Susan stands mighty before zher minions with the hero behind zher. Benet shakes his head and gets to his feet. Without his wand, Benet lifts up his fists and stands next to Susan. Zhe commands, "For what? For what do you betray me? I have done much for you all. I have treated you ... Well... Not exactly kindly. But I was just in my actions and rewarded you all swiftly. For what do you seek now?"

Dominique holds Susan's arm, "My lord, I swear I am loyal to you. I have been at your side this whole time, why would I go against you now? I swear I know not what Efe speaks about. He has always been mad!"

Efe demands, "Really Dominique, you are going to coward away now? We have made a deal. You said you would follow Susan until zhe proved too weak to lead anymore. Zhe is clearly given up and isn't plotting anymore. You swore it to me just few years ago. We will gain our path to glory. Eternal life and everlasting youth! We will be the rulers of the world! I have not told the others to stand down! We will fight our way through the Protectors!"

"No! No you mustn't! The barrier will be down any moment. Soon they will come and overwhelm us! They will bring you all to justice!" Susan pleads, "You just need to go now! What good will everlasting life and youth do you! You do not understand what it means to keep living past a hundred years at that. I have lived for hundreds of years and so has Dominique. We know the madness. We know the pain. You must understand Efe those things I promised you at the beginning were spoke from insanity."

Benet whispers, "Are we really trying to talk our way out of here?"

"Shh," Dominique snaps.

"Susan, Susan, Susan... Dominique is right. You put on a good show for everyone else. You might still have the Darkness within you. But look at you... You are undead. I did the ritual myself to bring you back. Flincher, of course, was there. But we brought you back as an undead thing. Look at you, Susan. You are a mere shadow yourself," Efe sighs, "Come on Dominique let's get this over with. You and I know zher weak point. Use it. We can rebind Benet and go through with our ritual. There may be some trouble with the Protectors, but hey... We will be able to do the ritual of everlasting life. After all, the skins of two undeads are needed to complete the jam."

Dominique peers down at Susan's shadow. It dances across the floor impatiently waiting for a move. Susan zherself looms over the two before zher. Zhe starts to frown at Dominique as she gingerly holds the Soul Cage in another hand. Dominique watches as Susan's shadow holds her shadow's hand. Dominique grabs the Soul Cage and points it to Efe. He drops to his knees and passes out as his soul gets sucked into the device. A new butterfly appears on top of the cage. Dominique closes the cage and repeats, "We have caught a lot of traitors in here my lord. We have had a lot of inside issues. Efe was one of the last few."

"Can we revive him later?" Benet swallows, "I mean you did it to me."

"Yes, as long as we do it before sunset. We will be fine. My lord, I will take Efe and the others out of here. Not much time has passed," Dominique nods, "My lord I truly want to stay at your side, but Efe..."

"Yes, please hurry. Take care of each other. Transport yourselves away," Susan says.

Dominique lifts up the wand from Efe's hand. She lifts up the body and quickly delivers the orders to flee from the hideout to the device in the study. Then in a blink Dominique is gone. So too are the other followers. Just in the moment the Magical Protectors are released into the manor house. Sounds of footsteps and running fill the silent house. Zhe walks over to the remains of Maxi. Susan sighs at the death of a long time friend, who zhe barely returned to. Susan mutters and rubs zher eyes, "Damn it, Efe. Oh poor Maxi..."

Zhe would have to make a grave for the hellhound later, if there were time for it. First, zhe needed to attend to the Magical Protectors and returning Benet. Zhe would then have to deal with the fall out of zher escape to save Benet. It would be zhe fault for any damages. Zhe also promised to burn the hideout. Oh well ... It contained what zhe needed to find evidence, the Magical Protectors could search the house. But would it be fair to the followers, would they learn from their mistakes and turn a new leaf? Would Susan have to send zher followers down zher own path? Would it be right to force them? What about the people who are owed justice? Did they have the same choices? Or did Susan lead them down this path? What of Maxi? Maxi had been an innocent forest guardian force into such a life.

Susan shutters. Zhe got off as much more evidence had not been gathered to prove zher guilt. Zhe stumbles slightly with zher cane. Zhe puts zher light jacket upon the hellhound. Susan then quietly extends zher hand out to the confused and dazed Benet. The ward on Benet calms down and the wizard blinks at a loss of what just happened. Susan asks, "Do you need a hand? You appear to have been mostly dead over the last few hours."

"No, no... I will be okay. I just have very weird feelings on what happened."

"Yea."

"Do you need help? It seems like your injury has returned," Benet points out.

"Please understand, Benet, I can manage just a bit more. The Magical Protectors are going to be pissed at me for allowing the others to flee. They will not be pleased I rushed here either... I might have to go back into prison for what I did," Susan sits down next to Maxi. Zhe does not want to face the long walk up the stairs now. Zhe can hear the footsteps coming. Susan sighs, "Go to them. . . They will want to attack me once they come here."

"Wait. . .Why didn't you want your followers to face the Magical Protectors? Why did you let them get away? Shouldn't we have stopped them? Or something?"

