[IC] Royal Rumble!

[AtomicNut]

Meredith

@KillamriX88@Hammerman@RoflsMazoy@rawkhawk64

Meredith bobbed back and forth, trying to get a good resting position. She was truly spent and comments seemed to filter as if it was through a heavy waterfall. One of the girls apparently thanked that, and decided to sit in a rather revealing position. Was she trying to tell something? Oh, that. She wasn't the most proper now. Perhaps that would explain the death glare from the Nun. Or maybe the fact she was half a demon after a cultist attack. The Mephisto folks were packing up and trying to retreat, but it was the gravity of Alto's voice that pierced through the haze of tiredness.

A murder attempt. It drove the point a little close to home, as she involuntarily raised her head to her neck, phantom pain flaring of the events that transpired. Celestine. Galbrek. Tank Girl. Vittorio, the one who was talking to Alto. They were Mephisto. Was that a school that groomed them to be naughty? Were the teachers, perhaps, like her mother?

But as far assassination attempts were concerned, Meredith was still touchy about the subject. She eyed the portal, and with a flicker of her wrist, a blast of energy cracked the ground even further, interrupting the portal connection. Circles and drawings were ways to channel energies, the dolly witch had said. She was quite good at this. A pity she probably would not speak to her again.

Smirking, she stood up and swaggered towards Rurik, her demonic features being forced to disappear, reverting to her normal girl guise. "Oh come on, leaving already? What a naughty boy. We don't bite you know? I bet Alto only wants a few questions..." Meredith cooed as she tried to embrace Rurik and prevent him from leaving. "And I could use new friends..." She smiled, eyes fixated on the boy as she tried to press against him.

[KillamriX88]

Rurik's jaw dropped slightly agape as he watched the portal fizzle out and vanish.

That. Bitch.

Then she had the audacity to claim that she needed new friends while trying to... seduce him?

“I don't.” Pap. Rurik lifted his palm to block her face. He'd have proceeded to push her away, but he was given a quick and painful reminder that his wrist was still sprained or something, so instead he just casually ducked under her arm. “Well, uh, I'll see you guys later then.” He gave them a quick two finger salute, turned on his heel, and began trying to walk away.

He was then forced to let out a tired sigh when a flash of light went off and next thing he knew Alto was next to him, light-sword held to his throat.

“Really, dude? See this? This is why people want to stab you.”

“You helped my attacker escape. You're guilty.”

“Orrr I got your attacker away from you. You could say I was helping... from a certain point of view.”

“No.”

“Ugh, fine. You're lucky I'm too tired to kick your ass, Ribs.” Rurik rolled his eyes and turned back around. As he did so he “playfully” patted Alto on the side with the back of his hand... right where the boy had been stabbed.

Alto pursed his lips and did his best not to flinch. He'd been bandaged and healed, but it was still sore.

“Sit down and... be quiet,” Alto spoke through gritted teeth, trying not to show that he was in pain.

“Whatever.” Rurik did at least sit down cross-legged. “When do I get my phone call? I get a phone call, right?”

It was at this point that Alto began to wonder in earnest if capturing the other boy had been worth it...

[Crowvette]

Andras

Andras flopped onto the couch in a manner that could only be described as "undignified." And while she felt herself sink into the cushions, she thought about what Vera said.

'What does that mean, "unless you're Andras?" Is she trying to give me a hint?! Is it a trap? Does she think that I would try and she can use it as an excuse to make fun of me?! ...Can I convince Wolf to peek and then have him get made fun of instead of me? No, he's probably trying to sleep.' Andras couldn't find an answer despite thinking out the possibilities.

Andras struggled to sit up. It was hard to think of something other than sleeping, given her exhausted body and mind with soft couch. Yet at the same time, the Root demanded its host, Andras, something most important: food. Or rather, she herself was hungry, but if anyone asked her, she would definitely have said the first version.

Andras stumbled around the darkened house, feeling her way for a kitchen. She eventually found a refrigerator, which she quickly opened and ransacked without skipping a beat. After laying waste to any food she could find, she tried to feel her way back to the couch.

She didn't want to turn on any lights in case that bothered someone, so Andras had trouble. Her legs were both uncoordinated and felt like lead, and her single eye didn't help the situation. She eventually stumbled through a door into something cushioned, and moments afterward, she was asleep without a thought, happy to leave the day behind her.

---

The night sky of Rhea was reflected in the glimmering artifact's glassy brilliance. Andras cocked her head, and the image was gone, replaced with an unfamiliar reflection of another world. She lowered the chromatic star, and looked at her surroundings. She was in a library, though it was well beyond what she had ever seen in the real world. It was arcane, massive, and seemingly had little respect for conventions of architecture: the ancient-looking bookshelves extended into the sky as well as the horizon, lined with uncountable numbers of books.

"A seemingly useless trinket, at first. But by now you would see its use, would you not? Others indeed have."

"Huh?" Andras turned around, and found herself face-to-face with herself. There were large differences - her hair was impossibly long, she was draped in ornate robes which were marked with glowing runes, and most startlingly was her deep blue eye, the other covered by her barely handled hair. But her face was Andras's, no doubt, though even that differed slightly in the emotionless and cold look that she gave. "Who-"

The doppelganger cut her off. "Your penchant for delusion is unmatched. No doubt you will think of a good answer to that question on your own." It was indeed true that Andras had already considered ten different explanations. Of course, that statement alone doubled the possibilities. "You are familiar with what you call Perfect Alexandria, but you still do not command it correctly. Perhaps you may remember this place? This is not the first time you have learned something new about your power." The other Andras slowly walked down the aisle of bookcases, scanning the spines of the countless books with a dispassionate look.

Andras took in her surroundings once more, looking amongst the spines of the books. Andras recalled a cherished but hazy memory from her childhood - "The time the Root awakened?! Were you there? Or... here?" She quickly jumped to the doppelganger, trying to grab her shoulder. Her hand went right through, and the other Andras folded into a mist, an illusion the entire time.

"I am here solely to unlock an aspect of your power that you have seemingly been ignoring. One that could be considered only as the most basic fundamental of magic. It is actually quite simple, but since you have foregone the basics, well..." The voice continued, originating behind Andras this time.

Andras turned, but her vision was obscured as the other Andras touched her hand to her temple. Her senses were overloaded immediately, and Andras could not tell if she was being taught something new or it was indeed something she knew the whole time, or whether the thoughts within her head were hers at all.

'A representation of leylines, not cast as a spell or created as artifice, but a magical link to sources of power beyond this world, accessible through a different means of magic entirely.' The thought echoed within Andras's mind for an eternity, while her mind slowly pieced together what the words were meant to tell her.

---

Andras turned in her sleep, mumbling, "...representation...leylines..." as she slept soundly on top of Vera's bed.

[Dezuel]

Galbrek

The day after the cultist trouble and the kidnapping attempt.

Darkness, then came the blurred vision. The half-demon opened his eyes as he was lying on a combination of a chair and sofa, looking down at his legs, bone sticking out of them. He felt ill, and felt pain as he tried to lean up. His two dolls, Fegin and Giselle were in the room with him, Fegin holding unto a bottle of wine and Giselle was trying to swap his wounds with some clean cloth.

"Ahh! Fu- Gi-give me that!" The half-demon stretched out his hand and took the bottle from Fegin, downing more than he could swallow, causing him to spill some on his legs, causing stinging pain. "Ahh! Shit!" He proclaimed, biting his teeth together before taking a few swigs from the wine. "Get me something stronger! Fegin! Don't just stand there you idiot!" He barked at Fegin, but it seemed more like begging than ordering. The jesterlike doll dashed off towards the dining room to find a strong drink for his demanding creator.

"Galbrek.. you need to visit a doctor, I have stopped the bleeding but I cannot help you with these broken bones..." Giselle said with a sigh of hopelessness, whilst she clearly did not like the half-demon she felt nontheless like she had to ease his pain."It's master Galbrek! Are you fucking daft? I can't go out like -this-! If I go out there they are going to fucking jail me, and that would make that bastard Ascot happy and that in turn would make me very fucking unhappy!" He barked and leaned forwards, causing strain on his legs so he'd fell back against the soft chair.

"Ahh damn it! How dare he do this to me? After all I've done! Grrr! Why must my life be so damn hard? And who was that idiot talking inside my head, bah who gives a flying-" He stopped mid-sentence as Giselle poured some disinfectant on his wound. "Aww fuu- Warn me before you do that!" He panted heavily and then exhaled deeply, looking over his broken legs, shaking his head in despair and hopelessness, if only for a moment."Tch! I'll never give up! I'll have their heads for this! Where is my fucking drink?! Fegin!" He screamed, as the jesterlike doll quickly made his way into the room with a strong unknown brandy which the half-demon grabbed, bit unto the cork and spit it into Fegin's face before taking a deep swig, which caused him to cough.

"W-we are going to have to stay hidden... and we're going to burn the entire fucking city, and we are going to make Ascot do it... heh... a doll resembling him. Yes... that' heh...heh..." Galbrek began to chuckle and murmur, then getting a slight hic-up. *hic* He took another swig from his brandy, wiping his mouth on Giselle's shirt which was conviniently nearby. "Get the cam'ra.. Fegin! Rightsh now.. I needsh to speak to my fellow..sshh.. dark warlordsh... understand?" Galbrek did a half-wave with his non-hurting arm, motioning to Fegin to hurry and get a videocamera.

"Master Galbrek, are you sure you are in a good condition to-" Fegin began to speak but was abruptly interupted by his master. "Shtart the recording, I am in condition peak... fuck Ascot and his two shoes. And that idiot knight." The half-demon began to play abit with his hair, waiting for Fegin to start the camera, then addressing what he imagined would be a big crowd.

"Shit.. shitizens... this is Lord Gal- *hic* Galbrek Ravenovich... there hash been... an attempt at my life.. which has left me crippled... hnff fucking as-. But my spirits never been *hic* stronger... What hash this city become? When not law abiding nobles can notsh go out without being subject to ass... assination attempts... they also slander my family's good name and brings chaos to the shit- shitty.. these schools... St.Laurel... St.Lucifer... are a threat to us all and they should be destroyed... the teachers train these foolish younglings into killing... much... mashines and then send them to try kill people of influence and wealth.. like myshelf... I found out the secret plot.. and nowsh... they are trying to kill me. Take up arms brave citizens..."

Galbrek gave a semi-drunk salute and then motioned for Fegin to cut the recording. "Thatsh gonna be all for now... now get lost, make copies... and deliver the fucking disks to the media.. I needsh to shleep..." The half-demon allowed his head to fall against the pillowed chair.

[RoflsMazoy]

Tidings

Diana grimaced as she discarded the last piece of her everyday clothing. The latter part of the tournament had been quite a haze, despite her good showing. The vigilantes had tried to scout her, but the whole affair had proved to be quite confusing as her body had not been her own for a while. That... being had used her like a flesh puppet, making her dance to her merry tune. She was glad she admitted she had shown herself too much as she made herself scarce. Eyeing the frilled abomination that was the cosplay dress of the most popular magical girl show, she wondered if the Moira and the comic store boss were one and same.

Speaking of the devil, here he came, barging into the dressing room for no particular reason. Diana did not batter an eyelid until she saw what he was dangling on his hand. "Forget about Descartes-chan, Reddeadelle is the new fad." He said, beady eyes staring from his foggy glasses, and portly demeanor.

"Its nothing but a few straps of leather, that is no proper clothes." Diana droned, unimpressed at his antics.

"This is what boosts sales, Diane" He never got her name right. "And you will need to do it since someone wanted you badly now in the middle of your shift."
He dangled the letter menacingly, as Diana narrowed her eyes and began to dress again. "Some privacy, please." She finally said, ice in her words as her so called boss waddled out of the dressing room. A mysterious letter and a crossed idiotic boss. Nice start for a weekend.
She walked outside, stopping for a second to process the view before her. A fancy limousine welcomed her to go inside. "Well... either Lightbringer is pulling a prank or someone is kidnapping me to do perverted things." At least it was a bit more enticing that the comic store crusty antics, so she made her way inside the vehicle.

"I didn't imagine you were the type of person who entered a situation like this so… unguarded." Clara said, appearing from the shade of the inside of the limo. It looked like she had been there from the beginning. "Take a seat."

When Diana sat down, the limo would be on its way. It wasn't going anywhere in particular. Through the back streets. Somewhere inconspicuous. This discussion didn't need to be long, but it may not necessarily be quick.

"…I'm here to make you an offer." She finally said as she gazed at the buildings passing by.

