---

In the day that followed the disaster, news spread like wildfire. Survivors told their accounts, and evidence had leaked far too wide to be covered up. The relief responses were immediate. Nonprofit organizations came to provide food, shelter, and aid in reconstruction. The Coast Guard started to perform hourly patrols, a local military force with militia recruitment had been set up in the woods between the city and the suburbs. School had been cancelled for two weeks due to the damages and casualties. Hospital tents and makeshift infirmaries were created from old buildings and parking lots to help care for the mass of injured victims of the disaster. Although a terrible incident, recovery had been surprisingly swift. Almost as if they had been expecting this to happen. Across the nation, news outlets broadcasted a state of address from the President himself, Michael Quintons.

"My fellow Americans. It is with great sadness and horror that I report over the disaster at Lakewood, Maryland. This was not the result of any natural disaster, or simple terrorist attack. Strange monsters have laid waste to the humble city. We do not know much of this enemy, but we know they came from the sea. We believe that these attacks will continue, and thus we will make our best efforts to repel such a threat. Effective immediately, we will have defensive measures across every bit of land in this great country. I implore all to remain near or within the closest city available to your location, as there is strength in numbers. More updates will follow on this strange threat. God Bless America."

News outlets covered what footage had been leaked of the incident: Sightings of violent crustaceans and a great white beast. A sky alit with flames and towering monstrosities. Humanoids flying across the sky. It wasn't of the best quality, but enough to capture attention world wide. The public has now been made aware of spirits, or at least, the surface level threat of them. Though exact information of these monsters and heroics weren't elaborated on by officials, much speculations and theorycrafting has went around from aliens to super heroes to wizards and demons.

“You couldn’t have done anything, child.” Nemeos never said it like a reassurance. Though it may or may not have been that; it sounded almost accusatory, now. He didn’t mean it that way, of course, or at least Savannah didn’t think he did, but it kept coming back to her. Couldn’t do anything, couldn’t do anything.

He was right, of course. She was weak.

Her parents were out of town, and fine in the end. They called and came back as soon as the news hit TV, but it didn’t really matter either way to Savannah. In a weird way, the events of the week seemed to just wash over her. Life was mostly the same, besides that school was cancelled, and everything was being rebuilt, and that there were monsters now.

But the big change was those words. Couldn’t do anything.

On her first day off, she took a bath. She still didn’t want to shower. It made her lightheaded, and she could feel her breath quicken, and she just though about passing out and slipping and hitting her head or something. At least her parents didn’t notice; she was happy to keep these quiet little struggles to herself.

But it seemed like bad memories always followed her here. Steam rose from the hot water, fogged the mirror, and filled the air. The wooden baseboard had started to rot from that time the toilet overflowed and no one noticed, flooding the bathroom. She gingerly stepped into the tub of tepid water, taking a deep breath. This wasn’t as bad, she thought, so she slipped down into it all the way.
The first time that it happened, she had been walking late through suburban streets, night air cool and crisp, and she liked that it felt like the world was all her own at night. It must have been ten or eleven PM, but it was safe, she lived in a good neighborhood and her house was close. It was a little foggy, and the warm orange lights of the dying streetlamps marked her path through the darkness and the fog. She always loved nights like this, and always loved walking in them. She put her earbuds in and listened to sad music, and it actually made her feel uncharacteristically great. That’s what scared her the most about it: there was no rhyme or reason. It should’ve been a good night.

