After the events of Niagara Straws, Giichi, Papaya, Caspian, and Nyx were poisoned by the gangster bartender. Rosemary in Giichi's body was carrying them, as well as Peritzal, Quade, and the Vernesses to the hospital. Absolute raw panic running through the gaseous entity and her dragon girl vessel.

Rosemary lands right in front of the hospital, avoiding whatever she could as her feet slam against the concrete and a massive cloud of dust sweeps around the area. The girl running to carry everyone in, barging into the hospital.

"P-POISON! WE'VE BEEN POISONED-!" Rosemary screams loudly, raw urgency and panic in her voice, putting everyone down and picking up the three people who were actually poisoned. "M-ME AND THESE THREE! DRANK ICED TEA. POISONED. WE NEED HELP! QUICKLY!"

Quickly, emergency services were at work, putting the three unconscious people onto wheel carts. All of them especially looking at Nyx, seeing her body burning. "T-This one, is she-?!"

"J-Just can't handle sunlight, that's unrelated, but she's still poisoned-" Rosemary explains, before- wobbling and falling. "A... And I'm poisoned too... don't- know what it is... he put it in the... ice cubes-" Promptly falling over, as her wings retract into her back. Giichi and Rosemary now unconscious.

Doctors- look at this, calling for another carrier to bring Giichi's unconscious body along.

Quade- groans against the floor, just- head to his head. Body continuing to regenerate and heal itself after his organs were damaged under armadillo skin. Taking more time than usual, given the amount. "U... Ugh..."

"D-Do you need help as well, sir?" the receptionist exclaims, looking at Quade. "W-We can arrange extra hands to help with-"

"Nono, I'm- fine, I can get up in a moment and get some grub..." Quade tells the receptionist, before pointing to Peritzal. "T-This one over here, however, immediately needs... electricity, though. In order to move."

"E... Electricity? Why exactly...?" the receptionist begins to ask.

Peritzal provides an explanation that sounds as reasonable as possible to medical staff. "In summary, it is connected to my life support," she answers. "I simply need a place to charge my tablet and I will be able to move my arms and legs again. A wall socket will do."

"Oh! Interesting, well- alright, then-! Please follow me, o-over here will do," the receptionist says, starting to walk and- "... oh, right, m... miss, you can't move-"

Quickly, the Vernesses surround Peritzal and lift her up, carrying her in their many arms. "W-We'll carry her...!" Red comments, smiling at the nice receptionist lady. "W-Where to?"

The receptionist nods, and leads Verness and Peritzal off to the electrical socket in the waiting area. A large section of the front lobby dedicated for people to sit: about twelve rows of eight seats, grouped into row pairs back to back. A few sockets line up along pillars in the walls, and Peritzal is taken to the closest free one- Verness Blue taking a moment to pull wires out of the tablet to inject it into the socket. Starting the charging process to refill Peritzal's tablet in a rather impromptu way.

Meanwhile, Quade- gets up with a struggle, standing up and stretching. "Mmm..." Looking around the front lobby, seeing a vending machine. Walking up to it and reaching into his red jeans, pulling out some money to get some barbecue chips.

Contrary to popular belief, junk food was good for the body! Well, in Quade's case. With the bag in hand, Quade starts to eat... feeling himself nourished with each bite, organs regenerating and recovering their damaged areas. His healing sped up with a savory snack, taking a calming breath as he chomps on each crisp. Really just- taking in the flavor of this refreshing cheap stuff. If he had the time and place, he could make something much better than chips...

"U-Uhm- Quade-"

Quade blinks as he looks down to see Verness Red next to him, smiling up at him. He returns the kind smile, visibly grateful for the spider girls' help out of the situation. "Howdy, Verness. This sure has been a hectic Sunday..."

Red stares at Quade for a bit, blinking for a bit as he says this... before gasping. "O-Oh! I-It's still the weekend. I completely forgot..."

"Heh, yeah... feels like it's been longer, yet- shorter and shorter at the same time, I reckon..." Quade tells the little girl, taking another bite of a chip. "... want one, by the way?"

