We sat there for a while, mostly in silence, as I looked over the community. There was a lot of activity going on, and I could see that John had brought out the golems, keeping them around in more accessible places, though the stone ones were still hidden. I was still sitting on the edge of the roof while Olivia was sitting a bit further back, leaning against an old air conditioner unit.

"So, how was it, really?" She asked. "Fighting Oni Lee."

"... I'll be honest, it was over so fast that I hardly had time to register it as a fight," I answered with a frown. "At first, I was struggling to keep up with him since each time I spotted the bastard and attacked, he was moving again, and his clone would just explode into dust. But after a bit of focusing, I managed to find a rhythm and start catching up. I get the feeling Blasters with quick reflexes are generally his weakness. After I caught him once, he left immediately, not surprising considering he hadn't left a scratch on me so far."

"Can you really tank a grenade?" She asked, a bit confused. "Didn't Alabaster mess you up with his pistols?

"First, he was shooting some big pistols," I pointed out. "But comparing a grenade to a gun is like comparing apples to oranges. They just work differently. That isn't to say I could survive a grenade. I should be able to shrug off a big pistol pretty easily at this point, though. I've gotten tougher."

"Fair… not exactly my strong suit," She admitted. "Damn… Can't imagine brushing off an encounter with the ABB demon ninja."

"Like I said, I was more concerned about the civilians," I explained. "Once he was gone, I focused on healing everyone that the fucker caught in that grenade blast. Then, I left before the PRT could pin me down. I needed to get here, just in case."

"Not worried about your relationship with them?"

"If they can't figure out where I am after getting stuck fighting Oni Lee, there's no reason for us to have a relationship," I pointed out. "Plus, they have my number. If they really need me, they can call."

She scoffed and chuckled, nodding in agreement. With nothing else to say, I looked back out over the community. By now, quite a few people were packing up and leaving, not willing to risk the wrath of Lung. I shook my head, wondering if I had just destroyed the community with my actions. Before I could spiral too much, Olivia stood and peered over the edge, spotting what I was looking so intently at, namely a pair of people quickly leaving with worn and weathered backpacks on their shoulders.

"They'll be back," She assured me. "If there is something to come back to, they will at least. The first instinct for a lot of us, when things get hot, is to run until the heat dies down. It happened before, and it will happen again."

"Why didn't it happen with the Empire?" I asked with a frown.

"Who said it didn't? It just got washed a bit 'cause we moved and joined up here," She explained, gesturing to the buildings around us. "A few people came back over the last week or so. Some will stay away until the Empire draws its revenge or maybe, or at least another month or so."

I nodded in understanding, feeling a bit better as I watched another person quietly make their way from the community. We sat there for a few more minutes before the boredom started to settle in and, with it, frustration.

Here I was, sitting here, waiting for Lung to decide whether he wanted to attack us or not. I needed to stay here because Lung might decide the best way to hurt me was to attack the community I had been working to help. But staying here also put them at risk because if Lung goes looking for me, he would have to come here, and the ABB Dragon isn't exactly known for his self-control and low casualty count. But if I left, I would have no way of helping them if Lung decided to send Oni Lee to blow them all up as punishment.

I couldn't win. Staying put the community in danger, and leaving put them in danger, too. Staying was marginally the better option since I would at least be here to defend them, even if I was the reason they showed up and attacked in the first place.

"Goddamit," I cursed, rubbing my face. "This is bullshit. Just waiting here to see…"

I cut myself off, squinting slightly as an idea came to me. I rolled the idea around in my head, trying to formulate it into something more concrete, when Olivia spoke up.

"I know that silence. That's the silence of a bad idea," She said, throwing a pebble at my back. "What dumb idea did you just come up with?"

"... what if I did the same to him?" I asked, chewing on my lip. "I don't want him to show up here because the collateral damage would be terrible, and I don't want him targeting everyone to get back at me… but what if I went somewhere he wasn't willing to destroy? Somewhere, he wasn't willing to turn into an ash pile."

