[CLASSIFIED]

Immediately after “The Strike”

Maroon attempted to stay as quiet as Velvet was as they crawled through the vent, but that was nearly impossible. She eventually stopped and turned to look at them.

“We’re right above the room, but there’s a drop. I’m gonna go down first, so wait for my signal.” 

“Wait? But-” 

“So I can catch you and make sure you don’t make noise,” Velvet clarified. The younger teen’s mouth formed an ‘o’ before they nodded. Velvet disappeared over the edge. Maroon listened for the sound of her hitting the lower level, but it never came. They crawled to the edge and glanced over. 

That’s when the explosion went off. 

Maroon quickly closed their eyes as the vent below them gave out and a wave of heat hit their face. Their back hit something hard, knocking the wind out of them. Maroon quickly attempted to catch their breath, panic rising in their chest. Coughing came from the other side of the room followed by the chilling laugh of Unor Bolton. 

“I would think you would be better at your job than that, fīlia,” he muttered. The smoke and debris began to settle, revealing the man still sitting in his chair. He was turned to his left, away from Maroon. A cough echoed off the walls. 

Velvet. 

Maroon took a deep breath and struggled to their feet. Air slowly filled their lungs as they raised their hands. A mushroom grew off the chair, knocking Unor to the ground. They jumped over the table and kneeled at Velvet’s side. She had a large scrape on her forehead that bled onto her hand. She coughed again but summoned Kil-layye Mo’ore. 

“Maroon, I didn’t see you there!” The younger teen redirected their attention to Unor, who was on his feet again. Velvet threw their sword at him, which he knocked to the ground. Maroon surrounded him with mushrooms that stretched to the ceiling. The man looked between the two teenagers, Velvet grabbing her sword again. 

“Quite a…rash plan you had, Velvet,” he began, “To plan an attack on my home- our home! I’d almost be impressed if you hadn’t executed it so horribly.” 

“How did you know?” Velvet demanded. Unor broke one of the mushrooms, but it quickly grew back. 

“A magician never reveals his secrets,” he said with a wink. Velvet glared at him and raised their sword. 

“Then we’re done here.” She charged forward, but Kil-layye Mo’ore hit empty air. Unor broke through two more mushrooms and backflipped out of the enclosure. His hands glowed a dark black before a handgun appeared in each. He fired a shot at each teen, which they both dodged. Maroon attempted to trap him again but he lunged towards Velvet instead. 

Velvet sliced at his arm before jumping to the right. Unor stayed on the offensive and fired another shot at her. It grazed her left shoulder but Velvet quickly stabbed at him again. The metal embedded itself in his lower abdomen, forcing him to stagger back. 

“Fuck-” she muttered. Maroon grew a mushroom to knock one gun out of Unor’s hand, but it just disappeared in a black cloud. Unor raised the other one and fired a shot straight at Velvet’s chest. Maroon quickly kicked him to the ground, forcing several mushrooms to grow through his hands. He let out a shout but Maroon quickly turned to Velvet. The teen must’ve hit the wall and fallen down but was now getting back to her feet. Unor stared at her as she summoned Kil-layye Mo’ore and walked towards him.

“Crazy what armour will do,” they said through gritted teeth. Unor frowned.

“Armour? I didn’t know you turned into a coward, Velvet.” The assassin kicked him in the stomach, causing the man to let out a grunt. They followed it up by stabbing him in the stomach with their sword. Unor flinched for a moment before coughing. 

“So that’s your big plan? Kill me?”

“I feel like that was obvious,” Maroon mumbled. Velvet pulled her sword out and sheathed it. Maroon’s eyes widened.

“Velvet-”

“I’m not letting him go, don’t worry. Just give me a second.” They reached towards their utility belt but Unor’s foot hit Maroon directly in the head. They fell to the ground but Velvet caught them before their head got hit again. She set them down gently before digging her heel into Unor’s open wound. The man attempted to kick at them but they pushed his feet away. 

Maroon’s head pounded as they sat up.

“Maroon, you okay?” Velvet asked, taking their gun out of its holster. 

“F-fine.” Unor locked eyes with Maroon, sending a chill down their spine. 

“Are you sure about that?” He asked. His voice was darker, the words seemingly twisting themselves around Maroon’s mind. He continued speaking, but Maroon couldn’t tell what the words were. Their breath became shallower and their heartbeat sped up. 

Attack 

Mushrooms exploded around the room, sending Velvet down to the floor again. Unor laughed. 

What’s happening? What am I- 

Maroon looked around for Velvet. She was getting back to her feet again, this time with mushrooms clinging to her mission uniform. 

“Maroon!” They shouted, “Snap out of it!” 

“Velvet, I got the camera working again. What’s happening-” Maroon reached up and ripped their comms out of their ear. They threw it on the ground and staggered forward, hands still raised. Velvet moved in front of them. Maroon’s vision blurred but they felt her grab their hand. The mushrooms began spreading but Velvet kept a firm grip. 

“Maroon, listen to me-”

“There’s no point, dēvōtiō,” Unor shouted, “They can’t hear you!” Velvet glared at him. 

“What did you do to them?”

“Just a little magic,” he said with a smirk. Velvet turned back to Maroon. 

“Maroon, I need you to take a breath and calm down. Stick to the plan-”

“Knock her out, Maroon!” Unor called out. Velvet tensed up but didn’t let go of them. 

What…Velvet-

“Maroon…” they mumbled. The younger teen took a deep breath, causing the mushrooms to recede from Velvet’s hand. Several more surrounded Unor and pinned him to the floor. He attempted to squirm out of them with little success. 

“Maroon, free me this instant!” He demanded. Their vision slightly cleared as they carefully shook their head. Velvet kept a tight grip on their hand as she raised her gun.

“You wouldn’t dare,” he taunted. Velvet narrowed her eyes. 

“Try me.”

“You’ll die. If you kill me, half your soul will die. The other half will follow and you’ll cease to exist.” Maroon’s eyes widened.

“That’s…no-” the younger teen tried, but the fuzziness in their head stopped them. Unor smirked.

“It is. If you kill me, Velvet will die.”

“I don’t care.” Maroon’s vision blurred again as they turned to look at their friend. 

What? Velvet walked forward, finally letting go of Maroon’s hand. She pressed the gun to Unor’s head.

“Did you not hear me?” he breathed. Velvet glared at him. 

“If you’re dead, I don’t care if I’m alive. What matters is stopping you.”

Velvet took a deep breath and squeezed the trigger. Maroon watched the bright red liquid pour out of Unor’s head before their vision blurred to the point they could barely see. They could hear Velvet’s quiet breathing and footsteps as they walked back over to them. She took their hand again.

“We did it,” she muttered, “He’s dead.” Maroon took a deep breath and let out a small laugh. 

“We did, didn’t we?” Velvet immediately tensed up next to them, causing Maroon to turn to their left. They could barely make out their bright red hair and familiar brown eyes.

“What the fuck is that?” they breathed. Maroon frowned.

“What-” Before they could finish their sentence, a gust of wind hit their face and their vision went black. 

Solana blocked a guard’s attack with the pole of his spear before stabbing him in the chest. A vine wrapped around the guard and threw him out of the already-broken window. Solana attempted to catch her breath as she glanced at Thorn, who was also panting.

“I think,” it breathed, “That’s all of them.” 

“Don’t-” The wall to their right shattered, allowing another squad of B.A.D. agents to come running in. They shouted and pointed at the two mafia members.

“Jinx us,” Solana finished. The elf raised her spear. 

“How does he have so many guards?” Thorn groaned. 

“Money.”

“I wish Zaeor paid us. Maybe then I wouldn’t hate him as much as I do.” Solana raised an eyebrow and blocked a gunshot from one of the guards. 

“Not a Zaeor fan, huh?” 

“Is anyone?” Thorn jumped forward and wrapped several guards in vines before sending them out the window. Solana charged as well, spear slicing through a few arms.

“Velvet is.”

“Velvet doesn’t count.”

“And I don’t really mind him, you know?” Solana stated, “He’s a bit, I don’t know, odd? But he’s got good intentions.” 

“I guess.” Their conversation was cut short by a guard, who ran forward and managed to stab Thorn in the shoulder. The teen yelled out in pain and Solana quickly jumped to aer aid. They pushed him to the ground and quickly slit their throat.

“Thorn, you good?”

“Fine-”

“Velvet, I got the camera working again. What’s happening-” Mad’s voice cut out right as Solana felt a sharp pain erupt in her left side. Metal clattered to the ground behind her.

“Fuck-” A teen, no older than Thorn, approached. He had light brown hair and sea-blue eyes. Unlike the other guards, the only armour he seemed to be wearing was a bulletproof vest. He held several throwing knives in his two hands. Thorn quickly grew a vine wall in front of them and steadied Solana.

“Don’t let them get close to Mr. Bolton!” Someone, presumably the teen, shouted. 

“Solana, you okay?” Thorn mumbled. 

“Maroon’s powers- Unor did something to them,” Velvet’s voice came through the comms. One of the guards groaned as Thorn tensed up next to them.

“Commander, it is not safe for you-” Thorn reached up to their comms.

“Do you need me-” Another knife sliced through the wall and the side of Thorn’s cheek. 

“You may give me orders when you can deal with a teen and an elf, captain.” 

“Shit-” Solana mumbled, glancing at their teammate, “Okay, Thorn, you take out that kid. I’ll keep the others off your ass.” 

“Got it.” He jumped around the corner of the wall and attempted to trap him. Solana went around the other side, pulling out their pistol. She fired shots at the remaining guards, drawing their attention.

“Velvet-” Mad paused. 

“What’s going on, Mad?” Solana asked, hitting a guard right in the nose. They glanced at Thorn. It narrowly avoided an airborne knife from the other teen.

“The camera’s out and Maroon’s unconscious. Velvet, are you there?” Thorn’s eyes widened and ae turned to Solana. The commander swung a punch at Thorn, knocking him to the ground. 

“Shit-” she muttered. Solana fired a shot at the teen but they dodged it. Thorn jumped back to its feet and kicked them in the stomach. 

“Solana, Thorn, can you clear me a path to the vent? I’m going in.” Solana turned back to the guards and continued firing. 

“We can try,” the elf mumbled, “Thorn, can you get that kid outta here?”

“I’m fucking working on it,” Thorn hissed back. A shot hit Solana’s left elbow, knocking the pistol from his hands. Another shot hit her in the stomach and bounced off her vest. Solana frantically picked up the gun before jumping behind the wall. 

“Fucking hell-” Bullets ricocheted off of the plants in front of them. Thorn fell to the ground to his right and the teen immediately jumped on him. They held the knife to aer throat as Solana lined up her shot. A laser hit the commander’s back, sending them flying over Thorn’s head. Thorn stayed on the ground for a few seconds before scrambling to their feet. 

“Mad!” they shouted. The bullets stopped hitting the wall but the sound continued. The other teen crawled towards Thorn and grabbed his ankle right as Mad made it past the vine wall. The droid continued towards the vent. Thorn attempted to kick his legs free but eventually grew vines that attached themselves to the commander’s legs. The vines pulled them to the window. The teen went flying but took Thorn with him. 

“Thorn!” Solana shouted. Mad turned around just in time to see the two teens disappear below the second-story window. 

“Fuck,” the droid muttered, “Solana, take care of the rest of the guards and then go after them.” Solana popped around the corner of the wall and unloaded another magazine at the guards. Another shot embedded itself in Solana’s right arm. The elf’s wounds screamed in pain as she hid behind the wall again. Blood dripped down from his arms, hitting the white marble floor. 

“Mad, I can’t-” they turned to the vent, but Mad was already gone. They took a deep breath.

You’ve got this, Mona. Just don’t think about the pain and- She peeked around the corner but something hit her in the back of the head. He stumbled to the ground, vision blurring. Solana fumbled with the pistol. Several guards surrounded her, one kicking her gun away. Another lifted their foot and slammed it into her skull, forcing her unconscious. 

“What the fuck is that?” Velvet breathed. She stared at Unor’s corpse, or more specifically, the glowing yellow light enveloping it. 

“What-” Maroon began to her right. The younger teen suddenly fell, hitting Velvet’s shoulder. Velvet caught them and lowered them to the ground. She kneeled next to them, glancing down to see Maroon’s unconscious face before focusing on the light once again. They moved their head to their lap, keeping their sword firmly in their left hand. She could feel her teammate’s soft breathing, their chest slowly rising and falling. 

The light grew brighter and split into five parts. Each morphed into different shapes, different people. They were vastly different in age and looks as the light solidified. In the centre was a tall woman, about 25 with long blonde hair and purple eyes. Her pink blouse was torn with a knife sticking out of her chest. She looked at Velvet with sympathy in her eyes.

The one to her left was a man, probably around Unor’s age. His blue eyes refused to meet Velvet’s. Blood dripped from his head, staining his blue hair a dark purple. He wore a B.A.D. agent uniform with three stars lined up on the sleeve.

The next one, all the way to the left, was a teen. He seemed to be older than Velvet but had pitch-black hair and bright green eyes. He had a set of Roman armour on and a large shield strapped to his left arm. A large red cut stretched along his neck.

Velvet could barely make out the other two people. One was much smaller and hid behind the woman in the centre. All the teen could see was chocolate brown eyes staring at her. The other one, a 25-or-so year old man, was facing away from them. Familiar black hair sat on his head.

“Velvet Bolton,” the woman breathed, “Hello, child.” Velvet stared at her as the ethereal glow steadied. 

“Who are you?” Velvet tried to sound intimidating, but her voice faltered. The woman walked forward, the kid staying right behind her. She stopped about a metre away and smiled warmly. 

“You wouldn’t remember me. My name is Jacqueline King.” Velvet frowned.

King? 

“You would be more familiar with my husband, Mark. I believe you worked together when you were younger?” Velvet carefully nodded. “I…knew Mark. But…aren’t you dead?” 

“I am. I- we,” she gestured to the man and teen, “are the people your father killed to steal their souls.” A chill went down Velvet’s spine. 

“W-what?”

“Don’t worry, we’re not here to harm you,” she clarified, “Your father’s actions are not your fault.” Velvet glanced back at Unor’s lifeless body. 

“So…that was his actual body?” the assassin asked. Jacqueline nodded. 

“Your mission is over, child. You did it.” Velvet’s muscles relaxed involuntarily. The woman’s voice seeped into her body, calming her despite the possible danger surrounding her.

“We have something of yours.” Velvet looked up at her as she moved to the side. She gestured for the child behind her to walk. 

“Go on, sweet one.” The girl, about 14 years old, stepped into view. A large patch of blood pooled near her abdomen, shining through her white dress. Her long black hair, chocolate brown eyes, gold moon necklace-

Me. Velvet’s eyes widened, That’s me. The girl stood in front of her.

“H-hello,” she mumbled. Velvet looked between her and Jacqueline.

“...Hi.” 

“I take it you know who she is, Velvet dear?” Jacqueline asked. Velvet stared at the girl in front of her. 

“Is this real?” she muttered. The older man stepped forward next to Jacqueline.

“As real as something involving magical souls can be,” he stated.

“Robert…”

“What? Forgive me if I’m a bit sceptical.”

“I don’t know how you could still be sceptical…” the armoured teen stated, crossing his arms. 

“That’s enough, you two-”

“Can we just finish this up?” the man facing away shouted. Robert turned to glare at the back of his head.

“I don’t know why you’re in such a hurry to go to hell, asshole.” 

“I’m in a hurry to get the hell away from you asinī,” he shot back. Jacqueline sighed and turned towards him.

“Do you have anything you want to say to your daughter, Unor? An apology, perhaps?” The 25-year-old finally turned around and met Velvet’s eyes. Pitch-black irises stared her down, sending a chill down her spine. 

“What do I have to apologise for?”

“Your actions led to what she went through.”

“Trust me, I don’t need a fucking apology from him,” Velvet hissed. The black-haired girl took a step away from them. 

“She’s scary,” she mumbled, “I don’t want to be scary.” Jacqueline put an arm around her.

“I know she may seem scary, but she’s not. She’s scared, like you. Do you see that kid lying in her lap?” 

“The one taking a nap?”

“Mhm. She’s worried about them. She thinks we might do something to hurt them. You two are not as different as you think, child. You are two halves of one whole, with different strengths, weaknesses, ideals, and morals. Now, you’re going to become one again.” Velvet’s eyes widened once again.

“What?” Jacqueline turned to them and laughed. 

“Did you think we were just going to keep the other half of your soul?”

“I-” the assassin paused, “I didn’t think it was possible.” The armoured teen, Ethan, raised an eyebrow.

“Who told you that?” 

“Well-” Jacqueline’s form flickered, the light dimming.

“I’m afraid we don’t have the time to discuss,” she said, pushing the younger Velvet forward, “Go on, little one.” She looked at Jacqueline with a fearful look in her eyes. The woman gave her one final squeeze.

“Don’t worry, my sweet dove. We will meet again. Maybe not in this life, nor the next. It may be thousands or millions of lifetimes from now, but it will happen. And when it does, I will embrace you for as long as I have waited.” A tear fell from the black-haired girl’s face as she nodded. She turned back to Velvet and held out a hand. Velvet stared at it. 

“Go on, child,” Jacqueline said to them, “You will be safe.” Velvet lifted her right hand, readjusting Maroon as well. The golden figures slowly dimmed, dust-like particles flaking off. 

“Take care of yourself, Velvet,” Jacqueline said, smiling sadly, “You are more important than you could possibly know.” Velvet grabbed the younger girl’s hand. With that, the whole world went black. 

Thorn was falling. 

The wind whooshed past his ears as he tried to kick free of the other teen’s grip. The duo hit the ground hard. Thorn gasped for air but the commander jumped on top of them again. Angry blue eyes stared down at him as cold metal pressed against his throat. Thorn took a deep breath.

“Listen, man, I don’t think you want to do this.”

“Shut up.” Thorn grew several vines that each tried to pry him off to no avail. The blade nicked Thorn’s skin but the commander moved it. The two locked eyes before the other teen threw his blade on the ground.

“You know what? I’m done.” He stood up, leaving a slightly confused Thorn on the ground.

“What?”

“I’m not helping Unor kill a kid my age. I can’t do this anymore.” The prince quickly hopped to aer feet. 

“Uh- well- I’m glad you had a change of heart?” The commander turned around and began walking towards the gate. Thorn glanced between him and the window two stories up. They heard Solana say Mad’s name before her voice suddenly stopped. 

I’ve got to get back up there. Thorn raised a hand but was hit in the stomach with a bullet. They fell to the ground and the sound of the shot seemed to catch the commander’s attention because he turned around. Thorn’s abdomen burned with pain that the 16-year-old had never felt before. It bit its tongue to keep from screaming.

“If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were deserting, commander.” Thorn tried to move to see the voice’s source, but aer body screamed in pain. They watched the commander draw a pistol from the holster on his belt. 

“Watch your words, lieutenant.” Another shot rang out and the commander staggered back a bit as it hit him in the chest. Another hit his hand and knocked the gun to the ground. Thorn bit his tongue again and raised his left hand. A vine wall sprouted in front of the commander, who after realising, mouthed ‘thank you’. 

“What the fuck,” the voice breathed. A man’s face appeared in Thorn’s view. He scowled and raised a gun.

“This bitch is still conscious.” Faint sirens hit Thorn’s ears, and the man looked away. 

“Sir, I see UPS ships entering the atmosphere.”

“If they’re not supposed to be here, the guns will shoot ‘em down,” the man growled, turning back to Thorn, “Night night, little bitch.” A final shot rang out, hitting Thorn in the stomach. Their eyelids forcibly closed from the pain, and they quickly fell asleep. 

Mad scanned the scene in front of it, screen blank. Mushrooms took over the entire area and outlined the chair from earlier. Maroon and Velvet were unconscious on the far left of the room while Unor’s corpse was a few metres to the right, mushrooms already beginning to decompose it. Mad ran towards the two teens, joining them on the floor.

“Mad.” The droid looked up to see Zaeor standing over Unor. He was dressed in his pitch-black robe, sigils floating around him. Shadows pooled at his feet, forming a lake of darkness. Mad stared at him.

“Zaeor?” they asked, “What-” The god walked forward, almost glaring at it.

“You’re not supposed to be here.”

“I saw Maroon and Velvet go down. I came to help.”

“Velvet’s already dead. I made sure of it.”

“What…do you mean you ‘made sure of it’?” Mad placed their hands on each of the teen’s necks. It was faint, but both still had a heartbeat. 

Shadows quickly pushed Mad, slamming it into the wall. Their screen cracked when they fell to the ground. 

“You fucking nosy droid,” he growled, “Do you know how many times I had to change my plans because of you? I have been so close to getting Velvet killed hundreds of times, but you kept getting in my fucking way.” Shadows lifted the robot up and pinned it against the wall. Mad’s mind raced as he stood in front of him. He glared, his face close to their TV. 

“I knew it,” Mad muttered, “You never gave a shit about us.”

“You? No. You proved to be the worst decision I made in my plan.” Mad attempted to struggle out of the shadowy restraints to no avail.

“What plan? Killing us all?” Zaeor laughed darkly, sending a shiver in Mad’s soul. 

“Not all. Velvet was the priority, Solana’s a nice bonus.”

“You’re not hurting Solana-”

“I don’t need to. You already did that, leaving him alone with the guards.” Mad’s soul dropped. 

No- Zaeor raised a fist and swung, hitting the left side of Mad’s TV. It recoiled as a ‘critical damage’ notification popped up. The restraints disappeared for a second, causing the droid to slam into the floor. They reformed and pinned it to the ground.

“Returning the favour,” the god mumbled. Zaeor leaned over and tilted Mad’s TV so the camera was looking at his twisted smile. 

“And now, with Velvet and you out of the way, my plan can truly begin.” Mad broke out of his grasp, causing him to laugh again.

“Oh what a glorious sight it will be. Such a shame you won’t be able to see it,” he mumbled, “Me, ruling the multiverse with the most powerful weapon by my side.” Mad looked back at him.

“Weapon?”

“Maroon, of course. I’d never let such a talent go to waste. They’ll make a perfect leader for my new army,” he laughed, “Hell, I don’t even have to cast my own mind control magic! Unor did it all for me.” Mad glanced at the younger teen, still passed out in Velvet’s lap. 

Velvet’s still alive and he doesn’t know that. I can’t let him take either of them. 

“Sure, it will take time,” Zaeor continued, “But I’ve waited 500 years, what's a few decades more? Soon, all gods in the multiverse will bow to me and I will have the power I fucking deserve.”

“You don’t deserve-” Zaeor punched it again, shattering what remained of its screen and disabling the camera. Mad sat in darkness as the god chuckled. 

“This is very therapeutic, you know? You can’t imagine how much I wanted to do this to you over the past year.”

“You’re…you’re not going to get away with this,” Mad mumbled, “Thorn-”

“Is dead. That is also partially your fault.”

“Shut up.” 

“What, Mad? Can’t take responsibility for your own actions?” Mad could feel their systems shutting down, no doubt due to the damage. 

“It’s not…my…fault.” Zaeor let out one last loud laugh.

“I didn’t realise a robot could be so delusional.” Mad heard his footsteps as he backed up. 

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a mansion to blow up,” he called out, “Enjoy shutting down, knowing that all of your friends' deaths are entirely your fault.” A swoosh went through the room, leaving Mad alone with their malfunctioning camera. The shadows pinning them down dissolved. It jumped to its feet, despite the warnings not to. Mad walked forward but tripped over a mushroom on the floor.

They slammed hard onto the ground, their TV detaching from their body and shattering into a billion pieces on the floor. 

A/N:  ...hi chat. fortis here. 

thats it. the books over. is there a sequel? maybe. whens it starting? who knows. youre assuming there is one. 

But in all seriousness, thank you all so much for the support on this project. I'll try not to get super sentimental but this book has been one of the best parts of my life for the past 2 years we've been working on it. While I did most of the actual writing, this would not be possible without the other writers, so shout out to them. All of our links are available below so go follow them. And stay tuned: we've got more planned for our favourite traumatised redheads. 

If you're reading this on Tumblr, congrats, hit the follow button and stay in the loop on what we're working on. I've got several oneshots, headcanons, and funny stories from the writers room I'm going to be sharing. If you're reading on Wattpad (which most of you are), go follow the Tumblr and get access to all of that stuff. You're gonna want to see it :) 

I'm also going to be working on editing earlier stuff, mainly part 1, and fixing formatting on the Wattpad. But in general, the story of this book is over. And I'm pretty happy with it, as I hope you all are. Still have questions? Shoot us an ask on the main TRM Tumblr or my personal blog and I'll see what I can do. But that's it. Signing off for the last time,

- Fortis (@iamf0rtis)

Writers' Socials Fortis/iamfortis: Wattpad - https://www.wattpad.com/user/iamf0rtis  Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCphcnJc-xn1sONNXsLJZxKA  Tumblr - @iamf0rtis or https://www.tumblr.com/blog/iamf0rtis Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/iamf0rtis/ Cohost - https://cohost.org/iamfortis?page=0

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8 days after “The Lost”

December 7th, 2364.

