They followed Bree and Serah down the halls and through a few doors until they reached evidence lock-up and storage; there were a few agents, but Rachel heard the majority of them clustered around other parts of the building, and more were flooding in with reports or just getting away from the chaos outside to check-in for duty.

Bree and Serah talked with the agent on guard and cleared the protocols to get in.  Entering the area through a chain-link fence, Bree and Serah guided them toward the left-back section of the area.

Bree smiled as Scarlet gasped; in front of them were shelves of vacuum-sealed packages, dozens of clothes inside each.  “Last month, we got a tip about some drugs in a shipping unit; an opioid smuggling operation out of China. There were a lot of sealed fake designer clothes coming out of Hong Kong with the product lined inside.  It was pretty tedious, but we had to go through all of the bags to get them out.”

“Crazy,” Fiona whispered.

Maria just shrugged as she pulled down a bag.  “Heard something like that was happening.”

“Of course you did,” Scarlet giggled.

“It’s not that crazy,” Maria sighed.  “The Cubans do some fucked-up shit to smuggle their products in.”

Serah and Bree grimaced but didn’t comment.

Stepping forward, Rachel glanced around the space.  “So, we can look through all of these and just pick whatever we like?”

Folding her arms, Serah nodded.  “We’ll need to check them out of course.  We’ll take the bags with us so we can get the label of the package you took the items from and mark them.  You won’t need to return them.”

“Seriously?”  Fiona asked. “I’ve always wondered what happens to the stuff the police confiscated.  Do you guys just store them?”

 Maria moved a few bags to a long foldable table, examining them through the plastic with a short huff.  “They hustle it, what else? Auctions, right?”

“Well, I wouldn’t call that hustling it,” Bree muttered, “but yes, Asset Forfeiture; if items meet specific guidelines, then it’s auctioned off.”

They all fell silent, dropping the subject to look through the products; Serah reminded them not to mix the clothes from the other bags and keep track of where they got the items.

Scarlet was ecstatic to find a dark blue Chinese Cheongsam traditional wedding gown with gold oriental designs that she said fit her perfectly as she examined the tag; it would play around her curves and dropped to her upper thighs, blue lace extending past that point to touch the floor.

“If I get short blue heels, then it’ll be perfect!”

Rachel chuckled at her enthusiasm.  She really likes to dress up.

Maria studied Scarlet as she held it up to her shoulders.  “For real? You’re gonna wear that? Can you even move in that thing, and seriously, heels?”

“I think you’ll look stunning,” Fiona said.  She sat on a table, sorting through a bunch of Barbie clothes Bree had found in another section.  “Look, Scarlet,” she held up a red Qipao dress with black trim. “We should follow the same theme!”

“Yeah,” Scarlet beamed.  “That’ll look really cute on you."

“You really think so?  The last Barbie clothes I tried were kind of itchy,” she mumbled.

Rachel giggled, looking through a bag of Chinese sporting goods.  “Well, to be fair, they weren’t designed to actually be worn by people.”

Maria opened another sporting goods container; pulling a few out, she shook her head with a soft smile.  “I guess you do like that skirt and jacket though; the girly-girl Vampire.”

“Hey,” Scarlet huffed, blue eyes glaring at her.  “I am a girl, and so are you; you really did look beautiful in that Sailor outfit, and—what other time will I get to wear a wedding gown,” she whispered, causing the three of them to stiffen.

I didn’t connect that … Scarlet’s still depressed.  It’s not like marriage is out of the question though...

Bree and Serah looked between them with bewildered expressions.

“What’s going on?”  Bree asked. “I thought you guys were having fun?”

“No—no, you’re right,” Scarlet forced a giggle, folding the gown carefully.  “Where are the shoes?”

“This way,” Serah said, lips pursed in a manner that told Rachel she was convinced they’d missed something.

Our advanced hearing really can make a difference if utilized properly.

“Gah,” Maria growled, pulling everyone’s eyes, and making Serah and Scarlet pause.  “What’s up with China and their designer sports clothes? I mean, at least they have sports bras, but what’s up with these things?  Are they even meant to work out with? The support’s…” She cut off with a long yawn.

Rachel nodded.  “I’m with you,” she sighed.  “Our current clothes are designed for hard workouts and look at how mine turned out.  These really don’t look that well made.”

“Well,” Bree scratched her neck, frowning as she glanced between a few of the shorts they were looking at.  “These are just replicas; not the real thing.”

Scarlet and Serah continued to the back without comment, but Scarlet pursed her lips, glancing back at Rachel.

Rachel followed their exit until the shelves obscured them.  Scarlet’s probably worried I’m looking for good material in case we need to fight, but it’s expected; we don’t know how the government will play this.

“Beggars can’t be choosers,” Fiona sighed.  “You’re worried about fabric quality while I’m here rocking thin Barbie outfits.”

Smiling at Fiona, Rachel moved to look between a few of her options.  “You’re right; we should be thankful to the FBI for providing us time to catch our breaths.”

Bree let go of a low hum.  “You’re not prisoners.”

“We just can’t leave,” Maria smirked, lifting an eyebrow at her.  “Same shit.”

Pulling at her dress shirt to relieve tension, Bree sighed, leaning against a support pillar; she glanced between the shelves before her vision fell to the concrete floor.  “You’re not prisoners, though.”

Rachel didn’t comment, looking for more clothes that might fit Fiona.  Letting her stew on the thought could bring some more sympathy and help conflict her opinion on our situation.

