Saturday night at seven, Celina scrutinized herself in the bathroom mirror.  She had considered calling Assyrius and telling him that she was sick, or that someone had died.  She even pondered simply turning off all the lights and not answering the door.  Her mother wasn’t home. She could get away with it.

But she opened the door when Assyrius knocked.

“You look beautiful,” he said, the same thing he said every time they went out.  Except usually he said it shyly, with a small smile, and tonight his voice was guttural, animalistic.

“Th-thanks,” she said, nervous under his devouring eyes.

He offered her the crook of his arm.  “Shall we go?”

She took it, and he pulled her against him roughly.  She stumbled, and he caught her with his other hand, pushing her up. “Easy now.”

“S-sorry,” she said, and added, “You know me, no sudden movements.”

“Relax,” he said. “I know we’re going downtown, but trust me, I can protect you.”

It’s not me who needs protecting, she thought.

The sun was bright and warm on Kaitlyn’s skin.  Wind tempered the evening heat as it slipped through Kaitlyn’s thick hair.  Her curtain of ringlets swayed behind her back as she trotted down the curving sidewalk, past dog-walkers and playing children.  She rested at her favorite white gazebo, the same one where Etienne first saw rain and Aegis confronted her about her identity as the Mana Priestess, both long ago memories in her mind.

She tried, vainly, to pat down her hair, muttering to herself, “I think this hair is more trouble than it’s worth.”

“I respectfully disagree,” Aegis said.  He stretched his long legs on the gazebo steps as if he’d been there the whole day.

“Aegis,” she said, “Where’d you come from?”

“Over there,” he waved his hand to where Xin and Rose were playing in the grass.  Xin’s long green hair was restrained by a ponytail that Rose was attempting to braid.

“Aw,” Kaitlyn said. “That’s cute.”

“He spoils her,” Aegis said affectionately.  “We come here every Saturday.”

“How are you getting along?” Kaitlyn asked.

“We’re fine,” he said. “I like this life.  It’s peaceful.”

“I’m glad,” she smiled.

“And yourself?”

“Oh, you know, the usual,” Kaitlyn sighed, “People trying to eradicate the human race, daughters from the future, Jigoku trying to kill Etienne, homework.”

“Daughters from the future, eh?” Aegis said. “My, you’ve been busy.”

“Ye-yeah,” Kaitlyn said.  She twirled a lock of ringlets around her finger. “Etienne and I are also kind of official now.”

“I thought as much,” Aegis said.

“You knew?”

“I had a vague inkling.”

“Oh,” she said.  “Well, yeah.”

“Do you want to say hi?” Aegis nodded at Xin and Rose.

“I do.”

He offered his hand to her, helping her up from the gazebo’s swing.  He bowed his head and kissed her knuckles lightly.

“Aegis…” she said, and let her fingers fall from his grasp.  He turned away from her and she followed him to where Rose and Xin sat in the grass.

“Kaitlyn!” Xin said. “Hey!”

“Hi, Xin,” Kaitlyn said.  She folded her legs on the grass beside him. “Hey, Rose.”

Rose glanced up in brief acknowledgement, her attention focused on the braiding of Xin’s hair.

“How’s it going?” Xin asked Rose, trying to see her with his peripheral vision.

“Almost done,” Rose said.

“Do you want to braid my hair, too?” Kaitlyn asked.  She showed Rose her waves of ringlets and Rose’s eyes widened.

“We’d be here for a long time.”

“Eheh,” Kaitlyn said. “I guess so.”

“Do you get headaches?” Rose was fascinated.

“Only when it’s wet, sometimes.”

“Why don’t you cut it?”

“Er, well,” Kaitlyn said, “It always grows back the next day.”

“Ohh,” Rose said.  “It’s pretty though.”

She dropped Xin’s finished braid and buried her hands in the ringlets. “And soft.”

“Thanks,” Kaitlyn said.

“So, how goes the battle?” Xin asked.

“Lamley,” Kaitlyn siged. “We don’t have a lot of information.”

“But you know what they’re after?”

“Yeah, the Mana seeds,” Kaitlyn said. “But we’re not sure why.”

“Probably a destroy the world kind of thing.”

“That’s the general consensus so far.”

“Wait a second,” Aegis said. “The seeds?”

“Yeah.”

Aegis frowned. “They must want the Mana Sword.”

“But I have that,” Kaitlyn protested, “it’s under my couch.”

“Have you looked at it lately?” Aegis said, appalled.

“No…”

“Kaitlyn, the seeds are the seal on the sword,” Aegis said. “What’s under your couch is the sword in a sleep state.”

“I think Lysistrata mentioned that once…”

“She is the Mana Knight,” Xin said.

“I guess she neglected to explain,” Aegis said. “Well, there are eight seeds, correct?  One for each element.  When the seeds are sealed by the sword, it will awaken.”

He rubbed his chin. “I guess the seeds followed the priestesses.”

“But then, why don’t we know where they are?”

“I’m not sure,” Aegis said. “But I have a theory, based on what Xin’s been telling me.  Obviously, there aren’t any palaces here like on Fa’Diel, so the seeds are just sort of finding shrines on their own.”

Kaitlyn blinked. “So how do people like Judas and Father Keene know where they are?”

“That’s a little harder,” Aegis said. “Best thing I can think of is that the seeds imprinted their locations on the minds of people they themselves chose, if you can imagine them with some degree of sentience, for whatever reason."

“Sounds as good as anything,” Kaitlyn sighed. “I just wish there was some way of knowing who these people are beforehand.”

“Do you still have the Exitium Heart?”

“It’s in my jewelry box.”

“Better than under the couch, I suppose,” Aegis said. “Try using it to find them.”

“What’s your logic for that?”

“None really… But the Heart is connected to every living thing.  There might be some way to use it to find someone in particular, especially someone with the knowledge of the seeds imprinted on their subconscious.”

“Worth a shot.”

“Was that awesome, or was that awesome?” Assyrius crowed.  He walked ahead of Celina, his movements excited from the rush afforded by visions of bloodspray and violence.

“I dunno, I didn’t look at most of it,” she said.  The screams of fear and death alone would be nightmare fodder for a week.

Assyrius pushed open the theater doors, not bothering to hold them for her.  She blinked hard in the harsh light of the lobby.  She wanted to go home.

“Celina,” Jada’s voice called from behind her.

“Hey,” Celina said. Jada caught up to her, accompanied by a tall boy wearing a long, black trenchcoat.

“Fancy seeing you here,” Jada said. “Did you like the movie?”

