J.A. Lichen: Scars

     J.A. didn't know where she was going or what she was planning to do there. All she knew was that she was moving, and fast, to keep her mind off things. She'd accepted that the infection would eventually kill her a long time ago, and she'd accepted that by taking the place of others she was doing the right thing. Why was she questioning both of those now? No, she wasn't, she was moving. Right.
     The passage went behind all the cells, so J.A. pretty much had her pick of roommates, but they either looked too intimidating or too nice, someone she might talk to, might end up telling her secrets, like Avalyn and Raeza. She wouldn't do that again. It hurt, more than the scars, to see their reactions.
     She found a cell that was empty, but it shouldn't have been. That didn't matter to her, though, and she drifted off into a dreamless sleep for the first time in a while. She woke when she felt eyes on her, and as she was about to scream, a hand covered her mouth.
     "Tell me who you are," the man demanded. "How did you get in here? Who do you work for?"
     J.A. considered for a moment, then stayed quiet, even when the hand moved. There was nothing this man could do to her that wasn't already happening or going to happen. "I don't even care anymore," she muttered. "Just get it over with."
     The man pulled out a knife, and it started towards her. She closed her eyes as it reflected the glint from the nearest lantern onto her face. There was nothing, then the slight rustle and scrape of a knife going back into its sheath.
     "J.A....?"
     J.A squinted, trying to make out the man's face.
     "It's really you," he said. "I thought you were dead."
     "I could say the same about you., Seth" She didn't look him in the eye, didn't want to remind him of how it had been her fault, how she'd been too slow.
     "The energy beam you saw..." Seth began, but J.A. interrupted him.
     "It disintegrated you; you can't be standing there; I'm asleep," she decided, and pinched herself hard. "Just stop this! You're a dream! Just--"
     "No."
     "No?"
     Seth leaned over and gently touched her face. "I'm real, Jule. It didn't disintegrate me, it turned me into a blade of grass. And it wore off."
     She still didn't believe it, couldn't believe it, it wasn't real, she was was hallucinating.
     "When I returned to the Sanctuary, they said you were dead. They said Mevolent had killed you, so I...I just went to his castle and tried to attack him. I'm not sure what I was expecting, them to just let me in? I didn't even get to see him, didn't get to punch him in the nose."
     Seth's face hardened for a moment, and J.A. inched away slightly. "How long have you been here?"
     His face cleared once more, and he thought for a moment. "I think it's been two. You're covered in scars; they tortured you."
     J.A. didn't look him in the eye, but he realized it anyway. "Please, don't. Don't give up yourself just because someone else is in danger, Jule. You're not worth any less than they are. And you're with more to me." And with that, he lifted her from the ground and into a hug. She winced as the pressure on her arm changed, but she couldn't tell him, not yet.

((A/N: I cried writing this chapter, cried. For goodness sake! You all better like it. :-P You don't have to cry, though. I know what's coming next, I think, and you don't. [evil laugh]))

Fabi: The Less I Seem to Breathe

     It wasn't hard for Fabi-gist to blend in with the rest of Mevolent's army, among the less important sorcerers, monsters, etc., that weren't even on any sort of roster. She just grinned evilly at anyone who looked her in the eye, and randomly tore apart a wall. Cool, and the destruction was actually kinda fun.
     All the same, though, the gist was its own being. It wanted her to destroy everything, and she couldn't let it control her. Not that it didn't already have enough control to kill.

*******

     "What do you think would happen if I killed you in the afterlife?" Faeris either grinned or scowled. Hard to tell.

     "I would guess it's illegal. Now please be quiet, I'm--"

