It was over. Well, no - that was far from an accurate read of the situation. I had found some current balance in my life, and the immediate threat to the city had been dealt with. Greater power within the Org, alongside the other strengths I had. Still an amount of trepidation and lack of trust for the various parties wanting me to do their bidding, but a sense of calm had approached. I'd take the small wins where I could get them.

I stepped out of the side closet and onto the landing. It was hard to think of a point in time where doors had been an emotional spark in my life. When Pearl and I had stood here and I rejected her as I thought of Melissa, was the only instance that came to mind. It had been enough to tether the key. Now I was home. The cupboard door between the two bedrooms closed behind me.

The wings had gone, and I had dropped Last Lantern during the portal process. My hands rose up in front of my eyes. They were fixed anew. As were my legs, and the rest of me that had been injured in the process of the day. Tired, still, and emotionally exhausted. It was dark out, but the shadows around the house were comforting in a familiar way that almost made the rest of the day feel like a bad dream. If only.

My legs took me down the stairs, rather than into the bedroom. Hunger and the need for a strong coffee overrode even my aching desire for some sleep. My dulled senses would love to just languish amongst a plate full of…

I stopped, two steps into the dining room, to turn toward the window. In the recliner, a figure in the shadows sat, two radiant orbs for eyes glaring back at me.

“Pearl?” I froze momentarily, my brain not catching up to the surprise.

“Did you think I wouldn’t find out?” She stood now, silhouetted against the pale light coming from the window. The street light catching along the blade of her held dagger.

“What do you mean?” I narrowed my eyes and crossed my arms.

She took a step toward me. “Don’t play coy with me, Eric.”

“I’ve had a long day.” I worked my jaw. “If you come any closer, I might have to do something you'll regret.”

She slammed the dagger into the table, leaving it standing upright, and then stepped closer. Her face now near to mine. “Well? What are you going to do about it, Hunter?”

I stared at her for a moment. There was some annoyance in her face with the scowl she had on, but I could read her like a book. My arms relaxed, and I leaned my face forward to whisper in her ear.

“I love you, Pearl.”

She gasped and pushed me away gently. Her eyes darted over my face as her expression melted. “You asshole, Eric. I was just trying to give you shit about the ruined hat.” She bit her lip and exhaled. “I love you, too.”

We embraced, and her lips found mine.

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I stepped down the stairs, a towel wrapped around my waist. Showering was an act of pure divinity when you had dragged yourself through the Lowers and worse.

Back in the dining room, with the early morning light now starting to dawn outside, I grimaced. Pearl was sitting in the recliner, hair up in a towel while she was filing her nails. Already dressed in something comfortable.

“I guess we really need a new table now.” I sighed, looking at the broken pile of debris.

“Well, don’t get an ego. The legs were probably already weakened.” She didn’t meet my gaze, but I could see the smile at the corner of her mouth.

I rolled my eyes and opened my mouth to reply - when the sound of steps came up from the basement.

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“Eric!” Rodney practically ran over to me, relief and confusion over his face, before he stopped in the doorway and saw the demon. “And Pearl, you’re back too?” His gaze then turned to the smoldering remains of the table amidst tipped over chairs.

He deflated and extracted himself from the room. “Fuck’s sake guys, we eat in there.”

Pearl shot me a smirk. It hadn’t been a week, but a lot had happened in that time and it felt like we had been apart for months. With a shrug, I stepped out into the hallway to talk to the Blank.

There was still a grimace on his face. “I'm starting to warm to the idea of burning the place down.” He shook his head. “Or call in an exorcist.”

“Funny you should mention that.” I grinned. “Where’s Wight?”

“He’s not with you?”

Panic gripped me. “Family meeting! Uh, downstairs, I suppose.”

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The three of us sat around as I explained everything from the top. I had mentioned some of it to Pearl already, during our… reunion, but with my brain fully operational, I went over it all again.

Eventually, Rodney sunk down into his chair with a long sigh. “Fuuuck.”

“I was pretty sure I told you not to get into trouble.” Pearl wagged her finger. “Not risk your life over and over until you got unlucky.”

I narrowed my eyes at her. “I like a challenge.” Rodney sunk into the chair further before I continued. “But I’m worried about Wight. Could you check if he is at the Org, Rodney?”

“On it.” He sat back up and drew out his tech.

“How about you?” I raised my eyebrow at Pearl. “You haven’t spoken much about your trial thing.”

“It was rather boring. Nothing much of merit was gained or lost. They seemed equally amused and annoyed that I had found a human that could get enough energy into the dagger.”

My head nodded along. “I do have that effect on people.”

“Downside is there’s a few more Mids that will come sniffing around for you.” She gave me a glum smile. “Sorry, Eric.”

For the most part, I was just thankful it wasn’t the Higher demons that wanted to test me. Being crushed before I reached my peak seemed pretty unfair in the grand scheme of things. I could deal with the occasional Mid demon now that our power was growing.

Rodney furrowed his brow. “Wight is… en route to the Org? He has been slowly filtering in to them for several hours.”

“Hours?” A knot tightened in my stomach. “It usually takes seconds.”

He was silent for a moment as his eyes darted across the text messages filtering in. “He took a lot of damage and needs to reform. They think he almost... died.”

I shivered. No doubt in trying to protect my brain from going on a forced vacation, he had somehow taken the brunt of it - with the partially broken possession, he may have been taking the damage just as much as he was keeping me going.

“He’ll be okay, though?” I exhaled as Pearl put her hand atop mine.

“They can’t say, but knowing how powerful he is, I’m sure he will bounce back.”

Silence filled the basement as my mind raced for possible solutions - but there was nothing for me to do but wait. Inaction was somehow unpalatable despite my actions often leading to ruin.

Pearl looked over her shoulder at the inert portal. “How easy is it to move that around?”

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“It’s bigger than I expected.” I wrinkled up my nose.

Pearl snorted and nudged me with her elbow.

The Blank tried to ignore us. “Four bedrooms, two en-suites, separate bathroom, kitchen, dining room, living room, upstairs study, and, of course, a basement.” Rodney read from a piece of paper the demon had given him before looking at the building in front of us.

“It’s enough for us all, as well as being able to host a guest if necessary. Our bedrooms will be on opposite sides of the house.” She plucked the page from the Blank,

“Thank the divines,” he murmured.

It was more of a mansion than anything, sitting amongst a small wooded area on its own, with a modest field for a garden behind. I knew I should be grateful, but it seemed like something unearned.

“I see that look in your eye, Eric.” Pearl sighed. “Is saving the world not a worthy enough task that you don’t deserve somewhere you feel comfortable?”

“Haven’t saved it yet.” I looked up to the gray skies. Org hadn’t even called me in for a handshake over my success with the portal, and it had been two days now. Thoughts of the demons working beneath the city to raise something even more untoward soured my mood and busied my mind.

Although she took us on a guided tour throughout, and we paused here and there to ooh and ahh at the size of the rooms or the pleasant neutral decor... my heart wasn't in it. Languishing in the aftermath of my longest day in Hell, I didn't know if I was burned out or had just met my limit. Eric the Spent.

I sighed and found myself alone in the upstairs study. Not sure what drew me to this room in particular, on my tour of our apparent new abode. It was one of the smaller rooms, already part furnished with an aged writing desk by the window, a basic table by the side. The other wall was plain, but covered in cork-board. My head tilted to the side as I considered the use.

A familiar feeling washed over me and I smiled, even without needing to turn around.

[Looks like an evidence board for the world’s greatest detective, Eric.]

“That it does, Wight.” My grin widened. “That it does.”