“Vi—Azurelane!” Enrique glowed with an orange aura but wavered on whether to hurl a fireball or drop the act.

Vi flicked her blade ever so slightly and thin blue lines of energy appeared, binding everyone’s arms in an instant. “Follow me.” She turned and began walking.

The journey back to the kingdom was silent. Enrique noted the restraints around him, Sven, Alicia, and Gujar were much looser than the ones around the captured gang members. They encountered guards but Vi motioned to the group with her sword, and they let her pass without comment.

“Now, which one of you is the leader?” Vi asked without looking back.

“Me,” Enrique and Alicia spoke at the same time. Vi grabbed them both unceremoniously with a tail and yanked them forwards.

She turned to Enrique and asked him in a much quieter voice. “How did it go?”

He lowered his voice too. “Could’ve been worse. We dropped the drugs off with some guards, but the arms dealer escaped. Her name was Felice and Alicia thinks she’s a Fae. Are you okay? Should you be up?”

“I’m fine. I’m glad you’re okay too.” Her tail patted him on the back. “That’s good to hear. I think you might have to play as a gang a little while longer.”

“Why?”

“I’d like to see if we can help a couple more people that way.”

Behind him, he heard angry muttering by the former Dire Wolves. “Those murdering Anima! They killed Yecna!”

“Shut up! She’ll hear you!”

“We’re going to die anyways! We’ll be turned in and rot in a jail.”

“There’ll be more of us. We’ll make them pay.”

Vi made no outward reaction. She led them into her house and to the kitchen. “Would you like some tea?”

The former gang members glared daggers at her. “What do you want from us?” one with long, dirty hair snarled.

Vi poured everyone a cup as the lines of energy holding them vanished. “Do I need a reason? I feel a little sorry for you. I’d like to give you a chance to become citizens of the kingdom.”

“Sorry? Are you mocking us?” The one who had spoken balled his hands into fists. “We’ll show you! There’s more of us out there, seeing the horrible things you Anima have done, ready to be recruited! We’ll take over one of your cities and then we’ll see who’s laughing!”

Vi made a sympathetic noise. “Awww, poor things. It sounds like you’ve absorbed lots of bad lessons from the Saukallian remnant.”

Enrique shifted in his seat as he saw three of the gang members gnashing their teeth while the other two, Waz and the oldest, were uncertain how to respond. “Remnant?”

His partner took a sip from a cup. “Mm-hm. After we won the Five Kingdoms War, members of the other nations could choose to either join us as citizens or remain in their own lands. The ones who remained we call the ‘remnant’. I guess the Saukallian remnant became harsher after losing a lot of land.”

She fixed her eyes on the former Dire Wolves. “Let’s make things clear. I’m not a Hero and there are laws against gangs like yours. The king and queen are the ones with ultimate power here. I can only give you a chance to prove yourselves as good and responsible people worthy of citizenship.”

“How are we supposed to do that?” Waz was wary but not as aggressive as the other gangsters. He couldn’t stop the tremors over his body, however, recalling the image of his brother set on fire on the ground.

“That depends. I’ll need to separate you from the others.” Vi draped a few tails over the table to indicate this, but also to block Enrique and the rest from view. “You’ll need a quiet place to stay, a job, and likely enroll in a drug treatment program too.”

She turned to Enrique. “Any ideas? Would you prefer it if we had the house to ourselves?”

“The cafe.” The words came out of his mouth before he could stop himself. It seemed like the kind of bizarre solution she’d think of herself.

“Good idea! Let’s go.” Vi finished her tea and led them into the destroyed building. At this time, the surrounding shops were closed.

She spread out her arms. “Since I brought you here, I’ll take full responsibility for your group. Your first job will be to remodel this cafe and repair it. I’ll need to go out and sell some items to pay you in cash. I’m in debt. For now, you need to stay inside, come up with a list of what you need, and not come out until I return. I’ll see if I can find some mattresses. Make yourselves comfortable.”

Enrique demanded, “Why are you so nice to them?”

“Why can’t we be friends?” Vi beamed. “I believe in the power of friendship!”

Everyone stared at her.

Vi became embarrassed as the silence stretched on. “Don’t get me wrong! You’re very bad puppies. Mean, scared boys that scared and possibly killed innocents. But you’re still little puppies to me. You could use a second chance.” She patted them each on the head with her tails, a big smile on her face.

Enrique couldn’t tell if she was humiliating the gang members or being so genuine it was painful. “Did you mess your head up when you got hit?” he muttered.

At his waist, Remnant quipped, “She doesn’t half-butt the whole friendship thing.”

Vi stopped smiling as she addressed the gang members again. She took on a neutral and even tone.

Her eyes glowed. “Now, I should warn you. I have the power to see into the future, so I’ll know if you’re planning something. My Eye can also discern intention. It doesn’t matter if you disguise yourselves like some of your members did before, because I can see intent to harm others. You need to be on your best behavior. I won’t accept any attempt to hurt, rob, or threaten any citizens. Otherwise I’ll have to kill you.”

Though she gave a pleasant smile as if to assure them, the gang members stiffened. Angry or not, they had enough experience to know to treat her warning with respect.

She headed to the door and prepared to lock it to keep the five inside. “Bad boys will get punished.”

Suddenly, a series of scenes flashed in her mind. She imagined sending the others away and letting the door shut as she stepped in. In one scene, she pointed out a mistake the strangers had made and strangled them for hours. In another, she said nothing and beat them with her tails until they begged. The scenes spiraled into worse and worse acts, often reducing the enemies to less than animals. It would be so easy. A soundproof spell and entering in the night. No one outside to hear. The gibbering shells could be explained as justice or revenge, but what frightened Vi was she simply liked the actions. A righteous motive would be icing on the cake.

My powers. I’m going to extend myself if I’m not careful. With an effort, she forced herself to shut the door and lock it with a spell. She clenched the doorknob, wrestling away the side effects. It was invisible to everyone except for the small smile she had and her shaking arm.

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

Enrique, his partner, Sven, Alicia, and Gujar reconvened at Vi’s house. Enrique wrenched off his mask and spotted Sven do the same.

“It’s been a while since we spoke, Gujar. I’m sorry I didn’t pick up your last message. Am I right that you freed one of the prisoners?” Vi leaned back in her chair to rest. Enrique noticed her wince.

Gujar twitched and didn’t meet her eyes. “It was necessary to convince him I was on his side. I ordered the guards to briefly halt patrol routes and used a potion to cloud our exit. I needed him to lead me to the gang and Felice. No one was hurt.”

Vi sighed. “I know. I guess you used your connections with me and Special Forces to persuade the guards. I would have preferred it if you didn’t do that and abandoned your mission to find the arms dealer. We need to respect authority and follow the laws of the king and queen. Especially if you’re in the Army, as they are your commanders. I’m already on thin ice with them.”

The shapeshifter met her eyes. “You would have done the same. There are those in the Army who have not forgotten you. We will do whatever it takes for the kingdom, and you have succeeded doing so in the past, whatever methods you choose.”

Vi swished a tail in thought. “You’ve spent too much time helping Special. You should understand they tend to do their own thing because they take on difficult missions. The army’s special operations force is not for the faint of heart. However, even they should yield to the royal family. I know I’m not one to talk, but I do have a lot of regret angering the king. Why did you do this?”

The Nocturne produced the torn fabric from Felice’s dress with the blood on it. He placed it on the table. “I want traitors brought to justice. I want Allblades dead. And I want the Nocturne race to be seen as part of the kingdom, not its enemies. The Elarrians already hate us after the latest events. Many Anima as well, in my neighborhood. I worry they will become violent and destroy our homes. I hope my actions place you in debt to help us. Can you do that?” He smiled, a bit of a dark one.

The fox woman was tired. I’m not a Hero anymore, or even an adventurer. Do I really need to do this? “All right. I’ll do my best. Please return to your usual duties and follow the rule of the king.”

Gujar gave her a salute and drifted out of the house. Vi did not bother to acknowledge it as she was, after all, a civilian.

That left Vi, Enrique, Sven, and Alicia alone together. They were silent.

Alicia reached out a hand to snag a fourth bottle of milk, but Sven stopped her with an arm.

“Don’t. You’ll get a stomachache.”

The cat girl made a disgruntled face. “That’s ridiculous. I can eat anything.”

Vi waved her arms and her eyes got big. “He’s right! Too much of a good thing is bad for you. You’re not used to yummy foods.”

As if to spite her, the cat girl downed the bottle. Sven smacked himself upside the head.

Alicia proceeded to have a stomachache.

“Ugh. I don’t feel good.” She groaned and leaned back in her chair.

Vi’s fox tails swished from side to side and her ears twitched as she fidgeted. “Oh, Ali.”

Sven rose from his seat. “Told you. I’ll go buy you medicine. Lie down and take a rest.”

Vi picked up Alicia with her tails. “Are you going to a shop? I have some items you can sell to get money.”

The fox woman carried Alicia to her room and lay her on the bed.

Then she entered the hidden room in the closet. Enrique and the others followed her.

Vi commented, “You didn’t restrain those people. That could’ve been dangerous. Did you know I had cuffs?”

Enrique searched the room. “Oh. I didn’t see any.” Making such a basic mistake was embarrassing.

Vi fetched some handcuffs and several weapons including spears in her arms. “I don’t think this will be enough except to cover basic costs. If I were able to sell most of my collection, I’d still owe money.”

Enrique spotted a blue jewel ring and golden cross amulet sitting in their cases. “What about those? They seem expensive.”

Vi snatched the items away with her tails. “Those aren’t for sale.”

“Oh.” He watched as she opened a case and took out the blue ring. “They mean something to you?”

Vi gazed down at the ring. “This one was from Aurelius.”

Enrique hefted the Will of Flame from his waist. “Was this sword his too? Remnant sounds exactly like him.”

Vi quickly turned her head away and shut her eyes as if in pain. “Yes.” She went very still.

“Vi? Hello?” Enrique reached out a hand and touched her arm.

A scene flashed in his mind.

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

Several years ago.

The door opened and a black-haired man with blue eyes walked in, weary.

Vi skipped over. “Welcome home, Ari! How was your date?”

He draped his jacket over a chair. “Terrible. She left.”

“Wha—what?” Vi’s eyes widened. “I thought you two would be a great match!”

“You suck at pairing,” he scoffed. “You can know the movements of a hundred opponents, but not the results of a forty-minute dinner?”

“Love is so unpredictable!” She waved her arms. “It’s okay! Here, have a drink. I’m sure you’ll find the one for you eventually.”

He approached the table, where a cup sat waiting for him. He took her hand. A small smile spread across his face. “Maybe I’ve already found her.”

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

Another scene came, just as suddenly.

