Blizz

Avengers Academy: Junior Year 💥

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Location: The Framework
Skills:
FUCK YOU ED!!!

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Everyone seemed to be on the same page more or less, and that was dangerous. Ed had no idea what kind of shitstorm he just unleashed. Vicky seemed to be thinking the exact same thing as Leah, who was already coming up with a strategy herself. "Yeah, I know just how to distract him. Make sure everyone else does the best they can, and don't let anyone freak the hell out. Ed couldn't kill us if he tried, not with the tech in here." Unless the teachers were that negligent that he managed to do something crazy to the Framework, that is. Leah walked behind the group, so there was space between them and her, and slammed her foot into the dirt. The entire world seemed to shake and tremble for a moment, right before their eyes. Then came the sound of rocks cracking and grind against one another, as a platform of stone rose up above her classmates' heads. If it was good enough to get her through a desert, it was good enough to get Leah over all the obstacles.

"I'm going to buy all of you some time, do what you have to do!" With that, Leah's stone platform raised higher up, and then took off like a rocket, far over the goombas, the green pipes, and every other flavor of bullshit Ed decided to subject them to. The sound of her voice cracked out over the music, for all to hear as she flew off into the distance.

"HEY! ARCADE!!! SURPRISE, SUR-FUCKING-PRISE, MOTHERFUCKER!!! THIS IS WHAT I THINK OF YOUR FUCKING VILLAINOUS BACKSTORY!!!" She shouted, deliberately egging the technotwink on. "IS THIS THE BEST YOU'VE GOT?! THIS MAKES USAGI'S EXCUSE FOR TRAINING LOOK COMPETENT! I THOUGHT YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE AN EXPERT ON THIS SORT OF THING!!!"

If he let Leah continue on unabated, she'd get ahead and literally keep flying through each level. She'd get free, and then she'd give Ed's chakras a high impact realignment with her fists. But if he focused her attention on the Leah, that gave the others free reign to continue without Ed watching over them, letting them use their powers to cheat. It seemed foolproof in Leah's mind. Genius, even.

INSULT the user above you

Your jordans are fake

is that how this works

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

Interactions: Auri

The Shadowzone

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The Shadowzone, regardless of its tattered state after the Temple's intrusion, was a window into Jack's mind. Vast troves of paranormal lore lay within its silent walls, a veritable library that he could spend years reading through. Bookshelves lined the room, and a desk was littered with the opened contents and countless loose sheets of notes as he tried to piece together what in God's name that book was. And like his mind, there was not a single trace of any answer to be found. There was Walter Cromwell, the white Adept who was rumored to develop an all-knowing spell. There was the Book of Stars that theorized the cosmological beginnings of the All-Verse, and an endless number of scattered accounts talking about a magical cup that produced healing elixirs; A book with stories about distant worlds and the events that ended them, a guidebook to godlike figures throughout the All-Verse.

Even when he tried to cross-reference all of that with what he knew about the Pit, the Mother Will, and the figments of knowledge on Sunshine Jones' horrid history... Jack found nothing. And it infuriated him. A scowl crossed his tired face, Jack knew the deepest lore of civilizations that fell millions of years ago in unspoken parts of the All-Verse by heart, and had rumored pieces of their deceased gods sitting on a shelf across from books written in languages never spoken on this plane of reality.

And he couldn't get to the bottom of this.

How long ago had Raven lost the Chalice, if it was in her possession? Sully was the Cupbearer these days, and he found it on a beach as a kid, didn't he? The Recollection in which that child had it could've been weeks before then, or a century ago. And that damn book... If it was in St. Portwell, according to whatever voice they all were hearing in their dreams, then either no one had found it yet or someone was on the path to godhood already. There had to be reason why they were receiving these visions, a method to this. These things rarely happened aimlessly. Jack had so many questions and not a single answer. How did Walter's Book end up in this city? If the Chalice was out of the Pit, were Sunshine and Raven out as well? How did a child survive the Pit?

Auri put out the call that they'd be meeting today, but if he kept looking...

Jack opened a small portal out of the Void and into Shimmer, typing a message to send to Auri before sticking his phone through to send it.

I assume everyone else had that dream as well. I am in the Void as we speak, looking for answers. I will join you all at Kari's house, but I may be late.

Immediately after the text, Jack sent a photo of his desk and all the books opened to various pages.

I have found nothing so far, it is driving me mad. Sunshine Jones was a monster beyond definition, and I suspect that neither she nor that child are in the Pit anymore.

He snapped the portal shut, and made a mental note not to stay much longer...

Interactions: ̷̞̣̿̐ ̵̞̗̉ ̸̰̞̇ ̴̢͌ ̴̹̫̀ ̷͉͐̊ ̸̗͇̽̒ ̸̬̿ ̷͎̱̀ ̴͖͌̌ ̸̣̾ ̵͚̺̽͝ ̸̣͒̄ ̷̜̊̚ ̷̪̫͋̊ ̶̪̗͆̈́ ̸̜͇̑́ ̴̼̫̓ ̷̺͝ ̵̤̻͗̈́ ̸̟̄̎ ̶̝̌ ̴͕̅͠ ̷̖̒̏ ̶̓̇

̴͈̀ ̸͎͉̽̇ ̶̺̉ ̸͈͉̽ ̸̞̝͐̅ ̴̻̪̏ ̴͍̾ ̶̝̎̊ ̸̢̯̔ ̴̫̆ ̶̥̩̇ ̷̙̇ ̴͓͈̂͌ ̸̱̅̾ ̶̟͛͐ ̵͋ͅ

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Hold On

Stormy ran through the streets fast as he could, hurling shields at the shadowy monsters that chased him. They bounced off of walls that exhaled past his awareness, swerving and striking home as each one exploded into thin air. The screams were getting closer, but the ground just would not let him run faster to reach them. It refused to. Everything refused to. Nothing let him have a single atom of peace, a single molecule of hope to get there beyond the burning in his lungs and the drive he didn't know he had. Stormy's path wound further and further the longer those nightmares tailed him, until it felt like he was walking across eternity itself.

It was neither day nor night, but the weight of the Snake's presence in this world was close enough to darkness it may as well have won by now. The corners of Stormy's vision were like watercolor smears, and all he could hear were their wails of fear, pleads for salvation that must have been endless from this far. The howls of the monsters chasing him were at the bottom of an ocean in his ears. Even if he was only leading them closer to those he needed to protect, it was better than not being there. He couldn't do anything unless he was in the moment, unless he was where he could be useful. He-

He must've been slowing down, one of the monsters grabbed him. A black claw lanced around his wrist, and then a mass of something vaguely animal shaped fell on him. Then another, and another still. The world flipped on its head, such that the damned and the dying were background noise and the Stygian Snake's minions were all that existed. Fangs and blades raked across his skin, inch by inch, to tear Stormy away from the land of the living. The pain was sudden, and absolute against the storm of fear that drowned him to his bones.

When his vision was little more than black and red, the light of his magic burned from deep within. The Apparitions were persistent, but they were made frail by his Lux. Darkness was replaced with blinding green, and every creature that tore his flesh away from bone became ash on the wind. Stormy's Phantombane aura lit the world ablaze as if he were the second coming of the sun, and it was in the green glow of his protection that he saw them all. Not a sound was to be heard, but in every direction around him, Stormy saw the dead.

Bodies piled in mounds that stretched outwards into darkness further than his light could penetrate. Horror frozen on every last face that he saw in agonizing detail, he knew the name of every corpse. All countless thousands of them, friends and family, brothers and sisters. Blood ran down the mounds in rivers of crimson red, and soaked the ground where Stormy walked.

He felt his heart fade out of his chest. He dared to whisper a plea for forgiveness, and the universe answered in one terrible scream. Not of sorrow, not of pain. But of hate.

Y̷O̷U̶ ̷C̸O̷U̷L̷D̷ ̴N̴O̶T̶ ̴S̷A̸V̴E̷ ̸U̸S̸

Stormy shot upwards, awake faster than his body was prepared for, with a shield between his fingers to throw at the first sign of danger. In a cold sweat, his eyes darted back and forth until he realized where he was. Luca's couch, he finally remembered. Luca let him stay over, he went to sleep. Nothing but a bad dream.

Stormy's heart hammered in his chest so loud that he wouldn't be able to hear someone if they chose to sneak up behind him. The silence eventually overtook him when he calmed down enough to get rid of the shield. He was just having a bad dream. Nothing to panic about. Nothing new, nothing he wasn't familiar with already...

He quickly laid back down to try and fall asleep, before allowing himself to think about it. That always made it worse.