"They are ... I have been with them for a long time. I have been apart from them a very long time. I just... I was trying to get evidence. . . I-I don't know how to really explain. I just didn't want anyone to get hurt. Too many people have been hurt because of me in my life time. Go Benet... I will stay with Maxi."

"Susan ..."

"It is okay... Maxi was a very old dog. He did his job of guarding my room. It is what he did best," Susan pets his head lightly. The Magical Protector's voices grow closer.

Benet stops before speaking as he hears Nadir and Joseph calling his name. He pauses to watch Susan once more. Zhe quietly sits in reflect next to the large dog. Zhe watches as Benet rushes up the stairs to the others. Silently Susan musters more engery to touch Maxi. They sink into shadow. Susan lifts up with a soft touch onto zher shoulders. Susan creeps along the walls of the dark manor house back to the library. Zhe passes many different Magical Protectors searching the house. Zhe somberly scoops up Sundried Hope and returns to the outside of the house. The casting circles are empty of the map and the followers have followed commands. Susan drifts back into shadow to Flincher's grave.

Out in the protection of the willow trees, Susan appears out of the shadows to Flincher's small grave. Zher sees the dirt has been hastily pushed back onto it. Susan touches it softly as zhe beckons the shadows to dig for zher. It would be an action to bring the Magical Protectors in mere moments. But it would be enough to place Maxi next to Flincher. Susan finishes quickly as the shadows withdraw. Zhe puts Maxi into the grave next to Flincher's. Zhe sits down and waits. Sure enough someone comes shortly. The goblin therapist comes from the willow with a serious expression. Madam Stacy sits next to Susan, "So you have bought them to your stronghold to show them your evidence."

"Hmm."

"You managed to do it in a way where you considered no one really getting hurt, huh?"

Susan nods as the dig covers over Maxi. Zhe folds zher arms protectively in thought.

"Two animals are either hurt or dead because of the results of your choices."

"I know."

"No people are killed."

"I did not want to see any of the followers to get hurt. I did not want anyone to get hurt for that matter."

"I see... You realize, Susie, the Magical Protectors will be miffed at you escaping from custody to save Benet. I would assume that they will want to press charges for withholding evidence and such later."

"Yes, I know."

"You could fight them with a lawyer. You could argue no one would listen to you about the death of Benet and being framed. You could also tell them that the guards at the Department were going to harm you. Self defense would be a good case," Madam Stacy peers at the willow tree.

"It is not be that simple will it? I don't think the Magical Community will really accept me back... They pretend to accept my changes... They barely tolerant me as it is ... Madam Stacy there are a lot of people I have passed by or have spoken to me. They do not like me very much. The whole of reality is-"

"Susie, you know you did not choose your path for them. Others are you. You choose to change for your own shake. It may be that Flincher helped you to your realization. But you did not select to be different just because someone said it. The Community will do as it pleases. You must continue to forge ahead on your own path."

"Madam Stacy, they treat me as if I am still seeking to do harm to them! People in the Magical Community, I can see them easily in the Mundane world! They look away and tend to hide. I think everyone is trying to be polite about my release. The truth..." Susan peers at the two graves. Zhe sighs, "The Magic Community and everyone else, they hate me. They know the what I have done. I have seen them with their wands and felt their intents. One day they will give me the justice, revenge, or whatever punishment they do. I have seen their letters to Sunnydale, even if Lloyd gets rid of them. I have seen them hiding in the shadows. Yet I know that I deserve it... I have done so many things."

"Susie, we can work through it. We have worked on it all before," Madam Stacy shakes her head to someone far off, "Susie, it is true you did terrible things. It is true the truth of the crimes is hidden. You confessed only a degree. But you have proven you have reformed. We will keep working on your return to a civilian life style. We will figure out something."

"Hmm. . . Madam Stacy ... I don't think it will work again. Not after what happens here. Not after I let the others flee. I don't know if people will let me be in the world at large," Susan says. Zhe understands now from the winkle in Madam Stacy's eye, the Protectors are just politely waiting beyond the tree. Zhe feels zherself exhausted from all the activity of Black Magics and commanding. Zhe just wanted to finish zher filing for the night. Tomorrow is supposed to the practice dinner for the wedding. Zhe is supposed to have tea with Lloyd. Susan quietly swallows, "Do you think they will put me back on the Unforgiveable Doers again?"

"We will do everything we can to fight them back. Surely your probation will hold with the saving of Benet and the producing of evidence."

"I ..." Susan glances back at Flincher's and Maxi's graves. Zhe picks up zher head, "I hope our sessions will not be gone since I have acted as I have."

"No, Susie, we keep having them. It is a path we can take together," Madam Stacy nods.

Together they walk to the waiting troop of Magical Protectors. Madam Stacy and Susan would have much to sort out in the way of legal matters. Nadir, Joseph, and Ma Plum all rushed upon the Baines House to help with the kidnapping crisis. But with Benet safely released back to the Magical Protectors much had to be sorted out for all parties involved.