Austin Baritone and Belinda Diamond: Raiding Sierra's Temple

((I feel like a dunce and people are agitating emotional illnesses so once again that will slow my updates right down and OH MY GOD IT'S SNOWING!!!))

Sierra swore, trying to keep Arachne and Jack in sight. Very difficult from the given distance. Afton was shadow walking here, there and everywhere and it was hard enough to keep tabs on both of them. Perhaps the Necromancer was keeping up, but she really couldn't tell. Worse still, she was getting breathless and her legs were getting so tired and she took her eyes off the other three for like one second then couldn't relocate any of them. She gave a scream of rage and stormed off, deciding to go back to the temple to talk to Andeep and Daemon.

Belinda had been in the shower.
The phone was ringing on her dressing table and she heard it loud and clear as soon as she shut off the water, playing Tara Strong's 'Take My Hand'. Sighing, she answered. "Hello? I'm a little busy right now, could you call back later please?"
"Bel?"
She paused for a moment. "Austin?"
There was a crackle of a sigh. "Number's correct then. I need to ask you a favour-"
"This is why I didn't want you contacting me. It's always favours you come to me for. Money, advice, you try and get me to help you with everything, you need me to get you a job, you need me to-"
"I need you to shut up. Okay, I didn't want my first talk with you in ages to be a request, I wanted to have it as a proper catching up thing with my sister, but Daemon Scaroe's your friend, right?"
"Yeah...? Austin, what's going on?"
"Meet us at Aleron's old temple place thing." He hung up and she sighed. She didn't want to go meet her little brother, but there was a high chance that where Daemon was concerned, she didn't have much of a choice. For safety reasons, she decided to call her boyfriend.

Austin, Aleron, and Gale waited outside the temple. Katharine was taking Gale's horse to this paddocky thing he had permission to use when he needed it and Cadence had taken Maxim away to lock to a tree. They didn't really want him involved, but she had been told to make markers to make sure she didn't forget where she had chained the poor man. It was cold. Every now and then one of them made it clear they were cold by shivering or rubbing their arms or blowing into their hands or stamping their feet. Gale gave a low whistle followed by a wolf whistle as he saw Belinda and Nostradamus approach. Austin felt his hand ball up into a fist but resisted the urge to punch his ginger companion. He gave a smile and a polite nod to his sister which she did not return, but she cast her thin grey eyes over the assembled party, eyes lingering on the new cutlass at Gale's thigh. Pirate boy she thought. "So what's this about, Austin?"
"Your friend's been kidnapped and we thought we could use all the help we could get to get her out. We know they have a sigilist, a warlock and a necromancer, but we're not sure if they have anyone else on their team. Apart from the warlock, who we have captured, they all seem pretty damn good at what they do."
"Riiiight..."
"But as far as we know, we outnumber them. We also have two others to wait for before going inside...only they might be our weakest links..."
"Please tell me Cadence and your stupid girly girlfriend aren't here..."
"Uhh..."
Gale tilted his head to the side. "Hey, why's your boyfriend wearing make-up?"
Nostradamus glowered. "Because I'm pale and tired, okay?"
"You look like a scary emo."
"It's the only look I can pull off other than ugly and sick."
Cadence returned to the group and smiled. "Bel, is that actually you? You've lost weight."
"Shut up!"
"I...I'm trying to pay you a compliment...no need to be so rude."
"You sound like you're teasing me."
"Well I'm not. This is my normal voice."
"Oh yeah, I remember how annoying you were..."
She shrugged off the insult with a light laugh. "As charming as ever, Gemma."
"And you, Lynn. Wearing sensible shoes for once, I see."
"One of my heels is in custody after attacking the Irish Elders."
"I see."
-----

Erskine eased open the window. "That latch has been broken for years. All it takes is one thump and it pops open." He pulled himself through gracefully and then stopped to help her through. "I've come through there hundreds of times to 'borrow' things or freak the hell out of him and he still has no idea how I get in. It's a hazard, I tell ya. One day a real thief will find that broken window latch."
"Especially if you keep using it. If anyone sees you, they instantly have easy illegal access to your friend's house."
"Well...yeah...but that's besides the point, the point is he should get it fixed." Mist rolled her eyes and followed him through to the kitchen.
"And you really feel fine with using his stuff like this without his permission?"
"I can reimburse him." He replied as he took a packet of blackberries out the fridge. "I might call him to tell him we're here though. Might be nice. He's probably annoyed with us already though."
She nodded again as he took out his phone. There was a long silence as she sat down and finally he started speaking. "Hey, Ghastly, thought it'd be fair to warn you we're at your place. You really ought to get that window fixed. Anyone could get in without much effort and steal all your stuff...I'll replace anything we eat or break, I promise. Anyway, we're only here because Mevolent made another move against us, this time in our own house...uh, my own house even...and we needed to get to a relatively safe place...only we couldn't find a safe place so we came here instead. Call me back when you get this message."