This time the man and Vi stood in a room. He had a sword out, an ice-blue blade that Enrique recognized. “I’ve done some modifications, but the spell should be ready now.”

He held the sword in front of them. “Call to the heavens, hear my cry. Let the skies tremble and strike the void. Seventh Form: Light Bringer!”

Steel changed color to an intense yellow, bathing the entire building in blinding light like the sun. The sword quickly faded to normal.

“Light Bringer?” Vi inspected the sword. “Isn’t that—”

“Pretentious? Yeah.” He grinned. “I thought the name makes sense. Don’t your oldest legends talk about the Maker who carved life out of darkness with light? In the same way, this blade can cut straight through a demon.”

Vi was still worried. “You don’t have to do this. We would have to fight not only Allblades but his Shadows. He will do his best to separate us, and then…”

He gave her a determined glare. “What’s the chance I kill Allblades?”

“Fifty percent. Fifty percent chance he kills you instead.”

Vi trembled. Her eyes were big and pleading.”You shouldn’t go.”

He pressed on further. “Out of that percentage, what’s the chance I kill the demon Osmodeus inside Allblades?”

“Twenty percent.”

“Then that’s a chance I’m willing to take.”

Vi shook her head, shaking. “Gavin is too far gone. He needs to be killed as soon as possible.”

“I know.” His expression was grim. “But Allblades was once my friend. We came to the kingdom together. I just…even if I kill him, I want to see his real face one last time. Not his demon eyes, but the human ones. I want to look in them so he can see everything he’s done, and regret it, but know that I was always trying to reach him until the very end.”

He could see the upset in his partner’s eyes as she saw he wouldn’t be dissuaded. “Aurelius…don’t…”

He locked eyes with her, serious. “If not me, then who? No one else is strong enough, and I feel like this is my responsibility, in a way. He’s done so many terrible things. He won’t stop until he kills off the royal family line or the kingdom burns to the ground.”

The mage turned the blade, the metal glistening under the dim glow of the room. “The Light Bringer isn’t something he can counter. It will cut into him and generate ‘living mana’. You know what that means?”

She already knew, but he liked to be dramatic sometimes, and darn if this wasn’t a good time as any. He explained, flatly. “It means my mana will get injected in any wound he receives, and stay there everlasting. You’ll sense it yourself. He can be stopped. Even if he kills me, he’ll be weakened and I’ll buy us time. Go out there, live your life. You’ll be able to find a new team to finish the job. I believe in you.”

Vi’s voice choked as she pulled him closer with her tails. “Don’t…don’t talk like that.”

Scene end.

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

Enrique quickly jerked his hand back. Vi had opened her eyes and was staring into the distance.

She turned to face him. “Sorry. I got emotional. It’s easier to explain if you see, right?”

“What did you do? A memory transfer?” Enrique stared at his palm.

“You can call it that. I can transfer my memories into whatever I touch. It’s considered a subset of Power Transfer. I can use that to send my powers into something. The System doesn’t show my memory transfer because it’s not directly combat-related.”

She turned away and wrapped up the weapons she had selected in a large towel. “I’ll take care of Alicia until Sven comes back.” She took out her pouch and handed some coins to Sven, then the weapons. “If this isn’t enough, you can sell these.”

“Thanks.” Sven hurried out at a brisk pace.

Vi returned to her bed to watch over Alicia. The cat girl tossed and turned.

“What’s that?” Vi had noticed the silver case still placed on the assassin’s back.

Enrique furrowed his brows. “I’m not sure. I think Alicia found it from the arms dealer. She didn’t think we should open it.”

Vi used a tail to pry the case off Alicia, who struggled and hissed, and set it aside. She set her eyes on it for a moment. “There’s something inside. A stuffed animal? It may be a magic item. It’s made of strange materials for a toy—”

Then Alicia uttered a loud groan. She made a motion to clutch the case and Vi’s expression turned worried.

“Yeah, I don’t have a good experience with these stuffed animals either,” Enrique said quickly. “What if we open it and it starts attacking us? It could spy on us too. I say we keep it locked.”

“All right.”

Vi wrapped her tails around Alicia and they both glowed with blue light as the fox woman sent magic into her.

“Oh. How terrible. It’s as I thought. This is going to take a while.”

“Is it that bad?” Enrique peered over.

“I’m not talking about that.” Vi’s voice became quiet. “Ali, take a rest. I’ll give you something to drink.”

Enrique frowned as he saw Vi mixing a purple drink into a cup. She gave it to Alicia. The cat girl took a sip. Her eyes widened.

“Motherf—”

She slumped on the bed and closed her eyes, falling asleep.

Enrique folded his arms. “I thought that looked familiar. Can you not randomly do stuff like that? Have you ever heard of consent?”

His partner picked up Alicia and had a serious expression. “Enrique, don’t tell anyone this. She has a bomb in her head. I’m going to take her to Morgan’s family house for a bit.”

He jerked back. “A what?” She put a tail up in a shushing motion.

“A remote spell with concentrated mana to kill someone. It’s likely being monitored. I can’t risk Ali being conscious while I look into this. Whoever put it in could hear us through her.”

“Why would she have…?” Enrique trailed off as a creeping suspicion went through him. “Does this have anything to do with Allblades? Why would someone do that to her?”

Vi nodded. “I’m not certain on the details. Can you come with me?”

Before Vi left, she made a quick search and found a blue gemstone lying on a table. He recalled she had offered it to Alicia earlier. The gem had two orbs, one pink and one purple, rotating inside it.

She picked up the item. “I suppose she chose not to wear it. I told her this would protect her, but I’ll need to place a modified spell inside to work. We don’t have much time.”

When the fox woman reached the house, her ears twitched anxiously and she shuffled her feet. She reached out a hand which hovered in the air, hesitant to open the door. She knocked.

The door opened and Morgan stared at them.

“Hi Morgan—”

The witch slammed the door in Vi’s face. There was a click as the lock shut.

“Oh.” Vi gazed at the ground.

Raised and tense voices came from inside the building. After a minute, the door opened again and Morgan’s mother held it out. Her jaw was clenched.

“I’m sorry. Morgan’s upset. Come in. You need to finish recovering.”

“Thank you.” Vi dipped her head in acknowledgement. “Do you mind if I bring Alicia and Enrique inside as well?”

The woman’s bunny ears twitched and she shot a nervous glance over her shoulder. “You can, but I need you to not bother Morgan.”

“Okay. I appreciate it.” Vi stepped in.

The fox woman went to the patient room where she had lay in before and carefully placed Alicia on it.

Enrique cocked his head. “What are you doing?”

In answer, she placed a hand on the cat girl and her eyes glowed with blue light.

“I need to make a spell by looking into the future. It’s risky to construct something based on predictions, but we’re losing time.” She glanced down at the bed. In her mind, she saw another figure lying there, and herself inspecting the patient in the same way. She felt the mana structure flowing inside the patient and matched it with that of Alicia. They were very similar.

The fox woman’s aura flared and a blue symbol appeared on the ground, of three concentric circles with two triangles around it, like a pentagram. “There’s too much mana inside. The bomb can’t be disarmed by normal methods.”

“What do you mean?”

She winced and let out a deep breath as she took out the blue gemstone. It glowed at her touch. “Allblades has placed a powerful spell. It seems designed to only accept transfers between himself as the maker and living bodies. I’ll have to work around that.”

Enrique tried to piece together whatever she was doing. “You need Alicia to keep that stone?”

Vi nodded and shut her eyes, as if strained. She wobbled and steadied herself against the bed. The glowing symbol beneath her pulsed.

“Hey.” He held his hands towards her, worried she would fall. “What’s the hurry? Shouldn’t you rest first?”

“No. The Anniversary Ball’s coming up. I’m certain Allblades will make his move by then. We should expect large-scale attacks at the event. I don’t know how we can convince Ali, but she needs to hold onto this gemstone until she comes into contact with Allblades.”

He huffed. “I see. I guess Sven could think of something. Let me call him. Let him know we’re here.” He took out his phone, watching Alicia slumber. “There’s some things I still don’t understand. Did Allblades meet Alicia before? Why would he plant such a horrible spell on someone?”

Vi’s eyes opened and the symbol underneath faded. She seemed almost out of breath and took time to reply. “I have a few theories. One is that she has the potential to be extremely powerful. He saw she was talented in fighting. He set the bomb to threaten her. Do you remember what I said about her family?”

He thought a second. “She’s descended from House Emeraldnight.”

“Yes. More specifically, she’s the direct descendant of Claire Darkwaters. Darkwaters was the close cousin of Emeraldnight. House Emeraldnight, like my own House Azurelane, was given a special power. Ali may have inherited their ability. It’s called Death’s Hand.”

“Death’s Hand?”

When Vi remained silent, Enrique became uneasy. “If you think about my All-Seeing Eye, Death’s Hand is equally powerful. In terms of combat, you could even argue Death’s Hand is superior. After all, Emeraldnight were originally known as assassins.”

“What does it do?”

Vi placed her gemstone on Alicia’s open hand. “Put simply, if she were an assassin like Allblades, she would become possibly the strongest being in the world. She could kill scores of adventurers. She could kill Allblades. She could kill me with it. She could do what Allblades himself wants to accomplish, which is to kill the royal family line and end the System.”

He swallowed hard. “That’s bad. Does Alicia know Allblades already? Does she know that bomb is inside her?”

Vi made a sad sigh and set her eyes on him. “What do you think?”

A heartbeat passed. “I don’t know,” he confessed. “I’ve never even met Allblades, personally.”

His partner nodded. “Well, the good news is Allblades may not even be aware of Death’s Hand. The Four Houses existed many centuries ago. Records are almost nonexistent except for the palace archives and fairy tales. Still, he must have found her and seen her potential. We need to keep this a secret. Remember, if Alicia hears anything we speak of, that could cause Allblades to learn and activate the bomb.”

She tucked the gemstone in Alicia’s robes. “Let’s head back. I’m sorry about making you three head out after the gang, by the way. I threw you in there without giving you a choice. I should have let you make your own decisions. Have you found a reason to stay in the Kingdom yet?”

Enrique shook his head. “You don’t need to be sorry. You were knocked out.” He scratched his head. “As for reasons…If I’m being honest, I’m not very good with people. I’d rather my life be like how it was in the past. With the group I knew before. Those were the only friends I was close to.”

Before Vi could reply, the door creaked open. Morgan walked in. It closed and clicked shut.

The bunny woman folded her arms. “I want answers.”

“Oh. Um, um—” Vi seemed at a loss on what to do. She turned from the bed and clasped her hands together, staring at Morgan with big, apologetic eyes. “—about what?”

The witch jammed her finger at Enrique and Alicia. “Why are you spending so much time with those three? Who’s the cat and the other mage Sven, and what have you been doing?”

