, as secrecy would only lead to distrust, which would lead to failure. The stakes were high. They couldn't afford to do anything but trust each other, and yet trusting Britney was feeling harder and harder every time she had to come clean with the others. Paige was almost certain that Britney had more truths that she'd omitted, and while Paige didn't doubt that Britney had her reasons, she didn't believe it was worth sacrificing the unity of the group over.

Now seemed to be a good time, as nothing was trying to kill them yet, and so Paige decided now would be a good time to attempt to persuade Britney to explain whatever was left that she was hiding, in the hopes of preventing infighting in the future. However, Penny changed the topic quickly, so Paige was forced to wait, frustratingly. There might not be another good opportunity, and people might die if this didn't happen.

Anyway, though Paige listened with casual interest to the talk about Abstractions, but focused fully again when Britney started discussing their goals. Paige was prepared to follow orders as long as they seemed sound, which they did, if cold. Britney was clearly the type to think with her head rather than her heart. This was an entirely logical route to take, of course - Paige simply feared that when a person relies on logic entirely, the group is supported but not the individual. It's far too easy, when thinking in that manner, to see a human life as a necessary sacrifice, which is hardly a good way to inspire trust. Besides, Paige was a cripple - if anyone was being sacrificed, she'd probably be an early pick.

Alcohol was served. Rien was right, it was dangerous. Paige preferred to be at the top of her (admittedly weak) game while in so much danger, so she wanted to abstain. However, it felt disrespectful not to take part when the toast had been to those members of their group that had died, and so Paige limped over to pour herself a small drink. She did not return to her seat, instead taking up a space leaning against the wall, in such a location so that she would walk past Britney on her way over. As she passed, she leaned slightly towards Britney, and whispered "You need to reconsider your priorities right now. No one will trust you while you keep these secrets."

She took her place on the wall and watched Britney closely, no longer bothering to obscure her face, simply presenting a calm, though judgemental, expression. If she thought Britney was going to get them all killed, Paige was prepared to strike first, and stop the problem before it could grow out of control.