"Things are seldom what they appear to be like, lady Clara." She added as she flexed her fingers, daintly illuminated lines of reinforcement being seen. Diana tilted her head as she took to the comfortable seat of the vehicle. "If you could coerce that idiot with a letter it means you are powerful, and if you could hire a limo to impress me it means you are resourceful. I am listening... my previous companion was not as amenable."

Powerful… for a comic shop owner? How amusing. It wasn't even worth watching someone like that squirm. There were so many here like Diana who didn't know their true value, or perhaps they just didn't try to reach it. People like that had always been… a target of interest, for her father, Mephisto. Clara had been the same, once upon a time.

"We can provide you with all the reagents you require for your spells. Name something, and we will provide it." She said. "But… I do have a condition for you."

"Good, because sometimes those involve human remains." Diana said as she drew a hand through her pure silver hair. "There is always one. Magic teaches you that. And it is good to know those."

Clara nodded.

"I suppose it's less of a condition and more of a pre-requisite," She continued. "Some rules of magic are more or less true for business as well. There's no deal without a condition, but rather than a deal, I wish this to be a continual trade."

She explained. In return for providing reagents, they could also offer her a facility for research, storage, or whatever she saw fit. In return, Clara would make certain requests of Diana. Diana could refuse, but Clara would make sure any tasks were within her limits. The conditions were she would be transferred from her previous school, and she would also have to keep up with lessons at her new school like a normal student, on top of whatever Clara requested.

"We'll give you these benefits if you agree to the trade, but with any trade comes the need for a show of trust. We've sent a package for you to your home, you should find some useful, hard to obtain regents inside." She said.

"Hm,it's a good offer... although there is something I do not quite understand." Diana said, folding her hands neatly on her lap. "The negotiator." He paused. "You must be aware of my past with Lightbringer, and that he might be a good choice to get me join your side. Not involving me means that you either did not truly know, which is highly unlikely... or the fact that you can't trust Lightbringer... as Mephisto's dog." Diana's expression remained neutral through the entire process. " So whose idea was this... Mephisto or yours?"

Clara's eyes glowed a dangerous red, but only for a moment.

"That… is not something you need to concern yourself about." She said coldly.

But then she caught herself, and sighed. It wasn't necessary for her to show that emotion either. Any amount of deception would do just fine.

"My father is jailed right now, if you haven't noticed. It more or less doesn't matter to him what I do even when he's around, and he's not even in a position where he can make a move, nor will he really need to." She replied. "Does that satisfy your curiosity?"

"It does. Glad to know who is cutting my paycheck." Diana tilted her head, unfazed by the display. "Helps when there are conflicts of interest." She added. "On another matter, continued cooperation is fine indeed, but concretion is even better... what do you need me to do and when, exactly?"

"I'll be in contact when you're needed. For now, you may return to your workplace if you so desire, or you can return home. The shop owner should allow you to take the day off, if not, I'll have a stern word with him later…" She said.

The limousine rolled to a stop outside of the store.

"I'll assume you'll want to change back into your regular clothes first." She said.

As Diana exited, Clara left some parting words.

"Before I would have you enter our employ, you'll be put to the test. You may not know when it will come. It's meant to be that way."

"I think i will pass. Someone who is not straightforward recruiting is not worth it."
Diana said to herself as she began to walk away towards home.

"Suit yourself," Clara said.

The door of the limousine slammed shut and it sped off. Losing one opportunity wasn't much of a loss if it only cost her a box of ingredients and some time. She'd see it bear some fruit one way or another. She wouldn't know what form it would take, but it would at the very least be interesting. The last rule of the trade, it doesn't end unless you let it end.

@AtomicNut

[Gentlemanvaultboy]

@Crazy Scion@rawkhawk64

---

Bak strained under her own weight, pressing against the familiar pattern of the school with both hands. She pushed herself up enough for her to take a breath, then started the awkward process of getting her legs up under her so she could stand.

She rose slowly, trying ineffectually to brush the dirt and black grime off her uniform. She was definitely going to have to be doing some laundry tonight. At least the black gunk was no longer leaking from her launcher. She would need to find a way to clean that too. After all, she couldn't go looking like this to the next council meeting.

Yuuto had fallen unceremoniously to the floor as she'd fallen through, and after checking that he had no real noticeable injuries from that she scooped him up and placed him on a nearby bench. Luckily they seemed to be near the gym, so if nobody came for him she could go get one of the mats to lay him on. After he woke up he would be getting that lecture about trying too hard to win.

She spotted David off to the side and gave him an appreciative nod for getting them home. He might have been the one to out Yuuto in this state, but she had already chalked that up to a misunderstanding considering everything else that had happened today. Yeah, all this infighting had just been a series of horrible misunderstandings and everything would be just business as usual come tomorrow. Christine would be a pervert, Vittorio would be depressed, Gilliam would be weird, and Rurik would be lazy. Speaking of Rurik, he had better not be lollygagging on getting through that portal-

"Where is portal?" She asked, looking at the blank wall she had stepped through to get back here. Bak turned slowly, looking up and down the hallway to try and get a glimpse of Rurik. He wasn't there. "What has happened?" She asked, stepping up to the wall. She searched the wall like she did the hallway, looking like she thought she'd find him in the off white paintjob if she just tried hard enough. Then she raised a fist and pounded on the wall like it was a door. "Rurik?" She called, knocking again with both hands. "Rurik!"

They had left him.

She had left him.

She just stood there for a moment, the flats of her hands pressed up against this wall like it was the only thing keeping her from her friend. Her eyes flicked over to her hands, to the dried blood that was starting to fleck off as she pressed her fingers against the drywall, harder and harder until there was a cracking sound as they went straight in, sending out a spider web of fissures around her hands. She stepped back, cold, and looked down at Yuuto. All the events of the past hour came flooding back to her.

Vittorio, hurt then abandoned.
Yuuto, hurt.
Christine, gone.
Clara, abandoned.
Celestine, abandoned at a place that was destroyed.
Rurik, abandoned.

The only person fine was David, who she hadn't even known before today. And herself, of course. During all of this nonsense she had managed to keep herself safe. Bak Tsarevna had somehow gotten out okay!

She put her head in hands and stood there, shaking. A great sheepheard is willing to fight for a single sheep. So what do you call a sheepheard that hadn't protected a single one? That had just sat there and let them fight one another? That couldn't even go get them because she didn't know where they were?

She had one job...

"Can you send me back?" She asked quietly as she lifted her head, despite knowing the answer now.

[RoflsMazoy]

Call me… Old Fashioned.

Peculiar sounds could be heard in the forest. Those familiar with it however would know, the sound of a plasma blade clashing with a light blade created at a matching frequency.

"Wait, you're really going to do this in your uniform?" King said after a clash between their blades sent a shower of sparks flying over them. "On your day off?"

"Representing my school means representing its values," Alto replied coolly. "One of which is to always uphold the standard of St. Laurel's, including outside of school hours!"

He placed his strength into a heavier strike, which King parried with ease.

"What I'm hearing is you don't own any other clothes," He said, dodging Alto's next strike as King's machine came to life.

A 6 armed blocky robot. Holes opened on each arm and it started firing a barrage of tennis balls at Alto. He entered God Speed, slicing them out of the air by the dozen. Suddenly, King appeared through the storm as God Speed began to fade, and swung at Alto.

Finally, Alto fell back, panting, as King signalled his robot to stop.

"You're doing preeeeetty good," King said, helping him to his feet.

"It's not good enough," Alto said.

He had to get strong enough to prevent a disaster like that from happening again. Perhaps it was forgivable to fail in such circumstances, but Alto could only consider the lives lost as a disgrace.

"Well I gotta get the robot to vacuum up all the tennis balls you cut so we're not starting back any time soon. Gotta watch out for the environment."

The robot dutifully did as it was told. King was an enigma as always, even after the events of the tournament he never seemed to dwell on it.

"You've got that look where you want to swing at me, what've you got?"

And as always, he hadn't lost his touch when it came to talking in an annoying manner.

"…You never think of growing stronger, do you?" Alto said.

"Oh, me personally? No."

"Hmph, I was right." Alto said.

"Well… don't get me wrong, getting stronger is great and all, but at a certain point it's not going to matter." King said. "When the threat gets big enough there's only enough strength you can have. When that day comes, I need everybody to be ready."

Well, he did have a point. It seemed like he was satisfied with being as strong as he was and letting his tools make up for the difference.

"Looks like the bot's done, let's get back to training." He said.

[Gentlemanvaultboy]

Mephistos: Patching Things Up

@RoflsMazoy@Dezuel@Crazy Scion

---

Bak was the first to come through. Her armored body impacted with a loud crash but was more or less as graceful as a walking tank could be falling sideways. She started picking herself up with some noticeable difficulty. He thought about offering her help but decided against it. He didn't know her that well and given worried that she might take offense to his offer. She was a strong girl and probably didn't like chivalry. She began helping Yuuto the moment she was on her feet. She placed him on a nearby bench and checked his injuries. Bak's attitude reminded him of a Mom fussing over her child. It was kind of cute in a way but was probably just wishful thinking on his part. He also pushed himself to his feet. He was surprised Rurik hadn't come through yet given he had more or less begged for the portal. He watched as Bak finished looking over Yuuto and noticed she was looking at him. "Shit." he thought nervously, "I'm the one who fucked up her friend. Maybe I should.." His thoughts of escaped halted as Bak smiled at him and nodded. "You know maybe she isn't that scary after all." He thought as he returned the smile and nod with one of his own. Of course, things went wrong right then. Bak was looking away at the time, but David not only saw it but felt his portal connection get severed. The portal collapsed in on itself and vanished just a Bak looked over at it. David couldn't describe the gut-wrenching feeling he got as he watched her smile fade from her face.

"Where is portal?" She asked him while scanning the halls, "What has happened?" she pressed further. David didn't have an answer, not one she wanted. She slammed her fist against the wall, shocking him "Rurik?", she called out, knocking again with both hands. "Rurik!" she screamed. David didn't know what to do. He wracked his brain for ideas while he felt for his lines. Bak stood there with her hands pressed against the walls. David couldn't find a single shape among the rubble. The wall cracked from the force she exerted on it. David thought she might scream, but she put her head in hands and just stood there, shaking. She then asked him another impossible question, "Can you send me back?" He knew the answer, and she did too, but he still needed to say it. He walked up next her and, as gently as he could, placed a hand on her shoulder. "No," he whispered, "I'm sorry."

Bak breathed in.

Bak breathed out.

"And I do not know the way." She said quietly. Not that it mattered, she would never make it before the police did. Blasted Vigilantes! Blasted Alto! Someone had done this, but they were not withing reach right now. It was no good to blame someone else though. She was the one that had left. She hadn't been on the watch for dirty tricks.

She suddenly lifted up her other arm and brought it down against the wall, the shield protecting her FLAK cannon cutting into it like a sword and piercing through the the other side. As she cut down she threw up a chalky cloud of drywall that mixed with the cold air that blew in from the outside through the gash. Then she stepped back and roared at the spot on the wall. It wasn't a raging roar, however. It wasn't full of grief, or despair. It wasn't even loud. It was the kind of roar a small child would give out while stomping through a town of building blocks, and a halfhearted one at that. As though she found the game unsatisfactory.

Davids touch had done little to comfort her. He had expected this reaction, but it didn't make it any less jarring. He took a step back as she screamed at the wall to distance himself from the destruction. He couldn't help but feel intimidated by the display of power. He reflected on the fact he wasn't much more durable than that wall she just smashed.

The air blew in. The cold sank into Bak. She turned to David, and for a moment seemed as though she were seriously considering something. As she looked at him he flinched at what he saw in her eyes. There was a distance in her gaze as if separating her self from reality. He didn't like that look as it reminded him too much of himself. He did this when he needed to create distance so he could act without guilt getting in the way. However, as quickly as it appeared, it vanished. She shook her head and also took a step back. "I apologize." She said quickly, with guilt in her eyes. "It is just...I needed...today has been a very bad day, do you not think? Very bad. Are you all right?" Raw duty had shackled her ideas and dragged them back into the shadows of her mind. Mephisto's were sheep. You were not supposed to play Baba Yaga with your sheep.

David, in response to this question, took two steps forward, a certain determination building in his chest. He stood over her, being taller by default, and said, "I'm fine." Then leaning in as close as he could to her face he whispers, "He's fine." He leans back speaking normally, "Look, I don't know that Rurik guy personally, but from what I've seen he is a lot like myself. So, you know what that means," He points at her, "He's tough and he takes no shit from no one. I don't know what beef Mr. Lightbright has with him, but I know it won't matter. He'll figure it out and come home bitching about it in the morning. So chin up. He's fine. You're fine. Were all fine. Just trust your friends to handle there own shit. OK? You don't have to solve everyone's problems for them." As he finishes his rant he takes a deep breath and then starts rubbing his head. "OK, sorry bout the rant. I agree. Its been a shit day."