“Not especially,” Celina said. “Syrius did though.”

By now Assyrius had noticed that Celina wasn’t following him.  He was moving back through the crowd as Jada said, “You’re here with him?”

“He’s still my boyfriend,” Celina said.

“I guess the last fight wasn’t enough to convince you to dump him?”

“That wasn’t me he was attacking.  That was Sailor Luna,” Celina insisted.

“You’re defending him?” Jada said.  “Christ, Celina.  Don’t be like Kaitlyn.”

“Celina, are these your friends?” Assyrius asked.  He took her hand, pressing his fingers tightly against her own, scrutinizing Jada and the boy beside her.

“Yes,” Jada said. “I’m Jada.”  She gestured to the boy.  “This is Charon.”

“Hi,” Charon said.

“Nice trenchcoat,” Assyrius said.

“Nice dog collar,” Charon replied.

“I was just asking Celina what she thought of the movie,” Jada said. “Did you like it?”

“It was great,” Assyrius said, though his excitement had dampened somewhat. “I rather liked watching five heads explode at once.”

“That was a cool part,” Jada said, “But personally I liked when the hero gutted the villain like a fish.”

She was practically leering.

“Er, I need to get home,” Celina said. “Got some homework to do.”

“I’ll call you later,” Jada waved as Assyrius pulled Celina out of the theater.  Jada let her smile drop when the two disappeared into the throng.

“She needs to dump that guy.  Did you see how he was crushing her hand?”

“Sometimes it’s hard to get out of an abusive situation,” Charon said delicately.

Jada touched his shoulder, applying gentle pressure with her flat palm. “Hey, don’t compare this to yourself.  That was totally different.”

“Maybe,” Charon said.  “But I always thought that what happened to me was my fault, and that if I were better behaved…”
He shrugged. “It’s not exactly the same, but I’m sure she thinks there’s something more she can do.”

“Yeah, I know what she can do,” Jada grumbled. “She can kick his worthless ass.”

Her purse started ringing, so she reached into it for her cell phone.

“Hey baby, how you doin’?”

Charon raised an eyebrow.  He could hear Kaitlyn respond.

“Hey, Jada.  Can you come over?”

“I think we need to work out a schedule for these meetings or something…”

“Come on, this is important.”

“Alright, I’m there.  I’m bringing Charon, too.”

“The more the merrier.”

Everyone was crammed onto or around the couch in front of the television set, excepting Celina.

“I think we need a new meeting place, too,” Jada said. “Your apartment’s nice and all, but…”

“I guess it is kind of good that Celina couldn’t make it,” Azura agreed. “There’s not a lot of room anyway.”

“Uh, hey, speakin’ of not being here…” Dagan said. “Sorry for not being there when y’called me last time.”

“We handled it,” Kaitlyn waved her hand in dismissal. “Anyway, to the point…”

Kaitlyn related Aegis’s explanation to them.  CK brought out a square jewelry box with a rose carved into its cherry wood finish.  The latch clicked as Kaitlyn opened it to take the Exitium Heart.

“I’m not real sure as to what I’m supposed to do,” Kaitlyn admitted.  She grasped the jewel firmly and shut her eyes to concentrate.  In her mind, she pictured the seeds, and as she ran her fingers over the heart’s facets, she asked for knowledge.  A picture of Xin, holding a seed, slowly materialized in her mind’s eye.  He stood against the dark backdrop of her subconscious, strong winds blowing through his hair.

Kaitlyn opened her eyes, surprised as the heavy sound of her breath.  Etienne’s hands were on her back.

“Kait, are you okay?” he said.  “You were muttering in Latin.”

“Never a good sign,” Roan said.

“I… I was?” Kaitlyn looked down at the Exitium Heart, glowing warm and white in her hands.  She set it down, and the Heart dulled, regaining its usual purple tint.

“That was kinda creepy,” Jada said. “What did you see?”

“I saw Xin…” Kaitlyn said. “I think he’s the next target.”

“Xin,” Lani whispered.

A phone call later and Xin arrived with Rose in tow.

“Where’s Aegis?” Kiera asked.

“Still at work,” Xin said.

Rose let go of Xin’s hand when she saw CK, who was sitting on a stool and frowning thoughtfully at the Exitium Heart.

“Hi!” Rose said. “I’m Rose.”

“Hello,” CK said.  She jumped off the stool.  “I’m Kaitlyn, but everyone calls me Chibi-Kai.  But just CK will do.”

“That’s a lot of names,” Rose observed.

“She’s friendly,” Azura said, gesturing towards the smaller girls.

“Not shy at all,” Xin said. “Fortunately.”

“Nothin’ wrong with being shy…” Lani said.

“Oh,” Xin fumbled, “No, I mean, there isn’t, it’s just, I expected her to be kind of anti-social after, you know, everything.”

“You’re part of that lot they fought before, yeah?” Dagan interrupted.  He offered Xin his hand, and Xin shook it, blushing.  “Er…”

“I’m Dagan,” Dagan added.

“He’s a new recruit,” Lani explained.  “Like Celina, who’s not here.”

“She’s probably still with Assyrius,” Jada said, with some irritation.

“Nothing we can do about it,” Charon said.

“It’s better that she deal with it on her own,” Kiera said.

“I guess y’all are right,” Jada said. “Doesn’t mean I have to like it, though.”

“Getting back to the matter at hand,” Kiera said.  “What should we do about this knowledge?  And how do we know that he’s the next target?”

“I don’t know why I would see him if he wasn’t…” Kaitlyn said, suddenly doubtful.

“But it could be random selection,” Kiera argued.

“Where’s the sense in that?” Roan said.

“Alright,” Kiera said, “Let’s assume that he is the target.  What will we do about it?”

“Um,” Lani said. “He could stay at my house, for a while.  You know, so we could keep an eye on him...”

“Are you sure your parents would be okay with that?” Xin said. “Rose would have to come too, at least in the day time.”

“Nah,” Lani said.  “My mom loves guests.  She’s always trying to get me to bring people over.”

“That sounds good,” Kaitlyn said. “You’ll call us if there’s trouble, right?”

“Right away,” Lani said.

“Is there a meeting?” Pathos asked.

“No, there’s not one tonight,” Peripetaia said. “I’m just…here.”

“Where’s your sister?”

“At home, mother.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that,” Pathos said. “I don’t see you without her very often, that’s all.”

“I know…she usually needs supervision…but right now she’s sleeping.”

“Ah,” Pathos said. “Well, would you like a drink?”

Peripetaia coughed, and massaged her throat.  “No, I don’t drink.”