That was the day two thousand soldiers were scheduled to storm the Mahogony Mansion to retrieve the Red Mafia. Two days before the planted documents said they were supposed to. 

7:30am.

That was the time the 5 mafia members left the mansion, geared up from head to toe. Mad said goodbye to Rhyme, who they left behind to watch the mansion and Wyatt. They all loaded up onto the Umbrella, a tense feeling in the air. The ride was nearly silent as Velvet sat in the captain’s seat, running through the plan in her head for the twentieth time. 

Entering through the East entrance, the group splits up. Maroon and I move towards my mom and evacuate her to her ship. Mad, Solana, and Thorn enter security to disable the alarm system and redirect the ships en route to the mansion. We meet them there once Mom is evacuated safely, hacking into the defence mechanism and rigging it to attack any B.A.D. ship landing nearby. 

They looked back at their teammates. Solana was sharpening their spear for the third time and checking the gun and dagged stashed on their utility belt. Mad was on its phone, presumably texting Rhyme. Their laser gun was already attached to their back and a small knife sat in their jacket pocket. Maroon was leaning on Thorn, who was staring down at the gun in aer hands. The prince had been against carrying the weapon at first but eventually gave in. Maroon also had one, though it was in its holster currently. Velvet also had a gun on her hip, along with Kil-layye Mo’ore, her staff, and her dagger.

All of the B.A.D. ships should be heading to the new location, a random planet two galaxies over. Unor wouldn’t bring his actual body on the mission, so it should still be at the house. We’ll use the access to the security cameras to locate where he is and move in on his location. Maroon and Thorn will restrain him while I- 

Velvet looked at Maroon, who smiled back at her.

While I end this. 

Mad will stay in the security office and monitor the positions of the other B.A.D. ships. Solana, and Thorn if needed, will stay behind at various points in the mission to take care of any guards remaining at the house. Once Unor is dead, we’ll evacuate to the Umbrella and return to the mansion. 

“About a minute till we get there,” Mad reported. Velvet took a deep breath and stood. 

“Alright. Everyone, any last-minute questions?” The group was quiet, and Thorn shook his head. The Umbrella entered the atmosphere and quickly zoomed around the house, landing outside. Mad began opening the door and Velvet quickly stood, drawing Kil-layye Mo’ore. Voices shouted outside but Velvet quickly threw the sword, silencing them. Mad looked back at the team. 

“Solana, Thorn, you ready?” The two unbuckled themselves and joined Mad at the front. Maroon let go of Thorn’s hand and ran to catch up with Velvet, who was now out of the ship. The guards were already incapacitated on the ground when they approached the door. Velvet typed in a passcode and a light blinked green. The others joined them in front of it. 

“Mad, you guys are going to the right. Maroon, we’re going to the left. Once I get this door open, we’re sprinting. Clear?” 

“Clear,” the droid replied. Velvet twisted the doorknob and shoved it open. She led the way to the left, Maroon right behind her. Their teammates ran in the opposite direction. They were silent as they ran but shouts echoed behind them. Maroon looked back.

“I think they’re fighting-”

“They’ll be fine,” Velvet stated, “Stick to the plan.” Maroon took a deep breath and reached up to their comms.

“Guys, you okay?” Half a minute passed, Velvet’s heart racing. 

“Yeah, fine. Just ran into a lot of guards outside the security room,” Thorn replied, slightly out of breath. Velvet frowned. 

“But there’s never that many guards there.” 

“Maybe he changed it since you left,” Solana said, “We’re entering the room now. You guys?” Velvet began to slow as Nala’s room came into view.

“We’re about to enter too. Talk to you in a bit.” Velvet pushed the door open, surprised to find it unlocked. Nala sat at the computer in the corner, still in her pyjamas and sleeping cap on. 

“Mater!” Velvet called out. She turned around and a bright smile appeared on her face.

“Velvet!” She quickly stood and pulled them into a hug. 

“Back already? It’s only been a week since-” Velvet pulled away and looked her in the eyes.

“Mom, we’re here to get you out of here.” Nala frowned and glanced at Maroon, who nodded. 

“Get me out- what are you talking about?” Velvet grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards the door. 

“I’ll explain later, but we’ve got to get you out of here.” Nala pulled her wrist out of their grip and stared at her child.

“Velvet, you’ll explain before you try to pull me anywhere.” Velvet glared at her.

Why is she being so difficult all of a sudden? 

“Ms. Nala, we’re here to break you out of the house and get you somewhere safe,” Maroon started, stepping forward, “It’s not safe here right now. I promise you, we just want to keep you safe. We don’t want you to get wrapped up in what’s going on right now.” The CEO frowned and crossed her arms.

“And what is that?” 

“We’re killing Unor,” Velvet said coldly, grabbing her wrist again. Nala’s eyes widened but she didn’t resist as Velvet pulled her out of the room and down the hall. Voices shouted down the hall and the assassin raised their sword. Several soldiers turned the corner.

“Close your eyes, mater,” Velvet ordered. The woman looked between her daughter and the guards before obeying. The leader, with the large B.A.D. logo on his chest, stared at Nala.

“They’re taking Mrs. Bolton!” he shouted, aiming his gun, “Don’t let them get away!”

“Maroon?” Velvet asked. The younger teen nodded. The guards’ bullets were blocked by a wall of large mushrooms. One grew right in front of her. She let go of Nala’s wrist and jumped, sailing over the wall as she threw Kil-layye Mo’ore. It sliced through the leader’s neck and embedded itself in the guard’s shoulder. He let out a loud scream that was cut off by a mushroom growing underneath him and launching him into a wall. His unconscious body crumpled to the ground. 

Velvet summoned her sword back to their hand. The remaining two guards backed up but hit the wall of the hallway.

“No…” one of them breathed. Velvet smirked and threw the sword, slitting their throats. Maroon gently led Nala through the mushroom wall and handed her off to Velvet.

“We’re almost out, Mom,” the teen muttered, retrieving Kil-layye Mo’ore. 

“What changed?” Nala asked, “Why now?”

“Unor was planning to attack our home. We’re attacking first before he can.” Nala opened her eyes and looked down at Velvet.

“He wouldn’t hurt you-”

“He already did,” Velvet snapped. Nala’s eyes widened.

“What-”

“Can we talk about this later, Mom? So I can work on getting us out of here safely.” Nala looked away.

“O-okay. We’ll talk about it later.” Velvet took a deep breath and reached up to their comms.

“Mad, alarm system update?” 

“Deactivating it now,” the droid responded, “You should be good to exit now.” 

“Okay. We’re taking Nala out now.” Nala frowned at Velvet but didn’t say anything. The assassin led her out the door at the end of the hall and towards the parking garage in the back of the area.

“Where’s your ship, Ms. Nala?” Maroon asked. The woman gestured upwards. 

“On the top floor.” Velvet groaned.

“Of course.” 

“It’s fine, Velvet. I’ll get us up there,” Maroon said. They grew a mushroom in front of the group and hopped on. Nala’s eyes widened as Velvet led her onto it.

“What…” she breathed. Maroon smiled nervously as they grew it to the top floor.  

“Maroon’s powers,” Velvet clarified. Nala turned to them.

“It’s….beautiful.” 

“T-thank you, Ms. Nala.” They stepped off of the mushroom and Nala led the way to her pink ship. 

“Where am I supposed to go?” she asked. Velvet pulled out a small piece of paper and handed it to her. 

“These coordinates. Do you remember Rhyme Reuter?” The CEO closed her eyes for a moment.

“That was one of Mrs. Gracy’s foster children, correct? The brown-haired one whose mom died in the mining accident?” 

“That’s the one. She’s waiting there with a kid, Wyatt. He’ll help keep you safe there while we deal with things here.”

“But where am I going?” Velvet took another deep breath.

“The Mahogany Mansion,” Maroon answered, “Our home.”

Wyatt was fast asleep on the couch, so Rhyme turned off the Johnny Darlington episode the mafia had put on before they left. He sighed and walked into the kitchen.

I hate that I’m not with them, she thought, opening the fridge and grabbing out one of Velvet’s energy drinks, I should be there in case anything happens to Mad. He popped open the tab and took a sip. The liquid was clear but tasted like raspberry and peach. The carbonation tickled her throat as it went down. 

Hopefully Velvet won’t mind me drinking their shit. Rhyme walked back into the living room.

She won’t mind if they all die because I’m not there. The thief paused and shook her head. 

No, don’t think like that. They’ll be fine. Just focus on your job. As if on cue, Rhyme’s phone dinged. He pulled it out.

Message from Velvet. Looks like Nala’s on her way. A loud engine sound enveloped the mansion, sending a chill down Rhyme’s spine.

“That can’t be her,” he mumbled. She quickly set the drink down and scooped Wyatt up in her arms. He stirred slightly but stayed asleep. Rhyme sprinted up to the second floor and opened Mad’s door. After setting Wyatt down on the bed, Rhyme locked the door using the key Velvet had given him. He glanced out of the window.

A grey B.A.D. ship had landed outside, and several armed men streamed out. Rhyme cursed under her breath. 

“Looks like I’m up,” he muttered. He ran back downstairs and grabbed his backpack from the couch. She unzipped it slightly right as the door fell the the ground.

“Spread out and find them!” Someone shouted. Rhyme pulled out their gun and turned the corner. He fired at the guards, hitting a few in the chest. They recoiled slightly but the bullet didn’t pierce the armor.

Shit, Rhyme thought. She grabbed the bag and dodged out the door, the men shouting behind her. A bullet whizzed right by his ear. Rhyme’s heartbeat raced as he pulled a bomb out of his bag. She glanced back.

Here goes nothing. She chucked the bomb behind her and it exploded on impact with the ground. Screams from the guards enveloped her ears. Behind her, the guards laid on the ground with various limbs missing and blood colouring the grass. He threw another at their ship, for good measure. 

She walked back around the bleeding men, some shouting for help. Rhyme silenced a few of them before reaching one still standing near the doorway to the mansion.

“W-who are you?” He demanded, raising his rifle. Rhyme raised an eyebrow.

“You don’t recognize me?” She taunted, “Why, I’m offended.” He fired a shot but Rhyme stepped out of the way. He raised his pistol and shot him in the chest, sending him flying through the mansion’s doorway. He slid to the ground and hit his head on the stairs. 

“Shit-” he muttered, “Shit shit shit-” He reached for the radio attached to his belt but Rhyme shot his hand. 

“I don’t think so.” Pain exploded in Rhyme’s left side and she quickly doubled over. 

“What the fuck-” she muttered, looking down. His black and white shirt was torn and blood was now dripping out. 

“Now, boss! Call for backup!” Someone shouted behind her. Rhyme quickly shot the downed man in front of her in the head before turning around and shooting the one holding a gun. 

“Nice try, asshole,” she muttered. The air was still as Rhyme looked at the various corpses on the front lawn. His side throbbed and he quickly pressed a hand against it. 

“Madbay, right,” he breathed. Just then, another ship began descending onto the soil. Rhyme groaned.

“I don’t know if I can take another fucking squad-” She turned around to see a light pink ship hit the dirt. The door slowly opened revealing, not another squadron as Rhyme had anticipated, but Mrs. Bolton. 

“Oh thank god,” he said. Nala rushed towards her.

“Rhyme! It’s lovely to see you dear. After you went missing-” The CEO stopped in front of her and glanced around. Her eyes widened at the men lying on the ground. Rhyme reached a hand out.

“Mrs. Bolton, I promise you this is not what it looks like-” She looked up at Rhyme and quickly locked onto his bleeding abdomen.

“Oh my-” she breathed, “Did you get shot?” Rhyme glanced down at the wound. 

“Oh, that? That’s nothing I haven’t dealt with before-” Nala took her hand and walked towards the door.

“Is there a medical area in the house? You’ll need stitches, not to mention getting the bullet out.” Rhyme broke her hand free, causing Nala to turn around to look at her. 

“Yeah, there is. Go inside and to the left. It’s labelled ‘Madbay’.”

“Well, come on then.” Rhyme waved her on.

“I’ll be there in a minute. I’ve got to do something out here first.” Nala frowned and crossed her arms. “Rhyme, I have no doubt whatever you need to do can wait until after you receive medical attention.” Rhyme smiled at her.

“I’ll be fine, Mrs. Bolton. It’s not too deep. Go on ahead and you can find all the supplies. I’ll just be a minute.” Nala took a deep breath and sighed. 

“Alright, but hurry.”

“I will.” The CEO walked into the Mahogany Mansion and took a left toward the Madbay. Rhyme waited a few seconds before walking inside and dragging the corpse of the squad leader outside. He collected all the bodies into a large pile and threw a bomb into the centre. She backed up and detonated it, causing various limbs to fly onto the surrounding land. Rhyme placed a few more bombs around the perimeter before entering the mansion once again.

Just in case, he thought, I won’t let Mad down. 

Thorn watched Mad rapidly type commands into the computer. Their fast-moving fingers almost made his head spin. Solana was holding the door closed on the other side of the security office. No one was on the other side, but the elf wasn’t planning on taking any chances. 

“Okay, they’re all redirected,” Mad mumbled, “Hopefully they all listen to the new orders.” “We have Rhyme at the mansion for a reason,” Solana added. Mad nodded slightly.

“Although I hope he doesn’t have to do anything.” 

“Nala’s on her way to the mansion now,” Maroon’s voice came through the comms, forcing Thorn to smile slightly. 

“Perfect timing. I just got the new orders sent out to all the squadrons,” Mad replied. Thorn laughed slightly at the echo from the comms. Mad turned to look at them.

“You okay, Thorn?”

“Yeah, fine. It’s just kinda funny hearing your voice through the comms and right next to me.” Mad chuckled.

“You’re right.”

“Always positive, Thorn,” Solana added. The prince shrugged.

“Well someone’s gotta be the team clown. Otherwise Velvet’s going to make everything way too serious.” 

“True, true.” 

“We’re approaching the security office now,” Velvet said, “Mad, any luck locating Unor?” 

“On it right now.” 

“Radio when you guys are close and I’ll open the door,” Solana said.

“Got it. Be there soon.” Mad typed a few more commands into the keyboard. “Now where is Unor…” it muttered. Thorn watched as the droid flipped through several camera feeds. 

“What about his office?” Ae asked. Mad flipped to it, but no one was inside.

“Damn, I thought we were gonna have it easy,” Solana mumbled. 

“Guys, come in,” Velvet whispered through comms. Thorn straightened up. 

“We’re listening, Velvet. Go for it,” Solana answered. 

“Maroon and I are hiding behind some chairs outside the office. You’ve got a full squad about to be right outside the door. Stay quiet and we’ll take care of them.” 

“Copy that.” Mad hit the mute button on the keyboard, shutting down all the sound from the monitors. Solana pushed harder against the door, and Thorn raised his hands. It was silent for a minute until screams echoed against the walls. A body must have hit the door because it shook violently and caused Solana to move back slightly. After a few seconds, the screams stopped. 

“They’re taken care of, Solana. Let us in.” Velvet was slightly out of breath, and Thorn could barely make out Maroon’s heavy breathing as well. Solana opened the door and the two teens came in. Thorn caught a glimpse of the bloodied corpses outside before the elf shut the door again. Thorn shook their head and refocused on Maroon.

“You okay, Mar-Mar?” it asked. Their friend looked relatively unharmed, just exhausted. 

“I’m okay. You?”

“Fine.” Velvet joined Mad at the control panel while Solana remained at the door. 

“Any luck?” Mad shook their TV.

“I’ve searched all the cameras several times. He must be somewhere without direct camera access.” Velvet frowned. “But that’s impossible. Every inch of this place is attached to these cameras. Unless…” Velvet’s eyes widened and they lightly pushed Mad out of the way.

“Unless what?” Mad asked. Velvet didn’t answer, instead opening up a new terminal and typing in another command. A green ‘Access Granted’ screen appeared before it cut to a new camera feed. Unor was sitting on a chair directly across from the camera. His eyes were closed, but he was tapping his foot. A vent sat right above him, blowing air that moved his hair slightly. There was nothing else in the room, just a concrete floor surrounded by deep red wallpaper. 

He was dressed in the same suit he had been wearing when Thorn had first seen him. His black hair was slicked back, presumably with some kind of gel. He held a pistol in his right hand but held some kind of folder in his left. After a few seconds, he opened his eyes. Unor winked at the camera and then the feed went to static. 

The Red Mafia was silent. Velvet put her face in her hands before looking back at the cut-off feed. 

“He knows we’re here,” they mumbled.

“But how?” Solana questioned, “We didn’t tell anyone that’s not here right now. Unless-” The elf glanced at Mad. 

Rhyme.

“We’re not pointing fingers,” Velvet snapped. The entire mafia turned to look at her as she continued. 

“Now is not the time to question anyone. He knows, so what? We’ve gotten this far. We’re not turning back now.” They turned back to the keyboard and pulled up the normal camera feed. They flipped to a camera that seemed to show a dead end in a hallway, except for a large vent near the floor. A few guards leaned against walls and Thorn saw the familiar stickered door from a week ago. 

“The room he’s in doesn’t have any door or entrances that’s not through that vent,” she began, “The vent system is connected to this one, which is upstairs and to the right. The plan isn’t changing: we’re still killing Unor.” Maroon reached out and grabbed Thorn’s hand. The prince gave a reassuring squeeze before turning back to Velvet. 

“Mad, do your best to restore that camera feed. I doubt he did anything to the actual camera, just turned off its connection. I think you’ll be able to reconnect to it.” Mad nodded and stepped up to the keyboard. Velvet moved out of its way. 

“The rest of us are heading upstairs. Solana, you’ll keep the guards busy while Maroon, Thorn, and I get into the vent. From there, the plan continues as normal. Is everyone clear?” The Red Mafia’s leader looked at each one of them and received a nod. Thorn gave Maroon one final squeeze before letting go of their hand. 

“Let’s do this, Mar-Mar,” he muttered. Maroon smiled weakly. 

“Yeah.” Solana opened the door slightly and peeked out.

“We’re clear.” Velvet moved next to her. 

“Alright. Follow me. Thorn and Maroon, you already know where we’re going, so you’ll cover our 6. Solana, you’re in the front with me.” 

“You got it, drama queen.” Velvet chuckled slightly before throwing the door open. 

“Now!” she whispered. They booked it to the right, where stairs quickly came into view. The group sprinted up them and Thorn grew several vines to block anyone following behind. Velvet continued to the right as shouts came from the left. Maroon blocked the hallway with a wall of mushrooms just as bullets began flying at them. The two magical teens switched off making new walls as they ran down the hallway. 

Thorn spotted the camera above them and the guards on the walls. They pushed themselves up and raised their guns. 

“He was right! Capture them!” One of them shouted. Velvet threw Kil-layye Mo’ore, but the guard side-stepped out of the way. Solana took to a guard in front of him, dodging a shot and stabbing them in the stomach. The elf knocked the gun out of his hand before ripping his spear out. 

Velvet rolled under several bullets before summoning her sword. They chopped off one of their heads right as a bullet grazed her left arm. Velvet didn’t flinch and turned to the guard that had shot it. A mushroom sprouted from the guard’s mouth as he gasped for air. They fell to the ground, unconscious. Thorn looked back at Maroon, whose hands were raised at the guard. 

“Thorn, behind you!” Solana shouted at him. The teen quickly spun around to see several guards break through the vine wall. He raised his hands and vines attached themselves to their ankles. Several of them tripped while others continued on. Solana pushed the teen out of the way and sliced through the guard’s body armour. Thorn pinned them to the ground and reinstated the wall. 

Metal clattered to the ground, causing them to turn around. Velvet had ripped the vent to the ground, Maroon standing over them. Thorn turned back to Solana, who had several guards surrounding her. The prince used a vine to push them back before drawing their gun. 

I hope this works, he thought. Ae fired a shot at one of them that collided with one of their arms. That guard fell to the ground, giving Solana the chance to fight off the other two. Behind them, Velvet muttered something to Maroon. Thorn couldn’t hear their response, instead focusing on fixing the wall once again. After a few seconds, Velvet shouted over the sound of the fight.

“Thorn, stay here with Solana! The guards are going to keep coming, so he’ll need you here!” Thorn paused and turned back to look at them.

“But-” Maroon smiled at them.

“We’ll be fine! Solana needs you here.” Thorn’s heartbeat raced. A thousand possibilities ran through aer head, most ending horribly. Their eyes were locked with Maroon’s. 

“Are you sure?” He shouted back. Maroon nodded. Thorn glanced back at Solana, who was once again getting slightly overwhelmed by the guards. The prince took a deep breath.

“Okay! Stay safe!”

“We will!” 

“And Velvet?” the prince added. The assassin turned to look at him.

“What?”

“Make sure Maroon comes back alive.” Velvet paused for a moment before nodding. 

“Promise me.”

“I’ll do my best.”

“Promise me, Velvet.” She glanced at Maroon before looking Thorn dead in the eyes.

“I promise.” 

“Thank you.” Velvet disappeared into the darkness and Maroon kneeled down on the ground. They glanced back at Thorn before joining Velvet in the vent. Thorn stared at the empty air for several seconds.

“Thorn, I could use some help here!” Solana shouted. Thorn quickly turned around and fired a few shots in the guards’ general direction. Several of them turned their focus to them. 

“Who’s ready to dance?” Thorn asked, raising his hands. The guards responded by raising their guns. The prince smirked and glanced at Solana. The elf sliced through three or four guards before taking a breath. Thorn turned back to the approaching guards. 

A day after “The Thief”

Maroon knocked on Velvet’s door for the third time, anxiety taking over them. 

“Velvet, I know you’re upset at Zaeor, but can you just let me know you’re okay?” they pleaded, “No one’s seen you since dinner last night.” The older teen had been locked in their room since they had gotten back from the UPS headquarters, only emerging after Zaeor had left to grab food. The god had returned about half an hour ago and seemed completely unbothered by her lack of presence. 

“They’re too frustrated to be useful right now,” he had told Maroon, “It’s one of their flaws.” Maroon had ascended the stairs anyway, and now stood in front of the closed, silent door. 

“Velvet, I really don’t want to do this. But I need to make sure you’re okay.” Maroon took a deep breath and grew a mushroom on the other side of the door. It fidgeted with the lock before a loud clicking sound echoed in the hallway. The teen opened the door, the mushroom melting back into the floorboards. 

The window across the room was open, letting in a cold breeze that sent goosebumps down their arm. The red and black comforter of her bed was still tucked in as if it hadn’t been touched in a few hours. Several empty energy drink cans sat on the bedside table. Maroon walked over to them, spotting a handwritten note set precariously on the edge. They picked it up.

Velvet’s handwriting, they thought, I can’t tell what it says. Maroon returned back to the doorway.

“Thorn, can you come up here?” they called out. Footsteps thudded against the stairs before the other teen appeared down the hallway. Their purple flannel matched Maroon’s sweater, which still made them smile slightly. Maroon took a deep breath. 

“Velvie giving you trouble?” He asked, smirking. 

“No, they’re not in here.” Thorn’s eyes widened.

“They’re not?” Maroon stepped out of the doorway, letting Thorn pass. Thorn looked around the room for a few moments. 

“Huh. Where’d she go then?” 

“That’s what I need your help with,” they replied, holding out the note, “I found this on the bedside table. Can you read it for me?” Their friend nodded, taking the small piece of paper. Ae looked at it for several seconds before shaking aer head.

“It’s in some other language. Latin, if I had to take a guess. I can’t read this.” 

“Try and read it out loud, then. I’ll translate.” Thorn let out a groan.

“Gods, I hate reading Latin.” Maroon chuckled and sat down on the perfectly made bed. Thorn sat down next to them.

“Here goes nothing,” Thorn mumbled, “‘Zaeor, apud Unorem consilium quaero.’” Maroon’s eyes widened. “She’s going to Unor’s base?” they breathed. “Noli sequi. Necesse est ut sōla id faciam. Te vocābō posteā’. And then they just signed their name.” Maroon’s heartbeat raced as they took the note from Thorn. The older teen looked up at them.

“So what are we doing?” it asked. Maroon was quiet for a moment.

“We’re going after them,” they said, standing, “They probably took the Umbrella, but we can take Rhyme’s ship.” Thorn nodded, standing as well. 

“I’ll go get the others. We can leave ASAP-” 

“No,” Maroon interrupted, “‘Non sequi’. She doesn’t want anyone to follow her.”

“I feel like what she wants doesn’t matter in this case,” Thorn muttered. Maroon brushed the comment off and turned to the door.

“The two of us will go. What if they’re in danger? We have to help.” 

“I mean, I’m with you on that part. Even if it’s Velvet,” Thorn began, “But I don’t know how comfortable I am with just taking Rhyme’s ship.” 

“I don’t see another option.” Thorn closed their eyes for several moments.

