The Writing on the Wall: Into the Jaws.

On route 10 going west, the black SUV sped though far west Texas. They had just passed through Ft. Stockton. The last vestige of civilization in that direction until the Texas/New Mexico border. Six hours on the road and one sunset had bought them to the middle of nowhere. As far from her home as Crusay had been in quite a few years. The new moon made everything pitch black out on the desert plain. The only headlights for miles were coming from the car. Despite this, Crusay was staring out the window. As if looking at the scenery. She had the large stick she used to cast the alchemy circle gently resting along her body and on her shoulder. She had insisted on taking it with her on the trip.  Dox sat next to her as the other man drove. Everyone was very quiet. Dox pushed back the sleeve of his coat and looked at his watch. It was the third time in the last 20 mins.

Crusay caught this out of the corner of her eye. "You late for something?"

"No. Just checking." Dox responded.

There was an awkward pause before Crusay finally asked, "....for?"

"For our ride." Dox said.

"We aren't in it?" Crusay asked.

"Not the big one no." Dox looked at his watch again. This time he stared at it.

Crusay turned to the driver. "Hey Beef McLargeHuge. Where are we headed again?"

The driver glanced back at Dox. Noticing his constant attention to the watch, he turned back around and said "...sorry, have to concentrate."

Crusay shot him a sharp look. Seeing that she was being ignored now she emitted a large sigh and started to stare out the window again.

Dox was now very intent on his watch. Paying close attention to the second hand. It was an old piece at this point. Something special that was given to him by a friend. It had a worn brown leather band with a silver frame. Looking like a grandfather clock with traditional roman numeral numbers. It didn't match the rest of his clothing. But it was one of the most important tools he owned.

The second hand slowed. Dox counted in his head. One one thousand, Two one thousand, Three one thousand... then it stopped.

"Right here Collin." Dox told the driver. The car came to a screeching halt.

Crusay jerked a little as the car stopped. She looked up at the driver. "Collin? Your name is Collin?"

"Yes mam." He responded. He turned on the hazard lights and unbuckled his seat belt. Opening the front door and getting out. Dox did the same and motioned for her to come out.

Dox turned to her. "Well we're finally here."

Crusay had a skeptical look on her face. There was a time when she had liked surprises. "Had", being the key word. She also had grown to hate vagueness. Her tolerance for it was completely gone. The pitch black surroundings weren't helping. She decided to dig her heels in. "Haven't you heard? I don't do the vague game anymore Dox."

"You're going to want to see this." He enticed.

"There is nothing in the middle of nowhere, in the pitch black dark that I want to see." she retorted.

"Alright." he conceded.

Dox pulled up his wrist, exposing the watch again. With his other hand he pressed a button. The watch slowly pulsed in and out with a blue hue. Just then a giant crack sounded. At first Crusay thought it was lightning but it was more static. More mechanical sounding. Like a Tesla oscillator. It cracked again this time louder. Enough to make her jump a bit. Looking out the window, she was trying to see exactly what it was. A bit of light caught her eye and she looked up.

In the sky she could see where the sound was coming from. Way up high a section of the clear starry night was being blocked by a strange cloud forming. Hiding a patch of stars from view. It looked like a lighting storm had manifested out of nothing. The cloud grew as if pouring out into the sky. The lighting moved with it. Exposing its size with the sharp sparks it gave off. And you could hear something tearing though it. Like an over amplified static charge. And from this, came the nose of a gigantic machine. As stretched out, the light and noise danced around it. Crusay moved to Dox's side of the car and poked her head out to get a better view. The machine finished pulling itself away from the cloud, and finally showing its whole self. A giant airship. Crusay stood out of the car, a bit shocked.

"What do you think?" Dox asked.

"That's some Final Fantasy shit right there." she quipped.

"Indeed." Dox retorted.

From the ship, a much smaller piece flew away from it and toward the three. As it came closer Crusay could see that it was like a tiny version of the larger ship. She had to cover her face a bit when it landed. Blowing the sand and dust around. Dox and Collin quickly walked toward it. A young man stepped out of the craft and walked over to them. He waited a second for Dox to say something to him. Then rushed off toward Crusay. She quickly reached in the car and grabbed her stick. Her paranoia made her strike a defensive pose. The man stopped a few feet away and held his hands up.

"Hey there!" He had to yell a bit over the noise of the craft. "I'm Tweed. I'm just taking the car." he motioned his hand letting a set of keys jingle in them.

Crusay took a long look at him. He was extremely tall. Had a long angular face with a short cut blond hair. He sported a pair of jean overalls, a blue tshirt, and a pair of heavy boots. It was hard to see with the pant legs covering most of his shoes. He looked right at her. Staying still. Trying to be as non threatening as possible. Dox waving at Crusay caught her attention. She slowly walked past Tweed, keeping an eye on him. He made a point to not take his eyes off of her, turning as she moved past him. She lowered her "weapon" and then made her way to the ship. When she moved far enough away he slowly put down his hands and breathed a deep sigh of relief. Quickly, he shut the back door and rushed into the SUV. Turning off the emergency lights and driving off into the desert.

***

The craft sped up to the ship and into a hangar on the underside. When it docked, Collin opened the sliding door and waited for Dox and Crusay to exit. Crusay followed Dox to a door on the other side of the hangar with Collin close behind. The door lead them to a long hallway that stretched to the left and right.

"This ship can get a bit confusing if you don't know it." Dox explained.

Collin put his hand to his ear, listening. "Sir, the captain requests your presence on the deck."

"Well I guess the tour will have to wait." Dox continued. "Follow me."

As Dox walked off Crusay made a note of her surroundings. She tried to commit every turn, hallway and stair climb to memory. She noticed that the halls all had an associated letter and number combination. If there was any other location marker she could identify then she made a point to note it in her mind. She also looked for any exits. The last thing she wanted was to be on an honest to god airship and not know what to do in an emergency.

"You're awfully quiet." Dox said. "Thought you'd have tons of questions for me once you got in here."

"I'm busy." she responded.

After wandering around the ship they finally reached the deck. Crusay was a bit surprised at the size of the deck. It wasn't Avengers huge, like she imagined. It was way more practical. With low ceilings and coming to a rounded point. About half of the front for the deck was all windows. The rest was filled with various chairs and consoles, about six on each side where the crew sat. In front stood a person in a long tailed jacket facing the windows. They had on a long dark skirt that matched the color of the jacket with a lace trim. A pair of laced up, tall boots on their feet. Curly hair that went to just above their shoulders. The figure turned around and smiled.

