---

---

It was so nice to be at the top of the world. Everyone bowed at her feet as they should. They followed her rule without questions and allowed her to do anything she wanted. Every powerful man- now, person, that had ever been in her life. All beneath her feet, with Sloane the only one by her side.

Ah. Did she really care enough about Sloane to keep her around like this?

The thought jolted her out of what she’d realised was a hallucination, the prostrate body of Ezra Vanburen sadly disappearing and being replaced by a disappointingly boring fallen tree trunk. Anya frowned, one hand raising to the bridge of her nose and pinching it.

At least no one had been around to see that… And she hadn’t said anything to give away what she’d seen.

Some parts of it had surprised her. The power, not so much… but how it had manifested? Unusual. She hadn’t expected to enjoy something like that so much.

And Sloane’s involvement in something so tempting for her? Something so irresistible?

That was what she found strangest of all. When had she stopped thinking of her future as solely her own, without the need for anyone else? When had she decided, somewhere deep down, that Sloane would always be there? That she, perhaps, needed her only friend to remain.

She wasn’t sure, and that made her uncomfortable.

Anya turned around towards what had been a battlefield, and turned to a chaotic mess of hallucinating Sycamore members and jiving zombies. It wasn’t dangerous anymore. The largest undead creature had been taken care of… or at least, lay fallen on the ground. With a slight sigh of relief, Anya put her Channeller back in her pocket and made her way out of the tree she’d been sheltering behind.

Her head snapped around as she tried to account for everyone useful in the group. Greyson, finally there but trapped in a hallucination of his own. Jack… where was Jack? She couldn’t see him anywhere. Likely hiding in the shadows. Stormy’s glowing shield gave him away. Britney, safe beside people Anya had no interest in going near.

Sloane, where was Sloane-

Anya stopped, breath catching in her throat. It was the closest she’d felt to panic since fighting the Stygian Snake. Sloane’s body- what was left of it- held limp in the strange child’s arms. It was rotting away, and Anya couldn’t tell if she was still breathing. Was she gone? No, she had to still be alive.

They only had one healer.

Anya spun on her heel, storming up to Sully. He was caught in the illusion, doing god knows what. She didn’t care. She snatched the Chalice from his hands, fingers curling around it as she made to go towards Sloane and Clancy.

She wouldn’t be able to use it. To use it, she’d have to sever herself from her lux. Her lux, that was everything to her. As important as her own life. More important than Sloane’s? She may be too far gone to save. Without her lux, Anya had no future. No job, no money, no security team from Ezra. It would be a fate worse than death.

Anya should, and could. It would possibly save Sloane’s life. A sacrifice many would make, she was sure.

But not Anya. Sloane was important to her, but not more important than herself or her magic.

”Sully- Sullivan!” Anya snapped explosively. She shifted the Chalice so she could clap her hands together right in front of his face, hoping to drag him out of it with sound alone. ”Sullivan McPherson, snap out of it. Do something useful with your useless life!”

It wasn’t working. Her magic was useless in this situation. She didn’t have the pink lux spells to breach a waking mind. She’d tried to develop them, tried to learn from Greyson, but it had never succeeded.

Anya gritted her teeth, closing her eyes for a moment. This wasn’t something she wanted to do. It would look bad. But it was for Sloane. To get the one person that could save her - the absolute imbecile that couldn’t even do his own job - back from his likely unachievable fantasies.

She raised the Chalice, and tried to smash it over Sully’s head. At the same time, an elbow went for his gut. If he snapped out of it in time to avoid it… fine. If not, hopefully it would drag him out.

---

---

Sloane didn’t let go. The pain didn’t pull her out of the hallucination. It only pushed her forward as Luca desperately tried to get away, heavy sickness clawing at his throat as Sloane stroked his cheek. The smell of rotting flesh filled his senses, the sights that normally filled his nightmares becoming a reality. Skin peeling off and dissolving, muscle melting away to reveal the bone. A horrible, dark rot setting across a still living body. A familiar sight on his own, a horrifying one on another.

Dark blood splattered across his dirty face. It oxidised and rusted immediately, brown specks flaking off his face and scattering to the ground as Sloane slumped towards it. He went to catch her, then stopped. It would be worse. Touching her more would be worse. Falling to the ground was less deadly. He was the real danger.

He was killing her. He was- he was doing the one thing he’d never wanted to do. It didn’t matter that it was the exact same process happening to him, that it was a cruel burden for him to bear- it was his to bear alone, to die alone, to suffer through the pain while protecting everyone else but… he’d failed at that. And now Sloane was dying. Her blood was on his hands.

He was a killer, a glorious bringer of rot and decay.

Luca didn’t resist as the kid- not a child- pulled Sloane off him and pushed Luca away. The constant rotting across his skin ate away at Clancy’s flesh, revealing the dark shadows within. The Rot inside Luca physically recoiled with a distasteful tut. It wasn’t appealing, or something he could easily destroy - even as the touch would subtly weaken Clancy’s abstraction.

Clancy’s look, the feral glare that seemed filled with loathing towards him, had Luca backing away. He stumbled, slumping down onto the ground. He kicked his legs out to continue to push himself back while sitting. Far enough away there was no risk of even his aura touching Sloane. So he couldn’t hurt her again. Far enough away from everyone else, so he couldn’t hurt them either. He’d been too complacent.

”I didn’t mean to,” he choked out. To who, he didn’t know. Clancy, Sloane, himself? ”I can’t help… I’ll only make it worse…”

The flesh of fallen zombies sizzled around him, Sloane’s blood staining his worn, green pants a darker brown. Festering wounds spread across his arms, skin darkening as sickly purple spread through his veins. It matched the decay of Sloane’s body. The rot that was slowly eating away at him was devouring her. It was horrible- it was beautiful.

They needed to get her to a healer. Miranda- Miranda could heal her, if he phoned her… no, he’d destroy his phone, and it would kill her instead. Shit. A teleporter- Jack, where was Jack?! But where would he take her? Shit, what about the 317 healer- what was their name? It didn’t matter! Just someone, anyone, to help her. He couldn’t. He couldn’t do anything. He only hurt everyone.

Why was he even here? Why was he holding on, when it brought nothing but pain?

Just give in. I want to give up.

Luca backed away further, putrid green flickering across the edges of his eyes and creeping inwards towards his pupil. It was difficult to breathe. Why? Why could it not just kill him, why did he have to suffer this slow decay as everything he touched turned to dust?

Why, why, why-

”I’m so sorry. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to,” Luca gasped, hands digging into the corpse covered ground beside him. He stared at Sloane’s limp body, tears leaking from the corners of his eyes. Dirty water turned to a horrible yellow pus that wept from wounds forming around his lashes. Everything hurt, but it didn’t matter. He didn’t care. The pain was what he deserved. ”She needs- she needs a healer… someone… I can’t… I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

Panic filled his chest, static filled his mind, but Luca was still in control. The Rot was content within him, fueled by the flesh it had eaten and the chaos it was sowing. It was all Luca.

If Sloane died, he would be the one that killed her.

The hourglass shattered in Ken's hand, its light wood frame snapping in half alongside. Due to a quirk of his "armor", air was taken in through a complicated pump system that invariably left him vulnerable to gasses and airborne toxins while it was running. With the siphon of air being so strong, the pink gas was dragged directly into his lungs. He only made it a few more feet before he wasn't really there anymore. Taking a whiff of it was like being too easy around Greyson, one slip and you're in a whole new world. His eyes blinked rapidly, the last step he took in reality translating into another stride. More. He was running. The ground was muddy, it was warm, the jungle around him buzzed with insects and other things. He felt the weight of his first companion on his shoulder, a toad the size of a cat making gentle gurgling noises as its soft underside bounced into the boney outcropping on which it sat.
The pond was dead ahead; he could make out dozens of figures, like the whole village had come out that day for a swim. Kaiko, Sochi, Iida Tenpo, Junichi, Jack, Drake, Saskia and the girls, Kari and Hannako a-

Something compelled him to stop. Like this wasn't normal. Like they hadn't all been through a hellish week after the Provings, and were finally able to cut loose for a day. They were adults now, all of them! Sixteen! Soon they'd all be assigned duties, and they'd live in the working dormatories until they were promoted, or they made their Golden Band. Either way, things were going to be amazing!

Reactively, the airways shut tight. The body, and the Lux within, knew there was a pathogen as the channeled spells Ken held tightest became loose and unwilling to go on. Still, he pressed toward Kari and Hannako. He'd been trying to decide for the longest which he'd really persue, because both were awesome in his mind. They had fantastic qualities, and they really didn't even have to do with the physical. Kari was so adventurous, so much fun to be around. And she came with her own friends, a whole group, and he liked them too! He imagined a world where they'd all live in a big clan-house, that the Murakin Estate would wind up his through virtue of merit.
But Hannako was strong! Better than him, he felt. Like there was a rival he could really push himself to be the absolute best alongside, and that even if she overshadowed him they'd still have a personal relationship that was stronger than any outward perception. She was due soon, so...

Wait, no... That hadn't happened yet, right? They weren't married. He hadn't even met...

There was fire. Black and blue, Corpsefire ravaging the village center and the buildings therein. There weren't even enemies to fight. He was screaming, sprinting, the doors to the temple flew open and revealed the Fiend. The Stygian Snake, enscrolled in dark black and bronze robes. Hannako-No, no, Kari... No.
"KENICHI!?"
Bodies were everywhere, burning in the Corpseflame forever caught in that moment of pain and agony. A baby boy laid bare upon the floor, his mother curled around him to protect the infant. Dozens had died for this. For Kenshiro to come and rescue his only Son. He wrapped the boy in a cloth, still screaming in pain as the flames licked at his back. It was a mad dash to the Pond... To Tennogama. To the only creature that could still save his baby from his own fate...

"TAKE HIM... PLEASE!"

And then there was nothingness. His body finally gave out from lack of oxygen. Even in that moment, he hit the ground with the equivalent force of a six ton statue being toppled. The ground beneath him buckled, the dirt swallowing him until the last bit of unconscious Lux faded from him. Oxygen free of the mist hit his mouth and lungs, and he gasped in mud and water as consciousness rushed back. He was in a wet hole. Buried alive. Dying. As best he could he cupped his mouth and pushed outward. Lux filled his hands and burst the dirt away, physical body crawling from the hole in regaining consciousness.
He felt roots or something similar dragging against him, holding onto him, keeping him in the wet mud. As he crawled out, it was another gasp of the mist. When he turned and sat, legs still in the hole as he tried to process what the hell was going on, it hit him again.

"They buried us together, Kenshiro. And it was beautiful."
"I didn't see, Hanna... I was... Occupied."
"We never could've known, could we? But I'm glad you saved him. I'm ecstatic, actually. Because of you, he lived to avenge us. To set things right."
"Did he?" Ken's face twisted into a grief filled smile. "Not something I ever could've done. It makes me so proud. It was worth it... I made the right choice."
"I... I think if you had to, you could've. But its much nicer that he gets to rebuild. That's how things should be."

Ken looked down into the hole. His bare feet splashed in the pond. Across from him, Hannako smiled. But it wasn't Hannako... It was Kari. It was the pond outside St. Portwell. His home now. He was sitting on the dock, and she was in the water in front of him.
"What're you thinking about?"
"Shit I can't change."

And then it was all gone. Kenshiro looked around, covered in mud and zombie parts as he'd fallen atop a few of them and re-entombed them. Though he wasn't sure as to why he was no longer hallucinating, he was one hundred percent sure that Kari couldn't swim, which he assumed was a dream. 8th Street was gone, and now he had to deal with the aftermath. There was a great pain in his chest from the fact that it'd all been nothing, since it really was better. But they had to wait again. If Lynn was right, he'd have a chance to tell Kari how he really felt. Maybe... But he had to get there.
He rose to his feet, shaking things off and making sure his equipment hadn't come loose. He checked the loose pocket, finding a number that hadn't been there.
"Real funny..."
He shook his head, once again looking for Lynn. He found her not far off, probably feeling the exact same way he was.
"Lynn! Lynn!?"

Making it to her side, he grabbed her by the shoulders to try and get her out of the mud.
"Lynn!? It's Ken! I'm real, it's... It's all an illusion, come on! We've gotta get the others and get out of here before something worse happens!"

Mention: Tsukino@Estylwen

Tayla felt weighed down by the rain soaking her heavy clothes. All this had to go down in the fall when she wears thick hoodies for warmth. Even putting her hood up didn't help her not feel like a drowned rat. The ground got mushy, her boots squishing with each foot fall. If this situation got worse and she had to run, it'll be hell trying to do it in these conditions. It took her few minutes to get close enough to get a good look at the wall without being near it. The zombies she'd seen in Jack's memories where a little too close for comfort, but they weren't walking towards her or the wall. They were jerking and doing a weird movements. Someone must have done something to them.

When she tracked Tsukino down with the headphones, she had heard others' thoughts too. She wasn't sure how she should approach this. There was a battle going on and she's not about to walk right into the thing she ran away from when 8th Street showed up. She could stand out here and wait. That would be the best option. She eyed the zombies. As long as they kept doing whatever the hell they were doing, then she wouldn't need to worry while she waited.

She walked in a circle to keep her circulation going. She'd stood out in the rain without moving before. Quickest way to freeze. A pink mist crept towards her. Fuck. She could guess what that is. She's not seen pink magic that wasn't related to Pink Lux. She didn't know what that did, and she wasn't willing to find out. She back away from it. She doubted it could travel far. As long as she outpaced it, then she would be go-

She got smashed into and knocked over by the person she'd been waiting on.

"Ow! What the fuck?" she said, her breathe taken from her.

Tsukino had her wings out, she didn't remember her being able to do that, and latched onto her hand. It seemed like she was going to lift her out of there, but the pink mist overwhelmed them. She couldn't help but breathe it in.

"Hey, babe, you okay?"

Tayla nearly jumped out of her skin. Her sudden movement to look at James shook the little boat they were in. It's the one tied to the end of his family's dock. It sat four people comfortably and had a motor on the back. She loved this boat. They'd always go out on the water for little dates on the weekends. Once, they went so far out on the ocean, they couldn't see their island anymore. It's like old times.