“Yeah, okay. If you’re sure. Let’s go.” 

Velvet looked up and down the hallway before sprinting into the next door. They shut the door quietly and took a deep breath.

Just a few more offices until his, she thought, Hopefully I can find something before then. They were picking up a folder off of the desk in front of them when a loud alarm began to blare. Velvet immediately set the folder down, but the sound continued. 

Trapped folder? What’s in here- She picked the folder up again when the door slammed open. Velvet quickly threw Kil-layye Mo’ore towards it before turning around. A familiar squeak hit her ears. 

“Maroon?” They breathed. Maroon waved slightly, standing up. The door shut, revealing Thorn behind it. 

“Oh it's our lucky day, huh?” the prince began, “She was behind the first door we checked.” Velvet balled their fists and glared at Thorn. 

“What the hell are you two doing here?” 

“We found your note,” Maroon answered. Velvet’s eyes widened. 

“What? It was in Latin, how’d you-” Velvet looked Maroon in the eyes, who tugged slightly on the sleeves of their red sweater. 

“How long have you been able to understand Latin?” the assassin demanded.

“About 500 years,” Maroon mumbled quietly. Velvet groaned loudly, summoning her sword back to her hand. 

“Of fucking course. Listen, I don’t know what you’re doing-”

“We wanted to make sure you’re okay,” Maroon began, “You were upset last night and then suddenly you’re breaking into B.A.D. and- I just wanted to help.” 

“And I’m here too,” Thorn added.

“Ugh, okay. But I don’t need your help. I’m fine on my own.” Maroon placed a hand on Velvet’s shoulder and smiled.

“I know. But this way, we can make sure.” Velvet looked them up and down before sighing. 

“Fine, whatever. Did you two set off the alarm?” Thorn sheepishly raised aer hand.

“That one’s my bad. I didn’t realise the cameras were on.” Velvet blinked a few times. 

“How…what? Why would they be off?” 

“I don’t know!” Velvet groaned again and sheathed Kil-layye Mo’ore. 

“You’re an idiot, frūx.”

“Hey, we’re here to sav-” Maroon cut them off.

“Is there any way to shut it off?” 

There’s an off switch in Unor’s office, but that’s way too far away to reach without getting caught right now. Where’s the other one… Velvet’s eyes widened and they quickly turned to the door. 

“Follow me. We’ve got to go visit my mom.”

Solana sat awkwardly at the breakfast table in between Mad and Rhyme, taking a bite of her eggs. Their companions refused to meet each other's eyes. Rhyme pushed his eggs back and forth on his plate while Mad looked towards the ceiling.

“So,” the elf tried, “Those kids, huh?” 

“Mhm,” Rhyme mumbled. Mad stayed silent. Solana waited a few moments before setting her fork down. 

“Rhyme, how far do you think they could’ve gotten?” Rhyme looked up at them. 

“If they figured out the boosters, they could be two galaxies away already.” Solana sighed. 

“Let’s hope Zaeor can find them soon, then.” Silence took over the room again. Mad eventually stood and took Solana’s empty plate. 

“I’m going to my room,” Mad stated. Solana quickly stood up and jumped over the counter, blocking its exit.

“Oh no you don’t,” he said, crossing his arms. Mad looked them up and down. 

“Do you need something, Solana?” 

“More like you two need to talk,” the elf replied, “Now sit your robot ass back down.” Mad sighed.

“Solana, it’s really none of your business-”

“It’s either I do this, or Velvet does it when the teens get back. And I think you’d prefer me.” The droid was silent for a moment before returning to their seat. Solana smiled and hopped back on the counter, taking a seat in the middle.

“So, are you two gonna be able to mediate yourselves like adults, or do I have to sit here?” Rhyme looked up at Mad, who looked away. Solana rolled his eyes.

“Sitting here it is then,” they crossed their right leg over their left, “What happened at Eliza’s?” 

“Solana, really? Everything is fine-”

“Clearly not, if Rhyme here got as upset as she did on the UPS mission.” Rhyme’s cheeks became a light pink and she sunk deeper into her seat. Mad looked at her.

“Rhyme? What are they talking about?” The thief took a deep breath.

“Mad, I’m really really sorry,” he blurted out, “I fucked up really bad and I hurt you and I’d take it back if I could but I can’t and I just…” His voice faded out.

“You just…?” 

“I…don’t want to lose you. I can’t lose you. You’re…well…” The teen looked up at Solana, who motioned for her to continue. 

“You’re the only person who has cared about me in, god, 5 years?” He chuckled nervously, “You’re my only friend. I fucked up, I know that, and I’m sorry. And I’ll do anything to make it up to you. Because I don’t think I could handle losing you.” Mad was silent as it stared at him. The two made eye contact, or as much eye contact as they could considering one was a robot. A minute passed before Mad spoke. 

“Rhyme…” they began, “What you did…in front of me…it really fucked me up.” Solana’s eyes widened. 

I don’t think I’ve ever heard Mad curse before, they thought, glancing at Rhyme. The teen seemed to be having a similar thought. 

“I know, and I’m sorry-”

“I’m not done,” Mad interrupted, “I can’t look at you without seeing her bleeding out on the floor over and over again. My programming keeps analysing it, looking for some way for me to change it. But I can’t. And you can’t change what you’ve done.” Rhyme looked to the floor, but nodded. Solana frowned.

“Mad?” the elf asked. Mad groaned.

“Could you two let me finish my thought?” 

“Shit- sorry.” Mad sighed and stood up. It took Rhyme’s hand and pulled her up to her feet. Rhyme’s eyes widened as he looked at them. 

“As upset and…frustrated as I am about it, I think I’m more upset at the situation than you,” it mumbled, holding both of her hands, “I mean, I’m still upset, but I care about you too. And…I can’t lose you too.” Solana smirked. 

“S-so, do you forgive me?” Rhyme asked, the light pink returning to his face. Mad chuckled slightly.

“Yeah, I guess I do.” Rhyme smiled brightly and pulled them into a hug. 

And that’s how you do it, Solana thought, Damn, if only that worked on Velvet. My life would be so much easier. 

“Don’t do it again,” Mad added before glancing up at Solana, “But that’s the most genuine apology I’ve heard in my entire time being with the mafia.” The elf rolled their eyes. 

“Hey, don’t look at me. What do I have to apologise for?” 

“My screwdriver.” Rhyme suppressed a laugh while Solana glared at the robot. 

“I didn’t fucking take your screwdriver.”

“I don’t believe Velvet snuck past all four of us without help.” 

“She’s the best assassin in the universe, of course she can!” Rhyme finally couldn’t keep it in anymore and broke out in loud laughter. 

“Have you seen her?” Rhyme pushed their face into Mad’s shirt to muffle her laughter. Mad stared down at him, wide eyes taking over the previously blank screen. Solana raised an eyebrow and jumped to the other side of the counter. 

“I think that’s my cue to go,” she said, gesturing to the door, “I’ll go check on Wyatt.”

“Solana-” The elf sprinted to the stairs, leaving the two of them in the kitchen alone.

Nala took a deep breath as she ran a brush through her hair. She pulled a section in front of her shoulder and stared into the mirror on her vanity. She was halfway through braiding it when there was a knock at the door. Nala frowned and checked her watch.

Unor’s not supposed to be here until 11:30, she thought, It’s only 10. 

“Who is it?” She called out. 

“Tua fīlia, mater,” A familiar voice answered. Nala’s eyes went wide. 

“Velvet?” She breathed. She quickly stood and opened the door, revealing her 15-year-old daughter in front of her. Two of her teammates, Maroon and Thorn if she remembered correctly, stood behind her. Nala pulled Velvet into a big hug. 

“Oh, Velvet,” she breathed, hugging her tightly. 

“Hi Mom. Can we come in?” Nala let go and smiled. 

“Of course.” The teens entered the room, Velvet shutting the door behind her.

“Hey Velvet’s mom,” The redhead, Thorn, said. Nala waved at him. 

“Hello, Thorn was it?” The teen nodded, so Nala turned to the other one, “And you’re Maroon?” 

“Mhm,” Maroon answered. She smiled.

“It’s lovely to see you two again. How have you been?”

“Good-” Velvet walked to the other side of the room, where a large computer set up sat. Nala looked at her daughter.

“What are you doing, Velvet?”

“Shutting down the alarm, give me a sec.” Nala frowned. 

“You set off an alarm?” Velvet groaned.

“No, those asinī did.” 

Asinī? I don’t think I know that one.

“Well I’m sorry I don’t know the entire B.A.D. mansion by heart,” Thorn apologised sarcastically, “I didn’t grow up here.”

“I didn’t fucking ask you to come-”

“Language,” Nala corrected. Velvet groaned.

“Sorry, mom. I didn’t ask you two to follow me. In fact, I think I explicitly said don’t.” 

“In our defence, you told Zaeor not to follow you,” Maroon chimed in. Velvet turned and glared at them. 

“‘Cause I was under the impression no one else spoke Latin. I guess I’m learning a lot today.” Nala chuckled and stood next to Velvet in the chair. The teen typed quickly and eventually got into the main security system. She paused on the screen for a few seconds.

“Left side, dear,” Nala stated. Velvet pressed the button and the bright ‘System Normal’ status blinked green. 

“Thanks, mater.” She clicked out of the security but pulled up the files application.

“What are you three doing here anyway?” Nala asked, turning to look at Thorn and Maroon as well, “And why didn’t you want your teammates to come with you?”

“Because she’s an angsty bitch,” Thorn mumbled. 

“Language.”

“Sorry, Mrs. Bolton.” Nala chuckled.

“Please, just Nala.”

“I’m looking into some information about something we found at a UPS headquarters. Do you know anything about Unor going to the station on Kenip?” Nala thought for a moment.

“I know he went there, but I’m not sure what for. I think it was just a routine drop-off he wanted to go on.”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” Velvet mumbled, “What about December 9th? Have you heard anything about something then?” At the same time, they typed the date into the search bar.

“That’s the day of our winter fundraiser.”

“Fundraiser?” Thorn asked, “Aren’t you guys like, rich?” Maroon put a hand on Thorn’s shoulder.

“Thorn-” Nala laughed and waved a hand.

“It’s alright, Maroon. It’s a fundraiser for a missing kid organisation, part of my plan to improve B.A.D.’s public image. It was also originally planned to help look for Velvet, but…” she gestured to Velvet, who rolled her eyes. 

“That’s sweet, how you never gave up looking for her,” Maroon said, smiling, “From the way Velvet used to talk about her parents, I thought you two didn’t get along.” Nala frowned and looked down at her daughter. Velvet, however, turned to glare at Maroon.

“I never said that.”

“I know. I just thought since you hated Unor so much-” Velvet looked back at the screen. 

“She’s just as much of a victim as we are.” 

“...we?” Maroon looked towards the floor, and Thorn took their hand. 

“That’s actually another thing I should look for,” Velvet mumbled under her breath. They typed Maroon’s name into the search bar.

“Velvet, that’s not what we came for,” Thorn said, “We don’t need to-”

“Shut it, Thorn.” The screen loaded for a moment before a grey ‘No Results’ tab popped up. Velvet sighed. 

“That’s about what I expected. Maroon, what was the name on the folder again?” 

“Project Rapio.” Nala paused.

“Now that name I’ve heard before,” she stated. Velvet looked up at her.

“What do you know?” 

“It’s been Unor’s new project for the past few weeks,” Nala sat down on her bed, “He didn’t tell me much, just that he would be redirecting resources to it for the next few weeks.”

“So the folder was right,” Velvet breathed. 

“What folder?” Velvet stood and turned to her teammates. 

“I have to search Unor’s office. Are you two coming with me?” Nala grabbed her wrist.

“Now wait just a second, young lady,” she said. Velvet looked at her.

“What, mater?” 

“First, drop the attitude. That’s no way to talk to your mother.” Thorn stifled a laugh as Velvet broke her wrist out of Nala’s grip.

“Sorry.”

“Secondly, Unor’s in a meeting there right now. You’d get caught immediately.” Velvet groaned.

“Do you know when he’ll be done?”

“11. Then he’s meeting me here at 11:30 so we can go make plans for the fundraiser.” Velvet mumbled something that Nala couldn’t make out. Maroon took her hand, drawing her attention. 

“We could stay in here until she leaves with him?” they asked, turning to Nala, “If you’re okay with that, Nala.” She smiled.

“Of course I’m okay with that. I’d never pass up a chance to hang out with my lovely daughter.” She pulled Velvet into another hug, one that she tried to wrestle out of this time. Nala won out, of course. She always did. 

“So, uh,” Mad began, looking down at Rhyme, “What was Solana talking about with the mission yesterday?” Rhyme lifted his head to look at the ground.

“Oh- uh- that was nothing.” 

“I can’t help but think that’s a lie.” 

“It’s not!” Rhyme said quickly, looking up at them, “I was just overwhelmed and thought you hated me.” 

“You know I can just text Maroon and ask, right?” Rhyme let out a strained laugh.

“Maroon won’t respond, they’re avoiding us.” Mad’s screen displayed a smirk.

“Maybe they’re ignoring you.” Rhyme narrowed her eyes. 

“Do you know something I don’t?”

“Maybe,” it said, “Maybe they talked to me before they left and I told them how to fly your ship.”

“Mad!” The droid laughed. 

“Why would you do that?” Rhyme demanded, “Where are they going, anyhow?” 

“That part they didn’t tell me. They just said Velvet ran off and they wanted to go after her. So I told them.” 

“I don’t know why you wouldn’t just tell them to take all of us,” Rhyme replied. 

“They said Velvet had said she didn’t want to be followed. I figured they could handle it.”

“But my baby-” Mad laughed again as Rhyme fake-pouted. 

“Your baby will be fine,” Mad replied.

“Well yeah, you’re right here,” Rhyme mumbled. Mad looked down at her.

“What was that?” Rhyme’s heartbeat raced and he blushed.

“Nothing, don’t worry about it.” Rhyme looked down at her hands, still in Mad’s. He quickly pulled them back and stuffed them into his pockets. Mad pulled out their phone and quickly typed a message. After a few seconds, it beeped. 

“Oh, they found Velvet. They’re with them and their mom now.” 

“Nala’s in on it?” Rhyme asked, “I shouldn’t be surprised, actually. She was the nicer of the two.” Mad nodded.

“I think she’s one of the only people I’ve heard Velvet talk about positively.” Another ding and a smirk appeared on Mad’s screen.

“Maroon said whatever you said yesterday was important.” Rhyme’s heart skipped a beat.

Dammit, Maroon. Fucking traitor. 

“I don’t think so,” Rhyme replied, crossing her arms. 

“Hold on, they just texted what you said.” Rhyme jumped forward, knocking the phone out of the droid's hand. Rhyme tripped over Mad’s foot, falling onto Mad. The two landed on the ground, Mad laughing loudly. Rhyme glared at the phone. 

“I was joking, Rhyme, I didn’t even ask them. I was just getting an update,” Mad said, looking up at her. Rhyme switched his glare to them.

“Scared the shit outta me, strange robot.” 

“Although, I might text them about it now considering that’s how you’re reacting.” Rhyme held Mad’s shoulders down and shook his head. 

“Can’t do that if I keep you here away from your phone.” 

“Are you sure about that?” Mad chuckled, “Rhyme, I’m a robot.” 

“Shit.” Mad laughed again, a bright smile appearing on their screen. 

“I’m just kidding. Maroon probably wouldn’t tell me, anyway.” Rhyme sighed, taking her hands off Mad’s shoulders.

“Good.”

“I am curious, though,” Mad added, “You don’t have to tell me, but I do wanna know.” 

“Maybe I’ll tell you. Eventually.” Mad displayed the eyes emoji, which promptly spun around. Rhyme stared at it before breaking out into laughter.

“What?” The droid asked. 

“What are you doing?” 

“Rolling my eyes.” That response only made the thief laugh harder. She set her forehead on their chest while she laughed. 

“Who…who told you to do that?” he asked through laughs. 

“Thorn. Why, does it look stupid?” Rhyme shook his head.

“No. Never stop doing that.” Mad shrugged as the thief sat up.

“If you say so.” The two looked at each other for a few moments. Mad’s screen changed to a smile, causing Rhyme to frown. It switched to a question mark.

“What’s wrong?”

“What did I just say?” Mad’s screen went blank.

“Huh? Oh- you meant-” Rhyme laughed again, shaking her head.

“No, I’m kidding.” Mad’s screen displayed the rolling eyes again anyways.

“Better?” it asked. 

“Better.” Mad laughed before looking Rhyme in the eyes.

“Can I stand up now?” Rhyme’s face went bright red and he quickly scrambled to get off of the droid. 

“Sorry-” 

“It’s okay. Are you gonna finish your breakfast?” Mad asked, gesturing to the full plate. 

“Right, yeah. Kinda got interrupted during that, huh?”

“That would mean you actually started eating.” Rhyme’s eyes widened. 

“I thought you weren’t looking at me earlier?” Mad shook their TV.

“My camera was looking at you, the TV wasn’t.”

“‘Course, how silly of me.” Mad nodded as the thief sat down at the table. It joined her, this time sitting to her right. Rhyme smiled and took a bite.

“How is it?” 

“Perfect,” Rhyme answered.

Just like you.

Velvet led the way down the hallway, Thorn and Maroon following behind. Nala had cleared out the area a few minutes before, but Velvet had Kil-layye Mo’ore drawn anyway. They passed down a set of brown double doors with several stickers on it. Thorn looked at them: a rainbow, stars, and the letter c sat in the middle. It looked like there were more letters, but they had fallen off. 

“What’s in there?” Thorn asked. Velvet didn’t even turn around to look at the door before responding.

“Nothing.”

“Doesn’t look like nothing.” 

“Drop it, frūx,” Velvet hissed. The prince put their hands up. 

“Right, got it.” The trio walked for another minute before Velvet stopped in front of another set of double doors. These ones were blank, and a deeper brown than the other ones. Velvet took a deep breath. 

“We’re here.” Maroon looked down at her. 

“Are you sure you’re okay with this, Velvet?”

“Of course I’m fucking not. But we don’t have a choice, now do we?” 

“I’m sure we could figure something else out. We could ask Nala-” 

“No,” Velvet stated coldly, “She’s endangered herself enough today. I’m not letting her get hurt again. Let’s just get this over with.” Maroon frowned as Velvet pushed the big doors open, Kil-layye Mo’ore raised. They creaked slightly but revealed an office with a large black desk ordained with various trinkets and papers. A laptop sat on top of it, open. There were three chairs around the desk: one on the side of the laptop and two with their backs towards the door. 

Paintings lined the walls depicting old buildings and other people, presumably older members of the Bolton family considering their similarity to Velvet. The walls were a deep, blood red with black sigils lining the middle. Thorn pointed them out.

“Any idea what those say?” He asked out loud. 

“Don’t look at them for too long. They’re a form of security.” Thorn quickly looked away.

“Unor’s got a lot of magic access for a mortal,” ae mumbled. 

“It’s really not that surprising. He’s not that far off from becoming a fake god.” That sentence caused Maroon and Thorn to stop dead in their tracks. 

“...what?” Maroon breathed. Velvet turned back to look at them. Her red hair fell out of the clip, so she adjusted it while she talked. 

“You didn’t know?”

“I think you conveniently forgot to mention that part,” Thorn replied through gritted teeth. Velvet just shrugged. 

“Well now you know.” 

“What do you mean ‘not that far off’?” Maroon asked. Velvet sat down in the main desk chair and typed something into the laptop.

“Same fucking password, what a fucking idiot,” they mumbled, “I mean he’s not far off. He’s got four and a half of the five souls he needs, so he’s almost there.” 

“Souls?” Thorn demanded, “How exactly does one become a fake god?” Velvet groaned.

“Did I really forget to explain this?” 

“I wouldn’t be asking otherwise.”

“I don’t know, you’re you,” the assassin mumbled, “To become a fake god, someone needs to collect one soul of each type. Unor’s got four and a half.” Maroon took a step forward. 

“Half?” Velvet refocused on the laptop, typing more into the keyboard. Maroon opened their mouth to say something more but stayed quiet. 

“Damn it, this is wiped clean,” they mumbled, “It’s almost like…” Thorn stared at her.

“If you say what I think you’re going to say, Velvie…”

“He knows we’re here,” Maroon said in a small voice. Velvet quickly stood from the chair and joined the duo.

“How could he know we’re here?” Thorn asked, “There’s no way.”

“He must have found out about the UPS break-in and put two and two together,” Velvet answered. They pushed the doors open again, this time a loud alarm blaring again. 

“So that whole planning thing with Nala was bullshit?” 

“Maybe not. I hope it wasn’t. I hope he’s not here and is just hoping his guards will be able to capture us.” 

“The guards that are also him,” Thorn muttered. Velvet nodded and stepped out into the hallway, making a run for it back where they came. The other two quickly followed.

“If we can get back to Nala’s room, could we-” 

“Too dangerous,” Velvet interrupted Maroon, “There’s another security panel in the library, but that’s way further. I don’t know if we’ll make it.”

“And there’s no chance they’re gonna fall for the false alarm from Nala for a second time,” Thorn added. Velvet nodded. Footsteps began thudding behind them, voices shouting in various languages Thorn didn’t know. Velvet glanced backward.

“One of you, make a wall.” Thorn obliged, a wall of vines growing and blocking the hallway behind them. They added a horizontal layer as well, just in case. In front of them, a large metal door slammed shut. Velvet quickly stopped in their tracks, breathing heavily.

“Fuck,” they said. 

“W-what’s that mean?” Maroon asked. 

“Full lockdown’s been activated. We can’t get out that way. Or any way, for that matter.” 

“Then what’s the plan?” Thorn demanded. Velvet glared at him.

“I’m fucking working on it, Thorn.” The voices behind the vine wall grew louder as Velvet scanned the hallway. A few feet ahead stood the sticker-covered doors once again. The assassin’s eyes locked on it right as Thorn’s did.

Maroon looked at their two friends as they both looked ahead. They followed their gaze to the door from earlier, the one Velvet had dismissed. 

“Fuck, okay,” she breathed, running forward. Maroon and Thorn followed. Velvet slowed in front of them and carefully tried the doorknob. The door gave way, warm sunlight fading in from the large bay window on the opposite side of the room. Maroon glanced at Velvet, who had her eyes closed tight. She took a deep breath and, once Maroon and Thorn were inside, shut the door. 

The room was well-lit from the window alone, a pair of blue curtains hanging from the rod above them. The right corner had a large canopy bed, decorated with blue and purple bedsheets. There were four pillows on top and an extra blanket folded neatly at the end. Pictures of butterflies and various star systems sat above the bed, forming a star. 

A large rug was in the middle, a blue flower. The opposite side of the room from the bed had a desk with a textbook open on top of it. The chair was pushed in and a layer of dust had begun to form on the pages. A closet was pushed up against the wall the door was on, slightly ajar. 

Velvet slowly turned around, taking in the scene. Maroon watched as they walked towards the window. 

“Who’s room is this?” Thorn asked, crossing his arms. Velvet sat down at the window, looking out. Maroon walked towards the open textbook. 

“This is- was. This was a friend of mine’s bedroom.” Maroon looked down at the book, wiping the dust off. There sat a name.

“Caran?” Maroon read, “Oh…that’s who Caran was.” Velvet nodded, standing again. 

“Try not to touch anything, okay?” Maroon wiped their hand on their trousers. Velvet joined them at the desk and glanced down at the book. 

“‘Course that’s what he was reading,” they mumbled. Maroon looked down at them.

“What is it?” 

“Algebra.” 

“What’s…algebra?” Velvet stared at them for a few seconds.

“I’ll let Mad handle that one.” Maroon nodded but kept their eyes on Velvet. The assassin slowly opened a drawer and their eyes widened. 

“Jackpot,” they breathed. They pulled out a laptop, similar to the one from Unor’s office. They sat down back at the window and opened it up. Maroon sat next to them and Thorn joined on the other side of Maroon. 

“His laptop?” Thorn asked, “How’s that gonna help?” 

“Unor’s not going to limit a dead person’s access to classified documents. That’s his one weakness: he’s cocky. He killed someone, so there’s no point controlling what they can see.” Maroon’s heart skipped a beat.

“He killed Caran?” Maroon asked.

“Of course he fucking did. Are you even surprised?” 

“...no.” Velvet typed in another passcode and smirked. 

“And we’re in. Project Rapio…” They clicked on a file and quickly scanned it. 

“That looks like the one we found at the UPS,” Maroon commented. Velvet nodded. 

“It is.”

“Anything new?” Thorn asked. Velvet closed the document and opened up the next. 

“I’m looking, give me a minute.” Thorn looked around Maroon to read the screen.

“That’s in English?”

“Yeah. It must be the memo he sent to the lower-ranking operatives. They typically can’t read Latin.” Thorn was quiet for a moment before his eyes widened. 

