Scarlet swiftly teleported into buildings like the predator she was meant to be, emerging from the shadows for her blood to encase her unsuspecting victims without having to walk through a stationary field, transporting the guards and the victims to random houses far away enough from the conflict to ensure safety. Unsure if the guards were being manipulated or controlled, she included them.

She’d prepared extensively to be of use in this assault over the last few days.

Since her fiasco in Camagüey, she’d been doing her best to hone her skills to be more useful to Rachel and not hamper her efforts. One of the results was the additional transfer method of Blood Portal; of course, she’d gone through practically five elephant's worth of blood that Tom had stored aboard Cahira’s ship for her in doing so.

All Scarlet wanted was to help the girl that had opened her heart and let her into her home; to make sure she was able to come home to the woman that had so selflessly taken her—a total stranger and terrifying monster—into her arms.

Her biggest fear was having to go back to the welcoming house that had accepted her to report Rachel’s death; she’d do anything to avoid that outcome.

By the time Fiona had begun her assault—as unorthodox and funny the approach was from what Scarlet could observe—Scarlet had already forcefully teleported out the majority of households; it wasn’t too challenging since all of the hostages in the area had been centralized in five locations.

Blood acting as a wave, spreading out to engulf the various groups, she applied a condensed Fear Aura to freeze them in place and make the controlled individuals think she was a hostile force instead of a rescue party to counteract any pre-assigned orders.

Her reserves were swiftly being diminished, but she managed to get everyone out before the small army of Demi were able to check.

Shadows shrouded her for Scarlet to appear high above the dark city, sitting on a disk of her own blood while it curved around her to block the tempest. Selvaria’s roar penetrated the sounds of the storm, chasing it away as a section of her blood parted to see the colossal figure of the fun Leviathan girl scream at the sky.

You go, Girl! We’re doing good. Nice, destroying the wall. Hold up…

“Huh…”

Selvaria’s spikes and eyes blazed, flaring turquoise as energy gathered in her snarling throat and bolts of lightning arced up her spine. Scarlet instantly knew her target upon following the Leviathan’s gaze to the Hydra, being guided down a path.

Uh-oh … I didn’t know we were supposed to clear that area! Hold up, Selv!

Luckily, the girl took at least thirty seconds to charge the beam, allowing Scarlet to zip in and transport out the several groups. It must have been a new skill because the Leviathan had been teasing she had something new up her sleeve; a decently long charge time, but more than powerful.

Scarlet returned to her aerial perch to witness the elemental ray of ice and electricity devastate everything in its path. Happy to have made it in time, she watched the girl’s massive Fear Aura—much more extensive than hers—send the puppeted and uncontrolled citizens alike into a panic, fleeing in any direction the two rampaging monsters weren’t.

Okay … Should I help Fiona and Grace now? Rachel didn’t give me any more orders after clearing everyone.

Blood spinning in the air to shift positions, she watched Benedict and the twins in the very crowded auditorium, seemingly getting help from some people to try and cure the sister Rachel wanted them to save.

I should help them out, because I doubt Fiona will need help … I am running low on blood, though…

Lips tightening, her vision filtered out everything, including people, to look for any blood bank or reserve she could use; non-expired blood, she’d learned her lesson last time.

Nothing showed up in the area, but after teleporting to the northeast a little, still scanning for a place to restock, she found a place called Banco de Sangre Provincial, which appeared to have plenty. Three women were inside, cowering in a corner because of the titans clashing to their south.

Since it was the only place left that she’d found for miles that didn’t involve sucking from a living vein, Scarlet made her way to the location; her blood wrapped around her figure, allowing her to stay seated while appearing outside of the chilled area where the majority of the bags were kept.

Legs crossed, she smiled at the crying Cuban women. “Hello! Just allow me to…”

Scarlet’s skin prickled as symbols illuminated across the entire room, bathing it in light; she hardly had time to look up at the crimson effulgence before the women snagged her attention again. Two flickered, and upon closer inspection, the blood holding Scarlet up quivered, sliding past her as she firmly planted her rear on the tile floor.

“No, it … Mom … W-What are you doing—how did you get to Cuba?!”