     "Busy doing nothing! All you're doing is sitting there!"
     "So you say."
     "I have eyes." To prove this, she rolled them. 
     "I can see that. With my eyes." Fabi rolled her own eyes.
     "Shut up."
     "Gladly."
     Faeris muttered something back just so she could have the last word and went back to moping and being bored.
*******
     When Fabi focused on the part of her that might or might not qualify as alive, she immediately noticed that she was standing over a dead body. The man was covered in blood as if he had been stabbed and slashed basically everywhere at once, and a look down at her hands showed that Fabi, or the gist had been the killer. Lovely.
     After a merry chase to avoid the security-guard people, wash off the blood in the restroom, and blend back in a bit less conspicuously once that was done, Fabi found herself in the hall with the offices of pretty much everyone important. She smiled. Who to kill first?
     No, Fabi didn't really like killing, that was the gist. She was--
    "Got her!"
     Something hit the head very, very hard and then blackness.
*******
     It wasn't that difficult to locate the trophy room. Ember snuck in without much of an issue. Mevolent liked people to see this, she supposed, so they could look at all the people he was proud of killing.
     She stopped short as she saw Eff's body and frowned. Should she try to bring her back to life? Granted, Effie would probably try to kill her, but in the end she wouldn't succeed, and the two of them could go kill Mevolent together, right? Hopefully. Ember reached out, looking for Effie's soul, but found...nothing. She must be under lock and key, then, like Fabi. At least she wasn't gone though, not like... Ember stopped that thought. Later she could be upset about the only person she'd really cared about. Now, she had work to do.
     The first body on the left was that of a young girl, maybe seven or eight, it was hard to tell. For a moment, Ember considered leaving her. She was just a kid, after all. That thought was quickly banished by the realization that the corpse wasn't just a little kid, she was a little kid important enough to be displayed in Mevolent's trophy room. Ember closed her eyes and reached out for the girl's soul. She didn't hear the door opening behind her, the woman in the white dress was both swift and silent.
*******
((Oh. My. Goodness. That was hard. I just can't picture Fabi with Liberty's gist...))

Mihai Viscol: Frosted Kingdom

Mihai sighed and sat on the edge of the frosted bed. "This is going so well!" He exclaimed sarcastically.
Polina was having a fit on the floor. Haos stepped over her, biting her lip, and sat beside the Grand Mage with a morose sigh.
"Does this mean we've lost Romania?"
"Not yet." he mumbled. Haos frowned.
"Have you got a plan?"
"Not yet."
She gave another sigh and lay back on the frost-covered bed. "We're screwed!"
"The defeatist attitude is unbecoming of you. It's...unnerving..." Mihai stared at his feet. Polina stopped fitting and Santa went to check her vitals.
"I think she's dead..."
Mihai nodded. "We shall give her a proper burial."
"What happened?"
"Anti-betrayal sigils taking effect."
"So you killed her?"
"In a way." He looked away, not meeting the teleporter's eyes. His little crush on Polina had never gone away and this death was going to be on his mind for a while.
"Grand Mage?" Haos asked, shaking his shoulder lightly. He didn't look up and didn't respond. "Grand Mage, please..."
"I need an army."
"W-what?" Viscol was one to avoid war and the like at all costs. This simple statement in such a serious tone suddenly frightened Haos. She wondered briefly where her friend had gone.
"I have a land to protect. A kingdom. My country. I would defend Romania with my life, within reason. I need an army so I can defend my country, like a true leader. An army, and some old friends. Call the American Sanctuary, and the French. I have some people to talk to. Some old, old friends."

-----

Charles woke up and carefully disentangled himself from his lover. He limped to the bars of the cell, resting his head on the cool metal when he got close enough. He hated having blurry vision and he couldn't wait to get to an opticians or something. God, when he could see properly, he would be killing some of Mevolent's lot, and definitely showing Jalousie's punk kid what for. River wasn't here any more. Her and her Remnant were...elsewhere...he heaved a heavy sigh and heard a noise elsewhere.