"O-Oh, no... I- I don't like barbecue..." Verness Red comments, shaking her head. "I... uhm..."

"Alright- hey, I got enough for another bag. Maybe one to split with the other seven of you and all," Quade tells the girl, turning back to the vending machine. "They got sour cream and onion- plain potato... cheddar, cheese puffs- got a favorite, Lil' Red? Or-"

Quade is then interrupted, feeling his hand being held and lightly pulled by Verness. He looks back down to see the little girl holding in her other hand the remains of his flip phone. The handheld's screen in ruin as its keypad remained intact, the little girl holding it out to him.

"P-Peritzal told me to give this to you... have you hold onto it until she can fix it a-and all... s-so, uh, you don't need to get us chips..."

"..." Quade nods as he accepts and pockets the phone. "Thank ya kindly, Verness."

"Mhmm... b... but, uhm, if- if you do get us chips- the, the uh, the cheddar fries..." Red answers.

Quade- hmms, looking at the vending machine. "... they got the spicy ones, not the normal."

"T-That'll do..." Red comments, smiling brightly- before she sheepishly and timidly shakes her head. "O-Only if- only if you want to, though...! I'm good if-"

Quade promptly paid for the bag of spicy cheddar fries in the midst of Red's fidgeting. Reaching in and handing her the bag right after she says the word 'good'. "Here ya go, all yers."

Verness Red- accepts the bag, smiling and beaming at Quade. "U-Uhm! T-Thank you, M-Mister McMurphy...!" Before scurrying back to the other Vernesses with the bag.

Quade just smiles at this, before... blinking for a bit. His phone. His destroyed one. The man staring in complete silence as he remembers the earlier call right before.

"Quade! Quade, Quade! Someone's- someone's out to get Giichi. She's got a mafia on her! L-Listen, they're sending guys to- oh god, oh god- y-you gotta get Giichi and get out of town- she's not safe, they'll..."

"..."

Quade walks back up to the receptionist's desks, looking about the lines. Passing by some people who were here by appointment, approaching the earlier encountered receptionist at her free counter. AKA, the "immediate" emergency worker... either for asking quick concerns, or directing people to a different line in the hospital.

The receptionist looks up at Quade, smiling politely. "Ah. You're back on your feet. That's good. Can I help you?"

"Indeed, you can," Quade responds. "Just got a question, miss, is there an... Odette, currently here?"

"An... Odette? Last name?"

"Mhmm- uh, Cox," Quade answers. "Odette Cox, to be- clear. Used your hospital's phone maybe, like... I want to say, within the last hour or so?"

The receptionist hmms. "... I don't- think that person's here, no."

Quade hmms for a moment, tilting his head. If Odette wasn't at this hospital, he'd have to travel to a different one, looking for him... "You- sure? Around- six feet tall, pink hair, rabbit ears- earrings with dangling gold tassels-?"

"O-Oh!" the receptionist exclaims, as Quade saying 'rabbit ears' made it evident to her. "Actually, yes, someone like that is in the building right now... are you- family of his?"

"Friend," Quade corrects. "He called me earlier, and hung up. I just wanted to see if he was okay."

"Well- he's... he seemed a little panicked, and..." the receptionist begins to speak, narrowing her eyes at Quade. "... sir, I... remind me again, what was his name?"

Quade- tilts his head. "Odette Cox...? Is that not the name he gave you?"

"Well... I-" the receptionist begins to speak, a little tense. "I- It's probably a privacy concern, so I can't really-"

"O-Oh, hi, Odette...!"

Quade and the receptionist turn to Verness Red saying this, as Odette was walking away from the bathroom. Having splashed water against his face a moment ago, his pink eyes looking to Verness before- seeing Quade at the receptionist's desk.

"..." Odette- walks over and waves. "Uh... hi, Quade! What a surprise! N-Nice seeing you here!" Acting as if he didn't just call Quade a moment ago.