Interactions: The Coven

Kari's House

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Clearly, he wasn't meant to sleep last night.

First he had that recurring nightmare again, and then he dreamed about Raven Jones again. Stormy wasn't inept in terms of magic knowledge, but most of what he knew about the overall paranormal world was of the historic variety. He didn't dive into the depths of things like others did, Stormy knew things about Shimmer's paranormal past, and that was it. He didn't even apply that knowledge, he was just someone who worked at a college.

So instead of worrying about the implications of that dream, or devoting what little energy from sleep he had from thinking about Walter's Book, he finished grading the last few of those papers he meant to grade. As useful as this online format was, staring at a laptop screen for 3 hours gave him a huge migraine by the end of it.

He showed up just in time for Linqian and Ayrin to have their moment, looking around and trying to keep the fatigue from his face. Stormy looked around for a moment to make sure no one saw them. He was dressed in his usual tough-guy look with the jeans and the Carhartt jacket, since it was cold out. Ken was here, and that was great. He was honestly a little surprised Luca actually got out of bed today. He wasn't there when Stormy woke up.

"What's with the flowers, Drake?" He asked, so no one would pay attention to him looking a bit sluggish as he got there. "Trying to win Sloane over after last week?"

Interactions: The Coalition of Cunts

Kari's House

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Amara parked her car on the other side of the neighborhood and proceeded on foot. Under her jacket was a pistol in a concealed holster, because she knew damn well that nothing harmless was going to come from poking around in this house. She wasn't looking forward to meeting this many people at once after this long, especially not after her history with the PRA. But Amara was hoping the others either wouldn't ask or wouldn't give a shit when she told them she quit around a year ago. Her chat with Auri didn't make her very optimistic, and Amara still couldn't fully remember Kari's presence in the coven during the old days.

And for that reason, she approached slowly, from a distance, when she neared the address that Auri gave her. Amara got just close to see the faces of the crowd forming. She recognized Ken, Ayrin, Britney fucking Williams... Drake was there with flowers? What was that about? Wasn't he married? Who was it he got married to... Saskia? No, she died as a kid. Fuck, that was going to be awkward when she brought it up, wouldn't it?

Luca and Lynn, and a third girl whose face she couldn't immediately put together. Jasper was there, that was a surprise. And a kid who she didn't remember at all.

The funny thing about returning to the city was that Amara didn't actually think it would be that bad showing her face again. Maybe it was pride, but she remembered that she was damn good at keeping things on track back in the day. Aside from Britney being a monumental fuckup, she didn't have many enemies back then. What got to Amara though, was the fact that she had so many gaps in her memory, thanks to her Abstraction, that they might take it the wrong way.

Fuck it.

Amara walked up, hands in her pockets and inserted herself into the conversation.

"Hey," she said, fixing a grin on her face. "Wish we could've met up under better circumstances, but I just got back a while ago. So... Surprise- I lived, and I'm here."

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

X-Men: GenetiX

The "training uniform" made a bit more sense than the ugly ass skin suit Cyclops was wearing. It didn't seem to be protective. No body armor or padding, just some senseless getup that looked ugly. But alas, she put it on. Walking into the jet, Ryder's mind went into overdrive to sweep across every wire and line of code in its computer. It was comically sophisticated, and to his credit, Scott seemed to know what he was doing. As the jet lifted into the sky, they were out over the sea in no time at all. Ryder's mind was rapidly tuning into and out of the jet's radar and data-gathering tools. They were moving fast, nothing was showing up as a warning to it, and there were no visible threats.

The unfortunate thing was that Ryder's constant shifting of focus meant she didn't realize what was happening until Cyclops spoke up. The jet lurched and rolled, as streaks of energy lanced out in her peripheral vision. There wasn't much she could do, being strapped to a chair, other than wonder what was happening. Something was attacking them, that much was obvious- But what?

And then the thing latched onto the jet mid-flight, with all the triviality of a bug latching onto a moving car.

The roof was shattered and all the debris curved around Ryder, as she used her powers to deflect it. She watched Cyclops rip holes into a giant metal fucking abomination that she couldn't force her way into... Her powers weren't working properly. Like an animal, she went into the mindset that got people killed. The restraints of her seat were psychically ripped apart, and a blast of telekinetic force sent her over the chair, backwards away from the Sentinel's grasp.

Cyclops and the Sentinel blasted one another, mutually assured destruction sending them both into the sea below. But at the last second, a chair that had fallen out caught Cyclops and whisked him away... All why the jet was still moving on.

There was a moment where, in the grand scheme of things beyond any individual's understanding, Ryder strode into a crossroad. This was the moment where she was detached from all she ever came to know; Umbra was out of scope, the X-Men were an ocean away. Thee one which had the audacity to chase her down with Xavier was someone else's problem. Even the thing that attacked the two of them had come and gone in the process. There was an irony to it all, that her life had entered chapter through so much violence, only to be this fragile. Ryder had a choice to make, as her thoughts stretched out into glacial milliseconds.

She could've let this aircraft carry her along, and steer it with her powers. Ryder could go anywhere on this volatile rock and start her life anew. And she considered that, but she also considered what would come next. What effects would stem from that cause?

The X-Men were stifling, untrustworthy wolves with the same fangs as Umbra. They simply occupied a different den, and yet at least with them came the prospect of a roof. Walls, and shelter Ryder could take advantage of. A refuge, under which needles and knives were still a fact of life, albeit uncommon.

The lesser of two evils, between the only ones she ever knew.

The jet tilted in its flight, pivoting on an axis for which it was not designed. With a stiff, uneven motion, it realigned with the horizon and flew forward in the opposite direction. A quick sweep with her powers told Ryder that it was too damaged to fly for much longer under its own power. Thus, she reached into its computer, cut the engines and made it fly under her power. The metal exterior groaned in displeasure at the force of her telekinesis, drowned out by the rush of wind filling the inner cabin. Ryder leaned against what was left of the cockpit, and felt out for Cyclops' mind. At this range, it wouldn't be the simplest thing- Psychic communication was her least practiced ability. But the jet was flying faster thanks to her than it could have normally, and like a blip on her own radar, he came into being when she focused hard enough.

A thunderclap of telepathy struck Cyclops. It was ice water to the face, an electric shock to the hand. Unmistakably from Ryder.

"WAKE THE FUCK UP!"

The jet streaked over the damaged Sentinel, and came to a violent stop as Cyclops went out of her range again. It seemed to be floating in the water, trying to get itself back up and into the fight. But Ryder wasn't having that. She looked out over it, and strained her mind to reach into it for something she could actually influence. It had weapons, thrusts and other things that weren't outright intelligence.

The Sentinel's chest cannon would crackle and sputter, as Ryder used her telekinesis to tear its chest wide open. Like sacrificing human beings to an ancient god, a huge chunk of circuits and machinery were pulled outwards by unseen force. Its heart torn away, Ryder turned the chest cannon around, and let it fire.

Over, and over, and over again, until it had no more power left to draw from. What remained was a smoking piled of flotsam in the vague shape of a large humanoid. Trivial.

"I'm tired of having nothing. Whatever the fuck you are, you're not stopping me."

Ryder watched the husk sink beneath the waves, and curiosity drove her to float the cannon up to the jet. Glass broke as she transported to behind the seats of the jet.

And then the jet was forced onward yet again, with Ryder's trophy rattling about in the back, to find Cyclops.

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

Jack hadn’t had a chance, for quite some time, to catch up with Kenshiro. He used to pay the ninja visits on a regular basis between his trips to the Void, but the time got away from him in more ways than one. And after the disaster of last night, along with the admittedly quite pleasant house party that Luca had arranged, there was no time like the present to reminisce with the one person in the coven who understood the allure of inter-dimensional travel.

He set up a time to meet Kenshiro in the same park where the coven’s last meeting was held. Today, it was rather cold, so Jack threw on his usual long coat and waited for his old friend by a tree. There weren’t many people here, thanks to the cloudy weather, so they’d have some relative privacy.

For Ken, having seen Jack only briefly before he made it to the after-festival hangout. Even then, he was pretty beat and exhausted from expending all the energy and having been awake for so long. He wasn’t his best, and had simply taken to reveling in the comfort of his fellow Adepts and the alcohol they kept. Now his eyes hurt as he turned up in the chilly early morning.

They were meeting in public, so Ken did his best to not dress like a freak from a different world. He had his usual trousers tucked into a pair of those fancy rubber hiking shoes with the toes in them. Victoria Blackmore had bought them for him, and they were sleek black with purple accents. He had a short coat covering both his gi and a fully loaded utility vest, and a toque hat pulled tight over the bun of hair underneath.