"But, if I had been doing my job correctly thing would not have been so bad." Bak stuttered in reply. "Even you would not have been so injured if I had separated you and Yuuto as I should have."

She didn't realize that he would probably have been more injured, considering how she normally went about breaking up schoolyard brawls. But he was right about one thing. If there was anybody that was able to dodge his punishments it was Rurik. She had made him very good at that. She started relaxing, at least a little. "Thank you though. You are correct, he is very good."

It was weird, usually students that got a glimpse of the Bak from the Old Country went running. The last thing she expected was to be scolded. David was annoyed at first that Bak tried to argue with him, but happy that she conceded his point. "You're welcome."He replied with a smile.

Suddenly Clara appeared from a shadow portal accompanied by various imps carrying around a very familiar figure.

Bak looked up, trying to see over the boy. "Did you hear that?"

"Here we are, miss! One troublemaker transported successfully to friendly grounds!" One of the imps chattered excitedly.

"Good," Clara said. "Set him down."

The imps happily obliged and unceremoniously dumped Vittorio's unconscious body on the ground, or so it appeared. Before he touched the ground he was suspended in the air by an invisible force.

"Hehe, miss, he's all yours…" The imp spoke again, rubbing its greasy little hands together. "…Now, how about our payment?"

"Payment?" Clara said, menacingly. "For such a paltry job? It was thanks to you that I had to personally intervene. I shouldn't even be here right now."

"Oh come on, miss!" The imp pleaded. "You know how hard it is, being stranded in the Human world! We can't even chase down the animals around here without getting stomped around!"

Clara let out a weary sigh. It would be faster to give them a pittance than have to deal with their whining. As she raised her arm, the imps flinched, but then Vittorio started getting shaken, violently. A few coins started to fall out of his pockets which the imps scrambled over themselves to get after.

A shadow portal opened up underneath the imps and they fell through. Finally they were gone.
She paced over to a nearby vending machine. Perhaps it was strange to have a vending machine in a high school considering the low amount of disposable income available. But, if prices were kept low, Clara could still make a profit and also take advantage of the convenience of having cold drinks on demand.

She seemed to mull over a thoughts before she raised her hand again. This time, Vittorio got violently shaken, again. A few more coins dropped out, and she picked them up and slotted them in. She picked out a can of lemonade, cracked it open and took a long drink.

She let out a very pleasant ahhhh, before raising her hand again. The vending machine sat in front of Vittorio's room, conveniently enough. The door flew open, and Vittorio's body hurtled through the air and inside the room before the door slammed shut.

"Finally finished," She muttered. And now she finally turned around and spotted the two students from across the courtyard. She approached them with an ease in her step which belied a weight taken off her shoulders. "Ah, hello Bak, and Dartagnan, you're here too."

"Tovarish!" Bak exclaimed as she heard Clara's voice, trying to sidle over to ineffectually hide the hole she'd put in the building and get a look at her all at once. Who?" was all David could think until he turned around. The site of Clara did not have the same effect for David as it did for Bak. Where as she was happy David looked upset. Clara had been the main antagonist in the park. She was the one who kept pushing for a fight rather than talk it out. He wanted to have a word with her, but Bak seemed happy to see her. Bak looked nervously from the girl to David, distinctly aware that the last time she'd seen him he'd been attacking them. "Yes, we both made it back safely thanks to him. He is very good at portals." She insisted. "But Vigilalto's pulled a dirty trick and trapped Rurik. Was everyone okay when you left?"

"In a word, no," Clara said. "But Rurik is... in a feasible position. I've deployed my assets, all that's left to do is wait."

Clara capped her sentence off with another sigh. She wanted to sit down on a bench but she had more to do. Hmmm, but if it was for Bak, then that might be a worthy cause.

"Let's take a seat on that bench," She said, pointing over to one nearby. There was no back on it so it wouldn't pose a problem for Bak's extraneous augmentations.

"Tell me what's troubling you," She said. She noted the damage inflicted on the wall, as well as the repair cost. She didn't take awfully much notice of David, but she would allow his presence.

David held his tongue as they did, deciding to listen to the situation before making a comment. At least until she offered Bak a seat and an ear. This made him mad for some unknown reason. "So...how do you two know each other? Ya see, I didn't really pay attention at orientation."

As Bak sat, obediently as a trained hound, Clara cocked an eyebrow at David. So this student wasn't one who knew the internal situation of St. Lucifer's. Perhaps she shouldn't discount how foolish David could be, but the fact that Bak of all people had still kept him in the dark about the affairs, despite how close they seemed gave her a sense of pride.

"My name is Clara Deimos Erdrigan, I'm the leader of the Student Committee here at St. Lucifer's." She began.

"Little Bak here," She said, patting her on the head for emphasis. "Is a key member of the Student Committee as well.

She also made sure to add an endearing tone of voice when she mentioned 'Little Bak'. Not that she did or didn't feel endearment, but it'd make one seem familiar even to a stranger if a common friend was warm with them.

"If you've never crossed paths with them then you must be a very model student, David Dartagnan." She finished.

David nodded along to Clara's explanation. He prickled a bit at the words 'little Bak.' He didn't like the way Clara said them. It was like a mom bragging about her kid. However, he had to surpass a laugh at her last comment. "Model student?" David thought, "Wow she knows nothing. I have 'borrowed' many things from this school. I've also plastered every surface I could conceal with magic ink. I even used their own fire system to fight Yuuto. She clearly isn't aware of all the water damage otherwise she'd have little concern over a damaged wall. Given the alarm wasn't blaring the fire department must have fixed it while we were gone. Still, the East wing is probably sunk in 6 inches of water. Oh well, there isn't any evidence I did all these things. So I might as well play along." David clears his throat and puts on a less than genuine smile for Clara. He speaks using his customer service tone rather than the real him he had displayed for Bak. "I am probably your most model student in fact. I am after all in an accelerated learning field that will land me my GED in only half a year, but enough about me. Bak seems like a cool girl. She's kind. Doesn't want to fight." He stared at Clara at the word 'fight', "And she's always trying to protect people. Aren't those amazing traits?" He wasn't being as settle as he probably should be, but he wanted Clara to understand he was most definitely implying something. He just wasn't going to say it out loud in front of Bak.

Of course she was aware of the little accident in the East Wing. Just because one incident was bigger than another, it didn't mean the other one wouldn't cost anything. She had already arranged a few hypotheses on his little bag of tricks. She was aware of his little scribbles, and while she wasn't aware of where all of them were, they were nothing compared to what she'd already placed down.

"I certainly don't know what you're implying," Clara said with a small chuckle. "Bak fights because she chooses to."

It was always good to feign innocence in these kinds of situations. You can't attack something that's never admitted. Not without being trapped.

"Fighting is always a choice. Even if someone were to make you choose between fighting and death, you can always choose death." She said. "The Student Committee follow my orders yes, but I always give them the option to refuse. They have their own lives after all, who am I to refuse them?"

Bak was starting to get a little more uncomfortable, and not just because this bench had creaked ominously when she'd sat down. She looked between Clara and David as they talked past her at one another, not really understanding what they were getting at but getting that the point of contention here was somehow her.

"Ummm." she started, clearing her throat. She decided to circumvent this entire conversation and just start at Davids question of what her relationship to Clara was. "Tovarish is correct. I am member of student council here at St. Lucifers. Keeping the campus and students safe is my duty, as well as dealing out punishment to trouble-makers and also driving away feral cats. This is job given to me by Tovarish after her father..."

She paused for a moment, wondering if it was safe to give such information to David. She was, after all, kind of maybe smuggled in.

"Do you know Yekateria?" She asked him. David was only a little familiar with Yekateria. He had heard about it in class but had never been there or have met anyone from their larger Eastern neighbor. The fact Bak said she was from a small village surprised David. Bak's weapons were obvious reproductions of modern weaponry. It wasn't that he doubted that the information was available to her, but it didn't seem like such things would have ever interested her. "Maybe, like me, she never really had a choice." He wondered. She spoke very highly of the student council and Mephisto. They sounded more like family than colleges the way she spoke of them. He wasn't sure if it was sweet or disturbing that she thought so much of them. "Her father arranged for me to move here from my village there." she said. "Is why I fight. I am very grateful for this, and the kindness of the other members of the Council have shown me, and..." she slowed down, pieces clicking into place as Bak realized the real source of what was bothering her. She thought of Vittorio, and his talk of leaving for St. Laurels and the horror she's felt as she watched him be pierced by the bean of an outsider. The shock of watching Yuuto make mince meat out of someone Christine loved. The uneasiness she'd felt watching Rurik destroy Clara's demon, or the moment she realized David went to her school. The idea of Rurik being carted off to the gulag. Even this conversation, right now. It wasn't just the injuries to the individual students, something had been damaged across the whole. She'd spotted cracks forming in the life she'd found here, but had been to timid or confused or stupid to try and correct them.

"We have done many things wrong today. Things which have hurt council." She said solemnly. She turned to face Clara, leaning in insistently. "You must apologize to Christine. I know you were only trying to help, but she was so scared by what was happening. And you must not hold it against Rurik for stepping in, bone headed as he is, because he was trying to protect Christine. And you must not be cross with David, because he was also trying to protect Christine without knowing it."

Apologizing... would not be easy. She needed to keep a hold on her assets, now more than ever, but it would be... especially thorny if Clara were the one to do it. She needed a proxy, probably not Bak, someone either more, or less related. Probably less. Her gaze zeroed in on Dartagnan.

...He could work. He had clearly also been an enemy of hers so if she somehow got him to deliver her message, it could prove effective. But she'd have to build enough of a rapport with him, she'd also have to carefully select the message...

She leaned back with a weary sigh, and took long swig of her lemonade. Since the bench had no backing she let her Grimoire manifest and support her.

"One minion of mine is no real loss of mine. Rurik is worth far more than that dog ever was. You needn't worry about that at least." She said. She let out another sigh, this time longer. "Keeping us together is far more important than any grudges I have the choice to hold. I'll make sure... to fix us."

There was an element of wistfulness in her words, and this time not entirely false. She needed them, one way or another. Maybe it still wasn't beyond being her precious assets, but she needed them.

She couldn't offer them the world like her father could, and threatening them would only create uneasy allies. Her path to power... was one that needed others, so she could not lose them yet.

It seemed Bak had caught on to the meaning of Clara and Davids conversation. She became very quiet and then apologized for the council's actions earlier that day. David doubted she had anything to do with what happened in the park. Clara was the one that instigated and drove the conflict at the park, as far as he could tell. Still, Bak spoke very highly of her, so maybe her intentions had not been selfish. He admitted that he was no expert with Demons and that Clara would know more than him about the subject. Maybe there was a reason to believe the Demon inside Katherine was dangerous. He still disagreed on giving up on Katherine, but maybe Clara's reluctance was born from experience rather than stubbornness. If he were to look at it in this light, he could see her reasoning. He would not have accepted it regardless, but he could see it.

Clara did apologize as well, in a roundabout way. David would have liked a more straight forward apology, but that was unlikely to happen. It was enough to make Bak smile. So he would accept it for now.

Bak just nodded happily, then turned her attention back the David. "You have night classes, do you not? I do not think they will be on tonight, but you are welcome to stay anyway if you like. There is no telling what may still be lurking around, so I think we should still be careful. We have phone if you wish to call your mother and father."

In response to her question, he answered by reaching through his pants. A square portal opened in response to his muttered command word. He reached inside and scrapping metal could be heard, as he pulled out a set of keys and then a cellphone. "I have a phone. I just left it in my locker at work is all." He answered. "I guess I can make a few phone calls and stay the night. I want to be here when Tovarish," He grinned as he said Clara's pet name, "Fixes this."

Clara stewed a bit at that.

"Do as you wish," She said.

Bak nodded at this to, pushing herself up. "Good. I will go prepare a place to sleep for you. But first, there is something I must do." She turned and started down the hallway, accepting the work as a means to at least push her worries from her mind. Right now, at the top of the work list, was to check Vittorio. If Clara had returned she must have brought him. She made her way down, carefully taking each step as she made her way into the basement, and slowly pushed his door open.

For a split moment she was happy, then a frown plastered over her face. He was lying on the bed, but had been placed there is such a rough and disheveled state. He was not covered up at all, his arm and leg hung limply over the right side, and his head wasn't even on his pillow. She let out a little growl. Clara had clearly entrusted this job to demons. She'd never be able to find and punish them for this haphazard work.

