---

Rachel laid next to Nia on the roof of Cahira’s Dragon Turtle mansion, staring up at the bright, full moon with her little bunny girl; it felt right to take a step away from everyone and everything after what had happened to be there for the Living Denier.

The Lunar Hare did want to eat something, as was customary, then again, technically, she was eating under the bright, white globe, and her little bun needed her.  Nia was having a rough time being separated from her, and for the first time, she hadn’t been worn during a fight, which was huge for the sensitive clothing-turned-rabbit.

Listening to the rest of the crew as she held Nia’s hand, lunar-bathing next to her, she smirked at how animated things had gotten below. 

Scarlet had plenty of people pulling her attention to be concerned about what she was doing; for one, Nemesis and Mara were asking questions regarding their time in the Seventh Circle, and as much as the Vespertine Reaper didn’t like the pair, she enjoyed the attention.

Their newest additions were enthralled by the tale, Nemesis cursing that he hadn’t been able to test his strength against some of the people involved.

“Yeah, so the whole place kind of crumbled, and there were Demons and Devils the size of—of like skyscrapers—bigger!  There was this creepy eye dude that kept looking at me, too.”

“Eww…”  Mara mumbled.

“Grrag, I wanted to pay them back more for what they did to Mara.  How strong were they?”

“Dude!  They were the size of skyscrapers!  What more do you want me to say?”

Fiona, Selvaria, and Maria joined the conversation while aiding the Pirate Queen in her soup and bread dinner, that further helped to pull Scarlet’s focus away from the new Mythickin.

On the other hand, Ohan, Vasishtha, and their new Hydra friend were getting to know each other to not make the confused man feel out of place, and they weren’t alone; the children supported the effort by involving them in many of their games, which he seemed to enjoy.

From what Rachel had heard from Clay’s discussions with many State officials, all of the orphans—and there were many—had been accepted by a not insignificant number of supporters from the U.S. who pledged to adopt them.

It appeared to become a hot-button issue in the media, or so she’d parsed together, since there were people throwing shade at why these high-profile individuals wouldn’t adopt needy children around the U.S. that needed help, accusing them of doing it for a PR stunt.

Stunt or not, it was nice that these kids would have a place to go, at least in Rachel’s view; she could care less about the politics behind it since it didn’t concern her, and she had enough to think about it.

Time passed slowly, and Grace broke the news to everyone after getting Benedict, Izzy, and Edel on board; they’d be starting their own little Mythic group in Cuba, and they were getting ready to leave, which brought most of the gang together.

After leaving them, the crew came up to say goodbye to Nia and her.

Nia forced herself up to hug Grace.  “Do… you really have to go?  Maybe you could come and—and help like… remotely.”

The twins gave each other small smiles and giggled.

“It’s not that easy,” Grace chuckled.  “There’s a lot that needs to be done in person.”

“But… you're the Milk Girl,” Nia mumbled, breaking away.  “You’re the only one that doesn’t get mad at me for making fun of you… we laugh…”

Rachel wasn’t so sure Grace felt the same way, but it got the Legend to sigh and laugh, Benedict and the twins joining her.

“She’ll be back in a bit,” Ben assured, hovering over to hug Nia’s finger, which she thoroughly enjoyed seeing the little guy do.  “She’s just supporting us until we can get things organized.”

“Eh-heh, yeah… but it’s a lot,” Grace defended, and as could be expected, Nia pounced on his statement.

“Not long!  So, like two days?  I can wait that long!”

“No, hehe,” Izzy puffed out a long breath.  “Probably a while longer than that.”

“You’ll all come, right?  We can go shopping, and I can show you all the cool places in Miami!”

Rachel lifted an eyebrow.  “Do you know any good places in Miami?”

“Mom knows!  She’ll help us, and I’ll know when they get back,” Nia huffed, shooting her a light glare.  “You should know, too, but you’re too much of a muscle head!”

“I mean, I was going to tell you where some were,” Rachel shrugged, smirking eyes drifting to the side, “but I guess I’m just a muscle head.”

“Eh?!  You totally don’t even know!  When did you ever go shopping?”