"Scarlett, this is a stupid idea." Said the German girl with the purple hair, wrapping her arm around her new boyfriend. Scarlett straightened the glasses he could hardly see out of and wrapped his leather-clad arms tighter around himself, shivering slightly. The charming curse of riding a motorbike here. He strolled forwards, arms outstretched to feel his way through the darkness and blindness. Rabe Behinderung wasn't quite sure why he hadn't bought new glasses yet. The tall, thin man with the coal black curls that framed his face wore rounded specs. The frames were more cellotape than frame and the lenses were scratched all over and one of them even had glue visible on it from a shoddy repair attempt on Scarlett's part. Rabe sighed as it was up to her to light the way with a flame. She saw a few prisoners recoil and smirked. "I am looking for Perseus Frivolidad!" She called out loud and clear, "And Wilhelm Scream!"
Charles' eyes flickered back into the cell, where Percy was stirring. He didn't know who these people were and he didn't trust them, but one of them sounded like the German girl who had gone with him to rescue Jasmin ages ago. "Behinderung?" He called curiously. The girl turned to him, shining a fire light in his eyes from which he recoiled, and she smiled.
"Fiable." They had met during the war when she had saved his life. She had been blonde then, and he had been thirteen. He didn't know her very well and vice versa. Jasmin knew her better. Jasmin and Jalousie had known Scarlett as well, but Charles had never seen him before. For the moment he wasn't even sure there was another person there. Then he heard Scarlett speak. The man was Irish, he gathered that instantly.
"I found your brother. He's sound asleep in a suspicious puddle...I think he's lost weight...a lot of weight...think he'll be happy to know Kristian is okay?"
"I am sure he'll be thrilled. Let him out and wake him up." She smiled and drew a symbol on the cell lock. It seemed to take forever. Scarlett was doing the same to Wilhelm's cell. Charles stepped back and sunk back down next to Perseus. It took an eternity before Rabe was strolling in and her face was brightening at the sight of Perseus, who was now wide awake and smiling back up at her.
"Raven."
"Perseus. It's been a while."
Charles raised an eyebrow. "You two know each other?"
"I used to work with him."
"What, as a kidnapper?"
They both laughed. "A minder." Rabe corrected. "We were basically illegal social workers. We can come back for the child you sent me a wire about, but I honestly don't do that any more. Get up, both of you."
They walked out and almost collided with Scarlett Discord, who was supporting a rather sickly-looking Wilhelm Scream. "Isn't your other brother a sense warden?"
Rabe smirked. "I loved the look on that short guy's face when he saw you. You knew him?"
"Advantageous Twist? Yeah, he fought with me during the war for a time...probably among those who think I'm dead..." He shuddered. "He told me all about the deaths of the other members of our brief team, you know. Gale and Mihai and Zafira and Jasmin are still kicking, but then there's Auron and Dexter and Jalousie...at least most of us are still alive...and of course those four who died during missions and got replaced by two guys who died and Dexter and the guy who didn't speak English..." he shuddered again and Wilhelm let out a groan.
"Put me back, I want to lie down, I feel nauseous..." he mumbled in German. Rabe raised an eyebrow and replied in the same tongue.
"Wilhelm, I'm trying to save your skin here. It's Raven, your sister?"
He groaned again. "You're going to hit me..."
"Yes, later. Mainly because I've been tying up loose ends, paying your long overdue bills and looking after Kristian, who is okay, I might add."
Wilhelm raised his head and forced a weak smile. Whoever Kristian was, they were close to him.
Scarlett smiled. "I can remember the way out of here if you want to nullify the security measures here."
"Such a shame it's only here...oh, I'd love to see the uprising chaos when they find their prisoners can use their magic in the cells now..." She went to a wall and went back to her sigils. "The three of us used to study these together, me and Wilhelm and Drakon..." She went into a spiel of reminiscence and Scarlett dragged her brother and led the men out of the castle, as promised. They weren't sure where they were going, but Scarlett and Rabe seemed to have a plan...

-----

Mortis sighed as he left the Sanctuary, eyes cast down at the ground. Jayden and Ursa followed, feeling more than a little awkward. B-J was already in the car and in tears. "He seemed cool..." Ursa remarked. "Terrible dress sense, but I liked him."

Ricky still had a concussion and Mildred was inside, talking to the Elders with a message from some dead guy. Mortis had told her about the others in the Sanctuary he had been making a plan with, then ducked out and decided to just violently stab things.

Garnet frowned as he entered the afterlife. Oh...so this is what it's like... He brightened up a little when he found his brother and sister, Legerdemain and Betty. He wasn't sure how to react when Betty told him what she had heard from some of Mevolent's workers there, who had trusted her as she had fought with them in the first war. Garnet wondered how much older than him she really was. Even so, he found a weak point for both the Irish Sanctuary and Mevolent, and he needed a way to tell the others. What was it Ursa had said Millie could do? Hear the dead? How did he get her to hear him?

