It was almost immediate, but Liddan was facing what seemed to be himself outside the theater, Lugi along with him, looking him up and down in utter confusion.

Isaiah lit himself a cigarette, giving the same look to Liddan with much less shock and mostly just curiosity. "Wow, you're, like, ripped." 

Liddan's face twisted, as that wasn't what he expected his apparent doppelganger to say to him. "Can you, I don't know, do a spin? Lemme see the whole thing." 

There was a moment of silence, where Liddan just stood in disbelief, but as Isaiah waved his arms, he slowly spun around, much to his other half's delight. "Wow, look at that butt, you could bounce a coin off that if you wanted to, seriously, I honestly didn't think I could be so attracted to myself. Like, I don't know, you wanna go get a drink maybe?" 

"No━what?" Liddan jerked his head back towards Isaiah, holding his body as though he were trying to cover it up from Isaiah's male gaze. "I mean, maybe, I don't know! Does it count as incest or masturbation?"

"Dude, I don't know, just stop freaking out, you're causing a scene," he grabs Liddan's arm, pulling him away from the light of the street. Lugi follows and Isaiah looks down in disgust. "Can you...can you tell that thing to go away?" 

"Lugi? No, she stays, she's, like, my best friend."

"Your best friend is a cat?" 

"Yeah, I just said that," Liddan rolled his eyes, not realizing that Isaiah's comment was negative, "so what are you, me from the future where I stop working out and my hair goes white. I mean, you look young━is it like my hair goes white from shock━"

"I'm not you from the future!" Isaiah sighed, bringing his hands together as he thought over the right thing he was going to say. If he knew himself, and he knew that Liddan was the opposite of that, then he knew that this guy was a bit of an emotionally unstable idiot. "Ever heard of Edolas?" 

"Wait━you're me from Edo━" Isaiah smacked his hand over Liddan's mouth, as he was beginning to raise his voice.

"I'm gonna need you to bring your voice down to a zero and let me talk," Isaiah pulled his hand away. He grimaced as he pulled out a handkerchief and wiped his hand clean, only to then pull out hand sanitizer to really get the job down. "Look, I didn't want to show up and blow your tiny mind, but I'm from Edolas, which makes you the Earthland me." 

"No, you're the Edolas me━"

"No! You're the Earthland━oh never mind we won't get anywhere with this, come with me, but your exceed stays."

Liddan made a passing glance at Lugi, who didn't seem too keen on leaving him alone with the identical stranger. He made a face, "It'll just be for a bit." 

Before he knew it, the two were near the back of a bar taking down drinks in the cramped pub. "Look, I'm not here to ruin your life or try and take your place or anything." Isaiah explained, "In fact, I don't wanna be in this hell-hole longer than I have to be. You see, I've got a job to do." 

"And were you hoping I would help you with that or something?" By Liddan's expression, Isaiah could tell he wasn't keen on the idea. Following along with the previously mentioned idea that Liddan is the opposite of how he is, he assumed that he would be glad to help, which was most definitely not the case. Isaiah couldn't be too mad, were the roles reversed, Isaiah wouldn't either.

"Okay, okay," Isaiah lifted his hands, trying to find what would get Liddan's attention. "Nashi is in danger." 

Liddan looked up, "Wait━my Nashi?" 

"No━well, my Nashi...she's in a coma and we can't wake her up." 

Liddan set down his drink, thinking it over. "Is that why you're in Earthland?" 

Isaiah paused, trying to find a way to explain it, "She was working on a project to find any last remaining magic in Edolas, and...something backfired and she ended up in a magic-induced coma. We think she some how...ended up bonded to someone here in Earthland and we need to break the bond if she'll ever wake up." 

Liddan looked down at the table, his fingers tracing the wetness of his glass as he mulled over what he'd heard. He wouldn't know what he'd do if Nashi ended up like that. Frankly, he thought Isaiah was far better a brother than he was because he wouldn't go across dimensions trying to save her. 

"That's tough," he said with a sigh, "but I can't help you." 

Isaiah scoffed, "And why not?"

"Because I've got my own problems━okay!" Liddan clasped his hands together, shutting his mouth tightly as he realized how loud he'd been. He looked around, rather suspiciously. "I've been burning a lot of bridges with some people and I don't know what I'm gonna do at the end of this week when I have to go back home and...face all of them." 

"That's it?" Isaiah scoffed, "So, what? You've got a few personal issues so you can't help me? Gosh, I can't believe my alternate self is some...soppy mess wallowing in his own misery."

"I'm not wallowing...I'm wading." 

"Okay, fine," Isaiah sat up, clapping his hands to lift the spirit of the conversation. "What is it you did that was so bad, huh?" 

"I kissed a married woman━" 

"Yeah, and I've slept with a married woman," Isaiah shrugged, as though it was nothing. 

Liddan, however, was taken aback, "Wait...did you sleep with your Sylvie?" 

"Ah, no━you slept with Sylvie?" 

"No! I only kissed her━I mean. I don't know...if she'd been okay with it how far it would have gone, but all I did was kiss her and a kiss is basically nothing so basically I did nothing!" 

"Yeah, it was nothing," Isaiah smacked his hand against the table, a fierce look in his eyes, "all ya did was kiss some boring, sexless, robot with one emotion━wait, what is your Sylvie like?" 

"She's a horny, moody, nightmare of a woman." 

"Really, wow, I'd like to meet her, I mean, a horny version of Sylvie. I mean, she's a little chubby for my tastes but I can see it," Isaiah laughed, "I guess not horny enough for you." 

