#equo

Dinner was quiet. Putting on the TV felt weird, and enough was racing through everyone’s heads to keep conversation to a minimum. It was the same old bread that had been in the fridge for almost too long, the same old meats and cheeses and whatever else Peony felt like throwing in, but it tasted odd. Not like food poisoning was a concern, but like the weight of the world was resting on eight shoulders. And only two knew what they were doing.

“So… what do we do now?” Glitch broke the silence as she looked out the window, darkness set across the campus grounds.

“We should rest.” Gamma suggested. “It’s been a day.”

“It is unlikely whoever is behind this will attack at night.” Psi added. “We will take watch anyway to avoid any altercations.”

“You and me first?” Callow pointed to Psi.

Psi nodded. “Our surveillance could use more work anyway. The rest of you, please try to sleep.”

“Gamms, you can have my bed. I’m gonna try and cat nap so I can take second watch. Horns and I can double up.” Glitch offered, earning a thankful smile from her mentor.

Despite having been woken up from some sort of sleep only hours before, most of the team was tired, and ambled off to their respective rooms. It felt weird to have someone keeping watch in their own dorm, but then again nothing in this scenario had felt normal since any of them awoke. And at the very least, in a scenario where none of them had any kind of control, at least they had this.

~~*~~

Flashes. Bursts of light. A mansion. Then a forest. A courtyard filled with people, fading to darkness. A courtyard, doors lining three of four walls, an open wrought iron archway on the fourth. A marketplace. Dozens of people within the yard, various numbers of shopping bags in hand. Then a flash of white. Then, an empty courtyard fading to black. Again. A courtyard of people, frozen in time. A picture? Or real life? Then a flash of white. Then an empty courtyard fading to black. A few more flashes, faster than he could comprehend, getting brighter and brighter until all he could see was white-

Horns awoke with a start, shooting up in bed and startling Glitch, who had been dozing next to him.

“Horns…” She mumbled groggily. “What are you doing?”

“I saw something.” He was now aware of just how hard he’d been breathing in his distressing dreams.

Glitch sat up now, intrigued. “What, like a dream?”

“Like a vision. Like a-.” He threw the blankets off him, rushing out of bed and towards the door. “Like a warning.”

Glitch was hot on his heels as he made his way to Psi’s office, light pouring through the crack in the door.

“Y’know, this is kinda creepy.”

“But also helpful in tracking down your target.”

“Yeah, yeah, sure. Still creepy.”

“Callow. Psi.” Horns burst in. “I think I saw something.”

“What’s up?” Callow asked.

“I had a vision.” Horns said, voice still panicked. “I think it’s a warning. I think something’s going to happen.”

“Describe it. Perhaps we can decipher the location.” Psi ordered.

Horns took a calming breath. “Some kind of courtyard shopping center. Old, but not old architecture, so not a historical district. Cobblestone yard and stone buildings, wrought iron gate on one side.”

Callow began typing something at that, but Horns couldn’t see the screen.

“It was pretty busy, but no one was moving. Probably somewhere else frozen- oh gods, I hope they’re okay. I hope we’re not too late-.”

“Horns, focus.” Horns was a little surprised it was Callow shushing him and not Psi as usual, but let it slide.

“I don’t really remember much else.” Horns shook his head as if trying to clear his vision. “It was all indoor shops, I guess that’s helpful?”

Callow’s typing slowed and Psi came around beside him, keying in a few more things before nodding in approval.

“Come around here.” Psi stepped back and motioned Horns forward.

“See if any of these ring a bell.” Callow scrolled through the various locations slowly, giving just enough time to take them in before moving on.

“There!” Horns exclaimed after looking through a few. “That’s it, that’s the place. That’s what I saw. We have to get there. Now. We have to go.”

“Horns, Horns.” Glitch came up beside him, hushing his erratic movements. “Take a breath. We’re going to figure this out, but you need to stay calm.”

