Britney craned her head at the two newcomers, her jaw agape. She turned her head towards Auri, then back to the strangers. She asked a question,

”... Who the hell are you two?” Britney eyed the gun like the deadly serious instrument it was.

Void recognized them instantly. But how? How did the Temple know? He was this close to biting the bullet and spending an eternity in darkness. But now?

Now, maybe he had a chance.

Void twisted in Jack's grasp, hissing as he pushed against the debilitating chains Stormy had placed on him. This was so much more different than when Alizée had been chained down. Much more severe.

He sweated, drawing up on his reserves, before a single phantom hand clutched onto Jack's grip. Slowly, with gritted effort, he tried to pry one digit off. Then another. Hallucinations circled at the edges of his vision. He was pushing himself too much.

This wouldn't work. He was already so weak.

With a snarl, Void reached out with his hands, and began to launch everything within reach. Ornaments, furniture - he launched them at Jack. At the same time, he twisted in Jack's grasp, trying to shake him off. He just needed Jack to flinch for a second.

Layla froze as she saw the mirrors and newcomers, immediately disoriented. Immediately panicking. All she could focus on was the gun.

“They're… Temple!” Void wheezed in her mind. [/color]

Layla sucked in a breath. The Temple? She didn't know much about them, but if they were here, that was good news, right?

The vines were constricting her entirely. It would take too long to pry them off, especially when time was of the essence.

Her eyes were fixated on Jack, Void in his grasp. The man she had only respected in these years. Now, he wanted to take away her only companion. The entity that promised she'd see her family again!

She couldn't bear it, fresh tears pricking her eyes. Agony, heartbreak and anger bubbled up from her chest, and in a heart-wrenching scream, she lashed out at Jack with a massive phantom hand. Whether he moved or not, the impact would be enough to shatter and destroy the floor and a bit of the wall behind him.

Furio flicked the fingers of his gun hand across the room, the thumb held down causing a continuous stream of darkness to rip across Britney’s vines. Like hot butter, they cleared away foliage section by section as Clarissa advanced toward a different portal and slipped in. It only took another instant for Furio to cram together a wall of dark black coal; carbon in its solid form, and it pushed itself forward across the room.

Hitting four different portals, it split across the room and began to play pinball as they scattered further and further. Both of the assailants had managed to slip across the mirrors in the chaos: Clarissa came back through one of the standing portals and let a shot loose at Jack wholesale. The bullet whizzed by with all the noise and air of a freight train, a basic telekinetic spell boosting its speed and power to leave a dinner plate sized hole in one of the walls.

Furio’s path was a bit more dramatic, the speed of his Magnatomic spell splitting the air literally as it unzipped the atoms across its pathway. He was aiming for the intimidating beefcake, eyes full of rage as he thought about the envy he felt toward Leon.

Every six foot plus giant on the planet, all of them so full of it.

He had come through one of the window portals sideways, high off the floor and diving downward through toward one of the standing portals. He took four shots of his spell across the room at Stormy, none of them connecting, before he slipped through another portal and wound up hitting the floor back out on the porch.

Furio laughed maniacally, finally pushing back up on his hands with a deep breath. On the other side, Clarissa kept them talking.

“Ding ding! The Temple of the Esteemed, of Charming and Graceful Individuals, at your service my friends!”

Britney’s mouth went agape. “... Leon,” She mused to herself as she reached inside the closet while everyone was distracted. She sighed as she pulled out the Noble Vow. She experienced a brief recollection as she did a brief flourish with the sword.

Bullets flew past Stormy. Yet somehow none of them hit, who the hell could possibly get in here with them? These were the cultists that Leon lived with, weren’t they? He had been hidden around the corner when Layla and the Heart were brought in, but he stepped out at the worst time. So the first thing he did was hurl a shield at the man charging towards him, only for Furio to just vanish.

Jack didn’t have time to say, “how did you follow us here?” due to the fact that furniture, bullets, and phantom hands all decided they took offense to his presence. A chair made a solid impact with Jack’s ribs, flinging him against a wall as he got slapped silly by the hands. Wait… Where did those bullets go?

The Void Heart was certainly free after ruining Jack’s living room. But like a dog on a leash, Jack ended up yanking him backwards as he was thrown into the wall, as he himself was set loose.

”I remember you,” He hissed as he felt blood seep into his clothes. ”Furio, Clarissa. Of course, they sent you to track me.”

”Layla- These people, they don’t care about you. That predator tormented Alizee, turned her into his plaything-” Jack hauled himself to his feet and swung an arm in the direction of Clarissa. The shadows cast on the walls by the green glow on the floor reached out to grab and restrain her, in the form of arms from numerous angles.

[color=6644ff]”He just wants to use you, like he used her! I won’t let that happen to anyone else!”[/i][/color]

Layla desperately broke free as vines were cut away, gaining freedom of her limbs. She looked out across the chaos unfolding, and saw Void had once more been taken captive.

It made her want to scream.

Her eyes leveled at Jack, body trembling as she took a step towards him. “It's not true! Let him go!”

Both her phantom hands were raised, and she slung a flurry of open-palmed attacks at him, the impact cracking the already splintered floor. She'd beat him into submission if she had to.

“Let him GO!”

From the corner of her eye, she saw attacks sling from one end to the other. People she had once counted as friends... Now were in an all out war to take away something precious from her.

She hated it.

She saw Jack's attack on the woman from the Temple - Clarissa - and a panicked whimper escaped her throat. She switched her swinging attack to a full-on choke, trying to get ahold of Jack's torso to shake him, maim him, choke him until his shadow arms disappeared and he freed Void.

“Stop now or I swear-”

Instinctively, her hand drew to the knife in her jacket's pocket. It would only take two seconds to cross the floor and end Jack.

Layla's maddened eyes tightened. She'd do what she'd have to.

As the phantom hands tried to choke out Jack, she approached, hand gripped tightly on the knife in her pocket.

Anything to make him stop.

Furio waited a few seconds, catching his breath before taking a long and purposeful stride back through the portal. He was never sure where he was going to end up, but banked on a standing portal; a gamble that he sometimes lost, like now where he came wholesale sideways in mid air through the portal, his orientation all sorts of fucked. The stride hit open air, and he was shunted forward and down onto the floor with a huff of air that left him vulnerable for a moment.

Clarissa, the only person who directly knew the current orientation of everything, backed off into the section next to her and came out by Furio’s side. She saw Britney pulling for the sword and rattled off a couple of shots into the dresser to keep her pinned there while Furio pushed up off the floor and into another portal.

“Jack, this is awful what you’re doing to poor Alizee’s memory! That girl worked with Void Heart until the day she died; is that not beautiful love to you?”

Britney gritted her teeth as she was forced to remain behind cover. ”That wasn’t LOVE! That was manipulation and brainwashing!” Britney shouted back at her, hoping that Layla was going to hear and it’ll finally get through to her. ”Like Sloane said at the meeting! It hasn’t been a day, and he went to the next puppet! Doesn’t that set off any alarms to you, Layla!?”

“Shut up. Just SHUT UP!” Layla screamed, not taking her eyes off Jack. Britney couldn't be right.

As Furio pushed up, he unleashed another material spell, this time with a pure liquid nitrogen spray that filled the area outside the portal with thick smokey mist and obscured him as he exited. He was headed right for Auri, fist up as metal expanded across its surface for a haymaker swing.

“False Prophet, failure of the Sycamore!” he shouted as the fist closed in for the Sycamore Leader’s head. There was no telling how hard it would hit, but judging by the momentum alone, it wouldn’t feel good getting slammed with an iron cast. Knocking Auri out, she dropped the Butterfly Staff on the ground, and Britney sighed as they were now up to three fighters.

Against four people that’d gladly kill them.

Void's eyes looked on in grim satisfaction as he wheezed, struggling. That bitch deserved a good clock in the face.

That was, at least, until he noticed Britney flourish, something he expected never to see again. The sword.

He sweated. “Attack Britney, not Jack!”

Layla spared a glance for a brief moment. “But Jack is the problem.”

“They're all the problem!”

Layla still had her eyes trained on Jack. “I'm busy.”

“I swear, girl. Defy me and we will die.”

Void gritted his jagged teeth, and pushed hard against the magic on him with all his might. His red-rimmed eyes glared at Britney, memorizing her position. He knew what would happen next.

With a blood-curdling scream, he visibly fought against Stormy’s magic. Steadily, horrors overtook his vision. Steadily, he could feel the chains. Steadily, he could feel where he needed to push to break them. Britney darted her head towards Void Heart.

“AAARGH!”

And like a thousand glasses shattering, Void broke the magical hold. He made short work of Jack’s hold, near tearing apart Jack’s shadowy hand with his own. And, though blind, he set on his next task: Destroy Britney.

Like needles cutting through the wind, his phantom hands shot forward towards Britney, fisted and aiming to pulverize her from the left and right. The impact would leave craters in the wood and stone. He had to act fast. Even though he was now blind, he couldn't, under any circumstance, allow her to use that sword.

Britney’s face remained stony as she saw the hands fly towards her… and she didn’t so much as move. The Noble Vow was in one hand, and with some grace, Britney spun around like a ballerina and created a barrier of thick wood around herself that would block herself and Auri from further attack and sight. She made it thick enough to block any bullets (or she hoped) as Britney heard the hands collide against the barriers and come to a stop. She stumbled momentarily as the sudden plant growth clawed at her health, but Britney used the doorframe to brace herself and stop herself from falling over. She gritted her teeth and panted as she looked down the hall at Auri and Furio, took a few steps out of the cover, and ensured she was seen.

”Get away from my friend,” Britney narrowed her eyes as she spun the Noble Vow in her hands clockwise until it was aimed downwards. ”And maybe I won’t drop your head on the Temple’s doorstep.”

---

---

---

---

“No- wait!”

The metallic voice hung in the air. Void couldn't see, but he could hear the swish of steel. He could almost feel Furio's turning gaze. The impending doom that the Noble Vow represented. Britney’s looming shadow.

Void's hands hovered in the air before falling limp at his sides, disappearing. The horrors in his eyes only intensified at the idea of the Temple's morgue having one more body.

He couldn't do that. He was selfish. Hell, scared, even, at the prospect of being locked away. But he couldn't do that. Not in the memory of Alizée.

He was blind. Surrounded. And the ones who had put their faith in him these many, many years, would he really pay it back by asking them to sacrifice their lives just for a chance at freedom?

Void stared at the source of Britney's voice. “Wait…”

A breath.

“Just seal me.”

There was a sharp intake of breath behind him. “No!”

“Layla?” His voice raised a bit, in demand of being listened to. “Don't throw your future away. Not for this.”

Of course he knew about the knife.

“But… But we're talking about your life!”

“Just listen to me, okay?”

Void stayed firmly planted where he hovered, making no moves as his unfocused eyes stared over Britney. There was an air of surrender about him. Clear, pure, and dignified.

“I only have a small request to ask.”

He shifted slightly, blurred eyes gesturing in the direction of Layla.

“Keep me close to Layla, and don't abandon her… Layla’s locket will do the job.”

(I will format my shit when I get out of bed- Atom)
Furio and Clarissa both came to a screeching halt as the entity they came to rescue called out for clemency. For a moment's rest. Furio was utterly disgusted by the prospect, and he took a step off of Auri. He turned his back, slow footsteps taking him down the hall.

“What the fuck, Void?”

Clarissa's voice warbled slightly as she expressed her own displeasure.

“Fine, fine! You wanna die, Mr. Hunger? Mr. Can't Help Himself?”

Clarissa coughed to clear her throat, but Furio spoke through gritted teeth before his wife could continue.

“Your life is not yours to decide what to do with, Void! You made a promise to the Temple and I'll see you held to it!”

”Don't you see I'm trying to make it so no one else has to die?” Void hissed in a low voice, feeling backed into a corner.

Clarissa took the opportunity to reposition closer to Jack than Britney, backstepping into a mirror and coming out on the other side of the room.

“If the Entity's Will is broken, the Temple of Charming and Graceful individuals demands the recognition of claim. Allow us the opportunity to separate him from the Host and seal him: Send as many representatives to Alizeé's funeral as you like, but he deserves to see her buried before his own fate.”

The demand was long winded, punctuated by Furio.

“Weak, pathetic mass of Ink… We dirty our boots to traverse your mire and you leave us knee deep!?”

“I never asked you to come here to die!” Void growled.

”Be grateful that you haven’t been cut to pieces for attacking us,” Jack wheezed out, in the grasp of Layla’s phantom hands. His shadow hand had been mangled, but it would regrow in time.

”If you seal him yourself, you’ll just free him the moment you’re out of sight, and we did not stage this for it to be meaningless.” His eyes were locked on Furio like he was trying to set the man on fire with his mind. There was blood dripping from the floor, from his gunshot wounds. ”We aren’t foolish enough to believe that vermin won’t take advantage of her again!”

”If you’re serious about this, put away your weapons, leave, and let us seal him!” Britney demanded as she kept her eyes on Furio, keeping the Noble Vow tight in her grip.

”You people don’t seem to understand. That fucking ghost is OURS. You want the girl? You can have her back after we’ve flayed him and-”

Void seemed to visibly flinch.

Clarissa’s mouth gaped open. Shit, he’s not supposed to be going off like this…
“What he means, Kids, is that we’re all in alignment here! If we’re going to drop our pretenses, let’s lay it out! He broke his promise and his contract, and he’s indebted to us! The only way we can make this right is by sealing him ourselves.”

”And why should we trust a word that comes out of your mouths!?” Britney asked, aimed the Noble Vow at them, and continued, ”You attacked us, tried to kill us, all for some floating testicle with a face!”

”The Sycamore Tree Coven renounced its status the moment it disbanded! Simply put, you’re outside of your depth, affecting things that you have no business affecting! Alizee, and by extension Void Heart, are our responsibilities!”

”And you’re acting like the Old Coven was an actual institution!” Britney replied.

Furio looked beyond frustrated, face beet red and veiny from the strain of casting consistent high level material spells. Clarissa was far more calm, and as she spoke she snapped at him.
“Furio, enough! Logic! We’re simply not trying to kill you… You’d already be dead if we were. We just want what's ours, and if you need to be reminded of reason, we’re here to remind you.”

Staring at Jack, Furio spoke again.
“You’ve not been told yet, since nobody can find you normally, Asshole… But you’re expected at Alizee’s funeral! Pallbearer! I wouldn’t kill someone who has such an honor!”

Jack’s expression twisted in a mixture of unresolved grief, and bitter contempt. Her funeral. Of course, they were possessive of their “people,” but they were ceremonious at heart.

”I will be present for it. And once she is laid to rest, you will stay as far away from me and those I care for as humanly possible, or you will join her in death.” It was, ultimately, an irrational threat. Jack had been putting on a brave face since the morning after her death, but now that anger was turned on a man who wasn’t responsible for it.

”Then let us handle it! And give this spirit the dignity it deserves for fuck’s sake!”
Clarissa let the weapon she was holding drop to her side, palming the pistol with a long and slender finger still slipped into the trigger guard. Furio, however, was not so easily moved to peace. He didn’t drop his hand, nor the thick layer of metal that had molded over his chest like a protective plate.

”I don’t remember asking, I think I remember making demands. Give Layla and Void Heart up for now, so professionals can assist in her transition. Void Heart, my friend… You see the damn trouble you cause everyone!?”

Void fell silent, teeth gritted. There was pain in his face.

”Then let us come and oversee ever-” Britney tried to say before she was interrupted.

“What about me?!” Came a shout from across the room.

Layla stood there frozen, torn between pulling out her knife and giving Jack the final goodnight, or stopping the insane words coming out of these people's mouths. Everyone - Void, the Temple, Britney - was just… okay with this. With Void going away forever.

Going away…

Forever.

She visibly stiffened, tormented emotions breaking across her face.

“Twelve years. Twelve! Years! I've been alone. Doing… unspeaking things to ‘appease’.”

The phantom hands trembled as they tightened around Jack, visibly shaking with anger.

“And now, finally. Finally I don't have to be afraid. Someone to watch over me, and keep the monsters away. And you…”

A sharp inhale. A rustle. A shining gleam as a switchblade was pulled out of Layla's pocket, flicked open and tip balanced downward on her open jugular.

“You think you can take that away from me?!”

She pressed the knife a bit closer, feeling the sharpness dig through a layer of skin.

“Just try, just fucking try it, and watch what happens!”

”Put the knife down, Layla. Is this what you want?” Stormy kept his aura across the floor, since the Void Heart could’ve done anything if he was free from it.

Void didn't move, stunned as he was, staring solely at Layla.

The Noble Vow dropped to the ground, and Britney gently approached Layla, taking very slow steps. She maintained eye contact.

”Look, Layla,” Britney said, ”We can fix this. We can help you. I know things seem bad - and I don’t know all the details - but there’s no need to do anything we can’t come back from! We can help you! That’s what Sycamore is for! To help each other!”

Britney stopped her approach as she continued with, ”We didn’t do this to hurt you, we did this because we love and care about you. And we don’t want to lose you… I know you said you’ve been doing… things for twelve years, but in the bigger book that is your life, you can come back from it. We all can.”

She paused as tears started running down her eyes.

”Just put down the knife! I don’t care what I have to do, but I would give anything - ANYTHING - for you to see another beautiful day!”

Layla blinked back tears of her own. “No, no, no! You're going to take away the one good thing that's happened to me!”

Jack felt ice cold, under the layers of his clothes. Partially due to the bleeding, and partially due to the hands tightening around him. It was almost suffocating. ”Alizee was my friend. We saved all of Shimmer alongside the rest of the coven,” he said, weakly. ”The Void Heart twisted her mind, drove her to hunt down innocent people every night. For years. We were only children, and yet he made her do unspeakable things.”

He could feel the knife digging into his skin, despite how cold he felt. Shadows writhed hidden from sight, daring the knife to draw blood further.

”I tried to help her, I tried so much, and I failed her. I was not there when she was murdered. My friend has not been laid to rest, and he has already moved on to you, Layla. Is this what you want? To be his disposable plaything? You are one of us. You were, and are Sycamore. You will not be alone, in his absence.”

Layla shivered at his words, fresh tears pouring from her eyes. “Being a plaything is better than what I was before! And you'll send me back to that hell?! You try to help me, but you don't…”

A breath. A heart-wrenching cry. “You don't understand!”

“Of course they don't understand! Now stop this, sweetheart!”

Void was staring over Layla across the floor, eyes unfocused. He could feel the effects of Stormy's magic snaking into his inky depths once more, like a specialist's numbing blanket before an operation. He wouldn't be able to fight it again, not now.

Instead, he focused entirely on Layla, on what he could guess she was trying to do.

“You're right, okay, sweetie?” He dropped his tone, trying to hush her. “You're completely right. But right now you need to be brave. This isn't gonna go away by hurting yourself or anyone else.”

With their minds linked, Void silently sent Layla a picture in her mind. ‘2321 Ash Ave’ was painted on a black sign. A looming alleyway, and a hidden door.

“You won't be alone,” He said, a smirk cracking his face.

“Now… let these people do what they're going to do. I've lived long enough. A thousand years of sleep doesn't scare me.”

A pause.

“Alright, sweetheart?”

Layla stared, transfixed on Void, before her bottom lip trembled, and a whimpering groan escaped her lips. The breaking point. The release of grief for what was to come.

The knife was dropped, Layla’s phantom hands disappeared, dropping Jack, and she fell to her knees, weeping openly.

Void listened for a moment, eyes tight. In his calmness, parts of his vision had returned, so he could directly look at Furio as he addressed the man.

“Sir, just let them do what they're going to do. If you're going to punish me, punish me here and now.”

His eyes glanced towards Britney. “I'd… like to see Alizée, one last time.”

”You don’t deserve it… but whatever it takes to end this.” Britney said as she put a hand on her hip.

His chin set. “If you're going to do this, get it over with. I only have so much courage left in front of my charge.”

Layla cried out, weeping more loudly. “No…”

There was silence from the two Temple members as they stared into the face of another sad situation. They both, without consulting one another, immediately considered their own teenage daughter Ivetta.

The poor thing. Clarissa connected every bit of sorrow she'd ever felt, and remembered back to her own Kindling.

She had almost been Abjured, but the spirit had taken pity on her. Showed her the way. A mentor when she needed it most, and a parental figure she never had.
It was hard for a young woman to give up her ghost when it made her feel powerful.

Furio only grew more impatient, the thought of his daughter crossing his mind. They were only making this worse for the poor girl, and it was incredibly clear to him that the Temple was the only place with resources qualified to help this girl heal from this experience.

”You small minded children… You see now? How your actions affect those around you? This girl… She doesn't care how dangerous the spirit is, only that it gives her power! The chance to stand taller than she has!” Furio asserted through gritted teeth.
”And our people tried their best! But Void Heart won't tell you about the long process and many hardships we faced trying to help Alizée! How devastated we are that she's gone… Now you all want to try and do something about it? All of a sudden, once it's affected you, you feel the need to lash out!? Fuck y-”

Clarissa stepped through a portal and settled next to her husband, letting the entire house of mirrors fade away. Her touch brought him to a halt like a stone golem, and she took her turn.
”Britney, love… You can observe our methods all you want. Lets just set things right here: We all return to the Temple, Void Heart can see Alizée one last time, and we can begin the process of helping poor dear Layla! Together! And if we're all so concerned about the process, have Jack stick around! Redeem himself for a decade of being a real shitty absentee friend!?” Clarissa stared at him with a snarky smirk forming across her face.

”This is the last time we're offering.” Furio made sure to punctuate his wife's fluffy speech with actual reality.

Britney was silent for a moment, as she stared at the portal and the two goons that just tried to murder them. ”I’ll go, just to make sure Layla is okay,” She let her words hang in the air.

Layla sniffed, rubbing her wet eyes. “I'd be fine…” Defeated bitterness in her tone.

Britney walked over, and grabbed the Noble Vow, and looked over her shoulder at Jack. ”I’m… sorry for touching Reza’s sword, but I am going to hold onto it for a little bit longer if you don’t mind.” She awkwardly chuckled. ”Take Auri back to Shimmer - but before you go, don’t tell ANYBODY what happened here.”

Britney looked between Jack and Stormy for confirmation.

”You want to hide the fact that we were attacked? We can’t be keeping secrets from the others, right now. We’re all struggling to trust each other.”

“Trust. That’s the crux of it all, isn’t it?” Britney answered, “There is no way we can explain this without them thinking it’s bullshit.”

”Then what are we supposed to tell them? That we’ve just been in the back of the church this entire time? Doesn’t time work differently here? A day might’ve passed already.”

”That isn’t quite how it works.”

“Heh, knowing them, they might believe it,” Britney scoffed.

”Secrets are all part and parcel. The cost of business… I'm sorry, but our organization has put too many resources into this for us to back down. It simply can't happen.”

Clarissa turned her body, lifting her pistol and firing a round into nowhere. One of Jack's many left behind portals ripped itself open like a cloth barrier. It swirled with purple energy.

”Layla, Void Heart… Come. Now.” Furio outstretched a hand, motioning for the poor girl to follow.

Layla shivered, feeling eyes on her as she picked herself up off the floor. She pocketed the knife, wiped her eyes dry, and crossed the floor without as much as a whimper. Void was at her side, eyes glancing between Stormy and Furio.

“Let's get this over with.”

”Whatever you intend to do over there on the temple’s territory, I am not letting you do it alone,” Stormy answered. ”I don’t fully trust this organization to not have other motives. And I’m sure they can understand looking out for one’s own people.”

“Then, join me,” Britney gestured for Stormy to come along. She looked over her shoulder at Jack, “You can take it from here?”

Jack’s eyes flicked down to the Noble Vow, a sword he never imagined seeing in the hands of anyone else. For a moment, he felt relieved in some weird way, that he had more than one friend who could wield it. Wherever Britney went, Jack knew she’d be safe.

”Go. Keep that sword close to you, and please be careful. If I don’t hear from you soon, I’ll pay the Temple a visit.”

Britney nodded, smiling as she looked back at Jack. ”I’ll be okay, trust me, I’m probably the most dangerous person in here!”

Layla stood at the threshold of the portal, grimacing at the Noble Vow. Her eyes glanced from Britney up to Void.

“Is… is everything gonna be okay?”

There was a pause, before Void smirked. “I won't feel pain, if that's what you mean. Go on, sweetheart. I'm right behind you.”

Layla's bottom lip trembled ever so slightly, unsure if Void was lying or not, before she slowly stepped into the portal. Void sighed, giving Furio a pained look, before slipping into the portal as well.

Furio followed behind the girl and her phantom, keen on ensuring there was no more funny business on behalf of any guilty parties. Andrade was waiting, and the meal had to be prepared for the girl to eat. If the Sycamores were so keen on seeing the deed, maybe they too would stay for dinner. It’d be a pain, but not unexpected of Lynette’s eccentricities.

Clarissa held her portal open, eyeing the Coven members for a moment.

“C’mon, you two. You better take a look at that Auri girl, Jackie. Furio really nailed her, it seemed like.”

She waved her hands toward them all, ushering those who chose to come along into the portal through. One final deep breath.
“And, Jack… Alizee’s service. We expect you early, two days from now. Before seven in the morning. There’ll be coffee.”

She blew him a kiss. It wasn’t some kind of flirty thing; rather a recognized habitual gesture. Something she always did and had always done, the countless times he’d seen her in his old visits to the Temple. A request, a wink and a kiss. A sly smile as if the recipient is the only other person in her world at that moment who can do what she’s asked…

And then she was gone. They all crossed the barrier, leaving Jack and Auri behind to deal with their wounds.

Once they left, Jack looked around at his ruined house, disappointed. He stepped over to Auri’s unconscious body and pressed his fingers to her pulse to check that she was still alive.

He felt the tiniest bit lightheaded, thanks to the bullets in his side. Jack lifted her up off the floor. There was absolutely no conceivable way they could explain this in a different way. Void picked up a gun and shot Jack. Void punched Auri’s lights out. No, he didn’t just drain the life out of them. And even if they could, then what? Would it just be some secret the Temple agreed to keep as well?

They could blackmail the Sycamore that way. No, Jack had a better idea: If Britney and Auri wouldn’t come clean about this disaster, he would.

With their unconscious leader in his arms, Jack reached forward and pulled open a void rift.

---

He stepped back into Shimmer, outside the church, and directly into the sight of their new lair burning to the ground. Everyone was on the ground, handcuffed at the feet of PRA agents. There was no other explanation for this. One of them had a compound bow, why else would they if they were ordinary law enforcement? And Bianca was there. With them?

Fear gripped him. Not because federal agents had caught wind of them. He considered the PRA to be beneath most people. No, he was afraid that more of them had just been killed in a fire. Quickly looking over the group, they were all accounted for. [i]Good.[i]

”What is the meaning of this!?” He demanded, glaring daggers at the agents. It was midday, so he couldn’t teleport faster than they could raise their guns, but that wasn’t a problem right now.

He wasn't the most menacing sight to behold, holding an injured woman while blood dripped onto the grass.

---

---

A low groan crawled its way out of Sully’s throat as the sun crept through the leaves to take a cheapshot at his eyes. He felt something plastic poking him in the back, a sharp pain that was muted by his throbbing head, aching body, and dried mouth. Sully rolled to the side, the pop-up tent that he’d passed out not inside but instead on top of crunching underneath his body. Right, okay, he’d pay somebody back for that once he got the money. He continued to roll onto his stomach, held back the urge to yak, and pushed himself up to his knees slowly. Sully paused as he noted the linen wrapped around his hand, a dried bloodstain on his palm. He blinked and shook his head, trying to remember if that meant him and Ruby had become blood brothers (or would the correct term be blood siblings? Perhaps blood buddies?) and drawing an absolute blank for most of the evening.

Sully moved to finish standing up and reconsidered as the world started spinning due to his hangover. An old hangover cure of his was to hit some Pedialyte the morning after (even if it was marketed for children), but the Chalice’s elixir had since replaced the drink. He began crawling around the campsite like a big strong baby boy looking for his bottle, careful not to bother the rest of Greenwood sleeping off their hangover instead. He gave up after doing a lap, flopping back on his tent-turned-sleeping bag, and closed his eyes. He’d just try to sleep it off, too. It wasn’t like anybody was in desperate need of healing right now anyway. Sully turned on his side, trying to get comfortable and shade himself from the sun, the faint feeling that he was missing something.

He felt a chill and his eyes shot open. His jacket! That was what was missing. It was cold enough out this morning. Somebody had been sensible enough to douse the campfire last night, but honestly he’d love nothing more now than a raging inferno. He crawled into the broken tent, wrapped himself in the actual sleeping bag, and shivered himself back to sleep.

---

---

The protection Sloane’s jacket offered her went from not-very-much to absolute-zero the moment some idiot tried to blow the roof off of the church with a fiery explosion. The tear gas continued to assault her senses as it began to mix with smoke from the fire. Suddenly, getting shot was no longer the biggest fear. Sloane let her spell fizzle and the piece of paper once again simply became a piece of paper, just moments before she was yanked up from the ground. She was blinded by her jacket as she dragged out of the church and unceremoniously dumped on the grass, the jacket ripped off of her head like the hood of a prisoner moments before their execution.

Sloane didn’t face the guillotine with a quiet dignity but with a loud coughing fit made worse by her broken nose as an agent wrestled to cuff her hands behind her back. By the time she’d manage to clear her throat and breath, forced tears had already streaked her cheeks. Sloane glared up at Meifeng as she capped members of the Coven and declared that she ran St. Portwell, a statement so offensive to Sloane that she nearly missed the information about Kali. Her face blanched. Killed the same way as Eska, Simone, and Finn. Father Wolf had killed four people in one night. Sully and Drake were unaccounted for too. Meifeng assumed one of the old Sycamore members had killed Kali. Sloane wasn’t sure that Meifeng’s assumption was too far from the truth.

As the others began clearing their names or pointing fingers, Sloane silently stared at Lyss as she batted her eyelashes at Special Agent Meathead. When had she come crawling back to town? Actually, Sloane didn’t care. The only thing that mattered was that Lyss could use Black Lux. Perhaps one of the four victims would actually be willing to chat, although Sloane wouldn’t blame them if they didn’t want to chat to Lyss. She tried to nonverbally communicate the thought to Lyss, but really the staredown looked like little more than Sloane judging Lyss for taking the opportunity to try and carve off a hunk of beef. And really, what fed would date a murder suspect? Grossly unprofessional. Although between setting a church on fire, the general weirdness of the feds, and the fact that they were rolling with Linqian’s ex gross and unprofessional behavior seemed to be their MO.

“My alibi is airtight,” said Sloane to Meifeng coldly, offering up no more information and wondering how one went about suing the government for making an arrest without probable cause. It would be a question for her attorney, but Sloane doubted this was the kind of agency that operated within the legal system. She’d cooperate for now because Meifeng was the one with the gun, but she wouldn’t just freely give up her right to remain silent. As long as the rest of the idiots kept their mouths as perfectly sealed as Sloane’s alibi they could easily navigate through—Linqian blurted out that Everleigh almost shot Kali yesterday. Sloane hung her head and wondered if they’d go light on the waterboarding due to her broken nose.

Sloane wanted to point out to Meifeng how it was just baseless speculation, but baseless speculation had been all Meifeng needed to use taxpayer money to burn down a church. Worst case scenarios continued to play out in her head. At the very least, Jack was away. Perhaps when they were all hidden away in a government black site he would be able to find them and teleport them all—”What is the meaning of this!?”—fuck! To make matters worse, Jack was injured and Auri was out cold. See, this was why she should’ve been involved.

“We’re clearly being arrested. Get on your knees before they tase you,” said Sloane. Forced to show fealty to mend the fragile ego of a tyrant might’ve been a more accurate statement, but again Meifeng had the guns. Her eyes lingered on Auri’s limp body, unable to tell if she was breathing. “Is she alive?”

---

---

“Aaaaaand there. It's alive!”

Sully stepped back and dusted off his hands to admire the squashed tent that he’d patched back together. He took a sip from his Chalice, the hair of the dog burning his throat and pleasantly warming his belly. He’d found the artifact a couple of yards away from the camp, unceremoniously sitting on a stump flanked by half a dozen other solo cups filled with a mix of beer, pine cones, and ping pong balls from a drinking game that had been abandoned before the finish. Repairing the tent was the last thing on his to-do list around the camp after being the one responsible for turning Greenwood's party into a rager. He took another sip of the Chalice, the booze replaced with an elixir that wiped the mental fog of a hangover away from him.

Auri had called last night, hadn’t she? He should at the very least check in and let her know that he hadn’t been murdered in the middle of the night. Sully pulled out his phone. No battery. He grimaced. Jess or one of the others would surely let him borrow their phone, but the only phone number he could remember by heart was Ashley’s childhood home number. Maybe the Luddites had a point. Sully pulled a charger out of his backpack, looked around the camp, and slowly slid the charger back into his backpack. Right. The one downside to the woods was the horrible outlet placement. He sat down on a log, closed his eyes, and listened to the wind through the trees. Maybe Amelia could give him a port to town later. He was in no rush and the Sycamore crew was smart. If they needed him, they’d find him.

They wouldn’t do anything risky while their healer was MIA.

---

---

---

"Because someone is killing us all. He calls himself Father Wolf, and he's been killing us one by one, no matter where we are. Members in different countries have been killed, and four others were found stabbed to death yesterday... Just like Kali. Each had a wolf statue left beside them. We've come back together to try and figure out what's killing us. All of us have lost friends, like Kali, or family members. We're all at risk. Of course, that doesn't help you trust us. I don't expect trust. But if you throw us all in jail, it will be a lot more difficult to find the actual killer."

“I think I can say one thing for everyone here, and that while we’re a bunch of idiots. I mean just look who we have within our midst. We’re not murderers, and I think you know that. If you’re able to plan this operation you had to know where we would be, you have access to our phones. Check our location data for yesterday, I’m confident that you’ll see that no one was there when your colleague was killed. Was anything found with the agent, perhaps an idol of an animal perhaps?”

Meifeng was silent momentarily as her gaze danced between Anya and Lynn... who had elected to be the big girls and do the talking for them, as the rest of the Coven had barely said anything worth a response. However, Cindy Keagan leaned into Meifeng (having to get on her tippy toes just to reach her somewhat taller friend), and whispered,

"It's just like what Agent Mahendra and Agent You-Know-Who said,"

Meifeng was silent momentarily before she turned towards Lynn and said, "... A strange Wolf Idol was found by his body."

"If anyone did it, it was Everleigh. She was pretty close to shooting him yesterday!"

Meifeng tilted her head at Linqian, and smiled ear to ear as she flatly asked,

"... What in the Goddamn?"

“you’re very pretty,” t

Jasper couldn't see the look of confusion on Fiona's face when he whispered this filith her way. She looked to the left and to the right before she took off her mask and revealed her inhumanity to him.

However, at this point, Agent Page pointed at the bushes where Tayla was hiding and shouted, "There's a girl in those bushes! I've been tracking her with my birds since she got here."

Meifeng smiled as she clapped her hands, took a few steps towards the bush, and announced, "Since you want to be in our business, you can be apart of it... Come out slowly, with your hands up. We're excited to get to know you." She chuckled as she sarcastically said.

”What is the meaning of this!?”

At this point, a portal opened, and a man with a woman in his arms stepped through. The first thing that all the PRA Agents did was aim all of their rifles at him. Meifeng adjusted her glasses as she looked at him and said,

"As far as I can tell, it has nothing to do with you. So go back into your..." Meifeng trailed when she noticed Auri in his arms. "Auri Auclair... [iwhat[/i] happened to her?" Meifeng spoke as she looked up at him with an eyebrow raised.