The tree in question had been a common meeting spot back in the day, so it wasn’t hard to find Jack posted up there. Nor was it hard to know when Ken had arrived, as the loud popping noises sounded like a harrier jet was landing in the park. But he landed in a spot where people weren’t going to be looking, leaving the long-standing myth of St. Portwell’s Sky Ghosts alive for another day.

”There he is! Well met my brother…” Ken approached Jack, arms wrapping around him as if there wasn’t a long gap of time creating a gap that yawned open and separated them. To him, it didn’t.
It was yesterday again. He was working in the Village. Jack came from around a corner and scared the shit out of him, totally surprising him with a visit. He was excited, and he did what he always did. He hugged.

The embrace was returned without a second thought. ”It is wonderful to see you alive and well again, my friend,” he said with a smile on his face. ”Everything comes back to home, does it not? I should’ve visited you again sooner, but it is easy to lose track of the days in the Void.”

”We wander for a reason, don’t we? Nobody’ll get it like I do, Brother, so spare yourself the guilt.”
Ken patted Jack’s shoulder warmly, waving his hand toward the empty pine barren ahead, which tapered off into more buildings on the other end.
”And let’s wander. We’ll pay our Fallen the respect they deserve with our lip service.”

”That we shall,” Jack nodded, and started off in that direction. St. Portwell was always beautiful around this time of year, between the weather and the turning of the season.

”Granted, I do wish the circumstances weren’t so grim… My heart is bleeding, Jack. It has been since my people were taken from me. Now more go, and I imagine before things are done more still will.”
He walked slowly, keeping Jack from wandering too far. It was pacing, Ken was conscious of the amount of steps he was taking and every bird noise around them. He wasn’t interested in being jumped, but he didn’t want to rush.

”Yes…We have lost too many of our brothers and sisters once before, and we’ve begun to lose them again.” Jack walked slowly, but not too slow that they would be near their meeting point any time soon. ”I mourn for them as well, and yet there is only one solution. To move forward. I have resigned to accepting the loss, and to see that it is answered for, so as to not let it consume me.”

”We’re so easily consumed, Jack… Ninpo is reliant on our emotions. How can we not wear it so openly that it becomes what we are? Of course, you’re not so attached to these things. I do… Envy that.”
Ken’s right hand flicked, and a rock scooped up off the ground for him to carry and slowly jostle in his hand.

”I have always been attached, Kenshiro,” he said, watching the trees absentmindedly. ”Though, I have always found it easier to carry the weight than others, I suppose. I am every decision that I have made in life, every friendship founded by countless reasons. That is what everyone of us is, and yet it is within our capability as human beings to be more than that.”

”And so, I choose to be more than one who simply grieves. That is your decision to make, as well.”

If Ken didn’t know Jack better, the comment would’ve felt condescending. Frankly, it was just how Jack was. Vaguely aloof. Even as he said what he said, Ken didn’t buy it completely.
”You’re an Escape Artist. A Royal Trickster. Too slippery for me, always!” Ken replied joyfully with a wide smile creeping across his face.
”Sometimes I wonder about why things all fell apart, but I have found, ultimately, that the house was built on shitty legs! Teenagers! American Teenagers! Imagine the fate of the world in the hands of those menaces?”

”We were not meant to last, and we were only children.” Jack had spent far too much time thinking about this very thing. ”We were at an age where one must consider the direction in which their life should go, and naturally, most of our friends and found family chose to explore life outside of saving the world.”

Understanding as he was, Jack always felt a pang of guilt when he thought about it. ”And there is no shame in that decision. Everything has its season, that is simply the way of things.”

Ken frowned.
”I went back home… To a life. I had become a man when I first met you all. Sixteen, they said we were allowed to begin our personal journey at Sixteen! Start taking on missions, duties, tasks, planning for a family… I think people have taken such things for granted. We waste a lot of time.”

As the two of them walked along, he began to orbit the little stone around them for something to focus on. Using Purple Lux meant anticipation; and he wasn’t ever out of that feeling. It was always anticipation of something, whether it was revenge or combat or… Anything. He was in perpetual anticipation of what was to come next, and had few reservations about what he was willing to do to make it beautiful.
”Speaking of wasting time, that fight last night… Leon’s grown terribly sloppy; Vashti had him on the ropes. And Drake showed up intoxicated. Drunk as a skunk! I’m not even sure we’d have been able to pull off Doomsday! And the earrings, he didn’t have them! There’s a difference between choosing a life outside saving the world and choosing a life where you leave yourself open as a target. Who trains harder than people like us?”

”I wouldn’t worry over those two. That was… A disaster of a night. No one would have enjoyed the outcome of the things that occurred. The only positive I can recall would be establishing some semblance of a relationship with the Greenwood Coven, after a misunderstanding.”

”I’ll be worried, Jack. They took Her. Kari. There were people in this city who could’ve protected her, and protected Jade, and Jinhai, and a lot of others, and people like you and I get to have some kind of free pass because we were in a place that people couldn’t contact us?”
The rock flew off with a kinetic pop, knocking hard off the side of a dead tree and blowing a side of it off.
”At least tell me the fucking cup is okay, Sully would be devistated… Or, maybe he’d be sober? God, should we have got the cup back?” he grimaced.

”The Chalice is safe. It was returned to him last night,” He assured, watching Kenshiro deface a tree. ”I saw to it myself, but you must understand something, my friend.”

Jack continued down their path, measuring his words carefully for a moment. ”…It is cruel to hold onto guilt for that which is unavoidable. Father Wolf has taken too many of us, this is true.” He stopped, turned and locked eyes with his friend. ”But every hour that we spend throwing stones at glass houses is another hour that we waste. Perhaps there was a reality in which Jade, Kari, or Jinhai could have been saved. But this is not such a reality, and so all that we can change is our response. What we do now, with the time we still have, is more important than guilt.”

Ken’s bottom lip curled up and his brow furrowed as Jack went on with his strength of disconnection. Or, what he felt was disconnection. He wondered if his infrequent returns to St. Portwell had really made him so cold, or if he was just able to cope incredibly.
”Then we’re done here, Jack? You just wanted to tell me not to worry? And then we just walk away?” he asked with a dejected tone in his voice.

”Or are we here to talk about hunting instead of hiding?” his expression became grim. He wanted and needed blood. An eye for an eye.

”That is, among other reasons, precisely why we are here. You are a dear friend to me, Kenshiro, and I have missed our conversations. But you and I have an affinity for something uncommon in the Sycamore: Interplanar travel.”

It didn’t take a genius to know that Kenshiro needed to see justice enacted, in the same way that someone freezing to death needed to build a fire. In the same way Jack felt he needed it. ”You said that we wander for a reason. Let us wander for another this time, to turn this hunt inside out, and take power from places beyond the reach of others.”

He turned and continued walking, motioning for Kenshiro to follow. ”The All-Verse is vast, to put it lightly, and there are an infinite number of powerful artifacts out there, waiting to be found. I have been thinking about this for some time now… Suppose we found them, and brought them to our coven for an advantage? We are scattered, disorganized. I think we need to get creative with our approach to Father Wolf.”

Ken nodded his head. He was familiar with the old game of Artifact Gathering. It was partly the same job he had in the old Coven, and a point where he and Jack had managed to make a connection initially. Who else would’ve broken into the Clan House to try and steal their things but Jack Hawthorne and his ragtag band of Jumpers?
He didn’t want to play into it, frankly.
”God damn it all… More running, more avoiding under a pretense! I can’t stand it, Jack…”
He also didn’t want to take Jack too far out. He didn’t want people from the Well Traveled to associate such a noble soul as Jack’s with a vagabond like himself. He wasn’t well liked among those foreign guardians of the Well Traveled Paths.

He was a Ronin and a thief. It’s all he had left, and he knew if he wanted his own revenge, he’d need to take it from somewhere.
”We need a solid plan. We need to know what we’re looking for, and we need hard proof that it’s where we think it’s supposed to be before we move. These aren’t six-month trips: We may only have hours to execute something that should take weeks. We’ll need some fucking help.”

Jack turned and fixed a telltale grin on Kenshiro. ”That is just the thing I was about to say. I have a head start for us. In the Void, I keep plenty of information about other worlds. I’ve yet to explore any of them, but it would be a step in the right direction. I have no intention of spending weeks searching blindly- No, my hope is that we can find specific targets, track them down, travel in and travel back out with ease.”

”And,” he continued. ”I’m certain some of our friends would love to join us. Sloane always had an appreciation for artifacts, for example. This is for the coven, so I want us to undertake this with the coven.”