“Whatever,” Maria grunted, pulling out some black denim shorts after checking the size and began looking over shirts.  “What’s with Chinese shirts and … wait, I guess Asians are pretty small. How am I supposed to fit into some of these things?  I’d fucking suffocate!”

Fiona shot a glare up at her.  “Seriously? Flip! Some of us lost our chests in The Oscillation … what are your measurements anyways?”

Maria huffed.  “Well, damn … I didn’t look like this before The Oscillation either; it’s not like I care, but when I was checking bras I felt most comfortable in 34D.”

“Like it’s nothing,” Fiona grumbled, turning back to some clothes Rachel picked out.  “Here I am like a double-A…”

Maria’s body changed, just like mine.  It’s not like it reflects our increased strength though; I’ve lost a ton of muscle, yet I’m stronger than I ever could get through training.  I’m more flexible than I was before … everything has improved. My skin’s as smooth as a baby’s butt, and my curves are tight, but not overbearing.  I have the figure of a fighter without the hard muscles … it’s so strange.

Their attention moved to Bree as she hummed, scrutinizing Maria.  “I’d say she’s … probably around one-hundred, sixty-six, and one-hundred.  Freaking, Kim Kardashian curves.”

“What,” Maria’s eyes narrowed, “you a human measuring tape or something?  Trying to start beef? I don’t give a fuck about that shit, but…” Her eyes wandered before a grin spread across her lips  “Wait, you got any George Bush down in this bitch?”

“George Bush?”  Rachel, Fiona, and Bree’s faces creased with bewilderment.

“The old president, George Bush?”  Rachel asked, scratching her forehead.  Does she think they just kidnapped a previous President?

“Fuck, really?”  Maria leaned back against the table they were using.  “The Presidential shit.” When no one answered, she shook her head, picking between her teeth as she sighed.  “Kush … fuck; the premium shit.”

“Never heard it called that, but yeah,” Bree paused.  “Wait, shit—no…”

Maria’s grin broadened.  “Damn, liar!”

“It’s illegal without a medical…”

“Got one,” Maria folded her arms.

Growling, Bree massaged her neck.  “Then you can buy it from the shop.”

Maria popped her tongue.  “Stingy ass…” She muttered, glaring down at a few shirt options

Rachel chuckled, trying to break the atmosphere.  “Maria, try that white shirt by your hand.”

“Huh?”  She picked it up; it had a strip of blue, red, and pink flowers embroidered across the front, but seemed like it had enough room for Maria’s chest in a sports bra.  “Guess this works,” she muttered.

“What about you Fiona,” Rachel asked, catching Bree glaring in Maria’s direction.

“I think I’ll go with the first one I picked out; I think it’ll fit me really nice and I’ll match Scarlet.”  She smiled at the Qipao dress in her hands.

“Wonderful, I’ll go with…”  She paused as a conversation caught her attention.  Shit … shit … we’ll get a lot of negative attention once this gets out.  I need to get ahead of this, but we aren't equipped to handle it yet. Maria might be able to fix this if she can get some energy back.  I’ll need to spin this the right way though.

“With what?”  Fiona asked, looking up at her.

Licking her lips, Rachel took a deep breath before turning to Maria, tone concerned.  “Hey … we have a problem.”

Bree’s muscles tightened at the word and Rachel’s tone.  “Problem? What problem?”

Maria clicked her tongue, sighing as she leaned back, fingers gripping her scalp.  “Shit … sup?” Maria questioned, fingers moving down to scratch her neck.

Breathing through her teeth, Rachel looked down at Fiona.  “I wasn’t listening to some of your fights, Fiona. What can you tell me about a couple of women trapped in ice?”

Fiona’s hands shot to her lips.  “Oh … umm, well … Relica brainwashed two teenagers, a boy and a girl, and a few women.  She—she made them commit suicide and stab themselves when we came in. I—we kind of panicked—me and Scarlet, and I was—I was still addled … really confused after eating all that sugar.”

“Take your time,” Rachel said as she watched Fiona play with her shirt front, avoiding eye contact.  Bree walked over, listening with her arms crossed, expression serious.

Nodding, she took a deep breath.  “Scarlet was really, really sad and frustrated.  I thought I might be able to freeze them—they were bleeding out; I wanted to save them.  I made a ball of water and—and I thought if I froze them inside it, then we could buy time.”

She looked up at her with pleading eyes, wide with worry.  “Did you hear something bad; did I mess up again?”

Rachel paused for a moment, thinking about how to respond.  “Well—it isn’t your fault; you didn’t know.”

“What?”  Fiona pressed, long ears drooping slightly.

“Freezing,” Rachel paused, letting Fiona’s petrified expression hit Bree.  “If you freeze someone in ice—ice expands; if they unthaw them, then they’ll be dead, crushed.”

“No…” Fiona whispered, tight fists pressed against her chest.  “Is there—there’s nothing we can do?”

Maria yawned, shifting against the table to look down at the floor.  “Damn—I could try to heal them? The ice will keep them alive, right?  They’ll just die really fast if they warm it up?”

Bree listened carefully, vision sliding between them.

“Maybe,” Rachel whispered.  “If Fiona’s freezing spell froze the entire body fast enough.”

“It’s worth a shot, though, right?”  Fiona pleaded.

“It is,” Bree said.  “If you think you can save them.”

Rachel nodded.  “We shouldn’t get our hopes up though … sorry, Fiona, I just don’t want you to be hurt if this doesn’t work.  You tried everything you could to save them, right?”

