"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.)
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