During the hospital visit Herik stayed by Emily's side as much as he could. She couldn't speak for herself, so someone had to and the only relative he knew she had was her sister who was unconscious in the same hospital. Once Emily was taken care of he allowed them to see to his injuries. The bite marks were patched up with bandages and he was prescribed anti-infection medication, just in case, and pain killers. Unfortunately, his right leg had a minor fracture and had to be wrapped up in a cast. Not how he wanted to come out of this, but it was better than losing his life. He'd gotten a shirt out of his car before the ambulance arrived, but it didn't help his beat up appearance.

He leaned against Madison's SUV, his crutches beside him, most of his weight was on his left leg. He wanted to go to bed, but what just happened needed to be discussed, especially if Schmidt decides to try again. Special Agent Obott pointed out Schmidt might be on his yacht that's right in the harbor, Herik didn't like where this was going. They weren't in any condition for round two. He knows when to get out of a fight and save it for the next tournament better than before. This wasn't the time.

"You're not suggesting we attack him right now, are you? We're not in any condition for another fight. We don't know what else he has up his sleeve. The Outsider was bad, but what if he's got another thing like it? We'd die this time." One of their own was dead, Emily's in critical condition, and the rest of them needed rest.

---

---

“Herik’s right,” said Vashti, showing that she had been paying attention to the Coven’s conversation after all.

She was sitting on top of the yellow concrete block in front of an empty parking space with her head hung low. Her clothes and her headscarf had been so soiled that they had to be thrown in the bin. The hospital had been kind enough to give her a replacement outfit, a very stylish combination of an oversized Mickey Mouse sweater and acid washed jeans. It was on the house, which was thoughtful considering the amount of debt the Coven had just racked up in hospital bills. Was DENS going to cover that too like they had covered why they were here in the first place? Vashti didn’t want to have to explain to her dad why she was dipping into the trust fund.

The doctors told her that her cut wasn’t nearly as bad as it looked, which Vashti imagined that she had Meifeng and Izzy to thank for that. They still doped her up, stitched her wound, and wrapped her chest up like a mummy. There would be a scar, which meant that even once she did get her curse lifted she’d still feel hideous. The doctors didn’t even question the scales, probably thanks to DENS, or maybe they did and she didn’t remember. She had only started to come out of the painkiller haze when Madison had called for a meeting.

“I mean, honestly, you’re joking, right?” she said, lifting her head to give Trevor an annoyed look. “Or maybe you’re lying, because an FBI agent telling a bunch of girls”—plus Herik—“that they can handle this themselves is the stupidest fucking thing I’ve heard since Maya insisted that she fingerbanged a lady so good that it gave her magical powers. He sent some spooky bitch to go murder a bunch of people. Isn’t that reason enough for you Feds to go in and bag him?”

She was already certain that the answer would be a no. Hell, she was certain that a majority of the Coven was itching for another fight. She had seeked them out to find a way to control the chaos in her life, not get dunked into a vat of it. Vashti released a pained sigh that was so seeped in frustration that it might as well have been a growl and she looked at Lyss with pleading eyes. Aside from Herik and perhaps Emily, Lyss seemed to be the only other sensible member of the Coven.

“You agree that this is ridiculous, yeah? I know we all want to go after Schmidt, but didn’t Kayla have some grand plan to use him?” said Vashti, trying to sound calm. Although…“Wait. Where is Kayla, anyway?”

---

---

"You're not suggesting we attack him right now, are you? We're not in any condition for another fight. We don't know what else he has up his sleeve. The Outsider was bad, but what if he's got another thing like it? We'd die this time."

"... And that's what he's expecting,"

The little tactician in Madison's mind was smiling... probably for all the wrong reasons. She admitted that Herik was completely and utterly right about what she said but she had another idea in mind. One that was risky and stupid, but would pay off. If it worked. Madison had the perfect plan in mind.

"Blake knows that we're not in a good shape and probably going to lick our wounds," Madison started with utmost confidence. "He's not going to expect us to attack him so soon. And if he's having a party on a yacht..."

Madison gave Trevor a narrow-eyed look as he smiled and gave her two thumbs up.

"... He's probably surrounded by whatever sugar babies he didn't sacrifice. Or his little corporate dicksucker friends. And even if he does have one, we can regroup and come up with a plan to attack it later, but I... doubt it."

Madison shrugged as she put a hand on her hip... her clothes covered the wound on her side pretty well and she would love to go take a nap and get high right now. She knew everyone would right now.

"... If you don't think it's a good idea, you can stay right here and say "I told you so" if it goes wrong," Madison firmly said. "But, I think we should take this chance, Herik. I'm doing it."

"And I'm behind Madison," Claudette said.

“He sent some spooky bitch to go murder a bunch of people. Isn’t that reason enough for you Feds to go in and bag him?”

"Well, we could..." Trevor put his hands on his hips as his eyes drifted off to his side as he tried to find the right words. "... But, I know someone like Blake's got some good ass lawyers that demand some proof that he sent the Outsider after ya'll."

Trevor shrugged.

"And that's a 'nother thang, missy," Trevor's accent slipped in as he went back to his usual talking voice. "What judge is even going to entertain the idea that he sent some ancient murder ghost after buncha witches? A crazy one, heh. Even if we do bag him, he'll be out before the dawn. Ya'll gotta remember that he's Blake fucking Schmidt. He got money and connections and this wouldn't be the first time he got away with something shitty... So to, um, shorten all that. No, it isn't."

And he sighed before he leaned up against Madison's truck... and got a look so sharp it felt like she was going to disembowel him with it. He got up quickly before he continued.

"And the third thing... well, I'm gonna be blunt here when I say that the boss lady doesn't give a shit about ya'll. And she doesn't want anything to do with any of it, the only reason she showed up is that Maximilian bugged her...." Trevor glanced at Lyss for a moment before he continued. "... And I wouldn't count on her showing up again unless she needs you or you piss her off." It was hard not attaching again to the end of that statement.

"Let me just say that, no offense, ya'll are small fry in the bigger picture and our little team is after something really, really big. Like, worst comes to worst ya'll are gonna want to get outta Tampa- and Maya said she did what?"

The words finally hit Trevor as he turned towards Maya with wide-eyed shock as he felt something. A mixture of betrayal... and arousal. He wanted to ask for details but he also didn't want to (well not in front of them). And Madison shrugged.

“You agree that this is ridiculous, yeah? I know we all want to go after Schmidt, but didn’t Kayla have some grand plan to use him? Wait. Where is Kayla, anyway?”

That was a good fucking question. Where was Kayla, the grand plan thing was stupid because she wasn't here so Madison wasn't worrying about it. And if Kayla gave her shit Madison would just tell her plain and simple; she wasn't there. Right now Madison's loyalty to Kayla was shakey, but she was probably dealing with something of her own... she hoped that Blake didn't send someone to take her out, but she was going to take things one step at a time.

"Honestly, I don't know right now," Madison sighed as she talked with one hand, "Kayla hasn't answered any of my texts or calls, but we have to remember her little... side hustle." She glanced at Claudette as she didn't want to bluntly say that Kayla was a dealer in front of the FBI agent.