Ken nodded sincerely, a smile forming across his face.
Damn him, he’s too slick for me. Too damn slick.
”We should deeply consider the choice of participants. We don’t want our actions causing friction; we know what that does. Have you consulted Auri about this plan? I won’t go without her blessing, it wouldn’t be right.”

”I’ve yet to consult anyone other than you,” he admitted. ”Between our would-be lair going up in flames, Auri’s alleged lead regarding Kari, and… the festival, it has been nothing short of chaos. But, I do want to communicate this with the rest of the coven. It would be unwise to form a splinter-group behind their backs.”

Kenshiro’s eyes closed and his face became quickly frustrated.
”We can’t send out fucking fliers, Jack. Auri, and whoever needs to know. It gets approval from the top, and we move as quickly as we can until we’re in a position where we’re gathered…”

Hearing about the Kari lead reminded him that Auri had mentioned it, and that he definitely needed to be there. He’d given her something, and he wanted to make sure she was buried with it.
”Once we’re at that point, then we can show everyone some solid, tangible results that they can get behind. Not like Britney and her work; we do it quietly, but above the board.”

He nodded. ”You describe it as if we’re stealing from the government. But, I think that is wise. We must be organized in this, lest we repeat decade-old mistakes. Perhaps Auri can provide some wisdom on this matter that we haven’t considered. She has been finding leads for us, it is the least we could do in return.”

”As long as we do this right, Jack… I feel good about it. It’s gonna be worth it. For now, I say we target something that can link us together. Something like a Piece-of-Eight, where we can split the object and have some people running control to monitor vital signs across the holders.”

Jack stopped walking, and thought about that for a moment.

”...The Piece-of-Eight. I remember reading about it during the old coven days.”

Ken shrugged.
”An, the, big whoop. Important part is finding it: So let’s make it happen. When I go to Kari’s, I will be there with Auri. We’ll discuss it then, when I can bend her ear. Is this acceptable?”

”By all means. I will likely be there as well. If not I’ll be doing my regular teleportation check-ins with the others who won’t join. I’ve started doing those since we noticed the pattern that Father Wolf exhibits. He only strikes when someone is alone.”

”Well, we’re here now. If you’d like, I can join you for the day… We should visit Drake’s home and ask him for the Earrings.” Ken took a serious glance at Jack.

Jack grinned again. ”I thought they were lost… Perfect. I haven’t had a chance to pay his family a visit yet, now that you mention it.”

”You are more than welcome to join me, if you can stomach that much teleporting,” he said, half-jokingly, as he held a hand out for Kenshiro. ”Shall we?”

Ken grinned, gripping up on Jack’s forearm in the full warrior’s shake.
”After you, Mister Noma-”

Poof.

---

After that disaster, the Halloween Festival, Drake reunited with the other Blackmores. After seeing the magical fuckery that was going on, Victoria decided to return to the mainland. Lest her children get caught in it. So, they returned to the Blackmore Manor; Drake took off that stupid costume, showered, and went to bed crying over a figure of him and Jade. It was a picture of Drake giving her a piggyback ride; he remembers it like it was yesterday… he remembered his lil’ bro Charles taking the photo. However, he had so much stamina and time for crying, and eventually ultimately passed out. Loudly snoring as he held the picture against his chest.

The house may have been peaceful before, but it damn sure wasn’t now. In the living room of the Blackmore house, right in front of the TV, Jack teleported himself and Ken in. When they were all kids, Jack had been at Drake’s place a few times, so this was nothing new to him. Though, his spontaneous teleportation wasn’t particularly common these days, so who could have predicted their arrival?

“... AW WHAT THE FUCK?!” Amanda shouted… as what was on the opposite side of the TV was Amanda and Nikki sitting on the sofa, trying to enjoy a nice game of Nomadic Odyssey. Amanda, out of surprise, flipped backwards over the back of the sofa before ungracefully hitting the ground. However, when she hopped up, she had a fully loaded Mossberg 500, and she aimed it at the two.

Jack, being used to this type of reaction following his jumps, simply smiled as he let go of Ken. ”I see you’re still as vicious as ever, Amanda.”

“Wait…” Amanda lowered the shotgun. “I recognize you, you’re that too-much-black-wearing sonnuvabitch from the Old Coven!”

Ken pulled his scarf down off his face, holding a hand up and smiling.
“Hello ladies… Where is Drake?”

“... What is going on in here?!” Victoria shouted as she walked over, holding a knife in one hand, and Juniper in the other. Her jaw dropped when she saw Jack and Ken, “.... Jack? Ken? What are you two doing here?”

Then her eyes drifted towards Amanda, “... And where did you get that shotgun from?!”

Amanda shrugged, “It ain’t a party until you add a shotgun to the equation!” She laughed.

“Um, hey,” Victoria ignored Amanda and turned towards the two, “Would you like some food? Maybe some tea? Also maybe knock on the door next time because we’re all a little bit on edge.”

“You know he doesn’t work that way, Sis. I half expected to be in Drake’s bedroom, in the closet or something… This is nice.”
Ken wandered away from jack, moving toward Victoria and Juniper.
“Ohhhhh hellooooooo! It has been too long, little one!” he began making funny faces, as was traditional. The Toad Man loved to entertain, and did so while speaking the most gothic kind of Japanese dialect one would be able to trace back. Like listening to Shakespear for the English speaking ear.

”The last time I teleported into his room, he launched me out of a window with his lightning aura spell,” Jack said, noticing the tiny child in Victoria’s arms. ”Tea sounds good, thank you. I didn’t intend to startle anyone, but Ken needed to speak with Drake about something.”

Ken was reciting a nursery rhyme he used to sing to his own younger siblings when Jack brought up the something.
“Oh, yes! Amanda? Do you know where Drake is keeping the special earrings? Jack and I are… Embarking. We may need all the help we can get, and we were wondering if he’d lend them to us.”

”Not before Auri approves of it, we aren’t. Remember?”

Victoria stuck her hand out and the knife floated back to the kniferack. She smiled as she raised a finger in the air, “One, I have the earrings, but if you want to ask Drake so we’re on the same page that’d be great. Two, Auri has zero say in what me, my brother, my sister, and my cousin, do with artifacts that belong to us.”

“... Also, Drake is hungover as fuuuuuuuuuucked, right now!” Amanda laughed. “You can knock on his door at your own peril!”

Ken looked incredibly embarrassed.
“Ah, I should’ve known… I’m sorry, Victoria.” he shook his head, straightening his back under her motherly gaze.
“Now, I will say that Auri Auclair has nothing to do with our current mission. Though, we are… Well, we’re attempting to do good for the Coven. As I said, we need all the help we can get. Jack and I plan on… Doing some heisting. So, if you’re the guardian, then you’re the one who matters most.”

“Ooooh! Can I come!?” Amanda asked.

“No,” Victoria facepalmed, “You have to stay here in case Father Wolf comes around.”

“Oh, right,” Amanda shrugged, slumping back into her seat.

“But, could you get Drake for me?” Victoria asked.
“Sure thing!” Amanda hopped out of her seat, ran up the stairs, and began loudly banging on Drake’s door. “Draaaaaaake! We got guests! They wanna see you!” she said in a singsong.

”... God damn, I’m coming!” Drake slurred… climbing out of the bed, opening the door, and groggily walking down the stairs. Amanda led him to the living room, and he had a hand to his face, wiping it off, before he saw Ken and Jack. His eyes shot open, ”Oh shit!”

“... Drake!” Victoria hissed, pointing at Juniper in her other arm.

”Oh, my bad,” Drake laughed. ”Didn’t expect to see ya’ll here…”

Then his eyes landed on Jack, before he crossed his arms. He sighed,

”Lemme guess, the Coven’s come for my head for what I did last week…” He closed his eyes.

”...No. Ken wanted to pay you a visit about a set of magic earrings.”

“Yes, Brother! It was… It was good to be fighting with you again last night. I… Truly, truly missed it. But, it made me remember the earrings. And, well, Jack and I want to go hunting for artifacts. Things were misplaced, or lost to us. We should replenish in times like this. So, I wanted to see if we could borrow them. And, maybe invite you along as a fellow Murasaki.”

Drake sighed.

”... I gave those up to Victoria,” He shrugged.

“I told them that, but I wanted to make sure that you didn’t have any problems with me giving them away,” Victoria said, before glancing at Amanda and Nikki. “And that goes for you two, too. Charles is unfortunately out of town and hard to get in touch with, so we’re going to count his vote out for the moment.”