"Mari?" Crusay asked with shock.

"Crusay!" Mari responded. The two walked to each other and shared a huge hug.

"Holy shit! You're the captain?" Crusay exclaimed.

"Hard to believe huh?" they asked.

"Not really." She started. "It suits you. And the uniform is amazing."

"What's with the stick?" Mari asked.

Crusay fiddled with it. "Well, its... my stick. And it got us out of a huge problem earlier. So I'm keen on keeping it with me."

"I thought you liked rocks." said another approaching from the right. She was a taller woman with a similar matching suit to Mari's outfit. Her baby face gave her away.

"Holy crap Ellie! Fuck, you're still alive?" Crusay jabbed.

"Who the hell do you think I am? Of course I'm still alive." Ellie retorted. They both hugged their greeting.

"Jesus Ellie, I forgot how tall you are. So what the hell is your position up here?" Crusay asked.

"Sit down for this one Crusay it may make you faint."She paused for effect "I'm the captain."

"Is that true?" A smile crossing Crusay's face.

"No. Not really. But I am the second in command. Mari is the brains. I'm the beauty."

Crusay snickered. It was good to see some friendly faces again. For a moment it seemed as if everything was just like it used to be. Moments like these were too rare to not keep going.

"So is it only Brits allowed on this monstrosity or are the others here? Where on earth did you even get this ship?" Crusay had numerous questions for everyone.

"Actually there aren't too many familiar faces on the ship right now." Mari started. "Our field crew has the most people you'd recognize there. Otherwise the rest of them are either on this ship or missing.

Crusay remembered what Dox had said to her about the first gen of butterflies. "Dox had mentioned some of the butterflies going missing."

"Yes, and he probably told you why we wanted you here then." Ellie continued. "Everyone was a little shocked that you hadn't gone off the radar either."

"Yeah well, I was busy....with things." Crusay responded.

Ellie and Mari gave each side eye to each other. "Could you elaborate?" Mari asked.

"I'd rather not." Crusay clammed up right away.

Dox took a hand and rested it on her shoulder. "Anything you could tell us would really help. We're trying to make sure everyone is safe."

Crusay nudged her shoulder away from Dox's hand. "Yeah. Safe. Contained where you can keep an eye on me." The kind greetings had passed. Crusay was on the defensive. "Tell me, do you have them in some holding cell underground? Or maybe you keep them 30,000 feet up in this mystical disappearing airship."

"They're actually kept underground when we can capture them." A man approached the group from behind Crusay. He was a man of average height, and average weight. Short brown hair and an outfit that matched the officer uniforms. But this one was much simpler. It looked more traditional with the longer jacket, large buttons and stripes on the collar. He had large aviator glasses on and a sneer that had "snob" written all over it. She recognized him immediately.

"Hello Robbie." She greeted in the nastiest way she could.

Robbie took off his glasses and somehow found a way to look down at Crusay despite her being taller than him. "Papilio." He responded.

Crusay had expected this. There was no way she was going with Dox and company and not going to run into the head of security for New Weaver co. Robbie was the one who went after her five years prior. The doppelganger incident. She may have been more blunt and paranoid than she used to be but she wasn't stupid. As much as she would like to throw down with Robbie she would have to hold her shit together until they figured out what happened to the others. Then she could get the hell out of there before things got out of control.

"It's in your best interest to share with us what you know." He said.

"Not like it would matter if I did share. You can't trust any information coming from an infected. Can you?" Crusay jeered.

"I am not Help3r and treating me as such will not help your situation. The only reason you aren't in holding is because your friend took personal responsibility for you." Robbie pointed at Dox.

"Last I heard Dox spoke for the group of you. And that includes you. I was invited and I came of my own free will. And I'll leave the same way when I god damned please." Crusay countered.

"You are in our house now Papilio. I have made peace with the fact that we have to work with you in order to complete this mission. But I am also aware of your degrading condition. Do not test my abilities on this ship. Or you will be put in holding." Robbie asserted.

Ellie was about to walk over and break up the potential fight but Dox stopped her mid step.

Crusay moved herself to inches from Robbie's face. "Listen you little shit. I know what you're trying to do. Getting me all riled up so you have an excuse to put me away forever. Well I got news for you buddy. I'll be Beast fodder before I give you the pleasure. But if you ever feel like taking that stick out of your ass then I’d be happy to go one on one with you. Just to even the score. Oh, and you can't have help from your cast of thousands either."

Robbie scoffed. "Your threats are underwhelming."

Ellie pushed past Dox and got in-between them. "That's enough. You aren't helping, Robbie. Now we all have to get along while we're here. So let's just kiss and make up like good little secret organization agents."

Robbie extended his hand with a stern look on his face. Crusay hadn't even broken eye contact with him yet. She could see the "peace" offering in the periphery. She wasn't keen on it but went for his hand anyway. But before they could shake, the lights cut off and came back on in a bright red. A loud alert sounded and she could see all the other hands on deck quickly working at their terminals.

"Report!" Mari demanded.

"There is a Placian on the ground Capitan." One of the officers yelled out. "50 kilometers out."

"A Placian? Like Dark Placian?" Crusay asked.

"Bringing on screen." The officer stated.

A large screen came down in front of Mari and turned on. It showed the dark desert plain with the early morning light coming over the horizon. A highlighted circle on the monitor tried to highlight the creature but it was almost impossible to see with the rising light behind it.

"Magnify the image." Ellie said.

The image grew and grew till they could make out a person walking on the ground. As the light spilled over the land they could finally see what was there. A woman, walking away from a white door standing alone. It was slowly shutting as the woman walked on.

"We have a confirmed door!" The officer yelled out. "Potential survivor coming out."

"But where's the Placian?" Ellie asked.

"Can we scan the woman at this range?" Mari said.

"No, she's too far out for our bio sensors." the officer answered.

"I don't like this at all." Crusay growled. "That looks like the same door that was at my home." As they got closer they could see a series of rags over the woman's face. Covering her eyes and top of her head. She had dirtied and torn clothes. Walking in bare feet, almost stumbling.

"Send out the antennas. I don't want to take any chances." Mari commanded.

"Yes Captain." the officer responded.

***

Deep in the center of the ship was a room with a large, blue glowing dome. In it three pods contained three sleeping men. The dome slowly turned red and a gas filtered into the chambers. Each man slowly woke up and saw the red light above them. Moogle was the first to sleepily reach up and put his hand on the inside of the dome. A small square appeared around his hand. The words [Antenna 1 Confirmed. You may now speak to your peers.] above it.