"Could I get some water, handsome?"

Maximilian awkwardly coughed as he looked at Lyss, then shouted, "Can I get a bottle of water, please?"

"I got it," Cindy said before she looked down at Luca and walked off to the PRA mobile command center.

Cindy returned from the PRA vehicle holding two bottles of water; she chucked one towards Maximilian, which he caught with both hands. She kept the other one in her hands as she walked over to Luca, then she sat down with her legs folded, and then... without seeming care, she lifted Luca's head with her arm so that it was in an upright position and stuck the bottle of water in his mouth. Luca decayed her arm, but she didn't so much as flinch as it decayed away more and more of her.

"... Don't worry about it, baby," Cindy said, "I am used to worse than this."

But, as Cindy was bottle feeding Luca, she craned her head around towards Meifeng and said, "... Meife- Agent Liao, I know I'm underneath you, but at the end of the day, I'm your friend... don't you think you're taking this too far?"

Meifeng whipped her head around towards Cindy and was silent as her friend continued.

"This baby-" and she was hoping that Luca didn't interpret that as her calling him a baby, "is coughing up blood, this girl almost bashed her head in, the church is on fire, and Agent Mayfield got injured."

From the spot where Sonya was laid out on the ground, she weakly raised a thumb in the air as she said, "Oh, this is nothing. I've suffered worse than this! Remember when I got my arms and legs ripped off, and I was swinging around with my tongue!?"

Sonya was silent for a moment.

"... As an aside, Trevor, can you heal me already!"

Cindy shook her head, before she continued.

"I know you-know-what, is still fresh on your mind, but that was an isolated incident. Enough is enough; you made your point and more." She narrowed her eyes at Meifeng.

"I have to agree," Maximilian said as he stared Meifeng dead on with his arms crossed. He continued as he floated towards Meifeng through the air. "We could have just arrested Everleigh at her apartment and left it at that..."

He pointed a hand toward the group and continued, "I know it's not my expertise, but none of these people look like killers... well..." He awkwardly coughed as his eyes landed on Everleigh, but he landed right in front of Meifeng and looked down at her.

"I know I'm technically just a Special Agent, but you forget that I have a lot of clout in this organization," He narrowed his eyes as he said, "You and I both know that Director Alcott will not be happy if they hear about this."

Meifeng was silent for a few moments.

Before she sighed and raised a hand in the air.

"... Uncuff them, we're letting them go..." Then she narrowed her eyes, turning her nose upwards as she looked at Everleigh and said, "... Except for her, she is coming with us."

The various Agents (sans Trevor because he's missing the skin off his hands) scrambled to uncuff everyone and Meifeng shook her head as she crossed her arms.

Cindy walked over to Jack and said, "Hey, I know it's not worth a lot, but I apologize for this... as a token of good faith, I can have Agent Obott heal the two of you."

She nodded her head,

"But, if you do not want our help, I understand,"

Tayla hadn't fooled herself into thinking she could get away with being the bushes for so long. These were Feds. She used to hang around people the Feds were supposed to go after. Dean always kept his stuff tight, always told her what she shouldn't do, and though drugged out of her mind she never did anything she shouldn't. All this time she thought it worked, because in 8 years no Feds ever came to the door. The Coven has one meeting and here they are.

She backed out of the foliage she was under, poised to run after they called her out, but Jack appearing out of no where was the distraction she needed. She didn't move fast and tried to stay as quiet as she could to make her escape. If they weren't looking at her, then she didn't need to draw their attention to make them pay attention to her again. She'd gotten a good distance away, standing now to make a run for it, when saw the agents letting everyone go but Everleigh. Were they not in trouble anymore? She wasn't eager to find out, but the energy it would take to run away also wasn't worth it if there wasn't any trouble.

She came back to the group at an even pace, finally getting a good look at everyone. Damn. Some of them looked like hell. Luca was out like a light. Some had bruises forming and were bloody. Jack had Auri in his arms. She kinda wondered what all that was about for the sake of being nosy, but she didn't care enough to ask. She'd seen the portal. Asshole called them here, but wasn't actually around. She's assuming. No need for a portal if they were in the building like everyone else. They would've been out here a lot sooner with the roof caving in on them.

She stopped short of being near the group. She wasn't getting in arms reach of the Feds. She stayed as far as the tree she climbed before. That's about as close as she was going to get.

“Oh,” was all Jasper could say as the agent took off her mask, revealing her Adjoined nature to him. He went through a few emotions quickly, each one staying on his face for a second or less. Surprise, confusion, curiosity, before ultimately inspiration. Jaspers eyes darted from the woman’s antennas, to her thorn like protrusions, to the red vine-like tendrils that covered the frame of her face. He slowly led his gaze back to the woman’s and blinked as he felt an agent unlocking his cuffs, and pulling him back up to a standing position. He flashed a half smile as he turned away from the woman. He wondered what kind of apparition bonded to form that appearance, he was not scared by it but he was inspired. There was a beauty in the colors that he could use, and he began to think of what his next painting might be, and how he’d incorporate these color patterns to it.

Painting. His mind fixated on the word, and then he shifted his eyes towards the painting he brought. He’d need to spend quite a bit of time restoring it. He shifted his eyes over to Jack, who held Auri, and he exhaled. He hoped they’d be able to heal her, he really did not want to see the power vacuum that her death would cause. The already fractured coven split and splintered even further. “Why do I care though,” Jasper thought to himself, “I don’t think I’ll be sticking around much longer.” He sat there, for a moment more, before he looked at Lynn, Lila, and Luca. He knew they would more than likely stick around, and he also knew that he had to be there to protect them. “Fuck,” he thought to himself as pressed his hands to his temples. He looked over his friends as he threw his hands down to his sides. They started with Luca, and never left.“My man,” he thought to himself as he watched Luca being bottle fed some water. A smile at the ridiculous sight crossed his face and refused to leave. Good for him, if anyone deserved some action it was Luca.

---

---

“Just as we,” Lynn paused as she tasted vomit in her mouth as she extended her hand towards Anya and pointed, “thought. These wolf idols are Father Wolf’s calling cards,” Lynn paused as she looked towards Meifeng, “do you know of anyone else who wasn’t a Sycamore coven member who was killed by him” she paused as she looked over the rest of the group, “or is it just us dying right now?”

She let the question linger for a moment. “And if it is just us being murdered right now that should fucking worry you.”

Lynn paused as she let out a little groan. While the fresh air had helped tremendously, she was still covered in that poison and the tear gas still clung to her eyes. She knew she needed some water to flush her eyes, but she left her only bottle of water inside the ruined church. She had her flask, as always, but she did not fancy the idea of pouring vodka on her eyeballs. She looked around and saw agents passing out water to a few members. And then she saw Luca being swaddled like a little baby by an attractive older woman. She let her eyes linger on the sight for just a moment, worried that it had just awoken something inside of her, before she turned her attention to the front and faced their leader Meifeng once more. “Can you pass out water to the rest of us as well? Heal those who need healed, take away the one you are here to arrest, but please give us all some water so we can flush our eyes the rest of the way and calm our throats. We’ll leave after, and I promise you some of us will do what we can to not end up on your radar like this again.”

“As well, maybe we can help each other out. We’re the ones dying so it’s not like we have a ton of options,” Lynn shrugged as she paused, “but we can both agree that we are the target. Maybe if we encounter Father Wolf we can give you a call so you can collect your pound of flesh,” she paused as she took a step forward, “avenge your fallen.”

She did not like talking like this to the Feds. She did not like the idea of involving them in their hunt of the wolf. But she knew that needed their help at least right now, and she knew that once a group is on their radar they never leave. And with 8th street threatening their members like they did last night, she’d rather keep on their good side at least until they were able to figure out how to protect themselves in this new magical world that inhabited St. Portwell.

As well, the PRA was a vital piece to figuring out the puzzle that was Father Wolf. If she could get their resources on their side, Lynn would be able to have a much easier time finding answers in the possible future.

---

---

Lila took a deep breathe as an agent took off the cuffs that had begun to dig deep into her hands. She did not thank the agent, nor did she look at them, instead she simply rose to her feet and walked towards her friends. She trusted Lynn was not in all honestly wanting to work with the Feds, and she looked worried at what she saw between Jasper and a fed. The more Lynn talked the more an anger grew within her.

“I am still impressed by your troops and your skill Meifeng,” Lila sneered, “came to arrest one person, burned down a church, realized the scale of the fuck up and now you want to leave like nothing happened.” She let her eyes linger on Meifeng as she moved next to Jasper, pulling him away from the bug girl. She looked at him, back at the bug girl, and back to Jasper as her face danced between disgusted and confused. The disgust was for one singular reason. It wasn’t because she was this weird bug hybrid, no that was surprisingly okay given that, as children, they fought a literal world ending snake, and she sees a giant crow lady in her sleep. She would not judge someone for liking someone adjoined. And she was not going to judge Jasper for the lady catching his eye. Lila would not think any less of him, nor would she call him a furry or anything like that because he wouldn’t be one. She would judge him for the fact that she was a fucking PRA member.

“Bro, she’s a fed,” she whispered, “fuck all the way off with that nonsense.”

Lila looked over and saw Luca being bottle fed and watched, in horror, as he was called baby. What the fuck was going on? What the fuck was the PRA doing?

“Listen, if we’re free to go I’m going to leave,” Lila said as she looked over to Auri, ‘shit,’ she thought to herself. What the fuck happened at the back of the church. “Please heal her though,” she paused as she looked around the area. Ten years had passed since they fought the snake, but she could still see the ruined buildings, the bodies in the streets, and Auri being this hurt brought back a lot of those memories. “Please heal her,” she repeated,“and then fuck off.”

---

---

It seemed their leader - Agent Liao - was reasonable enough to let them go. Anya wasn’t sure whether it was because of what her and Evelynn had said, or because her own agents had talked her down. It didn’t matter much either way. They weren’t only getting arrested, only Everleigh. That wasn't much of a loss. She’d made her bed.

With her handcuffs promptly removed, Anya pushed herself to her feet and surveyed everyone. They all looked like shit, and she was sure she did too. If she knew they were going to get raided today she would have used her much more expensive but completely waterproof makeup. It was a small solace that she wasn’t the only one that looked a mess.

Aside from the unconscious two, and Luca who was now recovering, everyone seemed to be coping. There was no one unaccounted for, at least.

”Evelynn already said most of what I wanted to,” Anya smiled at Evelynn - one that didn’t reach her eyes, but there was no sign of animosity in her expression. Anya knew very well how much Evelynn disliked her, and was probably disgusted for them to be agreeing, but it didn’t bother her. Why would she care about the opinions of someone below her? ”Kali was likely killed by the same person killing us all. As I said before, make sure to protect our former members who are now within your ranks.”

With that Anya turned her attention away from Meifeng and approached Jack, who’d worryingly teleported in looking much worse than before he disappeared. She looked at him with a silent plea to not answer Meifeng’s question about what happened to Auri… Though surely, he would be smart enough to ignore it or give a false answer. Wherever they’d been, it wasn’t the PRA’s business.

”Jack,” Anya glanced over Jack’s injuries, and then did the same for the unconscious Auri in his arms. She had no idea what they'd been doing but clearly it hadn't gone well. She furrowed her brows, recalling that Jack had shoved something into her Sloane's hands earlier. Most wouldn't notice it, but Anya was highly attuned to Sloane's facial expressions and slight movements because it was the only way to read how she was feeling. She'd ask her about it later, or Jack if he stuck around. Perhaps the three of them could discuss it. But she wasn't going to ask now with the PRA around. It was coven business. ”I’m glad you’re safe… You should let them heal you both.”

She then turned to Cindy, who’d offered the healing.

”Could you heal our two members injured by your raid as well, please?” Anya asked with a polite smile, gesturing to Adora and Leon. She wasn't sure how Adora had ended up in that state, but she'd seen Leon take a gas canister to the head. The PRA had caused the damage, so they should fix it too.

If they wouldn't heal those two, then she'd lower herself to calling Sully and asking him to get over here. She still had his number, for situations like this, but she'd rather not talk to that imbecile if she could avoid it.

She then looked back at Agent Liao. ”Hopefully next time, if there is a next time, we can discuss things civilly.”

---

---

Luca was incredibly confused when he was practically cradled into some agents arms, and bottle fed water. His oxygen deprived mind, suddenly hit by Kali's death, was struggling to keep up. He didn't struggle, for fear of hurting her more, and just let her bottle feed him. He was too tired to even be embarrassed about it. He closed his eyes to avoid looking at all her decaying flesh, nausea roiling in his stomach once again. It wasn’t his fault, she’d come over to him- but it was his fault, because he was the one that rotted everything away.

The water was a welcome relief to his damaged throat, pushing him closer to feeling like his normal, slowly dying self. It washed away the metallic taste coating his tongue and helped soothe the burning in his chest. He’d probably need to down another few bottles of water to completely stop the burning. Everything still hurt, the rash across his skin barely faded but thankfully mostly hidden by his clothes. His head felt light and his chest ached each time he took in a breath, but he was alive and awake. That was good enough.

”Thanks,” Luca said quietly to the agent that had held him in her arms like a child - it had been surprisingly comforting, if weird. He hadn't been that close to someone in… well, ten years. Damn, he didn't think he was that touch starved! He winced as he opened his eyes, and immediately looked away from the damage he’d caused to her. He would never get used to it. ”Please get that healed…”

Once she walked away, towards Jack (who Luca hadn’t even noticed till now), Luca properly sat up on his own. He swayed slightly, fingers digging into the dirt to stop himself from falling back over. Just take it slowly… And he was just going to pretend that had never happened, and completely ignore what she’d called him. If he didn’t think about it, hopefully it would be rotted away with the rest of him.

”Hey,” Luca uncomfortably shuffled towards Lynn, Lila and Jasper - knowing that if he tried to stand right now his legs would buckle underneath him, and it would do much more damage than it was worth. His voice was hoarse, and he struggled to push out the words, but he forced through it. ”Are you all alright?"

He coughed again, relief flowing through him when no more blood came out of his mouth. They all looked fine, and it was a bit ironic that he was asking after nearly dying, but he wanted to make sure! Suffering was normal for him. Though they were all dying, and Jasper was smiling at him in a kind of weird way… Luca hoped he hadn’t seen what had just happened. He hoped no one had, and that no one brought it up.

---

---

The first thing Linqian did when uncuffed was pull out a box of cheap cigarettes. There was only a few left, which fucking sucked because she could smoke a whole pack right now. She pulled one out and placed it in her mouth, not actually lighting it yet - less out of respect for all the people around her, and more because she didn't want to deal with any feds that might get twitchy over smoking.

This whole thing was an absolute shitshow. She’d had low expectations after the night before, but this really was the worst. They were no closer to figuring anything out. Instead she’d been shot, tear gassed and tasered. She sucked on the cigarette in her mouth as if she’d get anything from it while unlit. Everything was an absolute mess. Why was she even here? She could be making progress finding Jinhai’s killer, or making money she desperately needed.

And there was no way she could go to work tonight. She'd have to get home to shower, and the amount of time it'd take to wash her hair… fuck, just thinking about it made her angry again. It wasn't like she could just throw some water and shampoo on it and call it a day! She'd have to change clothes and redo all her makeup too… by the time she was done she'd be late for work. Fuck.

Maybe she could get a lift home from someone, like Britney- wait, Britney had fucked off. Who were her other options… Leon, he owed her at least that. Her eyes found him, still knocked out. Yeah, not him. She wasn’t close to most of the people here, or she straight up hated them. Edict was the only option… But she kind of doubted she’d get one out of him. She’d ask after the feds left. It was worth a shot before she suffered on a bus covered in tear gas, but it wouldn't help with the work situation. She still wouldn’t have time.

Linqian pulled out her phone, pulling up the work rota. Andre was in the afternoon tomorrow, he'd probably cover her for tonight if she asked real nicely… sure was nice having a boss still willing to do the grunt work. But fuck, she really didn't want to deal with this! Unlit cigarette still in her mouth, she practically glared a hole into her phone as she started to text her boss.

---

---

Linqian rolled her eyes and shoved her phone back in her pocket. Great. Now not only was she working nearly the whole day tomorrow, but she also had to go to some stranger’s funeral in two days. Great. Couldn’t Andre go alone? He was an adult! More of an adult than her! Ugh.

She really needed a smoke, even if it would make her sore throat even worse. Fuck respect and all that. She quickly surveyed who looked the worst - Luca, it seemed - and moved far enough away from him that he wouldn't catch any second hand smoke. Everyone else could deal. She fumbled around in her coat for her lighter-

Of course. She’d forgotten to put her lighter back in her jacket this morning. For fucks sake. Maybe she could just light it off the burning church. No, that would be dangerous. Damn. Who would have a lighter? Same problem, so many people she didn’t particularly get on with. The boring trio probably didn’t smoke, she’d rather quit than ask Sloane and Anya… Jack was bleeding out, did they even have lighters in the void? No idea. Edict was out, because he’d just throw away her cheap ass cigarette again - and she wasn’t fucking letting that happen again. Lyss maybe? Tayla? Both were the most likely options.

She decided to go for the one who wasn’t making weird ass eyes at a fed.

”Hey,” Linqian approached Tayla. She was standing a bit away from the group, and further from the feds - which was fair. Linqian also wanted to be outside of arresting distance too. Unlike the rest of them, she didn’t look like tear gassed to all hell shit. Just regular shit. ”Got a light? I can give you one of these in exchange.”

She shook the cheap cigarette packet. Hopefully Tayla didn’t actually take her up on that offer… But it was a small price to pay to be able to smoke. Otherwise, she’d have to risk seeing Lyss jump a guy, Edict throwing away her cigarette, or just using a house fire.

“As well, maybe we can help each other out. We’re the ones dying so it’s not like we have a ton of options,”

Linqian’s attention shot back to the group when Lynn started spouting some absolute nonsense, Linqian’s blood shot eyes shooting daggers at her.

”Oy,” Linqian raised her voice. Absolutely no way was she talking for all of them about working with the fucking feds. Like hell was Linqian going to do that. The money she’d taken from Edict was enough to make her want to stay the hell away from any kind of authority - who knew if she’d be implicated. Hopefully not, it was all cash, but better to be safe. She gritted her teeth, forcing herself to take a deep breath. For once her sensible side caught up with her anger, and she didn’t straight up tell Lynn to fuck off with that idea. The feds were right there. They might just beat them all to the ground and arrest them if they said they wouldn’t want to work together. ”This isn’t a fucking dictatorship! You can’t just decide if we’ll work with them or not. You can work with them if you want, but as a group we gotta vote. Don’t you dare decide that we need their help because you want to keep your own ass protected. We decide that as a group.”

She pulled the cigarette out of her lips just to scowl at Lynn, eyes narrowing into an even more vicious glare. ”You haven’t even lost anyone, so fucking back off.”

”This isn’t a fucking dictatorship! You can’t just decide if we’ll work with them or not. You can work with them if you want, but as a group we gotta vote. Don’t you dare decide that we need their help because you want to keep your own ass protected. We decide that as a group.”

Lynn quickly raised her hands as if she could calm down the fires that were coming out of Linqian with that alone. She had to know she was not trying to speak for the whole group. Lynn simply wanted to try and get the feds off their back for a while after this shit show, and she knew the easiest way to do that was to put on a show of her own and offer their leader some fake respect. “Linqian,” Lynn started as she flashed a quick smile, “can we talk about this in a sec-” Lynn cut her words off as she watched as Linqian’s eyes narrowed.

“You haven’t even lost anyone, so fucking back off.”

Lynn felt the heat of frustration simmering beneath her calm exterior as Linqian's assertions clashed against her ears. Haven’t lost anyone? She took a deep breath, attempting to rein in the emotions that threatened to spill over and out of her. Linqian must’ve forgotten. Linqian must’ve forgotten that Lynn has lost everyone up to this point. Her parents, her brothers, her sister, and everyone else on her father’s side of the family. Linqian must have also forgotten all the friends she then lost in the battle with the Stygian Snake. She has lost more than most people here. And yet Linqian, of all people, forgot. A conflict began to brew deep within her mind. She wanted to, no, she needed to remind Linqian that she did lose people too, so all she was trying to do was protect the family she found within the coven. This conflict intensified as she grappled with the balance between expressing her past without calling Linqian a cunt in the process.

For a moment, Lynn's eyes reflected a subtle sadness, a shadow of the losses she carried within. She remembered the emptiness, the void left by her family, the sadness that each casket left behind, and the deep yearning for a family that had made her fall in love with the people important to her in this coven. Did Linqian not care? Did Linqian not realize that Lila, and Jasper, were the only family she had left in this godforsaken town? Why would she, of all people, make a comment like that? Sure, working with the Feds after they just attacked them was not a move Lynn wanted to do. In truth, all she wanted in this moment was to go get drunk and forget this attack ever happened. But with yet another name soon-to-be added to the mural, and no solution in sight from anyone else, Lynn wanted to at least get some assurance that they would have some protection if Father Wolf was discovered and they needed help. The realization that her commitment to helping the coven might not be reciprocated stoked dormant anger within her.

Lynn raised her hands in a calming gesture, but her mind still raced. She considered the fragile bonds that held the group together, understanding that decisions needed to be collaborative, and understanding that she stepped out of line with her suggestions. She could not, and should not, speak on behalf of everyone. She remembered that’s what she disliked about the coven before and she walked herself right into the same mistake even if she intended to play nice with the feds to get something in return. But Linqian's comment about loss struck a nerve, reopening wounds Lynn had fought to keep closed. And there was no amount of alcohol in the area that could keep it closed in this moment. Instead, she focused on her breathing in an attempt to ground herself and prevent a meltdown. After a few seconds, she felt those feelings begin to simmer down. She felt like she could continue without worrying about a potential meltdown. She felt like she could explain what she was trying to do. She had to keep up the illusion that she was okay.

"Linqian," Lynn began, her voice still composed, "you’re right. Fuck, I’m sorry, I just wanted to look out for everyon-"her voice cut out suddenly. In Lynn’s mind, the desire to find common ground, to bridge the gap, or to make Linqian see what she was trying to do faded away. The subtle sadness in her eyes gradually transformed into anger as Linqian's words persisted. The images of her lost family flashed in Lynn's mind, intensifying the surge of emotion within her. The desire to protect her newfound family clashed with the frustration of her past being forgotten. Lynn's composure slipped, and her forced smile gave way to a pained look. Her family was buried in this town. A fifteen-minute drive down the road and they would be at the very cemetery that was a fixture of her younger years. Would Linqian even care? How could someone like Linqian even say something like that?

“On second thought Linqian,”Lynn started as she waved her hands in the air as a single tear fell down her face, “fuck you. I haven’t lost anyone? Anyone,” A second tear began to stream down her face, and then a third. It was too late to stop it now. Lynn knew this and she knew that she had to get away from the group before she said something she would regret. Linqian’s words cut deep, and Lynn wanted to hurt her back. And before she could take a step, she blurted out “I am glad Father Wolf took Jinhai from you, you deserve as much.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, she realized what she had said and took a step back as even more tears began to flow.

”What did you just say?” Linqian bit out, quieter than before, but with each word punctuated by the intense anger she’d been trying to suppress. How dare she? There were some things Linqian could accept. If Lynn said it should have been her and not Jinhai? Fine. But that she deserved this? That he deserved to be killed. ”Go on, say it again.”

Linqian knew that she wouldn’t. Her hands clenched and unclenched at her side, jaw tensing and rage marring her face.

”You think that Jinhai deserved to fucking die? That it’s good that he’s dead? Fuck. You. He was all that I had.” With each word she got angrier, chest heaving up and down. Her temperature ticked up and up, until she was bathed in a deadly yellow glow, burning as hot as her anger. She wanted so badly to hurt Lynn just like she’d hurt her, but Jinhai would- Jinhai was dead. ”You piece of fucking shit, I’m going to make you wish Father Wolf killed you instead, you fucking asshole.”

With no one to hold her back, Linqian stormed over to Lynn. With one hand she grabbed her by the collar, getting close enough that Lynn could feel the boiling heat radiating off of her.

”And keep my brother’s name out of your fucking mouth.”

Blinded by rage, Linqian slapped Lynn with a burning hand right across the cheek. Before she had a chance to get another swing in, Maximilian had appeared in a sudden burst of speed and grabbed her by the bicep, and yanked her backward.

“... That’s enough!” Maximilian shouted, unbothered by Linqian’s heat.

Lynn stumbled backward after the burning strike smashed across her face. She stood still for just a brief moment as the burning sensation began to radiate across her cheek. Her eyes were locked onto the ground below, the anger that had populated them had ceased to exist for just a brief moment as Lynn registered what just happened. “You just hit me,” she whispered, “you fucking bitch you just hit me.” Her head quickly darted back to Linqian’s, eyes alight with rage once more, as her hand gently touched the burnt cheek and she winced in pain. Any thought of the disparity in power between the two quickly disappeared from her mind as her vision tunneled onto Linqian's face. She did not care if Linqian would win in a fight when powers got involved, Lynn wanted to hit her back. She tried to take a step forward but she felt someone’s arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her back and away from continuing the fight. She shot her head around and saw that Lila was the one pulling her away.

“Lila let me-”Lynn’s words were cut off as Lila threw her weight into the pull, flipping Lynn around and forcing her to look the complete opposite way. “That bitch deserved to-“

“Lynn, the fuck,” Lila said she pushed her back another few steps. Lila was angry and her anger was currently directed at Lynn.

“That cunt deserves it,” Lynn shouted towards Linqian, “she fucking started it, let me go so I can finish it.”

”You fucking bitch!” Linqian shouted back, struggling to try and get to Lynn to continue the fight - barely registering who was holding her back. ”You fucking started it, but I’ll fucking end you! Let me at her!”

She bared her teeth at Lynn, kicking out ferociously with little care for what damage she did in her desperation to burn Lynn until she begged her to stop. ”I’ll make you wish you were dead, you fuck! I bet you fucking saw his death and didn’t stop it! You’re the fucking worst, you fucking cunt!”

“Of course I saw his death,” Lynn shouted back with a laugh. Jasper had moved into the middle and was trying to use his frame to block their sight of each other, and to grab if anyone broke free. “I’ve seen everyone here die a hundred times,” she paused as she shot her head to the side to catch a glimpse of Linqian, “and I’ll smile as I watch you die a hundred times more!”

”Too bad you won’t fucking be able to!” Linqian twisted herself to see Lynn, glaring at her in the hope she could burn her like that. ”I’ll kill you before you do- Watch my death all you want, it’s the only joy you’re going to get in your fucking pitiful life, I don’t give a fuck, you fucking murder voyeur, but you should have. Stopped. His! It’s your fault. His death is your fault, you sick fuck!”

Lynn shook her head as Lila forced her back even further. “Would you have even believed me? Would he have believed me? And where were you when he died, why the fuck weren’t-“

“... And you all stopped the Stygian Snake? You all?” Meifeng asked, bending forward to let out a bout of laughter. “You all seem just about ready to tear each other’s throats out. So color me amazed.”

Linqian temporarily stopped struggling against Maximilian’s grip to snap her head at Meifeng. ”You shut the fuck up about things you don’t know about! People died fighting that thing. Stay the fuck out of it!”

“Oh, I know everything,” Meifeng answered.

Lynn stopped her fight against Lila’s hold on her as she slowly shifted her gaze towards Meifeng, “I don’t remember asking you a god damn thing, isn’t there another peaceful meeting across town that you have to fuck over?“

“Well, I’ll just go grab some popcorn,” Meifeng just shrugged. “Continue doing that serial killer’s job for them.”

”Hey,” Linqian’s head snapped back to Lynn, completely ignoring Meifeng now she’d told her to shut the fuck up. Her anger turned back to the person who’d caused it - the fed boss was right, Lynn was doing Father Wolf’s work for him. ”You shut the fuck up to. You think I wanted to be fucking away? You think I wanted to come home to see him dead? Fuck. You. Maybe you saw the future where I was away and told the fucking killer! Jinhai’s blood is on your hands more than mine!”

“My hands? My hands?? You’re fucking delusional if you think I had anything to do with his death, and how fucking dare you accuse me of that. But yeah, by how much you bring it up I think you were happy you were away when he died, because now you get to be the center of attention any god damn time you want. My whole family is dead because of our goddamn curse and you don’t hear me bring it up every other god damn sentence you selfish cunt.”

Linqian froze, chest constricting as Lynn’s words actually hit a nerve. And it fucking hurt like hell. She grimaced, body temperature lowering back to normal. She was still pissed, but now she just wanted to be away from her. There was a bit of guilt there too - she hadn’t thought about Lynn’s family, she hadn’t meant it like that. She shoved that feeling down immediately. No, fuck her. Lynn was the bitch in this situation. Her chest was still heaving up and down, bloodshot eyes wild and angry, but she was fucking exhausted. ”Jinhai was everything to me, but you wouldn’t understand that. Whatever. I don’t give a fuck about you anymore. Fuck off, you’re dead to me.”

“Likewise,” Lynn responded as the pain in her face caught her off guard. She tried to pull free again from Lila but her muscles were spent, and she would not be getting free anymore. She mouthed an ‘ow’ as she finally realized the extent of the injury on her face. She wouldn’t need surgery, but she would need to spend the next week making sure it healed well. And that might require a trip to the hospital.

Meifeng chuckled again, “... Never have children, you two.”

And that hit a nerve for Linqian too. She clenched her fists, nails digging into her palm, and glared at Meifeng again. ”... Oh, shut the fuck up!” She tried to shake off Maximilian, shooting a glare at him. ”I’m done. I won’t hit her again.”

“Jesus fuck,” Lynn said as she looked towards Meifeng, “no one gives a fuck.” As she finished she was too weak to hold back the tears. She nearly fell backwards but Lila still held her tight. “Fuck, fuck,” Lynn whispered as the pain on her cheek began to grow in magnitude and tears began to cover her face. Her mind instantly went to the flask of liquor in her bag, once she was away she would drink it all and then some more.

Linqian rolled her eyes when Lynn started sobbing, looking away - and then taking a few steps away so she could just completely ignore it. Fucking shitshow. She couldn't wait to get home and down a bottle of cheap wine, and pretend this never happened.

---

Those guns did not elicit the response that the PRA might have expected. Jack stood still as a statue, knowing damn well (and egotistically) that the shadows at their feet were all he needed to get them off their power trip, and make them resort to magic or grenades. When the one who Jack assumed was in charge spoke to him, he kept his eyes on as many places as possible. He saw Tayla come out of the bushes, and she was powerless without her Lux. If these vermin started shooting again, she was who he'd try to shield first, long enough for her to escape. Liao seemed to know Auri, and by extension the rest of them by name.

"She was injured, but she's alive. Head trauma." That was all he'd explain to anyone at the moment. The PRA did not need to know how or why this happened to Auri, but simply explaining the nature of her injury was enough to address the fact that she needed medical attention. Jack didn't actually know the extent of what Furio did to her, but he certainly wasn't about to get into details with the feds. They didn't need to know that he could take people to places beyond Shimmer whenever he wanted.

At least her subordinates seemed to have more professionalism than her, as they all started talking her down after they attacked the church and seemingly set it on fire. Jack could've strangled them all right then and there for endangering lives, but he was busy keeping Auri's unconscious body safe... Why were they arresting Everleigh? She was the problematic one in this group of problems, was she the reason for all this? He kept quiet until Cindy walked over to him, offering a lukewarm apology and one of their other agents to heal them. Either these people considered themselves to be in control right now (they were, but Jack was being Jack about it) and just wanted to sleep at night, or one of them actually had basic common sense and regretted how this went down. To Jack, it seemed like a genuine apology, so maybe he was being irrational about her intentions.

"You already know about Father Wolf, from what the others have said. You can imagine that I'm less than thrilled to see that you've attacked my friends," he responded, wearily. Looking up at the burning church, he took a second to reflect on the day so far. Everything was a disaster. He thought that sealing the Void Heart would be a step in the right direction, maybe Auri would look somewhat more dependable, and the coven might've used it as a morale boost.

One step forward, another step back.

"But if you're offering, I won't refuse. She needs it more than me... Thank you." He wasn't about to turn down healing at someone else's expense. "We-" He was interrupted when Linqian and Evelynn started bitching. Jack's whole head snapped to their direction as they started yelling at each other. Lynn had tears on her face. Disappointment crept up on his. Of course they were going to be angry about whatever the hell happened while he was gone. Of course, but they didn't have to fight over- What were they fighting over? Accepting help from the PRA?

And Jack might've let them scream it out, until he heard something from Evelynn that would have made him join the shouting were it not for the fact that he was carrying Auri.

“I am glad Father Wolf took Jinhai from you, you deserve as much.”

His blood ran cold at the idea that Lynn would dare fall so low. And the yellow-hot slap that Linqian delivered

"Excuse me," he said to Cindy, not hiding the contempt in his voice as he stomped over. They argued, and argued, and argue on. For once, he was the angry one now, and he hated that he was angry at these two. Jack didn't want to be.

"What did you expect to happen, saying something so heartless?" He asked Evelynn, trying to sound calm and mostly succeeding. "Do you remember how we all felt, watching one another fall in battle as children, Evelynn? We all hated ourselves for not being the ones who died in someone else' place, told ourselves that we might have been able to change the outcome if we were there. You lost more than most of us. Did you forget? that the rest of us cared for Jinhai as well?"

Jinhai and Jack were close. They were good friends who plotted strategies to fight back against the Stygian Snake together. They knew how to hit apparitions where it hurt, and they bonded over their abilities. "We all want the same things. Vengeance, survival, answers; Opening each others' wounds will only put all of us in a shallow grave sooner, rather than later." He really, really wanted to believe that Lynn simply wasn't thinking straight, because that was way out of line.

They were done, so Jack got off their asses about it, taking in a deep breath after chewing Lynn out.

"Which one of you is the healer?" He asked the agents.

---

---

Sloane rubbed her wrists as the cuffs came off. If Sloane was happy that Auri was still alive she didn’t show it, busy washing her eyes with the water the feds supplied her. The question if they were just FBi was made a stupid one as the agents casually began to display their abstractions. Her face flushed red with irritation that wasn’t only the tear gas as she controlled her breathing and counted back from ten, smart enough to know that opening up her mouth to chastise Meifeng and her field operatives was a good way to get cuffed again and join Everleigh in their truck. Perhaps Lila would be thrown in their too, given how she foolishly kept trying to point out the obvious abuse of authority to the abusive figure of authority. Oh, surely they’d realize the error of their ways and behave more professionally next time! Sloane mouthed a silent stop at Lila before she was disappeared.

Sloane stood up slowly, the toxin from the tear gas still lingering on her clothes making her cough. Her jacket was essentially a biohazard. She wasn’t going to get near it. Her mouth settled into a thin line, her eyes rolling at Lynn’s suggestion that the Coven and the cops help one another out. If Father Wolf didn’t kill them by the time she’d place the call then the carpet bombing these cowboys responded with certainly would. Sloane let out another cough, this time intentional, as Linqian pulled out an unlit cigarette. It was a cough that turned into a sigh as Linqian brought up voting again, the sigh becoming a groan as Linqian punctuated her point with the stupidest thing Sloane had ever heard: ”You haven’t even lost anyone, so fucking back off.”