She saw this black cat run across the street, and something in her brain just went wrong. She didn’t know what it was, or what started it, and she didn’t realize it at first, but she was starting to breath fast. Faster and faster, and then she was hyperventilating. Savannah didn’t know what was happening, but there was suddenly some awful primal instinct in her brain telling her that something was very, very wrong. Something was going to kill her, she was in danger, there was something suddenly unreal and disquieting about the entire world around her. None of it felt real, it was like a dream, or more accurately a nightmare, and she had started to run home without really thinking about it. She was running and she was suffocating and she was dying. At the front door she pulled out her keys, but missed the whole once, twice, and thrice until she landed it, turned it, and opened it, went in, closed it, and then collapsed against the door frame, sinking low to the ground, crying and trying to breath, because she was sure that she couldn’t breathe and if she couldn’t breathe she’d die. Eventually, still feeling wrong and dying she turned on the TV and tried to calm herself. She watched something she was comfortable with, that she’d seen many times, but it looked all wrong and while the world outside didn’t feel like it was real, the world inside the TV seemed like it was, and that characters threatened to go outside the bounds and escape the screen with some malicious intent.

She fell asleep, eventually. She never told anyone about the episode; her parents weren’t home to witness it, and she was embarrassed, or scared, or something. She just didn’t want to talk about it. She never wanted to talk about it.

The second time it happened was maybe four or five months later. It was the same as the first, sudden and unexpected. She was eating dinner with her mom and dad, but excused herself and went to her room. When they went to check on her, she was buried under the covers, and they thought she must have been sleeping so they left. She was trying so hard to catch her breath under there, suffocating and dying again. She hated that feeling so much. She didn’t find out what ‘panic attack’ really meant until later, beyond the imprecise terms of TVs and movies, and when she did, she realized that’s what it was. That made sense, she guessed.

The third time, it was in the shower. The third and worst time. She didn’t even realize it was happening. She was looking down the drain and thinking about the water and where it went. She turned off the shower and stepped out, and then she felt really tired. Her muscles and limbs ached. She grabbed her phone, and she was trying to do something, but she couldn’t remember what it was. Savannah was trying to type something on it, but she couldn’t hit the right keys so she just stopped and set it down. Her vision was grainy, and then spotty, and then she realized she couldn’t breathe. She wasn’t hyperventilating this time, just suffocating. This time, she really was convinced she was going to die. Need to lay down, she thought, so she opened the bathroom door and tried to make it down the hall to her bed, still naked and wet, but she couldn’t make it she realized. So tired. She laid down on the ground, for a moment, trying to breathe. The carpet was rough on her skin. The bed, bed, make it to bed. She stood up again, and then tried walking but she was stumbling instead, stomping down the hallway wildly and blindly. Her eyes closed but she still moved, until she felt something hit her head. When she woke up, she was on the ground, collapsed. She fainted trying to open the door, but she didn’t even remember making it that far, and she hit her head against it, but she couldn’t even remember turning the corner to get here. Her head hurt so much. Shoulders hurt too, against the doorframe, and there would be a bruise there for weeks. She fainted. She didn’t think people really fainted like that, especially when they had panic attacks; she’d thought it was just some Hollywood thing that was made up, but it happened to her now. She felt awful and dead, weak, too, like she couldn’t control her own body and that she was some very unhealthy dying person that fainted.

So, she didn’t want to get back in the shower.

She was afraid.

Right, again, of a shower.

But maybe a bath. Maybe a bath was fine. She felt so filthy, and now here in the hot water she was just wishing she could wash it all off and go away. She dipped her head below the line of the water and just let it all envelop her and swallow her up. She always remembered things, here. She felt the most alone in the bath or the shower and the most like herself; it really was a different world of absolute solitude and stillness. The steam rose from the water, and from her skin and her hair, and it was all the bad things rising up and leaving her, friends that were gone, and parents that were away, secrets and tension all wound up so perfectly tight. Most people she had ever decided she’d liked weren’t here now; and somewhere, those things had meaning.

Below the water, it was her own world, another level of separation. The tile insulated her from outside, the water insulated her from the tile, her body, and her skin, and her muscles and the tendons, the bone, it all insulated her mind. She didn’t need to breathe her. She was completely unto herself. She felt sick. Nemeos was out in that tile world above the water, and his words still echoed in her head. He could tell she wasn't feeling well, and he'd known since he got here. Part of him wanted a better host.