“I’m trying to help—”

Alicia stirred and sat up. She rubbed her eyes and promptly kicked Vi in the side.

“Wah!” The fox woman crashed hard against a wall.

The assassin hollered, “You put me to sleep!”

Vi struggled to her feet. Morgan didn’t move to help. Instead, she tapped a foot against the floor.

Vi was concerned as her eyes flitted to the cat girl. “Alicia here is the descendant of a close friend I had. Sven is her partner, but he’s new to everything. Enrique and I were helping them. I was hoping she could be my friend too.”

Morgan scoffed. “Your friend? That makes no sense. So I’m not as important as this random stranger, is that it? If you treat her the same way you’ve been treating me, you’ll abandon her for your own goals anyways.”

She took her scepter from her back and held it out. Its orb lit on fire and splashed the walls with green light. “Why were you at school? Why did you have an illegal item in my family’s home? What else are you hiding? Spill it.”

Smoke and heat filled the small room. Vi put her hands up. “I’ve been planning ways to defend the kingdom. That’s all. We went to school to find someone who has been supplying weapons to criminals like the ones you fought. You can tell the Ministries about the tracker. I’ll accept whatever punishment they give.”

The witch’s eyes were narrowed. Enrique flushed and sweated as the temperature rose several notches. “You expect me to believe you? When I was working in Rick’s Guild I had enemies of the Kingdom in my hand! I was going to kill each and every one. But then you distracted me. Because of you, some got away!”

Vi’s voice took on a patient tone. “I couldn’t agree with you becoming a mass murderer. I don’t want you to lose yourself, Morgan. Think about how people around you will be affected if you let that hatred eat you inside. I know you’re hurting right now.”

Morgan stalked forwards and shoved the scepter at the other woman’s face. The flame intensified, causing Alicia to cough and cover her mouth with a blanket. “Talk. What are you trying to do, if you aren’t even fighting the enemy properly?”

Vi leaned back, wincing at the searing heat. “An assassin named Allblades. The one who killed my previous partner. He wants to kill the royal family and destroy the Kingdom. I apologize if I’m not doing what you think I should. I really want our enemies dead, too. But I’ve been working on long-term plans to stop this threat. I just haven’t informed you.”

The witch jammed her scepter against Vi’s chest, sending her flying against the back wall.

“Ah! Oof!” Vi gasped as she slammed against it. The bed and cabinets rattled at the impact.

Enrique moved to block Morgan, but the witch gave Vi a withering gaze. “How long have you been making these plans? Years? I’m not even sure if I know you anymore. Were we ever friends in the first place, or was I someone you could use as a tool?”

The former waitress had a hurt expression. “What? Of course you’re my friend. Why would you think that?”

“Oh, I don’t know.” The bunny woman let out a sharp laugh and talked in a sarcastic tone. “Maybe Rick was right about you. You’re acting so high and mighty. I wouldn’t be surprised if you have a secret savior complex. You think you’re untouchable. Does all that fame and attention get to your head? Do you think your way is always right, so you can take advantage of others or do whatever you want? As long as you can play the Rank One Hero and look good, nothing else matters.”

Vi shook her head. “I don’t care about my rank. I don’t care what others call me.”

The accusation had similarities to what Ranger Commander Ti’brill had yelled before. Only this time it was a fellow Anima convinced she wasn’t a priority. It was wearing on her.

“What about the first time we met? You’re telling me you waltzed into my job, took a seat, and entered my life out of the goodness of your heart? You happened to randomly choose to meet a vulnerable student with lots of powers like me? You, someone who can see everyone’s future like the back of her hand?”

The fox woman became quiet. Reluctant to reply. She dissipated small sections of the overwhelming smoke and hot air, but only so Enrique and Alicia could breathe properly.

Morgan laughed. “Stars, I was stupid to believe you.”

Vi’s eyes roved from Morgan’s eyes, to Alicia’s. “You could say…I’ve been looking for a successor. More than one, if possible. Someone to train to protect the Kingdom with or without me. At least for one lifetime, since I’m immortal.”

Enrique, arm over his mouth, coughed out, “A team. Isn’t that what Aurelius said in that vision of yours?”

Vi looked uneasy as if she didn’t like Enrique’s comment. Her reaction was appropriate as Morgan’s green aura surrounded her body with fury.

Loud knocks came from the door. “Is everything okay there?” Morgan’s mother called out. “It’s locked—Morgan!”

Seconds later, the door burst open. Ms. Fieldspring marched in and swept an arm. The heat and smoke vanished.

“What in the king’s name is going on?” With a gust of wind, Morgan’s mother pushed Alicia off the bed and deposited her on the floor. In another motion, she cut the flame emitting from her daughter’s orb.

Morgan’s three cousins scurried in at the commotion. “What’s happening?” Lucy cried.

Ms. Fieldspring shot a glare at the children. “You three, shoo. Back to your room.” She addressed Vi and pointed to the bed. “You’re supposed to rest.”

The youngest cousin, Mia, held out her hands eagerly. She appeared to have woken from a nap, with a little knitted sleeping cap on her head and her hair tied in a bun. “Remnant! Talking sword!”

Vi sat on the bed. “We were talking about the gang Morgan was fighting. I’ve been unfair to her. She got angry.”

Morgan calmed down a little as Enrique surrendered his weapon to Mia. The bunny girl clutched the sheathed sword and babbled. “Hi Remnant! It’s Mia! Remember me?”

“Of course. Hello.”

Ms. Fieldspring spoke in a warning tone, “Mia.” However, she didn’t have a heart to take the sword away.

The older of the cousins, Lucy, turned to Morgan. Her hair was in a messy ponytail and her eyes were half-lidded from lack of sleep. Lucy’s voice quivered with anxiety. “Are you okay? Did you get them?”

The bunny woman managed a smile. “I’ve killed a lot. We caught the bad guys off-guard and didn’t take casualties on our side. I burned the one who killed Jamie to death. He was their leader. Here, the people I was working with made videos.”

The witch took out her phone and showed them one. A body writhing in flames and screaming issued from the screen. The cousins recoiled. Cousin Anna covered her little sister Mia’s eyes with her hands.

Morgan’s own eyes filled with satisfaction as she stared at the screen. “You don’t need to be scared. If anyone else tries to harm my family, I’ll destroy them. I’ll make them afraid of us.”

A recording she had made played from the video. “This is a message to all gang members and enemies of the kingdom. If you don’t stop, I’ll hunt you down. I’ll burn you. I’ll break you. Just like this.” More screams came from the screen, followed by crunching bones. Faint crying was interrupted by a loud whoosh and the crackle of fire roasting flesh.

“And I’ll punish you,” Morgan added after the video ended. She grinned.

Lucy’s hand tightened around her siblings. Anna shrank back. Mia’s lips wobbled as she squeaked out in a tiny voice, “Mo-Morgan? Why are you so scary?”

Morgan’s smile vanished as she stared back. The eyes of her cousins were filled with fear. It was like Vi had said. They were looking at Morgan like she was some terrifying creature they didn’t quite recognize. But she was doing what she needed to, wasn’t she? Mia seemed tearful, about to cry.

Vi spoke in a hesitant manner. “Um, Morgan, I’m really sorry about how I’ve treated you. You’re going through a lot and emotional. I can let you in on any coming plans I have. Maybe you should take time to cool off. Are you going to the Anniversary Ball?” She gave a hopeful smile. “I can give you a free ticket. We can have fun and get lots of free food—”

The witch made a loud huff and thrust her scepter behind her back. Morgan turned her nose up at the fox woman. “I don’t need you. I have a partner now. He might be temporary, but I’ve gotten a lot stronger through him. Don’t mess with my life if you know what’s good for you.”

With that, she swept out of the room.

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

After Enrique, Vi, and Alicia returned to their house, Vi let Sven in. The man handed a bottle of stomach medicine to Alicia. “Here. Take two tablets a day.”

The cat girl popped a pill into her mouth. She avoided eye contact with Sven, instead opting to observe the bedsheet where she sat. “Thanks,” she mumbled.

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

Enrique settled in his own room, dangling his legs on the bed. He looked up as Vi approached.

“Do you want to leave?”

“What?” He stared, frowning.

“I’ve been thinking…” Vi directed her eyes at the floor. “It wasn’t right of me to put you in danger, or to keep you here either. I’m thankful you chose to help me with the gang problem, but I don’t think you’re committed to any of this. Are you?”

He met her eyes as she looked up again. It was only a hunch, but he figured the conversation with Morgan had shaken her. A twinge of guilt lingered in his chest as he imagined leaving her behind to carry on protecting the kingdom. It felt like a betrayal, almost, which made him hate himself a few brief moments. Still, her question had a point.

Slowly, he shook his head.

Vi pointed and spoke quietly. “The door is that way.”

As the two headed out, Vi picked up the purple cloth taken from the arms dealer.

“What are you going to do now?” he asked.

She shook the cloth. “I’ll find this Felice. Finish shopping. See if Alicia and Sven need anything. Make sure my new guests are comfy before keeping them inside. Nothing to involve you. Let me send you a map.”

He heard a beep from his phone.

Vi gave him a reassuring smile. “Be happy! Stay safe! You have my number, so let me know if you need anything. You’re always welcome to stop by. It was a pleasure to serve you.”

She gave him a deep bow. He felt compelled to return it, albeit in a smaller and more awkward fashion.

“Thanks.” He wasn’t sure what else to say. It was so sudden, and he felt like he should say more, but the words he wanted wouldn’t come out.

He pulled down the brim of his hat, turned, and walked away.

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

Enrique stepped along a city street. He felt…empty. The sword and Vi’s gun were still at his side. Remnant was strangely silent. Anima-human pairs passed by, chatting or shouting at one another. He did his best to ignore them.

His stomach growled. I’ll buy something at a food stand, then get some money from a bounty… He stopped as he pulled up his phone. …and then what?

Enrique was confident he could take a few monsters at this point. He wasn’t even mad Vi hadn’t trained him.

Something in him seemed missing.

Had his life always been like this? Scraping by the barrel every day. Running from danger. Taking food and shelter wherever he could get it. Never letting anyone stay around him long enough to be a problem.

That wasn’t totally true. He’d had the kids in his brother’s old gang. Plus his brother. But besides them?

No one.

Aimlessly, he moved forwards. It began to rain. Pelting droplets that turned into a steady drizzle. Puddles of water. He sloshed forwards and squinted at some multi-story apartments and small houses lining his left and right. Maybe I can find a place to stay for now.

One house had lights on. He knocked. The door opened, and a cat girl with a cloud-white fluffy tail and ears peered out.

“Hey, sorry to bother you. Do you know which apartment here’s the cheapest? I need to stay for a night.”