She made her way into the room, quiet save for the boys breathing. None of the machines that usually made noise were on, and Bak had no real idea how they worked. She desperately wished she were Celestine right now so she could put everything back the way it was, but right now all she could do was put him in a more comfortable position. She lifted his arm and leg onto the bed, fluffed his pillow and laid his head gently on it, and was about to tuck him in using the sheet when an idea hit her and she clattered out of the room.

She came back moments later with the space blanket, and tucked him in with that. This room always seemed unnaturally cold, after all. She plugged it in, and set it to a low, soothing kind of warmth.

That was about the most she was capable of.

---

Meanwhile, at the Arena, the bitter calm that had fallen over the place was being pierced as police and rescue workers began to arrive. The mad scramble of activity that sprung up in the wake of a disaster had begun. Ambulances arrived, and just as quickly were loaded up with the injured. Survivors were giving their accounts to the police. One particular boy was being lead away in handcuffs, bitterly conceding that this is what happened when you got involved with things.

In the midst of this hustle and bustle, a figure approached the Lightbringer. A small figure, barely a boy, walked up and regarded the slowly moving Celestine with his one good eye. Then this stranger walked over, wrapped his arms around Celestine waist, and with surprising strength began helping the older man along.

"My my, Master Nursemaid." the boy said dryly with just a hint of judgement lacing his voice. It was an unmistakably butler-esque tone. "You've gotten yourself into a terrible state. Like death has rolled over you, if I could be so bold. Though you seem to still be in better condition than myself at the moment. Step lively now. One, two, don't catch the attention of these paramedics. Walk tall, walk tall, very good. I know a safer place to treat whatever ails you. She's not precisely a doctor, but she is in a medical field and doesn't ask any intrusive questions."

Luigi would be fine on his own. After all, Gilliam had left him in the knowledge that he hadn't done anything wrong today. If he were found in the company of Gilliam, however, that would raise doubts as to that fact. Besides which, the cogman would no doubt draw attention simply via his appearance even if it wasn't put together that he was a hero that had helped fight two of the invaders. It was simply safer for both of them if the pair separated.

Celestine, though? There was no telling what he'd been up to. Better to get him away.

@AtomicNut@supertinyking

[KillamriX88]

@Crowvette

---

Vera flinched as she felt a weight land on her bed next to her. What? Who!? There were only a few options for who it could be, and one of them didn't really make sense. None of them did, really. But, in the end, she kind of had an idea...

"Look... i-it's not that you didn't earn anything... but... I just... I'm not... I need some t-..." she whispered with unusual timidity.

"...representation...leylines..." Andras mumbled in her sleep.

What?

Vera's eyes snapped wide. Her head whipped around and indeed in the gloom it appeared to be... Andras. Vera quickly slapped a hand over her own mouth to stifle any further embarrassing words she might let slip. No one could ever know.

Eventually her heart stopped hammering and returned to a more natural rhythm.

She briefly considered kicking Andras out so she could get back to sleep... but, well, she hadn't been sleeping to begin with. Suddenly the idea of an empty bed with only the chill night air to keep her company seemed unbearable.

"Just... just this once..." she whispered and shut her yes.

[AtomicNut]

Celestine Lightbringer

@Gentlemanvaultboy@supertinyking

---

Broken. Humilliated. Powerless. Celestine gritted his teeth as he was slumped unceremonously by what seemed to be Diana... but was anything but. That was something he had never expected. The dolly witch, which fumbled at each step had struck gold and surpassed him. Many of them did. Very much like his moniker, "The Fallen One" he had fallen from grace, and was once again in a hell of his own making.

He staggered, shouldered perhaps by the one person he found his touch gross...That shapeshifter, a biomass with the shape of a butler, was the one aiding him. He, who scoffed at the mere thought of partnering with him. "It seems...i have no choice but be led by you, mr DeVitt". He croaked, finally coming to terms to what seemed the only help he was getting. Mayhaps it was what he deserved. For what he could see, the carnivorous blob had also been heavily damaged by the encounter of now. Maybe they were not so different after all. One whose body could be anything, and one whose mind could recall anything.

Was that envy? Maybe. He resented many for their chiselled bodies and streamlined gifts, while he was just stuck with a subpar body, that, despite his control and exceptional will, was still lacking. If only he could change the one thing the Gods had burdened himself with... But it was in vain, as his brain, due to exertion, lacked the nutrients to stay conscious. And as soon as Gilliam led him out to safety, Celestine collapsed, without prior warning.

A black expanse appeared before his unconscious mind. Even when fainting, thanks to that blasted blessing of his, was still aware, and recording the experience, and unable to do a thing about it. Ever since he had awakened, even dreams were just droll chores of organizing the information within his mind.

A light lit yet, as a small, 5-year old version of himself greeted him. "They are meanies. Being unconscious sucks. It has been 5 months, six days, 24 minutes and 3 seconds since the last non-routinary sleep blackout. What shall we do now?"

"Zip it, Numen"Celestine exerted to his copy, which wasn´t really a copy. Numen was just the representation, the avatar of his power. Sometimes he manifested as separate entity, some sort of helpful application like that annoying clip of a certain word processor, and was sometimes just as grating. "Body functions, show me the results."

"All systems seem OK...but we won´t wake up soon." He gestioned to a gigantic, outlined version of his own body, like an holographic display, switched several colours before settling in a pale blue ghostly scene. "All cells have sustained astral hits and have been left with the bare minimum to sustain life. Even forcefully awakening with endogenous epinephrine might compromise integrity."

He had never seen his own body so...dim, Celestine thought. And just like that, he noticed the biggest concentration of life energy in a certain spot. "Numen, explain that." He called to the sum of all his knowledge.

"Complete match not found. Partial match with ... "Source of Gift" most likely."Numen droned, as Celestine then took over the display. "Warning, tampering is not advisable." The young boy construct seemed panicked.

"If only I had more...power." Celestine gritted. "I wouldn´t be in this situation." He thought to himself, as he rerouted energies to that spot. "It´s worth risking one´s life. Just like last time." He aded. "With the Witch. We managed to awaken my Laplace demon."

Numen let out a monotone wail, before fizzing to static. And suddenly, red screens popped all over the void.

WARNING: FORCED UPGRADE OF LIVEWARE FROM 4.0 TO 5.0

WARNING: UPGRADE REQUIRES ~34$%&&!@@@ units of energ$%/%

·&$//" -EMONSTR- ·$&/%? Y/N YYYYYYY

Celestine´s self was now beset by static, as his inner self, and his outer self, now in his unconscious rest began to spasm and cough blood, before all of his bones were forcefully shattered. He wanted to scream, but his muscles were irresponsive, and he could not turn the pain system off.

"YOU FOOL." A female voice rang. A voice that was very much like the one he faked when he wanted to pass off as girl.

Outside, onlookers were treated to an spectacle, as Celestine´s body convulsed, and bent into awkward angles as bones, organs, and structures rearranged, and cells were modified even down to the genetic level. His small lithe body stretched and grew, hair now reaching past the shoulders. Two protusions appeared in his chest... signalling that perhaps he would not be a he any longer.

"Demonstration Metamorphosis completed. Be mindful of the cooldown." The now female Numen rang, before consciousness awoke Celestine like hot irons driven through his eyes. She, for she was a girl now, trembled weakly, like a newborn fawn, and pleaded.

"Water... Food... Plenty of 'em. Mirror." She said.

[KillamriX88]

Rurik sat in a dank, dimly lit room, cuffed to a metal table. Normally it would have been a simple matter of blasting his way free, but the cuffs or something in the room seemed to be dampening his powers. That and there was an entire station of police to blast through -- which did not tempt him.

This was what he got for getting involved he supposed. He'd had every opportunity to walk away. More than once for that matter. He could have left Bak. He could have let Clara have Katherine. He could have just run off with Yuuto to safety.

But no, now he was cuffed in a room with a sprained wrist and Christine probably hated him for nearly killing her sister or something.

Well, he supposed he'd have a few years in jail for “aiding and abetting attempted murder” to consider how yesterday had reinforced all his pessimistic world views.

“I swear the second I'm out I'm gonna kill Vittorio myself...” Rurik grumbled and laid his head on the cold surface of the table. And at that moment the door opened.

“Mr. Alexeev, please do keep your mouth shut going forward,” a greasy man in a suit spoke.

“Who-”

“Your savior,” the man spoke dryly. “Now shush.”

Following him was one of the arresting officers and a senior detective.

“Look, we have witnesses, so I'm not sure what you're doing here. Talk to your client all you want, he's still got rights, but-”

“But nothing. I simply wanted to gather everyone so we're all on the same page when this is resolved and we leave,” his “savior” spoke. “Tell me again what happened. In short, please.”

“Alto Ganze was stabbed and the kid helped his attacker escape. Aiding and abetting.”

“No no, you have it all wrong. Are this boys powers related to vision? Does he have the eyes of a hawk?”

“I don't-”

“No, I didn't think so. He simply saw his classmate in danger and took action to save him. After all, I believe your witnesses will attest that this... Vittorio was in much worse state in the end.”

“I see where this is goi-”

“Intent matters, detective. Taken further, he was assisting another classmate in this act. He was only a tertiary member in the end. No matter how you slice it, it's a stretch to say he wanted to help kill Mr. Ganze.” The man slicked his hair back as a few strands had come loose. “These are relatively serious charges, so this would go before a jury if taken to court. What do you your odds really are here?”

“With this punk and the reputation of his school? Pretty good actually.”

Rurik scowled, “Hey-” but was silenced as the man in the suit quickly smacked him in the face with a folder.

“Again, all wrong.” The man's face turned very serious. “It's my reputation you need to think about.”

The room went silent.

“Oh come on, the kid's going away, obviously-” the arresting office laughed nervously.

“Let him go...” The detective muttered under his breath.

“Sir?”

“Take your keys, undo the cuffs, and let him go!” the detective repeated, face contorted with frustration. He then glared at the man in the suit. “Twist this however you want, but if we get the other kid, there's no twisting that!”

“Yes, well,” the man sighed, not looking all that worried. “A bridge to be crossed another day... perhaps.”

Rurik rubbed his wrists and stood as the cuffs came off, “Well, I'd say it's been real, b-” and was silenced by another smack from the man's folder.

“We're leaving, go.” The man then grabbed Rurik by the back of the neck and roughly directed him out of the tiny room.

“Alright, alright!” Rurik managed to worm free after a few steps. “. . . you're not just Gil in disguise are you?”

His only response was a curious, raised eyebrow.

“I'll take that as a no. Good.”

Another, more impatient, sigh, “I'll be driving you back to the school. I assume you can handle things yourself from there?” Indeed, as they stepped outside there was a black car waiting.

“Sure... thanks.”

“Manners.” The man spoke as he ushered Rurik into the passenger seat, “astonishing...” and then slammed the door behind him.

And so, a short while later, he was unceremoniously deposited at the front gate of Mephisto's.

“Oh, and Mr. Alexeev... try not to get arrested again. I can only work my magic so many times.”

“Damn, there goes my weekend pla-” He was silenced when the folder was this time thrown out the car at his head before the man drove off. “. . . rude.”

And so, now alone but free, he wandered over to the nearest solid surface and sat down. He needed a minute to breathe and process the fact that he'd actually gotten out of that somehow.

[Dezuel]

Vittorio Twinveil

Vittorio's eyes flung open, his gaze was met by the overly familiar room where he had spent most of his time the last two years. He was lying on the floor, his body in pain. He began to try gather his thoughts.

I.. was fighting in the tournament... then Yuuto... He stopped in his thought process, Yuuto had lunged out for Katherine in a manner that seemed off-limit for arena protocol. I interfered... and then... Alto. Vittorio's hands began to shake, as he reached out to feel the floor. I... got him.. and he.. wounded me... He reached up to feel where he had been struck by Alto.

Heh...heh.. I got him? Finally... at last? Tears would stream down his face in relief, and his hands would tighten into fists. It's good this way? Right? He reached his hand up towards the ceiling. I've avenged you... but how am I still alive? Someone took me away? Bak? Rurik? Celestine? His sight became blank, he could not remember who had brought him out of there.

Still... I cannot stay here. Good people will be harmed. They already have been harmed. Both from St.Laurel and here. The source of all this evil. I have found it. Alto and Clara. I have to destroy Clara to stop all of this. Bak will never forgive me. But... if I can save her and the others... I'll do it. There would be no reason for her to stay in this dark place. To think I would feel this way towards someone else after that time... never would I have imagined.

Vittorio began to manifest his astral form, it's ghostly appearance and tentacle wings picking up his physical form from the floor with ease and began to carry it after. He violently took hold of the door leading out into the corridor, using his remaining tentacle like wings and flung it away.