---

Steve tended to the camp fire he had set up in the woods, making sure to keep the smoke rising so that witch could find her way. He had hoped the smoke didn't alert any unwanted intrusion, especially from the military, but it ultimately wouldn't be anything more then a nuisance. After all, what could those mortals do? He had regretted not taking any of his servants with him. Life is much easier when you don't even have to lift a finger. His animosity towards his Animus kin only grew the more he thought about how they stuck him on this job. That hag's little pet...

"Oi." A familiar voice rose softly over the sound of the fire. The familiar form of Yui Tachibana had appeared from the woods, her approach almost completely silent. Her usual outfit came with the addition of a pair of jet-black sunglasses, which she quickly removed. A dark suitcase hung at her side.

"Am I interrupting anything?" The PHANTOM agent asked, looking at Steve with a genuine sense of curiosity.

Smoke signals--really, it might have been more discreet to shine the Bat-Signal into the sky. Not that Ravenna really had a reason to question anything about it. Expecting her benefactors to keep their heads in the current trends was probably too much. The medium hummed to herself softly as she ambled through the woods, images with too many unspoken words buried into each detail guiding her path. Somewhat.

Dear little Lyra was probably making it a point to take the barista on the scenic route.

'Lyra, dear, I do have to meet Steve eventually.'

Another flicker of an image. Annoyance. Impatience. Disapproval.

Lyra still cut to the chase, bringing her partner to the appointed destination. One that was occupied by two familiar faces instead of one. Amusing, perhaps. Ravenna flashed her usual smile at both, as though meeting acquaintances at the market instead of in the middle of the woods.

"My, my... I didn't expect a reunion so soon, dears." Lie. "And to what do I owe this pleasure?"

Steve had been dressed in an old-fashioned suit that looked like it came from the 19th century, a tail coat with a black vest and white cotton shirt. Not the proper place to be wearing such clothes, nor was it a modern trend. His hair was slick back, and after he was annoyed by an unwelcome guest, he fetched in his tailcoat pocket for a cigarrete. He'd light it with the tip of his thumb, before placing the smoke in his mouth. He leaned back on the log he sat on with his left leg crossed over his right.

"Well this meeting was for Animus only." He grumbled towards Yui, before he turned his attention to Ravenna's Arrival. Right on time at the very least. "But I suppose it wouldn't hurt to have you stay. I am sure the both of you are aware of the sudden...emergence of rogue spirit-wielding activity that spiked along with that raid we pulled."

"Perhaps it wouldn't have spiked if you hadn't needlessly attacked so many civilians." Yui said with a glare. "A life in danger is a great opportunity for any Shade looking to make a Pact." While moments ago she was in a good enough mood to return Ravenna's smile, said raid was still a sobering subject for her. She took a deep breath and let go of her aggression; better to look towards the future, for now.

"Though I don't see why this "spike" has to be a bad thing," Yui said, turning her gaze towards the trees. "At least for PHANTOM. It could be quite the opportunity, if we play our cards right."

"Hm... I can't say I appreciate competition as much as the next person." The words were murmured under Ravenna's breath, the only hint of their contents left in the faintest fade of her default expression. A surreptitious glance drifted over toward Steve, quickly hidden behind a fluid transition to inspect her nails before she spoke for her audience of two. "Well... I certainly hope that I don't step on any of PHANTOM's toes then, dear. I'm afraid I'm not given much information to work with."

Ravenna wasn't entirely sure that was a lie.

"Though I suppose there aren't many cards little old me can play in this situation, yes?"