“I tried,” Fiona mumbled.  “I just keep messing up though…”

“Bullshit,” Maria grunted, making the three of them lock-up and stare at her.

Maria, why are you saying bullshit?  That sounded genuine to me, and Fiona did try to save them.

“I haven’t seen you mess up, but you believe it.  That’s bullshit.”

Rachel’s muscles eased with Bree’s, but Fiona looked away with guilt.

“If I didn’t use water … would it have been better?”

Pursing her lips, Rachel pulled her hair back over her shoulders, playing with a lock; messing with Fiona’s emotions was getting harder as the conversation continued, even though it was meant to soften Bree up.  I can’t keep doing this … friends don’t do this to each other.  Another honor thing? Why am I obsessed with honor? Lunar Pride … a Racial Passive.

I really need to sit down and map all of this out.  So, I have a code of honor that I must follow; respect where respect is deserved, but at least there’s a limit to it with my opponent's honor.

That’s why I had to give Conner my name and why some things bother me, yet others don’t.  Fiona is someone worth respecting, and manipulating her emotions is hurting her; it’s not honorable, but I feel like it’s necessary … compounding the issue.

I don’t feel the same toward Bree because I don’t see her as a companion … what a strange concept to think about.  Companion … friends … I actually think of them like that. I don’t give a damn about anyone else, but my family … companions … that’s where my focus is.

If someone is admirable, then I can return that to a certain degree, but if they cross me or those close to me … I’ve changed a lot.  At least it’s not your average code of conduct; it’s not like I’m life bound by it, but it does leave a bitter taste in my mouth. One thing’s for sure; we need to get ahead of this, and people love a winner.

Her chest burned as she smiled, scratching her brow.  “Maria’s right, Fiona. You did everything you could; now let’s leave it to Maria to do her thing, but we’ll need to buy time for her to recover.”  

Maria’s cheeks bunched to the side as she grabbed her left shoulder, looking down at the pile of clothes beside her.  A soft hum rumbled in her throat.

Rachel turned to Bree, her features serious.  “Bree, if you could contact the Military Forward Outpost that’s set up at the American Airline Arena.  Tell them that we think that we can save the people trapped in the ice and to prepare a means to transport them here.”

Looking at Maria, she pursed her lips.  “Maria…”

“What?”  She asked, releasing her shoulder.  “I can do it when the sun rises; piece of cake.”

She listened to a few military doctors and reports for a moment.  “There are a lot of people that are hurt, and some healers have already confirmed that Relica’s mind control is still in effect on a few people; they’re on suicide watch.  I don’t know when she might use them.”

Maria popped her tongue.  “Fuck; you didn’t hear me, I guess.  She can’t control them; well, at least the kids I was with.”  She pushed a breath of air through her perfect teeth in a long sigh.  “It’s a pretty fucked up Charm, but it only makes them easily compelled; they’re like slaves, they’ll do whatever someone tells them, but she shouldn’t be able to control them remotely.”

“How do you know that?”  Bree asked.

“Because of that damn feeling I get.”

“Feeling?”

“Yeah, fucking some asshole knowledge-thing that bugs the hell out of me; like right now, it’s telling me Rachel’s bruised and cut all over, suffering from the Physical Fatigue Debuff that reduces her skill efficiency.”

Shit … I guess it’s good to know, but letting them know it’s an actual debuff; I would have preferred to keep that between ourselves.  So, if I continue to use my skills and stress my body, then I’ll get a negative effect that dampens my overall abilities. Shit...

“That’s still insane,” Bree mumbled.  “It’s good news though; at least the kids aren’t complete puppets to her.”

This could be another perfect opportunity to increase Bree and Serah’s standing to David and the team.  I really need to sit down and get all the details from them.  

Rachel sucked in her lips as she glanced at Bree.  “That information wasn’t given in our report; shit … no, Maria, I didn’t hear it.  It must have slipped your mind when we were reporting it.”

“Yeah, fuck,” Maria muttered, biting her thumbnail.  “I was too busy talking with Scarlet … I must have missed that part when you were telling Jerry about Relica’s fight.”

“They are still concerned about them being controlled by Relica; although, to be safe, some people might be influenced by a different spell too.  Relica did threaten Scarlet with it, saying she could control the people she charmed to attack people.”

“That’s true,” Bree nodded.  “We can’t take the possibility off the table.  Damn, this Relica sounds like a fucking monster.”

“Don’t worry about it, Maria.”  Rachel puffed a breath through her lips.  “I’m glad we caught it in time, and she really was a monster.”

Fiona nodded gloomily as Rachel continued.  “It was pure luck that we were able to push her back, and I have no clue where she is.  I haven’t heard her voice anywhere since vanishing up north. However, we need to be quick on this information; we don’t want those women to die.  Bree, could you communicate all of this to David?”

“I can; what else can you tell me?”  She asked, taking out her phone to make notes.

Fiona seemed to be getting over her guilt; she looked up at Rachel with concern, but a glimmer of hope was in her eyes.  Maria was listening carefully, lightly grinding her teeth.

Mind accelerating, Rachel thought on the best order to address the information; only a few seconds passed as she leaned back against the table, tail resting atop the tabletop.  Her fingers played with a few locks of hair, vision low.

“Okay, first, tell David the circumstances surrounding the four girls that were frozen, and request for them to be transported here.  Let him know that we think Maria can heal them when she recovers.