He put his phone down and there were a few minutes of silence. "He didn't answer, then?"
Erskine shook his head. "Hopefully he won't shout at me too much when he gets the message."
"You're in trouble, aren't you?"
He shrugged and his phone went off. He jumped and reached for the phone. "Hello?"
The person on the other end of the line sounded out of breath...possibly strained, in pain..."Erskine...You break into my house one more...time, and I make that...photo of you and that dark man public..."
"Get your goddamn window fixed and I won't be able to sneak in like that! I'll show you which window if you really want. Besides, we needed to get somewhere...private and defensible." He looked nervously to the window. "Are you okay? You sound dead."
"If I sounded dead, I wouldn't be talking. Forced to face off a vampire...survived though, which is a plus...considering I was alone...hand on a moment, I'm bleeding over something important..."
"Uh...maybe you need medical attention..."
"Yeah, in a minute...I think the vampire killed Synedoche and I'm not sure how long it's going to take them to find another skilled doctor now that Nye's gone...But Mevolent's been making moves against all the...Sanctuaries...So many of the other elders predicted to die have..."
"Predicted to die?"
"Oh yeah...that meeting I had that didn't involve you...some sensitive saw Mevolent get a bunch of elders killed..."
"I see..." There was a clatter on the other end of the line as Ghastly dropped his phone. "Ghastly? Ghastly?!" He continued muttering 'come on' over and over for about five minutes, getting a little hysterical as time passed until he practically shrieked it down the phone.
"Erskine." He looked at Mist as she stood and placed a calming hand on his shoulder. "What happened?"
He lowered the phone and sighed. "He's...I'm hoping he's not dead..."
-----

Platona Kayotick entered the throne room. She didn't bother bowing. She never did. That really annoyed Cecil sometimes. She thought so much of herself because he let her whisper sweet nothings in his ear. Quite frankly, as time went on, she annoyed him more and more. "Grand Mage Brysio-Blaidd is dead and I think I know exactly where those other resistance members have gone. I know someone who lives near Brisbane and he claims to have seen a group fitting the descriptions of the escapees."
Alison Quirk entered and bowed. She came to stand beside Kayotick, they exchanged looks for a moment and the first, darker-haired girl continued.
"My friend says he believes this resistance to be aware of what is going on at the Sanctuary while nobody else is, and I think they will pose a bigger threat to us than they did before."
"Agreed." Alison continued. "Our informant has tried to get closer and get a proper spying opportunity over them, but he hasn't been able to figure out much. The group are much more secretive and the most interesting thing he's managed to record other than knowing the events in the sanctuary is an argument about washing dark clothes with light ones." Ali and Platz laughed for a moment before the brunette girl composed herself again.
"He has been able to pass on some useful information, but not much. This group appear to have increased their security measures after their last lucky escape, especially since they don't have their precious leader anymore. It's a problem, but they don't seem to have noticed they're being watched, which is a definite plus.

-----

Faine had been staying in the Midnight Hotel for about three months now and Anton was wondering how much longer this would last. She was six and she couldn't even read and write yet, and so she kept begging him to play with her to pass the time. As a result he had actually taken to teaching her to read and write just so that there was the chance it would stop her bugging him when he was trying to work. Or talk to the new guest he really couldn't get out of his head. Faine wasn't independent at all and she had certainly overstayed her welcome. She was sitting at the top of the first flight of stairs that morning, as she did every morning, staring at nothing in particular. She would just wake up and sit there until someone made her breakfast. "Morning." Anton called experimentally, just to see if she would actually reply this time. She didn't even acknowledge his presence or any noise or...anything really. It was kind of creepy. "You're not having a stroke, are you?"
Finally she looked at him, titling her head. "No...I don't know what I'm doing...being weird, I think..."
"Agreed."
"Can we read another book today?"
"I don't feel too well. If I get you down a relatively easy book do you think you can tackle it on your own?"
"...Can you please read with me?"
He sighed. "Faine, I really don't have time for this..."
"Why?"
"I'm ill and I have work to do."
"Why?"
He heaved another sigh and chose to ignore her. She hurried down the stairs and followed him, asking 'why' over and over. He started to make scrambled eggs and she started tugging at his trouser leg.
"Aaaaaaaantoooooooon? How come all the other men here have short hair? Is that normal? I'm used to men having long hair, like yours."
"Depends on the bloke."
"You use funny words."
"What, 'bloke'?"
She didn't reply, just went 'exploring' the kitchen. He muttered for her to be careful, grimaced as he heard a large amount of metal somethings fall from a cupboard and tried to keep all his attention on the task at hand. It was easy enough. Sometimes he managed to blot things out. Until they jolted him and made him burn his hand. "Faine!"
"Oopsie."
"Ow..."
"Did you hurt yourself?"
"You pushed my hands into the pan and fire. Thanks for that. That will hurt for a long time."
"...sorry..." She shrunk away and he wanted to apologise for getting angry with her, but he resisted the urge.
"Just...just leave me alone, okay?"
"Okay..." She slunk back some more and he moved to the sink. "Can I play in the room with the-"
"Just go away!...and stay away from my room!"