I cannot defeat her alone in her base without dragging the others into it. I must find he who stands in the middle. The leader of the vigilantes. King. Only he has the manpower, and can confirm if I did get Alto... Vittorio's tentaclelike wings were in attack formation, would anyone come into his path on the way out it would perhaps deter them. He was leaving, if it would be smoothly or a path of destruction time would tell.

[KillamriX88]

A Wellness Check

A Wellness Check

Making up beds for the Schools guests tonight had been blessedly distracting while it had lasted. Carrying the pale blue gym mats down into the basement meeting room where the Mephistos plotted their evil deeds, she'd shoved the desks to one side as quietly as she was able and laid the two that looked the most comfortable onto the floor. Combine that with her spare blankets and a very generous slice of her least crushed stuffed sheep memorabilia and she had created what she thought were two perfectly serviceable beds. She'd had to nestle Yuuto into one, and David would find the other waiting when he finally settled in for sleep.

Clara, of course, couldn't share a room with the boys because of how scandalous that would be. She would be getting the best Bak could provide, her own room and the fluffiest pile of stuffed animals in the city. Bak wouldn't be needing her room tonight, she thought. She had to patrol the grounds to make sure no suspicious people infiltrated the building. Besides, if she slept she might start thinking to much and that would make her feel even worse than she did now. Probably.

Bak was good at avoiding her own thoughts. In this case she was still going when the first rays of the sun began to peak over the horizon, stomping around the grounds with one of those big, high power flashlights and ineffectually firing small arms over the heads of old scarfaces and his gang of wives and misbegotten offspring. As she felt her eyes begin to sag closed she couldn't help but notice how startlingly ineffectual she was without her suite of electronic aides, but at least none of the teachers who worked late or came in early were coming out to try and reprimand her. Mostly because none of them had come in this morning.

That was odd, in her opinion. Normally even on weekends a few showed up to do work by now, but this morning the campus was eerily devoid of activity. She supposed that maybe the bug man from the arena had something to do with it, but that thought was pushed from her head as the sound of a car rolling up. Sluggishly she turned and stomped toward the noise, intent on either welcoming the first teacher of the day or telling some confused student that classes had been canceled.

That objective changed as she caught sight of who had just pulled up. Her eyes widened as she quickened her pace, not enough to send her careening into a wall if she tried to stop but a bigger jog than she was used to. She got close enough to confirm, then slowed to a stop a short distance away and just looked at him for a few moments. She opened her mouth but was once again at a loss for words.

"Rurik?" was what she was able to get out. A stupid question, but she felt like it was an important one.

Rurik hadn't been sitting there long when he soon heard a familiar set of stompy footsteps.

"Oh you've gotta be-" It had been less than five minutes, but indeed, it was she. Bak. She seemed to unsure he was really him. "Yeah... yeah, it's me. Pretty sure in ten years someone's gonna ask me to hide a body or something as repayment, but they got me out of jail." He let out a long sigh and stood up. "Anyway, I'm tired and cranky, so I'm gonna go home. If you could keep like a few arm.... gun... lengths away for a bit, that'd be great. Starting to think you're bad luck."

To be fair, his girlfriend was MIA, his arm had been broken, his face had been broken, and he'd nearly died at least twice all in the last 24 hours, all before being arrested. All because he'd been following Bak. All because he hadn't just gone home in the first place...

There was an intake of breath so sharp from the girl that it could have stabbed her in the throat as Rurik began to turn away from her. She stood there, closed off, eyes downcast. She couldn't even say anything to refute that, because he was right. It was just like the demon girl had said, she was sure if it more than ever now. Not just bad luck. Cursed.

She nearly accepted it. Nearly focused on something else, tried to run away like she always did into work. Into some game. She was tired though. She had been running all night and was exhausted, and as she tried again she felt a weight holding her in place.

She'd asked something of Clara. No, she'd Demanded something of Clara. Demanded she help mend the cracks she'd seen forming in the club. So what, now she couldn't do it? She was just going to let the first friend she'd ever had walk away content to let the first friend she'd ever had just walk away like all the others, why? Just because she was too much of a coward to do what she'd told others to?

So, instead of running, Bak did something she didn't think she had ever done before.

In a quivering voice, right on the verge of shattering Bak looked up and spoke. "I am sorry." She said. "I am so sorry for everything. You are right, I am bad luck. But Rurik, I swear, I never wanted it to touch you. Not you. So please, before you leave, you must tell me how to make this right. Please. I do not know how."

Rurik just shrugged a bit at Bak's words. He could hear in her voice how upset she was getting, but he told himself not to let it get to him. She was trouble. People in general were trouble, but Bak was extra trouble. A gun-laden monstrosity that too often turned her sights on him.

Just go home. Just walk. Just-

Thud Rurik hit his forehead against a nearby tree, physically as well as mentally kicking himself.

"No..." Rurik let out the word as part of a long, tired groan. "I'm sorry." He lazily turned back toward Bak and trudged over to her. "When I think about it, I have enough bad luck of my own. Probably nothing to do with you, really. Forget it." He arched his back and stretched, trying to loosen up a bit. He'd been stuck in a cramped room for hours only to be stuffed into a car after all. "So, uh, as for how to make it right, well, gimme a thumbs up and just promise you won't start crying or something because I'm way too cranky to deal with that shit." He rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. It wasn't much like him to apologize. Not because he thought it was some sign of weakness or anything... mostly just because he never felt bad about the things he did.

Rurik could count on one hand the number of people he felt gave a damn about him, and he wouldn't even need all his fingers. The fact that Bak was apparently one of those people... well... he had no idea how to process that. Yeah, he'd once considered her a friend but thought that had all fallen apart pretty quickly once she'd started shooting at him on a regular basis. But there were two common factors he could think of pertaining to yesterday. Bak had been there for every unfortunate thing that had happened, sure, but she'd also been the one to pick him up afterward.

And if he'd just run away instead of helping her, he'd have never been in a position to stop Clara... and while he wasn't sure he could claim to have made things better, he felt better knowing Clara hadn't eaten Christine's sister... or... something.

"But uh... actually... I do have to get home..." He said that, but the more he thought about it, the more a sickening feeling grew in his stomach. "Thing is though... seems like the city was sort of attacked by a bunch of masked psychos with murder knives... not... not sure what's waiting for me there..." His parents may have had powers like almost every other person in the world, but they weren't exactly fighters. "I... don't suppose you feel like going for a walk?"

Bak just looked at him for a moment, turned back to the school in consideration, then looked back at him. She supposed she knew that everyone in there was all right, and in the light of day she didn't think anything could happen with Clara there, and besides wouldn't it be prudent to know where the other council members lived in case of emergency and it's not like there would be that many people out this early anyway that could cause embarrassing situations for her....

She raised her fist, one thumb pointed at the sky, before following after him off the school grounds. As they walked despite the low traffic and how close they were to the school building Bak couldn't help herself from glancing nervously across the sidewalk for other pedestrians. Still, she could tell her nervousness wasn't anything compared to Rurik's.

"You know," she started, hoping to take his mind off whatever he was imaging. "I never cry. So you could ask me to do something else, because that request is so easy it is almost cheating."

Rurik actually found himself quite relieved when Bak began to follow him. It wasn't like he expected to find a whole pack of cultists sitting in his living room, but he wasn't sure he had the mental or emotional fortitude to handle what may or may not be waiting for him. Hell, he wasn't sure Bak being there would make much of a difference, but he knew he'd rather not be alone.

"Wh- I wasn't..." Rurik was caught a little off guard when she said not crying was too easy. He really didn't need her to do anything. Her following him was already more than he'd expected. Perhaps he should have expected it, recent events taken into consideration. "We're good, Bak. Seriously." He sighed, though added under his breath, "though if you want to stop shooting me in the morning that'd be great..." It had been a while since it had been an issue, come to think of it, but he'd like it to stay that way.

There wasn't much to say for the rest of the trip. Rurik wasn't feeling talkative and Bak looked like she was ready to fall asleep on her feet. He almost felt bad for bringing her along -- it wasn't the shortest walk. But they did get there. It was a lower-class neighborhood. Houses were crammed in, side-by-side like sardines. A set of cements steps led down to his home's front door... but there was something staining them. Here and there, specks of red, seeping into the cracks.

He paused a moment, but then suddenly ran to the door and tore it open.

"Mo-" He began to shout but then went silent...

"Hmm?" Bak asked, not quite hearing what Rurik had quickly said under his breath. He'd insisted that they were "good," but was it really as easy as all that?

She remained silent as they walked, almost lightly dozing as she continued to move. Around her the neighborhoods changed, morphed into a part of Rhea that she had never seen before. She almost bumped into him when he stopped, and as she followed his eyeline to the step she snapped entirely awake with memories of the big man and greater evils.

It can't be said that she was right behind him as he sprinted up the steps, because she had to navigate the accursed steps, but it was a close thing. This time she did bump into him, and that bump was followed by a jostling as she shoved her minigun right under his arm while simultaneously trying to see under it to determine what, if any, dangers the home could possible hold.

Rurik had stopped when he'd run into two people rather startled by him barging in. The good news was that it was his parents, the bad news was that suddenly he felt Bak's gun poke past him. He supposed he'd put her on alert when he'd panicked. Probably best that he calm her down before-

"WH-WHAT IS THAT!?" his mother immediately lost it upon seeing Bak looming behind him, gun raised.

"No, mom-"

"Move, boy!" his father shouted next.

"Seriously, sto-"

"HURRY!" his mother clawed at his sleeves, trying to pull him away.

"Hey, quit i-"

SLAM! And to top it all off, from outside, just behind Bak, came a sudden, massive thudding footstep and an ominous rumbling. The door was nearly bashed off its hinges as a giant, stone golem rose from the earth and began reaching toward Bak.

Rurik's jaw dropped. Right, The Guardian. That's probably where the blood came from. Mystery solved, but he really needed everyone to calm the fuck down.

"ENOUGH ALREADY!" Rurik roared at the top of his lungs, finally causing his parents and even the stone guardian to halt. For a moment, it was if they were all frozen in time from the shock of Rurik actually raising his voice.

Then, breaking the stalemate, a large, white, mop of a dog trotted over to see what was going on. The family's old sheepdog, Maxim. Not seeming perturbed in the slightest by Rurik's outburst and the newcomer behind him, the dog went right up to the two and sniffed him and Bak before sitting down calmly and looking up at Bak... or one would assume. It was hard to see his eyes behind the long, white dreads of his coat.

'Boof.' He barked quietly. 'I see in you the yes of one who has watched many a flock.' He seemed to say to her.

But probably not.

Regardless of what the dog was getting at, it actually seemed to calm everyone down.

"So... mom. Dad. This is my classmate... Bak Tsarevna," Rurik spoke, still looking a little stressed... "Bak, these are my parents. And our dog... and my dad's golem."

It was still true that his parents weren't fighters, but when you could make giants out of stone, did you really need to be?

As soon as the yelling started Bak tried to point her gun at anything but Rurik's mother and father, which wasn't an easy prospect in this awkward position she had put herself in here on the stoop. She raised it up very quickly, like a surrendering soldier would present his weapon. This, unfortunately, had the effect of trapping Rurik's arm.

She'd thought...well...she wasn't entirely clear on what she'd thought, but it was apparent that the situation was not what she'd thought and if she'd thought a little harder she could have avoided embarrassing herself and picking a fight with what she had to assume was a powerful sorcerer considering the giant stone monster that was radiating menace right behind her.

"I am Tsarevna. I am classmate." She repeated hesitantly, struggling to find words. She supposed she may as well try that magic one again. "I am sorry he was so late in returning."

"Dobroye utro." She said, bringing her weapon down and flipping it back as she attempted to shrink down and maybe melt away behind him.

Timidly, Rurik's parents glanced at each other... and then immediately relaxed.

"It is good you are home, boy! Mother was getting worried," his father said.

"Yeah, cultists will do that." Rurik crossed his arms, happy to leave the police out of his story.

"Ah, yes yes. Strange men came to front door, but guardian took care of them. Very messy." His father nodded.

"Yeah, I uh, I noticed."

"Come, sit, sit. You were not home for dinner last night. Is still in fridge. Eat, you must be hungry," his mother urged.

"Yes, you as well, girl. Sit. Mother makes plenty of food for both of you," his father spoke to Bak.

"Uhhhh... so do you want dinner for breakfast?" Rurik looked at Bak. "Um, you do eat, right?" He actually couldn't remember. What if she did something weird like drink oil? Did they have oil? Was it offensive to ask? Did he care if it was? No... not really.

"Husband, large girl will break chair!" At this point they did indeed seem more concerned with her size rather than her appearance. Perhaps her similar accent was making her more welcome.