“Second, after informing him on the frozen globe incident, tell him that one of the major concerns the military is currently dealing with is figuring out what to do with the brainwashed people.  Maria could possibly cure that too.”

She looked at Maria, and she nodded, pulling back her long hair to stretch her neck, a short yawn leaving her pink lips.  “Eh, yeah, I can do that; I could even tell you what the spells do.”

“Really?”  Bree said; her tone was filled with interest as her fingers dashed across her phone’s surface.  “That would be helpful.”

“Yeah, that would help a lot,” Rachel smiled at Maria.  “See, healing isn’t that bad. You can help in major ways.”

Maria blushed, turning away.  “I guess…”

Facing Bree again, Rachel continued.  “Have David request the critically injured to be brought here, and we’ll see what we can do.

“Third, fill him in on the negativity that is spreading throughout the building and let him know our concerns; tell him about the conversation we had.  Our image, for the most part, is popular around the area, but if any information was leaked from this building because of the unrest and agitation, then it could severely damage our future; it could also reflect poorly on the FBI.

“Lastly, this isn’t super important,” she said, rubbing between her eyes with a short yawn.  “We could use a break. Maria needs some time to get her strength back.”

If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

“We all do,” Fiona whispered.  “It’s been … difficult.”

Maria nodded, stifling another yawn.

“Right,” Rachel nodded.  “So, some pillows and blankets would be nice; some food wouldn’t hurt either.  Maria eats fruit and vegetables, Fiona sugar, and I could go for anything you have … Scarlet needs blood.”

Bree’s fingers paused as she looked up at her.  “Blood…”

“Not like that,” Maria rolled her eyes.  “She’s not going to go around fucking biting every person she sees.”

Fiona’s features seemed a bit uncertain, so Rachel answered before she could put any questions into Bree’s mind.  “Scarlet drank blood packs back at the hospital; I doubt she’ll be hungry right now, but given some time, she will need to have another few blood packs.”

“Okay,” Bree muttered, writing it down.  “Anything else?”

She shook her head but paused as Fiona spoke up.

“Could you—is there a way to get in touch with my family?  I’m really worried about them.”

Bree tucked her lips under her front teeth, sucking for a moment as she thought.  “Eh—I’ll ask, but that’s all I can promise.”

“Thanks,” Fiona whispered, looking down at her feet.

“Well—okay, then,” Bree said, repeating back the information.  “I’ll get all of this over to David; just wait here for Serah, and she’ll help you get the clothes checked out.”

They nodded, and Bree quickly walked back toward the entrance.

“Finally,” Maria groaned, using the table to crack her back.  “We’re alone for once.”

“At least until Scarlet and Serah get back,” Fiona mumbled, rubbing the fabric of the dress on her lap.

Rachel chuckled, drawing their attention.  “What a day…” The three of them looked down reflectively.  After a moment, Rachel cracked her fingers. “So, I say that we shower and rest; if we can, then I’d like to sit down together and discuss this system, really get into it.  We can get a piece of paper and write everything down to get everything sorted out.”

“Aren’t you worried about giving them too much information though?”  Fiona questioned.

“Yes, which is why you’ll burn it once we’re finished; we just need it to organize our thoughts.”

“Sounds good to me,” Maria groaned, rotating her head.  “Have you noticed that you stretch a lot when tired, Rachel?”

“You’re doing the same thing; I mean, I did that when I was tired before The Oscillation too.”

“Yeah,” Maria mumbled.  “I get it; you’re tired, your muscles get tight and all after a workout—just thought I’d mention it.”

Rachel picked out black low riding denim shorts, making sure they fit just under her tail.  This is going to be so annoying in the future … having a tail messes up my whole wardrobe.  She picked out a black sports bra and underwear with a white button-up shirt that seemed to just barely fit her, but she didn’t have many options with her height.

Scarlet returned with a bag of pads and blue heels.  “Look what Serah found!”

Serah’s brow furrowed as she looked around the space.  “Where’s Bree?”

They explained the situation before following them back to the footwear area they’d been, and Rachel picked out some decent sports shoes with Maria.  After checking out the items, they stopped off to grab some shampoo and conditioner from another agent Serah knew before they were led to a bathroom with a shower inside.

She kept track of Bree as she met with David, and she felt like the conversation went well.  David questioned her about what abilities they’d found out but sighed and cut the discussion short when she told him about her hearing.

Naturally, he’d feel frustrated; knowing someone could be listening in on you at any time is a hard thing to swallow, and in a building holding a lot of secrets, that can be scary, but what can he do?

“This is the best we have in the building,” Serah apologized.

Rachel examined the shower with a small smile before everyone dropped off their items along the wall.  “It’s fine; we used something similar at the hospital.” She looked down at the sink, catching Fiona studying it.  “What do you think, Fiona? Can you use the shower?”

Fiona shook her head, hair flinging around before she floated to the sink.  “Absolutely not.” She stated, pulling her white hair back behind her ears. “I changed into a Fairy when I was in the shower … it wasn’t pleasant.  I think I can use the sink like a tub, though. Could you cut off a piece of soap, and add some of the conditioner and shampoo on the side that I can use?”

Scarlet moved to comply.  “Yeah; I can help you while I shower—if you like.”

Nodding, Fiona sat at the sink’s edge, wings vanishing as she glared down at the drain.  “It really sucks being so weak and small,” she whispered.

Rachel tilted her head to Maria and Serah; they left the bathroom to Scarlet and Fiona, shutting the door behind them.  Moving across the hall to a small lounging area, Rachel and Maria sat; they looked up at Serah as she hesitated, standing a few feet to their left.