Had Linqian inhaled too much gas? Did she hit her head? Did she think everyone else was here because they liked seeing each other? Even if she didn’t know about Lynn’s unfortunate circumstances, literally five of their peers had been murdered last night. Sloane shook her head. Linqian was officially the worst person Sloane had ever—“I am glad Father Wolf took Jinhai from you, you deserve as much.”—Lynn was the worst person Sloane had ever met. Really, did neither of these self-centered, primadonna assholes consider that perhaps other people were upset about the death of Jinhai? When did trauma become a competition? Sloane folded her arms across her chest, a hint of disappointment on her face as she swallowed the feeling of embarrassment that these girls were her peers as Lynn and Linqian went at it.

Sloane was so annoyed by their entire kerfuffle that she couldn’t even enjoy how Lynn had failed to see herself getting bitchslapped. They were just acting like directionless and angry children, taking out their frustration on whatever they could swing at. Meifeng made a great point: how in the hell did they manage to stop the Stygian Snake? Sloane glanced over at Auri as she was being treated, focusing on the empty spaces on either side of her. She squeezed her fingers into her palms, gritted her teeth, and shook her head. You want something done right? She released her fists. Anya had proven that timing was important, and now wasn’t it.

“I’m sorry about that. We’ve all had an emotional couple of weeks,” said Sloane to Meifeng dryly as she slowly approached the woman. She lowered her voice in an attempt for some kind of privacy. “My name is Sloane Faris, although I assume you already know who all of us are. Before he was murdered, Agent Mahendra had come to us to offer assistance on the Father Wolf case even though he didn’t have to. He seemed like a good agent. I’m sorry for your loss.”

What had Anya called this? Tact? It left a bad taste in Sloane’s mouth. Kali had been an unstable idiot with an inflated sense of importance that had destabilized the first meeting and kicked off a chain reaction that ultimately resulted in Sloane’s jacket getting ruined. She didn’t want him dead, but actions had consequences and flashing a badge in a room full of suspects and immediately losing the whole “secret” aspect of being a secret agent had turned out to be a great way to get killed. If Meifeng had been the one responsible for hiring him then she was just unqualified as Kali to be protecting St. Portwell. Sloane wasn’t looking to cooperate with the agents. She was just looking to keep a foot in the door for access to their information considering all she had was the name of two dead people from Auri.

“I’d told him I would reach out if we learned anything,” said Sloane, carefully and obviously pulling out her phone in case one of the agents got jumpy and decided that guns looked like phones now. “Could I have some kind of contact information?”

Mention: Linqian@FernStone

Tayla could count on one hand the amount of times she expected Linqian ask her for a light. Her palms would be open, because she never expected it at all.

"Keep it," she said, pulling a lighter out of her pocket. It was metal and had skull inside an Ace playing card design. Fucking tacky, but she stole it off some dude she fucked for drugs. She got it. Dealing with the Feds would make anyone need a smoke to cope. She flicked her lighter, igniting it in the middle of Linqian going in on Evelynn for volunteering them to work with the Feds. She had to agree with Linqian, because that's not the right play here. If they did that, they'd have to be under their thumb. They'll probably go digging around into their past where they shouldn't, if they haven't already, and she didn't want to give them a reason to.

Their conversation devolved into a fight; she flicked her lighter closed. Evelynn got the shit slapped out of her for being out of pocket about Jinhai. She didn't remember Linqian's brother well, but not even she would go that far. Not when she's lost James and went down a dark hole she's still climbing her way out of. Evelynn could go fuck herself for that one. She pulled out her own pack of cigarettes and lit one. That's her one for the day, but this was a lot. She didn't handle screaming and crying, particularly women crying, very well. Reminded of some of the worst nights she's spent with the Wolf pack. Shit she'd take drugs to numb the memories for.

With Linqian now a good distance away from Evelynn and the fight over with, she went to her offering her lighter. "Still need a light?" she asked. She pulled her phone out of her pocket. She still had about two hours, before she needed to pick Siwan up from day care. "And maybe a drink? There's a place down by the docks if you want to get outta here." She didn't care for Linqian like that, but she's not that much of bitch to not empathize with the shit show that just happened. Deep down the nice girl she used to be, the one that showed concern for her friends, was still in there somewhere. Who knew a fight would be the thing to bring her out. She'd be lying if she said there wasn't a little bit of Asian solidary in there. There wasn't many of them in this group.

Edict kept his mouth shut like he was taught to. Even if they caught him, even if they brought him back in cuffs and threw him into some wagon, they'd never break him. Prison was nothing to Edict. Who could hurt him? Who could expect that all he needed was one courtesy call, or at worst a bit of extra time spent redirecting to a new Channeler, before he was master of his own domain? Fuck them. They'll have my cock in their mouths before they break me. He kept his eyes closed as they dragged him, taking deep breaths as he took a small rest before starting to channel again. The frame of his sunglasses was still warm against the side of his head despite the missing lens, and as they dumped him into the pile of other Coven members, he let himself begin to channel inward.

As he'd previously demonstrated, cutting access to his senses in order to benefit himself ended up being something well within the purview of his abilities. Resetting the Power Words that were blasted off him by the taser, he implemented weaker versions to maintain cognizance while dulling the pain in his eyes, ass and hands to a dull ache. From there, it was a matter of maintaining a level head. Listening, not speaking. Hearing what the Agents were saying and what his contemporaries were barking back. But he had to be ready for what was coming; or what he thought was coming. The worst pinch imaginable, and with Father Wolf no closer to being found.

Obligations left unfulfilled.

Edict breathed deeply, in and out on manual piloting, and a smile cracked across his face as he looked through bleary eyes at those agents around them. He wanted to memorize faces, remember who to have killed in a "fucking car accident". Yes, with the Fucking. He wanted to brain lance one of them out of sheer principle. How were they going to prove which animal among the gaggle was the one who pulled the trigger that melted their buddy's brain into neuron soup? And who was the rat? Linqian? Nah, come on. That personality is not pro-snitch. Think harder. Kali wasn't here, capiche? It's raw as is, no need for complication.

But he had been driven to anger toward them. He said he'd try to leave the logging for the Loggers, but his mind constantly crossed back to how he wanted to feel the axe in his own two hands. The sensation of the chopping, the feeling of the wood shearing and flying back up to hit you in the face. The blood...
There was a familiar voice among the agents. He was trying to put some kind of a name to it. Something with a B that reminded him of banana... Syllables? His half stoned mind drifted for a moment as names with a B became a fond image of Britney in a silver dress in the middle of a fancy Portland restaurant. Her smile, her hair. But, it was two syllables, and he pulled himself back to the number three, which only further muddled the mind as he regressed back to the pressing matter. He'd probably have to release himself and live in the pain if he wanted to get any clear thinking done. It was a choice now; release it all and do his job? Or sit in silence and bliss until it was all over?

"Which one of you killed Agent Mahendra..."
Son of a bitch!? Alright, alright.

Edict braced up hard, taking a last few manual breaths before he clipped the ends of his Power Words and stamped a big fat CANCEL across his mind. All at once, the new Command Line was cleared. All at once the sensation of having so much of the residue still in and around his eyes caused his teeth and bloody, glass filled hands to clench shut. The digging glass only made things worse, and he wriggled his legs in great discomfort for a moment as he tried to adjust to the pain.
"He was found stabbed to death in a Dairy Queen parking lot within two hours of the chaos you all wrought on the city!"
Those fucking geeks seriously went to Dairy Queen? Christ on a bike...
It was something of a boon that he was so wrapped up in his pain; denying him the chance to make foolish comments to the federal agents who were trying to put them away... But he knew this wasn't his wrap now at least. Besides the minor intrusion the night before, they'd had no physical contact or any real reason to suspect Edict would have him killed. Things left off fine enough between the two of them, despite Edict's complicated feelings toward the guy. It was a relief that he was gone, in a sense. That miserable kind of void staring back at him feeling was gone, and he imagined smoother sailing from here on.
If they don't try to pin it on me anyway, at least.

Linqian was working for her money at least.
"If anyone did it, it was Everleigh. She was pretty close to shooting him yesterday!"
Edict smiled through the pain. His prints were on the gun too... Fuck it. Let'em try. Frankly if they weren't dogpiling him into a wagon already, they already knew who did it, and they're just looking for rat witnesses.
“I mean just look who we have within our midst,”
Edict happened to look in her general direction, realizing that of all people, prissy Evelynn Serenelight was throwing shade his way. He kept his mouth shut, mostly because he knew if he said anything, people would know he was in pain. And he was starting to figure out that it was more than what he thought: A hot, shooting pain climbed from his left wrist to his elbow in a fracture that he probably got from either going through the window or hitting the ground below. The numb limp limbs still reacted in some fashion, tossing themselves out in front of him as he made impact, and from there he probably just fucked it up.

Tayla Choi was here too... He wondered if she got a full blast from his abilities earlier, as it would've resulted in a far more vivid and real-time experience without taking up any extra time. Simply more potent visual perception, but he knew what it was like from watching movies inside his own head on plane flights.
The previous day, he'd considered trying to flip her by using his abilities, but he decided against it ultimately, and didn't think she was a source he wanted to pull from. The cursory onceover he pulled from his stunt yesterday told him a story he didn't want to participate in. It was a twisted empathy that he passed off as the better option, patting himself on the back for not playing into an Addict's nature. Not like he wouldn't do the exact same thing back home to some other unfortunate individual.
Void-Hoppin' Jack interrupted the pow-wow in typical style; out of nowhere and abruptly, and holding another body that Edict couldn't recognize through his hazy vision.

"... A strange Wolf Idol was found by his body."
Alright cutie, keep talking. Keep making bad decisions...
Then the interruption. Before she could give up much more, Auri Auclair's name got brought up.
That's the figure!
Auri, limp in Jack's arms. What the fuck happened? Was she dead too? There was a long exchange that kind of got covered up in the chaos, a few of the agents talked back and forth before Edict heard the magic words.
"... Uncuff them, we're letting them go. Except for her, she is coming with us."

Edict had just about regained his sight by the time they got around to uncuffing him, and having the pressure release on his wrist felt fantastic. He almost thought he could skip seeing some kind of healer, but it was a reason to visit Elodie uptown and healing a hair fracture could still cause complications later on. Better to get it touched up by a friendly face than stick around.
Standing, he dignified himself by wiping the dust off himself as best he could before looking back at the fire he started. Leon mentioned that Auri had recently come into the ownership of the building...
Go fuck yourself.
It was a schmooze fest after that, but he wasn't content with sticking around with how many Feds there actually were lingering around. He looked around for Leon, and realized the Big Guy was still sleeping. Even after one of the Agents uncuffed him, Leon was still a near seven foot long lump of shit on the ground. He was unmoving, unflinching, and Edict couldn't help but think about how he could sleep so fucking soundly... Here of all places.

Looking around a bit more, he saw Sloane cozying up to the leader of this ragtag group of magical Feds, which made him sick with hate again. He hated to see any sort of cooperation, and made a mental note of her liability as he tried to step closer to Linqian. Finally, the man guilty for burning the entire church down opened his mouth to speak directly to her. By happenstance, Tayla Choi was also there.
"And maybe a drink? There's a place down by the docks if you want to get outta here."
"Someone mention a drink I could use?"- he asked, popping up almost between them. "-Tayla, nice to see you. Linqian, listen, Leon brought you a car. His goons are still over there waiting to hand you the keys. I can take you over there, and this is obviously code for please can we fucking leave the place with all the Pinkertons? I mean, the car is waiting that parts real but like, fuck. No bueno."
He noticed the cigarette she was trying to smoke, and that it was a shit one again. He pulled his hard case out and popped it open to offer up a couple decent ones, and to Tayla as well.
So much for keeping away from the poor woman.

“I did not mean…I don’t think… I,” Lynn paused as her head lowered as Jack grilled her on what she said. She knew she had fucked up royally. Yet that same anger that ignited this whole inferno once again flickered in her eyes. Why was she the only one being targeted here? Sure, she said the worst thing she could’ve said but Linqian started it. The anger lingered in her eyes for a brief moment longer but it dissipated as yet another tear fell across the burned section of her face, pulling her back from her feelings and back to the present. “Jack, I fucked up. With everyone one dying, the PRA raid, I…I,” she could no longer keep the sentence going as she simply let her eyes fall to the ground below defeated and ashamed of what she said. Yet, despite this, she was not upset at how those words made Linqian feel. If anything, she felt good that she had managed to cut deep and make her feel the same thing she felt.

It was clear to Luca that nothing else was going to come from this meeting. Everyone was hurt, the government agents were still here and Lynn and Linqian had just gotten into a full blown fight… he winced. Of the two he knew Lynn better, and was much closer to her, but what she’d said was out of line. What they’d both said was out of line.

He should go home. There was only so much pain he could handle in public, and he’d left his stronger painkillers in his apartment today. But… he didn’t want to just leave. He’d barely caught up with anyone.

Slowly, he pushed himself to his feet. He still felt incredibly weak, but his legs were functioning again at least. It would be enough to get him home. Luca grimaced and pressed his hand against his head as it aching, eyes squeezing shut to push through the dizziness from getting up. It passed, and he approached Lila, Lynn and Jasper - stopping a short bit away so he wouldn’t hurt any of them.

”Hey guys,” he said quietly, looking at Lynn with eyes full of sympathy. He hated seeing anyone he cared about hurting, no matter how it had happened. ”I’m thinking of leaving… Want to come with me? We could go back to my place, catch up a bit. I have loads of stuff to treat wounds, and plenty of painkillers too.”

Lila looked over at Jasper, and then at Lynn, before back to Luca. “Yeah, let’s get out of here.” She paused as she leaned down into Lynn’s face and smiled, “Let’s get out of here. We can talk about this all later over a drink, yeah?” Lynn simply nodded in return.

”Luca, you are amazing. Thank you for the help here,” Jasper said as he flashed a big smile, ” This day has been a complete waste so far, like what the fuck.” As he finished, he walked over and grabbed his painting off the ground. He carried it back to the group and in his mind, he began to think of the steps to restore it.

”Yeah, just like yesterday was,” Luca laughed. ”A drink sounds good… Any of you got a car? Otherwise, we gotta walk a bit to get a bus.”

“We took an Uber this morning,” Lila said sheepishly.

”I do,” Jasper waved towards the group to follow him, ”I parked back by the park so we got a small walk ahead of us at least. Thankfully I cleaned it out yesterday so there is plenty of room.”

”Perfect, cars are much safer for me,” Luca grinned. He glanced around everyone else… who all seemed to be heading their own ways anyway. With a half wave he started slowly walking back towards the park (because if he walked too quickly, he’d probably end up tripping over his own feet) behind Jasper. ”Uh, my place is a bit bare, just as a warning. There’s enough seats, though! You guys will just have to grab them from Olivia’s old room, all the good furniture is in there.”

Now that they were far enough away to be out of earshot of everyone else, he looked over at Lynn. ”Lynn, are you alright? Well obviously you aren’t alright… But y’know, if you ever need to talk about any of that stuff I’m always here for you. If not, we can do something fun at my place.” He smiled sheepishly. ”I have a few things to tell you guys too.”

Lynn raised her eyes slowly and rested them on Luca’s and offered a weak, but warm, smile in return. “Thank you,” she paused as she lowered her eyes down once again. In truth, she had no desire to talk about any of that stuff, at least not quite yet. She knew that if she talked, she would show a side of herself that she kept hidden for a reason. Lynn had to be this perfectly happy version of herself at all times, she had to keep up the illusion even if everyone had just got a glimpse of the sadness that lurked beneath. If she talked about her family like she needed to it would only speak to the fact that she will more than likely meet a similar fate before long. And that was not something she was ready to face. That was something she couldn’t face while she was sober. “I can’t….I can’t… something.. Something fun sounds nice..” her voice was weak, defeated, and above all else it finished with a tone that she hoped would keep the questions at bay.

"We can do something fun!" Luca nodded - he wasn't going to push. He understood wanting to keep stuff to yourself more than anyone.

”A few things to tell us, eh?” Jasper started as his eyes shifted from Lynn to Luca. He knew all about Lynn’s past, and if it was anyone else who said what she said he’d never talk to them again and would’ve been in line behind Linqian. ”Don’t keep us waiting,” Jasper smiled wide once more.

"Hey, hey, it's nothing exciting," Luca laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. "The fun part is some stuff I got for you guys, you gotta wait till we're at mine.. The rest is kinda the opposite. You remember Olivia? She and I kept in touch past ten years… well we lived together til a year or two ago. I haven't heard from her for a week."

He looked away to hide the way his smile wavered. "Just wanted to let you guys know. The rest I'd rather say when we're at mine!"

Lila looked over to Lila, and saw that Lila was already looking at her. This was the second time the two of them had heard Luca say that Olivia was missing in as many days. Lila could tell that Olivia being missing was stressing Luca out and now, with everything else that had happened since the Dairy Queen, Lila was beginning to stress out about it too. “Oklahoma, right,” Lila asked as she looked over to Luca once again. “Listen, fuck the PRA and fuck the coven, if you need help finding her all you have to do is ask”, Lila paused as she pulled out her phone and typed an address into her GPS, “it’d be a drive, a long drive, but we could go if you ever wanted to.”

"I appreciate it," Luca looked back over at Lila with a smile. It had slipped his mind he'd told them yesterday too - as many things did nowadays, with his memory deteriorating. He often struggled with that more than he did his physical ones. Of course he was incredibly worried about Olivia… but he hadn't meant to make it such a stressful thing. "But I actually called her family a few days after, and she isn't there… Maybe I'll call again. Just worrying with Father Wolf, but no news is good news, right?" Because they hadn't found her body. "Sorry, I didn't mean to worry you guys too much with it! I'm sure she's fine and just on a work trip or something. That's what her mum said it might be… a sudden work trip she forgot to tell them about."

It sounded ridiculous even as he said it, and had done when Olivia's mum told him that over the phone. But he was trying to stay positive. "Forgetting things leads into the second thing, heh… sorry, I forgot I told you both yesterday." He smiled at Lila and Lynn. "My memory isn't as good as it used to be. A lot of me isn't, really. I can't really hide this after how I reacted to the tear gas, but…" Luca paused, trying to figure out how to word things. He'd said he'd wait till they were at his place, but he'd given himself an in, so he wouldn't back out and not say anything. He had to force himself to say something now, even if it wasn't the whole truth. He couldn't tell anyone the whole truth. "Well it's pretty obvious I'm ill. I'm seeing doctors and it's stable! I don't want to worry anyone, but it might make some stuff more difficult for me, so I at least wanted you guys to know."

Him being stable was completely false, but he said it all with a calm expression and smile that it would be near impossible to tell any of it was a lie.

Jasper listened as Luca talked and sighed at the final reveal that he was fine. Today was a day of many unexpected sights and feelings and experiences, and Jasper was at least thankful that he did not have to worry about losing a good person like Luca. But that made Jasper think. Luca has been stuck in this condition for nearly ten years. Ten years of rot, and decay, and not much else that could be considered a life in-between. ”Say Luca, I am very glad that you are doing okay. But that begs the question,” he paused as he turned towards the rest of the group with a grin across his face, ”how much living have you done over the past ten years” he paused as moved a little closer. It dawned on him for the first time that Luca was that much shorter than him. ”we have the Halloween festival coming up in a week, what if we all went to that together? Did a..”

“Group costume?” Lynn whispered as the faint glimmer of excitement entered her eyes, replacing the sadness that consumed them. Halloween was her favorite time of year, and dressing up was the best part.

” Group costume,” he finished with the biggest smile yet.

”A group costume?” Luca’s slight smile widened into a grin, his eyes shining. The past few days were the most he’d been out for months, and going to a halloween festival… He hadn’t done anything like that in years. It was still risky, especially if there were people without magic around, but at least if he wasn’t alone there’d be a bit of a person buffer. He didn’t want to cause pain but he couldn’t actually hurt these three without touching them. Just the thought of going to something like this, dressed up with friends, was so exciting he didn’t want to dwell on the logistics of it. ”Absolutely! I haven’t been to the halloween festival since I was a teen… You’re right, I haven’t been living much at all. What should we do? Oh, we could all be witches? Nah, that’s too boring… I don’t know, what do you guys think?”

”No,” Lila started as she began to think. ” We got to do something fun, flashy, and on the nose but also subtle?”

“We can talk about it,” Lynn paused as she lowered her eyes once more, but raised them up again a second later. “What about something like the Powerpuff Girls? Lila and I can go as the girls, and you and Jasper can go as the masculine Powerpuff girls.”

” Like, in a dress and thigh-highs,” Jasper paused as he flexed his legs, ”I am always down to show off my legs”

”Heyyy,” Luca jokingly glared at Jasper. ”Stop bragging! Some of us don’t have long legs to show off.”

Thankfully he was comfortable enough in his masculinity now to do something like this… Even if just the image of him, small as he was, beside Jasper as masculine powerpuff girls was hilarious. ”I’m so down, I think we’d really pull off the powerpuff girls.”

”Let’s talk about it more in the car,” Jasper said as he clicked the unlock button on his key fob, His car was a relatively new SUV. He knew that Luca would do a bit of damage, but he knew a person who was handy with threads that could repair the damage like nothing had happened if Luca couldn’t suppress it for the whole time. ”Luca, you get the first pick for seats.”

”Lucky me,” Luca grinned - glad that Jasper had quite a spacious car. He took the back seat on the right, focusing on suppressing his rotting touch as he pulled over a seatbelt, shifting to try touch as little as possible with his bare skin. His aura might touch whoever was in front of him and cause a prickling, eventually worsening, pain against their skin - but it should be avoidable. And at least he shouldn’t get Jasper in the driver seat. ”My place isn’t too far by car, maybe ten or fifteen minutes, so I shouldn’t do too much damage…”

Lila was the next one into the car. She took the spot in the back, opposite side, to Luca and buckled herself into place in one quick motion. The *caw*’s from outside took her by surprise once again, and she once again came face to face with a crow trying to enter the car. Lila fought with the bird for a moment before she was able to force the crow out, and force the door close. Lynn got into the front seat and felt the prickling sensation immediately but she did not shift or move from her seat. Jasper looked over everyone, checking that they were buckled in, before he put the car into motion and began to drive off toward Luca’s place.

”So,” Jasper paused as he raised three fingers. ”We have Bubbles, Buttercup, and Blossom. Who’s going to be who?”

“We should match,” Lynn spoke as she looked back at Lila and then Luca. “You two could go as Buttercup, and Jasper and I as Blossom, that way we have room for another pair if,” she paused as she turned back around and sunk down into her seat, “If anyone else would even want to join us after,” she paused again as she reached into her bag and fumbled around for her flask. She paused as she couldn’t find it, and eventually just stopped the thought entirely as she looked out the window.

"Hell yeah I'm happy with Buttercup!" Luca nodded. He'd make a great masculine Buttercup, green was definitely his colour. He held back a wince when Lynn's mood visibly dropped. He quickly tried to think of a way to cheer her up. "Hey, if nobody else wants to join it's their loss, we'll look great… and someone might. Even if they don't, who needs a bubbles anyway? Bet we'll be the best dressed of the coven."

He quickly thought through everyone else in the coven… the only one he could see possibly joining their group was Adora. If Lisa had been around she definitely would have- no, let's not go there.

"Oh if you want anything that isn't water, herbal tea, or some really old wine Olivia left behind that I'm pretty sure I accidentally fermented, we should drop in at a shop on the way. Well, I can't really go in, but you guys should."

“True,” Lynn said as she flashed a weak smile in return, “We’ll probably look the best.”

Jasper looked over from the driver's seat and saw Lynn slink back into her dark place. He knew she wanted to drink, and he wanted to try and help pull her out without the alcohol, at least at the start. ”I may know someone who has a pretty nifty abstraction over at 317,”” Jasper paused as she flashed a smile, ”makes them real good with making clothes,” he paused as he returned his gaze to the road, ”I am not saying that they can make us the perfect costumes, but they will make it as close to perfect as possible. You’d look better than Linqian, Anya,”

”Yeah,” Lynn said as she shifted back upright into her seat and pushed forward away from the decaying aura, ”that would make me very happy.”

”Good point Luca, we can stop once we get close, we can put it on my ‘tab’”

"Whoa, you've got all the connections, Jasper," Luca grinned, flashing him a thumbs up… that he couldn't see because he was (hopefully) looking at the road. "I'll have to make sure to wear loads of layers underneath to not ruin it… but damn, bet we'll be the only ones with literally magical costumes."

Assuming anyone else went… well they surely would, it was the Halloween festival! Though he couldn't even imagine Sloane and Anya dressed up in costumes.

"Oh yeah, there's a small place near my apartment, so should be able to drop in there before going in."

A few minutes later Jasper pulled the car into a local convenience store. He watched as everyone got out of the car. ” Alright, Lynn, Lila, you two get started. Find what you want, my treat,” he paused as he turned to Luca, “Luca what are you wanting?”

Luca thought about it for a moment. There were certain foods he couldn't have without rotting them away, but thankfully processed foods like snacks were mostly safe… though sadly he couldn't drink. "A bar of Hershey's, some popcorn, lemonade… oh, and a bigggg tub of ice cream." He lowered his voice even though Lynn had gone towards the store. "Always good after anyone's cried."

”Good point,” Jasper paused as he made a mental note of the list as he turned around and ran into the store, ”hold down the fort while we’re gone!”

As the group entered the store the murder of crows that had been trailing their car began to land on the trees, the buildings, and even on top of the car once more. Thousands of crows began to descend on the area around Luca, and they all had their eyes on the door of the convenience store.

Luca eyed the crows in confusion - didn’t Lila say she’d sealed the maiden? Why were there still so many fucking crows everywhere. He took a few steps away from the door, so he wouldn’t be in the way of anyone, before rummaging in his pockets. Eventually he pulled out a packet of hard biscuits he’d been saving for if the meeting took too long.

”Hey, do you want some of this?” He called out to the crows. Because they couldn’t actually respond he broke off a bit of a biscuit and threw it onto the ground far enough away from him that it wouldn’t hurt them. If they wanted it they’d eat it, if not… well he’d just thrown a biscuit on the floor.

The crows tilted their heads at the question. They looked down at the biscuit, back up to Luca, and back down to the biscuit. In unison the crows *caw*ed and began flapping their wings. It was as if they understood Luca’s question, and understood he made an offering, but there was something that they did not like about the request. They left the ground, and the surrounding area at once and retreated to a further distance and took up a roost in the nearby trees. This time, however, their eyes were on Luca. A thousand beady eyes focused in on one, sickly man.

A few minutes later, the door to the store opened once more and Lynn and Lila walked out without bags in hand. A second later, Jasper stepped out with several bags attached to both arms. He struggled as he walked across the parking lot as he made his way to the trunk of his car. He used his foot to trigger the sensor, and then once it was open he placed the bags inside.

”Holy shit,” Luca whisper shouted, unable to take his eyes off the thousands of crows giving him a death stare for offering them a biscuit. Was he about to get his eyes pecked out? He needed those! Luca gestured to Lila - well tried to, he didn’t want to take his eyes off the possibly murderous crows. ”I think I pissed off a whole bunch of crows, Lila, what do I do?!”

“They’ll forget about it, trust me,” Lila chuckled for a second before she caught the size of the murderer around them. Thousands upon thousands. Lila raised an eyebrow as she looked around, in a circle, and saw them in every direction she looked. The Maiden was sealed. She did not have access to the crows. The Maiden was sealed. She calmed her thoughts and she pushed away the thoughts of any failure. “They were very picky about food when I had my abstraction, and if I gave them something that they did not like they would throw a fit. But given that it was your first offense they will forget, just be sure to give them something better the next time”, she finished with a wink.

”Oh thank god,” Luca let out a sigh of relief, slowly walking towards Jasper’s car - and keeping an eye on the crows in case they decided to swoop at him. ”Don’t give them cheap biscuits, got it.”

”Let’s get going,” Jasper spoke to the group. He shot a look to Lynn and Lynn had already gave him her ‘what the fuck’ expression as the two looked around at the murder in full. Lila said The Maiden was sealed, Lynn said she was there, yet why was the murder following Lila around just like before? And why was there more of them? Jasper waited for everyone to get into the car before he put the car in motion once more, and began the short trek over to Luca’s apartment. ” Alright gang, we’re here… I think.”

”Yup, we are! Follow me!” Luca got out of the car and led them to an apartment building just a short walk away.

He rummaged in his pocket for his keys, making sure to hold the plastic cover rather than the key itself, and opening the main door. He led them through the small corridor and hit the elevator button with his elbow. It didn’t take long to get there, and was thankfully big enough that he wouldn’t risk touching any of them inside. Luca crammed himself right in the corner. ”It’s just four floors up, but I don’t want to walk..”

On good days, he still could, but on most? Wasn’t worth it.

After a brief elevator ride they reached the fourth floor. Luca got out last, squeezing past them to the nearest flat.

”Welcome to my humble abode,” he dramatically gestured for them to all go in once the door was open.

A short corridor led into an open plan living room and kitchen, with three more doors off of it. The whole floor was lined with black, plastic vinyl - a few of the edges were worn away, and it had clearly been put down unprofessionally. The living room itself was rather bare, with a tattered, blue couch in one corner near a large window. Opposite it, some distance away, was a large screen plugged into a desktop computer. The wallpaper was half peeling off, an unpleasant dark cream colour that it probably hadn’t been when Luca first moved in. There were a few wooden chairs next to the breakfast bar that separated the kitchen from the living room. They all looked like they were on their last legs, discoloured and rotting.

”Sorry it’s not much,” Luca ran a hand through his hair with a light laugh, hurrying into the room so the rest of them could get in behind him. He stopped just in front of the near destroyed couch, gesturing to the first door off of the living room. ”That’s Olivia’s old room, there’s a couple of chairs you can get from there if you’d like! I haven’t been in much since she moved out, so everything in there is… undecayed. She made sure it was all set up in case anyone ever stayed over and the like. Also, feel free to put stuff in the fridge or freezer!”

Thankfully his kitchen was also mostly alright, thanks to him covering what he could in plastic and using mostly plastic utensils. It still needed replaced every now and then, but it was much more resistant to decay than other materials.

”Love the place man,” Jasper’s voice broke as he carried all the bags through the doorway. He was quickly followed by Lila, and then Lynn. Jasper moved to the kitchen quickly and placed the bags into any space he could find. He rolled up his sleeves and looked at the red lines that had dotted his arms. Oh, the joy of being helpful. He quickly ruffled through the bags, grabbing a bag of Doritos and a Coke, before he picked up the bag itself and brought it toward Luca. ”Where do you want the bag,” he paused as he leaned in close, ”I think the ice cream was a fantastic call” he finished as his eyes shifted to the side, and watched as Lynn tore through the bag and pulled out a large tub of cookies and cream. She grabbed a bowl and started to scoop the ice cream. ”I’ll go grab the chairs in a second!”

”I’ll take it, just throw it to me,” Luca held out his hands, before grinning and glancing over at Lynn. ”I know, ice cream is always a necessity when hanging out, especially after a bad time.”

While Jasper talked with Luca, Lila walked around the room. Looking at the signs of decay around them. She had figured that his condition would make living in a place somewhat problematic.

Lynn meanwhile found one of the stools and sat down ontop of it, curling her legs up to the edge of the seat itself. She had a full bowl of ice cream and she looked down at it with a sad look. She knew she fucked up. She knew she said something that she would never, ever be able to take back. And she knew that she could never truly explain why she said it. Linqian deserved to be cut that way, and Linqian deserved to be hurt in the way that she had hurt Lynn. But she did not deserve to inflict that pain on the coven. She knew that Jinhai was a beloved member of the coven, and Lynn really liked him back during their teenage years. And she said she was glad he was dead. The coven as a whole would never look at her the same. All because she could not talk about her past the way she needed. A single tear began to slide down her face, and then a second, and then a third. And yet she still had friends who were willing to overlook that mistake. A fourth tear and then a fifth,

“I am sorry guys,” Lynn started as she stared at the ice cream in her hands, “I fucked up.” A few tears landed in the bowl as her hands began to tremble holding it.

Lila walked to the kitchen, ruffled through a bag, and pulled out two bottles of beer. She grabbed her key chain and used the bottle opener on it to pull open the tabs. She walked over next to Lila and pulled up a stool next to her, put the beers on that, and pulled another stool out, and sat down on that one. “Yeah, yeah you did but fuck Linqian for saying that,” Lila paused as she looked down at Lynnm “Mind if I fill Luca in,” she paused and got a single nod in response. “Okay,” Lila paused as she turned towards Luca. “So long story short, whatever aberration or whatever gave Lila her power has been.. Ever present in her family. The gift of foresight,”

”The curse of misfortune,” Lynn added as she took a big drink of the beer. ”Death is an old friend of the family,” she tried to joke but it just brought more tears.

”She told me about it before the final battle with the snake, her power coming online finally made everything make sense, you know? Her parents had just died, her brother died the year before,”, she paused as she shook her head, ” the only reason she hasn’t been to more funerals over the past decade is she doesn’t have anyone left to lose, they’re all dead. Whatever gave her this power also gave her, and everyone else in her family, bad luck and it has resulted in the death of everyone she called family.”

”No wonder,” Luca breathed out. He knew that Lynn had lost a lot, because even in the week he’d been there before sealing the snake she’d gone to a funeral or two. He couldn’t imagine what that was like. While he no longer saw his family for their own safety, they were still alive. If one day he got rid of the rot he would be able to see them again. Lynn couldn’t. No wonder she’d been so upset… Her and Linqian should be empathising with each other, not fighting. ”I’m so sorry, Lynn. I know it doesn’t change anything, but I am.”

The bag that Luca had just gotten from Jasper started to crumble in his fingers, slowly but surely. ”Does that mean that… You could die from it too?”

Lynn’s eyes darted quickly and matched Luca’s gaze. “Yes. Things just,” she paused as her eyes slowly drifted out of focus, ” tend to go wrong for me. Whether it’s an airdropped brace, a falling piece of concrete, or a blow that would normally miss, things are drawn to hurt me. She paused as she downed the rest of the beer she had, ”And one day the bad luck will catch up to me I think.”

“Let me grab you a different chair,” Lila said as she moved to the guest room, returning a moment later with the new one. After Lynn switched seats, she moved the old one out of the way and went back to the kitchen, coming back with another beer and a bag of Skittles.

Luca bit his lip, heart sinking. It was one thing to come to terms with his own impending death, and another for a friend’s. It was something they shared, though different at the same time - his was slow and definite, whereas Lynn’s could come out of nowhere at any time. Maybe he should tell her… No. That would cause everyone more pain. There was a hint of understanding in his gaze that he quickly hid away. ”Shit. And there’s no way to get rid of it?”

It was a stupid question. Luca knew as well as anyone how difficult it was to get rid of an abstraction you didn’t want. Frowning, he finally sat down on the worn couch. He wanted to go get some ice cream too, but he’d just start to destroy its container like this. ”That must be difficult. Damn, I should’ve bad luck proofed the place before I invited you guys over!” He shook his head. How would he even do that? ”Hopefully… well, hopefully it won’t catch up to you. It isn’t much, but I’ll just make sure I’m ready to jump in the way and erode any concrete coming for you.” He flashed Lynn a smile.

Lynn laughed. She laughed a bit too hard and nearly fell over the chair, but with a near-comical windmill motion with her arms, she was able to keep herself sitting strong. “It’ll curve around you, just you watch,” he paused as she laughed again. The tears still continued to fall but the sight of that happening.. Again, filled her with a joy she hadn’t felt in a minute. Linqian began to fade from Lynn’s mind finally. However, the burning sensation on her cheek quickly drew her focus back to it. She touched it gently and it hurt like hell. She raised the bowl of ice cream and placed it on the burned hand print, before let out an audible “ahhhh” as the cold of the bowl brought some relief to the pain she was feeling.

