-Are you out of your mind? What did you do?

For such a little girl,Anna sure had a loud voice. In the meantime Angelica was listening quietly from her hospital bed. She was looking down and hadn't lifted her look to look at Anthony ever since he entered the room half an hour ago. Her disappointment and sadness were as clear to him as the multiple scars on her body. Surprisingly,he didn't ask her where she got them. He felt like he knew but his reason wouldn't let him admit it. Or was it his pride? He couldn't tell at this point.

Ever since he arrived Anna hasn't stopped yelling at him. Normally, Anthony would respond just as angrily.He had one of the worst days in his existence and he would welcome any chance to blow off some steam. But not today. He didn't care about petty arguments and pointless tries to defend himself.

While he was coming here,a part of him was booming with excitement. He wanted to speak to Angelica honestly,for the first time. No implications,no sarcasm,no secrets,no lies. He knew enough,he had lived enough. He believed he was ready.

But when he arrived at the hospital and saw her lying on that hospital bed in a white robe,covered in bandages and hooked up to all kinds of machines he lost all of his courage and determination. But what really destroyed him was her smile. Or rather the lack of it. After all this time, Anthony had familiarized himself with all of her expressions, especially her sarcastic smile. Now,she had a smile of defeat on his face. Like the last of her hopes had vanished. Like the last person she had placed a portion of her trust on,had let her down.

Anthony felt an immense urge to fix that. That's why he hardly paid any attention to Anna's words. All he cared about was her finishing her little angry monolog so she would step out of the way and clear the way to Angelica.

-Are you even listening to me or your mind went blank as it did today?

She was smart,that much he knew,but his patience was starting to run thin and she didn't seem to be at the end of her lecture so he simply moved past her, much to her annoyance,and kneeled before Angelica's bed.

-How are you,Angelica?

She turned to look at him,at last,and that action alone gave him hope but at the same time her empty and disappointed look crushed it

-The answer is before your eyes.The question you should be asking me is why I am in this state.

Now,it was Anthony's turn to lower his gaze

-.....I don't know

-Exactly. You went to deal with a problem that you haven't even analyzed. And the result? An even bigger problem.

-And the worst thing,Angelica,is that he refused to acknowledge the existence of a problem.

Anna's comment, who was standing over him,sounded like universal judgment but he didn't rise up to disagree.

-What did I do,Angelica?

-That's the thing. Nothing. Your best friend is under the influence of someone very dangerous who is leading him to his destruction and you wasted the one opportunity we had to change this because you were too shocked to react. Unbelievable.

-I don't think there was anything I could do,anyway. He seemed to genuinely despise my presence.

-If he didnt,then there wouldn't be anything to solve. Sometimes in order to get better,the medicine hurts a little. It's the same with bad choices. People secretly know when they are on the wrong track and they don't want to admit defeat or mistake so they attack anyone who tries to help them. Deep inside,they are afraid of the pain the realization of their mistake will cause. That's when you have to fight the hardest.

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Anthony didn't answer but continued to hang his head down as if he was ashamed of his own defeat and weakness when suddenly his eyes sparkled ever so little.

-Maybe this day wasn't a total failure after all. I managed to secretly take a picture of him outside of the cafe window. Only one side of his face is visible but it's pretty clear.

The moment he showed the photo to Angelica,a look of sheer panic and fear appeared on her face like she had seen a natural ancient enemy of hers,she had wished never to see again. She started shaking and her heart rate went up.

Anthony and Anba did everything they could to calm her down until eventually she seemed to calm down a little but she was still shaking.Anthony turned to Anna in terror.

-Who is he?

-Eric. An exiled Shadow. He is said to be malicious, cunning, extremely clever and he is constantly searching for a way to be forgiven and reunite with the rest of the Shadows.

-How are we a part of that plan?

Angelica opened her mouth to speak but her mouth started shaking like the rest of her body and Anthony rushed to hush her before she had another panic attack. However,she managed to utter two sentences.

-My head. My head is his ticket home.

Anthony let her go in utter fear and shock and suddenly everything made sense.

-He is leading Raphael to a trap.I don't know how he did it but somehow he managed to convince the critics and the public that the book he has written is a masterpiece. It's not. Trust me,I have read it. Whatever Eric is doing,he will stop eventually. And Raphael will see his biggest dream,which he just started to live,collapse before his eyes.It will destroy him. And in his sorrow,he will lash out to anyone who is close to him at that time.