"You almost knocked Siwannie out." He held her little boy in his lap, having pulled him away from the side when she was spooked.

"괜찮아?" she asked her baby, leaning forward and taking his littles hands.

He giggle, moving her hands up and down with his.

"He's so cute. How do you have a son that's this cute?"

She laughed and looked up at him. "Have you seen me?"

"I have and your gorgeous."

She blushed. A goofy grin spread across her face.

[color=DE198A]"I know," she whispered. She used to deny her looks, but James never let her get away with it. He wouldn't except anything less than her acknowledging her beauty when he was around.

"I hope our kids look like you."

"Our kids? We're only twen-ty..." Her grin slowly fell. 'Twenty-five' was what she was going to say.

For the first time out to sea she got a good look at James. His shoulders that were narrow a few months ago had broadened out. The sun shown bright on his dark curly fro. He'd gotten a side fade a week ago at the barber shop. Said he wanted to try something different other than his twists. His fair brown skin didn't look effected by the sun at all, despite him having a tendency to turn red in his cheek when the heat got overbearing.

"Babe?" He looked concerned. She'd seen that look dozens of times before. It's the face he always gave her after every fight with the Stygian Snake. He'd worry that she got hurt, when it's her that was worried for him. He had Orange Lux. He's more likely to get hurt going head to head with the Snake or when assisting someone else's power.

The thing that hit her hardest was that he still looked the same he did the day he died. Forever frozen at sixteen. Never growing up with her. Never growing older. He'll always have his baby face. He'll never develop a sharper jaw like his father. He'll never get the tattoo of a dove and a tiger on his back. They'll never have kids. Or buy a home. Or go to college together. They're lives stopped at sixte-No his life stopped. Hers went on pause for a little while.

She looked down at her baby boy, then picked him up. He was her present, her future, and her forever. He's waiting for her right now, at home. She stood up in the middle of the boat, in the middle of the ocean, under an unforgiving sun she couldn't feel the heat from. She had to wake up and keeping pushing forward. If she stayed here, she'll die. She wasn't ready for her afterlife with James yet. It could wait.

"I love you, Jamie." She never got to tell him that. One of her biggest regrets was that she didn't say it back when he told her earlier that day.

"I know." He gave her that sideways grin of his, then he vanished.

Rain poured down on her. Her vision blurred from her tears. It hurt to breathe. She wanted to go home. See her son. Get away from everything that reminds her of him. She's afraid she'll back slide. Slip into oxy to forget what she just saw. She can't forget. Wanting to forget puts her back with Dean and anyone that'll fuck her for a pill.

She wiped her eyes and was somehow already on her feet. She wiped what she could and pushed the rest down. She found Tsukino, probably still in her vision. Now wasn't the time. They had to go.

She grabbed and shook her from whatever she was seeing. She didn't know what the situation was like on the battlefield now or how long she was out for, but that's time wasted on making an escape when there were people trying to kill them. "Get up. We gotta go. Now!"

Near Kari's House, Outside of the Ice Fortress
_{Mentions: None. Direct Dialogue: Tayla (@silvermist1116)}

---

The hallucinations shifted, and Luna found herself sitting in a booth of the Apothecary’s back room, sitting over a couple of of drinks. She was chuckling, her glass swishing as she was rocked by the arm pressed around her shoulders. Luna looked up, but she knew who was holding her. She always knew.

Phantasia looked down at her, her pink eyes glowing with warmth. They caused a shudder in Luna’s bones, and Luna buried her head in Phantasia’s shoulder. She wanted nothing more than to be with her Mother.

“So tell me again, what did they say?”

“She sided with me, and told the others to fuck off. Thought having strong allies was cool.”

Phantasia’s smile widened, and she squeezed Luna. “You’ve found us a good one, my dear. Alizée will be the first of many, don’t worry. I won’t let your hard work go to waste.”

Luna blinked, her chuckles slowly dying. Wasn’t… Alizée… dead?

Luna leaned back, the butterflies still swirling in her stomach as she looked up at Phantasia, slowly, carefully.

“Mother?”

“Yes, dear?”

“You’ll never leave me, right?”

Phantasia smiled, rubbing her head. “My dear, I’ll always be here.”

Luna slightly smiled, before her face grew serious. “Mother, I’m exhausted. I just fought 8th Street. I… I have to go…”

The hallucination began fizzling at the seams, and Phantasia began to ripple like a disturbed pool of water.

“I know… dear.”

Luna blinked, staring at Tayla as she was violently shaken. It was enough to break most of the illusion, and Luna shook her head roughly. “Fuck.”

"Get up. We gotta go. Now!"

Luna swore again, eyes scattering across the field. Right. Right. They had to go. Without another moment’s hesitation, Luna pulled Tayla into a tight princess carry, and with her wings shining bright, they took off from the torn and muddied battlefield, intent on escaping the remainder of the battle.

“Hold on tight to me!”

---

---

---

An undead minion took a wooden table leg upside the head.

It hit the cold, wet mud as Adora took a deep breath, holding the table leg with both hands as one end rested on the ground. She was soaking wet (she would have to go home and desperately dry off her dreads before mold formed) and covered in mud. She glanced over her shoulder, only to see another silhouette of a zombie approaching her. She swung with full force yet again and sent it to its grave, its brain splattering on the mud, and it leaked a disgusting yellow fluid that was washed away by the rain. Adora's heart rate was exceptionally high; she could barely feel anything else in the chaos of this fight.

Then the zombies started dancing.

Every time she hung out with the Coven, the weirdest-

---

---

The pink mist overcame Adora, hitting her like a wave as she had her back turned. Thus, she couldn't react in time to stop herself from inhaling the pink smoke, and she panicked for just a moment before it turned into euphoria—a sensation and joy that she had not truly felt in so long. She looked around, seeing herself in Dr. Phan's office... that cutesy little Asian woman sitting in her usual chair - except for once, she stood over that chaise lounge chair.

Adora wore her typical sweatpants and hoodie, but for once, her hood was down, and she had no facemask. She smiled at Lihn as she stepped over and touched her shoulder.

” This will be our last session, Doc. I... think I finally feel better,” ”Thank you, for everything, Doc,”

"You're welcome, Adora," Lihn said. "I'm glad to have helped you."

”You were nice,” Adora said as she hit the door. ” Keep in touch, Doc!”

Adora closed the door behind her and returned to the streets of St. Portwell, taking a deep breath and smiling. It was beautiful, and she could finally enjoy it for what it honestly was... before long, a giant jumping spider with dragonfly wings descended from the sky, and riding on it was Lisa - or was it, Lisa? She looked... different. Yet, Adora couldn't care less, and Lisa smiled at her as she said,

"... Adora! It's so great to see you!" Lisa gave the saddle she was riding on a few pats. "Hop on! The others are waiti
ng!"

Without a second thought, Adora quickly floated into the air and landed on the weird flying spider, and Lisa pointed forward and shouted,

"... Up, up, and away!"

The spider took off, taking them from St. Portwell's downtown area into the sky and north. Adora glanced off the side; everyone looked like an ant from up here! She smiled as she wrapped her arms around Lisa's midsection - even though she was more than capable of saving herself if she fell. It was nice... having Lisa back. A small smile appeared on Adora's face; Lisa looked back at her as she said the words she had wanted to hear for so long.

"... I don't blame you for what happened, you know." Lisa began. "It wasn't your fault."

”It's just...” Adora said as a tear streamed down her face. ”... I couldn't help-”

"Nope! I said it wasn't your fault! So that's the end of it! I'm back. You're okay. I'm... okay." Lisa sighed, before she perked up and smiled. "Oh look! We're heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeere!"

They landed in front of the lair of the Old Coven; it was renewed, well-kept, and gorgeous as she remembered it - perhaps more stunning than before. Lisa climbed off the spider, and Adora hopped off and landed beside her as the spider shrunk back to its original size and scurried off into the wilderness. Adora opened the door to the main hall, and everyone stopped what they were doing - before they loudly cheered, and she smiled. There was a massive table with all sorts of food, and it was a busy sight.

Everyone was here - except for the annoying assholes like Emily, Sloane, and Anya, and their ilk - even the people that Adora looked down on ten years ago, like Drake and Linqian, were here. Except they had back the people that they had lost. Drake had his Jade. Linqian had her Jinhai. Kenshiro had his Kari. Ella and Saskia were here too, but they looked different, too. Lisa quickly ran to the hangout and talked to the other two magical girls about... something. Adora just shrugged as she walked in, grabbed a plate, and adorned it with chicken, rice, string beans, and other food.

Only to get tapped on the shoulder, and she turned her head to see Vanessa and Clem!

"It's great to see you again, Adora," Clementine said, smiling at her. And Adora quickly embraced them in a hug, which was pure bliss. She let go of them as she said,

”... I didn't mean to abandon you all,” Adora said.

"We know," Clementine said

"We know, Adora," Vanessa softly nodded, "And we're just glad to have you back."

Clementine reached out and squeezed Adora's hand. "You were going through a lot," she said. "But you're here now... that's what matters."

Tears streamed down Adora's face as she said.

”... Thank you for not giving up on me.”

"You know we'd never do that to you, Adora," Clementine said. "We're all in this together."

Adora let go, wiping her tears, before she sat down and looked to the left and right. The gang was all here, and she ate. Or, she just blinked, and her food was eaten, and it was nighttime. Adora didn't think too hard about it as she just shrugged, but someone else tapped her on the shoulder, and she turned, and it was Kari Wilson.

"Adora!" Kari said, a smile creeping on her face before she added, "Can we talk in private for a moment? I have something to show you."

Then Kari grabbed her hand, led her to the back porch, and stared her in the eyes. She put her hands behind her back and swayed her hips from left to right. Adora coughed, ran a hand through her perfectly dry dreads, and said, ”I'm sorry for pushing you away; I know that if I hadn't, maybe you would be around.”

Kari just stared at her, smiling.

"You need to stop being so hard on yourself all the time, Adora. It's like you can never accept that some things are just out of your control! You'll be happier once you do." Kari laughed, as she did a twirl on one foot, before she stopped and looked Adora straight in the face as she said, "And can't you see me right now? I'm right here. I am still around. I'm not Father Wolf. I'm not hurt. I'm just here."

Adora slowly blinked, processing what Kari said, and ran a hand through her dreads again. ”I know, I know,” Adora began. ”It's just hard sometimes...”

"I get it," Kari said. "But everything is okay now. Everyone is happy. You made everyone happy. Lisa came back. I'm back. Everything is going to be a-okay!" She tilted her head, looking up to Adora with that award winning smile.

"... Oh! Before I forget!" Kari said as she reached behind her, and pulled out a slice of homemade cake, with a fork stabbed into it and everything. She presented it to Adora. "This is my homemade recipe! The one I told you about when I tried to reach out and you brushed me off again! But I forgive you!"

”... I loved it, you know,” Adora said as she took a bite.

"I know," Kari answered. "I know everything, after all! All-Knowing. All-Seeing. Your underwear is green by the way!"

”Hey!” Adora shouted, laughing.

"Just messing with you... I know they're black!" Kari laughed for a minute, before she looked up at the sky.

”You're terrible, Kari,” Adora laughed before she looked up at the sky herself. The night sky over St. Portwell was beautiful; she could see all the stars. ”... St. Portwell is so gorgeous.”

"It really is."

”... Thank you for bringing me out here,”

"You're welcome!"

”... Let's stay out here for a while,” Adora said before taking a seat on the ledge, looking up at the sky.

"Long as you need!" Kari cheerfully said, sitting next to Adora and grabbing onto her hand. They were silent for a few moments, before Kari said, "Let's forget about everything bad that happened. The Stygian Snake. Father Wolf. 8th Street. All of it."

”You know I would love nothing more...” Adora laughed.

Happiness. At long last, Adora was finally happy.

As quickly as Adora had it, it was cruelly snatched from her. The pink mist faded, her jaw dropped, and she looked around... Sloane was almost dead. Everyone was confused, emotionally damaged, and just lost. The area was covered in the crumbled remains of the undead horde that came with 8th Street. The ice fortress had collapsed in on itself. This was all a sick, sick, sick joke, and it was all on them.

Tears fell from Adora's face.

Then she dropped to her knees and had her hands in her face.

Sobbing.

---

---

---

---

---

”Can you make plants that act as a filter for the air? Suck away the mist, it’s so intoxicating.”

That's not how plants work, you jackass! Britney internally seethed as she held her breath... she was shaking at this point as she was at her limits. She had to think fast; if she so much as responded, she would subjugate herself to this pink bullshit. Britney held her cheeks as she got light-headed; she looked around - she could barely see in this bullshit, but at least the zombies weren't on them anymore. Then, that clever little part of Britney's brain activated as she remembered being a master Floramancer. She stuck her hands out as if holding something... and then created a very long wooden tube. It was long enough to, hopefully, reach the fresh air that was above them.

Gaia bends to my will. Activating Florakinetics!

Using her telekinetic ability to manipulate plants, she made it float to her mouth and had to use all of her concentration and effort to prevent it from getting thrown aside by the storms. She breathed... and felt relief as she-

The pink mist disappeared, and Britney's eyes drifted around before she realized things were safe. She dropped the tube to the ground and assessed the situation. The zombies quickly crumbled into pieces as the ice fortress looming in the distance collapsed. 8th Street was gone - and that was a relief. And-

”SLOANE!”

Drake screamed as he quickly flew over to Sloane and cradled her in his arms as he gently lowered her to the ground.

”_{Fuck, fuck, fuck,} fuck! SULLY! BRING YOUR ASS OVER HERE RIGHT NOW!”

Auri flew over, landing in the aftermath of this chaos, butterfly wings on her back. She raised her staff in the air as she shouted, "Is everybody okay? I need an immediate headcount! Everyone! Shout your name if you can hear me!"

”Britney!” Britney shouted before she turned to Linqian and grabbed her by the shoulders. ”Girl, are you okay?!”