"Yeah, that's the thing," Liddan's voice cracked, shaking his head insistently as he began a rant, "I'm not in love with Sylvie or anything, but she's married to Laurie, Laurie! And she was the one who was obsessed with him! He's this flakey, spineless, awkward mess! The only thing he's got going for him is he's tall." 

"Not my Laurie, mine is committed...brave...handsome...though a little on the short side. But still, we'd all like a tap of Laurie Surge." 

"He took her name!" 

"He was just so comfortable with his masculinity he didn't see why not." 

"Gosh! I don't know why that makes me so angry!" Liddan's face twisted as his glass smacked against the surface of the table. "It's just she promised me, no matter what, she'd be there. Why was this the line for her? It was just a kiss! It's not like I killed her husband or something!" 

"Usually, that isn't the line either," Isaiah shrugged, "I mean, not in my experiences. Maybe it's case by case." Isaiah finished his beer, and before a moment could pas, turned to Liddan. "I need a smoke, you wanna come?" 

The two stood out by the back entrance of the bar, Isaiah passing Liddan a cigarette as he fumbled around for his lighter. Liddan, incidentally, just snapped his fingers, a small flame emitting from his thumb.

"Oh right," he laughed a bit, leaning towards his hand to allow Liddan to light his cigarette. Liddan did the same to his, coughing a bit as he inhaled. "You don't smoke?"

"Not often," he shook his head, sticking out his tongue, "I have enough bad habits." 

"Sure," he shrugged, the street was still slick with water from the sudden rainfall. The sun having finally set, the only light was the flickering street line hanging about ten feet away. "You know, maybe we can help each other." 

"How could you help me?" 

"I could get you a job," Isaiah offered, "get you away from the guild, so you don't have to deal with them." 

"Ha, so your way of helping me is getting me to help you?" 

"Give it a shot," Isaiah dug into his pocket, pulling out something. "Take a look at this." 

He passed it to Liddan, who quickly realized it was a photograph. Particularly a square polaroid. It was a photo of a woman he recognized as Doe. 

"I'm looking for this girl," he announced, "she's hiding something really important that could save Nashi's life." 

Liddan was about to say, "I know her, I've met her, she works at a diner called the Blue Shoe, she was snooping around the waterpark." 

But before he could, Isaiah said, "Her name's Marigold." 

Liddan turned his head, there was a feeling in his chest, like he'd been kicked in the gut. "What?" 

"Marigold Dander," Isaiah continued, "she might not be going by that name, though. Brown hair, green eyes, medium build. A kinda...grainy voice. You seen her?" 

The name put a pounding in his head. "I haven't," he said, passing the photo back to Isaiah. He didn't take it.

"Hold onto that," he pushed Liddan's hand back, "in case you see her." 

Hesitantly, Liddan pulled the photo towards his chest, watching as Isaiah wandered out of the alley, "We should keep in touch, you and I. How 'bout lunch? We'll meet at the station, okay? And maybe by then you can tell me where that girl is." 

Though neither of them said anything, it was clear that Isaiah knew Liddan was keeping something hidden, but it wouldn't be long before he found out what.

Liddan returned to the bar, realizing that Isaiah had left him to pay for drinks. Realizing he was already spending, what was on drink more? He waved at the waitress, and Liddan stayed for another hour before paying and wandering back to the hotel.

Of course, he didn't realize until he got there that'd he forgot someone. Lugi, who was sitting alone in the theater, watching the black and white movie all by herself. The woman on screen, a beautiful woman with sequins all over her outfit, sang intently to the camera as if looking right at Lugi. 

She looked around the nearly empty theatre, then looking at the door as though she expected Liddan to barge in at any moment and rejoin him. When the credits rolled, he still hadn't come. She waited until the workers came in to sweep the room. Then, she went to the front of the theatre, waiting for half an hour in case Liddan decided to meet her back there to pick her up and go home with her, but he never showed.

Realizing she'd been forgotten, Lugi walked home along, humming the music of the musical she'd just watched as she walked alone in the night. Not realizing she was being followed.

━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━

Florence and Eleanor left the movie theater almost immediately after it had ended, walking with arms linked down the streets now lit only by lamps. The sun had set, revealing a faded starry night sky. Eleanor dragged Florence around to every booth that interested her, which Florence tried not to be irritated by. She kept glancing at the clock, panicking just a bit.

"We should get matching t-shirts!" She smiled, pulling a blue shirt up over her chest, "I can get blue, and you could get black, it could be cute!" 

"Eleanor," Florence finally spoke up, her voice clear and certain, "I need to go." 

Her face fell just a bit, before quickly asking, "When will you back?"

"I'm not going to be back, Eleanor," Florence shook her head, "I'm moving on." 

She put the shirts back on the cart, pulling Florence away so they had more privacy. As they walked, Eleanor became much more serious, "Florence, this isn't just about revenge, it's about stopping a very bad man."

"It's naive, Eleanor," Florence insisted, "frankly, I expect the whole lot of you to die before you even step into his room." 

"Aw," Eleanor laughed, "you don't mean that." 

Florence sighed, "I don't think I ever cared to stop him, to begin with. Because the thing is there are lots of bad people doing bad things and then there are some stupid━some say good━people who try to stop them. I was never there to be good, Eleanor, I just wanted to hurt them and nothing more. I've decided to let go of my wrath, Eleanor. I'm going to move on." 

Crossing her arms, she turned away from Eleanor, beginning to walk down the street. However, Eleanor reacted in a way she didn't expect her to. 