Mortis fell asleep on the ride back to Garnet's old house. When he woke up, someone had carried him to his bed, laid Wilbur beside him, and his sleep mask, taken his hair down and put Lance the Tuba in a bath tub he for some reason used to keep in his room, not connected to any plumbing systems or anything. He lay there for a few minutes in the dark when he awoke, thinking about his next move. He could hear Jayden's breathing in the next bed over. He was awake, his breathing shaky. Was he crying? Did he feel that bad about this all? Garnet was his friend too. With a quiet sigh, Mortis slipped out of bed and into Jayden's, giving him a cuddle. Jayden nuzzled his face into his boyfriend's chest and cried quietly. He tried to ignore how soaked this was getting his shirt and tried to ignore the fact that this man had killed Garnet and tried to just focus on their relationship and the fact that his lover was crying.
"I'm so, so sorry..." Jayden moaned into his chest. Mortis ignored him and kept hugging him and tried to fall asleep. He didn't really like hugs, but as long as Jay didn't hug him back, he was fine.

Then, just as he was about to doze off, it hit him and he sat up, scrabbling for Slander's bedside lamp. Jayden sat up, frowning. "What's going on?"
"I have someone to blame. Someone to kill. Someone who would have had access to Miss Maleficent's body before she died."
The Child of the Spider frowned. "Who?"
"I don't quite know yet, but I can find out. The person who put the curse on the necklace in the first place!" He showed the fading sigil marks on his fingers, grinning. "Also, if Regicide's body is still in the building, I might have something to take my anger out on!"

((My brother's disgusting keyboard has pushed out some stories that were stuck in my head via lack of time to procrastinate until this weekend. The team to which Scarlett Discord is referring is based around a story I started then scrapped because I couldn't get it right...it was a Tenebrae/Vex one so they had to be there...and when I started writing Charles' bit, I had no intention of including Wilhelm, but I needed a better excuse for Rabe to be there, so they became siblings...and now my Aurora/Wilhelm fankid is involved...perfect...))

Maeve: Going Nowhere

     "You." Faeris Wile's voice was cold. "So you're finally dead."
     Fabi looked to the left slightly, as if someone was there, but of course no one was. "This is bizarre."
     "Don't talk to me about it. I've been here since that friend of yours with the ponytail killed me."
     "He's not my friend, I haven't seen him before or since. He didn't like your jacket."
     "I was not killed over a jacket."
     Fabi shrugged, and remained perfectly still for a really really long time.
     "How are you doing that?" Faeris finally demanded. "I can't even see you breathe!"
     "I don't need to breathe, I'm dead. Now could you please shut up and let me concentrate?"
     Faeris didn't point out the way 'please' and 'shut up' so did not go together. Nor did she point out that she was one of Mevolent's highest officials. Except below pretty much everyone with a title, so not really the highest, but still. She was destined for great things, she was destined to turn a tide. Fabi shouldn't be speaking to her like that. Of course, at the back of her mind, she wondered what tide she was supposed to turn from here, from the afterlife. But there had to be something, it was simply who she was. And both her sisters were already dead.

*******

     Maeve was nothing when she came through the loophole in reality, and it took her a while to get used to that. Then, she had to get used to living in a potato, in the same head as a really famous person who was supposed to be dead. Then again, she was supposed to be dead.
     Maeve didn't like the idea that Mr. Bliss could see her deepest darkest secrets, nor did she like seeing his. Knowing his taken first name was mildly funny, actually. She could see why he never used it anymore. Some of his memories, though, memories she could see...in his mind...made her want to scrunch her eyes shut.
     For the millionth time, she asked why she was stuck here. Bliss didn't know. He was stuck, too, apparently. It was either that, or go back to being dead, the choice neither of them wanted to take. So until they found another vessel a soul could float into, they were both stuck here. Trying to roll in opposite directions.