"And do what exactly?" She asked. "Ambush him? I'm pretty sure if Lung had to choose between his life or freedom and whatever property you're hoping to hold hostage, he would always choose to stay out of jail."

"No, I'm not confident enough that I could defeat him at the moment to try," I admitted. "Slow him down enough to let people escape, maybe. But I hold no such illusions of doing that myself."

"So then, what the hell do you plan on doing?" She asked, sounding confused. "Besides getting yourself killed?"

"Negotiating," I said with a smirk, quickly standing up from my spot. "I'm going to negotiate."

"What? Are you insane?" She asked, standing up with me, following after me as I started making my way to the ladder, grabbing my arm as I did. "You're going to get yourself killed."

"Maybe, but at least that means they won't take it out on anyone here," I pointed out, stopping as she held me back. "Olivia, I don't have a choice. Even if he never comes here, I can't afford to be fighting the Empire and the ABB at the same time. If I can get the Lung off my back, I can focus on taking down the Empire."

"And if they don't agree?" She asked. "If they attack you after meeting you? You'd be handing yourself up like a silver platter! You just said that you can't take down Lung by yourself, how would you take down both and Oni Lee?"

"I know it's a risk, but it's also the best chance I have to get ABB from coming here and harassing you guys," I explained, looking back at her hand on my arm, then up at her. "I need to take responsibility for this. I refuse to sit back and let Lung decide my fate, not when I can choose to take a step forward and make my own choices."

Olivia stared into my eyes for a long moment before groaning and shaking her head.

"You fucking bastard…. Fine! But I'm coming with you," She said.

"Absolutely not!" I countered, shaking my head vehemently. "I need you here to watch over everyone, to make sure Lung doesn't try something crafty."

"That's what the golems are for," She responded, waving me off. When she saw me trying to figure out another reason, she laughed and poked my chest. "Yeah, that's what I thought! So quick to put yourself at risk, but it starts looking a lot worse when someone else sticks their hand in the hive, too!"

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"I just don't want to put anyone else at risk," I responded with a frown.

"And what about you? Do you think we want you to get yourself killed? To sacrifice yourself?" She asked, poking me in the chest again. "Do you think any of us want that on our heads?"

"I... It's better than facing off against Lung."

"You'd be surprised," Olivia responded. "You'd be surprised how heavily something like that sits on you."

She looked at me, her eyes hard and determined. Something in them spoke of older, harder pain, something she endured and was maybe still enduring. When she spoke again, her voice was quieter but no less insistent.

"What if Lung doesn't even show up?" She pointed out. "I mean, you killed Alabaster, and the Empire hasn't done anything."

"Yet," I added with emphasis. "The E88 hasn't done anything yet. I fully expect them to be a problem at any moment."

"But you don't plan on walking into one of the stupid mead halls to negotiate with them!"

"Because it wouldn't work since I've already killed one of them. Lung is much more direct with his problem-solving," I explained. "No plans, no grand strategies or campaigns. I kicked his shit, so now he is going to come to kick mine in twice as hard."

"But you don't know for certain when, or how, or anything like that."

"....No, of course I don't," I admitted, letting out a long breath and pulling off my hat so I could run my fingers through my hair. "...Olivia, I can't just do nothing."

"But you could also not throw your life away," She pointed out. "Stay here, where I am, where your golems are. You stand a much better chance of fighting Lung and Oni Lee here than anywhere else."

"And what about everyone else?"

"Everyone else understands how this works, Will," She responded, stepping closer to say my name softer, her hand on my shoulder. "You think you're the first hero to step on someone's toes? You've stuck by us, helped us, and saved us. We know what all of this means, and those who want to leave are already on their way out. Everyone else knows the risks."

For a long moment, I looked into her eyes, green emeralds that were locked onto mine. I let out a long breath, sagging slightly.

"Fine, alright, no walking into the dragon's lair," I agreed, Olivia letting out an aggrieved "thank you!" before slapping my shoulder. "But if I can't go there… I need you to help me get ready."

