"I'm surprised he took it so well." Amelia said, kicking her legs off the edge of my bed. We had sat up all night talking about Erik and his new view on life. He had made the rounds and apologized to everyone, including Anders and was making an effort to include himself in group activities.

"Honestly, it was probably the almost dying part." I said, swiping aimlessly on Tinder.

"I guess so. I hear that humbles people." Amelia smirked. But she grew quiet afterward and I looked up from my phone.

"Have you noticed anything off about Ethan?" She asked.

"Not anymore than usual." I chuckled. She smiled, but the cloud over her head didn't leave.

"I'm worried about what that Demi-God guy did to him. And how using the Grail was just a little too easy. Athena had told me that if he was gone for too long, bringing him back might leave lasting issues." She said, her tone darkening.

"I think he'll be okay. It was a close call for sure." I said, trying to ease her discomfort. She didn't look convinced, but she dropped the subject.

In all honesty, I was surprised we didn't lose him all together. Amelia finding the Holy Grail had been a crazy find. So crazy, that representatives from higher up came and confiscated it. They told us that it was too valuable a relic to be in the hands of reckless teenagers. Anders had made an arguement against it, but they simply told him to appeal to the Progenitors, which kinda took the wind from his sails.

Apparently they had sent a Recovery Team to Athens to clean up our mess. They made cover stories for all the chaos we caused, found ways to erase evidence of us being there and paying off local media to not report on it. There would be some evidence, popping up on social media, but that would be explained away as a hoax, or conspiracy, like it normally was.

The Parthenon had been sealed off, and any Artifacts that were left down there, including, what we found out was Wyatt Earp's old gun were taken into the Vault.

Aside from out paychecks, we really didn't have anything to show for our mission, which probably was for the best since my suggestion to explore sent us wildly off course and got Ethan killed.

"I'm kind of glad we have some down time now. Anders wants us home for a bit while he figures out what is up with this Damien dude. I have so many games to catch up on." I said, sitting back in my chair with my hands behind my head.

Amelia nodded, smiling at me, but she seemed distant now. Her spark was missing and I desperately wanted it back.

"Have you spoken to Dyson since we got back?" I asked, hoping to rouse her a bit.

"Yea, we talked. We decided to get coffee sometime, but it was kind of a loose plan. He says he's getting over some stuff and wants to take it slow. He's not really looking to get into anything." Amelia told me.

"I mean, you're kinda getting over some stuff too. Maybe you guys can comiserate." I laughed. It got her to chuckle, so I knew I was starting to break through.

We sat and talked for hours, and eventually we both got back to belly laughs. It was nice to see her smiling again.

Later on, I headed down to Anders' office, at his request. His door was open, so I just entered.

"You wanted to see me?" I asked.

Anders was at his desk, as usual, but his suit jacket hung on the back of his chair. His slicked back hair was starting to come out, strands falling in front of his face.

"Yes, I wanted your insight on something." He said, looking up from his laptop. "I'm thinking of calling your parents back to the Cathedral. Do you think they'd be receptive to the summons?"

I stared at him, flabbergasted. The last thing I wanted was my parents hanging around. And if my parents were here, that meant they would have to bring my little sister.

"Ummm, well you know my Mom. She'll put up a fight. Dad might be a bit more inclined, but I dunno." I was hesitant to give him a definitive answer.

"Yes, I expected your mother would be a bit of a wild card. Andrea was always very impulsive." He said politely. We both knew that he meant stubborn and mouthy. My Mom did not like to be told what to do and was the kind of person to jump first and ask questions after.

My Dad was a bookworm and a nerd. He was always interested in what new tech he could get his hands on or some ancient tome he could decipher. It was hard to get him out of the house once he was committed to a project.

"I need more help around here and it wasn't fair of me to lean on Erik as hard as I did. I heard about his slow descent into a breakdown. Hopefully all of that is resolved now." He said, searching for confirmation.

"As far as I know. He went around saying sorry to everyone, so I hope it's over." I shrugged. Anders sighed.

"I hope your parents are open to coming back. This place used to be full of life back in the day, and I could use some familiar faces." He told me. I nodded.

