Lightning arced through the sky, briefly illuminating the streets below. Rain pounded down so heavily that it nearly drowned out the roars of the thunder above. It masked the patter of feet against the puddles, the slap of soles against the concrete. The figure ran through the rain, the only thing stopping the tears rolling down their face from being visible was a torrent of water being released from the heavens.

All ignored the figure as they ran through the rain. Well, all humans did, caring little for whatever had caused them to flee out into the raging storm. To whatever made the storm a safer alternative than staying within the warmth of the indoors.

Slowly, as the rain continued to hammer down on their shoulders, the figure ducked into an alleyway. Sitting down, not even bothering to shield themselves from the downpour that assaulted them, they clutched their face in their hands.

"I just want to be happy," they wailed, the sound drowned out by the storm that circled above. "I just want to exist. Why? Why can't they just let me live?"

The figure knew exactly why. Because their parents saw them as a freak for simply being born different. And they had found everything. The clothes. The makeup. Everything.

They couldn't go back. Home wasn't safe. Mom. Dad. They'd. They'd.

Then the rain stopped. No, that wasn't accurate. The rain continued to fall. It just wasn't hitting them.

Looking up slowly, eyes still blurry from the tears, another person stood.

She was, beautiful, in every sense of the word. Her blonde hair was up in the ponytail, somehow untouched by the rain. Blue eyes almost seemed to pierce into their soul, as if judging for some quality yet discovered. She seemed to be about their age as well, though they'd never once seen her before in their life.

"What's a pretty little thing like you doing out here, crying in the rain?" the stranger's voice sounded like an angel, a faint hint of mischief behind her words.

"I'm not pretty," they looked down towards their feet. A silence filled the air for a brief moment before the woman sat down beside her on the wet concrete.

"Maybe not on the outside. But on the inside? You are a very pretty young lady," she paused, for a moment, before turning with a slight smile on her face. "And I can help with looking pretty on the outside too if you want."

"You, you would do that?" Tears began to well up in her eyes.

"I won't lie to you. It will not be easy. And we will have to discuss, the terms for such an arrangement. However, I will do everything in my power to make sure it happens," the blonde woman pulled her soaking counterpart close, wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

"I, thank you," tears began to stream down her face once again. "I have nowhere else to go! My parents will try to kill me!"

"I see," the scowl on the other's face was clear. "Let's get us out of the rain, to a safer, place."

There was a flicker, as the two vanished into the Underworld.

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MISSING

Name: Nathen Jones

Age: 17

Went missing after running off into the night on July 6th. If you have any details, please contact the missing person's hotline.

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"A Bishop? Really? I thought you were going to use a pawn or something."

"It's what she's worth. The same number of pawns as a single Bishop."

"A Bishop? A whole ass Bishop piece?," Stora ran her hand through her hair. "From a random girl you just happened to find through sheer dumb luck. Sweetheart, it's time to admit you have charmed luck. So what type of Sacred Gear did you snag this time?"

"I don't think she has one, to be honest," Reya shook her head. "We'll have time to work things out once she gets acclimated."

"Fair enough," Stora shrugged. "But in the meantime, do you think we can pop up there to have words with her parents?"

Reya knew the glint in Stora's eyes well enough to know words weren't the only thing she would be giving them. It wasn't like she wanted to do much the same.

That poor girl hadn't even gotten the chance to choose her name. And yet her parents rejected her for being their daughter! Who does that!

"Don't. In the long run, they aren't worth it," Reya sighed. She didn't like saying that. But in the end, they weren't worth the effort to torment, as that would do nothing to fix the damage already caused.

In the end, all they could do was support the new member of her peerage to the best of their abilities.

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She hadn't needed to shave for the past few days. No more five o'clock shadow had made its way unwantedly onto her face. Even, that had long since vanished. It had been the first to go, in truth, and she certainly didn't miss it. Everything else was slow going.