"We shouldn't have any trouble if you get them to defect to PHANTOM, but otherwise, they present an unknown variable in any further effort made here." He said before turning his attention to Ravenna. "Given your location of business in this town, I had to come to inform you that you're expected to... investigate anyone that happens to be like you. Nothing sinister, yet anyway, but we need to find out what kind of people are making contracts, and if they will be an obstacle in the future. More urgent, however.." He puffed his smoke, as he looked back between the two. "The titans we faced on the lake were the original guardians, but the removal of the orb and their destruction as left a rift between our worlds. Its expected that more spirits will enter this world through it periodically now. I suppose that would make it an ideal place for research among your PHANTOM folk, but there will be obvious potential for disaster here." The man tapped out his smoke, as he smirked over to the witch's pet. "Of course, if you were working for me I'd make sure you'd have a safe place to run your business."

"We know," Yui said with a nod. "My friend has been very interested in the lake since we received the key. She's been making me gather samples." She gestured to the suitcase at her side.

"These Spirits, though..." She continued, staring into the distance with a thoughtful frown. "Who are they, exactly? Those who were banished after the first Pact? Are you hoping to recruit them to ANIMUS?"

"Many of them are, I presume, however much of them are simple minded or feral. Some can be recruited, but many of them will just get in the way. With our little girl scout here, hopefully she can pick out which ones want to talk and which ones want to bite."

"Hm, such high praises. I'm sure I don't deserve them," Ravenna said. Part of her came to life at the thought of the assignment, a part that she wasn't comfortable with quite yet. So many years chasing it, and now she didn't quite know what to do with it. Fill? Bury? Flood? An airy laugh escaped her. "I'll be certain to leave some honey out for the flies then, though I'm quite certain that even I will reach maximum occupancy."

At least, that would have been the ideal.

"Though perhaps PHANTOM might be interested in any spirits that I can turn to a fresh recruit?"

"Perhaps," Yui said with a nod. "Any Spirit that might share our vision is of great value to our cause. I think it would be greatly appreciated." Of course, recruiting Spirits or Mediums was proving to be quite the ordeal, but perhaps that wasn't the best thing to say out loud.

"Of course, if we can't recruit them, then I humbly ask that you continue to allow me a share of the spoils." Yui produced her most recent card seemingly from nowhere, the image of a large wand shimmering faintly in the light. "They have proved to be extremely... lucrative." She wasn't sure if that was quite the right word, but she suspected it was close enough.

"Either way, unrecruited spirits on a feeding frenzy will prove to be an annoying obstacle. I'd like to emphasise that while we can recruit them, we aren't opposed to sending them back to where they came from. Ravenna, and I suppose you too since you seem to be hanging around, expect danger a bit more frequently here..." He motioned, as he looked over to the empty treelines. "Course it ain't only other spirits we have to worry about, I think those mortals know something too; keeping their soldiers here and all."

"Of course they do," Yui spat, letting out a weary laugh. "Not even one day passed by and the bastards already started rolling out plans to militarize the entire country. They knew something like this was going to happen and they knew exactly how to profit off of it. I think you should watch your backs; they're more of a threat than they seem."

"Well, humans are known for putting their noses into business that they don't belong in, yes?" Though it wasn't like Ravenna didn't understand. There were things that spirits were capable of that humanity simply wasn't. "I could always do a little more prodding if my dearest benefactor feels the need. That aside..."

Her smile grew.

"Using my name now, dear? Such an honor on this little pawn."

Steve rolled his eyes at her. "Don't get too attached dear." He smirked. "Regardless, Yui, you are right. We have to be a bit more careful here." He'd look over to the camp fire, as he smothered it with a boot. "We'll have to spy on them too. The last thing we need are spirit wielders joining their ranks."

Yui nodded.

"It's something I won't be able to help with." She admitted, frowning. "I've had to do my best to lay low. Let me know if you ever get the chance to get more... confrontational with them, though."

"I don't think subtlety is one of our fortes. I'm sure we'll tip you off if explosions don't," Ravenna chuckled. Though she had to be fair, there hadn't really been explosions in their last little tiff--just very large guardians and veritable monsters. The woman twisted a stray lock of hair around her finger as she leaned lightly against a tree. "Dear little Yilan and I can handle reconnaissance to an extent. So long as it doesn't lead unsavory types to my little cafe."