---

---

As Clancy trudged through the corpse and mud infested no man’s land to pull Sloane away from Luca, Sloane saw a young boy traipsing through the garden up to their studio. She smiled at the sight of her son, a smile that wavered as a thought punched through the illusion—if there was a desire within her to become a mother, it was something so well hidden that even Sloane was unaware of it. She could only think of her own childhood and her relationship with her mother and how she had sworn she would never have a kid simply because she wouldn’t be able to put somebody through something so miserable, especially when the ultimate reward for growing up and breaking free was still having to put up with life. She could never be so cruel. As her son’s face came into focus it began to flicker, becoming a jumbled, staticy picasso of shifting features as the illusion began to crack.

The walls of the studio fell away as Jasper and the child crumbled into dust, her vision clouding as a bloody tear was shed for her idyllic life and traced its way down her cheek. She wanted to fight back and cling to the failing illusion, but there was nothing left within her to struggle. She felt the pain now. The overwhelming, unbearable, indescribable pain. Perhaps in death she would rest in peace, but the moments up to it were nothing but excruciating torture as she felt everything inside of her begin to rebel. It wasn’t even the worst of it. Reality rushed back to her as memories filled her final moments—a sequence of cold shoulders and closed doors, the subtle nuance changes in body language whenever she entered a room, the hush of conversation, the crushing weight of constant, though not always undeserved, rejection, the forever boredom, the vast, all-encompassing feeling of loneliness.

However, in her final moment she wasn’t alone. She could feel the grim reaper holding her in an icy cold grip. It was difficult to tell what was and what wasn’t, but the angel of death felt shockingly diminutive. She heard a child shout out in unison with something that sounded as if it came from below. They foolishly called for someone to help her, simply unaware of her standing within the pecking order. Even the rain had let up, the weather declaring its utter indifference to the situation as her body went numb. Shades moved around her, ready to drag her into their folds. Then, moments before all feeling went away completely, she heard the shouting of her name followed by something pressed to her lips.

“I’m on it, buddy. It’s okay, it’s okay, slow sips now. Boy, I bet you’re happy you gave this baby back to me, huh? Slow sips, slooooow sips…”

Sloane blinked and the shades took shape. Drake had her head elevated in his lap while Sully nursed her with the Chalice, a knot forming on his forehead, with Ashley’s cousin standing besides the big man looking like he had been through a war. She was forced to take another sip of the elixir, wincing in pain as nerves eaten away by the rot came back and flared up before quickly being soothed again as Sully tilted the Chalice up a little higher. She stared in horror as if she had been bewitched as sinew, muscle, and flesh began to reconstruct her heavily decomposed body. Involuntary convulsions tried to twist her away from the silver goblet, but Sully firmly yet gently kept her head in place.

“Hold her still, dude,” said Sully to Drake.

She knew he was helping her yet her body couldn’t somehow understand that. In what felt like hours, but was likely less than a minute, she struggled against Drake and Sully in a panic, her attempts to scream drowned by the elixir. Sloane finally regained enough strength to force the Chalice away, sitting up with such violence that it startled Sully and caused him to springaway and fall on his rear as a blood curdling shriek erupted from the pit of her stomach. She was able to clamp a hand over her mouth, her other hand grabbing at Drake’s shirt, her body still not fully healed, the skin on her fingers dark and bloated, her bloodshot and bugged eyes staring at Luca in horror. She could see the worry on his face. It wasn’t meant to be an condemnation, but it sure looked like one. She wished she could tell him that it wasn’t her fault, but all she could do was muffle her scream and shake her head at him.

“Um, sis, you’re still a little, um, fuck it, sorry,” said Sully. He could feel for Sloane’s confusion. One moment he was sharing a beer with his dad, the next moment he came to with Anya beaning him across the head with the Chalice. Honestly, the illusion had broken for him the moment Anya had appeared in the camp. He would’ve invited her to go camping out of obligatory politeness, but never in a million years would she have accepted. Still, Sloane was covered with enough festering wounds that she wasn’t in the clear. It was in her own best interest that he acted.

Sloane felt her hand ripped from her mouth as Sully easily overpowered her and forced her to drink from the Chalice again. It wasn’t slow and steady anymore. It was a fullforce chug, chug, chug with the only thing missing being a couple of frat bros with popped polos hollering freshmen, freshmen. Sully winced as Sloane’s hand smacked him a couple of times outside the head, but he didn’t relent until he saw the skin on her arms return to normal. As he began to pull the Chalice away she grabbed the cup, keeping it there for a few more seconds, if only to make sure that the parts of her that had been putrefied were solid once again. He heard Sloane mutter something under her breath, perhaps a thank you or an apology, and gave her a reassuring pat on the back as he got up to give her some space. Sully shuffled over to Clancy.

“Good work on pulling her away, kid. You saved her life,” said Sully. He went to ruffle the kid’s hair but then hesitated, a vision of Clancy slashing through a man’s stomach flashing in front of his eyes. He withdrew his hand, only to then shrug off his jacket and offer it out to the boy who was basically covering himself up with little more than a few pieces of burnt fabric and a lot of hope.

“Here, kid. Maybe you can’t catch a bullet but you still might catch a cold. I’m gonna help Auri with the headcount. Make sure nobody’s off in the woods bleeding out. No running off, okay? You'll mess up my count. Plus, I ain’t losing that jacket again. I just got it back,” said Sully, turning to make his way towards Auri, fighting the urge to literally shout ‘Your Name’, feeling that now might not be the time for bad bits. He pulled a stack of mostly crushed disposable cups out of his backpack as he joined Auri. “OKAY, OKAY, OKAY, WE GOT HEAL JUICE FOR THE WHOLE SQUAD! TAKE A CUP, PASS IT ALONG! IF YOU SEE SOMEONE PASSED OUT, JUST FIND A HOLE AND START POURING! THAT...THAT MIGHT WORK?”

Sloane rested her head against Drake’s chest, eyes closed, quietly counting in two-three-four, out-two-three-four to calm herself, trying to regain a sense of control, desperately trying not to analyze her hallucination. She exhaled deeply and opened her eyes, fully registering for the first time that she was in Drake’s arms. She shoved herself away from him, her eyes blinking rapidly in confusion as she felt the wet of the mud against her thigh and the chill of the night air on her body. She looked down and let out a little yelp like a lapdog that had accidentally been stepped on. She felt her face flush as she covered her tattered clothes with her arm and quickly scooched back towards Drake to use him as cover.

“What happened to my clothes?” she hissed quietly, her mind still a little soupy from the near death experience. Her eyes darted around frantically as she scooted closer to Drake. “Wait, what the fuck happened to everyone’s clothes?”

---

In an instant the illusion melted away from Lila, and she was left in the middle of the rain soaked grass almost entirely alone. Lila’s eyes flashed to the ground in an instant, half expecting to see the corpses there once more but breathed a sigh of relief when she saw there was none. Lila looked across the battlefield and saw the burning ruins of the house still smoldering, she saw Amara nearby, and she saw a small group forming around someone in the distance. A moment later Sully was there and feeding someone the healing waters from the chalice. Someone was hurt. Someone was hurt, because Emily Reed was a monster. This time anger did not rush to her mind, this time Lila realized that all of this mess, the ruined house, the injuries, the hallucinations, and everything else was because she punched Emily. She could not let Emily Reed win today. Emily did this, all of this, to get back at her. If Lila was to show any sadness, any regret, that would mean that Emily Reed won. And Lila could not allow that. She needed to be strong, defiant, and a beacon for the sycamore tree coven in the bullshit to come.

“Is everybody okay? I need an immediate headcount! Everyone! Shout your name if you can hear me!”

Lila knew that she needed to let the others know she was okay. Britney and Lila were the targets, after all, so it made sense for her to make sure she was okay. Lila took a deep breathe, forcing back a tear that had begun to well in the corner of her eye. She could do this, now they’ll know this. Especially now while there was still a lot of struggles to be won. Lila would not let the coven down, never again would she let the coven down like she did when she tried to play nice with Emily Reed. She truly believed that things would look up from here.

Until she took her first step towards the rest of the coven.

In an instant a pain unlike anything she had felt made itself known as something terrible revealed itself to her conscious mind. Her eyes slowly, slowly, ever so slowly crossed the distance and her foot and she gasped. Between her left and right two most toes long, sharp claws had erupted forth from her skin. She did not remember that happening during the fight but they were there all the same. Circular pieces of skin were still wrapped around the end of the claws, and a steady and consistent trickle of blood began to mix with the wet marsh beneath her feet. As her eyes slowly moved upwards she could see that her entire leg up to the mid point of her calf was completely covered in feathers. She slowly moved her hands into her field of view, which quickly shifted back to her normal vision, and saw that the line between what was the maiden and what was Lila was gone. Sure, there were spots where bits of her skin could be found trapped beneath the dense layer of feathers but the meeting point between that and her normal skin had completely melted together. Her fingers were turned completely into claws, her once smooth skin texture now tough, coarse, and almost leather like.

And then she caught the sight of the wings in her peripheral view.

They were gorgeous, large, and the feathers were as black as a night sky without stars. Each one looked more vivid and pretty than the next. Yet she could feel each one like it was apart of her. She could feel the way the wind hit it, and she felt the muscles connected to it move. It was almost like controlling her arms, and she moved the wings too and fro to confirm that she truly was in charge of them, and to confirm that they truly were attached to her back. That realization made her acutely aware of the pain that expanded outward from their rupture point. Her whole body was in pain, and as she felt less and less of the maiden she felt more and more of this pain.

“That future felt ravishing, my dear Lila,” The maiden whispered in a sultry tone, “finally able to spread my wings as I have always wanted”

“Please take your gifts back,” Lila muttered in response as she finally noticed just how naked she was. She crossed her arms over her feathered chest as she looked around. “I…I don’t want this, I don’t want that, I just want to-,”

“Oh my dear Lila you did want this,” The maiden chuckled a devious chuckle, “why would you invite me in otherwise?”

“No I- no, I was trying to get rid of you,” Lila responded weakly as she wrapped her chest inside the embrace of her wings.

“Oh so you say. But, thanks to Britney, we both share the same vessel now. And I can feel what you feel,” the maiden laughed again, and her mind was filled with the sound of all the crows chuckling in turn, “that vision sated much of my desire, for now, and as my thank you,” The maiden paused.

Lila lurched forward as the worst pain yet filled her body as the claws on her feet began to slowly, ever so slowly, began to retreat back inside her body. She wanted to scream, she wanted to shout for help, but the sound seemingly refused to leave her body.

“Now now child, you have to at least try to put on a brave face for the others,” The Maiden teased, “Not all gifts can be taken back, some can be hidden but you’ll figure it out. Now, I must be going. I have much to think about and much to plan.”

As The Maiden finished taking the claws completely retracted back into her body somewhere. The holes that they made coming out of her feet were still there, and were still leaking blood, but her feet were at least her own. Her hands were still clawed, the feathers remained across her body, and the wings still adorned her back, but at least her feet were her own once more.

Lila took a step forward and the pain once again radiated upward from her feet. She then limped into another, and then another, and soon enough Lila was consistently walking forward towards the group. She could ask Amara for help, or shout for Sully to run over and heal her, or she could just wait for someone to come find her but that’s not what Lila needed right now. She needed to be strong, strong for the coven and most importantly herself. No matter what The Maiden, Emily, or any other transphobic asshole threw her way she needed to take the hit in the chin and keep pushing forward. Eventually she could see she was almost with the others, they all had their attention on Sloane who looked terrible. She was alive, but she knew those markings well. Sloane had been rotted. She looked over and spotted Luca who was beside himself, and that confirmed her suspicion. Lila felt the tears welling once more and it took every ounce of strength she had left to stop herself from sobbing hysterically. This was all her fault. She nearly killed Sloane, she nearly made Luca kill his friend, and she nearly killed the coven.

Lila shuffled a few more steps forward before the pain finally forced her to stop. She spent a solid second composing herself before she dared to speak. She looked towards Auri. “Lila,” she whispered before she looked at Sully, but she could not speak another word. Instead, she began to softly whimper as the weight of everything finally came crashing down. She could not hold back the tears now. Her clawed hands gripped tighter onto her sides, accidentally gouging herself as she did, and she brought her wings in even tighter. She knew that she had to at least say something more than just her name. “Can someone fix me?”

It was time to plow the fields. Greyson’s legs slipped from underneath warm linens and met an unwarmed rug at his feet. Groggy, not entirely awake, he stood to meet the new day and made for his wristwatch. Six in the morning; he was glad they didn’t need to worry about the bigger fields, and that some of the guys had probably been working overnight. It meant they were on track, possibly ahead of schedule for everything. They’d already taken care of a lot of the draining and furrowing, making sure the ditches were clear for this year’s harvest.

It’d been a few years since he turned his life around. He wasn’t legit by any means, but violent crime? The kind of things he used to do? It paid to have handed over an organization like Dollhouse to the PRA. It went deeper than witness protection, it meant that he didn’t have to live looking over his shoulder at his brothers and uncle. He was in the clear.
His body turned, making way for a drawer for some pants. His gaze passed to the other side of the bed, and sure enough she was already out and about. Probably getting breakfast ready for Carlo and Aaliyah, or… Out? Checking on the progress?

Plantation life wasn’t so bad. The house was big, the land was theirs, the business that came with it was good. High quality cigar tobacco and other native agricultural endeavors. Peppers, sugar cane closer to the water, peanuts… There was a pecan grove as well, and some of the production space and costs were spent on processing the edibles into actual goods. The profit was too high compared to selling off raw product, why not double dip?
But it was the fact that she took interest in it… That she got up earlier than him, and that they were both able to handle their business despite the different hours. She didn’t bitch, she didn’t complain, she…

Britney Williams had been everything he ever wanted. Support and love in a stern, matronly package. His own Mother loved her, sometimes he thought more than she loved him. And since he was just a magical middleman, like he always had been, he wasn’t so worried about what the more uptight side of his family had to say…
Not like dear old Dad had anything to say. How could he?