-----

Andeep moved away from Daemon. "Ooh, are 'ammers painful?" She teased, her hands turning back into hands. They had said she was allowed to wail on the Necromancer as much as she liked. Unfortunately she needed a bathroom break.

Austin led the group. He didn't know why. Somehow they had gone from walking in a shapeless clump to a strange order where he was at the front. He rounded the corner, saw the redhead and tried to back up, stumbling right into Gale. "You were supposed to wait until I said it was safe." He hissed as Gale gave a howl of pain.

Andeep stopped, then sneezed and continued walking.

The group behind her stared in wonder, shadows coiling around them protectively. They began shadow-walking through the walls, trying to locate Daemon. It look longer than they hoped. Aleron was leading now, as he knew his way around better than the others. Soon enough they found their friend curled up on a bed, clearly injured. Gale stepped forward, carefully lifting the girl so as not to hurt her. He decided to use this moment to ensnare her in his power. He always liked to have new groupies, and the symbols would probably have a stronger effect on the injured. They turned to leave, and there stood Andeep. "More new friends." She cooed joyfully. Austin swore.

((I am never allowed to listen to Taylor Swift while thinking about Dexter Vex/Saracen Rue. It makes me imagine Vex in princess dresses while Rue leads him on while wearing a prince outfit...ooh, and approaching fight scene. Not entirely sure where the scene between Shudder and Faine came from, but he still remembers Lilia promised to pick her up sooner...))

Javier Fyreheart: Killing Vinette

Javier had been given a task by Mevolent. It was an order and so be it he had to. Mevolent promised Zafira's death if he didn't obey. His task was simple: Kill Vinette Riddle. Tracking Detective Riddle would be no problem as he was an expert in these matters. But so be it she was a fighter and he could not afford to lose this battle. Javier waited for Vinette to go to her home. When she got inside her house he snuck in and before she could move he made her see nightmares. Her eyes widened and she screamed. She summoned fire and Javier lost focus. Vinette threw the fire at him and lunged for him. Being she was an Elemental this would be tricky. He dodged the fire making her hit the sofa. He took his sword and swung slicing her across the belly. She fell panting. She somehow stood and he took the opportunity and forced her to see her nightmares. She screamed. As Javier focused he intensified it. After 10 minutes Vinette screamed her last,
"I WILL NEVER LOVE ANYONE BUT BILLY-RAY SANGUINE!!!" She took a kitchen knife and stabbed her self moaning for Sanguine. She died. Javier took care of the body and Remit came out from the room.
"Impressive." He told Javier. The two teleported to Mevolent. Javier bowed his head,
"Sir Vinette Riddle is dead." Javier reported. Mevolent nodded
"Good. I spare Zafira's life another day. Go tell your wife to prepare. Soon I will need to capture her." He ordered Javier. He bowed to Mevolent and he found himself in his own home. Javier waited patiently for Zafira to come home. He was in the mood for Zafira.

Zafira looked at the Administrator.
"Detective Riddle DEAD?!" She exclaimed in shock. That was two detectives down. She turned her gaze to the remaining.
"Investigate the deaths. We know Serpine killed Vidia but look into who killed Vinette." Zafira told them. The last detectives left the room to begin investigating this mystery. Zafira walked into her office and took off her Elder's robes. She hung them on her chair. She looked up at the portraits of past Grand Mages which wasn't many.
"What would any of you done?" She sighed. She stood and shadow walked home.

Javier felt as if Zafira was home. He turned and she stood in her black outfit. He hugged her tightly
"Zaffy." He murmured. Zafira smiled at him and he held her close.
"Mevolent wishes to stage kidnapping you." He warned his wife. She sighed
"Hell no. I refuse." She told Javier. He kissed her cheek
"Zaffy this is his order. We can't be ignorant to it or he'll kill us." Zafira sighed and buried her face in Javier's chest. Even he knew what would happen when Mevolent got her. She'd be tortured so when and if they released her she'd bear the marks of punishment. Javier couldn't handle this fact of knowing Zaffy was in danger.

Three in the morning rolled around and there was a knock on the bedroom door.
"Who is it?" Javier called.
"Open in the name of Mevolent." Came the voice. Javier shook Zafra awake and opened the door. Zafira stood up dressed in her pajamas.
"Vengeous to what do I owe this late night visit?" Zafira asked.
"Mevolent wishes for us to bring you to him. Javier included."
"It's three in the morning Baron." She reminded him. Remit stepped forward and grabbed Javier and Zafira and then Mevolent was in front of them.
"Well it seems we have a lot to discuss with you two." He told the bedraggled couple. "A lot in store."

Kelley Throckmorton: Damage

The news came later than it should have. Mevolent blamed his butler and incinerated him. Then, he double-checked with the messenger and after confirming the news, incinerated her, too. They were both inconsequential, and easily replaceable.

Kelley  Throckmorton entered the room and bowed low, ready to melt into nothing if Mevolent tried to incinerate him. Instead, Mevolent asked him a question that made him jump. "You remember Raeza Blayd, of course."

Kelley nodded. No matter how much he tried to forget those teenage years, Raeza's face haunted him on his bad nights. He shouldn't still care. Rae had been his friend decades ago, then he'd revealed to her that he worked for Mevolent, and any hopes of the two of them becoming closer were squelched.

