Tagress Hospital: Recovery Ward

"Muh?" Lisette said, blinking at the direction the voice came from. Scrambling back onto the bed, she leaned forward and pulled the privacy curtain to the side in one swift movement.

"Marcus! I didn't know you were here!" she said, gathering her hair into her hands and pulling at the ends. She hadn't recalled seeing him in quite a while. "I didn't hear anything..."

Kapi's feet pitter-pattered on the tiles as he made his way over to the door. He couldn't get out, but he certainly did hear the commotion outside, with loud footsteps drawing nearer.

---

Tagress Hospital: Roof

Don's thoughts were interrupted with the closing of the roof's heavy door.

"Well there you are. Don't you think it's time you returned to your room? You're still injured, you know."

Don Capuello appeared to be focused on his cigarette, but he winced very noticeably at the word 'injured'.

Selan took a few steps toward Don, but remained far enough away to give the man some space. She turned her head to look up at whatever he was staring intently at, but only saw clouds, benign leftovers of the passing storm. It was a very surreal feeling, to be so high up without having to worry about the building suddenly crumbling beneath her feet.

Don blew out a thin stream of smoke that curled up into the air.

"You seem to get this way every so often..." she said, softening her voice slightly.

Tagress: Hospital: Corridor

Trixie shrieked when Tiberius swooped her up from behind, and shrieked again as Moira flew by on her wheelchair. Despite the heap they all resulted in, she was at least grateful that Boss hadn't broken any bones or something! At least nothing she was aware of. No searing shots of pain and cries in agony here.

With her captor knocked over, she knew now was the time to make a break for it. She squirmed and squirmed, flailing as she ran - or not. Flicking her eyes back open revealed that she was still trapped in the Wolf's clutches. Great. Her entire body dropped limp in a sigh that was all too big for her size.

Does she give up and give in? Or does she rebel and go villain...? Well, not that she had the option to do the latter, so contemplating it was moot at this point. Instead she craned her neck just a tad to catch Lucien in her peripherals. Amy had always told her it was all fun and games until somebody... something. "Sorry, Lucy..."

In the meantime...



Amy let out a deep, deep breath. If she were reading a book, she would have closed it then. Though the other guilders were far, the commotion was still grand enough to be heard throughout the entire floor - if not the entire hospital, she thought. Oh, if only she had been fully conscious those last three days to enjoy the silence, and especially the time away from her younger companion for once. She wouldn't admit to enjoying the company of everyone in the Pride, something she had all the time in that morning, but there were still times...

"Damn it."

Tagress: Hospital: Stairs

It was without warning Moira suddenly found her body lurched uncomfortably, her body rising, rising up into the air, lifted on top of Tiberius’ shoulder, and suddenly, unceremoniously, carried towards the Pride’s room in the Hospital’s Recovery Wing. Her face was lit a bright crimson shade, as sudden expletives rounded out the rest of the building’s sound. Trixie and Lucien continued to be awkwardly carried in the man’s giant, inescapable grip, with the arm carrying Lucien cradling Moira’s body and similarly making it impossible for her to escape (Lucien’s body was thrown rather awkwardly when his arm was lifted).

“Honestly… to think that you people managed to prevent Abraxis from being summoned… unbelievable…”

---

A loud crash echoed throughout the hospital as Moira, Trixie and Lucien were dropped in the centre of the room’s floor. Marcus and Lisette blinked in silent incredulity as they saw Tiberius enter, with Syed sheepishly accompany him at the side, his index fingers poking one another like a child who’d just been caught stealing cookies from the jar. Moira continued to rant, rave and swear, as Trixie and Lucien just groaned. Nikki lazily awoke from her slumber.

“Hnn…” Tiberius frowned, looking across the room, and noticing all of the empty beds and missing Guilders. A heavy sigh left Tiberius’ mighty chest. “Oh well, you can tell your friends later, I’m not repeating myself.”

“Tell our friends?” Marcus blinked, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose and, upon placing a bookmark in his book, closed it shut and left it to the desk on his side. “Mr. Rex, how can we help?”

“I just have some news I wanted to relay to you…” Tiberius scratched the back of his neck and yawned. “Plus I wanted to congratulate you all on a job well done. Well… most of you.”

An icy glare was shot towards Moira.

“Mr. Rex?”



Estelle’s head now poked out of the curtain underneath Lisette’s, her eyes going wide once she saw Tiberius.

“TIBERIUS!!” Estelle shouted, dashing out of the partitioned bedroom (and almost tripping over the curtain in the meantime), running straight towards the Guild Leader… and then launching herself in the air and into his arms, her hands stretched around his bulky neck and hugging him tightly. “IT’S BEEN SO LONG!!”

“…hey Estelle…” Tiberius grew bashful.

---

Tagress: Hospital: Rooftops

“Oh, hey Selan…” Don nonchalantly murmured, his cigarette still drooped to one side, its smoke lazily wafting into the air.

"Well there you are. Don't you think it's time you returned to your room? You're still injured, you know."

Don winced at the mention of injured, his mind instantly racing back to then. The sensation of her neck gripped in his hands, squeezing. The rebound of his bat colliding with Selan’s shoulder jolting back into his arm. His eyes briefly flicked to her, to her bodies and the injuries he had given her, and he looked away, tightly shutting his eyes to silence the memories, to little avail.

"You seem to get this way every so often..." Selan said softly.