”I mean…” Drake trailed off, ”Long as they’re not getting used against us.” He shrugged.

“I have no objections,” Nikki spoke up.

“Make sure to clean them when you’re done!” Amanda laughed.

“And, I only ask that you return them when you’re done,” She began, “They… don’t belong to us.”
“Yeah, they belonged to our dad,” Amanda said. “They’re very special to us.”

“I speak for the both of us, I believe, when we say that the Blackmores are just as special to us. Thank you for the vote of confidence, my dear friends… I understand the rules; and that we’re not meant to use them unless it’s absolutely necessary.” Ken intoned with a great deal of sincerity in his voice.

”Exactly. Hopefully, we won’t have to use them at all. But we are all in a desperate position right now. And personally, I don’t think we can stand up to Father Wolf in our current state as a coven or not as one. So, as Ken mentioned, I’ve been planning to look for other sources of power that we can all theoretically use.”

Jack knew that Drake probably wasn’t in the mood to even think about Father Wolf, but he also knew they couldn’t avoid him further. Whoever he was. ”Depending on Auri’s opinion, that is.”

“Hold on…” Victoria said as she walked by the sofa, passing Juniper to Amanda before she disappeared upstairs. After a few moments, she returned with two earrings hanging off her index and middle fingers. She presented them to the two, “I know you two are going to take care of them, so I’ll say….”

She smiled.

“... Use them well.”

Ken felt the warm metal in his hand, the little jewel dangling at the end of it. His face turned between the siblings, and he beamed from ear to ear.
“Arigato, dearest Blackmore Siblings. Your precious artifact is in good hands.”

“Stay safe!” Victoria said as she grabbed her child from Amanda.

”Yeah, keep Jack away from any extra-dimensional Hot-Topics…” Drake laughed.

”That one was almost clever,” Jack said, smiling back at him. ”We aren’t leaving for very long, and not any time soon. Once we find something, we shouldn’t be gone for more than a day at best.”

Before they left, Jack looked over to Amanda, Nikki and Victoria. ”I know you three chose not to rejoin us all, but you can always ask if you need anything. If you think you aren’t safe, find me or Ken, we want to help everyone as much as we can.”

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

Live from Ghost Note’s server

Avengers Academy: Junior Year 💥

---

Location: The Framework
Skills:
FUCK YOU ED!!!

---

---

As they all loaded in, the very first thing Leah noticed was how everything looked very much not like an arena. Not like a fight, not even a gym. It was some sort of pixelated world that Leah didn’t recognize in the slightest. And then the sound of Ed’s voice came through and announced to all of them that they would fucking die if they didn’t make it out of here. But Leah didn’t buy that, the Framework didn’t cause physical harm to anyone, and that dumb fucker would have his life ruined if he murdered a dozen of his classmates.

Still, this was fucked. Worst of all, Zari wasn’t even here to just shut this whole thing down. The one time her presence would be appreciated…

”What the shit is all this? How the fuck do- Why did-“ Exasperated, she looked down realized she was in a red dress that was showing off way more than she was normally okay with. More than her Scorpia dress. Leah didn’t know who Mario was or what the weird shit piles with legs were, but she was dressed as Pauline. She could feel her skin heating up like a toaster… What the fuck?!

”WHAT THE FUCKING- Oh, I’m going to shatter that little god damn twink like a fucking window when I’m out of here…” Leah took a deep breath, feeling like her dignity has just been punched in the face. According to Andy, they just had to jump on those weird goblin looking creatures to kill them. And Mads managed to do just that, removing a few of them from the “game.” Their powers seemed to work, which would certainly help.

”Okay- Okay… Since Andy knows how this works and I don’t- How do we win? Do we kill a boss or something? If there are things in the way and our powers work, I could just fly us over everything with a big enough rock.”

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

Aislin just yeeting herself at George as if George isn’t the guy who can kill people by slapping them

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

---

Luca’s Apartment

---

”Welcome to a casa de Luca,” Luca grinned, as he opened the door to his apartment. Of course, the trio had already been there - but he might as well make it a dramatic entrance! Carrying one bag of snacks, he ushered them in through the small hallway to the main living area.

It was looking a bit worse for wear than when the girls were last there - a pile of broken chairs shoved into the back corner, the couch filled with more holes. But there was a new armchair beside the threadbare couch (which Luca had ordered for Jasper, ignoring his protests) and the place had a bit more life to it with little decorations here and there, along with Jasper’s setup for painting.

”You can put your stuff in there, Lynn, Lila,” he gestured to the first door on their right. ”Make yourselves at home! Jasper’s been using the room, but I’m sure it’s pretty tidy.”

He grinned at Jasper, moving towards the back of the living room. With great delight he got right up to his desktop computer and turned it on with his finger on the power button - he didn’t need to use a stick to do it! ”All of you, make yourself comfortable! There’s a few more nice seats in Olivia’s room- well, I guess it’s more Jasper’s now. We’re still storing ‘em in there. I’ll get this set up for some movies!”

Jasper moved to the kitchen, he carried bags filled with ice cream, popcorn, alcohol, soft drinks, and various other cheap snacks. The bag of high quality snacks stolen from Lila were included in this mess. He quickly moved to put the frozen snacks away before he got everything else onto the counter top. ”Anyone want anything to start?” Jasper grabbed a ginger ale and opened it, he grabbed a bag of sour gummy worms and made his way to the living space.

“I’m still mad,” Lila said as she crossed her arms looking at Jasper, “tomorrow we’re going to the market so you can buy me more.”

“Be more chill, Lila,” Lynn said as she draped her arms over Lila’s shoulders, “the boys knew you would want your snacks tonight, that’s why they brought them.”

“What about the wrappers in the bag,” Lila asked as she grabbed Lynn’s hands with her own.

“I don’t have a good answer for that,” Lynn said as she stared at Jasper, “but let’s get a drink! And some ice cream!”

Lila grinned at the thought. After everything she had been through today she wanted to be the drunkest form of herself, and she turned her attention to Jasper with a wicked smile. “Beer me beer maiden.”

Jasper raised an eyebrow at the name. He grabbed two bottles of beer and two bottles of water and passed them to the girls. “You must drink the water before I grab you another beer, now excuse me as I start making us some food.”. Jasper pulled out various vegetables, rice, a slice of beef, and various cooking pots, pans, and utensils.

”Yeah, I don’t want anyone throwing up on my furniture!” Luca said, pointing to the girls with a mock stern expression. He then laughed and went back into the kitchen area, started putting the remaining beer and soft drinks into the fridge. Normally he avoided going in there when he could, so the fresh food in there would stay fresh. But he didn’t have to worry about that right now.

Stormy walked in at last, carrying bags of food and drink inside and setting them on a counter. ”I brought the rest.”

He pulled out one of the tubs of icecream and placed it on the breakfast bar, sliding it towards Lynn, along with a couple of bowls and spoons. He then grabbed himself a soda and turned to Stormy. ”What do you want? We got the beers we brought from Lila’s, the wine we bought… there’s a bunch of soda too if you don’t want to drink!”

”Grab me a soda, I’ve had enough to drink already.”

”Alright, one soda coming right up!” Luca grinned, grabbing another soda and handing it to Stormy. He then gestured to the living room, looking at the girls and Stormy. ”Make yourself at home while Jasper cooks, guys!”

He walked back over to the couch, perching on the arm of it. ”So Stormy, how you been? We hardly saw you the last two coven meetings! Well, they were pretty chaotic… but it's nice to properly see you again. The four of us have been spending a lotta time together since the first meeting, so it's nice to get some fresh company.” He raised his can, grinning jokingly at everyone. ”To all being together again.”

”To friends!”

“Hell yeah, I missed you all!”

”I’ve been alright,” he said, raising his can up with a grin. ”I just get busy, occasionally. I have to work through a computer a lot, since I had to make time to come back for… Everything. But I’m glad to be back, even if it’s for worrying reasons.”

”Yeah, it's nice everyone's back!” Luca grinned. ”I didn't have to make much adjustments but… it's nice to get out again.”

“Let’s make sure this go around is better than the last because I love you all,” Lila said as she downed her drink, “beer maiden, another beer!”

”Water first,” Jasper responded without even looking.

“Awww,” Lila pouted as she opened the water, “thank you for bringing us back together Luca!”

”Of course!” Luca smiled brightly.

”I missed all of you, I never imagined we’d all be back here together.”