"And it's like her to ghost us from time to time... honestly, as much as she helped me I think the first thing we need to do is work out this leader situation." She shrugged as she took a deep breath and let it out through her nose.

"Maybe you two can go look for her and make sure she's okay since you're clearly not okay with this. She usually hangs out around the USF but be careful... it's wicked out there."

---

Maya looked a little put out that Trevor himself wasn’t coming along, but whatever. A giant orgy sounded just like Blake Schmidt… and it sounded like the perfect thing to crash. She’d already slept with his wife so why not go right in there and steal some of his other women? Would certainly serve him right for trying to kill her.

Both Herik and Vashti seemed to think going right now was a bad idea. Maya rolled her eyes but decided to hear her out. Either way, they would be going to Blake’s orgy yacht one way or another. Maya wasn’t going to wait for him to send someone else to kill her.

“...stupidest fucking thing I’ve heard since Maya insisted that she fingerbanged a lady so good that it gave her magical powers.”

Maya’s mouth fell open as Vashti just went and said it… in front of Trevor. First of all, she was annoyed that people still didn’t believe her on that one. She wasn’t creative enough to make that shit off. Second, was it really important right now?

Okay, it was always important, because she’d been so good she made Phillis awaken. She wasn’t going to be embarrassed about that. After a moment of shock about what was said a smug smile crossed her lips. She listened to all the reasons that the DENS wouldn’t be helping them with little care for it. It was old news that they didn’t really give a fuck about them. Her smile widened as Trevor finally realised what Vashti had said and turned to her in shock.

“I did exactly what Vashti said,” she shrugged, even though she looked pretty smug about it. “I was so good that I made someone awaken when we slept together. Buuuut that’s not important right now.” She lowered her voice slightly as she leaned forward, even though Madison was in between her and Trevor and it was kind of awkward but she ignored that. “I’ll tell you all about it later.”

She winked at him before leaning back, and going back to the conversation she probably should’ve been participating in the whole time. If he was upset for some reason that she’d slept with someone else, well that was his fault for playing hard to get.

“I agree with Madison that we should go now, while he’s not expecting it,” Maya spoke up, glanced between Herik and Vashti. “Without waiting for Kayla.”

Madison mentioned the whole leader thing and Maya didn’t have to think much on it.

“She’s basically not done anything since she became leader,” Maya shrugged as she looked between Claudette and Lyss. “You two were here kinda second in commands or whatever, right? If anyone is going to become leader now…”

Well, it certainly wasn’t going to be her. As much as the power trip would be nice Maya knew she’d be the worst leader ever and also it would be too much work.

“Lyss has basically been acting as our leader anyway.”

---

Lyss’s eyebrows were in the air as soon as Trevor mentioned a “recollection.” Still, she didn’t say a word as he spouted out his bullshit cover up for hacking the girl’s phones. Why? Because she had a burner with nothing on it but a few contacts. Her dirt wasn’t on display because she’d erased it all. Plus, she wasn’t in the group snapchat to dish about boys or finger fucking Phillis Schmidt. If Trevor or the DENs knew about her black market history, she was sure that they would have already taken her in.

So she kept her mouth shut. At least he apologized for their raid too. If there was one thing she could be certain of, it was that the DENs regretted making their presence known by the Coven. She smirked to herself. Meifeng certainly felt that way, no doubt about it.

Herik now spoke up to add his two cents, more like one cent, opinion. He had a point. Most of the girls weren’t graced by Izzy’s abstraction. Lyss herself felt recharged and she would (hopefully) not need her abstraction again today. A giant yacht orgy didn’t sound like another fight for the Coven. It sounded like they were just going to interrupt his pleasure cruise and give him a piece of their mind. She wasn’t sure why Vashti and Herik were so concerned. Maybe it was because they just wanted to go home and bone. I’m not projecting, am I?

Nah, I don’t need to see Max again.

Madison spoke up instead. Lyss nodded her head once to agree, but she didn’t give her own opinion. If anyone out of this group had a reason for vengeance, it was Madison. Plus, Madison could hold her own. Somehow she always had a good plan in mind. She had to chuckle when Vashti gave a recount of what led to their tussle with Blake Schmidt and the Outsider. She covered her mouth with her hand to hide the cheshire grin as her eyes turned towards Maya. The look on her face was priceless. Honestly, if Trevor knew about their feud with Schmidt, he should know the reason why. Poor, poor Maya. Is it karma, or just dumb luck? Our whole group is just dumb luck.

Her eyes watched Trevor with apprehension. He was right about the issue of arresting Blake Schmidt. The only proof would be to let the Outsider out him herself and there was no way Lyss was letting this necklace go. She wasn’t going to take it off of her neck until she knew it would be kept out of the wrong hands. Then there was the “third thing.” It only confirmed that Meifeng didn’t want anything to do with them. She felt an odd hint of respect for Max when Trevor mentioned that he’d been the one to get the DENs to fantasty land. When Trevor looked her way, Lyss stared back. So what if she was tangled up with Max? Hopefully he was grown enough to keep it from affecting his work. If he wasn’t, then Lyss would cut it off. Hell, she hadn’t even texted or called him since this morning.

Then Vashti’s eyes were on her. Lyss dropped her hand and went back to crossing her arms across her chest. She took a deep breath without a single clue about how to answer Vashti. She wanted Blake Schmidt to pay. Yet Vashti had a point. Kayla had mentioned something, but at this point Lyss felt like Kayla wasn’t coming back. Their leader had her own problems. If she still wanted to be the leader, she would have come to fight the Outsider. At least the two nay-sayers would be out of their hair looking for Kayla.

Lyss pressed her lips together. She could feel that her lipstick had faded since their fight. It was meant to outlast drinking from cold glasses, not tussles with apparitions, after all. She stuck her hand into her pocket and pulled out the lipstick she kept for situations like this. While Maya began to speak, Lyss took a moment to reapply. She’d just finished and tucked it back in her pocket when Maya said:

”Lyss has basically been acting as our leader anyways.”

Lyss looked up at the group. She pushed herself off of the deck wall, gave Trevor a cautious glance, and glanced at Claudette before speaking.

“I already told you that I don’t want to be the leader…”

“But it looks like I’m the only one left but Madison or Claudette that can call the shots.”

“Herik, Vashti, and anyone who needs time to recover can either look for Kayla or go home to rest.”

“Madison knows what she’s saying. She’s smart enough to think from all angles, and I agree with her. Blake Schmidt needs to be brought down a few notches and I think right now, when he’s distracted, is the time to do that.”

She looked at Claudette.

“I think Claudette and I also agree that we cannot use any force or our abstractions to take care of him. Anything like that could get our asses thrown in jail, another video leaked of our abilities, and it would get the wrong attention turned our way.” She glanced at Trevor. The DENs was a good example of this.

“We need to be cool, classy, and collected, and we also need to scare the piss out of this asshole to get our point across. If anyone has any suggestions, I want to hear them now.”