“…’this way’?” Don replied out of confusion. What way? “They said I’m not allowed to smoke in our room, so I had to go outside.”

“That’s not what I meant…” Selan sighed.

Don frowned again, not understanding. He knew he was a dunce, and very slow on the uptake to a lot of things, but this in particular really stumped him. His memories drifted back to something he was told, once upon a many moon ago by one of his bros; Clive.

‘Women are a mystery, big bro!’

They sure are, Clive. They sure are.

Don took another slow drag of his cigarette, blowing rings into the air. The silence in the air was nauseating. What could he do to break it? What should he do, if he should do anything at all? He came up to the roof to be away from Selan, unable to look her in the eye without feeling terrifically guilty. He had hurt her, and nothing could change that. Nothing could change the fact he was exactly like his father. If his body didn’t ache so much, he’d have probably ran away the moment Selan spoke and vaulted over the side of the roof barrier just to get away. Oh, but he’d probably die if he did that.

What should he do?

---

Tagress: Hospital: Recovery Ward: Private Room

Tap tap tap

What?

Tap tap tap

Amy’s eyes slowly opened, her gaze automatically turning to the window, where a very annoying tapping started to repeat. Her face screwed up tight… and then suddenly the window was shunted open!



And in flopped a young man in a hospital gown, his messy blonde hair adorned with a dirty beanie. Picking himself up off the floor, Trent’s eyes continued to scan each and every new room for any sign of the Head Nurse. She may have grabbed Dylan and dragged him away, but that was of course no guarantee. He was sure he had given her the slip so many times to no avail, that it couldn’t help just to be careful.

“What are you doing?” Amy’s biting words startled his heart, and he collapsed on his behind.

“Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah- oh hey it’s you.” Trent quickly recovered, his mouth clapping shut. “You’re what’s-her-name. The brat’s mother.”

Amy’s eyes flared up.

“I am NOT her mother.”

“Aunt?”

“I am NOT her aunt.”

“Cousin?”

“I am NOT her cousin.”

“…grandmother?”

“I AM NOT HER GRANDMOTHER.”

“Nothing wrong with being a grandma, y’know. Cripes, I don’t fucking know then! Her fairy godmother?!”

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN HERE, YOU LITTLE FUCKING TWERP.” Amy’s voice stabbed through Trent’s heart, and panic began to quickly mount in his face. He raised his finger, urging Amy to shush.

“Shh, shh, do you want to wake everyone up?!” Trent’s eyes shiftily turned side to side. “Look, sorry. You’re actually pretty cool, you know. You helped heal me, right? Thank you. I like you.”

Amy was actually a little taken aback at first by the sincerity of Trent’s thanks. Certainly something she didn’t expect, and at first she wondered if he was being sarcastic, or facetious. But looking at his face… he seemed to genuinely mean it. He just had one of those gods annoying act-before-thinking personalities that seemed to be rife lately.

“Trent… why the hell are you here?”

“I’m running away from a gorilla…” Trent started to reply, having crossed the room and starting to peek through the door. “This nurse wants to give me a shot in the butt! Can you believe it?! I… oh crap, she’s heading straight this way! Help me!!”

Beofre Amy could react, Trent was already running. And the door slammed open, the Head Nurse peeking inside with Dylan still trapped in her clutches. Her terrifying visage scoured the room for the source of the peculiar shouting she had heard, before settling on Amy. And then her face turned innocent sweet.

“Is everything all right in here, miss?”

Trent was currently hiding in Amy’s bed, his arms and body gripped as tightly to her body as possible to make himself appear small and inconspicuous from the outside. He didn’t want a butt shot. He didn’t, he didn’t, he didn’t!!

Tagress Hospital: Recovery Ward
“TIBERIUS!! IT’S BEEN SO LONG!!”

“…hey Estelle…”

Well, she certainly still had a lot of beans in her, despite her somewhat alarming appearance. She looked like... a mummy or something! So, did Estelle and Tiberius not see each other before she left for Vandrell?

Moira gave up her ranting and raving, settling instead on brushing herself off and pretending to appear as nonchalant as possible. Which was a little harder than it looked, what with the fall down the stairs aggrovating her arm. Still, she wasn't exactly suprised to see Estelle on such friendly terms with him. Especially not with Tiberius' words back when he was giving them that lecture. She guessed they all must have stayed in touch with one another when Rachel had Estelle. So... how many other Guilders did she know? Popular girl.

Syed watched them both, a small smile creeping onto his face. He had asked Moira of course about this history the lot of them seemed to share, but the berserker was fustratingly vague to the point he may as well had not bothered asking. He could sort of connect the dots and guess a little...

Still it was good to see Estelle more like her original self. That was probably the best thing he had seen in a while. Probably wasn't the best idea for her to be leaping about though, what with the state she was in. "Hey hey Estelle, be careful!", he called worriedly.

He then tried and failed to suppress another yawn, so he turned and walked to his own bed. Moira wasn't budging though, so he had to settle for perching gingerly on the end of it rather than properly resting. Still feeling guilty for the incident moments ago, he chose instead to remain quiet and wait for whatever this news was. He couldn't hide the curious, somewhat nervous expression on his face though.

Tagress Hospital: Recovery Ward

Upon Tiberius's arrival, Lisette quickly scooted herself back to sit up in bed, covering her lower body with her blanket.

Kapi was all too happy to see Syed, and skittered over to the foot of his bed to greet him.