“I try not to think too much about it,” Lynn started as she flashed a smile back to Luca, “and I try to avoid any unnecessary danger.

”Hey, if I get super buff it won’t be able to get around me!” Luca flexed his arms… Which were really lacking in any muscle at all, and laughed. At least Lynn seemed to be feeling a bit better. ”Not thinking about it seems for the best… Wait, shit, I should get you some medication for that.”

Luca jumped up, immediately regretting it as he swayed and had to shoot out a hand to grab the arm of the couch. Once the dizziness had gone he disappeared into the door nearest him - his bedroom - and came back out with a plastic box filled with medical supplies. It didn’t have any of his stronger painkillers, which he kept in separate prescription bottles, but it had all the over the counter stuff - along with stuff that should help with burns. Sometimes it soothed his rotting skin. He put it down near Lynn.

”Everything you need should be in there!”

Lila laughed again at Luca flexing. He was a good man, probably one of the best in the coven, and his antics were enough to keep her spirits lifting upwards. “Thank you, Luca”, Lynn paused as she reached down and grabbed the medical supplies that she could use on the burn, and began to rub the ointment on it. It hurt. It hurt like hell, but it would be enough to avoid lasting damage and scarring.

“So, now that we are away from that craziness, and from the rest of the coven,” she paused as she returned her focus to her ice cream. She finally thought about how she truly made Linqian feel, and she felt awful. Not because she made her feel bad, but the fact that she made her feel the same things Lynn had always felt She was holding herself together by a thin margin, but she needed to add more distractions to keep it together, “can I just say that Sloane and Anya are still cunts?”

”You’re right,” Luca burst out laughing, eyes creasing slightly. ”I can’t believe Anya tried to become leader! Well I can, but still… I thought she was smarter than that.”

He shook his head half in disbelief. Anya was one of the few people Luca actively disliked, outside of a few 8th Street members. ”But hey, Sloane isn’t actually that bad… Well, uh, she did basically imply that Jade’s death was Drake’s fault before he punched her. But she was clearly hurting too!”

“We’re all hurting,” Lynn said as tears threatened to well again. She dug her thumb nail into the underside of her middle finger, hiding it from the group. She pulled her finger and returned to her ice cream.

“I think you and Jasper need to actually spend some time around Sloane,” she paused as she took a drink from her beer, “fuck Anya though” she paused as she looked around the room again. Luca was alone here. She did not like that. Lila knew that father wolf only targeted those who were alone and the realization that Luca was in danger made her also realize that Jasper was as well. “Hey,” she paused as she pointed between Jasper and Luca, “with father wolf on the prowl y’all shouldn’t be sleeping alone”

”Oh, you’re right.” Luca honestly hadn’t even thought about it. When Auri had suggested pairing up, he’d agreed it was a good idea for everyone else. But he couldn’t exactly move in somewhere else and risk ruining a shit ton of furniture, or hurting others. He was dying anyway, so if it happened to him earlier, so what? But he’d forgotten he had friends that would actually care about him… He turned to Jasper with a grin. ”You’d be welcome to sleep here, if you want? Olivia’s room’s been free since she left, but the beds pretty good - she picked it out herself and she had much better taste than me!”

”Fuck yeah bro, slumber party,” Jasper responded as he tossed a popcorn piece into the air and catching it in his mouth as it fell. ” I’d need to stop by mine to grab some stuff but you’re much more central to stuff here, I’m out on the outskirts of town.”. He paused as he shifted his eyes over to the girls. ”once they’re heading home we can head over, I’ll give you the VIP tour,” he finished with a wink as he tossed another piece of popcorn into his mouth.

”Sounds great,” Luca grinned. He got up again and went into the kitchen, finally grabbing himself a bowl of ice cream. He then rummaged through a few cupboards to find the bottle of painkillers he kept in there (just in case) and popped one back with a drink of water. ”I’ve never had a boy’s slumber party. What do you do during them? No demon summoning, I hope.”

“We summoned a demon” Lynn said as she shoved another scoop of ice cream into her mouth.

“Yeah,” Lila sighed, “we did, last night, it was a big one too. I hope it’s not causing too much trouble, it got away”

Jaspers eyes went wide, and shifted from surprise, to concern, to a just tired of this look. How could they summon a demon, again. ” No demon summons,” he paused as he pointed towards the ladies, ” because unlike some people we’ll be mature adults.”. He chuckled as he looked back towards Luca. ”Seriously though, thanks for offering up your place. A boys slumber party is a magical experience, we’ll watch movies, do arts and crafts, I’ll cook us dinner, and,” he paused as he looked towards Lynn, then Lila, ” No demons”

”Holy shit… Well, if a demon turns up tonight, we’ll know why,” Luca shook his head in shock. How did you even summon a demon? Was it some kind of girl magic they weren’t privy to learning? Quickly getting over his shock, he grinned at Jasper again. ”Helly yeah, I haven’t had a properly cooked dinner in a while… Not cause I can’t cook! It’s just a bit difficult. Oh- speaking of arts and crafts, one minute.”

Luca jumped up, stumbling slightly but not letting that deter him from going into his room. He came back moments later with a few things in his hands. He concentrated hard on not rotting them away, which would ruin his hard work, and looked at the three of them with a grin. He could just throw them each theirs- wait, no. Lynn would definitely end up hit in the face.

”Here, I made these for you,” he placed them on the floor and nudged one towards each of them. For Lila it was a carved, wooden crow roughly painted in pink, blue and white (Luca wasn’t so good at the painting part). For Jasper, a wooden paintbrush with a splattering of colour at the tip. And for Lynn a small wooden heart looped on a thin metal chain with a clasp at the back. They were all imperfect, with small bits missing from when Luca didn’t quite keep his abstraction under control while making them, but clearly a labour of love. ”I was making some for the people in 8th, then my old friends like you guys… I’m glad I was able to see you all and give you them.”

Lila and Lynn both made an ”aww” sound in unison. Lila looked it over, and she immediately was in love with the design and the paint pattern. This is a gift that she’ll proudly display at work, and make it a fixture on her social media presence. Lynn pulled it in close and practically hugged her gift. Both spoke a quick and loud ‘thank you’ as they began to show each other their gifts.

Jasper, though, shifted his gaze between the gifted paint brush and Luca. Did he have this gift ready not knowing if Jasper would be around with the coven? Jasper remembered Luca was the beacon of kindness, and thoughtfulness, and this was not that far out of what Jasper expected. But it still shocked him all the same. ”Bro,” he chuckled as he looked back to Luca, ” when did you do this? This is too kind, now I have to give you something in return.”

”I’m glad you both like them,” Luca smiled at Lila and Lynn, eyes shining. Their happiness at getting the gifts brought him so much joy too. He then turned to Jasper, waving his hands in front of him. ”You really don’t have to! It’s just something I’ve been working on the past few years… Wood carving is one of the few things I’ve been able to keep up, even if my progress is pretty slow.”

He couldn’t exactly tell him that he’d made them while writing them letters to send out on his death. If he had never seen them all again, he would have made sure they got them then. But it was nicer this way. Something to remember him by.

”You should’ve seen Olivia’s suitcase when she left, it was filled with them! If we hadn’t met up again I would’ve found out your addresses and sent them to you all… But I’m glad I was able to give them to you in person.” His smile widened. ”I’m really happy you like them.”

Hours flew by in what felt like minutes for Jasper. He watched as Lynn pulled herself out of the dark place she was. The sadness lingered in her eyes, and Jasper knew that she would be the subject of much discussion among the coven, and he knew that what Linqian said would be a footnote to it. You don’t say something like that and come out of it a victim, and Jasper knew he’d have to both hold Lynn accountable while also being there to support her. She does not often show her emotional side, and as the whole coven saw it was not pretty.

After a while Jasper loaded them all back into his car and drove them back home. It was nice seeing Lila’s house again. He had spent so much time there before and after the fight with the snake. Lynn was already tipsy, and he could only imagine how drunk she would be by the end of the night, and Lila was well on her way to the same fate.

”Ladies,” Jasper spoke as his window rolled down the rest of the way. He rested his arms on top of the door, and laid his head down on top of his arms. ”I want you both to be safe tonight, if you need anything call me. Okay?”

”Yeah! Don’t go too wild,” Luca piped up from the back, before putting on a jokingly stern expression and pointing at them both. ”No demon summoning tonight, alright. If our slumber party is interrupted by a demon I’m gonna be real pissed!”

”Yes,” Jasper shot a finger out and pointed it towards Lila. He leaned back into his seat and began to roll up his window. ” No demons” he shouted as the window closed, before he put his car in motion once more and gave his friends one final wave.

---

---

Jasper wished them a good night before he and Luca drove back to Jasper’s place. He spent a total of fifteen minutes inside, emerging with various painting supplies, canvas, fresh herbs and other food items, and a backpack filled with his clothes and other hygiene supplies.

After another drive, and three trips through the elevator, Jasper finally fell down onto a chair and exhaled. ”Bro,” he paused as he slicked back his hair with the sweat that covered his forehead, ”I need to pack lighter for the boys slumber party.,”. Jasper looked over to Luca and smiled. ”So, I brought stuff to make us something for food, what’s your protein of choice? I got beef and chicken,”

”It’s all the art supplies, you gotta be less creative,” Luca laughed. Thankfully the livingroom was large enough that Jasper would be able to set up in there, while Luca would still have his little corner to work in while avoiding damaging anything. ”Hmm… Beef! Olivia once made this chicken thing thay looked amazing but gave us both food poisoning. I’ve never been able to look at chicken the same way since.”

”Beef it is,” Jasper paused as he grabbed the raw meat placed it on the counter. He went over to the sink, rolled up his sleeve, and washed his hands. “We’re going to work with what I had, and you have, and from what I’m seeing I can whip up some mean enchiladas. Not spicy, but tasty,” he paused as he looked back over towards Luca. He flashed him a quick smile. Jasper wanted to avoid anything that could be too rough on the stomach, and he did not know if excess spice would hurt him. “Unless spicy is okay, and I can up the heat

”No spice is better,” Luca nodded. As much as he loved spicy food… His stomach couldn’t handle it anymore. He had to be careful with it, otherwise he’d spend the whole night throwing up or in intense pain. It sucked a lot, but at least he could still eat. ”I can’t wait! I haven’t had enchiladas in a long time. Uh, if there’s anything you need help with, just let me know?”

”Oh of course,” Jasper started as the memory of the day rentered his mind. ”I’ll tell you what, we both need showers after all that tear gas. You want to catch the first, I’ll prepare the food and get it in the oven and then we’ll switch, you’ll watch over the food in the oven and I’ll get clean? You’ll just need to take it out when it’s ready.”

”Oh yeah…” Luca had honestly forgotten he was still coated in tear gas, because the light burning sensation wasn’t much different from normal. But it’d be good to get it off. ”Sounds like a plan, I’ll jump in then!”

With a grin, Luca went into his room. He came back out with a plastic bag, which he’d stuffed his towel and change of clothes in. With a, ”I won’t be long,” he went into the bathroom - situated between his bedroom and Olivia’s. The sound of the shower turning on spilled through the door, followed by some very off pitch singing. Luca took a bit longer than he’d expected, having to carefully scrub the tear gas off his skin without tearing it along with washing it all out of his hair. He’d taken almost half an hour by the time he came out, changed into a baggy t-shirt and sweatpants riddled with holes.

”Shower’s all yours! Just be careful, there’s a few loose tiles in the wall. Wouldn’t want them falling on you or anything.”

“Perfect,” Jasper said as he closed the door to the oven, “I have the timer on there microwave set for thirty minutes, and that clock starts ticking now.” he paused as he returned to the sink to wash his hands. “I’ll be out in a second,” Jasper finished as he grabbed his backpack and headed for the shower. The shower was already hot and he could have stayed under the torrent of warmth forever, but the sound of the timer going off back in the kitchen drew him back to the time constraints. He finished his shower, dressed himself in a baggy Nike sweatpants and a v-neck t-shirt before he exited the room and rejoined Luca.

“How’s are we looking?”

”Good!” Luca was crouching a little bit away from the oven, squinting to look through the glass on the door. He very carefully opened the door, immediately bombarded by the hot steam. He grabbed a nearby kitchen towel and, concentrating hard on keeping as much of his decaying under control as he could, he pulled the dish out. He very quickly put it up on the counter and backed away, before he started decaying any vegetables in it. ”It smells amazing, wow, I should’ve invited you to stay over way earlier.”

Jasper laughed as he sat down on a stool and spun himself the rest of the way to face Luca. “You’re too kind. So! While that settles, what should the itinerary for the boys slumber party be? I know! After we eat I’ll paint your portrait. Nothing too fancy but I noticed you don’t have a lot of photos around. A nice painting or two would liven this place up. Then, we can just see where the vibes take us.“ Jasper paused as he smelled the aroma coming off the food. It did turn out well from what he could tell by the smell alone. He wasn’t the best cook in the world but he’s learned to be at least a decent one, and he knew that fresh ingredients made the difference.

”If I'd known you were gonna paint me I would've worn my Sunday best,” Luca laughed. He got out a couple of plates, a spoon for server and cutlery - normal metal stuff (kept in a plastic bag) for Jasper, and plastic for himself. The good smelled amazing, and he couldn't wait to dig in to a proper meal. ”I never bothered to decorate the place because paper doesnt tend to last long around me… but if you put the painting up high enough I probably wont affect it!”

“No this is perfect, it’s a character study into the man that they called..” Jasper paused as the evilest grin he could summon spread across his face, the moment finally arrived where he could use the best thing he had ever heard, “baby.”

Luca froze, forkful of enchilada near his mouth. Thank god he hadn’t started eating, because he would have choked. His cheeks turned red and he dropped his fork, a little bit of him dying inside. Since nobody had commented about it before he’d hoped they hadn’t seen, or had somehow forgotten it! ”Pleassseee, no, that was so embarrassing! I have never, in my life, been called baby until today and… ewgh… it was so fucking weird! What kind government agents are they hiring nowadays?”

“I don’t know, I don’t know, but all that I know baby is that it made the situation feel so weird, like she was baby bottle feeding you,” Jasper paused as he began to eat some of the food, “don’t worry baby I’ll keep my use of that nickname limited.”

”You’ve already called me it twice,” Luca shook his head, putting on an exaggerated upset expression. He wasn’t actually upset, of course. Embarrassed, sure, but it wasn’t like he’d been the one to initiate the whole thing. He shovelled some food into his mouth… and it was fucking amazing. Freshest thing he’d tasted in months. ”It felt like she was bottle feeding me, honestly- but fuck, this is amazing.”

“Anything for you, baby, anything for you. Jasper chuckled as he took another bite and he realized that it truly was amazing. “Oh fuck it came out perfect.”

Luca fake gagged at that, before eating like he’d never seen food in his life. He had to eat quickly, before the food started getting affected by his aura - though what happened to it inside of him he didn’t want to know. ”Mm’sho good…” He stuffed another piece in his mouth. ”You willing to cook dinner every night?”

“Always willing to, I’m not the best but there’s only one way to get better,” he joked as he scarfed down the last of his food. Each bite appeared better than the next. “Maybe the secret ingredient is tear gas…

”Better than anything I can make,” Luca sighed contentedly, leaning back and holding his stomach. He’d eaten a shit ton - way more than someone his size normally could, but he needed to eat double just to process the normal amount. ”Shit, maybe we should get tear gassed more often if it makes stuff taste this good. How do I call in a tear gas raid on my house?”

“That’s easy,” Jasper chuckled as stood up, walked over to food, before he grabbed seconds. The first round of food was barely enough to calm his hunger. “the PRA is in our phones, yeah? Anytime we want to get gassed again you can simply send me a text that says something about Father Wolf. They’ll come and tear gas us for free,” he paused as he frowned, “This is America, it can’t be that hard for us to find either..

Jasper turned his focus down on the food and devoured it faster than he should have. As he finished his last bite, he realized that he too was full. And he still had to do all the dishes, put away leftovers, and clean the cooking areas. He wasn’t a quitter, though, but first he had to ask a question. “You want any more food? I can grab it for you!”

”Oh yeahhh, I bet they’ll be knocking on my door if I use the wrong buzzword in a text now. Like this shit was the bomb or something,” Luca laughed. ”Hey I’ve never tried buying teargas… You really think it’d be that easy?”

He shook his head with another laugh. ”I’m good for now! Will probably need to eat again with some medication later, but that filled me up. Think I’m going to need a moment before I can move!”

Jasper stood up and grabbed all the dirty dishes that needed washed. He first washed the dishes, then he put the leftover food and their container in the fridge after wrapping it closed. The, he washed all the utensils, and ensured there was nothing that was dirty left in the kitchen. As he finished, a slight groan escaped his lips. He was full. There would come a time he would need to sit down and take a rest. That time would come. Instead, right now, he knew he had an important goal.

“Alright,” Jasper spoke as he moved back over to his stuff and grabbed a blank canvas square and his trusty paintbrush. He got his oils ready. He quickly painted the canvas black, and used his power to dry it instantly. Once it was finished, he looked back to to Luca and smiled“Pose,” he whispered as he readied himself. “do note you’ll have to hold it for like ten minutes…”

”Alright,” Luca nodded, taking a moment to think of a pose. What could he hold for ten minutes? That took out anything holding his arms up, because he’d end up in pain after five. So he just turned around to face Jasper and leaned against the breakfast bar with a wide smile. ”Alright, I’m ready!”

Jasper went to work. As soon as a layer was done he flipped his paintbrush to use his abstraction to dry it completely. He did not channel any intent into the magic, but it did allow him to advance at a raid pace. Several minutes would go by very Jasper smiled and used his spell one final time, before he put the paintbrush down completely. “That should be enough for now, I got enough of it down and now I can add some more detail as the night goes on!”. Jasper flipped the canvas and it looked a lot like Luca. In fact, it appears that it was the second time tonight that he was able to make a miracle happen in thirty minutes or less.

”No way,” Luca's eyes widened as he looked over the painting. It really looked like him. He'd never been painted before, and rarely took photos now that Olivia was gone but… it looked nice. Wow. ”Its amazing… thank you, Jasper. I don't know what to say! I mean whoa, it really looks like me.”

He laughed, still looking at it in disbelief. He knew Jasper was a talented artist, he had been ten years ago but wow…

”Uh, since the art's done for now, what should we do? Oh, why don't we watch a movie? I have a ton on my computer we could watch!”

“Yes, yes a movie! Tis the season for something horror themed, what do you have? Jasper finished with a smile.

”Heh, I have a whole selection,” Luca grinned. He got off the stool he'd been sitting on and stretched out, before going over to the far side of the room. He pulled a wooden stick out from beside the work couch, with one end visibly rotting, and used it to hit the power button on his desktop computer. It flickered to life, large screen booting up. He plopped down on the couch itself and pulled a small coffee table towards him. On it was a keyboard and mouse with a very long cable, plugged into the computer. It was the way he worked around the problem of a constantly decaying aura - keeping the more difficult to replace things far enough away from him. Once his computer turned on he clicked through some folders, before finding his movie collection.

”Hmm, let's see… I've got the Blair Witch Project, Hereditary, the Exorcist, the Conjuring… I can easily download another too if you have suggestions!”

“What about Talk To Me? I heard that one is pretty spooky, and my friends were telling me about another one called The Ritual,” he paused as he thought, “let’s do Hereditary first and we can see where the vibes take us,” he paused as he sat down, “baby.”

Luca shot Jasper a mock glare, quickly setting it up to download the other two before opening up Hereditary. ”Should we grab some snacks before we start? Dunno if we'll be able to get out of our seats during it…”

“What’s a movie without movie snacks,” Jasper got up and grabbed the snacks he got for himself, and the ones he got for Luca. He brought them over, sat down nearby, and braced himself for the night to come.

---

About half way into the movie and Luca was at the edge of his seat, mouth ajar and fingers digging into the couch beside him. It rotted away underneath his hand and he jumped when objects began to fly around the screen.

”Shit this is scarier than I thought it would be,” Luca whispered, glancing over at Jasper, and then back to the screen.

Light tapping echoed through the room as the mother got possessed on screen. It grew louder, followed by sharp nails scratching against wood.

”The sound effects are really good too,” Luca said, shivering. It really sounded like something was trying to get into the house to possess them.

“Really, really good,” Jasper said as he shoveled another round of popcorn into his mouth. He listened for a second and the hairs rose on the back of his neck. He figured the movie would be scary, but not this immersing. He looked over to Luca and back to the screen. “I feel like it’s in the room with us right now.

”Yeah, like we could be possessed too,” Luca shuddered. A door creaked open, syncing up with a door opening in the movie, and the sounds of scratching against the walls grew louder. At the same time the temperature began to gradually drop… Fuck, the heating must have turned off. He grabbed some chocolate and shoved it in his mouth. A low, echoing snarl rang around the room and set his heart racing. An acrid odour filled the air… Shit was there something nasty rotting that he hadn’t noticed?

”This is the most realistic horror movie I’ve ever seen,” Luca pulled his legs up to his chest, trying to calm his ragged breathing. It was just a movie. ”Heh, you don’t think there’s actually an apparition in here with us… Just kidding.” He laughed.

Jasper tilted his head as he side eyed Luca. The movie was scary but Jasper didn’t realise that it affected him this much. Jasper made a mental note to check in on him after the movie and see if more horror movies were okay or if they would need to switch to something else. “I bet you there is an apparition in the room with us right now,” Jasper let out a laugh, joining Luca.

And then something behind them joined the laughter.

Luca froze, laughter dying on his lips. The creepy, not quite human laughter from behind them continued. That wasn’t coming from the movie. He could hear more laughter echoing in his mind as the Rot joined in taunting him, his whole body tensing. Slowly, surely, Luca twisted his head to look behind them. His stomach dropped and he nearly stopped breathing.

A towering, skeletal creature stood behind the couch, its glowing eyes focused on Luca and Jasper and its barely existent mouth open in laughter. A disembodied arm reached towards them, sharp claws bared.

“HOLY SHIT!” Luca screamed, automatically jumping towards Jasper and wrapping his arms and legs around him.

Jasper caught Luca instinctively, and the sheer shock of what was coming towards him was almost enough to completely mask the sense of rot, he wrapped his arms around Luca and joined in the screaming, his shirt and exposed skin rotting away as he did. “FUUUCK”

Luca continued screaming, tears spilling from his eyes out of fear. He realised he still had the chocolate in his hand and lobbed it at the creature. It smacked it right in the face and fell to the floor with a thud. It stopped laughing, eyes somehow seeming even more terrifying. Luca hugged Jasper even harder, yelling, ”I DON'T WANT TO DIE LIKE THIS!”

“SAME,” Jasper shouted back as he put Luca down on the couch and grabbed the small coffee table and swung it at the apparition.

---

---

Anya pinched the bridge of her nose, trying her best to hold back an exasperated sigh. She had known things wouldn’t work out well today, but had hoped that by being there she could help stop it devolving into complete chaos. That hadn’t worked out at all. It didn’t help that the majority of the sensible members (few as they were) hadn’t been there - leaving only her and Sloane to hold the fort. Difficult, when everyone there hated them.

There was nothing for her to say to the two that had fought - both disliked her, and she had no interest in lecturing them. Jack had already done a good enough job of that. Instead she approached Jack again, leaning in close.

”Jack, when you’re done here, can we talk?” She smiled, glancing at the nearest PRA agents. Best not to be too specific. ”We have loads to catch up on.” She turned her head towards Sloane, waving her over. With Sloane so near to Meifeng, Anya didn’t want to directly call her over. She widened her smile, trying to communicate with her eyes that they should talk when Sloane was done talking to the agent. Hopefully Sloane would understand. ”Sloane too.”

“Thank you, Agent Liao,” said Sloane, pocketing her phone and a business card as she caught Anya’s look. “I won’t take anymore of your time. If you’d excuse me…”

After an hour or two that consisted of cold showers to wash away the remaining residue from the tear gas, changing of clothes (and, in Sloane’s case, bandages), and a couple rounds of teleportation taxi, everyone regrouped at Sloane’s penthouse downtown. The golden rays of the afternoon sun filled her spacious living room with a warm light, the modernist design of her penthouse a hard contrast to the wellkept Victorian furniture that looked like it had belonged to a grandmother’s grandmother, likely living a vast majority of its life beneath a sheet before Sloane had pilfered it. Two grand bookshelves were stacked to the ceiling and between displays of antiques and oddities was a bizarre mixture of dry histories and art criticism, volumes of now irrelevant encyclopaedias, topics on various schools of occultism, philosophy, and religion, and a small smattering of poorly written supernatural romance novels that had been marketed to lonely teenage girls.

A quiet television between the bookshelves was running coverage on an arsonist setting fire to the church, talking heads doing what they could to dissuade the guest from starting another satanic panic by blaming the homeless instead. Sloane shut the tv off with a look, her channeler being pulled out from beneath a silver platter carrying a kettle, tea cups, a saucer of cream, a bowl of sugar cubes, and a plate of cucumber sandwiches as she set it down upon a coffee table. She fixed everyone a cup of tea, taking hers plain, and sat back in an uncomfortable looking upholstered armchair.

“So today went poorly,” said Sloane, blowing on her tea to cool it. She turned her eyes towards Jack. “Until I saw the state you had returned in, I assumed either you or Auri had set us up. The sealing didn’t work, did it?”

”Sealing?” Anya raised an eyebrow. She leaned forward to pour a small amount of cream into her own tea, sitting on a more comfortable couch. Her gaze moved from Sloane to Jack, and back again, as she nursed her tea. She took a moment to remember what had happened - Stormy, Auri, Britney, Jack and… Layla had all disappeared before the PRA raided them. Just like Sloane, Anya had assumed one of them was in on it, with Layla being the least likely that she’d almost forgotten about her. But she was the only one of those five with a particularly nasty Apparition attached to her. ”Was it the Void you were trying to seal? How did you come back so badly hurt by that?”

Jack sat across from Anya, slowly sipping on a mug of tea as black as the Void itself, recalling the events. He leaned to one side, opposite to where he had been shot. He left his coat in the Shadowzone to not smear blood on Sloane’s furniture.

”Last night, well after Alizée’s death,” her death still stung, and it showed on his face, ”Auri decided that we needed to seal the Void Heart to save ourselves the trouble of dealing with him while we’re searching for Father Wolf. I agreed. But the Void Heart knew well enough that he had very few friends among us, so I planned to earn his trust by hiding him and Layla in a place no sane person would go.”

Another sip, as he let them take that in.

”That, of course, was the Void itself. A particular area of it that I often stayed at, where it is relatively safe for humans. I needed both of them to believe that I was truly on their side, while not being on everyone else’s. But I also needed the rest of us to be in the dark until after,” He added, “Since the Void Heart is a clever creature. If he or Layla overheard anyone speaking about the sealing, or anything implying it, they’d both be suspicious.”

”The Temple, those cultists Leon and Alizée were associated with, sent two of their… operatives, their agents, whatever they call them, to stop us. One of them was a purple Adept who could follow the use of purple Lux, who I should have accounted for,” Jack admitted, taking another sip.

”When we were children, I spent time with the Temple to study from their library. I believe that is how they knew who to send to deal with us. It just so happens that one of them uses a gun for a channeler.”

”Of course.” Understanding dawned on Anya’s face, and she took a sip of her tea. If there’d been a gun at play, and two unknowns, it was understandable that Jack and Auri had come back so hurt. ”That would explain why Leon stormed in yelling about someone teleporting, just before the PRA came to our door. He must have spotted you before you left and called them in.”

“Jack had only just told me their plan seconds before they acted on it,” said Sloane, making it clear that she hadn’t been holding out any information from Anya. “I didn’t even have the time to tell him how dumb and reckless I thought the idea was. Obviously the Void Heart is a menace, but now wasn’t the time.” Sloane shifted in her chair. “You’re burying the lede, Jack. Did the sealing fail? Where’s the Void Heart?”

”Supposedly, he’s with Britney, Layla and Stormy, being sealed as we speak. Those Temple rats demanded to do it themselves, and we weren’t going to let them do it without oversight. Layla fought back, believing the Void Heart cared for her,” he did not sound happy about that fact, ”But I trust the other two. Britney has the Noble Vow and its power, and Stormy has enough protection to win a war. And the Temple knows we would hunt them down if those two don’t return.”

Sloane took a sip of her tea at the mention of the artifact, masking her interest with the mug. The Void Heart being sealed was ultimately a good thing for the city, but the sealed apparition being in the hands of the Temple left her with a feeling of unease. People used to make annoying jokes about the Coven being a cult back in the day, but the Temple was an actual cult. Even the most altruistic of cult movements only needed one strong voice to radicalize good intentions into future atrocities.

”Sealing him so soon, without anyone else to support us was unwise, in hindsight. I should have consulted one of you two before we executed that plan, and I don’t have an excuse for not doing so. I apologise for that.” Prideful as he was, there wasn’t any denying that it was a blunder on the resident wizard’s part, and he wasn’t stupid.

”That was a major oversight on your part,” Anya sighed softly, putting down her cup with a light clatter. She reached out for a cucumber sandwich, but didn’t eat it yet. ”As Sloane said, it was dumb and reckless, and you’re lucky the Temple agents didn’t kill you all when they had the chance. I wouldn’t put it past them… Thankfully, it didn’t end in much of a disaster. I’m sure Britney and Stormy will ensure it’s done, or call for help if it's not. You can easily go get them if necessary.”

Anya smiled, seemingly genuine, at Jack. ”And your apology is accepted. I’m a little hurt that you didn’t think Sloane or I were trustworthy enough to keep it a secret, but it’s all water under the bridge.”

“Sure,” said Sloane curtly, shoving a sandwich in her mouth. It was the best she could do when it came to telling Jack that she forgave him and was glad that he hadn't been shot in the head. “We’ll probably have to deal with the Temple at sometime, but right now one of the biggest problems with our current situation is the utter lack of focus on the thing that matters and getting distracted by stupid personal issues. Lynn and Linqian’s embarrassing display is proof of that.”

Her broken nose was proof of that. Sloane grabbed another sandwich and gestured at Jack with it.

“Kali’s also dead. Father Wolf killed four people in one night and they’re wasting time complaining about who should feel more sad, or how their opinion has to be weighed in on every single thing, or how the food provided wasn’t enough,” said Sloane, taking her sandwich and tossing it back on the platter. “All we’ve accomplished so far has been making it easier for Father Wolf to track us down.”

”Yes, there’s a complete lack of direction,” Anya sighed, finally taking a bite out of the sandwich she’d picked up. ”It’s exactly how the coven was ten years ago, and we all know how that ended. We,” she gestured to the three of them, ”as the few sensible members will need to work much harder to keep everyone alive, unfortunately.”

Jack thought about it for a moment, idly biting into a sandwich as the gears turned in his mind.

”...At the risk of sounding sentimental, the need for survival is what kept us on the same page as children. Until the others rediscover their will to survive, we can’t rely on that to assuage them. We don’t have focus, so this is what I think we should do: We forget about focus. We can’t force them to care about their own lives, and while they all do to some extent, we can only do so much when Father Wolf is such an abstract threat. We can only hope they’ll come around on their own.”

He sat up on the couch, ”We’ll come to the others as a whole once we’ve found evidence- Not a lead, evidence. We should absolutely communicate with them, but if we arrange an entire meeting every time we simply think we know where to turn our attention, who will remain once we find a target to watch? A trail to follow? In the meantime, while we investigate ourselves, we reach out to the more coherent organisations in the city. 8th Street and Greenwood, if we can convince them to speak with us; Approaching them at night would make it easier to escape, with my teleporting magic, in case they’re hostile to us. If we do this, we won’t have to waste anyone else’s time.”

He looked to them both for their thoughts.

“Of course we’ll need something better than just another one of Auri’s hunchs, but playing detective is getting ahead of what we need. We need to prioritize the safety of everyone, even those who are too stupid to even try and protect themselves,” said Sloane as she stood from her chair and walked over to the window. What keeping everyone safe looked like she did not know. Perhaps it would’ve been better to have everyone get hauled away by the PRA. Her reflection in the polished glass exposed the concern in her eyes as she looked out over the city. “Father Wolf escalated last night. Having evidence of who’s responsible matters little when everyone you present it to is dead.”

“It was over a week since they killed Ashley. I suppose if you want you could act under the assumption that they function like a normal serial killer and have a cooldown period. But that’s a risk I’m not willing to take,” said Sloane, looking over her shoulder at Anya and Jack. “Are you?

”No, it’s not,” Anya easily lied, shifting to meet Sloane’s gaze with a slight comforting smile. Of course, Jack’s plan of the three of them finding Father Wolf was most beneficial to her - she only cared about saving herself, and preferably keeping both Sloane and Jack alive. The rest, she wasn’t quite so bothered about. But above that was keeping up the guise that she did, in fact, care. ”We should prioritise their safety, as you say Sloane, and investigate where it doesn’t interfere with keeping everyone alive. Once there’s a safety mechanism in place, we can start looking into leads.”

After another, thoughtful bite of her sandwich, Anya continued. ”Ensuring everyone’s safety is the difficult part. Auri’s suggestion of the ‘buddy system’ is inadequate. There are many who won’t follow it. Greyson because of his job, Lyss for similar reasons, Tayla due to her family, Luca thanks to the rot, and Linqian for… obvious reasons. There are a few we don’t have to worry about so much. Leon has the temple, Drake his family, and I’m sure Evelynn, Lila and Jasper will stick together.”

”We don’t have much information to use for this. Father Wolf seemingly appears and disappears without a trace, targeting those that are alone. It’s difficult to protect everyone from something so unknown.”

“Right,” said Sloane as she walked back to the others. She remained standing with her hands in her pocket, her eyes turned down as if the ground had the solutions they needed. Sloane had the good fortune to be able to hide herself away in her ivory fortress, albeit not so impenetrable as she once thought it to be. Worst case scenario she could run back to her parents and have them secret her away like they had done themselves when the Stygian Snake had attacked. She wouldn’t, but the option existed. She had to remember that others didn’t quite have the luxury to completely abandon their daily lives and routines and come out on the other side okay. When freedom was limited it became people’s most prized possession. Even if the three of them came up with a good solution there were some who wouldn’t listen to them and outright refuse, choosing rather to die by their own choices than live by their compromises.

So then they just wouldn’t tell them.

“I have an idea.”

The television turned back on as Sloane looked at it, the faintest hint of blue and orange light reflecting off of the wall from the Hexmark on the back of the mounted flatscreen, images flashing by in a blur as the channels flipped to a CCTV of her penthouse. Multiple boxes showed live feeds of rooms in Sloane’s penthouse and the hall outside her door, as well as feeds monitoring every point of entry or exit to and from her apartment. If Jack or Anya were particularly eagle-eyed they would notice a card lift itself from Sloane’s nightstand and whip its way past several cameras before it floated to a stop in the living room, hovering within arm’s reach of Anya who would notice the tiny symbol of Sloane’s Hexmark on the corner of the card. The card itself was just the back of one of Sloane’s business cards. However, scrawled on it in neat handwriting was contact information that Meifeng had given Sloane.

