"You wanted to see me, miss Callian?"

"Yes, director." Jade said, shifting uncomfortably in front of Irene's desk. "But please, just call me Jade."

The two of them were alone in the director's office. As usual there was nowhere to sit in the cluttered room, so Jade was standing in one of the only open spaces she could find. It was in an awkward place, forcing her to lean around a large computer monitor if she wanted to be seen. The hour was late, the window behind the desk darkened by night. Jade and her companions were set to journey back into the Labyrinth the following morning, so this was her last chance to speak with any L-ReF officials for a while.

"What can I do for you?" Director Holston asked, her fingers clicking in a steady rhythm against her keyboard.

"First…" Jade pulled two small, plastic cards out of a pocket. She carefully stepped over a pile of documents and laid them on the desk. "We found a couple of people right after this started. I'd almost forgotten, with everything that's happened since, but they had IDs on them."

Irene paused, glancing down at the cards. They were covered in Chinese characters and bore the portraits of a young man and woman.

"Monsters got to them, before we found them." Jade explained, remembering the spider-filled forest near Juniper's grove. "Can you get these to their families?"

There was nothing she could have done to help those people, they had probably been dead before they'd even reached the quadrant. But the IDs were a grim reminder of how easy it would be to join them.

How many wayfarers have already died? Jade wondered, staring at the woman's smiling picture. How many more will, before this is over?

As far as she'd heard, fewer than a thousand wayfarers had returned since the permanent doors had opened to Earth. Supposedly, there were several times that many scattered around the Labyrinth. Whatever they were doing, Jade hoped they were getting stronger. They'd need to.

"I'll see to it." The older woman said, scooping the cards into a folder and scrawling a note on it. "Thank you. With everything else going on here, it can be easy to forget the sacrifices people like you are making in the other world. I'm sure their families will appreciate the closure."

Jade felt her lips tighten into a line. Sacrifices? That implied they'd volunteered for this. Those two certainly hadn't. They'd probably been attacked by monsters before they even realized what was happening to them. That wasn't a sacrifice, that was a slaughter. She held her tongue, though, despite her instinct to lash out. Jade was getting better at recognizing the belligerent influence her demonic nature had on her emotions, and refused to let them control her.

"There's something else." She said, finally getting to the real reason she'd requested this meeting. Jade glanced back at the door, making sure it was shut.

"What is it?" Irene must have picked up on the shift in her mood because she finally paused her work, turning her full attention on Jade.

"You need to be careful." Jade said. She'd carefully rehearsed this exchange several times over the past couple of days, deciding what she should reveal, and what was best kept to herself. "When we were in the Labyrinth, on the second floor, we encountered a type of creature called a demon."

"A demon?" Irene raised a skeptical eyebrow. Then she shrugged, gesturing for Jade to continue. "You know what, never mind. Go on."

Jade briefly related her encounter with the succubus Malice in Lysara. None of them had spoken about it since returning to Earth, they'd glossed over that part of their adventures during the initial debriefing at Jade's request. She'd wanted time to consider how much she wanted to share about her own nature before broaching the topic. Now that they were about to leave, though, she had to say something.

She left out a few details, like Malice's interest in Jade's own demonic nature. Instead, she framed the demon's objectives as being exclusively about the knowledge she could extract from her wayfarer mark. The demon had wanted location data on the Labyrinth Cores for Earth. Jade had no idea what they could do with that knowledge, but she had a strong feeling that it wouldn't be to the benefit of her home. There was also the matter of Malice's comment about demons already sent to Earth, which was even more ominous.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"I don't know what they want, director, but if this 'Malice' is anything to go by, it won't be anything good." Jade finished, crossing her arms. "My team and I have kept this to ourselves so far. We weren't sure what to do with this information. I'm hoping you can make better use of it."

"Wonderful." Irene sighed, holding her head in her hands and slumping forward to rest her elbows against the desk. "Just what we needed. Infiltrators from another world."

"Sorry." Jade said with a grimace. "Not the news you were looking for."

"No, thank you. We're lucky to know about this at all, it seems." The director straightened in her chair, regaining her composure. "Your team displayed good instincts by not sharing this with anyone else. Continue to keep it to yourselves for now. I'll do some covert investigation here while you're gone. If you can, try and find out anything you can about these 'demons' while you're in the Labyrinth."