^{Meanwhile, on the S.S. RichOrgy... or whatever it's named--}

"Uh, Mariah? Mariah wait--" hastily the oiled up, muscle bound, young black man with an Alabama drawl-- who was wearing nothing but a shiny pair of silver shorts-- caught the closing door behind Mariah, just before it slammed shut. He halted its momentum then closed it gently. This cabin, aboard Blake FUCKING Schmidt's boat, had been slightly converted into Mariah's dressing room. She stood in front of a large mirror, which was surrounded by lights, and featured an expensive looking counter top, which she held onto with a nearly white knuckle grip, as she inhaled and exhaled DEEP cleansing breaths. Before her upon this counter were the unpacked contents of her makeup and costume bag. Mariah was still in full Drag, having just performed the opening set of songs, while dressed in a look inspired by the angels she was currently pleading with for patience.

As he listened to Mariah's second exhale, the buff young man nodded. "Aight then," he began turning to face Mariah slowly, "Clearly you upset by what he said but uh--" he found himself shuffling out of the way as the door opened behind him. In stampeeded another silver-booty-shorts oiled up buff man, who spoke, without a single second of hesitation, in an accent thick from Peru, "Sis he call you a got'damn SHE-MALE."

"Tory, what the fuck," replied the first man, gesturing to Mariah, who was very clearly trying to keep her shit together. Tory sucked his teeth as he shut the door, "Ey, don't 'What the fuck' me, man-- Ry, you jus' gon' take that shit?" Mariah turned to him, fury in her eyes, and let out a frustrated, barely volume controlled, noise of frustration. "Ey, see? She pissed off too--so we gon' fuck him up or..." Tory gestured, adjusting his balls unsubtly, then throwing his hands up to indicate readiness.

"Motherfucker-- don' you see she countin' to sixty n' shit--" spoke up the young black man, as he moved to take a seat upon one of two stools, which were placed before the mirror, "--which is really kinda. I mean. I ain't sayin' it's weird but uh--"

"You woulda took the chain' out onna bitch in the club," Tory finished the thought, "So whassup?"

Taking another deep, frustrated breath, Mariah opened her mouth to speak, then had to take one more breath. Her statement began with a tongue pop, as she practically spoke through her teeth, "Ten thousand dollars. Split three ways."

"Maxi--" Tory began bluntly, "-- she the one that said you ain't suppos'ta sell you soul for no money? You stick to you morals. Sis a hypocrite."

Maxi made a face, "I mean," was all he responded with, finishing the thought with a shrug.

"How bout you both shut the fuck up-- And Tory? Spell hypocrite," Mariah paused for a few beats as Tory's face scrunched. She held her hand up, palm toward him, then pulled her finger back, "That's what I thought. Bye, bitch. Look," she clapped on the word. As she spoke, she began removing her wings and Maxi got up to help her, "Mamma's fridge was lookin' awful empty plus, okay, he call me out my name." Maxi helped her place other parts of her outfit aside and Tory moved to pick up a previously opened bottle of water. He drank it with a sigh as Mariah continued, "I been called worse by better and Mamma always said I need to work on my temper."

"Yeah okay," Tory swished the bottled water around, as if it were wine, "What if he call Maxi the N word. Or what if he tell us to go back to our country or something else." As Tory drank quite thirstily, Mariah removed her wig as Maxi prepared another, and she watched him in silence for a few beats.

Mariah turned to the mirror and began removing her makeup, "There certain shit I ain' willin' to look over but hey-- if he got a fetish or some shit, then maybe he'll tip more, huh? Only fetish havin people know that term-- typing it in on PornHub n'shit. You hears they be throwin' out twenties like it ain't shit on these boat parties, tho? Fifties? Hunnids?" There was definitely the rising moral conflict gnawing a pit into her chest but, as usual, she crumpled the feeling and dunked it into the trash.

This was a good gig... in concept. Maybe one of these other Rich Pricks would invite her to perform here, another there, and next she'd be twerkin' on a coke head's dick for a fat fiddy in Mar a Largo. Don't sell your soul but get your goal-- that was the way. She had plans to stay clean of drugs n' shit but Mariah knew how this world was-- rich folk loved coke. As long as they were high as hell, the money would keep rollin' in, and she could just look the other way. These were muddy waters-- shit, there go those feelings again. A deep exhale left Mariah once more and she shook her head.

"Who even go to the bank and ask for fifties," Maxi idly remarked as he worked on the wig with a curling iron. Tory sucked his teeth again and laughed, "Man, if I was rich I ask for shit in gold dollars and fifty coins. Make it hail on dem hoes!"

Mariah laughed, wiping her face over with makeup removal wipes, "All I'm sayin' is, I'm willin' to look over one strike. Just one. He shouldn' feel the need to use it within earshot no more. Plus I made my point, didn't I?"
"Girl, you know that man ain't listen," Maxi said with a shake of his head, "Soon as he heard anything on the woke spectrum he got that Rich White Man trance where they don' hear shit brown people be sayin'."
"That's what I'm sayin'," Tory, once again, sucked his teeth, "Jus' go old school Ry on a rich prick-- money fall out like punchin' bricks on Mario."

"Plus tengo oído que su verga es pequeña," Mariah laughed as she pumped primer into her hand.

Maxi sighed and asked, with the air of a man that knew futility, "What?"
Tory simply burst into laughter.

Neither of them translated.

"Duolingo ain't shit," Maxi mumbled.

---

---

“I meant like body bag him; a doubletap to the head and calling it suicide,” muttered Vashti darkly under her breath. She began to pull her knees up to her chest and winced at the spike of pain. Stupid. She stretched her legs out in front of her and propped her hands behind her like she was basking in the glow of the exit sign as Trevor continued to reinforce the idea that the government did not work for the people. It was refreshing to hear one of their own at least admit it.

Vashti closed her eyes and let out a low groan as Madison explained to her that Kayla wasn’t as reliable as she had seemed at the Dairy Queen. Vashti opened one eye and gave Madison a skeptical half-smile at the suggestion that she and Herik just wander around a college campus to find her. Yeah, right. If she was avoiding them on purpose then she wouldn’t want people snooping after her. Likewise, if she was working on something important then she definitely wouldn’t want people coming to bother her.

“...since you're clearly not okay with this...”

“I never said I wasn’t okay with this,” said Vashti, tilting her head towards Madison. She had just said it was stupid. It was a big difference. She ended up going along with stupid ideas all of the time, like meeting a stranger on the Internet to study magic under...or meeting with strangers from the Internet to join a Coven that caused chaos whenever more than three of them were within a square block of one another. Vashti chewed on her lip. Maybe she should stop meeting people from the Internet.

She turned her eyes back towards Lyss, who Vashti viewed as the de facto leader of the Coven despite Lyss’ apprehensions. Vashti let out a heavy sigh as Lyss sided with Madison, rolled her neck, and climbed up to her feet. She rubbed her forehead as the girl spoke. By the time Vashti dropped her hand to the side she had managed to force a smile.

“If anyone has any suggestions, I want to hear them now.”