She was shocked when her friend snatched her by the arm and pushed her against the wall. Looking her dead in the eye, "Wrath isn't the only sin━okay?" she'd never seen such intensity in Eleanor's, it was a bit frightening, "What you call moving on is just cowardice, it's choosing to do nothing when you know there is something wrong. Flo, I've spent too much time trying to ignore my problems, and if you do the same then I don't think I can forgive you." 

Pulling her hand away from Florence and towards her own face, Florence realized Eleanor was beginning to tear up. "You were always like a sister to me," she spoke in a broken voice, "I didn't want to let go of you...because I don't want to lose someone else by doing nothing. But maybe...it's smart to just end this here." 

With that said, Eleanor trotted off, her hands over her face as she disappeared into the dark. Florence, now alone, stood there a moment longer. She decided not to follow. 

She arrived at Basil's hotel and was surprised to see he wasn't there. He must still be with the Knights, explaining why he'd stolen a truck just to stop a small group of wannabe criminals. Once on the bed, she began pulling off her shoes, wondering if Eleanor was right. Maybe she wasn't simply letting go of her anger, she was being passive and cowardly. 

Soon after, Basil finally arrived through the door. He looked worn down and the first thing he said was, "Ugggghh..."

"From that, I assume everything went smoothly and you've been promoted." 

"The opposite━ah, wait, you were being sarcastic," he stumbled onto the bed, sitting down beside her, "but yeah, it was the opposite, they revoked my title as Captain, so...Lieutenant Mace...at your service. They're going to reassign me once the games are over, until then, I'm just waiting." 

"Well, crap," Florence sighed, "that's certainly isn't good...but at least you're not removed from the Knights altogether." Basil shrugged in small agreement. It certainly wasn't the worst that could happen, but it didn't bode well for Florence. "Pardon my...self-interest...but what does this mean for me and Angel Eyes...and the Devil." 

"That I can't be certain," Basil stood up, pulling off his coat, "when I was Captain, I had control over my team and could easily dictate what assignments we took but as a Lieutenant, I'm answering to someone. I can submit a proposal for an investigation on Angel Eyes but there is no guarantee I'll even get the assignment if it's accepted after what happened today." 

Florence bit her lip, "Alright?" 

"I...also can't provide you the same protection I could as Captain," Basil solemnly turned to Florence, "I could plea for you, to be pardoned because of all you've done...but since all we did was nab a copycat, it won't have the same weight." 

He slid out of his jacket, hanging it over the chair before he sat down again. He waited patiently for a response from Florence, any consolation that she was, by any means, okay. She continued to sit in silence, staring straight ahead as she took it all in.

"I think," she finally said, "that we should just call it a night, get some rest, and see what to do tomorrow." 

"Florence...I'm sorry━I promised that I could help you━"

"You should go take a shower first," she smiled faintly, "you smell really bad." 

He was sure  she was just deterring from discussing their future, but at the same time, he couldn't but ask, "Do I really?"

━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━

Near the edge of Crocus, not a mile from the train station, there was a large unused home the Howl Cadeo team had taken shelter in. It was likely used as a summer home in the past for a family, and how it came into possession of the team was unclear, but the ghosts of the family that used it before were still vividly present. There were family portraits still on the wall, albeit with dusty glass frames or large white sheets concealing the paintings to protect them from wear. It was odd, it seemed someone want to preserve the home, enough to cover up their valuable portraits and furniture, but didn't want to go to the trouble of moving out the valuable items, to begin with. 

Liz Strauss, who shared one of the old bedrooms with her teammate, Cinder, often wandered around the house when not on assignment. She didn't like leaving the house unless needed, wandering around the town like some tourist. Part of it felt tacky and unnecessary, but mostly she didn't want another run-in with her old guildmates. 

Instead, she toured around the house, running her fingers along the dusty banister as she ventured down the overly extravagant staircase that wrapped around the unlit entrance. She wondered how much the house was worth, but felt it wouldn't be too much for Howl Caedo to purchase. 

Arriving in the living room, which had been uncovered by the team upon arrival, she stood in front of a large mirror over the fireplace. She tried to fix her bangs as they looked dreadful. Her face soured as she ruffled her hair, only to have her self-disdain interrupted by a sharp ringing sound.

It was the lacrima, which had been casually placed on the coffee table of the living room. She sat down on the couch, trying to clean up her hair quickly before answering.

"Hello?" 

An image emerged from the lacrima, projecting above the glass sphere to reveal, Hanna, the healer of Howl Caedo. "Oh, Liz," she seemed surprised, and a bit embarrassed. Her hair was also messy, curled from her own sweat. She quickly combed her fingers through her hair to pull it back behind her ear. "I didn't think you'd...is Red there?" 

"I think he's in the study," Liz leaned back looking to see cracks of light under the door of the study, "do you want me to go and get him?" 

"No, no, I mean, in a bit," she waved her hand, pulling off her glasses. "It's just, we haven't been able to talk one on one since you left, you can get him in a bit." 

Liz smiled, she even blushed a little, leaning forward towards the lacrima, "Alright...what do you want to talk about?" 

"I mean," Hanna shrugged, "how are you? Have you been eating well? You always skip meals when you're stressed...and I can imagine you're stressed." 

"Keen eye," Liz smiled weakly, propping her head up against her hand, "I'll be sure to have dinner later━"

"You better, I'll have Othello make sure you did, you know. He'll tell me the truth, too, he doesn't lie." 

"Alright," Liz said in defeat. 

"But I've been watching the games, I know Fairy Tail is there," Hanna's tone softened, "have you seen your family?" 

