"Hey, Mary. Look: I brought you some nice, fun homework to do," said Natasha, waving a sheet of paper in front of Mary's open eyes.

Mary didn't react.

"Come on, I need you! I can't do this on my own!"

Mary continued to stare upward at nothing.

"Give it up," whispered Tracy.

"Pardon?"

"I said, give it up. Please don't make me talk loudly. It hurts."

"Sorry," said Natasha, walking back to Tracy, who was sitting on the edge of her bed. "I just don't know what to do... The doctors say she's awake. She just won't respond to anything."

"Watching me get stabbed—fatally, as far as she knew—must have combined with her PTSD to leave her catatonic. I was hoping seeing me alive would help, but alas not. Maybe it needs all three of us?"

"That will require Stacy to wake up first. And I'll need to hide my not-arm. And where the heck is William?"

"How should I know?"

"It was rhetorical!"

"I'm here," answered a quiet, tired voice.

"William!"

"Yes, I'm here. I apologise for my absence. I was... recalled."

"Recalled? How the heck can you get recalled? Who can recall you? You have a boss who's pissed that Decay beat us, and threatened to fire you?"

"I'm glad to hear you're still as energetic as ever," answered the white kitten, floating towards the crippled magical girl from the window.

The window that was closed and locked, but William had never let that sort of thing stop him.

"That didn't answer my question!"

"If you must know, I was punished for making a decision that was not mine to make. But I stand by it. Circumstances have... altered."

"What does that mean?" asked Tracy.

"Stacy made a deal with Decay to save your lives. You are no longer to attempt to harm him, directly or indirectly."

"We really have lost, then..." said Natasha, sitting on her hospital bed. "Completely and utterly."

"I can understand Stacy doing that, but why did you let her make that promise?" whispered Tracy. "If we'd died, his protection would have broken, and you'd have been able to appoint new protectors to finally defeat him."

"I'm not certain that's true," said William. "You almost killed him, and left him heavily wounded and desperate. Given the circumstances, killing you could easily be construed as justifiable self defence."

"Successful enough to prove that we posed a threat, but not enough to actually win. Urk... I've done too much talking. Sorry, but I need to lie down."

"Please do. I only came to warn you about the deal Stacy made, before you got it into your heads to attempt revenge, breaking her promise. I... probably won't be around anymore, after this."

"No! You can't leave!" exclaimed Natasha. "That's too sad..."

"I'm not sure I'll have much choice."

"Liar..." accused another voice.

"What?" asked William. "No, I'm afraid I really will need to leave."

"Yeah, why would you accuse him... of..." started Natasha, before realising who had spoken. "Mary! Mary, you're awake!"

"He is lying," repeated Mary, who was still lying on her hospital bed, staring upward. "Whatever his reasons for agreeing to that deal, it was nothing to do with saving our lives."

"Huh? What are you saying?" asked Natasha. Even Tracy pushed herself up on her bed, trying to get a look at her teammate.

"Well?" demanded Mary, turning her head slightly to bring the floating creature into view. "Because I've been considering the options, right from the moment you made that oath to Decay, and there's only one possibility that makes sense. And, if I'm right, this is all your fault."

"I... I..." stuttered William. "I'm sorry..."

"Wait, from the moment he made that oath?" asked Natasha. "You've been listening the whole time? No, more importantly, what do you mean, this is William's fault?"

"Because when he felt Decay approaching our trap, he also noticed that his heart was no longer completely black, right? And, despite that, you didn't inform us, but told Stacy to spring the trap. We agreed you'd tell us if he changed! Instead, you used us like mindless weapons, to assassinate your enemy."

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

"No! It wasn't like that!" exclaimed William. "It was only a speck. Hardly anything. A tiny seed, alone in the darkness!"

"Seeds sprout and grow," said Mary, coldly. "Perhaps it's for the best that you leave."

"Stop arguing!" cried Natasha. "Mary and William are both back. We should be celebrating!"

"How can you think like that after what Decay did to you?" asked Mary. "Aren't you going to blame William at all? It's his fault this happened."

"Well... I can't really blame Decay, can I?" answered Natasha. "I mean, we've tried to kill him, repeatedly, and this time we almost succeeded. Did you expect him to just laugh it off? And we should at least give William a chance to explain himself."

Mary sighed and rolled over on her bed, facing away from the others. "Do what you like. As for me, I quit, for all the difference it makes."

"No! Don't quit! I still need your help with my schoolwork or I'm gonna flunk the whole year!"

Despite herself, Mary smiled slightly, but she didn't answer.

"William..." breathed Tracy, quietly, but even that much made her wince.

"Yes?"

Unable to speak, Tracy scribbled out her question on paper instead: 'what happened to Stacy?'

"Decay stabbed her through the heart. She was... seriously..."

The floating kitten stuttered to a halt as Tracy's eyes narrowed.

'No more lies,' she wrote.

"Yeah, her wound has mostly healed already," nodded Natasha. "She just won't wake up. She isn't even breathing properly on her own. It's been days since then, and they still have her on a respirator in intensive care!"

"She... uh... let Decay drain her. Given how seriously injured he was, it took a lot of energy to heal himself. Pretty much everything she had. He stabbed her through the heart and took her life force directly. He promised to let you four live, but good health wasn't a part of the deal. She'll wake up, eventually. Possibly in a few months, but it may take up to a year."