"Antenna 1, Moogle awake. Let's go guys. Time to get to work." Moogle said out loud.

Tanuki grunted a little and raised his hand to the dome. It made the same image and commands as Moogle's. "Antenna 2, Tanuki awake."

"Snor, report in." Moogle said. There was no response. "Snor?" he continued. Moogle pressed a few buttons that lit up on the dome checking Snorlax's vitals. "Snor I know you're awake. We need to suit up and we can't without you."

"You didn't say the thing." Snorlax responded. "You said that next time we do this you were going to say the thing."

Tanuki snickered.

Moogle sighed with a little smile curling the corners of his face. "This is for Larry."

"Once more with feeling!" Snorlax encouraged.

"THIS IS FOR LARRY!" Moogle yelled. And with that Snorlax slammed his hand against the dome. Their beds angled down and dropped them into a wide hallway where they landed standing up on lit up stands. Each man's forehead glowed, revealing a little oval gem. This gem grew a little antenna that formed into a thin crown around their heads. The light shined around them and created armor for the feet and legs first. Then the torso and shoulders, and finally the hands. Once suited up a large door opened at the far end of the hall. The morning light spilling through making it very hard to see anything outside of the ship. A giant gust of wind flew past them and they all jumped off their pedestals and ran to the light. 

"Antennas do you come in?" Mari said from their mics.

"Good to see you awake. We have a woman who seems to have just come out of a potential doorway to the Vault. Close the door and determine the woman's condition. Proceed with extreme caution." Mari finished.

"Roger that." Moogle responded.

As they reached the edge they jumped out of the ship. Headfirst toward the ground gaining speed. Each man's suit spread a pair of gliders. The three leveled out and flew toward their objective.

"Activate camera." Tanuki commanded.

Back in the ship everyone was getting a bird's eye view of what was out there. 

"Suggest we do a fly by before landing." Tanuki said.

"Good idea." Moogle responded. "Commencing fly by."

They got closer. The woman was now a considerable ways away from the door. The morning light made everything visible now and as the three went by the ship got a closer look at who was down there. And nobody could believe it.

"Izzie?" Crusay whispered.

"That couldn't have been.....that looked like Izzie" Snorlax said.

"Engage immediately." Moogle responded. The three doubled back so they would be facing her. Moving in synchronicity they brought their legs together, locking their feet in place. Large boosters in the heels of their feet ignited, pushing them closer to the objective. As they neared, they unlocked their feet and moved their feet in front of them. Using the boosters and gliders to slow them down lowering them to a few feet above the ground. The boosters cut and gravity took them as they landed running, making sure to stop a little ways from Izzie.

She continued to walk. Head turned down, slowly moving along the desert floor. Brushing sand as her feet moved.

"Let's collapse that door before anything else comes out of there." Moogle said. "I'll stay with Izzie." Tanuki and Snor ran past Izzie and to the door. Moogle slowly approached Izzie.

"Izzie? Can you hear me? It's Moogle." She continued to walk as if there was nobody there.

"You've been gone for two weeks." Moogle continued. He moved to directly in front of her. Putting his hands on her shoulders making her stop walking. "Izzie? What happened?"

Snorlax and Tanuki approached the door. Tanuki stretched out his right hand. Parts of his armor came off and collected forming a large broadsword. Snorlax stretched out his hand. Part of his armor formed a large pickaxe. Each began to hack at the door, cutting it away to pieces. The entire thing collapsing as if it was simply made of wood. 

Izzie remained unchanged. Moogle messaged to the ship. "It's Izzie, but she's not responding. She has some kind of crude bandaging over her eyes."

"We're sending down a medical team to you now." Ellie responded. "Dox and Crusay are with them."

"Roger." Moogle responded. He took a look at the bandages. They looked dirty and a bit bloody. "I'm going to take a look at your eyes Izzie, okay?" He slowly moved the bandage up from her eyes. As he did he saw dark sunken in circles. Which contained fog covered orbs that looked more like a shark's eyes than a human's. 

Izzie's mouth opened a bit as a wide smile spread across her face. There were only gums where teeth should have been. A loud crack made Moogle jump back and he noticed the smile was now stretching to the back of her head. She arched her head backward looking up. Her upper torso stretched as she made a sickening slurping and gurgling through her mouth. Her face and arms stretched. Making her almost indistinguishable from a human anymore. Her hands becoming pointed with jagged ends like a crab. Hardening like a shell. She fell forward and a large tail grew. Her legs and feet remaining their original size despite it. Izzie's face had elongated and she coughed and gurgled black sludge from her face. Her gaping maw open, Moogle witnessed individual rows of sharp teeth stretching out in lines from the outside of the mouth to the inside. Twenty five rows with a total of three hundred teeth. All poking out from the gums and curving inward.

"A little help!" Moogle yelled as he stretched his arm out to form his weapon. 

Tanuki and Snorlax turned around and saw a giant prehistoric monster where Izzie once stood. They turned from the broken door pieces and rushed to Moogle's aid. 

The weapon was forming when the monster hovered its jaw over Moogle and quickly lowered it. He ducked and rolled out of the way as the monster got a mouth full of sand and earth. He stumbled and tried to recover himself from the attack but the monster was quick. Using its claws to pull itself forward and its long tail to move it faster like a snake. Constantly trying to close its jaws onto Moogle.

Snorlax caught up to it, jumping up and landing the giant pickaxe in its tail. Stopping it abruptly and causing it to make a horrendous scream. It turned around instantly and went for Snorlax but Tanuki grazed it with his sword making it flinch. Giving them enough time to get away. Moogle used this opportunity to collect his weapon. Holding his hand out pieces of his suit collected to create the curved sword, a khopesh. The three of them backed off quite a ways as the giant creature writhed and howled. Joining back together desperately trying to catch their breaths.

"What in the sam hill is that thing!?" Snorlax sputtered.

"Izzie." Moogle said still shocked.

"What?" Tanuki asked.

"That thing was Izzie. I saw it happen right in front of me. She...changed into that thing."

The monster finally curled around and laid its giant mouth on its tail. Moving its jaw back and forth, spurting black sludge everywhere. Finally releasing it from being pinned down. It turned and looked at the three antennas. 

"Oh shit." Snorlax said. Despite loosing a quarter of its body, the thing was still fast as hell. Quickly driving itself forward with the two front claws. 

