A clear, confident voice sliced straight through the fog of Jason's panic with the most direct, eloquent phrase he'd heard in his sixteen years of life.

"Hey, jerk face!"

Jason followed the voice and found a girl his own age, rollerblades on her boots and auburn hair just long enough to brush against her shoulders, blading straight towards the Manifested. She stopped in the middle of the street, out, open, and exposed, and shouted again.

"Over here!" she called.

Jason's first thought was that DragonFae had arrived, that this was perhaps an illusion, an attempt at distraction. A cold dread quickly sank in his stomach as he realised that there was no sign of DragonFae's violet magic.

This girl was nothing more than a civilian cursed with courage.

By some small miracle, the Manifested ignored the auburn-haired girl, but she wasn't about to be ignored so easily. Jason watched in disbelief as she pulled the pouch off her waistband and without hesitation, threw it straight at the Manifested.

"I'm talking to you, slime butt!"

The Manifested turned away from the screaming child and glared at the girl who'd dared attack it. Under the complete force of the Manifested's focus, the girl's smile slipped. She stumbled back a pace as the Manifested's arms extended and it leaned forward, beginning its slow, inevitable stalk towards her.

Absolute insanity. That was what he'd witnessed. Never in a million years would anyone he knew attempt to gain the attention of a Manifested. It went against protocol, and now, the reason for it was clear. The girl had become another target, another victim, another person on the list for the Luminaries to save--assuming they got here before the Manifested finished with her.

Yet where Jason thought she'd freeze, something changed on the girl's face. A resolve, a decision--he wasn't quite sure what, but she began to roll backwards. She kept her distance, moving at a calm, calculated pace as she continued to speak borderline nonsense to it. She might have earned the Manifested's fixation, but the Manifested had earned hers, too.

Something about the thought was enough to switch Jason's gaze from the Manifested to the cornered civilians. His earlier plan resurfaced bright and clear in his mind like a river of auroralight through the night. The trapped civilians were still at risk. One of them was likely the Manifested's focus. It was vital to ensure they remained out of the Manifested's reach.

However insane her method, the girl had given him the chance he needed.

Jason didn't let himself think about it. He followed his plan. With a glance at the Manifested to ensure its attention was firmly in the other direction, Jason stayed low and ran, keeping close to the shopfronts. He passed the first two shops quickly, entering the third with the deft turn of the handle. It creaked open, but the girl's voice covered any minor noise he might have made.

Jason left the door slightly ajar and entered. He turned left and moved quickly through the corridor, locating the side door with the deadbolt. With both hands, he took the deadbolt's lever and slid the lock open, wincing as the starstone shinged against itself.

Nerves tangled in his stomach, urging him to hesitate before he opened the door. He didn't let them win, all too aware of each second that slipped by.

The outside air hit him in the face. Every head of the cornered civilians turned towards him--all unhurt and slime-free. One of them managed a relieved gasp, but none of them moved.

"Remain calm," said Jason, stepping outside of the door as he held it open and gestured inside. That was enough to get the first civilian moving, and after that, the others followed easily. There was no sign of the child or the man she'd run to--Jason assumed they'd fled. "Keep your movements to a minimum. Is one of you the Manifested's focus?"

"No--no, I don't think so," said one of the women as she moved through the door. "We were seated outside for lunch at the cafe there, and then that--that thing just--we couldn't--"

"I understand," said Jason. "As I said, remain calm. The Manifested is distracted for the moment. I recommend you attempt to place distance between yourselves and the Manifested before the distraction ends."

"Distraction?" said another woman. "That's a girl--a teenager!"

Another civilian grabbed the woman's arm with a hiss. "Unless you want to take the girl's place, Benita, I suggest you keep moving. The girl made a choice."

They continued to bicker in a muffled whisper that was of no interest to Jason. Protocol said that he should follow them back inside the building and ensure their evacuation continued smoothly, but something else made him glance back at the girl who'd thrown her pouch at the Manifested.

There was black, oily slime on the side of the girl's face, her fingers, and her shoulder. As Jason watched, the girl stopped retreating. She was speaking, but at this distance, he couldn't make out the words. All he knew was that the Manifested was creeping closer, and that the girl had completely stopped on the spot, almost like she'd been entranced.