“When I needed clothes?”

“Oh… eh, I guess that makes sense,” she mumbled, unable to come up with a rebuttal.  “Erm… but you’re not good at it!”

“Ouch, that hurt,” she said, putting on fake tears.

“Wha—no, I was joking, Rachel!  I’m not… you’re making fun of me again!”

“Hehe…”

“You’re so mean!  I thought I hurt your feelings…”

“Me?”

“I shouldn’t have been worried at all!  Fatass!”

The others burst into laughter.

“Been a bit since you’ve called me that,” she snickered.  “You’ll be fine.”

“Humph…”

Rachel’s ears tilted to the left, following Cahira as she sent orders to her gang to start preparing to return to the States, which her little bunny girl heard, tears forming in her eyes when realizing the four needed to go.

It made Rachel chuckle a tad; the girl had been ready to execute the Legend of Calamity Jane when they’d first met, and now she was shedding tears, but that was Nia.

She’d been in a delicate emotional state since Rachel woke up; it was the first time Nia had sustained so much damage that it physically affected her—showing just how powerful an attack was needed from Sir Robert to damage Revilla—Nia’s Demon Hide outfit had been practically destroyed to the base, requiring extensive restoration.

For the first time since putting her on, Rachel had been in a battle Nia wasn’t, and that was a big deal for the girl.  It wasn’t so much for Rachel, yet she had to remind herself that Nia was pretty young and carried with her parts of Scarlet’s personality; that self-image issue seemed to be deep.

Clouds moving around them as the giant Dragon Turtle swam through the heavens, Rachel donned Nia once her time limit ran out, knowing she’d feel more comfortable being worn.

She utilized the casual apparel, and Rachel assured the girl her mother would be all about taking her shopping again when they got back; the news boosted Nia’s mood.

The Living Denier’s focus jumped between topics, eventually settling on Fiona and Benedict, giggling as she asked if the Pixy liked the Fairy; it was undoubtedly something Nia would center on.

It was obvious to everyone Benedict liked Fiona, and perhaps there was a future for that, but right now, the Pixy had to overcome his own internal struggles by supporting his country.

The response got a huff from Nia, mirroring Scarlet’s answer that she was far too serious and practical when it came to things; Rachel couldn’t argue with that, but looking at the position she was in, could Nia blame her?

Nia pivoted to Isabel and Edelira, commenting about how the twins wanted to join them in the U.S. at first, so why did they choose to stay?

It was a complicated discussion; a lot had happened since the pair had joined them; many people they knew—family members included—had been slaughtered.  The world wasn’t the same, and Cuba's collapse would go down as one of the worst points in history—millions were killed in under a month—the horrors involved went far beyond physical.

As the night went on, Nia’s focus was pulled to Yseress as the Nephilim sensed Rachel wanting to ponder more serious topics; the woman had been warming up to them, which was a positive development.

With her mind her own again, thanks to everyone else giving her space, Rachel finally had time to look back on the results of their efforts in Cuba.

Glaring at the lunar sphere overhead, a shiver ran down her spine; without a doubt in her mind, there was someone else pulling the strings behind the scene—someone powerful—that had a vested interest in thwarting Revilla and the interdimensional entity’s own words were pinned in Rachel’s mind.

Revilla had far more of a visual scope of the board than anyone else, and when Izanami got involved, she didn’t blame the fallen creation deity…  She blamed Twilight.  Scarlet also said Twilight was laughing in her sleep…  I’m missing something.

The scattered dots in Rachel’s mind sought to connect, many little comments or actions spinning to find some kind of complete tapestry she could come away with, but it was like taking a giant puzzle and attempting to match pieces without the box art.

Our involvement was directly tied to Twilight’s manipulations, yet it should be impossible.  The only chance she should have been able to have any direct influence would have been during the Legend’s Quest, and things were already in the process of putting us on the board.

Fingers tightening against her belly while studying the twinkling firmament, she brought the dots into alignment, seeing each star above and putting a figure or event to them to better visualize her restless mind.

The result was taking Revilla out… the Camagüey calamity was a part of that ultimate plan, yet at the same time was used to bring her back?