"I intend to." Jade said, balling her hands into fists. "Malice caught me by surprise. Next time, I'll be ready for her tricks."

"Be careful." Irene cautioned. "Your team is one of our best assets, Jade. Don't take any unnecessary risks."

Jade nodded curtly, although she was rolling her eyes internally. Unnecessary risks? No one on Earth understood how the Labyrinth really worked. Risks were exactly what it rewarded. The entire system seemed specifically designed to reward reckless behavior. The more outrageous your accomplishments, the more power it showered you with.

"I'll do my best." She said, choosing to be diplomatic. "But be careful, these creatures can disguise themselves well."

Jade hesitated, and then decided that it was better to show Irene the truth behind her words. She concentrated, shifting her appearance. Her hair melted from blonde to black, skin darkening several shades, and she grew a few inches taller. After a few moments, Jade stood before her looking like an entirely different person. She held up her hands to forestall comments from the shocked director, speaking first.

"My class is 'Shadow Witch'. It focuses on powers that misdirect enemies and came with a shapeshifting ability that seems similar to what some of these demons can do."

The lie preserved the secret of her race while still showing the full scope of the threat. Fortunately, no one had seen her transform on the battlefield the other day. Jade knew it was only a matter of time before she'd be revealed, too many people in the Labyrinth knew her real nature for it to stay hidden forever, but she'd rather delay that particular discussion.

"This 'magic' thing is taking a lot of time to adjust to." Irene said, looking Jade up and down.

"Welcome to the club."

Jade shifted back to her 'normal' human appearance with a thought. She spent a little more time explaining the powers of persuasion that some demons held, and how Malice's charm magic had felt to Jade. Unfortunately, she had little to offer in way of advice on how to identify or resist such effects. That was something she intended to look into. Perhaps L-ReF could acquire some items that enhanced mental defenses or equip themselves with similar magic. That was something they'd have to work out for themselves.

"I think that's everything, director." Jade finally finished.

"Oh? That's all?" Irene smiled wryly. "No other bombshells to drop on me before you leave?"

"It wouldn't be fair to keep all the adventures to myself, director." Jade replied, the corner of her lip pulling up in a smirk.

"…Next time, please feel free to do so." she sighed, leaning back in her chair. Then, she gave Jade a tight smile. "Good luck out there."

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

There was neither the time nor resources for Jade, Luis, or Naomi to return home to see their families once more before departing, so they had to make do with phone calls. The majority of civilian transportation infrastructure, including air travel, were rapidly being requisitioned by the government to ensure personnel and supplies could be routed where they were needed. Global mass migration was causing more of a strain on the economy and critical supplies than the Labyrinth itself.

Despite her brother's urging, Jade didn't so much as send her mother a text. That was a can of worms that she couldn't bring herself to open, not when she needed to be in top form. Reconnecting with the family she cared about was emotional enough as it was, and she couldn't afford further distractions.

"They grew up so fast!" Luis was saying as they strode towards the shimmering portal. The street around it had been cleared of dinosaur corpses, although blood stains and rubble were still present in copious amounts. Jade wondered what had been done with the remains, she hadn't seen anyone carting them off. "Little Ellie was so mature, helping take care of mi abuela while I was gone."

"Grew up?" Jade blinked, giving Luis the side eye. "We were gone for six weeks, not six months. Aren't your sisters teenagers? They can't have changed that much."

A pair of soldiers opened the newly constructed security gate, rolling it aside to provide access to the glimmering portal. It flickered, crackling with blue energy. According to L-ReF scouts, this one led to a highland valley region and wasn't far from a node.

"They really stepped up to help the family." Luis grinned. "Even volunteered to share rooms to help house a family of refugees. I'm proud of them."

"I'm glad they're taking this well." Jade said, pausing in front of the portal. "Ready?"

"Ready." Naomi nodded, tightening the strap of her guitar. They were back in their enchanted armor, although Jade was still wearing the old version that provided some protection against the winter chill.

"Let's get back to our friends and get on our way." Luis said, giving her a thumbs up.

"First Lysara, then Estelhelm." Jade agreed. "After that, we can set our sights on the third floor."

Where the real fight begins.

When last they’d entered the Labyrinth, they had each done so alone. This time, when they traversed the rift between worlds, they did so together.