Lisette tittered as Estelle launched herself at Tiberius, wondering if rookie guilders like them were even "allowed" to do such a thing. "Hello, Mister Rex... Um, it's good news, right?"

What could the news be? Maybe a lead on where they had to go next! Hopefully it'd be somewhere nicer and less-dangerous... After spending a few days in bed, she couldn't wait to get back into her Guilder clothes.

Although, speaking of clothes... Lisette wondered if her gear had even been recovered. She was wearing her dinner dress for the duration of the battle. It was replaceable, sure, but she stupidly broke and lost her staff, she really would rather not lose any more of the things her father had given her.

---

Tagress Hospital: Roof

Selan noticed right away that Don was refusing to look at her, a telltale sign that something was wrong. And if that wasn't enough, the tone of his voice indicated that he wasn't feeling up to a conversation with her, or maybe he just wasn't listening to her at all. A feeling of guilt welled up in her chest. Once again, her presence had made Don feel some kind of pain, she was sure of it. Just like in Tabul, their chance meeting had burdened Don in some way. They, she, had unintentionally turned Don against his own father. And back in the manor, her finding him essentially resulted in the bandages wrapped around her neck. It wasn't as though she was too happy about having to retaliate against him just to save her own life.

But both times... If things hadn't gone the way they had, they might not be standing together right now, on this roof, gazing at a peaceful sky.

Selan was having trouble finding what to say. When it came to Don Capuello, things always seemed to get so... complicated. Besides, he didn't seem to be in the talking mood anyhow. Turning to leave, she said gently, "I hope you know, you can always talk to me. I get worried nowadays that you're all going to take off on your own, one by one."

She began to walk away, but something made her stop. "And... I don't blame you, Don. Some wounds never heal, but this... This isn't one of them."

With that, she hugged her arms and left, feeling a little worse than she did before.

Easily, Tiberius lifted them by the collars of their hospital gowns. It was over and Lucien knew it, so he surrendered and allowed the guild leader to drag him along. It wasn't so bad and at least they weren't being lectured or anything like that. It was peaceful, well, until the yelling. Lucien perked up looking right and left, had the mummy revealed itself? Perhaps it was as horrific as he had hoped and the thought alone brought a wicked grin to his face. However, it wasn't a mummy and instead a wheelchair zipped towards them at breakneck speed...

Lucien let out a groan, his cheek pressed onto the cool tiled floor. Slowly, he propped himself onto his elbows and noticed both Moira and Syed on the floor as well. "Oh, hey guys, funny running into you like this, yeah?" Grinning, he pushed himself to his feet and attempted to walk off, but he couldn't. Tiberius' grip was just as strong as ever. A familiar voice reached him and he turned to see Dylan being dragged off by a nurse. He gave his friend two thumbs up, and let out a low wolf whistle, snickering when he had finished. This day was definitely an interesting one. Well, almost every day with the pride was an interesting one.

"Sorry, Lucy..."

"Mhm? This is actually pretty funny." He grinned brightly at Trixie, this time giving her two thumbs up. Having her for a partner in crime was pretty fun. Tiberius lifted Moira off the floor and Lucien nearly fell over, he flailed but managed to keep his balance since he was still in the guild leader's grip.

“Honestly… to think that you people managed to prevent Abraxis from being summoned… unbelievable…”

Lucien chuckled, grinning at both Trixie and Moira. "What can we say? We're awesome, aren't wah!" Before he could finish his question he was dropped onto the floor with Moira and Trixie. He remained curled up on the ground for a bit before getting to his feet, and giving the others a wave...was that a mummy? Wait, wasn't that Estelle. He let out a defeated sigh upon realizing she was the mummy all along and puffed out his cheeks, so much for a great discovery. He folded his arms across his chest and mumbled. "Nice to see everyone."

Amy watched as the head nurse burst open her door, the cleric's own visage lit with silent but fiery fury. When the nurse's mood softened in a snap, Amy's own did not. She was asked then if everything was all right, but did not return an answer right away. Trent's heart raced rapidly at the drawn out pause, threatening to burst straight out of him - shit, she was gonna rat him out...!

The head nurse lifted a curious brow.

Amy let out a loud, exasperated sigh, resembling the very same one Trixie let out upon realizing Tiberius' clutch on her was unbreakable.

"I'm fine, yes, thank you." The cleric was close, so close to shooing her away with the flick of her wrist and telling her to get lost, but if Trent's story and Dylan's apparent situation were as true as they seemed, she wouldn't dare backsass the gorilla responsible. At least not any further than a simple request. "I would be better if people were to stop breaking into my room so I could rest for once..."

---

Tagress: Hospital - Recovery Ward

Trixie only blinked to herself, tilting her head as Estelle lunged out of nowhere into Tiberius' arms. Ah, the mummy lunge-and-kill technique! And she was gonna attack Mister Rex with it! The prankster nearly bounced to her feet at the very sight - she would have shrieked and pointed then and there - but everyone else seemed to be so... so calm. Even Lucy, who was supposed to help her scare the mummy away.

She blinked again. Oh, is that - is that red hair underneath the—"...hey Estelle..."—oh, that is red hair. Oh.

Trixie shifted her body uncomfortably on the floor. This must be one of those awkward feels, huh.

Tagress: Hospital: Recovery Ward

"Hello, Mister Rex... Um, it's good news, right?"