Wolfgang was at its center, and it could be seen that he orchestrated the entire thing, considering his Soul Stone was the binding trigger that sealed the conflict between Revilla and the Hell Lords.

None of it would be possible without Yseress, and Wolfgang only barely managed to draw her out of Hell before we arrived in Camagüey; the sacrifices needed were not few, which shows how powerful the corrupted Nephilim is, and she was very important to Izanami, drawing the attention of a being that would typically have no involvement…  Not a coincidence.

It may have been the influence of the Hell Moon or her recent exposure to Hell itself, but Rachel’s mind was unnaturally fixated on the masterful manipulation executed; yes, Wolfgang was formidable and a very dangerous advocate for humanity, in his own unique way, yet she couldn’t see him plotting all of this.

Mars jumped out at her in the heavens; the red planet drew upon her thoughts as Venus shimmered within her broad field of vision, and the dots closed around one individual—the key piece revolving around everyone—the bitch of a Sorceress Mythickin herself, Relica.

Wolfgang, Armand, Asher, Adele, us…  Everything goes back to Relica…

Strings crossed and split apart, all surrounding the dead woman, and for a moment, Rachel entertained the idea it was all her plan; that line of thought was swiftly discarded.

Relica was clearly on Revilla’s side, and if she’d put Wolfgang on the path to make the Soul Stone to resurrect the woman, stopping Asher’s plot to summon Abraxas could have been handled without our involvement…

Revilla could very easily destroy anything Asher summoned, and not involving the U.S. or me would have been in Relica’s best interest, seeing as she was already terrified of me…  She had to be manipulated by Twilight…  Not a plant, or she would have betrayed Revilla when I was about to kill her, unless… she didn’t know she was placed in that position?

Sitting up to glare at the dark ocean they flew over, a lump dropped down Rachel’s throat.  There are only two possibilities that lead to the same scenario.

Yseress had been listening to her thoughts, multi-tasking while keeping the depressed bunny girl company, and whispered the conclusion Rachel had come to.

“Mmh…  Relica had her memory wiped and was made a pawn, or she was a part of it, is not dead, and either gave her life to the cause—unlikely, given her ego—or was wound up like a musical box and let go to dance to the tune…  I suspect the latter.”

An unnatural chill caressed her forearm as she looked into the dark clouds overtaking the night that would soon embrace them; following that melody back over the course of the month brought a single bone-shivering event to recollection.

Relica tried to take control of Scarlet, possibly utilizing some form of spiritual spell, and in the process… opened herself up to Twilight… The Red Sea.

Scarlet explained it was like being in the middle of a colossal storm… a raging crimson ocean around her, and she was pulled out of it, but she never saw what happened to Relica.

“Ominous, Mistress,” Yseress muttered.  “You believe Relica was taken into those waves instead of carried out, protected, as Scarlet was; we have all been puppets to this creature with Relica as the string?”

There’s no other explanation, and only one person seemed to have all the details in this venture… possibly a second.

“Wolfgang,” Yseress mused, “hmm-hmm, and the other… France.  You do not buy their Archangel reference?”

Pulling her knees up to lean against them and search the silent fog advancing toward them, Rachel steepled her fingers to rest her chin; cold, rational thought brought her mind to this conclusion, yet it wasn’t something necessarily that needed to be shared until she had more proof.

Cuba’s downfall was required to stop Revilla, an entity so powerful that she could bypass every Divine safeguard, and the only one with the oversight to see that happen would be Twilight, yet she would need someone on the ground to prompt things in the right direction.

We were pulled to Cuba through Relica when she specifically targeted me to inform us about the gathering criminal underworld in the country, going so far as to use Lunar Pride against me…  Twilight’s influence, no doubt in knowing how to draw me in.

I cannot believe Twilight would not take on a physical form outside of Scarlet if she were able, and it is probably a very tiny portion—it’s possibly not associated with the complete desires of Twilight herself—but a fragment that was able to escape…  We can’t know what her true purpose is.