Greyson stretched his shoulders and looked at himself in the mirror. Vanity had faded years prior, and he wore a bearded face with curly long hair. There was no pretense left to give, no posture left to take. His stance was a Father’s. A Husband’s. A Business Owner’s, as it had always been maybe, but… The money felt nicer. Cleaner, like his soul.
He slipped a shirt on and tucked it into his belt, still maintaining a clean look regardless of whether or not he knew he was going to be sweating in the Louisiana sunshine. Moisture wicking socks, well worn boots, gloves in the back pocket.

He looked at the little lockbox on the dresser and ran his fingers over it. Another time, another world. It was over, thankfully. They could live normally. He was clean. He didn’t need what was in the box.
Steps took him down the hall, his son’s bedroom door already wide open. Carlo… A real go-getter. Ambitious just like every Devola, but thoughtful. Sweet. Like his Mom. Chances were, he was doing his chores before school as he’d grown accustomed to. Greyson smiled in acknowledgement, running a hand down the wall and feeling how real it was in between his fingers. How surreal the feeling was. He must’ve had a dream, about fighting and shooting and being scared. Waking up nostalgic wasn’t normal.

He came down the stairs into the main foyer of the big plantation house they lived in together. It was full of pictures and nicknacks from St. Portwell and beyond. Family trips abroad, occasional reunions… He’d made up with a lot of the people he hurt. Purposefully, he kept a picture of himself and a few of the most troubled relationships in pretty visible places. A way to remember that he’d come out on top, and that every moment after was precious.

Strides took him toward the sound of music, past the kitchen and out into the attached greenhouse.



He couldn’t help but dance, coming into view of his beloved as he did so. The whole place smelled like the thick buds of homegrown in various stages of growing and drying and curing.
”Ooooh girl, you’re killing me.” he grinned, moving closer and leaning in to kiss Britney on the top of her head.
”What happened to our plans when we got married? No chance we’re getting up before ten in the morning… How long have you been up?”
”What happened to us living a simple life?”

She had gloves and a pair of scissors, trimming away at the latest dry. A fresh, clean gallon glass jar sat at her feet, and she was carefully putting the plant material into it. There was a grin on her face.
”This ain’t simple?”
”Well, you want to ask silly questions… I’ve been up all night.”
”You ain’t come to bed?”
Britney shook her head. Greyson’s face became a small frown. He leaned forward, arms wrapping around her shoulders in a loving embrace. He gently shook Britney back and forth.

”You can't stay awake forever. It's just going to happen one day…”
”He nearly killed them and we're going to have to deal with it.”
Greyson frowned. His boy… He finally came into his own and Kindled. And it was an interesting combination to be sure.
He couldn't lie and say he didn't take a little pride in it. The whole morning had been a bit emotional between Father and Son, and ultimately ended at a dinner that night.

The little moralist saw his Mother dealing with a particularly nasty local over a foolish disagreement. Between his love and desire to protect, and the raging temper that lay bubbling beneath the surface, he Kindled there to protect her.
But unlike Edict's soft Lotus, Carlo's inner powers were hot.

While they didn't get a lot of info from the hospital, they were aware that the local was suffering third degree burns over parts of his body that shouldn't have been accessible. A fire in the brain cavity left it all but dead, and the man would live out the remainder of his days in a tortuous vegetative state.

Greyson shouldn't have been proud that his son could literally light people's brains on fire. Clearly Britney wasn't thrilled. It was keeping her up.
”Where is he?”
”Field B. Probably closer to the Delta, you know the spot he likes.”
Greyson held Britney for a few more minutes.

”Can you sleep now that I'm on shift?”
”Why you want me asleep so damn bad?”
He chuckled, shaking his head and letting her go.
”Baby on board. You sleep, she sleeps.”
”Tell that to the last one… Lil’ bitch kept me up for weeks with those feet."
Greyson smiled, rubbing Britney's shoulders a little while longer before finally pulling himself away. There was shouting outside, people were frantic.

With a furrowed brow, Greyson moved toward the front to check things out.

---

Edict was one of the last people still fully captured by the pink mist. His brain, deeply craving the pleasure of a life he was growing more sure that he'd never see, did its best to hold him tight.

And he was going to let it. If he could've stayed there and lived through all of it, he would've chosen to. Such a well made, warm fanta-
He was on his knees. He must've dropped to avoid the hunk of Earth George was about to throw, and when his eyes were his again, the Giant was gone.

And he hadn't even gotten to see his children.
”Shout your name if you can hear me!”
”Britney!”
He immediately stood, turning and looking in the direction he heard Britney in. There were still zombies left about, dancing their undead hearts out.

”Greyson!... I'm fuckin'-…" he started, grabbing his head in pain. "Jack!? Where the hell is Jack, he was just with me! Brit!?”
Greyson was already making his way to Britney when he also found a naked Linqian.
”Jesus… here.”
With a swift dexterity, he unclipped his vest and slipped it onto the ground before tugging his jacket off and passing it down to the woman. The vest went back on over his shirt now.
”You guys are okay? Jesus Christ on a tall bike I was so fucking worried…”

---

---

”Sloane!” Anya was right behind Sully, hanging back so she didn’t get in the way when he shoved the Chalice into her friend's face. Normally she'd find his brutish way of going about it irritating, but in the case it didn't matter. Sloane needed the elixir one way or another. A soft sigh of relief escaped her slightly parted lips as the horrible rotting receded, muscle and skin reforming and her movements getting stronger. She was going to be alright, it seemed, as she got enough strength to push away Sully.

Good. It would be a shame to lose someone like her.

Anya waited until Sully stepped away to get closer, crouching beside Drake and Sloane with a furrowed brow and concerned expression. A genuinely concerned one, not hidden behind all the layers of false kindness she normally wore.

”Here, take this.” She took off her long, light grey wool jacket and draped it over Sloane. It was damp but not quite soaked through… It would do. She was glad she'd worn one that went down to her knees today, with the two of them being about the same height; anything shorter wouldn't do much for Sloane.

She then looked at Drake, almost smiling. ”This certainly is one way to apologise to Sloane.”

While Anya wasn’t particularly friendly with Jade, and thus didn’t have the (formerly) good opinions of Drake that Sloane did. But he had rushed over as soon as she was hurt… And helped Sully made sure she got healed.

”Anya,” she eventually replied to Auri’s request, tilting her head towards her, feeling it was a little ridiculous. Couldn't she manually count? Or ask Greyson to check that everyone was there?

Ah, he’d made a beeline right for Britney… of course. Anya’s lip curled up in disdain for just a moment as she watched him. Love really did make you weak.

Is that not what’s happening to you with Sloane? The more you care about her the weaker you get… Ah, but that’s not it. I didn’t care enough to sever.

She forced her gaze off Greyson, and her thoughts off that, skimming over other nearby coven members. Linqian, near naked, Aryin, near naked, Jasper… near naked. Sloane was right, what the fuck happened to everyone’s clothes?

”Maybe the winds blew them off,” Anya said drily, a delayed response to Sloane’s question. She bit her lip, continuing in a surprisingly soft tone. ”How did you get here, Sloane? I brought my care, so I can take you home? Maybe… you can come with us, Drake?”

---

---

Linqian was in the kitchen. She didn’t remember how she’d moved there - no, she did. The hallucination had shifted, changed. She was younger. Huanyi played on the floor a few steps away from her, pushing his toy cars around with dramatic sound effects. He looked to be only eleven… which would make her nineteen.

She remembered the tiredness of those years. Two full time jobs, with barely any time to sleep in between. But she couldn’t feel the tiredness. This wasn’t real.

In a way, things had been easier then. She didn’t have to think as much, and-

”I said I’d make dinner, Qian-er,” Jinhai’s voice came from right beside her, as he leaned against the counter with a smile.

Jinhai was still there.

”And let you burn the house down? I don’t think so.” Linqian rolled her eyes, bumping her hip against him to try and shove him away so she could cut the vegetables in front of her. He laughed, stepping slightly to the side but still leaning over her. Fucking… he really used those extra four inches of height he had to be a pain. ”I will shove this knife in your eye, Jinhai.”

A brief flash, Jinhai’s eyes lost all life. Blood stained his white shirt. A knife was in his chest. She shook her head, the image disappeared. It wasn’t real in here.

”You’d miss me too much,” Jinhai teased, but he still stepped properly back with his hands up. Linqian wanted to wipe the smug grin off his face, but she also wanted to take a photo so she could remember it forever. She wanted to remember his smile. Not… not the end. ”And who would make sure Yi-er does all his homework?”

”I can do that,” Linqian rolled her eyes, not looking away as she started cutting the vegetables. She did it perfectly - because this was a perfect world. What she wanted. ”Just cause I can’t help him doesn’t mean I don’t make him do it.”

”You never did your homework,” he grinned. "I remember you came up with the worst excuses, then stopped bothering altogether.”

”I'm not Yi-er, he's smart. I'd never let him-”

A smouldering smell overwhelmed the freshly chopped vegetables. Shouting… No. She shouldn’t be able to hear the outside.

No, no, no, ”no, no, no, please let me-”

Once again, Jinhai disappeared in front of her eyes.


”- stay.”

But it was gone. He was gone.

Linqian didn’t even bother looking around. She didn’t care. She couldn’t give less of a fuck about whether everyone was alright. Jinhai wasn’t. Jinhai was dead. And she might as well be, with the fucking life she was living- ^{she wanted to be. Why couldn’t she be? Why must she suffer-} She wanted to go back. She’d give anything to go back.

There was a chill in the air that prickled against her skin, but she barely felt it. All she felt was numbness. Nothing.

She was still crying.

Linqian turned to look at Britney as she grabbed her shoulders, then at Greyson when he appeared out of nowhere. Had he been here the whole time? No, probably not. He was worried? Probably not about her… Ah, it didn’t matter. The tears didn’t stop, and she didn’t bother trying to stop them.

You couldn’t close to the floodgates when they were open, not without a bit of force.

She removed Britney’s hands from her shoulders to take Greyson’s jacket, pulling it on and closed to properly cover herself up. No snide comment, no eyerolls, none of the normal shit she'd give him.

”Am I okay?” Linqian echoed them both. Of course she wasn’t. It was obvious that she wasn’t. Who would be fucking okay after that?! After losing the only person she could depend on… one of the two people she had left. Then having to see him again, as if he hadn’t gone. She wanted to stay in that hallucination forever. Fuck, she wanted to see him again. ”Yeah, I’m fucking great.”

Linqian suddenly turned around and punched the vine wall beside her. She punched it again and again until her knuckles were scraped raw, blood sluggishly trickling down them. She then pulled her hands back, shaking them as the blood splattered onto muddy ground.

The pain gave her some clarity - and with it came the rest. An explosion of pain across her face where Vashti’s skull had smashed into it. A hazy dizziness still at the back of her skull. A dull ache in her whole body from falling to the ground, wrestling with Vashti in the mud. But it didn’t get rid of the pain that bothered her the most. The agony deep inside of her where it felt her soul had been ripped out. It would never come back. But it was enough to stop the tears, the weak things she hated shedding so much.

She turned back to Britney and Greyson as if nothing had happened. As if she hadn’t just been crying, and as if she hadn’t punched something until her hands bled. She raised a bloody hand to wipe away the tears, lips pulling up into a smile. It didn't reach her eyes.

It was an incredibly jarring shift.

”Well, that was a fucking bust,” Linqian grimaced, acting if everything was okay. She actively avoided looking over at anyone else, even as she finally replied to Auri’s stupid shout. ”Linqian.”

She then tilted her head up to properly look at Britney and Greyson. She should just go, make sure Huanyi was alright… but he’d said he’d be out again tonight, probably not back until midnight. The house would be empty. She couldn’t handle that emptiness. Not where there should be four other people- not where he should be. Not in that house filled with memories that was no longer a home. She couldn't. ”Either of you have plans for after this? I need to-”

What did she need? A drink, but she couldn’t have that, she had a ten hour shift tomorrow. It was a bad idea, anyway. Some fun? Sure, but that wasn’t really it. That would just be a want. No, this was a need, she-

”I need to not be alone.”

The words came out as a hoarse whisper that only Britney and Greyson would be able to hear. She bit down on her lip, eyes dropping to the floor. Fuck. She hadn’t meant to say that… or had she?

No, she hadn’t.

"Father Wolf is still around, y’know, and we don't all have a live-in ex boyfriend for protection." At least she assumed that was why Greyson was staying with Britney.

It was a pathetic excuse, playing it off as a joke, when she’d gladly welcome his knife. At least then, she’d know peace - either in the nothingness that came after, or joining Jinhai in the afterlife. Was there any point in delaying the inevitable sweet release? Why couldn't Vashti have given her that today?

Her smile dropped again, only making what she'd meant clearer.

There was a part of her that for once didn’t care if they saw just how broken she was. Vulnerability made her weak - but it was fine. Let them take advantage of it if they wanted to. Use her, kill her, she didn’t care. How could it get any worse?

The worst had already happened. Twice.

They probably had plans anyway. Britney would check on Lila, she assumed, and Greyson... Well he'd want to spend time with just Britney. There was always Aryin- Linqian caught sight of Aryin leaving out of the corner of her eye.

Nevermind.

”Don’t worry about it, you probably have plans.”

A lack of the usual confidence. She didn’t have the energy to keep it up. Not here, not now.

It was fine if she went back to the empty house.

Either she’d die quickly when Father Wolf finally came for her, or she’d suffer hours alone until her next shift, when she had to be fine again.

Just like always.

---

The illusions faded, and they left Jack in the real world again. Watching all of their faces twist away into thin trails of smoke scraped at something inside Jack, a recess in his heart that had gone untouched for so long. He watched things blur and wash away, and not once did he question the miasma of what might have been, until there was less of it than cold, unforgiving, unavoidable rainfall. Jack had seen many people draw their last breaths in his life, and he had always found the strength to carry on. After all, what more could one do? But that paradise, that promise of halcyon days beyond this strife had given Jack security. He believed it to be real, and it hurt all the more for it when that illusion fell to pieces. Something sharp burned behind Jack’s ribs, they were together again. Everything was good again, they had won against Father Wolf, and all that was wrong had been made right.