“Yeah. Use protection,” said Vashti, her fake smile turning into a real grin as she shot a look at Maya. She turned back to Lyss and Madison as she relaxed her shoulders. Her voice hovered just below genuine, and was strangely calm for the normally frantic girl. “Look, I’m sorry if I came off as a jerk. I barely know any of you, but I still don’t want anyone else to get hurt. The Outsider couldn’t stop us, so a rich loser caught with his pants down will hardly be a problem for you girls. I guess that’s why I didn’t see it as something that should be such a priority. But I respect your decision. That said, I’d only be getting in the way. But I’m not gonna go look for Kayla or go home.”

“I’m going to go sit with Emily so that there’s someone there when she wakes,” clarified Vashti. As she turned and began walking towards the door back into the hospital, the dark wave of emotions swelling inside of her released as her voice grew more and more indignant. “Or, you know, in case Babylon comes back for her.” Vashti’s hand grabbed the door handle, cocked her head to the side, and tapped a finger against her temple. “Oh, did we all forget about the bitch that actually killed one of us and nearly murdered another!? Well, anyway...” Were they really so up their own ass with their want for revenge that they forgot the real danger to the Coven? Vashti opened the door, stepped through, and turned so that the rest of the Coven could see the angry disappointment on her face.

“Enjoy your FUCKING orgy!”

With a mocking salute, she slammed the door and stormed away.

---

---

“I did exactly what Vashti said, I was so good that I made someone awaken when we slept together. Buuuut that’s not important right now. I’ll tell you all about it later.”

Trevor's cheeks turned a rosy red as Maya talked and he looked off to the side. Part of him was morbidly curious, but he knew that if Meifeng (or anyone in the squad) wouldn't like him asking about it. That sounded like a huge ass HR nightmare, the type of nightmare that Trevor didn't want to have. So he just coughed as he awkwardly said,

"Noted," He said before he addressed the rest of the Coven. "Now be careful out there... and by that I mean don't do anything crazy because Meifeng's already a Lil' pissed about Babylon."

They seemed to be working out their little drama and whatnot, so Trevor felt like it was time to leave. He didn't want to overstay his welcome, at least before Meifeng got suspicious that he was consorting with the Coven, too. While they were talking Trevor casually slid off behind the SUV without them even noticing his footsteps. Years of huntin' n' killin' allowed Trevor to perfect his ability to be quiet as fuck. Of course, Trevor made sure to give Maya one wave goodbye before he moved on.

“Yeah. Use protection. Look, I’m sorry if I came off as a jerk. I barely know any of you, but I still don’t want anyone else to get hurt. The Outsider couldn’t stop us, so a rich loser caught with his pants down will hardly be a problem for you girls. I guess that’s why I didn’t see it as something that should be such a priority. But I respect your decision. That said, I’d only be getting in the way. But I’m not gonna go look for Kayla or go home.”

It seems Vashti was smart enough to call a wild goose chase when she saw one. For that, Madison almost had to applaud her. Almost. Then she had to keep running her mouth. Most of what Vashti said went over Madison's head... to be honest, all Vashti had to say was "I don't want to go, bye". But noooooooo, little miss sunshine right here thought that everyone gave enough of a shit about somebody who just joined the Coven. She hadn't been filled in on the whole situation here... or else she would know that several of Madison's friends and coworkers were sacrificed because of that dickhead. And she thinks it's "low priority". Bitch, I'm outta a job because of him, not just that, several people are dead, Madison was about to say. It was tough for her to keep her mouth, and she realized that it probably spoke for her. Hopefully.

“I’m going to go sit with Emily so that there’s someone there when she wakes, Or, you know, in case Babylon comes back for her. Oh, did we all forget about the bitch that actually killed one of us and nearly murdered another!? Well, anyway... Enjoy your FUCKING orgy!”

When Vashti closed the door, Madison couldn't contain it anymore.

"... I'm really startin' to hate her ass."

Madison spoke to nobody in particular as she rolled her eyes. Jesus Christ, it was like dealing with another Emily... still, Madison couldn't say that Vashti was wrong. They had to handle Babylon at some point and to be honest with herself they never should have trusted Babylon at all. That was no excuse for Vashti to be irritating as all hell, however. They'll cross that bridge when they get to it.

She shook her head as she faced the group.

"... We'll have to deal with Babylon later," Madison tried to justify her decision not to go after Babylon. Probably more to herself than the rest of the Coven. "We have to remember that Blake gave Babylon the cover she needed and right now I think he's the bigger problem..." She stopped herself as she realized how obvious it was starting to sound, but Madison was too stubborn to even admit that she could be wrong.

"I have an idea, Lyss," Madison pipped up, "We use Chompy, Quinn's Harry Potter ass summons, and the Jaws to get ourselves onto the boat and then we blend in. I sincerely hope you guys have bikinis. We blend in, and maybe..."

Madison had a different idea that she knew that nobody in the Coven would agree it. And it was also fucking insane.

"... We catch him by himself and then we give him a good reason not to fuck with the Coven ever again."

It was a loose plan, but Madison knew that the Coven was a borderline anarchic force. It was better to just direct them at something and let them do their thing rather than trying to micromanage each one of them. But, she had something to say to two of the members.

"Maya, please stay out of sight, because he'll definitely blow a gasket if he sees you," Though maybe we can use that in our favor. Madison thought to herself before she turned to Quinn. "And Quinn, I'm gonna need you to pay attention. Like seriously, we can't have you fucking us up because you didn't catch the fucking memo."

She rolled her eyes. She didn't know about the other girl, but part of her didn't trust her... but another part of her came up with a genius idea. One that she wasn't going to share with the rest of the Coven.

"Are we on the same page here? Good, let's meet on the Tampa bay in an hour."



The day was glorious! That pitiful Coven was gone, he presumed. The Outsider didn't come back yet but he trusted that the Outsider was the most dangerous thing in Tampa and beyond so of course it did.

Or those rednecks sold him a crappy Apparition.

Either way, he was probably going to hear all about the Coven's destruction in the news. Then he was going to find some other way to gain the magic powers that he so desired. But he had to celebrate! Also, he had to rebuild his... catalog of women. And what better way to do that than to invite a bunch from various circles and invite them onto his yacht! It was the greatest thing on earth, his yacht! Five stories tall, and lots of rooms for his escapades, Blake bought it with the finest money on earth! It was his palace of the ocean and the only let the select few (Aka. the rich and/or the hot) onto it.

Blake was wearing black swim trunks and Gucci slides as he stepped out with a glass of exquisite wine in one hand and raised it.

"Let the good times roll!" Blake shouted and all of his sycophants started cheering.

---

---

An hour later, the Coven launched their secret mission against Blake Schmidt. His boat was massive.... and that made their little plan a lot harder. Of course, Madison had a plan of her own. One that Grace probably won't like. The Coven arrived at the side of the boat because showing up at the back would be suicide right now and Chompy slinked off the side and went to look for an infant to eat. Madison put her hand on her hips as she was wearing a purple-one-piece bikini and Nike slides. And she had to go out and buy this because she didn't have a bikini that wasn't a two-piece (or a thong). She had to cover up that wound on her side or else she'd stick out like a sore thumb. She looked at the Coven as she said,

"Okay, we need to find Blake fast as possible," Madison stated, "Because the faster we get this over with, the faster I can go take a nap...." And get high as fuck.