"We have to get rid of this thing." Tanuki said.

"But what if Izzie is still inside of there?" Moogle asked.

"What are we suppose to do, knock it out and bring it on board?" Snorlax stated. "Whatever we do, it can't get done without the pickaxe." The thing lunged itself forward snapping its jaw shut in a desperate attempt to get them. The three jumped away just in time. "I'm going to get my weapon. You two need to distract it." Snorlax ran off toward his pickaxe. The monster was tracking him until Tanuki sliced though one of its claws. Dropping it on its belly and ruining its balance. Both Moogle and Tanuki made sure it saw them and then ran in a big circle away from the beast. Despite its many injuries it still was trying to capture them. Turning and following with its blue-grey eyes. It didn't take long for them to connect with Snorlax, pushing the last of the tail off of the end of the axe. 

It used its one last claw to slowly move toward them. They saw the pitiful and disgusting creature dragging itself across the dirt and sand. Leaving a trail of that black goo that didn't seem to stop gushing out.

Moogle still could not believe what he had seen. This couldn't be Izzie. It wasn't her. It was something else. Something had taken her and made her this way.

...Or maybe, she had finally succumbed. Maybe this was the end result for butterflies. The last stage of infection. Where you truly became a monster. A real monster.

"We need to do this." Snorlax finally said.

"Yeah. We should....bring them together. Finish this." Tanuki continued.

Snorlax put up his axe. Tanuki, his sword. Moogle hesitated for a moment, then put up his khopesh. The weapons glowed and floated away from their hands. All merging together to form their ultimate weapon. A giant triple lazer cannon. The three held it together. Aimed it at the monster that was once Izzie. And blasted a giant beam of energy at it. The energy beam went though it.. Freezeing the creature. Once it was done. Moogle walked up to it. Taking one last look at it, frozen in time. He took his blade and with one slice, cut its head from its body. And with that the entire thing collapsed into a billion pieces. 

The three took a long look at the remains. Behind them, one of those smaller craft landed. Our poured a number of medical crews followed by Crusay and Dox. All of them running toward Moogle, Tanuki and Snorlax.

"Are you all okay?" Dox asked.

"Yeah, we're fine." Moogle responded dryly.

"What in the hell was that!?" Crusay asked.

"It was Izzie. She turned." Tanuki said. Taking Moogle's words.

Everyone looked at the remains. Dox kept a stern face about him. "Lets get some samples and get out of here!" He yelled to the medical aids. 

"Yeah, no sense in dwelling until we know for sure." Tanuki agreed.

"I know what I saw. It happened right in front of me." Moogle argued. 

"Well I need to get back right way. I'm already getting a headache." Snorlax added.

As everyone walked back to the craft, Crusay poked a few bits with her stick. Her mind flooded with what Tanuki said. Is this what was happening to everyone? How long before she became like that. A monster.

The Writing on the Wall.

"How much longer?" Paradox asked from the back of the SUV.

"We should be there in another ten minutes sir." the man in the front seat retorted.

"Good."

A black SUV turned down a small road from the highway., taking it further into the Texas hill country. The small road twisted and turned. An old cow path that was paved ages ago. Many homes and ranches were on this road. Though it still looked sparsely populated. Passing by horse farms, cattle ranches and a number of personal homes. This place was really in the middle of nowhere. The SUV came to a 'Y' in the road ignoring the stop sign and taking the left fork. The road became gravel and left a large white dust cloud behind them. Turning one last corner they followed white fencing to the last house before the dead end.
The SUV stopped in front of the properties main gate. The man in front exited the vehicle. He was a burly looking gentleman in his black suit. The perfect government stereotype.
Dox exited the car and put on his long black jacket moving his arms though the sleeves. The various charms and bracelets he had on his wrists caught a bit on the inside. When the jacket was on fully he moved up his sleeves to make sure the jewelry hadn't broken or disconnected. The pieces were made of silver and gold and ranged in size and style. Each had some variation of alchemy and rune symbology on them.
The two men looked onto the property and saw a large two story house. Next to it was a smaller guest house connected by a carport. A large gravel road lead up to the home and curled around in a round about just outside the front of the main home. The place was quiet and the carport was empty. With no one in sight, it almost looked abandoned.

"Are you sure this is the place sir?" The man asked. 

Paradox looked at the small garden just opposite the gate. It was filled with various wild flowers and the season's blue bonnets. In the center of the garden he noticed a large rock. He pushed the flowers aside, showing a painting of a papilio butterfly on it. 

"This is the place." he answered.

"Isn't she suppose to be home at around this time?" the man asked.

"She is. Unless our intelligence is off." Dox looked at the man in a mocking accusatory manner. The man just scoffed and walked to the gate. He unlatched the lazy chain that kept the gate closed and pushed it open enough so he could drive the car in.

"I better go in alone." Paradox suggested. "We haven't seen each other in a while. And we don't know what her condition is yet."

The man looked at him sternly. "Sir, are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Don't worry, I'll be okay." Dox assured.

"Yes sir." The man responded. And he stood by at the car.

Paradox walked up the gravel path and toward the smaller guest house. He entered the carport and approached the door. He took a deep breath and moved to knock on the door. But before he could, it opened. Just beyond it was an older woman. She had a larger build and was quite tall. Dressed in a blue tank top with casual black gaucho capris and bare feet. Her long dark brown hair was pulled into a ponytail. Her dark brown eyes had gone directly to Paradox's. Staring hard at him. 

"Hello Crusay." Paradox said with a smile.

"Dox!" Crusay replied before pulling him in for a hug. 

Paradox accepted the embrace. It had been a long while since he had a less informal meeting with another person. Crusay invited him in shutting the door behind them. 

"Go ahead and have a seat." Crusay motioned to the living room. The smaller house was....well small. Very small. Especially compared to the larger two story one a few feet away. Paradox walked into the living room looking around. A large desk with computer, printer, speakers etc. Any extra space was filled with papers and books. A table, a couch, a book case. The bedroom, bed, tv, nightstand, dresser. Paradox turned back to face the kitchen and caught the far wall. It was filled with butterflies. The project she had started on years ago. Back when things were bad. She had finished it. And it encompassed the entire wall.
Crusay was in the kitchen. She opened a cabinet and took out two large plastic cups. 

"Would you like some limeade?" she offered. "I'm afraid that's all I have right now. I still need to go grocery shopping."