-You. Or me,it's the same thing

Angelica's answer was accompanied by an exchange of looks between them.An exchange that solidified their mutual knowledge of the truth,a truth that isn't necessary to be told.

-How do we stop him?

Anna's question may seem childish but it was true.

-We can't. The only thing we can do is distract him so we can talk to Raphael without him interfering.Come on girls. Think. You know more things about him than I do. There must be something.Not necessarily a weakness,something important enough to him to at least make him drop his ground.

Anna looked at Angelica as her eyes started shining but Angelica didn't seem to share her hopefulness

-How about we.....

-No

-But Angelica.....

-I said no. I will not use something like this against him.And not because of him but because of my cousins.

Anna turned to Anthony and politely asked him to wait outside.He protested at first but he knew by now how futile that was so he agreed to leave the room. The moment Anthony left Anna took Angelica's hand between her own

-Angie,please. It's our only chance. He is his only weakness.

-I will not offend my cousins' memory. The fact that they don't exist anymore is not an excuse to diminish their value.

-No one is disrespecting them. You think they would want you to just give up? From the little I have read from the history books they seemed like a class that hated surrender or defeat.

-It's too dangerous. If we lose control and George gets hurt, physically or emotionally,Eric is going to destroy us.You know the protective instincts of that class are legendary.

-I know and we will be careful. I already have a plan in mind.Trust me,I wouldn't put you or Anthony in unnecessary risk. You just hold on and leave everything to Anthony and myself.

-I still believe you are too young to deal with this class but it's not like I can do anything to prevent you. By the way,why did you send Anthony outside?

-He hardly understands the four classes that exist now. How could I explain to him that there once was a fifth class,which is nearly extinct,and that our target is one of the very few last remaining members.

Angelica nodded in understanding and a few moments later Anthony entered the room.

-Sorry to interrupt but the nurse told me we should get going. Also,Anna,do you happen to have Eve's phone number?

-The Queen's? I have been trying to reach her for days but to no avail. She isn't picking up her phone.

-Why? What happened?

Angelica asked them concerned and Anna tried to brush it off telling her it was nothing important but Anthony decided to tell her the truth.

-Something really weird has been happening the past few days. I have seen people trying to kill each other and then hug. I once saw a couple in a cafe that broke up because the coffee of the girl was too. sweet.

Anna sighed. Since Anthony decided to mention it,she might as well offer valuable information

-And the list goes on and on. It seems like the bonds of the humans are simply falling apart. No control and no stability. And whatever is going on,it's not the work of Shadows. I would have sensed them if they were nearby. On the contrary,they seemed to have completely withdrawn from their hunting.So what is causing this collapse?

-Are my sisters in danger? If they are, I have to go help them.

Angelica made a move to get up but her wounds soon protested and shot waves of pain in her body forcing her to give up on trying to get up and lie back down again.In the meantime,Anna and Anthony were by her side,anxious,in a second.

-Don't try to do it again. The only one you should be concerned about is yourself. They will be fine. It's probably some form of miscommunication between your sisters and the higher-ups.

-He is right. In your condition there isn't much you can do. Your sisters need you to be healthy and strong So just rest for now.

Angelica didn't seem convinced but she relaxed,as much as she could,and soon she was fast asleep,too tired to stay awake any longer. Anthony and Anna looked at her sweetly and quietly left the room.

In the corridors they came across nurses attacking doctors and other members of stuff.Despite what they had told Angelica to keep her from leaving the hospital,the situation was becoming more dangerous by the day.

-What is the Queen even doing? We have enough problems on our own,we don't have the time or energy to deal with this either.

-I highly doubt we could do anything,even if we offered our services. What concerns me most is the disappearance of the Queen.Do you think something has happened to her.

-I don't know. We are at the edge of the multiverse. If anything has happened to the capital we will be the last to know.Anyway,do you have any idea what we can do with Eric?

-I might have a plan.

-Really?

-Yes,you are going to love it.

Anna spent the entire way to the hotel explaining her plan to Anthony and he had to admit:

That small human sure was more dangerous than she looked