"I'm sure if you ask, they will do what they can." I wasn't happy about it, but having more functional adults in the building might mitigate some of the High School-esque drama we'd been having.

"Did you need anything else?" I asked, turning to go.

"What kind of information were you able to gather about this Damien, the Demi-God guy?" He asked suddenly.

I turned back around and leaned on one of the guest chairs, facing his desk.

"Well, he had a whole Sephiroth vibe going on." I started. Judging by the way Anders was looking at me, I guessed he had never played Final Fantasy 7 before.

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"Uh, he's a bad guy from a video game. Actually, he was trying to monologue a lot. Kinda like he had developed his whole personality from video game baddies." I thought out loud. Anders squinted at me, holding his temple.

"You mean to tell me that this Modern Day Demi-God, supposed child of Eris, Goddess of Chaos, is a massive loser, playing pretend bad guy?" Anders said, hanging his head.

"I don't know about pretending. He killed Ethan. And he appeared to be powerful. Not to mention having the Spear of Longinus. If it hadn't been for that weirdo, Quinton, we probably would have heard out his entire evil plan if we stood there long enough." I told him. Anders nodded and waved apologetically, I guess, trying not to downplay what happened to Ethan.

"It seemed like he had access to some kind of Shadow magic too. I didn't think Artifact wielders could use magic too. We know he used to be part of the Order, but from how long ago, I wonder." I continued. That seemed to peak Anders' interest.

"Shadow magic? Why is that a running theme lately?" He muttered.

"Lately? Who else is using Shadow magic?" I said, concerned. Anders looked at me like he had forgotten I was there.

"Nevermind. I have a lot to go over now. Thanks for your help Orion." He said, motioning to the door.

I gave him a concerned look, but did as I was told.

~*~

I climbed up to the top of the bell tower and gasped as the cold air caught my breath. I hated that I hadn't thought to wear much more than my University sweater and a pair of basketball shorts. I curled up in the corner and pressed my back to the stonework, trying to take shelter from the wind. I put my hood up and pulled the draw strings tight until I could only see out of a small hole.

Things had been so crazy lately that I hadn't had a moment to stop and think. All of the craziness with Erik had really stirred up all my emotions, and I suddenly felt more alone than I usually did. Of all of us, I'm sure I appreciated my solitude just as much as Dyson, usually so I could play video games, but tonight, I had this deep acute loneliness like someone had inflicted it upon me; like it had been weaponized.

I knew I couldn't force anyone to like me romantically, especially not Erik or Amelia, but it did feel a bit personal. The friend zone sucked.

I heard someone coming up the ladder and I looked over.

"Aw shit." I heard, as Dyson peeked his eyes over the edge and then quickly tried to go back down.

"I can go, if you'd like to sit up here by yourself." I told him.

I watched as his eyes returned over the lip of the ladder well and turned to me.

"All good dude, I can share. Just didn't know anyone else was up here." He said, slowly making his way over the ladder and into the corner across from me. He was also bundled up in one of his big black sweaters, with a red spider on it that said the words 'TapOut' on it. Although he had the good sense to put on pants.

He hunched over and tried to light his joint, the flame of his lighter barely sparking in the wind.

"Fuck." He grumbled.

I knelt forward on my hands and knees, careful not to fall out of the tower, and used my hands to make a wind shelter for him. A spark took, and we both cheered. He took a deep toke as I crawled back to my corner.

"Want some?" He said breathlessly, still holding in his last pull. I had never smoked before, not that the thought hadn't crossed my mind. I wasn't opposed to the stuff, but I also didn't really know how it would effect me.

"What the hell, why not?" I said, taking his joint and trying to inhale deeply like he did.

"Whoa, take it easy." He said, reaching back for the joint as I proceeded to hack my lungs out.

"Alrighty, no more for you." Dyson chuckled, pulling again. I continued my coughing fit until I was light headed.

"Oh man, am I gonna die?" I laughed, still choking.

"I dunno man, that's kinda my thing." He said, kicking my shoe playfully.

"So what are you doing up here, all broody like? Cause that's also kinda my thing." Dyson asked, when I was done choking.