There had to be something else to this Manifested. Jason just had no idea what. It hadn't said a word, hadn't made a single demand or taken any significant action by Manifested standards.

He'd done his duty, above and beyond. He could leave.

Yet if he didn't do something, this girl would be the Manifested's next victim. Protocol or not, Jason knew he couldn't live with that guilt.

The fourth chime of the bells rang out, and once more that certain calm settled over his thoughts.

Jason ran back the way he'd come, heading for the florist where he'd parked the Gleamerbike. At the same time in the middle of the street, the girl broke free from whatever trance had held her and ducked away from the Manifested's clutches.

"TWINKLE TWINKLE BRIGHT STARSONG, HELD UP BY SKYPILLAR STRONG."

The girl's loud, obnoxious singing was at the top of her lungs and almost enough to cause Jason to stop, turn, and express the appropriate confusion.

"UP ABOVE THAT MOUNTAIN TALL, STARRY NIGHT-SKY EYES SEE ALL."

Jason reached the Gleamerbike, quickly punching in the activation sequence.

"TWINKLE TWINKLE BRIGHT STARSONG, GUIDE US THROUGH THESE NIGHTS SO LONG."

An unfamiliar flutter in Jason's chest forced him to pause, to draw in a breath of air and steady himself when his hands threatened to shake. He swung a leg over the Gleamerbike and set his gaze on the Manifested.

Whatever time they'd had was gone. The Manifested had given up attempting to lure in its prey in favour of chasing her down. As the girl finished scream-singing the lyric of 'ninety-six Luminaries on the peak!', she went down.

It happened too fast for Jason to follow. The girl hit the ground, continuing to sing with her hands pressed firmly over her ears. Even as the black slime began to bubble and engulf her, she made no attempt to remove it, screeching her song right up to the moment when the Manifested's hand grabbed her face, silenced her, and sent her into a seizure.

I wasn't fast enough.

The thought circled Jason's mind, trying to drag him down as he kicked the Gleamerbike into gear and charged.

I failed.

Jason drove the Gleamerbike straight through the Manifested's hind legs, swiping the front wheel through the oozing mass. Black slime splashed up on impact, blocking the yellow glow on the entire front half of the Gleamerbike and covering Jason's sleeves up to the elbow. Destabilised, the Manifested released the girl to reposition its hands and turned its attention to Jason.

"Failed, just like you always do."

Jason couldn't hear anything over the blood pounding in his ears that burned with shame. He had to get out, to clean his garments before--no, he had to put the Gleamer in reverse. He had to get distance between himself and this thing in front of him. Had to get it away from the girl, but the Gleamer's front wheel had no traction. The frustrated curse that left his lips did nothing to encourage the Gleamer to move, and so as the Manifested reached for him, Jason rolled backwards off his bike.

"Never enough, always lacking, always a disappointment. You deserve everything you get."

Jason caught himself on an awkwardly placed arm and pushed himself up. Some desperate, straight line of thought cut through the daze, the shock, leading him from one action to the next. Stand up. Take slow steps backwards. The Manifested had stalked the girl first. She'd sung, her hands over her ears--

"You're worthless. The City would be better without a burden like you. Removing yourself is the only thing you can do for anyone."

A very un-temple-like snort escaped from Jason's mouth as he realised why the girl had started singing. The voice swirling through his head wasn't his own.

"You'll never improve. Never do anything worthwhile. You're--"

"You'll have to do better than that," Jason murmured under his breath. "Or at least find something I haven't known for years."

He'd said it more for his own sake, but the Manifested hissed. Of course, it made sense that it could understand him. It was the one attempting to initiate communication. Yet--

The Manifested launched itself at him, cutting its stalking short. Jason didn't try to dodge. He crossed his arms over his face and ducked low, curling himself into a ball more out of instinct than anything. Minimise the damage. Endure. Survive.

Yet nothing he'd experienced was quite like this black slime that now consumed him. It was thick. Devouring. It smothered his sight, and blinded, a memory of bathwater closing in over his head overlapped reality. He'd thrashed then, but fighting had only made his mother hold on tighter. It'd only been when he'd relaxed, when he'd stopped, that she'd finally let him go, scolding him for splashing her robes.