“Not even some orange juice?”   The ice cubes clinked together as he put a glass in front of her.

She sipped it. “How did you know my favorite.”

“Good guess,” he said. “So tell me…where’d you get those tattoos?”

Peripetaia ran her fingers over the black marks on either of her cheeks.

“They’re skin discolorations.  Birthmarks.  My people are born with them.”

“You’re not from around here, are you?”

“No,” Peripetaia said. “But my world is a lot like this one.”

“A parallel universe, huh,” Pathos said. “Unbelievable.”

“Nothing is unbelievable,” Peripetaia said. “Only hard to understand, sometimes.”

Around them, the bar was again filling with people, likely coming from nearby clubs.  The stools surrounding Peripetaia were finding occupants quickly, most of whom wanted drinks.

“Hey…” Pathos said.  “My shift ends pretty soon.  Want to walk me home?”

Peripetaia smiled. “Yes.”

They made for an unusual pair as they walked down the street together.  Besides the mask and streaked blue white hair, he succeeded her height by almost five inches.  Her light blue, daisy patterned sundress contrasted with his heavy, leather coat, so that he was like a sentinel guarding something fragile.  Fragile seemed the best word for her, Pathos thought, at least in body.  She moved sluggishly, as if wearing invisible weights.  Her hands were constantly at her throat and chest, trying to calm her coughing fits and ragged breathing.

“What’s your disease?” he said, bluntly.

“I don’t know.” After a bout of coughing, her voice sounded even weaker than usual.  It was brittle and thin, like dry twigs.  Her laugh was resigned, soft.  “I could drop dead at any moment.”

“Don’t say things like that,” Pathos said.

“S’truth,” Peripetaia shrugged and continued. “It was a human that made me sick.  My father, specifically.”

Pathos lowered his head slowly. “He…”

“No,” Peripetaia said.  “But he had the disease.  He knew he did, but he never told my mother.”

“But Harmatia’s not sickly…”

“She’s my half-sister.”

“So, you’re half human?”

“Right,” Peripetaia said. “but I still have the markings and abilities of my mother’s people.  All I got from humanity was this sickness.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright.  I’ve learned to live with it.”

She exhaled. “Can we find a place to sit?  I’m getting a little tired.”

“We’re almost to my apartment…”

Peripetaia’s legs faltered, and he held her up.  She leaned against him, her eyes turned away in embarrassment. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine,” he said. “C’mon, you can come in.  I’ve got a soft couch.”

“You’re pretty forward,” Peripetaia coughed. “Or desperate.”

The good half of Pathos’s face blushed. “Hey, I’m only trying to help.”

The furniture in Pathos’s apartment looked like it came from Ikea.  Everything involved plastic and metal piping with darkly upholstered cushions.  The place was pristine, perfectly arranged and maintained, as if he didn’t spend much time living there.  Peripetaia commented.

“I’m just neat, I guess,” he said.

The couch was the only used thing she saw.  The worn cushions accepted her thin body gladly, and she sank against the pillows. “This is a soft couch.”

“Told you,” he said.  He poured himself a glass of sweet tea and joined her, his added weight causing her to slip further into the sofa.

“What’s that?”

“It’s sweet tea,” Pathos said. “My favorite.  I make a good batch, if I do say so myself.”

“Can I have a glass?”

He brought her a half-full cup and put a pitcher on the coffee table.

“It’s even got a lemon wedge,” Peripetaia said. “You are a professional.  But why only half a glass?”

“In case you don’t like it.”

“And the pitcher?”

“In case you do.”

She sipped it. “Mmm.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

The pitcher was a third drained when she said, “So.”

“Yeah?”

“What happened to your face?”

“I think that’s a story for another day.”

“Well… how old were you, at least?” she asked, wanting to know how long he’d had to live with it.

“Fourteen.”

The tea’s taste lingered in Peripetaia’s throat, wanting for more.  She refilled her cup and as the ice and liquid clinked and splashed together against the glass Pathos started to talk.

“I didn’t have any money for surgery, so I was expelled from the hospital after they had done some rudimentary work—just enough to stop the bleeding and patch up some of the torn muscles, really.”

“Do you sleep with the mask on?”

“No,” he said, amused. “I used to, but now I avoid it automatically.”

“Do you think it would be possible to… fix it?”

“I don’t know,” he said. “I’ve never been back to a hospital.  I can’t imagine how much that kind of operation would cost, especially since they’d have to deal with what’s already been done—and the scarring that’s taken place since then.”

The sweet tea took its toll, and Pathos directed Peripetaia to the bathroom.  As she washed her hands, she looked up, eyes expecting a mirror but seeing only the dark blue wall.  Her gaze searched the apartment as she walked back through his room towards the entrance, but she found no mirrors anywhere.

“You have a nice place,” she remarked.

“I get by,” Pathos said. “I owe a lot to my boss, since she was willing to hire me and all.”

“She sounds nice.”

“She’s pretty nice,” he allowed.

Peripetaia took their glasses to the sink, and he stood up when he heard her washing them.

“You don’t need to do that…”

“It’s no problem,” Peripetaia said. “Thanks for the tea.”

“You’re welcome.”

“My sister will probably be waking up soon,” she said. “So… I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Do you want me to walk you downstairs?”

“I think I can handle it,” she said lightly.

He sensed that he might have offended her and said helplessly, “I wasn’t trying to imply…”

“I know,” she said, coughing, “Sorry.  I probably do need your help anyway.”

“There’s nothing wrong with needing help,” Pathos held open his door for her.

“Maybe not,” she said, “but it doesn’t do much for my ego.”

As Lani predicted, her mother was overjoyed at the prospect of a guest.  Of course, this also meant Lani spent the better part of the day cleaning her house.  By the time Xin arrived (with Rose in his arms), she was hanging off her couch, massaging her sweaty temples, exhausted.

“Your house looks nice,” Xin commented.

“It better look fucking nice,” she said, rolling onto her stomach.

“Aw,” Xin said. “You did this for me?”

“You know it baby,” Lani sat up. “Now let me show you to your room.”

That evening, Aegis arrived to take Rose home.

“Tell me again why this kind of precaution is necessary,” Aegis said. “Xin’s not exactly helpless, you know.”

“Just giving ourselves the advantage,” Lani said.

“How do you figure?”

“Because they’re going to come after Xin, and when they do, we need to be here immediately.  And… my house is close to everyone else’s house and so they can all get here quickly so we can stop them from getting the seed.”

“Fair enough,” Aegis said.  He plucked Rose from Xin’s lap.  “Time to go.”