Laura couldn't bite back the snicker, despite being alone in her room. Slow. Right. What a joke. It would take years to get this type of treatment back on Earth, even under ideal circumstances. Which was most certainly not the case. Even if her brother would have been able to take her in, treatment was extremely expensive.

This was the better option. The safer option. There was no hate here. She wouldn't have to worry about being attacked, she didn't have to fear for her life. Devil's from the underworld? Yeah right.

This was a miracle, and there was nothing anyone could say that would convenience Laura otherwise. Her chest was already starting to grow. Sure, it was still flat, but she felt it! Mostly pain when someone accidentally brushed up against them, admittedly, but it was a good pain.

Laura told herself that, though in reality sometimes she'd rather be stung by a bee. Those were far from the only changes. Her voice was rising in pitch, she was losing muscle mass, even though she was stronger than she ever was. Her hair was getting longer as well. It felt pleasant, just to sit there and brush it sometimes.

Outside of not being able to see her brother without jumping through a few loops, there wasn't much of a downside.

Especially since her disappearance seems to have landed her parents in at least something that resembled hot water last she heard.

She doubted it would last long. She had lived in Texas, and out in the countryside at that. Running off your kid because they were gay or trans, let alone both, was sadly an all too common occurrence.

Shaking her head, Laura took a deep breath, preparing herself. She'd thought very long and very hard about this. It was time for her to make her announcement.

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Laura shifted in her seat, nervous. Of course, she understood it was important to tell everyone at once, but with everyone's eyes on her.

It made her heart thunder against her rib cage.

Stora was the most imposing out of all five of them. Even if she didn't intend to be. She was tall, and build like she could carry a house. It wouldn't surprise Laura if Stora could accomplish such a feat. Her brown hair was kept short and out of the way, though her green eyes seemed piercing.

Reya by comparison, was considerably shorter, though that was no particular sin. But she was still probably above average in terms of height. Her blonde hair was done up in a ponytail, and her blue eyes seemed to wait, expecting something to happen. She could pull off an androgynous look if she wanted to most of the time. All Reya needed was a suit for that to work.

Then there was Jessica. Out of all of her peerage mates, Jessica was the one she was around the least. Her eyes were a reddish, a strange color, as far as Laura was concerned, she had long, flowing black hair. She seemed to be fairly quiet. But then again, so was Laura.

Then there were the twins. Aka was the oldest of the pair, with short white hair. She and her sister shared power, but, it was complicated. Reya called it a Sacred Gear. Laura didn't know much about such things. Only that everyone else in the peerage had them, besides Laura herself and Reya. Yuki had red hair and kept it generally long and free-flowing.

Laura was halfway convinced that their names were intended to be a form of irony, given each's respective hair colors, but their personality, and their power, reflected their names just fine. They could manipulate temperature, shifting it around. Aka had an affinity for heat and flame, while Yuki had a talent for cold and ice.

"I've chosen a name," Laura's statement caused everyone to perk up at once. They all seemed to lean in, waiting on her every word. "You may call me Laura."

"That is a pretty name, it suits you," Laura felt her cheeks begin to heat up at Reya's praise.

"Laura. That does have a nice ring to it," Stora nodded.

"It sounds a lot like Lara," Jessica's statement caused Laura to blush even more. She wouldn't deny that Lara Croft had inspired her somewhat.

"You mean like that lady with the pistols from that movie!" Aka's hands slammed against the table, causing it to rattle.

"Those movies aren't particularly accurate when it comes to firearm safety," Laura shifted her feet. "They're really bad at it, honestly. Most don't have a concept of trigger discipline a lot of the time. Generally, at least."

She shuttered, remembering several scenes where gun safety had been thrown aside like it was garabage. Her parents may not have listened to her grandfather, back when he was still alive, but she took what he had said to heart. Treat a gun like it was always loaded, even if you thought it wasn't. Never point a gun at something you don't intend to put a bullet into. Always check the safety, before and after firing.

A firearm was a weapon, made to kill. It was never, ever, a toy. It was a responsibility.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Her parents didn't like responsibility. At least, they didn't like having to be responsible.