“Unor’s trying to capture us for one of our souls?” it exclaimed. Velvet slammed the laptop closed and stood. 

“We should get out of here,” she mumbled, “We’ll have to break the window.” Maroon glanced at Thorn, who was staring at Velvet.

“Velvet, did I read that right?”

“I have no clue what you’re talking about, Thorn.”

Soul? If he already has 4 and a half, why would he want… their eyes locked on Velvet, Oh. 

“Velvet, that half a soul Unor has,” Maroon said quietly, “It’s yours, isn’t it?” Velvet turned back to glare at them.

“So what if it is? It doesn’t change anything.” 

“Oh my gods,” Maroon breathed, “Velvet, I’m so sorry-”

“Is that why you’re so…you?” Thorn asked. Maroon stared down at them.

“Thorn-”

“What? That was the nicest way I could think of.” 

“Just fucking drop it, will you?” Velvet demanded, “It’s not that big of a deal.” She jumped onto the window seat and drew Kil-layye Mo’ore, using the hilt to break the glass. Maroon and Thorn quickly moved out of the way. 

“It is a big deal, though. You’re missing half of your soul, your personality, your…emotions.” Maroon let the last word hang in the air as Velvet sheathed her sword again. Thorn looked between Maroon and Velvet.

“So all this time, I’ve been calling you a bitch for ignoring your emotions,” the prince began, “But you haven’t been. You just haven’t had emotions?” 

“I’m done talking about this with you two. Just forget you ever figured this out, okay?” 

“Velvet, stop.” Maroon grabbed their wrist, forcing them to look back at them. 

“What do you want, fungus?” 

“How long has your soul been broken?” Velvet groaned.

“Are we really going to do this?” 

“The quicker you answer our questions, the quicker we can leave,” Thorn added. Velvet glanced at each of them before sighing.

“Fine. Since shortly after my 14th birthday.” 

Nearly two years, Maroon thought, Dear Ailuj-

“Does Zaeor know?” Velvet scoffed.

“Of course he fucking knows. He’s what stopped him from taking the whole thing.” Maroon’s eyes widened. 

“So that’s what you meant,” Thorn said. The two of them looked towards him.

“What?”

“You keep saying that he saved your life. I thought that was after you started working for him, but it's why you’re working for him.” Velvet rolled her eyes.

“That’s what you choose to focus on?”

She’s been like this since before the mafia was formed. How did no one notice?

“I don’t control where my brain goes, Velvie.”

Does anyone in the mafia know? We…we could’ve…I could’ve…

“Do not fucking call me that, especially-”

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Maroon blurted out. Velvet turned to them.

“What do you mean?”

“Why didn’t you tell anyone? Me, Mad, anyone. We could’ve helped you sooner.” Velvet narrowed their eyes at them.

“Because there’s no way to help me, Maroon.” The youngest teen’s heart skipped a beat again as they looked at her. 

“There has to be something.”

“There’s not, Zaeor’s checked. I’m stuck like this for the rest of my life.”

“Fuck, that’s morbid,” Thorn muttered. Velvet sent a glare aer way. 

“So is my entire life. Get used to it.” 

“What if Unor was dead?” Maroon asked. The two teens refocused on them, Thorn’s eyes wide.

“What are you talking about, Maroon?” Thorn asked. 

“If Unor was dead, wouldn’t all the souls be released? Couldn’t you get it back then?” Velvet frowned.

“In theory, but there’s no guarantee-”

“But it’s possible?”

“Maroon, are you saying we should-” Velvet cut Thorn off.

“Yeah, I guess it’s possible.”

If killing Unor could fix Velvet’s soul…after everything he’s done, what’s stopping us?

“Then let’s attack Unor first,” Maroon stated, “We’ve been on the defensive this whole time. The day he’s actually planning on attacking us, we attack first. Stage a full assault on this base. Take it over and end this.” Velvet stared at Maroon for several moments. Thorn took their hand but Maroon didn’t take their eyes off of the assassin in front of them. 

“You’re right,” Velvet finally replied, “That’s what we’ll do.” Maroon took a deep breath and nodded. 

“Mushroom, are you sure you want to-”

“Yes. I’m sure.” Velvet held a hand out to Maroon and the three teens stood on the windowsill. Thorn had a concerned look on his face as he stared at Maroon. 

“One of you want to make something to get us down?” Velvet asked. A giant mushroom sprouted from the ground, stopping right in front of them. Maroon led the way onto the pileus.

An hour after “The Assassination” 

“We are not bringing Diamonds on a mission with us,” Velvet spat, crossing her arms. Mad’s screen was blank as they turned towards Solana.

“I agree with Velvet on this one. There’s too much that can go wrong.” 

“I don’t see what your guys' problem is,” Solana replied, “We could use an extra fighter tonight. Velvet, you said yourself there’s supposed to be twice as many guards as last time.” 

“We’re better as a cohesive team, Solana. Diamonds would throw a wrench into the plans.”

“What’s the alternative, leave him here alone?” 

“Her and Wyatt, probably.”

“No, he can go to his own house. Tell him to take the child with him for all I care. There’s no need for her to come with us.” 

“If y’all could stop talking about me like I’m not here, that’d be great,” Rhyme called out. The trio turned to look at the teen, who was sitting on a Madbay bed with an IV coming out of her arm. Bandages wrapped around his abdomen and the heart monitor beeped. The child was on another bed, fast asleep. He didn’t seem injured, but Mad had bandaged him up anyway. 

“Sorry,” the robot mumbled. 

“Also, I don’t think Diamonds is in any shape to go on a mission,” Velvet added. 

“I’m fine, Bolton. And like I said earlier, I want to help,” the thief replied. 

“And like I said earlier, I don’t care.” Solana sighed.

“Why don’t we take a vote out of the whole team? I think Maroon and Thorn are finally awake.” Velvet looked at the elf and sighed.

“Fine, whatever. My vote is no.”

“Mine as well,” Mad stated. Rhyme frowned and looked up at Mad, who refused to meet his eyes. Velvet crossed her arms.

The hell is wrong with them? 

“Well, my vote is for yes. I’ll go talk to the others, see what they think.” Solana turned on his heel and walked out of the Madbay, Mad following behind. Velvet watched them leave before looking back to Rhyme.

“The fuck you do to them?” she demanded.

“Huh?” 

“Mad would never want you to go home. Clearly you did something while you were out to piss them off.” Rhyme let out a strained laugh. 

“Oh, and you know Mad so much better than I do.”

“I live with them, fūr. And I know they love your company. So something happened and I want to know what.” 

“Velvet, I have no idea what you’re talking about.” The assassin crossed her arms and sat down on the kid’s bed. He moved slightly, but Velvet ignored it. 

“There must’ve been some kind of complication. Maybe you didn’t tell it about your injury. Or Wyatt got hurt and you brushed it off. Hell, maybe you even lied about the mission in the first place.” Rhyme looked towards the floor. Velvet smirked.

Bingo.

“You called them at like, 5 am this morning saying you wanted to rescue Eliza’s new kid. But that wasn’t it, was it?” 

“It’s none of your fucking business, Bolton,” Rhyme shouted. The kid moved again, catching his attention. 

“Careful, Reuter, you’ll wake your brother.” The kid stopped moving around and Rhyme’s eyes once again locked on Velvet’s, glaring.

“I don’t appreciate the interrogation, Bolton.”

“And I don’t appreciate you fucking up one of my team members before a crucial mission.” Rhyme let out a strained laugh and crossed his arms.

“How crucial could breaking into the UPS be? I do it all the time. It’s never anything of use.” Velvet frowned. 

“You’ve broken into the UPS before?” 

“That’s what I just said.” She looked away from the thief and out the window. Clouds were forming around the mansion, a rare sight on the planet. 

Maybe Solana had a point, they thought, Rhyme might be a good asset to have tonight. It’ll give me more time to figure out what the hell happened, and placing any blame on him would help with the media…I just don’t want-

“Velvet!” Solana’s voice shouted, startling the assassin out of their thoughts. The Madbay door slammed open and the elf came through, their hands in the pockets of their jeans.

“The votes are in, Diamonds’s coming with us.” Velvet locked eyes with Rhyme, who smirked, before sighing.

“Fine, whatever.” Two arms suddenly wrapped around her stomach and a face pressed against her side. Velvet quickly looked down to see the kid, now pressed against them. 

“Fucking-”

“I’m scared!” The kid shouted, hanging onto the assassin tighter. Velvet looked around at the two other people in the room. Rhyme and Solana looked at each other before breaking out in laughter. Velvet attempted to push the kid off but he wouldn’t budge. 

“Diamonds, get this fucking thing off of me,” the assassin growled. Rhyme continued laughing. 

“It’s just a child, Velvet,” Solana said as she caught her breath, “What’s your name, bud?” The kid looked up at him.

“Wyatt.”

“Hey Wyatt, why don’t you go with Solana?” Rhyme prompted, “They’re the elf.” The child shook his head and pressed it closer to Velvet. The teen groaned and stood. To their surprise, the kid held on. The sudden weight nearly caused her to fall to the ground but she quickly steadied herself. 

“What do you want, kid?” she muttered.

“Don’t leave me alone. Please.” 

“Mihi deōs,” Velvet groaned, “If I take you to Mad, will you leave me alone?” He looked up at her for a few moments before eventually nodding. Velvet sighed and adjusted the kid to be on their back. Solana laughed and held the door open for them. She paused at the door, turning back toward Rhyme. 

“Oh and, Reuter,” they began, “I’m going to talk to Mad about this. If I found out you hurt a mafia member…” They let the threat sit in the air as they turned and walked out, leaving a very confused Solana standing in the doorway. 

12:15. 

Mad stirred the red soup, the grilled cheese sitting on the pan. Maroon and Thorn were setting the table. The sound of plates hitting wood and metal being set on table mats came from its left. 

12:16. 

They were done setting the table now and sat in the wooden chairs. Mad flipped one of the six sandwiches and turned to them. 

“Thorn, you said you only wanted one side crispy?” The teen nodded, smirking.

“It makes it taste better.”

“I disagree,” Maroon mumbled, but Mad just nodded. They slid the sandwich onto their hand and set it down on Thorn’s plate. 

“Mad!” Velvet’s voice carried down the entryway, their footsteps echoing off the walls. Mad glanced up at the clock. 

12:17. 

“There, kid. There’s Mad. Will you get off me now?” Velvet said, stopping in the kitchen doorway. Maroon and Thorn’s eyes quickly fell on Wyatt, who jumped down from Velvet’s back. He grabbed onto the robot’s leg and smiled up at them.

“Mad!” 

“Hi, Wyatt. Are you okay?” 

“He woke up and attached himself to me,” the assassin began, “Refused to get off until he saw you.” Mad sighed and kneeled down to his level. The bandages were starting to fall off of his arm, no doubt from Velvet carrying him. The bruise seemed to be healing nicely, though.

“Are you feeling better?” they asked. He nodded.

“Could someone explain who that is?” Thorn asked, pointing at Wyatt. Mad kept their eyes on Wyatt. 

“Do you want some grilled cheese and tomato soup?” He nodded vigorously. Mad gestured to the table, and he sprinted over to take a seat. 

“That’s Wyatt,” it began, “He was recently adopted by Diamonds’s foster mom, Eliza Gracy, but we saved him this morning. He’ll be here for a bit until we can find him a good home.” Thorn’s mouth made a big ‘O’ while Maroon turned to look at him. 

“Hi Wyatt, my name is Maroon.” Mad carried a grilled cheese and bowl of soup over to the child, setting it down in front of him. It then turned to Velvet. 

“Are you hungry? Do you want some lunch?” 

“Not really, no. What the hell happened on that mission?” The teen demanded. Mad paused for a moment before turning back to the stove.

“Language, Velvet!” Thorn shouted, covering Wyatt’s ears, “There are little ears around now.” Wyatt squirmed out of Thorn’s hands.

“Fuck you, frūx.” Mad placed a sandwich on a plate and handed it to Velvet.

“Eat.”

“I told you, Mad-” 

“I can almost guarantee you’ve barely eaten today, Velvet. Would you prefer the soup instead?” The assassin narrowed her eyes but took the plate.

“No. Soup is fucking weird. But you’re telling me what happened.” 

“Of course,” the droid said quietly, “Let me get Maroon food then we’ll go outside.” Velvet frowned but nodded. Mad plated another sandwich and bowl of soup and set it in front of the youngest mafia member. 

“If Solana comes out here, tell him the last two sandwiches are for him and Diamonds. Just wait another twenty minutes or so before letting Diamonds eat.” Maroon nodded. Velvet followed it outside through the sliding glass doors in the kitchen, taking a bite of the sandwich. 

Mad sat down on one of the outdoor chairs, the teen following suit. 

“So what the fuck is wrong with you?” Velvet began, “What did Rhyme do?” 

“He killed Eliza.” Velvet groaned. 

“That’s what you’re upset about?”

“She wanted me to do it, at first. I didn’t. But…I don’t know. I feel like it was her plan the whole time?” Velvet took another bite of the sandwich. 

“Probably was.”

“But then why bring me? Did he just…” Mad’s voice broke slightly, “Did he just want to hurt me?” Velvet’s eyes widened as she looked at the droid. Mad looked away.

“Sorry. I know emotions aren’t really your thing. Um, what was I saying?”

“I really just wanted to know what you were pissed at Rhyme about. But you seem more…hurt than angry?” Velvet took another bite, “I don’t know. Did you run into any complications other than Eliza?” 

“Just her guards.”

“Got it.” The teen finished their sandwich and stood back up.

“Well, I’ve got mission planning to d-”

“Can I ask you an emotions question?” Mad blurted out. Velvet frowned.

“I mean, I guess. I feel like I’m the worst person to give you an answer, though.”

“I just wanna know, have you ever been so upset at someone but you can’t just…I don’t know, hate them?” Mad paused, “Like, you feel like you really should hate them but you just can’t?” Velvet was quiet for a minute or so. She seemed to be lost in thought as Mad’s soul seemed to race. Its thoughts raced as the teen sighed. 

“I guess.” Before Mad could ask more, the teen disappeared through the door. 

Mad seemed to refuse to meet Rhyme’s eyes, causing a pit to form in her stomach. The Red Mafia had changed into their mission uniforms: Mad in their red shirt and black jacket, Velvet in their jumpsuit with the red x, Maroon in a long-sleeved red shirt with a pair of black pants, Solana in a pair of red cargo shorts and a black tank top, and Thorn in a simple black short sleeve with red pants. Rhyme felt very out of place in the all-black outfit Velvet had given him. It was a little big, but the two teens were close enough in size for it to work. The assassin had also handed her a black beanie and sunglasses, similar to what Solana had on his face. 

“Did you get any of that, Diamonds?” Velvet asked, crossing her arms. Rhyme turned towards them from his current seat in the Umbrella’s cockpit. 

“Do you want an honest answer?”

“Mihi deōs.” Rhyme chuckled before standing.

“Before I make Velvet say that all over again, I should probably tell you all my name.” Mad finally looked at her.

“Diamonds, are you sure?” it asked, “You don’t have to say anything you don’t want to-”

“Mad, shut up,” Thorn demanded, leaning forward in his seat. Rhyme laughed again, putting her hands in her pockets. 

Keep joking. Ignore it.

“Trust me, strange robot, I’m sure. But, has anyone got any guesses before I reveal all?” She added a wink for good measure. Solana laughed and raised his hand.

“It’s going to be something stupid, like Bert or something,” the elf said. Rhyme shook her head and pointed at Maroon.

“Any guesses, fellow rhymer?” Maroon smiled and thought for a moment. 

“Hmm, Harper?” 

“Nope, although that’s kinda cool.” Before Rhyme could even glance at Thorn, the teen shook their head.

“I’ve got nothing, I’ve met you once.” Rhyme laughed again.

“Fair enough. Well-”

“Wait, Mad, what’s your guess?” Solana asked, “I think you know Diamonds better than any of us.” Mad let out a little chuckle that caused the pit to subside slightly. 

“I know Diamonds enough to already know his actual name.” 

“Boooooooo,” Thorn groaned, “Velvet, your turn.” The Red Mafia leader had been quietly standing behind Rhyme for the duration of the guessing game. She rolled her eyes.

“I’d guess, but that’s kind of unfair considering I also know it.” 

“Of course you do,” Solana muttered, “Diamonds, I apologise for whatever spying Velvet did to figure that out.” 

“All good, Solana. Anyways, drumroll please.” He gestured around the room, but everyone just stared at him. She stood up straight again.

“Rhyme, my name is Rhyme.” Maroon, Thorn, and Solana stared at her. 

“You’re joking,” Thorn stated. Rhyme shook his head.

“Nope. Ask Mad or Bolton.” Thorn glanced at Mad, who nodded. 

“So were you always good at rhyming, or did you learn it as a joke from your name?” Solana asked. 

“Bit of both. Hard to deny my amazing natural talent,” she flipped her hair as well. Maroon laughed and smiled at him.

“Your name really suits you, Rhyme.” Rhyme winked before turning around to look at Velvet. 

“Alright, what were you saying about the mission, Bolton?” Velvet sighed. 

“As I was saying,” they began, gesturing to the large map displayed in the hologram in the centre of the room, “We’re going to be entering from the East door. According to Zaeor, it should be less guarded. We’ll split up in groups of two: Mad and Thorn, Solana and me, and Maroon and Rhyme.” Rhyme attempted to hide the throb in her soul.

There goes that plan, he thought, God, it’s never gonna talk to me again.

“Unor recently visited this location to do ‘business’, so there’s a chance he left some information behind. Me and Solana, aka group 1, will take the top two floors of the complex and search it. Mad and Thorn, group 2, will take the second floor, and group 3, Maroon and Rhyme, will take the ground level.”

“So we’re just looking for any sign of Unor?” Rhyme asked before he shook his head, “Right, your whole thing is killing him. Forgot.” Velvet rolled her eyes. 

“Just get in and get out. Search your floors as quickly as possible and stay together. Maroon, we don’t have an extra set of comms to give Rhyme, so you’ll have to communicate for both of you. If any of you see anything, radio in. Am I clear?” The group nodded, with Rhyme adding a “crystal” to the silence. Velvet sat back down in the captain's chair while Rhyme moved to sit next to Mad.

“Hey, strange robot,” she said, smiling. Mad looked away from him and scooted to the left. Rhyme frowned, the pit in her stomach growing once again.

“So….are you sure we can trust that Zaeor dude to take care of Wyatt? He’s not gonna brainwash him or anything?” Mad sighed.

“No. But we don’t have any other choice.” 

“Right, ‘course.” Mad stood up and moved to talk to Velvet, leaving the thief alone in her seat. 

The pit grew larger.

Maroon led the way down the hall, Rhyme following close behind. Mushrooms slightly damped their footsteps before retracting back into the floor. 

“There’s an admin office to the left,” Rhyme mumbled. Maroon nodded. They took a left and Rhyme kicked down the door. The room was slightly messy, with chairs out of place and papers strewn around the desk. Maroon smiled. 

“Jackpot,” Rhyme muttered. The thief jumped to the desk while Maroon took to the bookshelves. They were quiet for a while, the sound of paper rustling and books opening and closing surrounding them. Rhyme muttered something under her breath.

“What was that?” Maroon asked, turning towards him. 

“Nothing, just thinking out loud.”

“Okay.”

“Actually, can I ask you a question?” he blurted out, “About Mad?” Maroon paused for a moment before nodding. 

“Let’s say I were to, possibly, bring Mad with me on a mission to murder my foster mom.” Maroon’s eyes widened.

“Oh.” The thief let out a nervous laugh.

“Yeah. How would I go about…apologising?” Maroon set the book they were holding back on the shelf. 

“Did you…mean to bring it along?” 

“Yeah.” A frown formed on the younger teen’s face. 

“Why? Don’t you kn-”

“Of course I know,” Rhyme interrupted, “I was the one they talked to every time they saw Velvet kill a new person. I was the one who understood.” 

“Then why’d you bring them?” Rhyme looked at the floor, one of her hands forming a fist. A chill went down Maroon’s spine.

“I don’t fucking know! My brain thought it would be easier if they were there. In case Eliza, you know…” Her other hand formed a fist and she quickly grabbed a file from the desk.

“But now I’ve ruined my relationship with the one goddamn person I’ve loved in 5 fucking years!” He threw the folder on the ground. Maroon watched the papers fly all over the room. The folder landed with a small thud, some kind of words on the front.

“Shit, sorry rhymer. I got carried away,” Rhyme mumbled. 

“It’s…okay. What’s the folder say?” The thief glanced down at it and her eyes widened. 

“Holy shit,” she muttered, picking up the scattered forms.

“What is it?”

“It says ‘B.A.D.: Project Rapio’. Help me pick up the papers.

Rapio. I seize.

Maroon quickly grabbed the papers around them and handed them to Rhyme. She scanned the pages while Maroon adjusted their earpiece.

“What is this language?” Rhyme asked. Maroon held their hand out so Rhyme handed the folder to them. They scanned the folder, their heartbeat racing. 

“He’s gonna attack the mansion.” They reached up to their earpiece. 

“Velvet, we found something.” Her response was almost immediate.

“What is it?” 

“Unor’s planning an attack on the mansion. On the 9th of December.” Maroon counted in their head.

…nine, ten, eleven. Eleven days until the 9th.

“Shit. Head back to the Umbrella, everyone.” Maroon took a deep breath. 

“Okay, we’ll be there,” they mumbled, turning to Rhyme, We’re meeting back at the Umbrella.” Maroon took a deep breath as Rhyme nodded. 

“Let’s get going, then.”

“Oh, and Rhyme.” The teen raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah?” 

“Talk to Mad. Tell them what you told me.” Rhyme frowned and looked away.

“It won’t even talk to me, though.” Maroon set a hand on her shoulder.

“I’ll talk to them. Get them to talk to you. Okay?” The thief looked up at them and a small smile appeared on his face.

“Thanks, fellow rhymer.”

“Rhymers stick together,” Maroon said, smiling, “Let’s go to the others.”

“Velvet, would you quit it?” Solana asked, crossing his arms. Velvet paused her pacing for a moment to glare at them.

“No.” 

“You’re stressing everyone out.” 

“That sucks, deal with it. I’m thinking.” 

“‘Course.” Velvet flipped through the folder and resumed their pacing. She muttered Latin under her breath as she read.

“Why are his plans mostly in Latin anyway?” Mad asked from the captain’s chair. 

“He’s really into ancient Rome and its culture,” Rhyme answered, “Eliza tried to learn it to talk to him but failed miserably.” At the mention of Eliza’s name, Mad looked towards the floor. Rhyme stared at them for several seconds before sighing. 

“This is bad,” Velvet mumbled, “This is very bad.”

“What’s it say?” Solana asked. Velvet looked up at him. 

“He’s found a way to break through the magic barriers and bought help from the UPS soldiers to stage a full-on assault.”

“Are we sure he didn’t just plant that document?” Thorn asked, aer arms around Maroon, “I mean, why would he give the UPS a document in Latin? He must’ve planted it knowing we would be showing up.”

“But what does he gain from that?” Maroon mumbled. Thorn looked down at them.

“Freaking us out? Getting us off our game?” 

“Us being off our game is the least of his concerns if he has two thousand soldiers,” Velvet interrupted. Solana’s eyes widened. 

“Two thousand?” she breathed. Velvet nodded. 

“Fuck.”

“Thorn is right about one thing, though. We have no way of knowing if the date or numbers in the plan are accurate,” Mad stated, “Unor could’ve planted that and lied.”

“So you’re saying we could be attacked anytime from now to the 9th?” Maroon asked. 

“That and after as well. He might have given us a date earlier than the actual attack to lower our guard.” Velvet closed the folder and groaned loudly. 

“Okay, we’ll have to reinforce all the magic defences. Find different spells, evolve our current ones. We’ll get Zaeor to recast the location remixer and-” 

“How about we save the plans for Zaeor?” Solana asked, patting the seat next to him, “We’re almost at the mansion anyways.”

“I’m not sitting down, Solana-” The elf sighed and stood. 

“Alright, hard way then.” She quickly held Velvet’s arms down and picked her up. They tried to squirm out of their grip to no avail. Laughter came from the other teens around the cockpit. Solana set them down in the seat and buckled them in. Velvet glared up at him.

“Let me out, mīles,” she spat. 

“Nope.” Solana looked around the cockpit. Despite the laughter, the air was still tense. Mad wasn’t even looking at them, instead completely focused on the GPS system. Maroon pressed up against Thorn, who hugged them tighter. Rhyme couldn’t take his eyes off Mad, no matter how much the robot ignored him. 

“Everyone buckle up,” Mad called out, “We’re about to land.” Thorn gently let go of Maroon and the two of them returned to their proper seats. Rhyme plopped down next to Solana, giving them a slight smile. 

“You good, Dia- Rhyme?” Solana asked. The thief nodded. The Mahogany Mansion slowly came into view, the pizza box Solana left outside still sitting on the picnic table. He chuckled to himself. Next to them, Rhyme shivered. 