Clearly, she’s willing to go as far as she did in Cuba without batting an eye to frustrate her rivals, and if France is also working with her, it show’s her political influence is far greater than my own.

The Nephilim chortled.  “As you confirmed when speaking to them, Saint Jeanne and Bernard weren’t lying, yet…”

Yeah…  Jeanne’s phrasing and how she centered on Wolfgang more than the Myth associated with her own country, such as what Bernard wanted to know…  She probably knew to some degree what would happen in Cuba but was kept out of the finer details, which showed in her reactions during my report to her.

“It is a stretch, Mistress.”

It is, but not by that far.

“What are you going to do about it?”

Nothing, for now… there’s nothing I can do, but if true, Twilight can reach Revilla whenever she wants.  Naturally, she’ll have a vested interest in Scarlet, which means we’ll see another attempt at manipulating our next move, and we need to be on the lookout for other sides coming into the picture.

“Hmm-hmm.  A dangerous game you play, Mistress.”

It depends.  We don’t know where Twilight truly aligns or if this version has different goals than her primary consciousness.

“Wise, and without fully understanding the process of Intellectual Constructs or Spiritual Constructs.  Would you like my opinion?”

Haha!  I don’t think I need to respond.

“Heh, I suppose not…  Be careful, Mistress.  An unconscious Intelligence that splits their consciousness is unpredictable; it could be closer to the Persona or Shadow, and of the two, there are numberless splinters of goals or desires that could influence her cause.  If she is gathering political powers, it is for a reason and for her own benefit.”

Vision narrowing as the mist closed in, Rachel puffing out a long stream of air.  I don’t doubt Twilight is in this for herself…  My only question is if it can be bridged with our own desires… or if we’ll eventually clash.

Chuckles fading, Yseress left her to stew.  “Only time will tell.”

Indeed…

Rachel focused on the high-altitude winds in the clouds they moved through, troubled thoughts returning to grandfather, Nora, and Anthony; at their pace, they’d be traveling all day to arrive in Florida, stopping off in Miami City to pick up Nora and Anthony since it was closer than Miami.

She only hoped nothing else had happened, but if her boyfriend was there, she was sure he would have handled the situation; still, she’d left her grandfather’s on March 3rd, Thursday, and she’d return at midnight, the 13th, and as she’d learned, a lot could happen in ten days.

Mulling over the information she’d puzzled out and narrowing down more connections—of which there were too many to be a coincidence—eventually, light broke, and she retired to bed; when she had more, she’d bring Scarlet into it but didn’t want to worry her as it stood.

Given the possibilities, it was a little harder to fall asleep, but she drifted into dreams after an hour.  Midnight drew closer, and Rachel awoke at 10 P.M.

Getting ready to meet her family, she showered and did the usual routine, yet as the Dragon Turtle neared the coastal city, one particular voice made Rachel’s ears twitch; it wasn’t just the tone but the context of the conversation she’d stumbled onto.

“Rachel?”  Scarlet asked from across the breakfast table, a blood bag falling from her lips.

Maria, Fiona, and Selvaria were present; Nemesis and Mara were still sleeping as everyone else was busy doing their own thing.

Selvaria put down her big chunk of fish that she’d personally gathered earlier that day.  “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.  Hmm-hmm.  What’s up?”

“Aye,” Maria groaned, leaning forward to help Fiona get another small pinch of sugar into her small bowel.  “Damn, don’t be tellin’ me someone’s goin’ crazy again the second we get back home.  We good?”

“Nora…”

Fiona’s spoonful of sugar instantly fell back to the pile.  “What about Nora—is my sister okay?”

“Umm…  Fiona, can you take us down?  I just need to make sure—”

She didn’t have to finish; a green aura surrounded the Fairy as she cast Levitation, picking Rachel.  “We’re close enough?”

“Can I come?”  Scarlet asked, getting to her feet as the Leviathan and Unicorn’s gaze drifted between speakers.  “I’d like to meet your grandpa.”

“Eh… yeah, sure, Scarlet, but, umm…  I need some time with Anthony.”

“Ooh…  Is it bad?”  she hissed, looking at the other girls.