”Me neither,” Luca sighed, feeling a bit emotional over it. Of course, he'd spent the last week with Jasper staying over and seeing Lynn and Lila but… this really made it feel real. Everyone was back, and they could spend time together again. ”Y'know when the coven ended, it was like there was this void… I was like what do I do with my life? I can't exactly be around normal people. Me and Olivia joined 8th Street, Emily's coven, for a while till she started getting…”

He trailed off, shrugging. ”Well, you saw how she was. But the other guys were pretty nice! Just after I left I thought that was it, just me and Olivia, then me and phone calls with Olivia. Everyone being back is a dream… even if we got tear gassed by day two. Oh man, that makes it sound like my life's been shit, it really hasn't! But Sycamore was always like… filled with all the people I loved.”

” It’s what drew me to the 317, I missed that family I built with you all back then and my sister saw that, and saw that I could truly blossom there,” Jasper said in response, ” there was a lot of bullshit that was hard to deal with back then with the old coven, but it still felt like we were all in it together, you know? I hope we all can find that sense of family again, especially now.”

“Tear gassed on our first day,” Lynn said as she pointed to Lila, Lynn, and Jasper, “what a fucking welcome back that was,” Lynn sighed, “I nearly didn’t even come back, but once Kari died I felt like I had to, and now that I’m back I don’t know what I’d do if I ever left again!”

“Emily,” Lila groaned as she took another drink from her water, “I don’t blame you for joining them, Luca, and I’m thankful you’re here with us in the good coven once more!”

”Hey, they're not all bad,” Luca half protested, though he smiled to make it clear he wasn't upset about it. ”People like Carol are just there cause their life got fucked over by Britney and they're looking for a cure. I can get why she didn't want to come back and sticks with them… some of the others are in similar situations! Emily's sisters too, they're just trying their best. But, yeah. I'm glad I'm with you guys.”

He grinned brightly, taking another sip of his soda. While he actually did miss 8th sometimes, especially people like Carol, it wasn't so bad now that he had these guys around.

”Oh! I should text Ken to let him know we're here, and send my address just in case.”

From Luca: Hey Kennn! Jsyk we r back at mine! Here’s my address in case you forgot, come whenever ur free!

While Luca texted Ken, Lila sat with his words for a minute. The sisters of Emily seemed nice, Carol was Carol, but how could any of them stick around a transphobic cunt like that? It was bad enough that Emily forced Lila to get physical, but she had also turned her power into something much more scary. She knew she was adjoined before, but what was she now? And why did the maiden seem to know the rot? These questions demanded answers, and the more Lila tried to fight that urge the more she felt her anxiety take hold. “Hey Luca?” Lila paused as she leaned forward, “Can we have that talk now, in private?”

”Sure! Let's go into my room, I gotta get some bandages anyway,” Luca smiled, standing up. He gestured to the other three. ”You guys use whatever you want, Jasper knows my desktop password if you wanna put something on… we'll be back soon.”

Then he led Lila to his room.

Jasper put the washed vegetables onto the cutting board and took a drink from his ginger ale. He washed his hands and then walked over and logged into the laptop and pulled up the movie catalogue. ” Stormy, what’s the vibe for the first movie?”

”Hmm…” He thought about it for a brief moment. ”Something terrible? Comically bad?”

”Camp, we need something campy,” Jasper said as he tilted his head upward.

“What about that Evil Dead movie from like a long time ago? I heard it was silly, scary, but terrible by our standards,” Lynn said in response.

” You’re thinking of The Evil Dead and we do have that,” Jasper said as he pulled up to, ” Is that bad enough Stormy, or do we want to go more ‘so bad it’s good’?”

”So bad that it’s good, or great,” he answered. ”How does that sound?”

“I got it.” Lynn said as she downed her full beer as quickly as her body allowed. “Rubber!”

Stormy chuckled. ”I’m not familiar with that one. Let’s watch it.”

“Let’s see… oh we have that one,” Jasper said as he clicked on the movie and hit play. It soon started playing on the TV and the opening crawl of the movie began. “Hopefully it’s good.” Jasper got up from the computer and walked back to the kitchen. He wouldn’t have food ready by the time Luca and Lila came back but he could get a good start on it. He was going to make rice bowls for the group.

---

Luca's bedroom was unsurprisingly bare. In one corner was a single mattress, not even a bed, with a hole filled blanket over the top. The mattress itself was incredibly worn. The only other furniture was a rotting wooden wardrobe and cupboard on the opposite wall, along with a small plastic storage unit beside the bed. Luca went into that and pulled out a large plastic box, filled with all sorts of first aid supplies. He sat on the mattress and started cleaning the wounds on his arms first, looking at Lila with an apologetic smile.

”Sorry there aren't many places to sit,” Luca said, patting the mattress beside him. ”What did you want to talk about?”

“I wanted to talk about…. what happened earlier,” Lila paused as she rubbed her arms, despite the healing she could still feel the after effect of the feathers that pushed through her skin.

”Ah, when we…” Luca trailed over, wincing as he pressed an alcohol wipe too hard into one of the wounds. ”Lost control a bit. Yeah, we should definitely talk about it. But first, are you okay?”

“It hurts like a bitch,” Lila said as she looked down at her arm, “like it felt like my bones were pushed out of the way and shit, and the feathers…” Lila paused as she shook her head, “but I’m okay. You?”

”It looked awful,” Luca grimaced, over her pain rather than his own. He was used to his own, the slow burning of his organs being eaten from the inside out, but Lila's was new to her. It was all new. ”Oh yeah, I'm fine! It looks a lot worse than it is!”

He laughed lightly, holding up his arms. He then pulled out some cloth bandages and wrapped them around his arms to cover up the rotting flesh. ”Is the Maiden talking to you more now? Since the… sealing.”

“It felt terrible,” Lila laughed as she shook head. “I’m glad, we should try and take it easy the next couple days so we can heal”

Luca nodded at that… though he wouldn't have much choice. He knew that he would be sick tomorrow, and weak.

“Not until tonight though,” Lila tilted her head, “i think she was just waiting for a moment like that? I’ve seen her in mirrors, and windows, since then so I don’t think she was ever gone,” Lila’s eyes narrowed, “because of Emily she finally had a way back in.”. Lila’s eyes widened and she took a deep breath. “Did…. Did you get the feeling that The Maiden and The Rot knew each other?”

”It's often like that with them… They wait until you're weak to talk and try to take over. I have a lot of experience with the Rot, trying to get in. It rarely gets so bad, though,” Luca sighed, tapping his fingers on his legs. It wasn't the same for him, he'd never seen the rot like that. It just talked in his head. ”I did. I wasn't entirely in control, but the Rot definitely… talked to the Maiden like it knew her. If it was still here, I'd ask. It's strange, there was a sense of familiarity shared with me. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not.”

“I would ask as well but she’s very particular,” Lila groaned, “they for sure knew each other, like knew, knew each other,” Lila paused as she grabbed her head, “since when do these fuckers have friends? They better not be in love or anything like that. You don’t think they’re in love do you?”

”I hope not,” Luca grimaced. ”Imagine! Our apparitions get romance before us! That wouldn't be fair at all!”

After he said that he couldn't help but burst out in laughter at the ridiculousness of it. There was no way that could be the case. ”That's probably not the case, I bet they just met while destroying things together. It's strange that they seemed to know each other well. I think… we might have to talk about it when the rots back. Maybe. I'm not letting it out again, but I guess like. Through us.”

He sighed, before offering Lila a smile. ”At least it's both of us, right? I guess I'm your apparition senior, huh?”

“Yes you are, you’re an apparition elder! I’m glad that I have someone so cool to share this with,”. Lila joked. “I’ll try and ask The Maiden when she’s back as well, maybe they can talk through us. Though I’d say we have Stormy right there to stop them just in case,” Lila said as she rubbed her arm, “and copious amounts if alcohol and painkillers.”

Lila paused as a devious grin fell across her face. “Oh for sure, what a shame it would be if the apparitions got action before one of us, although,” Lila paused as she raised an eyebrow, “you and Jasper are getting close. How has staying with him been? A good roommate, I hope?”. Lila wanted to pry just enough to see if there was something happening between her two friends. She could simply ask Lynn but that wouldn’t be fun, nor fair to her friends as that felt like an invasion of their privacy.

”Well, I have plenty of painkillers at least,” Luca laughed, quickly checking the time on his brick phone when he said that. He still had a few hours until he had to take his evening dose of the sustained ones, so that was good. He’d need to get a refill soon too which was a pain… Ah, getting off topic.

”Me and Jasper?” Luca froze, cheeks heating up. Was it that obvious that he liked him? Did that mean Jasper knew?! No he would have rejected him if he did… ”It’s been really nice. He cooks and cleans, I couldn’t ask for a better roommate and friend. Yeah. Friend… haha.”