“Uncle Xin is staying?”

“Just for a few days,” Aegis said.  “I’ll bring you back here tomorrow before I leave for work, okay?”

“Where do you work, anyway?” Lani asked.

“I’m the director of human resources at an accounting firm,” Aegis said.

“I thought you’d stopped being evil.”

He responded with a good-natured smile as he hoisted Rose onto his shoulders. “Don’t stay up too late, you two.”

He paused at Lani’s doorway. “And if something does happen, I’d appreciate it if you’d call me as well.”

“Will do.”

He left, and Xin joined Lani on her couch.

“Do you think they’ll be able to track me here?” he said.

“If they do, I’m ready for’em,” Lani said, pumping her fist half-heartedly.

“This is kind of ironic…” Xin said, “I used to be a villain, and now I’m hiding from the villains.”

“I never thought of you as a villain,” Lani said.

“I definitely wasn’t very good at it.”

“Not like that’s a bad thing.”

“Oh, honey, you always know just what to say.”

“That’s me,” Lani said, stretching her arms behind her head, “a sparkling fount of conversational wit.”

“Precisely,” he grinned.

She picked up the phone on the table beside them. “So, you wanna get some pizza?”

The night passed uneventfully for Xin and Lani, which neither of them minded.  They lay around in front of the television set, watching movies on television and eating thick slices of hot pizza.

“I feel kind of bad saying this….” Xin was lying on his back on the floor, with his feet up on Lani’s chair. “I love Rose, and she’s a really good kid…but it’s kind of nice not to worry about her for a few nights.”

“It’s yourself you should be worrying about,” Lani said.  She leaned down from her chair and tickled his feet.

“Ack!” Xin squirmed away from her, laughing. “Mean!”

“Seriously, though…” Lani said. “these guys are much worse than y’all ever were.”

“That so?”

“Er,” Lani said, “no offense or anything.  They’re just, like, really intense.  And stuff… never mind.”

“No, it’s alright,” Xin said. “but I’m really not worried.”

He flicked his wrist, and Lani heard the patter of rain against the roof.  “I can take care of myself.”

“Oh, so you’re going to soak them to death?”

“Hey, you know I can do more than that,” Xin sniffed. “But I don’t want to damage your house.”

“That’s right,” Lani said, “I seem to remember that one time you used your powers…”

Xin pouted. “Lani…”

She slid off the chair and sat down next to him. “I kid, I kid.  Actually I kind of like that you don’t use them that often.”

She hugged him. “Because it means you’re gentle.”

“Or a coward,” he corrected.

“I can relate to that too,” she closed her eyes, resting her head on his chest.

Kaitlyn got down on her knees and reached under her sofa, grabbing for the Mana sword’s hilt.  She dragged out the sword and laid it across her lap.  Its blade had gone unused since her fight with Sailorknight.  The metal had collected a layer of dust, which she cleaned off with a dry rag.

“Ah, the Mana sword,” CK padded into the room, Reve in her arms.

“I thought I should clean it up some,” Kaitlyn said. “But actually…”

She held the sword up to the light of the sunset, and the green blade reflected it brilliantly. “It looks shinier than I remember it.”

“Probably because of the Mana Seeds,” said CK.

“I’ve hardly ever used this, you know?” Kaitlyn said. “And when I do, it’s like it’s not even me controlling it.”

“I have heard that the sword is somewhat sentient,” CK said.

“Seems that way,” Kaitlyn agreed.  She ran her fingers along the blade’s center.  “Do you think it’s aware of the seeds, then?”

“Could be.”

“Hm,” Kaitlyn said. “Would you bring me the Shadow seed?  It’s under the sink.”

CK palmed her forehead. “Mother, are you serious?”

“Well yeah.”

CK fetched the seed with a long-suffering sigh.

Kaitlyn juxtaposed the sword with the seed.  Nothing happened.

“Maybe if you stare at them long enough…” CK suggested.

Kaitlyn stuck out the tip of her tongue.  “It was just a thought.”

But when she picked up the sword, holding it so that the blade pointed towards the sky in front of the seed, both objects glowed.

“Wh—“ Kaitlyn blinked as the seed acquired a new, shimmering lacquer around its rim.  The glow faded, but the sword felt electric in her hands.  She gasped, dropping the sword onto her carpet.  She stared at the weapon, wide eyed. “It’s like I plugged it into a socket!”

“Impressive,” CK said.  She gestured towards Kaitlyn.  “I think it affected you as well.”

“Huh?” Kaitlyn got up and went for a mirror.  Her green locks floated around her, as though infused by static electricity.  “Jeez.  Isn’t that beautiful.”

Amethyst puzzled over the image projected into her mind by her earring.  The slim man depicted seemed an easy enough target, but for some reason his mental signature registered oddly.

Deciding that she wanted to be alone tonight, she had not called a meeting.  But as she studied the man’s image further, she wished she had.  Amethyst pushed her earring back into its lobe and rolled up the map, feeling anxious.  She possessed only one seed out of the four she had uncovered.  She had no plan for recovering the other three and, thanks to the unusual target, the fate of the fifth was uncertain.

Her path was clear.  She had to stop being so nice.

She crushed the map’s center in her fist, satisfied by the crinkling paper as it buckled in her hand.

Assyrius kissed Celina deeply, fiercely, violently.  He forced her body against his, biting into the skin of her lower lip.  She gasped in his mouth, trying to pull away.  He growled in his throat, his hands clutching her sides.  His fingernails felt like claws, threatening to tear off her shirt.  Despite their considerable height difference, Celina felt the strength in his arms was twice her own.  She wondered where this newly acquired muscle came from, since she had never known Assyrius to even complete a push up successfully.

She struggled, her wide eyes locked in worry on his own.  His eyes were dark, frustrated with a primal rage, like an animal bent on keeping its prey.

“Assyrius,” she said, “You’re scaring me.”

“Relax,” he said, even as his fingers raked down her blouse. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

His cool hands touched the soft flesh of her stomach.

“Stop,” Celina said, twisting to get away.  His nails cut her skin, and she stumbled, shocked by the warmth of the fresh cuts.

Assyrius licked the blood off his nails.  “I told you to relax.”

“Assyrius…” she whispered.  The cuts stung, though the wounds were shallow.  She stared at them in disbelief, and then back up at Assyrius, who regarded her impatiently.

“You’re fine,” he said.

“No,” she said. “I’m not fine.  This is not fine.  You hurt me.”

She stepped back against the wall and realized she was trembling.  She closed her eyes, listening to the rapid beating of her heart.