Calm, Jason forced himself to think. Calm.

He turned his attention inwards, locking down the panic, shoving it into a far corner of his mind. In its absence, only a silence was left. An empty, peaceful silence that he centered his mind around, allowing nothing else to enter, even when the urge to breathe raged against the walls.

Right before the cusp of unconsciousness, the ground began to rumble.

A violet glow pulsed beyond his eyelids as something grabbed the back of his tunic and pulled him backwards. The sound of battle, of stone and screeches, rang through his ears, the answer to the chimes of the now quiet bells.

Jason surfaced from his protective silence, wiping the oily slime from his eyes with some effort. He wasn't on the ground. DragonFae herself hovered just below his feet, her wings flitting every few seconds. Violet flecks of her magic clung to Jason's body, suspending both him and the auburn haired girl a few metres from the street below, though the girl remained unconscious.

Below, the fight between Luminaries and Manifested was coming to a quick conclusion.

Golem's stones shattered and slid beneath the Manifested's feet, replacing the solid starstone with an unsteady, quaking ground. Harpy's razor edged feathers sliced through the Manifested's limbs, and once it fell, Wyvern's barbed tail struck home for the final blow.

The Manifested thrashed. Harpy and Golem continued their assault. Wyvern landed, arms crossed, eyes steady and mouth firm as slowly but surely, the Manifested screamed and fell still, paralysed by Wyvern's poison. It was then that Golem's ground shot skyward in a pillar of stone, wresting a gleaming, silvered fragment from the centre of the Manifested's body, already shrinking as the oiled slime slipped away from the human form within.

Harpy landed beside Wyvern, inclining her head towards him briefly before approaching the newly cleansed civilian. Golem reformed a little way off to the side, pulling his rocks back into their usual formation. Jason caught a glimpse of the silvered fragment in Golem's hands before he moved over to his partner.

DragonFae landed, bringing Jason and the girl down with a graceful gesture of her hand. Jason inclined his head to DragonFae as their eyes met a moment, before she returned the gesture and turned her attention towards her partner.

Golem's gravelly voice was quiet and nearly impossible to make out. "I swear we're seeing repeats, Fae. It's the same as last time, when--"

"Hush," said DragonFae, laying a gentle hand on her partner's wrist. "We shall discuss it later."

Golem nodded. His hand moved to his lower back, where Jason noted a few of the rocks rearranging themselves. When Golem's hand returned, it was empty of the silvered fragment he'd previously held.

"Liv! Oh my starlight, Olivia!"

A frizzy-haired girl ran over from one of the nearby buildings, Liaiser in hand, calling out the name twice more.

Olivia.

"Do you know this girl?" DragonFae asked the girl.

"Yeah!" said the frizzy haired girl. "We were out together, um, looking for someone, and then the Manifested appeared and we couldn't really get away and then she just--she just ran in!"

Jason glanced towards the girl. He didn't recognise her, though from the way she spoke, she wasn't from the temple or any of the central districts. Most people this close to a Manifested incident would be shocked, if not scared, yet this girl almost seemed excited. There was a wild flush to her dark skin, her eyes lit up with something Jason could only label as glee--not something he'd have expected from someone with a friend unconscious on the ground.

"Is your friend okay?" asked Jason.

"She has seizures like that all the time," said the frizzy-haired girl. "She'll wake up soon enough, I'm sure." The girl looked up, eyes wide and star struck as she seemed to drink in every detail of DragonFae's wings, her scales, gaze roaming up to her horns. "You guys were amazing. Like, just, totally wow. I've never seen a Lumi up close before, I mean I've seen videos, but it really just doesn't even compare to--"

"I apologise, but would you mind if I asked you a few questions in private?" asked Golem, offering a hand to the frizzy haired girl. "Miss...?"

The girl squeaked in excitement as she placed her hand in Golem's. "Ericka! Haven't picked a chosen name yet, but after that, oh my starsong am I considering 'Stone' for my Aspect--that was so cool how you just--"

The girl's voice faded into unintelligible chatter as Golem led her aside, leaving Jason and DragonFae with the unconscious girl.