“How’s Bree doing?  You can hear her, right?”

Rachel smiled.  “Yes, she’s on her way back with some pillows and blankets.  The talk went well, David’s a little annoyed that I can hear so far, but he seemed pleased with Bree’s report.  He’s talking to the Colonel that’s in charge of that area; from how it sounds, it looks like they’re discussing the details.  There’s some question to Maria’s healing ability, but the SEALs report and information they have from the hospital is hard to refute.”

“Damn straight,” Maria yawned, eyes drooping.  “I worked my ass off for those people.”

Serah was silent a moment.  “Your healing’s really that good?”

“Apparently,” Maria shrugged, rubbing between her eyes.  “I mean, if you want me to heal your cramps later—if you want.”

Her face reddened, and she cleared her throat.  “So—you can tell all sorts of medical problems with people … no medical privacy.”

“Whatever,” Maria muttered, lying across a couch; her silver eyes followed two male agents that walked around the nearby corner, glancing their way.

Rachel smiled, trying to ease Serah’s discomfort.  “Thanks for your help, Serah. From what I’ve heard, the psychologist won’t be here for several hours; they’re flying her in from Virginia.”

“That right,” she mumbled.  “I understand you’ve been through a lot recently; I’m sure it will be nice.  Is there anything else?”

“Yeah,” Maria sighed as she stretched.  “Pillows … pillows would be nice.” She yawned.  “I feel so tired…”

Rachel’s lips fell.  “She’s already bringing pillows … Maria, until the sun rises, you shouldn’t fall asleep.  You’re really low on energy…”

Rubbing the top of her left eyelid, Maria groaned.  “Yeah, yeah, I get it … what if I fall asleep and don’t wake up, but,” another yawn left her mouth.  “I don’t think it’s that bad—I’m just jodidamente cansado…”  She mumbled, eyes drooping.

“You haven’t even taken a shower yet,” Rachel pushed.  If Maria dies … it’s bad.

She masked her displeasure with concern.  This skill that separates my emotions makes me feel like a serial killer; I’m just thinking about how she won’t be able to return me to my fighting strength and how it would mess up my plan for increasing our image.  It’s not like I want her to die, but it would be inconvenient to me as well … that’s not right.

Taking a deep breath, she actively turned off the skill, wincing as she became more aware of the pain; the separation of her emotions had helped mitigate her body’s reactions to her sore muscles.

“Is something wrong?”  Serah asked.

“No…”  She grimaced as Maria grumbled next to her, eyes closed.

“Maldito mentiroso ... eres un desastre.”

Serah’s lips pursed.  “I don’t understand; what does she mean, you’re lying and that you’re a mess?  Is it worse than you told us before?”

Of course, she speaks Spanish.

“I just stressed my body a little; I’m more concerned about Maria though,” Rachel said, brow creased with concern as her emotions surfaced.  “As far as we know, she could die if she doesn’t get sunlight. Maria, do you know how low your energy is?”

She poked her back when she didn’t answer.  “Huh? ¿Qué carajo quieres?” She mumbled.

“How much energy do you have?”

Maria swallowed, shifting to her back; she groaned, using her elbows to lift herself and pull her hair over her front.  “It’s like, point eight or some shit.” She moaned a little as she shifted, head drooping to the side, she seemed to fall asleep.

“Point eight,” Rachel clicked her tongue.  She’s probably falling asleep to conserve energy, like Scarlet when she fainted.

Serah shifted nervously.  “Is the only way to keep her alive sunlight?”

Bree turned the corner, following some directions she’d received from a few other agents that saw them.

“As far as we’re aware,” Rachel muttered.  “How soon until sunrise?”

“The sun should be rising within the hour,” Serah said, looking toward the massive windows, showing the tinted glass of the opposite side of the FBI building and a center walkway below, running between the structures.

Rising to her feet, Rachel picked Maria up as Bree joined them; Maria muttered something unintelligible, but only wiggled a little in her arms before going limp.

“Hey, what’s going on?”  Bree asked with concern.

“Bree, can you take me to the east windows, and Serah, can you stay here to tell Scarlet what we’re doing if we don’t come back?”

They both nodded, and Bree set down the blankets and pillows in her arms to lead the way; they passed many agents that gave them questioning looks but continued along with their duties.  She glanced down at Maria’s limp form in her arms. If she dies after everything we’ve been through to get her brother back … she can’t die.  Why didn’t she tell us she was this low on energy? What were the signs?

She told us she was getting low before healing the SEALs, but I was too focused on … on what?  Saving the kids was an objective, but … it wasn’t the goal or reason why I did it. Why did I want to fight Terrell and his group?  Why am I even asking that question … the answer’s pretty clear; I wanted to impress my parents, I was pissed they got away, to throw it in Nam’s face or Alexa’s.  That’s petty, so petty…

Her chest burned with her muscles, causing her arms to twitch; Maria wasn’t that heavy with her current enhanced strength and full Lunar Pool, but she could feel the effects of the Debuff, and flexing did increase the pain.  Even if it is petty … it’s not like I don’t want it.  Why is it so important to me?

“Should we hurry?”  Bree asked, brow creased with concern as she looked back at them.  “You seem really worried about something.”

I’m letting my emotions show … why is my tail wagging too and my ears are twitching?  Stop! She took a deep breath as she slowed a little, looking out of the window, the hint of light beginning to brighten the sky.