The girl, brown-haired with grayish eyes, seemed vaguely familiar to him. She gave him an inquisitive once-over. “You need a place? You can stay with me and my parents. Hang on. Mom!”

The girl bounded off and hollered. Enrique cursed to himself as he finally recognized her by voice. Cecelia, one of the waitresses from Vi’s cafe. He cupped a hand to his chin in thought. A bad coincidence, but it wasn’t a big deal if he kept his mouth shut. It was possible Vi was connected to a lot of Anima anyways, and he was in their kingdom after all.

Sleepy murmuring came from another room. Cecelia hurried back. “It’s cool! Come on in. Let me dry that for you.”

Enrique, doubtful, watched as Cecelia took off his mage cloak and hung it on a creaking rack as if it belonged there. Alarm and panic had spiked through him the moment the protective cloth was removed. Cecelia didn’t even notice his expression. Nothing happened. He forced himself to relax.

“Living room! I’m watching a show! Want something to drink?” Cecelia flopped onto a battered couch and patted the worn seat next to her. In front was a large monitor displaying news videos and an anchor’s monotone voice.

He eased himself down. Spoke with caution. “You’re very…open for having a complete stranger enter your home.”

“Meh?” She turned her head, confusion on her face. “What’s wrong with that? Anima take care of Anima. You’re an Anima partner, so we treat you the same.”

“But…” He was struck speechless as he struggled to process this. “Somebody could invade your house and hurt your family, or steal your stuff.”

Cecelia nodded, unconcerned. “Sure. But we’re in the inner cities. People know each other. We’d be a lot more careful elsewhere. And we’re not strangers. I saw you at Vi’s cafe.”

Her face flushed. “I, uh, guess you didn’t remember. I’m Cecelia.”

“I knew that.” He slouched on the couch and she was visibly relieved.

“Mwhoa! I almost forgot!” The cat girl sat upright. “One of my favorite shows is coming on! Charlotte’s Special Tour!”

She pulled out her phone and pointed it at the monitor’s screen like a remote. Enrique noticed the monitor’s large glass was cracked down the middle. The screen flickered, then showed fizzing blue and white lines.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Cecilia frowned and tapped on her phone again. “Come on, come on, you hunk-a-junk.” When the monitor refused to respond, she marched over and gave it a swift kick. The fizzing lines dispersed to a clearer image of a beaming girl with horns and small wings. She sat behind a polished desk with lavish walls in the background.

“Ah! There we go.” The cat girl, pleased with herself, kicked back on the seat again. “You wanna have a water? Juice? Bathroom’s down the corner.”

“I’m good.” He stared with her as the horned girl greeted her viewers in a cheery voice.

“Hellooo, super-fans! It’s time for my tour! We’ll be going over my house upstairs today! Did you guys see my unboxing video? Let me know in the chat!”

“Ooh, I did, I did!” Cecelia took out her phone and tapped eagerly. A small, transparent popup window appeared on the screen. It showed the name of the live stream, “Charlotte’s Special Tour”, and was filled with comments from users. “I…loved…it…” The words took a while to show up after she hit send.

He grimaced with disgust. “Isn’t that Charlotte? The partner of that adventurer Rick?”

“Yeah.” Cecelia took no notice, eyes locked on the screen. “She’s rich. She goes to the same school as me.”

From the screen, Charlotte switched on a device and started to walk across a hall, panning the screen over a vast room. “These paintings are sooo expensive. My dad got them from the capital’s art gallery. The walls here are made of marble! You see that chandelier? It’s made of glass and pure gold!”

“Mwhoa,” Cecilia breathed. “Look at that. I’d love to live there.”

Enrique studied Cecelia in silence. Her eyes were shining and she had a faraway look in them. “Do you see her at school a lot? Are you friends?”

She gazed at the screen like he was barely there. “Charlotte? No. Pretty sure she doesn’t know I exist. I’m just a fan.”

“Then why are you watching?” A slow realization was dawning on him.

She waved a hand at the screen. “That. Like, all of that.”

He spotted a large box of orange juice packs on the floor. It was thrown in the middle of a haphazard pile of clothes and tattered, secondhand books. He reached out to yank a small rectangular pack, but it seemed to be glued with the rest. Enrique struggled with it for a good ten seconds.

“Take the whole thing,” Cecelia told him without looking.

He glanced up, reluctant. “I can’t. Feels like stealing.”

She gave a half-shrug. “Help yourself. We don’t have much to take in the first place.”

It was true. He slowly scanned his surroundings, taking in details he hadn’t bothered to focus on before. The corner of walls were peeling paint and cracked, like the monitor. Cecelia’s old couch was leaking a bit of stuffing in a corner. A small white machine sputtered as it buzzed cold air, without any apparent power source. The space wasn’t unhealthy or dirty, but it had a settled-in feel to it. Kind of like the house he’d once lived in with his brother.

He spoke cautiously, lobbing an indirect question and readying himself for any upset. “I heard the Anima Academy is a good school. Is it hard to pay for?”

Cecelia’s reply was lax. “Yeah. The Academy gave me a a lot of scholarships though. They liked my essay on medicinal herbs for burn injuries.”

She shifted in her seat, a tinge of worry in her voice. “Don’t know about this semester. My dad’s out a lot working. My job with Vi was helping my family a lot, but uh, now I gotta get my butt moving, I guess.”

“Got it.” He hauled up the box and settled next to her, poking a straw through a pack.

Several pings came from Cecelia’s phone, nearly drowned out by the rain pummeling the ceiling and Charlotte's live stream. Cecelia peered at the screen. “Ho! My squad is going off!”

She turned to him. “Speaking of school, things got really crazy there! There’s rumors flying around about Charlotte and Rick fighting a former adventurer. My friends and I’ve been talking about it for hours!”

Her phone pinged again as more friend messages piled up. Cecelia tapped on her phone at a furious pace. “No…I still don’t…think…it was a teacher.”

The cat girl filled him in as he watched the group chat pop out text and little icons from various usernames. “We’re not sure who it was. My pals heard from classmates they were with some delinquents. I’m surprised Charlotte hasn’t talked about it. My teacher Ms. Starfall saw them trying to torch the library!”

He couldn’t help himself and snapped, “Charlotte’s annoying and stupid. Rick’s a manipulative a**. That was Vi they were fighting. Those two hurt her bad and almost killed her.”

Cecelia’s eyes widened. “Really?” He gave a grim nod.

Then she watched Charlotte traipsing around in the big glass screen, pointing to a polished vase with large flowers.

“Maybe I’ll give her a dislike,” Cecelia muttered.

She seemed hesitant to hit the button, though, as Charlotte responded to a commentator in the live chat, “Oh, thank you! The dress does go with my rooms today! Wooow, another forty likes!”

“Did you ever find your partner, by the way?” Cecelia tore her eyes from the monitor to focus on his face.

He wasn’t sure how to reply or explain. He shook his head.

“That’s weird. Usually we get you to your Anima pretty quick. More than a day is pretty unusual, my teacher said.” She gazed at the ceiling. “Have you told your friends you’re staying in for a day? You should probably do that.”

He stiffened. “I don’t...have any.”

She was puzzled. “You’ve been here a while, right? I bet you met a lot of partners and Anima. Don’t you have people who’ll be worried about you? One time my pals went camping in the woods and I went off on my own, and I accidentally triggered a city-wide search. A Guild and the Ministries got involved. It was awkward.” She made a half-embarrassed chuckle at the memory.

Enrique watched in silence as she lounged back and tapped on her device, laughing at some of her friend’s comments. The way she bobbed her head and swayed from side to side reminded him of the energy of his old friend Maria, before any of this.

Cecelia was even younger than him, but she seemed so carefree. She was about the age he was when he had been living with his brother and other members in a similar place. Even in a run-down house like this, she was happy. She had her community and small pleasures, and that seemed to be enough.

“Don’t you ever get lonely?” She fixed her eyes on him, curious.

“No,” he started to say. Then he stopped. What would be the point of hiding that?

“Yeah. I knew a couple other kids, once. And I had a brother. Then one day I lost him, and since then…” He shrugged. “I stopped trusting, basically.”

Cecelia stopped typing and studied him for a moment. “Sorry.”

Charlotte’s voice came from the monitor. “I’ve got a mega surprise for you guys! My partner bought me a hugeeee pile of toys! They’re an exclusive set from one of my sponsors, Felice’s toy shop! My unboxers know, I’ve got new glow-in-the-dark and beanie ones!”

Enrique frowned. “Wait. She knows someone named Felice?”

The influencer proudly presented a collection of colorful stuffed animals. “So, I’m gonna hold a lottery and give them to some lucky fans!”

“Mwhoa!” Cecelia leaped up. “I gotta have one! You can’t get those anywhere!” She hammered on her phone with a vengeance.

“What’s so good about those?” Enrique folded his arms.

The cat girl’s fluffy white tail swished around. “The glow-in-the-dark ones use mana crystals. Like, real crystals. That’s like putting silver lining on a dinner plate! I’ve never heard of the beanies, but I’ll bet they’re cool too!”

“That does sound nice.” Enrique stuffed his hands in his pockets. As he did so, he felt something hard and small inside. He took out the object and recalled it was the red, octagon amulet from Felice. The one he’d grabbed back when Morgan and Rick’s Guild had attacked the Dire Wolves gang.

Cecelia’s eyes caught the sheen from the item. It consisted of a large red gem inset in brown casing with a small brown string to wear it. “Wow, pretty. Where did you get a status amulet?”

Dread filled Enrique’s chest as he glanced from the screen showing Charlotte waving her toys to Cecelia next to him. The girl’s fluffy white cat ears were perked up in interest.

“I don’t know what’s going on,” he said slowly, “but this lottery strikes me as suspicious.”

Cecelia’s head turned a few degrees to the side. “Streamers do giveaways sometimes.”

He tossed up the amulet in his hand and caught it. “This is from Felice. She’s not only a toy shop owner, but also an arms dealer. She’s been giving weapons to enemies of your kingdom.”

The cat girl’s mouth dropped open. “Nuts! That’s like something my friends would say to prank me. Are you pranking me?”

He tossed the item three more times as he thought aloud. “If Charlotte is working with Felice, then Felice could be planning something. She can control stuffed animals. This could be bad.”

Then he stopped and pocketed the amulet. He remembered why Vi had let him go in the first place. “Well, it’s not my problem.”

“Wait, hold up! You can’t shut up after spilling those kinds of beans!” Cecelia cried. “That’s the second, no, the third craziest thing I’ve heard this week!”

He shot her the sort of silencing glare he’d once reserved for the kids of his Red Dragon gang. “Oh, yes I can.”

It worked. He sat himself back onto the couch. Cecelia twisted and turned in great agitation.