Steve nodded to the both of them. "Good then, well, thats all the info I had to share with you." He yawned as he stretched his arms. "All this travel just for that..."

"I'd best be on my way, then." Yui said, giving a quick wave. "Take care, you two." She put her sunglasses back on and slipped away into the woods.

"Well, she's an interesting one, isn't she?" Ravenna hummed. "I wonder what we can expect from our dear allies in the future."

It might be interesting, after all.

"Maybe you'd like to discuss it over some coffee, dear?"

He'd nod to Yui as she left, before turning back to Ravenna. He had an awful grin.

"That sounds just lovely, 'dear'." He mocked, as he put out the fire with his boot. "You'll have to cover my tab though."

---

It has been two weeks since the disaster that befell Lakewood. With the combined efforts of non-profit relief programs, government intervention, and community activism, the city was finally returning to something resembling its former condition. Business re-opened, roads and walls were patched up, and the school was finally back in a working order.

Aside from the persistent military presence, things finally seemed to be returning to normal. As the highschoolers were awaiting the first period in the cafeteria, a red sunset hue started to invade through the windows. The chattering of students had ceased, birds remained frozen in the air, and cars had become stuck in place. Time seemed to stand still to all but the spirits and those influenced by them. Reality was stained with this red hue, for miles around the town until borders of starlight and darkness cut the way.

A rift had opened once again above the school’s lake. Within the temporal scar, a parallel world could be seen, before closing. Rising from the red-tinted lake was a large arachnid creature. It resembled a spider, though its chitin body seemed heavily armored, possessing a rock-like texture. A giant eye existed under its large abdomen. The spider was about twenty meters across, each of its legs hooked with a sickle shaped barb. On its back, two giant wings that resembled that of a dragonfly lifted it into the air as it let out a startling cry. A fleshy siphon erupted out from between its fangs, extending rapidly and unnaturally. Within the cafeteria, the large fleshy tendril shot through the window and impaling one of the frozen students with several barbs. The siphon then seemed to start sucking in fluids in slow gulps, feeding the spider that was a few hundred meters away.

"I'm sorry, you don't have to continue if you don't want to, it was a harrowing experience I'm sure." The mood in the cafeteria was despondent. Usually this was a time when students would be filling the air with a nearly unbearable amount of noise. She had reverations about returning here, but she had a story to write and her editor insisted. "Um, hello?" She blinked and tilted her head at the student in front of her that she was interviewing. They weren't moving, in fact no one was other than her and Amber were moving. "W-what's going on? Oh no, it isn't happening again is it?" She scrambled to put her notebook away just as her wheelchair was yanked backwards by Amber. Glass scattered to the floor as a tendril broke through and impaled the boy before her.

"No! Amber, do something!" Thea screamed. Amber dashed forwards. She had little interest in saving the human's life, but knew Thea would make things difficult if she didn't act. The spirit produced a scalpel and cleaved clean through the tendril. Without missing a beat she yanked the wriggling appendage from the boy's chest and stuck one of her syringe's into his neck. If he wasn't dead already, he would be fully healed in a few moments.

"Is he alright?" Thea asked.
"We're leaving." Amber took hold of the wheelchair and began heading towards the exit. "The enemy knows we are here now. If it were me, I would ignore those incapacitated and deal with the problematic variable" She said, her voice as still as always.

MACKENZIE LI - Lakewood High
Monday, 1 October 2029 - 7:30 am

---

“Ah, how the battlefield calls. At ease, peons, for your savior has returned.”

“I can’t-- I c-can’t do this.”

Her sneakers were slapping the concrete towards the gym as soon as her mother’s car disappeared from sight. The girl looked anxious as ever - hair a little messier, eyes a little more sunken in. Every aspect of her appearance seemed designed to slip under the radar with one exception: the obnoxiously bright skateboard sticking out of her backpack. It felt like a demonic ‘KICK ME’ sign.