*******

     Star Inkbright had made the very wise decision not to trust Ember. While it would have been nice to fight Mevolent in a group, it was not nice to have fighting in the group. Ember, besides having a name that started with E, had suggested torturing Fabi, and Star didn't want that to happen to her, thank you very much.
     She was in the process of sneaking down the hallway of Effie's creepy old house, the house they really should have left a long time ago if they were being smart, when a voice called from behind her.
     "Wait!"
     She turned, seeing no one.
     "Down here!"
     Star jumped. "Is everyone a potato now?" she asked, looking down at the tuberous crop from which had come the voice of a young woman, who was definitely not Mr. Bliss, for the simple reason that Mr. Bliss was not especially young or female, nor did he sound like it.
     "No," the potato answered cheerfully. "My soul was floating around. Kind of randomly. You couldn't see it. But then I found this potato and got trapped in it, same as him.
     "Wait, who are you, and why are you talking to me?"
     "My name is Maeve. I--"
     Maeve hesitated, and another voice, one Star recognized, spoke up. "Maeve and I both want the same thing, to mess with Mevolent, only we can't really...travel well in this tuberous crop." Okay, so Bliss the potato and Maeve the potato were the same potato. Good to know.
     Maeve piped up again. "That's clearly where you're going. How do you fancy bringing along a potato?"

     (A/N: Chapter entirely by Fabi. This was a bit more of a hole-patching chapter than anything actually happening in the plot, sorry. Except for the bit with the potato, I guess.)

September Seneca Silver: Death, Life, and Whacking Doorknobs

Firstly, I haven't caught up with all the other entries, so I'm sure part of this doesn't fit with the rest of it. Second, I'm sorry Fabi, your death was just a bit messy. Thirdly, I need Fabi or Star to do the next bit because I can't go get all the dead people as I don't know who's alive or not alive or whatever.

I HOPE THIS DOES NOT SUCK.

Ember was hovering over Liberty, trying to make sure she was alright. Liberty's eyes were slowly closing, fluttering shut, and Ember was trying to heal her as quickly as possible. Bliss the potato was probably rolling down a hill somewhere, and she had no idea what was going on with Star.

There was a switch somewhere that tripped the magic in the room, so when Fabi made her escape she had to not activate it. Problem was, she didn't know where it was.

Where would Eff have put the damn thing?!

Not on the wall. Eff just wasn't that traditional. Floor? No, Eff wasn't that careless. The ceiling was an absolute no. Fabi considered the toilet for one second and then wanted to slap herself. She decided to just wing it.

She made a note of every single floorboard and every single thing on the wall and every single anvil as she put her right foot in front, then her left foot, and then her right foot, and then she passed a One Direction poster, and an anvil, and she was almost there.

And then she touched the doorknob.

She felt the magic draining out of her, and she frantically touched the doorknob over and over until she was smacking it with wild abandon. She high-5ed the wall and jumped up and down and banged against the door. And then she slid down to the floor. She'd given up.

In the background, she could hear Ember whispering, and then the whispers turned to cries and then a scream, and in that moment Fabi knew Liberty was dead and it was all over.

In a flash, Ember was behind her, slamming her head against the wall, other hand grabbing the syringe. She grabbed the anvil and smashed it into Fabi's head, not caring about Fabi's cries or about anything besides the fact that her sister was dead and nothing would be the same ever again unless she killed Fabi.

She whacked her head against the wall, over and over again, sticking her fingers in her eyes, plunging a syringe deep inside her skin and injecting bright red liquid into her bloodstream. Fabi writhed in agony and hollered and yelled, but Ember didn't care. She'd never care again.

And then Fabi was finally silent, blood coming out of the wound on her head, and Ember got ready to travel.

She closed her eyes, and when she'd arrived, she found the Midnight Princess standing in front of her, Elizabeth by her side.

Elizabeth looked worried. She was shaking her head madly. She looked sick.

"I killed Fabienne. Give me my sister."

"No."

Ember stared. "What? Huh? What?"

"She's mine now."

"But... I... our mother..."

"I don't play fair, Silver. She died during the forty-eight hour period. She's rightfully mine. Also, don’t even think about taking Fabienne back or I will destroy you. She will be under lockdown. I hope to see you become one of my citizens soon."

And Ember opened her eyes and she was back in the room.

She stood there. She didn't move. She had killed Fabi and it was all for nothing. Her sister was gone. Gone.

And she couldn't take her back. Her father would remove the life from her and she wouldn't even be able to see her in the land of the dead. He'd store her soul. Like Ember stored the souls of the people she'd killed.