"Do not worry about chair." The man beckoned to the golem which ducked low and stepped into the house.

"No, it will make mess. Is still covered in blood!" Rurik's mother protested even as the golem awkwardly shuffled past Rurik and Bak, knocking a vase off a nearby self in the process. However, it eventually fumbled its way over to the kitchen table and folded itself into a large, stone throne for Bak to sit at if she pleased. "Fine fine, I will clean..." His mother went over the now chair-shaped golem and placed her hand on it. A light washed over the golem and the blood vanished, as well as a few cracks and chips, leaving it pristine. She then pulled out a cloth and dabbed at her own nose before quickly putting it away. A keen eye might have detected a that it had come away with a bit of blood as well. However, before it could be brought up, she hurried off the kitchen the grab food.

"Good, good. Stompy girl will stay, yes? We must thank you for bringing the boy home," his father said.

"No, it is fine." Bak said, equally as timidly as the giant stone thing pushed its way past her and Rurik. "There is much I have to do today..."

But then her stomach objected, letting out the riotous rumble the army that marches on its stomach would make when denied mealtime. She looked down, embarrassed. At points like this she wished she really didn't need to eat. But she did, and she hadn't for pretty much the whole day yesterday.

"Maybe just a little. Thank you." She mumbled, stepping through the surprisingly wide door. If she was being totally honest the household piqued her interest, and not just because it had a dog that didn't start barking the moment it smelled her. The thing struck by her side as she sidled in, and as they moved she life her hand on its head as gently as she could and gave it a scratch.

The other thing was...well...she just had to ask. "Rurik?" She whispered, leaning toward him. "Where are you from?"

Rurik took a seat at the table as well as Bak asked her question. About his past. He didn't like talking about that. And yet he found himself surprisingly loose lipped.

"We used to have a farm in the Old Lowlands. Two dozen or so miles south of that hellhole Yekaterina. We were always worried some shit was going to spill down onto us. You know they had witches there? Like actual witches?" Rurik rolled his eyes. "They usually didn't wander down into the valley, though. Also heard a story about trolls attacking a school or something? Weird place..." Rurik pursed his lips.

"Ah yes, the farm," Rurik's father chimed back in. "Good life, the farm. Simple. Shame that blight killed all the crops. After that, no food. No money. Had to leave."

That did it. Rurik's expression immediately soured. Sure, the scary stories of Yekaterina had been a thing, but that had been all it was for him -- just stories. In a way, they'd been fun. That had been back when something like happiness hadn't been such a foreign concept... and then so suddenly it had been.

Maxim seemed to notice, padding over and resting his chin on Rurik's lap in an attempt to snap him out of it.

"Wait..." Rurik started thinking. He could kinda guess why Bak had asked. "What about you, then?"

"Clearly she is hardy girl. Must be from Old Country as well, yes?" his father seemed to be thinking the same thing. And if so... had he just shit talked her home to her face?

Bak gave Rurik a look that was halfway between curiosity and disbelief. "I am from Northern heckhole." She leaned forward ominously. "Where I was taught that Southern Lowland were full of poison swamp and cannibal blood farmers." She lowered her head, trying to get a look inside Rurik's mouth. "Mama said you could tell by their red teeth. From all the blood."

She grinned at him. Of course she knew Rurik wasn't a cannibal. Mr. Lalafel, the nice man that had smuggled her out of the country, had told her the government spread all sorts of lies to keep people from trying to leave. Deadly steppe cults, imprisonment for being Yek by hostile governments, and actual dragons just to name a few. She didn't see why they had to, the natural barriers were bad enough. You had to get through the Forest of Nightingales to reach the south from where she lived.

"I had no idea you were farm boy as well. What did crafty witches attempt to steal from you? Did they get destroyed by stone man as well? Or did you blow them up?"

"Yeah, turns out cannibalism is illegal in Rhea. It was a rough transition, but you gotta do what you gotta do, you know?" Rurik said deadpan. So it turned out Bak was indeed from Yekaterina after all. He wondered if any of the scary stories he'd been told as a child stemmed from her, but there were lots of stories of war and guns from Yekaterina, so it was hard to say. "I never fought any witches, I wasn't much of a fighter back then. And like I said, they rarely came our way, and they never really came to our farm in particular."

By then, his mother had finished reheating the leftovers and brought them to the table. Hearing that he'd decided to take part in the tournament, she'd gone all out and prepared some old-fashioned recipes that reminded him of the country. Now though, the ingredients were harder to find when they couldn't just grow their own.

"So... Rurik," his mother spoke up after a minute. "You talk about girl you have... uhh... is this..."

"Yes..." his father also spoke. "You said she is fancy girl. Err, she is fancy, but not quite in way imagined..."

Rurik paused mid bite of food to stare at his parents incredulously.

"I said... her name is Bak. My girlfriend is Christine..." Rurik grumbled. His parents just looked at each other and whispered to each other in a different language. "I can still understand you..." Rurik said in the same language. It was similar to Bak's first language, though a slightly different dialect and one could tell by his accent he didn't speak it often. His parents both shrunk back in embarrassment and Rurik just looked off to the side in annoyance.

"Well, is good they never got to you." Bak said, slightly disappointed that the image of Rurik blowing witches to pieces with rocks was all fantasy. It would be fun to know what witches really looked like when they exploded. "If they got your hair or blood there is no telling what could have happened. They could have stolen your skull of turned you into tree or any number of horrible thing."

It wasn't long before Bak trailed off, having been engrossed in the spell cast by the food. She took in the smell as Ruriks mother brought it to the table. She hadn't had anything from the homeland since that Bear Pot Celestine had gotten for her the night they met, and felt her mouth begin to water at the sight of it. She eagerly scooped some up as everyone began eating, placing a portion in her mouth and savoring the taste.

The Ruriks parents had asked the question that nearly made her choke.

What was this? Her and Rurik? This was ludicrous! How could they even think...how would you ever mix her up with Christine? Even if Rurik had never brought her home, which was understandable given her lewd nature, surely even a short description would make it clear the two were nothing alike.

"Nyet, nyet," she managed to squeak out between between half gags as the food went down, face crimson in embarrassment. This whole thing was uncomfortable, the entire mood seemed to have taken a turn, and hearing that uncomfortable expressed in a language that was not quite hers only added to that. She had to clear this up. "You do not have anything to worry about, Christine is very beautiful and kind! He is envy of all our classmates." she said urgently. "Rurik is just my friend."

Just. She got a pensive look on her face as she thought about that word. It felt...wrong. Reductive. "In matter of fact, he was first person to make me feel welcome after moving here." She said nostalgically.

He supposed he couldn't blame his parents. He was practically the poster boy for punks and losers. A high class lady like Christine associating with him let alone dating him was unfathomable unless you saw it first-hand. He was pretty sure his parents didn't think she existed. Of course, as Bak spoke, his parents looked at her in disbelief. Now they were no doubt trying to decide what was harder to believe: Christine existing or Rurik being nice to someone like that. Further adding to their conundrum was the fact that Bak had confirmed Christine's existence, though he was sure they'd never truly believe til' they saw her. If they ever got to. He was in no rush. Perhaps he was too embarrassed to show Christine his shabby little home in his shabby little neighborhood. Perhaps he preferred to keep things simple between them. After all, most people considered "meeting the parents" to be a big step.

Considering Rurik had been to Christine's house, and nothing had changed, it was a weak excuse...

"Well... is good he did that," his father eventually spoke.

"Yes, I thought he had forgotten what manners were," his mother added.

The rest of "dinner" was a much less awkward affair. Even reheated the food was nearly perfect and there were no more unwelcome accusations or suggestions. Eventually though, the food did run out. Bak's chair gave her a pat on the head and then unfolded back into its more intimidating form before bumbling its way back outside where it lay down, becoming just another bit of sidewalk as far as the average person would be concerned.

"Was good to meet you, Tsarevna." Rurik's father nodded to her.

"Yes, lovely to see another from the Old Country. You are welcome any time," his mother told her.

'Boof.' Maxim barked. 'Farewell, honorable fellow guardian. May we meet again in green pastures.' He seemed to say.

But probably not.

And so Rurik walked Bak outside.

"Well... thanks for coming over and eating my food, anyway..." Rurik said to her. It hadn't been nearly as dramatic as he'd feared, but that was good he supposed. "Guess you can go... do whatever it is you had to do now."

Bak gave the three of them a deep bow. "Thank you for having me. It was nice meeting you as well."

She gave a particular nod to the dog. 'May your watch over this pasture be long and glorious, diminished though your territory may be.' She seemed to reply.

"I am glad they were alright. They are very kind. But...ummmm.....that was tiny little lie." She admitted awkwardly when Rurik's parents where out of earshot. "With no school there is nothing for me to do besides watch building and wait for Vittorio to wake up." She looked down, her eyes falling on the panel of sidewalk that contained the rock monster that had been all to ready to pulp her. "I was just afraid they would change their minds." More than that, though, something else was nibbling at the back of her mind. She looked back up at him, wondering if she should broach this subject, and remembered the last time she shared her concerns with everyone but the person she was concerned for. "Rurik, have they done something to upset you?"

"If we're being honest, I think they're just happy you kinda sound like them when you talk. Not many people like us living here in Rhea, really," Rurik said. And then she kept talking. "What, no, I just don't like thinking about home is all. Too many bad memories now," he told her, keeping his explanation short. "Anyway, yeah, go watch Vittorio. We all know what happened last time we let him out of our sight." He doubted he'd do anything that dumb again so soon, though. Could he even move? Probably not.

But why take chances? See how far he'd get while Bak was sitting on him... Well that might kill him, but still.

However, before Rurik went back inside and let Bak go, he hesitated. He tried to make himself look her in the eyes, but he couldn't quite hold his gaze there and so shuffled awkwardly in place.

"Hey, look... yesterday I was kinda dead weight for... a lot of stuff. I have a tendency to make things harder than they have to be, you know. Do the bare minimum and all that," he said. "But also yesterday for the first time in a while I actually... kinda tried. And uh, maybe today everything was fine, but the point is you're standin' here when frankly after the way I've been you shouldn't be." He pursed his lips and looked away. He hated touchy-feely shit. "OK, OK what I'm trying to say... is that maybe I'm going to keep trying. So... next time something comes up, let me know. I'll..." he let out a sigh and said something he hadn't said in a loooong time. Certainly not and meant it. "I'll do my best." He realized only after speaking how horribly vague that had all been as he'd attempted to get it over with as quickly as possible. He hoped Bak got the point...

Bak blinked at him. "What an odd thing to say. Without you I would not be standing here at all."
"Chin up, Rurik." she said, repeating the words David had used to calm her down last night. "All of us made mistakes yesterday. I even made Tovarish admit to it. But it is nice to know we will always try our best tomorrow. I know I can count on you."

She smiled at him, just enjoying the moment. Then she glanced up and saw how far the sun had moved in the sky, and lost it. "I should go back before there are more people on street. It was wonderful meeting your family. I will see you at school, bright and early!" With that exclamation she turned away and began the trek back to St. Lucifer's.

Rurik didn't know how to feel as Bak left. She seemed to trust him, but not for the right reasons. Mistakes?

"It wasn't... just yesterday..." Not unless it was an all encompassing yesterday.

Well, she'd said she could count on him. All he could hope to do was make sure she didn't regret it.

Fuck, this was a lot of pressure. Maybe this had been a mistake. It had been way less stressful when he didn't give a damn. Maybe it wasn't too late to-

No, no, no, that hadn't been any good either.

"Bright and early?" Well, maybe not that just yet. Baby steps.

[Gentlemanvaultboy]

Still Pretty Early

@Dezuel

---

Bak couldn't help but let out a huge yawn as she made her way back to the School. She had eaten too much, that was the cause of it. That had been the best breakfast she'd had in a long while, much better and much more than the soggy pancakes and not really sausage whipped up by the cafeteria staff in the morning or those lemon glazed donuts from the convenience shop. She could feel the drowsiness really hitting her now.

She had to soldier on. There was no telling how long she would stay asleep if she dozed off on her feet here, and the waning morning hours were going to give way quickly to the hustle and bustle of a city that was awake and alive. Though, now that she thought about it, maybe that would be a good thing? since coming to this city she'd remained shut up in the school basement, only really coming out on tournament days. Despite living here for more than a year now she had still only seen the small part of Rhea surrounding St/ Lucifer. There were lots of reasons she could use as an excuse. She could tell herself she was helping keep the secret of St. Mephistos, that she'd just recently been implicated in aiding and abetting a criminal, or that her passport was more of a shipping manifest and on paper she was a forklift.

But none of those were the reasons. It was like she'd admitted to Rurik.

She was just scared.