"Why would I do that?" 

"I mean, it's a bit taboo, but they won't stop you as long as you don't give anything away. If you just sneak off for a bit I'm sure it'd be fine━"

"I can't just sneak off for a bit, Hanna. I just know that if I see them...I won't want to go back." 

As she realized what she'd said, Liz's eyes fell on Hanna's face. She had this wounded look in her eyes that she tried to blink away to no success. "Hanna━"

"I understand," she leaned closer to the lacrima, "I mean, I wouldn't advise it, in fact, I'd outright tell you don't run off without a plan, but I'd still understand." 

Liz crossed her arms, her fingers rubbing her arms anxiously, "Tell me about your day." 

"Well, I had to amputate Max's leg, but since Ellie left we can't bind it to a prosthetic. He ended up bleeding a lot and he woke up in the middle of it because I don't have someone to keep him under the whole time because these idiots think I can manage three dozen mages without any other help━and now, I've got seven people from Charter 4 with chlamydia so someone's been getting around, don't know who but everyone is mad." 

"Mmm, I love it when you talk all sexy like this," Liz laughed as Hanna clicked her teeth, clearly not amused. "As long as you don't end up with chlamydia, I'll be fine." 

"Of course I'm not gonna━" she stopped, her attention falling as she sighed, "you're terrible." 

Liz leaned forward, crossing her arms over her legs as she looked around the empty den, crowded with dusty family memories that belonged to someone else. It made her feel uncomfortable, as it reminded her of her Aunt's house, filled with old furniture, nicely framed photographs, elegant wallpaper. There was even a vase that looked just like one Mira had that she and Elwin broke while playing. They buried the shards, thinking that would protect them, then vigorously denied ever even knowing there was a vase on that table. Xavier told on them and they were forced to dig up the shallow grave they'd made together and return the pieces to Mira. Incidentally, she just used a quick splat of magic and fixed the vase, like new, so it was all for nothing. 

For a moment, the memory made her smile, but it brought her back to that dark place of desire she did her best to avoid. 

"Liz?" Hanna spoke up, as Liz's attention had clearly lolled. "Everything alright?" 

"Yeah, sure," she wore a thinly veiled smile, glancing back at Hanna weakly. 

"Okay then," she didn't believe it, she could always see through her. 

"You know," Liz spoke softer. Even if they weren't alone, she was so soft that surely only Hanna could ever hear her. "If I left, I'd take you with me." 

"Liz━"

"I'd come in, guns blazing, kicking down doors, pick you up, and parade you out of there in my arms. Then...you can meet my mom and dad, and Xavier, and eventually Elwin━you'll hate him, just getting that out there━and you could become a doctor and I'll work at the guild with the Thunder Legion. We could get a house together, something with a backyard. We could get a dog and try to convince Elwin that the dog is secretly a cursed human━"

"Liz," Hanna spoke in a stern voice like she was scolding Liz for speaking so freely. "You're being...unrealistic, and I don't want to hear it." Her expression soured as though she were in pain, "I don't like...hearing it." 

For a long time, there was just silence between the two of them. Liz felt embarrassed, covering her mouth with her hand as Hanna heaved a sigh. "I should go." 

"Okay," Liz bit her lip, nodding insistently as she just waited for the call to end. 

"I'm sorry." 

"Yeah, me too," she shut her eyes, waiting for the light in front of her to go out as Hanna ended the call. Once again, she was alone in the darkly lit room with a hibernating lacrima. She fell forward, holding her breath as she felt like she just might cry.

As the front door opened, Liz jerked her head upward, wiping her cheeks from any fresh tears and trying to pull herself together. 

"Liz," she looked up as Fidi staggered into the room with a plastic bag, "brought you back some food." 

He dropped the bag onto the coffee table, right beside the lacrima. "Thank you," she pulled open the bag, watching as Cinder came down the steps. Once she arrived in the den, she dropped to her knees to meet the level of the table. Without saying a word to Liz, she reached into the bag and began yanking out food and stuffing it into her mouth.

Fidi made himself comfortable in the seat adjacent to Liz's, watching the two women eat. "Where's Red?" 

"I don't know," Liz spoke softly. 

"What, are you all mopey or something," Fidi scoffed, leaning forward, "I get enough of that with Othello, have you tried smiling?" Liz just gave Fidi the finger, he scoffed, "That's more like it." 

Liz got herself a roll, buttering it up before she began to eat. She kept glancing at Cinder, who devoured everything she grabbed without hesitation. Liz wondered if she even knew what she was eating. 

"Do you want sauce or anything?" Cinder just stared at her, with a full 10 oz. steak hanging out of her teeth. "Like, you can put stuff on that. It'll taste better." 

Slowly, she went back to chewing, deciding to ignore Liz for now. 

The three sat together for a while longer, Fidi occasionally talking. Mostly, he'd just complain about Frost. 

"No one knows him, anyway," Fidi crossed his arms, "and he just shows up and makes it into the top five just like that━it took me five years to get here! It took him━what? Five months!" 

"Maybe he's just better than you," Liz said flatly, wiping the ketchup off her mouth. 

"Better than me, that's rich," he sat there, grinding his teeth as he sank into his chair. Liz didn't care much for the rankings, because she had Hanna, but the higher your ranking, the more benefits you had, and the more you got to leave the grand hall. Frankly, Liz didn't like leaving the grand hall too much, but here she was, steadily at number four. 

Fidi didn't want to admit it, but he was number five. 

"Where is Frost, anyway?"