Estelle’s head tilted backwards until she was able to see Lisette, upside down, Tiberius’ own head slowly popping into view. He gradually eased Estelle’s grip of him loose, settling her back down gradually onto the floor. The rest of the Pride; Syed, Moira, Trixie and Lucien, began to occupy spaces on their beds.

“Hello there, Miss Marchand. There’s some good news, and some bad news.” Tiberius replied, scratching his chin. “Not sure where exactly to start, but… I’ll just report everything we’ve managed to find.”

“First of all, you guys weren’t the only ones at the Manor. When we arrived, there were a number of confused people outside showing signs of petrification recovery. From what we can gather, they had been turned into statues by one of the Family members you fought against. They’re all recovering though, and should be absolutely fine soon. There are some problems, however… some of them are a bit lost, and in a state of shock. Several of them had been statues for years, so recovery is going to be a bit slow…”

Tiberius’ sombre expression then shifted, cracking a smile.

“But recover they will. And speaking of recovery, we managed to find all of your gear, stored in a couple of crates. We’ve got them all in storage at the Guild for when you guys are discharged.”

“Ooh, goodie!” Lisette’s face chirped up, her hands clapping together with a bright smile.

“Oh joy, all of Sy’s boring shit he keeps carrying is safe too then.” Moira yawned, lying on the bed with her head supported up by her arm. The lack of interest lying in her face was palpable.

“As for the matter of the Family… Lucifer’s been apprehended and taken into Empire custody. The man managed to survive. His body is quite extraordinary… when we arrived, his wounds had healed over. However, he’s still without his arms. I would think the Empire will have him sentenced to Zatvor. That’s where most of the major criminals go. He shouldn’t be a threat anymore.”

“However… other then the remains of an old man, and two… unusual machines, we weren’t able to locate any of the other individuals you said you all fought.”

“What?” The Pride’s faces all looked up in surprise, and mild worry. Drusilla, Megaera, Jack, Valentine and the two children Damian and Alice… were all missing?

“What about Billy?” Estelle asked, and Tiberius’ face turned blank.

“…Billy?”

“There was a prisoner with us called Billy. We rescued him when we were getting out and… he actually helped us a lot. I was just wondering if he was okay?” Estelle bit her lower lip.

“I don’t recall anyone by the name of Billy…?”

“He was a bald git.” Moira kindly explained.

“Oh… no, there were no bald people.” Tiberius frowned and shrugged. The Pride looked to each other, worry etched on their faces.

“I hope he’s okay…” Estelle trailed off.

“Now… the main bad news and good news. What would you like to hear first?” Tiberius edged himself onto a seat.

Eyes darted towards one another, before Syed then spoke up. “There’s more bad news… um, let’s hear all of it then? The bad news?”

“Gosh you’re always so pessimistic!” Moira groaned.

“No I only want to save the good news for last!” Syed insisted.

“Bad news then. Okay… well…” Tiberius turned to look to Marcus. “You know how I told you that Rize and Kara headed to Vandrell after passing here? Well… that was a lie.”

Silence… and then frenetic screaming. “Whaaaaaaaaat?”

“Yeah… well. Let me explain…” Tiberius motioned his hand down and down, urging his charges to calm down. “It’s no secret that I saw the troubles you were all going through as a group. So… I sent you to Vandrell. We’ve heard a lot of reports of strange behaviour coming from there, and I thought that the Hawthorne Family was pretty suspicious. I hoped by sending you all there, you could help discover what was going on, solve any problems there and… help recover as a group. Which, thankfully, seems to have been the case. Even so…”

Tiberius suddenly sunk to his knees, bringing his large, massive frame low in front of everyone else. Kneeling in front of them, bowing his head down low, for forgiveness.

“I never anticipated, or wished for things to have been as dangerous as they were. The Family’s plans, and Abraxis… I put you all through so much danger and hardship. So many injuries… all of that is my fault. I’m sorry.”

The Pride were left completely bewildered and speechless. The image of a Guild Leader bowing in front of them and apologising was just… unbelievable.

“Hey, hey, Tiberius, it’s okay…” Estelle laughing, waving him to stand back up, feeling uncomfortable. “We got through it, and everything’s okay…”

“Yeah, that’s right!” Lisette chirped in. “Because we were together!”

“And we kicked butt!” Trixie snickered.

“Yup yup, we’re pretty awesome.” Lucien grinned with a hearty thumbsup.

“No, shut up you guys. I want to savour this.” Moira scowled, pleased with the sudden turn of events. Getting one up over Tiberius, even for a fleeting moment like this… the feeling was transcendent. “No forget your sword was broken Estelle, and it wouldn’t have been if it wasn’t for this ahole!”

“Oh… yeah. My sword.” Estelle’s shoulders and smile dropped. “…Mum is going to beat the crap out of me for it… I… wait! Wait, Moira’s right! It’s all your fault, Tiberius!” Estelle’s cheer was brought back. “I’ll explain why it broke and everything that happened and-”

“No no no you can’t do that!” Tiberius’ hands waved frantically in front of him. “Do that and your mum won’t just kill me! She’ll torture, maim and brutalise me for years before finally killing me! Please, give me mercy!”

“Hahaha~!”