He took a deep breath in, but the jitteriness remained. “I’m sorry, I just… I just have a really bad feeling about that place.”

“Bad how?” Callow asked. “What kind of emotion?”

“Death.”

Callow swallowed harshly. “We need to go. Now.”

“How are we going to get there?” Glitch asked. “There’s bound to be cars all over the roads, and frozen viruses on the sidewalks.”

“You know, I’ve been eyeing some pretty sweet motorcycles people have been parking on campus.” Callow offered. “We could take some of those and drive down the middle of the road.”

“We will discuss the issues behind that statement later.” Psi scolded.

“I’ve got the electrical tape and wire, but do you have screwdrivers because we’re going to need ‘em.” Glitch replied.

“We will discuss that later as well.” Psi sighed.

“I think Pe or Equo might have some.” Horns said.

“And do you have the make and model?” Glitch asked. “Because we’re going to need to look up the wiring diagram.”

“And also that.” Psi pinched the bridge of his nose.

~~*~~

Grand Meadow Market sat close to the western border of Fictory Square, making it a half hour drive from the Academy. The roaring engines of ‘borrowed’ motorcycles made conversation difficult even over the earpieces they’d all been given, but none of the team were in the mood to chat anyway. Horns’ agitated state had only gotten worse, the spiral continuing the closer they got until he was practically vibrating with anxiety. Mentally, each member of Gamma-Psi braced themselves. For what they did not know, and that only made things worse.

“We’re getting close, let’s pull over here.” Gamma suggested. “The bikes are too loud, we don’t want to alert anyone.”

“Like there’s anyone to alert.” Callow mumbled but did as ordered.

“Someone did this.” Equo argued. “The whole capital didn’t just freeze on its own.”

“What do we do if someone’s actually there?” Jolly asked with slight apprehension.

“Make sure they are not the culprit and detain them if they are.” Psi answered, heading down the street.

“Horns how ya feeling?” Peony asked.

The satyr hummed worriedly. It was more like a whine. “Not good. There’s darkness here. Real darkness. My stomach hurts. We better be ready, I’ve never… felt anything like this before.”

“Then we’d better hurry.” Gamma said. The whole team knew Horns’ premonitions never came close to this strength, and all were on edge in their own way.

On instinct, the team dodged the light of old streetlamps, jumping from shadow to shadow and around statue-esque viruses. The absurdity of doing so in a street filled with an unnatural quiet was not lost on them. Yes, there was likely a culprit behind this attack, but none of the frozen people around them were going to rat them out. Their unseeing eyes stared on at the team as they moved, footsteps lightly echoing in the quiet. Rounding a corner, the wrought iron archway that welcomed shoppers into the main courtyard of the market loomed some 15 feet above them, the cheerfulness of the greeting gaining an edge in the moonless night. Horns’ breathing picked up speed as they approached ever closer.

“Fuck.”

“Oh my gods.”

“Jolly- Jolly don’t look.”

Shards. Everywhere. Dozens of viruses reduced to pieces in but a moment. The whole team froze. Equo looked away, jaw hard set as she clenched it tight. Callow’s gaze held fast, wide-eyed and frozen himself with the magnitude of the situation. Peony had gone to Jolly, trying to shield her from the scene as the snow leopard virus looked on with a hardened expression none of them had ever witnessed before. Glitch stood frozen, looking from Jiji to their mentors, trying to decide where she was needed most as Gamma and Psi engaged in a near-silent argument. She wasn’t sure if she was even up for either. It was Horns who broke the silence, leaning back around the outer wall as he retched from the sight of it all.

“Gods, I knew it was going to be bad, but…” Horns’ breathing was heavy with the fear and shock of the situation, panic bubbling just below the surface.

“What are we supposed to do?” Jolly asked quietly. “There has to be more than a dozen viruses here.”