Unable to articulate the discussion she was listening to, Rachel shook her head.  “I don’t know…  We’ll see.”

It didn’t take long for Fiona to have them out of the mansion and spinning under the Dragon Turtle to soar over Florida City; they flew for several kilometers to reach her grandfather’s estate, dropping into the open center of the house, where everyone was congregated.

Rachel’s gut tightened upon seeing the adorable little five-year-old girl sitting on the wooden steps to watch Anthony train Nora; she didn’t miss her bright white locks, glowing red eyes, and pointed ears.

 “Who’s she?”  Scarlet and Fiona asked in unison, looking between Rachel’s grandfather, Nora, Mason, Jessy, and Anthony.

“Fi!”  Nora called, jumping forward to greet her sister.

“Hey, Nora!  You look okay.  Everything good?”

“Eh…  Mmgm…”  Nora’s expression fell, vision turning to Anthony.  “Well…  A lot kind of happened.”

“Like?”

“Erm… I kind of—it’s hard to explain.”

Arms crossing across her small bust, Fiona’s lips tightened.  “Hmm…  Just tell me if you’re okay or not.”

“Oh, yeah!  Heh, I’m totally fine!  In fact, I’m like, super strong now; Anthony and I have been doing a lot of training!”

Rachel was firmly fixated on the smiling little girl as she rose and walked over to stand beside Anthony, drawing their attention—she’d heard Nora complain that her boyfriend wasn’t using the child as a weapon—her unnaturally sophisticated cute voice ringing against her agitated ears.

Scarlet stepped forward with a nervous smile, giving Rachel a look that wasn’t too reassuring; Twilight was probably growing restless in this entity’s presence.

“Umm, hello little girl—I didn’t know Anthony had a daughter—is that what you were, eh, ahem, never mind.  What’s your name?”  she asked, brushing her black locks behind her pointed ears and trying to give her a toothy smile.

“It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Rachel, Scarlet, Vessel of Twilight.  My name is Jaenona, and I am—”

“What?!”  Scarlet instantly took a step back, hands pressed against her breasts in shock.  “What do—I, eh…”

“Twilight?”  Fiona asked, having only heard Scarlet’s creepy song; her confused shimmering emerald eyes drifted between Rachel and her.  “Vessel of what, Scarlet?”

“Ahem,” Anthony interjected, a strained smile in place as he stole the spotlight and tried to take the focus off the fanged girl.  “Let’s put that away for now, er… I suppose you want to talk about… well, yeah…”

Fiona was utterly lost, Scarlet now more than likely wondering if she should pull her scythe on the innocent-looking white-haired child.

Rachel took a deep breath, Emotional Detachment activating to regulate uncertain and swirling emotions; it was worse than she thought.  “Mind… if we walk a bit?”

“Yeah, of course, and… would you mind if Jaenona joined us?  It might be better that way.”

Nia squealed upon seeing the girl’s bright smile, but Rachel could feel Yseress’ alarm bells like sirens in her mind that Nia wholly ignored in her excitement, colors flashing as the teen popped out to engage the entity in child-form.

“She’s adorable—so cute!”

“Rachel, why does she know…”

She held up a hand to stop the panicking girl, even if she wanted to demand the same, and Yseress was not helping to calm her nerves.  “It’s fine, Scarlet.  Why don’t you talk with Mason, Jessy, and Nora; see how things have been.”

“Yeah… okay?”

Nia plowed right through, excited beyond words at something Rachel couldn’t identify, but it was quickly revealed.

“Oh, hello, Anthony!  I’m Nia, Rachel’s clothes—so, so, Jaenona is like your version of me?!  I’m not the only one anymore!  You’re his weapon, Jaenona?  That’s so cool!  I can be a weapon, too—a whip—oh, but gah!  I’m kind of, eh, broken on that, but I’ll have it back soon!”

“Indeed,” she cheerily replied as Nia bent down to shake her small, extended hand and study her outfit.  “I am a part of Anthony’s soul… mmh, similar to how you are, Nia.”

“Woah, what?”  Fiona and Scarlet muttered, seeing Nora’s unphased nods.