"Sure." Paradox accepted still gazing at the butterflies. Looking at them all he could have spouted off all their names. Not the butterfly names, his friends. There was Xilaya, and Chewie. Banana, Hoop, Kyle, he looked fondly at them all. He noticed a brown and orange dragonfly with blue veined wings. Must be Hellion. And then various little abstract pieces. All interwoven among the butterflies. It took him a second to realize. Those where the blobs. The ones who still fought beside them. Everyone was here. His entire family from years back. All of them, flying together on that wall.
Crusay walked in with the two cups. Handing one off to Paradox.  Paradox gave off a bittersweet smile while taking sip of the drink.

"Turned out pretty well huh?" She asked. "It took a while, but I finally finished it. All 87 butterflies, our dragonfly and blobs. Brings back a lot of memories."

"All kinds." Paradox continued as he took another sip. Crusay nodded thoughtfully.

"Your place hasn't changed much." Dox commented.

"No. It hasn't." Crusay carefully continued.

"Is your family still living next door?" he asked.

"No. They moved out years ago." she responded.

"You haven't considered moving in there? It would be a lot more room." Dox inquired.

"No. That place...isn't any good." she continued. "I prefer it over here. It's safe here." Crusay walked over to the window to look out. She noticed the man by the gate leaning up against the car.

"I'm guessing you didn't come to make small talk Dox. So what really brings you and your goon to my corner of the world here?" Crusay jabbed.

"Well that was a bit harsh." Dox defended.

"Yeah, well, you know how I feel about your little group." she said.

"You were a part of that once." Dox said. Crusay silenced herself and looked away before she could spout off something meaner. But her face said it all anyway.

She finally spoke up. "What does New Weaver Co. want with me. I've done my part and stayed out of trouble." 

"It looks like trouble is trying to find you. Again." Paradox responded dryly.

"Story of my life." she chided. "What got out this time? The hand tree? The lady in the lake? That tissue... thing? The rail monster? Whatever it is I don't want any part of it. I have a full time job keeping myself in check. I've been handling anything that's been able to find me out here. So unless it's tall, dark and faceless I don't see myself having a problem."

"Well that's kinda the point. Things keep finding you and you keep fending them off." Dox explained. "The vault has been letting all sorts of things out lately. We....I thought that maybe you could help us."

Crusay gave him a hard look. "It's not something I want to get involved with." She gulped down her drink and walked back to the kitchen. "I figured everyone would have had enough of that kind of thing after Caught...." she paused. It was still a bit hard for her to talk about his death. "...We all have coping mechanisms I suppose."

"How have you been feeling?" Dox asked.

"Fine.......why?" she gave him a questioning look.

"Just curious. Trying to be considerate." he countered.

"Look Dox. You never had to dance around this stuff with me before. What are you thinking? Am I exhibiting the late stages of infection? Am I causing a problem? Maybe you came to off me with your friend over there." She accused.

"Crusay stop. You know that isn't true." He defended.

"Then spit it out!" she yelled.

Dox looked hard at Crusay. Clearly she was a different person now. The aftermath was starting to take it's toll. Not like she took the most healthy route of dealing with things. Closing herself off in the middle of nowhere with no communication to the outside world or others. She was practically a hermit. He took a deep breath.

"Alright. Caccee has gone missing." he said.

Crusay shot him an angry, confused look. "Whoopdee do. She goes missing all the time."

"And Chewie, and Banana, and Beat, and Xuch." He finished.

Crusay's face went grim. "How long ago?"

"About a week. They've never all been out of communication this long before." Dox answered. "None of them were on duty. Or even in the same general area. The only thing connecting them is that they went missing, and they are all first gen butterflies."

"And I'm guessing I'm the last one?"

"To the best of our knowledge, yes." Dox answered.

She slumped back a bit and leaned against the wall. "So what? You came for help?"

"Sort of." he continued. "We know how you feel about...our group. I suggested we have one person come to talk to you about it. Nicely."

"Unlike your last crew that tried to capture me?" Crusay accused.

"That wasn't our fault. We didn't know about the doppleganger at the time." Dox defended.

"Your people have shitty intelligence then." Crusay jabbed.

"There are things we didn't even know existed in the Vault back then." He retorted.

"Still not an excuse Dox!" she finished. There was a long awkward silence between them. Crusay knew that Dox wasn't the bad guy. But five years after Caught's death, she knew her coping mechanism wasn't being a part of the Weaver group. And weather she had wanted them to or not, she seemed to keep being dragged into their habits. Regardless, if the first butterflies were disappearing, then that was a problem for her too. A problem that could be solved quicker with the resources of New Weaver Co.

Crusay pointed out the window. "And if I decide not to help?"

"I know how this must look but he's not here for you. He's here for me." Dox said.

"You?" she asked. "I thought you were in charge over there."

"There isn't one person in charge really. More like a group agreement on what our next plan of action is." he explained.

"Fucking hivemind." she scoffed.

"Yes!" Dox said cheerly. "Listen Crusay, we just want to make sure you don't go missing too. I promise, no hunting. No extractions. No....other things. Just a few days, helping us try to locate the others. All expenses paid. And you'll also get to see a few old friends." Dox smiled the best he could at her. It was a forced smile but a smile all the same.
Crusay pouted. She had said that she wouldn't have anything to do with Weaver related things after Showtime. She promised everyone else that she would shut herself away after that. Not wanting to advance her infection after what they all did to that killer. Damn psycho deserved every ounce of what they got. But Crusay knew it changed her. Got her that much closer to being just like Showtime. And she refused to let that happen.

"I can't leave here Dox. Not until I know that it's safe."

Dox looked at her sympathetically. "I understand. It was worth a try." Dox walked into the kitchen and put his glass down on the counter top. Then turned back to Crusay.
"Regardless, it was really good to see you again. We've all missed you."
Crusay stood in the doorway with a defeated look on her face. Dox opened his arms wide and hugged her. Before he let go he glanced up behind her. A large white door stood where the window once was. Crusay opened her eyes wide as a long chill ran down her spine. Dox held on to Crusay for another second, wide eyed. Keeping his eyes on the door like it was a wild animal about to strike. Knowing that whatever was about to happen next, was probably going to be bad for everyone.

He whispered into her ears. "Crusay. We need to leave."

"No." she responded. She broke the embrace and spun around. The door might as well have been looming over them. "No....no, no, no, no, NO, NO, NO!"
The doorknob turned slightly.
"I gave you the house! You said you would stay in the house!"
The door flung open and from the dark expanse beyond it, a giant howl stretched into the home. Bringing with it a terrible wind that made papers fly around and the furniture move. "YOU SAID YOU WOULD STAY IN THE HOUSE YOU BASTARDS!"