"I guess I was just feeling kind of lonely." I told him. He raised an eyebrow at me.

"So you came all the way up here to remedy that?" He asked, looking at me dubiously.

"No, well yes. Kinda. I mean, I feel lonely romantically. I feel like everyone is partnering up and I'm the outcast." I told him.

"I don't know what you've heard but I'm not banging any of them." Dyson said, waving his arms in front of him. I laughed and shook my head.

"It would be completely fine if you were dude. I just mean that, Erik and Kalysta are kind of a thing. Amelia opened up about her feelings for you. Ethan and Tadashi are...complicated to say the least, but they enjoy each others company. I guess I'm just the seventh wheel." I vented to him. He was already shaking his head before I finished.

"Firstly, I don't know where Amelia and I sit. I got a lot of my own stuff to work out first. And there is also a crazy pirate lady out there that kinda wants me too." He said smiling. I hadn't seen him smile a lot, but it was good to see.

"Gods, that'd be a hell of a fight, her and Amelia." I laughed. Dyson shook his head dramatically.

"Secondly, I think the only thing fucking Erik is the stick in his ass. So I wouldn't worry about Kalysta being off the table." Dyson smirked and now it was my turn to shake my head.

"She's not really my type. She mostly keeps to herself if she's not with Erik." I told him. He shrugged.

"So invite her for a big pizza party to get to know everyone, like you did with me." Dyson leaned his head against the stone and looked up at the sky.

"Also, didn't know that about Ethan and Tadashi. Good to know." He added.

"Yea, it's kind of the Cathedral's worst kept secret." I told him. "If you watch the two of them long enough, you can tell."

"Wow, I feel like I'm in high school again." Dyson pulled his knees in and put his head down. He looked like a little black lump in the corner.

"Yea it's really hard for this place not to feel like that when it is essentially a treasure hunting, monster slayer boarding school." I chuckled.

"I gathered." He sighed into his knees. "Have you tried not dating where you work?" I nodded.

"I have. I think we all have. But the 'secret identity' part of our work doesn't really blend well with the outside world, you know?" I told him. "At some point or another, the two worlds might blend or bleed over and thats when it gets complicated. Some people just aren't ready to see what lies beneath."

Dyson nodded, scratching his hair under his hood.

"I get that. Probably makes for shitty dinner conversation too. 'What did you do at work today honey?' 'Oh, you know, just killed me a vampire and found the Holy Flaming Sword of St. Micheal the Archangel.' I assume that'd just make shit weird." He joked.

The more time I spent with Dyson, the more I found I enjoyed his company. There was no judgement or expectations with him. He knew who he was, and he didn't care who I was. We were just two dudes chillin' in a bell tower. It was nice to just be open without having to put a mask on. After a moment of thinking, he spoke again, raising his finger.

"Million dollar idea! Order of Vigilance dating app. That way, you can find other Chosen who understand the situation and you can get all that pesky small talk about the job outta the way early. Are there enough of us for that to even work?" He said, half-joking.

"That's actually a really good idea. You could also meet other Order members travelling abroad if you weren't looking for anything serious too..." I was suddenly lost in thought about the possiblities.

"Everything the Order does online goes through private, encrypted servers anyway. If I could get attached to that, and require Order specific emails to log in, designing the app wouldn't be that hard." I continued. Dyson stared at me wide eyed.

"I was totally joking, but go off." He said, bobbing his head. He finished his joint and tossed it over the edge. It caught in the wind and blew off somewhere. Hopefully, not onto the ancient Cathedral roof that was probably, easily flammable.

"I wonder if Anders could get approval for a project like that." I mused, mulling over the logistics in my head.

"I don't know if secret organization dating app is on his list of priorities if we have a big bad evil guy running around." Dyson said, closing his eyes and resting against his knees again.

"BBEG?" I asked. "Do you play D&D by chance?"

Dyson looked up quickly, his eyes darting back and forth.

"Uhh...noo?" He said, long and drawn out. I jumped up and pointed at him, almost falling out of the bell tower.

"You do! You're a nerd!" I yelled against the wind. Dyson groaned and hid his head, becoming the black lump in the corner again.