In the dull glow that lingered with the obscure symbols, Scarlet’s mind chilled, suddenly identifying the chicken scratch—the same ridiculous, made-up language her mother used in the rituals—yet at this moment, she recognized the itching power that plucked at her still heart.

The illusion her Mythickin Passive had partially penetrated slid away to reveal her smiling mother, black hair swept back and in one of her black, knee-high Sunday dresses. Legs crossed with her hands in her lap, Adele smiled, sending memories flooding back to Scarlet’s stunned mind.

“It’s been more than a month since I’ve last seen you … My, how you’ve grown, Sweetie.”

Mind unable to process her mother’s words, she tried to enter the shadows to escape—her attempt was blocked—and frozen in fright, all Scarlet could do was watch her blood collapse to sink back into her skin against her will; every skill she had didn’t respond to her desire to run, and neither would her body.

Her mother’s legs unfolded to rise, moving as if in slow motion to smoothly kneel before Scarlet and wrap her arms around her. “My precious daughter … I’ve missed you so much.”

Scarlet began to tremble in her mother’s warm embrace; she couldn’t pull away, but this wasn’t due to some magic. What do I do … I can’t run … What do I do … Rachel … Help me.

Adele pulled back, but Scarlet couldn’t see a monster in her mother’s deep brown eyes; kneeling in front of her was the woman that gave birth to her—the crazy, occult obsessed woman that annoyed her yet did everything in her power to provide her with everything she needed in life.

“Mom…” she mumbled, throat somehow sticky and shaking muscles tight.

Brushing back Scarlet’s black locks, her mother’s smile softened. “I know, Sweetie … I know. Won’t you allow me to explain? Scarlet, Honey, you are my world, and there is nothing I wouldn’t do for you.”

Scarlet pushed herself back a little, feeling as cold as the night she’d seen the insane look her parents and their friends had given her, but this, this wasn’t the fanatical vision she’d pictured in her nightmares … This was her mother.

Arms closing around her shoulders, Scarlet shook her head, bloody tears falling from her cheeks. “Mom … Why … I killed Dad, and you acted like—like it was a good thing … Why are you here … Why are you blocking my—”

She froze, mind returning to the night she’d become the host for Twilight—the spikes of blood penetrating her father’s body—and the horrific sight of the same happening to her concerned mother made her shake her head and hurriedly retreat to the door. “No—Mom, I don’t want to hurt you! Mom, please—please, Mom, let me out … I don’t want to hurt you!”

“Scarlet…”

Eyes closed, tugging on the immovable knob, Scarlet cried, her previous strength failing her before Adele’s hands slid around her belly and gently pulled her into a hug.

“Scarlet, you don’t need to worry about hurting me … Please, come, sit down, and we can talk; I want to tell you everything … I’m sorry it took so long.”

Unsure what to do, Scarlet’s trembling fingers slid from the knob to her mother’s arms, feeling the familiar pounding of her heart through her welcoming embrace as her back pressed against her mother’s bosom. “Mom … I’m scared…”

“It’s okay … Take your time.”

“Mom…”

Turning around, her mother took out a handkerchief to rub away the blood on Scarlet’s cheeks; it wasn’t pulling back into her body or responding as it should, staining her mother’s shirt as Adele held her.

“It’s okay…”

Two minutes passed before she pulled away and tried to clean bloody tears; she felt a little dehydrated, and as if expecting it, her mother gestured to a small fridge that seemed to not be a part of the building’s typical operating containers.

“I know this is all confusing, I know you must be thirsty; please, take as much as you want—all of this was taken from willing participants—I know you’ve had a hard time transitioning; you’ve been such a strong girl—no, a strong young woman.”

Scarlet swallowed the sticky blood filling her mouth, Adele lifting her face a little to present an encouraging countenance. “I understand things have not been easy … Hmm.”

Adele followed her mother’s gaze to the door a few feet away. “It seems you’ve found a wonderful friend, Sweetie.”

“Mom?”

Scarlet stepped to the side in confusion as her mother pulled away to place her hand on the door, similar symbols transferring across her visible skin before opening it.

“Won’t you join us, Rachel?”

Slowly shaking her head, Scarlet backed away as the girl she called a sister calmly walked through the doorway, wearing her new demonic hide outfit. “No…”

Did … Was all of this just a ploy … Did she send Rachel to be my friend? It can’t be true!