She looked around as she said, "Split up into groups so we can handle this."

"I'll be by your side," Claudette said.

So the Coven was definitely going on Schmidt's ship. He knows the girls don't listen to reason much, but he had to try anyway. At the very least so they know someone in the group will be heartbroken if anything happened to them. Vashti agreed with him. It's a first that someone cared about what he had to say and saw it the way he did. For the little time she's been here he knows she cares. He likes that a lot. Does she gets attached to people easily like him? No one else had anything to say about her storming off, even though she's right. Kayla's probably in the wind. She always had an separate agenda than the rest of them. He's not properly processed Elise's death or Babylon getting away with murder. It's a lot more than he bargained for. He picked up his crutches and got off Madison's truck.

"I'll stick with Emily and Vashti. Be safe. We're a call away if you need us." He slowly hobbled away from the group and into the hospital. It took him twenty minutes to get from the parking garage to Emily's room. The hospital is not travel friendly for the physically disabled, even if his condition is temporary. He knocked on the door, then came into the room, closing the door behind him. Emily didn't look any better, just pale, sickly, and like she was dying. He hoped she didn't. Not when they've already lost someone important to the group. He sat in a car near her bedside next to Vashti, he placed the crutches on the floor beside him.

"You know, I remember the last thing Elise did for me. She saved me from the FBI. She was a good kid. Not really social, but eager to study Extra-Humans like I am. I thought maybe we could have learned more together, but that didn't happen. The mess we get ourselves into." He sighed tiredly. "I hope she knew I cared for her and was thankful she saved me. I did thank her for it, but a lot of things in the Coven gets said and it'd hard to tell when it's genuine or if it's disingenuous."

He looked at Vashti, smile so strained it hurt his face to pretend he's okay so he stopped and really got a good look at her beat up appearance. He hadn't really thought about her getting stabbed by Outsider. She could've lost her life too. He grabbed her hand and held it tight. "I won't make excuses for the others, but know that I don't think you're wrong to be upset and frustrated. It won't get better with this group, but you won't find another place with people as eclectic, sometimes judgmental, and as honest as they are. They don't say everything, but everything they mean is on their faces. I know it's a lot, but I hope you stay."

---

The last time Lyss had ever been on a yacht, it had been one of the last few days she spent in Miami. It was a celebration. A huge deal that had just been cut and the money was all theirs. Except while her partners drank until they couldn’t remember who’d paid them in the first place, Lyss was plotting her escape from the black market. The perfect plan to take all of the money for herself and run.

Lyss thought over that night as the group arrived on Blake Schmidt’s way too fucking big yacht. For satan’s sake, who would need a boat this big? Schmidt must be compensating for something. She stood with her hands on her hips as she listened to Madison run over the plan. While she wasn’t happy to wear a swimsuit in front of Blake Schmidt, she wasn’t uncomfortable in her skin. She wore a pair of thick black sunglasses to hide her identity from any of the party goers.

They were supposed to split up. Madison took Claudette, and only Quinn and Maya were left. Three of them together would stick out too much. It would be easier if Lyss went on her own. Plus it wouldn’t leave Quinn or Maya by themselves. She looked at the two girls and nodded. “I’m going solo. If either of you find Blake first, don’t approach him. If he sees you, Maya, he’ll have security on our ass in an instant.” He’d definitely have security on a boat this big. “See you in a bit, ladies. Good luck.”

Lyss pulled her sunglasses down her nose and winked at them before she slipped off into the throng of bikini babes and waiters carrying drinks & horderves. On her way past a silver tray she grabbed a glass of champagne, sipping on its contents as she silently made her way through the crowd. Her eyes peered into the mess of drunk women. She was looking for one of the few men aboard. The rich douchebag that was probably already half wasted while he searched for the right sugar baby. He was probably wearing gucci sunglasses or louis v slides. Something small, but subtly expressing his wealth. As if the boat wasn’t big enough to show it.

Lyss made her way towards the back of the boat, where she could make her way towards the stairs. Was he lounging in the- holy shit this boat has a big ass pool. Or was he upstairs, sitting on a leather couch with a young woman in his lap? Perhaps he was at the helm of the ship, wearing the captain’s hat and smoking a cigar like a tool? She didn’t really care, but she was hoping to find him in one of the less crowded areas. Where she could pin him in place and wait for the other girls to find their way to him. Then they could give him something to fear about the extra-normal.

---

Maya was glad to get onto the boat, rather than the rather haphazard travel where she’d ended up clinging onto chompy because honestly she trusted him the most with her life in the water. She gave him a quick scratch under the chin as thanks before he lumbered off, before straightening up and looking around at the others. She wore a cute, two piece swimsuit that looked a lot more like a crop top and skirt than a bikini - not because she wasn’t confident in her body, just she knew she didn’t really have the figure for that. On top of this she was wearing a straw sunhat and sunglasses: to help with making her less recognisable.

“Why does he even need a boat so big?” Maya commented, hands on her hips as she grinned. “It isn’t like he can bang someone in every room at once. It’s like he’s asking us to steal his girls.”

Which was exactly what she planned to do. He’d tried to kill her and her friends, so she’d pay him back in a way she knew would hurt him. After all he’d gotten oh so angry when she’d slept with his wife.

“I’m going solo. If either of you find Blake first, don’t approach him. If he sees you, Maya, he’ll have security on our ass in an instant.

“Don’t worry, I’ll stay out of sight.” She tapped the sunglasses she was wearing. “He’s probably stupid enough that he won’t recognise me with these on, right?”

Of course, Lyss strolled right off without waiting to hear anything the rest had to say. Maya frowned. Well, if anyone was alright going off alone it would be her. Not that Blake could do much to any of them… apart from call security which, honestly, they could deal with if need be. She shrugged and turned back to everyone else.

Claudette had already said she would go with Madison… which left her, Quinn and the new girl. Maya absolutely did not want to end up stuck in a group with those two even if it was what Lyss had hinted with looks when talking. Her, with Quinn? That would mean she’d be the more competent of the two and that was not the role she liked to play at all.

“Soooo,” Maya said, mostly looking at Madison as she spoke. “How are we splitting this? Since Lyss just left us as an uneven number.” She folded her arms. “Five’s a bit big if you wanted smaller groups.”

Then she smirked. “Maybe I should just find a room and camp out there… after finding a person or two to keep me company. Then there’s no chance I’ll run into Blake! If you don’t think about the fact it would make me useless...” She waved her hand. “Well, that aside, what’s the plan?”

---

---

---

“Why does he even need a boat so big? It isn’t like he can bang someone in every room at once. It’s like he’s asking us to steal his girls.”

"Mr. Schmidt is wealthy, of course, he wants to flaunt," Claudette bluntly said as she sighed at the whole "girl stealing" comment because... isn't that what got them into this mess in the first place? Still, this had gotten out of hand. "Probably overcompensating for something if you ask me."