“I thought that Kali failed to deliver on his promise to protect us, but maybe that’s not the case. I’m not thrilled to seek help from the feds, but they already have a vested interest in stopping Father Wolf and owe us recompense for their unjustified raid. Besides, we pay their salaries.” Most of them did, anyway. Sloane doubted the IRS made it out to the Void yet. ”I don’t think anyone would sleep more comfortably knowing that they’re being surveillanced by the agency, but at the very least they’ll be more likely to wake in the morning. Perhaps once we finish our tea you could call and make an arrangement for some kind of security detail, Anya,” said Sloane.

They both knew that Sloane lacked the diplomatic chops not to chew out Meifeng now that they were no longer at a severe disadvantage and presumably separated by miles of city.

“I heard one of the agents mention a Director Alcott in a hushed tone. Perhaps if Agent Liao drags her feet you can request to speak with them,” said Sloane, settling the card down on the table next to Anya. Sloane didn’t love the idea of working with the PRA, knowing that it would likely become a problem in the future, but she couldn’t think of any other options that gave them a future in the first place. “As for everyone else, perhaps they’ll be happier not knowing.”

Jack was fascinated by the display of magic, watching the television suddenly become a central collection of security cameras. Was this how Sloane had eluded death and danger up until now? Keeping a watchful eye on everything? That was precisely what they needed.

But he had no idea they knew the name of the PRA agents’ superior. This was exactly why working together was important, one of them could be aware of things the others were not. It seemed to him that some things only get better with time after all. He couldn’t help but grin a little at how prepared Sloane had been.

”That could be very clever,” Jack nodded, approving of it on paper, ”If we execute it properly. Based on the way she responded to Kali’s death, she won’t want to lose Bianca, or her other agents… That idea has merit. Though, we should tread carefully if that is what we do. Meifeng and her agents have shown that they are willing to resort to extremes when it suits them. If they decide we shouldn’t know about this Director Alcott, or if they have other reasons for attacking us again, we would need to expect a struggle.” The tear gas and the medical attention Sloane needed was proof of that. ”Personally, I am not confident that the church was only a lapse in judgement. The PRA takes anyone they can find, and that means some of their agents don’t have the most impressive trigger discipline.”

”I've grown quite used to being around undisciplined people again,” said Sloane flatly.

”Most of which haven’t been using tear gas and rifles, lately.”

No, mostly just lightning and fists, thought Sloane, falling silent.

Anya leaned forward to take the card, holding the corner between her fingers and glancing over the number, smiling genuinely. While she wasn't particularly fond of the idea of working with the PRA, they were the best option to keep everyone safe. It was smart to use the fact that they unnecessarily attack them for their own gain. Of course, nobody would agree to it if asked, so it would have to stay between the three of them.

”Don't worry, Jack, doing things properly is my forte,” Anya said. ”Besides, if they wish to attack us again they will, a call to discuss a mutually beneficial relationship aside. It's in their interests to keep us alive when one of their agents is also at risk. They’re undisciplined, perhaps, but their raid was just a show of power. If they want an excuse to attack us again, they could have use paranormal fight that Linqian and Lynn nearly got into.”

She picked up her tea again, taking another sip. It was lukewarm now, and not so pleasant, so she finished it quickly. ”If there are no objections, I'll make the call now. I'm sure a few hours will have been long enough for them to return to their base of operations.”

With there being no objections, seeing as they were all for the idea, Anya pulled out her phone. ”I'm going to put it on speaker so you can both hear the conversation, but I trust that you'll both let me do most of the talking.”

If they couldn't hold their tongues she could turn off speak mode anyway. Anya swiftly typed in the number on the back of the card, and hit the call button.

The phone rung for a moment.

Before the worst option occurred.

“... Yello?” Trevor’s voice could be heard on the other side.

Anya narrowed her eyes. That wasn’t Meifeng, that was… It took her a moment to place the voice. Their healer? If he hadn’t screamed over getting his flesh rotted, she’d have no idea who it was. What was his name again? Of course they’d been given the wrong number. ”... Hello, this is Anya Baksh, of the Sycamore Tree Coven, who I’m calling on behalf of.”

“Heyyyyyyyyyyy, ain’t you the girl that Agent Liao said had a crush on me?”

Jack’s eyes narrowed at that as Sloane sat down in her chair and buried her face in her palm.

Anya was rendered speechless for once, shooting questioning looks towards Sloane. Sloane sunk deeper into her chair as she felt Anya’s eyes on her.”No. She must have been talking about another Anya, it’s a common name. This isn’t a personal call, but a business one, for collaboration between our coven and you… agents.”

“Ooookay, you want a…” Trevor chuckled on his end of the phone, and Anya could just hear the finger quotes, “‘A business collaboration’. What can Agent Silent Flute do for you?”

”Ask if his boss would come to the phone, for a start,” Anya replied, with as much polite cheerfulness as she could muster. She somehow doubted that this agent would be able to get them anything. ”Or pass on a message for us.”

“Lemme put you on hold real quick.”

The phone went on hold for about three minutes, a silence falling over the room as Sloane continued to avoid making eye contact, before Trevor returned.

“Yeah, she told me to fuck off. So… maybe I can help you out myself.”

Anya held back an exasperated sigh. How very professional. ”Alright. We’re looking for protection for our fellow coven members, in compensation for the unjustified attack earlier today. Likely through some kind of surveillance. Our killer, who will also target our former member in your ranks, attacks when people are alone. We’re looking for help to prevent that.”

“Hmmm… Lemme see what I can do,” Trevor started, “I ain’t a Senior Agent, nor do I have the clout of Agent Cornell, but I hate to see someone soooooo cute get cut down.”

Anya lips twisted downwards, her face contorting into a very ugly expression. However, she managed to keep her voice sounding calm and reasonable, as if she didn’t want to throw her phone to the other side of the room. ”Thank you, any help would be appreciated to prevent any of us from getting ‘cut down’.”

“I can pass along one of my pistols to you for safety. Don’t worry, it’s privately owned and I will report it stolen if ya’ go crazy and try to murder someone with it.”

Then he let his words hang in the air.

Sloane slumped forward with her elbows on her knees, face now buried in both of her hands. Her muffled words were almost inaudible, saying something about what was with all the agents just giving guns away.

“... Maybe for a date, I can get you something bigger.”

Then he made the most obnoxious kissy noises into the phone.

Anya’s mouth opened, and then closed. For a second time, she was speechless. She looked at Sloane, and then at Jack, as if they could somehow make this situation any better. ”Thank you for your kind offer, but I’m sure we can legally acquire our own guns. Let me make it clear that I’m not looking for a date, nor do I have a crush on you.”

”This is agonizing,” Jack commented, quiet enough for Trevor not to hear.

By this point Sloane had slid out of her chair and was resting her head on the seat of it, burning an accusatory hole through the ceiling at an uncaring god. Maybe if she cursed them enough she’d get lucky and be smited by a bolt of lightning.

“Awwww, okay,” Trevor said, “Then what kind of ‘help’ are you thinking of, then, sweetheart?”

Anya pinched the bridge of her nose and took a deep breath to calm down. She could handle this, if only for the fact it would be near impossible to claim she didn’t care afterwards. ”Surveillance of our members, primarily the entry points to their homes. CCTVs or similar. A way to check that they are still alive, and to catch a killer who goes after people when they’re alone. You knew our names, and easily found our location, so clearly there’s someone skilled enough with technology in your ranks.”

“... And you’re talkin’ to ‘im!” Trevor excitedly said. “So, wait, hold on… you’re asking for the gubnet to breach your privacy?”

”Not my privacy.” Anya had really hoped it wouldn’t be him, but had somehow guessed it would be. He sounded like a man in technology. ”I will be partaking in a different method of security. But yes, I’m asking for a breach in privacy of the rest of my coven for their own safety where they won’t partake in saner methods.”

“Waaaaaaaaait a minute,” Trevor trailed off for a moment. “That don’t sound all that fair to ask me to monitor everyone but you, suspicious even!”

Trevor let the words hang in the air.

“What are you doing what they say in those rap songs… what’s the word…” He thought about it for a moment. “... Yeah! Are you trapping or something?”

“I feel trapped,” muttered Sloane under her breath hopelessly, head and arms now splayed across the coffee table as she poked at a cucumber sandwich.

”Absolutely not,” Anya replied calmly, because she wasn’t. She just didn’t want some creep thinking she was giving him permission to access her cameras. ”I wouldn’t be the only one exempt. Sloane Faris and Jack Hawthorne also won’t need surveillance. But we will also need agents to come help us if we call, or any coven members in danger.”

“Now that I can do,” Trevor said, “I know Agent Keagan’s a bit, uh, pissed about how all of this went down. But, I know she’d be more than happy to send a few Agents your way if you need it… if you want it, really.”

Trevor started chuckling.

“I’ll keep an eye on ya’ll… just know the PRA isn’t exactly the most well staffed government agency - ^{it’s hard to find people who won’t try and put ya’ in the psych ward if you tell ‘im ghosts are real} - so we probably won’t be able to jump to your rescue 24/7.”
He paused for a moment.

“The big boss, Director Alcott, wants us to find, uh, that Stygian Snake thing ya’ll defeated. Like that’s the top priority… heh.”

”What?”

Sloane rolled her head to look at Jack. Had they heard that right?

”Just the option to call in backup is fine.” Anya paused, eyes widening when she actually registered what Trevor had said - she’d only been thinking about anything coming out of his mouth at a surface level, because most of it was absolute drivel. But this? This was some very important information. Perhaps this phone call hadn’t been a waste of time after all. She looked at both Sloane and Jack, in their varying states of distress, before responding. ”I see. I’m afraid we can’t help with that… What reason are you looking for a multidimensional threat defeated years ago? Not to release it, I hope.”

“Well…. That’s what we’re tryna’ prevent,” Trevor started, “There’s just a big ol’ threat to national security just chilling in a tree somewhere. That, far as we can tell, nobody is watching or protecting and anyone can just buy that land, decide to put a mall or another stupid boat-themed store there, and accidentally release it.”

Trevor let his word hang in the air before he continued,

“... And I don’t know if you know, but there are a lotta different cults and psychos in St. Portwell and beyond. Who knows who might try n’ release it or try to harness it’s power - but hopefully, they watch a lotta movies because you know that trope where the evil wizard tries and releases the dragon and goes ‘Oh no! It’s too strong, I can’t control it’...?”

”We know about the other covens, and have been keeping an eye on them,” Anya rolled her eyes when Trevor went off on a complete tangents about movies, which had no bearing on reality. ”None of them know its location either. If you find it, what’s your boss’ plan with it, then? A safer sealing location?”

“Hey now,” Trevor said, “I can’t share all that information over the phone! I shouldn’t have said anything in the first place! Especially to someone who doesn’t even have a crush on me!”

Anya raised an eyebrow, ignoring the last bit. ”But you could share it in person, rather than over the phone?”

“Maybe,” Trevor started, “What do I get outta it?” Then he made another obnoxious kissy noise.

”Kill me,” muttered Jack.

Anya’s lips twitched as she suppressed the urge to spit out something rude, or hang up.
Think of this as a business exchange. It would be like all the fake friendships she’d formed over the years. A lie to get information that would ever go any further. Easy. He seemed easy to manipulate, after all. ”I suppose… It could be a date.”

“Oooooh, I know the perfect place!” Trevor said, “It’s a bar we like to go to, The Far Harbor!”

“Hold on, wait a minute,” said Sloane, the tea platter clattering as she slapped her hand on the table and gave Anya a look. “Isn’t this going a bit too far?”

”It's fine, Sloane,” Anya said quietly. She returned Sloane's look with one of her own, trying to tell her with her eyes 'of course it's not a date, it's just information gathering and you and Jack will be there.' Even with someone more expressive like Anya, it was hard to actually read any of that from just a look.

“This isn’t fine,” said Sloane, gesturing to the phone and missing the point. The unprofessionalism of the PRA was even more outrageous than she had thought it would be. This was clear cut harassment and abuse of power.

”We'll discuss it later,” Anya said quietly, knowing that her look hadn't been interpreted correctly. She should really develop a mental communication spell. Louder and into the phone, she said, ”that sounds perfect, we can meet there. Are you free this week?”

“Well, I’m getting off at four,” Trevor said, “... If Agent Liao doesn’t make me do overtime until 8am…. again.”

”... four it is then. You can text me if you can't make it.” Anya massaged her temple. This day was just getting longer and longer.

“Will do!‘ Trevor excitedly said, “I’ll talk to you later, we just made it to the Dairy Queen - Hey, wait for me! I want the Peanut Buster-” He said before he hung up.

Anya locked her phone, and put it on the table in front of her. She then put her head in her hands, much like Sloane had before. She had no words. If anything, she regretted the last few moments. She'd been too focused on gaining information that she could use to think about the consequences. She would have to see that agent, whatever his name was, again. Oh god, that was the worst experience ever.

Jack felt like he had aged a millennium by the end of Anya’s phone call. ”I think I’ve come to the conclusion that tear gas and burning buildings are preferable to that.”

“Yeah…”

Sloane stared at the phone like a shell shocked veteran, the guilt of even suggesting they call the PRA for assistance weighing heavy on her soul. A heavy and uncomfortable silence blanketed the room as Jack’s hypothetical was weighed against Anya’s reality. Sloane slowly turned her head towards Anya as she gained the courage to look at her defeated friend, only able to offer a blank stare as that was supposed to be sympathetic as her brain blue screened. Outside, a cloud passed in front of the Sun. Inside, it felt as if an entire day-night cycle had happened as the room became darker and then eventually returned to being lit. Sloane blinked. She was completely exhausted. She didn’t even bother getting up from the floor.

“Um,” was all Sloane could manage to say. Words couldn’t express the debt that they owed Anya. A part of Sloane couldn’t shake the idea that they had just made a horrible miscalculation. In times like these, it was always best to just power through and move on. Her voice sound completely drained off all energy as she said, “Jack, you mentioned the other covens. I don’t know how to get in touch with Greenwood, but I had been thinking about Emily ever since Auri said she didn’t even invite her or any of the others to the meeting yesterday. That just didn’t sit right with me. Either Emily knows what’s going on and she’s going to throw a massive hissy fit when she finds out nobody invited her to our little reunion, or Emily doesn’t know about the Father Wolf situation and even more people are in danger.

“Regardless, someone should speak with her,” said Sloane. Emily and her weren’t on particularly good terms, although from what Sloane remembered about Emily that was fairly typical. However, Sloane had adamantly and openly opposed Britney remaining in the Coven when her misdeeds had come to light. While she had also publicly disapproved of Emily using her victim status to justify being an absolute terror, perhaps Sloane had earned some kind of trust by being one of the few that hadn’t put their hand up when it came to voting out Emily. Plus, if Anya had to deal with Trevor, the very least she could do was make it up to her by falling on the sword and dealing with Emily.

“Actually, I’ll do it.”

”Emily Reed…” Jack often tried to make the best of bad situations during the old days. Kicking out members only made them weaker, but Emily was a major contributor to the cracks that formed in their foundation. Jack always tried to vote against kicking anyone out, but he made an exception for Emily.

”She is still adjoined to Babylon the Great, isn’t she? If she hasn’t changed in the last decade, I can imagine she would be… unhappy to see any of us. Do you intend to go alone?”

“Like you said, she’d be unhappy to see any of us. Imagine how indignant she’d be if more than one of us showed up uninvited,” said Sloane, tracing the rim of her unfinished cup of tea with her finger. “Besides, I don’t think they’d try anything so openly stupid like shooting the messenger.”

Emily was an utter bitch, but 8th Street had a valid claim to being responsible for taking Das Sonnerad out of St. Portwell. Still, that didn’t mean they had a spotless or even good record from what dirt Sloane had been able to previously dig up on her own, and being better than literal nazis was about as low as the bar could be set. Plus, Sloane still believed there could be a reality where Father Wolf had been a former member of the Sycamore Tree Coven.

“However, the past 24 hours have forced me to accept that a lot of our former peers are unable to do anything but throw themselves at the stupidest possible decision with reckless abandon. It’d be best to be prepared for the worst. I think I should still go in alone, but Jack you should be on standby in case Emily decides to join the status quo,” said Sloane. “I could hex my phone to make it appear off while allowing you to listen in, and when things go array you could teleport me out.”

He nodded. ”You’re capable, and I know you can take care of yourself. But these murders have made me paranoid for everyone’s safety. If you want me to extract you, you’ll need to meet Emily when the sun sets. I can only teleport from places that are dark.”

He looked over to Anya, who he noticed was catatonic. ”Anya?”

”Huh?” At the sound of her name Anya removed her head from her hands, slowly turning to look at Jack. She visibly rebooted, like a computer that had hit an error code and completely crashed to fix itself, expression blank and vacant before returning to her normal sharp calmness. Aware again, she processed everything that had been said in the interim - she'd caught enough, at least. ”Well, after dark will be perfect, seeing as you both have to come with me to my d-”

She balked, before forcing herself to continue. As much as she wanted to pretend she'd never made that meeting and just not turn up to it, she couldn't allow herself to do that. That was practically admitting failure and Anya did not fail. ”To my information gathering meeting. I'm certainly not going alone. You can both watch from another table to make sure he doesn't… try anything.”

“Of course,” said Sloane, unsure if she’d just be capable of playing chaperone. Even if Trevor didn’t try anything, she’d still call Anya a few minutes into her da…er, information gathering meeting to allow Anya to make up a family emergency for an easy out.

Anya then turned to Sloane with a slight smile. If there were any hard feelings for the unfortunate phone call that came from her suggestion, it wasn't obvious from Anya's expression. ”I would be careful with Emily, Sloane. She caught me visiting her dreams a few months ago and wasn't particularly pleasant about it. If it's you, perhaps she'll be open to discussion. I suppose I'll handle the PRA while you handle 8th Street, with Jack ensuring none of us are harmed.”

“Sounds like a plan. Once those two are wrapped we can look into finding out more about Greenwood. Honestly, I had kind of written them off,” said Sloane. “I know you will, but be careful with the PRA too. Don’t give them more information than you get. Part of me thinks the whole bumbling and inept agents thing might just be a ploy. While their concern about the Stygian Snake being unsealed is valid, I doubt the government would be content with just letting something so powerful sit away in storage forever.”

The Coven really should’ve considered the dangers of sealing the Stygian Snake in a tree at a time. On average, trees only lived for a handful of centuries. Even if someone didn’t chop it down, it’d still die one day. She couldn’t remember what they had been thinking at the time since it had been scrubbed away with the location of the Sycamore Tree. Had the hope been that the Stygian Snake would fade away before its prison died after everyone who had known about it had been dead for hundreds of years?

“It would be a bad idea to look for the Sycamore Tree, right?” asked Sloane.

”I don't plan to give them any information,” Anya smiled, before considering the matter of the tree. She'd never liked the plan to seal it in a Sycamore Tree and wipe everyone's memories for this very reason. Whether she'd voiced that disagreement at the time she wasn't sure due to the removal of her memories. Of course there was a risk of the information falling into the wrong hands, but surely a few of them should have been entrusted with the location for its protection? Now the government was after it. Perhaps this current leader would be reasonable, but what about the next, and the one after that? It couldn't be trusted in any hands but their own. Having it outside of her control was…
Not something she was happy about. ”And no, I don't actually think it would be a bad idea. It would be better than it falling into the hands of inept agents, or perhaps worse - capable ones who try to use it. Why the old leaders wanted it sealed like this in the first place, I don't know, but they're dead or gone.”

She pursed her lips. Perhaps it would be a bad idea with a killer on their trail, but was Father Wolf after the Stygian Snake? He would need to leave someone alive to get to it. He likely had other goals. ”I think it would be best that we found it, and put it under our protection. But if we do, we must not let word of what we're doing get out of this room.” She then turned to Jack. ”What do you think, Jack?"

”I don’t think we can afford to search all of St. Portwell for that tree. At least, not now. We need information on our killer, and we need to develop a plan to stay alive. The PRA monitoring us is helpful, but you heard what he said. There is only so much they can do. I worry that hunting for where the Snake is sealed will stretch us too thin.” They needed their own affairs in order before they put themselves to a task like that. ”Now, sealing it in a tree may have made more sense back then compared to now. We weren’t overly equipped to contain a demigod, and there is the very real possibility that someone can unleash the Stygian Snake at any moment, but I believe we should focus on things we know we can make progress towards, rather than search every tree in and around the city.”

”As for the plan to meet that agent, I’ll be there. Either in the shadows watching him like a hawk, or somewhere more obvious. I wouldn’t dare let you go there alone. I’m sure you could handle him, especially in broad daylight, but I have the impression he couldn’t be trusted with an unattended drink,” he was putting it mildly. Trevor sounded like a creep, honestly.

”If he makes any sort of distasteful pass at you, I would be more than happy to bury him in the Void,” he said, half joking. Well, it was probably a joke.

”You make a good point,” Anya nodded. If they spread themselves too thin then they’d be risking their own lives, which was something Anya was unwilling to do. They couldn’t exactly get help from anyone else, either. The only person Anya would consider bringing in was Britney, but Sloane would never allow that. ”We’ll keep tabs on the PRA’s search for the Sycamore Tree via our… contact, and when our lives are less at risk we can consider searching for it ourselves. Perhaps we will find a way to unlock our memories. The agent on the phone didn’t give me much confidence in the PRA monitoring, so we’ll have to put our own protection methods in place too.”

”And thank you, Jack, I wouldn’t put it past him either,” Anya sighed. ”Considering how he was acting even after I made it clear I wasn’t interested from early on. Don’t worry, I can handle him outside of something like this. Getting information out of people I’m not fond of is something I do often. Once I meet him today it will be easy to get into his dreams too.”

”If either of you find yourselves in danger, I’ll teleport you back to this location immediately, and we can decide what we do from there.”

A thought occurred to him. ”...What will we do if the PRA tries to blackmail us? We want this to be a secret, but what stops them from exposing us to the others when it benefits them?” A small part of Jack found working with the PRA to be somewhat nerve wracking. Most of the coven was terribly opposed to associating with them, what would they do if they found out?

“Nothing. It doesn’t matter. I figured they’ll find out at some point anyway. If they want to be ungrateful because we tried to protect them then let them,” said Sloane, draining the last of her tea and pushing herself up from the coffee table. ”I don’t care what the others think. If either of you are worried about their opinions you can just tell them the truth that it was my idea and I would’ve called them in regardless of whether or not the two of you supported it.”

“Any other concerns?” asked Sloane, adjusting her watch.

”None. That sounds like the best course of action, letting them think of it how they will.” He did value the opinions of the entire coven, but Jack was objective enough that the big picture wasn’t lost.

Jack finished off his tea, and stood up. ”I need to check on Luca. I’ve been scheduling regular check-ins with the others individually, and he’s next for now. I’ll be ready to support both of you by the time we make contact with anyone.”

”Of course,” Anya smiled. While she did care about the coven members' opinions of her a bit more than Sloane, it was nothing compared to looking good for people that were actually important. She wasn't quite so cruel as to throw her only friend under the bus. ”Let them think what they like, plenty of them have already formed negative opinions of us… Anyway, remember four o'clock, the Far Harbour. I'll let you know if the agent cancels.”

“Well, maybe you’ll get lucky and the others will go start a street fight at another strip club,” said Sloane a little too seriously. “Meeting adjourned.”

---

”Yeah, thanks,” Linqian took Tayla’s lighter from her with a nod. She was about to light her cigarette when Edict just popped up in the middle of them. Fuck! Her eye twitched and she stopped mid flick of the lighter. She wasn’t losing another cigarette to his snobby taste. She took the cheap one out of her mouth and shoved it back in her pocket to have later, before reaching out to take one of his. She lit it with Tayla’s lighter, offering that back to her, and took a drag. She held it in for a few moments, before blowing it out in a sigh. It helped relieve the shitstorm in her mind just a little bit. Enough to actually respond to what Edict had said.

”Leon actually got me a new car? Shit, I thought he was going to set up a hit on me after last night,” Linqian half joked, her irritation pushed down beneath the surface now that she was able to smoke - and Lynn was out of her sight. It helped that she’d suddenly gone from having a broken, crappy car to two cars. What did she even do with a second one? She supposed she could give it to her brother when he moved back. She then rolled her eyes. What was the point in Edict talking in ‘code’ if he was just going to bluntly say it afterwards? Whatever, she wanted to get away from the feds (and her ex) as quickly as possible too. ”Yeah, let’s get the fuck out of here. A drink sounds great right now.”

Tayla frowned at Edict. She invited Linqian to a drink. Not this clothe wearing bozo. She sighed, taking her lighter back. She refused Edict's offer of a cigarette. On the bright side, they had a car and wouldn't need public transport. Why Leon got Linqian a car to begin with, she got the feeling she didn't want to know. That's not her business.

Linqian spun on her heel, and started walking towards the park and its attached parking lot - presumably where the car was. Her legs ached when she finally started using them, with scattered burns from her abstraction and tight muscles post tasering. Something she could deal with after they were far away from the feds.

Tayla followed Linqian towards the parking lot.

”Guess I can drive us to that place down by the docks, if you’re still down?” Linqian looked over at Tayla, unsure if the offer was still there with Edict intruding. Either way, she needed a drink and it would be better to have it with someone. That’d stop her from fucking spiraling. She was going to make sure one of them drank with her. She looked back over at Edict. After all that shit she kind of wanted to ask him to get into her mind again, just to shove those worries away for a bit, but not with Tayla around. She’d rather nobody else knew that she’d stooped to letting Edict into her brain. ”You’re coming too, right?”

“Yeah, I'm still down. The place is called the Drunken Starfish. It's a bad as it sounds, but the drinks are cheap and the company is good,” she said, taking a hit of her cigarette. She dumped the ashes on the sidewalk, being careful not to do it in the grass. She's not about to be responsible for a forest fire. The whole city would go up in flames.

“I don't care for you to join us, since it wasn't an open invitation,” she said to Edict, “But whatever it is you did last night that pissed everyone off at Auri's, keep it to yourself. I'm looking to relax after that shit show, not deal with your fuckupedness.”

”He's not so bad when he's not doing the whole mind fucking thing,” Linqian said, before side eyeing Edict. Even if the place was cheap, which was ideal when she didn't have much money, it was worth seeing just how much she could push things. ”Maybe he can pay for all the drinks?”

Edict laughed and smiled.
“Hey, listen… I’m sorry, alright? All this?-” he turned his head to look at the smoke curling up over the neighbourhood, chuckling slightly. “-Usually the pigs scatter at the sight of fire, but what do you know? They’re magic! Fucking PRA. I guess I should’ve figured it, why would they raid the place otherwise?”

“Definitely paying for the drinks.”

Waving the two girls on, he moved forward with them through the park and onto the adjoining lot. The red Camry was parked with, to Edict’s surprise, two fresh new faces clad in black. They couldn’t have been older than twenty, definitely the Hot Topic type. The one with bright red hair spoke up for the two of them.
“Suppose this car is for one of you?-” And then she smiled, pointing at Linqian. “-Gotta be you, saw you last night at the Temple. Here!”

She stepped forward, voice chipper with smiling blue eyes behind fire engine bangs. There was a set of car keys between her fingers which she happily dropped into Linqian’s hands.
“Peace be with you, Sister. We’ll find our way home, enjoy the rest of your day…”
Edict gave Linqian a wide eyed, questioning glance.

Linqian gave the red haired cultist her most fake, customer service smile, and took the keys. ”Sure, thanks, you too.”

Tayla wasn't expecting a stoner girl to hand Linqian car keys. She knew fuck all about what happened last night. She didn't want to know. Too much shifty shit going on. Her instincts told her not to get involved in whatever the hell Linqian got going on with Leon.

As soon as she had the car keys in her hand, and the girl wasn’t right next to her, the smile dropped. She took another drag of her cigarette, and damn the shit Edict rolled was pretty good, before turning to catch his gaze. ”What? Pretty sure I told you this morning that I ended up at Leon’s cu- church last night. Can’t say I was paying attention to who was around. I was not there by choice.”

She’d been way too busy cussing Leon out to even realise that there were a shit ton of people there, and now they’d recognise her. Great. She glanced over the new car, which was incredibly nice. She could’ve never afforded a replacement like this herself… Wow. She’d been certain all she’d done last night was piss Leon off, and now she felt a little bit bad. Just a tiny bit. She spun the keys between her fingers and unlocked it.

”Suppose I’ll have to thank Leon for this later, I haven’t driven a car this nice since my test,” Linqian smiled slightly, opening the driver's door. She leaned against it as she finished off her cigarette and dropped it on the ground, crushing it under her shoe. She then looked back at Edict and Tayla. ”Let’s go get those drinks… no smoking in the car, though.” It wasn’t something she’d normally be fussy about, but if she was going to let her brother use this car she wanted it to be in good condition.

“I call shot gun.” Tayla took one last hit of her cigarette. She'd gotten half way through it on the walk over. The first and last of the day, couldn't even finish it, but not a sacrifice she was going to cry over. She put it out on the ground, stomping it under her shoe, then got in the front passenger seat.

”Guess you’re in the back, Greyson.” Linqian shot him a half teasing smile before getting in the driver’s seat.

”I’m used to sittin’ in the back seat. Usually, the car’s a little longer, but hey who can complain?

---

Linqian knew the way to the docks, and drove them over after adjusting to the new car. With help with directions from Tayla, she managed to find a parking spot near the Drunken Starfish. It took some time and a little bit of swearing (primarily in Chinese) to figure out how to put on the parking break - because it was a fucking button now, because technological advancements and all that. Once she’d finally properly parked and was confident the car was going to start rolling, she turned everything off. Hopefully parking here was safe enough, because she wasn’t exactly going to be able to drive it back… Well, whatever. That was tomorrow Linqian’s problem. Throwing that thought to the back of her mind, she got out of the car.

The bar was single story and had the wear of fifty years on the water. The building had white wooden panelling, dark water stains ran down the front and sides. The sign at the top of the building read DNE SRIH from the blown out bulbs that weren't replaced. It looked like the type of place that would have lead paint and asbestos.

Tayla got out of the car and breathed in the sea salt air. She felt calmer already. Nothing like being near the sea.

A man sitting outside the door smoking a cigarette waved at her.

“Afternoon, Larry. How's the catch today?” she asked.

“Shit the further north you go,” he replied.

She nodded. This time of year did that. It'll be winter soon, and fishing would be rough. Her father would go further south and be away for days at a time. It's during this time she relied on her father's fishing friends, the ones too old to go far in the water, to get to and from the mainland. Her schedule would get a lot more strict this time of year. She couldn't call her father to get her if she was out too late.

Larry got up and opened the door for her. “Good to see you hanging out with some new people. They not trouble are they?”

“Not to me, no.” She couldn't account for the shit they got up to when she wasn't around.

He nodded. “Good.”

She went into the bar. It was just early enough that it was empty save for the local drunks that should be on the water, but were too down the drink to work consistently. It was dark inside, the lighting shitty. Everything made of dark wood. There were tables in the middle. The ones along the walls had booths with torn red leather seats and windows that looked out to the docks. To the back of the bar was a stage and dance area.

“Hey, Tay,” the owner, Ruby, said. “Grab a table.”

She waved at her. She didn't come to this spot often, but anyone that's spent substantial amount of time on the dock knew everyone.

She turned to the others. “I don't care where we sit. All the seats hurt your ass either way.”

”I can deal with my ass hurting if my wallet doesn't,” Linqian shrugged, surveying the bar. It was run down, but she'd seen - and worked in - worse. Clearly everyone here knew each other, which could make for a nicer atmosphere. It also made her feel less bad about the fact she was still covered in tear gas.

She chose one of the tables along the wall, nearer the back. Seemed nicer to be able to look at the docks and she didn't like the idea of sitting right in the middle of the bar. Linqian slid into the booth facing the door, getting right up next to the window so the other two could fight for who sat opposite her and who sat beside her. And if Edict had a problem with her table choice… well he could say, and then she'd tell him to fuck off.

”So, what's good here?” Linqian asked, fiddling with the ring on her right hand as she did. She then lowered her voice and added, with a light laugh, ”well what's least likely to make me want to throw it back up?”

This place wasn’t exactly Edict’s spot; not when his Uncle’s restaurant and bar were like three hundred feet down the road. He’d been in a few times, and hoped that either the people working there didn’t recognize him, or that there were just new people running the place. He had a short Recollection of a night he and his cousin Nicky were tasked with busting the place up because the owner wasn’t interested in making payments.
The owner at the time was still there, working late into the night fixing up the place’s inventory, so when he copped a beating alongside the bottles of booze it was seen as a necessary evil.
As far as Edict knew, it worked at the time. The guy was allowed to continue business despite the Anchor being the big bad wolf of the neighbourhood, and life goes on.

Coming out of the visionary flashback, Edict cleared his throat.
”I’ve got you guys, so just go for the top shelf. If you need to eat or something, mangiare as they say.”
He did have an eye over at the bar, and thankfully the tender wasn’t anyone he recognized. Neither was the old Fisherman outside, so things were looking good. Edict had elected to sit next to Linqian, figuring Tayla would want her own space, so being at the edge he instinctively got up.
”In fact, lemmie get us started. Beer and a shot?” he asked, looking at the both of them from eyes unobstructed by his classic sunglasses. Greyson from ten years ago would’ve never taken them off; not even indoors. Now look at him, the shiny gold frames were tucked into his flannel’s breast pocket like an old man.

Tayla slid into the seat across from Linqian. Seagulls cried out to each other on the dock. She felt at home here. She pointed at Edict when he said get top shelf.

“Bingo. Basically, cocktails, the hard shit, and name brand beer is your go to. They have homemade beer. I don't recommend it. It tastes like dog water.” She turned to Edict. “Ruby knows what I like. Just tell her my usual.” Which was Miller and a basket of fries.

”Just get me whatever you're having, I'm not fussy,” Linqian said to Edict with a smile - not having to pay for booze sure did cheer her up. Once he was out of earshot she turned back to Tayla. ”See, this is why I let him come along - gotta have the guy with all the cash pay for shit so us.”

Tayla snorted and tucked her leg into her chest. “I see. Seriously, though, are you-I don't want to say ‘okay’ cause obviously you wouldn't be. If someone threw James in my face like that, I wouldn't be either. So on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being like shit, and 10 huffing daisies, how are you?”

”A solid two,” Linqian shrugged. What Lynn had said hurt a lot, but it just added to the pain she was already constantly feeling since losing her brother. It was shit. She could pretend it wasn't all she liked, but she was sure Tayla would see through it - she'd experienced it with James after all. ”The slap I got in pushed it up from one, but shit sucks right now. I had to call of work, and I desperately need fucking money, then that bitch went and said that? Yeah, absolute shit. Losing someone fucking sucks without this shit.”

“I get that. I’m just now starting the healing process with James, and it’s been 10 years since he passed. Shit takes a lot of time. How long has it been since Jinhai passed? I don’t think I heard before.”

”Two weeks.” Had it really been two weeks? It both felt like it had been years ago, but also like it was only yesterday. Maybe because she kept seeing the scene in her dreams night after night. ”There was so much shit to sort out. The police, cremation, dealing with my younger brother's feelings, then I had to move back… barely enough time to think or feel anything about it myself. Glad to hear you're starting to heal with James, though, that was awful. I hope things have been alright for you recently, all this shit aside. Was surprised to see you back, honestly.”

“Two weeks? And you’re here dealing with all of this shit?” Two weeks after James’s passing, she started taking oxy. “I don’t think I could hold it together this well.” If James had died a week ago, she’d be an adult and not a child dealing with her grief. It wouldn’t hurt any less, but she wouldn’t be fucked up like she has been.