Should I use Emotional Detachment again?  No … if I rely on it too much, then I’ll become dependent upon it.  How long have I been using it to begin with?

Groaning, Rachel forced a smile that she knew Bree could tell was fake.  “No, I’m just being … a little overwhelmed. I have a lot on my mind. It’s not like hurrying will make the sun rise faster, and I’m pretty sure Maria sleeping is a good thing.  It will at least slow her energy use.”

“Huh,” Bree slowed to match her pace, agents moving around them.  “This is you overwhelmed? I mean, your ears are twitching a little, and you look a bit concerned, but you’re calm.  Is that a part of your change?”

“I suspect it is,” Rachel said, repositioning Maria in her arms to better support her head.  If only you understood how I felt inside … Scarlet would know.  “Could you pull her hair up?  It’s almost dragging along the floor.”

“Oh, yeah.”  She complied, studying Maria’s white hair a moment.  “This is all so surreal. Yesterday … nevermind.” She pulled Maria’s hair between her legs to keep it in place and started walking back down the hall.

Rachel’s smile turning soft.  “No, I completely understand. This has been a massive change for everyone.”  Her wide field of vision took in every face that passed them. “Do you see their glances?”

Bree slowed a little to look at several agents that looked their way before quickly turning to go about their own business.  “What about them?”

“I can see—a lot slower than I used to, like in slow motion; I can see a lot more too, like a wide-angle camera, and all of it is in focus.  Smells, it’s different than Scarlet’s senses; she can sense actual emotion, but I can smell the fear released from the skin, hear the locking of joints and constriction of muscles that tells me someone’s on guard.  Yesterday, I never thought someone would fear me on sight … to feel less than human.” She whispered.

Why do I suddenly feel this way?  It has to be because I deactivated Emotional Detachment.  This will be rougher than I thought, but I can understand why they fear me, the knowledge, but … it still doesn’t make me feel better.  I can still think calmly though; has my mind gotten used to being more detached or has it been like this since my change? There’s so many things to figure out.

Bree was silent for several seconds; she seemed lost in thought but continued at the same pace.  After turning down another hallway, she took a deep breath, running a hand through her hair. “I can’t imagine how the world’s going to turn out in a week … how many relationships will be broken or changed forever from this.”

“Yeah—families changed forever,” she mumbled.  “I didn’t—going up against Terrell and his gang.  It helped me not think about any of that … I was able to just focus on one thing.”

They stopped at the east side of the building, facing Southwest 145th Avenue; they were on the second floor.  There were cushioned benches to sit on against the glass; Rachel set Maria down on one, part of her legs hanging off the end.

She took the seat next to Maria, moaning as the pain returned; she pulled her hair over her left shoulder and leaned up against the glass, closing her eyes, Bree stood in front of them, arms crossed.

I’m scared still … what will my parents think about this?  What if they disown me? Can you even do that in the U.S.? It doesn’t matter; they could just refuse to see me anymore, and then what?  What would I do? They … no, that can’t happen, not after I freed South Beach; I took care of terrorists. Although, Alexa...

Bree spoke up, sitting down on the opposite side of the bench.  “Is that one of the reasons why you did it?”

Shifting her head against the glass, she shook it.  “Who knows,” she yawned. “Maybe I’ll learn more about the reasons when the psychologist gets here.  Everything just happened so fast, but … how did the report go?”

What if another Carter sympathist decides to pull off the covers while we’re sleeping?  Yeah, screw that. If he has friends in the National Guard and even one of them has a friend in the FBI … I’d rather not take that risk.  If we do sleep somewhere, then Scarlet and I should probably sleep somewhere closed off.

She smelled Bree’s nervousness increase as her scent became more musk.  “It seemed fine; you heard, didn’t you?”

“Honestly—yeah, I was listening.  It seems like David reached an agreement; they’ll be sending them here.”

“That’s good,” Bree whispered.  “I hope you can help them.”

Rachel pursed her lips, opening her eyes to study Bree; her muscles were loose, but she was shifting her feet and staring at her lap.  “Something wrong?”

“Just worried about my boyfriend; listening to your feelings … it makes me wonder how he feels about all of this.  Will people hate him?”

She closed her eyes again, lips lifting slightly.  “Possibly, but it could go either way on the drop of a dime.  Most citizens I hear think it’s scary or cool, but most don’t hate people that are changed.  Military and Police forces though … they’re split, and it’s understandable; they’ve seen the ugly side of those that were changed.”

“That’s true,” Bree sighed, rubbing the side of her head.  “I’ve got a headache.” She took something from her pocket and swallowed them.  “They’ve been handing out aspirin like candy…”

Rachel moved her head to look out the window but knew the moon wasn’t in sight.  This sucks … I don’t even know if normal medication will work on me anymore.  You wouldn’t think so; I don’t think I have the same biology anymore.

Chuckling softly, she drew Bree’s attention.  “What?”

“You know—I found out something really strange recently.  So, my blood, it tastes like mint.”

“Huh?”

“Yeah, mints; I licked my blood to stop the bleeding, and it tasted like mints.”

“That’s is really odd.”  Bree giggled weakly.

They both fell silent, and Rachel retreated into her mind.

Start at the beginning; if I’m being honest, I know I did this for my own gain, but it’s not like I didn’t want to help Maria or any of the people we saved.  I brought Zoe with me; I defended Scarlet ... really like Scarlet, and Maria’s growing on me. Fiona’s sweet, and it wouldn’t be bad to have her around … what am I even thinking?