That pain in his chest rose up into his throat, hot and threatening to split him open. People often said that it was better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all. But for a fleeting moment, Jack had just that and more. Wealth of a rare kind in the All-Verse, and all of it no less. His head tilted back, as he gazed absently into the pitch black clouds above. Jack had a feeling that he’d rather never find that love at all, then to have it and lose it so easily. The rain fell down and soaked him. His boots sank an inch into the mud, the wind laid itself into stillness. No mistake could be made, this was real.

And he could hear others shouting.

Jack was many things, none of them anything particularly virtuous; Vindictive, wise, possessed by great wanderlust, wistful beyond reason… But he often dwelled on the feeling that he could not count loyalty and trustworthy among those things. What good were the things he discovered and accomplished if there were none to share them with?

All the universe slowed to stasis, just long enough for Jack to come to terms with the fact that he was so very tired. Not in a way that sleep could remedy, but in a way that only others could. Auri was counting everyone. Making sure they were all still alive. Jack could’ve slipped into the Void, and let these awful emotions out in a place where no one would see. He would’ve screamed, raged until every last denizen of the empty realm feared him. He could have composed himself, and maintained the appearance of that untethered, whimsical scholar he styled himself as. Jack wanted to. It was so tempting, but he didn’t.

He simply appeared among the group around Sloane, in a puff of dark smoke. Jack made no attempt to conceal the wounded, forlorn expression on his face. He didn’t care enough to, anymore.

”My friends,” he began. ”Let us leave this place. I will send everyone where they wish to go. We are alive, and today, that is enough.”

Today, and only today, he told himself.

”We drove them to retreat, and they did not win. One day, the 8th Street Coven will make their last mistake.” Long, wet hair cling to his face as he managed a smile that came with the catharsis of a parent discovering their child survived a plane crash, of someone seeing their friend escape from a burning building.

”I am glad you are all still here.”

---

“Jasper,” Jasper shouted as he fell to his knees as it was finally over. He took a deep breathe, and followed it up with another, and he screamed a deep primal scream as he punched the ground. A primal rage began to brew within him at what he was just subjected to. Whomever had summoned that mist would be the first person he shot the next time they fought. Jasper knew that he was able to at least help turn the tide of the battle with his abstraction, but the natural forces of the world were still all it took to make him worthless in battle. He needed to make his abstraction stronger, more durable, and able to resist the corrosive nature of water. Otherwise, how would he protect the others? How would he protect his friends? How would he protect Luca?

The thought snapped his head up in an instant, his waterlogged hair flew with it and slapped back to his scalp. His eyes scanned the battlefield for Luca. He first spotted Lynn and Ken. Lynn was single handedly keeping the battlefield wet with tears alone and Ken was trying to snap her out of it. He then spotted Britney, Auri, Linqian, and Edict. Linqian was busy punching a vine which did not tell Jasper whether she was upset or simply bored. He then settled on Drake and sully tending to…“Sloane?” Jasper whispered with a shocked tone at the sight of her decayed body. It was decayed to a point that suggested she had gotten nice and close to Luca, no doubt in whatever dream the mist gave her. He knew that she would be in pain and that brought him no joy. He hated what Sloane stood for, hell he hated the woman to her core. But she did not deserve to be hurt like this, and Jasper knew that Luca was devastated that he did it.

He wanted to check in on her first, to make sure that another name wouldn’t be added to the mural. Jasper rose to his feet and began to run over to the huddled group. Jasper ran with a speed that was neither blazing fast but was not anywhere close to slow. He arrived just as Anya was giving Sloane her jacket. He saw that Sully had managed to heal her up but even with that healing she was in a rather rough spot. Jasper sighed a sigh of relief at the sight all the same. “Stick with Sully for a minute Sloane, heal up. Feel better, okay?” The pleasantry felt like poison on his lips but less bitter than it was in years past. Maybe Luca and his relentless optimism had started to rub off on him? Maybe seeing his hated rival wounded softened his opinion of her? Who knew why, but Jasper did not want to dwell on it for long. He wanted to find the man who had visited his dreams, and he wanted to be with him again in the present.

His eyes quickly turned around the battlefield in search of Luca and his mouth dropped when he spotted Lila instead. She was covered in feathers, blood, and was crying in a way that he’d never seen from her before. She gripped herself in a way that drew more blood. And she was doing everything in her power to seem small despite the fact that her wings made her appear very, very large. She needed help. And Jasper would be the one to help her. Jasper quickly crossed the distance between the two in a sprint and slowed to a stop right next to her. “You okay,” Jasper knew the answer but asked all the same. Lila simply shook her head ‘no’ as she buried her face underneath her wings. “How about I get you to Sully, he can help fix you up,” Jasper also knew that the chalice would not be able to fix her feathered body, but it would be able to heal the damage its arrival caused. Lila nodded her head up and down. He thought of how best to help her, as her wings made carrying her a lot more difficult at least on first glance. He simply thought fuck it and leaned down and invited Lila into his arms, bridal carry style, and Lila was all too quick to accept the help.

Lila allowed herself to be carried by Jasper, and she could not stop crying as she did. She felt weak, broken, disgusting and…. And…. The crying stopped, with only the sniffling sound filling the air. Her eyes were on Jaspers exposed chest and she raised an eyebrow as she looked up. “Bro,” her voice broke and was overtaken by the a few more seconds of crying, “why the fuck are you shirtless?”. She laughed, briefly, before the crying returned slightly. It was less than it was before, and Jasper knew it would be only a matter of moments before his friend was back. And he knew a joke was a sure fire way to lighten the mood.

“Contractual obligation” Jasper joked back and he chuckled extra hard as he leaned his head back as he looked up to the sky. His friend was still here. Eventually he made his way back towards Sully and the assembled group. He gently placed Lila down on the ground near Sloane and Drake. This spot was as good as any for a makeshift healing station, and Jasper was ready to help carry anyone who needed healing here. He was ready, after he found and checked in on Luca. He looked around the area, and finally spotted his muse a distance away. He began to make his way towards him with a hint of concern on his face. Luca would not be well after what happened, and Jasper was ready to help him feel better no matter what it took.

---

---

”Luca,” Luca said quietly, grimacing at the raw pain in his throat when he tried to talk.

Luca was unable to look away as Sloane was healed. He forced himself to watch the gruesome process of all her flesh regrowing, the sick feeling in the pit off his stomach barely dampened by relief. Then she looked at him with pained eyes filled with condemnation. She shook her head at him. He understood. It was all his fault. He should've been more careful. He shouldn't have gotten so close to her. If he hadn’t gone near her then she wouldn’t be hurt like this.

”I'm sorry,” Luca whispered again, voice hoarse. ”I'm so sorry, Sloane.”

His heart sunk further, to depths he didn’t even know were possible, when Jasper approached Sloane first. Of course. Of course. It all made sense. Jasper’s ‘hatred’ was just a coverup… he was straight, after all, and Sloane liked him too. They would be good for each other. Sloane, under all that harsh exterior, was a nice person. She wasn’t dying, like he was. They could have a future together. Luca would take his leave like he should’ve long ago.

He shouldn’t have come back. This - hurting someone - was always going to be the result.

Luca painfully pushed himself to his feet, arms flapping to the side to balance himself. It was like there was a heavy weight pulling him down, a constant burning against his skin… But it was fine. The physical feelings were normal, just worse again. It was what had happened that hurt more… and the hope for something more, something that couldn’t be.

He’d just need an hour alone to recover, then he’d be fine again.

Luca looked around, lips twisting into a pained frown as he caught sight of Lila. She looked… bad. In so much pain. She needed help - but he couldn’t help her right now. He’d just hurt her more. Maybe later, they could talk. Hopefully someone like Britney could actually help her, and Sully would at least help with the pain.

He took a step backwards, head tilting and catching Jasper’s gaze as it moved towards him. His heart thudded painfully in his chest… He couldn’t talk to Jasper right now. Not after all of that. Luca shook his head slightly, turning around and fleeing as quickly as he could towards the edge of the trees. He ignored the pain in his legs and the burning in his lungs. He needed to go home… to get out of the way.

With that in mind, he changed direction slightly… Approaching Ken and Lynn, still away from the group. He paused far enough away from them both that there was no chance of his aura catching him. Lynn was… crying. She wasn’t in a good state either. Luca bit his lip, before forcing what he hoped was a comforting smile. As if he was fine.

”Lynn…” he said softly, trailing off. He didn’t know what to say to her. He could only imagine what she’d seen in that hallucination. Right now, what was there he could say to help? ”If you need anything, you know where to find me.”

Luca then turned to Ken with an attempted brighter smile. It wasn’t quite possible to cover up the distress in his eyes or the rotting green flecks floating across them, and the festering wounds across his bare arms. ”Ken, when you have a moment, can you take me home? I need… some time to get things back under control. It’s too risky for me to stay.”

Hopefully Ken would be able to do just that without hurting himself - he was the best option, in Luca’s mind, since he had ways of separating them physically with magic. He couldn’t go back in Jasper’s car. He might hurt any of the other three, and he really needed that time to himself.

”I’ll just wait over here!”

"You certainly won't. You'll not be crying without my company, dear one."
There was a ripple, and an unkillable, unrottable wall of nothing but pure pressure that Luca would've nearly slammed into were it not for its elastic nature errupted around him. The gentle stretching sensation turned into a hammock of air, with a calm and consistent stream blowing upward into the air. After that, all the voices would be a little bit muffled, but Ken still spoke to him through the thin veil.
"You will stay with me where you won't be consumed. I'll only be a moment."

Mention: Tsukino @Estylwen

"Woah!" Tayla held onto Tsukino, afraid for her life when she was suddenly in the air. She'd not been flying since she and her dad immigrated from South Korea. She loved the ride then, but this wasn't that. Her feet were meant to stay on the ground or in a metal flying contraception if she was going to be airborne. Not ass out in someone's arms that could fail them at any moment and drop her, especially not Tsukino's skinny ass (like she's one to talk about skinny).

"Not so fast!" she screamed. They got above the canopy in seconds and she could see everything. The forest and the house looked like hell. Kari's house was destroyed and so was the land around it. 8th Street were gone and the group had come together. She couldn't seen them well from here, but based on movement it looked like some were fucked up, bad.

She point down below towards the group. "Go there. That's where the group is." 8th Street wasn't a threat anymore, so it seemed, but they were sitting ducks for anyone looking towards the sky. Tsukino was way too bright and like hell she's getting shot out the sky with her.

@FernStoneAnya, Luca, Linqian@Atrophy Sully @NoriWasHere Lila @Shin Ghost Note Britney
No Man's Land, aka Kari Wilson's (Wrecked) Yard

---

Things snapped back to an equilibrium. Someone - a girl - had made Sullysnap out of the stupor that seemed to have infected them all. The man had in turn come to his senses, intervened and taken responsibility for the half-digested Sloane as Clancy pried her away from the corrosive embrace, then shared that responsibility with Drake once she was in a better state...

Clancy took Sully's letterman without complaint, having barely made eye contact with the man save to offer a silent nod of appreciation when he refrained from touching him.

The truth was that the cold didn't bother him - in his world, it was always cold - but he suspected the others would not have wanted to see him in the state that he was. Body and clothing alike were tattered in every respect, with deep, bloodless gouges in his flesh that concealed a black, skeletal void beneath the surface, a constant reminder that he was less than what he once was.

Looking on as Sully passed around the chalice to share its 'heal juice', a certain longing tugged at him. Salt in the physical wounds he'd suffered, although the pain was was not of the body. It won't work, he knew, without having to ask.

Not that it was needed.

Slowly, he could see the damage knitting back together, like paint slowly spreading out from a flat canvas. The shadows bedded beneath the surface appeared to recede as pale flesh seemed to reform over the gaps. His torso was in the worst state, where the burst had torn an exit wound wide open from, with a gouge that ran through from navel to the small of his back.

That would take a little longer than the rest of him, so to spare the others staring he pulled the letterman on over his shoulders like a cloak. It was a little too big for him to wear without taking back the sleeves, and he doubted Sully would've appreciated such modifications to his favourite jacket.

Besides, he didn't look the part of a varsity athlete.

Clancy paced over towards where he'd taken the barrage from the two 8th Street assholes, or where he thought he'd taken them, as he could only measur by distance from the imprint in the ground where the mound of animated meat had been during the chaos. If anyone had bled here, he could've only guessed by that coppery tang hitting his senses. The storm had washed any viscera away, and not a single shred of evidence that either of the four assailants he'd seen there remained.

Nor did the other thing he was looking for. Not there, he noted, and paced off again, impatient, not here, either.

Eventually, after minutes of searching, it dawned on him.

The axe was gone. Stolen, most likely.

It shouldn't have bothered him. Nothing in his life had lasted, but he'd found a cerrtain permanence with its presence. Something about the weapon's unique properties, not unlike his own circumstances, had been strangely comforting.

The subtle hint of frustration and loss caused the hunger pang to gnaw at his consciousness again, accentuated by the coppery tang in the air. The meat here was worthless, moldering flesh and rotting bones which were so brittle that they broke like twigs.

Later, he reminded himself.

Focus.

It was difficult to shake those thoughts away, but this wasn't the time or place to lose that self-control. The others wouldn't have understood it, and they had enough to worry about without other things spooking them.

He saw the odd girl, Lila. Except it wasn't just Lila. The feathers and talons that bristled through her body, refusing to be willed away. The agonised expression she offered them as she asked for help, fo be fixed.

There was some small comfort to be found in the shared suffering of the others. To know they understood what it was to be fundamentally weighed down by something beyond their cintrol.

Her and the skinny boy with the Rot eating him away from within, along with anything else that came into contact with him. It made sense now - was this what Britney had done to them? Luca had all but confirmed what Ashley had suggested during their conversations.