“God, I hate that,” she mumbled. 

“Hate what, landing?” Thorn asked. Rhyme shook his head.

“No, the scanner thing. It just sends a thousand chills up and down my body and it freaks me out.” 

“Scanner thing?” Maroon questioned. Mad also turned to look at the teen, causing her to straighten up. 

“Oh, you mean the magic profiler,” Velvet interrupted. All eyes looked towards her.

“The what?” Mad asked. 

“The magic profiler. It just makes sure no one can enter that isn’t with one of us.” Thorn rolled his eyes.

“You need a better name for that.”

“There is one, but it’s in Astarca.”

“I’m not even going to ask what Astarca is,” Rhyme muttered. The Umbrella landed softly on the red soil and Mad guided it towards the garage. Rhyme’s ship still sat outside, parked and powered off. The mafia and Rhyme flowed out of the ship and into the mansion. Zaeor and Wyatt were sitting in the living, the kid playing Mario Kart on the TV. Zaeor looked at them and raised an eyebrow. 

“Back already?” He asked, smiling. Wyatt paused the game and stood up, embracing Mad. The droid picked him up and patted his head. Velvet threw the folder at him before crossing her arms. The god raised an eyebrow as he caught it.

“What’s this?”

“Read it. We found it at the UPS headquarters.” Zaeor scanned the pages for a minute or so before looking up at Velvet. He muttered something in a strange language that Solana couldn’t understand. Velvet replied in the same language, anger underneath the words. Mad leaned towards Maroon.

“Are you getting anything from this?” they asked. Maroon shook their head. 

“It’s not Latin or any fae language I’m aware of. Thorn?” 

“It sounds somewhat familiar but I have no clue.” Velvet’s hand formed a fist as Zaeor stood. He walked towards her, his voice low. Wyatt pushed closer to Mad.

“He sounds scary,” he mumbled. 

“Do you know what he’s saying, Wyatt?” Mad asked, looking down at the boy. He shook his head. 

“Fucking hell,” Velvet growled before returning back to the mysterious language. Solana raised a hand.

“Hey, uh, Velvet? Maybe switch languages so we can understand what you're saying?” The assassin looked back at her but Zaeor quickly said something that caused them to turn back around. The argument went on for a minute or so more before Velvet threw their hands in the air. She turned on her heel and stormed out of the living room. Zaeor called out after her.

“I’m fucking leaving!” they shouted back in English, “If you’re going to be completely unreasonable, I’m done talking to you!” Solana watched her run up the stairs before turning back to Zaeor.

“What was that about?” Mad asked the god. Zaeor sighed and sat back down on the couch. 

“She’s being…difficult. And paranoid.” Solana frowned.

“About the attack?” The god nodded. 

“I mean, it’s worth taking a look into,” Rhyme stated, crossing her arms, “Yeah, it could be fake, but there’s no harm in researching it more.” Zaeor sighed and looked over at the group. 

“Let me make one thing abundantly clear,” he began coldly, “The Mahogany Mansion is perfectly safe. No one can get in or out without permission so we have nothing to worry about. Regardless of if Unor is actually planning an assault, he will be unable to pull it off. There is nothing to worry about.” The room was silent for several moments after he finished as the group stared at him. Maroon grabbed onto Thorn’s hand and took a deep breath while Mad held Wyatt close to it.

“Couldn’t we just reinforce the defenses? Magical or otherwise?” Solana asked. Zaeor shook his head.

“There’s no need. You all are completely safe.” Zaeor gestured towards the TV, plastering a smile on his face.

“Now, surely you all need time to unwind from your mission. Sit, let’s play.”

1 month after “The Catalyst”

Velvet nearly impaled Mad’s TV with a knife when they entered the kitchen. The robot quickly dodged and flicked on the light.

“Just me!” they whispered. Velvet stared at it before sighing. 

“Damn it, Mad. What are you doing awake?”

“I could say the same for you.” The teen took a big drink of the energy drink sitting in front of them. Mad crossed their arms as she tossed it in the recycling bin. 

“Couldn’t sleep.”

“Go figures,” the droid mumbled, “Well, I’m going to help Rhyme with something.” Velvet frowned.

“At 5:30 in the morning?” Mad shrugged. 

“Said it was something to do with Eliza. Figured I might as well.” 

“How long are you gonna be gone?” 

“No idea. Why? Is something happening?” 

“Mission this evening. Was gonna tell everyone when they woke up.” Mad’s screen went blank.

“What’s the mission?” 

“Information retrieval. We’re breaking into a UPS building.”

“Of course,” Mad began, “I’ll be back before then. When are we leaving?” 

“After dark.”

“Yeah, everything will be fine.” Velvet narrowed their eyes at them before sighing.

“Okay, have fun or whatever.” A smile appeared on Mad’s screen. 

“Alright, see you later.”

“Bye-”

“And no more energy drinks! Go to bed!” Velvet rolled their eyes but waved goodbye to the robot. 

Looking back, Mad wished it had stayed.

The guilt began to form in Rhyme’s stomach as soon as he saw Mad walking out of the Umbrella, a smile on their TV. It waved at him, and he waved back. Daylight was just breaking around them, yellows and oranges piercing the black sky. 

Just follow the plan, Rhyme thought to herself, They won’t even know. 

“Hey Rhyme!” Mad called out. Rhyme waved again. Mad must’ve picked up on Rhyme’s nervous demeanour because the next words out of their speakers were “Are you okay?”. Rhyme took a deep breath.

The plan, Rhyme. 

“Not really,” the smile immediately disappeared, “I found out something disturbing this morning.” Mad stepped forward and placed a hand on her shoulder.

“What?”

“Eliza’s adopted another kid. A little boy named Wyatt.”

“...Oh.” 

“Yeah. Will you help me get him out of there?” 

“Of course. What’s the plan?” Rhyme smiled.

“Thanks Mad. I knew I could count on you.”

Now onto phase 2. 

“My plan is to break into the house through the attic. Do you need anything from the Umbrella?”

“I don’t think so. How long is it going to take?” 

“Hopefully not long. Shall we go? I’ll fill you in on the way.”

Rhyme carefully opened the small hatch in between the roof tiles. The ship sat a couple dozen metres away in a small parking lot behind the estate. Mad watched as the teen slid down into the hole, their laser gun strapped to their back. She held herself up for a few seconds before landing silently on the tiled floor. He looked up at Mad and smirked.

“You coming?” he whispered. 

“I am not that graceful.”

“You’ll be fine. No one can hear up here anyway. I was just doing that to look cool.” Mad chuckled and landed next to her.

“Well, you succeeded. Where now?” The room was an ugly shade of white, with several dolls dressed as angels lining the walls. Rhyme looked at each of them with disgust before gesturing to a door on the other side. 

“There. If we’re lucky, he’s in my old room. Or one of the dozens of other kids' bedrooms Eliza has.” 

“Why’s she so obsessed with kids?” Rhyme stifled a laugh.

“Don’t say it like that, you make her sound like a pedophile.” Mad shrugged.

“Hey, I don’t know.” Rhyme bit their lip to keep from laughing. 

“No, she’s just obsessed with the ‘perfect religious family’. Living in the eyes of God or whatever.” Rhyme walked over to the door and held it open for Mad.

“After you.” The duo made their way down the hallway. As they walked, Mad could hear the muffled sobs of a child. They grew louder, eventually culminating in front of a white door. A sign hung on the door, reading “Wyatt” in fancy cursive letters. Rhyme scoffed. 

“She did put him in my room,” he muttered, “Huh. She’s always kept it empty since I ran away.” Mad turned to her. 

“It’s almost like it’s a-”

“Trap,” Rhyme finished. She turned to it.

“Are you still-”

“Yes. How old is he?”

“Five.” Mad was quiet before twisting the doorknob. It was pure white with light baby blue curtains covering a small window. A little boy sat on the bed, knees pulled to his chest. He had bright green eyes and platinum blonde hair that was cut short. He quickly turned away from the door and scooted towards the wall, pulling on the sleeves of his white polo. He was shaking.

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Gracy!” He shouted, “I didn’t mean to get the shirt dirty, I won’t do it again!” Rhyme frowned.

“I see she’s no better parent now,” he mumbled. Mad stepped forward, allowing a smile to take over its screen. 

“My name’s Mad. I’m not going to hurt you.” The boy’s shaking slowed and he glanced behind him. 

“M-Mad?” The droid sat down on the bed next to him.

“Yep. I’m here with my friend Diamonds-”

“Rhyme,” Rhyme corrected. Mad looked at him.

“Right, Rhyme. We’re here to get you out of here.” Wyatt looked up at them.

“What?” 

“Mrs. Gracy hasn’t been very nice to you, has she?” Rhyme asked, crossing her arms. Wyatt paused for a moment before shaking his head.

“But- she saved me from the orphanage, so I need to-”

“It’s not your fault,” Mad interrupted, “She’s…hm. She’s not a good person. I know a place where you will be happy and the people will be nice to you. Do you want to go?” Wyatt looked away as Mad held a hand out to him.

“M-Mrs. Gracy would be mad-”

“You won’t have to see her again,” Rhyme added, “She’ll be out of your life for good.” Wyatt turned to the thief. 

“...she won’t hit me anymore?” Mad felt anger grow inside their soul. 

“No. You’ll be safe.” The boy once again looked up at Mad and their outstretched hand. After a few more seconds of hesitation, he took it. Mad scooped him up and stood.

“Are you hurt anywhere?” Mad asked.

“J-just my arm. There’s purple skin.” He pointed at his right shoulder. Rhyme raised an eyebrow. 

“Purple-skin?”

“Bruise, I’m assuming,” Mad replied, “Can I take a look?” Wyatt nodded. Mad rolled the sleeve up. A large bruise was forming, dark and purple. Mad’s screen turned off, startling the 5-year-old.

“You okay, Mad?” Rhyme asked, placing a hand on its shoulder.

“I’m fine. Let’s get out of here.” They rolled the sleeve back down. Rhyme nodded and turned around, letting Mad and Wyatt go in front of him. As soon as they stepped out of the door a loud alarm began to sound. Rhyme and Wyatt jumped slightly and the thief quickly pulled out her gun. Wyatt stared at the weapon for several seconds before burying his face against Mad’s shoulder. 

“What’s going on?” it asked. 

“They must have some kind of tracker on him. We’re gonna have company.” Mad slid their laser gun into their other hand and held it up. Shouting echoed from the stairwell a metre or so in front of them. A head popped up and Rhyme quickly shot a bullet into his shoulder. The man tumbled down the stairs, seemingly taking a few other guards with him. Rhyme grabbed Mad’s wrist and sprinted in the opposite direction.

“We’ll take the back stairs!” He began as a bullet flew by his head, “There’s an exit down there.” She pulled them down the stairs and towards a glass door at the end of a hallway. Three guards turned around a corner and stood in front of it, weapons raised at the trio. Mad fired a few shots at them before scanning the area. 

There was one large door about halfway down the hallway that was pure white with gold trim around the edges. Paintings hung on either side, some depicting forests with bright white trees and some of a man with a crown of thorns on his head. One of Rhyme’s bullets collided with a guard’s knee and Mad grabbed him. 

“I have a plan, follow me!” Mad pulled her and kicked open the door in the hallway.

“Mad, wait-” The robot pushed her in and quickly slammed the door behind them. They expected banging, maybe even shots through the door, but there was only silence. Rhyme was panting next to them and Wyatt choked back a sob.

“What are you doing?”

Rhyme swung around and fired a shot that embedded itself in the wall just a few centimetres away from Eliza’s head. She sat at her desk with a disgusted look on her face. 

“Eliza…” Rhyme muttered. Mad turned around as well, their screen powered off. The woman sighed and stood.

“Thank you, Rhyme, for bringing me my son-”

“He’s not your son,” Mad interrupted. Eliza glared at it. 

“Legally-”

“Legally doesn’t mean shit,” Rhyme spat. 

“Legally, you’re my child too, Rhyme.” 

“Exactly. Doesn’t mean shit.” Eliza sighed and stood from her desk. 

“Listen, robot…what was your name again?”

“Don’t-” Rhyme started, but Mad told her. A fake, vicious smile took over her face. 

“Mad. I have some information that could be quite useful-” Rhyme fired a shot next to Eliza’s head and she stepped to the side. 

“Ignore her, Mad. She’s talking crazy.” A loud thud came from the door and Mad quickly moved to stand in front of it. The guards shouted from the other side but the robot pressed its body against the wood. Eliza shook her head before reaching into a drawer on her desk. She quickly raised her own gun at Rhyme.

“Rhyme, dear. You know your robot won’t be able to hold that door for long. Why don’t you tell it to bring my child to me and no one gets hurt?” 

“That’s not happening,” Mad interrupted. Eliza rolled her eyes.

“Would you be quiet, robot?” Rhyme’s next shot hit her square in her left shoulder, sending her to the ground. She let out a scream and the thuds on the door grew louder. 

“Don’t talk to Mad like that,” he ordered. Eliza pressed a hand against her wound and sat up. Rhyme kicked her back to the ground. The woman held the gun in her right hand and fired a shot that hit Rhyme in the knee. The teen backed up a metre or so.

“Rhyme!” Mad called out. She looked back at them and shook her head.

“I’m fine, keep holding the-” Another shot hit Rhyme in his lower abdomen. Eliza laughed maniacally as she stood and kicked the thief’s weapon away. She placed a high heel on Rhyme’s gunshot wound, digging the end into it. Rhyme winced in pain.

“Get off her, Eliza!” Mad called out. She looked at it.

“What are you going to do about it, robot? Shoot me with your children’s laser?” Mad did exactly that, raising their laser gun and firing it straight into her chest. It sent her flying into a bookshelf, knocking dozens of various novels to the ground. Rhyme jumped to his feet and glared down at Eliza.

“Now kill her.” Mad froze.

“...What?”

“Kill her. She fucking deserves it.” Rhyme looked back at it. He had a wicked grin on his face and a determined look in his eyes. 

“...I can’t.” Eliza struggled to get back to her feet across the room. The door behind Mad fell forward, the shouting even louder now. Mad jumped out of the way as dozens of Eliza’s guards streamed through the doorframe. They focused their aim on the guards, sending them flying around the room. Rhyme stood next to Eliza, scanning the room for her own gun and keeping the woman on the floor. 

After Mad’s laser had hit nearly two dozen of Eliza’s men, Rhyme laughed. It wasn’t her normal laugh, the one that sent warm feelings up and down Mad’s soul. This one was dark and cold.

“Bye bitch,” Mad heard Rhyme mutter. The robot turned around just in time to see the teenage thief blow a hole in Eliza’s skull. 

Rhyme only stared at Eliza for a few seconds, but it felt like an eternity. A wave of relief washed over her as the blood spilled onto the white carpet. He eventually snapped back to reality and spun around, landing bullets in most of the guards around. Mad stood frozen on the other side, staring at Eliza’s corpse. Rhyme shook away the guilt forming in her stomach and sprinted over. A few tears were dripping from Wyatt’s eyes when he gripped the robot’s wrist.

“Mad, we’ve got to go.” A few shots whizzed by and Rhyme quickly took out their source. Mad slid their laser gun onto its back and held onto Wyatt tightly. 

“It’s okay, Wyatt, it’s okay.” Rhyme frowned.

Why isn’t he happy? Eliza’s dead. The thief pulled his friends through the door and down the hall towards the formerly blocked exit door. She kicked it open as footsteps echoed behind them. They ran until they reached Rhyme’s ship again, the door opening as she approached. 

“We’ll be safe once we get on the ship,” Rhyme told Mad, but the robot didn’t reply. Once the door was safely locked and they were off the ground, Wyatt began to sob. Mad pressed the small child against them and slowly rubbed circles on his back. Rhyme looked away and winced as the pain spiked in his stomach. 

It only took a few minutes for Wyatt to slip into sleep, leaving Mad and Rhyme alone on the ship. Mad layed him down on the captain’s chair and joined her at the console. They were quiet for a moment.

“...Are you okay?” it mumbled. Rhyme shrugged.

“Yeah.” 

“Where are you going?” He gestured to the GPS.

“Back to my place to get you back to the Umbrella.”

“And what about Wyatt?” The teen blinked a few times.

“I…didn’t get that far in my plan.” Mad sighed and looked back at the five-year-old. 

“Let’s all go to the mansion, then.” Rhyme frowned.

“Don’t you want the Umbrella back?”

“We can get it later,” Mad replied, crossing their arms. Rhyme frowned.

“Are you…mad at me?” She asked. The droid looked into the star-ridden sky and sighed. 

“I just need some time to myself, Rhyme.” The thief stared at them for several seconds before sighing as well. 

Immediately after "The Game"

Solana’s bat collided with Darlington’s stomach again, sending the boy flying down the hallway. He let out a laugh before glancing back at Mad, whose screen was blank. 

“You okay, Mad?” the elf asked, lowering the weapon.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” it replied, “Mostly, at least.” 

“Is something going on?”

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this place,” Mad said, causing Solana to chuckle.

“Cursed places will do that.”

“Well, yeah. But…I don’t know. We’re sure Zaeor gave Maroon this game, right?” Solana frowned.

“As sure as we can be, I guess.” Mad crossed their arms and looked up at the grey ceiling.

“Why would Zaeor give Maroon a cursed video game? Surely he knew about the curse, right?”

“Maybe he didn’t,” Solana replied, “I don’t think he would intentionally give it to Maroon.”

“Maybe…” The elf leaned against a wall.

“Or maybe he needs to get rid of this curse and wants us to do it.” 

“But why not tell us so we’re prepared?” Solana shrugged.

“I don’t know, I’m not a god. I’ve got no idea what he’s thinking.”

“Right…” Mad mumbled, “Wait, where’s Darlington? Shouldn’t he be back by now?” Solana frowned and pushed herself off the wall.

“Yeah, you’re right. Where is he?” They looked down the hallway, but no one was coming back. 

“Um- excuse me-” Mad quickly turned around, barely managing to step out of the way before Solana swung their bat at the boy behind them. He quickly stepped back but was hit by the elf’s second swing. 

“Nice try, Darlington,” they muttered, raising the weapon again, “Ready to get pummelled again?”

“W-wait! I’m not who you think I am!” Mad put an arm out in front of Solana.

“Who are you then?” 

“I’m Johnny Darlington, but n-not the one you were fighting! That’s an evil version of me, I swear!” A smile appeared on Mad’s screen.

“I believe you. What are you doing here, then?” The boy took a deep breath.

“Your friends. I was h-helping them get to the catalyst and…well. They’re in danger.”

When Velvet, Maroon, Thorn, and Johnny rematerialized, the surroundings had morphed once again. Velvet looked around at the lines of desks and chairs, computers sitting on top of each of them. The yellow wallpaper was back, although it was partially covered by various frames. Instead of holding paintings, however, they were all white paper. 

Next to them, Thorn lurched forward. Velvet groaned and quickly grabbed a trash bin. They handed it to him, and he promptly turned around and threw up into the bag. Maroon stepped away from aer slightly.

“Thorn, are you okay?” They didn’t respond.

“Teleporting makes some…weaker people lose control of their stomachs,” Velvet said, smirking. Thorn flipped them off.  Maroon placed a hand on their shoulder. Thorn looked up at them and smiled weakly before returning to the trash can and vomiting again. 

“Where are we, Darlington?” Velvet asked, crossing her arms. 

“This is as close to the catalyst as I can take you,” he began, “My magic doesn’t work any closer.”

“Of course,” the teen muttered. 

“I don’t remember this level from the trailer. What-”

“It’s not a level. This is what goes on behind the scenes. It’s where all the mini-games and puzzles are monitored.” Thorn set the trashcan on the ground and grabbed a tissue off a desk. 

“So which way?” Velvet began. Darlington led her to an exit door which led to a concrete stairwell. Maroon helped Thorn to follow them as Velvet looked up and down. 

“If my info is right, at the top of the building is where the catalyst is.” Thorn looked up at the dozens of stairwells and groaned. 

“All the way up?”

“All the way up.”

“Fuck,” he breathed. Velvet chuckled before starting up the stairs. The others followed behind, Thorn still grumbling behind her. The sound of printers rumbling came from the closed doors along the stairwell. Voices came through quietly as well, immediately putting the assassin on edge.

“Are there other people here?” They demanded. “J-just NPCs. nothing to worry about.” Velvet narrowed their eyes.

“Mhm…sure.”

“You’re being paranoid, Velvie,” Thorn called out. The assassin flipped him off as the voices suddenly stopped. Velvet froze at the top of the steps. There were only two more flights to the top but Darlington choked back a sob. 

“He’s here,” he breathed, “I’m so sorry.” Velvet raised two of her throwing knives. 

“Stay behind me. I’ll take care of it.” They glanced back at their teammates but they were gone. The corridor was completely empty as a laugh echoed up and down the stairwell. Velvet gripped the throwing knives tighter and sprinted forward. Footsteps reverberated behind them but they quickly kicked the door open before slamming it closed. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. 

A cold breeze hit her back, causing her to turn about. Their throwing knives had disappeared, along with the red zip-up and scars down their arms. A black, short-sleeve dress took its place and fell just below her knees. They stood in front of a large brown door, dozens of stickers scattered on it. In the middle was some kind of word: C-A-R-

“What the fuck,” the teen breathed. Their heart skipped a beat as they spun around. The marble walls, the dark brown doors, the towering glass window behind her-

“Fuck- How-” She turned back to the door. A rainbow was peeling off now, and an odour wafted towards them from underneath. They clenched their fists. 

“No. I’m not doing this. Whatever you’re trying to do, Darlington, it’s not happening!” Another laugh, followed by the sound of a gun loading right behind her head.

“Open the door, dēvotiō,” Unor’s voice whispered, “Your surprise is behind it.” Velvet could still hear the smirk in his wicked voice. They took a deep breath and stepped forward.

It’s not real, it’s not real- they repeated as they turned the knob. The door slowly pushed open and the assassin shut her eyes.

“Open your eyes, Velvet,” Unor’s voice muttered again, “Look at him. You did this, you know.” The stench was overwhelming, to the point where Velvet knew exactly what was in front of them. She slowly opened her eyes before slamming them closed. 

Maroon spun around as a chill went down their spine. Thorn’s warm hand was long gone along with Velvet and Johnny in front of them. The teen took a deep breath and raised their hands. 

“Where are you?” They called out. A laugh came from behind them. 

“Right behind you, Margaret.” The dull grey walls of the stairwell seemed to melt away into brown and white and various seats materialised on either side of them. A large white cross hung on the wall in front of them with several young children sitting in pews. The rest of the seats were empty and a man dressed in a black robe stood at the front of them. All eyes turned towards Maroon as someone shoved them to the ground. 

“Margaret. How lovely of you to finally join us,” the man in the robe said. Maroon froze.

“She was playing around in the forest again, Father,” the person behind them stated coldly, “Sleeping under a tree, no less.” Maroon could feel tears running down their face as they took a deep breath. The robed man walked towards them. Maroon heard their own voice tell him to stop, but he didn’t listen. Every step that he took brought a familiar feeling into them. Their hands grew cold as the robed man slapped them across the face. 

Maroon took another deep breath before mushrooms exploded around the church hall. They grew through the wooden floor and wrapped around the robed man’s legs. His screams pierced Maroon’s ears and were shortly followed by the high-pitched screeches of the children. The adults shouted at them but their words reached deaf ears. The robed man now lay dead on the floor, mushrooms growing out of his ears. His head exploded, his brain now turned into tiny pink fungi. Several other adults followed suit. Maroon closed their eyes as the ground shook, the walls soon crushing the remaining living humans in front of them. 

“Maroon!” Thorn shouted, gripping the knife so hard his knuckles were turning white. When the laugh echoed, he quickly slashed behind him. The area rapidly changed around aer, morphing into grey stone walls. Paintings hung up on either side of it but they were drowned out by various vines in front of them. 

A red slash hung in the air where Thorn’s knife had sliced. A silhouette began to form around it before it solidified. Thorn stared in horror as his red-haired mother’s body slammed into the ground. The knife, blood dripping from it, fell out of its hands. 

“No-” he whispered, “No, it’s not real. It’s not-” His mother let out a loud scream, forcing the prince to cover aer ears. The word ‘no’ kept dripping out of his mouth as the queen continued to scream and writhe on the floor. Footsteps thumped down the hall and the door behind him flew open. 

“Love!” The king shouted. He stopped in the doorway as Thorn slowly turned towards him. His sword was drawn, just as it was.

“Thorn…” he breathed, “Son, what happened?” 

“They…they…” the queen’s voice faded out. The king looked at Thorn and his eyes fell to the bloodied knife at aer feet. 

“Thorn…” He whispered, “What have you done?”

“I didn’t- I didn’t mean-”

“You ‘didn’t mean it’?” the king’s voice grew louder and Thorn quickly closed his eyes. It wrapped itself in its arms and took a deep breath.  