The monitor droned on with Charlotte reading out results from her lottery. “...and the next winner is cccat_33…”

Cecelia gasped. “Oh my stars! That’s me!” She typed furiously on her phone. “I did it squad! I got one!”

Her device was flooded with an influx of pings as texts from different senders showed up.

Congrats!

Luckyyy!

An image of a heart.

Another with a little smiling bunny emoji.

Send us photos, Cece!

Enrique had an inexplicable urge to whack the phone out of her hand. How many friends does she have? Ten? Twenty?

On-screen, the influencer kept talking. “Congratulations, fans! I’ll have my toys delivered to you super-fast! Everyone else, thank you sooo much for watching! I appreciate each and every one of you. Oh, and Rick told me to tell you to watch for my posts on our new Blackstar Guild! Goodbye!” She waved.

Cecelia turned off the monitor. Her ecstatic face gradually turned contemplative. “Dang, now I’ll feel bad if I downvote her.”

She leaned back. “You wanna stay for dinner? I’m making curry rice. Again.”

Enrique held out his hands. “I don’t want to owe anyone anything.”

The cat girl glanced out a window. Rain rattled the glass. Wind howled. “Nyeh. Go out in that weather and you’ll saddle me with a ton of guilt. Talk with me and we’ll call it even, ‘kay?”

Her eyes flickered to his pocket. He got her meaning and nodded.

Minutes later, he watched her patter around a kitchen, plopping potatoes and yellow sauce into a steamer.

“Aren’t your parents going to come?” The chair he sat on had one leg shorter than the others. He pushed his foot to balance.

Cecelia sat on the chair facing him, which creaked, and handed him a hot bowl. “Mom likes to sleep. Besides, you wouldn’t want her to join us. She eats like this.”

She put her hands at her side and stuck her face into the bowl, gobbling loudly in a very undignified manner.

“Um.” He wasn’t sure how to reply.

She put her face up and grinned. “Okay, she doesn’t do that all the time. Only when she wants to nap, which is more often than not these days.”

She scooped a third bowl and hurried out to another room. “Mom! Lunch!” She returned and Enrique heard faint noises not unlike the one he’d already heard.

Cecelia jabbered, digging in with a spoon. “Dad comes home late. Does a lot of part-time jobs. Trader, mechanic, once a private detective. He and mom married early. They graduated but don’t have partners yet. My folks are from the canyon and forest parts. They talk kinda plain, and I only knew that when I first moved here when my friends all said I had a funny accent. Starting words with lots of ‘nyehs’ and ‘mehs’, like my dad says. It’s mostly gone now.”

“Uh-huh.” He was attempting to focus but the food reminded him somewhat of Vi’s cafe, which irritated him, like he couldn’t quite get rid of the fox. Maybe the cat girl had been taught.

“They’re used to working hard with your own two hands and not taking anyone’s charity. Not even when my squad and Auntie Vi try to help sometimes. They were mega excited when I got into the Academy, though. Loosened up on that.”

“Sure.”

Cecelia was quite happy to fill the silence with more talk. He wondered if she often talked aloud at home, with no one to listen. “What was your brother like? I wish I had a sibling. Are they as annoying as people say?”

“Doesn’t matter, right? He’s dead.” He shrugged.

Cecelia was taken aback. She spoke with surprising bluntness. “I think it matters. You’re weird. You barely talk and you look at everyone like you’re gonna smack them.”

He grew tight-lipped. He froze up. A mix of anger and that same hollowness he sensed earlier warred within him. The cat girl went on eating. The room was quiet five minutes, punctuated by the drops drizzling overhead. She would look up expectantly, then when he didn’t budge, go back to her meal, unfazed.

He let out a sigh, poking his rice with a spoon. “Jose was older than me and the other kids. I looked up to him. He was my role model, I guess. Took care of me when our parents died. Wanted us to save money. Forced me to go to school. Said our parents would’ve wanted that for us, but I never did learn much there. We moved around a lot. He got us a spot at one point, little white house in our territory. Always dreamed of us moving up, finding a good life. He liked comics and big guys. Went out like one, too. Guy named Henricks fooled us. I thought he was good. The two were getting close but Henricks was just a big bully in the end. He only wanted to use us, to dump us to be pickpockets in his own crew. Jose got shot. Happy now?”

She nodded, eyes big. “That sounds…awesome.”

“Awesome?” He nearly choked.

“I mean, not that last part,” she amended. “But, like, having someone like that. Going through stuff together. That’s intense. No wonder you’re a total clam.”

He didn’t like the comparison to a shellfish, but he simply grunted.

Cecelia’s phone beeped. They heard a knock on the door and a faint chime. Cecelia nearly knocked her chair over in excitement. “Is that my lottery prize? Already?”

Enrique decided to slip to a corner of the kitchen and peek towards the doorway as the cat girl dashed to the entrance. He wasn’t keen on a second encounter with Charlotte, or worse Rick.

The door opened to show Charlotte carrying a giant pink umbrella and a large red bag. In addition she toted her usual oversized backpack, zipped this time. “Hello!” she greeted Cecelia.

“Hey, come in!”

Charlotte stepped through the doorway. The horned girl took no notice of Enrique’s cloak hanging nearby.

“How did you get here so fast?”

Charlotte rustled her little feathered wings which had gotten damp. “Rick has a dragon mount. He’s waiting for me.”

She reached into her bag and presented two stuffed animals to Cecelia. “Here you go! One glowing and one beanie!”

“Thank you!” The cat girl clutched the toys, one black and one white bunny. She looked much like a stuffed animal herself with her fluffy white fur.

Charlotte apparently had the same thought, because she took out a pink phone. “Cute! We should take a picture together!”

Cecelia nodded. “By the way, what happened with you and Rick at school? Is it true you attacked an adventurer?”

The girl with the bag fumbled her device. She stammered. “That’s, um, Rick told me to not give an officialll explanation until he’s thought more about it.”

Cecelia, eyes narrowing, jumped on her deflection. “Because you two did something wrong? Rick always did seem off to me.”

Charlotte flapped her arms. “That’s a misunderstannnding! Look, these—these thugs showed up and attacked Rick first! Then an Anima appeared and got in the way!”

The cat girl folded her arms, scolding in a sharp tone. “Charlotte! If Rick really hurt an Anima, then you’re both in serious trouble! If it’s a former adventurer that could be worse. The Ministries could jail your partner! Do you want that? You’ll look bad and lose a lot of followers! That’d be awful, wouldn’t it?”

The backpack girl jerked back, stunned. She mumbled, “I’m not supposed to talk about this. It’s not my fault—”

Cecelia hit the door with a tail, emitting a loud thwack. She shoved a hand at the other’s face. “Not your fault? Of course it is! Rick’s your partner! That means it’s your responsibility to guide him to do the right thing! If you see something wrong, then you need to stop him! Anything that comes from that is your problem and your fault! Didn’t you learn anything from the Academy?”

Charlotte’s face flushed. “Of, of course I learned that. I might not look like it, but I’m a graduate! I know Rick is scary sometimes, but he’s really inspiring and cool. Also he lets me do whatever, not like my dad who’s always away and told me who not to hang out with—”

“Come on!” Cecelia fumed, stomping a foot to make her point. “I’m your fan, Charlotte! You can do so much more than this! I don’t know your dad, or your situation with Rick, but I agree you should be careful who you’re spending time with. Otherwise, I’m telling you, someone’s going to get you hurt and I wouldn’t want that. Don’t make excuses. Don’t you want to make us viewers happy?”

Charlotte’s face was red. The fact Cecelia was smaller than Charlotte and still clutching the toys only compounded the embarrassment. “You—you’re right. I—I’ll think about it. How about we take a quick picture and I’ll get on my way?”

“Ah, sure.” Cecelia set down her prizes and mussed her hair. She was suddenly flustered, glancing at the walls. “Oh skies, my hair, my clothes, my house. I’m not prepared. I don’t like going out in public ‘til I’m decent.”

“No worries!” Charlotte put an arm around Cecelia as the young girl gathered up the stuffed animals again. The backpack girl, relieved at an opportunity to make herself more like a benefactor, snapped photos with her phone. “These are going to look great online. I’m posting pics of every winner,” she gushed.

“Neat! Oh, you’re going already? Be careful with the rain out there!” Cecelia waved as the influencer picked up her stuff. “Thank you! Catch you at school sometime! Bye!”

“See you!” The horned girl hurried out the door.

The cat girl shut it. Then she let out a loud huff and slid down the nearest wall. “My heart’s pounding so hard right now.”

Enrique whistled. “I wish I’d been the one to say that, but you really put her in her place.”

Cecelia blinked. “Well, someone’s got to say it. Plus everyone knows partners are hard to handle.”

She trundled over to Enrique, grabbing her stuffed animals close to her chest like treasure. “What’re you doing in the kitchen? Camera-shy? What about that amulet, huh?”

Enrique pulled out the red amulet. He fiddled with it between his fingers, reluctant to recount his time with Vi and the others. He thought he’d shared too much already. People lie. People put on an act. People will use you.

Maybe even someone as young as Cecelia. He could imagine her texting her huge friend group about his life, overcome by excitement. Whether on purpose or not. At least she was a child with a similar background to himself. Kids, he could sort of understand. He decided a small distraction might help.

“You want to see something cool?” He quickly fetched his cloak and lifted the amulet in a circular arc, slipping it under his clothes. It appeared to vanish in thin air and reappear in his other hand.

“Mwha! What spell is that?” Cecelia’s eyes widened.

Enrique grinned. “No spell. Back in the day, my gang made our living by stealing. You do that a while, you pick up sleight of hand.”

“Do it again!” Cecelia tried to grab the amulet from his hand, but he did a similar trick, passing it behind his back so it ended up in the other once more. She was confounded. “How? You’re good!”

“My brother bought me a book of magic tricks once. I only needed the pictures to do most of them.”

“Gimme!” She swiped at it again and again. It vanished from one hand to another in rapid succession. Her body swayed left and right as she fixed her eyes on the item, pawing like a, well, cat.

Giddy and wanting to take things up a notch, he emitted a small flame above one hand, then made a motion as if to throw the amulet at it. Cecilia cried, “Nooo!” Then he reached out and plucked it seemingly from her ear. Her shocked expression pleased him enough to stop messing around. He set the amulet down on the table and shoved it towards her.

As the amulet neared her two prizes, the chest of the toy black rabbit glowed a faint orange. The two stopped to observe it, surprised.

“Cool! Is that the glow-in-the-dark one? Hang on, I want to see the mana crystal inside!”

Cecelia hurried across the room and fetched a small knife from a messy pile in a corner. The young girl turned the stuffed animal onto its back, her face furrowed in concentration. “Hmm, I can make a tiny incision, enough to check the crystal’s real, and then stitch it up again. Good practice for when I’m a doctor, right?”