Madison shrugged, "I heard that a lot of his little sugar babies leave very disappointed." She chuckled.

“Soooo, how are we splitting this? Since Lyss just left us as an uneven number. Five’s a bit big if you wanted smaller groups.”

A hiss escaped Madison's lips when Lyss left, but honestly, she knew that people like Lyss were better left to their own devices. Given that Lyss was probably not as Maya or Quinn to be completely blunt honest. She would have no chance of ruining things as Maya, but Madison had a plan. A plan that was banking on a certain newcomer... she probably wasn't going to like it, but Madison's end here was using her as bait. The problem with the whole plan in the first place is that Blake proooobably seen the lot of them (Worst of all, he saw me when I was drunk as fuck...). Madison was banking on him not remembering all of them but knowing Schmidt... but Grace here was a newcomer! Honestly, Madison had no idea why she was here or where she came from (but she knew that Kayla would have blown a gasket if she found out). So, Madison was going to put her to work, work as in using her as bait for Blake.

Now, that kinda sucked, but it was a great plan in her head! She was an Asian-gal and Blake was pretty much every horny sex-crazed white guy put together. He sees some pretty Asian bombshell and he'll be all over her... and then the Coven would have him. However, Madison was going to keep this to herself because that was a surefire way to lose Grace... well, to be honest, she was new and Madison is still unsure of why she's even here. Either way, it won't be any loss to Madison whether she stays here or not because the Coven loses people like it's no tomorrow.

Plus, it'd be a great way to gauge if Madison should put her on the same boat as Vashti.

"Actually, you're right Maya" Madison started as she looked at Maya and walked towards Grace at the same time. "Claudette, your power is better suited for hiding stuff, you should stay with Maya just in case."

"Um, Mademoiselle..." Claudette said before stopping herself. "... As you wish."

"You... Grace," Madison said to Grace as she tried to remember her name. "You're going to come with me. Everyone else, stay put."

This was Madison's way of keeping probably these two out of the way... she would have told them not to come on the boat in the first place but in case things go south they'd definitely be helpful - but that's the worst-case scenario and Madison was definitely going to do everything in her power to prevent that. However, Madison trusted Claud and Claud would never let these two fuck things up.

Claudette didn't know what Madison's plan was but trying to decipher Madison these past few weeks were a real roller coaster. She shook her head as she put her hands on her hips and looked between the two. So she was once again put in the role of den mother to a pair of idiots. Lovely. However, Claudette figured it was best that they stay out of sight and back here... hopefully. She knew that Blake would probably, more likely than not, recognize her as well. And she didn't exactly look all that flattering in a swimsuit.

"Alright, let's just..." Claudette trailed off, "Stay back here for now, yes?" And not ruin everything for the third time in a row, Maya.

"Grace, let's talk," Madison said as she opened the door to the interior of the boat. "So... why did you decide to join the Coven, if you don't mind me askin', girl? You seem a bit too..." Madison looked her up and down. "... Normal for the Coven. Too normal to be hanging around Quinn's nutty ass."

From inside the ship, marched Tory, oiled up and clad in a white single shoulder toga, which was sized small to allow his pec to show. He was also wearing a leather pleated skirt, like some knock-off gladiator, with strappy sandals and a thematic helmet to match. Of course, this look wasn't complete without his "fake" gladiolus-- which was actually real but it was extremely dull and came with a long story as to how it was acquired-- and his little buckler shield. He was wearing makeup and body paint, which gave him the "cell shaded" look a lot of cosplayers used. Even his costume pieces featured this appearance Behind him marched Mariah.

She was waring Drag which was heavily inspired by Hades from the Disney movie. With eyes bright and frightening yellow because of contact lenses, her wig was styled up with white glittery hair at the top, that gradually transitioned into dark blue as it got closer to her crown, and the curls which cascaded down to her shoulders further transitioned in color to black. Makeup had taken the longest, because it was silver body-paint and all of her exposed skin, aside from the blue eye-shadow and black contour lines-- which gave her a more "cell shaded" video game look. Even her dress-- which was layers of black, gray, and blue chiffon, decorated with glitter and shimmering beads-- had been painted to give her a more "cartoonish" outline. That dress was quite complimentary to her figure, even if she had to pad her ass and thighs, and it let show some of her fake-tit cleavage. While the dress itself ended just below the knees, there was a split in it on one leg, going nearly up to her hip, just to keep the audience informed of her legs.

Behind them trailed Maxi rather dejectedly, dressed in a gray zipper hoodie, his shimmering silver shorts, and a set of pink bunny slippers. "--I'm just sayin', I'm gettin kinda tired of waitin'," Maxi half-whined, "I do sound for this every time and you told me I could be Herc if I buffed up enough." Once outside the crew halted, with Tory and Mariah staring at Maxi rather critically.

Of course Tory blurted out, "Nah, you still skinny. Look at me--" he gestured to himself "-- look at you. Look at me. Look at you." As Tory began to cackle, in response to Maxi rolling his eyes, Mariah winced. She was used to Tory just saying whatever he felt whenever but he could be really brutal sometimes-- the cocky handsome idiot. "We just gotta be honest with ourselves and each other," she told Maxi, "That's uh. That's family-- besides! We weren't supposed to be doin' this song-- I just don't wanna scare all these Gringos with my usual set."

"Oh, cause the Spanish," Maxi nodded but gave a shrug of defeat, "I guess."

"He be spendin' too much time on him cam to go to a gym enough," Tory replied, then sucked his teeth, "I try and go with him but he no want to."

"He said you're too busy makin' that GayTube money to lift," Mariah laughed. Maxi pouted. "Anyway-- you know your cues right? You ain't gotta say the whole script cause I doubt these--" Mariah fished for the word a moment "--Leeches even want anything besides dancin'. They don't want no story. Keep it short. Keep the music rollin'."

Maxi rolled his eyes, "Ain't you tired of dealin' with Mr. Frankenstein feet over here though? You know I dance way better'n him." Tory looked taken aback but Maxi continued, "Plus that man don' even know how ta keep a good face when he be dancin'-- lookin' like a dollar store gorilla short of three bananas--"
"--you skinny little bitch you--" Tory stepped toward Maxi aggressively.

Maria intercepted the two with the heavy SNAP of her fan opening-- its Abstraction activating as a yellow-orange glow, invisible to these Blind knuckle-heads. "Fight each other. After the show. Off the boat," she warned, not only making it obvious she towered over both of them, but that there would be consequences for continued behavior-- it was all in the look.

Glaring at one for a few moments, then the other, Mariah finished it by saying, "Or I'mma make you two hold hands for the rest of the night." Now it was Tory's turn to pout while Maxi looked off to the side and tried to keep his angry face. Nodding to both of them, Mariah skillfully snapped her fan shut with one hand while saying, "Plus he right, Tory-- anyway." Dramatically she turned, forcing Tory in front of herself, "Maxi, go inform the DJ or whatever we're about to go on. Top of the hour." As he ran off, Mariah leaned over Tory's shoulder, "If you step on my feet for this one I'mma tear your butt-cheeks off and feed them to you."