“Thorn, look at me!” The king demanded. Tears began to form in the prince’s eyes as he breathed again. 

It's…not real, they thought, Maybe if I just…do it…everything will go back to normal.

“Thorn!” The king shouted again. They felt his rough, calloused hands through the thin sleep tunic they had on. He slowly opened his eyes and looked up at the king. A few tears ran down his face as he shouted, demanding to know what happened. Thorn shrugged the king’s hands off and picked up the knife.

The image froze right as they dug the knife into his stomach.

Solana felt a little nauseous after the “good” Johnny Darlington teleported them. She looked over at Mad, whose screen was still blank. The robot tried to look around but Johnny quickly grabbed their arm and pulled them across what seemed to be an old office. 

“They’re this way!” he called out, “He used his magic on them-” He opened the stairwell door and sprinted up them. Solana had to sprint to keep up with the surprisingly agile boy. As they climbed, laughter began to echo down. The trio stopped on a landing, Solana pulling Mad behind him and raising his bat. 

“They’re…they’re a few more flights up,” Johnny mumbled. The “bad” Darlington floated down, still laughing. The two of them looked almost identical, except for Darlington’s pitch-black outfit compared to Johnny’s jeans and a t-shirt. 

“At least we can tell them apart well enough,” Solana mumbled.

“That’s what you’re focusing on?” Mad replied. The elf shrugged.

“Just glad we won’t have a switcheroo situation.” They stepped forward and swung the bat at the floating middle-schooler, but he just floated upward. Solana watched him reach his hand out as it glowed a light lilac. The room suddenly grew dark and Darlington disappeared from view. 

Solana was sitting down all of a sudden, the inside of a small ship surrounding them. A small window was in front of her, a younger Nolan on the other side. A chill shot up their spine. 

“No,” they breathed.

“Solana!” Mad’s voice pierced the ship, the walls rippling. Solana turned to where she thought the noise had come from.

“Mad?” The ship snapped back to the grey walls of the stairwell. The elf shot up, panting. Darlington was groaning on the floor down a level while Johnny stood in front, facing him down. Mad was to her left, taking her pulse. 

“What happened?” 

“He tried to trap you in your worst memories,” Johnny said through gritted teeth, “Like he did with the kids. It’s a twisted version of my magic.” Solana jumped to their feet. 

“How’d it stop?”

“That was, uh, me,” Mad mumbled. It sheepishly raised Solana’s bat and handed it to them. Solana smiled and turned back to Darlington, who was once again getting to his feet.

“Let’s do this, then,” she began, “Maybe if we pummel him enough he’ll let them go.”

“Maroon!” Their eyes shot open. The ruins of the orphanage were covered in green plants now, and the dust had settled. Their mushrooms had receded into a small patch at their feet, still growing slowly.

“W-who’s there?” Boots hit the grass behind them and Maroon turned around. Velvet walked towards them in their mission uniform, hair short once again. “Maroon, wake up!” They kept walking towards them, but their mouth didn’t move.

“Velvet?”

The prince looked around at the frozen image. Their dad’s blood floated, the smell of iron in the air. His mom’s screaming had stopped but his heart kept beating hard.

“Mom, Dad?” it called out. No response. Thorn let out a relieved breath. Warm arms wrapped around aer, causing aer to jump slightly. A familiar smell slammed into their nose.

“...Maroon?”

“Thorn!”

Velvet felt tears run down her cheeks as Unor held her eyelids open. His laugh seemed to shake the ground. The red blood seeped towards her, forming a pool at her feet. Bright emerald green eyes stared up at the ceiling, blood splattered on his chin. The bullet was still buried in his heart underneath the pale, ripped skin.

Her heartbeat thumped as she kept staring and Unor kept laughing. Quiet shouts came from behind them, followed by a loud thud. Velvet’s eyes widened and she quickly spun around. Unor didn’t resist, his arms frozen up where he was holding her. His laugh continued but his mouth didn’t move. 

“What the fuck?” the assassin muttered. A high-pitch scream came from what seemed to be below the floorboards.

“Darlington,” she growled. They blinked before they were back in the stairwell, lying on the floor. The shouts were louder, and she made out Solana’s voice calling out to Mad. Velvet shot up and ran to the railing. Below, Solana dodged a knife thrown by Darlington, not the one from earlier, and Mad caught it mid-air. The other Darlington took the knife from the droid and threw it to Solana, who then chucked it back. 

“Mad, Solana!” Velvet shouted. The trio looked up and Solana’s eyes widened. 

“Velvet!” Solana replied, “You okay?” 

“I’m fine! What’s going on?” 

“Evil Darlington had you all trapped in a spell,” Mad said, “We’re distracting him now. See if you can wake Thorn and Maroon up!” Velvet groaned but pushed herself away from the railing and sprinted down the steps. Maroon and Thorn were unconscious two floors down. The teen took a deep breath before kneeling down next to Maroon. 

“Maroon!” they called out, “Maroon, wake up!” A few seconds passed and Velvet lightly shook them. 

“Velvet?” Maroon’s eyes slowly opened and scanned the room. Eventually, they locked on Velvet and they shot up, pulling her into a hug. She attempted to squirm out of their grip at first but stopped when a small tear hit her jacket sleeve. 

“I- I-” Velvet sighed and quickly propped them up, pointing at Thorn.

“Go wake Thorn up. I’m going to destroy the catalyst.” 

“Velvet-” The assassin put her hands on Maroon’s shoulder.

“Come on, Maroon.” They were quiet for a second before nodding. Velvet stood up and leaned over the railing. Darlington slammed into a wall as Solana laughed. Her heartbeat was still racing and her breathing was shallow. 

“They’re fine,” Velvet mumbled, “Get it together, Velvet.” She sprinted up the stairs again. A chill went down their spine as they opened the door, but they let out a relieved breath when the door simply opened to a dark room. In the centre was a pedestal with a floating green disc above it. A light green glow emitted from it, illuminating the symbols etched onto the floor. Velvet kneeled down and ran her hand over them.

“Hm.” Velvet grabbed another throwing knife and rolled up their jacket sleeve. They quickly etched a rough sketch into the top layer of their skin before standing.

I’ll ask Zaeor later, Velvet thought. She quickly grabbed the disc and snapped it in half. The green light disappeared as the assassin let out a sigh of relief. Velvet turned around and stuffed the knife back in her pouch, pulling her sleeve down. Maroon had their arms wrapped around Thorn, Mad now hovering over them. Solana had a wooden bat and stood next to the “good” Darlington, who looked up at her when she approached.

“Thank you, Velvet,” he began, causing the rest of the mafia to turn towards them, “I don’t know how much longer we could’ve held out.”

“That’s it?” Velvet replied. Darlington nodded.

“That’s it.” The teen narrowed her eyes but handed him the snapped disc. He looked down at the pieces before chuckling.

“My own game. How ironic.” 

“Are you good, Velvet?” Solana asked. The teen raised an eyebrow.

“Fine. Why?” 

“Darlington just trapped you in your worst memories and you’re ‘fine’?” 

“Oh, that’s what his powers were. Makes sense.” A question mark appeared on Mad’s face. 

“Did you…not-”

“I did. But I don’t want to fucking talk about it,” Velvet interrupted, “Just take us home, Darlington.” Mad didn’t push it further, but Solana gave her a look. Velvet simply gestured to the beaded red bracelet on her left wrist and the elf nodded. Darlington took Solana’s right and Velvet’s left hands before smiling down at Thorn and Maroon.

“Are you two ready?” Thorn took a deep breath and stood, helping Maroon up. Maroon grabbed Velvet’s other hand and Thorn’s. Mad grabbed the remaining hands, completing the circle. Darlington sighed and his hands glowed a light blue.

2 weeks after “The Prince”

Maroon pushed Thorn down onto the couch in between Mad and Solana. Ae looked up at aer friend with a confused look, adjusting the light pink sweater ae were borrowing from Maroon.

“Maroon, what’s going on?” Solana chuckled.

“They didn’t fill you in?” Thorn shook his head.

“Maroon recently got a new video game from Zaeor,” Mad began, crossing one of their legs over the other, “They didn’t tell us what it is, but they want all of us to play it together.” The older teen smirked. 

“Alright, a video game challenge, then. You’re on, Mar-Mar.” Maroon smiled at their friend.

“We’re just waiting on Velvet.” Mad’s screen displayed a question mark, drawing the younger teen’s attention towards it.

“Maroon, do you remember what happened last time you tried to get Velvet to play video games?” Maroon nodded but crossed their arms.

“Yes, but this time it’ll be different. It’s not rainbow road levels of difficulty, so-”

“I hope I didn’t just hear what I think I just heard.” Maroon quickly turned to the doorway of the living room, where Velvet now stood. Her red zip-up covered most of the skull-patterned tank top she was wearing underneath it. The younger teen shook their head.

“We’re not playing Mario Kart, I promise.”

“Good, ‘cause I was going to walk away.”

“Please don’t, it’ll be fun!” Velvet glanced at their teammates lined up on the couch. Solana was still in their pyjama pants and tank top, their hair tied up in a messy bun. He looked like he had just been dragged out of bed by a certain excited teenager. Mad was in their blue jean jacket paired with a grey shirt and white skirt, much more put together than the elf next to it. 

“And…what exactly are we playing again?” they asked, crossing their arms. Maroon smiled and quickly disappeared into the kitchen. Velvet raised an eyebrow. Solana let out a quiet chuckle and scooted closer to Thorn.

“Come on, take a seat Velvie.” She rolled her eyes but obliged. When Maroon emerged from the kitchen, they were gripping a video game box in their hands and blocking the label.

“Where were you hiding that?” Mad questioned, “I didn’t see it when I was making breakfast.” Maroon shrugged and took the disc out of the box. Velvet leaned forward as they placed the box upside down.

“What’s with all the secrecy, Mar-Mar?” Thorn called out.

“It’s a surprise.”

“Well, yeah, but we’re gonna see it in a few seconds anyways.” Maroon scooped the five controllers in their arms, returning to the couch and handing them out one by one. 

“It’s more fun this way.” Thorn laughed.

“Alright, whatever you say.” 

“This better not be something stupid,” Velvet muttered, “I have things I could be doing.” 

“Like what, drama queen?” Solana joked, holding down his controller’s power button. Velvet glared at them. 

“Research. Training. Literally anything else.”

“Oh come on, you’re a nerd.”

“I am not.” Maroon plopped down on the couch in between Thorn and Mad, remote in hand. They navigated through the various menus until they clicked on a rainbow-coloured icon. After a few seconds of blackness, a loud whirring sound came from the TV. 

“Is that…a part of the game?” Solana asked, turning to Maroon. The teen stared at the screen before shaking their head. Mad began to stand, but a loud laugh stopped them in their tracks. Before anyone could move, a bright light enveloped the room. 

Thorn instinctively closed its eyes until it felt the couch disappear from underneath it. Their back slammed onto some kind of floor, knocking the wind out of them. Ae gasped for air for a few moments until ae slowly sat up and forced aer eyes open.

Gone was the familiar red of the Mahogany Mansion’s living room, now replaced with ugly yellow wallpaper covered in grey flowers. The air was stale, smelling of mold and dirt. A hallway stretched in front of them, a few more coming off of it as well. He quickly jumped to his feet.

“Guys? Anyone there?” it called out. A loud thud came from down the hallway, followed by a loud groan.

“Fucking hell,” Thorn heard Velvet yell. The older teen took off down the hallway, turning down one of the offshoots to find her slowly sitting up on the ground. They jumped a little when Thorn arrived.

“Shit- Where are we?” they asked, standing. 

“No idea, I figured you’d know.” 

“Well, I don’t. Have you seen the others?” He shook his head, causing Velvet to groan again. 

“Perfect, just perfect,” they muttered, “Exactly how I wanted to spend my Friday morning. Thanks, Maroon!”

“W-who said that?” A voice called out. Thorn glanced at Velvet.

“Maroon?”

“Maroon.” The duo ran back into the hallway. Velvet pulled a small throwing knife out of a small pouch attached to her belt. Thorn stared at them. 

“Since when did you have that?” Velvet rolled her eyes.

“Since I woke up, frūx. You just don’t pay attention.” Ahead of them, Maroon’s head popped out from behind a wall. 

“Velvet, Thorn!” They slowed in front of them, Thorn pulling them into a hug.

“You okay, mushroom?” 

“Y-yeah.”

“What the hell have you gotten us into, Maroon?” Velvet demanded, crossing her arms. Maroon looked towards the ground.

“I-I didn’t know this would happen, I thought we were all just going to have fun playing the new Johnny Darlington game and-” The assassin cut them off with a loud groan.

“Really? Johnny Darlington game?”

“Y-yeah I thought it’d be f-fun.” 

“So, does that mean we’re in the game?” Thorn asked, gesturing around them, “Because this doesn’t look very Johnny Darlington-core to me.” Velvet narrowed their eyes at him.

“It doesn’t look very what?”

“Johnny Darlington-core.”

“What does that even mean?”

“It means it’s not very Johnny Darlington-core.” She groaned again before turning back to Maroon. 

“What’s supposed to happen in the game?” Maroon looked at them.

“It’s supposed to be a team game where you work together to help Johnny Darlington escape a maze. Although, I don’t think it’s supposed to look like this.”

“Because it’s not Johnny Darlington-core.”

“Thorn, I am going to throw you into a reactor core if you don’t shut the fuck up.” Maroon laughed nervously, carefully stepping in between their friends. 

“Anyways-” they began, looking between the two of them, “Shouldn’t we find Mad and Solana?” Velvet’s eyes widened. 

“Fuck, right. Solana! Mad!” The group went silent for several seconds but no other noise came from inside the hallways. Maroon turned to Velvet.

“W-where are they?” 

Mad looked around the small room Solana and them were standing in. They glanced at the elf.

“Did you hear something?” it asked. Solana shook her head.

“No, did you?” 

“I thought I did, but I’m probably just hearing things.” The elf raised an eyebrow. 

“Can you even hear things that aren’t real? That feels counterintuitive.” Mad shrugged.

“I don’t think it was in my original programming, so it must be a soul thing.”

“Huh, interesting…” A smile appeared on their screen.

“Anyways, enough about me,” it began, “We should find Maroon, Thorn, and Velvet.” Solana nodded before stifling a laugh. Mad’s screen flipped to a question mark.

“What?”

“Pfft- just, we’re off to hunt down the angsty teens.” Mad chuckled. 

“True, although I’m not sure I’d call Maroon and Thorn ‘angsty’.”

“Really? They’re still pretty angsty, just in a different way than Velvet is.”

“I guess…wait. If they’re the ‘angsty teens’, what’re we?” Solana paused for a minute.

“Well, I’m obviously the cool, criminal uncle,” she started, earning a chuckle from the droid, “And you…are the very tired dad of the group.” Mad’s question mark flickered slightly. Solana let out a laugh.

“Or mom. Whichever you prefer.”

“W-why me?” The elf leaned up against one of the yellow-print walls. 

“I mean, you are the one who makes sure we all don’t kill each other.” They laughed again as Mad’s screen went blank before they stood up fully again. 

“Any luck with calling any of them?” Mad stared at him for a second before shaking their TV. 

“I imagine some kind of magic is involved. I think we got teleported into the game,” it said, a frown appearing on the screen, “But…why would Zaeor…” Solana raised an eyebrow. 

“Why would he what?” 

“Nothing, nevermind. Where do you think the teens could be?” Solana looked up and down the hallway. 

“No idea, but we should start walking around. We’re not gonna find them standing here.”

“True.” A crash echoed through the halls, causing the duo to stop in their tracks. It was followed by a loud, shrill scream. Solana turned to look at Mad’s blank screen. 

“Was that a kid?” The assistance droid stared towards the source of the noise. 

“I think so.” Solana cracked his knuckles.

“Well, what’re we waiting for?”

It took a few minutes for Thorn to calm their friend down, all of which Velvet spent leaning against the yellow wall, thinking. Thoughts ran through their head like wildfire, despite the blank expression their teammates saw. 

This is definitely some kind of magic, she thought, taking a deep breath, Although, I’m not sure what spell could cause something like this. A curse, maybe? But why would someone waste time cursing some stupid video game? No…something’s wrong. But what? 

“V-Velvet?” Maroon’s quiet voice brought the assassin back to reality. They looked up and locked eyes with them.

“What?”

“Are you okay?” Velvet narrowed her eyes at them but sighed.

“Yeah, fine. Just thinking.” 

“So do you know what’s going on now?” Thorn chimed in, crossing his arms. Velvet shrugged.

“Partially. My best guess is the game was somehow cursed, no idea how. If it’s a curse, then we’ll have to find the catalyst.”

“Catalyst? What does that mean?” 

“It’s basically just the object the spellcaster puts the magic to maintain the spell in,” the teen replied, standing, “It’s probably the game disc itself, but I don’t know how we’re gonna access that here.” 

“Maybe there’s a physical apparition inside the game?” Maroon asked. 

“I mean, it’s possible.”

“So we just find this catalyst and break it, then we can go home?” Velvet looked at Thorn.

“We’ll have to find Mad and Solana first, but yeah.” 

“What are we doing standing around, then? Let’s find this thing.” Thorn took a step forward, but Velvet quickly pulled it back.

“Hold on a second. I doubt our being here is the only effect the curse has on the game, that’d be a waste of a curse. We have absolutely no idea what we’re up against right now.”

“When do we ever, Velvet? What’s the worst that can happen?” Velvet let out a strained laugh and crossed her arms.

“I have a guess. Try using your powers, either of you.” The two teens looked at each other before both raising a hand. After a few moments, nothing happened. Thorn’s eyes widened as he looked down at his hand.

“W-what?” Maroon mumbled. Velvet sighed.

“Just as I thought. Whoever put this curse on the game completely cancelled any other magic.”

“And that means?” Thorn demanded. 

“It means our powers won’t work,” Maroon said quietly, lowering their hand, “And they won’t work until we leave.” Velvet nodded. She reached into her small pouch and pulled out another throwing knife. They handed one to Thorn and Maroon before pulling out another for themself. Thorn stared down at the pitch-black blade. 

“It’s not much, but it’s something,” Velvet began, spinning their knife on one of their fingers, “Hopefully you don’t have to use them. Stay behind me and keep up.” Maroon nodded, but Thorn didn’t move. Velvet narrowed her eyes at him.

“Thorn?” they called out. Their teammate snapped back to reality, quickly looking up. 

“What?” 

“Were you even listening?” Thorn glanced at Maroon before chuckling.

“Nah, your voice nearly put me to sleep.”

“I swear to gods-” the assassin paused, “Whatever. Let’s move.”

“Got it, drama queen.”

“Don’t call me that.”

“Not a chance.”

There were a few things Mad expected when it and Solana turned the next corner. One of them was more winding halls, complete with ugly yellow wallpaper and seemingly water-damaged carpet. Maybe even a child in the corner, scared out of their mind. What they definitely didn’t expect was Johnny Darlington, gripping a kitchen knife in his right hand. Mad pulled Solana to a stop as a twisted smile overtook the boy’s face.

“What the fuck…” Solana breathed. 

“Why hello there~” the character called out, raising his weapon, “Welcome to my…game.” The blade flew through the air, flying right over Solana’s head as he ducked. 

“Shit,” they mumbled. Mad quickly turned around and grabbed their friend’s arm. It took off back down the hallway, Darlington’s footsteps and laugh echoing behind them. 

“What the fuck?” Solana shouted. Mad glanced at her before groaning.

“Of course, how could I not see that?” Solana glared at them.

“See what, Mad?” 

“Whatever magic brought us here must’ve messed with the game’s code. All the puzzles and NPCs-”

“Mad, 3 words or less.” The elf pulled them around a corner as another knife soared past their TV.

“Um, okay. Uh…everything is wrong.”

“Great,” she said sarcastically, “Exactly what I was worried you’d say.” A knife sliced through one of Solana’s pyjama pants, causing the elf to let out a string of curses.

“Are you okay?” Mad asked.

“Yeah, fine,” he replied, “These are just my favourite.”

“They are good pants.”

“Why thank you, Mad-” Another blade flew in between the duo, cutting her off. Solana let out a strained laugh. 

“Right, that.” They quickly turned another corner, but Solana began to slow. Mad stared at her.

“What are you doing?” 

“It’s…a dead end,” they muttered in between breaths. Mad stopped as well, their screen going blank as more shrill laughter echoed behind them. The droid glanced down towards the yellow wall blocking their way. Solana turned the other way, quickly raising their hands. 

“Solana, wait.” The elf looked back at them.

“What?” 

“There’s a bat by the wall.” His eyes lit up as he quickly spun and sprinted down the hallway. Mad followed suit, Darlington’s laughs getting louder and louder behind them. The elf snatched the metal bat off of the ground, a wild grin overtaking her face.

“Perfect,” she breathed, swinging it in the air, “Hey, Darlington! Let’s dance!”

Maroon let the knife sit gently in their left hand as the other two teens led the way down the hallway. Velvet and Thorn were silent ahead of them. Velvet stared at the various tears and markings on the walls, seemingly trying to decipher the language. Thorn, on the other hand, was strolling with his hands in his pockets. Marook looked between them, nearly running into Velvet when she stopped walking. She quickly balanced them as Thorn turned around to look at them.

“Can you guys hear that?” the assassin muttered. Thorn raised an eyebrow.

“Hear what?”

“It’s a buzzing, almost like that buzz Mad makes sometimes.” Maroon straightened out their glasses. 

“Do you think Mad’s around?” they asked. Velvet shook their head. 

“No. That’d be too easy.” Thorn rolled his eyes.

“Sure, mhm. Of course.” Velvet ignored it and took a left down a hallway. Maroon hurried after her, Thorn following behind. As they walked, a quiet buzzing soon filled Maroon’s ears. 

“I hear it now. What do you think it is?” Maroon asked. 

“Nothing good.”

“Helpful,” Thorn muttered. The group turned another corner as the noise hummed loudly around them. A bright, neon green light quickly enveloped the trio. Maroon shut their eyes tightly and grabbed onto one of Thorn’s hands. A loud thud echoed loudly, causing the teens to jump. A cold breeze flew through the area. 

The light slowly faded away, allowing Maroon to open their eyes once again. The ugly wallpaper had been replaced with dark grey concrete blocks stacked on top of one another. The entrance was gone, with a solid wall now in its place. Another cold wind blew through the chamber, hissing as it went by. Thorn shivered next to them.

“What is this place?” Ae asked. Velvet turned to look at them.

“My guess is it’s another level in the game.”

“But don’t you have to, you know, do something to advance?” 

“Maybe the curse did it,” Maroon chimed in, “If we got too close to the catalyst…” Velvet’s eyes widened slightly before she let out a groan.

“Of course. The curse wouldn’t want us to break it.”

“Um…not exactly.” Velvet quickly turned and threw their knife towards the new voice. A squeak echoed as Maroon and Thorn raised theirs. In tje blink of an eye, Velvet drew two more blades from their bag.

“Wait, please! I brought you here!” Velvet kept the knives raised but glanced at Maroon.

“This is Darlington, right?” Maroon’s eyes widened.

“What?” The assassin stepped to the side, revealing the body of a middle-school-aged boy slumped against the wall. Velvet’s red and black blade pinned the fabric of his blue polo shirt to the…concrete?

Maroon took a step towards Johnny Darlington. The boy flinched but Maroon placed their hand on the wall. Instead of cold concrete, it was soft and pushed inwards. 

“Is this…foam?” they asked, looking down at Johnny. He nodded profusely. Maroon kneeled down and gently pulled the knife out. They tossed it back to Velvet, who promptly caught it and placed it back in the bag. Maroon held a hand out to Johnny. The boy glanced at Velvet and Thorn before taking it.

“Are you okay?” Maroon asked. Johnny stared at them for several seconds and quickly shook his head. 

“I’m fine, but you guys won’t be. You need to get out of here.” Velvet raised an eyebrow.

“Why?” Thorn asked, “What’s going on?” 

“The game is cursed-”

“No fucking shit, I had no idea,” Velvet mumbled.

“-There’s another me running around, but he’s trying to kill everyone. You have to leave.”

“We can’t,” Velvet interrupted, “We can’t leave until we break the curse.” Johnny’s eyes widened.

“That’s not possible.”

“Johnny, have you ever heard this…alternate you talk about a curse catalyst?” Maroon questioned. The boy was quiet for a moment.

“Yes, but-”

“Take us to it.” Johnny turned to Velvet as she crossed her arms.

“What?” 

“You hear me. Take us to it so we can destroy it.”

“He’ll kill you. I won’t be able to stop him.”

“Does it look like I care?”

“My magic- I won’t be able to-”

“What happened to your magic?” Maroon chimed in, stepping in between Velvet and Johnny. Velvet glared at them. 

“It’s not working, I’m not sure why. But the point is, I have no way to protect you. I can’t, in good conscience, let you face him. I’ve seen what he’s capable of.”