The receptionist blinks for a moment at this. "H... Huh. Sir, do you know these people?" she asks Odette, feigning a smile in slight concern-

Odette, quickly, nods. "Y-Yes, they're friends of mine! I simply gave them a different name to call me..."

"A-Alright, Mr. Hawthorne, if you say so," the receptionist comments, taking a deep breath and looking back to Quade. "Sorry for the-"

"No, no, it's- it's alright. We got the last name wrong," Quade answers, smiling warmly at the receptionist. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. In regards to your friends, we'll make sure to give you updates, and if you need anything else, feel free to come back over," the receptionist explains, giving a polite smile and nod before returning to her work.

"Yes, of course. Thank you," Quade tells the woman, walking away from the desk and approaching Odette. "... so, Hawthorne, hm?" Quade asks, tilting his head.

"Y... Yeah... that's- my legal last name..." Odette explains, hand- raised behind his head, scratching idly with his rabbit ears drooped. "... my mom kept the last name of my stepdad, so... I use Cox when introducing myself. But I'm legally... uhm... Joseph 'Odette' Hawthorne."

"Joseph? Huh..." Quade- gently nods. "I'm- gonna be honest... I assumed Odette was a nickname. It's a girl's name, after all..."

"Y-Yeah, I... I know, but I- I like Odette better, honestly. It's unique, so that's... uhm..." Odette comments, just- nodding. "... so what- what brings you guys here? Did you bring the others here for a check up, or-"

"Poison," Quade bluntly tells Odette, a serious look on his face as he whispers to Odette.

Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

A cold atmosphere forms between the two as Odette stares at Quade. "... w... what?" Odette asks, his skin going ghastly pale. Mouth straightened, giving him a poker-face with nervous smile turned to overwhelming concern. "Poison...?"

Quade puts a hand on Odette's shoulder, looking around. "Got any place we can quietly talk for a moment, Joseph? We... need to discuss the call."

Odette... slowly... nods, shaking in his voice. "W-W-W... Well, I kn... I know one p-place... we can talk there..."

Quade... nods gently. "Sure. Lead the way."

The two men starting to walk to the elevator- Verness Red blinking as she and the other Vernesses get up to follow.

"Uhm-" Quade noises, looking to the Vernesses. "Y-You should stick here with Peritzal, so-"

As if on cue, Peritzal is seen walking to join the two, entering the elevator with them.

"Verness- stay here in the waiting room for now," Peritzal instructs. "I'm sure you all understand how to behave yourselves. If any updates occur with the others, tell the receptionist that we're with Odette- or, rather, Mr. Hawthorne."

"Sounds good, Peritzal...!" Verness Red answers, as the other seven give their own varying responses of yes.

"Excellent," Peritzal responds, nodding at the girls as the elevator door closes with a 'ding' sound.

The three adults left in the elevator, as Odette pressed the eighth floor button. The elevator rises in complete silence, going to the second floor, then the third.

"..."

Then... sobbing starts to fill the elevator.

Quade looks over to Odette, his eyes blinking as Odette quietly sobbing into his hands. Tears trailing down his wrists and dripping down his elbows. In the enclosed space of the elevator, Odette felt the uncontrollable urge to cry. Fingers over his eyes, his breath shakily brushing against his fish-net covered palms.

Odette was already panicked and shaken about the phone call, so... the poisoning absolutely devastated him. A massive weight against his back, as if the ghosts of his (yet to be) dead friends were pushing down on him. Wanting to crush him and flatten him, getting their revenges for letting them die. Pure guilt and agony riddling his body, just making him feel utterly miserable and responsible for what happened.

Odette tried his best to keep a strong face, to wait until they went somewhere safe. But how could he? P... Peritzal was in the elevator. Peritzal. The person whose sister was poisoned! Odette kept blaming himself for everything, just screaming at himself inside his head.

"... O-Odette-" Quade tries to speak-

"I- I didn't know that would happen! I really didn't-" Odette exclaims in the elevator, his voice almost shrieking out. Looking to the two with absolute panic, frantic panic, pure and genuine panic. "A-All of the others got poisoned?! B-By those gangsters?!"