She poked the toy down the middle. Small spherical, white particles spilled out.

“Huh? That’s the beanie—”

Then black powder streamed from the toy, along with more spheres. A strange, overpowering odor of nitrate, sulfur, and charcoal lingered in the room. Alarm shot through Enrique.

“That’s…not normal,” Cecelia muttered, puzzled.

“Put it back,” Enrique snapped sharply. “Now!” He snatched the amulet and stuffed it in his pocket. Then he grabbed a nearby spoon and scraped the spheres and powder back inside the stuffed animal. Cecelia fetched a needle and string. “Here. I got it,” he told her, and stitched up the toy in a thrill of panic.

“What was that?”

“Beats me.” He sat back.

She gave a nervous laugh. “Maybe there’s a reason the toy shop’s giving stuff away.”

Looking into Cecelia’s baffled eyes, he had a tug of familiarity. Thinking back on the last few days, he felt like he’d been kind of a jerk. Vi, Sven, and Alicia had been the three he’d had a chance to get close to. But he’d closed himself off. It was the same with Cecelia. Already he felt his inner walls closing shut. He could leave the kingdom. Ditch this kid like he’d ditched the others.

But. He wanted to have others in his life again. And the Anima were the ones willing to give him that chance.

He put a foot down. “We can investigate.”

She jumped up with excitement. “Downtown? How about a library?”

“Okay.”

“Let me tell my mom first!” She hurried to another room and Enrique followed. A brunette cat woman lay snoozing on a mattress.

“Mom!”

“Meh?” The cat woman barely reacted. She didn’t even open her eyes.

“My new friend and I are heading to the library. I’ll clean up and finish my homework later tonight. Are you good with that?”

“Nyeh.”

“She said whatever. We’re good.” Cecelia shot him a thumbs-up and the two headed out with the strange toys.

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

“Make sure you take some pictures.” The two pored over books spilled over a table and scrolled through articles on their phones.

“I kinda don’t want to open it up again,” Cecelia laughed. “That smell was awful!”

“It’s not funny.” Enrique eyed the black rabbit, which he had placed far back at his corner. The thought of keeping it near Cecelia was making him increasingly uneasy. “I want us to have evidence. What do you know about the amulet or that weird material?”

“You said Felice was a Fae, right? The toy shop owner.” Cecelia skimmed a hardcover and pushed it aside. She seemed much more reliant on online sources than he was. “I still don’t think any citizen would want to get caught betraying the kingdom.”

“Why not?” He leafed through a set of spellbooks, inspecting symbols of what were described as runes.

“The Fae get a good deal here compared to staying behind in their remnant. Sure, there’s stereotypes. They’re known for being manipulative. Their Court has been backstabbing each other for like a hundred years. I think they’re crazy. But if you meet them in person, they usually just mess around. I’ve never heard of them using stuffed animals.”

“What kind of magic do they use?”

She indicated a blue handbook lying on her left. “Illusion magic is the most famous. They know old world magic too, like runic manipulation.”

“I saw moving toys with some type of rune.” He poked the white rabbit experimentally.

“Huh.” She tapped around on her phone. “Puppetry, maybe? I heard in history the Fae made earth guardians to watch certain chambers. Etching a rune onto them. That sounds like a modern version of Fae tech.”

He seized the glow-in-the-dark white rabbit and turned it over in his hands. It appeared quite normal, if a little heavy, with stitching at the back. “Then there should be a mark?”

“It might be easier if we open it up.” Cecelia grabbed the stuffed animal and scurried to a nearby table, grabbing leftover supplies like sheets, pens, and a blunt crafts knife. She wedged at its back until Enrique glimpsed white stuffing and a glowing green gem. “Mana crystal! Mwhoa! It’s real!”

She worked her way to the front of the toy, giggling. She poked around the chest. “Weird! It definitely feels like someone’s already done work on this. There’s an outline.”

Enrique, growing nervous and more certain something was afoot, handed her a sheet and pen. “Can you draw it?”

She took a pen and drew on the paper, forming shapes. “There’s one rune…no, two. They’re not easy to get at unless you’re looking for them.”

An ax shape. He pointed. “I’ve seen that before. It let Felice move a teddy bear from afar.”

The other one he didn’t recognize had wavy lines.

He hurriedly flipped through the spellbook he was holding, skimming icons and captions. “There.” He turned the book so Cecelia could see.

“First one they call a hatchet, an ‘attack’ rune. The second can represent ‘conductivity’. The attack rune can move stuff around and strengthen materials. Conductivity activates other runes based on range of a power source. Mean anything to you?”

She patched the stuffed animal back together, not sharing his sense of urgency. “I could build an army with this! It would be cool to have a bunch running around. I’d do it but that’s a lot of mana.”

Enrique recalled something Remnant had told him earlier and felt more unsettled. “What about a network of mana crystals?”

“Ooh! You mean these glow-in-the-darks as part of a larger tech? That could work.” Cecelia waved an arm. “I’d never spend that much money, but yeah! You could totally spread out the range when you remote control those toys.”

He tapped a finger against his cheek, annoyed at having more questions than answers. “The question is, what’s Felice up to? We can only assume it’s bad. What about the amulet? Where’s it from?”

Cecelia whacked the table with a hand, enthusiastic. “We can ask a librarian. They’d know more than us.”

“Yeah but we shouldn’t tell them why—”

The cat girl took the amulet and dashed to a counter where an elderly, white-haired bear Anima stood. “Hey! I’ve got a school project, and I need to find the composition and material of this gem…”

Enrique went back to researching as Cecelia blathered to the librarian. At some point she and the adult went to a nearby room and used a metallic device to look at the amulet. They chatted some more and Cecelia returned with a victorious expression.

“Nuts! That’s a premium status amulet. Enhances speed and strength. It’s from an abandoned factory in another city. We can head over right now! This is like a detective movie! You’d make a good lab partner, by the way.”

“Thanks.” His mind wandered to an earlier part of their conversation. “What’s old world magic?”

“Oh, that?” Cecelia cocked her head and hefted her white rabbit close to herself. “Well, the other races use traditional magic, but when adventurers came they introduced their own tech to their partners. That lead Anima to making fusions, and then new world items, and the others never quite caught up to us. My teacher Ms. Starfall said back in the last wars, when we were getting spirit firearms the races in poorer parts were still using powder and cannons. ‘Course there were a lot more of them than us and they weren’t stupid or anything. You should hear Vi talking about weapons sometime. She loves to push us to keep advancing tech and training.”

“Old, huh? Wait. That smell from the beanie.” He gave the offending black rabbit a glare. “It was sort of like fire, like the powder was burnt.”

She nodded her head. “It had a real sharp, rotten smell too. Almost sour and acidic. Nasty. But it’s cute.”

He scanned a book of weapons and stopped at an image with descriptions. His face darkened. “Charcoal, sulfur, and nitrate. That’s the smell we had. If Charlotte is giving these out with the toys containing crystals, then she’s either very stupid or very messed up.”

“Why?” Then Cecelia peeked over and gasped.

“Gunpowder.”

“Are you sure?” The cat girl’s hesitance was evident.

“Only one way to find out.” He stood up. “We need someplace out in the open.”

“There’s a park nearby.” Cecelia pushed away the white toy, uneasy.

Enrique scooped up both toys and they stepped through puddles and hailing rain. Darkness was falling and the white one’s chest was glowing a soft green.

“Pretty,” Cecelia breathed.

The moment they stepped into the park, he set the glow-in-the-dark and beanie toys on the ground.

He glowed with an orange aura and willed his energy at the white rabbit. “Let’s give this a try—”

A thin beam of orange energy hit the white bunny, which shuddered. Its glowing green crystal flashed, showing the ax symbol on its chest as well as the wavy line rune. Invisible mana flowed from the crystal towards the black beanie.

Despite the downpour, the black rabbit’s chest glowed orange as heat seeped into it. A rune appeared, a jagged circle. The beanie grew brighter and brighter.

He took a few steps back. Cecelia, next to him, watched curiously. A jolt of fear hit Enrique. We’re too close! He let a spell roar inside him and activated the amulet in his pocket. “Overdrive!”

Red wisps of energy flowed into his body from the item as he snatched the beanie and accelerated. The world blurred and seemed to slow around him. He hurled the black stuffed rabbit high into the air. It spun around, above the trees and into the blue. Then it exploded in a massive, fiery orb of orange.

Violent blasts of wind flew from the explosion. The ground shook and trees swayed from the blast. “Aaaah!” Cecelia flew backwards. He dived and caught her, rolling and slamming into a tree trunk. A second later a large branch snapped off another tree and impaled the dirt where she’d been moments before.

He winced, the breath knocked out of him. His heart thudded. Guilt and primal fear seeped into his chest. I could’ve killed her. I should’ve realized what this was earlier.

“I’m okay,” Cecelia gasped.

They both watched the remaining white rabbit glowing in the dark, in the pouring rain.

“This is scary,” Cecelia squeaked, with much less bravado than before.

Enrique lowered her to the ground and stood up. “I need to stop Charlotte from handing out more of those toys. Then I need to take down Felice.”

“You mean, we need to take down Felice.”

Enrique turned to Cecelia. She was shaking, but was determined.

“I want to help. Those could kill a lot of other kids. They could be my classmates or friends.”

“No way. That’s too dangerous…” He stopped. I sound like Vi, don’t I? His mind raced. I need all the help I can get. We can’t do this alone. We need to find Felice, but at the same time get those toys away from the lottery winners before she activates them. I need to find the others.

He held out a hand. “I have a plan. Do you trust me?”

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

Sven walked out of the house. “Alicia’s improving. Where did Enrique go?”

Vi stared into the distance. “He left.”

“What?” the man whirled around to face Vi. “Without telling anyone?”

A glow in her eyes faded.

Vi spoke calmly. “If you love someone, you let them go even if it’s hard. If it’s meant to be, they’ll come back.”

“I don’t know about that,” Sven muttered.

The fox woman set off quickly. Sven had to jog and add a little wind behind his back to keep up.

“I’ve been wondering. Were you ever in a war?”

She didn’t look at him, focused on her destination. “Many wars. Many kinds. Many places.”

“Ah, I see. I noticed you space out sometimes. Like you’re remembering a nightmare. I can relate. What’s the rush?”

“I’ve narrowed down Felice’s general location based on the fabric she was wearing. It’s from a particular region. I still need specifics, however.”

“Wait, let me find Alicia.” Sven turned and saw Alicia staggering towards them.

“I’m fine. What’s happening?”

“Enrique left. I’m going after Felice. Do you want to leave to?”

Sven turned to Alicia. “I don’t mind going anywhere as long as you let me along.”