“Listen, Darlington-” Velvet began, but the boy cut her off.

“Please, Velvet, just call me Johnny.” Velvet raised a knife again, narrowing their eyes at him.

“How do you know my name?” He smiled at them.

“I know the names of everyone who’s ever watched my show.” Maroon’s eyes widened. 

“So you know-”

“Yes, Maroon. I know your name.” The youngest teen’s eyes lit up and a smile appeared on their face. 

“Do I want to know how that works?” Velvet mumbled, lowering the weapon. 

“I have a guess,” Thorn began, “Magic.”

“I hate you.”

“Feeling’s mutual.”

“Guys…” Maroon said quietly. Thorn glanced at their friend before letting out a sigh.

“Right, sorry.” 

“Sorry. Johnny, can you take us to the catalyst now?” Velvet asked. The boy looked up at her again.

“I told you-”

“We can handle ourselves, Johnny,” Maroon added, “We’re not going to die.”

“You have no idea-” Thorn walked up and placed a hand on his shoulder. 

“Johnny, everyone here is in danger. If you can just take us to the catalyst, we can save everyone here.” The boy looked between each of the members of the Red Mafia before sighing.

“I…okay. Fine. But you have to promise me you won’t die. Please.”

“Oh my gods, we’re not gonna die,” Velvet groaned, “Just take us there already.” Johnny reached out and grabbed Maroon’s hand. He pushed Thorn’s off of his shoulder and grabbed it as well. Velvet raised an eyebrow.

“What are you doing?” she asked. Johnny smiled at them. 

2 weeks after “The Maze”

Velvet quickly grabbed the man’s arm and pulled him into the alleyway, away from the guards. They didn’t notice, and kept walking and chatting like nothing had happened. 

“Prince Nolan.” The man turned around and almost let out a scream, but Velvet quickly covered his mouth.

“Watch it, idiot. You’re gonna get me in trouble.” Nolan stared at them for several seconds. 

“Are you going to be quiet?” He nodded, causing Velvet to sigh and remove her hand. 

“What the hell are you doing here?” He whispered.

“I need to talk to you. In private.”

“Why would I go anywhere with you? You literally shot my mother.” Velvet rolled their eyes.

“Are you really upset about that? She was about to kill Solana.”

“Yes but- whatever. Is Mo- Solana with you?” 

“That’s actually what I need to talk to you about.” Nolan’s face dropped immediately and a look of worry took over.

“Did something happen? Is he ok?” Velvet raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, he’s fine. Why’s that the first thing you assume?”

“Can you really blame me?”

“Not really,” they mumbled, “Will you come with me now?” Nolan looked up and down the alley before sighing. 

“Alright, I’ve got time until my speech. Lead the way, Velvet Bolton.”

When Velvet woke up at about 10 a.m., they were surprised to see Solana wasn’t awake yet. After running downstairs to grab an energy drink, much to Mad’s dismay, the teen found themself in front of his door.

“Solana!” she called out, sliding the hood of her navy hoodie off of her head, “The hell you doing in there?” “Sleeping, leave me alone!” Velvet narrowed their eyes at the closed door.

“If you’re sleeping, how are you talking to me?” The elf didn’t answer, causing Velvet to sigh.

“What are you actually doing in there?” 

“Trying to sleep.”

“Dear gods,” the teen mumbled, reaching out to the doorknob. Surprisingly, it was unlocked. They stepped in, shutting the door behind them. Solana’s fairy lights were set to a soft blue which almost managed to distract them from the chaos sprawling across the room. Clothes sat in various piles while the desk under the loft bed was covered in open notebooks and loose papers. Predictably, Solana was sitting on the suspended bed, glaring at Velvet. He was still in his pyjamas, donning a pair of black gym shorts and a white t-shirt. Their red hair was down, resting just below their shoulders.

“Really?” they asked, crossing their arms. The assassin shrugged.

“You did it to me, might as well return the favour.” 

“Cool, you can leave now.” 

“Mad will just come up after me.”

“I think I prefer Mad.” Velvet rolled her eyes, pushing a few clothes to the ground so she could set her drink down on the dresser next to the door.

“Why are you sulking in here?” Solana sighed, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed and jumping down. 

“I’m not sulking,” she began, grabbing a hair tie off of the desk, “I just don’t want to talk to people today.” Velvet raised an eyebrow before grabbing their drink off of the dresser again. 

“Well, that’s too bad. Guess I’ll just go on this mission to Hinak by myself.” Solana pulled their hair back, staring at the teen.

“What are you getting at?” 

“Oh, nothing. Just that Hinak is the next location in Prince Nolan’s peace tour and I thought you would’ve wanted to go. But it’s fine, I’ll go on my own.”

“...I’ll be ready in 10.”

“You’ve got 5 until Zaeor gets here.”

“Fuck you.” 

“So what were you saying about Mo- Solana?” Nolan asked as they walked down the alleyway. 

“You can just call her Mona, I’ll know who you’re talking about.”

“Oh- right. What’s going on with Mona?” Velvet adjusted their black beanie and sunglasses before turning back to him.

“Does today mean anything to you, Your Highness?” she asked. Nolan paused for a moment.

“Uh, please just call me Nolan. And…I’ll be fully honest, I’m not sure what day it is.” Velvet raised an eyebrow.

“October 14th, 2364.” Nolan’s eyes grew wide as he stopped in his tracks. Velvet stopped as well, turning around to look at him.

“It’s…Mona’s birthday.” 

“Ah. I figured it was something like that.”

“Why? What’s going on?” Velvet sighed, crossing their arms.

“Let’s just say Solana hasn’t been the most…cooperative person today. They seemed out of it, so I thought since I’d be here anyways we’d pay you a visit.” 

“Oh- wait, ‘we’?” Velvet smirked before raising her hand up to activate her comms microphone. 

“Hey Solana, get over here.” Nolan smiled brightly before quickly adjusting his crown.

“How the fuck did you disappear so fast?” Solana responded. The assassin rolled their eyes. 

“Just get over here.”

“Where are you?” Velvet rubbed their temples, catching Nolan’s attention.

“Is…everything okay?” the prince asked. Velvet nodded.

“Solana, our comms have fucking trackers in them.”

“Wait, they-”

“Dear gods, the alleyway by the jewellery store. Hurry up.” They turned off their mic before groaning again. An awkward silence took over the alleyway as Velvet glanced at Nolan. He was dressed in a simple grey button-up partially tucked into black dress pants. His gold earrings hand various flower charms hanging from them, matching the small lilac pendant hanging around his neck. His crown had flower patterns as well, but only on the gems. 

“Velvet? You down here?” Solana’s voice called out from the entrance to the alleyway. Nolan’s smile grew wider as Velvet shouted back.

“Yeah, get over here.”

“Did you find the papers…” Their teammate’s voice trailed off as she stopped in front of Nolan. The two elves stared at each other for several seconds before Solana rushed forward and pulled him into a hug. 

“Holy shit, what are you doing here?” they muttered. Nolan let out a slight chuckle.

“Your friend here may or may not have kidnapped me.”

“Shut up, you came willingly,” Velvet stated, crossing their arms. Nolan laughed again.

“Yeah, that’s true.” Solana took a step back, smirking at the teen.

“Wow, Velvet, I didn’t think you had it in you to do something nice.” 

“Fuck you, Solana.” Nolan looked between the two of them before chuckling. 

“But seriously, thanks Velvie,” the elf said, ruffling Nolan’s hair. The teen rolled their eyes.

“Whatever, your moping was pissing me off.”

“I wasn’t moping-”

“Yes you were.”

“No I wasn’t.”

“Yes-”

“Anyways!” Nolan chimed in, taking Solana’s hand, “What are you guys doing here?”

“That’s confidential. But speaking of that, I should go.” Solana grabbed her wrist as she took a step backwards. 

“Wait, don’t you need help with the mission?” Velvet raised an eyebrow.

“Did you really think I needed your help? No, this is an easy mission. I just brought you along so you could see your boyfriend.” The elves’ faces grew scarlet as Velvet laughed and turned around.

“You two have fun. Solana, leave your comms on and tell me when you’re done.” Before Solana could get another word out, the teen disappeared around the corner. He looked up at Nolan, who smiled at him. 

“You know, this isn’t what I thought I’d be doing today,” he joked. Solana chuckled. 

“Yeah, that’s the story of my life.” They were quiet for a moment. The birds chirped above them, flying in mesmerising patterns that caught both of their attention. Nolan looked over at her before his eyes grew wide and he quickly dropped her hand. Solana turned towards him while he turned away. 

“So…how are you?” the prince asked. 

“Uh- Fine. You?”

“I’m good.” Solana looked up at the birds. 

“Peace tour, huh? I know you’ve been wanting to do that for a while.” Nolan smiled. 

“Yeah, Mom finally agreed to it after the recent revolt.”

“Revolt?” Solana asked, looking up at him again, “What happened?” Nolan sighed. 

“I’m still trying to figure that out myself. It happened last week in the Lehol district.”

“Probably was a wage revolt, then.”

“That’s what Mom said, but I already declared better wages last month.” Solana put their hands in their pockets before sighing. 

“I know you mean well, Nolan, but it’s gonna take a while for anything you say to take effect. And that’s gonna leave people starving.” Nolan groaned and slowly took his crown off of his head.

“How do I fix it, then?”

“That’s the question…” she mumbled, “Send the ambassadors down with supplies to keep them afloat until the wages can take effect.” Nolan looked over at him. They were looking back up at the birds. 

“Maybe even go there yourself. Put pressure on employers to actually do it. Your dad ordered things but didn’t enforce them, so that’s what they’re expecting. You need to show them that’s not how it’s going to work under you.” Nolan smiled as she turned back to look at him. He looked into their white eyes for several seconds.

“...what?” 

“I forgot how good of an advisor you were.” Solana chuckled and took their sunglasses off their face. He slid them onto the collar of his purple t-shirt and put his hands in his pockets. 

“What can I say, I'm a genius.”

“Pfft, yeah. Uh- thanks for the advice.” 

“Anytime, dude. Well, anytime you see me, I guess.”

“Solana, your mic is still on.” The elf jumped slightly, causing Nolan to jump as well. The prince nearly fell to the ground but Solana quickly caught him.

“Have you been listening this whole time?”

“Yep. Decent plan, by the way.”

“Velvet, I swear to Gazra-”

“Oh would you look at that, I’ve gotta go.”

“Velvet-” The beep from Velvet’s microphone muting caused Solana to groan.

“That little…”

“What’s going on?” Nolan asked. Solana looked down at the elf in his arms.

“Nothing, I’m just going to have…a few words with a certain red-haired bitch later.”

Velvet chuckled to herself as she walked down the sidewalk. With the mission papers safely tucked in their bag, all there was left to do was wait. The teen swung into a small coffee shop at the corner and quickly reemerged with a cup in hand. That’s when she nearly ran headfirst into one of Nolan’s personal guards.

“Fuck-” they muttered, quickly steadying their coffee, “What the hell?”

“I’m so sorry, ma’am,” a voice said as a hand grabbed onto their arm. They locked eyes with a man, maybe in his mid-20s or so, dressed head to toe in Gazran body armour. 

“It’s okay,” they said, shrugging his arm off. Another guard appeared behind the other, a concerned look on her face.

“You alright, kiddo?” Velvet tugged down on her beanie before resting a hand inside her side bag.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” The first guard smiled at them as the second raised her wrist to glance at her watch. Her eyes quickly grew wide.

“Shit,” she exclaimed, “We’re late, Connor.” The first guard turned towards her, pushing his purple bangs out of his face.

“What?”

“It’s noon.” 

“What?” Connor quickly looked around the trio. 

“W-Where’s the prince?” Velvet suppressed a smirk. The second stared at him.

“Shit.”

“Where was he last?” 

“I know he got off the ship.”

“No fucking shit, dude. Anywhere else?” 

“I…don’t remember,” the second guard mumbled, “Should we alert the captain?” Connor quickly grabbed her arm, causing her to jump slightly.

“Are you crazy, Alex? We’ll lose our jobs!”

“That’s going to happen anyways!”

“Not if I have anything to say about it,” Connor muttered, crossing his arms, “We’ll search the whole area. He probably just got distracted and wandered off, no big deal. So he’s a little late, so what?” Alex narrowed her eyes at him.

“Oh, and I’m the crazy one. Queen Orbita will have our heads. Not to mention how upset Nolan will be! He’s been planning this tour for years.”

“Um, if I may,” Velvet called out, raising a hand. The two guards turned back to her, Connor letting out a quiet chuckle.

“Sorry, kid, forgot you were there. What’s up?” Velvet looked between the two guards before clearing her throat.

“Are you talking about Prince Nolan Byes-Sobt by chance?” Alex’s eyes lit up.

“Yes! Have you seen him?” 

“I saw him go into that clothing store across the street when I went to get my coffee. No idea if he’s still there, though, it was about twenty minutes ago.” Connor set a hand on Velvet’s shoulder as a large smile overtook his face.

“Thank you so much…uh…I never caught your name.” A chill went down Velvet’s spine.

“Oh, right. Um…Vivian. I’m Vivian.” Alex grabbed Connor’s arm and waved at them.

“Thank you, Vivian!” The assassin watched the two guards sprint in front of a car. It honked at them, but they ignored it as they ran into the store. Velvet took a sip of her coffee before chuckling.

“This should be fun…”

Alex let out a groan as she stepped out of the store, her twin on her tail. She rested her hand on her pistol as she scanned the street. 

“I think we just missed him in there,” Connor said quietly, “Maybe we can go see if Vivian saw him leave after we went in?” Alex gestured to the coffee shop.

“They’re long gone, Connor. We have to alert Captain.” 

“No!” he exclaimed, crossing his arms, “Alex, we’ve worked so hard to get to this point. We’re not going to lose it all because the prince decided to wander off. No way.”

“He’s nearly half an hour late to his speech, they’re going to be sending search parties out for all of us soon.” Connor frowned.

“Where could he have gone…” Alex glanced over at her brother before her eyes widened.

“Connor, where’s your gun?” His hand quickly fell to his empty holster. Alex locked eyes with him.

“I-I don’t know- I had it a moment ago!” 

“Shit shit, this isn’t good.” A laugh came from behind them, seemingly coming from the store’s entrance. The twins spun around, greeted by an empty doorway with a certain handgun in front of it. A chill went down Alex’s spine. 

“Oh thank Gazra, I must’ve just dropped it,” Connor breathed, kneeling down. 

“Yeah…weird…”

“Boo.” Two hands quickly collided with her back and shoved her towards Connor. They both fell onto the concrete, drawing the eyes of passing pedestrians. Alex was soon back on her feet, Connor close behind. The sidewalk and street were empty. 

“What the fuck,” Alex breathed. Connor took a deep breath.

“Alex, are we being haunted?” She turned back to look at her twin.

“Are you crazy, Connor? Who would be haunting us?”

“M-maybe the prince is dead and his soul is haunting us because we failed to keep him alive and-” Alex grabbed her brother’s shoulders and looked him in the eyes. 

“Connor, shut up. There’s no such thing as ghosts. Not in that way.”

“But-”

“I’m offended, you’d deny my existence?” a cold voice whispered in Alex’s ear. The soldier jumped and turned around, but all she saw was a certain red-haired teenager walking down the sidewalk. 

“What…” she breathed. Connor smiled behind her.

“Vivian!” he called out, “Hi!” The teen turned around and waved slightly. She stood on the sidewalk as the two guards caught up.

“Did you ever see Prince Nolan come out of the store?” Alex asked, crossing her arms. Vivian shook their head. 

“No, sorry. Are you two okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Connor let out a strained laugh.

“That’s pretty close, actually.” Vivian raised an eyebrow.

“Really?” Alex elbowed Connor before turning back to the teen.

“Connor’s just paranoid. Can you do me a favour, Vivian?” She nodded.

“Do you have a phone?”

“Uh, yeah?”

“Can I see it?” Vivian narrowed their eyes at her but slowly unlocked and handed over the device. Alex typed in her number and handed it back.

“If you see the prince around, give me a call. Okay?” Vivian looked down at the phone before nodding.

“Thanks, Vivian,” Connor added. The teen smiled at him.

“It’s nothing. I’m just glad I can help.”

“You’re helping us a lot, Vivian,” Alex said, “We’re going to go search the east side of the city now. Thanks again.” Vivian nodded before turning on her heels and continuing down the sidewalk. Connor turned to Alex.

“What a nice kid.”

“Yeah. Something about her seems…familiar.” 

“Oh, and I’m the crazy one.”

“Shut up.”

“And that’s when you met your wife?” Solana questioned, “Gods, you were so upset that day but you wouldn’t tell me what happened.” Nolan laughed sheepishly. 

“Yeah…she. Can be annoying. But I don’t have much of a choice…”

“For now.” Nolan looked at them.

“Huh?” 

“You only have, what, two more years until you’re of age? Then your mom can’t control you anymore.” 

“It’s- well. There’s not much I can do about it even when I’m king.” Solana raised an eyebrow. 

“Why?” Nolan looked to the ground.

“Gazra is in disarray. Riots are breaking out left and right, corruption, etc. Our military is about as skilled as a group of children with sharpened sticks. Politically, we are the weakest government in most of the known galaxy. Imagine if their leader was unmarried? It’s bad enough I don’t have an heir yet.” Solana stared at him for a few moments before sighing. 

“You’re right,” she mumbled, “So Kandace was right, then?” Nolan froze. 

“W-what about Kandace?” 

“When I was captured in Gazra, Kandace came to talk to me. Said what’s-her-face was pregnant.” The prince’s eyes went wide.

“N-no!” he paused as Solana chuckled, “I…even though it would help a lot…I don’t think I could bring myself to do that.” 

“Even for the sake of the country?”

“I don’t know. If it was absolutely necessary, maybe? Isabella hasn’t tried to make me do anything, so…”

“Ah.” Nolan glanced at them.

“Did…did you hear what happened to Kandace, then?” It was Solana’s turn to look away.

“Nolan…that was me.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.” The alley was quiet as Nolan looked her up and down. 

“Can I ask why?” Solana sighed and shoved his hands into his pockets. 

“She tried to kill me and Velvet. I had to do my job.”

“What is your job?” Nolan questioned, causing his friend to shrug. 

“Keep Velvet alive so she can do her job.”

“And that is?” 

“Killing Unor Bolton.”

“Oh.” Solana sighed and turned back to him.

“Don’t worry about that, Nolan. You’ve got other things to deal with.” 

“Mona, we’re on the brink of a civil war and you’re talking about assassinating one of the leaders of our main ammunition and supply dealers. You’ve got to understand how terrifying that thought is.”

“Right, I know,” they began, resting their head in their hand, “But…the alternative is so much worse.” Nolan sighed. 

“And I’m guessing you can’t tell me what that is?” 

“...no.” The prince groaned. Solana looked up at him. Nolan held his crown in his left hand while running his right through his hair. Solana gently took the headwear from him and straightened out his hair. 

“Nolan, listen,” she said quietly, setting the crown back on his head, “If Unor’s allowed to run free…a lot of people are going to die. And if we don’t stop him now, there won’t be any way to do so. He’s already too powerful.”

“So what do you suggest?” Nolan asked, “If we go into a war…” 

“You’re not going to go into a war, Nolan.” 

“I find that hard to believe.” Solana held both of his hands and met his eyes.

“Unor isn’t fully in charge of B.A.D., right? Nala is. I’ll talk to Velvet and see what they can do about helping you stockpile.” Nolan looked away from her. 

“Well…” Solana lifted his chin and smiled at him. 

“It will be okay, okay?” 

“...okay.”

Nolan jumped slightly when Velvet jumped down in front of Solana and him. Solana sighed and crossed his arms, stepping away from him.

“What, did you realise you need my help with the mission?” they asked. Velvet rolled her eyes. 

“No, I completed the mission like an hour ago,” the teen replied, turning to look at Nolan, “I just came to tell Nolan I’m currently leading his personal guards on a wild goose chase and they totally think he’s haunting them.” Nolan’s eyes widened.

“What?” Solana broke out into a fit of laughter as the prince stared at Velvet. 

“I even got one of their phone numbers, so I can call them almost anywhere in the city claiming I saw you. Your guards are fucking stupid.” Nolan sighed.

“Why am I not surprised?” Solana took a deep breath, suppressing another laugh.

“Who are your guards nowadays?” they asked.

“A new pair of twins, Alex and Connor. I don’t think they had enrolled when you left.”

“Ah. What happened to Helo?” Nolan looked away as Velvet raised an eyebrow. 

“He…he uh…” After a few more moments of him stuttering, Velvet stopped him.

“Do you want me to tell her?” Nolan looked up at them.

“...yeah.” Solana narrowed his eyes at the teen.

“How do you know and I don’t?” 

“I watch the news and you don’t.” 

“I watch the news with you!” Velvet rolled her eyes.

“No, you sit next to me on the couch while I watch the news. There’s a difference.”

“Anyways, it was an assassination attempt. The guard, Helo I presume,” they glanced at Nolan, who nodded, “Jumped in the way of a bullet headed towards Nolan.” Solana’s eyes widened and she turned to look at the prince, but he looked at the ground.

“Nolan…” they began. Nolan shook his head before looking at them.

“It’s okay, he…he saved me. He’s a hero now.” Solana stepped towards him and pulled the prince into a hug. He rested his head on her shoulder, closing his eyes. Velvet looked between the two before sighing.

“Anyways, I’m off to bully them some more-”

“Actually, shouldn’t you get back to your tour, Nolan?” Solana asked, taking his hand. The prince quickly lifted his wrist.

“Crap- I’m so late!” 

“How long did you think you had when I grabbed you?” Velvet asked, crossing her arms. 

“About three hours?” The assassin laughed.

“No, you had maybe half an hour.”

“I-” Solana let out a chuckle. 

“Yeah, you should go. I’ll talk to you later, okay?” Nolan nodded before letting go of Solana’s hand. Velvet took a few steps back before turning around. 

“Solana, meet me back at the Umbrella?” Solana raised an eyebrow.

“What are you doing?” 

“Just gonna escort the prince back to his guards, would hate for something to happen to him.” 

“I-” they paused, “You know, I don’t think I want to know.” A wicked smile appeared on the teen’s face.

“Smart.”

“Please don’t kill anyone.” Velvet let out a gasp. 

“Me? Commit murder? I would never!”

“I’m serious, Velvet. I’m not breaking you out of prison today.” 

“Fine, gods. Let’s go, Nolan.” The prince looked up at his friend one more time. 

“Bye, Mona.” Solana smiled at him. 

“See you later, Nolan.”

Alex’s eyes lit up when she saw a certain teenager walking over, Prince Nolan in tow. 

“Vivian!” Connor called out next to her, “You found him!” The teen smiled at them.

“That I did.” Nolan glanced at them.

“Vivian?” They looked up at him.

“That’s my name.” A confused look covered the prince’s face for a few moments before his eyes widened.

“Oh! Right, Vivian.” Connor jumped forward and pulled him into the hug.

“Don’t disappear on us like that, man!” Nolan chuckled.

“Sorry, Connor.” Alex placed a hand on Vivian’s shoulder. The teen jumped a bit but looked up at her.

“Thank you so much for your help today, Vivian. If you ever need anything, the resources of Gazra are at your service.” Vivian raised an eyebrow.

“Really?”

“Really. You’ve done the entirety of our kingdom a huge favour.” Nolan stifled a laugh, causing Vivian to send a glare at him.

“Thank you so much, Alex. I really appreciate it.” The guard smiled at them. 

“Of course. Do you need a ride anywhere?” 

“No thanks. My…sibling is waiting for me,” they replied, getting another chuckle from the prince, “Although, I do have a piece of advice for you.” Alex raised an eyebrow.

“Alright, what is it?” Vivian went up to her tiptoes and leaned close to her ear.

“Pray to whatever god you believe in.” Alex froze.

“W-what? Why?” She heard a small chuckle come from the teen.

“If you can see me, it’s already too late.” Alex quickly turned to look at Vivian, but they were gone. She whipped her head around to look at Connor. 

“Where’d they go?” Connor shrugged.

“Where’d who go?” Nolan asked, crossing his arms. 

“The teen who brought you here, Vivian.” The prince raised an eyebrow.

“Huh? I found you guys on my own. You feeling okay, Alex?” The two guards looked at each other.

“You definitely saw them, right Connor?”

“Yeah, I did. I swear we got their number and everything.” 

“Right! Here, hold on-” She quickly unlocked her phone and scrolled through her contacts, but the one labelled Vivian was gone.

“...What?” Nolan put a hand on her shoulder and let out a strained laugh.

“Let’s get back to the tour. You guys should get some sleep if you’re hallucinating.”

“We’re not hallucinating!”

“I’ll believe that when I meet this…’Vivian’.”