Peritzal, looking to the crying man, bluntly nods. "Yes... according to Rosemary, they were. I don't have enough power to know for sure how strong the poison is, but-"

The elevator suddenly shakes as they reach the 7th floor, a flash of gold light covering the elevator as Odette lets out a stressed wail.

"P- Peritzal-" Quade immediately chimes in.

Peritzal looks to Quade. "I'm being honest with him, they-"

"Shh-" Quade noises, promptly. He knows Peritzal to be the least empathetic of the D'Erricos, and just- tells her to be quiet for now. Looking to her with a serious expression.

Odette- realizes what was happening, and grabs his- ears tightly, gripping them to stop the golden flash. He didn't even realize that he grabbed the elevator in that moment... his stress just- making things worse. Hyperventilating through gritted teeth as the elevator continues to go up, squeezing his ears to the point where it started to hurt- his crying face exposed to the air as the tears wash down his cheeks.

"I- I'm so sorry...! I- If I didn't hang up, maybe they'd- oh god, oh god-!" Odette exclaims, shaking in absolute guilt. His voice picking up more as he was having a complete and utter grief-induced panic attack.

Quade- Quade just watches as Odette cries. "H... Hey, Odette, w... we ain't blaming ya for the poison... we-"

"B-But I- I probably could have looked for Giichi and the others wouldn't have been poisoned and maybe-" Odette frantically interjects.

"Hey, hey- deep breaths-" Quade interrupts, smiling at Odette as warmly as he could. "Deep breaths, Odette- can you follow me for a moment? Please? Deep breath in-"

... the two guys proceed to take a slow, deep inhale. Breathing in, Odette following after Quade as the air builds up in their lungs.

Ding. The elevator opens on the ninth floor...

"... and a deep breath out," Quade says, both of them breathing out with slow sighs. "In..."

Peritzal was surrounded by two deeply breathing men, staring forward to see people waiting outside the elevator. A mixture of doctors, wheel-chair bound patients, and family members just staring at the three. Quade conducting a breathing exercise with a crying pink haired rabbit man in front of an apparent crowd, the purple haired girl just blankly staring at them.

They were... surprisingly understanding. Patiently just letting the men breathe in the elevator for a while.

"... and out," Quade finishes, looking to Odette. "Good... good. How you doin', man...?"

Odette... sniffles and lets go of his ears as he walks out of the elevator. "O... O... Oka... okay..." Sidestepping around the crowd present, just- passing by.

Quade and Peritzal- follow after, walking past the crowd and continuing to tail Odette. Walking through a hallway of patient wards. Passing many open and closed doors, the hospital as active as ever.

And the three of them stop in front of a door, one with a nameplate of a patient on it.

"... oh. Odette... you- took us to..." Quade begins to speak, staring at the nameplate. Jocelyn O. Cox.

"Yeah... my... my mom," Odette responds, opening the door and entering.

Before the three of them, a woman that was bedridden and comatose. Hooked up to a life support machine, her long blonde hair unkempt and messy.

Peritzal blinks for a moment, remembering something Giichi said right before they began their "fight the mafia" plan...

Nah, I don't wanna bother him... he's got enough on his plate already...

"... has... has Giichi ever been here before?" Peritzal asks, staring at the woman. "I was- confused about something she said. We ultimately didn't call you about our plan, because Giichi said you... had a lot on your plate."

Odette... nods. "Y... Yeah, that's... that's..." He clears his throat. "... that's how we met, actually. D... Do you- remember the day she randomly brought me to meet you guys?"

Peritzal blinks several times at this.

"Y... Yeah... Giichi, she's... been here several times..." Odette explains, sniffling. "S... She comes here once in a while. Tells Mom some stories. S-She and Rosemary both, actually. Has- Giichi never told you guys...?"

"No, I reckon she kept your privacy. W... We... never knew that your mom was..." Quade began speaking, before going silent. "... when- when did it happen?"