For a moment, Clancy shot Britney a withering glare, although he was doubtful she'd noticed. They were all too busy trying to make a headcount and figure out what would happen next.

Linqian caught his eye next, stripped down at every level, he could tell she was grieving even now. A lingering sentiment of sympathy tugged at him as she speculated being alone. She'd been... decent to him, and he understood her loss better than some.

"I can-.. keep an eye out. If you want." Clancy offered, It's obvious.." he paused, gaze sweeping across them like a big cat sizing up a pack of hyenas trying to gnaw at the wilderbeast it just , ".. that Father Wolf can't hurt me."

As if to emphasise the point, the black opening across his gut remained on display, only barely concealed by the jacket.

"I just need to deal with something on the way back," he added, doing his best to cover up the guttural resonance barely echoing through the gouge in his throat, "Would be easier if you know where that Prom Queen or any of her pets live."

Outside Kari's House
_{Direct Interaction: Tayla (@silvermist1116), Auri (@Shin Ghost Note), Sully (@Atrophy)}

---

"Go there. That's where the group is."

Luna followed Tayla’s pointed hand. It was true. 8th Street was… nowhere to be found. Just Sycamore near a burning house. Where were emergency services?

“Alright, aright, I see ‘em!”

With a loose flap of her wings, Luna swirled down in circles until they landed just to the side of the group. Luna put Tayla down as she witnessed all her collection favourites: Luca, Ken, Lila, to name a few. Each was busy - Luca seemed to be especially taking it hard. Lila, as well. Luna remembered the details she had gleaned so many years ago, recounting them in her head in adoring detail.

Luna sighed, soreness washing over her system as adrenaline fizzled out, feeling exhausted from her fight. She spotted Sully passing around the Claice, but knew she didn’t need it for herself. No.

Her head turned to the bushes, the thick foliage a fair distance away, and whistled. “Aislin, Layla! It’s safe!”

It was a full minute before a brown-haired head stuck itself out from the bushes. Aislin looked seriously worn, struggling to move. Layla was beside her, in between consciousness and being passed out. Their burns had only gotten worse, marring their bodies with visible wounds.

Luna swallowed, before calling out to Sully. “We have an emergency at 7 o’clock!”

Before she slowly turned her head to Auri, cracked a sad grin, and said. “Luna. Present.”

---

---

---

”You guys are okay? Jesus Christ on a tall bike, I was so fucking worried…”

”You know I'm too fabulous for anything bad to happen to me, Greyson,” Britney laughed, again trying to add fun to the situation... only for her to realize that now is not the time. ”Bad time? Bad time. I'm sorry.” Britney awkwardly laughed, shaking her head.

Nobody was in a good state right now; it seemed... whatever that pink shit did to them, it did a number. Thankfully, Britney resisted huffing it - at the cost of almost passing out - and now it seemed like it was a good time for everyone to go their separate ways until the next meeting. Unfortunately, they will have to go after 8th Street later, but that doesn't mean they must rush to the 8th Street Manor. Taking it slow right now was the best option.

And Britney wanted to go home and take a shower. Her sweater was soaked. Good thing she had a bra under this (today), or else that joke she made to Linqian before the mist is coming true.

”Either of you have plans for after this? I need to - I need to not be alone. Father Wolf is still around, y’know, and we don't all have a live-in ex boyfriend for protection.”

Britney turned towards Linqian, and said, ”Not really, but...”

”Don’t worry about it, you probably have plans.”

Britney smiled as she put her hands on Linqian's shoulders.

”... Come with us,” Britney then looked to Edict. ”... By 'us' I mean me and Greyson. We must stop by a store and get you some actual clothes first. On me.” She laughed.

”Actually, I'll see if Bean is available right now,” Britney mused. ”She loves making outfits for peo-”

"I can-.. keep an eye out. If you want. It's obvious... that Father Wolf can't hurt me I just need to deal with something on the way back. Would be easier if you know where that Prom Queen or any of her pets live."

That strange kid pipped up, walking over to them. Britney knew that kid was more than likely not a kid. He was probably some Abscised or Abominable. Either way, if the rest of the Coven wanted him around, that was their choice, but she wanted nothing to do with Clancy.

”... She's good, right Linqian?” Britney smiled at Clancy and left it at that.

What made it worse was that Luna came out of the woodwork... she looked beaten up, but Britney knew that she was with the House of Cards Mafia, the same organization that tried to kill her. She knew Luna wasn't there to start, so where did she come from? Either 8th Street is working with the House of Cards, Luna is with 8th Street now and trying to worm her way in, or she's just there to kick them while they're down. Either way, Britney knew she wanted nothing to do with them and nothing to do with Luna. Blackmore immediately confronted Luna, whipping his lightning, which gave them the perfect opportunity to exit.

”Let's get out of here,” Britney whispered to the two of them. ”My car's a short walk away; I hope they didn't fuck with it.”

That was when she began walking down the road with Linqian and Edict, leaving the group behind. They had her number if they needed her either way - she knew Lila would hit her up later. Britney kept walking until she got a reasonable distance from the house and made it to a thick brush right off the side of the road. With a flick of her wrist, she retracted the bush, revealing her car: a GMC Yukon without the bullet holes from the fight with the Wolfpack.

Britney bowed, gesturing towards it, and said,

”... Aaaaaall aboard!”

---

---

---

”Thanks bro, you're the best,” Drake said.

Sully healed Sloane, and Drake kept holding her as instructed. He let out a sigh of relief; she was alive. Just barely. If they had been a second late, it would have been lights out for Sloane. However, he just remembered that he had left the flowers on Kari's porch, and his head had returned to her house, and it was eradicated. The only thing left behind was a frame, the charred remains of the house. Thankfully, the fire had gone out, but there wasn't much to save beyond there. The group should get the hell out of here expeditiously. There was no way all of that went unnoticed.

“What happened to my clothes? Wait, what the fuck happened to everyone’s clothes?”

Though, Sloane slurred herself awake, and Drake smiled. He kept himself.

”From my understanding,” Drake began, running a hand through his soaking wet hair. ”Luca gave you a spicy hug.” He awkwardly chuckled. She was still out of it; clearly, she was a little shaken, but Anya came over, said some things to her, and then gave her the jacket she was wearing.

”How did you get here, Sloane? I brought my car, so I can take you home? Maybe… you can come with us, Drake?”

”I'm going to go find Tayla and Aislin, make sure they didn't get hurt,” Drake began as he pulled out a carton of cigarettes that was in his leather jacket. ”Afterwards, I can meet all of you there - but hold on.”

“Can someone fix me?”

Drake slid his leather jacket off.

”Can't fix you - but catch, bird homie!” Drake threw the leather jacket to Lila. ”Don't worry about giving it back. I got like three more!” He threw Lila the peace sigh before turning back to Anya and Sloane.

”Alright, you got my number, just let me know if you need anything...” Drake looked around, only to see Luna landing with Tayla. She looked a bit beaten up... he wasn't sure if that was from fighting Sycamore or 8th Street. However, Layla and Aislin popped their heads in, and they didn't look too hot either. Where in the world did they go? However, there was one thing on Drake's mind at the moment.

”Hold on to her for me...” Drake gently maneuvered Sloane over to Anya before he walked over toward Luna.

“Luna. Present.”

"Oh! Luna!" Auri looked surprised for a moment as she turned towards Luna. It's great to see you again... But I don't think you're part of this Coven..."

”... She isn't,” Drake noted as he walked past Auri. He approached Lna, and shook his head, ”I thought I told you to get lost. I caught you spying on us, and you refuse to tell us who you're working for. I'm not playing these games, Luna.”

His index, thumb, and middle fingers began crackling with electricity as he created a finger gun that he pointed at Luna. Before he said anything, an orb that grew in size appeared at the tip of his middle and index fingers.

”Go home, Luna. We don't want you here."

Outside Kari’s charred house, staring down an electric gun
_{Direct Interaction: Auri, Drake (@Shin Ghost Note)}

---

---

---

---

“It's great to see you again... But I don't think you're part of this Coven..."

Luna’s eyes widened at that, “You… what?”

”I thought I told you to get lost. I caught you spying on us, and you refuse to tell us who you're working for. I'm not playing these games, Luna.”

She saw Drake coming a mile away, and her face immediately contoured into a scowl. The aches in her bones from her fight with 8th Street made themselves more pronounced in that moment, and she cursed her own weakness.

She wouldn’t have the same reserves as she did before with Drake. Not that she handled electricity well to begin with.

She saw him form that electric gun, and desperately wanted to match it with her own. But she froze. Auri was watching. The one who had real say on if Luna would be welcomed back or not. Acting out now would be a death sentence, not just because of Drake’s electrical output.

So, instead of pulling out a light gun of her own, Luna offered her hands up in surrender, sweating a bit.

”Go home, Luna. We don't want you here."

“... House of Cards.” Luna whispered. “That’s who I work for.”

Her teeth gritted. “I listened to you, and you still tell me to get lost?” She gestured to her chest, where she attempted to grow back her armour. It emerged in splintered shards, and Luna sucked in a laboured breath, before she dismissed the armour. It would take a lot more energy to heal over the shattered pieces and make the armour whole. Energy she didn’t have in that moment.

“Who attacked the fortress? Hm? I would have made more of a dent if Greta didn’t have her fuckin’ potions. And I swear, I would have conquered their damn fortress if I had more firepower.” She bit out, disgusted in her own weakness in that moment. Disgusted she couldn’t offer up 8th Street on a silver platter, to maybe change his mind.

That’s all she needed, really.

“If you need to verify my words, Aislin and Layla were with me. I recused them from the worst of the brawl. How many more proofs do you need to see I’m on your side? Actually, fuck, don’t answer that. I know you hate it.”

Luna, hands still raised plantiffly, turned to Auri. She had everything to lose in that moment, but maybe… maybe Auri would grant her welcome. Maybe she would be welcomed home, as she dreamed of in her lonesome late in the night.

Her eyes were searching, a pleading tone in her voice. “Auri... please. Don’t send me away.”

---

---

---

“I listened to you, and you still tell me to get lost? Who attacked the fortress? Hm? I would have made more of a dent if Greta didn’t have her fuckin’ potions. And I swear, I would have conquered their damn fortress if I had more firepower. If you need to verify my words, Aislin and Layla were with me. I recused them from the worst of the brawl. How many more proofs do you need to see I’m on your side? Actually, fuck, don’t answer that. I know you hate it.”

Drake rolled his eyes.

Of course, Luna thought that running off and picking a fight with 8th Street would win him over. Nah. That shipped has sailed. Drake kept his finger leveled at Luna, hardly changing his positioning or facial expression. Maybe she pushed 8th Street away, but he looked at the facts here; she was spying on them for her little mafia. She's playing an angle, and they don't need her there making things more complicated.

”Yeah, if that's true; thanks,” Drake rolled his eyes. ”But, I'm looking at the fact that you were spying on us, and nothing else. So, get lost.”

"Look," Auri said as she got in between Drake and Luna, holding the staff in her hand. She faced Drake. "I understand how you feel, Drake, but we should leave. There is no way all of that went unnoticed!" She laughed before she got a text message: she dug into her purse and read it before putting it away and continuing.

"So, let's put the magic away, and let's just go," Auri sighed. "If anyone needs me, I'll be at my Flower Shop; just let me know if you're coming because I'll have a guest."

”Hmph,” Drake lowered his hand, and the electricity faded as he walked back over towards Sloane and Anya.

”Know what?” He said to them. ”Let's just scram.”

Jordan took a bite of his tacos as the cool wind of this autumn evening brushed against his face. What a fucking day already. Greenwood showed up and made the proposition, left without getting him high, and was going to show up any minute now in the evening. They better get him high this go around, he had spent the past hour arranging a table downstairs filled to the brim with snacks for their inevitable munchies. As well, he bought out the food truck, with the 317’s event card, so that everyone at least got a good meal on the night. Jasper leaned back in his chair and waited. Tonight was a historic night for the 317. It felt much like the night where they agreed to help fight the Nazis, but bigger. This was a formal alliance, this was the 317 finally deciding to fight for the city that embraced their art collective, this was the 317 finally using its collective strength to help protect those who could not protect themself.

Jordan took another bite from his food and groaned as it was the best bite yet. Los Agavez Taqueria was the one of the highest rated food trucks in the entirety of St. Portwell and it was a local fixture of the 317. They partnered with the owner, who was mundane, a year ago to cater for group for events like this. Luckily, the owner had no plans for the night and was all too happy to have his entire night covered. Jordan took another bite from his tacos and smiled. Tonight was going to be a good night. A moment later his nose detected the tell tale sign that Green was on the wind.

Aislin was in front of the taco truck, looking carefully over the menu while she waited along with the others. She was dressed up a bit for the occasion, in a dress shirt with a loose knitted sweater over top, and slacks. Her eyes gazed unseeingly over the menu, feeling a bit of nerves. 317? Teaming up with someone? She said she’d show up, but as her eyes darted across the gathering, she only felt her nerves getting the better of her.

Surely this was the right move. Leadership knew what they were doing, right?

Surely.

Aislin looked back at the taco truck’s menu, and sighed.

Meanwhile, Rohan sat posted up on the opposite end of the table. A man not often seen in the politics of the 317, he was here mostly for moral support. Jordan was the kind of person to be worried about this sort of thing, but Rohan didn’t seem very tense. He was as far back in his chair as he could get without it tipping over.

A dull-eyed, unfocused expression lay across his face as his eyes scanned over the area. In one hand, he had one of those amazing tacos, half eaten so far. Tonight was a big deal for his friends, and he wanted to be there for them as that big deal was made. They did a lot for him, it was only fair.

Various rushing winds came out of nowhere, carrying leaves and other pieces of foliage. When the winds reached their zenith, the leaves were spinning in a circle, and then they dispersed as the Greenwood Coven (minus Sully) seemingly appeared out of thin air. Ruby stood in front of the group, holding her tree branch staff with one hand, and took a few steps forward.

“We’re baaaaaaaaaaaack!” Jessica shouted. “Hide yo’ wife, hide yo’ children!”