Scratching her left eyebrow, she groaned at the pain and shifted to massage her left shoulder and tight thighs, trying to relax.  Scarlet wanted to be friends, and I said I’d like that.  It’s such a simple concept; everyone had friends, but … I tried to avoid connections.  Be courteous to people, but never get close; focus on my schooling, release stress with training.  It was all so simple and I never once regretted it … hated Alexa getting in the way of it all. She disrupted my rhythm … now, this has.

I can’t lie to myself and think I can just return to school.  I can only plan for the present and what little information I can gather … no wonder I subconsciously put so many points into my hearing; my hearing is the one thing that can get me through this crisis.  What I need is information, but I don’t hear anything really new or pressing to us. Maëlle and Kyle are asleep, while Anthony’s practicing some kind of spear moves in a room by himself.

She listened to a few conversations, but it wasn’t anything she hadn’t already heard or puzzled out; there were just reporting information that she’d already uncovered.  After a few seconds of filtering between voices, she stopped on Scarlet and Fiona.

“... do you mean, Brion’s going to be hungry?  Is that a pet you have?”

“Yeah, he’s my cat … he freaking almost killed me at first.  Apparently, I don’t smell like I used to; that’s one thing I’ve noticed about animals, they focus more on smell than sight.”

“That’s right; I remember Rachel told us that you were controlling rats to break you out of that fish tank.”  She giggled. “The infamous Fairy breaking out of her glass prison.”

“Poor guys,” Fiona whispered.  “Two of them were pretty rude, but the rest were nice.”

“So,” Scarlet’s tone dropped an octave.  “Animals have different personalities and can understand a lot of stuff?”

“Kind of,” Fiona paused.  “How do I explain it? They can learn things; like the rats were pretty easy to train with my commands, but it’s not like they had the imagination to do things themselves.  It’s like how you can train a dog to do certain things, but they actually don’t understand a lot about it—my skin and hair are so soft.”

“That right?  What’s it like seeing people now—being so small?  Is it like Jack and the Beanstalk or Thumbelina?  Everything’s super big and intimidating, and we’re giants?”

“Kind of … I really liked Thumbelina, and now I know what it feels like.  I mean, when you’re looking at a cat that’s the size of a house or you—I mean, you’re as tall as like—like a skyscraper!  I’m three inches tall, and you’re like sixty-two inches tall.”

Scarlet hummed as she washed her hair.  “Yeah, I can see that—I’m five-one, actually … so, I’m more than twenty times your height.  That’s like me looking up at eleven or twelve-story buildings … Rachel must seem massive with how big her ears are, and people that are six-foot-plus.”

“See, this sink is like a full-blown swimming pool that’s about three and a half to four and a half meters deep.  Plus, I’m super weak; cat treats that I used to think weighed nothing are now like five or fifteen-pound bricks … it’s discouraging.”  She mumbled.

“Maybe we can fix that; don’t think I’m making fun of you, but we could get a toothpick and some marshmallows.  Maybe you can work up your strength a bit?”

Fiona chuckled mirthlessly.  “Thanks for the thought, but I don’t think adding one or two marshmallows is going to make much difference; it won’t help me push that door open and closed.”  She breathed a deep sigh. “I just need to accept that my life’s changed—I have to learn to deal with it; fixating on what I can’t do anymore will just drive me insane.  What about you?”

“Me?  What about me?”

“C’mon,” Fiona huffed.  “You always talk about everyone else; tell me how you’re feeling about your change.  I got small and weak, but I can use magic, and my main source of food is sugar … what girl wouldn’t like that?  So—what about you?”

 “What about me,” Scarlet trailed off.  A soft laugh escaped her throat. “It’s different; I mean, I can do this.”

“Oh, holding the showerhead with your blood; that’s cool.”

“I guess … it takes some concentration since I’m manipulating my blood manually instead of using a preset weapon type, but since my Blood Manipulation proficiency is maxed, it’s easier.”

“Proficiency?  Do I have … holy snapdragon—my skills have proficiencies?  Wait … you’re just trying to distract me! Tell me how you feel—then tell me about these proficiencies.”

Scarlet’s laugh was sad.  “Yeah—I’m dodging the question.  How should I even answer? I don’t see the same; my vision is tinted red.  I can smell odd things that I couldn’t when I was human. My teeth ache … it’s hard to describe; as I use my energy, barbs stick under my fangs and stab me, over and over again.  It’s not bad if I drank a lot of blood, but as my energy drops, the pulse increases—digging, jabbing, and clenching my jaw just makes it worse.”

“That sounds terrible … I just get really weak when I’m low on energy.  I feel a little numb, and my mind starts to drift.”

“That’s just one thing, though,” Scarlet mumbled, shifting her hair out of the way to wash her body.  “Emotion—well, just negative emotion—it pokes me, jabs and tickles my skin, and it feels good … weird kind of good.  It makes me want to taste it—that’s another thing, how blood tastes. Every person’s blood smells different, tastes different, and it’s—it’s intoxicating.

“I can taste and feel their temperament; it’s almost like all five senses can be experienced in just absorbing blood.  I can convert that experience into energy though or let it filter through me in a strange mixture of emotions—I can even tell if people used drugs … that part of the taste is—different.  It’s not bad, but not great … just kind of numbing.”

“Sugar’s a bit different for me; it’s more … colorful.  When I eat it; it’s like color is exploding in my mouth … it sounds less odd than it feels.  Kind of like that commercial, taste the rainbow.  I can tell the difference in the sugar I eat; how refined it is, the size of the grain.  It’s actually pretty complex; every bite tends to have something different.”