She shrugged. “I never left here.” She waved her hand around. “Been on the same little island, in the same house more or less. I uh went through a big life change a little over two years ago.” She looked down at the table, smiling. She didn’t do too much of that when she wasn’t with her family. “Had to get my shit together.” She pulled out her phone and showed Linqian her phone screen. It was of her son, Siwan. ”And I refuse to let some asshole with a knife take me away from him. Not after all the hard work I put in.”

”Shit, you have a son?” Linqian's eyes widened, before she smiled at the picture. It was the most genuine Linqian had smiled in a long time… but honestly, she loved children, as surprising as it might be to most that knew her. They reminded her of when her brother was younger and adorable, and she'd always seen them as being part of her future. Whether that would happen now… well, she wouldn't think too hard about that right now. But fuck, no wonder Tayla was back - of course she wanted to live. ”Wow, he's so cute, what's his name? And yeah, fuck that asshole, he's already destroyed enough families. I swear I'll put him in the fucking ground before he takes you away from your son.”

Tayla laughed. “Yeah, I know. I never saw myself having children, but he’s been a fucking life line, honestly. His name is Siwan.” Pronounced Shiwan. “I don’t think I’ve loved anyone more than him in my life and I don’t want him to grow up without me, so we gotta put this asshole in the dirt.” She put her phone away. “He stays between you and me. The only ones that know about him are the people that can keep their mouths shut.” Namely the folks at the docks. Fishermen protect their own, and after the bad way she was in, none of them want her past coming around to stir up trouble.

”He's got a nice name. And don't worry, my lips are sealed.” Linqian meant it. There was plenty she'd tell others about, but something that would affect a kid? Absolutely not. And if anyone deserved a peaceful life, it was Tayla. ”I don't have a kid of my own yet but I practically raised my brother after our parents died… well even before that, so I get it a bit. Sometimes you need someone else to want to keep going.” She sighed softly. If Huanyi wasn't in the picture, she would have given up after Jinhai died. But that was enough depressing thoughts for now, especially when she was so sober… she twisted around to look over at the bar. ”He sure is taking a while to get a couple of drinks.”

Tayla trusted her to keep her word. She wouldn’t have told her about him if she didn’t. “Amen to that.” She’s sure she’d be dead by now if she hadn’t gotten pregnant with Siwan. He’s the reason she’s healing.

“Yah, Dick, what’s taking so long?” she called to Edict. She didn’t have to yell. She projected her voice a little bit.

Edict had been stunted by his own hubris once more; in his thinking everything was going to be fine because he didn’t recognize the bartender, he hadn’t even given a second thought about any of the other patrons. One of the figures at the bar had stopped him.
This someone happened to be from one of his Uncle’s local crews, someone who recognized Edict from the older days. It’d been some time since they’d seen one another, and rather than be rude to someone who very well could’ve earned their badge by now, he smiled and conversed.

Not to mention, he had to wait for a basket of french fries.

But with Tayla calling him over, it was enough for Edict to break the friendly conversation and make it back to the table with a few high end beers, three shots of tequila and a basket of fries.
“Good choice, can’t go wrong with fried ‘tater. Though, I guess the miller is yours? Linqian, Stella. Stella for me. And Jose Platinum. Enjoy ladies.”
He handed everything out, then sat back down in a huff.
“Fucking wiseguy at the bar. One of my Uncle’s guys. Gotta play it nice, you know?”

And then he turned his attention fully to Tayla.
“We didn’t really speak much at the other meeting. It’s nice to see you again, Sis. How’s the troubles with you? When I prodded the other night I noticed that you didn’t have anything up, so… What happened?” he asked frankly.

Tayla rolled her eyes, then shot Linqian a look for letting his bozo come along. At least he’s the one paying out. The least he could do if she had to hear him talk. It’s like listening to a cringe compilation and dying inside at every word. She dug into her fries. She needed something on her stomach before she could drink. “How about you don’t call me, ‘sis.’ That’s weird. And ‘What happened?’ What happened when?”

”Well, your Lux. You let it go. Doesn’t make much sense to me when people like us have the world at their fingers, y’know? I’ve made a good living as a gangster wizard…
Of course, he didn’t exactly care about why or why not. It was more to push things along, see what her reaction would be. And to see if Linqian was going to turn into a rocket over it.

”What the fuck?” Linqian glared at Edict, though there wasn't actually much heat to it… she'd exploded too many times today already, and it wasn't exactly directed at her. She'd already downed her tequila shot, and was knocking back the beer. If he was going to be a dick right off the bat she was going to drink her way through his stacks of cash.

Tayla didn’t react. She wouldn’t give him the luxury of seeing an ounce of the pain she went through for that to happen. “How’d you know I lost it?” She wasn’t going to pretend that she didn’t. No use lying. Not when she’s not the one that offered that information to begin with.

”Yesterday at the flower shop. I gave everyone a nice friendly handshake, and I got no pushback from your Emotional Field. I never would’ve figured you’d just let me in like that, so… I know a bit more than just that you don’t have your Lux.”
He grimaced slightly, shaking his head.
”If it means anything, I’m in recovery too. And I’m sorry.”

”Friendly, my ass,” Linqian rolled her eyes at him. She had no idea what he meant about being in recovery, at least in regards to Tayla - like why she'd had to get her shit together when she had a kid, but Linqian wasn't going to pry with that. ”Nobody wanted you in our heads… you're not going to go on another sob story again, are you?”

”Woah, Miss Negative… I’m just trying to relate, have a human moment for once, shit. I’m always on duty back home, now I’m with people who I called my friends at one point and you’re painting me like I’m some chud. Lemmie apologise and be done with it, eh?” he griped, hands on the move like a classic Italian stereotype.

”Sure, sure,” Linqian held up her own hands, before going back to drinking her beer. She wasn't here to get pissed with anyone, she was here to do the opposite - forget everything that'd pissed her off earlier. She glanced over at Tayla, hoping that she'd be alright to just move past Edict being… Edict. ”Y'know, former friends generally prefer to offer their issues, instead of having it dug out of their heads.”

”Y’know, she’s right. Forget I said anything, drink and eat on my dime. Be merry. It's a reunion among the sad circumstances.”
He grinned in his head. Can’t take back what’s been said… Enjoy the mindfuck. Edict waved the two of them off as if he was a traffic crossing guard waving some kids across the street.

”That's more like it,” Linqian grinned, with her actual lips as opposed to internal ones, and raised her beer. ”Here's to not being the fucks who tried to get the feds number, like Sloane.”
She didn't actually wait for anyone else to raise their own, knocking it back, before leaning towards Tayla. ”Hey, are there any hot fishermen that come to this bar? Or women, yknow, I'm not fussy.” she winked. Perhaps drinking on a near empty stomach wasn't so sensible as it was already going to her head.

Tayla kept her mouth shut. She wouldn’t trust Edict to hold her pen. He’d likely sell it for a stick of gum and a shitty compliment. If the only thing he knew was she lost her Lux and is a recovering addict, then that’s all he’s going to get. She’s spent 8 years of her life with men like Edict. He wouldn’t get to her.

“Riiiiight, I’ll do you one better. How about I just forget you’re even here?” She proceeded to pay attention to Linqian and make like Edict’s a ghost.

“Come to this bar?” She snorted. “Nope. All the hot ones have better places to be and all the women are where they are. I recommend Club 47 on Main if that’s what you’re looking for. Only old people come here. We’re the only ones that’s under the age of 40 to step through those doors in awhile.”

”Damn, guess I'll go there next,” Linqian shrugged, finishing off her beer. Drinking it so quickly wasn't nice to her stomach but fuck, she needed it. Especially with how awkward things had got between Tayla and Edict. Since when was she a peacekeeper? ”The night's still young, after all, and I have nothing planned for the rest of it. I can go pick someone up later… I haven't been round since before I could drink, so I don't know which places are good for what."

Not that it was even night yet, still afternoon at best. So she really had the whole day ahead of her. Alcohol first in this company, then she could consider another kind of company to occupy her mind… and honestly, she still kind of wanted to get her worries magically pushed away by Edict again. She also kind of hated that she did.

”I'm going to need a whole lot more alcohol to deal with this,” she gestured between Edict and Tayla. Honestly, out of the current coven they were probably the two she was most alright with spending time with (well maybe Britney as well)… it was a shame that shit had gotten so awkward with Edict going right in with the shit he'd gotten out of Tayla's mind. Yeah, she needed like five more shots for this. She nudged Edict, who was in the way of her getting out. ”Hey, I'm going to get more shots, you want to give me some cash for them or go up with me?”

Tayla said what she said and pretended like she didn’t know who Linqian was talking about. “Dealing with what? Just two ex-covenmates having a beer and some shots. If the walking, talking ATM isn’t working, then maybe I can convince Ruby to give us those shots at a discount. Besides, I need to stretch my legs anyway.” She put her leg down, stretching out her knee. She liked to sit curled up, but it’s hell on her tailbone when the seats are shit.

”The walking ATM could use with a little ease. I tried to apologise, you don’t wanna hear it fine. I deserve it. But don’t doormat me.”
Edict pushed up from his seat, pulling his beanie off and leaving it at the table as he made way for the bar for a second round. This time he wasn’t content with playing runaround. He made way and hit the head of the bar with a lean.
Coming back, he had the rest of the bar’s bottle of the good Jose, which he slid across the table.
”There, drown your sorrows ladies. I’m happy to listen.

It was awkward, and Linqian wasn’t the only one thinking about it. But Edict loved it. The vague tension, the back and forth. It made drinking far more interesting than some even-handed bitch fest between like minded people. In the end, Edict was going to swallow the entire Coven. It was nice to fuck with them even in their spare time.

Once again she didn’t acknowledge him when he spoke, but she did when he came back to the table. “감사합니다, doormat-님.” She poured a shot for herself and finally took a sip of her beer. Happy to listen her ass. More like blackmail. He’s really bad at being like the disarming charmer she used to date.

”Don’t tempt me with the whole bottle.” Linqian reached for it anyway, pouring a shot then promptly downing it. She did the same with another, and then nursed a third. Having not properly eaten since breakfast, she started to feel a bit light headed - which was just where she wanted to be. She didn’t understand any of what Tayla said, but she laughed at it anyway as if she did. Probably something rude towards Edict. ”My sorrows? Everyone fucking knows them, so what can I even say, hah- But it sure did feel fucking good slapping Lynn earlier.”

“Oh and when she cried. Like bitch, you said what you said. Take it like a champ. Weak bitch behavior.”

”Right? Like what the fuck did she expect? Like hell I was going to just take it. Like, yeah, sure you’re right Lynn, I did deserve to lose my brother.” Linqian rolled her eyes, feeling pissed off about it all over again. She downed another shot. ”Fucking bitch. Wish that fed hadn’t pulled me away so I could’ve given her another one… Really give her something to cry about.”

”Well you heard her try and throw me under the bus too? Like I ever did anything to her she didn’t like. Geeze…” Edict pitched in, just spitballing.

“You're not creditable,” she said, pointing at Edict. “You probably did do something to rightly piss her off.”

”Yeahhhh, you kinda did burn down the church,” Linqian pointed out. She didn’t seem all that pissed about it, because there was a shit ton more to be pissed about than burning down Auri’s shitty little lair. ”Lynn seems pretty fucking touchy, that could’ve set her off.”

“That was you!” Tayla cackled.

”Well, yeah… No way I’m letting some fuckin’ Feds take me without givin’ em a fuckin’ reason. But, I definitely didn’t kill Kali as happy as I am that he’s gone. That’s a magical Fed we really didn’t need working our case. That I promise.

”Oh yeah, he was crazy… I’m fucking surprised he was actually a fed. What the fuck are their hiring requirements? Do they require you to be batshit?” Linqian snorted, before pouring herself another shot. She considered it for a moment before deciding not to drink it right away. ”Well, they did hire my fucking ex, so…”

Tayla snorted.

”Speaking of that,-” Edict interrupted, narrowing his eyes slightly. ”You probably don’t need to worry about getting info out of her anymore… Unless you really wanna get paid for it, I mean I won’t stop you from prying Linqian.”

”What, you scared of them now that they tased you a couple of times?” Linqian rolled her eyes, before glancing over at Tayla. Whatever, cat was out of the bag anyway. If Tayla had any comments about her taking money from Edict, she’d deal with it like she did anything she didn’t care to hear. ”I need the fucking money and I already agreed to meet with her before they tear gassed us and I threw a bible at her face. If she turns up, I’ll get info out of her.”

Tayla's eyebrows shot up. “You're talking to the Feds?” She took a longer pull from her drink. The beer warmed her insides, and in a few minutes it'll make her head a little woozy. She pointed at them. “This is what I wanted to talk about. We need to avoid them at all cost, but since you're already meeting with one here's the deal. Find out whatever you can, but under no circumstances do you make a deal of any kind. You'll be doing favors for them for the rest of your life or become their scapegoat when shit hits the fan,” she said completely serious. No room for doubt.

”I don’t think she’s that stupid, Tayla…” Edict barked, waving his hand in vague frustration.

”Yeah, I’ve got standards.” Linqian glanced at Edict, who yeah… Better option than the Feds. He actually paid. At least Tayla seemed to have missed that point, or glossed over it. All good. The alcohol was definitely working it’s magic now, loosening her up and helping her not get pissed about what was essentially a lecture from Tayla. ”That includes never taking a deal with the fucking feds. I’m only seeing her to get info outta her, and maybe curse her out a bit. Honestly, Bianca being with the feds makes me hate them even more. Fucking bitch.”

“Great. Now what the hell we gonna do when the rest are getting butt fucked by the Feds? Cause what's her face was talking to them when we left, and I don't doubt for a second some aren't going to reach out considering how many voted to work closely with Kali last night.”

”Listen, it’s not that complicated. We wiggle a little worm into the Federal operation, we keep an ear out for what they know and what their movements are, and we put this Father Wolf bullshit to bed before they have a chance to make our lives any more miserable. Right? I mean why else would they be here, fuck knows the Temple’s been here for years and they’ve not done anything to them, right!?”
Edict was doing his best to nudge without pushing. They could get pissy at him all they wanted, but in the end he had an idea about what to do that nobody else had mentioned yet. And he wasn’t gonna tell them either. Just sit on it, play it by ear.

”Oh right, let me just get Father Wolf’s location right now so we can kill him- oh wait. We have no fucking idea where he is.” Linqian sneered, downing another shot. Fuck, that burned. ”You sure do make it sound easy, Greyson, like- fuck- maybe the Temple wasn’t starting gunfights and punching agents? They didn’t seem to care ‘bout Father Wolf. Maybe they just suck.”
Linqian half lost her trail of thought, waving a hand in the air as if that would explain everything she said.

Tayla didn't know what the fuck the Temple was and she didn't want to know. Emo stoner chicks were fucking crazy. She wasn't touching any of it. “You're fucking batshit,” she said to Edict. “You want to bug the Feds? The fucking Feds? I've avoided charges for a reason and I'm not letting you get me caught up in some bullshit.” She looked to Linqian. “Our best bet is figuring out what Auri's hunches are, then following through. Cause you're right, they don't know anything about Father Wolf and don't seem to care.”

”Nobody is asking you to get involved in anything, Third-Eye. What’re you gonna do, get blasted by some fucking goon?”
It was important to note that Edict hadn’t touched his shot or his beer. He was stone sober. Typical Eat-A-Dick behaviour.

“Considering all our asses were on the chopping block today, Dick, you fucking around can get us arrested by association. We might not get charged when evidence leads back to you, but I'm not spending any time in prison for you either.” She'll sooner rat his ass out to avoid jail. She's no snitch but like hell she's going to prison for him of all people.

”Oh, c’mon,” Linqian rolled her eyes at both of them, before pointing at Edict - arm shaking slightly. ”If they’d wanted him in jail they’d’ve done it. Shit, they hacked into our phones, right. Well, I bet he has burners- whatever! If they haven’t digged it up now, they won’t later. Probably.”

”Oh yeah because ‘Magical Loki Brain Trickster’ is admissible in Court, right? Jail means nothing to me. I’ll take the burns, I’ll take the pain of casting without a Channeler. But whatever prison I eventually end up in, it’ll be my fuckin’ domain. So rat me out. But that ain’t gonna help with Father Wolf. You wanna make me out to be a bad guy, that’s your prerogative. Not mine.”
Apply the gas, then the breaks, then some more gas. Turn the wheel in a new direction, take a new street, have an adventure. But don’t ever let the cameras be turned onto yourself. Always redirect.

”Oh yeah, I’m sure it’ll be your domain,” Linqian sniggered, looking not so subtly looking down Edict’s body. Oh yeah, those shots were definitely going to her head. Shit, whatever. She wasn’t quite drunk yet. Just heavily tipsy, and with the little inhibitions she’d had gone. ”If you dont drop any soap- haha.”

“Wow. You're both dumb fucks. You think they won't stick you on false charges. They do it all the time. You know how many innocent people are in jail right now? A fuck ton. No you though,” she said to Edict. “They'll get you on something creditable, because you're a thug. Bet you still think Lee Harvey Oswald killed MLK and JFK's assassination wasn't an inside job, but okay. Also, get the fuck out of my head cause I haven't said anything about ratting you out. If you're going to act like that, then I'm going to walk.”

”Did I not just say it was important to know what the Feds know? Is that not all I started this with? And don’t bullshit me about being in your head because I don’t even have my fuckin’ glasses on. That’s just what everyone thinks when they deal with people like me ‘cuz it’s the easiest thing to imagine for their own peace of mind.

“If you weren't a fucking snake and a manipulator, then no one would need to worry about their peace of mind.”

Edict huffed, waving his hand about in frustration.
”This is typical prejudice toward Italian Americans. Happens all the time, I talk with an accent all of a sudden I’m a fucking thug. Real nice.”

Linqian leaned back, sipping on her tequila much like a spectator to a show. Shit, this was the best entertainment she’d got in weeks. She really wished she had popcorn right now.

Tayla picked up her beer and splashed it on Edict. “And you're a racist piece of shit. You can take a walk and don't come back, white man.”

Edict’s face twisted into a smile. A grim, long smile.
”I could say a lot right now, but out of respect for you, I’ll leave. Rather than dignify myself with this. Enjoy the bottle and the fries. Linqian, you know how to reach me. I’ll be down the street at a bar with better liquor.
He stood, reaching into his pocket for the classic; he split off four or five hundred dollars and slapped it on the table, licking the beer still dripping off his face.

“I bet you fucking could. You'll say more shit to get under my skin. Talk us in circles. Continue hide who you really are like the slithering slimeball you are. You're nothing but evil and you know it. Have a good fucking day. Hope Father Wolf doesn't knife you on the street.”

”I hope the same… For the sake of that baby you got at home, I hope Mommy doesn’t take a fall and hit her face off a bottle of oxies.”
He cracked his neck gently and spun on his heels, stuffing his hand in his pocket and waltzing toward the door.

Tayla didn't let him get far, before she grabbed the liquor bottle and brought it down towards him.

”Oh fuck no,” Linqian shot up, stumbled, and tried to grab Tayla’s wrist before she managed to bottle Edict. She didn’t want Tayla ending up dead from beating a mobster, and she didn’t want Edict losing his brains and not paying her. Worst case scenario!

It's Tayla's reaction that got the regulars and the owner quiet, watching, then getting up to defend her. Tayla wasn't a violent person. No one's ever seen her try to hurt someone before. Ruby pulled a shot gun from behind the counter and pulled it on Edict.

“Seems we have a problem here. You wanna tell me what you do to her?” Ruby asked, nodding at Tayla.

Tayla pulled her arm out of Linqian's grip. Not that hard when Linqian had too much to drink. “He threatened my baby.” Was all she needed to say.

”Woah, woah, who was threatening anything!? Guns do not need to be involved in this fucking situation!” Edict barked, looking around with wide eyes as the situation turned on him in a fairly bad way.

”Yeah, let’s keep fucking guns out of it!” Linqian couldn’t believe she was half defending Edict. He was a piece of shit. But he was a piece of shit that was paying her a shit ton. She needed that money more than she needed solidarity with Tayla. As she said this, the temperature in the room started to drop. It went from comfortable to cold, to damn near freezing for anyone without emotional fields which was… Almost anyone in the room. For Edict, it would be fucking cold, but not so damaging.

Ruby took a shot near Edict, blowing the floor boards up. “You come in here and threaten one of ours?” Her teeth chattered, her aim shakey from the sudden freezing cold.

It went right through Tayla too. She needed to move. She's not gonna be in range of a gun owner with shaky aim, and she fucking freezing. She got out of the booth, grabbing her bag, bottle still in hand. She poured the rest of it on Edict's head. “Good luck, ass wipe.” She passed him going for the door.

Edict stood there, letting the alcohol pour down his face. His smile didn’t break, and his eyes followed Tayla as she made way for the door. Slowly, carefully, his hand reached for his sunglasses in his pocket. He didn’t need to wear them, just holding them was enough.
”Hey, Tayla… Take It Easy.”
The ethereal pink tendril split the air in a way nobody but the trained could perceive, and like a thick tongue with a tab of acid, it licked and stuck the words on her brain. “Take it easy.” A slow bomb of catharsis. He knew she’d feel better about the situation later… Why not get her hooked for another argument?

And then his attention turned to the Blind bartender. Ruby. With the shotgun. He didn’t even speak, rather letting his power build for a moment as he stared. Slowly, quietly, he mouthed the command.
”Stand Down.”
For a second, her body seemed to struggle between the initial desire to shoot him square between the eyes, and the new command running rampant in her brain that told her to let the gun down.

Hands still up, glasses in one, he grinned at Linqian.
”The night’s still young. Wanna hit my place so I can change?”

Linqian looked half mournfully at the empty bottle, and then at Edict. This shit had sobered her up a bit, which meant she needed another drink. Or something. Sorry Tayla. She’d make it up to her later. The temperature rose back to normal. ”Yeah, let’s go. You owe me like twenty more drinks for this shit.”

Tayla didn't turn around at first when Edict called her name, but the moment he said ‘Take it easy’ she knew she fucked up. She shouldn't have ever turned her back on him. His pink Lux hit her and planted those words in her mind. They didn't assuage her angry yet, but they would later. She was familiar with how pink Lux worked, which is why when she walked outside the bar she pulled out her phone and made two notes to herself. One in her notepad app about Edict manipulating her emotions, so she's not angry with him later. Then another one she spoke into a voice recording on her way from the docks. “Fucking piece of shit, like all the other men I've ever dealt with. Controlling me to get their way. If he ends up dead, it may not be Father Wolf this time. Whatever to protect my boy. He’s a threat.” Her current anger came through clear. She'll hold onto that.

Edict was slow to begin moving, looking over at Ruby struggle as she finally let the gun down completely. The blank look on her face told Edict that the scrub down had been a rousing success. He waved Linqian forward. For a short moment he thought about the fact that his car was still in the Temple parking lot, but it wasn’t that big a deal. He’d get brought back there tomorrow, he’d pick it up, no problem. For now, he had a date(?). Or something.
”Come on, my Uncle’s bar is down the road. We’ll get a cap, have him drive us back to my place, since you’re not driving with all that booze in your system.”

”Sure,” Linqian shrugged. Whatever was good with her right now, so long as it involved getting out of here (and some more booze). ”I’m not stupid enough to drive anyway.”

Old, Burning Church

---

"GET YOUR RIFLE!"

Clancy continued to slowly backpedal, silently observing as the SWAT who'd made the mistake of trying to put hands on him began scrabbling for the weapon that had been so easily taken away from him.

"..handle him, Mr. Champion."

One of others was looking at him, and judging by the subtle bobbing of their throat, they were talking to their colleagues. There was a certain familiarity about that one - he wasn't sure if they were one of the same cops that had run into Judas the night before.

What he was sure of was that they were about to walk into him: Maximilian was apprpaching him at an almost flippant pace.

"Do not try me," Clancy growled, posture arched like a wildcat poised to swipe. There was an anger building in his voice, an erosion of the careful self-control he'd erected in his mind as he backed away, "Or I bre-"

A wave of what he guessed was heat washed over the both of them, followed by a blinding light as something erupted skywards and set the ceiling alight.

Clancy himself was briefly dazzled by the intensity of it, backpedalling into then ducking under the nearest pew, seizing the opportunity that had been made to lose the SWAT uniforms on his fail. Black smoke mingled with that of the tear gas, forming a noxious, potent miasma that nonetheless did nothing but prod at his senses. He could hear the panicked noises of the others, coughing and spluttering, while the uniforms shifted their priority to hauling out the second-hand smokers.

Smoke inhalation wasn't a problem for him, but the fire... was an annoyance that would slow him down. Luckily, the smoke billowing downwards offered him a shroud, and the drum of heavy bootsteps in the direction of the exit gave him some indication they had or were almost wholly evacuating the church, and that itself gave him the impetus to withdraw. Creeping outwards, an oily black layer sheathing his features, Clancy crept under the remaining pews, near the center of the building, he pulled his form closer to the edges of the building until he found a beam he could scale, ascended to and with little more thought he thrust a limb through one of the dust-caked windows at the far end of the room, picking away at the dangling shards of glass until there was an opening wide enough for him to make an exit. It took a moment for his vision to adjust as the daylight glared down upon him; pulling back the shadow, he almost forgot to pull his new clothes in a little and stop them from snagging on the broken glass, pointing inwards like shark's teeth as he crawled out of the maw of the inferno.

He came out onto an old slate rooftop, sun beating upon it, and tucked himself as far into a crevice as he could. Over the sound of crackling flames, he could hear a familiar set of voices, and some unfamiliar.

".. see what happens to you! I won’t kill you! But I’ll fucking make you wish I did! Now, who here can tell me which one of you killed Agent Mahendra…”

The voice wasn't one he recognised, but he could follow along enough that she was furious about something. Peeking over the lip of the roof from the alcove he'd found, he saw

Mahendra wasn't a name that rang a bell, but he wagered - and won that wager - he was yet another local caught up in the murders that had taken Ashley from them.

Clancy watched, waited, listened. They were agents, federal or otherwise, which validated his suspicions. The 'PRA' was something that felt as though it should be familiar, at a base level, but he couldn't relate it to anything he'd really known. It answered one question; they weren't directly here for him, and had most likely stumbled upon him by accident in the process of tracking down the cult that had formed around Ashley's social circle in her younger days. That wasn't to say he was wholly relieved, they had seen him and recognised a part of his nature. It was another potential annoyance that he would have to deal with along the road, so he kept himself concealed and continued to observe until they were at the point of withdrawal.

For a moment, he considered whether it would be easier to take them unawares, and hamstring them while their backs were to him. No. It was too much effort, time and psychological energy to commit for little return, and among their number he recognised power that made it more than just a matter of breaking arms, kneecaps and causing other debilitating-but-survivable injuries. To consider it at this moment broke too many barriers he'd set for himself. So instead, he let them walk away, now with one of the group in their custody. He didn't know her, and only barely recognised her as one of several who had recklessly thrown themselves in front of the bikers in the same way that had gotten the girl - Alizee - killed.

Eventually, the smoke had billowed up hard enough that he wagered it wouldn't be too long before the roof of the church gave out, and he didn't feel like picking himself out of soot-caked rubble, clothes ruined, and go through the tedious exercise that was stalking half-naked through the woods, searching for clothimg and sustenance. Too many possibilities of being stopped by do-gooders who knew nothing of him or the time they would waste, too many questions and obstacles it would throw up. It was a road well travelled, and one which he did not wish to revisit. Besides, the people he'd tracked- Ashley's friends, acquaintances and otherwise - were all here, and he hadn't yet tied up loose ends with them, given their conversation had been rudely interrupted by the federals.

Instead, he slipped down, hitting the dirt with a hard hud as his shoes bore the brunt of the impact. The ground cover was poorer here, but he used what sections of overgrowth he could to slip away, out of sight, watching from the treeline. It was easy enough to scale the trees, and no more difficult to vault between them when one had as much practice and verticality as he had. They were licking their wounds, angry, hurtful at each other.

Two stood out, the pair who'd been close to blows earlier. “... glad Father Wolf took Jinhai from you, you deserve as much.”

There was something especially low about that. Judy's name was the first that came to mind, even though it wasn't murder that had taken her, it cut deep. His sister, and then her-... Ashley. Who had been murdered, and taken from hom like everyone and everything else.

Clancy's fingers tightened just a little, until one of the branches he'd been holding onto broke in half under the pressure, reduced to splinters. Quickly, he adjusted his grip to avoid falling, but he realised being here, talking to people, dealing with their problems... was tiresome in a way he couldn't physically quantify. He'd spent so long alone, on his own terms, it was difficult to adjust to this again.

More time passed. The federals packed up and left, leaving the remaining stragglers to lick their wounds. Clancy followed one of the breakaway groups comprising Jasper, Luca, Lila, Lynn, moving across the treeline and through sections of tall grass, keeping enough distance so he wouldn't draw their attention, eavesdropping on the conversation.

".. have the Halloween festival coming up in a week, what if we all went to that together? Did a..”

Clancy could make an educated guess on what they might do.

“Group costume?”

He made a sound of disapproval, audible only to the bugs in the treebark.

”Group costume."

They didn't know him, and given the recent display, he wasn't a hundred percent confident he would get what he needed right now. He was sure he'd seen enough to recognise most of them now and that things were even more complicted than they had been, but not enough to have a full picture. This group were filing into their car, and in the distance, Clancy caught the approaching wail of sirens that had rung out the previous night.

The church, remember?

It wouldn't have helped anyone for him to linger here. As the others drove away, Clancy set off deeper into the overgrowth.

---

Motel

---

Moonlight hung over them. The signage of the motel was only just lit, the lettering sat under a flickering, ephemeral glow from lamp bulbs that probably hadn't been replaced for years and were on their way out. By all means, it wasn't the worst place he'd been to - there were much worse places to stay back home and along the Midwest. The building was relatively clean, although judging by the lighting and other signs of wear and tear, there probably wasn't a lot in the budget.

Clancy took a brief detour before returning to the room that his host had generously planned and paid upfront for almost a week. Stepping into the reception area, he quietly leaned over towards the rack of tourist pamphlets and perused through the contents. A few homely offerings, like bake-sales, markets and charity vents. A regional band on tour at some local bars. And the Halloween Festival. This seemed go be the crown jewel as far as he could tell, and had been the talk of the others earlier. If he wanted to catch most of them again, it was a measurable chance.

"Little late to be out, you alright son?" The night manager's withered voice almost made him pivot, but he kept his composure, "Yeah," he answered, not turning to face the old man, "Just grabbing something for my dad." He discreetly wiped at the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, a dark wine-stain smear coming away. Clancy took that as a cue to make an exit, extracting himself from the office and pacing back towards the motel room, making sure that he wasn't being followed or watched.

They hadn't asked any further questions, but he'd sensed a degree of skepticism.
For good measure, he adjusted the Please Do Not Disturb sign hung over the door, before unlocking and stepping into a room kept alive by the dull, buzzing glow of a late-00s TV holding both darkness and silence at bay with late-night television.

First priority, clean up.

Clancy slapped the pamphlet on the nightstamp, unslung and dumped the dufflebag on the bed with a hefty thud, then made his way to the bathroom, a cramped box contained at the back of the room in a space just large enough to contain a toilet, sink and bath-shower combo.

He was conscious that, although it didn't particular bother him, the lingering presence of soot and tear gas threatened to be a literal eyesore for anyone who came near him. A scruffy kid caught attention, and the night manager had almost proven that. Peeling away the partially soiled clothing, Clancy ran the faucet of the sink and dumped the clothes inside to soak for a few hours, then proceeded to do the same for the shower, stepping under the water so that the layers of contaminant that clung to his form would wash away.

Hot or cold, it didn't really matter. The water could've been from a frozen river and it wouldn't have made a difference to him, this was just yet another opportunity to clean up, look somewhat presentable to strangers. Soot, dirt and a half-congealed wine-stain ichor sloughed off him, forming a receding dark circle over the floor of the tub as it disappeared into the drain. After what might've been an hour of staring at the tiles, he stopped the water, stepped back in front of the sink and began to wring through his clothes, working to scrub off the dirt with his hands.

In the mirror, he saw a face that felt more like a memory than a self. Once, out in the wilderness, he'd been spared that face, only forced to look in the reflections of lakes and streams, or cars parked in clearings. A thin speck of crimson remained smeared across the corner of his mouth, the shower having failed to dislodge it previously - he scrubbed that away with equal fervor.

Clothes. He turned his attention back to the murky pool that had formed in the sink.

It would have to do. He grabbed the soaked bundle of clothes, stepped back into the room and dumped them on a rack by the heater, leaving them to dry overnight. Wet clothes were likely to ask close to as many questions as they were when dirty. Once that was done, he went back to grab a towel and extract whatever moisture still clung to him, so it didn't track across the floor.

In the process of retreating to the bed, he felt his foot catch against something soft and heavy that had been haphazardly stowed under the bed; a large suitcase that had belonged to his host, positioned to avoid grabbing the attention of anyone who tried peering into the room. Clancy had neglected to take care of that particular matter, given the last twenty-four hours of events, but it would need to be done or there would be more questions asked that he didn't have time to deal with. Off to one side was a pizza box, darkened through with grease, the contents uneaten and soon-to-be moldering on the table. He made a mental note to dispose of that, too.

Second priority. Think.

He sat in the bed, drew his bare knees to his chest the closed his eyes. Nothing. it was pointless to emylate sleep, and he'd forgotten what dreams were. Even the quiet hours could be monotonous, dragging on, and his thoughts then drifted to other matters. Going on a walk in the night only encouraged those thoughts, and he didn't want to be reminded of how hungry he'd been, and how a core part of him still was, despite the wild game offering subsistence an hour ago.

Focus.

There was a week before the Halloween Festival, and Clancy had questions which needed answering. There had been a lot to digest, figuratively. Bikers. Federals. Ashley's 'friends'. Other things lurking out there, and in the midst of it all, Father Wolf.

---

---

---

Nuts & Bolts Autoshop

---

The space they were in was far from cosy, but it served well enough, the back office of an autoshop that gave them some privacy away from the clusterfuck that was the last twenty-four hours.

"So, Judas is dead?!" The voice had a rasp, a combination of excessive tobacco use and a recent chest infection.

"Yeah," the bearer of bad news said, a thirty-something-year-old with a shaven scalp and mechanic's overalls, delivering said news to his boss, "Cops got involved, none of the guys you sent came back. Don, Jay and Lonnie are dead. Bob's girl at the coroner's office said someone wasted Big Vic, too, not pretty either. And you already heard about the shit with Joe Skinner."

"Fuck," his boss grunted, then made a circling gesture with his fingers, "C'mon Eddie, don't hold out on me."

"We ain' seen the others either since last night. Maggie, Val an' El, Dean."

"And cheetahman?"

"No, apparently took off."

"Shame," the disappointment in his tone betrayed a certain hope that the night's events had disposed of the subject in question, "So, how did Judas get wasted? The cops do that?"

"I dunno, there was some trouble at the Vee-Vee, someone trashed the place, I sent the guys like you said, and then "

Conrad let out a sigh, took a swig from his flask, then began to massage his temples. After a moment's pause, he continued. "Judas? Please, god - no." His tone was flat, making his insincerity clear. "Vic V and the others? Yeah." He jabbed a knee into the underside of his desk, making its whole contents rattle, "There's no walkin' around that, s'a loss but they ain' exactly gonna be able to help us now, are they?" He slammed a palm on the table for emphasis.

"What about Valjean?" Eddie asked, "You know that Judas and him were bunked up, man's gonna make a play if the cops didn't get him."