Assyrius walked up to her.  She opened her eyes and exhaled sharply.  He stood so close that she could feel the heat from his body.

“Relax,” he said again, reaching to touch her cheek.  She slid away from the wall and his grasp.

“I… I’m going home,” she said.

“Aw, baby,” Assyrius grinned wickedly, “Don’t be like that.”

He grabbed her wrist, and she saw him in Kiera’s basement with blood on his hands.  Horrified, she twisted her arm out of his grip and ran for the door.

“Leave me alone,” she said, reaching the door.

She had opened it halfway before Assyrius pushed it shut.

Celina swallowed audibly.

“Syrius!” a young voice called, and Cassandra walked into the entrance hall. “Syrius, your cats are meowing for food upstairs.”

“Alright,” he said, not looking at his sister but staying focused on Celina’s frightened face, “I was just saying goodbye to Celina.”

“Goodnight, Assyrius,” Celina said softly, not wanting to cause a scene in front of Cassandra.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said, just as soft.

Celina took that as a threat.

Kaitlyn yawned.  It was nearly midnight.

“I guess nothing’s going on,” she muttered.

“Mrow?” Reve jumped onto her bed, curling up on a pillow.

“Close your eyes,” Kaitlyn unzipped the back of her dress.

“You know I always do,” Reve said, hiding his face with his paws.

“Thanks,” Kaitlyn said, seeing him in the mirror.  She pulled a long shirt over her head and biker shorts over her legs.

“Okay,” she nudged him.  He stretched, kneading her comforter with his claws.  CK climbed onto the bed next to him and scratched his back.

“Time for bed?” she asked.

“Looks like it,” Kaitlyn said, lying down.  Surprisingly, her bones ached, as if just relieved from exertion.

“Ow,” she muttered, massaging the suddenly throbbing muscles in her shoulder.  “I’m all painy.”

“Maybe the sword took it out of you,” CK suggested. “Surreptitiously.”

“I guess so,” Kaitlyn said.  “Definitely a delayed reaction.”

The phone rang as she settled gingerly back onto her pillows.  She rolled onto her stomach, straining for the receiver.

“Hello?” she said.

“Kaitlyn?” It was Celina, her voice brittle and nervous.  Kaitlyn sat up.  “Yes?  Are you okay, honey?”

“N-no… I don’t think so.  Not okay.”

“Where are you?”

“I’m… I’m in my room, but, I’m not okay.  I’m freaking out.”

“Don’t do that,” Kaitlyn said.  She heard Celina’s tears and cringed.  “Oh honey… it’s okay, it’ll be alright, tell me what happened.”

“N-no, it’s not okay,” Celina whispered. “It is not at all okay.  Assyrius is crazy and there’s no one I can talk to about it because they’d never believe me so I just called you.”

“And I’m here.”

“I know, I’m sorry, I…”

“Listen…” Kaitlyn began, “Listen, I’m gonna come get you, and we’ll have some tea, okay?”

“B-but it’s so late…”

“Eh, it’s Saturday.  I’ll be there in a second, okay?”

“O…okay…”

“You hate driving at night,” Reve said.

“Silly cat,” Kaitlyn said. “I’m not planning to drive.  Not if I can help it, anyway.”

She knocked on Etienne’s door.  “Etienne,” she said, trying not to yell.

“Kaitlyn?  Something wrong?” Etienne undid his locks.  He squinted at her through a mess of unruly black hair.  His shirt was open, and his pants were hastily put on, wrinkled and unbuttoned.

“You can still teleport, right?”

He yawned. “Yeah.”

“Could you possibly please take me somewhere?” Kaitlyn pressed her hands together and showed him her most imploring face.

“Where would you want to go at this hour?” Etienne said. “Are you craving milk or something?”

"No," Kaitlyn said. "Celina needs help."

“Ah, a noble cause,” Etienne said. “Take my hand, dear lady.”

They appeared first outside Celina’s house.  Kaitlyn pointed to the light from Celina’s window, and a moment later they were in her bedroom.  This disturbed her somewhat, understandably.

“I thought you’d use a car!”  Celina almost shrieked.

“I don’t like driving this late at night,” Kaitlyn said sheepishly.  “Increased chances of crazies and drunks.”

“Teleporting is much quicker,” Etienne said, eyeing Kaitlyn. “And safer.”

He brought them back to Kaitlyn’s apartment, where CK was already pouring a pot of cranberry tea.

“Hey,” Kaitlyn said, “You should be in a bed, young lady.”

“If you’re not sleeping, why should I?” CK smiled.  Reve threaded through her legs, purring.

“You too, Reve?” Kaitlyn scratched his chin.

Etienne brought Celina a box of tissues for her tears.  She dabbed her red cheeks as CK set a cup of steaming tea in front of her.

“Thank you,” Celina said.  She sipped the tea gratefully.

“You’re welcome,” Kaitlyn said. “What’s up?”

Celina lifted the bottom of her shirt, revealing the band-aids.

“He hurt you?” Etienne said, before Kaitlyn could even open her mouth.  “That little…”

“Uh… I-I’m sorry, but who are you again…?”

“Er, this is Etienne,” Kaitlyn said. “He’s…my boyfriend.”

“Don’t be so enthused,” Etienne made a face.

“Sorry,” Kaitlyn said, “But that’s the first time I’ve, y’know, introduced you like that.”
She shook her head. “Anyway…honey, what did he do?”

Celina’s eyes went down to her lap.  “We were sort of, um, kissing, and stuff…and he was being really aggressive.”
She sighed.  “I’m sorry, this probably sounds dumb.  I just don’t like what he’s turning into.  Or become, really.”

“Considering he’s joined the forces of darkness, I’d say your reaction is perfectly natural,” Kaitlyn said gently.  Celina relaxed when Kaitlyn touched her arm.

“I asked him to stop,” Celina said, “and I tried to pull away, and his nails cut me.”

She took another sip of tea. “He’s a completely different person.  The boy I knew would sooner cut himself than hurt me.  Or anyone.  In fact, when it came to kissing, he was always really shy.”

“People change,” Etienne said.

“I don’t think this was a natural progression,” Kaitlyn said.  “But that doesn’t mean you should take it, Celina.”

“You think I should break up with him too, huh?”

“Break up with him?” Etienne said. “I think you should kick his ass.”

“You sound like Jada…” Celina said.

“Ouch,” Etienne said, “Wicked burn.”

Kaitlyn rubbed Celina’s arm reassuringly. “I think you should do what you feel is right.  But I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Yeah, me either,” Celina allowed herself a small laugh.  “But…I want to help him.  Help him go back to normal.”