"Get out, get out, get out of my head," he started to sing, then stopped because Mevolent was glaring at him.

"The Mara girl sung One Direction, Mr. Throckmorton, and she's the one who I tortured within an inch of her life."

"Yes, sir." Privately, Kelley wondered what had happened to Maralie Charm. She wasn't in the torture room now. 

"There have been questions about your loyalty, Kelley. I want you to prove to me that you're in this game."

Kelley blinked. Of course he was in the game. He was being paid. 

"Raeza was never dead."

Kelley jumped in shock, a million questions flying through his head, but what came out was more like "Uh, bluh, wha?"

"Raeza. Isn't. Dead," Mevolent spoke as if to a toddler who couldn't understand a thing, the edge to his voice warning Kelley not to try his master's patience any longer. "But she will be. You're going to kill her.

He faded into nothing, careful not to obliterate himself entirely. Passing through the door was harder than it should have been. Mixed-up emotions always made it hard to focus, but he had to see her. He had to know what she was like now, if she would recognize him...and doing something immature would make him more like the Kelley he had been, the Kelley who Raeza knew. He'd been a better person then, someone who was less likely to grow angry from seeing the face from Mevolent's wanted posters, the face of Fabienne S.

Niccolo Croatoan/Marina Oswald: In Which Marina Surprises an All-Too-Arrogant Niccolo

Aretha ran off to 'deal with Rosa', exactly as Niccolo had instructed her to, and he spoke to Marina in a slightly hushed tone. "Rosa is about to stop Mallory," he told her, noting the way Aretha's given name sounded so foreign, "From punching her, and then they're going to walk into the forest. Think of this as a test; we'll see how clever you are. Rosa wants us to follow her. Stay here." Meanwhile, behind the two of them, exactly what he said would happen was happening- Aretha went in for a strike but was stopped short, and she and Rosa began their stroll into the forest.

I was not going to let this slide. This pale idiot thinks that I will let this brunette bitch drag Mallory away? Aw haeeel naw. "Excuse me dickface I'm not letting that Rose idiot drag my best friend into a fucking forest. Now please excuse me while I shoot her in the back of the head with an arrow."

"Marina," He said, his voice dark and smooth, and though she couldn't hear it, laced with magic, "Don't shoot Rosa. Don't go after them, either." And then she found that her body obeyed, even as her mind protested.

I couldn't fucking move. "Look fucktrumpet. I don't know what the fuck you are doing, but I'm 1000000% sure it's illegal. If you don't let me go I am going to file rape charges."

"File whatever charges you want- I'm already a wanted criminal. But here's the current situation; Are-" He stopped for a moment to correct himself, but then decided against it, "No, calling her by her other name is too strange. In the world of magic Mallory's name is Aretha, and that's what I'm calling her. Aretha is being physically manipulated, much like I'm controlling you now. She's been like that for several days now, during which time she betrayed several of her friends and killed her family. 

"Turns out that Rosa was the one controlling her. Basically she's a player in a war against an evil mage (that's what we call magic people) called Mevolent, and he wanted her out of the way- Rosa made her do all of that so that she would break. And break she did. I think it was really her family's screams that did it. She tortured them for hours each before killing them. Now think about this; Rosa's job originally was to get Aretha out of the picture. She's had a chance to kill Aretha- why didn't she? 

"Mevolent wants her alive, so he can use her to get to me, because if he gets near me he can control me too. That's the conclusion I'm left with. And what I'm certain of is that there's a heavily armed ambush waiting for us if we follow, and if we walk into it Aretha's usefulness will run out and they'll kill her too. They'll kill you because they have no use for a mortal who stumbled into the world of magic. So we turn around, walk the other way, and you can step in when they least expect you. We'll get Aretha back, but if we try now, the only thing we'll accomplish is more death. Now do you understand?" He finally finished. That was more than he had explained to anyone since the start of this war, and there was still plenty he hadn't told her.

I sighed. "Alright Mr. Fucktrumpet. I'll follow you, but only because my idiot best friend trusts you. Now, I decide when we are going to get her, because I am decidedly 78% more clever than you. If you do not agree to my terms, I will waltz in right now with my bow and fuck more shit up for you, because you're going to have to save me because Mallory likes me. Also, we call her Mallory, and if I hear Aretha again I will have her murder you in your sleep, loverboy. Reality check: she doesn't feel romantic attraction to people, so I wouldn't get your hopes up."

"Aretha is the name that she chose, so that's what I'm calling her, and you seem to forget that you're not exactly in a position to call the shots."

I sighed. "Actually I am. Because you have no doubt in your mind that I would actually go in there and fuck everything up. So, ass-butt, you are going to listen to me before I chop your head off with a machete."

"Your threats become increasingly hollow as this conversation drags- keep in mind why this argument started. You physically can't go after them."

I rolled my eyes. "Actually," I said, walking away, "I can. Also, you are a terrible deducer." I turned around as Niccolo was making a quick decision. Probably was going to knock me out. "Now listen you little shit. I'm going to comply, but I have to have a say in this. Kapeshe?"