"Ah, fuck 'em, Jeanie can suck Shaytuh for all I fucken' care, and his sister too." Conrad hocked, leaned off to one side, then spat in a nearby paper bin. "Fuckin' methheads and traitors is shit we can do without."

Conrad was not the prime of the Wolfpack; a man of middling age, with a widow's peak and lampshade mustache that both bore a salt & pepper tone. A vague stubble clung to his cheeks and chin, and his eyes were darkened around the edges, a consequence of missing sleep. To keep the cold off, he was wearing a jacket from some military surplus store, and had downed enough coffee to stay warm and awake that he was probably going to fill a bathtub with piss at some point.

However, for all intents and purposes, he was probably the only one left that had somewhere close to the numbers and strength to hold ground.

Eddie finally broke the silence, "What's that mean for us?"

"Shit, you been paying attention Eddie? Look around you," Conrad gestured off to one side, "Judas is dead. The others aren't worth shit on my boots. We are the Wolfpack." Conrad snapped his fingers, to make the point. "Look, I gotta get my head around a few things. Tell the guys not to fuck around for a couple days, I don't want the cops breathing down our necks while we reconsolidate."

Once he was sure he was alone, he let out another sigh, and planted both palms against his face. The reality was grim, although he wanted to see an opportuniy. Judas was dead. The rest of his Wolfpack's real muscle were dead or MIA. A few of Conrad's people, the ones he could trust, had been taken out too, and the whole thing had started when his lady's dumbass kid-brother had been found painted across the walls of a private room in the Veni Vedi Veni.

As it stood, he reckoned he had a chance at holding onto a chunk of whatever was left. Not everything - he knew that there was no holding in to that. The methhead, her brother and the carpetbagger were all dead end for varying reasons, some more obvious than others.

Opening his flask, he used what remained to top off his coffee and downed the whole thing, then reached for his cellphone.

---

---

Conrad was instructed to travel deep in the woods on the very outskirts of St. Portwell… he was told to drive down a specific highway and stop at a speed limit sign. He was told to travel to the woods to the left of the sign, and he would enter a series of different symbols drawn on trees… Norse Pagan symbols. Conrad was instructed to follow specific symbols, in a specific order… until he reached a bush at the base of a hill. He was instructed to go through that bush… and on the other side of it was a makeshift walkway that was dug out of the side of the hill. Then there was a large metal door with a hatch on the other side.
It was the Wolf’s Den, a secret bunker created by Kaiser Draeger to act as a hiding place in the event everything went wrong that only the top members of Das Sonnenrad knew about.

Apprehensively, he rapped his knuckles on the access hatch

The hatch opened by a slide… and then what had to be a little boy on the other side spoke.

“... Are you our guest?”

“Yeah, I'm Walt Disney.”

“... We will send the Dragonslayer out.” Strangely enough, two little boys spoke at the same time.

He muttered something beneath his breath. “Your boss's expecting me, yeah.”

“Name.” The two boys said at the same time. “We are expecting two different guests today.”

“It's van der Vegte,” he grunted back, “Are we gutte?”

The hatch closed, and after a few locks were undone, the door slid open, and the first thing Conrad saw were two eerie, twelve-year-old boys, one standing with the door open, and the other next to him. Staring at him with their dark eyes… and behind them was an imposing figure, a massive black knight armor that heaved a massive black sword over his shoulder. Behind them all was a long tunnel going downwards, lit by lights.

They stared at Conrad before they said, “Come in; Berlioz is expecting you.”

“Come play with us, Conrad, forever and ever and ever.” It was a statement half-whispered, inaudible for anyone but him. Instead, he offered them a nod and continued onwards. The two gestured for Conrad to go in front while they used all of their little might to shove the door closed, and then they walked down the tunnel with the strange suit of armor bringing up the rear. They walked down the makeshift wooden stairs to another hatch… a large, imposing metal door that the two boys quickly opened.

On the other side of the door was a large concrete room illuminated by lights dangling overhead, powered by a network of wires. The two led Conrad to one of the rooms to the right, a massive square concrete room with a large oval-shaped table and plenty of chairs… only four were inhabited. The Twins stood by one side of the door, and the strange suit of armor stood on the other.

The person standing on the table's head was a tall, bald man wearing a black suit and white shirt. He narrowed his eyes at Conrad as he said, “My dear friend, Conrad,” He started, “It is great of you to join us. I extended my invitation to all of the remnants of Kaiser Draeger’s followers… why did it take you so long to accept my invitation?”

“Give me some credit,” Conrad shrugged, “I was biding time until I had enough people to take back what we had. Didn't have a crystal ball for when Judas and his shitbirds would be outta the way, but we got it now.”

“Judas…?” Berlioz tilted his head.

“... This profligate has no place among us, Berlioz,” An older woman wearing a bright red dress spoke, rolling her eyes as she took a sip of her wine.

"Look, someone had to keep lights runnin' when K-D dropped out on us, what the fuck do you expect me to say?” Conrad's gaze flared, “I gotta eat too, so I did what I had to. You think I liked working with that fuckin' carpetbagger that Judas sent for collections?" He let the pause hang, "No. But I kept faith with the cause. You and me, we play this right, Portwell is ours and we can clear out the trash."

Berlioz stood up, and placed his fingertips together as he mused,

“St. Portwell…” He started, “... The touch of the subhuman horde has tainted it… this whole universe. We have no interest in ‘saving’ this wasteland.”

He let his words hang in the air.

“My organization seeks to find our paradise… Thule, a world in which the subhumans have never touched.”

“Yeah, yeah-” Conrad said, “I get that. The Pacific Northwest is still our gateway to that world. I'm just realistic, Berlioz. I know history's written by the victors and alla’ that bullshit, and I know we're on the right side, but… look at us. You wanna spend the next twenty years holed up here when we could be taking our dues?”

“With whom?” Berlioz answered as he leaned forward and put his fingertips together. “What exactly is your plan? And tell me exactly where it lines up with our plans?”

“I mean, uh-” Conrad was cut off mid-answer.

“In case you didn’t realize!” A young girl with blonde hair and blue eyes spoke up, “We’re like five people!”

“Easy, Paige,” Berlioz said.

“I got reliable cash flow comin’ in,” Conrad gestured with his hands, fingers half-cocked to form a gun shape, “ A couple of places that bring in business. With Judas outta the way, that’s ours, easy. That means no more hiding. I want in on your plans. All I’m askin’ for is the means to back things up.”

He slipped a hand into his coat pocket, which prompted the Dragonslayer to step forward for a moment - presumption of a threat. That made him flinch, so he stopped, looked to Berlioz for approval, then tugged it back out once he gave the nod. Between his thumb and index finger was a cartridge, NATO 5.56 caliber, one any veteran would associate with the AR-15 and its family of rifles.

“I’ve got the numbers. I got the guns, too. I got some Thorall to clean out a Nat-Guard depot for us a few months back. What I don’t have is the kinda power that Judas’ pets and the fuckin’ shitbirds from last night can haul around. Jean and his junkie sister, plus that cocksucker from the jungle. Do I really gotta remind you what kinda problems Shayton brings just by being on our doorstep?”

“Of cooooooooourse!” An sixty-something man with greying hair spoke up. “You want us to participate in your petty gang drama!”

Berlioz didn’t flinch or move an inch as he stared Conrad down, “Conrad, I know you have no way of knowing this, but can you guess who is on their way right now, ready to offer the deal of a lifetime?”

The man threw his arms up.

“Blake Schmidt,” Berlioz answered. “He wants to employ us as his Paranormal security force for him and his colleagues… We’d be working under the subhumans, but tell me something...”

Berlioz leaned back in his chair and said,

“... Which deal would you take? Getting millions of dollars or helping a con artist take over a petty street gang?”

“Bullshit. And I resent that phrasing.”

“Answer the question.”

“I'll take your point, but if you're looking for a show of force…” Conrad let the answer hang, outstretching both palms, “Level with me, Berlioz.”

“I have been,” Berlioz calmly replied. “This. Whole. Time.”

“The real question is why you insist on wasting our time, profligate!” The older woman said, “Those who fight over trash just end up in the landfill themselves!”

“What, that's it?” Conrad exclaimed, “I'm offering you actual warm bodies; you're leaving me with my dick in my hands?! Throw me a bone here for chrissake.”

“You’re probably used to getting left like that anyway,” Paige chuckled.

At this point, Berlioz got up from his chair and placed his hands behind his back as he walked over to Conrad, “Let me tell you something: Nathaniel… Kaiser Draeger…” He paused as he glanced at the Dragonslayer, “... He had ambition but an oh-so-small scope to it. So, his ambition was useless as he just could not see beyond St. Portwell.”

Berlioz let his words hang in the air, “He could only see St. Portwell, and only St. Portwell. While he had power for a time, he was felled by the subhumans in the end.”

He put a hand on Conrad’s shoulder as he continued,

“The same happened to Judas, I presume? He was so narrowminded that, in the end, he lacked the strength to handle the subhuman hordes. So let me ask you a question…”

Berlioz leaned in to ask the final question,

“... What makes you think you won’t end up the same way?”

“Shit,” Conrad spat, “What are we doing, then?”

“Simple,” Berlioz began, “You are going to fold your men into my Society… and we’re going to find Thule…” He paused, giving Conrad the side eye, “or die trying.”

“My men,” Conrad reiterated, then slapped a palm across his midsection with a bemused snort, “Fuck it. They're good boys; they'll do what they're told. I work with you on this… consider ‘em yours.”

Berlioz grinned as he walked over to Conrad and touched his shoulder.

“… Glad to have you on board, friend.”

He looked over his shoulder at the twins and said, “I believe our other guests should be here soon. Keep an eye on the door for us.”

The twins nodded and walked off into the halls of the Wolf Den with the Dragonslayer behind them. Berlioz gestured for Conrad to sit with the rest of the New Thule Society while he sat down and enjoyed a glass of wine. It wasn’t long before the Twins walked through the doorway into the Wolf Den’s dining room with their guests of honor! Blake, and Phillis Schmidt… dressed rather eccentricly. They both wear khaki button-up shirts and cargo shorts with backpacks with a safari cap on. Blake had on a backpack as Berlioz could not help but raised an eyebrow.

“Oh, my apologies, my good sir!” Blake said. “We had a hard time following your directions, but nonetheless!”

Berlioz took a sip of his wine as Blake clapped his hands together.

“... Let’s talk business!”

Lila and Lynn exited the elevator and both took a step backward at the sight that greeted them. Across the wall, across the floor, and somehow even across the ceiling tiles above Jasper’s tell-tale sign of his abstraction was visible. Oil. Jasper had used his abstraction since they were here, and whatever it fought had defeated it. Lila looked down the hallway, following the ink, and saw that the window at the end was broken as if something had jumped out. Lila looked back to Lynn, and the two mouthed a “what the fuck” before a sinking look befell both of their faces. “Father Wolf,” they said in unison before they took off down the hall toward Luca’s apartment. Lynn had already pulled up her phone and was trying to pull up the contact for Auri as she ran. As they reached the door, the sight of the door itself being open made their heart drop further. Lila, paying no mind to any potential danger, ran through the doorway and ran straight into Jasper who held a broom in his hand like a makeshift weapon.

“Fuck,” Jasper shouted as he raised up the broom to strike before he noticed his friend on the ground below him, ”fuck it’s Lila, and Lynn, Luca they’re here,”Jasper shouted to the other room. Jasper was missing his shirt. His pants were half there, cut from the thigh down on the right leg with three lacerations visible and bloody. His face was battered, and bruised, and his nose was broken even worse than it was yesterday. His face also had numerous cuts, gouges, and bruises. His chest had visible rot marks, as if Luca held him in a tight embrace.

”Thank god,” Jasper said as he turned around to look for a chair. He sighed as he remembered he had broken them all in the fight. His back had more scratches, bruises, and appeared to have even more rot than the front.

”Lynn, Lila!” Luca appeared behind Jasper, keeping his distance and peering around them. He dropped the wooden stick he’d been holding, rotting underneath his hands. Unlike Jasper, Luca was fully clothed - but he didn’t look any better. His bare arms were covered in long, ugly cuts, as if his skin itself had just torn. Almost every bit of visible skin was covered in dark bruises. He didn’t have any visible gouges, just tears and bruising all across him. He looked exhausted, eyes missing their normal spark of joy - though it was slowly reappearing from seeing Lila and Lynn. ”I’m so glad to see you, you have no idea!”

“What the fuck happened,” Lynn started as she held a single finger over the call button. “Were you attacked? Was it Father Wolf?”

Luca opened his mouth to reply. It would be easy, he’d tell them about the terrifying apparition they’ve had to fight off last night, how Jasper had bravely battered if with chairs while Luca weakened it, until it fled with their precious gifts, then they’d help find it- ”We got scared watching a horror movie, and I jumped into Jasper’s arms, causing us both to fall over and hit our heads on the table.”

What? Luca clenched his fists. That wasn’t what he wanted to say. He looked over at Jasper, eyes desperate. Maybe he could say it?

”What,” Jasper paused as he looked over and something felt off about Luca’s response. ” What Luca was trying to say was we were watching a movie, and during the movie a scary scene came on and Luca jumped into my arms, I lost my balance, and we fell down to the floor below.”. As the words left his lips his eyes filled with fear. He did not intend to say that. He wanted to talk about this monster that had attacked them, about how Luca held it off long enough for him to summon a knight to beat it back, and how it had a surprising amount of comedic timing.

Lila looked at Lynn with her mouth a slight bit agape. Did the two of them just lie? Lila wanted to ask them a few questions. Why did their fall to the ground cause all this damage? Why was the only thing not broken a laptop? What truly caused Luca to embrace Jasper? And why did Jasper summon one of his constructs? A tap on her shoulder from Lynn pulled her from her thoughts. Lynn had a different look on her face. Her eyes, full of excitement, and her mouth fully opened in a smile. She mouthed a “did they” and the question lingered with Lila for a second. Her eyes darted back to Luca and then to Jasper. She thought for a second before she looked back at Lynn and shrugged her shoulders with a smirk.

“Sooooooo…. You just.. jumped into Jasper arms, fell to the floor, and caused this much damage… just by jumping into his arms and falling to the ground.”

No. ”Yup! That’s exactly what happened!” After saying that Luca turned around, and walked away - towards the window. He stopped at it and looked outside, wanting nothing more than to open it and just scream outside as if that would help anything. What the fuck?! Of course they didn’t just fucking fall to the ground. There was an apparition there! A fucking demon taunting them all night! He’d barely slept! ”We- we- we kept falling over! That’s why there’s so much damage.”

Luca slammed his mouth shut, pressing his forehead against the window. It fizzled lightly underneath him, incredibly slowly - it would take hours for him to rot his way through glass. Thankfully. ”We didn’t sleep much last night, sorry.”

“I bet you didn’t,” Lynn said as she elbowed Lila, and the two chuckled, “and the scratches on the door? And we saw the remnants of Jasper’s construct out there as well. Did those happen when you two,” she paused as her smile grew wider. Good for them is the only thought that dared cross her mind. “Fell,” she paused as she took a step closer, “multiple times?”

”No,” Jasper nearly shouted as he took a step forward, ”I know what you’re thinking. That… Is... Not… what happened here last night,” he paused as he took a deep breath. ”After Luca jumped into my arms, I had to throw out the trash so I painted my knight to throw it out the window and it stumbled through the door. It’s blade caused those scratches.” Jasper stopped as he groaned loudly. ”Luca,” Jasper's eyes betrayed his concern as he looked at Luca. Whatever was happening to him was happening to him. Why couldn’t he speak?

”I don’t know,” Luca pathetically replied, still leaning against the window via his forehead. He didn’t want to turn around and see Lynn and Lila’s expressions… He could tell what they were thinking. Jasper probably didn’t, because he was straight, but Luca did and shit! It was so embarrassing. ”I just can’t explain how awful it was last night when- your knight destroyed my front door to throw out the trash.”

”Listen, Listen, you two take those thoughts you’re thinking and push them away, that is not what happened. It’s hard to say what happened last night, but we didn’t fall across the floor breaking everything,” Jaspers eyes lit up for a second. He was able to tell at least some truth and his words were his own. Whatever had compelled him to lie was gone. He could tell them what happened. He could erase all doubt. He was free. ”Okay. Okay okay. So he jumped into my arms and I just decided to danc-” he threw his up in the air. He wasn’t free. He wouldn’t be able to erase all doubt, nor could he tell them what happened. Whatever was compelling him to lie was still going strong.

”I just wanted a fun, safe evening,” Luca complained, closing his eyes. Everything hurt so much more than normal, his already fragile skin was extra sensitive and he had a headache coming on. But not being able to tell the truth was the most frustrating thing. ”But then we fell- oh fuck it! I can’t explain anything!”

Luca finally pushed himself off of the window, making his way round to the barely holding together couch. He sat down on it and stared at his computer. At least he’d been able to protect it. He wasn’t going to lose his job. ”It’s going to take ages to tidy everything up.”

”I’ll help,” Jasper responded with a smile that read as kill me.

“Good”, Lila paused as she nudged Lynn, “cause we don’t know what’s safe to touch”

”WE DID NOT FUCK,” Jasper shouted as he slid down the wall and rested on the floor.

”You think I would do that,” Luca gestured to all the rotten skin across Jasper’s front and back, ”by choice? Really?”

[color=F08080]“Oh… of course not,” Lynn paused as she pondered the words and found there to be a nugget of truth there, let me just,” Lynn paused as her eyes glazed over as she slipped into the possible future to get the answer.

”Maybe the future will be truthful,” Luca murmured, looking over at Jasper. He’d know what he meant. With a sigh, Luca stood up again. Alright! So this was a weird, shit situation where they were being haunted (possibly) by something they couldn’t talk about! But that was fine! He wouldn’t let something like that get him down! He was just tired. Being positive again started now! ”Alright, alright, let’s get cleaning- wait.” He turned to Lila, smiling at her - seeming to be back to the normal, bright Luca. ”Have you guys eaten yet?”

“We did but I could go for another bite. We stayed up late drinking last night, thought about doing something stupid, instead we drank some more. Lynn made breakfast for us again this morning, but I’m still hungry. Whatcha got in mind?” Lila patted her stomach as she allowed Luca to change the subject. She in truth did not care what they did last night, and she knew that they’d tell her the truth in time.

”There’s a nice little bakery down the road. They do delivery, so I normally get that, but we can pop down… Should be quiet around now.” Luca smiled, relieved they could move past the awkward topic of them definitely not having sex but instead having the worst night ever. Plus, he was hungry. He’d used a lot of energy last night and then had barely slept. It meant he felt incredibly run down and nauseous, but he knew he needed to eat. ”Pretty cheap too, I’ll treat everyone!”

He then glanced over at Jasper, and down at himself. He could at least cover his arms by putting on a jumper, and he had enough plasters for his face… probably. He could totally go outside like this. ”Hey, Jasper, did you bring a change of clothes?”

“I did yes,” he paused as he pointed to his bag, “give me a second and I’ll get one, and then let’s fucking eat.”

Fifteen minutes would pass before Lynn returned from the possible future. She marked her return with a gasp and a step backwards. “I don’t think they did,” Lynn said, a disappointed look fell over her face before a look of concern replaced it. “You had a different excuse in every future. What happened last night,” she wondered to herself. Finally. A puzzle. Lynn loved puzzles. “My favorite lie was from Luca. You said that a large tiger broke in through the door, and it just wanted some cuddles but it didn’t realize that it had sharp claws and that it was too big to fit in the room so it kinda destroyed everything.”

“The fuck,” Lila responded as she looked over to Lynn and saw that she was serious. “Let’s talk about it more over some more breakfast, I’m still hungry.”

Luca opened his mouth, and then closed it again. Maybe it was best to just not talk about it, rather than risk saying that a tiger had broken into his apartment. Which honestly… he would have preferred over what actually had. ”Alright, follow me!”

Luca led them out of his ruined apartment, and back out the building. The bakery he talked about was indeed just down the road, only a few buildings along. It was thankfully quiet, with only the two staff members busying themselves behind the counter. Luca carefully opened the door with his clothed elbow and stepped in, making sure to hang towards the back rather than close to all the breads and pastries.

”Order whatever you want, on me,” Luca turned back to the other three with a grin.

“Luca you’re the best,” Jasper said as he went up to order. He kept it simple and ordered a few buttered croissants, a large black coffee, and some tasty-looking Danish pastry. He did not care if it was not a full meal, he was simply hungry and wanted some quick relief from confectionery treats. As he got his order he stood off to the side, awaiting the rest of the group.

“Oh the generosity,” Lila responded as she ordered a few different baked goods, and grabbed a coffee of her own. She took a spot next to Jasper.

“Any other day and I would eat you broke,” Lynn joked with a wink, “but today all I will take is a coffee”. She grabbed her coffee before she took a spot next to Lila. As she did, she chugged at the coffee for an uncomfortable long time before she looked towards the wall and slipped back into the possible future. She lingered there for another minute before she returned. Her eyes narrowed and they darted between Jasper and Luca.

”Next time, then,” Luca laughed. He ordered himself a variety of pastries, and then paid. He turned to the rest, holding up the paper bag his food was in (that he was concentrating very hard to not disintegrate). ”One of you mind taking this for me? Since I paid.”

He couldn’t exactly say in front of the blind bakery staff the real reason - the others would get it.

Lynn shot her hand out and grabbed it before the rot sensation truly set in. “So Jasper, after we eat you’re going to say that you want to check out the 317 to figure out the costumes,” she said, still trying to decipher what the future was telling her.

Jasper’s eyes narrowed for a second before it clicked in his mind. He wanted to wait to bring that up. He wanted to wait until they got some food, a chance to decompress, and maybe a quick nap. How far did Lynn look ahead this time? “Yeah, I figure after the destruction our hugging caused last night I’d want a distraction,” he winced as his words were stolen again. How hard was it to say we were attacked by a fucking skeleton? If he ever saw that skeleton again he would make sure he finished the fight, right then and there. “I know the leadership there well, we can get the friends and family discount. You down Luca? It’ll be before they get busy, so it should be mostly clear.”

”Of course!” Luca nodded. He made his way out of the bakery before continuing to talk. ”The sooner we get our costumes started the better! Wouldn’t want to rush them… If it’s going to be quiet, I should be able to avoid doing any damage.”

He then frowned thoughtfully. ”Uh, they won’t have to measure us for the costumes, will they? That might be a bit difficult…”

“They won’t, but their abstraction will,” Jasper said with a wink, “it’ll be a second at most, and then they can get to work on the costume itself. Maybe a day or two from measure to completed. He paused as she shuddered. We might run into Sypha while we’re there, if we do just be prepared for a free heal. It is…a process. You might be safe, but you won’t be safe from the visual.”

”Alright, that’s good,” Luca let out a sigh of relief, then tilted his head. He had no idea who Sypha was, or why he needed to be prepared… Did she heal in some really weird way? Generally he couldn’t get healed by others anyway due to the whole rotting thing. ”Is it worse than the sight of rotting flesh?” He asked this half jokingly, half genuinely, suppressing the memories of the two agent’s who’s skin had rotted off the day before… and Jasper too, though that was more difficult to suppress when it was visible in the present. ”I’ll keep it in mind… Are we heading right there, or going back to my place to eat?”

“I need a break from the crazy so your place.”

“It is entirely… too bright outside right now,” Lila said as she grabbed some sunglasses from her bag. “I can help you guys clean or something while you two eat. Lynn, you down to help?”

“No,” Lynn paused as she looked well past the group, deep in thought, “the possible future is a place I need to be right now, I need to find some clues.”

“Please,” Lila pleaded for a second, trying her best to guilt her into helping. Yet, she knew the point was moot. Lynn had caught the scent of a particularly interesting puzzle. Lila still thought the obvious answer was the correct one, but it had been a long time since she saw Lynn this invested in looking forward. Usually, that meant there was more to the equation than what was provided, and she would allow her friend to seek out that missing information.

”You don’t need to help too much, Lila, since it’s our mess,” Luca waved his hand. He didn’t want to annoy them by making them help clean up, especially when he and Jasper couldn’t even explain what had happened. If Lynn was going to look into the future that was great, because hopefully she’d see all the futures where they hunted down the skeletal apparition and realise what had happened!

Luca led the other three back to his apartment… Before looking around at the damage and realising the few chairs he had were pretty much destroyed in the fight last night. Awkwardly, he turned back to them. ”I think there’s still some chairs in Olivia’s room? We didn’t go in there last night.” He glanced around the room and sighed softly. ”Let’s eat first.”

“Yeah I’ll go grab us a few,” Jasper ran and grabbed a few chairs for everyone. As he returned he spotted Lynn near the doorway running her hands down a slash mark on the wall. He remembered that the monster and his knight fought for a minute inside the apartment, and his knight tried to strike the monster but missed.

“Thanks,” Lila said as she sat down. She looked over to Lynn. “With them not telling us what happened I hope you’ll be able to fill me in.”

“Oh I’m going to figure this out,” Lynn said with a determined grin on her face, “but I think it’s going to take a long while. The future is very unclear.”. She finished and slipped to the possible future.

Luca glanced over at the girls, nipping in to grab his pastries, before sidling over to Jasper - getting as close as he could without hurting him (again). He lowered his voice to a whisper that they couldn't hear. ”Why can't we tell them anything? We didn't have a shared fever dream did we?” After asking, he shoved a piece of a croissant in his mouth. ”You don't think we're cursed, do you?”

“I don’t know why, I’ve tried to tell them about the skeleton,” he paused as he looked over towards Lynn, “i don’t know. I think we have to be. We can talk about what happened freely between the two of us, like we were attacked by a four armed skeleton who had comedic timing,” Jasper paused as he leaned back, “and then the man with the top hat walked through the door,” he said loud enough for Lila and Lynn to hear. He pointed as he finished his words. “See? We have to be cursed. I don’t know much about curses but I think if we see that skeleton again we fight first and ask questions second”

”Agreed,” Luca nodded, frowning. ”We can't just let them get away with it… we'll beat it down and then ask how to break the curse! I wonder if it's just Lila and Lynn we can't tell… no, that would be weird. The whole things weird, why did that skeleton even appear in the first place!”

“Maybe? We’ll have a chance to test it soon, we’ll be running into a few people I know and they’ll ask what happened for sure,” Jasper paused as he pondered the final question, “I don’t know, I really don’t. Like why us?”

”Hopefully it's just them and we can explain to someone else…” Luca shrugged, before his lips tugged up into a slight smile, tone turning slightly more joking. ”Y’know, maybe it saw us and thought ‘wow those are two really cool guys’ and wanted to take a closer look. We’re just suffering from success.”

“Just the nicest guys on the planet, you know what they need? To be visited by a used car salesman in the middle of the movie,” Jasper looked confused for a second before he looked to the side and saw Lila had drifted too close to the conversation. “Hey, at least we’re dealing with this together. I think I’d be dead if it wasn’t for your help last night, thank you for holding it off for me.”

”Of course, I couldn’t let the used car salesman get the better of you!” Luca gritted his teeth in frustration… But at least Jasper would get what he meant. With Lila so close there was no point talking about what had happened last night, since they straight up couldn’t. With a smile, he turned to include Lila in the conversation, finishing off the croissant he’d been holding in one bite. ”Alright, cleanup. If we just pile up everything over there,” he pointed to the far corner, ”I can get rid of it easy. Uh, I don’t have a broom anymore, kinda destroyed it last night… Guess if we just fix the worst of it, haha.”

“On it,” Lila said as she began to pick up the debris and carry them over to the designated corner. She used her feet to push some of it over but mostly relied on her hands for it. Jasper got up from his seat and flashed Luca a smile as he also began to help. As he grabbed broken pieces from broken chairs the images from the fight flashed in his mind. There was something off about the way the monster fighted, was it playing with them? Eventually the two managed to get the worst of the mess to the mess corner.

“Time to go?” Lynn asked the group as she returned from the possible future.

---

---

About a half hour later the group had arrived at The 317. The building itself did not have any parking spaces open to it so Jasper had to navigate to the side road and find parking there. Thankfully the area was still waking up and he was able to find parking decently close. The group would immediately notice that they were in an arts district. There were no chain stores in the area, and the restaurants and bars that did dot it had various well designed murals on the sides of the brick buildings. There were vintage clothing stores, antique stores, and flyers on every telephone phone advertising some showing in the nearby area. The 317 was not alone in the arts space here, it was simply the biggest and most visited place to buy, sell, and experience the arts.

Jasper led the group from the car on a short five minute walk down the block to the industrial complex. As the group approached the smell of the various food trucks would fill the air. They had just opened, and soon they would be swarmed, but for now they simply sat at the ends of the lot waiting. The air was filled with the sounds of the nearby birds, and stray conversations from the early birds at the gallery. The group would find their way to the side of the building where the door was already open.

As the group entered, Lila noticed that the hallway was much more wide than she suspected it to be. On either side of the hallway there were doors that led to the artists rooms, and most of the doors were open. As she followed Jasper she saw a room filled to the brim with clothing, paintings, rock sculptures, crystals, and more. It seemed like this place had a bit of everything and anything in the middle.

Luca looked around the room with wide eyes and slightly parted lips. He’d never seen anything like it. Honestly, he’d gotten used to off coloured, peeling walls and nearly bare rooms. He wanted to go take a look at everything, but also knew that he could - making sure to stay far enough away from everything so he didn’t damage it. ”Holy shit, this is amazing.”

Eventually, Jasper found himself in front of a locked door near the middle side of the hallway. He knocked three times in a slow pattern, and as he waited he turned and flashed a smile to the group. A second later the door opened and a man walked out from behind the door.

“Jordan,” Jasper said with a nod.

“Jasper,” Jordan responded with a grin. He was Jordan Fuchs, brother of Sypha, and one of the resident artists in this space. He held his arms out wide and pulled Jasper into a hug. “You doing good buddy,” he asked, eyeing up the numerous bruises, cuts and rotted spots visible on his body, “you don’t look good.”.

“Yeah, yeah, we had an accident last night rustling cattle,” Jasper said as he groaned, “It’s a long story but I’m good”

“Good, good,” Jordan said as he stepped out of the way, leaving room for the group to head downstairs, “stop by Sypha’s office, she'll get you to actual good, stop by there first.”

“Greeeat,” Jasper said with a sigh as he motioned for the group to follow him down the stairs. The downstairs was very much similar to the upstairs, however there were only four rooms one in each corner of the basement. The middle section was open, well as open as it could be as the various support columns dotted the area. These columns were decorated with various art and string lights. There were various benches arranged in a circle around a central circular table. Around the benches and table various candle holders littered the area. Over the treble a banner featuring their symbol hung.

Once he got to the bottom of the stairs, he paused before he took three more steps and found himself in the open doorway of the first room to the left of the stairs, knocking on the frame. His shoulders slouched as his hands shot out and a “wait, wait, wait,” escaped his lips. Three seconds later several tendrils of blood impacted him all across his chest, slamming into it with force and cutting through his shirt, before he was lifted into the air and dragged inside.

”Holy shit!” After last night, Luca was immediately on edge, looking around for something he could use as a weapon to beat whoever was attacking Jasper. He reached over for a candle holder, and raised it with a determined look.

Lila and Lynn stood in a stunned silence for a second before they looked at Luca, and back to the doorway. Lynn went to the possible future for a brief second before she exhaled with a chuckle. “That's Sypha.”

”... Oh.” Luca put back down the candle holder - thankfully undamaged, since he’d put on a pair of lycra gloves before they’d left (and brought plenty more with him). Carefully, he peered round the doorway, calling out, ”Jasper, are you alright?”

“-ut things are good? You’re doing okay?” Sypha asked as she leaned across the desk towards Jasper. “You’re not doing..” she paused as her eyes rose and eyed up Luca, and the injuries visible on his exposed skin. Her eyes narrowed.

“Yeah, I’m okay!”. Jasper spoke as he looked back on the group. He was sitting in one of two open chairs in front of an antique desk. “Guys, this is Sypha, Sypha” he paused as he pointed back at his friends, “That is Luca, Lila, and Lynn.”. The group would notice the cuts, bruises, and even the rot heal in a rapid pace and before their eyes. A few seconds more would pass before the tendrils released themselves from Jasper. They left behind a blood stains around the point of impact. Jasper was almost fully healed. Some remnants lingered but he felt good to go.

“Luca,” Sypha spoke as her blood tendrils danced in front of her. Speckles of blood fell to the ground. Thankfully, it was a concrete floor so cleanup would not be an issue. The tendrils shot out towards Luca and they flew across the room at a frightening pace. They aimed for his exposed skin all across his body.

”Huh?” Luca didn’t have time to react before the tendrils hit his skin, burrowing in. The immediate impact hurt, before it started healing… But after only a few seconds, the tips of the tendrils where they touched his skin began to darken and rust. ”Please take them out! Not cause it's scary or anything, it’ll just hurt you!”

Sypha left them in for just a brief minute as she watched the rust spread up the tendril slowly. Her eyes opened more in surprise at the sight. She looked Luca in the eyes and said “you’re right, I’m sorry but I won't be able to get you topped off.” she finished as she pulled the tendrils out of Luca’s body and moved them over to the corner. There was a trash can there and she hovered the tendrils over it before she released the ends of the tendrils, causing the rusted blood to drop into the can below. “Luca, I need your help. Jasper told me a wild tale about how the two of you got hurt. Mind telling me what actually happened?” As she finished she pulled the tendrils back into her body, allowing her wound to close with nary a drop of blood dropped on herself. She pulled open a drawer and grabbed a small plastic container filled with sugar cookies, grabbing a few before she put it away.

”Don’t worry about it, I’m used to it,” Luca shrugged with a smile. He was glad she hadn’t gotten that hurt… Like the agent yesterday. His smile froze, though, when she asked him about what had happened. So Jasper hadn’t been able to tell someone else.. Maybe if you knew someone, you couldn’t. That would mean he could tell her! Hopefully!

”So we were watching a horror movie last night,” Luca started. So far, so good. ”When a clown walked into my apartment and terrified us so much I jumped into Jasper’s arms. Then he valiantly fought the clown off with all of my furniture, but kept tripping over the clown’s massive shoes and hurting himself.” Fuck.

“That’s funny because Jasper just said you two were working on a competitive ice skating routine,” Sypha paused as she groaned, leaning back in her chair as she did, “I don’t have time to figure this out, whatcha doing here Jasper”.

“Faith owes me a favor, calling it in for some costumes for the four of us.”

Sypha took a bite of her cookie before she looked and Lila and Lynn. Her eyes held a question, and she did not let it linger for long “should I worry about this one.”

Lynn immediately shook her head ‘no’. She slipped into the possible future and this time, she projected it out for the whole room to see. The group would see a possible version of themselves, transparent and with a green filter overtop , but visible all the same. In these future she would turn to Jasper and ask him first what happened. In each one, Jasper responded with a different response each time. Yet there was one common theme plain to see in them. A slight wince after he finished speaking. “Not sure what’s going on but I am looking into it. We’ll figure it out.”

“Good. I like these friends better already Jasper. Faith is in her office, she paused as she swiveled in her chair, taking another bite of her sugar cookie. “Your sister is in there. Good luck.”

Jasper let out a soft groan as he looked back across the group. He felt better, healthier, and strangely lightheaded, and the day was already looking up. Yet he was about to have an impromptu meetup with his sister. It’s not that he hated his sister, or even disliked her, she just tended to be…. Overprotective. “Just don’t tell her how hurt I was, okay?”

“Too late.” Sypha tapped send on her phone.