"Crusay!" Dox insisted. He ran to the front door and flung it open. As he did a suction started. Pulling everything into the impossible doorway. Forcing Crusay to move out of the room. Just before exiting, Crusay grabbed a hold of a jean jacket and backpack leaning up against the threshold, close behind Dox.
The two ran to the truck. The man had his gun out but down, trying to find a target to shoot.

"Forget the gun! We need to get out of here now!" Dox yelled. The man put the pistol back in his holster and got in the SUV. Starting the car.

Crusay stopped and picked up a large stick on the side of the driveway. She looked around for a second trying to find something. Dox doubled back, grabbing her by the arm.
"Let go of me!" Crusay yelled. Dox released his grip and Crusay continued to look at the gravel. The howl turned into creeks and cracks. Dox looked up at the place they were just in and saw the roof buckle. A large screech sounded and suddenly the guest house began to cave in. Like someone was crumpling it up like a wad of paper. The screech got louder.

"Sir! We need to get the fuck out of here!" the man yelled.

"Crusay!" Dox pleaded.

"THERE!" Crusay announced as she thrust the stick into the ground.

She twisted it back and forth nine times. Each time a loud click could be heard along with a series of random light sources appearing around the property. A beehive like matrix of light inched it's way up from the base and collected about two stories above them. Crusay picked up the stick and looked up. Taking a few steps back with Dox. She had a tremendous smile on her face as the light collected and shined in what looked like a shield. The man in the SUV looked up too in awe.
The guest house continued to collapse, leaving only the cursed door in it's wake. Quickly taking the main home into itself. Crusay gently pushed Dox back behind her taking the stick like a baseball bat and hitting nine points onto the light shield. Forming a familiar alchemy symbol from their past. The symbol shined with light before finally surging, pushing in all directions with a force. Throwing Dox and Crusay on their backs, and eventually destroying the door that had appeared only moments ago.
The unholy howling stopped. And so did the gusts of wind. Leaving the foundation of the guest house, and half of the large home up. As if it was in the middle of being torn down. The light shield worked it's way down to the ground again. Joining at the nine major points then fading back to it's normal state.
Crusay got up and looked around at the damage. Looking at the place that was her home for so long. Dox got up and dusted off his clothing. He slowly walked up to Crusay. Seeing her home destroyed right before their eyes like that. He approached her and gently put his hand on her shoulder.

"I'm....I'm sorry Crusay." he said.

"I can't believe that fucking worked." She retorted. "No alchemy thing I've ever done has worked. It was exactly what I had in mind. It neutralized everything perfectly. It was fucking genius."

"But, your home." Dox said.

"It had to go sometime. I had no idea how long it would stay in main house. Of course now I have to rebuild." Crusay stopped. She started yelling and flinging the stick around hitting the gravel randomly. Chucking rocks in every direction. "Fucking assholes! You said you'd stay in the fucking house."

Dox grabbed the stick as she raised it again. He held it as he walked in front of her. "Crusay, you made a deal with it?"

"Sorta....maybe....yeah. But I didn't hold up my end of the bargain so fuck them." she cursed.

"What kind of bargain?" Dox asked warily.

"The kind where I'm suppose to kill people for it." Crusay said plainly. Dox's face got very serious. "I told you I didn't do it. I was trying to buy some time. Who knows? Maybe I was talking to myself? I talk to all sorts of things now." Crusay had a strait face on but her eyes said different. They showed exhaustion. From fighting physically and mentally against all the things that had come after her. Trying so hard to not get anyone else involved.

"Please come with us. We can help you. That's what family is for." Dox said.

Crusay took a long look at the remains of the house. "Fine. But I get to come and go as I please. And if I get one icky feeling about anything, then I'm leaving."

"That's fair." he responded.

Alright!" Crusay whirled around and marched over to the SUV. "Come on Men in Black let's get our asses in gear. I don't want to be around when that shit starts up again." Dox followed smiling a bit. Everyone had changed quite a bit since all those events over five years ago. It was nice to see a little bit of the old normalcy coming back. Even if it was under unpleasant circumstances.

Butterfly Apocylpse: Boundaries

Mesay opened her eyes as a pale blue light shone in through the tent. She quickly got up and opened the zipper door. In the distance she saw what should have been the sun. But it was a bright blue. Waving neon flames whipping into the sky took the normal cloudy haze. Replacing it with the familiar black void she once saw in Home. The earth bumped and moved around her forming large roots.

"Mesay!" Muse yelled.

The roots started to move. They twisted and tangled themselves around each other. Mesay frantically looked around trying to find Muse. She tried to call out but nothing came from her voice. The shifting roots forced her to concentrate on staying upright. Everything was lit by the giant blue light source. The sun shifted and seemed to be moving closer. Mesay was terrified. She did not want to face that thing. 

"Papilio...." a strange voice echoed. "It's time."

"Mesay!" Muse yelled again. "Please!"

The foreign voice started echoing all around her. Muse was yelling her name. Then she could hear the others. Screaming for help. Screaming out of pain. Mesay didn't know where to go or what to do. She just wanted everyone to be safe. She just wanted everyone to go home again. She put her hands over her ears but the noises just got louder.

"Mesay, come on!"

"Mesay!"

"MESAY!!!"

***

She jolted up out of her sleeping bag. She felt two hands holding her shoulders. She jerked until her eyes focused on Muse above her. He was shaking her trying to wake her up.

"Mesay? Finally, you're awake. Can you hear me?" Muse asked.

Mesay blinked a few times, trying to regain her bearings. "Yeah. What's going on?" She moved around Muse and stumbled out the tent. Outside she could hear Kyle screaming. And a bunch of others rushing toward the woods. Natalie was outside her tent. Mesay tried to hurry her sleepy body toward the commotion. She was bumped into by Caught.who was also rushing to help. Mesay quickly grabbed his shoulders and stopped him.

"Caught. You can't go. We don't know what that is. Stay with Natalie please." She insisted.

"He's hurt!" Caught yelled.

"We can't afford to lose you to anyone Caught. You need to stay here." She turned to Muse. "Muse stay with them. And zap yourselves out of here if there is any trouble."
Muse nodded and turned to Caught. Motioning for him to get back.

"Don't worry. Whatever it is, we've had worse." Mesay assured. Then ran off toward the trouble.