“Also understandable,”  Kaitlyn nodded.  “I want to help him, too.”

She pretended to look around furtively and whispered, “But don’t tell the other guys that.”

“Why not?”

“They’re not as forgiving as Mommy,” CK said.

Etienne frowned at Celina’s bandages.  “With good reason, sometimes.”

“Hey, you were a villain once too,” Kaitlyn reminded him.  “As I recall, you knocked me out, kidnapped me, and attacked Kiera and Jada.”

“Really?” said everyone else, including Reve.

“H-hey,” Etienne said. “That’s ancient history.”

She mussed his already disheveled hair affectionately.  “But true.”

“Wait a minute,” Celina said.  “Did that cat just talk?”

The cat in question transformed into his human self.  “Sorry.  I’m Reve.”

Celina almost dropped her teacup.  “Oh, man.”

“I thought you’d met Reve,” Kaitlyn said. “He’s kind of a long story.  He used to be sort of a villain too.”

“Sorry, I’m not thinking real well right now,” Celina said.

“Right, I understand,” Kaitlyn said.

Celina breathed out tremulously as she stared miserably at the teacup.  “Kaitlyn.”

Kaitlyn put a comforting pressure on Celina’s palm.  “yes?”

“Will I… will we…. Will we have to kill Assyrius?”

“I hope not,” Kaitlyn sighed. “But it could happen.”

“Or he’ll kill you,” Etienne said.

“You’re not terribly experienced at this whole ‘cheering up’ thing, are you?” Celina sniffled.

“No,” he said.  Kaitlyn ribbed him gently and said, “Forgive him.”

“It’s okay.  He’s right,” Celina spoke to the remains of her tea, eyes downcast, “that could happen too.”

“Not likely,” CK said. “If anyone were to kill you, it would be Amethyst.”

“Thanks for the confidence,” Kaitlyn said.

She shrugged. “The possibility of Assyrius dying seems much more likely.  Despite his violent tendencies, he is clearly the weakest member of the power structure.”

“Yeah…” Kaitlyn said. “Come to think of it, he reminds me of a guy we fought before.  He was part of Xin and Aegis’s group.  They’re our friends now.”

“Is he also your friend?” Celina said hopefully.

“Maybe he could’ve been…but…he’s dead.”

“You killed him?”

“No… he killed himself.”

Celina picked up the teapot. “I think I’m going to need some more of this.”

“We’ve really never actually killed anyone,” Kaitlyn said.  “The leader of that group was killed by…um… someone else.”

“Who’s that?”

“Her name’s Sailorknight,” Kaitlyn said.  “She’s kind of a rogue, I guess.”

“More like a crazy bitch,” Etienne corrected.

“She is a little scary,” Kaitlyn conceded.  “We haven’t heard much from her since the whole Reve thing though… I’m sorry, Celina.  I keep getting off topic.”

“No, it’s good,” Celina said. “I like hearing about this stuff.  I don’t suppose I really want to think about Assyrius right now, anyway.”

“Do you think you’ll be able to sleep?” Kaitlyn asked.

Celina drained her teacup, soothed by its scent the soft heat it left inside her.  “Yeah.”

Etienne bowed and extended his hand with a flourish.  “Should I take you home, then?”

“Yes, please,” she nodded. “Thanks, you guys.  I feel better now.”

“Good,” Kaitlyn hugged Celina tightly. “Just get some sleep, okay?  It’ll be alright.”

Etienne took her home and ten teleported back to Kaitlyn’s apartment.  He found her already sitting in her bed.  She kissed him gently after he said goodnight.

“Thanks for helping me out.”

“Aw,” he mumbled.  “T’weren’t nothin’, ma’am.”

He added, “Though I wasn’t actually very helpful.”

“You did fine,” Kaitlyn kissed the bridge of his nose. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

The phone in Peripetaia and Harmatia’s apartment rang twice before Peripetaia picked it up.

“Hello?” she said.

“Hey, Peri.”  It was Pathos.

“Pathos,” she said, thinking of his face and the sweet tea, feeling suddenly happy and awake. “How are you?”

“Eh, breathing,” Pathos said.  “Listen, we’ve got a meeting tonight.”

“At the bar?”

“No,” Pathos said. “Her place.”

“Ah, that’s right next door to me…”

“She told me she knocked and you didn’t answer.”

“Oh,” Peripetaia said, “Yes.  I was sleeping.  I’m kind of a heavy sleeper.”

“Nothing wrong with that,” Pathos said, “See you in a while.”

“You like him, don’t you?” Harmatia said, after they had hung up.  She had come after Peripetaia said hello and stood in the doorway, listening to the conversation.

Peri took a dress from her closet.  “He’s nice enough.”

“No,” Harmatia said.  She tugged on the arm of the doll she held to her chest.  “You reaaally like him.”

“Maybe,” Peri said.

The doll’s arm tore.

“We’re going to Amethyst’s tonight,” Peri said.

“Is that where you were yesterday?  With him?”

“How did you know?” Peri said, surprised.  Harmatia had still been asleep when she returned home, and had slept on through the night.

“I saw it,” Harmatia said.  “In my head.  The dolls gave me a picture.”

She wagged the doll’s dismembered arm at her sister.

“He’s a human.  Missing half his face doesn’t change that.”

“I know.”

Harmatia fell to her knees and wrapped her arms around Peri’s legs.  “Don’t let him kill you.  Don’t let him.”

She hid her face in the folds of Peri’s dress.  Peripetaia stroked her older sister’s hair soothingly.

“I won’t,” she said, thinking to herself, “My father’s already seen to my death.”

The two went next door when the clock hit seven, unsurprisingly the first ones there.  They waited on shabby chairs with Amethyst until Pathos and Assyrius arrived.

Then Amethyst began to speak.

“I still don’t want any unnecessary violence from any of you,” she began, “but I realize now that our campaign has so far been much too passive.  Our new target is also something of an anomaly.  I’m afraid he may prove to be a challenge.”

She walked around the room as she talked, brushing her fingertips against each forehead she passed.  The black moon symbols glowed as she ran her nails over them.

“I wouldn’t have been able to garner your support if not for the hatred in you.  I know that some of you are still fighting this hatred, trying to control it.  Don’t fight anymore.”

Her little room was bathed by the cold, purple glow of each black moon symbol as they pulsed with virulent energy.