Immediately after “The Labyrinth”

Maroon stared the creature in the eyes, their hands raised. Mad held onto a nearly unconscious Velvet as the creature roared again. They attempted to keep a grip on Kil-layye Mo’ore as Mad picked them up. Thorn’s back pressed against Maroon’s and he raised the assassin’s staff. Solana’s spear remained steadily pointed at it while the elf attempted to catch his breath. A large mushroom grew in between the group and the monster, but its giant jaws chopped it in half. 

“Fuck,” Solana breathed, “What is this thing?”

“Not thing,” Maroon corrected, “His name is Khatar.” Thorn stared at them.

“Wait, like Khatar from divination? I thought he died a while ago in that accident.” Maroon looked at the ground, their head pounding.

“...no.”

“So what do we do?” Solana asked. 

“Fucking…kill it,” Velvet mumbled weakly from Mad’s arms, their sword falling to the ground. The droid quickly caught it.

    “Whatever you do, do it quickly. Velvet’s already losing more blood than she should be.”

“This is pretty average for them, actually.” Solana glanced at Velvet for a retort, but the assassin was out cold. 

“I’ve got an idea,” Maroon began, catching everyone’s attention, “We can’t kill him, but if we trap him…maybe we can find a way to turn him back.” 

“Turn him back?” Mad questioned, steadying Velvet’s head.

“What happened to him?” Thorn asked. Maroon took a deep breath as mushrooms began sprouting around Khatar.

“I can’t tell you right now. I need you to just…trust me on this.” Solana glanced at them before nodding.

“You got it, Maroon, you take the lead.”

“We’ll follow behind,” Thorn added.

“Well- I won’t. But I know you’ve got it, Maroon,” Mad stated. The youngest teen smiled before facing the creature.

“Don’t worry Khatar, I’ll save you. I promise.”

Mushrooms sprouted in front of Khatar, pushing him back. He roared loudly and his tail whipped towards Maroon. Solana jumped forward and sliced at his tail with her spear. He screeched and slithered backwards. 

“Thorn, can you knock the wall down? I don’t want him running away,” Maroon called out. Thorn nodded, raising his hands and summoning three massive vines beneath the dirt. The wall crumbled to the ground and created a pile of dirt about as tall as Khatar. Maroon quickly grew a mushroom cage around him as a falling piece of rock landed right on his head. Khatar yelped and jumped up and straight over the dirt pile. 

“Shit,” Solana breathed, “Are we following?” Maroon glanced back at Mad. They had backed up to the opening, Velvet still in their arms. They looked back at the rubble before calling out to it. 

“Mad, are you-”

“Taking her up to the Madbay? Yes.” Maroon nodded and turned back to Solana and Thorn. 

“Okay, let’s follow. We’ll find a place to corner him.”

“How? We already know your cages aren’t gonna hold him,” Solana asked. A pain spiked Maroon’s head, causing the younger teen to lean over. Thorn materialised next to them.

“Mushroom, are you okay?” Maroon nodded slowly.

“Yeah, let’s go.”

“Maroon, if you’re hurt-” 

“I’m okay, Solana,” they interrupted, “I…I have to help him.” Solana stared at them for several seconds before sighing.

“Alright, let’s go.” Vines grew amongst the rubble and pushed the rocks out of the way, revealing the entrance. Maroon took off down the path, shortly followed by the other two. 

“I think we’ll have to knock him unconscious,” they began. 

“And after that?” Solana questioned. 

“Find a way to break his curse.” 

“Curse?” Thorn exclaimed, “What happened?” Maroon led the trio down a path leading to the right. A line of blood traced the walls, presumably from the hit Solana landed on his tail. 

“So you remember how he went missing?” 

“Yeah?”

“And not even Ailuj could find him?” 

“Mhm.”

“Apparently, he looked into his own future.” 

“Ohhhhhhhh,” Thorn said, “And then she punished him?”

“Yep.”

“That’s…bad, somehow?” Solana asked. Maroon nodded vigorously.

“If you see your future, you can change it,” Thorn started.

“Or ensure it,” Maroon added. 

“So why do you want to undo his curse then?” Solana questioned, “Seems like he kinda deserved it.” Maroon looked away. 

“He…I don’t know. He wanted to save a family member. I guess I feel bad that he just wanted to do something good and got punished.” Thorn looked away and took a deep breath. 

“I see. Well, we’ll do our best.” 

“Where was he hiding?” Thorn asked.

“The forest.”

“When did you go to the forest?”

“When you blew up half the academy.”

“...Oh.”

“I’m just. Not gonna ask,” Solana muttered. A roar echoed, stopping the trio in their tracks. The wall to their left burst, causing Maroon to create a mushroom to protect them from falling rubble. A squeak came from their right, followed by Khatar’s roar. Maroon’s eyes widened. 

“Wyrmis?” The giant worm slithered up to them and hissed at the creature.

“Wyrmis, get away!” They shouted. Maroon watched in slow motion as Khatar’s claw swung towards Wyrmis. Their face grew hot and their head pounded once again. The claw cut through the worm's skin and the world grew blurry. They saw Solana jump towards the claw, slicing through it. Instead of Khatar’s roar, though, Maroon’s ears were filled with wordless static. Thorn placed a hand on Maroon’s shoulder and attempted to turn them to face him. Maroon shrugged aer off and turned towards Khatar. Their fingers tingled as they raised their hands before their vision went black. 

Mad kicked open the door to the Madbay, placing Velvet on the closest bed. The teen stirred slightly as the robot ran around grabbing various items. They stood over her for several seconds.

“Fuck,” it breathed. Velvet let out a strained laugh before coughing. 

“That bad, huh?” 

“Let’s just say I have no idea how you’re conscious. You’ve passed out from less.”

“Crazy what armour does.”

“Don’t get me wrong, you’re still bleeding to death.” Velvet rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, yeah. Hand me my phone.” 

“Why?” Velvet didn’t respond and instead closed her eyes. Mad quickly jumped forward and grabbed her right wrist. 

“Velvet? Are you-”

“Yeah just…” they paused, “Resting…my eyes. My phone?” 

“No need.” Mad jumped at Zaeor’s voice and quickly spun around. The god was once again dressed in his sparkly black robe and a stern look on his face. He walked up to Velvet, who glared at him. 

“What the fuck is in the basement?” they demanded. Zaeor held a hand over her. Shadows enveloped both his hand and all of Velvet’s injuries.

“Why were you in the basement?”

“The worm was missing so we…we…” The teen’s eyes slowly closed, prompting Zaeor to turn to Mad. 

“Wyrmis went missing,” it began, “We were looking for him when Thorn and Velvet found a door they didn’t recognise. We found Wyrmis, but got attacked by a creature.” Zaeor frowned and glanced back at the unconscious Velvet. He mumbled something that Mad couldn’t make out before turning back.

“Are the others still down there?” he finally asked. Mad nodded. Zaeor sighed and waved away the shadows on Velvet. The only remaining sign of their injuries was the tears in their mission uniform and the various bloodstains. 

“I’ll go get the rest.”

“Wait-” Mad interrupted, “Why do you have a creature from Gaelicia down there? What else is down there?” Zaeor frowned again. 

“How did you-”

“It’s someone Maroon used to know. Is it guarding something?” The god stayed silent and walked to the Madbay door. 

“Watch over Velvet. I’ll be back.”

Mushrooms littered the dirt path and walls. Solana slowly sat up as the dust cleared, coughing. Fungus-covered rubble slammed into the ground, throwing more dirt in the air. The elf stood, wiping a few spores from their arms.

“Thorn? Maroon?” She called out, “Are you guys okay?” They heard a groan to their left, followed by an “I’m fine” from Thorn. Solana waved his hand to clear the dust and eventually found Thorn sitting on the ground. Ae had a hand on aer head as Solana held a hand out to aer. Thorn took it, eyes wide.

“Maroon? Where’s Maroon?”

“I don’t know.” Thorn ran around the rubble, slowly lifting various pieces. Solana followed suit. The elf climbed over a large pile of fallen wall and gasped. 

“Oh my Gazra,” they breathed. In front of her laid Khatar’s body, rotting from the inside out. His eyeballs were replaced by bright red mushrooms and his mouth was stuffed with them. Spiky spores stuck out of its blue and green scales, pinning the immobile body to the ground.

Maroon was curled up a few metres in front of it, unconscious. Mushrooms still grew near their feet and hands. The elf slid down the hill towards them. The scar on their left eyebrow had reopened and bled onto the dirt. Other than that, the youngest teen seemed unharmed. 

“Thorn, over here!” A sound came from behind Solana, causing them to turn around. He watched as Wyrmis slowly slithered towards Maroon, curling up around them. He was bigger than Velvet had described him, about 6 or 7 metres long now. Thorn came running over the dirt hill and slid down, calling out Maroon’s name as it ran towards them. Wyrmis moved his tail slightly so Thorn could plop down right my Maroon’s head. The worm’s blood slowly dripped onto Maroon and the dirt all around it. Thorn cradled their friend’s head in their arms as Solana kneeled down next to him.

“Maroon, are you okay?” the prince shouted, clearly attempting to hold back tears. Solana set a hand on their shoulder.

“They’re going to be fine, Thorn. Let’s focus on getting them-”

“Out of the way.” Solana and Thorn jumped and turned to find Zaeor standing behind them. The sight of the god in the dark robe sent a shiver down Solana’s spine. They quickly moved out of the way and took Thorn with them. Zaeor gently picked up Maroon like a baby. Wyrmis hissed at him but a simple raised hand shut the creature up. Thorn glared at Zaeor, but the god didn’t seem to notice. Instead, he offered his hands to the two mafia members.

“Grab on,” he mumbled, “We’re going upstairs.” 

“What about Wyrmis?” Thorn demanded, “Are you just going to leave him to die?” Zaeor sighed and waved a hand, circling the worm in shadows. When they faded, the creature was gone. 

“There, I healed it- him and teleported him upstairs. Can we go now?” Solana grabbed his right with a nod. It took Thorn a few seconds but eventually, the prince cautiously took the god’s hand. In a second, they were gone.

Maroon didn’t want to open their eyes. Their head pounded, their body ached, and chills swept through their limbs. Exhaustion seemed to take over their entire being, preventing them from opening their eyes to see the world. A warm presence was curled up next to them and eased the ache in their ribs. Maroon could hear muttering in the background that they couldn’t make out. One voice was Velvet’s, while the other appeared to belong to a certain god of shadows. That’s what finally made the teen force their eyes open. 

The fluorescent lights of the Madbay shone down on them, forcing them to squint. The presence turned out to be Thorn, who seemed to be napping next to them. To their left was Velvet, now sitting up and mumbling to Zaeor in a language Maroon didn’t recognize. Mad hung up a new IV drip on her rack before glancing back at Maroon.

“Maroon!” they called out, rushing over, “Are you okay?” The younger teen slowly sat up, transferring Thorn’s head to their lap. Mad helped them up and quickly supported them with several pillows. It felt as if every set of eyes was on them as they replied.

“Yeah…I’m okay. What happened?”

“I was hoping you could answer that,” Velvet stated coldly, removing the blanket from on top of her. Tears were still visible in her uniform, blood soaking the fabric. 

“Velvet, do not get out of that bed,” Mad ordered. Zaeor nodded in agreement.

“They’re right, kiddo. Your body’s still exhausted from healing.” Velvet rolled her eyes but opted to hang her legs off of the bed instead. 

“What’s wrong with you, Maroon?” Velvet demanded. The teen stared at them blankly.

“...what?”

“Velvet,” Mad muttered, “What they meant was, your powers. Something’s happening to them, causing them to go haywire more often. Did something happen?” Maroon locked eyes with Zaeor before shaking their head.

“N-not that I know of.” Velvet groaned.

“Of fucking course.” 

“Velvet, calm down,” Zaeor scolded, “Maroon, are you sure? Nothing happened with Unor?” The name sent a chill down their spine and they took a shaky breath.

“N-no.” 

“Maybe it was L’arj Mahnnnh. I knew we couldn’t trust him,” Velvet chimed in. Maroon shook their head.

“Nothing happened with anyone. I…I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” Zaeor flashed a sympathetic look at them and moved to stand in between the two teens. 

“It’s okay, Maroon. I have a few tests I can run to see what’s happening so we can fix it. Is that okay?” He asked the question to Maroon, but also Mad, who nodded. Maroon took another shaky breath before nodding as well. 

“W-what happened to Wyrmis?” Maroon asked. Zaeor gestured to the bottom of the bed. Maroon leaned over to see the giant worm curled up around the bed, fast asleep.

“I have no idea how that thing grew so fucking fast,” Velvet mumbled. Zaeor chuckled. 

“It’s been a while since we got him, no wonder he’s not a baby anymore.” “A-and Khatar?” The Madbay grew silent. Maroon looked at everyone, waiting for an answer. Mad’s screen went blank while Zaeor glanced away. Velvet groaned.

“Are you guys really not gonna tell them?” She asked, sighing, “Fine, I’ll do it then. It’s dead.” Maroon’s stomach dropped.

“...what?” 

“When I arrived, he had already passed due to…well…”

“You, presumably,” Velvet finished the god’s sentence. Zaeor sighed.

“I was trying to say it gently, Velvet.”

“Whatever.” Maroon stared at the floor.

“I…I killed him. I promised him- I said I would help him- I-” Mad stepped forward and pulled the young teen into a hug.

“Maroon, listen to me. It’s okay, it was an accident. You didn’t mean to.” Thorn stirred on their lap, slowly opening his eyes and sitting up. The prince was met with their teary-eyed companion who stared at them. Thorn looked around the room before sighing.

“You told them already, huh?”

“So it’s true…I- I’m a mons-” 

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence, Maroon Pembrooke,” Thorn interrupted, pulling them away from Mad, “You aren’t a monster. You made a mistake, an accident.”

“He’s dead, Thorn!” 

“If it’s any consolation,” Zaeor began, “He was already passing before you all showed up. Seemingly of old age.” Maroon stared at him, a tear streaming down their face. Thorn hugged them tightly as Velvet sighed from her bed.

“See, you did save him. Problem solved. Now where’s Solana?” 

“Grabbing food,” Mad replied, “Maroon, do you want us to give you some space? I can bring you dinner in a few.” The teen nodded, causing a smile to appear on the droid’s face. It then turned around and grabbed Velvet from their bed. Velvet squirmed in their arms.

“Mad, I can walk.”

“Nope. Zaeor, grab the pillows and the IV drip. We’ll set her up on the couch.” The god obliged, waving his hand. The objects suddenly disappeared, along with all three of them. Thorn looked down at them and squeezed.

“It’s okay, Maroon. It’s…like Zaeor said. He was going anyway.” 

“But I did it,” they mumbled, “I did it and I didn’t even know it. Something…something is seriously wrong.” Thorn sighed as the younger teen rested their head on their shoulder.

???

Thorn turned the bottle upside down, causing the orange liquid to pour quickly into the cauldron. Maroon tightly closed their eyes and moved behind one of the wooden tables. Fawn looked at them and laughed. 

“What’s the matter, Maroon? Can’t handle a simple sleep potion?” She taunted. Maroon opened one eye.

“It’s not that- It’s just- Thorn-” they looked up at their friend. Thorn set the empty vial on his table. They had their signature smirk plastered on their face but their eyes had a hint of sadness behind them. Maroon locked eyes with aer for several seconds before sighing. 

“It’s nothing. You’re doing great, Thorn.”

“I know, I’m amazing,” he said, winking, “What’s next, mushroom?” Maroon glanced at the tome propped up against a stack of books.

“Now you just need to stir. Slowly and carefully.” Thorn picked up the spoon. They dipped it in and stirred, slowly at first but then picked up the pace. Maroon and Fawn stared at them. 

“I think that’s enough, dude-” Fawn began.

“Nah, they aren’t mixed all the way,” Thorn interrupted. Maroon stepped forward and put a hand on their friend’s shoulder. 

“Thorn, I think-” They were cut off by a loud explosion emerging from the cauldron. Maroon let out a scream and Fawn shouted his name, but then silence. Thorn coughed and waved aer hand in front of aer, attempting to clear the smoke. The classroom door slammed open, causing the prince to jump.

“Thorn, what is going on?” The voice of Ailuj called out. Thorn froze.

“Uh- listen, it’s not what it looks like.” A soft yellow glow appeared and sucked all the smoke into itself. The goddess walked over to Thorn. 

“Looks like you tried to make a sleeping potion and didn’t follow the motions correctly. Why were you making a sleep potion, child?”

“Well it’s almost time for exams and I’ve been having nightmares that have been keeping me up, so Maroon suggested I- wait, where’s Maroon?” Thorn’s eyes widened and the teen jumped over the desk. A large hole had been blasted through the side of the classroom, revealing the large forest just beyond the academy walls. Thorn ran to the edge and looked out. 

“Oh gods, where…” his voice trailed off as he slowly turned back to Ailuj, “They’re not dead…right?” Ailuj closed her eyes.

“Not dead, but…I don’t know where they are.” She opened her eyes and waved her right hand. The fallen stones floated up and took their proper places in the wall. She then walked to the door and held it open.

“Come, Thorn.” 

“But-” 

“We will send out search parties for them immediately, but we have to go check to see if the explosion injured anyone else.” Thorn didn’t move, instead staring at the once-fallen wall.

“Ailuj, how come you can’t find them?” The goddess was quiet for a moment before sighing. 

“They must have ended up in the forest. We must hurry, child. I fear they will not have much time.” A chill went down the young prince’s spine. 

“Fuck…okay.”

Fawn screamed to Maroon’s left as they flew through the air. The ground sped towards them, the trees blocking the view of the forest floor. A mushroom quickly grew and just barely managed to catch them before they slammed into the dirt. Fawn fell next to them, bouncing off and sliding on the ground. 

“Fuck-” she breathed, sitting up quickly. Maroon jumped up and offered a hand to her. 

“Are you okay?” they asked. Fawn looked up at them before pushing their hand away and standing up. 

“Fine. Where are we?” Maroon placed their hands in the front pockets of their trousers. Fawn wiped the dirt off of her outfit: a pair of blue jeans and a tank top decorated with stars. The moonlight reflected slightly off of the dark green leaves, letting them see. 

“Looks like we landed in the forest.”

“Astute observation there, Maroon.” 

“Hey, you asked.” Fawn rolled her eyes.

“Whatever. We need to find a way back to the academy before everyone gets worried.” 

“I think I have an idea of how I can do that.” Maroon held a hand out and closed their eyes. A mushroom grew in front of them, unlocking the forest floor's fungal network to them. To the North was a path, one they had been on a few times during trips with Ailuj. But to the South…

“What…” they breathed. Fawn raised her eyebrows.

“What is it?”

“There’s another person here. Down there,” Maroon pointed further into the deep woods. Fawn frowned. 

“But the forest is off limits to everyone without permission from Ailuj.”

“I know. I’m going to find them.” 

“I’m coming too.” Maroon looked back at her.

“Are you sure?” 

“‘Course I am. Can’t let you get all the glory for the rescue,” she replied, crossing her arms, “Lead the way.”

“Right…yeah.”

“Go to the right?”

“No- that was- never mind.”

Maroon peaked out from behind a tree, Fawn behind them. There sat a young man, about 18 or 19 years old, with light lavender hair and deep blue eyes. He was dressed in a torn white button-up and black trousers, similar to Maroon’s outfit (minus the light red sweater, of course). His neck and arms were wrapped in bandages, blood bleeding through them. A scar traced the top of his nose and seemed to connect his various freckles. It took a few moments but Maroon’s mind finally supplied a name.

“Khatar?” they breathed. The man spun around to look at them. He stared at them.

“Maroon? What- What are you doing here?” 

“I’m here too!” Fawn shouted from behind them. The 13-year-old pushed past Maroon to look at the man in front of her. 

“I think the better question is what are you doing here?” Maroon asked, stepping forward. They stopped in front of Khatar and kneeled down, looking him in the eyes.

“Are you okay? You seem really hurt.”

“I’m fine, thanks. You guys need to get out of here.” Maroon raised an eyebrow.

“What’s wrong? Is…is something after you? Is that why you didn’t go back to the academy? You’ve been missing for nearly a month!” Khatar looked down at the rock he was sitting on. 

“Not exactly. But trust me, you don’t want to be here for much longer.”

“Well, we’re not leaving without you, so you better hurry up,” Fawn stated. Khatar sighed and shook his head. “I can’t. Listen, what I’m about to tell you two stays between us, okay? You can’t tell anyone else. Especially not Ailuj.” Maroon glanced at Fawn before turning back.

“Okay.” Khatar looked at Fawn, who just nodded. The young man sighed and turned his body towards them.

“I did something that was against the rules. You see, my mom…well. She’s really sick. No one can figure out what’s wrong with her. Not even Ailuj.”

“Now how’s that possible?” Fawn interrupted, “Doesn’t she know everything?” 

“My mom’s from a different realm. She moved here when she was enrolled in the academy and never left. Ailuj thinks it’s something either from her home realm or…I don’t know, like separation sickness? Either way, she can’t seem to fix it.” Maroon frowned.

If it’s separation sickness, why not just send her back? The teen thought, I’ve read about this, but where…

“Anyways, I decided to take matters into my own hands,” Khatar began, crossing his arms, “I…looked into my own future.” The two younger teen’s eyes widened.

“But-”

“I know, I know. But I didn’t have a choice! My mom just kept getting sicker and sicker and I just…I had to save her. She’s my world, you know?”

“So what happened? Did you find a way to help her?” Khatar shook his head.

“I just found hundreds of thousands of possible futures, and she never survived.”

“Oh.” 

“And on top of that, Ailuj found me. Punished me. Cursed me then abandoned me in the forest.” Maroon’s eyes grew even wider.

“What? That doesn’t sound like Ailuj. She would never-”

“Well, she did. I know it’s hard to hear, but she’s…not the good person you think she is.”

“Or you’re not,” Fawn muttered. Khatar looked up at her.

“What?”

“How can we know you’re telling the truth?” She added, crossing her arms, “Are you even Khatar? Surely there’s a creature in here that can mimic people.”

“Fawn-” Maroon began, but they were cut off.

“That or you’re lying to us. So which is it?” Khatar stared at her for several seconds before closing his eyes. When he opened them, the blue was replaced with a dark purple. 

“Go,” he said, his voice hoarse, “My curse…leave. Now. Don’t tell anyone what you’ve seen here.”

“I think I already said we’re not leaving without you-” Fawn demanded, but Maroon stepped back and pulled her with them.

“What the hell are you doing, Maroon?” 

“Back up.”

“Why?”

“Look.” The teen gestured to Khatar. His body twisted and contorted as blue and green scales erupted from his skin. His tattered shirt fell to the ground along with the red bandages. He grunted and moaned in agony as his face was taken over by the scales and a long tail grew behind him. Maroon and Fawn watched in horror as he turned them. 

After a few seconds of silence, he roared loudly. Air and spit zoomed past the teenagers as he charged towards them. Maroon quickly grew a mushroom in front of them that Khatar quickly slashed through with his sharp claws. Fawn put her fingers to her mouth and whistled loudly, barely managing to pull Maroon out of the way. Two large Kikas flew over them and quickly picked the teens up by their button-up shirts. Khatar roared as they soared over the treetops. The academy loomed in the distance as the cold wind rushed past Maroon. They glanced back at the forest before closing one of their fists.

I’ll help you, Khatar. I promise. 

Relief rushed through Thorn when Maroon and Fawn were set gently on the ground by two of Fawn’s Kikas. The prince ran toward them and pulled Maroon into a tight hug. Maroon hugged him back as Ailuj let out a quiet chuckle behind them. Fawn bowed to her, but the goddess quickly told her to rise. 

“Are you hurt at all?” Thorn asked, taking a step back to look at their friend.

“No, I’m fine. Just a little bruised is all.”

“Well we can take care of that just fine,” Ailuj chimed in, stepping next to Thorn, “I’m just glad you're home safe. Both of you.” 

“I guess we can call off the search parties then,” Thorn joked, still holding onto Maroon’s hands. Maroon frowned.

“Search parties? We were only gone for half an hour.”

“We didn’t know what part of the forest you landed in. Speaking of, what happened? Did you see anything cool in the forest?” Maroon looked down at the ground, sending a chill down Thorn’s spine.

“No. Nothing.”

Lie, Thorn thought to aerself, but ae didn’t say anything. Fawn looked at them and sighed.

“Yeah, nothing fun. Just some trees and leaves and stuff.” 

“Of course,” Ailuj said, a smile still on her face, “Well then, shall we go clean you two up?” The teens nodded quickly, causing her to chuckle once more.

“Come along then. You too, Thorn. I think we need to have a little chat about your potion-making technique.” The trio laughed as they walked into the academy. Maroon squeezed Thorn’s hand gently, grabbing its attention.

“Is something wrong, mushroom?” he asked quietly. Maroon nodded.

“What is it? Are you in pain?” 

“No…I can’t tell you. I just…I don’t know.” Thorn smiled at them and lightly squeezed their hand.