***

In the woods, Tiq, Starling and Wren were first on the scene. All they had were their flashlights, and respective weapons. Starling with her gun, Tiq with an axe, and Wren with her smaller sickle. The three were on watch so they were luckily armed for instant trouble. Since they didn't know what their abilities were yet they had to be prepared. They heard Kyle scream but couldn't locate him.

"Kyle! Where are you?" Tiq yelled.

Starling suddenly straightened. She felt a bit odd. Something was pinging a certain sense in her. It was the screaming. She could feel the screaming. And she knew exactly where it was coming from. 

"Over here!" Starling yelled and she ran off deeper into the forest. The other two butterflies following fast behind her. They rushed through the dark trying not to stumble or fall. Starling didn't have such a problem. It was like she could sense everything around her. But only from the direction of the sounds. As it got louder it became more tangible for her. Almost like a force being pushed and moved through her body. She "seeing" what was ahead from the sound. It was like a type of echo location. This must be her power. She sensed what the earth was shaped like in front of her. It looked like a eight foot drop and at the bottom was the source of the sound. It was Kyle. She could see him. He was writhing in agony. Three other things were around him. But they constantly faded away and then appeared again.

Without thinking she yelled, "Stop!" 

Tiq and Wren quickly came to a halt and Starling jumped off the mini cliff and into the fray. When she closed her eyes and landed just before Kyle. The ripples of sound coming from him were thick now. She moved her arms in giant sweeping motions around her. As if she was brushing them away. And as she did the three things disappeared. And Kyle's screams turned into moans of pain. Starling opened her eyes and saw Kyle bloody and broken.

"Kyle! What happened to you?" She asked.

"Sweet God just get me out of here!" He pleaded.

"What is going on down there? Starling are you okay?" Tiq asked.

"Kyle is hurt pretty bad. I could use some help." Starling called back.

"We'll be down in a second." Tiq replied.

Soon more screaming came from Kyle. His bones cracked back into place. His muscles tore and reformed. A minute later Kyle was sitting upright. Trying to mentally catch up to his physical recovery. Starling was standing next to him. Tiq and Wren walked up to them.

"What on earth was that?" Wren asked.

"Yeah! You just jumped down like some kind of badass. How did you even know that was there Starling? It's dark as hell out here." Tiq continued.

"I think I figured out my power guys! It's some kind of sound thing. Like I could hear the sounds but then see with them too. Like echolocation. And then I took the waves and moved them. It was really cool but really weird. I didn't even think I just....did." Starling stopped in thought of what just happened. Elated at her ability finally showing up but confused as to what happened.

"What about Kyle?" Wren asked again.

"He can't talk right now. He's still recovering from his body reforming. He was beat up pretty bad though." Starling answered.

"Kyle?" Tiq started. "Kyle buddy you okay?" Tiq shone the flashlight in Kyle's unblinking eyes.

Kyle blinked a few times then finally reacted. "Get that fucking shit out of my eyes!"

"He's fine." Tiq quipped.

"Far from it." Kyle countered. "Looks like my boyfriend finally came a calling."

"Showtime?" Wren asked.

"Yeah, he was having a good time of me. He was...hurting me pretty bad and then would wait for me to recover before doing it again. Little shit. Something was holding me down though. It was like there were multiple versions of him. I don't know. Fucker needs to buy me flowers next time." Kyle was doing his best impersonation of himself. He couldn't tear his mind away from what he saw or felt. It was a horrible experience that he was pretty sure he wasn't going to live from. He was dragged so far and fast into the forest that he didn't know what was going on. Let alone if anyone was going to find him.
Just then they heard a loud squawking. Lucy darted past the others and strait to Kyle's shoulder.

"A lot of good you did!" Kyle poked at the bird. It lovingly cooed and nipped at his finger. Kyle was happy to see Lucy again. "You little shit." He smiled.

"Guys! Is everything okay?" Paul asked over the hivemind.

"We have Kyle, he's okay." Wren answered back.

"Well good but we need you to hurry back. Someone's attacking the camp." Paul retorted.

***

"Chula! We need you by the food tent! It's on fire again!" Mesay yelled. "Apple! Red! I want you two to search the perimeter and find out what is going on! Blue! We need to get everyone into the bunker NOW!" As everyone separated Mesay went to check on Muse. She ran to their tents but was greeted by a ton of fire. She raised her hands and it banked away from her face. Still feeling the intense heat from the flames. Suddenly the flames in that corner dissipated as Paul walked past them and to Mesay. 

"How did this get started?" He asked.

"I don't know, but this isn't just a normal attack. I feel like we're being kept busy." Mesay answered. "Have you seen Muse? He was with Caught and Natalie."

Muse materialized beside Mesay. He had Natalie with him. She dropped franklin, her baseball bat and fell to her knees coughing. Muse had a bad cut across his forehead. He stumbled back a bit in his stupor. Mesay quickly moved to help him keep his balance while Paul checked on Natalie.

"I'm okay." Natalie insisted. "I'm just....not used to getting punched in the gut."

"You got punched?!" Paul asked.

"Some huge guy. And a masked woman." Muse spurted out. "They have someone starting fires around camp."

"Where is Caught?" Natalie panicked a bit.

Muse looked around confused. "He isn't here?" Muse started to sink. Mesay tore part of her pajamas and wrapped the cut on his head. 

"He was right next to us." Natalie insisted.

"Muse? I need you keep talking okay? Mesay worried.

"I'm okay. I just.... am a little tired." Muse retorted.

I need to get Muse back to Blue." Mesay said. "Paul, you need to find Caught and get him back here."

"I'm on it." Paul assured.

"I'm coming with you." Natalie said.

"You really shouldn't. Just stay...."

"I'm not going to just leave him in this mess." Natalie held up her Franklin. Whatever blow she took was shrugged off quickly. 

"Alright slugger. Let's go find Caught." Paul quipped. And the two ran off toward the far end of camp. Paul dispersing flames as they went.

***

"Natalie! Muse!" Caught stopped his calling out to cough. The fire was starting to close him in now. And he had to find a way out. That Muse guy must have vanished without him. He's probably would have been able to get away if it wasn't for the creepy woman who attacked them. The three of them just had a run in with what looked like the proxy of the month. All he knew is that he had to get back to the dragonflies. 

Or butterflies. 

The bug people. 

Whatever.

As the fire raged Caught tried to find another way out. It was then when he felt a familiar pain on the back of his head. He dropped on the ground. His eyes hazy. A brick was laying near his head. Trying to look up a pair of boots came into view.