Felice. A fire of hatred rose in the cat girl. The Fae who had removed her and the other assassins from whatever life Alicia could have had, and brought her to Allblades. To go through horror and become his killers. She knew little about the dealer except that she was in some part responsible for the pain and terror haunting her every waking second. The worst part was Felice slipping out of her grasp. Alicia met Vi’s eyes. “I’m following.”

The fox woman gave her a kind smile. “Okay. We’re going to church.”

The approached a set of buildings, a large one with gold domes and several smaller ones in red or black. She entered a red one resembling an ornate temple. A scent like cinnamon and roasting pork filled the air. Numerous beings with horns and bat-like wings sat in scarlet-black robes, burning incense. Nearby were several vessels, like bowls, and neat rows of trinkets like handheld mirrors and bottles.

Sven reached for a knife in his green cloak, but Vi held out a tail. “They’re citizens.”

As one, the Nocturne turned to them, as if sensing her. One with a ring written with a demon’s character scowled. “Azurelane. What do you want with the Reformed Church of Nara?”

“I want a favor from Nara. I’d like to scry someone’s location.” She walked to one of the bowls next to the speaker, then pulled out the fabric with Felice’s blood. She motioned to a rounded mirror.

The Nocturne priest’s face darkened. “A powerful spell. The demon of blood requires strong payment. And she will not accept anything less, especially from the likes of you, Azurelane.”

In response, Vi took the bowl and placed it in front of her. She placed the purple cloth in, and then drew her sword. “I always thought this was silly.” The blade blazed with blue aura. Invisible pressure slammed into the ground. The Nocturne around her, Sven, and Alicia staggered or buckled to their knees. They scrambled back.

A slash of light. Blood splattered the floor. Vi silently held her arm over the bowl, letting blood splash from a large cut into the container until the fabric was drowned in red.

The Nocturne were shocked. The bowl glowed a dark crimson. The priest who’d spoken reached out a shaky hand and gave her the mirror she had indicated. “Nara has heard your prayer. May the great one lead you.”

“Thank you.” Vi turned with the mirror, looking into the glass.

“I need the exact location of the one who calls herself Felice. She should be in the eastern regions, around a clothes shop. Please don’t try to go out of that range and make me pay more.” She seemed to be talking to something but the conversation ended as quickly as it started.

Shapes formed in the reflection like red mist. She walked out, arm throbbing, blood still dripping down.

“While we’re here, we might as well visit another place.”

The three entered a gold, domed building. Sven’s bewilderment was apparent in his question. “Is this not a church?”

Here there weren’t any robed people, vessels, or offerings. The inside instead mostly resembled a large clinic, with people in white uniforms busy at work, potions, and equipment. It differed from a regular building, however, due to the interior decorations. A mural was painted along the vast, spacious walls, showing a powerful, muscled knight in majestic golden armor fighting a monstrous beast.

“It is, officially. This is the Maker’s church. The Maker is the original god of the Anima, the one my parents believed in. Legend says the Maker created the world. Later, he gave the Anima their king and the powers of the Four Houses.”

“Then you’re here to make another offering?” He eyed her injury with a hint of concern.

“Oh, no. Nowadays Anima usually follow the gods of their partners. Given that barely anyone remembers this god, we converted the place to a health clinic.”

“I take it Anima aren’t religious?”

She seemed pleased by the question. Her tails wagged. “I don’t know about others, but I’ve memorized every holy text known to man! I love to observe all the fun holidays of every religion! Tomorrow is Allfather’s Day, and next week we celebrate the Festival of Spirits, which is where I got a bunch of cute cat masks by the way, and in the winter is the Son’s Star, and next month is the Night of the Dead, and the day after tomorrow is the Day of the Enlightened One—”

“—aaand now I regret asking,” Sven groaned.

Her smile faded. After a moment, Sven recognized why.

Vi stared at the warrior in the mural for some time. “We use this church to commemorate our history, too. The walls are a reminder of our very first partners when the System began. The world was different back then. Anyways, that’s neither here nor there.”

She approached one of the uniformed Anima at the counter.

“I’d like to enroll a couple patients in a drug treatment program.”

The young girl, with horns like a sheep, was startled as she spotted her arm. “Miss, you’re bleeding!” She grabbed a set of bandages and a potion.

“It’s fine. Can you give me some medicine and a simple program to start with?”

The young clinician frantically wrapped the bandages around her arm before answering. “Okay, yes. Let me pull up your profile and see what you’re eligible for.”

“I’m giving these to people with Drifter addictions. They would like to stay anonymous.”

The sheep girl took out a phone and tapped it, held it at Vi, and then scanned the screen intently. “Unfortunately, your bank account shows you owe an impressive amount of money. Um, the best I can give you is for those approaching poverty level.”

She blinked. “Oh. That’s fine.”

The clinician gave her several bottles in a bag and a sheet of instructions. After explaining what she should do, she transferred some money with her phone.

The three set off again. Vi was in a hurry. She swept through a shop, stuffing a few bedrolls and a small plushie into a cart. “I’ll buy a toy for Charlotte, and then…”

“Aren’t we finding Felice?” Sven interrupted.

She showed him her phone. After a minute, a soft ping came. A single text stood out. Felice is making toys into bombs.

“Is that from Enrique? I thought he left.”

“Good timing. I think he’ll call soon.”

She glanced at her mirror. “We’ve got her movement, but we’ll need to split. You two need to get disguised and find your weapons. Enrique will probably explain.”

A brief stop at Vi’s house for Sven to arm himself as well as don mask and black robes. Vi silently reached out a hand and removed the glass case containing Alicia’s armored bodysuit. She handed it to Alicia. “This is only for you to stay safe. Can I trust you?”

Alicia held the armor tightly, the way a toddler would have held a teddy bear. It was damaged but usable. She gave a brief nod.

They entered the battered remains of Vi’s cafe. The former gang members were still there, huddled around a table in the back.

“Hello, apologies for keeping you here. I’ve got some things for you.” Vi rolled out a few comfy sleeping bags and then showed them the bag of medicine. “I’ve put you in a drug treatment program. You see there’s two potions here. The first is a detox mix.”

She set down blue bottles. “Take it twice a day. It’s supposed to help cleanse your system.”

She then took out green bottles and held one to the group with a small smile. “These are substitutes for Drifters. I know you’re addicted to them, so the idea here is you have a much weaker substance that you can wean out of.”

The gangsters eyed the potion with skepticism and a hint of fear. She removed the cork and shook it as if to entice them.

Finally one of them, Waz, took the bottle from her hand. His voice was hoarse but he spoke bluntly. “It’s not free, is it? What do you want from us?”

“I’ve been investigating an arms dealer and a traitor to our kingdom, Felice. How did you get in contact with her?”

The gang members glanced at each other. They murmured to each other in the harsh language of the Saukallians. Waz said, “We’ve never seen her real face. She has outposts set up outside a few cities. Hiding spots where she has her toys waiting in case we want to have a talk. My brother always thought that was stupid.”

Vi took out her phone and swiped to a map. “Can you mark the spots for me?” He tapped on the screen, nervous using the device, and red circles appeared.

Vi patted him on the head. “Good boy!”

While the group was distracted and discomforted, she slipped out of the cafe with the other two and locked the door from the outside.

“See? We need to separate.”

Her phone rang and Vi held it to her ear. She visibly brightened. “Enrique! I’m missing you already! Are you doing all right?”

Enrique’s voice came from the speaker. Vi turned up the volume so Alicia and Sven could hear. He sounded awkward. “Hey. I’m with Cecelia. Felice and Charlotte are working together. They’re giving out stuffed animals from a lottery to random Anima, but the toys have either mana crystals or explosives inside. They’re her puppets. I’m almost certain she’s planning to blow them up remotely all over the kingdom. We, uh, need to meet up.”

Cecelia barged into the call. “Auntie Vi! Long time no see! I’ve had the craziest day. We found these secret runes and I helped trace the origin of an amulet he found and I almost blew up.”

“Oh. Are you okay—?”

Sven piped in. “Do you have a plan?”

Enrique briefly went silent, surprised to hear him. “Cecelia and I are on the move to stop everyone taking Charlotte’s deliveries. I was hoping Vi or you could get Felice herself.”

Vi tapped on her phone, sending Enrique the map she’d just received. “I happen to have Felice’s location and some areas where she’s been hosting deals.”

“What? Okay, let’s go then!” Enrique’s tone was urgent. “I’ll leave it to you—”

“Wait a minute.” Sven was calm but cautious. “Everything I’ve learned, up to now, tells me we’re dealing with a very meticulous and unpredictable foe. Think about it. Felice has been posing as a toy shop owner for a while now. Long enough to set up regular deals undetected through these puppet toys. If we chase her like last time, she’s going to run away again.”

Frustration leaked in Enrique’s voice. “Fine. Then we need to corner her. Here’s my plan. Cecelia and I will stop Charlotte. Felice has to be motivated by money, right? Then we need to get enough money. While I’m away, you guys use the money, convince her to meet with you in person and beat her up. Good enough?”

Vi interjected softly. “That’s good. Enrique, I’ll work with you and Cecelia. I believe you still have your communicator. Connect it to me and her. I’ll start a psychic link. We can keep in touch. For Felice, we should make her think she’s the one in control.”

Enrique couldn’t help but agree. “That’s a good point.”

“There’s a meeting spot near a factory. If Alicia and Sven can lead her there and she’s convinced you’re a real gang, they can catch her off-guard. ”

Sven put his hands on his hips, fingers sliding over two sheathed knives and grenades. “I’m not sure how deep our rabbit hole goes. But it’s a start.”

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

A young tiger-eared girl flounced down a set of stairs, singing to herself as she cradled two stuffed animals. “Lucky, lucky, lucky, today I’m lucky—”

The doorbell rang. “—Hm? Another visitor?” She turned and opened the door, curious.

A girl with cloud-white fluffy ears bounded to the entrance. “Hello! Step right up! Have we got a show for you tonight! I’m CC, assistant to the traveling magician, Red!”

A young, tan mage in an orange cloak and conical hat stood outside. “You’re in luck. I’m performing free for kids this week. Let me show you a trick that’ll astonish you beyond any spells you’ve seen. I’ll only need a few seconds, I promise.”

The tiger girl, intrigued, waddled towards the two and stood at the door. “I want to see!”

The boy had a sly grin. “Great. Young miss, what’s that in your hand? Two large horses, right? Would you be impressed if I changed those into two freshly plucked wildflowers, without any aura or sign of witchcraft?”

The little girl bobbed her head, eyes wide. “Yes! Please show me!”

The mage stepped inside. “It’s very simple. Set those two down…yes, that’s it. Now, observe!” He raised his hands and swept his cloak. The stuffed animals vanished to be replaced by two damp orange flowers, freshly plucked from nearby grass.

“Wow!” The girl clapped her hands.