“Hnn…” Tiberius scratched the back of his neck, before folding his heavy, muscular arms over his chest. “I came to make things right… look. I do know where Rize and Kara went, and I intend to tell you all too. That is, after your injuries have healed and you’re well enough to leave the hospital. I’m not taking any chances with you all trying to escape… The doctors’ said three weeks, so then I’ll tell you. Also… for those of you who wish them, I’ll supply you with new weapons. Swordwise, I don’t have anything nearly as good as Rachael’s creations, but it should do, and I think you’ll like it, until you can get a proper replacement. I think you might also like a better bow, Miss Marchand? I can do that for you and your friends. And you, Mr… Maddox, was it? You’re a summoner, right? I’ve managed to acquire a couple of summoning cards in my time… would suck to part with them considering how rare they are, but I think it’s going to a good cause…”

The three Guilders’ eyes all lit up together.

“Oh, I have one more bit of news… and the main thing I wanted to tell you all, actually. I think you’ll like this one.” A wide grin formed. “Check your Guilder IDs…”

Puzzled, one by one, each of the assembled Guilders took out their IDs… and shrieked upon noticing what Tiberius was referring to.

“Rank… rank… rank…!” Estelle almost looked to be having a panic attack. “I’m rank F!!!!”

“So am I…” Marcus laughed.

“All of you ranked up.” Tiberius laughed. “You managed to prevent the resurrection of a dark God. I think you deserve it, don’t you? Congratulations.”

“AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!”



The cat on Marcus’ lap slowly stirred and woke up, stretching her paws out lazily before then reforming into her more human form. Nikki rubbed her eye, sleepily looking out towards everyone. “What’s with all the noise…? What’s going on…?”

“Ahhh! Cat! Bad kitty! Get off Marcus’ lap!!” Estelle jumped off her bed in a panic.

Tagress: Hospital

"I would be better if people were to stop breaking into my room so I could rest for once..."

The Head Nurse gave Amy an indulgent smile - apparently the bossy cleric had been a wonderful patient as soon as she had received her private room. “In that case I’ll leave you to your rest. A nurse should be by with lunch later.” Tightening her grip on Dylan, she pulled the boy away as she closed the door. “But you still need your medicine, naughty boy.”

Dylan whimpered but offered no further resistance. Weak as he still was there was no way he could break free from her grasp, so he followed her meekly as she dragged him back to the ward. It appeared Tiberius was still there, and everyone seemed to be celebrating some good news - except for Estelle, who was chasing Nikki off of Marcus’ lap.

What was going on here?

“Coming through!” the Head Nurse barked as she pushed through the crowd of people to Dylan’s empty bed. “This patient needs his medicine.”

“No I don’t!” he shouted as he squirmed. “Guys, she’s gonna give me a shot in the ass! One that I don’t even need! Please, Mr Rex, help me! This is a hospital not a torture house!”

Tagress: Hospital: Recovery Ward

“Medicine? Shot in the ass?” Tiberius and the rest of the Pride watched with incredulation as Dylan was roughly dragged into the room by the Hospital’s incredibly muscular head nurse, thrown on top of his bed and held down with one hand as the woman’s other reached for, and pulled out, a very, very large needle and syringe.

“You have my sympathies, Mr. Sanders, but I trust the doctors and nurses here to know what they are doing, so…”





“Oh, man, that looks like it really sucks.” Estelle commented, her body momentarily frozen with her hands in the midst of struggling with Nikki at the end of Marcus’ bed, her hands pulling at her arms and mouth, trying to get the nekomimi off. Nikki mumbled in agreement, and then the Head Nurse turned to them.

“!! What are you all doing out of bed?!” The Head Nurse’s voice bellowed throughout the recovery ward. “Do you want a shot as well?!”

“Eep!! No, no!!” Estelle frantically let go of Nikki and rushed to her bed. At the same time, Nikki leapt off Marcus’ and ran to her own bed… even though Nikki suffered no major injuries in the fight with the Family whatsoever.

Tiberius threw his head back and laughed.

“Actually, miss, I think Mr. Sanders there doesn’t need a shot.” Tiberius finally tried to help. “I’m guessing that might be a sedative, to help relax the patient?”

The Head Nurse turned towards Tiberius… and a flash of red overcame her cheeks at the site of the man. “Why, yes, Mr. Rex, sir, it is. This patient here was being a troublesome young man, and had the nerve to make me trip and fall over! He should be in bed resting, not playing wild pranks!”

“Hmm, you’re right. But I think Mr. Sanders has learnt his lesson, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Yes!” Dylan screamed back. “Oh Aislin yes!”

“There is one patient who could probably do with a sedative, however. They’ve been causing nothing but trouble all morning… stealing hospital equipment and running amok…”

“WHAT?” The Head Nurse’s eyes flashed gold, her head twisting to overlook the Pride. Estelle, Trixie and Lucien all gulped, hiding under their sheets.

“Moira, I think it’s time you learnt some control, right…? Hahaha…” Tiberius laughed.

Tagress Hospital: Recovery Ward
Ranked up? They all ranked up?! Syed was still numbed by everything else, so it didn't quite sink in. The thought that nearly all of the Hawthorne family escaped. The thought that Tiberius had actually set them up, and then practically grovelled for their forgiveness. The fact that apparently they had to stay here for three weeks. No, no he couldn't be here that long! He hated hospitals! He had spent long enough in them to last a lifetime as far as he was concerned. The tedium, the horrible painful procedures... no. No the sooner he got out of here the better.

But rank... F? He still wasn't used to being rank G! He looked up from his ID, glancing around to all the others and their various reactions.

Moira just stared at her ID, her hands shaking. Wait no. No there had to be a mistake, right? There... no...

She couldn't be... she had been rank H for so long! She...