Rachel’s luminous eyes fixated on Adele as she came between them, not facing her. “Are you okay, Scarlet?”

“Why … is everyone here … Is this some kind of trick? Why would you let Rachel in, Mom? I don’t understand!”

Big ears twitching, Rachel’s voice was calm and even. “I felt something ominous happening here and made my way over as soon as I could … This barrier repelled my outfit’s Hadesfire and any other attack I made, but then your mother opened the door … Why?”

Her mother smoothly closed the exit and walked to four chairs positioned across from one another, taking the back left. “You are an intelligent young woman, I hear, Rachel, and so far as I am told, your family has taken excellent care of my daughter in my absence. Please, take a seat; there is much to discuss.”

Rachel’s focus drifted to the chair beside Adele’s. “Who else are you expecting?”

“Hehe, someone who can explain some of the finer details you require much more than I. Scarlet, please, I know this is sudden, but you must be parched … Considering your great power and how it reacts, I had to take precautions…”

Her tone became somber. “I realize my reaction to … I do not pretend to understand the depths of the shock and trauma you experienced on the night of your ascension … I failed you. Please, allow me to correct at least a small number of my mistakes and explain things to you in detail.”

Scarlet knew the Lunar Hare’s field of vision was wide enough to see everything in front of her, and with her nearby, she started to calm down. “Rachel … What do you think?”

Rachel’s jaw tightened, and from her position, she saw her tail flick a little. “Careful, Scarlet … I don’t know if you are real or an imposter and neither do you—learn from our past—remember the Legend’s Quest.”

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Hope filling Scarlet’s breast, she smiled, fingers closing against her palms. “Doesn’t—you knowing about the Legend’s Quest means you must be Rachel, r-right?”

“No … Remember, there were a lot of people with us who knew those details. So far as I am concerned, based on what we know, Relica and your mother have been working together, which means—as much as I hate to think about it—they could have extracted information from anyone close to us when we weren’t around. Keep your guard up.”

A crack in space appeared beside the chair, revealing a rather well-dressed man in a pinstriped suit; he cleared his throat, adjusted his neatly fashioned tie, and sat beside Adele. “Very astute, Rachel. I have been impressed by your performance.”

Scarlet’s eyebrows creased, mind going totally blank as the man crossed his legs, and Rachel hissed, fists shaking with frustration. “Who?”

“Fulgencio Batista … You were manipulating everyone behind the scenes.”

Adele forced a smile and held out a hand to introduce him. “Rachel, Scarlet, this is the person I spoke of—Fulgencio Batista, the Legend of José Raúl Capablanca.”

“Is that … okay to just say?” Scarlet hesitantly muttered. “Is that a trick? I’m so lost…” She cried again. “Mom—what is going on?!”

Rachel cleared her throat, vision fixated on the young man. “I can’t say I’ve heard of you or your legend … Scarlet, how do the blood bags look to you, and what’s happened since you’ve been inside?”

She’s looking for answers to fill in the blanks! That’s the…

“Ugh!” Scarlet scratched the side of her head in frustration. “Rachel—I can’t question everything … I don’t know if you’re a trick or not … I can’t use my powers; I’m feeling dehydrated, and I just—I don’t know!”

Rachel slowly nodded, motioning to the seats. “The second I stepped into this room, Nia and my abilities seemed to be sealed … If you could explain that first, Adele or Fulgencio.”

Hesitantly following Rachel, all she could think about was how cool and collected her best friend was; the moment she entered, she’d been scoping out everything. Gah! Get yourself together! I’m supposed to be a support, not a hindrance.

Her resolve strengthening, Scarlet sat down and glanced at the cooler. “I’m sorry, Mom, but … but I don’t know if I can trust you.”

Rachel hummed, possibly questioning her answer, but Scarlet was still thirsty, and her eyes wouldn’t work right. “My passives regarding my natural faculties still work, but a lot of the higher-functioning traits aren’t responding as they should, including my ability to contact or rouse Nia … You’ve cut us off from our Seed, which helps translate between spirits.”

