The dust-covered room remained silent, except for the rhythmic breathing of the slender, hazel-haired woman performing CPR. "Come on, John," she urged under her breath, as she pressed down on his chest so hard she could hear the ribs crack. John didn't flinch, his body covered in bruises and slash marks.

Nicole knew she wasn't making any progress, cursing under her breath she pulled a gold coin from her pocket. She pressed her lips to it before pressing it to his chest, with a sputter and a cough, John started to breathe again as the coin dissolved into his chest. His eyes flickered open.

"Who are you..." he rasped, unable to focus on the woman with his vision blurred.

"Shh, save your strength," she whispered, scanning the dimly lit basement. Her fingers danced over the cold ground, her power to manipulate luck guiding her to a sharp-edged rock shard that gleamed faintly in the darkness. It was the perfect size and shape for the lock on John's cuffs. Without skipping a beat, she picked the lock.

"Can you walk?" she asked, draping his arm over her shoulder, feeling the solid weight of his muscular form.

"Try and stop me," John muttered, following her lead as they walked together.

Together, they stumbled toward the wooden stairwell, carefully navigating each step until they emerged from the storm basement into the overgrown yard. The woman's grey car sat at the edge of the property waiting for them. Once she loaded John into the passenger side, she quickly slid over to the driver's side. The engine roared to life, cutting through the night's silence as she peeled away from the area. But as they put some distance between them and the storm cellar, John felt an overpowering aura. John's head whipped around, his gaze locking onto something behind them.

"Someone's coming," he said, his voice barely above a whisper as the car sped away.

Through the rearview mirror, Nicole saw two figures emerge from the shadows, their strides unnaturally swift, their eyes shining through the night. "Supremes," she spat the word out like a curse.

"They're gaining on us," John warned, watching the pair move in on the car.

"Strap in," Nicole warned, swerving the car onto the main highway. The streetlights streaked overhead as they flew down the road, but they didn't make it far when one of their pursuers, with a snarl of effort, punched the road causing the ashvault to splinter. Tree roots erupted from under it, gnarled and grasping, causing Nicole to veer wildly and crash into the guardrail.

"Shit looks like I am going to have to do this the hard way," Nicole reached over and popped open her glove box, she could feel the Supremes moving in on them.

"We need to move, now!" John panicked, wincing in pain as he reached for the door handle.

With demonic speed, the two hulking Supremes surrounded the vehicle, their faces twisting into their demonic forms, the one with black eyes reaching a clawed hand for the driver's side door. The green-eyed one leaped over to the passenger side to prevent their escape.

"Stay down and don't get in my way," Nicole instructed, pulling a gun with practiced ease from the glove box. She aimed and fired in one fluid motion. A bullet, its tip appearing to have some clear liquid inside, found its mark in the green-eyed one's chest.

The effect was instantaneous – the poison searing through his veins, consuming him with an otherworldly fire. He collapsed, twitching violently on the asphalt.

"Kenneth!" the black-eyed one's voice cracked as he rushed to his to put out the fire.

"They never see it coming," Nicole said to John, her lips curving into a grim smile. She slammed on the gas, the car jumping forward, and they vanished into the night—leaving their attackers in their dust.

---

The musty scent of the basement apartment clung to the air as Zack and Rob heaved the last box down the narrow staircase. "You think we should warn the landlord about potential demonic damages?" Rob quipped, setting the box down in the cluttered living room.

"Oh ha, ha. You know I have gotten way better at controlling it over the summer," Zack replied, setting his box down with a thud that echoed off the concrete walls. "I can hold my barriers for a solid two minutes."

"Very impressive, that should come in handy," Rob arched a brow, skepticism written all over his face.

"Well it's something," Zack affirmed, leaning against the cool wall, as he took in their new basement dwelling. "Ethel says she still hasn't been able to find Kristian or Olivia. I'm worried they were taken by Greed."

"So all that training over the summer," Rob looked over at Zack, the humour draining from his tone. "You're planning on actually facing off against Greed—aren't you?"

"If he really did take Olivia and Kristian," Zack muttered, following Rob into the dimly lit kitchenette. "I don't think we will have a choice."

The boys fell silent, their second year of university hadn't even started yet, but they both knew their next fight had already started.

"Hey, the fridge is empty, why don't we go pick up a few things?" Rob suggested, "The Superstore is around the corner, the night air might do us some good.

After gathering grocery bags, the duo left out into the night, the cool fall air greeted them as they made their way down the sidewalk. Rob couldn’t help but ask some questions still pressing on the back of his mind. "Why were Kristian and Olivia on their own in the woods to begin with? They would have been more helpful fighting the Familiar."

"Ethel said they sensed more vessels in the woods," Zack reasoned, looking up at the stars. "They were just looking into it for her."