He paused to think for a moment, slightly irritated that she had changed her mind. He was rather eager to try his new discipline- stealing her soul and bringing it back later would have been fun. At least she was a quick thinker- Aretha had told him about that on more than one occasion. Marina was fast and clever and obviously good with a bow, and if he wanted to keep Aretha alive, he would need her on his side. "No promises," He finally responded with a sly grin, and strode quickly back to the research cabin.

I scoffed. "Like I said," I commented to myself, "he's a fucktrumpet."

Javier Fyreheart: Jekyll and Hyde: Female Version

Mevolent flew at Javier. Afraid of this Javier took his sword and charged but Mevolent was faster. He defended himself with ease and then Javier was thrown into a brick wall and his windpipe punctured. He lay there suffocating. Then it all went black.

Javier woke with a start. He felt his throat. Intact. It was all just a dream. He looked over at the clock: 3am. He looked over at his sleeping wife. Zafira was out cold. Smiling he brushed her dark hair from her face. She was beautiful even in sleep. He loved her and he couldn't think of anyone who would compare to her. He kissed her cheek and lay back down. He fell asleep much more peaceful.

The morning dragged by so slowly. Zafira was due home for lunch soon and Javier was anxious. He was an assassin but he worked with the Sanctuary since Aretha went mental and all. Though nobody could arrest him because according to Sanctuary law he had to actually kill someone in order to be arrested. Unlike Scapegrace he didn't even attempt to kill them. When he showed them their nightmare the victim would simply commit suicide. Javier made a nice lunch for himself and Zaf. Tomato soup and grilled cheese. He turned from the pot and Zafira smiled
"Hey Javier." She said and hugged him. Javier felt that butterfly feeling he got whenever he embraced her. He hugged her back tightly.
"Hello my love." He said and broke off taking her hand and kissing it. He poured her soup into a bowl and flipped their grilled cheese.
"Five minutes until they're ready." He told her as she sat down.
"How is the war stuff going?" He put the grilled cheese on two plates and served them. Zafira smiled
"Crappy. Elder Jackson is hostage by Mevolent and Marissa is going squeaky."
"Isn't she always squeaky?"
"No. When she's freaked she goes even higher. No wonder she was soprano with me in school." Zafira smirked. Javier ate his soup. Then Zaf spoke sounding slightly worried
"I fear we may have to risk our cover to get her out. I think I'll send some of Serephia's mages. Might make them less afraid." She decided. Javier nodded. They ate in silence and then Javier broke the silence. He had a question and it nagged him so much.
"Zaffy whats it like knowing your true name?" He asked. Zaf looked up at him. It took a moment for her to speak
"Well. Its like Jekyll and Hyde. I know this...person so to speak is inside my soul or whatever. Here I am as a good person and Justaria isn't exactly cuddly. Like how Jekyll was a doctor and a husband to be never killed a man then Hyde comes out and kills all these people and proclaims to be with Satan." She explained to him. Javier nodded
"So what I got the female Jekyll and Hyde here as my wife? Awesome!" He grinned. Zafira rolled her eyes and got up. She hugged him tightly from behind.
"Javier what can I do with you?" She asked laughing. She shook her head and went to the living room shadow walking to work. Javier watched her go sighing. He cleaned up lunch and sat down to watch TV. Nothing was even good on TV. That's when his phone rang.
"Javier speaking." He answered. A man spoke nearly a whisper
"Javier, Mevolent wishes to speak to you tomorrow." Lord Vile told him. Javier felt his insides chill.
"Of course." He told Vile. He hung up and lay against the couch. One day more. He may become a general for all he knew.

Evening came and Zafira was home. The happy couple lay together in the living room. Javier was being playful and was on top of her. He shrugged and they kissed. It felt good to have her with him. He let her go and Zafira gasped laughing. She was tired which for her wasn't usual. He caressed her cheek.
"Zaffy?" He asked quietly. She looked up at him.
"Javier I dunno I think I'm sick." She told him. He held her close
"But I love you. Get better?"
"I will." She promised and lay her head on his chest. He stroked her hair. Zafira was his and he planned to make it stay that way. For as long as they have.

September Seneca Silver: Past, Present, Potato

A/N This is… strange. It’s random. It introduces completely new and previously unmentioned plot points that make no sense. I completely forgot to put Fabi in this chapter (although Faeris shows up). So bear with me here.

Ember ran outside the door and devoured everyone she could see. She dragged one of the bodies back to the door, and vowed that she'd give to Liberty as a sort of sorry present.

She closed her eyes and prepared to bring Liberty back to life. Golden light flooded her vision, and she felt like she was floating. She raised her hands and picked through the various souls in her inventory. When she couldn't find Liberty, she went on a bit of a detour to Heaven.

It was beautiful--the floor was covered in marble, and chandeliers floated in the air. The whole place was basked in an orange glow, like there was a never-ending sunset lighting up the sky. Various souls floated around, talking or just strolling, and she took a moment to greet all the new faces.