“Our inspiring entrance!” Venga hissed from inside her brain. Which was a thing that happened now, a lot, for some reason. “What are you doing, child? You mock me with your cowardice.”

Mackenzie locked the cubicle door and hung her backpack against it. “I can’t. I can’t, I can’t, I just…”

It was a mistake coming here so soon after that attack. Aliens- Demons were real, for heck’s sake! Why on earth would anyone be leaving the house after—

It all came back in the flash. The news reports and the memorials and the family discussions and the ‘what comes next’s. The losses mourned; none of them hers though. She knew their names and their faces, shared classes and volleyball games with a few of them, but held no right to memorialise them. Not after cutting all her peers out of her life for a year.

Mackenzie squeezed her eyes shut, cutting off impending tears and catching her breath. The world was a muted red when she finally opened them again.

No. No, no, she couldn't do this again.

“I…” It seemed redundant to repeat it. Somewhere within, she heard Venga growl in anticipation.

“A suitable opponent indeed. Release me, child.”

Standing on the toilet seat cover, Mackenzie peered out of the overhead window and did just that. Venga’s gargantuan form materialized. The building shuddered as he touched down, dust and metallic creaks emanating above her. She could already feel her heart rate accelerating.

And as it foretold, a monstrous "YAHAHAHA!" echoed through Lakewood High once again.

Shit, I’m late. I’m late. I’m so fucking late.

The student teacher let out a sigh as she pulled into the parking lot and hopped off her motorcycle. She checked her phone- she was technically on time. If she was a student, she’d be sprinting into class right as the bell was sounding and no one would be able to say anything. These were pretty extraordinary circumstances, so she doubted anyone would look down on her too much if she was a bit tardy. She pulled a pop tart out of her bag and made peace with the fact that her body would hate her for this before she started chowing down on it and broke into a sprint as everything began to turn red.

The two week break had been… very trying for Lucy Selene. Between all the calls from friends and family, the spiral into depression, getting back into drinking, an unexpected run in with a student… She felt like the break could have been a lot longer. She needed to get her sleep schedule back on track, for one.

But, hey, she was a whole week sober, now. That was worth something, to her at least. Time to rack up those milestones all over again.

Lucy shoved the last of the pop tarts into her maw and tossed the wrapper behind her into a nearby trash can as she ran past it, and swung into the classroom.

”Heyyy, sorry I’m late, I-” She paused. He wasn’t moving. ”You alright?” She looked back out into the hallway. That wrapper was frozen in space just above the can. And, actually, why was everything red? This was a bad dream, right?

”They’re back again, Lucy.” Lunasa’s voice rang out through her soul. ”Will you be ok this time?”

”I, uh,” The medium stammered. ”Yeah, of course.” She broke into another sprint as she transformed.

The cafeteria was populated by a crowd of frozen students. None of them looked very dead, yet, and that was good. She could handle this. No panic attacks this time. The giant bug outside? She could handle that. And Thea and Amber were here again. She noticed that last part a bit too late, and nearly bumped into the two of them before she skidded to a stop.

”H-hey Thea, hey Amber.” Lucy gave a quick wave. “Fancy meeting you two here again, huh?” Lunasa quickly split off from her and flew towards the window, shooting a few lasers at the enemy Spirit as booming laughter echoed throughout the school.

A noise rattled out from the severed siphon by Thea, further rumbling after Leah began to drain it. The constant droning noise the tendril made paled in comparison to the massive, earth-shaking thuds of the spirit encroaching closer to the building. The arachnid spewed silky substance of webbing from its mandibles, spraying it over the complex in layers of webbing. The beast tried to pull away the tendril, but the draining and Leah's super strength was enough to keep it from breaking free or taking her with it. Instead, its front leg reached up and severed its own siphon, letting it fall limp to the earth.