She was so taken aback by the strange, foreign letter on her ID that she was completely oblivious to the commotion going on around them. Not even when the head nurse shouted at them all to get back to bed, causing her partner to get up off the floor (as he had sat there so he didn't need to bend over to pet Kapi) and scramble back to his bed. It wasn't until she heard a loud, booming laugh that she was thrown out of her faltering thoughts.

Oh, Dylan was here. Geez, he really had taken a tour huh. Still, the nurse was going to give his ass shot here?! In front of everyone? Moira snorted. Come on Dylan, man up.

But then...

“Moira, I think it’s time you learnt some control, right…? Hahaha…” Tiberius laughed.

"Wait WHAT?!" she screached. "Maybe NO?!" She stepped backwards a couple of steps. "You fuckin snitch!" Tiberius' laughter grew louder. "I fuckin... I didn't break it or anythin'! I only threw it down the stairs!"

The nurse released Dylan and began to stride towards Moira. "You did what?"

Syed's widened eyes flicked between the two. On the one hand, this head nurse was terrifying. But on the other however... "Hey, isn't sedating people kind of... extreme?"

The nurse shot him a look, and Syed very visibly shrank back again. He wasn't bothered by needles, but he sure was bothered by her.

"YEAH IT IS!" Moira pointed her finger towards the head nurse. "What are you, like some... what's the word... someone who bosses everyone around...?"

"Uh..."

Moira suddenly stood up straight again, brushing herself off. "Not that I'm bothered or anything," she said, checking her nails. "Nope. What's a little needle?"

Then without warning, she turned tail and tried to sprint out of the room again. She managed to get as far as to drag Syed off his bed (causing him to give out a shout of pain when he landed painfully on his back), but was stopped by Tiberius before she got there.

"Get back to your bed, Moira."

"FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF-!"

He had gone up in rank and he'd be getting new summoning cards to boot!

Lucien stared blankly before giving himself a pinch on the cheek. The bad news went in one ear and out the other and he grinned broadly like a Cheshire cat. This was great, so great that he found himself just smiling and at a loss for words. He pulled out his ID and laughed, only stopping when Dylan was dragged into the room by the same nurse who had dragged him across the hall. Lucien gave his friend a wave, not sensing the danger of a shot. It couldn't be that bad, right?

“Guys, she’s gonna give me a shot in the ass! One that I don’t even need! Please, Mr Rex, help me! This is a hospital not a torture house!”

Wait...what? The summoner nearly choked. That sounded horrifying but if it was for the greater good. "Don't worry Dylan! You'll be better afterwards." The summoner cheered before giving his friend what looked like a sympathetic glance, though to be honest Lucien was trying hard not to break into a fit of laughter. Tiberius bailed Dylan out and ratted on Moira, causing the nurse to turn angrily towards them. It sent shivers up his spine and like the others he bolted back towards his own bed. "Good luck, boss!" He yelled before diving beneath the covers.

If anyone could handle the scary nurse it had to be Moira! He peered at them from beneath the covers only to watch as Moira and Syed vanished out the door. Who knew staying in a hospital could be an adventure. It definitely wasn't boring, that was for sure.

Tagress: Hospital: Recovery Ward

“Actually, miss, I think Mr. Sanders there doesn’t need a shot.” Tiberius finally tried to help. “I’m guessing that might be a sedative, to help relax the patient?”

What was this, someone was finally helping him? He beamed at Tiberius, praying fervently to Aislin that he could reach this mad nurse. She seemed hesitant, laying on this story that he was much more disruptive than he had actually been! Really, before Trent had come along he had been downright peaceful, merely sketching in silence.

“Hmm, you’re right. But I think Mr. Sanders has learnt his lesson, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Yes!” Dylan screamed back. “Oh Aislin yes!”

Soon enough he was free as Tiberius now turned the Nurse’s attention to Moira. He felt bad for the woman, but now he knew how Trent felt. To have barely escaped such a harrowing fate! Lying back on his bed, he suddenly realized something.

In the whole scuffle to get here he had dropped his sketchpad. “I must go back outside!” He cried out, only to receive a glare from the Head Nurse. “I...dropped something...” he muttered softly. Though the bulk on her attention might be on Moira, now stopped by Tiberius, he could tell that she was still quite angry at him.

“I’ll be over here,” he said quietly.

And he could not wait till they got out of this wretched hospital.

Tagress: Hospital: Amy’s Room

Trent could not believe his ears. He had held in his breath for so long, his heart racing like mad as he hid from the sinister eyes of the evil Head Nurse, doing his absolute best to stay far, far away from her… but even then he could not believe his ears. The blonde woman whose bed he was hiding in, the companion of that annoying little kid… had saved his life. He had been spared!

“Thank you!!” Trent suddenly gripped Amy and squeezed the unexpecting blonde into a tight embrace. “You saved my life! Y’know… you’re not bad… grandma.”

Trent had meant this last word affectionately, in the same way he would call Selan it. Whether or not Amy would take it quite so affectionately, however…

---

Tagress: Hospital: Recovery Ward

“What’s… going on?”

Celeste and Julius appeared at the doorway to the room, the pair of them amazed at the unbelievable scene of Moira wrestling with Tiberius and the hospital’s head nurse, the latter holding a deadly syringe aimed towards her rear. The pair had just came back from a nice lunch at the cafeteria, wanting to rest and recover some more… to something hopefully quiet and peaceful, and this was something they hadn’t expected.