"A... A few months ago..." Odette answers, crouching down by her side. "She's been unresponsive and the doctors are... trying their best and all..."

"I see... our condolences," Peritzal speaks.

"... is it... really alright for us to privately talk in here?" Quade asks.

A nod from Odette. "... yeah. The surveillance cameras are in the hallways for privacy concerns. As long as the door's closed, walls are soundproof, and... Mom... Mom knows."

"Knows?" Quade asks, tilting his head.

Odette looks to Peritzal, nudging his head slightly. Peritzal looks over her shoulder at the open door, then closes it. Nice and private.

"..." Odette takes a deep sigh. "M... My uncle. Uncle Talon. She knows that he's... the head of the Blackbird Syndicate, so if she can hear us, she knows already. We're good to talk."

A silence between them as Odette drops this bombshell.

"... and... the Blackbird Syndicate is...?" Quade asks, tilting his head.

Odette blinks for a bit. "T... The mafia you've been fighting?"

"Huh," Quade comments, tilting his head from side to side. "We've been calling them the Starveil Mafia..."

"..." Odette blinks for a bit, in disbelief. "T... There's no such thing as a... h... how did you guys get that name?"

Peritzal raises her hand. "Brain scan."

"Brain sc..." Odette stares at Peritzal for a bit, before... "... oh... actually, that- that does make sense. Uncle Talon did m-make an entire anecdote one time about how genius dark organizations were. He- was drunk and went on a tangent about how the top kept top secret information. I- I know he's the head of the Syndicate, maybe he did the same thing..."

"I see. So what you are suggesting is that we scanned the brain of someone low in the ranks of... ah. Ah. I guess Lyle Silvers was telling the truth about being second from the bottom. His brain only knew it as the Starveil Mafia..."

"Point is-" Quade clears his throat. "Your uncle's the... head of it. The boss? So he- called you?"

"Yes... a... and, well, he... described Giichi... so, what happened was..."

Odette begins to explain to Quade and Peritzal the phone call. How he was visiting his mom this morning, before his job in the afternoon. The man went downstairs to eat breakfast, and- some staff let him know about there being a call for him.

"Okay- I'll be right out..."

The call was sent to one of the building's phones, out in the front lobby. Odette walked to the public line. "Hello?"

"Ah. Joseph. It's good to hear from you again."

Odette faintly smiled when he leaned against the phone box. "Uncle. Didn't expect you to call..."

"Tried reaching your cellphone, seemed off. Hope you don't mind me calling you like this..."

"Oh- no worries! S-So, what did you want to talk about?" Odette asked. In his heart, he hoped that Uncle Talon was calling him about something nice, something surprising. Like, typical uncle-nephew plans.

"Well- here's the thing, I need you to listen closely-"

"Hold up-" Quade interrupts Odette's story for a bit. "S... So he used public hospital lines to- tell ya how his mafia's gonna kill Giichi?"

Odette shakes his head. "N-No, no... he disguised it... what he said was..."

"If you see a brown haired girl with some weird thing sticking out of her head, stay away from her! I- I can't explain to you why, but she's... she's dangerous!"

"And if I am understanding the time he called, it was only a few minutes after we initially stormed the bar," Peritzal speaks up. "His information network is rather fast..."

"M-Mhmm... so... I- I know my Uncle Talon. I saw through his subtlety. He described Giichi, and... well, I... I was a little speechless. Staying away from Giichi because she's dangerous is code for 'someone in Starveil has to be killed at all costs'..."

Quade blinks at this, eyes wide. "... how many times has he-"

"Haven't counted..." Odette answers. "And Uncle Talon just... loosely describes them, t... then, I see on the news how they died. Whenever they start talking about gruesome murders, I turn off the channel..."

"Oh..." Quade adjusts his hat by its brim, sighing. "... I see."

"Y... Yeah- and- uhm... tried my best to- hide my shock..." Odette continues...