“... Let’s not start,” Naomi said, rubbing her temples.

“About time,” Jordan took the final bite of his food and flicked his hand as he shook his head, “my man made this extra good tonight. Y’all hungry? Grab a plate, on the house tonight. Faith’s expecting you but she will understand if you wanted to grab some of the best tacos in St. Portwell.”

”Yeah. No rush tonight.” Rohan finished off his taco in one last bite, looking like he was glue to that chair.

“Ooooooooh, shit!” James said, with a grin as he gave his axe a little twirl. “You know I can’t turn down some free food!”

“Do you have veggie tacos?” Kashmira asked. “I do not eat meat.”

“Ohhhh, I thought this was an important meeting… I came sober.” Rien appeared from another building, surprisingly more on time than normal. They had a large backpack, half painted canvas in their arms with paintbrushes haphazardly shoved in the front pocket of their baggy dungarees worn over a green sweater. Their nose twitched at the smell of weed they'd avoided having the last few hours for this. They looked at Greenwood, one hand raising in a half wave. “Yo. You bring any of the good shit?”

“... Why are you acting like I share-” Ruby said as she tilted her head.

“Yes, we brought the good shit!” Jessica laughed, as she dug into her pocket and pulled out a gallon-sized ziploc bag that was full of that premium Zaza. That shit that’ll put your ass to sleep. Only the strong can handle gas of this level.

“If you share,” Jordan said as he reached into his pocket, “and promise to be on your best behavior Ruby,” Jordan paused as he pulled out two glass containers sticky with dabs, “I’ll share my stuff too.”

Ruby rolled her eyes, “... When have I ever misbehaved?”

She grabbed the sack of weed from Jess, and then held it from the top, “This ain’t your regular weed. This is your premium, top-shelf, shit. You’ll get so high you’ll wake up in Miami or something.”

“This is just regular dabs,” Jordan stood up, “I have a lot though.” He looked at Rien with a ‘it happens’ look. He looked back to Ruby with a mischievous grin, “I remember that stuff all too well after we fucked over the Nazis. I’ve been chasing that high ever since. Rien,” Jordan paused as he walked over to them and held out one of the jars, “you know where my rig is! Go wild. Tonight will be a good night, with or without the good weed. Plus,” Jasper smirked, “you usually have to earn it.”

Rien rolled their eyes at him, hand going into their pocket and pulling out an already rolled blunt. “I ain't looking for your normal shit, Jordan, I want the good stuff. I get that on my own… y'know. Those apparitions don't catch themselves.” They shook the half finished painting in their hand.

“This is premium normal shit,” Jordan said as he pocketed the containers, “closest I’ve gotten to theirs. Don’t knock the dab until you’ve tried it.” Jordan turned back to Greenwood. “So, we got food up here if you want it. Otherwise, we can head down whenever you're ready.”

Aislin popped up beside Jordan with a taco in hand, eyes on his pocketed containers. “Really pulling out all the stops tonight, eh? Dab me up later.”

She smirked, hiding her nerves with another bite of taco.

“You're getting fooled…” Rien muttered, shaking their head.

“What, you think yours is so much better? What about mine?” Aislin grinned, tapping her back pack. “Why don't we put them all to the test and see which is better once and for all? Great way to uh, bring everyone together.”

”You kids know a lot about weed,” Rohan commented, finishing off his taco and reaching for another.

“... How about we discuss matters before we all get high,” Pearl stuck her nose into the conversation and shook her head. “We have all night, and we should all be fully cognizant.”

“I turned up sober,” Rien raised one hand in mock surrender.

“Agreed,” Jordan said as he looked over to Aislin, “don’t worry, you need a dab after the day you’ve had.”

Aislin relaxed a bit, a sheepish grin coloring her face. “Right, right.”

Jordan paused as he looked over to Ruby, “8th attacked sycamore again today. I can fill you in about it in a second, but they’re getting bold.”

“Oh shittttt,” Rien said with a very bored look.

“I’m getting my first tacos, tho’!” James shouted with a smile.

“Same, I would love some veggie tacos,”

“I’ll give you two a taco to eat,” Ruby rolled her eyes.

Juno climbed out of Rohan’s shirt pocket, and nestled into the space between the arm of his chair, and his left leg. He muttered something that sounded absolutely incomprehensible, and Rohan just nodded at the little golem. ”True.”

”Erhrerbrrhhrr…” The little wooden golem replied.

”...Yeah.” Rohan reached into a cooler at his feet and pulled out some cheap light beer, and cracked it open. ”Pretty long, I think.”

”Rrrrrr!”

“Ayyyyyyyyyyyy!” Jessica shouted as she walked over to it, and knelt down. “Cute lil’ guy.”

”Hrhrraghhh…” Juno said, philosophically.

“I keep asking Faith to make him the mascot. She’s not super receptive, but I think we’ll win her over,” Jordan joked as he looked over to the door. Nothing yet, but Faith will call for them if they are needed any sooner.

“It's too cute to be our mascot,” Rien said.

Aislin mumbled excitedly under her breath, “Would be the beeest mascot.” Before taking another bite of her taco.

“Hey now,” Jessica grinned. “We’re about to take him home and make him the Greenwood mascot! See, he’s made of wood. We’re called Greenwood. It’s a match made in heaven!“

”Everything I make’s made of wood,” Rohan said, taking a light sip of his drink.

”Raaaaah.”

“Hear him, everybody!” James shouted as he threw a thumb in Rohan’s direction. “He said he’s got wood!”

”...Ah?”

Naomi facepalmed. Aislin jaw-dropped.

“Ohhhh good one!” Rien sneered. It was difficult to tell if they were being sarcastic and found the joke or James funny as they sniggered. “You sure you haven't hit that shit already?”

“Oh boy,” Jordan laughed. “Honestly, hard to tell with them Rien. Pearl is right though, we have business to attend to first. Then, we can get high.”

Feeling bored, Juno clambered up to the table, stole a taco, and ran off into the direction of the 317’s lair. All that could be heard was the sound of diabolical, high pitched, cackling as the creature disappeared.

“Bitch, I’m always high,” Ruby added. “Or drunk. We established that this morning.”

“You’re high functioning, you don’t count,” Jordan responded quickly.

”You guys got anywhere to be tonight?” Rohan asked, suspecting this was going to take forever.

“Nope,” Naomi shrugged. “We were going to party after this.”

“... Which is why I’m confused as to why we are dallying,” Pearl shook her head.

“Don’t worry, you’ll get to your party,” Jordan paused as he looked around the group. This had already developed into an interesting start to the meeting. He knew the real purpose of this night would happen inside. “Okay, everyone grab your food. I’ll be here to take everyone down,” he quickly pointed to the door, “and then-“

“Jordan,” Summers's voice boomed from inside the building. The voice was clear but had enough distortion to suggest it came from a speaker and not a mouth. Soon, the sounds of whirling joints and sudden, jerky, metallic steps filled the air. Soon, the metallic and thin frame of one of summers humanoid homunculi excited the building. “Faith is about to head up,” the head of the homunculi scanned the area, resting on the Greenwood members, “y’all are good to come down whenever, I’ll let faith know you’re here.” The homunculi turned on the spot, marched back inside, down the hall and entered its hidden home.

“Alright, if you’re going to get food, get food. It’ll be here all night. If you want to just get business started, follow me.” Jordan motioned as he went towards the door.

“The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can get baked,” Rien said. They moved their canvas to be in both arms again before following him.

“We are gonna get so high after this.” Aislin giggled, following after Jordan. Maybe this was a good thing after all, she though.
“... It sounds like you guys are fuckin’ stoners, now!” Naomi laughed. “We do got that gas, tho’.”

“Eh, I’d rather we just get this over with,” Ruby said with a shrug as she followed after Jordan.

“But my taco!” James shouted.

Ruby stopped on her head, and turned her head around towards James.

“... You’ll be eating Naomi’s taco tonight, won’t you?” She asked.

He just laughed, as Naomi’s face went red.

“So, let’s get this over with,” Ruby tapped her staff on the ground a few times before she walked after them. “Everyone wants to either get high or fuck right now, so let’s not keep ‘im waitin’.”

“Agreed,” Jordan responded as he led the group into the building. It took only a few moments to find the staircase down to the meeting room. Along the way the eagle eyed viewers in the party might spot various eyes, either mechanical or supernatural, peering out from hidden spots along the way. As they walked down the stairs, the group would notice that the entirety of the 317 that wasn’t was outside was present. Save for Aryin and Sypha.

The meeting area was pretty barren as per usual. It had numerous candles on numerous mounts all across the room however the top lights were on instead. There were various paintings, some pathways for Alex and others that sealed apparitions. There were a few arcade games, food and beverage tables, and every form of comfortable sitting options known to man.

“Alright, this is the meeting area. Feel free to mingle, Faith’s office is right over there. Ruby, if you wanted to talk to her before this kicks off feel free. Jessica, can I borrow you in Sypha’s office here?”

“Gladly,” Ruby shrugged as she walked towards Faith’s office. “... Go easy on Jess, she’s our token redhead.”

“Awwwwww!” Jessica laughed. " Are you going to hand me your love letter in private?” She threw her arms behind her head.

“Consider me, borrowed!”

---

Faith was pacing around her office waiting for the right moment to go out and inform the 317 of the big news. She knew that they were here, and she knew that 8th street had already struck again, and Faith did not know what she was doing. Fighting the Nazis was easy, changing the very nature of their organization was less so.
Ruby poked her head in, and then stared at Faith for a good thirty seconds. Dead silent.

“... Do you want your booty ate?”

Faith’s healed slowly turned to face Ruby and lingered there for just a moment. It tilted ever so, and she looked like to the ceiling as she thought over the proposal. “Not tonight love,” Faith responded as she motioned for Ruby to come, “how are you tonight Ruby?”

“Hey now,” Ruby said as she walked in. “You say ‘not tonight’ as in you’ll be in the mood for it another time!” She laughed as she walked in.

Faith simply smirked.

“I’m good, sweetie, how’s about yourself? Make any cool paintings?”

“Nervous,” Faith responded, “but ready. Nothing new yet. Some are in the loop, some suspect, and the rest are still in the dark. Either way tonight I tell them to get ready for the eventual fight. And tonight, I will be an open book for you. Anything you need to know, I’ll be ready to answer.”

“Same here,” Ruby said. “Greenwood doesn’t hide anything.”

“How about we break the news together, then we can have a more in depth talk. I’ll lay all my cards on the table, you do the same, and we figure out how we can best support each other. Sound fair?”

---

Rohan walked in, quietly, posting up by the back wall. ”It’s good to finally reach out to people. I’m sure you’ll all figure something out.”

Jordan gave Rohan a nod as he opened Sypha’s door and motioned for Jessica to enter. It was at this moment he realized just how built she was, ‘god damn’ was all he could think. Inside the room Sypha was leaning back in her chair, she was pale and was busy eating a sugar cookie and fanning her face. She clearly was suffering from her blood loss. In a chair in the corner right to the left of the door was a shirtless Aaron. Aaron had numerous visible, painful looking bruises and he held his side right on the spot where George’s kick landed earlier in the day. His breathing was quick, and shallow, and had a look of pain on his face.

“It’s been a busy day apparently,” Jordan said as he pushed his glasses up his nose. He pointed to Aaron, who gave Jessica a weak wave.

“Wow, bro,” Jessica laughed, as she unbuttoned her shirt, “You look like you got bitchslapped by an elephant!”

“That would’ve been preferable,” Aaron weakly responded with a chuckle.

She took off her shirt, revealing a sports bra, before she looked at everyone. “... Ya’ll aren’t trying to paint me like one of your french gals’?”

Jordan and Aaron’s jaws dropped ever so slightly at the sight of her muscular frame. “No, no, unless you ever wanted to be one of our models. I think you would,” Jordan coughed, cleared his throat, “make a fantastic model for out artists..”

“We have a sign up link on the website,” Aaron responded with a weak voice.

“What I brought you in for,” Jordan said as he looked for a spot on the ceiling to avoid a lingering eye, “Aaron’s a bit too hurt for our resident healer. I remember in the fight against the Nazis you helped a few of us get through those fights. Any chance you can work your magic on them?”

Jessica put her shirt back on very hastily, awkwardly laughing the entire time before she said, “... Yes, I’m a model! Instagram model! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!” She kept laughing as she had her shirt back on. “But… I can’t really heal at night, unfortunately, though, we have Kashmira - our dedicated healer - in the other room.”

“Ahhh,” Jordan responded as he finally returned his gaze to Jessica, “I can tell, you’ve put a lot of work in and it shows. If you ever wanted to do a partnership let me know. Oh shit, I think I only fought alongside you during the day so I did not know that. Well, I am sorry for kidnapping you this early into the night. Would you mind if I grab them real quick?”

“Don’t worry; I got it,” Jessica laughed as she walked over to the door, opened it, and stuck her head through, and shouted, “Kash! Can you come here for a moment?”

“Oh, yes!” Kasmira bubbly said as she walked over into the room. She looked to the left, then the right. “... I hope this isn’t what I think it is! Because I’m only getting naked for my future husband. Sorry! _{Sorry! Sorry!}”

“Hi!.” Aaron spoke through the pain as he saw the head pop through the door. “You have a dirty mind, anyone ever tell you that?”

“What they mean to say is ‘hi! My names Aaron and I got in another fight with George and need some healing’ and that we’d greatly appreciate it if you could use your healing magic to help these two get back on their feet,” Jordan rubbed his temple as he finished.

“Ooooooooh!” Kashmira said with a smile, as she walked over to Aaron, with her hands outstretched. She grabbed onto Aaron, and a green wave overtook him as he was healed. “Call me Dr. Sarei!”

“Pleasure to meet you Dr. Sarei! I’m Aaron, or Aryin, there was no variance to the words at all in terms of sound, “you’ll know which one is which.”. A moment later a green wave washed over him and he gasped. His broken ribs, bruised muscles, and every other injured part of his body began to heal itself magically. After several seconds he felt like he was back to normal. “Thank you Dr. Sarei! I haven’t felt this good in days.”