That self-reflection, a concept more terrifying to Bak than any of the monster stories she'd ever heard, turned out to be enough to keep her from lapsing even into the walking doze she'd fallen into by following Rurik out and meant that she made in back in good time. The city seemed more slow to wake up today, much more captious, so she didn't have to face the anxiety of passerby by on this trip. That was good. Baby steps. Baby steps that brought her right back to a familiar gate and, happily, a familiar face.

"Vittorio, you are awake!" she shouted happily, before suddenly remembering that he was probably a wanted man and covering her mouth. "Vittorio, you are awake." she repeated in a loud whisper as she approached, as if that would cancel it out. She had spotted him coming out and the relief nearly sapped the last of the tension holding her to consciousness. Even her addled mind, though, could tell something might be wrong. Why was he carrying himself? Why did it look like he was ready for a fight? Her mind went back to the bloodstains on Rurik's steps. "Oh no, did strange men come here as well?" she said, looking around.

[Dezuel]

Vittorio Twinveil

Vittorio stood as if frozen as he spotted the one person he did not want to meet in that long corridor on his way out. Yet at the same time, the only one he wanted to meet.

"Bak?... Bak... were you the one who brought me back? Did I get Alto? I've been asleep for soo long... but now I do feel like I am awake. Being awake also has allowed me to conclude what it is that I need to do. THe strange men have always been in my dreams, enveloped by shadow... they never truly left." His tentacle wings twitched in the air, as he put his physical form down against one of the walls. Out of all the students of St.Lucifers, Bak alone was one which he didn't want to fight at all. Thus he left his astral form and returned to his physical body, slowly getting up on his feet while clutching his side, with hints of pain over his face. He stood there for a moment as Bak was going closer, at which he took a few steps forwards and tried to hug her.

"Thank you, Bak... but I cannot stay here no more, you and the others will get hurt because of me. People have already gotten hurt because of me. You should leave this place Bak..." He said as he looked into Bak's eyes, his eyes looking abit tired but sincere, his somewhat weak body would be so frail compared to Bak's reinforced form.

"I know what Clara and Mephisto says sound true and right, but their words are ultimately going to lead to the destruction of Rhea as we know it. When you are no longer useful to them they are going to dispose of you, that's why they still keep me. They want me to fight and be their puppet. We all are just tools for them." Vittorio tried to squeeze Bak abit, providing she would allow it.

"Bak... I cannot go with you, but you need to leave this darkness. Go to greener fields with everyone, because otherwise you are going to lose it all. Just like I did..." He said with a sad tone in his voice, as he looked deeply into Bak's eyes. For a moment he froze, as he thought he could see her straight through. As if all that metal protecting her had fallen away. She was truly something special.

I'll won't let it happen again... it must not happen again. This time... I...

Vittorio swallowed, then leaned forwards, trying to plant a soft kiss on Bak's cheek, his approach very gentle, as if a single gust of wind would knock him over. "Dasvidaniya..."

[Gentlemanvaultboy]

Still Pretty Early, St. Lucifer's front gate

@Dezuel

---

There was a battle waged here, fierce and terrible. It didn't involve bullets and bombs, every blasts, or even punches. It didn't last very long. It was fought in an instant, and ended in only two moves.

There was a lot of things that she considered wrong about what he'd said. She wanted to say he hadn't gotten Alto. She wanted to tell him that, no, she was talking about real strange men that had really come to attack them. She couldn't though, because he was going back into his body and if he were going back in there he wouldn't be able to walk very well. "She got out a short "but..." as she stepped forward to try and support his frail body and that's when he launched his first deadly attack.

She was unsure of what was happening at first, confused by this odd full body warmth that seemed to seep into her. It took her only a moment to realize that Vittorio was very close, arms wrapped up around her neck. This sort of full body contact was unprecedented. She had snuggled with her sheep on especially windy watches, yes, but even that mass of warm bodies had never felt quite this hot. It was paralyzing. It was nice. She was locked in place, worried that any sudden movement was going to shatter this feeling.

He was speaking again, and she wanted to argue she really did. He was wrong. She knew he was wrong. He didn't even know Clara. He was just like the William boy, she was sure that if they could just talk...but then he squeezed her so hard it felt like she was going to be torn to pieces.

Leave the darkness. He said nearly exactly what she'd been thinking about on her walk over here. The he leaned in and delivered his finishing move. It was wet and warm and the shock of it simply scrambled everything in her head.

It was in this moment, red as a ripened tomatoe and three times as squishy, that she had a revelation. This entire morning had been altogether to nice and warm and full of plesent surprises. This was a dream. This whole thing had to be a dream. She had passed out sometime during her watch, probably in the early morning. When she woke up she would be hungry, Rurik would be off is some freezing gulag somewhere, and warmth like this would have never reached her. That was a far more believable story.

These were her last thoughts as her head fell forward and she fainted on her feet, leaving her standing right there just outside the school, smiling dreamily. After a few minutes she began to snore.

Bak Vs. Vittorio

Winner: Vittorio

K.O.

[Dezuel]

Vittorio Twinveil

She's.. warm? He thought as he hugged her, had she gotten a fever? Vittorio realized that he had spent so much time in his astral form that he had forgotten the warmth of another person, same could be said for the breathing and heartbeat he could feel replying to his own. His own heartbroken core, broken beyond repair. At least that's what he thought. He withdrew from the hug slightly to look to Bak's face, she was indeed looking very red so Vittorio reached up with his hand to her forehead to check. The frail boy placed the palm of his hand on her forehead, she were warm indeed. But he couldn't remember how warm you had to be in order to have a fever.

"Bak?" He asked, blinking his eyes slowly as he looked to her, she hung her head over slightly. Then he could hear the unmistakable sound of someone sleeping.

"She.. fell asleep?" Vittorio blinked abit faster, then had a smile appear on his lips. To when he came to realize he was feeling a combination of shock and... warmth? This feeling? This magnetism? He both disliked it and liked it at the same time, it reminded him of the moment when he had lost it all.

"Bak.. you have kept pushing yourself... all for your friends... getting hurt in doing so... I...I admire you... you are truly a kind and beautiful person... and I-I.." The frail boy's body froze, as the word finally reached him, the word for that feeling which he couldn't place.

"...and I do..." He said in a soft, barely noticable voice as he leaned to her ear, his lips made out two words, which none have ever heard him speak. He said them so quietly, because he couldn't bear to hear them in his own ears, as if the realization of himself saying it would tear him up from the ground he stood upon.

Then he withdrew his embrace from her, she was standing there, fully asleep by the looks of it. He knew he couldn't move her in his physical form, even in his astral form it would be a daunting task. But he couldn't leave her out here. Thus he sat down and went into his astral form, which smoothly slid over towards Bak and wrapped his tentacle like wings around her gently, before lifting her. She was heavier than he had thought, her weight he could feel pressing down on his mind like a powerful pressure, getting heavier for each moment passed.

He had to quickly bring her to her room, when he found it he opened it with a tentacle, wrapping around the doorknob. Carefully lifting Bak into her sheep filled room. Vittorio finally put her on her bed after some careful placement. His astral form poofed out as soon as he did, and he was back in his physical body. Where he headed over to Bak's room and closed the door after he went in.

Vittorio scanned his surroundings for a blanket which he could place on her. After some recon he managed to find a suitable one depicting a circle of sheep on it, he moved slowly over to the bed and was about to put the blanket over her when he realized that she was still wearing her clothes on.

Thus he came into a dilemma on what he should do. He could help her into some nightgown or he could just put the blanket over her. Bak's clothes were custom made by the looks of it, it wasn't something the usual student would wear. Vittorio realized he couldn't help her without possibly destroying parts of her attire, thus came to the decision to leave her be with her clothes still on. He slowly pulled the big blanket over her and made sure she was lying down somewhat comfortable.

The boy gave a soft sigh of relief and smile, and once again he could feel that feeling again. His chest would heat up and feel like a thousand moths had just awoken from their slumber in his chest. He swallowed and then gave Bak a soft stroke on her head, moving some of her hair away from her face, before finally withdrawing to the doorway and closing the door behind him. As he began to walk the corridor again, his thoughts fell on words uttered moments ago, so quiet yet he had uttered them. Even if she couldn't have possibly Heard him… what was he going to do now?

[Gentlemanvaultboy]

&

Celestine

Meanwhile, that same morning...

---

There were a pair of voices that that drifted in to Celestine's consciousness. A young one, and an old cantankerous one, and they were having a discussion that could politely be described as "heated." Both fell silent, though, as the change overtook Celestines body.

When Cel's eyes opened they fell upon a large bedroom, the wall festooned with porcelain nik-naks of all shape and size. Gil stood at the foot of the bed, his head barely visible over the front, facing down an old, bird faced woman. At least, they would be facing down if they weren't now staring at Cel. The sharp shifter, after gathering his thoughts, let out a light chuckle.
The old woman, for her part, sighed, muttered something about her one weakness being exploited, and stomped out of the room looking very cross.
Gilliam made his way around the side of the bed, tracing up the length of Celestine's new body. He opened a drawer on the bedside table, pulled out a pink hand mirror, and handing it dutifully to Cel. "It is not at all unusual, Master Nursemaid, to feel slightly peckish after such a profound transformation. At least, in my experience."

Celestine took a few seconds to register that she was being talked at, her mind racing to get her coordination back after such a radical change, still sore and drained from the change. "Peckish is underselling it, mr Gilliam." Celestine croaked in a tired voice. "My body shouldn't be able to do this... It's revolting to think... that in my search for power I end up resembling you of all people." She eyed the stranger's face in the reflection, before warming up her facial muscles. Stopping for a second, she concentrated, as she twitched with her left eye, who now was becoming slightly green-tinted. "But on the other hand, as laborious as it might be for me, not being constrained to an underdeveloped manchild body any longer is good." She added, putting the mirror before stretching and trying to stay on her own feet

She was nearly a foot taller than her old self, and her knees became weak all of a sudden, falling to her knees. "This body will need adjusting." It was then when she realized. "...I switched genders too. It seems." She paused before letting a muffled laughter. "I guess... there's something worse than resembling you, it seems. Resembling the woman that is supposed to be my mother."

"I've found family to be the root cause of all life's difficulties." Gilliam replied, silently trying to figure out if anything Celestine had just said didn't contain some form of insult directed at him and whether they outweighed the flattery of imitation. He trotted along behind, reaching down to help lift the new Cel back up. It didn't help much, considering how monumental their differences in height were right now. "Be that as it may, you will find my Grandmother to be an excellent cook by any regular standard."

"If you will permit me, I'd like to ask how you are feeling." He continued. "Not the hunger, that is to be expected. Any aches or stabbing pains to indicate something out of place. Any intrusive thoughts or feelings that might indicate a fraying of identity? It is most important to catch such symptoms early so they might be corrected before they are given a chance to solidify."

"Unlike you, my core body structure is still a human base. I just rearranged some bones, muscles and a few organs." She paused, the eyes becoming blue again. "I just feel sore, but refreshed." Celestine finally stood up and began to walk. Step by step, with the grace and elegance of a catwalk. "Now that you mention it... I feel." Celestine seemed to shut down for a second, before tears began to bubble in her eyes as she tried to claw away the skin of her cheeks. "THIS IS NOT MY FACE OH MY GOD THIS IS HORRIBLE." She downright shrieked like a madwoman, seemingly falling into a fit.

Only to stop at the last minute. "Mr Dewitt. Who am I? My mind controls my body, and not in reverse." before sporting a grin, the playacting being over.

Gilliam had started forward as Cel began to claw at their cheeks, but had stopped as the screams began. As Cel turned and grinned at him he could only politely clap. "Bravo. It's good that you have such a well defined sense of identity."

There was a thunderous series of steps as the old woman burst into the room, brandishing what looked like a human finger bone in one hand while balancing a wooden platter laden down with re-heated biscuits from the nights dinner. She looked at Gil suspiciously. "Boy..."

He shook his head. "Just some theatrics. I'm a patient lad, I can wait for dinner."

She narrowed her eyes, slotted the bone back into her apron, and laid the biscuit on the bed. She left again, this time muttering darkly about leaving for months only to scare her half to death.

"You eat one cat and you're never allowed to forget it." Gilliam said after her footsteps had disappeared back down the hallway. He took a biscuit and threw it to Cel.

Celestine eyed the biscuit with some apprehension, before gulping it down greedily. "Cats are too stringy. Dogs are meatier. Can't beat pork, though." She said, licking the crumbs out of her finger. "You're not a ravenous beast anymore. You have purpose. If you wanted to eat me you'd done so already." She added, a hand in her hip, before realizing that her clothes wouldn't fit her anymore. "Nevertheless, it is only fair that I help you in kind after extracting me from that humiliation." She sighed. "Why did you do it?"