“Oh,” Luca revealed much with his words, and Lila knew to press the advantage, color=DA70D6]“friends? You view Jasper as.. just a friend? You don’t think he’s.. cute?”[/color]

”I think handsome is more right-” Luca blurted out, blushing. ”Well he’s sometimes cute too. But like! It’s just a little crush. Just a little one.”

Luca held his head in his hands, hiding his embarrassment. He hadn’t even drank anything and here he was telling someone the feelings that had just started developing and probably wouldn’t go anywhere. But it was so easy to tell Lila… And it wasn’t like he was talking about anything bad! ”I’m not completely sure. I’ve never really liked anyone before, haven’t had the chance. It might be because he’s the first guy I’ve been around for longer periods of time! Circumstances wise… well, I couldn’t.” Of course, Luca meant so much with that - Jasper being straight, him hosting the rot and… his inevitable death. Lila wouldn’t know about the last bit, thankfully.

Lila wanted to scream however she did not want to alert the rest of the group. “I thought that’s what I was seeing earlier,” Lila said as she clapped her hands, “You two would be so cute,” Lila said as she raised an eyebrow. She thought Jasper was straight but the way he was looking at Luca made Lila think there was more to the story. She would need to look into how Jasper was feeling when the moment would allow. “Well I’ve liked a lot of people before, what does it feel like to you?”

”Jasper’s straight, so,” Luca waved a hand, looking back up at Lila with an awkward laugh. How did he describe it? It was difficult when so many sensations could be mistaken for his physical symptoms. ”Well… I just feel really happy around him. I’m always happy, y’know, but it’s a different kind. My breathing kinda gets faster, and I blush a lot- I normally don’t! Also whenever he hugs me I feel like I’m going to combust. Like my heart is going to leap out of my chest! I want to hold his hand and hug him more, even though I can’t- maybe I’m just touch starved!”

“I thought he was straight as well,” Lila said with a frown, “I know he’s experimented, but beyond that,” she shrugged, “so who knows, he might surprise you!”. Lila smiled harder as she listened to Luca describe what he was feeling, and walked over and placed her hand on his shoulder, “feel the same? Or do you think his touch feels better?”

”Oh.” Luca paused, glancing at Lila’s hand then up at her. ”His feels better- uh, not that yours feels bad. It just doesn’t make me feel all that other stuff. My heart is quite happy inside my body right now!”

So he guessed he really did like Jasper. It didn’t surprise him all that much, but it was something to think about. He didn’t want to get his hopes up, though. It was easy to accept something that wasn’t meant to be and enjoy the light feelings he had. He shook his head. ”Please don’t tell anyone! Especially not Jasper… or even Lynn!”

“That’s not a worry with me,” Lila said as she released her grip with a smile. “I’ll tell no one,” Lila looked back to the door and back to Luca, “tomorrow let’s talk again about our parasites, tonight let’s go enjoy our company yeah? It was nice talking about earlier though, I need more drink to get drunk but taking helped.”

”Thank you,” Luca smiled brightly, standing up. ”Yeah, let's enjoy ourselves tonight, serious stuff can come tomorrow! Since you're staying here for now we'll have plenty of time to chat… but I'm not sure you should drink too much more. I only have one bathroom if you and Lynn start throwing up!”

---

”Whoa, what movie’s this?” Luca asked as he and Lila walked back into the main living room after their talk. He’d managed to get his blushing under control, thankfully, subtly glancing at Jasper’s back where he was cooking as he made his way over to the kitchen to grab a bag of crisps. He then went and plopped down on the couch, beginning to munch. ”Wait a minute, did that tire just make something explode?! Shitttt- do you think that’d be possible with magic here?”

”Anything is possible where magic is concerned, Luca.”

”What the fuck?!” Luca properly fell off the couch, more on edge thanks to constantly dealing with a skeleton during movies with Jasper. He landed with a thud, groaning quietly and twisting around to spot Jack. He let out a soft sigh of relief. Of course, he recognised Jack’s voice, but it was difficult to register that after dealing with constant home invasions. But he quickly recovered, grinning at him. ”When did you get here, Jack? Wait, if it’s possible with magic, could we make a sentient tire?”

Jasper heard a voice that should not be there, in the middle of a movie, with Luca nearby. He was in the kitchen which meant he would not be able to get inbetween the threat, and Luca, and instead he knew he had to get something and throw it to ensure that he bought the two some time before the skeleton monstrosity laid a single hand on his cute friend. He grabbed the meat tenderizer, cocked an arm back turned and went to throw it, but thankfully caught sight of a familiar face instead of a hated one. Jasper lowered his guard and looked to the ceiling and mouthed a ‘fuck’. ”Jack,” Jasper chuckled, ”you almost got tenderized. Want a drink?” Jasper lowered his gaze to rest on Jack’s face.

JACK!, the two girls said in unison and with a joyful tone. It was high pitched, and carried with it a hint towards the drunken nature of the two. “Come, come sit down!”

”What the hell is going on in-“ Stormy appeared from around the corner of the kitchen, where he was helping Jasper with something. He saw Jack and immediately knew what had just happened. ”Oh. You.”

”Me. Apologies for the surprise,” He said. ”I’ve been teleporting directly here regularly lately, so I assumed Luca would not mind if I did so again. I heard about a party from Kenshiro.”

”Oh yeah, I don’t mind you coming in,” Luca laughed, waving a hand and looking over at Jasper. He’d understand why Luca had been so freaked out, just like Luca understood why Jasper had immediately picked up a meat tenderizer. ”Just maybe announce yourself next time… But you’re welcome! Sit down, have a drink if you want! The more the merrier… Ah, this is the biggest party I’ve been to since the old coven days. And the biggest I’ve hosted! I’m glad Ken let you know about it.”

”So am I. In fact, I brought a gift,” Jack said, holding one empty hand out in front of him. He cast his Blackout Shift spell, and a container of chocolates from his stash in thr Shadowzone appeared out of thin air. He sat it down on a table in front of the couch.

”Fresh from the Void.”

"Whoa, thanks Jack!" Luca reached out and took a random chocolate, popping it into his mouth.

“You spoil us,” Lynn said as she leaned over and grabbed the one that looked most enticing to her eyes, “How did Ken do after we left? Last we heard he was going to give Emily a piece of his mind.”

“Let’s not talk about that cunt,” Lila said as she sank further into the cushion. She did want to know how Ken did, she wanted to know a lot about Ken, but she did not want to talk about that whore any more tonight lest the group risk The Maiden and her corruptive wrath.

”He should be here, shortly.” Jack took a seat on the couch beside Lila. ”How much have I missed?”

“A lot,” Lila said as she looked away from Jack as she grabbed her drink. Where to start with that question? The feathered hand that felt like a hundred blades that forced their way through her skin? Or the talons that felt like her bones were pushed apart and to the side? Or to the fact that Emily outed her in front of the whole town, in the middle of what should have been a joyous night? “but not too much. It’s good to have you back, by the way.,” She finished as she looked back towards Jack and offered a quick smile.

"Yeah, we've just been chilling here, started a bad movie- Jasper's making proper food! We didn't get a chance to eat it at the festival." Luca grinned, assuming Jack meant what had he missed at the party rather than at the festival… though it could be that too. He turned his head towards Jasper. "Will there be enough for Jack and Ken?"

”Oh of course,” Jasper said with a chuckle, ”I always make enough for seconds,” he paused as he looked over the group, ”and thirds.”

”It won’t be long now,” Stormy said, as he walked over to the couch to take a piece of chocolate before ducking back into the kitchen behind Jasper.

”Rice bowls are thankfully easy to make and make a lot of,” Jasper said as he smiled towards Stormy, ”thank you for your help,” Jasper spoke quietly and directly towards Stormy.

”Not a problem, I like being helpful,” he said. ”And it’s been too long since I’ve had the chance to do something nice with all of you.”

”I can’t wait,” Luca grinned, rubbing his hands together gleefully. ”Jasper’s cooking’s amazing- I’ve been eating sooo much better since he moved in! Honestly, whoever gets to marry him will be blessed- cough.”

Stormy heard that, and grinned from the kitchen.

He cut himself off with a forced cough. Why was he talking about Jasper getting married! He turned back to the movie awkwardly. ”Ohhhh after a movie or two we should play some party games! Maybe when Ken gets here!”

”I don’t know about amazing,” Jasper joked as he turned to Luca, ”but it is my life goal to achieve the way of the house husband.”