"Oh, I don't know," Fidi leaned forward, scratching his head, "We were out getting ready to order when suddenly he just walks away. Doesn't say a word, he just left." 

"That's weird," Liz wasn't all too interested in the drama Fidi created for himself, but she didn't like Frost much either, especially since he was always making annoying comments about her body and how skinny she was. "Maybe he won't come back."

Fidi started laughing, "That'd be the day, you know?"

He continued to laugh, that is until the study door opened. Out emerged Red, a tired look on his face. He walked into the den, his boots clicking against the wooden floor. "Ladies," he nodded to Liz and Cinder, giving them a look that made Liz sick to her stomach.

Another reason she didn't like being so high in the ranks, she had to spend more time with Red. 

His hair was a stark, cherry red, it was long so he kept it tied back in a ponytail that crept down his back and nearly to his waist. Liz often fantasized cutting it while he slept, then strangling him with it.

"Liz, darling," he walked behind the couch, his fingers running along the back of the furniture as he loomed through the room like a ghost. "Did we receive any calls while I was in the study?" 

The question was just a formality, he knew Liz was talking with Hanna, so lying would only worsen things. "Yes," she continued to face towards the coffee table, knowing very well Red was right behind her. "Hanna━um━the nurse called. She just wanted to see how things were." 

"And, Liz, how are things going?" Liz felt her body shake as Red's fingers traced along her back and neck. 

"Um," Liz spoke softer, everyone was silent, even Fidi. "I told her we'd held first place since day one...and...no one had any severe injuries." 

"That's good, Liz," slowly, Red lowered his head, so he was right in her ear, "and the dog?" 

Liz froze, "What?" 

"The dog, the one you and the Nurse were going to adopt after you ran away with, breaking her out with guns blazing, that dog." 

Liz jerked her head towards Red, fear in her eyes. How could he have heard her? More so, how could she have been so careless?

"Red, I━" she didn't get the chance to speak, as Red's fingers quickly latched onto Liz, gripping tightly on her cheeks as he pulled her head towards him. 

"Are you planning some great escape? Are you not satisfied with all we've given you?" 

"I'm not planning anything━" she tried to say, her voice distorted as Red held onto her. 

He smiled, his grip loosening. "I'm sorry, sweet Liz," he clicked his tongue, his fingers staying on her face as he spoke, "I simply want to know you're devoted," his fingers traced Liz's face, it made her sick to her stomach, "you've been with us two years, I'd hate for all this trust you've built to come crashing down. That wouldn't be good for you," he glanced down at her face, stoic and unphased, "or Hanna." That got her attention.

She jerked her head towards him, only for him to harshly take hold of her chin, pulling her out of her chair to meet his gaze. "If you'd like her to keep her head on her neck, I recommend you start pulling your weight."

His hand dropped, and he began his walk back to the study, he gave one last look to the three, staring them down as they sat in silence, "Enjoy your dinner, rest up, we've got a big day tomorrow, don't we Liz?" 

The door shut, Fidi was the first to say something. "Wait," he turned to Liz, "you have a dog?" 

Liz sighed, standing up abruptly as she began to pace around the room. "Fidi," she snapped her fingers, turning towards him with a sudden fire in her eyes, "I need you to take whatever money we have left and sway the battle tomorrow." 

"Uh, okay?" he slid out of his seat, crossing his arms as he awaited any other orders, "What exactly am I swaying the battle towards?" 

"Set up the match so it's me against Esmeralda in Fairy Tail," they wanted devotion, at least Liz knew how to convince them she was devoted. 

"But it's a dual match, there'd be another team member with her. Who do you want?" 

"It doesn't matter," she bit on the end of her finger, but as Fidi began opening the cabinet they kept the jewels, she changed her mind. "Wait," he turned to her, "I know who else to go against."

━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━

"So, the thing is, Zailo can see the dead," Felicity gestured loosely towards him as he sat down at the table with the rest. 

"What?!" Nashi gasped, jumping from her seat as the rest turning towards her with confusion.

"You...didn't know that?" Layla asked.

"Come to think of it, I feel like I heard something like that," Nashi sat back down, calmly scouting back into the table, "but I thought he had a PMS thing, where he could read your thoughts, that's why I always think about dolphins when I'm around you, so you can't find out my secrets." 

"You mean ESP."

"That too." 

Zailo squinted, "I always got a dolphin vibe from you..."

"We are really getting off track," Felicity shook her hand, pulling Zailo and Nashi back into reality as he tried to read her mind. "Tell them what you told me so I can leave this place and go to bed." 

"Okayokayokay," Zailo shook his head, "so, I see dead people, and the thing is...when I look at you," he turned to Aloke, "all I see is a big 'ol blurry mess." 

Everyone turned to Aloke, who sat uncomfortably in his seat, "Right, so...there may be a reason for that." He looked at Lillian for some kind of reassurance, or maybe a way out. She just shrugged, so with a sigh Aloke explained, "When I was a kid...I died and was brought back to life by the angels." 

The entire table collectively gasped, all but Nashi. They turned to her yet again, "Wait, I feel like I already know that." 

"How?!" 

"No no━I'm thinking of someone else!" She shook her head, "No, yeah, that is really surprising." 

Aloke began to explain, "The angels have a place named Heaven..."

"Very original."

"I know, thank you━and they're in hiding, but some angels will go out into the city in secret to heal the young because, well, angels are pretty good at it. However...angels eventually began to find children who had died, so using something called an everstone they would collect their souls before they...wandered off, and then bring them back to Heaven to heal them in their waters. They managed to save me when I died as a kid, they also saved my former partner, Achilles, when he died. It's how we met." 

