The bus sped along the rain-slicked highway, the wiper working overtime to clear the downpour. Inside the basketball team swayed with the motion on their faux leather seats, Coach Reynolds sat in the front reading over his playbook. A few rows back, John leaned forward, his elbows braced on his knees, casting a sidelong glance at Kristian who was staring daggers at Kenneth.

"Hey," John said, voice low but firm, "you need to let it go, Kris. He is a part of the team, you can't do anything here."

Kristian's jaw clenched, a muscle ticking in his cheek. He continued to glare at Kenneth, who sat across the aisle, casually flicking through his phone. Leona, nestled beside him, followed his thumb's repetitive motion.

"You seem... not yourself today, is everything alright?" she asked, her tone light but probing.

"Everything is fine," Kenneth replied with a shrug, his eyes not leaving the screen. "Just trying to focus on the game."

John caught Kristian moving in his seat and placed a hand on his shoulder, holding him in place. Finally, Kristian turned to look at him, his eyes filled with rage.

At the back of the bus, Rob quizzed Zack, who was slumped against the window, his face was coated in a thin layer of sweat. They breezed through the basic cell structures like cytoplasm, mitochondria, and ribosomes, and each term met with a perfect definition.

"Endoplasmic reticulum," Rob said, turning over a flashcard.

"Network of membranes within the cytoplasm," Zack recited mechanically.

"Nice. And succubus?" Rob raised an eyebrow.

"That's not a part of a cell," Zack muttered, seeming annoyed.

"I know but we need to talk about it, Lust is out there and we haven't even tried to figure out who they are." Rob looked to Zack hoping to find some understanding.

Zack remained unresponsive, staring blankly past Rob. The bus lurched over an unseen obstacle, and Zack's breath hitched, a hand reflexively clutching at his side.

"Hey, you okay?" Rob's brow furrowed, concern etched into his features.

"I'm fine," Zack muttered, the fabric of his shirt sticking to the deep gashes on his left side, a reminder of the battle with Greed's covenant only a few days ago.

"It's just taking a little longer to heal this one," Zack half smiled, seeing the worry on Rob's face.

"Are you sure it should still be like that? I mean John and Kristian are all healed up already," Rob pointed out, looking toward the pair.

"Duncan just really got me good when I was trying to push past him," Zack said, trying to shift so Rob couldn't see the blood seeping through the bandages and his shirt. "You know how some wounds from Supremes take a little extra time."

"Ok," Rob replied, still looking at the crimson stains on his shirt. "But if it gets worse you'll tell me right?"

Zack nodded, placing a reassuring hand on Rob's shoulder. They both took a breath, trying to put on a normal face for each other, but Rob couldn't hide the worry in his eyes.

"Let's keep studying for the lab test," Rob said, flipping to the next card. "Golgi apparatus."

"Shipping department of the cell," Zack answered, a faint smile ghosting his lips.

"Right. Now, can you identify them in the image of a cell on a microscope?" Rob asked, digging through his backpack for the flashcards with the images on them.

The bus groaned to a halt, its heavy frame idling as rain battered against the windows. Coach Reynolds' voice cut through the muted conversations, "Eric if you're going to hurl, you better hold it until we get to the University of Ottawa."

Eric Gorth, pale-faced and sweaty, shook his head vehemently, preventing himself from gagging. "I'm fine, Coach," he managed to say.

"Good, because I'm a sympathetic vomitter so if you puke on this bus, I am going to start too and things are going to go down him real fast," Coach grumbled, eyeing Eric with suspicion.

Zack was jolted by the stop and gripped his side in pain. His eyes turned to the front, meeting Coach's gaze. The coach looked at him with worry. "Not sick, just some pre-game nerves coach," Zack said quickly, straightening up, and offering a smile.

"Well you should consider getting a nap in Dawson," Coach eyed him skeptically. "You look like hell."

"Thanks, I try," Zack quipped.

Rob, sitting next to him, nudged his arm, his brow creased with concern. "Maybe he's right, I know you haven't really been sleeping since Ethel..."

At the mention of Ethel, Kenneth, a few rows ahead, tilted his head just enough to eavesdrop while pretending to scroll through his phone.

"We can't talk about that now," Zack whispered to Rob, noting the subtle shift in Kenneth's posture. "He is trying to listen."

"Sure, but Kenneth isn't exactly dangerous when we are surrounded by witnesses and he is outnumbered by us," Rob looked over to Kenneth.

"It's not him I am worried about," Zack looked across from Kenneth to Kristian and John. "Kristian's aura has been filled with rage since we got on the bus, I'm worried John won't be able to hold him back much longer."