"Still feels like it could have been done after we defeated Wrath and turned Boon back. Don't you think?" Rob’s voice held an edge of accusation.

As they rounded the corner, a car rolled past, Ahmed behind the wheel, Deb in the passenger seat, both seemingly lost in conversation. Ahmed was promising a group thing, insisting it wasn't a double date—

"We are just going to hang out at that new arcade bar," Ahmed tried to reason, looking hopeful.

"I don't know," Deb tried to avoid making eye contact with him, her voice barely audible through the open window, "It just kind of sounds like you are trying to set me up with this guy."

"I would never, it is just a fun thing to do. And if sparks happen to fly then..." Ahmed nudged her playfully.

"I don't think I am ready... things with Zack are complicated," she sighed, her gaze shifting to the side window.

"I get it. Boon's situation got... complicated too," Ahmed disclosed, his eyes briefly meeting Deb's before quickly looking away. "He was dead, then not. Cops, doctors—all had so many questions to ask. Then Ethel had to train him on how to keep control and use his powers."

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"Maybe we both need a fling." Deb leaned back in her seat, looking over at Ahmed with a soft smile.

"Agreed," Ahmed nodded, as they approached a red light. "Something with a little less drama would be nice right now."

The car idled at the red light, its engine a soft purr in the dusk of Waterloo. Ahmed's fingers drummed on the steering wheel, as he waited for it to change.

"Hey, you think Boon will be okay, right?" Ahmed asked, glancing over at Deb. "I mean he moved so far away, New Zealand is just so far away."

"I know," Deb replied, placing her hand on his shoulder. She chewed on her bottom lip, as she tried to think about what would comfort her friend.

"Ahmed," she began until she caught sight of the two figures approaching, "you've got to go—now."

"Deb, it's a red light," he reminded her, though his foot twitched toward the accelerator.

"Please." She motioned to the rearview mirror and Ahmed could see Rob and Zack heading their way down the sidewalk.

"Deb, I can't get another ticket, my mom will kill me," he sighed, staring up at the red light, willing it to turn green. Rob and Zack, deep in conversation, didn't notice the car as they walked alongside it.

"Man, you're handling this whole Deb thing pretty well," Rob said, clapping Zack on the back. "No calls or texts all summer? That takes some serious discipline."

"I guess," Zack grumbled. "The last thing she told me was she was leaving the exorcists, I doubt she will even come back to Canada this year."

"Are you kidding?" Rob laughed, noticing the car at last. He could see Deb clearly shrinking away in the passenger seat. "I have no doubt she will be back this year, she may even be closer than you think."

As Rob and Zack came to a stop at the passenger side door, Ahmed’s resolve wavered and he eased off the brake, allowing the car to roll forward. Deb let out a huff, as she glanced over at Zack.

"Stop, Ahmed," she commanded. "I need to do this."

"Are you sure?" Ahmed asked, skeptical but complying.

"It was going to have to happen at some point," she sighed, her voice steady now.

"Alright." He brought the car to a standstill by the roadside, hazards blinking into the growing night.

"Hey, guys!" Deb rolled down her window, Zack jumped at the sound of her voice.

"Deb, you're back," Zack stuttered, a lopsided grin spreading across his face.

"What a surprise," Rob added, his own smile genuine. "We were just talking about—" Rob wasn't able to finish before Zack delivered a quick jab to his side.

Rob shot a glare at Zack, whose face had turned bright red. Deb watched them with an amused look on her face. But Ahmed just stared forward as his vision blurred, the world seemed to get coated in a fog. From out of mist, a young man appeared, sprinting, his face twisted in terror as he cried out for help. Ahmed's breath hitched, and panic clawed up his throat.

"Help me! Please!" the dark-eyed man begged, voice tearing through the night. He caught Ahmed's eye, looking right at him. "Please, you're the only one that can help me." He then collapsed in the street.

"Ahmed? What is it?" Deb's concerned voice cut through his trance, he hadn't noticed her gripping his arm before. Both Zack and Rob looked concerned through the window. Ahmed turned back to the road but the young man was gone.

"Didn’t you see him? The guy—he needs help!"

"Who?" Deb’s eyes darted around, finding nothing. "There was never anyone there, Ahmed."

Zack looked out into the road, his expression shifting as he scanned the darkness. "I don't sense anything,"

"Was it a vision like the ones when Gluttony was controlling you?" Rob asked, touching Ahmed's shoulder, "Have you been having them still?"

"No, I'm fine," Ahmed shook his head, but the image of the terrified young man wouldn't leave it. "I think I just need some rest," he assured them.

"Ok, then we'll let you guys get going," Rob said stepping back from the driver's side. Zack and Deb exchanged one last small smile before the car drove off.

---

The paramedics raced down the sterile hallway of the hospital as Kenzie's green eyes followed the gurney's rushed journey. John, with deep slash marks down his just and back, lay upon it, his breathing laboured. She fell into step beside him, her nurse's scrubs rustling softly.