"I've actually been there," Ezzie whispered to Xavier, who sat beside her, "it was super cool." 

Xavier gave her a look, "I was there with you."

"Oh right." 

"So, angels have effectively found a way to bring the dead back to life, so long as they get to them right away." 

"So that's why he's blurry," Esmeralda continued, "because he's died once before, and perhaps your soul, once returned to your healed body, wasn't exactly put in correctly."

"It's entirely possible," Aloke shrugged, "I mean, I lost most of my memories when I woke up. You do remember the important stuff though. Like my family...my friends." 

"But here's the thing," Zailo said, "you're not the only blurry person I've seen here during the games. When I was at the arena, I saw someone...the leader of the Deadly Sins." 

Aloke and Lillian each shared a look, and the table all began to realize something. Nashi, gasped, "Oh my gosh...do you know what that means?" They turn to her, "It means that someone from Heaven is leading the Deadly Sins...but who could it be━"

"Achilles!!" They all collectively shouted. 

"Who?" 

"I just brought him up!" 

"Aloke's partner? They helped destroy our guild that one time but then came back and saved us because of Lillian's tits?" 

"Ezzie!" 

"And your personality." 

"Oh my gosh," Lillian sighed.

"Okay," Layla stood up, "me and Xavier are currently investigating the Deadly Sins, and with this info, we might have just really gotten a lot of info, so you need to come with me." 

"Wait━no no, I'm not snitching on Achilles if he's leading some guild." 

"Little too late for that," Xavier said, "we already know his identity, so help us or not, Achilles is in trouble." 

"But I don't know anything, and the crazy one is right," he gestured towards Nashi, "maybe this isn't even Achilles━"

"Oh yeah," Layla rolled her eyes, "totally, it's just some rando we've never heard of, maybe a long lost sister or Achilles or twin or something. Because that makes perfect sense━" 

"Wait a sec," Xavier stood up, pushing his chair up then raising his injured leg onto his seat. "Look, maybe it isn't Achilles, but whoever he is, he attacked me. Just look at the wound, tell me if it's him." 

He lifted his pant leg and began loosening the bandages, revealing the bizarre and painful wound caused by Wrath. 

Aloke said nothing, he didn't have to, it was all on his face. He recognized the wound, but something was different, he spoke softly, "I've never seen it that bad..."

Lillian, tugging on Aloke's arm, whispered, "It's the best thing, if he's in trouble, we could help him." 

She looked at him intently, waiting for a response. He stood up suddenly, shaking off her grip, "Say goodbye to Molly for me," he stormed off.

"Don't worry," Layla yanked her ji up, "we have other ways of making him━"

"No," Xavier said quietly, gently pushing Layla back into her chair. 

"Look, I'm sorry, I can tell you what I know about Andrew━Achilles━whatever, but neither of us know about what he's been doing since he disappeared. So Justin might not be much help to begin with." 

"That being said, we at least have an identity," Xavier pushed his chair into the table, signifying that he was ready to go, "Lillian, if we could chat privately, I'd love to hear more about Achilles." 

Lillian stood up, "Bye guys," she followed Xavier.

Layla was about to join, but she quickly moved towards where Felicity and Zailo were sitting to whisper, "Hey, so, like, thanks for the tip, Felicity." 

"Ah, it was Zailo anyway━"

"Yeah whatever," she stood up straight, beginning to walk away. 

Felicity spoke up, "Hey, uh, are you gonna be free tomorrow?" 

"Probably not," Layla shrugged, then paused, "did you, like, wanna...I dunno, do something?" 

Felicity was reeling after the sudden beginning and end of her relationship with Liddan. She hadn't had anyone to talk it over with, and despite being his sister, she still wanted to talk to Layla.

"Don't worry about it," she shrugged, "you're busy, we can talk whenever." 

Layla shrugged then walked off. Felicity sighed, sinking into her chair. 

Zailo, leaning closer to Felicity, hummed, "You know...you can always talk to me━"

"Shut up, Zailo." 

As dinner wrapped up, Esmeralda and Nashi prepared to return to the team's quarters.

"Where's Gideon tonight?" 

"Not sure," Nashi said, unbothered by the mystery.

"Doesn't that bother you, your fiance just out there doing whatever?" 

"I mean, he's my fiance, not my toddler with a gun."

"Why do you speak as though you have both..."

"I mean, you know Gideon, he acts cool and collected but under pressure he's a total mess. He's been really stressed by the games so he sorta sneaks out to be by himself. I don't know what he does, but he always seems to feel better when he comes back." 

"You don't know what he does?" 

"No," 

"Aren't you curious?" 

"So curious I could kill a cat." 

Malcon, who was walking out of the bathroom, froze in his tracks. He slid against the wall, trying not to be noticed by Nashi with varying success. 

"But I also know that as much as relationships need honesty, they need boundaries as well. And I trust one day he'll tell me what he does when he's spending his me time. But I realize it's better to find out from him rather than try invading his privacy myself. That way I know that he's letting me into a part of himself by choice and because he loves and trusts me with this piece of him."

"That's really romantic and sweet."

"I know!" 

"It'd be a shame if all he was doing while alone was watching porn or something."

"I know..."

━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━

Gideon was trying to make the best use out of his alone time, which to clarify had nothing to do with porn.

What he didn't have the nerve to tell Nashi, or anyone for that matter, was that he'd been going out into the far reaches of town to write. He had led everyone to believe it was something like a memoir, a narrative, or some kind of socially acceptable prose. 