Jason forced himself to take a breath, attempting to gather his scattered thoughts enough to deliver an acceptable report on how events had unfolded, while DragonFae knelt down beside the girl.

DragonFae's hand hovered over the girl's body, occasionally flaring into an indigo light. "There is minor residue of the Other's corruption remaining from the Manifested, but it appears to be fairly immaterial. It is as miss Ericka said. This seizure was not induced by the Manifested, but rather by a pre-existing condition. There's nothing I can heal."

"I'm glad to hear that she is as well as can be expected," said Jason.

DragonFae stood and turned back towards Jason, a gathered swirl of flecks gleaming in her upturned hand. "Are you injured in any way?"

Having been expected to be asked for details, it took Jason longer than it should have to adjust to the question and reply. "I--no. I don't believe so. Thank you for your inquiry."

A small smile brushed against DragonFae's lips. "I sense that's not quite true. If I may?"

Before Jason could protest, the violet flecks carefully lifted his wrist towards DragonFae. In the midst of the Manifested, he'd forgotten the stinging pain caused by his mother's nails. DragonFae closed her hands over Jason's wrist. Her magic gathered between her palms, emitting a faint yet brilliant glow that quickly sealed the stinging away.

"I believe that should suffice," said DragonFae, releasing his healed wrist from her grip. "You will still require rest for the rest of the day. You did a brave thing, intervening with the Manifested, though I wouldn't recommend making a habit of it."

Jason inclined his head, more deeply than before. "I understand. You have my most sincere apologies. I know it was against protocol to do so."

"And yet, such a well-mannered temple raised child like yourself intervened regardless," mused DragonFae. Her gaze shifted, resting on Skypillar's hulking form in the distance. Her wings flitted behind, and she released a breath. "We are fortunate that this Manifested did not inflict any physical damage upon those it targeted. Your Gleamerbike, however, will be out of commission until the auroras later tonight. Do you have an alternate way of returning home?"

Cold fear washed through Jason.

The Gleamerbike.

His clothes, covered in slime, likely until the auroras removed it tonight.

Not only had he disregarded his mother's previous command to avoid the florist, he'd broken protocol and intereved with a Manifested, ruining both his garments and the family's Gleamerbike in the process. His mother would already know about the Manifested--she made a point of tracking them and the Luminaries who responded, citing it as valuable information against the Other's plans--she would quickly realise what Jason had done, where he'd been.

Perhaps--perhaps if DragonFae mentioned that he'd been somewhat of an assistance, just maybe, Aurelia would--

"Child?" asked DragonFae, a frown crossing through her words. "Are you well?"

No, he couldn't ask such a menial task of one whose time was precious. "I--I am well, Breath of Skypillar. Forgive me for wasting your time."

"For wasting..." DragonFae halted. "You've paled. Are you certain that you're feeling well?"

"Yes," said Jason, firmer this time. Maybe if he left now, he could return home and make himself presentable before arriving at the temple. Perhaps if he kept to schedule, it would minimise his mother's ire. "Of course. I must be on my way, however. I have an errand to complete and must be..."

But DragonFae's attention had fallen away from Jason. It now lay on a Speaker who'd approached--a Breathspeaker, judging by the colour of their robes. The first part of their conversation was blurred in Jason's ears, but he forced them to sharpen, to listen to the words even if each one of them felt like a blow to his stomach.

"I am familiar with his mother, Aurelia Shadowspeaker," the Breathspeaker was saying. "I could escort him to the temple and ensure he is taken care of."

No, no, no.

"I would be appreciative of your assistance," said DragonFae. "The situation may have caught up with him. Ensure he receives enough fluids and rest in the next few hours. If anything changes for the worse, please don't hesitate to reach out to the High Speakers who will inform me of any developments."

"As you wish, DragonFae," said the Speaker.

And like that, with his voice stuck in his throat and slime still covering his clothes and no way to refuse politely, Jason was whisked into the side carriage of a Gleamerbike and escorted to the temple. Mind blank and body quiet, Jason couldn't force himself to resist or search for an excuse to his behaviour.

Because no matter what came next, his actions had deserved it.

*+*+*+*

A/N - It's saying something when a Manifested that appears to feed on your doubts and insecurities isn't as good at it as other people in your life.