Blinking, she realized the Lunar Hare was saying her basic smell and instincts should still work, yet Fulgencio answered.

“You’ve already deduced this … ward, I suppose you could call it?” he asked, glancing at Adele for her to nod, her smile returning. “Right—you’ve deduced this ward has the ability to cut those with these Seeds of Power within us off from their skills, meaning, we are all basically normal humans—with a few tiny enhancements given your naturally changed physiology.”

Scarlet slowly got up to go to the fridge and extract a blood pack to sniff and examine it as the two squared off; she didn’t really want to mess anything up for Rachel but listened for anything she could interject in.

His smile appeared genuine. “In short, you’re telling Scarlet the instincts and support you’ve gained from outside influences has been halted … Only the details about the ‘Seed’ and ‘translation between spirit’s’ tells me you understand, at least in part, the more intricate parts of this transformation … your spirit, Intelligence, and physique remains untouched, which means … You’ve been in contact with something divine, or someone who has.”

Adele’s eyebrows lifted. “Really—well, that certainly explains a lot in regards to the phenomenal pace their party has been growing in strength. How have you managed to obtain such direct influence when they are so restricted?”

Rachel sat back, crossing her legs and holding her hands in her lap. “Surely you understand at least something about that without me telling you.”

“Hehe,” Fulgencio stretched out his fingers. “She’s fishing for answers, Adele … Perhaps she’s looking for more information or trying to determine how much we know about the state of the divine. I suggest we move on from the gauging portion of the discussion for time's sake.”

Adele cleared her throat. “Scarlet, how does it smell?”

“Mmh … It smells fine, I guess … I don’t know why it smells so sweet, though,” she mumbled after holding the broken seal to her nose again. “I’m worried about the invisible ward thingies, though.”

“Not a terrible concern,” Fulgencio chuckled. “If you want, I could offer you some of my blood; I’m sure you will find it perfectly acceptable.”

“No, thank you … I think I’ll just get some later … If there is a later.”

Rachel puffed out a long sigh, ears tilting to the side. “Let me see if I have this straight … You used everything in Havana to test my ingenuity; using both macro and micro strategy in order to better predict what my next move would be, employing Alan as the literal puppet master dancing to your strings?”

Her eyes narrowed. “In short, you used people as pawns in your game … I’ll be frank: what ritual are you in the middle of conducting that killed all the Cuban military—Relica’s work, no doubt. Something she probably learned through the genocide of over five hundred thousand people—why set up this elaborate ruse to test me unless … It was a distraction to keep us away from Western Cuba.

“Did you plan everything, from opening the gates to Hades to the time we’d take to move across the country to reach you … No, some things were impossible to predict… unless…”

Scarlet’s wide eyes drifted between the Lunar Hare and grinning Legendkin. “Unless?”

Fulgencio’s teeth flashed. “Unless I had information that transcended even the divine.”

Rachel’s full lips pulled in. “Transcended the divine … Twilight?”

Scarlet almost jumped as her mother clapped her hands together in excitement. “You know our mistress’ proper name! Most impressive. Hehe, Fulgencio, it seems I didn’t need you to explain things—you were right, my darling daughter’s new friend is most impressive! I only wonder who’s dead essence your Seed passed through to bond to your Intelligence during The Oscillation because there’s something special about—”

“Ahem, Adele,” Fulgencio interrupted. “Remember, we are on a clock.”

Rachel’s ears stood up at Adele’s slip and pounced on it before Scarlet could even process what had just been said. “Let me get this straight … Our Seeds traveled through the essence of someone dead, collecting information before attaching to our Intelligences. Hmm…”

Scarlet shifted uncomfortably. “Me, too?”

“No! Absolutely not, Darling!” Adele earnestly protested. “You are as pure as snow, Scarlet … A true vessel for Twilight, using the collected essence of Marvok as the medium to draw her in—please, will you listen now? I want to explain, Honey!”

Scarlet shrank back at her fervor, causing a light sigh to pass through Fulgencio’s mouth.

“I know this is important to you, Adele, and getting her to understand her part, but fangirling out about the tale is only going to push her away … I should go.”

Her mother reigning herself in with a touch of frustration she’d seen many times on her mother’s pretty face, Adele ran her fingers through her thick black hair. “I apologize, Scarlet … My whole life has been dedicated to this—your father and I—and… and we’ve finally reached the final step.”