However, it was way worse than any of that, at least in Gideon's mind. 

He sat down on his usual bench, late into the evening, using nothing but a dull lamp and moonlight to illuminate his notebook. He was stressed, and unsurprisingly writing wasn't helping. 

So when Simie, while out on her jog, happened upon Gideon in the same spot she'd met him on her last run, she wasn't too surprised to see him. "Gideon?" she said, slowly her pace as she walked towards him.

"Oh, it's you," he said somewhat unsurprised. "I thought you ran in the mornings." 

"I thought you sat alone on benches in the mornings." 

"Well, things change," Gideon turned. From where he sat, he could see a great deal of the city's skyline. It was a nice view, but as he looked at Simie he was pulled away from it, "Wait, where's Bulan?" 

"Ah, sleeping," Simie walked towards the bench, "can I sit?" 

"Yeah sure━seats a bit━" Simie cringed as she sat in what turned out to be a puddle, "it's wet." 

"You don't say, she stood up, swiping off the water quickly before giving it another shot. "That rain came out of nowhere, my shoes are all muddy now." 

"Why didn't you just wait until morning?" 

"Things are sorta...tense, something happened with Myla, she's been acting weird all evening and the girls are starting to act up."

"Really, what happened to her?" 

"I don't know, she ended up attacking someone in the streets out of nowhere, then after that she locked herself in the bathroom and hasn't come out. It's not like her, well...not that I know her too well, but it's weird nonetheless." 

"That is weird," he shut his notebook, sliding it to his side of the bench where Simie couldn't look at it.

That didn't stop her from trying, or at least asking, "What are you working on?" 

"Nothing, really, just stuff." 

"Stuff?" 

"Ah, it's weird, I just do it to clear my mind." 

"What, are you writing poetry or something?" Gideon made a face, "Oh my gosh, are you?" 

"No, it's even more lame," reluctantly, he flipped open his notebook and flashed it at Simie, "I'm writing lyrics." Yanking the book back, he sighed, "I know, it's awful. I'll go kill myself now." 

"What!" Simie could barely contain a smile, "I can't believe it, you're sitting here in some park on a bench writing love songs, you ho." 

"I regret talking about this," Gideon pressed his notebook against his chest, his face curling up from his own self-hatred. "I know it's weird, I don't do it a lot, I just listen to a lot of music and was like, 'Hey, I could try this!' and it was a terrible idea." 

"What do you write about?" 

"I don't know, just anything I don't like to talk about." 

"I can imagine that's a lot of things for you," Gideon made a face, as it was true, but he decided to say nothing. "Can I hear something?"

"Ahhh...nooooo."

"Why not?" 

"I don't share things," he shook his head, "with anyone, besides, it'd be weird if I just...belted out the lyrics without an instrument. It'd sound super lame." 

"Okay, so...if I found an instrument, then we'd be good, right?" Simie smiled. 

Gideon held his breath, "You are...way more invasive then I first thought you were." 

"I like to say I'm friendly," she stood up, stretching her arms and legs, "I've got a run to finish, I'll see you later." She started to quicken her pace, jogging back towards the main path as Gideon was left alone on the bench.

Suddenly, he jolted upwards, bending slightly over the back of the bench to call out, "Hey! I didn't make any promises! Don't think you can just come back with a guitar and I'll share my intimate secrets. Cuz I'm not doing that!" 

Realizing that Simie was already out of sight, he sank back onto the bench, still clutching his notebook tightly as he mulled over the possibility of sharing all these stupid lyrics with someone. He cringed, his eyes shutting tightly as he pushed himself off the bench.

Briskly, he began to return home before Simie returned with a kazoo or something. He growled with regret, feeling he may have wasted such precious alone time. Perhaps he should have just stayed home and watched porn instead. 

━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━

Marigold was still working, it was still another two hours before closing time, but as the sun had set, people began to finally head home. 

Marigold's brain had been rattling ever since she'd taken over the body for Edo-Marigold, who had been buzzing in her mind without really saying anything. It was like having someone just mumbling at you for hours straight. 

Beyond just being annoying, it was exhausting, so eventually Marigold just said, "Enough, we gotta talk." She wiped her brow, turned to Sue Ellen and said, "I'm gonna take a quick bathroom break, is that okay?" 

She just nodded, waving her off as Marigold rushed up the stairs to the bathroom in the apartment over the diner. She locked the door, and turned to face the mirror.

"Okay," Marigold said, softly, to herself, "we need to talk." 

Agreed, Edo Mari said, a sharp tone to her voice, what exactly is your plan for getting me home?

"Yeah, so, that's the thing," she paced around her room, settling in front of a mirror as she looked herself up and down, "it's like, you're expecting me to do all the work in getting you home. And, frankly, that's...that's not fair."

Excuse me? Um, I'm sorry, but what do you expect, you're the reason I'm in this mess!

"Ha! No! I'm not the reason, Isaiah is! Don't get mad at me just because I'm here! I'm not gonna put up with it!" 

Well, I could've gone home if we just made it through that pool, but someone pulled us away...

"Again━not me! That was Liddan! He's the one who pulled me away." 

Well, fine, then maybe we could go back to the waterpark, try and get the device to work.

"Already checked, it was busted. Frankly, I don't even know if it could've carried us all the way through to begin with. Sure, Isaiah was there, but it could've been a trap. We can't be naive about this. This man wants to kidnap Lilly and if we slip up we'll be back to where we started, his trying to squeeze any information out of us he can." 