“Thank you, thank you.” He gave a short bow. “Now, I will change them back—”

And then the two promptly bolted away.

“Wha-wait! What—what about my toys?” The tiger girl began to sniffle and then cry.

“F***, I feel bad,” Enrique muttered as they heard the girl’s wails rise in the air. Cecelia stuffed the toys into a now-bulging school backpack.

The two dashed with Cecelia taking the lead. “I’d rather she have her limbs intact and her face not blown off. You’re really getting into the act.”

“What can I say?” He shrugged. “I’m a performer.” He scanned the sky as Cecelia tapped furiously on her phone. “Any luck finding the next winner?”

“I think we’re almost done. My friends are trying to reach out with me. Next would be riyu_51. Got an address from Charlotte’s follower list but no dice sending a warning.”

Enrique groaned. “Another smash-and-grab?”

“Haven’t gotten a reply from him yet—”

“There! Isn’t that Charlotte?” He pointed excitedly to a horned figure skipping along. A large, dark winged shape was swooping down nearby.

Cecelia cupped her hands over her mouth. “Charlotte!”

Enrique, however, was too tired and mad to deal with pleasantries. He charged past Cecelia and pulled out his gun, firing at Charlotte and shouting at the top of his lungs. “Stop!”

A beam of orange narrowly missed the backpack girl and she leaped away as an explosion engulfed the area she’d been.

“Overdrive!” He closed in in a fiery red light, heart hammering, blood roaring, and pointed his gun straight at her face. “Drop the bag! Stop handing out those toys, now!”

Charlotte had panicked eyes. She flailed with bewilderment. “You? You’re that meanie delinquent with the cat girl from before! Why do you want to hurt an innocent girl like meee?”

Enrique snarled, “Don’t play pretend. You’re sick, Charlotte, real sick. I know you’re working with Felice. Why do you want to kill those kids, huh?”

The horned girl fluttered her eyelashes. “What? Kill?”

“You think I’m stupid? The beanies! The glow-in-the-dark toys! You’re giving out bombs like it’s a holiday, and you’ve got the guts to smile and try to fool me?”

Charlotte opened her mouth and then closed it, flabbergasted.

Enrique could see the pure befuddlement in her eyes. He silently cursed, realizing the depths of her stupidity, as she cried, “I don’t know what you’re talking about! You’re insane!”

She slammed a hand on the ground and screamed, “Earth Wall!”

He jumped back as the ground below rose up in jagged blocks in front of her. Charlotte used the opportunity to turn and flee. She wailed, “Riiiick!”

Enrique seized the bag with the remaining prizes. He heard a roar of a dragon-like beast, and then a figure in dark blue robes clambered off a huge black creature.

“Dang it! Run!” Enrique shouted to Cecelia.

Rick called out, “Coming! What is it this time?” The adventurer, huge sword on his back, advanced towards Charlotte.

Enrique activated Overdrive again and took out his red amulet. It glowed and, as if responding automatically to his needs, tendrils of red energy flowed from the item into him and Cecelia. His speed, already accelerating, increased even more. His feet were practically flying, heart pounding hard, legs propelling him forwards. He could barely see where he was going.

Vi’s voice suddenly came from a communicator placed near his ear. “Take a left. There’s an alleyway. Duck.” He did and narrowly avoided banging his head on a metal pipe affixed to a wall.

His muscles strained. Lungs burned. He chanced a backwards glance. The adventurer and his partner had vanished into the distance. Enrique slowed down to clutch his chest, breathing hard. A short moment later Cecelia arrived next to him.

Minutes passed. He looked down at the amulet. “I couldn’t have gotten away if it wasn’t for this. No wonder gangs were trying to get these items.”

“Wha…what a day,” Cecelia gasped out.

He checked he still had Charlotte’s prize bag. “Let’s have these explode somewhere safe.”

She nodded. “How?”

Vi’s voice was sympathetic from Enrique’s communicator, as if she could see the confiscated toys. “Poor things.”

“We didn’t have time to explain,” he groused. “Plus only three of the winners replied to Cecelia’s texts and handed us their stuff.”

“We can go up a hill ahead,” Vi suggested. “Some Anima like to use those to watch festivals.”

Cecelia charged forwards. “Ooh! I’ve done that. You can see whole cities when you climb up.”

“Sven and Alicia are on their way to the meeting spot. We should detonate the bombs quickly but in small amounts before Felice can suspect anything. Enrique, we have to be careful to not let debris or fires spread. I’ll transfer a spell to you. What do you think works?”

The two clambered up a large rocky mound, huffing and puffing. Eventually they came upon a relatively flat area high above the city. Homes and lights shone like dots in the distance. Enrique racked his head. He dug through Charlotte’s bag as Cecelia set her backpack next to it. “Cecelia, use your phone to record this. I want us to have proof what Felice has been up to.”

“Yup.” She pulled out her device and tapped.

“I’ll need to be able to control fire from explosions. They’ll be massive.” He glanced down at the rocky ground, then around at clusters of trees and the cities below. One mistake and he could envision an avalanche of rock falling on him and Cecelia. Or a forest fire. Or explosions vaporizing him to ash and then crashing onto the houses stretched out before them.

Enrique felt himself sweating from the exertion and, if he was being honest with himself, fear of slipping up. I’ve never tried to contain a blast. Is that doable? “Would a wind spell help? I’ve only done a Fire Tornado and some spells I traded with Sven. I have to react really fast too.”

Vi spoke in a soothing tone. “We can stick to fire if that’s what you’re best at. There’s a spell that’s designed to shape and move flames in a controlled manner. Let’s use a variation of it. First Form: Dragonflame.”

“Dragonflame?” Cecelia leaped up and edged away from the collection of toys. “You mean from a standard skill line? There’s enough fire in those beanies to replace a huge elemental summon like that?”

“Yes.”

“What’s that?” Enrique also put distance between him and the bag and backpack.

Cecelia spoke before Vi could. “It’s this strong attack fire mages use. The fire takes the shape of a dragon and then pursues its target. One time in combat training, a classmate used a weak version of it and, mwha, that was a real pain. It goes around corners and literally chases you all over the place until it goes out.”

“Sounds useful. Vi, you’re going to have to guide me.”

“Don’t overthink it. I’ll send the spell through my link. I need you to set off a small set of the stuffed animals at a time.”

“Alright, here goes.” He picked up a small horse beanie from Cecelia’s backpack. Red light formed around him as Vi started her spell. Then he hurled the toy up in the air and fired a small tongue of flame at it.

The stuffed animal blew up in a blinding flash of heat and fire. The explosion rapidly burst towards Enrique and Cecelia. Enrique swore but before it could engulf them, the red light surrounding him flared intensely. Mana flowed out. The explosion was yanked backwards and compressed into red energy wisps. He spotted the wisps form into part of a dragon-like head, complete with empty space for eyes, two horns, and a fanged mouth. The image rose up towards the sky and disintegrated to nothingness.

“It’s a fireworks show!” Cecelia exclaimed, once she realized she was unharmed.

“Let’s get these done.” Enrique took out another few toys.

Five, six, seven stuffed animals soared in quick succession. Powder lit up into orbs of red-hot infernos.

Cecelia tilted her phone at the action and narrated as a recording played. “Everyone, you need to see this! These toys are from someone named Felice, and I just caught them before they were sent out to a lot of people’s homes. They’re full of explosives and remote activation runes! Be careful!”

Enrique saw another shape of a head, then pieces of a long, serpentine body forming and attaching together. An emerging dragon flame twisted towards the sky. Orange conflagrations flashed against his vision. Wind gusts flew with wild abandon. The hills rumbled.

“Aaah!” Cecelia stumbled as the ground below them cracked apart. Enrique lurched and almost lost his footing. A fireball flew from his hand and missed the next toy, instead striking a stuffed animal with a mana crystal. The runes on its chest lit up, and suddenly every beanie around it glowed with a jagged circle mark.

“Darn it!” Enrique threw up his hands and summoned a small red shield.

“Enrique! Cecelia!” The dragon vanished. Enrique’s body emitted a blue aura. Barrier. A large dome of blue energy appeared around the area.

A furious, blinding series of blasts rocked the earth. Shattered rocks and trees flew in every direction. Chunks rammed against the blue barrier, shaking it. Enrique and Cecelia were sent hurtling off their feet. Enrique quickly directed his shield towards the ground as he spun around. They hit the dirt. The defense shattered from the sheer force, sending them rolling towards more debris. He felt Vi’s own magic form another shield a split-second later. It gave them enough cushion to whack against jagged stones like they’d been punched in the gut.

“Ungh!” Cecelia cried out. Enrique flopped away from the stones and pulled Cecelia away. Vi’s larger barrier flickered off.

“Are you okay?” he asked the cat girl. She nodded and coughed. “I’m good.” She patted his sides and a small green aura came out of her. “You’re good too.” He felt his stomach, half-convinced he’d been impaled and then relived when he found he was merely aching.

The relief was immediately cut short as he saw a massive boulder, broken off from the bombs, roll down towards the city. It gathered speed, growing larger as dirt and pieces of rocks stuck underneath it.

“Shoot. We need to catch that!”

Cecelia scrambled up, eyes wide. “It’s ten times bigger than me! At this rate it’ll be a mountain when it hits!”

Enrique scrambled for his red amulet and raced towards a cliff of the hill, but stopped as he saw the mess of dirt and rocks he’d have to get through to approach. The boulder meanwhile accelerated.

“No time. We’ll vaporize it,” Vi said. “Hold out your hand. I’m transferring power to you and another spell. You have to aim it right.”

Enrique, in a panic and his heart beating fast, thrust out his palm towards the boulder’s center. The stone rumbled towards a set of small houses at the edge of the city. His aura pulsed. A large yellow ball of light appeared in front of his hand. Sparks sizzled and gathered around it. Static seemed to dance and crackle from his veins.

“Cecelia, what’s the size and mass of the rock? I need to make sure we don’t cause a landslide.” Vi was calm but Enrique could feel raw energy flooding out of him as the yellow sphere expanded in size. His hand shook. He fought to keep it steady.

“Wha—57 meters, 453 kg, no, 70 meters, 460 kg, it’s too fast! I don’t know, I hate numbers! Do something!” The young girl’s eyes were wide with panic.

“Hit it!” Enrique shouted.

Lightning strike. The ball hurled out. It struck the boulder. A crack of thunder lit the air and a yellow bolt materialized, covering the boulder from view. When it cleared, a large patch of smoke sizzled out from where the stone had been.

Enrique and Cecelia blinked. They lowered their arms, after shielding their eyes from the harsh light. The two breathed a collective sigh of relief. Cecelia hit send on her recording. Then Enrique’s phone rang. Sven’s voice came through.

“Enrique? We have a problem.”