Rachel watched Adele as Fulgencio entered through a split in space after fiddling with something in his pocket. “Adele … Can you give me a straight answer—I understand it might be hard to swallow—but it’s about Scarlet?”

The Legend paused before entering, and Rachel’s ears twitch, vision still on Scarlet’s mother; she’d bet a million dollars the Lunar Hare was listening to what lay beyond.

“Okay?”

“If Scarlet says she wants nothing to do with you or Twilight, what would you do … force her into it?”

Adele’s back straightened against her chair, a soft puff of air passing through her lips as Fulgencio hummed and stepped through the rip before it closed.

“I never anticipated she wouldn’t accept such a gift once being touched by Twilight … I wanted to explain for this reason. Scarlet,” she whispered, earnest brown irises centering on her, “I want you to understand our goals.”

Rachel sat back to listen, utterly quiet during the exchange.

Scarlet shivered, disgust filling her belly just thinking about the horror Twilight was. “Mom—no, you don’t understand! She’s terrible—beyond that, I-I don’t know how to even say it, Mom … She’ll kill everyone—take me over, and … I had to bury her beneath the Seed or else she would have made me do—do things I never want to do … She told me she killed Dad—she did it because I felt scared—I didn’t want that!”

Her mother closed her eyes, appearing to try to calm herself. “Scarlet … When I was seventeen years old, I was a rocker—heh, I chased after the musicians in our small town in Kentucky, but one night … one night I had a dream.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“Allow me to tell you … Maybe you’ll understand how I feel … My entire life was changed by that dream.”

Scarlet rolled her eyes, thinking back on all the religious shows she’d seen where someone says they’d been touched by a god of some kind and went all in. “Uh-huh, so you had your awakening moment—heh, in a Blood Goddess?”

“Oh, My Sweetheart, how ignorant I was … I saw war, Scarlet—war, unlike anything I’d ever imagined—an infinite spectrum of conflicts throughout eternity.”

Her mother’s vision defocused as if reliving the experience. “Numberless lives lost in the sake of supremacy across vast cosmos … Every night, for months, it was the same, but different…

“So vast I could never fully comprehend the scope. Deities rise and fall—entire universes burning in the conflict until one sought guidance and answers, speaking to a Star of Blood that she found in a secret path—one that transcended all.

“She dared to reach beyond a great wall—journeying into a mist all feared—to find power within to shatter the essence of her Existence itself and reforge it into something more … to take it into herself and raise a new place for the chosen!

“Peace, at last—an end to my nightmares—until the Blood Star betrayed her and the formless horrors within the Great Deep came for her, shattering the peace and bringing about the end to everything … The Great Deep stripped her of what she’d rightfully earned and brought about a creeping chaos that infests everything … A solution came, though… I could be the spark to stop the coming corruption!”

Adele rose to her feet, unable to sit any longer, and Scarlet was unsure if her mother was insane or if she’d really been chosen—maybe both—all she knew was the horror that resided within her.

“A path was laid out for me—a career, a boyfriend, a husband, a … daughter,” she choked, tears coming to her eyes as she smiled at her in a way that made Scarlet’s throat catch, remembering moments she’d shared with her mother—when they’d cried in each other’s arms.

“I saw the moment of the great collapse! I saw the spark that would rain the Seeds onto this planet—I was shown everything … It felt so real,” she whispered, closing her eyes and hugging her bosom, “the warmth of your tiny body cradled in my arms after giving birth—the heat of your father against my skin—the struggles we would have as parents.

“Scarlet, I experienced all of it until the point of the ritual that would see you born anew … As time went on, the dreams would return, teaching me new ways to understand how to manipulate this universe to the needed designs … How to funnel the Seeds onto this planet out of the countless it could have gone to … Your father had them, as well!”

She swallowed, trying to constrain her excitement. “Everything came true! I was skeptical—a little—it was just so… I don’t know—it was written into the fiber of my bones. I couldn’t deny it, and neither could your father.

“We did it,” she laughed, “we actually did it … We caused The Oscillation—our ritual—all of our practice over years of learning and study … It happened.”