"John, you're not healing," she whispered, more an observation than a question. Her concern for his condition is evident.

"Something's wrong," he replied with a great effort, his voice a hoarse whisper. "The woman, what happened to the woman?"

Kenzie looked around, her red curls bouncing as she hastened towards the second gurney being wheeled in, the doctor barking orders as they rushed her in. The sight that greeted her was a young woman who seemed to be fighting a battle even in unconsciousness, murmuring deliriously "I need to find the Supreme."

"Ethel," Kenzie whispered, brushing Nicole's light brown hair from her sweat-drenched forehead. But there was no recognition in those fluttering eyelids, no sign she understood.

---

The morning sun had barely risen but there was already motion in Zack's room, his bed already neatly made as he hung in the doorway. A one-armed pull-up transitioned smoothly into another as he flipped through the dense text of his biology textbook in his other hand. He had spent the summer redoing all the courses he failed—he had no intention of failing anything this year.

He dropped from his perch and placed the book down, he turned to the shower, a smile playing on his lips. With a mere thought, water cascaded from the showerhead, the curtain drawing back with an obedient sweep. His handle on telekinesis had also improved immensely over the summer, he was certain nothing would stop him this year.

---

"And you're sure it was a vision," Jessica asked Deb, striding confidently through the clutter of unopened boxes. Her tall frame moved with ease, her brown hair catching the light from the window.

"It definitely seemed like one," Deb flipped through the pages of a book about psychics. "What if there is still a connection between him and Gluttony?"

"That could be, I think it is best you watch him then." Jessica gave her a look. "Just in case."

"Ok," Deb closed the book, she checked her phone to find the text from Ahmed waiting for her in the parking lot. "Got to go,"

In his car, Ahmed caught his reflection in the rearview mirror, the white T-shirt clinging just right, the leather jacket giving him a look of effortless cool. He smiled to himself as his phone buzzed.

"Real date? 😏" Steven's text read, Amhed hesitated for a moment.

"Maybe," Ahmed replied, not really excited about an actual date.

"How about a round 2 tonight? 🔥" came the next message, Ahmed smiled down at the phone.

"Sure," he typed back quickly, hitting send without a second thought.

With the message sent, he adjusted the jacket, watching Deb making her way to the car—this year was off to a promising start.

---

Zack slipped into the lecture hall of Kin 210 like a shadow, his arrival unnoticed by the few students scattered among the seats, their heads bent over notebooks and phones. The room hummed with the hushed pre-class energy, but Zack's focus was elsewhere; his mind dissected the syllabus he'd already committed to memory, a small smirk playing on his lips as he anticipated the semester ahead.

"Overachiever much?" Rob's voice broke Zack's contemplation, as he sat next to Zack. "You didn't even wait for me to get up,"

"I didn't want to wake you," Zack replied, his eyes flicking toward the hallway outside the classroom door. "Especially when it was pretty clear you were up all night researching visions."

"Oh, you saw the book," Rob's face went red, "I just think that there could be something to what Ahmed thought he saw last night. Did you know there were these things called fates that knew when people were going to die?"

"You think Ahmed Might be a fate?" Zack considered the idea. "But how does that explain the connection to Kyle, can sins turn people into fates?"

"Fair point, I mean there are lots of other creatures out there tied to visions and death," Rob conceded with a nod, "But Ahmed is more than human." before Zack could speak their professor entered, ready to start the lecture.

---

Across campus, sunlight glinted off the student life centre's windows, as Ahmed stood by the bookstore, his eyes scanning the crowd. Freshmen lined up outside, the air ripe with the scent of new books and nervous excitement.

"Look at them, freshmen," Ahmed said, as he took them all in.

"Yup, those are freshmen" Deb answered, without looking up from her book.

"I think I need to get me one of those. You know someone who doesn't know about the craziness of last year," Ahmed reasoned, his eyes tracking a group passing by.

"You make it sound like you are shopping for a new outfit." Deb finally looked, taking in a group of guys in line. "You know it takes more than pointing at someone and saying you want them to be your boyfriend."

"I never said I wanted a boyfriend," Ahmed corrected her, his gaze still following a young Chinese man with chiselled features.

"Then what are you looking for?" Deb asked, locking eyes with him. "Some kind of distraction?" she half-joked.

"Distraction, that's a good word for it," he murmured. The young Chinese man met with an equally attractive Filipino man, they clapped their hands together as they met.

"So which one is it going to be?" Deb nudged him, her gaze following his.

"The gay one obviously," Ahmed muttered, watching the pair disappear around a corner.

"How do you..." Deb started, clearly confused as to which was which.

"Please, it was pretty obvious." Ahmed pushed himself off the wall, "Now come on, we are going to be late for our next class.