— We’ve been informed that we may be facing a Special Class asset here —

In a mischievous tone, said a short-haired woman suited in black, much in the same way Specter was, a few inches from her. They were both standing in the middle of the parade made out of AMAT agents, moving from one side to the other.

— …or at least, a Supporting Class one, that’s at least what the Charismatic Index shows in our books —

Right in front of them, Charles Ardeen the third, great heir of his grandfather's legacy, but also great in size with his 6,7, stared at them devious.

It was always the same he thought, even with all their knowledge, or precisely because of it, the AMAT pretended to know everything through all of their books.

He had been there many times, inside the very belly of the great Library of Everything, the so-called House of the Souls.

He had probably read more AMAT books than a regular person would read normal books in a lifetime, and even then he kept learning how they worked.

He had experienced their stories firsthand and even had a couple of them under his name. Yet, precisely because of that, he knew that those books were worth nothing if you weren’t able to see stories for what they were.

That time, as many others in the past, he knew… AMAT was again scheming against the natural development of everything.

They were digging their nose where they shouldn’t. The only thing was, that this time he owned the yard in which they were stepping in.

— We know, we’re probably already inside a Canon Event —

Said Charles with piercing eyes on the woman.

— I’d forgotten we were talking with Lord Ardeen itself… my apologies —

Krähen, who was next to them, at the edge of the road, growled from the depths of his throat.

— The boy… —

He said, almost in whispers, making the woman notably uncomfortable.

— Sure, the boy… —

But before she was able to say, Charles stepped in.

— You won’t be able to trick him back—

— There’s no need to —

— With canon characters no, of course —

Then she stayed silent, and everyone gave a look to Specter

— That wasn’t me —

Specter excused himself

— There’s no need to, he is on our books too —

Charles stated, making the face of the woman go from suspicious, to judgment.

— So it’s true, Ardeen’s Academy has books too —

Ardeen smiled, blowing air through his nostrils like a big animal would.

— That’s already history, something I wouldn’t expect a little girl to know from the start —

Then, the suited black woman, who should be somewhere around her thirties, closed her eyes in distress, and for a moment it seemed she was about to jump from her hills. But she didn’t, instead, she gave him a smile back.

— Ok, that’s enough, we should be pending this operation —

The place was Mount McGregor’s east face, they were standing approximately two thousand feet from its base, cutting the road to the cities and its traffic, with a corp of about six dozen agents, all revolving a set of four vehicles. The stance located in a road’s emergency stop was both facing the city and next to a communications pole, letting them hold a monitoring position. And emerging from the vehicles, a sea of cables spiraled down like guts into the belly of one out of four oddly advanced machines seemingly made out of glass and steel. Another three similar stands already stood in the mountainous area surrounding Hollow Creek. As Specter introduced himself into the conversation, an Agent all dressed in protection suits came close to them.

— We have a problem, Agent Stark —

The woman made an unpleasant gesture, about to dismiss the agent.

— What happens with the Stage Four? —

— … Two hours left, but, it’s not that —

— Then, what is it? —

The Agent swallowed and gave a look to everyone before talking.

— We’ve lost contact with our surveilling team in Hollow Park… —

Eyes wide open, the woman gave an embarrassed look to Ardeen and his colleague.

— Foremost, we’ve detected strange activity in the nearby woods… —

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Then, before the agent could explain himself further, a sound stole everyone's attention. It was low and rumbling, almost guttural, distant but clear, like the sound of rain outside the house. There, like a suspicion you don’t want to confirm, the four of them turned their head at the same time, searching for something in between the thousand lights that made the city in the distance. And there it was, right in its downtown, tiny but unmistakable, a cloud of dust where Hollow Park should be.

— That’s impossible —

Said the agent Stark, conducing herself in heels to the edge of the road to see better.

— It has already started, the arc break —

Said Charles, calmly from his place.

— But… the veil’s not ready! —

She claimed, turning her sight back, watching all the operation in movement.

— There’s no time —

Answered Charles, and it took her a minute to put herself back

— I’ll go —

Said Krähen.

— No! I’ll go —

She answered.

— I think someone’s ahead of us —

Said Charles, pointing at the place where Specter was just a moment before.

When Specter made it into the woods, having passed through Oliver’s demolished house, and the grass-riped backyard, he expected nothing but disappointment. He knew it, all of his cool-dude approach to those three kids would back-fire him quickly, and in spite of his best intentions, the truth was that they were fighting something so strong, odd, and unknown, that not even he knew what to do about it.

He dived himself inside the woods, taking a look first at the dreamcatcher he had left in Oliver’s fridge, and prayed. When he got into the clear that the creature had made when he heard it roaring and saw the trees bent, unrooted out of their place, he felt shiverings going through his limbs.

— It cannot be —

He thought loudly, watching a blood thread dive into the woods. He stepped forward, hesitant, till he found her, laid back over a tree, holding Oliver between her arms.

They were both so wounded, that Specter thought they were dead, till he got close enough to see them breathe. A miracle, he thought, but not as big as the very one he was looking at laid in front of them, quietly resting over the grass, like part of it, the original and forehead-possessed body of Oliver, now headless. When Specter realized what those two had made, he almost screamed out of joy. Much in the same way, he wished he had after realizing the two were alive a moment before.

How and with whom help they had managed to do it, he could only guess, and he would have been satisfied, if he hadn’t heard the next sound.

It was like the roar from before, a distant voice, whispering familiar sounds in the near. At first, he thought it was the winds, then, when he recognized it as a voice, he thought either Kiki or Oliver had woken up. But it was neither one or the other. Instead, as he kept turning his attention to it, he realized the voice came from someplace further in the woods. He walked a few steps in and discovered the blood thread leading inside of it.

— Es tut mir so leid, du hast keine falsche gemach, aber deiner zeit habes nich noch gekommt —

Said the voice, coming from a familiar silhouette inside the umbrella made out of woods, awkwardly sitting over his own fets, facing him with his back. Specter recognized immediately, that it was Park.

— Wer bist du!? verdamnt! —

Said another voice, deeper, which source Specter wasn’t able to find.

— Beruhige dich bitte, ich muss dafür machen dass das funktioniert —

It took him a second, but word by word, he got it. They were in the middle of an argument while speaking in German.

“God, I hate this language,” thought Specter, who had little understanding of it… barely enough to get some out of what they were saying.

— I know you… you were… asshole… free me —

Said the unknown voice.

— Who … I… old Ardeen… have… shut up —

Answered Park.

— Hah… dumb?... liar —

— … should… WC… —

Then, they both got quiet for a second. Specter thought of coming out, but before he could do anything, Park stood out, and he was able to see what was beneath him. A Hex, carefully drawn with blood on the floor, and inside of it, a horned Head, like the one of a goat.

— Now… must…. sorry —

Was able to hear Specter, before he activated the Hex. The lines shone, and before he could understand what had happened, Park turned around to find… nothing.

— Specter, you’re here —

Said back when he came back to Oliver and Kiki, where Specter lay unaware of what had happened.

— What the hell happened? —

Asked the agent, notably upset about what they had seen. Park smiled, as he noticed the agent’s sight over the wound piercing a hole where his left eye used to be.

— We won —

Said Park, before falling unconscious into the ground.