“Normally we would lock down the area and request assistance from more qualified individuals.” Psi said. “Seeing as they are… not available…”

“Could you close it off with vines or something?” Equo asked. “At least the main gate?”

Psi nodded at her approvingly.

“We’ll check out the surrounding area, see if whoever did this is still nearby.” Gamma instructed. “Horns, do you still have a-.”

Gamma cut herself off mid-sentence as she turned to address Horns, finding the satyr virus missing.

“Dammit Horns.” Peony sighed, no malice behind her words.

“Horns? Where’d you go? Horns?” Jolly frowned. “Doesn’t look like he’s going to respond over the comms.”

“I’ll find him.” Glitch turned toward the gate.

“No.” Gamma stopped her retreat. “Glitch it’s alright, you stay here.” She locked eyes with Psi, the two of them exchanging a nod. “I’ll find him.”

~~*~~

It didn’t take her long to find him. The park was only two blocks away, nestled in between old shops and a senior’s center. It was mostly empty, thankfully, sparing them the constant reminder of the current state of the city. He sat with his feet curled up on the old wooden bench, staring out over the darkened field.

“I’m sorry.” He spoke when she landed behind him, her wings tinkling softly an easy giveaway. “I just freaked out. I… I had to get out of there.”

“You really need to stop running away from things.” Gamma said, half-jokingly.

Horns laughed self-consciously, hearing the honesty behind the sarcasm. “I know. Maybe some day.”

“So.” She sat down on the bench next to him. “You wanna talk about it.”

“Not really.” He replied, knowing well that wasn’t an option. He sighed. “Did I cause this?”

“What, the… frozen viruses?” Gamma asked, surprised. “What on earth makes you think that?”

“I saw that courtyard in my visions right before I woke up.” He kicked his legs down from the bench, opting to lean his elbows on his knees. “Before I woke up from a spell no one else can. I don’t have any way to explain that.”

“Horns…” Gamma grappled with the right words. “For starters, you’re not nearly that powerful yet.”

Horns gave a genuine laugh. “Gee, thanks Gamms.”

“I said ‘yet’, didn’t I?”

“Sure, sure.”

“And second of all, how many times do we have to tell you you’re a good person until you start believing it?” It was mostly a rhetorical question.

“I know, I know. I just can’t shake the feeling that… I dunno, that I’m connected to this in some way.” Horns said. “I know that doesn’t make sense…”

“Doesn’t have to.” Gamma replied. “But you can use that to your advantage. You’re so much stronger than this, horns. Don’t let it break you.”

“I… okay.” Horns nodded.

“Alright now come on.” Gamma stood, pulling him to his feet with her. “The team handled the site so we’re regrouping back at the dorm. Psi’s left us a bike.”

“So there’s nothing we can do for those viruses?” Horns asked.

    "Whatever you're going to ask, the answer is no."

Glitch had just opened her mouth as she plopped down on Horns’ lap on the couch. The satyr virus didn’t even look up from his book as he moved for her to sit in a better position so he could still read.

    “You don’t even know what I was going to ask!” she pouted.

    Callow, from the kitchen counter where he sat solving a puzzle with Gamma, who idly sipped her tea carefully watching the two for a moment before returning to their puzzle board, chimed in “Do we even have to? Knowing you, it could only be trouble” He teased with a toothy grin.

    “Who’s side are you on?!” Glitch shot him a look over her shoulder, and he stuck his tongue out at her. Gamma glanced up at him, and hid her smile behind her mug of tea as she picked it up to take another sip.

    “Which ever side you are not on” Peony smirked. She sat beside Equo as the virus painted quietly. Her headphones were on so it was doubtful that she was even listening but Glitch stuck her tongue out at the duo.

    Horns rolled his eyes and turned a page in his book, trying to continue reading as the cat virus stretched out in his lap, attempting to take up as much space as possible “Glitch, really? Can you not?”

    She let out a small needy whine as she called him by a nickname. “Milosc!!”