She also made it a point to slap Fletcher's girlfriend in the face.

After looking around, she still couldn't find Liberty. So she waved her hand in the air and screamed, "MENTAL!"

Her previous assistant, Kayla Mental, teleported next to her and nodded. "Yes, miss Silver?"

"Where is my sister?"

Mental curtsied. "I think she's with your parents."

Ember choked on her own spit. "WHAT? WHAT THE HELL?"

"I'm not sure why, but... she is. I think they snuck up behind her and knocked her out, and then they took her."

Ember didn't even bother to thank Mental. Or to bring her back to life, she annoyed her. She just ran, ran for what was left of her sister's life.

"ELIZABETH!" she yelled. "ELIZABETH!"

She heard a scream, and her heart dropped. What are my parents doing to her now? she wondered. She kept running though, memories flashing through her head.

"Ember."

Ember twitched and buried herself further into the corner.

"Ember, come here."

Ember shivered but slowly crept out of her room--a tiny closet with no light. "Yes?"

Her father glared at her from the living room. "You want to be tough when you grow up, right?"

"Y-yes, but... I mean, no..."

He grabbed her by the arm. "No child of mine is going to be a freaking wimp, now shut up and pay attention."

Ember noticed that Elizabeth was tied to a chair and gulped. She knew what was going to happen. She knew what would happen even before she stepped out of her room.

Her father grabbed a large whip and handed it to her. "You know what to do."

She turned to him, now crying. "I don't... I don't want to..."

He slapped her, hard. "Do it. Do it now, or you're going to be in the chair instead of her."

She paused, so he growled and took the whip from her. "You want to see how it's done? Okay."

He lashed at Elizabeth with the whip, and she closed her mouth defiantly and refused to cry. He did it over and over and over again, and then he grabbed both ends of the whip and tied it around Elizabeth's throat. He pulled on it, and Elizabeth gagged and clawed his arms as scarlet blood spilled out of her neck.

In a flash he threw the whip to the side, and then he choked her to death with his own hands. Ember watched, terrified, as the life went from Elizabeth's eyes and she went limp.

He brought her back to life, and then he killed her over and over again until Ember wanted to faint. This happened every night, except that sometimes it was Ember instead of Elizabeth.

Ember screamed, and then her father moved towards her with the whip back in his hand.

She shook her head to clear her thoughts, even though tears were spilling down her face like they always did when she remembered.

She found the stairway that led to Hell, but she couldn't be bothered to keep running so she closed her eyes and stretched her arms out. Snowy white wings appeared on her back, and she flew down as fast as she could.

"WHERE ARE YOU?" she yelled.

And then she saw her parents, knives in their hands. Liberty's face was disfigured and unrecognisable, and Ember was sure that if she hadn't already been dead, she would be dead now.

Her father turned to her with a twisted smile and said, "Why didn't you bring us back to life last time? Why only your pathetic excuse for a sister?"

"You're a pathetic excuse for a parent," Ember said. She tried to keep the emotion out of her voice like her parents had taught her, but she was afraid for Elizabeth and her voice wavered.

"I made you who you are today," her father said. "I promised you I'd make you strong, make you tough. Didn't I do a good job? Aren't you happy?"

"I was never happy," she said, venom in her voice. "Even now I hate how heartless I've become. And you're right, that was all because of you."

Her father lunged at her with the knife, but she flew to the side just in time. Grabbing Liberty, she flew off, but not before her father spread his wings and started flying after her.

"Elizabeth?"

Elizabeth was dead. Her father hadn't brought her back to life this time, and now she was lying outside in the cold.

"Elizabeth, listen to me! You need to wake up, you have to!"

Elizabeth stayed silent.

Ember cried in the darkness, and cradled Elizabeth's head in her arms. "I'm sorry. I can't help you. I don't know how he does the healing thing, I just... I can't..."

You have to try, a little voice in her head told her.

So she closed her eyes, tried to focus on all her energy and push it out of her hands. It didn't work, so she tried again and again until little flashes of energy sparked from her fingertips.

Come on. For Elizabeth.

For about an hour she tried to heal her sister, but it didn't work.

And finally, she poured her entire heart into gathering the light and the heat and the energy and the health, and she brought her sister back to life.

That was when she decided to be a Healer.

She flew faster and faster, but her father was catching up to her.

This isn't working, she thought. I need to change tactics. I need to--

And then her father came up behind her with the knife, and he took her life.

"No," Ember whispered. She wasn't unconscious, but she couldn't leave now. She couldn't go back to Fabi and Star. She couldn't go back to Mara.

She couldn't give her sister back to the world of the living.

----

Faeris had seriously had enough.

She was outnumbered. There was Fabi, there was the girl who threw the ink everywhere, the crying girl who liked Five Redirections, and the girl who wanted to kill somebody.

That was more than enough people, thank you so very much.

And also she had just fallen down, and she was sure that somebody was going to come get her soon.

So she decided to just go back to Mevolent and tell him... I dunno, something. Maybe he'd let her take some more backup next time.

She tried to sneak out, but not before a voice said, "What do you think you're doing?"