For a few moments, Pathos’s vision failed as his eye deadened, becoming a fathomless pool.  In his mind he relived the frightened cries and vicious jeers of all those that saw beneath his mask.  Anger and shame seared inside him as he remembered being too scared to even go to school, instead choosing to hide for hours in the most deserted corners of the library.  There he buried himself in ink and paper, sitting until his body numbed amongst dust and broken cobwebs.

Sometimes he wanted to cry with his whole strength, screwing up his face with such effort that old wounds tore open and blood mixed with tears.  He cursed his family, his father, his poverty.  When evening came and the library closed he slunk through the streets.  Eventually he stopped going home at all, unable to bear the looks his mother gave him.  She loved him with her voice but despised him in her heart.  He was glad when the state stepped in and brought him to an orphanage, if only because it meant he could hide among the crowd of other children.  He stopped wanting attention when he realized that it only brought him screams.

Pathos didn’t realize he had stopped breathing until Peri’s cool hand clasped his own.

“I’m here,” he said, surprised by the low, desiccated quality of his voice.  He gripped Peri’s wrist and felt her rapid, uneven pulse.    “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” she whispered.  She was the only one without a bitter expression, though she was clearly shaken.

Beside him, Harmatia gnashed her teeth and sucked on her fingers, which were bloody from tearing her nails down to the quick.

Assyrius, perhaps worst of all, was smiling, his lips twisted and his teeth bared.

“Well…” Amethyst said, “Now that we’ve had our pep talk, we can go.”

Celina ran on autopilot for most of that day.  Assyrius did not call to apologize.

Her mother, noticing her daughter’s disinterest in lunch and then dinner, asked what was wrong.  Celina answered honestly, saying her stomach hurt.  A constant nausea did cling to the bottom of her belly, heavy like lead, but it wasn’t a physical illness.  No amount of medicine would settle it.

She folded her legs one over the other on her bed and opened a photo album over her lap.  Only two pages had photographs—neither herself nor Assyrius put themselves in a camera’s way very often.

She compared Assyrius’s current appearance with the one pictured in her album.  His expression in the photos was always gentle, awkward, and a little nervous.  He wore bulky sweaters that hid his slight build and glasses with thick black frames.  She wondered if the person in the album was dead, and if it were possible to resurrect him.

Surely it was.  An evil force was controlling him.  The Assyrius she knew now was merely an impostor, a manipulated puppet.  At least, this was what Celina wanted to believe.  She could not fathom that this might be the real Assyrius, the raw, honest self he repressed his whole life that now moved unfettered by self-restraint.

She shoved the album back under her bed, grazing the Light Seed with her arm.  Surprised, she pulled it out, having forgotten its presence.  It occurred to her that maybe the seed would be safer in Kaitlyn’s custody.

When Celina brought the seed to Kaitlyn’s apartment, Kaitlyn performed the same impromptu ritual she had done on the Shadow seed.  She achieved the same result, thus sealing the Light seed.

“Thanks for bringing it to me,” Kaitlyn said.  She stuffed it under the sink with the Shadow seed, pretending not to notice CK’s disapproving frown.

“I’m just sorry I kept it for so long,” Celina replied.

“No problem,” Kaitlyn said, adding, “Feeling any better today?”

“Not especially, no…”

Kaitlyn rubbed Celina’s back gently. “Try not to worry too much, okay?”

Celina managed a weak smile. “I’ll try.”

The phone rang.  Kaitlyn reached above the faucet and took the receiver off the wall.
“Hello?”

Her lips pursed, turning down in concern.  “Okay, we’ll be right there.”

“What is it?” Celina said, alarmed by Kaitlyn’s seriousness.

“That was Lani,” Kaitlyn said. “She says Assyrius is at the door.  Looks like they’re planning an ambush.”

Celina’s stomach clenched.

“No worries,” Kaitlyn said.  “I’ll call the others.  Would you get Etienne, please?  His apartment is to the left of mine.”

“Okay,” Celina said.  She stepped into the hallway and saw that Etienne’s door was ajar.  She knocked lightly, calling, “Hello?”

When no one responded, she walked in.

Etienne, slumped in a chair and engaged in a staring contest with the bottle of wine on his coffee table, didn’t notice.

Celina cleared her throat.

“Eh?” Etienne’s concentration broke as he turned his black eyes towards Celina.  “Oh, hey.  Celina, right?”

“Yeah,” Celina said, feeling irrationally nervous.  Etienne hastily stuffed the bottle in a nearby cabinet, straightening his posture and vainly flattening his hair.

“Kaitlyn needs your help,” Celina said.

“That so?” Etienne said, muttering to himself, “Why didn’t she ask me herself, then.”

“She’s calling the others,” Celina answered, shifting her weight from one foot to the other.

“Right,” Etienne relaxed, “Makes sense.”

He teleported with Celina and Kaitlyn into Lani’s rec room.  Lani, already transformed into Sylphid, was unfazed.  “What are you waiting for?  Get your pens!”

The doorbell rang again, followed by a furious knocking.

“I’ll get the door,” Etienne said helpfully.

“Is Lani home?” Assyrius smiled politely, his hands folded behind his back.  Etienne could sense the presence of his cohorts lurking in the shadows.  Also, he could see Pathos’s boot sticking out from behind the azaleas.

“Who wants to know?” Etienne said, thinking this was the weakest effort at an ambush he had ever seen.

“Obviously I do, you dolt,” Assyrius said. “Are you her brother or something?”

“No,” Etienne said. “Just a friend.”

“Whatever,” Assyrius pushed him aside roughly.

But before he could continue into the house, a solid beam of piercing light struck him in the back.  The impact sent him to the ground on all fours.

“Score!” Lumina shouted.

Assyrius scowled and threw back his arm, palm flat.  Grass slithered around her ankles, twisting and thickening as it fettered her to her spot.  Pathos and the others gave up the ghost and dove out from the azaleas.

“I was never fond of stealth, anyway,” Harmatia sniffed, drawing her knives.

“Backup, please!” Lumina struggled to turn around, glaring into the darkness.

“I’m here, I’m here,” Undine panted. “Phew.”

“Me too,” Salamando said, whapping Undine on the back. “Suck it up.”

Gnome was standing with Shade, who answered Lumina’s call with a Dark Gate aimed at Harmatia.

“Not this again,” Harmatia groaned as she crumpled on the grass.

“That’s it,” Amethyst said.  She stepped forward, fully transformed into Sailornemesis.

Sailormana grabbed Etienne and pulled him from the threshold.

“Wall!” she cried, encircling her allies with flickering green light.