“Sounds magical,” Scarlet giggled, but it dropped a bit as she rubbed her arm; water splashing around her.  “I’m cold, but I don’t feel cold. When I touch my arm, there’s no heat; I know that, but the cold doesn’t affect me.  It was the same when I was near this ice-guy; it was super cold around me, but I wasn’t affected. I’m sure—yup, I have some Cold Resistance.

“This Lizard-guy told me I don’t have any body heat … how is that going to affect relationships?  I mean—how can I even think about that when—it’s stupid.”

“No, it’s not!”  Fiona yelled, heat in her voice rising.  “I’m worried about relationships too! It isn’t fair; not at all!  We both don’t know how this will affect the rest of our lives…”

“Yeah,” Scarlet breathed out a long breath.  “You’re right—I just—don’t want to focus on all the bad things, because there’s so much.  I hate it—I hate being a Vampire, but—I loved being a Reaper.”

“Huh?  Reaper?”  Fiona asked, rubbing her body with something, likely soap.

“When I fought Relica, I needed something to hide from her sunlight.”

“That’s right, Rachel did mention that you had a shadow ability that helped you fight the sunlight Relica used.”

“Mhm, but I think Rachel was trying to hide a lot of my fight—there was a lot of information that could scare people.  Like—Guise of the Reaper; it’s an ability that basically turns me into a baseline Grim Reaper. I can see Life Force—steal it even; I have a reserve of Life Force, but I can’t use it because I don’t have an ability for it.  I stole the Life Force from the people Relica mutated … those poor people.”

“Wait—those monsters were real people?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Scarlet muttered, swallowing hard.  “Relica experimented on them—broke them mentally and changed their bodies; she linked them to her own Life Force to act as shields.  She was—if I hadn’t faced … she’s the second scariest person I’ve ever met. Obsessed with knowledge and willing to do anything to get it.  I was so scared—she was so close—that close to turning me into a slave—like those...” She trailed off.

“I’m glad you’re okay … I haven’t met many people since moving here—I don’t make friends that well.”  Fiona whispered.

“What?  I thought you were a Streamer and YouTuber, and what about Erica?”

“Yeah, but that’s different … that’s just a bunch of names that I talk to.  I don’t know any of them, not really—and they don’t know me. They’re a great community, and I’m happy to talk with them, but it’s not the same as like—like being with my sister.”  She swallowed, sniffing as her voice cracked a little. “I didn’t even want to move to the U.S.”

“Then why’d you leave Ireland?”  Scarlet asked, shutting off the water and drying herself off.

“My parents thought it’d be good for me to get away—see the world more.  Erica was moving here because she was offered a position with a firm and she handled almost all my legal stuff … so, I kind of convinced myself to come over.  I was making enough money to support myself and had enough savings—but I just didn’t want to go out.”

“I get you,” Scarlet said, standing a bit away from the mirror as she combed her hair.  “A bunch of my friends graduated high school and went off to college or got jobs, but—I kind of hid up in my room and focused on—on annoying my parents.  I just didn’t feel like doing much—I draw, and I liked drawing, but I was just kind of floating.”

“What kind of…”

Rachel opened her eyes, breathing a long puff of air as she heard someone break away from the flow of agents to stand a few feet away from her.  He was a dark-haired man with a standard suit without the jacket, blue tie held down by a gold-colored clip. He was at least an inch or two taller than her.

“What are you doing here?  You’re the Lunar Hare, and that’s the Unicorn next to you, correct?”

Running a hand through her hair, Rachel resisted a wince as the movement irritated her sore muscles, but Bree answered before she could.  “Don’t worry about things that don’t concern you; if you want answers, go talk to Special Agent David.”

The man’s muscles tightened defensively, but he nodded and walked off.

Smiling at her, Rachel chuckled weakly.  “Thanks.”

“Well, it was none of his business,” Bree whispered, leaning back and closing her eyes.

That was pretty brisk, but I guess she’s stressed too.

Rachel looked up as she heard a helicopter enter the airspace, landing atop the building and the name spoken piqued her interest.  General Dallas just showed up?  He’s a four-star general; why would he come here and not the other major military bases with the Colonels or Majors nearby?  There are people in this office that have been sending him information about us and the other Mythickin and Legendkin.

She leaned back again, sighing as she closed her eyes and listened to General Dallas.  He exited the vehicle alone, meeting someone on the roof that saluted him. Dallas’ voice seemed aged, and his tone was hard but cheerful.

“Special Agent Johnson, it’s been too long.  Last time I saw you, you were leaving Iraq a war hero.”

“Thank you, General; it’s thanks to you that I managed to transition back in the States, and it was your recommendation that got me accepted into the department.”

“Nonsense, your record speaks for itself; so, you have those files I requested.”

“Yes, General.  I’m a little shocked the President signed off on your involvement.  I heard that your program was shot down?”

“Well, you don’t make it as a four-star General without a lot of friends,” he chuckled, taking some files as he was escorted into the building.  “By the way, has your office heard the good news about Special Agent David?”

“No, what good news?”

“I see,” he muttered.  “Well, you’ll all hear soon enough,” he laughed.  “So, I take it that Assistant Director Kelley knows I’m here?”

“Yes, she’s awaiting you in her office.”

“Excellent, lead the way.”

This could be trouble … his proposal was shut down by the President, but he has something else brewing.