“Truly,” Sypha said as she stood up, careful not to do so too fast, “my healing is good but it can only happen in short spurts. Aaron, get a shirt on. I think our friends are ready to begin the meeting.”

“I’m glad to have helped!” Kashmira said with a toothy smile. “Let me know if you get hurt again, I love helping people!”

Jessica walked over to Aaron, leaned forward, and whispered in his ear,

“... She charges a fee. A bill will show up in the mail in five-to-seven business days!” She laughed, before she walked towards the door. “The meeting’s getting started already? I wanted to get painted like a french gal!”

“Stick around after the meeting,” Aaron responded, “You’d be the perfect inspiration for my next piece.”

“Heel, Aaron,” Jordan sighed, “you’re free to chill wherever you want. Faith will be out soon.”

“Alright,” Aaron reasoned as he grabbed his shirt and went out into the common area. He walked up to Rohan and raised a fist. “How we feeling?”

As Aaron did that Alex walked up to Rien and nodded to signal their intent to talk. “So,” Alex walked up and looked at the various Greenwood members present. They leaned close and whispered, “they sharing their weed?” Alex was still an odd sight to some members of the 317. They simply appeared in Faith’s office one day, and every since they’ve been paid to hang around and help the group getting from one place to another. Still, Alex had a chill vibe that allowed them to get along with most of the other artists.

“I dunno,” Rien muttered back. They’d been standing in front of one of their apparition paintings, checking to make sure the sealing was still stable. “Jordan tried to push his normal shit on me when I asked, like I can’t get that any day… Y’know what this is all about?”

“Oh yes I do,” Alex said as they leaned in closer.

“Oh yeah, what is it?” Rien leaned in towards Alex, tilting their head upwards.

“Us and Greenwood, fighting together again,” Alex whispered as they looked around. “We’re going to war, bro!”

“Oh shit, dude,” Rien whispered back, eyes widening slightly. “... that’s going to be so much effort, ugh.”

“Fuck,” Alex sighed as they looked to the ceiling, “I forgot about effort. You’re right.”

“Fuck effort,” Rien groaned, also looking at the ceiling.

”It’s a bit ironic that you all decided we wouldn’t be fighting when you made this place. Now look at us.” Rohan had a tired smile on his face.

“Sometimes the fight comes anyway,” Octavia responded as she walked over to Rohan, “and the fight is coming. I’d rather take care of the threat, secure the city, and then go back to our ways.” Octavia wore ripped black boyfriend jeans and fishnet tights were visible underneath. She wore a cropped hoodie that was very pink, but also showed off her tattoos underneath. “We’re not fighters. But we can fight when the situation is dire,” Octavia paused as she looked to Faith’s door, “and the situation is dire right now.”

”Yeah, I get that. I’ll be here one way or another, when you do what you’ve got to do,” Rohan said. ”You’re all smart enough to know how these things work, you’ll be fine.”

Meanwhile, completely randomly, James walked over to Thomas, and put his hand up and said, “... Dab me up, bro!”

“What’s up man,” Thomas dabbed James up, “I’m Thomas, how you been?” Thomas was in a relaxed fit. A simple carhartt hoodie, relaxed blue jeans, and some red low top converse. “Are you who we were supposed to meet tonight?”

“Who else but Greenwood!?” James boisterously said.

“Alright Greeeenwood,” Thomas responded as he pulled out a small baggie of already ground mushrooms and smirked, “I’m going to make some tea in a minute. You down?”

“Ooooh, you know it!” James said. “Hurry up before Ruby sees that shit. She’s gonna hog all of it!”

“You got it man,” Thomas said with a smile as he left to make some magic happen.

Several moments later Faith emerged from her office looking confident, energetic, and ready. She wore the typical sports bra underneath a mesh shirt underneath a jean jacket that defined her style. It was pulled together by the leggings that she decided to wear tonight. She walked into the middle of the crowd, her presence alone commanded the attention of many of the 317 members. She took a deep breath and waited for Ruby.

“So, we have much to discuss. I know many of you have a lot of questions, and I ask that you hold them to the end. Before we begin, however, I’d like to introduce a good friend to the 317 and St. Portwell at large. Some of you may already know her, and some of you have heard some fantastic stories, but I’ll let her introduce herself,” Faith motioned for Ruby to introduce herself to the 317 as a whole.

Ruby took a few steps forward, her tree branch tapping against the ground with every step. “Hello, I am Ruby White, also known as the Spring Maiden, leader of the Greenwood Coven,” She began. “I’m glad to meet you all here tonight, and I hope this is the start of a prosperous alliance… Not just for our combined protection, but I hope we can all connect and become close friends.”

“We’ve fought side by side with Greenwood once before against the Nazis, and we’ll do so once again against any mother fucker who threatens our city,” Faith responded as she looked around the room, “I know some of you may not want to fight, and I will not force anyone to fight. If you do not wish to, there will be no changes to your lease, no changes to your status, and no changes to our love for you. We’ll protect you as we have always done, and always will. Starting tonight we are going to begin preparation to get ready for whatever comes our way. We will train, look to those who have fought more than us for guidance, and keep it business as usual during our open hours,” Faith paused as she placed her hands on her hips, “any questions?”

Rien raised a hand. “If there are any Apparitions, do I get first dibs on them?”

“Rien,” Faith pointed and looked towards Ruby, “sealing and apparition summoning.” Faith paused as she looked at Ruby, “Rien is one part of our Horde, if you don’t mind they do have a love for the art of capturing them all.”

“Yeah, I’m like a pokemon trainer for apparitions,” Rien said, flashing a peace sign at Ruby. They pulled a smaller, square canvas out of their front dungaree pocket and held it up. It showed a forest landscape with a small, relatively human-like creature in it… aside from the mushroom cap on her head. “This was one of my first. I can demonstrate if you want, to prove that I should get first choice of Apparitions to seal.”

“We don't have any Apparitions to seal,” Ruby said, before turning to Autumn, “But we do have someone who can, sort of, create them.”

Autumn awkwardly waved her hand, before pulling the Adept Hunter from underneath her shirt. “... Are you sure it's a good idea to tell them?” She asked.

“Go ahead,” Ruby said.

Autumn sighed, “This is the Adept Hunter, if an Adept dies in my presence, I can create an Apparition I can control with their entire spellbook.”

“Remind me not to die in your presence then,” Thomas joked as he returned with two cups of his special tea and held one out towards James.

“Ohhhh,” Rien stood up, canvas held in one hand as they approached Autumn, looking at the Adept Hunter with a hint of curiosity. “So if I died, and you created an Apparition from me… you’d have access to all my Apparitions? Like Apparition-ception?”

“I… Honestly, I don't know. Maybe.” Autumn shrugged.

“Well… if I die, make sure to turn me into an Apparition so we can find out,” Rien nodded.

“If we were to fight an apparition, would Greenwood be opposed to Rien being the one to seal it away,” Faith asked towards Greenwood as a whole.

“Hold on! Hold on! Hold on! I know exactly what Ruby gon’ say!” James ran up, waving his hands in the air. Everyone looked at him. “... ‘Unless its some ass eating Apparition’!” James broke out laughing.

“Oh… I already got one of those, I don’t need another,” Rien shrugged.

“We have one of those,” Jordan asked from the back.

“Do we?” Faith looked to Rien with a curious look.

“Question, is the ass eating monster a literal one or like…” Alex asked with a confused look on their face.

“Yes.” Ruby answered.

“That doesn’t help,” Alex moaned.

“I said I have it,” Rien emphasised. “It’s part of my private collection… I was worried about what Jordan would do if he got his hands on it. But I can bring it in if you want?”

“What did I do,” Jordan asked in response.

Rien turned around and pointed to him. “You know exactly what you did. Tone down the sexiness and maybe I’ll bring it out.”

“That’s what I’ve been saying,” Summer chipped in.

“Regardless, apparently we do have an ass eating monster,” Faith sighed.

”I’ve got a few sealed away too,” Rohan said, with Juno sitting on his shoulder. ”Mostly just the dangerous ones, right now. And the ones that aren’t very useful for more than spare parts.”

“Rohan,” Faith pointed towards the man, “and Juno who is not our mascot.”

“They are, embrace it,” Jason shouted.

”Myehhhrhrhrhr…” Juno said, philosophically.

“Maybe we can experiment with our abstractions,” Autumn said to Rien. “Maybe see how the Adept Hunter interacts with yours.”

“Oh yeah, I’d like that… they never let me get my Apparitions out,” Rien complained, side eyeing faith. “They’re not decorations- but whatever. It’ll be fun.”

“If you’re sensing a common theme, your senses would be right” Octavia interjected, “we have a lot of apparitions, and monsters at our disposal.”

“It’s The Horde,” Faith responded. “We’re not the best fighters by ourselves, but we can fight beyond our weight class with them.”

”It’s usually the best we can do. We aren’t supposed to be fighters, on a good day. We’ve always had a rule against fighting, and getting ourselves wrapped up in St. Portwell’s politics,” Rohan added. ”We shouldn’t ever need to worry about being spread too thin, though.”

“We’re not all fighters, but a lot of us are willing to fight to protect our city, and everyone in it,” Jordan chimed in.

“Okay ‘Hulk’,” Lori finally chimed in. She was wearing the long skirt, tube top combo as she always did. She had her headphones on and her violin at the ready.

“Isn’t he more of a Jekyll and Hyde?” Zeri chimed in.

“The point is he’s a fighter, he can take the hits and dish them right back out,” Lori responded quickly, “if someone tries to get to me I have to hope that I can enthrall them them!”

“I mean, fair and valid,” Zeri responded, “I’m not much use in a fight either.”

“Don’t worry,” Jason said with a grin, “I can protect you all.”

Aaron swapped to Aryin and stuck their tounge out, and flashed a peace sign to the room, ”As long as I’m around I’ll keep the back line clear,” they paused as they leaned against the wall.

“My apparitions draw enough attention, anyway,” Rien said, waving a hand in front of their face. “Some of them, at least…”

“Aryin, or Aaron,” Faith said as she pointed their shapeshifter to Ruby, “a fucking tank in one form, and destructive force in the other. They may try to spar with your strongest fighter. Feel free to ignore them if they do.”

James’s axe crackled with electricity, as he threw it over his shoulder - then he cracked a grin. “... They can come at me any time!” James laughed. “Just don’t get mad when yo’ hair gets a lil’ frizzy!”

“This is James, a lot of ya’ll probably remember him from the fight against the Nazis,” Ruby gestured towards him. “He’s the current wielder of Shango’s axe… and he killed Kaiser Draeger.”

“Wish I could do it again!” James laughed before he turned to Ruby and gave her a flat look. “... What do you mean ‘current’?”

Ruby grinned, “You’re not taking my Axe back to Atlanta, James.”

“You seem like you might leave a scratch,” Aryin teased back, “if you’re lucky.”

“My money is on Thor,” Lori said as she pointed with her bow.

“Naw, naw, naw,” James laughed, as he raised a hand in the air and it exploded like a torch. “Thor can’t do this.”

“Ehhh, Aryin can tank hits, even from George,” Jason said as he rubbed his chin, “you think he’s stronger than George?”

“More versatile for sure, I saw what he could do against the Nazis,” Jordan said with a grin, almost relishing the memories of what befell those dicks when James got to them, “Aryin is a smart fighter, they’d make it close.”

“Why don’t they have a friendly match now?” Rien suggested.

”We’re busy right now, Rien.”

“Spoilsport,” Rien muttered under their breath.

“After the meeting then,” Aryin said as they winked at James, ”Find us a nice quiet spot and have a friendly little spar. I’d like to see the capabilities of my new found friends!”

“You know where to find me!” James grinned, and Naomi rolled her eyes.

“Next up, is Naomi, his girlfriend,” Ruby explained. “She, like James, joined right before the fight against Das Sonnenrad and I can’t thank her enough for powering through it all. Things got tough.”

“You know, I can’t run away from some skinheads!” Naomi laughed.

Rohan and Juno exchanged a silent look. Phrasing.

“She’s the current wielder of Anansi's Gift,” Ruby said.

Naomi cupped her hands together, and crawled her arm into her hands was a small, spider Apparition.

“You’ve already met Summer, Jason, Jordan, and Alex,” Faith paused as she pointed out those who were there this morning or fought against the Nazis, “that is Thomas, he has telekinetic powers, Zeri who is our resident spy, Lori who wields the Maestros bow.”

“I can play you a tune and make you do what I command,” Lori said with a wave.

“Like a Jedi,” Thomas said as he took a big sip of his tea and held it up to James.

“If there’s something behind a wall, or by my camera, I can see it all,” Zeri said with a wave.

“Now,” Faith said as she took a step forward, “I know you are busy with your lives. If you want to stick around and meet each other, feel free to utilize our facilities and eat good food. If you want to get to your night of partying feel free to leave whenever. Ruby, we can continue our earlier discussion if you’d be open to it, otherwise I’m sure we can make time!”

“Orrrrrr,” Jason interrupted, “we can have Greenwood show us the ropes. Maybe do some limit testing.”

“If we’re going to fight side by side I’d love to know just how strong you all are,” Aryin said as she had her eyes fixated on Jessica’s muscles.

Jessica put her hands behind her head with her arms up, grinning.
Ruby also grinned as she took a few steps forward.

“... Ya’ll got somewhere private? I mean real private,” Ruby began. “This might get a lil’ noisy…”

“Abandoned farmhouse about ten miles outside town, no neighbors for miles and the land is barren this time of year,” Alex paused as they began to draw on the empty wall behind faith.

“When did we get that,” Jordan responded back with a bemused look.

“I got it last year,” Sypha responded as they entered the room, “It’s a place we acquired as a part of our investment portfolio. We grabbed it to prevent a developer from doing it, we have some plans for it but,” Sypha paused as they tilted their head, “it’ll work for this.”

”I guess it won’t be standing, after you’re all done.”

Ruby grinned.

“... Then let’s get to work my lovelies.”