    “Im reading, go bother someone else” He hummed turning a page.

    Gamma idly tapped on her tea mug, her eyes scanned over the puzzle board as she paused and picked up a piece to place it in the sky. She gave a hum on content and Callow glanced over “Good job babe”

    Glitch scoffed rolling her eyes to the two at the table before sitting up and heaving herself upright in a puff, she didn’t glance over to the two at the table as she walked past and sat herself down at the kitchens island bar seats. She drummed her fingers on the countertop, tapping them excessively in annoyance.

    Gamma tapped on her mug, lifting it up to her lips as she tilted her head in Glitch’s direction, the cat in turn stared back, her finger angrily drummed the countertop in response to Gamma’s nails tapping on the mug.

    It was several moments of the two going back in forth in a silent stare-off, the tension in the room festered and Callow was eyeing the two, wondering if he should interfere just as Horns cleared his throat and started making a repetitive sound in his throat. It startled both parties and drew their gaze towards him, before he could stop Glitch raised an eyebrow but started tapping again, a small grin on her face as she caught on to the game.

    Callow’s face contorted in confusion for a moment but he quickly caught onto the rhythm of their noise and joined in patting his hand on his thighs in rhythm and clicking the spoon on the other side of Gamma’s mug.  Peony joined in beat later, dragging the flat edge of her knife along the ridges of the paint can.  Her head bobbed to the beat and Equo pulled down her headphones to listen. She sang a tune to their noise, her voice softly echoed off the walls. In tune, Jolly followed, she started harmonizing with Equo, the two voices danced in the expanse of the room and through the team’s musical notes. Jolly got up and danced in the living room, spinning herself around as she harmonized with Equo, her hips swayed to the teams made up tune and Horns smirked.

    At that time, Sammy and Psi opened the door to the teams apartment and slid in. Sammy’s face lit up and he practically dragged Psi to the living room and into view of the team.

    Sammy grabbed Jollys hands the the too danced around the couch together, Sammy was quick to join into their shenanigans but Psi hung back, leaning against the doorframe taking it all in for the time being. After a few moment he shook his head and asked, interrupting their rhythm “This sounds so foul, what the hell are you guys doing?”

    “Making music?” Horns offered, the team’s antics died down. He cast a glanced over all of them, going back to Psi as he spoke “Music? That was nothing but Glitch cursing and Gamma telling her to shut up.”

    “I don-What?!” Horns turned to Glitch who threw her arms up in a shrug like ‘Idk what you were expecting’, Gamma was frowning and Callow covered his mouth in amusement. “Sorry Horns” He said “Glitch was cursing up a storm and Gamma was trying to get her to stop… but then you started beatboxing and… yeah then we made music out of it.”

    Horns stuttered but Jolly melted into a fit of laughter “Ohmygodreally?!” She fell back on the couch, still holding onto Sammy, who looked just as amused as Callow.

    Glitch softly kicked the floor with her foot, grumbling and Gamma scolded her. Equo plugged her headphones back in, a small smile on her face. Horns still glanced back and forth between Glitch and Psi. “What exactly was she saying?” Sammy leaned over the couch to whisper to him “Naughty naughty things” his face heats up and Glitch let out a shout, “Sammy! I will end you if you dare tell him!” The 99er cracked into a grin “Try me darling!”. She let out a shrill screech and jumped over the couch, Sammy laughed and in an instant was up and running away from her in glee.

    “Tell me!” Horns protested, getting up and watching the two chase each other, he turned to Callow and said “Will you teach me morse? I don’t wanna be out of the loop.”

    “Only if you promise to use your powers for good.” Gamma chimed in. “Unlike a certain someone I know…”

    Callow cracked a grin and shrugged. “Sure, maybe then you’ll understand just how colorful her language is when she's trying to get someone's attention”

   Horns cheeks flushed as it clicked in his head “Oh… Got it.”