Yseress was a mess inside Rachel’s mind, recoiling at the small child’s studious and unguarded stare.  “She sees me, Mistress…  This entity is… very, very dangerous.  We cannot win—we cannot stay.  She will consume you—us all, if she is released—I have heard tales of such creatures…”

Calm down a little, Yseress.

“You do NOT understand the…  Huu, haaa…  She is beyond Lady Izanami—weakened, but I cannot fathom the smallest sliver of the horror beneath that skin…”

What are you sensing from her?

“It isn’t just her—Anthony is the same…  He is no longer human—at all—if he is the same person, to begin with, and the thing you call Nora is… worse!”

A shiver nearly breaking out of her viced emotions, Rachel’s short pause drew uneasy looks from everyone, Jessy nervously looking at Mason and her grandfather, yet her narrowed vision didn’t leave the nervous disguised nightmare.

Pointed stare shifting to the Legend, keeping Jaenona in vision, she asked, “Are you Anthony?”

Her grandfather rose to his feet—she didn’t miss the damage to his forehead—something regarding the eldritch had happened since they’d been gone, and this little girl was at its center.

“Haaa…  Calm yourself, Rachel.  He is Anthony; I can vouch for it.  A private talk would be advised.”

“Fiona,” Rachel said, remaining skeptical.  “Scarlet.”

“Yes?”

“Mhm?”

“Watch them… carefully.  Jaenona is an eldritch entity, and—I don’t know what happened, but be careful.  Yseress says Nora has changed.”

“Nora?”

“Woah!  C’mon, Rachel,” Nora hissed, putting her hands on her hips as her ears pulled back.  “I’m still—Fi, I’m still Nora!  Grarrgm,” her cat-like rumble drew eyes.  “I’m me, Fi!  Don’t push me away again…”

“I’m not, Nora—no, it’s just… we’ve dealt with a lot of, eh, bad stuff, and I just want to be sure…  Talk?”

“Yes!”

“Nia!  Leave—do not touch it—no, you… mgmm… Are you trying to destroy us?  She is an abomination!”

“Why?”  Nia cried, eyes tearing up a bit.  “I think it’s cool we’re kind of the same…”

Just hold yourself back a bit, Nia…  We need to know what happened.

“Okay…  I still like her, and she dresses soooo cute!”

Anthony forced a chuckle at the cheetah girl’s exasperation, catching the bunny teenager’s gaze as Yseress shouted at the girl to get away from Jaenona.  “Nia, huh?  Ah… Is that a—no, we can talk about it in a second,” he muttered, scratching the back of his head.  “Yeah, let’s go.”

Mason cleared his throat.  “Yo, Cuz, he’s cool.  Okay?”

“Yeah…”

Cautiously exiting with Anthony through the front, Nia and Jaenona bringing up the rear as the girl animatedly asked questions without a concern, Rachel flexed her fingers.  “So… the eldritch stuff returned?”

“Yeah, umm…  It’s a long story, but heh, it seems you have your own, huh?  A corrupted Divine Nephilim that connects you to Hell, huh?  Wow… so, you can have horns and stuff?”

How would he know all that?

“Divine?  Why would he claim I am Divine when I am half Angel and Devil—a Nephilim?”

Is that the critical part?

“Yes, it is quite the distinction; Divine and Angels are the same by no stretch of the imagination.  I do not trust this… thing.  Be careful, Mistress.”

“I don’t care… she’s still super cute.”

“Think!  I do not want to see you eaten!”

“Big Sis… why are you being mean to her?”

Ignoring the pair, Nia clearly not fully listening to the Nephilim; Rachel wondered if it was the girl’s fault or if she was enamored by some kind of ability.  “Did Jaenona tell you that?”

“Mmh…  Yeah, she is… well, you could call her an eldritch goddess, I suppose.  It isn’t quite the same distinction, but she is far weaker after giving her life to help us escape the Red Sea.”

“The Red Sea?”  Ears standing on end at the mention, Rachel was fully invested; no one but Scarlet, Maria, and Fiona knew that phrase in their group.  “Tell me the story…”

---