There was nothing left for her to do.

Wait. Maybe there was something.

She walked over to Liberty's dead body--no, Elizabeth's dead body now-- and kissed it on the nose. Elizabeth's skin was cold.

"I'll beat him for you," Ember whispered. "I hope you have more peace in death than you had in life." She concentrated, and closed her eyes, because there was life that hadn't left Elizabeth yet. Dark green light streamed out from her hands and into Elizabeth.

Elizabeth's body twitched, and then shuddered violently. Ember kept on pulling, feeling it resist, and then with a last tug the gist finally left her and went into Ember's inventory. Elizabeth's face made a final twitch into a smile, and then relaxed.

Ember went back to Fabi's body and lifted her up gently. "I'm taking you back. I'm sorry. But I know what to do now."

She spread her wings and flew over the area, cradling Fabi. She hoped that Star and Mara were alright. She hoped Elizabeth could escape from their father. She also hoped Bliss hadn't been turned into mashed potatoes.

Ah. At last. She was there. It seemed like she'd last visited a million years ago, when really it was only a day or two. Or maybe not even that.

She flew over to where Mevolent's room was and hovered near the window. Slightly shocked but more likely annoyed, he glared at her and mouthed What the hell do you want?

I have something for you. Or rather, someone for you.

She held up Fabi's corpse and Mevolent smiled.

Give me the body.

No.

What?

I expect a reward.

I will kill you if you don't give me her body.

Why bother? All I want is to be let in. I want to serve under you.

Why?

The life of a rogue is not for me.

It never has been. I tried to tell you that.

I'm listening to you now.

Did you just call me a cow?

NOW, not COW. Just open the damn window already!

Mevolent rolled his eyes, then opened the window. "I will see you at the front gate."

So she flew there. And sure enough, there he was, waiting for her.

"You're fast," she smiled.

"Come in. Transport the body to my trophy room. And please don't fly there, I wouldn't want you to knock everything over."

She walked, escorted by two guards. Walked into the trophy room. She had actually killed some of the people in the room herself, which was nice. And as she was walking, she was pouring green light into Fabi.

Fabi's skin grew grey, and when she opened her eyes, they were black orbs.

She thrashed wildly, almost knocking Ember in the process, and the guards could do nothing as she ripped them to shreds with her hands.

"Yo, Ember," grinned the Fabi-gist. "Thought you were sick of me! Now you've just transferred me over to your second-best friend. I'm flattered, sweetheart, I really am."

"Shut up, gist. We're here because I have a job to do, and there IS some Fabi in there, and you always liked me a little bit for putting up with your crap. May I just talk to the Fabi in there for a second?"

"No." The Fabi-gist stuck her tongue out.

"I'm the one who put you in there. I'm the one that can take you out."

The Fabi-gist groaned, and then the blackness left her eyes and Fabi was there. Ember knew she's only be there for a minute or two, because there wasn't much Fabi LEFT, but that was enough.

"Sorry," she smiled.

Fabi gave her one of those looks that you do when somebody's just eaten your lunch and then gives you a chip as an apology. Except, you know, more harsh than that, because she was now dead.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, well-"

Fabi lunged to try and choke her, and then Fabi-gist came back and smiled.

"Why are you slapping yourself, Fabi?" the Fabi-gist smiled as she whacked herself in the face. "Why are you slapping yourself?"

"Oh for God's sake, gist, stop it."

"Fine. But let me keep control of the body so nothing stupid happens." Fabi came back and started cartwheeling.

"Oh for God's sake..." Ember groaned.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?" Fabi yelled as she proceeded to do backflips. "HOW DO I STOP?"

Ember sighed. "It's the gist."

"What gist? I have a gist now?"

"Yeah, you have Elizabeth's gist."

"So technically I'm Liberty."

"Yeah. Kind of. I don't know."

"Oh my God."

"Sorry. About that. And about killing you. I had to do it for the Midnight Princess to save Elizabeth."

"Elizabeth? She's alive? And why is her gist in me?"

"The Midnight Princess kept her. And most of you."

Fabi frowned. "What?"

"Meaning you're both here and in Heaven."

Fabi stared.

Ember took out a small golden telephone from her pocket and rang a number. "Order?"