John looked out the window noting the traffic outside remained at a standstill. He pulled out his phone and started scrolling through traffic coverage. "Jackknifed truck up ahead. We're gonna be here for a while," he announced loud enough for the team to groan collectively.

I few cars behind the bus, Deb kept her eyes fixed on the University of Water team bus ahead.

"So are you stalking Zack now?" Ahmed asked playfully, glancing over from his chemistry textbook.

"What no... I'm just worried about him. After what happened to Ethel... he hasn't been himself," Deb replied, hands gripping the steering wheel tighter as the fuel gauge's warning light blinked ominously.

"Well if you want to keep an eye on him, we're going to need gas," Ahmed pointed out, closing his book with a resigned thump.

"I can't risk losing the bus," Deb fretted, looking at her gas gauge and back to the bus.

"Relax, we know where they're headed," Ahmed reminded her. "And Zack will be fine, he can heal remember, Brian says..."

"Brian? Are you and him a thing?" Deb raised an eyebrow, trying to figure out just how close they were, Brian was with Greed after all.

"Brian and I... well I wouldn't call it a thing," Ahmed stumbled over the words, as his face turned red.

"Right," Deb drawled, eyeing her friend with suspicion. "Just be careful ok... he may not be seeing you for the right reasons."

"You don't have to worry about me, I can handle myself. now there is a gas station off the next exit, we need to stop there," Ahmed muttered, settling back into his seat, trying to change the subject.

---

Ashley stood at the edge of the construction site, staring over the edge that Duncan and Ethel had vanished over. She had returned the day after the battle, but both Duncan and Ethel's bodies had disappeared by then, she wondered if Greed had taken them.

"Quite a fall," Kyle's voice rumbled from behind her, she jumped at his sudden appearance.

"Why are you here, Kyle?" Ashley replied without turning, rolling her eyes as she calmed herself. "Have you finally decided to get off your ass and do something?"

"I can see why Ethel Liked you, so spirited," Kyle mused, stepping beside her. His face was unreadable, as he looked into the hole. "odd isn't it? that Greed would waste his time taking the bodies, this would have easily been glossed over in the news as an accident,"

"So what are you saying? Ethel's alive?" Ashley asked, finally meeting his gaze. She tried to read his expression, be he seemed all too eager to keep her guessing. "You know Kyle, I knew you before all of this."

"Did you?" Kyle's eyes narrowed, and his statue-like expression cracked ever so slightly. "I don't remember befriending a child."

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"I never said I was your friend, you had a son remember? I had the biggest crush on him," Ashley said, staring blankly ahead. "I wonder what he would think of these games you like to plan to play," she glanced to her side seeing the anger grow on Kyle's face.

"You are lucky I need Ethel right now or I would have ripped your head from your shoulders," Kyle seethed at the mention of his dead son.

"So Ethel is alive," Ashley smiled to herself, seeing the realization emerging in Kyle's eyes, that she had played him.

---

Back on the bus, everything remained at a standstill. Kristian's body tensed, his eyes flickering to a navy blue colour, hands clawing at the worn fabric of the seat ahead.

"Kristian," Zack's voice cut through the hum of the engine, calm but firm as he approached. "You need to get a hold of yourself."

"He just sitting there, like nothing happened..." Kristian growled, the word a snarl, his gaze locked on Kenneth.

"Think about this," Zack urged, placing himself between Kristian and potential disaster. "If you start a fight here, innocent people will get hurt."

"Maybe I don't care," Kristian spat, but Zack could see the flicker of doubt in his eyes.

"Zack..." John interjected as he pushed past Kritian to get a better look at blood seeping through Zack's shirt. Kristian followed John's gaze, his rage shifting to worry at the sight of the crimson stains.

"You haven't healed," Kristian pointed out, unable to take his eyes off Zack's side. "What's wrong?"

"I'm fine, I just need a little extra time to heal up," Zack insisted, clapping a hand on Kristian's shoulder before limping back to Rob, who was sending rapid-fire texts.

"Leona won't tell me why Kenneth is glued to his phone," Rob muttered, glancing up as Zack slumped into the seat beside him. "She's ignoring my messages."

"Does it really matter," Zack grunted, pressing a hand against his side. "He is probably texting Danny."

"Ok but about what and why does he practically jump for his phone every time it buzzes, something is up." Rob narrowed his gaze at the young black-haired man.

The chorus of text alerts caused Leoan's phone to vibrate off the seat before she, unable to ignore the digital onslaught, finally caved and texted Rob back.

"Kenneth's waiting on some news from his family," Leona relayed after a minute. "Someone close to him is sick."

"You don't think Duncan survived that fall?" Rob turned to Zack.

