Goddard sat back in his chair as Paxton finished his explanation. He looked at his brother with a contemplative glare, then he turned his head, shifting his gaze off into the distance.

   "Just one question," Goddard stated.

   "Let's hear it," Paxton replied.

   "Are you serious? Let me rephrase that; are you fucking serious?"

   "Hey, easy on the language," Paxton excused, gesturing towards the demon child.

   "Do you even hear yourself?" Goddard asked mockingly.

   Paxton realised his error in letting Mini sit-in on this conversation. Goddard was clearly going to have some words to say about their plan, and he was not going to consider the feelings of a demon.

   "Let's take this outside," Paxton told Goddard.

   "Why not argue in front of the damn thing?" Goddard swore.

   "Alright," Paxton said with a hint of epiphany, "either we go outside, or I TAKE YOU outside."

   The two brothers stood up and exited the room, leaving Mini behind in silence.

   As soon as the door closed, Goddard growled, "You want to expose Mini as a demon?! Do you realize how ludicrous it is?"

   "I thought you'd be more receptive. You've been trying to oust her the entire time."

   "And now we're going to tell everyone that we've been harboring a demon? What dream were you having that convinced you this was a good idea?"

   "Listen, Mini shouldn't have to live like a fugitive," Paxton pleaded. "She's a little girl, and she should be able to run around and play like a kid. She deserves that much."

   "That DEMON doesn't deserve to breathe the same air as us! Unless you've forgotten, her kind is going to kill all of the humans AND the angels. We're the only ones who know, and we've got to set the world up for their invasion! Meanwhile, you're wrapped around that bitch's little finger!"

   In a flash, Paxton had a knife out and ready, but Goddard brandished a knife as well.

   "I'm ready when you are," Goddard offered, matching his brother's steady gaze.

   There was silence for a long moment, then Paxton tossed the knife to his kid brother. Goddard didn't bother to catch it, aware that it could be a trick to lower his guard.

   "You seem to have the wrong idea," Paxton said, glancing at the knife he tossed. "I'm not asking for permission. I'm asking for help."

   Goddard glanced at the knife on the floor, then back to his brother.

   "I've resolved to introduce Mini to our friends," Paxton stated, "I'm ready to accept the consequences, whatever they may be. I'm telling you this because I wanted your help. Things need to go smoothly, and you're the only person who know what the future holds."

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   "Not anymore," scoffed Goddard. "Remember when you introduced me to Crystal? She mentioned that everything had already changed. She was more right than you know."

   Goddard stood up and carefully picked up the knife, then handed it back to Paxton as he paced the room.

   "I've been thinking ever since we rescued Sam's parent's, 'maybe we're doing more harm than good?' Sam is nothing like he was in my past, he's a shy weakling now! He used to be full of rage, always sneering and swinging his fists. I feel good that we saved his parents, but what if he needed to experience his parent's death to become Wrath?

   "And Christina! When we found her last time, she CHOSE to come to Wizeman. Nobody was there to force her, life in the harbor had just become too much and Wizeman was an escape. But now, she thinks she could do much better somewhere else. I know she wants to go into the big city and set up her own outfit.

   "It's stressing me out! I feel like we're going to lose the Sin Squad before we even begin."

   Goddard looked to his brother for guidance, but Paxton had to think about such a complex issue before coming to a solid conclusion.

   "I get why you're stressed," Paxton regarded the issue, "I can't even think around what you're trying to tell me. I don't know if there IS an answer."

   The two brothers fell into silence. Their thoughts were fractured, scattered without a track to take.

   'Crystal, do you have a take on this?' Paxton thought.

   'Hm?' Crystal seemed to wake up.

   'We're discussing the parellel universe we find ourselves in and how it's different from the previous world.'

   'Why not try to recreate the events?'

   Paxton thought about it with Crystal, his eyes narrowing as she explained something.

   "No," Paxton declared aloud.

   "What?" Goddard asked, interested in what Crystal had said.

   'I was telling Paxton to kill Samson's parents,' Crystal explained.

   "NO," Paxton reiterated, putting added emphasis to the word.

   "Wait, she has a point."

   "You can't be serious," Paxton told him. "Are you seriously thinking of going back there and (killing his parents)?"

   "What? NO," shouted Goddard, offended at the accusation. "I was just thinking, what if we did something similar?"

   "To killing his parents?"

   "We're not killing his parents," Goddard assured.

   "Okay, but what?"

   Goddard looked around, his mind transitioning back to the stories that Samson used to tell about his early life. The Sin of Wrath was a quiet, distant fellow who always seemed to brood over something. He only spoke about living without his parents in the slum district, starving and cold until he tested for magic. The people used to spit on him, and other kids would regularly beat him up.

   "I think," Goddard considered the feelings of his old friend, "we need to make him hate humanity."

   "That's a bit extreme," Paxton told his brother apprehensively.

   "The Sin of Wrath has no consideration for human life," Goddard explained. "He never seemed to care how small the offense was, he would still burn people if they gave him the smallest infraction."

   "Wrath. Right. Do you have an idea?"

   "I don't like it," Goddard stated dryly, "but I can think of a way."

   "What is it?"

   Goddard bit his lip, "We're gonna need some kids to bully him. I don't mean harassment; I'm talking all-out kidnapping, beatings, death threats, everything. It won't be pretty, but it will give Samson a reason to hate people."

   Paxton inhaled, "Let's think this through: who would even do it?"

   "I know some seniors that could fit the bill," Goddard answered, "but it's gonna take some engineering."

   "Okay: when should we step in?"

   "Samson need to be miserable. I think we should play that by ear, just watch and see if we can catch him before he does something stupid."

   "That answers the time question," Paxton considered, "but what about the other sins? How do we make sure that they don't intervene?"

   "It would be good it they did," Goddard told his brother with a soft grin. "It would start some comraderie between us."

   "Okay, but when should we reveal Mini's identity?"

   Goddard paused, his train of thought braking hard as it switched tracks. He craned his neck at his brother who had an expression of relaxed postulating. That's how Goddard knew that Paxton wasn't about to let this go, and he wouldn't stop until he got his way. In their thousands of fights, he would often adopt the 'thoughtful debater' persona whenever he was so convinced of his own righteousness that he wouldn't let himself be convinced otherwise.

   "THAT," Goddard said aloud, "is a conversation for another night."