Scarlet’s skin prickled. “Mom … did you actually see Twilight … Do you even know what kind of … of creature she is? She’s terrifying … All she talks about is reaping souls … Killing … She’s not some savior.”

Her mother’s thrill died down as she looked at the floor, taking a deep breath and returning to her seat, a sad smile on her lips. “Scarlet, interacting with anything beyond our understanding is terrifying at first … I was terrified during those first months—hehe, I wet the bed more than once … many times more than once—as a seventeen-year-old girl. Can you imagine my embarrassment, hehe—what I told my parents? Naturally, they thought I was having a psychotic break … hah, I did myself … at times.”

Adele’s vision lifted to center on her. “I only want to protect you, Scarlet … Things are happening behind the veil … So many things that I can’t quite see in the new visions I’ve obtained, but one thing is clear … Scarlet, you are the key to everything—to saving everyone in universes beyond count.”

“Mom … I don’t want to be the savior for universes beyond count … I want to be me—your daughter—heh, to have boy troubles and have dress-up contests with my friends … Your visions—did they show me killing Dad?”

Her mother swallowed, rubbing her left arm. “No … Only you becoming Twilight’s vessel … We only did what we thought we had to, to protect you—to protect everyone … Not one thing was wrong … Still hasn’t been wrong. Scarlet, I’m doing this for you—and I know you don’t understand, so—so I’m trying to explain it to you.”

Conflicted, Scarlet held her upset stomach, the stress of her mother’s sincerity and the knowledge they’d gained so far from Rachel’s interactions with Hades Lords and Goddesses coming to mind; her mother hadn’t been crazy—now, it was only who was right and who was wrong—was there even a side or was it more complex than she could ever fathom to make a decision? In the end, she fell back on the one thing she knew.

Vision rising to her fervent mother, Scarlet took a deep, shuddering breath and let it ease out. “Mom … I love you—I don’t think I ever couldn’t … You’re my mom, but … but I don’t want to be the centerpiece in some giant game played by gods or whatever is above gods—I just want to live my life. I don’t want to have Twilight inside me—to be her avatar or whatever you call it.”

Her mother’s shoulders slumped, tears coming to her eyes. “I didn’t want to believe that vision … Again, it proved to be right … Just this once—just for this—I hoped it wouldn’t … Scarlet, I am your mother … And because I’m your mother, I have to protect you… I can’t lose you.”

Rachel stood up, drawing their attention. “In short, something big is coming, and it’s not something we can handle without Twilight?”

Scarlet’s chest seized. Does… Does Rachel agree with her? I mean, if I am the only one that can stop this big calamity … I suppose that includes the death of her own family … Molly, her dad, brother… Alexa…

Adele breathed out a long stream of air. “You … You really are a good friend to my daughter, Rachel … Heh, like the sister I always wanted her to have … I never wanted Scarlet to grow up as an only child, but I could never conceive after giving birth to her. Yes, something is coming that not even the deities of this universe can match.”

Rachel’s face saddened, turning to her. “Scarlet, do you mind if we explore this a bit more … There’s so much we don’t know, and we need the facts to make a decision.”

In all honesty, Scarlet did mind—she didn’t want to be this messiah—she wanted to be Rachel’s friend—her sister—and go on adventures with her, but Rachel was the smart one that thought everything through. She’d put her life in Rachel’s hands more than once, and she had nowhere else to turn.

“I … suppose.”

Her mother’s lower lip began to tremble as she stepped forward to lean down and hug her. “Oh, Scarlet … I’m happy you’ve found such a loyal friend.”

“Yeah…”

Pulling away, Rachel tried to chuckle, stepping forward to hug her. “I’ll do anything to protect Scarlet … She is like a sister to me.”

“I know—”

Scarlet stood up in surprise as Rachel drew back, placing a hand on her mother’s chest to shoved her back. “Rachel?”

Rachel held up a small black stone—likely taken from her mother’s pocket—and rubbed it for a crack in space to appear. Free hand snatching Scarlet’s, she grinned, “If you don’t want to be Twilight’s host, you should have just said so instead of having to make me interpret everything—things aren’t adding up—so let’s see if we can force some real answers!”

She pulled her through the rift.