"A year?!" exclaimed Natasha. "Wait, didn't you say that victims of Banes suffered after-effects even after waking up? Will she be okay?"

William looked away without answering, which was all the answer the girls needed.

"Share... mine..." whispered Tracy, uncaring of how much talking hurt.

"Share yours? Your energy?" asked William. "That's... I mean, Banes can devour the energy of others, but humans can't."

"Why... not...?"

"You... uh... don't have the required bits of... uh... magic? Soul? I don't actually know how it works. But I do know you can't do it."

"Are you sure?" asked Natasha. "I mean... They're twins. Defenders of Earth. If anyone can share energy, it's going to be them. Heck, you can take some of mine if it helps."

"It doesn't. I'm sorry, but it's simply not possible. You'll need to wait for her to recover on her own."

With a shallow sigh, Tracy rolled over in turn, looking away from the others and falling into silence.

"Sheesh. Looks like it's all up to me, then," said Natasha. "Dad said they'd let me out of hospital tomorrow."

"Up to you?" asked William. "What are you planning?"

"Isn't that obvious? And don't go vanishing on us, because you're coming too."

----------------------------------------

"Oh, you were Natasha, right?" asked Agatha, answering the door to the injured magical girl's knocking. "I saw you on the news. I'm so sorry... That's not something a girl of your age should need to deal with."

"Meh. What happens, happens, and there's no point whining about it," said Natasha. "Is... uh, what was he calling himself...?"

"Sebastian?" asked Agatha. "What do you mean, 'calling himself'?"

"That's not his real name, but his real name is stupid, so I don't blame him for changing it."

"I see you're as empty-headed as always," came Decay's voice from deeper into the house. "What the h... I mean, why are you here?"

"Oh, trying not to swear?" grinned Natasha. "Good for you. I'm here for two reasons, actually. Firstly, to say sorry."

From deeper within the house, something went smash.

"Uh... Are you okay?" called Natasha.

"Did you just break your teacup?" asked Agatha. "That was my grandmother's..."

"Sorry," said Decay.

Natasha snorted.

"That is a rather inappropriate response, young lady," chided Agatha. "That teacup had sentimental value. It also contained very hot tea."

"Sorry. Hah, lots of apologies today. It's just that the thought of 'Sebastian' apologising for smashing a teacup was just kinda... well... hilarious."

"Yes, yes, laugh away," grumbled Decay, walking out into the hallway. He was back in his human disguise, his suit immaculate—except for some amount of tea soaking into one arm—and no sign of the burns or injuries he'd received a mere week earlier.

"Have you never considered changing into something more comfortable when you're at home?" asked Natasha. "It's weird to wear a suit around the house."

"You know full well that I'm not really wearing... Actually, who cares? Why are you here? Really?"

"I said, I came to apologise. And to ask a favour."

Decay's eyes narrowed.

"Umm... Sorry Ms Agatha, but could we have a bit of privacy, please?"

"Suit yourself," she shrugged. "I'm well aware there's more going on here than meets the eyes. I just hope I've done my part to help."

Natasha and Decay shared a glance. "I rather think you have, actually," said Natasha.

"Good."

And, with that blunt declaration, Agatha toddled back into the house.

"So..." said Decay. "What, exactly, are you apologising for? And, more importantly, why, by the Devourer's right horn, would I ever do you a favour?"

"By the Devourer's right horn? What sort of expression is that?"

"Stop getting distracted," said Natasha's backpack in William's voice. "To be honest, I'd quite like to know why we're here, too. The simplest way of fulfilling the terms of our agreement would be to stay away from Decay."

"Right. Well, first, the apology. After our first fight, our group made an agreement. William could sense the evil in your heart, and so we knew that despite how you were acting, it wasn't how you wanted to act. It was just a, well, act. A way to protect yourself from us. We decided that because you were only acting good out of fear of us, and not because you were actually good, we wouldn't treat you differently from any other Bane. We also made William promise us that should you ever change, and should your heart not be wholly evil, we would... reconsider our relationship."

"That's a nice story, but what does it have to do with anything?" asked Decay.

"Because your heart changed, but William never told us. Our last attack should never have happened. That's why I brought him with me. He damn well owes you an apology, too."

"No he does not," said the Bane. "My heart? Change? Utter nonsense. Your head really is full of air if you think I'm any different now from when I first arrived."

"You were drinking tea. With a human."

"So? She's better company than any Bane I've ever met. Since I'm stuck here, why not avail myself of the available facilities? The only difference between now and when I arrived is that I know what some of those facilities are."

"Well, you're welcome to remain in denial if you want, but William, you still need to apologise."

"What's the point? He doesn't think we need to."

"William!"

"... Okay. I'm sorry," said Natasha's backpack.

Decay snorted. "So, the great Will of the World is taking orders from little girls now. Fine, for showing me such a hilarious sight, I'll at least humour you long enough to listen to your request. What is this 'favour' you want?"

"I obviously know you can take energy from people. I also know you can pump that energy into other things, because it's how other Banes tried to widen the rift. I want you to take half of my energy and pump it into Stacy."