"Just... what the fuck happened here?" Amy said as she looked on at the scene before her eyes.

Ben and Amy had arrived at the dirt road, locating Cindy, Kai, and Aria after their fight was already concluded. Though Cindy and Kai's auras were fading, the two siblings managed to track them down easily due to the enormous output of energy that Aria was radiating, up until moments ago. They now found all three laying on the ground, unconscious due to injuries and trauma; not to mention, the dangerous loss of aura Kai and Cindy had endured.

"Yeah, you definitely owe me that booze, Amy," Ben said. "You go check on Aria, and I'll see about the young ones."

"Got it," Amy said, rushing to her sister's aid.

A light drizzle of rain started to pour from the sky, as the clouds above became darker. Ben went to gather the unconscious Cindy and Kai, placing one on each of his shoulders, and dragging them towards Amy and Aria. He laid the pair on the ground next to Aria, he and Amy looking down at all three of them in confusion.

"Cindy and Kai's injuries aren't anything life-threatening. However, they are dangerously low on aura. I'll lend them some of mine to help them recover, and they'll be fine," Ben said, kneeling to the ground and extending his arms to Cindy and Kai. A faint glow started to emanate from his hands as he passed on aura to the two. "Aria, on the other hand... What the hell happened to you, sis? Surely these two didn't bring her to a stalemate. There's not a scratch on her body. It couldn't be that again, could it, Amy?"

"Yeah, it's been a long time since she had one of those episodes. Oh, sis... Did you stop taking your medication again?" Amy asked her unconscious sister, as she held her hand tightly. "If it wasn't for that, though, these two probably wouldn't be alive," she continued, her eyes becoming slightly hazy. "So, what will we do now? I'm tired as fuck, I can't run back!"

"Heh, is the spoiled little princess out of shape?" Ben snickered.

"M-maybe a little, don't judge me!" Amy retorted.

"Well, I guess we can hitch a ride!" Ben said, pointing at an oncoming black pickup truck.

"Oh, sweet. Perfect timing!" Amy said gleefully, pointing her thumb in the air as the truck drove right past the five of them. "Huh?" the elf continued, raising her brow in annoyance. "The fuck was that?! Get back here, asshole!" she said, running after the truck, grabbing it from the rear, and stopping it in its tracks.

"Uhhh, what the hell was that?!" a frightened elderly man screamed from his truck.

"Heyooo, buddy!" Ben exclaimed, walking up to the truck. "Ya see, my buddies back there are hurt, and we could really use a ride back into town. You wouldn't mind us catching a ride with you, right?" he asked with a cheesy grin.

"Uh...uh-huh," the man responded, shaking his head in agreement.

※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※

Cindy opened her eyes to the cool autumn breeze and light raindrops on her face, while laying down on the back of the pickup truck. As soon as she woke up, she rose up from her back in an instant, confused and panicking.

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"Where am I?! Is this the afterlife? Am I in hell? Oh god, please have mercy on me!" the half elf screamed, delirious while taking in her surroundings.

"Good morning, sleepy head," Kai said, sitting next to the half elf. "Looks like we made it out alive, somehow."

"Huh?" Cindy said, rubbing her face and neck with her hands. "I'm alive! We made it out alive, Kai!" she screamed, hugging Kai out of relief, with tears streaming down her face.

"Yeah... we're alive, my friend. We're alive," Kai replied, returning the hug.

"Shit!" Cindy yelled, noticing Aria laying down unconscious in the truck, resting on Amy's lap. "W-what happened to her? Where are we? Did you guys come and save us, Director Ben?"

"Well, that was the plan," Amy said. "We should be the one's asking what happened. All three of you were out cold by the time we arrived."

"Oh...," Cindy responded. "I-I'm not sure. I think, um... she seemed really distressed about something and started freaking out. Sorry, everything's a blur to me right now. I'm just shocked that I'm still alive!"

"Yeah, about that. Did Aria really have no clue about where I came from, Director Ben? You should've probably given me a heads-up that'd she try to fucking kill us if I told her!" Kai said angrily.

"My bad, my bad. You're completely right about this one, little Kai," Ben said, lowering his gaze. "I really didn't think she'd snap like that. She's been doing so much better recently, too, dammit. But, Aria does get a bit overprotective, when it comes to our family. I should've explained your situation to her sooner... I didn't think you'd get so chummy with her so soon, either. I'm... I'm so sorry, you two. This was a grave miscalculation on my end," he continued, fidgeting his hands. "Do you think you could forgive our dear sister?"

"Are you fucking serious, dude? She tried to kill us! Even if she's asleep, I'm still afraid of being this close to her!" Kai said.

"Yeah, she pretty much vowed to kill us if we stay in Baldimore! How can we even sleep at night, knowing that!?" Cindy added.

"She won't kill you. We'll make sure of that," Ben proclaimed.

"Please, forgive her!" Amy shouted in tears. "W-we were ignorant. We thought sis had gotten better. We just laughed around and joked like old times, hoping everything was okay. Aria... she has a really rough past and never dealt with it well. Lots of mood swings and panic attacks; always so cautious and wary. It wasn't easy, but dad found her a good doctor, and she's been on meds for years. I-I had a feeling she'd stopped taking them. She's been really enthusiastic and kind lately. Well, sis is always kind to us, not so much to strangers, though. I guess, she finally snapped when you spilled the beans on your story, Kai..."

"Yeah, we messed up big time. We completely failed you two and our own sister," Ben said. "I should've told her about you, I really should've. I was too optimistic, I guess... We really thought she'd gotten better. I guess... some wounds don't ever heal completely."

"Yeah, I guess they don't...," Cindy said, gazing at the sleeping Aria with melancholy.

"Sis was... she was really looking forward to working with you guys. She was so excited to train you two and kept going on about your potential. She was really pumped. I-I really can't apologize enough," Amy said. "I wouldn't blame you... if you wanted to leave," she continued, gently rubbing her sister's head.

"Huh? I've never seen you this defenseless before, Amy! I could get used to this!" Kai said, grinning.

"Oh, fuck off!" Amy yelled.

"Heehee," Cindy started to grin as well. "We won't leave, Director Amy. Baldimore is our home. It's where our family is. Right, Kai?"

"If you get ol' psycho over there off our backs, then yeah, I might stick around!" Kai said, smugly. "Besides, I don't got anywhere else to go!"

"Hm, you two are strong," Ben said with a smile. "Thank you."

"Yeah-yeah, whatever," Kai said, pulling out and scrolling through his phone. "Oh shit, the new Chainsaw Boy chapter just dropped, Cindy!"

"Wow, really?! Let me see, let me see!"

"You two realize you almost died, right?" Amy asked. "Oh, you're ignoring me...," she said, watching the two become enthralled by the comic on Kai's phone. "So, what should we do... about Aria?" the elf asked her brother.

"We'll keep an eye out on her until she wakes up, then we'll all have a nice talk over tea!" Ben said.

"I kinda doubt it'll be that easy...," Amy said.

"Well, let's just hope it is," Ben continued, glancing at his sleeping sister. "We'll figure it out."