"I saw it, they were both dead, No one survived that fall, not Duncan or..." Zack stopped himself from finishing and he gripped his side in pain. Rob noticed Zack's pain and fell silent, his own worry starting to overtake him. He reached for his phone, knowing they may need help.

---

The wind howled while the storm clouds passed over Paulina's home. Thunder rumbled in the distance as Amanda, her eyes flaring red, stood on her doorstep. Ms. McLeod stood next to her and Brian stood behind them, carrying a dying Duncan in his arms.

"Let us in, Paulina," Ms. McLeod's voice was calm, waiting for Paulina to come to her door. "Duncan's life hangs by a thread."

"I don't see how that is my problem," Paulina retorted, looking through the peephole, she observed Duncan's limp form cradled in Brian's arms.

Amanda extended her claws racing toward the door, but as she stepped forward, an invisible force repelled her, sending her crashing through the mud in the front yard. A snarl twisted her features as she picked herself up and turned back to the house.

"Open this door or I'll..." Amanda's threat died in her throat, as she realised she could no longer summon her fire.

Ms. McLeod rolled her eyes at Amanda's attempt to break down the door. "Look you know we have to keep the balance, that means you need to help Duncan today," Ms. McLeod continued, her eyes never leaving Paulina's. "They have a role to play in what's coming."

Paulina's eyes narrowed at the woman, and after a silent, charged moment, there was a click as she unlocked her door. The trio entered, as Paulina led them through her home to a small back room, where a medical table waited.

---

Meanwhile, on the bus, Eric clutched his stomach, his face as white as a ghost's. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat and avoided eye contact with the coach at all costs.

"Eric, if you spew, I swear on the hoops of heaven—you will be benched all weekend." Coach muttered through gritted teeth.

"Coach, I was wondering if we could stop and grab some lunch," Rob chimed in, glancing down at his phone quickly. "There is an En Route just up ahead."

"Thanks to this traffic we are barely on schedule as it is, it will be a cold day in hell before I show up late to a game," Coach countered, blowing a piercing note on his whistle.

Rob, brow furrowed with frustration, texting Ahmed about the coach's choice to keep going. Ahmed quickly responded, explaining he needed to try again.

"Coach won't budge," Rob informed Ahmed, trying to make it clear nothing was going to stop the bus.

"Then don't ask the coach" Ahmed responded "I feel like something bad is about to happen on that bus, you need to get it to pull over."

Rob read the text with a worried expression on his face, he looked around before his eyes fell on Eric, "Plan B," Rob whispered to himself, sidling next to Eric. With the stealth of a confidant, he leaned in and murmured something in the boy's ear.

Eric's eyes widened in horror, and with a lurch, he began throwing up uncontrollably, causing a domino effect of groans and shuffling as everyone recoiled.

"Fine, fine!" Coach hollered, signalling the driver, as he held back his own. "We're stopping!"

As the bus veered towards the rest area, Rob looked back at Zack, passed out at the back of the bus. He had sweat through his clothes and was taking small ragged breaths.

The En Route's fluorescent lights flickered above, as Rob guided Zack toward the dingey restrooms at the back. Deb met them around back with the sewing kit, while Ahmed helped Rob prop Zack against the cold tile wall. Lifting Zack's shirt they all gasped in horror; the deep gashes were oozing pus and seemed to blacken at the edges.

"Why isn't he healing?" Deb asked, looking very worried. "Did they use some kind of curse on him?"

"I don't know, but I don't think so," Rob struggled to maintain Zack's position, "He should have healed by now,"

"Somatoformic," Ahmed muttered, more to himself than anyone else, as he listened to his friends worry. "He preventing himself from healing, his mind won't let him."

"This is about Ethel," Rob offered looking over at Zack, Zack's eyes traced the floor. "It wasn't your fault, she showed up there looking for a fight, you wanted to find a solution. Don't put her death on you."

Zack didn't say a word, he continued to stare at the floor. His friend shared concerned glances as they tried to figure out how they could stop it from getting worse.

"OK, so he won't heal himself, fine," Deb interjected, "Rob go inside and see if you can buy some gaze, a new shirt and tape." Rob nodded before slipping out of the bathroom.

"What exactly are you planning?" Ahmed asked.

"Vessel who struggle to heal sometimes just need an extra push, if I sew up his wounds that could trigger the healing process," Deb explained.

"And you're sure that will work?" Ahmed looked at Zack, who was sweating profusely and beginning to shake,

"I don't think we have any other options, I need to find some ice or cold water or something to try and bring down his fever," Deb said. Ahmed lowered Zack carefully to the ground before leaving to complete his mission. Alone with Zack, Deb opened the sewing kit, her hands shaking slightly as she attempted to thread the needle. The task seemed impossible with the image of Jessica in the back of her mind.