"I'll make note of that," Reya hummed, glancing at the twins.

"Do you know a lot about guns, Laura?" Yuki asked, eyes looking at her with a bit of wonder.

"Quite a bit. How to hunt, how to perform maintenance on various types of firearms, how to operate them with as much respect and safety as possible when dealing with deadly weapons," Laura sighed. "Given my parents, I kind of had to."

That got a few pained winces, with Aka almost steaming. Stora looked mad, Jessica's face was unreadable, and yet Laura could sense an underpinning of anger. Yuki's face had bloomed into a frown.

"Don't worry. You aren't going to have to go back to that. Ever," Reya placed her hand on Laura's shoulder, Laura leaning into her king's comfort.

"Thank you. All of you."

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"How exactly did you get all this?" Reya was certain she didn't want to know the answer to her question. However, being king meant she was going to have to ask such questions. And quite frankly, she probably would have asked anyway.

"I borrowed them."

"From?"

"Myself," Laura's grin was cheery, running from ear to ear. Herself? How exactly?

Reya stopped herself. She'd forgotten for a moment that Laura's parents were completely insane. The question was how was she able to get her hands on all of these. Not why her parents thought it was such a good idea to give their daughter so many firearms.

Her workshop had gone from something a traditional Bishop to something that had in common with an armory. All the firearms were stored in a massive cabinet. Reya could feel the layers of magic coming off the crystal pane that allowed one to see inside. Layer upon layer of defensive spells and enchantments lay upon it. It certainly wasn't impossible to get into, but the defenses were layered in such a way that it'd take hours, maybe even days, to break through without destroying anything inside. A clever strategy.

Toward the back of the room seemed to be a firing range, with even more layers of protection around it, including another wall of crystal. Further security measures were physical, thick walls of concrete, as well as alarms and speakers. A headset hung on the wall nearby.

The library had been condensed mostly to the last two walls, books and scrolls pilled high. Several surrounded her workbench, which had changed drastically. Now a few spellbooks rested atop it, joined by more tomes Reya didn't recognize. Joining the books were several screwdrivers, hammers, wrenches, and other engineering tools that had been set in their little box. An assortment of enchanting tools lays in a recently placed pouch hanging off the side, within hand's reach of the chair.

However, the new major additions were the buckets full of metal, joined by ones full of various cleaning tools. Spare parts.

Magic still hung in the air, meaning whatever it was that Laura had been working on, she had only finished recently.

"How long have you been working on this, exactly?" Reya looked at her Bishop, as she appeared to sway back and forth.

"Yes," was all Laura said, blinking slowly. Yeah, it would probably be for the best to simply get her to bed for the time being. Leaving a sleep-deprived Bishop in their workshop or study rarely ended well, or so she had heard.

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"Are you going to be coming up to bed soon?" Stora's words snapped Laura's concentration, as she was too focused on her work to hear her arrival.

Laura looked up at the clock she'd placed down in her little engineering study, only to bite back several swears.

"Sorry. Time got away from me," Laura sighed, mentally slapping herself in the process. But still, she was this close to a breakthrough. The M1 Garand had been her testbed, her working out exactly what parts of her magic worked in what ways. What limits did she have, what limits did the enchantments have in practice, rather than theory. After all, it was the oldest rifle she had, so getting a feeling for what she had to work with had been important.

Sadly, it ruined any chance of it being an effective weapon during a rating game, as it just had too many bad ideas poured into it.

But if she found a way to strip the enchantments, without destroying or causing irreparable harm to it, then maybe she'd be able to bring the thing to tip-top shape.

It would be easier to just simply buy a new one, but firearms in the underworld weren't exactly common to come across. Not exactly a surprise, given just how much time and work it took to make it so a Rook or a Queen couldn't just ignore whatever she shoot at them, and even then, she had to break out the biggest gun she had for that plan to work.

And that was in a peer match, with both groups being relatively equal in power level. A higher-ranking devil probably wouldn't feel a damn thing. Then again, Devils were built differently. Of course, a scarcity of firearms wasn't the only reason why she was being so stubborn about this.