"Yes, miss Silver?"

"May I speak to Fabienne S?"

"Miss S is busy getting checked in as you speak. Here you go--" Fabi's voice came from the telephone. "Ember, you are in SO much trouble right now. When I get my hands on you I--"

Ember hung up and turned back to the Fabi gaping in front of her.

"You're going to be gone really soon, so just answer this-- I'm in the middle of Mevolent's base, and you have amazing powers and you’re invincible because you actually ARE a gist now. What are we going to do?”

"I don't know," Fabi said. "Maybe you go and find the souls Mevolent killed and bring them back to their bodies in this room while I--or Liberty, or whatever--snoop around and kill random people."

"Maybe you could try and kill Mevolent's Generals? Provided they're still alive, I mean."

"My pleasure," said the Fabi-gist, teeth bared and ready to fight.

Javier Fyreheart: The Problem With Killing

Javier sat in the living room. Zafira was...well...working. Alexis playing. The client was urgent

"Javier i know you said you retired but come on. Please?" She asked. Javier sighed

"Fine. Where is the victim?"

"They live near Central Park." 

"Fine." Javier hung up. He waited until Alexis was asleep. He put her in her crib and left to go do his job. He went to the house number and easily snuck in. The victim was a girl about 20. She saw Javier her eyes wide. Javier didn't give time to answer as he focused on her. She soon was locked in her nightmare. He waited for the screaming and crying to cease. He intensified it. Finally the girl took a kitchen knife and slit her throat. She died holding the knife that took her life. Javier left and went to the client.

"Payment." He said quietly. The client gave him the money in an envelope. 

"Dead?" She asked. Javier nodded

"Sorry Miss Glenda but I'm afraid I have to do this." He focused on Glenda and intensified it. She twitched and kept begging. When she couldn't take it she smashed her head into the bricks until she died. Javier walked home. 

Zafira came home two days later the amount of work keeping her at the Sanctuary. Javier smiled seeing her home and hugged her. 

"I missed you, Zaf." He murmured. 

"I missed you too." They kissed. Alexis came running in 

"Momma you're home!" She exclaimed. Laughing Zafira picked up her daughter. 

"Did you miss me Alexis?" 

"Yes!" Alexis exclaimed. Zafira hugged her tight,

"Well baby I'm home now." She set Alexis down. She smiled as her daughter ran into the living room filled with toys. Javier was cooking the ham he had started that afternoon.

"Anything good?" He asked. Zafira sat at the table

"Ravel has a kid. Maybe if we all survive Alexis could meet them. I prefer to stay on good terms with Ireland rather then get them mad. For a small country they can fight. " Zafira felt a ball hit her leg.

"Alexis!" She sighed. The ball rolled to the living room. 

"Any news Zaf?" He asked. She knew what he meant.

"Yes. And someone is going to be very happy." Javier turned a shocked look on his face

"You...are?" He asked. 

"Yes and in return you need to promise me we will wait if we want more until AFTER the war." 

"I promise Zaf."

Later that night Javier lay awake. His wife was asleep beside him. He kept thinking of the girl. The girl he killed. She would never experience parenthood. He shook his head. He hadn't killed her. She comitted suicide. Finally he fell asleep. 

Raeza Blayd/Avalyn Obscurity: Game Up

     Even if she'd wanted to, she couldn't have told them. Something J.A. had added onto the pain relief symbol was stopping her, she didn't know which part, didn't recognize the symbols at all, but then again, it wasn't her specialty. Part of her wondered what else J.A. might have added to the symbol, part of her didn't care, it was a good thing not to spill Sanctuary secrets, but she shouldn't have trusted her. Then again, if she was working for the Sanctuary's benefit...
     "I'm freelance," was all she'd said, which didn't mean much of anything even if it was true.
     Avalyn couldn't help wondering what else the symbols on her wrist might do, and the torture gave her too much time to think. It was like she was tucked in a far corner of her body, where the pain was only an echo. She decided to confront J.A. about it directly, but when they finally carried her back to her cell, the scarred woman was gone.