Julius said nothing, instead shaking his head and leaving for his own curtained portioned bed. He didn’t have the first idea how to get involved here.

And then… suddenly…

“My babies!!”

The door slammed open.

“Aww, you all have such big boo-boos!!” In limped a woman on the verge of tears, pacing back and forth to each of the Guilders, checking their various injuries. “Lucy! Julie! Marcey! Diane! All of you!”



Elaine gripped her heart. “I heard all about your frightening battle…! And how you all won and kicked butt but got so hurt! Omigosh!” Elaine then started to roll up one of her sleeves, projecting a new confident determination. “I heard all about the Pride’s problem, Mr. Rex, sir! Never fear, Elaine Wyfoot will look after them and make sure none of them get into trouble!!”

Her broken leg was still stuck in a cast.

Tagress Hospital: Recovery Ward
Moira tried her hardest to shake Tiberius and the nurse off, and were they anyone else she probably would have managed it. Hell, if it were the nurse on their own she probably would have managed it. But Tiberius was that much stronger than her, and his presence meant she couldn't exactly defend herself properly from the nurse either way. As satisfying as seeing the woman go flying through a window would be. Running was the only solution, and these arseholes...!

She could swear that needle was more of a straw though. How huge was it?! It looked like it could probably go right through her!

She snarled, her eyes casting to all the others. Some staring, some avoiding looking at her, some outright hiding under the sheets. Cowards! The lot of them!

“My babies!!”

"Oh, hi Elaine," Syed said perhaps a little too cheerfully for the chaos going on, gingerly easing himself back up.

Wait what?! Oh no. Oh god no. The last thing she wanted was to have her talking to them all like children on top of everything. Moira stopped struggling for just a split second with suprise...

Then felt a horrible stabbing pain in her rear.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

She resumed her struggling with renewed vigor, although after about a minute she started to feel a bit... light headed. "Fuckin hell..." she murmured, staggering slightly. She forgot how wierd being sedated felt like - kind of like being drunk but without all the things which make being drunk pleasant. So generally pretty unpleasant all round.

“I heard all about the Pride’s problem, Mr. Rex, sir! Never fear, Elaine Wyfoot will look after them and make sure none of them get into trouble!!”

"Haha... ha..." Syed was smiling, although the look on his face betrayed his nerves. Truth be told, Elaine seemed to be a very full-on type of person, so he hoped they'd all still get along after being trapped here for weeks. Broken leg or no, he was sure she was probably not someone to cross. "But Elaine, shouldn't you be resting too?"

Tagress: Hospital - Amy’s Room

She wasn't dense. She could sense the sincerity in his heartfelt thank-you, but reeled back once his embrace loosened. Being particularly disposed to hiding her emotions, Amy never showed it much, but the gratitude she was shown from time to time for her help still awed her. Especially from loud personalities - especially from dumb boys like Trent. It was as if he broke her illusion of their inability to show gratitude.

Although, what a peculiar word choice for someone who practically saved his dignity. If that word stuck with her - or worse yet, if Trixie were to start using it...!

A streak of red crossed Amy's cheeks. "Just get the fuck out of my room already!"

---

Tagress: Hospital - Recovery Ward

Trixie couldn't help but scream when Moira screamed as well. Whether it was because Moira's shot looked and sounded painful or because Elaine showed up was not too clear. Amy had told the prankster back during their search in Lafael something about Elaine probably kidnapping kids who aren't careful - obviously joking about Lucien's situation with her - but Trixie was quite naive in comparison. She was one of the guilders who were already tucked in someone's blankets by the time Moira stumbled back into the room after Tiberius' interference with her escape. Having been so distraught from things happening left and right (the earlier incidents with the "mummy" and Tiberius not helping to stop her from radical conclusions), she hadn't even noticed Julius' and Celeste's rather quiet appearance.

As the others turned to Elaine, Trixie slid out from whoever's bed she was in to huddle nearby Dylan, who was definitely more of a Mister Scaredy than a Mister Evil now. She ducked behind him. "Hi, can I hide here with you?"

Three weeks sounded like such a long time to be stuck around in one room. Especially if she had to hide left and right from everything under the sun. Oh, hopefully Supersis or Superbro could break everyone out from the monotony!

“What’s… going on?”

Lucien waved at Celeste and Julius as they entered. The summoner was half buried beneath the covers, if anything, he didn't want to upset the frightening nurse. He was just about to greet the two, but the door was shoved open and in walked Elaine. It took a while to make sense of everything that was happening. It was definitely a crazy day...

“My babies!!”

"Heh, we missed you too Elaine," he propped himself onto his elbows as he gave Elaine an endearing half-smile. "It's been a while, yeah?" Before he could say more the woman rushed towards them, one leg still in a cast. She inspected their injuries then began fussing over them like she had done back in Weir. To be honest, he didn't really mind. Elaine told them she was going to be looking after everyone and Lucien chuckled. "Oh, joy."

Syed greeted the woman and Lucien noticed the nervous look on the mage's face. His smile turned from a contented one into a devious and mischievous smirk. "Hey, hey, Elaine. During the fight Syed summoned a wicked thunderbolt, but he got hurt pretty bad so you should make sure to keep an eye out for him. In fact, you should smother him with affection and care, that'll definitely help." With that said he gave the lightning mage a silly, innocent look and a thumbs up.