Whipping around, she whispered, "Who are you?"

"Mr. Bliss," the voice said. "At your service."

She frowned. "You're dead."

There was a pause. "Yes... and no. I mean, I think I'm dead, but I don't really know... They didn't exactly explain this to me."

"Where are you?"

"I'm right in front of you!"

She looked in front of her, but there was just a potato there.

"I only see a potato."

"I AM the potato."

She froze. "You... you're a potato?"

"Yes."

"You're a potato."

"Apparently so."

"Oh my god."

"I know."

"But... you... how... how is this humanly possible?"

"I don't know."

Her mouth was hanging open. "I... uh... yeah... um... good day to you. I am.... uh...  going out to get groceries..."

She left before he could say anything, scratching her head in disbelief.

Elders Around The World: Japanese Dominoes Part 2

Poland

The explosion shook the Sanctuary to its very foundations. Fires flared and alarms blared and people ran in circles screaming. A sensitive traced the bomb back to England and the danger and tension began to build. From Ireland came the first outstretched hand. It wasn't the Sanctuaries' fault, they suddenly all found their communications to Poland shut down. The Sanctuary was able to get its calls for help out, but nothing returned. It would seem like the whole world was just ignoring them. That was when Mevolent extended a helping hand. So desperate were they for help, they accepted. The bombs had not only been in the Sanctuary, after all. As easy as that, Mevolent had another whole country on his side. Desperation sure was sweet.
-----

France

Jasmin returned to the Sanctuary with Charles and Perseus and hid himself in a toilet cubicle as he knew the Grand Mage would be pissed off with him. Two men came in, talking. "His wife is going crazy."
"The other two kids are fine though, right?"
"Yes, they don't think she was kidnapped. The thing was, they can't see where she could have gone. All the doors and windows were locked and there was no sign she had gone anywhere or stepped on the creaky floorboard or anything."
"Creaky floorboard, eh?"
"Yeah, and the mother's in a state and everyone's trying to find the father. Only he's gone to Ireland again."
"I heard he was back."
"Oh."
"Yeah, but he's hiding from the Grand Mage. Charles told me."
Jasmin froze. They were talking about one of his daughters."Which one of his kids is missing?" He asked, trying not to sound like himself.
"The eldest one. Lydie or something."
Jasmin unlocked the door and walked out, feeling sick. "Thank you for alerting me. Please stop talking about my family matters behind my back."
"Sorry." Replied the first man.

-----

Germany

Johann frowned as the Grand Mage rushed around, clearly in a bit of a panic. It probably didn't help when the twelve-year-old girl appeared. Deidrich had left the room to panic elsewhere, so Johann got up and addressed the girl. "Hello."
"Hello?" she replied in French.
"How did you get in here?" He switched to French himself. He had had to learn it a while ago, but still wasn't very good.
"I teleported."
"...Have you been here before?"
"No...I kind of panicked...where am I?"
"The, uh, German Sanctuary..."
"Oh...weird..."
"Where are you from?"
"France."
"Do you know how to get back there?"
"...I don't know how teleporting works yet..."
Johann sighed. "Okay..."
"My parents might be worried."
"I don't doubt that."
"Are you an elder? Can you contact my parents? My father is an elder in France..."
"I think I can-" He was cut off by a shriek. Warheit cam bursting in, about to say something, when he caught sight of Lydie. He stared at her for a minute or so, then turned to Johann. "I think we ought to get out of here. Japanese and Polish forces have come in...they're working with Mevolent."
Starke nodded and crouched down beside Lydie. Speaking in French again to the bewildered teleporter, he told her to imagine the French Sanctuary and imagine appearing there. He held her hand as he told her and Warheit, understanding pretty quickly, grabbed his colleague's other outstretched hand...the door burst open and a blast of some sort was fired...and then they were standing in the French Sanctuary administrations office and Starke's robes were stained with blood...

-----

Ireland

Mist and Ravel were out God knows where. Ghastly wasn't impressed. They hadn't just not come in like that before. Part of him was a little concerned as he heard of the relative chaos around the world and the deaths of some of the very elders prophesied to die. It was just a little unnerving once the first few were gone.

The first thing Ravel noticed was that his head hurt like hell. Then he realised he was lying on the floor in an alleyway, someone stood beside him in a protective stance. Thirdly he realised that someone was Madame Mist and that she was peaking suspiciously around the side of the alleyway. Finally he noticed his walking stick was gone and his hands were grazed. "What happened?"
"Don't you remember?"
"Not entirely."
"Your living room, Alexander Remit, rounders bat, fight...I must say, you were very noble. Up until he brought a friend and caught us both by surprise."
He began to remember. First Remit had knocked her out, and she had regained conciousness just as he was pulling the stupid cliché 'You want her, you'll have to get through me' line. Remit had attacked him in his own home. He had teleported away and Ravel had helped his girlfriend up and they prepared for Remit's return when he and another man came back, Remit in front of them, the other man behind, and the other man had hit him on the back of the head with the rounders bat... The Grand Mage struggled to his feet and leant on Mist for support. "They seem to be gone." She muttered.
"Where're we going?"
"I'm not sure."
He took a moment to get his bearings and figure out where they were. "The nearest place is Ghastly's."
"We can't get in there."
"I've broken in there before. In fact, that's how we first met..." They walked on as Erskine recounted the story from start to finish.