"I warned you, Deb. You got to close them, you can't thread the needle," Jessica's voice echoed through her mind, "All that waits for you here is death."

Deb exhaled sharply, as she tried to silence the voice. "Clinically. Unemotionally," she whispered to herself. The needle finally pierced the eyelet, and she smiled to herself and she tied it off and began to sew up Zack's side.

"Thanks," Zack murmured deliriously as she finished, his wounds still looking infected and not sealing on their own. His eyes began to flutter shut.

"Zack?" Deb called, giving him a small shake. "Stay with me, please, we still need you,"

"It's my fault," he gasped, not opening his eyes.

"You're wrong, You saved them. I was there, I saw it, and you made sure everyone got out of there." Deb's words cause Zack to lift his head slightly to look at her. "We can't save everyone, Zack. But you saved four lives that night. John and Kristian are here because of you. Stay with us, help us save more."

A faint smile spread across Zack's face, the dark purple colour fading away from his wounds as they began to seal up on their own slowly. Deb smiled as she watched the healing begin. Ahmed and Rob returned to find Zack back on his feet, Rob handed him the fresh shirt to switch into and the group left the bathroom.

"So what's the plan now," Ahmed looked over to Deb.

"We fill the tank," Deb said resolutely. "And then we go to the tournament."

As they turned the corner, they noticed a fight had broken out in the parking lot. Kristian was laying into Kenneth, every blow making its mark and he pumbled the young man. John was watching the violence unfold with a satisfied smirk he tried to hide.

"Hey!" Zack’s voice cut through the noise, and he staggered forward. John turned, realizing Zack was healing just in sight. Kristina and Kenneth froze in place at the sight of Zack walking toward them.

"Idiots," Rob sighed, turning to Ahmed as they watched the coach separate the fighters, his whistle now silent and useless. "Well with Kenneth benched at least I'll get to play."

"There's a bright side to this," Ahmed mused as they parted ways. "I look forward to watching you play,"

A huge smile spread across Rob's face as he turned back to catch up with Zack.

---

Ashley and Kyle approached Paulina's well-guarded abode. If Ethel had survived, there was a good chance she would have come there for help.

"Ah, the home of a Wiccan, there is no way in unless they allow you in," Kyle remarked, almost excited by the challenge of getting inside.

"OK, so why don't we just knock and ask," Ashley retorted, lifting her hand to the dark wood of Paulina's door as they climbed the front steps.

Before her knuckles could rap against the surface, a prickling sensation swept over Kyle. "Don't," he whispered, grabbing her wrist. "She already has company."

Inside, Paulina stepped away from her medical table. Duncan was still unconscious, his chest rising and falling with the shallow breaths. Paulina wiped her brow, she had sewed up his wounds and given him a concoction of herbs to ensure he remained stable.

Danny's arrival was as silent as it was foreboding, as Amanda led him into the room. He appraised the situation with a flicker of his cold eyes before dismissing Amanda with a wave.

"Your talents remain commendable," he said, leaning over Duncan. Danny leaned down and kissed Duncan's cheeks.

"Not many people could save someone so far gone," he moved toward Paulina, who stood her ground.

"It's a shame my covenant acted without my approval, but revenge is a powerful motivator" Danny seized Duncan's head and twisted. There was a sickening crack, and Duncan's body went slack, the finality of death settling over him as Danny released him with a thud. "Our little secret Doc." Danny placed a single finger over his lips, the threat very clear. He then left the room to give his covenant the news.

Amanda's scream pierced the night, raw and full of agony. Car alarms wailed in response, as she collapsed to the ground. Brian wrapped his arms around her, his own tears streaming down his face.

"McLeod," Paulina chided, her tone sharp as she covered Duncan's lifeless face with a sheet. "You call this balance? You are putting everything at risk,"

"We're not supposed to pick sides," McLeod shot back, looking down at the sheet covering Duncan. "But we always do, don't we?"

---

Across the city at the University of Waterloo, Jake sat in his car, ready to drive home after a long day. That was until there was a loud thud against his window, a bloody handprint left by the impact. Jake carefully rolled down his window to see if they needed help and was met by a familiar face.

"Ethel?" Jake's heart raced as look at the clearly injured woman, reaching up at him from the ground. He undid his seat belt and made his way out of the car.

"Help me," she breathed, reaching out toward him.

Without hesitation, Jake was by her side, supporting her trembling frame. "I've got you," he assured her, leading her back to his car. "let's get you to a hospital,"

"No hospitals," Ethel groaned "Too dangerous,"

"Ok, then where?" Jake asked, but Ethel didn't respond. She had passed out in the passenger seat, leaving Jake to figure it out on his own.