"You've been working on that thing for quite a while," Stora looked down at the table. "I mean, it's old, but getting a new one shouldn't be too difficult, right? Just hop up with Reya to the human world."

That was one of the downsides of being reborn as a Devil. You couldn't be far away from the person who transformed you. Not without causing some serious issues. Nor was that coming even close to the loops a lot of nations made you jump through for such a purchase. Laura would rather not deal with the paper trail right now.

"It's a bit harder than that. Plus, it's kind of my first one. It's, nostalgic, in a way," Laura looked down at it, layering a spell to keep her work in stasis, before activating the rune on the stock, teleporting it back into her cabinet.

"Before we go, I figure you'll probably want a heads up," Stora offered her a hand, which Laura accepted, her joints creaking.

"About?" Laura asked, looking up at the much taller girl.

"Reya's considering having us spend some time in the human world. Possibly long term," Laura almost froze at the words. Back to Earth? On one hand, it would be nice. But on the other.

"I, don't think I'd be able to handle anywhere in the United States. I'm sorry, I know the odds are low, it's just," she felt her eyes begin to tear up. "I can't handle the risk of running into them. I just can't."

Stora pulled Laura into a hug, rocking her gently.

"Reya would have no problem accommodating that. I'm pretty sure she'd set it as a ground-rule itself, given everything," Stora nodded gently, grip loosening slightly. Laura bit back a giggle, despite herself. It was heartwarming just to find out just how quickly her parents had slid onto everyone's shit list. Even the twins, who without a doubt had parents that made hers look like award winners, weren't above showing their disdain for Laura's own.

She could already tell that if the meeting of the inlaws would ever happen, it would not take long for things to be set on fire.

"Then, I should be fine," Laura wiped a tear from her eye. "But thank you for telling me about it."

Laura stood up on her toes, barely having the height to give Stora the lightest peck on the lips, and even that was because Stora had bent down slightly as part of the hug.

Stora blinked slightly in surprise.

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"Laura. Are you okay?" a voice caused Laura to stir as if she was being shaken awake.

"Hi," she responded, eyes slowly opening to a face that had grown familiar over the past few months. Her blonde hair was a mess, but her blue eyes were as sharp as ever. Briefly leaning upward, she gave the girl leaning over her a brief peck on the lips, causing the blonde to blush mildly. "It was just a dream, was all."

"Which one? You have quite a few of them."

"It was the one where you took at should have been the worst day of my life, and made it into one of the best."

"Only one of the best?" Reya crossed her arms, faking insult. "I'm not sure how I can top that."

"Oh, I can think of a few, future, events that could make me even happier," Laura winked, causing Reya to blush even more.

"Since when did you become so flirtatious?" Reya poked downwards, eliciting a pained gasp from Laura.

"Every, time," Laura winced as Reya began to cuddle her, whispering into her ear. "They're still growing, but every time you manage to hit them."

"You two do realize that pillow talk is supposed to come before you go to sleep, right?" another voice spoke up, raising from her lump on the bed.

"Sorry, Stora, but Laura was tossing around a bit, so I got concerned," Reya blushed, as she pulled herself into a position that allowed Laura to sit up.

"I was already up, anyways. Just wanted an excuse to lounge about for a bit longer," the larger teenager wrapped her muscular arms around the two, pulling them into a tight hug. "Besides, you're going to have to realize that our little Bishop is made out of stern stuff. I know you've seen her work in her workshop."

"I know, I know," Reya sighed, flopping back down into her bed. "It's just, I worry."

"Speaking about that, but then do you know where Jessica has run off too if you were up before us?" Laura looked up towards Stora, as she had yet to worm her way out of the larger girl's grasp.

"I have no idea. She wasn't here when I got up," Stora shrugged, before giving the girl in her arms a brief squeeze. "But if I had to guess, she'll be showing up right about, now."

As if by signal, there was a knocking on the door.

"Miss Phenex, it's time for you to get up."