Telling Peritzal and Quade how- pale he went, how he covered the bottom of his phone for a moment to hide his panic. His entire body shook in concern, devastated by this information. Uncle Talon was noting how silent he was, inquiring about why Odette went quiet for some time.

"... sorry- I needed a moment. I... uhm... saw... a... bat... just now."

"A... A bat?"

"A bat?" Peritzal asks, raising her eyebrow.

"Y-Ya told him you saw 'a bat' as an excuse?" Quade asks, squinting his eyes at Odette.

"Y-Yes! There's a- there's a bat at the hospital, but- it's a- it's a patient! T-They have bats at this hospital, it's amazing, y'know? H-Hahaha..."

"Ah. That sounds interesting!"

"And he believed you?!" Quade exclaims, leaning forward in sheer disbelief.

Odette nods. "Y-Yeah! U-Uncle Talon knows I'm- scared of bats and... a lot of other stuff, so he doesn't question me when I get antsy..."

Peritzal hms lightly, looking at Odette with a look of... impressed respect. "So you used your cowardly voice to disguise a lie behind another lie. This 'Talon' can tell that you became scared of something rather mundane, and - as a result - he immediately amounts it to you experiencing a sudden phobia rather than fear about what he said."

"..." Odette- nods slowly. "Y... Yes... that is exactly wha-"

"Please continue," Peritzal interrupts, rolling her eyes and leaning her back against the door. Arms crossed and seeing right through his attempted lie.

"Well, boy. Wish your mother the best from me, okay?"

"W-Will do, Uncle! I'll- I'll tell her how much you miss her and all...!"

Odette happily told Uncle Talon this, before hanging up. Hand on the phone, staring at the landline for a bit... absolutely scared out of his mind. Telling Quade and Peritzal how he tried to call Quade's cellphone, knowing that to be the most secure line given that-

"H-He has access to call logs?!" Peritzal shouts, eyes wide.

"A-Ah-!" Odette was startled by Peritzal shouting this, flinching. Everything not nailed down in the hospital room suddenly rises into the air, flashing a gold color.

Quade- looks around for a moment, looking for anything fragile and gently pulling them down. "H-Hey, hey, you're... you're alright... Peri, help me out-"

Peritzal nods, slowly pulling everything down safely as Odette was calming down. Everything they didn't get, gently lowering back down on their own as the telekinetic rabbit man breathed.

"... y... yeah, so... uhm... I..." Odette faintly mumbled... "I- I never told you guys because- we... we have a policy of messing with bad guys, and I- well- I'm related to one and I don't want my uncle hurt, but he poisoned the others and I-"

"Odette, we..." Quade calmly speaks, resting a hand on the man's shoulder. "... we're not going to make you fight your family."

Peritzal nods gently. "Agreed... the rest of us may have issues with your uncle, but you are still a trusted ally. The fact you trust us with-" Gesturing to Odette's comatose mother. "-this information, as well as... explaining what you know. I commend your bravery."

"..." Odette sniffles and smiles at Peritzal. "T... Thank you..."

"That said, I will kill your uncle if I have to," Peritzal bluntly tells Odette. "He and the rest of this Syndicate are targeting Giichi, and they are responsible for poisoning my sister and our other friends."

Odette... takes a moment to wrap his arms around Quade, hugging into the equally tall for a bit at this information. Tightly hugging the guy to remain calm at this, chin atop Quade's shoulder and clinging to his muscular body with his own slim, effeminate figure.

Quade just- lets Odette hug to his heart's content, keeping still at first. Quade knows that Odette needs this right now. In any other situation, Quade... wouldn't want to kill a friend's family. But... if it came down to it, given the fact they were against a mafia boss...

"... I... I won't stop you..." Odette weakly mumbles out in grief, over Quade's shoulder.

"..." Quade gently returns the hug, locking the man into the emotionally supportive guy-on-guy hug. "It's going to be okay, Odette."

Peritzal... watches them hug, then looks back over to Jocelyn Cox. "... I wish you a speedy recovery, Jocelyn." Excusing herself before making her exit, closing the door behind her.