"Of course. What do you need?"

"First, I need you to go on a shopping trip," I explained. "It's going to be a big one, so you might want to take some people you can trust."

"Seriously? A shopping trip?" She asked, rolling her eyes. "What do you need?"

I quickly pulled out a small notebook from my coat and wrote down around two dozen ingredients. When I handed her the list, she gave me a look before shaking her head.

"Yeah, I'll find someone to help," She agreed. "Give me an hour or so, and I'll be back. I assume you have cash?"

I handed her a stack of cash, and she quickly climbed down from the roof. I watched her rush to talk to John, who looked up at me. I gave him a thumbs up and a nod, the latter of which he returned. A few minutes later, I watched Olivia and a few guys leave, walking fast and looking like they were on a mission.

After they left, I quickly opened my notebook and got to work.

My first project was actually just me re-creating the ritual to make the stun wands. I did most of it from memory since I couldn't exactly leave and grab my stuff. In all honesty, I should have immediately gone back to the compound and grabbed some materials before setting up shop at the community. Unfortunately, I did not anticipate I would be doing rituals anywhere but secluded, safe areas.

Once I was done re-creating the wand ritual, I got to work on my second project. I wasn't exactly happy about working rituals in public, but I figured if I was gonna break my rules, I might as well go big.

It was an hour and forty-five minutes later when Olivia returned. Her and the two guys helping her quickly climbed up the ladder to the thankfully flat, smooth roof of the building I had been keeping watch from. The guys dropped off their stuff, I tipped them as a thank you, and they left. Before they were gone completely, I asked them to tell John and Charles to find at max twenty people who wouldn't freak out in a fight that they could trust.

"Sooo…. Does that mean I get to watch you make stuff?" Olivia asked, now sitting on top of the air conditioning unit. "'Cause I've heard tinkers use weird stuff to make their gear, but that list was a little insane."

Pff, tinkers wish they were me," I said with a smirk.

I rifled through the bags, finally finding and grabbing the chalk before getting to work. Step one was making a proper purifying chalk ritual, then I could start making actual useful stuff.

Olivia watched silently as I quickly drew out the chalk ritual in my blood, placing the sticks of chalk in the center and feeding it my magic. When it was complete, I grabbed one of the chalk sticks and immediately got to work writing out the wand-making ritual, kneeling down on my hands and knees to draw.

"Wait, wait, wait… what the hell did I just watch?" Olivia asked. "What sort of satanic bullshit did you just do to make some pink chalk?"

"It's not pink," I said, consulting my notebook as I continued to work.

"That's the wrong thing you should have commented on!"

I pushed myself up straight on my knees and looked at Olivia, who was looking at me waving a purified piece of chalk, gesturing to it with concern.

"Look, I've told you before that my powers are weird," I pointed out, Olivia giving me a "you think?" look as I did. "But now is not the time or place to be asking about its theming choices, alright?"

"...right, okay," She admitted. "Not like I can judge. Anything I can do to help?"

"Get me the ruler you bought," I asked, nodding back to the bags before once again returning my focus to the ritual.

It took me forty minutes to finish putting together the ritual, with Olivia helping where she could. When it was done, I quickly rifled through the bags again, finding a bunch of thick, sturdy branches cut from an oak tree. They were all straight, relatively clean of branches, and all just over a foot long. When I had them all together, I loaded them up with branches at the center and several sacrificial ingredients along the outside. A quick channeling of magic later, and the wands were done, with twenty-three in total. I gathered them up and placed them by the bags before nodding.

"Right, step one complete, now we have weapons," I said, nodding as I looked at Olivia, who was a bit stunned by my second display of ritualistic magic. "You ready for round two?"

"Uh… yeah?"

"Good. Because we only have about five hours to sundown, and I have a feeling that's when Lung is going to strike," I explained, Olivia tensing up considerably. "We don't have much time, and I want to make use of every second we have."