”You’ll be amazing,” Luca said softly, quiet enough that Jasper wouldn’t hear.

“Beer maiden,” Lila said as she shook her empty water bottle, “one beer please.”

Lynn was intrigued by the smell of the food and slipped into the possible future to see if it would be any good. Her eyes glazed over for a brief moment before she smirked. “I can’t wait, it tastes good surprisingly. And beer maiden, one for me as well!”

Jasper obeyed his friends' commands, reached into the fridge, grabbed two beers and two bottled waters, and walked them over to the girls. ”Last one for a while girls so enjoy, you are being slowed down!,”

While everyone was occupied, Jack reached a hand out and drew a black circle in the air, about the size of a dinner plate. It began to fill itself in towards the center.

”I don’t need magic to know it’s going to taste good,” Luca looked over at Lynn with a laugh. ”I’ve been eating Jasper’s dinner for the past week, I know it’ll be good!”

His eyes darted over to the movie, then back to Lynn and Lila, speaking on a mock stern tone. ”Jasper’s right, you gotta slow down or you’ll be on cleanup duty.”

“Don’t worry Luca,” Lila paused as she leaned back into her seat, accidentally spitting out Luca’s name, “Lynn will take care of me, Lynn is great and a good friend,” Lila looked over and smiled at Lynn. This alcohol was doing wonders for her pain management.

“Oh don’t worry about me,” Lynn waved off the concern, “I will be fine! This is a normal Saturday for me. Don’t worry Lila, I got you”

”Still…” Luca trailed off, expression slightly more concerned as he looked at Lila for just a moment… before appearing cheerful again. If they both wanted to drink, here was the best place! And if Lila went all bird on them again it would be fine. ”Alright! Just don’t blame me when you’re both hungover tomorrow- though I hope we don’t have anything on tomorrow. There probably won’t be a meeting, right? It has been a whole week but… everyone will need to recover after the festival.”

”Probably, but there might be,” Stormy answered from the kitchen. ”If there is, she’ll understand if someone sits it out. I hope.”

”At the end of the disaster that was last week’s meeting, Auri considered speaking to Ashley’s ghost for a lead. She may have found answers by now.” Jack stuck his hand through a fully formed void portal, reaching through the universe for something.

With his other hand, Jack fished his phone out from a pocket and checked his messages from Anya.

Where are you? Sloane's worried Father Wolf got you. She's very drunk.

We’ve been ambushed by Trevor. Help would be appreciated.

”Well, that is simply tragic,” He said aloud, drily, as Jack withdrew a box of To’ak chocolate. It was some of the most expensive delicious chocolate on the planet. And also the most expensive, going for several hundred dollars per ounce. And Jack just pulled out enough bars of the stuff for everyone present, with more to spare.

He closed the portal and sat the comically lavish snacks down on the table. ”A few years ago, I came back to Shimmer and found myself in Romania. There was an Adept woman with an obsession for magical power that found me, and chased me across the country, demanding to learn how I could open portals to places outside the All-Verse,” he said as he stood up.

”I teleported into her home one night, after she set me on fire to get what she wanted out of me. I stole that-” He pointed to the chocolate. ”And everything else in her kitchen to spite her. She was quite wealthy, and I am sure she was exceptionally angry with me after that… I haven’t returned to Romania ever since.”

Luca’s mouth fell open, and he just stared at Jack for a moment. His confusion about what was tragic was very quickly ignored in favour of shock over the story behind a lot of expensive snacks. ”She set you on fire?! Just to learn how to make a portal… maybe cause I’m not an Adept, I get it’s impressive, but it wouldn’t push me to human arson-”

”I lived,” he admitted. ”But I certainly did not feel like I would at the time. She had the incredibly wise idea to drown me in kerosene beside a river. All I had to do was jump. Though, I never wore that shirt again. I should’ve robbed her for more than just her kitchen, in hindsight.”

”At least another shirt,” Luca half laughed, still in shock. ”And maybe all her money- then you would’ve been rich! Though I bet money’s nothing to you if you can just teleport wherever you want- Not that it’s much to me. Not much point in material goods when you can’t keep them.”

Luca grinned, seemingly unbothered by it as he reached for one of the boxes. He opened it, saw that there were instructions and weird implements, and completely ignored it in favour of just eating a piece. ”Mmm- it is good. Worth the burning, I think.”

“I second that, wow,” Lynn said as she put her box down. The flavour profile was exquisite, and Lynn was at a loss for words to describe the flavour. “Thank you, Jack.”

“No way,” Lila said as she grabbed her box, “I’ve always wanted to try, try, to try these,” Lila said as she pulled it closer and hugged the box, “I’ll have to give youuuu, give you some of my good snacks sometime to thank you!”

”I’ve had these before, they’re very good! I will save these for later,” Jasper said as he walked over and grabbed a box. ” You’re doing something right if Lila is offering up her good snacks for free.”

”I come across many things, which I store in the Void. Enjoy those, I need to save Sloane and Anya from an irritating PRA agent who is more obnoxious than dangerous.” He typed up a quick message to Anya.

Sloane has approximately 30 seconds to brace herself for transport. Alcohol and my magic do not mix well.

”Should I extend an invitation for them to join us?”

Luca glanced at Lynn and Lila, then at Jasper. He knew that Jasper really disliked Sloane, but… maybe it would be a good opportunity to bury the hatchet? And then, he could just politely ask her to leave if it didn't work out. He didn't particularly like Anya but… in the spirit of togetherness. ”Why not! There's enough food, and it'll be good to talk when things are more relaxed. Maybe we can get over some issues.”

“Tell them, tell them that we’re doing coven bonding stuff,” Lila said with a hiccough, “tell them it’s mandatory!”

“I suppose,” Lynn said with a dry tone, “what’s the worst that can happen?”

What’s the worst that can happen? What’s the worst that can happen??? Jasper fumed in the kitchen silently as he cut up some more vegetables. Each slice, each cut came with a audible ferocity that signaled his displeasure at the idea. There was no chance that he would go along with this insane idea, there was no way he’d let Sloane crash this party, nothing would silence him. And then Luca said why not and the audible sounds of Jasper slaughtering the poor defenceless food fell from the air. His shoulders grew less tense, his breathing more normal, and his thoughts fell firmly to those about Luca and his happiness. ''Tell them we’re all busy practising our abstractions and are prepared to take our coven to the next level,” Jasper joked, ”toss them an invite. What’s the worst that can happen?”

Jack nodded, and typed out another message.

After you found us, I ran into the Greenwood Coven, who intercepted Emily Reed after she stole Sully’s Chalice. They explained to me that they were returning it to him, so I let them be.

I am currently away from the festival, at Luca’s home with Jasper, Lynn, Lila and Story. Luca arranged a party, and the two of you are welcome to join us. According to Lila, the party is, and I quote, “mandatory coven bonding stuff.”

A text came back from Anya not long after.

Okay, glad you got that sorted. We'll come along to the party. Just don't teleport us as soon as you arrive… Sloane will probably throw up over Luca's floor. Might be unavoidable, but best to take precautions. Maybe bring a plastic bag.

I am on my way.

Jack put his phone away, and looked at the others one last time. ”I’ll return shortly.”

---

Interactions: Anya, Trevor (Unfortunately) and Sloane

Cracker Barrel

---

Once again, Jack stepped through the shadows and made his way across the city to the island. It was starting to rain now, and the festival would surely come to a close before long. Between here and Luca’s place, he ditched the reaper costume in favor of his usual choice of fashion. It was more suited to the weather than walking around in a cheap costume. He appeared on one of the rooftops, looking out over the island for Sloane and Anya. It was getting late, so there shouldn’t be that many people to begin with.

As he teleported from one roof to the next, Jack eventually stumbled upon them, being harassed by none of them the Terrible Twink himself, Trevor fucking Obott. Jack observed the conversation from a distance, noting that Sloane was still a drunken mess. Maybe that made Trevor more tolerable, or maybe she was just that damn depressed, he didn’t know. He briefly considered casting his Night Terror spell to scare the little shit off. And then he considered it more, and more… Looking around, there didn’t seem to be any people aside from those three in the area. And it was dark enough that he could easily slip away if someone did notice them.

He teleported around again, down to the ground between two buildings. When he walked out, he was not simply Jack Hawthorne, but a shadowy figure of humanoid shape that seemed to glide across the ground. He silently walked up behind Trevor as he was speaking to Anya and Sloane, keeping no less than 5 feet of space between them. He was silent like the grave, until the moment he wanted to be noticed and scare the shit out of Trevor.

”Shouldn’t you be harassing your coworkers right now, Obott?”