Well, if we can't find a way back on our own, why don't we just give him what he wants?

Marigold was a loss for words, "What?" 

I mean, sure, it's bad and we shouldn't do it unless we have to I guess, but would it really be that terrible? Edolas has survived without magic for years, Earthland should be fine━

"Hold up, you're saying you're okay with him kidnapping my daughter. Okay, so, one, he wants to kidnap my daughter, two, he'll use that info to endanger all the angels who have been protecting my daughter, and we'd be leaving an entire world with one of its most important resources. Earthland and Edolas didn't have the same magic types. Magic is so engrained in our society we could have horrible ramifications and create a huge power imbalance." 

Okay, it was just a suggestion, but we could negotiate, make sure he doesn't endanger the angels or something━

"We're not doing it!" Marigold nearly shouted before remembering she was in the bathroom talking to herself. She brought her voice down, "We're not...doing it." 

Fine, then what? We just sit around, working at some diner? Trying to figure out what to do? 

"I mean, Isaiah must be here for a reason. He's been snooping around in odd places, maybe there's something here. Like, a portal or something to Edolas." 

Or maybe he's just here for us, I mean, we were on the run and this was the closest city. Of course he'd look here for us. We should have kept moving instead of getting a job at this stupid diner.

"It's not stupid."

What?

"I mean, yes, this sucks, but this is a really nice diner, and I like Sue Ellen, and it's not stupid." 

Oh my gosh, Edo-Marigold paused, don't tell me you're thinking of staying here.

"I didn't say that."

They don't even know your real name! She thinks you're pregnant━how's that gonna work?!

"I didn't say anything!" Marigold was shouting, "Why do you assume I'm gonna betray you, or I'm gonna steal your body!" 

Because if I were you, it's exactly what I'd be trying to do! 

"Well newsflash!" Marigold slammed her hands on the sink, her head pushing towards the mirror as she glared at her own reflection. "You and I may have the same body, but we're complete opposites, right? That's the deal with Edolas and Earthland? Everything's switched around? Then I guess that means you can trust me! Because unlike you, I'm not self-centered and I am giving up everything to get you home because stealing your body is not only morally wrong but would mean I have you yammering in my brain all day long! And if I had to deal with that I'd literally kill myself. So get this, you arrogrant BRAT, even if you spend every waking moment making my life hell, I'll still do whatever I can to get you home because I'm━" 

Marigold shuddered at the sound of the door knocking, quickly followed by a very concerned, "Doe? You okay?" 

She went silent, as did Edo-Marigold, and they each recomposed themselves as Marigold opened the door to be greeted by Sue Ellen.

"Yeah...?" Marigold leaned awkwardly on the doorframe, trying to seem casual, as though she didn't know why Sue Ellen was even there.

"Are you...are you okay?" 

Marigold scratched her head, "Yeah, sure, why?" 

"Well, you were screaming in here, and I thought, well, maybe she's no alone, but with the door open and the window sealed shut it seems you were just...screaming at yourself. So yeah, should I be concerned."

Marigold opened her mouth, trying to come up with some valid excuse for why she was, as Sue Ellen put it, screaming at herself. As she failed to find one, she sighed, leaning her head against the doorframe as she said, "Do you ever...just feel at war with yourself?" 

Sue Ellen pursed her lips, "Eh, sure?" she shrugged, "but that," she gestured towards Marigold and the bathroom, "that ain't normal."

"Yeah...yeah, sorry."

"You should talk to someone about that."

"Yeah, I know..."

"Just not me," Sue Ellen shook her head as she began to walk down the hall, "if you're crazy or something, that's fine, just don't kill us all in the night." 

Marigold watched as Sue Ellen crept back down the stairs. She still stood at the door, bewildered by the sudden silence in her brain. She looked in the mirror, staring intently at her reflection. Strangely, it felt like a different person's. "Yeah...okay..."

Authors Note

Okay you beautiful, luscious nerds (I don't know why I keep hitting on you guys in these notes) I've got a few announcements! Some of this may not be news, but since this is my main story I thought I'd just throw all these in here.

1. This volume is almost over! We have THREE more chapters and then we're on to the next one which is gonna be CRAZY. The goal is to have the volume done by the end of the year, and then I might try and release the next one on a schedule since it's gonna be written a lot more orderly.

2. I have a new book up! It's called Play On, Don Juan and it's an original story. It's first chapter is up and the second is on the way so check it out! 

3. I have opened a Patreon because I am poor! For two bucks a month, you can unlock a bunch of cool and lame things like previews of upcoming chapters, sketches/art, exclusive content like me reading fanfiction of my fanfiction, and smut. Yeah, that's right, I've got FTNG SMUT on my patreon. I've got one story up right now, it's Layla x Elwin so if you're interested, check it out! BTW, the story that's up is actually canon, so have fun with that. (Go you dirty perverts, go!)

4. I am starting a voiceover project! I'm enlisting the help of voice actors to create an audio version of the Volume I Special Chapter - The Shopping Trip. It's been really cool hearing auditions and I've extended the casting for another two weeks so the auditions will end on August 15, 2020 (just throwing that in here in case we got any readers from the future).

I still need some voice actors, but some of the main roles have been closed including Nashi and Marigold (and Liddan soon). I do still need a Lucy, surprisingly no one has auditioned. 

So that all being said, I will link the castingcall to this chapter (it should be near the bottom of this chapter) and you can check it out, audition, or just vote for auditions you like!

Thank you all for reading and I hope I'll be out with the next chapter really soon.

-Katie The Terrible