     "So you're Avalyn Obscurity."
     The short brown-haired girl jumped and tried to sit up. "Y-yes, how did you know? I--"
     "J.A." Raeza refrained from mentioning the real spell the symbols held, the way they didn't soothe the pain, they redirected it. Avalyn was still young, in her early twenties, maybe not even hit her Surge yet. Raeza felt that urge to be protective, like she had with Maeve and that girl "Abigail." She wondered if J.A. had felt something similar, and that was why she'd taken the girl's place. No, she'd offered the symbol to Raeza, too.
     A sinking feeling came over her, and she stood up. "Just a moment." Avalyn looked confused, but nodded slightly, as if it was painful. Raeza walked to the barred door and scanned the cell opposite. Among the shadows, she saw a short and slightly fat man with curly hair and a small mustache. She was about to call out, to see if J.A. had drawn a symbol on his wrist, too, when someone came from behind and covered her mouth, forcing back any attempt of a scream.

     "Listen to me!" J.A.'s voice was getting desperate, and there was an edge to it, like all the torture had gotten to her head.
     "I'm waiting," Raeza challenged. "Explain away."
     J.A. looked straight at Avalyn, as if expecting her to help somehow, but she didn't. She was curious. The scarred woman sagged. "Fine." She walked over to the back wall, and pressed her wrist against the wall. Avalyn and Raeza jumped back, startled as a trapdoor silently slid open, revealing a tiny room behind, and a cramped tunnel that didn't qualify as a corridor.
     "So that's how you did it." Raeza walked over and examined the mechanism. She ran her wrist over the stone, then looked up, eyebrows raised. "Is there a symbol on your wrist that activates it, then?"
     "No. A microchip. Embedded in my wrist."
     "So you used to work for Mevolent, then?" Avalyn piped up. It seemed like the only natural way to get a key to the secret corners of the jail.
     "No!" J.A. lashed out, knocking her hand against the wall and hissing in pain. "I used to work for the Sanctuary. I infiltrated Mevolent's army and provided information for a little while, then I was caught. And then I escaped, sort of. I'm dead, if anyone asks. Now I don't work for anyone."
     "What are you doing still here, then?" Avalyn asked warily. Raeza was fiddling with a piece of miscellaneous wire, seemingly deep in thought.
     "Giving Mevolent's soldiers something interesting to think about." J.A. smiled grimly. "The passage goes behind nearly all the cells. And most of the prisoners were all too happy to have their pain go away. Don't you dare," she added as Raeza opened her mouth. "We agreed that you wouldn't mention--" another jagged scar appeared along her forehead and she bit back a scream.
      Avalyn looked from J.A. to Raeza, then back to J.A. "It doesn't 'go away,' does it?" she asked, her face filling with horror. "Oh gosh. Why would you...?"
     "No, no, you've got it wrong..." J.A. started to argue, but it was cut off as she doubled per again, grimacing. Behind her, Raeza nodded grimly. "Fine, fine." J.A. muttered. "I'm not a symbolist at all, actually. My power...it's taking the place of others. The symbol is just the way of channeling it, I can't do anything symbol-related, for the most part."
     "So..."
     "So everyone in this entire prison--except her" J.A. pointed at Raeza, "is connected to me with a spell, so if they're tortured, I'm tortured instead. It's okay, I'm used to it."
     "No, it's not okay!" Avalyn's outburst started everyone, even herself. "They'd never have agreed to it if they'd known. And why did you do it?"
     "This war...it's driven many of us mad."J.A. stared briefly at Raeza, then averted her gaze again. "We all have wounds both mental and physical, and some we can never heal from." J.A. paused for a moment, then seemed to give up on secrets. She pulled back her sleeve to reveal a jagged cut and around it, a large patch of disgusting-looking flesh, bright red, clearly infected. Avalyn gasped, and J.A. quickly covered the wound up again. 
     "I knew I shouldn't have told you," she muttered, looking away. "I just... I know I'm not going to survive this, so I want to do my best to make sure others do."
     Raeza spoke up for the first time in a few minutes. "With proper medical attention, you could..."
     "Did it ever occur to you that maybe I'm ready for it? By the time I realized how severe it was...a lt had happened. I'm done." 
      And with that, J.A. vanished into the secret passage, sealing it behind her. Raeza and Avalyn looked at each other, eyebrows furrowed in concern.