“Won’t work this time,” Nemesis said.  She opened her palms, and a wide circle of darkness spread over the ground, encompassing Lumina, Shade, Gnome, Undine and Salamando.  Gravity failed for them as a powerful force slammed their bodies into the dirt.  Lumina barely had time to spit out the blades of grass in her mouth before Nemesis raised her hands to the sky, pulling Lumina and the rest back up.  The grass binding Lumina frayed and broke as she was propelled into the air, higher and higher, her hands perspiring in fear.

“I….don’t like…heights!” Undine shrieked.

“This is probably going to hurt,” Salamando observed, staring down at the rapidly shrinking scene below them.

“Why didn’t the wall protect us?” Lumina squirmed.

“Because this is a gravity attack,” Shade said.

“Oh, well,” Lumina said, “Fine.”

Nemesis swung her arms down, and everyone in the air started to scream.

“No!” Mana cried, in vain.  Her comrades slammed into the ground, moaning simultaneously before then simultaneously losing consciousness.

“Relax, they’re not dead,” Nemesis sneered. “For now.”

“Futilis Vociferari,” Pathos clapped his hands together, and a powerful blast ripped up the path to Lani’s porch, surging around Sailormana, who clutched her ears in pain.

“Fucking a,” Sylphid grumbled, “My parents are going to kill me.”

“L…” Xin started, “I, I mean, Sylphid.”

He trembled behind her, in awe of the shredded landscape.

“Xin, get back.”

“No, I won’t,” he said doggedly, “I’ll protect you.”

He moved in front of her, steely with determination.

“There you are,” Nemesis said.  Mana blocked the doorway, spreading out her arms despite her still ringing ears.

“Don’t come any closer,” she said through grit teeth.

“Please,” Nemesis said, sensing the nervous beat of Mana’s heart.

Xin clasped his hands together, as if in prayer.  A powerful wind kicked up around Nemesis’s feet, propelling her away from the doorstep.

“Wh-what—“ Nemesis tripped over an uprooted stone, stumbling amongst the rubble of the path.  She hissed, “I can see I was right about you.”

Xin answered with flourish of his hand.  The rocks around Nemesis uprooted themselves, positioned to strike.

Nemesis balled her hands into fists, and the stones disintegrated.

Xin, unperturbed, gently tapped Mana on the shoulder.  “It’s okay.  I’ll be fine.”

“But—“ Mana said.

“Stop it, Xin, we’re supposed to protect you!” Sylphid cried, trying to pull him back.

“I’ll be _fine_,” he repeated.

“No, you won’t,” Nemesis snapped.  She removed an earring and threw it at Xin.  A black cocoon surrounded Xin, crackling with dark energy.  Sylphid and Mana heard his yell of pain as the cocoon shattered and reformed into Nemesis’s earring.

“Xin!” Sylphid ran to his side.

“Ow…” he groaned.

“Fool,” Nemesis spat.

“Shut up,” Sylphid stood next to Xin’s prostrate body, muscles taut and shaking.  She narrowed her eyes, slapping her palms together as she yelled to the gathered clouds. “Thunderbolt!”

A thick swath of lightning cut the sky, crashing onto Nemesis’s head and searing through every vein of blood flowing beneath her skin.

She screamed in quite literal shock.

“Nemesis!” Peripetaia said.

Nemesis heaved for air, clutching her knees.  “Don’t…worry about me.”

She fell forward, in front of a still unmoving Xin.  She reached out her hand, pressing it to Xin’s forehead.

“Unh,” Xin shuddered as Nemesis took the knowledge from his mind.

Nemesis drew herself up, glowering fiercely at Sylphid.  “It’s you.”
She lunged, pushing Sylphid onto her back.  Nemesis’s hands burned from the heat of Sylphid’s electric shock as she pressed her palms into Sylphid’s stomach.

The seed emerged, mysteriously, from Sylphid’s belly.

“Wow,” Sylphid gasped.  “Never noticed that.”

By now, Mana had summoned her staff to her hands.  Luna saw an opportunity to be useful. “Lunar Boost!”

The stones on the staff shone with freshly energized brilliance.  Mana spun the stuff and shouted, “Radical Healing!”

A warm, pale green rain covered the fallen bodies of her friends.

“Stay there,” Assyrius said, eyes burning a darker green.  The grass flared up again, this time holding everyone by their ankles.

“Yes, do,” Peri said, gripping Salamando’s wrist before she could burn their way free.

“Good work, for once,” Nemesis said.  She scrabbled away from Sylphid, hugging the seed.  “We’ve got what we came for.  Let’s go.”

She disappeared, and the others followed suit.

Lumina watched Salamando tremble with sickness and anger, cursing as she held her midsection. “I think we just lost.”

“Gem Missile,” Gnome said, manipulating the sharp crystals to hack apart the grass that bound him and his comrades.

“That was unpleasant,” he said, rubbing his ankle.  “You lot all right?”

“Yes,” Undine said, smiling at him, “Thanks for cutting us loose.”

“Yer welcome,” he smiled back.

Lani cradled Xin’s head in her lap.

“Sorry, Lani…” Xin murmured as she stroked his hair.  “I didn’t protect you.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

He sighed deeply and closed his eyes.

“I think he’s gonna need a nap,” Etienne said.

A dark blue car pulled up in Lani’s driveway.  Aegis jumped out of the driver’s side, but his urgency fizzled out when he saw everyone out of uniform.

“What happened?” he said, rushing to help Etienne, who was supporting Xin with one arm.

“We lost,” Jada said. “It was lame.”

“I’m sorry,” he said, “I was in the shower.”

With Etienne’s help, Aegis managed to set Xin gently in the back of the car, where Rose waited.  She climbed into Xin’s lap, clinging to him, not minding his comatose state in the least.

I actually thought this chapter would be longer... but I think this is a good place to end it, because what happens next will probably be a theme in the next chapter.  The theme for this one was relationships, really.  Lots of relationshipping. XB;

What did you think? E-mail me or post pls kthx. :3

If you can't think of anything to say, here are some specific things I am wondering about:

How did you like all the interaction that went on in this chapter?  Specifically, how did you like the scenes with Pathos and Peripetaia and the scenes with Xin and Lani?

Do you think I'm developing Assyrius and Celina's abusive relationship too cheesily/melodramatically?

How did you like the development of Pathos's character in general, with specific regard to his interaction with Peri and the stuff about his history (note: I didn't reveal his full history yet, just parts)?

Do you think Kaitlyn is a wussy? :B

How's the battle scene?  Was the action interesting/easy to follow?

Any other comments/criticisms?  I want to knooooww~