"Duty." He said, very quickly. "I also find it's easier for me to think rationally if I'm performing a task. I tend to get unhinged when I'm not wrapped in the form of a butler." This also didn't seem as though he were being entirely truthful.

"And, I..." He started slowly, in the easily recognizable tone of a. patient that needs to tell his doctor something but refuses to. "I need to ask your professional opinion on something."

"Ask away then." Celestine added, as she helped herself to more biscuits. They were reasonably filling.

Gil looked side to side, as though he'd been asks to strip. Then he slowly reached up and took off his eye patch. The first surprising thing was that it could be removed at all, which meant that it was a real item of clothing and not some part of his body. Underneath there was no hole, no eye, just a blank canvas of skin. Gil concentrated and the skin that had been hidden started to ripple and shutter, then went still again.

"I was attempting to create an eye there." He said solemnly.

"I didn't notice until I tried to regain a human form. It's not just that. Right now my brain is in a different part of my body because I just can't seem to form something that complex within my skull. Just bones and meat. I'd like to know if you could fix this."

"hmm... it's a bit hard to tell. It could be oxidative damage from repeated regeneration, but that problem should be in the entire body, not there. What hit you there?" Celestine said.

"Were you watching when that William boy nearly chopped me in twain?" He replied. "I don't even know where he got that sword."

"hmm, it's that so. Astral damage is a pain. It's your spiritual self that is damage, no matter the biology." Celestine said frowning. "We would need a magician to undo that damage. Because it seems you don't have enough sense of self to perceive where the damage is..."

"Spiritual self?" He said, completely confused. Gilliam, for as long as he could remember, had only dealt with things in a biological sense. For one reason or another he had never considered the idea of what shape his soul might take or what sort of damage it could receive. "There's nothing wrong with my biology, I'm simply at the mercy of some immaterial thing I can't even perceive?" It was like home all over again, but somehow even more offensive.

"Hmm." Celestine pondered. "If only I could show you. Actually, come to think of it... there might be a way, but it's a bit risky for us both."

"What are you thinking?" Gil replied.

"Parallel brain processing. I have more than enough capacity to at least show you where the damage is, should our minds be connected. But it is risky."

"You mean connecting our nervous systems together?" Gil said. At first he looked incredulous, but then he lowered his head to consider. "It is theoretically possible. I've considered I might be able to supplement someone else, but..."

He grumbled and cupped his hand over his eyes in frustration. "I might eat your body, you might eat my mind. But if you're willing to take that risk I'm willing to take it in turn."

"Well... you're already paying my fees... so let's do science."

"For science." Gil said. He raised up his arm, wiggling nerves pushing themselves up out from under his fingernails. "Turn around."

He gently put his fingers to the base of Cells neck and, as though administering a shot, pushed the nerve inside. They ate their way inside in pinprick streams, searching out their counterparts and wrapping them like intertwining pieces of tinsel.

Celestine seemed to faint ever so slightly after the connection was stablished, struggling with nausea. The foreign body was clearly not his own, but he persevered. The mind of hers shuddered and came back strong, as if it was an awoken beast. Thoughts gave rise to mental images, as Celestine turned to her inner self. There was the black void again, the personification of her power sporting an office look and giving a stern glare to the new, foreign presence. Gilliam's ego.

"Well, it seems it worked... so far. No excessive signs of shock." Celestine said to the black void, before bringing a gigantic mockery of his body... with yet another attacked displayed as if it was an hologram, the chaotic mass that Gilliam was being a stark contrast with the order of Celestine bodily functions.

The weird thing is Gilliam looked human in this light at a passing glance. But then you looked closer, and realized that his body was composed entirely of what looked like strands of spaghetti made of cancer, tightly packed and bound by some force into the vague shape of a human being.

"Fascinating. And gross. I suppose I should apologize. You're actually close to sponges than to amoebas. Diffuse cell networks in a vaguely defined shape. " Celestine muttered, as he exerted his willpower. "Now, I can check the status of the cells of my body. At first I could... not define what soul, or spirit damage was. I still cannot comprehend. But it just shows as another statistic... it seems, as I've increased my awareness of the supernatural." Celestine did a few gestures as the wretch that Gilliam's body was, before flicking some ethereal button. A ghostly pale image of both Celestine and Gilliam's lifeforce was displayed, showing the dark area near what it seemed to be the arm and the body of the critter. "See this area? Somehow, your power is being spent due to some... well, let's say magic? You'd need to cut all this area, and hope the remaining bits of the body pick up the slack, but you need to concentrate to sort out which parts of your... uhg, body,will be viable."

"That was the first thing I tried to do." The shambling mound gurgled. "Remove the damaged sections, or transfer them to a less problematic area."

"But could you account of the damage and the quality on a cell by-cell basis? That's where things get difficult. The way I see it, there's two ways to solve it... The long and fairly safe, and the short and reckless one."

"I would rather take the option with the least risk." It said. "I believe I can still perform my duties in this state. There's no urgent need to proceed quickly."

"Aw, you're no fun." Celestine deadpanned, before focusing, fetching images on his memories. A couple of ethereal personifications appeared before Gilliam, one of them a well-known silver-haired short girl, in a tasteful dancing dress. The witch, Diana. The other a voluptuous yet gory visage, a caricature of Meredith. "These two can fix you up with healing magic. I would rather seek the Witch of Bones. She is more trustworthy."

"A witch...?" Gilliam said. He thought he had heard something about witches before, some murmured talk in the distinct past that made his skin crawl. Literally, the strands began to intensify their wriggling and some from the bottom of his mass began to spread out defensively across the floor as he considered it. There was a shutter that ran through him. Something from home?

"Is she anything like a necromancer? Grandmother is very strict about no necromancers in the house." he asked, his tone distorted as though many mouths were all attempting to say the same thing at once. "I would have to meet her elsewhere."

"A skillful one. And she changes fair rates for her services." Celestine droned on, with a bored expression. "Now, I believe we're done... unless you want me to force install knowledge on you or something." She tilted her head, expecting Gilliam to make a move.

"Planning to sneakily swallow me up?" it gurgled, it's form coming even more unbound. No, no! Wait, no. Maintain, maintain. "No, I believe our time to be short. Let us discuss the rest of the details outside." There was a light static sound as Gilliam willed his nerves to unwrap from the doctors and the bridge connecting their minds was severed.

"Hmm, that was weird. And exhilarating. Let's not do it again." Celestine said, nursing her neck, as she looked at the young boy. "Alright, I think it's high time i find some... decent clothes and food. I could eat a whole horse." She added, as she began to walk with the swagger her old short legs never allowed her to.

"Do not tempt the old woman. She will hold you to comments like that." Gilliam replied, shaking his head until he was sure he was still him.

[Crowvette]

Andras

Andras couldn't tell what time it was when she awoke. She felt like her body was leaden, sunk into the bed, to never once again move. Stuck laying on its side, with the only thing to look at being a curtained window.

Of course, she was just being dramatic. She could move... In fact, she had to, because wearing her hoodie in bed was far too warm for her to sleep comfortably in. Her muscles were sore, and beyond that, her joints felt stiff as well. Raising her arms to pull off her hoodie proved to be more of a challenge than she first expected. She lazily tossed it to the ground after getting it off.

After the herculean effort of removing her hoodie, Andras let out a contented sigh and turned herself over in bed. She already felt cooler, which was nice, but Vera was another source of warmth that she didn't really consider. Wait...

'Vera?!' Andras managed to stop herself from shouting in confusion, but she couldn't manage to stop her heart from skipping a few beats. She froze, thinking over her situation. 'Okay. Stay calm. She's still asleep. Maybe she's okay with me being in her bed? What did I do last night?! I thought this was the same room I originally laid down in... Would she have kicked me out if she wasn't okay with it?'

Andras gulped, trying to gather her courage. 'Maybe... I'll just roll with it.' She moved a little closer to Vera. Despite her tired body, Andras didn't figure she was going to be able to fall back asleep, with how her heart was pounding. But she figured that she had a few moments before Vera woke up and...

Andras didn't want to think about what happens when Vera wakes up.

[RoflsMazoy]

Dream upon a Star

St. Laurel's student council. While outshined by their president, was nonetheless made up of exceptional people. Part of the duties of a new Student Council President is to select the rest of the members of the council, under advisement from the previous president. Unfortunately the previous president had chosen almost entirely students from their year level in their previous running, and when they had graduated it left a large vacuum, which the Child of Light had filled admirably.

The last generation's student council had housed some of their most powerful students, on succession the students left were far less experienced in almost every aspect. As a result, the new generation's council contained a lot of new blood. They were inexperienced, but their first year had passed without many worries. The events of the day before had been something unexpected for them. They Student Council for the most part were proficient academically, but had a ways to go in terms of combat power.

Their reactions to the attack were varied. None of those reactions were strong, save for the President. For the rest, it was something between in between running from a raging fire and entering into a nightmare. It was like a reminder of the world they had once lived in, the one from their history books was still the world of today.

Looking out of the window of the council rooms, the students were all treading carefully. Many had visible injuries. Many, they knew, had less visible ones. The council room was silent except for the sound of pen on paper, or the sounds of typing on a keyboard.

Suddenly, Alto walked through the door.

"Alto, I thought you were…" Eliza, the Student Council's secretary said.

Were wounded, she was about to say. He still was. He had his right arm in a sling, and there were some bandages barely visible under his uniform. Alto caught her looking at his right arm.

"This is just a fracture, I can still write with my left if need be." He said as he walked to his desk.

She thought even his family with their… expectations would let him rest after all he'd been through.

"I'm here voluntarily. There's work that needs to be done." He said.

The council members present all shared a look.

"We can handle anything you'd need to do today…" She said.

He looked at her with gentle eyes.

"I appreciate that, but this... This isn't for today." He said, handing her a document from the folder he had been carrying. "This is… for tomorrow."

Tomorrow was both the right, and wrong word. It wouldn't begin tomorrow, but it could. It wasn't just for the next day, it was for all the days after as well. It was, all things considered, a large undertaking. It was quite simple on paper, but the page didn't tell the whole story. What he was planning meant nothing less than shouldering the burdens of every student in the school who needed help.

To acknowledge the mistakes, and to help them.

"This is a proposal… For a club?" She said.

The name was written in Alto's immaculate handwriting. It made it look almost like it was emblazoned on the sheet. The Zodiac Circle.

"You can call it a new council, more or less." Alto said.

He took a few queues from King and Clara. He needed to set something in motion, something major which could be the difference when it came down to a situation like this again. At the same time, he needed to keep his true cards close to his chest to make things operate to the potential he hoped it could reach.

"I can't say our power as a school was ever in doubt. But yesterday made one thing clear, I can't lead everyone alone. I can't solve everything alone if something like this were to happen again."

For a long time, the burden of his expectations were just something he shouldered, but now he understood that he never had to be satisfied with it.

"I need you all to take care of organization, I have a rough structure outlined but it needs some refinement." He said, handing over the rest of his sheets. "I'll make sure the proposal goes through smoothly, and I've got some early candidates in mind already so I'll need to gather them. I'll start by getting some letters out and I'll see how it goes from there."

Eliza was momentarily overwhelmed by the deluge of information but she regained her footing quickly enough. She sorted through the documents quickly. The notes were organized extremely well, to the point where she could tell which council member's expertise was required at a glance.

Now that she got a good look at them she could see that he did mean it to be a big thing, or as large as such an organization could be as students. It was really, nothing more than a club, but the titular Council while within it were to be chosen to lead the student body in times of crisis. A branch, or rather a new wing of the Student Council.

Starting with class representatives from each class so as to integrate with the regular class leadership systems, with the option for them to delegate to another classmate, or leave it to the Student Council to choose. These leaders would become part of an informal sort of council structure, as opposed to the rigid bureaucracy of a true council.

They could help each other, and then help others. It could truly shake up the foundations of the school, but it would mostly act within the exact same structure.

"Ah…" Eliza said as a thought rose to the surface. "A speech. You'll have to do one, won't you?"

She didn't imagine he hadn't already begun in some way, shape, or form. No, he was always well prepared with his speeches. She would never admit it openly but she loved hearing his speeches. Well, it was like… hearing a hero in the modern age. Like stories they used to read, so it pained her to see him after the events of yesterday. As he walked into the council room this morning, she had also feared the worst but as soon as he began to talk she found a calm settling over her.

"I have a few particular lines I want to say but not too much beyond what we already have." He replied. "I have it here, you want to take a look?"

He handed her one final sheet of paper. Her eyes settled on one particular, immaculate handwritten line.

The stars should never be out of reach.