Jasper moaned and motioned for the group to leave the room. As they stepped out he turned to Luca. “How are you feeling?”

”I’m all good,” Luca gave Jasper a thumbs up, smiling. He’d taken his regular painkillers before leaving, and another that he took when his pain was worse than normal. So really, he wasn’t lying, because he was used to being like this. Just tripping over something would cause bruises to flower across his skin, and moving wrong could tear it. It was just a bit more extreme than that today. ”It looks a lot worse than it is!”

He then leaned in slightly. ”But dude, I didn’t know you had a sister. What’s she like?”

“I haven’t brought her up? She’s a few years older than I am, closer to Lynn in age. I don’t know if I had time during the old days to bring her up. She’s…” he paused as he sighed, his eyes caught sight of her already waiting for them outside the door of the room on the opposite corner of the basement “Well you’re about to find out. She is intense, strong willed, and-”

“Jasper, let him form his own opinions of me,” Octavia yelled as he began to cross the gap between the two. Her hands were clenched into fists, her eyes burned holes into Jasper’s face, and her mouth was curled down into a near snarl. She got into Jaspers face before she inspected him for injuries, and once she was content with what she saw her expression softened. “Hi, I’m Octavia,” she said with a tired voice. “Calling in a favor for costumes? This early in the morning, what the fuck man. You’re looking good, you doing okay?” Octavia crossed her arms, but did not let Jasper answer. “You’re up first,” she pointed to Luca, her voice barely hiding the venom that wanted to come out, “follow me”

”Ok,” Luca’s voice raised a pitch, eyes widening. Was he about to get murdered by Jasper’s sister? Did she think him getting hurt was his fault? It kind of was- but he didn’t want to die. He glanced at Lila, then Lynn, then finally Jasper. It was fine. He could survive this. He nodded to the other three, like a soldier about to go to war. ”Wish me luck.”

He then followed Octavia into the room.

“Good morning sycamore,” a woman from inside the room talked in a pleasant tone. ”You all have been busy since you came together again. Don’t worry, a friend of Jasper is a friend of ours, right Octavia?” Faith looked over at Octavia and stared at her for many seconds, eyes flicking between Luca and Octavia. Octavia had grabbed a can of spray paint and had moved towards the wall, behind the chair Luca was in. Eventually Octavia sighed and said a soft ‘yeah’. “And Jasper is asking us for a costume set. He’s simply trying to have fun with friends, and he’s asking us for help with that. I think that’s good, Octavia. Tell me, sycamore, what costumes are you looking for today?”

”Morning,” Luca smiled at the much less murderous appearing woman. He wasn’t quite sure what was going on with Jasper’s sister, but at least it didn’t seem like someone was going to knock him over the back of the head! That was nice, his head was quite fragile. ”It’s Luca! My name, that is… We’re doing the powerpuff girls. Well, me and Jasper are gonna be the manly versions. I’m looking for a manly buttercup costume!”

”Also,” he glanced behind him at Octavia. ”I’m sorry about Jasper, some of it was my fault… I got scared when we were watching a horror movie and hugged him. I really didn’t mean to hurt him, I normally try avoid touching anyone.”

Octavia raised an eyebrow and looked towards Faith, who also had an eyebrow raised. The two kept their gaze locked on each other for a second before Octavia returned it to Luca. Her expression softened further. “You guys… hugged. While watching a movie. Must’ve been a scary movie for Jasper to allow someone to hug him.”

“He’s hugged me plenty of times, Jasper just has reservations around hugging his family. Luca, Sypha let us know that he had injuries… beyond… the one your hug caused. Ones that made us feel a bit worried about what Jasper was up to, we all care dearly for him you now? I will not press on it further, and I do not believe it was you that caused those injuries, but I wanted to.. let you know that if you, or anyone, hurts him intentionally…. I won’t be there to stop Octavia… and she’d be the least of your worries…. now, powerpuff girls,” Faith hit the table as she stood up and grabbed a pad of paper, before she conjured a few tape measures and a pencil. “You can keep your clothes on, I’ll get a perfect measure regardless. You ready?”.

”Yeah, pretty scary movie, seemed real… Don’t worry, I’d never hurt Jasper on purpose! I care about him too, he’s one of my closest friends… Even if we haven’t seen each other for a while!” One of his only ones, but that wasn’t Luca’s choice… it was difficult to go out how he was. He then nodded. He had no idea how this measuring was going to work, but hopefully he couldn’t damage those tape measures. ”I’m ready!”

Faith’s pencil floated to the pad of paper and stood at the ready. Faith dropped the tape measures to the ground, and the sound of a slithering creature soon filled the air. From across the room the two tape measures quickly moved, until they finally began to wrap themselves around Luca. They circled up his legs, crossed over his hips, climbed up his chest before they excited down the arms. They were fast, but not fast enough to avoid the rot. They were half decayed as they fell to the ground, before they dissipated back to nothing. As they moved, and as they dissipated, the pencil was furiously writing down the exact measurements for each section of Luca’s body. Faith looked down and checked the numbers by her eyes and smiled as she deemed it accurate.

“I’m happy to hear,” Faith said as he looked to Luca. “You have a very unique abstraction. What material works best for clothing?”

”You could say that,” Luca’s smiled, hints of pain flashing across his eyes. They were gone just as quickly as they’d appeared. Unique was probably the nicest way you could describe his abstraction. ”Anything synthetic… Polyester and the like. It doesn’t degrade as quickly, lasts a good few days of wear. I’ll layer up underneath too!”

The pencil continued to write, making a note about the material before it too dissipated. “I’ll be able to accommodate, you’re free to go Luca. Send in the ladies.”

“If Jasper ever needs any help come find us, we won’t get involved in coven drama but we’ll help wherever else we can.

”Got it,” Luca nodded. He didn’t want involved in coven drama either, if he could help it. ”I’ll make sure to! And I’ll protect Jasper too!”

He nodded, puffing up his chest slightly but still looking very unthreatened. With that said he walked back out. ”Hey Lila, Lynn, she said you two are to go in.” He then turned to Jasper with a grin. ”I’m pretty sure your sister wanted to knock me out with a spraypaint can, but I managed to convince her that I’m a really nice guy.”

Lila looked to Lynn. The two made their way inside without a fight. The door closed behind them soon thereafter

Jasper’s eye twitched as he heard mention of the spray paint can. “No, no she wanted to do a lot more than knock you out” Jasper exhaled, “her abstraction involves art as well. She’s always been protective of me……I’m being saved for last for a reason I think” Jasper said as he shook his head. “Faith is a treat though, as long as you follow her rules..”

”Ohhhh, a spray paint can did seem like a weird weapon of choice.” Luca didn’t look put out at all that Octavia had been essentially threatening him. It really didn’t bother him. It was just a sibling thing, right? Of course she wanted to make sure he wouldn’t hurt Jasper! He could understand, especially when it came to someone with an abstraction like his. ”Heh, is your sister going to chew you out? I can kinda understand, considering we can’t explain what attacked us last night…” He sighed. ”Faith was lovely! Even asked me what type of material to make it out of.”

“Not chew out, ask a lot of questions that I won’t be able to answer, and that’ll prompt another line of questions..” Jasper paused as he sighed. Should he bring up more of his past? Jasper knew that it would make things a bit more clear as to why Octavia was ready to hurt Luca. Octavia, Faith, and Sypha put a lot of time and energy helping Jasper get sober. That would require him to bring back some painful memories, and he wasn’t ready for those to come out to this group. He flashed Luca a smile. “I’ll be fine though, it’s all coming from a place of love. They just care a lot about me, you know?” he paused as he smiled even bigger. “I’m excited to see Faith at least, I haven’t seen her in a while. I figured she’d be flexible, she’s big into making her own stuff you know?”

”Hopefully you won’t end up saying a completely ridiculous lie,” Luca rubbed the back of his neck. The whole thing was annoying enough with Lila and Lynn, but not being able to tell his sister the truth as well? That was difficult. ”Course, I get it. My big brother used to be the same with me… Well, maybe not quite the same. But I get it! I’d be upset too if someone I cared about was hurt.” Luca shrugged, returning Jasper’s smile. ”Oh yeah, it’s great, I was worried I’d have to wear tons of layers under my costume just to not destroy it… And then I’d die from overheating. Now I should only need the one underlayer! I really can’t wait for the festival.”

“You and me both Luca,” he paused as his smile widened, “Though I do hope we can finish that movie, I was enjoying watching it with you.

The door opened and Lila and Lynn exited the room, each had a look of fear on their face. Jasper knew those faces well. Octavia had threatened them, apparently more than she threatened Luca. Jasper did not wait for his name to be called back, instead, he accepted his fate no matter what it entailed. Jasper was in the room for thirty minutes. Eventually he returned to the squad, and his smile did not falter. Faith had told Jasper that she’d rush their costumes, and they’d have it within the next couple of days.

The squad made their way back to Lucas’s apartment from here, stopping at a hardware store first, and then the gas station to buy Luca some of the treats he liked. Jasper bought a new broom for Lucas, but also bought a sledgehammer , two claw hammers, and numerous other tools that could be used to fend off a skeleton. Jasper knew these tools were useless in the hands of Luca, he’d rot through them faster than he could swing them, but Jasper did not like the idea of being unable to defend Luca, and himself. No, if that skeleton fuck showed their ugly faced again Jasper would be ready. Lila and Lynn would hang out at the apartment before they left, leaving the boys alone once more.

“So, how about that movie then?”

”Yes, let’s finish it off,” Luca grinned, jumping up to turn on his computer - thankfully still completely fine. It booted up and he found the movie, quickly finding where they’d been last night when they were rudely interrupted by a fucking monster. He sat down on the couch, grabbing the snacks. ”We better not get interrupted this time.”

“I got protection just in case,” Jasper said as he grabbed the sledgehammer with both hands. Thankfully the two were spared from another monster visit for the duration of the movie. The movie finished, the credits played, and Jasper started to hope that the monster was just some bad luck from the night before. “Finally,” Jasper said as he looked over to Luca, “That was a good movie. You want to watch another?”. Jasper hoped he would. There was something nice about watching the movie with Luca, monster attack excluded, and he let his eyes linger for a second too long as he hoped for a second.

”Hell yeah,” Luca grinned, turning to look at Jasper with eyes crinkling with sheer joy after they finally finished the film. No skeleton attacking them! Nothing else to worry about! ”Want to watch one of the ones you suggested last night? Somehow managed to download them even with all the chaos last night.”

“What about-“

The sound of nails dragging across the wall behind them filled the air. It was a very familiar sound to Jasper. It was the sound of a monster that had come back for round two. It was the sound of a fate that the two now shared. It was the sound of a fight at hand, and the sound drew closer with each passing second. Jasper gripped the handle of the sledgehammer tight, looked to Luca, and slowly turned around.

Luca froze, mood instantly plummeting, and he carefully twisted his head around to look behind him.

There the monster was, stalking towards them, nails raking through the wall below the marks made yesterday. It almost seemed to be smiling at them.

This time, Luca wasn’t scared. He was just pissed off. ”Oh for fuck’s sake!”

“Oh I’m going to break your bones,” Jasper said as he stood up, readying his hammer for war.

“Talk to me,” the skeleton laughed as it lunged towards them.

Location: The Shimmer, The Temple
_{In collaboration with @Punished GN, @Blizz and @AtomicEmperor}

---

The group arrived in The Shimmer, back at the tree that Clarissa had smashed a portal open initially. It was a grand circle that brought them back into the light of day. Met by several Temple cultists, there were unsurprisingly a few faces from the night before when Britney had visited their place, and Furio began to direct them without hesitation. He didn’t even bother to see who was who, pulling the keys for the car they’d driven in from his pocket and handing them off.

”Etienne, Hari, there’s a Camry, red, aover in that lot. Wait for the woman who's coming to get it, then ring for a ride home. Mind your surroundings!”

The other three led the rest of the group toward a black van, into which they were piled and brought back to the Temple grounds.

Void occupied a seal beside Layla, watching her try to keep it together.

“Give me your hands.”

She did.

“No, the other ones.”

Layla blinked, before withdrawing her pale fingers, the phantom hands appearing in small form in front of her, held out. With a slight seethe through the teeth, Void procured a small, weak void hand, dampened by Stomy's influence. A baby-sized thumb ran across the back of Layla's phantom hand, softly caressing. The comfort registered in Layla's face, and she squeezed her eyes shut, holding back more sobs.

Arriving at the Temple, the small troop was greeted with quite the welcome. Maybe sixty people gathered about the front and sides of the main church building in which everything seemed to mostly take place. The same banners that hung inside were hung on poles outside the entrance, and the black clad patrons watched with their hands clenched together as Layla and the Void Heart were brought through their midst, guided by Furio’s hand that gently held the girl’s shoulder.

Within, the Matron Lynette stood alongside some other unfamiliar faces. They had been in discussion until the party arrived, and she looked a bit shocked to see them all.

”Oh my Stars… No, no, so quickly!? Void Heart!?”

Furio and Clarissa, the latter of which had been at the back of the line to keep an eye on Stormy and Britney, both bowed before Lynette.

”Lady Richoux… Our friend here has little choice now; he’s done it with the Sycamore Tree Coven, and the pact has been broken. Our hand is forced, and there will be no more rehabilitation.”

Lynette’s gaze went from warm concern to cold disinterest within moments.

”Speak for yourself, Void Heart. You have been woefully resilient to our methodology, and now you’ve aroused the ire of the Heroes of St. Portwell. What do you have to say for yourself?”

Void felt painfully naked in front of the woman. One could never get used to those eyes. His eyes were on the ground before he felt a tug on his hand. Layla, standing beside him, her own phantom hands gripping his dwarfed hand with an iron grip. He stared at her for a moment, seeing the pain she was desperately trying to hide, the hope she didn't want to let go of, the despair she couldn't give into - he saw it all, and he knew… he was about to make it infinitely worse.

His eyes flickered up to the woman of the Temple. She spoke the truth. But he had his own reasons for standing in front of her.

What do you have to say for yourself?

“I…”

It may be the last time he spoke with these people. His teeth clenched, and he hovered a little taller.

“I fucked up, Lady Richoux. I got caught, pushed it too far, and Furio was about to take a fall he didn't deserve. No one-”

A breath.

“-No one deserves to die for my sake. Especially not again. Not… Not like Alizée.”

He grimaced at his own words, his gaze dropping.

“Just… try not to make this painful for Layla. I'm content with sleeping my years away, but Layla… she…”

Another breath. His voice cracked, pleading.

“She's just a child.”

Britney put a hand on her hip, flicking the Noble Vow, as she rolled her eyes, at that comment, “Now that’s hilarious…” She then faced Lynette and said, “Fancy meeting you here again… We’re not looking for a fight or to cause any trouble. We just want Layla to be safe. That’s the root of all this, keeping our friends safe.” She gently touched her own chest.

Lynette listened as a noblewoman on the throne would, face unwavering and unwilling to give up her position or disposition. Whatever trouble Void Heart had stirred up, they were far ahead of schedule in this entire ordeal. Observing him, she could easily see that Void was a step away from being sealed already; he just needed a push over the edge.
However cold she was, Layla was a soft spot. Britney was correct; their only concern now was the rehabilitation of this poor girl.

“By chance, you understand that for all intents and purposes, she may be rather unwilling to let go of her friend, no?”

Furio spoke up.

“This is known, Ma’am. But he has given up.”

“And if this wasn’t the best decision?”

“It would be our burden to bear, Ma’am.” Clarissa spoke up, the two of them remaining with their heads bowed to Lynette like she was God on High.

The frosty woman’s head turned to look directly into Layla’s cold blue eyes. She was looking for some semblance of willpower to fight the tide, anything to prove to the Sycamore before her that she wasn’t one of them. That whatever she’d done to participate didn’t mean anything.

As she looked, Layla's eyes looked back, unable to hide the denial and pleading deep in her effervescent eyes. She was looking for mercy, still naively depending on the elders around her, even if they were about to turn out the lights and begin her forever night.

It was what they tried to explain to Alizee with little result. Void Heart simply thought he was above the reproach that was coming. He made deals with a checkbook and an empty bank account.

She waved her hand at the group, practically brushing aside the air of tension.
“Come… It’s time for your last meal then.”
As she clapped, the room began to rearrange. Not by magic, simply by the many hands of attendants.
“Void Heart has requested to see the Beloved Interred one final time, Ma’am.”[/color]
Lynette stared, narrowing her eyes to daggers at Void Heart. She didn’t care; but to let some Sycamore face see that she didn’t was the opposite of the optic she wanted.
“I leave such a decision to the discretion of the Sycamore Coven. A token of peace, as I’m sure we are not without blood in this melee.”

Britney sighed, “Yeah, your men shot Jack and brained Auri…” She let the words hang in the air. “He may see Alizee one last time, even though that parasite does not deserve the luxury of seeing my friend after what he did to her...”

Britney narrowed her eyes at Void Heart.

“I just hope it makes you happy what lengths you drove that poor girl to.”

Void met her stare with a blank one of his own. He could feel the pain of her words drive into his heart like a stake, but tried to give himself the dignity of not letting it show on his face. How successful he was, he wasn't sure.

Lynette nodded in a slow, methodical way. Like it was scripted, or like she was some kind of non-playable character in a game. The people all around continued to rearrange the room, but Lynette’s body turned toward the stairs.

“Come. Layla, Britney, Clarissa. Boys, stay here and chat.”
And without another word, Lynette brought the girls into the dark of the morgue that Alizee’s body was being kept in.

They had gone through this same process last night, when Layla arrived to sleep. The sorrow. She had always imagined one day Alizee would make a good match for Leon when it came time for the line to continue… Now all hope was lost, and he’d be a playboy forever, listless and in quick water.

She opened the freezer rack and pulled it out into the air again, and once more the same body was there. Eyes closed, arms crossed, serene as the nature of one’s final slumber.

“Void Heart… You never told me of your truths. You never gave me everything I sought to learn from you. But the Temple of Charming and Graceful Individuals will take your consequences upon ourselves. Look at what you lost, when we offered you everything you ever needed.”

“Some truths I'll take to my final resting place.” Void said slowly, pain in his voice as he moved closer to the freezer rack. He could feel the chill of the air, the sharp stab of the knife as the woman of the temple spoke the truth to him. But all of that disappeared as he took in the face of his precious Alizée. He hovered closer, almost in a trance, as he cupped her face in his dwarfed hands. Analyzing the serenity of her features, studying her closely, before he swallowed, and spoke.

“I had… So many plans. So many unfinished goals. My heart is heavy with regret. I wanted to take you there, to meet her. To show you what you devoted your life to, every piece taken to be given back, to open those gates. I wanted you to see the other side with me, where we could frolic and life in bliss, and forget this life of pain forever.”

His breath hitched.

“Alas… I will never see the gates of paradise. I will be… alone. And you lost your life trying to save me, refusing to leave my side… it's my fault. It's my fault, Alizée- and I'm sorry! I'm…”

Tears seeped down like smoke.

“I'm so sorry.”

He bent over Alizée's face, like a lover whispering into her ear. “Please… please open your eyes. I can't pay this price. I can't bear it. I can't… I just want to go home…”

There was a wordless moment as Void hovered there, whimpering like a child, before he lapsed into silence. Slowly, he raised a hand, and glanced at Layla, motioning for her to come closer.

Layla did so, barely holding back her own tears. Void drew Layla to the other side of Alizée, holding her phantom hands in his own.

“Layla-”

“Don't say goodbye.” Layla snapped bitterly.

Void grimaced, “You have to face this.”

“No! They're not taking you away from me!”

“Layla, you have your whole life ahead of you. You should live a beautiful life, one free of hardship-”

“You're still trying to say goodbye, like this is okay. It's not. Nothing about this is okay. I hate it. I hate that you're okay with this! I hate everyone here involved!”

“You don't mean that-”

“I do!” Frustrated tears pooled in Layla’s eyes.

“I'm gonna be left alone, and the curse of the Hyacinthus will become my bed once again! Why does no one understand?!”

Void was silent for a moment, before he raised a soft, small hand to Layla’s face, causing a shiver to run down her spine as the contact weakened her. He looked deep into her eyes.

“Please… please forgive me. This is it. This is all I got. I hate it as much as you, but sometimes we have to make sacrifices.”

Layla stiffened, staring at Void for a long moment, before tears poured over her waterline and down her cheek. Her face crumpled.

“It was better when you strangled me, and told me to hold my tongue. At least you wouldn't have abandoned me.”

Void’s own face crumpled, and he fell silent. His eyes fell to Alizée, staring for a moment, before a dry chuckle escaped his lips.

“Alizée would have found that funny…”

He hovered a little straighter, moving slightly away from the table. His heart yearned to be closer to Alizée, but he knew there was no point in delaying what was coming next. His eyes glanced at Britney, then towards Lady Richoux.

“We’re ready.”

And as she watched, she accepted the grief that was passed along once more from Void Heart onto them. She spoke with solemn conviction.

”Layla Hyacinthus. You will NEVER be alone to your suffering again. We will seek Paradise, and you both will see one another again. I would take an oath that I speak the truth.-” Lynette’s voice didn’t waver or break, nor did she skip a beat to lose her authority. “-Come, Noble Souls.”

The lowest layer of the Temple was more like a maze or a bunker than any basement. Hallways spanned long and thin through the darkness, padded walls never giving up light or noise from the hidden rooms behind them. Lynette led the others some span before stopping at a wall and bending down to pull it open from the bottom corner.

The mechanism of the door saw panels slide up and to the side like some puzzle box geometry come to life. Within, the dull lights of a room filled to the brim with the delicious scent of spice and seasoning. A working kitchen sprawled out before them, and in the center of it was a great pedestal of stone with a chair sat atop it. It was a rustic ordeal, ornate metal legs bolted directly to the pedestal; and around stone, a staircase was carved from the block’s once mighty breadth.

A man in a black chef’s jacket quickly approached the group. Voidheart would know him as the Mealbringer, the Chef de Cuisine of the Temple, and their Arch Sealer. The Butcher of Beyond. Andrade cut a handsome figure, cheeks tight to his face and beard cleanly maintained. The chef’s hat kept his hair from falling, and it was tied back in a long ponytail.

”Madame Richoux, beloved in Light.-” he spoke with a smooth voice, latin accent and all. ”And, guests… Well met, I suppose we’re gathered here for our favorite… Favorite meatball? Void Heart… I never thought we’d be meeting like this.”

---

While Britney saw to the sealing, Stormy stayed in the chapel as the Temple’s servants arranged for dinner. He stayed by a wall, out of their way and just observed. All this, for a singular apparition who caused grief wherever he went? Leon’s family always were big on ceremonious things, and Stormy wasn’t a big fan of hanging around places where he wasn’t welcome, back in the old days.

But they were here on business, and turning down food was always an easy way of making enemies. Enemies which they couldn’t afford to have right now.

”All this for the Void Heart?” He asked Furio, trying to start a conversation.

Furio, who was overseeing the group furiously converting the large room into a dining area, was really not doing much. It was kind of a joke, honestly, and it pissed him off just a little bit.
”No, not really. All this is for Alizee. It was her dedication and drive that kept those two here for so long. This is how we honor our dead; by fulfilling their ends and bringing justice to those who do them harm.”

He spoke, and he said words, but it was definitely cult bullshit he was reading off a script. Furio’s voice didn’t do a good job of hiding it, and it definitely didn’t do a good job of hiding his discomfort about the whole ordeal.
He got a bit closer to Stormy.
”Frankly, Void Heart deserves this one way or another. But, when Alizee came here, they both brokered a pact. This is Void Heart’s end of the bargain, for allowing the girl to be overcome by him. But, you didn’t hear that from me…”

Stormy nodded, not fully convinced they were honoring anyone here, but not willing to push it. ”This may have gone down differently, had he not been so quick to bond with Layla. We have… more important things to be occupying ourselves with at the moment, and none of us are particularly calm right now, not enough to let him be. Like you said, he deserves this.”

”For what it’s worth, I don’t take your ambush personally. The others might, and they have the right to, but as far as I can tell? This seems to be just a matter of business for you and yours. We would’ve done the same thing if you were holding one of us hostage.” Probably. Stormy was a bit temperamental when it came to his old coven members being hurt in one way or another, but his stubborn nature went both ways. It benefited everyone if they didn’t accumulate more bad blood.

”Well, frankly I know that Leon feels the exact same about you lot. I know it’s probably not much to hear from the guy who just tried takin’ shots at you, but… Well, I spend a lot of time with the big guy. You’re uh… Stormy, aintcha? He talks about you, says he wishes he wasn’t so busy.”

A few of the younger Temple members interrupted him, taking his attention away for a moment. He spoke to them directly in French, which seemed like a more common practice around the Temple than initially considered. But he pulled back to the conversation, getting a little bit closer to Stormy still.

”This Father Wolf shit? We’re looking too. It's bad for the whole area, the Heroes Coven getting killed in the dark. We consider you’s all as our extended family… We don’t like seeing your blood shed any more than our own.”

”You too?” Of course, why wouldn’t they be looking for him as well? Leon was one of them. Leon was a good person, and wasn’t defined by his attachments to a cult. He severed his Lux for the sole purpose of being a walking prison for an apparition, that sort of thing wasn’t an easy decision.

As a kid, Stormy tried not to associate with these people much. He was different, back then. He was always protective of others, but his younger self was more territorial, he didn’t go to places where he didn’t have friends. Growing up with a violent parent taught him to be fleeting outside of safe ground. But it was nice to know someone cared about their wellbeing.

”What do you know? Have you found anything we haven’t?”

Furio somberly shook his head. He didn’t have to say anything about it; it simply was what it was.
”Whoever he, she, they, whatever it is: It’s a fucking ghost. No trace. I mean, we’re not the Authorities, we’ve got ears out on the street but that’s only going to get you so much. We can find people who we know. So, at the very least, it’s not someone we know.”

Beyond them, the dining room was shaping up rather nicely. They must’ve had some sort of Lux adept assisting in the load lifting, because these monstrous tables were being pulled out from the rafters by what essentially looked like a human pyramid of teenagers and young adults.
There were even table cloths wrapped in plastic bags up there that were brought down along the wavering tower of flesh. They were, if anything, effectively disorganized.

”But, listen. Whatever else happens, we’re with you. No more of this wraparound bullshit; the Sycamore Tree Coven saved this town when groups like the Temple were waging war against one another. Saved a lot more than the town. I’ll make sure Jack knows the same when we see him at the funeral…”

”I’ll hold you to that.” He watched the mass of servants work. ”All we want is to make it out of this alive. The others might be willing to watch your backs later down the line, if we can work things out as a whole. And I’m hoping we can.”

---

I never thought we'd be meeting like this.

Void regarded Andrade with tight eyes before a smirk split his features. “My Angel Of Darkness.” He exclaimed with grim satisfaction.

Layla was half hidden behind Void, her phantom hands gripped vice-like to his. Her eyes hovered over the room before landing on the chair, her face visibly whitening.

“Wh-what's happening?” She whispered to Void, her squeaking voice easily carrying.

Void side-eyed her before gesturing to Andrade. “This is your new… friend, Layla. Mr. Salamente will be taking care of you. Of… us.”

Layla visibly shivered. “I'm scared.”

Void eyed her for a long moment before patting her head, causing her shivers to intensify.

“Just try to relax. This won't take long.”

Layla's lip trembled, feeling the weight of his words. “I can't do this…”

Void simply continued to pat her head, white flickers of light coalescing weakly around them. “You can. Show me you can.”

Layla grimaced, inhaling and holding her breath, before nodding, her eyes turning to Andrade, looking for his next cue.

Andrade held his hand out, bowing gracefully to meet the two.
“I’ll be asking for your cooperation, Miss Layla. Unfortunately, our friend here likes to root himself deeply. We’ll need to weaken that before we can sever the connection.”

Layla hesitated, then took the hand offered to her, eyes tight. “O-...okay.”

Andrade led her gently up the stone stairs to the seat in the center of the kitchen. From the position, Layla would be able to see all the other people cooking away; boiling stocks and sauces, pots of rice, lentils soaking, cuts of fresh pink fish. The aromas from up there all seemed to swirl around her position directly, the gentle breeze of all the stove-head fans blowing the smells and smokes up and out even rustled Layla’s hair like a spring day.

As she took her position, Andrade smiled up at her, looking toward Lynette. Wordlessly, the Matron of the Temple stepped back, her eyes never breaking contact with Layla’s until she finally slipped out of the door they had entered from. It was wordless, but Clarissa felt the absence of her Mistress’ presence.

She took a moment to acknowledge Britney.
“You’re real brave for this. You kids always were; didn’t know the first thing about being scared. I wish my baby girl had been old enough to join y’all when everything happened back then. It would’ve been an honor.”

Strange glory hogging aside, Andrade didn’t skip a beat. He went from pan to plate like a dervish as he whipped up a delicate dessert of meringue and blueberry frozen yogurt that he molded and shaped into a deep blue sphere. The meringue topped it, and he drizzled burning alcohol atop the composition.
“Now, Miss Layla. This dessert is… It’s sweet. When you’re eating it, however, it will taste spicy. What I need you to do is eat it, and don’t stop eating it until it’s all gone. Your tongue will burn, and then you will fall asleep in that chair. When you wake up, you and Void Heart will be separated. So, say your final goodbyes before you finish.”

He handed the plate up. Void Heart had seen this before, a process as he waited for the meals the Temple once happily provided. Human food, twisted by Andrade’s constant cursing and ritualistic butchery that included ingredients made of the peculiarly sealed victims of the Butcher of Beyond.
This dish was, as far as was memorable, a cursed dish meant to weaken the connection between an Apparition and their host. The curse, its composition, and the methodology behind its removal, all hinged on the actual composition of the dish, with different ingredients being blessed or shaped in some way by Adepts who specialized in one Lux or another.

---

---

---

---

A pause. The slight clattering of china and steel as Layla struggled to lift the spoon, to take a bite. Shivering.

Then.

Sudden wailing. Like someone grief-stricken, having lost their beloved. Layla sat in her chair and tried to keep the dessert level as her mouth parted in wailing screams, tears streaking her face.

Void was on her in an instant, patting her, cooing to her in a soft tone. White flecks of light fell like dust as the only evidence of Void’s touch, his presence - soon to vanish.

She cried and cried, refusing to be consoled. Void consoled her, and she cried some more. She cried until she was utterly exhausted, and even then, she cried some more.

Void didn't say a word until she had cried all her tears, and her voice became a cracked, weeping and wordless, muted wail. He didn't say a word until her weeping subsided, and she stared at the dessert in her lap, numb.

He didn't say a word until she was finally done. And then he spoke, gently.

“You're gonna be okay, sweetheart.”

Layla winced, as if visibly struck, and shook her head.

“You're gonna keep me close to you, right?”

Layla sniffled, hesitating before nodding.

“You're gonna make sure no one disturbs my sleep, right?”

Layla blinked, a shorter hesitation before nodding again.

Void’s jaw cracked into a small smile. “Then you gotta let me sleep, hm?”

Layla cried out again, weeping wordlessly. Void grimaced, swallowing before trying again.

“This isn't forever, you know? Maybe there will be another monster, and they’ll bring me back, hm?”

Layla looked up at him. “You're not lying?”

Void shook his head. “Why would I lie to you, sweetheart?”

A pause.

“So?”

Layla gave him a long, long look, before her gaze dropped to the dessert. She took the spoon in her hand, took a spoonful, and promptly bit down. She froze there for a moment, before the tastes registered.

“It's… good.”

Layla sniffled, wiping her eyes, staring at Void. He nodded, and she took another bite. She stared, he nodded, and she took another bite. It went on like this until she slowly finished the entire dessert, her eyes drooping near the end. She struggled to keep eye contact with Void, struggled to eat as he urged her along. Until, finally, she swallowed the final bite, and closed her eyes for good. Void caught her head and the plate before either dropped, feeling more adrift and alone than he ever had, more so than when he had his connection with Alizée severed by a bullet.

He blinked back the yawning loneliness, instead keeping his eyes fixed on Layla’s slumbering face. Layla was no longer here to see his face, and flickers of anger, anguish and utter disgust rippled across his features.

He was angry. He had never been so angry before in his life.

If Andrade’s food didn't weaken him on purpose, he would have fought until they sealed him away. Hell, perhaps he still would.

His fiery eyes burned as he dropped the plate, letting it shatter with a bang on the pedestal's ground. His glare leveled at Andrade, and his dwarfed hands balled into fists, wholly prepared to take a swing.

How could he go quietly in that final goodnight?

“Oh, Void Heart… Why must you make everything a selfish fight?” Andrade spoke again, no longer harboring comfort in his voice.

“This is my right, you son of a bitch.” Void growled.

The innocent victim was asleep, and would be long after the meal was complete. The process of severance was torturous enough on the body, having a struggling Apparition never helped.
“Die for this girl like Alizee died for you, and pray that you find salvation in the dark.”

”Go to hell, Angel Of Darkness!”

Void took a shard of the broken china and launched it at Andrade. Another shard, then another. Before he started reaching for chef tools and boiling water, launching them all at Andrade. His aim was shit. More so than normal. But his self-righteous fury shone like a blaze.

Clarissa was already in motion, gunshots rattling off her casting as portals ripped open in all parts of the room from the ceiling to the floor. Half a dozen of Andrade’s closest acolytes came alive with all manner of kitchen implement.
Andrade stared up at Void Heart, and with all the bluster of a man backed by his Gods, he stepped forward and up the stone pedestal. In his right hand, he brandished a chef’s blade with a long, curved tip that glinted in the low light.

For whatever blows Void Heart may have dealt, they all seemed to be useless in preventing the inevitable. The sleepy reactions, the stunted size… Andrade slipped between slow claw rakes and thrown objects, fully embracing Layla’s sleeping body in his arms as the blade slipped upward.
The tip glided across her back like a phantom’s touch, the precision barely splitting the clothing she wore. Its essence tore deeper, like a scythe through the roots of the Void Heart.

“AAARGH!” Void shrieked, feeling his connection completely sever. Almost immediately, a portal opened behind him to the Void. However, it wouldn't be his fate to fall within it today. No, today, he was held.

Andrade gripped the loose stem of the creature with a separate hand clad in some sort of enchanted glove.
And then the truth of the Temple’s secret sealing process was revealed. It was for the best that Layla was asleep for this, as the truth of what was to be Void Heart’s fate was far more morbid than described.

The blade, now free to make purchase within the Apparition, drove into the shadowy mass of Void Heart.

Void winced, “Gah!”

From the initial entry, specks of pink and white began to writhe across the ghastly purple surface. His entire form became tangible, touchable. It looked soft and spongy, like real flesh as the infection spread further and further.

Void trembled as he began to take physical form, his very voice changing, becoming wet and slurred. “You son of a bitch, you can go to hell!”

”Curse of Flesh: Fat of the Gods.”
And against his struggling, the ghost would grow more and more like some meaty substance until he finally stopped the senseless violence. Through facial wounds and penetrating blows, Andrade kept his focus as the blade carved a set of strange sigils into the fleshy mass.

A single, ragged breath. And then.

Nothing.

It was nothing flashy, nothing death-defying. Just. Nothing.

He was just… gone.

When the meat finally stopped twitching, Andrade was quick to move across the kitchen to a large cutting surface. A table of butcher’s block wood. Clarissa, with sorrow and horror on her face, released her portals and made for Layla at the top of the pedestal.

”That’s the show, Britney… Unless you wanna stick around to see him get used, I don’t think we need to stick around when this girl needs watchin’.”