Tory laughed, "Ohh ma gad, I tol' you it was a accident."

"Whatever," Mariah laughed, giving his shoulders a squeeze, "Loosen up. Smile. Wait for the cue..." she glanced upward as Maxi made his way up the stairs.

---

---

The hospital room was quiet except for the beep of the heart monitor and the nervous tapping of Vashti’s foot as she sat beside Emily. The tapping slowed as Vashti began breathing in through her nose and out through her mouth, the annoying mantra of every cheap spa guru ever. Despite the cliche of the whole thing, it did have the calming effect she was looking for to give Vashti enough clarity to realize how big of an asshole she’d just made herself look. Madison had pull when it came to the Coven while Vashti had none. She didn’t regret the things that she said, but the way that she said it…shit. The fact that nobody came to watch over Emily was telling enough. Vashti ran her fingers through her hair and locked them behind her head as she breathed. In, out, in, out, in.

The door opened with a knock. Oh, great, it turned out Vashti was right and Babylon had come back to finish the job. What had been her plan, exactly? The Leviathan was tucked away wherever it went inside of her when it was scared, and even if it was around it wasn’t like Vashti could tell it to protect Emily. She held in her breath and looked up to seem Babylon striking down upon her, but was instead greeted by the sight of Herik limping toward the chair beside her. In a way that was worse than Babylon. Maybe they sent him to tell her that she was out. God, that’d be brutal. She smoothed out her hair to hide her malformed ears and rested her hands on her knees, slowly letting out the breath she had been holding.

She stared at the foot of Emily’s bed. That was the best greeting she could give him as he began to speak about Elise. Vashti frowned. She wasn’t even sure if she had ever truly spoken to Elise. She wasn’t even sure if she knew which girl Elise was, exactly. The blonde one, right? She was about to say something when Herik reached out and grabbed her hand. It shut her right up.

“...It won't get better with this group…”

“I’m getting that impression,” muttered Vashti as Herik continued.

“...I know it's a lot, but I hope you stay."

Vashti sighed, looked at his hand holding hers, and turned to Herik with a sad smile. “Thank you, but I…” Have nowhere else to go? Can’t leave, because it’d be too dangerous for her to be alone again? She continued slowly, “I don’t know if that’s my call anymore.”

In part, she was talking about Madison and the other girls, but there was something else too. Vashti let go of his hand.

“I owe you an explanation.”

She had been avoiding the conversation with Herik since the other night. Even after the doctors had patched her up she had seen to it to never be caught alone with the guy. She fidgeted nervously in her chair as she tried to formulate the thought in her head. She felt nauseous and lowered her head back in the chair until she was staring up at the fluorescent lights. Why was it so difficult to say it? Vashti closed her eyes so tightly that the back of her eyelids turned into a black, starless night sky being bombarded by fireworks.

“Dude, sometimes I think I’m out of control. Like just now? Or when I went off on Madison in the elevator the other day? I used to just shrug shit like that off, man. But ever since getting cursed I’ve...well, I haven’t been me and I’m not talking about the transformations. Herik I know it sounds like an excuse but I—it’s just—how can I…”

Vashti opened her eyes, her slitted pupils dancing around the room in a panicked confusion before she covered them with her hands.

“I know it helped us against the Outsider, but that was just dumb luck. It’s pure chaos. It could do anything, go after anyone. Herik, when I turn into the Leviathan I don’t control it at all. I used to think the reverse of that was true but now...now I’m pretty sure it's always has some sway.”

---

---

Oh God, Quinn must be fucking her really good.

The thoughts went through Madison's head as her eyes shot wide open with shock as the girl prattled on about Quinn. This chick, Grace, must be Quinn's girlfriend or something because Madison (and kinda the rest of the Coven) have a drastically different idea of her. Mainly as the nutty chick who was really full of herself (and shit) despite not doing much of anything. Worst of all, Madison didn't even ask for any of that explanation. Madison fake-coughed as she tried to make it look like she wasn't just floored by the fact that there's now two Quinns in the Coven. Maybe they can convert her to the side of not being a fuckin' weirdo. Maybe Madison can yeet her off the side of the boat while there is still time.

"Yeah, the first impression was bad," Madison started as she began walking. "So was the second, third, fourth, fifth... and so on. It's okay if you have a different idea of her, but I can't begin to wrap my head around that girl. But, we need to worry about the task at hand."

Madison tried not to offend the chick, but, honestly, it wasn't that important. They needed to find Blake Schmidt soon as possible and Blake was probably at the front of the boat. Honestly, Madison knew it had a fancy name but she didn't care to remember it. She heard music and knew that was probably where that rich fuck was. Part of her was tempted to have the Jaws come and bite his dick off but that was not going to go unnoticed by their federal overlords. Madison sighed.

But, around the corner, Madison heard a particular sound and poked her head around...

"--you skinny little bitch you--"

It looked like the dancers were having a bit of a squabble.... though, raising an eyebrow, Madison saw a chick that was cosplaying Hades from Hercules! Except it looked weird and kinda sexual (and a little gay). The fuck? "... Blake must be freaky-freaky." Madison muttered. However, they were about to fight until one of them fucking waved a fan open and a flash of yellow-orange light was visible to Madison. Okay, she had nary a clue who the fuck this chick was. Maybe... maybe she was wrong about the whole plan and Blake already had a crew. And if so, this entire plan is fuuuuuucked. And Madison didn't want to admit that fucking Herik and Vashti were right, as petty and childish as it was.

Still, they could trim the fat. Okay, she didn't know about Grace but Madison was certain that she could handle herself. One of the dudes ran up the stairs and Madison that they had a better chance of taking on two Extra-Normals rather than three. She neglected to tell Grace about her plan, though. When he was gone Madison came from behind the wall with her hands on her hips and a warm smile on her face.

"Hey, girlssssssss!" Madison said as she eyed the fan the one was carrying around in particular. If she had to guess this person was an Adept or an Agent like herself. If not then looks like she fucked up. "What's goin' on... any of you see Mr. Schmidt 'round here?"

She seethed as she wound stung like hell.



At the back of the boat, there was a massive party going on. Women and men of all types were dancing and Blake couldn't help but smile as he walked through it all. His glass of wine still in hand as he felt a little tipsy. He bumped into somebody and a bit spilled on the floor... and they had a moment where they locked eye contact before Blake began laughing as he did a little twirl as he danced with the music.

He was on the first floor of the boat and he marched to the back where people were jumping in and out of the water swimming. As they were jumping Blake ran to the railing and almost felt like jumping in himself. He started laughing as he moved over to the chairs. He was going to celebrate the destruction of his enemies in style! He meant it when he said, "Let the good times roll"!

Blake found himself a wicker chair as he sat down and downed his wine... and it wasn't long until a waiter came and gave him another one. There was a show going on tonight and he was excited to see it! Maybe he'd get a private show of his own with some of the girls! Tonight was the night where Blake planned to have sex with a dozen women at the same time!

He could feel it in his loins.

^{The S.S. Orgy Porgy Borgy}

"Hey, girlssssssss!"