"Trying to find a memory in a dark room. Dirty man....I know you well." She said.

"Oh great. A poet." Caught retorted. His vision getting wobbly. Even his arms and legs felt shaky. But it felt like it was coming from beneath him. A rhythmic pounding that almost felt like giant footsteps. "What the..."

A loud battle roar came from the woods just beyond the fire. Suddenly jumping over the flames was an inhumanly tall 15ft man. Bald and burly. He landed in the ring of fire grinning madly. He held an average sized woman on his shoulder like a child. She threw her sickle at the masked woman. It expanded into a full length scythe. Wren's weapon of choice swooped down, spinning toward the proxy. It spun to the side and nicked her in the arm before crashing to the ground.

"How do you like that you proxy piece of shit? Get the hell away from him!" Tiq yelled. And he clenched his two fists together and threw them down on the proxy. Wren went falling to the ground as this happened. And the woman tucked and rolled out of the way.

"Hey!" Wren hollered as she got up. "Did you forget something there big man? Do you want to see me hurt?"

"Chilly wind you're piercing like a dagger. It hurts me so....yeah." The woman retorted.

"That's enough out of you!" Another voice called. Suddenly Red was right behind the woman. She grabbed her by the arms and held her back. Wren hurried to Caught's side but not before getting kicked in the head by the proxy. Wren fell to the ground near Caught. The woman struggled viciously. Red held on but this woman was considerably taller than her. And strong too. In the struggle the proxy's hoodie fell to her shoulders revealing tangled black hair. The proxy twisted and the two fell to the ground. Red made sure to never let go of her grip. The proxy seemed to calm a bit now. Tiq walked up to the woman and Red. Shrinking down to his normal size. 

"Let's see what kind of face we find under that pretty mask." He quipped.

"Nobody needs to discover me." She retorted. 

Just then Tiq found himself in a sleeper hold, by another. Red stood shocked at the sight. Somebody with a Mexican wrestling mask was trying to wrestle him back. He was huge. And Tiq couldn't get out of his grip.

"Drop the puck, time to go."

"What?" Red said. 

The woman leaned her head forward and slammed it back onto Red's face. She released to nurse a potential broken nose. The woman quickly recovered and pulled some twine from her coat. She quickly tied Red's ankles together. And then her wrists.

The woman got up and watched as the other proxy man finished the job. Tiq passed out and the man dropped him. She turned around to only find Wren coming at her with the scythe. She swept it forward and caught a small chunk of the mask. Tearing it revealing a bit of the face. The woman rushed Wren and grabbed the handle. fighting with her for the scythe.

"Nobody needs to discover me. I'm back again." the woman said. Quickly moving a leg behind Wren knocking her on the ground. The woman took the scythe and pointed it at Wren's neck. The string on the mask came undone a bit showing a bit more of the woman's face. The fire all around them lighting the corners. Catching the reflection off an exposed eye. Wren tried to make out the face. It looked familiar.

"You feel the ashes from the fire that kept you warm. Its comfort disappears."

"....Natti?" she asked. Then she felt a hard knock to her head and went limp, unconscious. The woman looked up and saw the Messenger come around Wren after having kicked her. She had her flamethrower pack on. She looked up at the half masked woman and held up the brick. The man came to meet them and they all looked at Caught. Trying to drag himself away from the scene. The man walked up to Caught, picked him up as if he was a toy. And put him over his shoulder. Caught didn't protest. He could hardly stay awake.

"The barn is full, our teams in town. So put em up boys." The woman proxy walked over to Red still nursing her wounds. "And knock em out." She raised the brick but suddenly heard voices. 

"Over here!" Paul yelled.

The woman backed off and motioned for the other two to follow her. The three proxies, disappeared into the woods.

Paul and Natalie came though the fire. Paul dispersing it as they walked along. They found Tiq unconscious, Wren waking up, and Red with a bloody nose struggling through her bonds.

"Get this fucking shit off of me!" Red yelled.

The smoldering remains still crackled around the group.Paul quickly got the bonds off of Red. Red cursed up a storm yelling about proxies and explained how they took Caught. 

"Caught is gone? Where did they take him?" Natalie asked Paul. 

"Really? Really Paul? Isn't it obvious?" Red started. "Fucking Help3r! Asshole has found a few fucking followers for his shit. And now he's turning them on us. Asshole."

"I had no idea! These are people we don't even know." Paul said.

"I think we know one of them." Wren finally spoke up. She slowly walked over to Paul and Red.

Just then Blue rushed over to the group. She came up to Wren and helped her sit down. "Today's a day for head injuries huh?" She chimed. 

"What about my broken nose baby?" Red mildly complained.

"Concussions first sweetie." She smiled back. She turned to Wren. Not being able to exactly pinpoint where the pain for Wren was. Mostly because of the concussion of her own. "What are you feeling right now Wren?"

"Oh Blue, you're hurt too." Wren wavered a bit and then grabbed blue to steady herself. Suddenly a rush ran through her body. Her hands shined brightly for a second. She moved her hand up to touch Blue's head and it began to heal. Blue stood there a bit shocked. Was... was Wren healing Blue? Did they have another healer in the group?

Wren moved back and saw that Blue's head wound was all healed up. She looked at her hand and her eyes opened up wide. 

"That's my power? I can heal stuff like you Blue?" Wren smiled at that before bumping into Paul. She put her hands onto Paul's shoulder and then felt another rush. Her hands shined again, and fell over from dizziness. She was on her knees holding herself steady with her hands on the ground. Sparks of blue flame suddenly rose out of her hands and engulfed her. Everyone screamed in shock. Paul quickly picked up Wren but the fire wouldn't stop. He did everything he could to lessen it but to no avail. The fire didn't even feel hot. It was cool almost to the touch. The fire went away and suddenly there was Wren. Wide eyed again. But perfectly fine. All of her wounds were healed. And she felt clear headed. 

Everyone was dead silent for a moment.

"What....in the hell........what that?" Red finally said.

"Holy shit." Paul answered noticing her healed self.

"What? What did I do?" Wren asked.

"I think you just combined our powers." Paul retorted. "I think you just made up a new power. By combining ours.

***

The three proxies were making good time getting back to Help3r. Occasionally The Messenger would stop and look back. As if she was expecting someone to be there. But she couldn't see anyone. They marched on, with Caught.

Apple breathed a sigh of relief. That was too close. They were really good at making sure they weren't being followed. They almost lost her a few times. But Apple had to see where they were going. Where they were taking Caught.