Ghastly hated having to rush to a meeting. It was a veritable whirlpool of misery and 'you're late'ness. Plus he needed the toilet, but there wasn't one on the way and he was already late. That was why he was really pissed off when he got there and nobody was there, nothing was set up for a cross-national meeting...and who exactly was he meant to be meeting with, anyway? He turned to leave and groaned internally. There stood Awesome Dude. He looked scared. "Help me." He whimpered. Quite frankly, Ghastly hadn't expected that.
"With what?"
"That detective McMooney guy...He vampirised me...what am I supposed to do?"
Ghastly checked the time. It was nearly night. "I'm afraid I might have to lock you up for the night and talk to you in the morning."
"Help me!"
"I will." He soothed, having met this man before. He knew how to deal with him when he started panicking. Unfortunately, he needed to deal with him faster. "I think it's safest for both of us that we go down to the cells of the gaol and lock you up for the night."
He paused, nodded, then looked like he was going to throw up. "Too late." He whispered, reaching for his chest...

-----

Australia

Elizabeth Jaime Benson Slyther was an interesting man. Amber Thorn and Clef Cherry felt a little awkward to be anywhere near him, let alone work with him on their council. Slyther strolled up to them, all smiles. "Mevolent's made his move on Norway."
"Thank you, Elizabeth." Amber replied with a smile. "Hopefully this means Australia is relatively safe...all the same...they still went after Magnus full in the knowledge he would no longer be getting help from us...or at least not from Visie and myself directly..."
"Who knows the way his mind works? Maybe he mainly wanted Norway?"
"No...Norway wouldn't be of any advantage to him by itself. He wanted Norway to get to Australia and South Africa."
"Maybe he has different plans." Clef suggested.
"Like what?"
"This." He grabbed Elizabeth and Amber's heads and smacked them together, knocking them both out. His hand went to the ear piece where Elder Hato of the Japanese Sanctuary was speaking to him.
"Very good, Clef."
"Let them go now."
"Who, Paris and Ronaele? They are fine here, Clef. In fact, they are safer here, and your son is enjoying himself a fair bit. He's found the swords, actually, from what I've heard. He's quite enjoying them and has even wounded his gaoler. Unfortunately, I am not in charge of releasing your children, and so I will have to transfer you to my boss."
"I have three children...Where's Ginger?!"
"...funny story about Ginger..."

-----
Wales

Dennis was easy to get to. While Mevolent had his ways of getting to everyone, such as telling Awesome Dude that Ghastly could help him or kidnapping or full assault, but for Dennis it was far simpler. Dennis owned something Mevolent quite desperately wanted. Whether elders Ronaele Weasley and Oniqua Draquesha De Groote knew what this Platona girl he was seeing was up to or that she was actually dating Mevolent behind Brysio-Blaidd's back was irrelevant. De Groote was the one who found Blaidd's body. He was slumped over his desk beside an almost finished glass of wine, once more too big a glass to be healthy, and he always filled them. She thought he had just fallen asleep. She moved closer and shook him gently. "Grand Mage? Den? Denny?" He didn't seem to be breathing. Leaning over, she felt his neck for a pulse. "Ah." She calmly walked out and told the nearest person the Grand Mage was dead. She was pretty certain it was all the drinking he did anyway, so she had no reason to worry until an autopsy concluded she was wrong. He had died from a lethal dose of cyanide. They tested the drink he had been found with and found cyanide pills had been mixed in...and Platona had fled the country...not before raiding Dennis' belongings.

-----
South Africa

With distress signals coming out from both Norway and Australia in the form of messages complaining about the kidnapping of Glorianna and something scary going on with Elder Cherry threatening the Australian girls, Visie was getting a little worried and wondering if he should break their little pact and intervene. Perhaps if he intervened himself rather than Elder Hoop intervening, it would be better...Elder Hoop was the one the American lad had seen die after all. He managed to contact Magnus, and the Norwegian Mage looked a state. The only problem was Skisma didn't know whether to help each other or not, or how they could help each other. Their plan hadn't worked...but Vrees Visie would be happy as long as he could spare Glinsterende Hoop. The man was innocent and pretty clueless, and he had a massive family. Quite frankly Vrees was surprised anyone would stand to have so many children. He left his chat with Skisma and went out for a walk. He saw Hoop with his children and wished he had once taken the time to get to know someone and maybe father some children, but two things stopped him. One was that he was a workaholic, and the second was that he didn't like adopting and fathering children naturally was rather difficult with two men...he felt oddly paternal towards Glin's children sometimes. As a result, there was no way in hell he was letting the man lose his life or those children their father. He vowed it there and then.

((So I wanted to write an ending message, and I had an idea of what I was going to write earlier, but now I'm just tired and I've long forgotten...most of this is fantabulous improv...))