Both Tory and Mariah looked over at Madison, then immediately exchanged glances, with a mutually nonverbal, 'What the fuck?'

"What's goin' on... any of you see Mr. Schmidt 'round here?"

Mariah spoke up before Tory had the chance to run his mouth with a, "Not lately but he's either up front or with one of his..." Her pause was long enough to be notable, as she searched for another word that wasn't 'whores,' and came up with, "Nocturnal Activity Mistresses."
"Ya, real way to speak, sis," Tory snerked before Mariah elbowed him, but still he persisted, "Jus' say bitches-- Say he wit'is bitches." Letting out a noise of exasperation, Mariah looked up as she heard a familiar voice come over the speakers, followed by the trumpet intro.
"Shit--" Tory ran off as the front of the boat grew noticeably dark, the lights having been dimmed specifically so that a flood light could be shown on the "stage".
Over the speaker system, Maxi declared, "Eons ago, there lived a hero named Hercules..." A chorus of whistles and claps picked up as, undoubtedly, Tory had the light shone upon his glistening and muscular form. Mariah looked back to Madison then, "Now, if you don't mind, honey? I've got a show to do. My cue's in a few seconds--" she gave a wiggly fingered wave as she moved up one flight of stairs, moving toward the helm of the ship.


Strutting out into the darkness, Tory moved into position, then took up a flexing pose, with his sword held high, and his little buckler low-- the light shone down upon him, as Maxi narrated, "--Hercules! But, the one thing Hercules did not have--"
Tory broke his pose, then shifted to looking around the audience with an exaggerated gesture, as Maxi continued, "--Was love!" And in came the music, with Tory lip-syncing to the words, "Girl I been all over the world looking for you." He began to play to the mostly female crowd, pointing at an individual as he "sang" the words, "I'm known for taking what I think I deserve and you're overdue."

He trotted about the stage, took out a "scroll" tied behind his back, as he said, "And if you listen you can hear me through the radio--" he comically pressed his ear to the scroll, illiciting some laughs "--In that bright white noise. What I been missing in my life--what I been dreaming of--" he began some fancy sword twirls and tosses, throwing the weapon into the air at a spin, before skillfully catching it behind his back by the handle while singing, "You'll be that girl-- you'll be that girl--you'll be--" Tory pointed his polished sword to the second floor balcony, while a bright blue firework quite suddenly went off from that same direction.

Mariah was sitting atop the railing to the balcony, backlit by blue and white lights, as she lip synced, "Everything you want so let me get up there--" for comedy, she pointed both UP and DOWN with a tilt of her head. Now barefoot, so that she didn't EAT SHIT doing this in heels, Mariah lept quite skillfully to her feet, balance atop the railing, while grasping a silk length-- which was tied to the floor above and reached to the floor below-- as she lip-synced, "I'm the baddest baby in the atmosphere, tell me what you want so we can do just what you like." As the chorus came in, Mariah hooked her foot around the silk length, then slid down it in a slow and controlled manner. When she got to the bottom, Maxi was there to place her silver six inch heels so that she stepped right into them, as the music warped and slowed. With deft hands, Maxi switched on a second microphone-- coated in silver stars and glitter-- then handed it off to Mariah, before retreating into the shadows. "Hercules, in his quest to find love, found it in the most interesting place," Maxi announced as the track picked up.

And while Mariah didn't have the range, she definitely was the voice singing Bad Romance, as the song began to play. Sure, she had to take the pitch down a couple octaves and she wasn't going to get a record deal soon, but with a little auto tune she sounded daaaamn fine. As she sang, Tory came to her by splitting the crowd, and escorted her to the stage via DANCE PARTNERSHIP. To say that they were dancing their asses off wasn't an understatement-- they were clearly trying to earn every penny of Blake's money-- Tory did his stiff-assed mean mugginist best.

Vashti let go of his hand and expressed feelings he knew she'd been holding in for along time. He knew she was hurting before he even said anything. The situations the Coven gets in are overwhelming and without time to process what happened it can get to anyone. He wants her to find freedom in letting go, but it's not that simple. He knows that. He's not sure if he has the right words to help, but his mother's advice never failed him. Maybe it'll help Vashti. He turned to face her in his chair, his eyes held contact with hers.

"You have a lot to worry about right now, but I know for a fact that you getting kicked out for saying or doing something wrong isn't going to happen. If you heard the things those girls said to each other at every meeting and heard all the arguments you wouldn't be concerned, so rest your mind on that issue."

He pulled a quarter out of his pocket.

"I used to have a similar problem of control growing up. Not extra-normal, regular normal, but it'll apply." He closed Vashti's fist around the quarter. "Around the time I was a teenager I shot up like a tree. I got muscles and had a new strength I didn't know how to control. I hugged my mother so hard once she got bruises, so she put me in wrestling. Said it would help channel my strength to something productive and learn control. That only helped so much. It didn't so anything to calm my aggression. When I was sixteen I got kicked off the team for breaking a guy's jaw with my fist. I was angry he came onto my girlfriend at the time. I didn't mean to hit him that hard, but I did. My mother gave me a coin and told me that whenever I felt overwhelmed or am about to make a bad decision to squeeze the coin. It's a focal point to make you stop and think about how you're feeling at that moment. To second guess if you want to do or say what you're thinking. It might help with controlling Leviathan. If you're not panicked about it taking control, then it won't. If you're emotionally stronger than it, then it can't take advantage of you. It'll take practice, but that's what'll make it perfect."

---

"Actually, you're right Maya."

Maya’s mouth fell open when Madison said that, shock clear across her face. She’d never been told she was right (outside of academic answers), especially in relation to coven business… and the last person she’d expected it from was Madison.

Her joy was short lived, when the three left were told to stay put. Of course that was why it had been a great idea. She hadn’t actually wanted to go along with Maya’s entire idea (which had involved getting aid). The last thing Maya really wanted to do was stand around at the edge of a boat while everyone was having fun hunting down Blake. Well, she’d try her hardest. It was best to not fuck it all up again.

But she also really, really didn’t do well with being told what to do. But she’d try for the sake of learning teamwork. So, to Claudette, she said, “sure, staying back here sounds smart.”

“A smoke sure would be nice right now,” Maya responded to Quinn, even if she was entirely a social smoker. It was better than doing nothing. She heaved out a sigh and leaned against a nearby railing somewhat dramatically. A few minutes went by before she spoke again. “Are we really just going to stay here?”

She knew the answer would be yes from Claudette, because she was a stickler for not getting into trouble. But either way this was exactly the opposite of how Maya had imagined spending her time on the orgy boat. There were a lot less attractive women that she didn’t know around.

“I can’t do it,” Maya pushed herself away from the railing. “What are the chances of bumping into him? This ship is massive. I’m going to have a walk around, just a short walk, making sure to avoid the sounds of anything Blake might be into.”

She waved her hand and started walking away before either of the other two could stop her, assuming that once she was on the move they’d probably follow her anyway. Blake was probably at the front right? That, or the highest level sounded like him. So she headed towards the back to explore a bit… who knew what was hidden on a millionaire’s yacht.