Tagress: Hospital: Recovery Ward

"Hey, hey, Elaine. During the fight Syed summoned a wicked thunderbolt, but he got hurt pretty bad so you should make sure to keep an eye out for him. In fact, you should smother him with affection and care, that'll definitely help.”

A cheeky grin and thumbsup from Lucien signalled the approaching apocalypse. Syed’s jaw dropped as fear paralysed him, his sunken features turning to face Elaine. Elaine, who within a blink of an eye, was already upon him, suffocating him under the tightest embrace known to man, shaking his body back and forth with his head buried in her bosom.

“You poor baby, Sally!!” Elaine screeched, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Don’t worry, Mama’s going to take good care of you!”

Syed’s face turned blue, before Elaine finally let go, giving him the opportunity to finally breathe.

“I had just the right idea! Soup! I’m gonna cook you all the best soup you ever had, known to heal people up in a snap! Don’t worry guys, you’re all going to be perfect in no time at all!” Elaine winked.

---

Tagress: Hospital - Amy’s Room

"Just get the fuck out of my room already!"

Amy’s bright red shade of embarrassment, and her verbal barrage was enough to prompt Trent to finally vacate Amy’s bed, dashing for the nearest exit, apologising as he did.

“Okay, okay, I’m gone, I’m gone, sorry!”

He opened the door, carefully checking each direction for any sign of the Head Nurse, grateful that there wasn’t anybody there. A cheeky grin grew, and he turned back to Amy one more time.

“Thanks, Grandma, you’re pretty cool!”

He raced out, closing the door before Amy had the chance to react… only to bump into something else and be floored onto his behind again, banging his head as he fell.

“Ow… what the heck… watch where the hell you’re go… ing…” Trent’s rage quickly subsided once he saw the person he had crashed into: Selan. “Grandma?”

“YOU!”

No. Not that familiar, venom filled voice. Please, gods, no!

Craning his neck to look down the corridor, he could hear and feel the ground shudder beneath him. A massive, bulky juggernaut streaking down in his direction. The Head Nurse. AGAIN.

“AHHHHHHH!!!!” Trent screamed.

Tagress Hospital: Recovery Ward
Syed clumsily flailed his long arms about, not entirely sure if he should resort to electrifying himself before he dropped dead from suffocation. Well a hospital is probably the best place to stop breathing, really. So there was that.

He didn't care about the somewhat questionable place she had pushed his face into. He had no interest in breasts, or a great ass, or a body in general. All he really cared about that she would get off his face. The experiance certainly wasn't comfortable for him, and it surely couldn't be comfortable for her with how angular his facial structure was, right? Although somehow, he got the impression that even if it did, she wouldn't be particularly bothered by it.

Once she finally released him - and not a moment too soon at that - she wasn't the only one with tears streaming down her face. His weren't born through slightly over-passionate love of his friends and collegues though. The love for not being dead maybe. He slumped back on his bed, his desperate racking breaths only sending more waves of pain across his chest. Oh gods it isn't going to be like this the whole time is it?! This was going to be a loooong three weeks.

Now lying flat on his back, he turned his head slowly towards Lucien. The guy set him up! Today was nothing but being set up! First Selan, and now him. He made sure to catch his eye before pointing somewhat weakly at him, his expression at first somewhat stern. And boy, Syed could pull one hell of a stern look off when he wanted to. Soon enough however he couldn't help but allow the tiniest hint of a smile pull at his lips. Okay, it was kind of funny now he wasn't at imminent risk of death.

He was going to get him back for that. Just you wait.

Elaine's mention of soup however made his stomach growl, causing him to flush a little. Okay, he had no idea he was that hungry. That sounded good.

Tagress Hospital: Recovery Ward

So much commotion, and Lisette hardly knew what any of it really meant. Being promoted was a pleasant surprise, but she didn't think she had done all that much to deserve it. And with all of the shouting and horsing around, she was almost starting to feel tired just from watching them.

"Soup..." she murmured, and her stomach roared in response. She couldn't quite remember the last time she ate anything, but she did know that the hospital food was disappointingly bland compared to the meal they had at the manor. Although the thought of any part of that night being positive was a little unnerving, she had to admit. Almost as unnerving as the news that the majority of the Family were not in custody at the moment.

She hugged her knees; the idea of having to spend three more weeks at the hospital before they could leave and follow an actual lead was a total bummer.

---

Tagress Hospital: Hallway

Selan was lost in thought as she left the roof stairwell, and had the misfortune of having Trent's bony, hospital gowned body crash into her, nearly knocking her off her feet. She threw her arm out for balance and ended up stretching her injured shoulder the wrong way, causing pain to shoot up her back.

"Nngh... Trent..." she began to say in a scolding tone. She saw the look of fear in his eyes as he looked over his shoulder behind him, and she too, saw what he was so terrified of.

The Head Nurse...

... A rather sweet, mild-manner woman whom Selan had the pleasure of being treated by when they first arrived.

Except the look on her face wasn't so sweet now, and her brow hung over her eyes as she peered for a sign of the troublemaking young man.

Selan breathed a heavy sigh, and bent down to pull Trent up to his feet. Indulging Moira was one thing, but the way the boarder was behaving, overreacting was an extreme understatement. After the kindness and quality of care the hospital had shown all of them, the least she could do was prevent Trent from escaping whatever treatment they wanted to perform.

She kept a firm grip on his arms and warned, "Don't thrash around, I have a bruised scapula. Be a little more mature, the nurse is only trying to help." She started marching him down the corridor, looking less than pleased.