Ace returned to Levi’s yacht, reality conflicting with his deeply held beliefs that he could do whatever he wanted and have it work out perfectly fine, as it always did.

He landed into the bedroom upstairs, plopped onto the bed, and grumbled to himself in the dark.

Everyone got along with him!

Everyone!

Amy was a singular person, an anomaly, who was out to get him and had no legitimate reasons for disliking his recent behavior, such as dating a married man, using a woman as a replacement wife, and not being that good of a pet owner.

She had infected Sierra, that was it!

He and Ronnie got along perfectly fine!

Even after he took advantage of Ronnie’s renewed feelings for him and slept with him for over a month, letting him fill his warm and wet places.

Ace chuckled to himself softly the words armpits are warm and wet, and immediately, just like Nero, any chance of self-reflection was lost.

There was no need for self-reflection after all because he was a good person. He was a hero after all! He had a job— saving people, and even owned a fancy magical object, blessed by the gods.

That alone is proof!

His new warden best friend, Invictus was telling him he was right, they were both sure of it!

“ I’m glad you left her. I never liked her,” Invictus said. “ She always wanted you to do boring stuff!”

“I know,” Ace mumbled to himself, in the dark, crazy, under the spell of an angry but well-meaning god.

“ Don’t let anyone tell you you’re wrong because it makes you upset,” Invictus suggested.

“Mmm, yes,” Ace mumbled. “ Yes.”

“ We should also kill Fenton.”

“ What?”

“Joking.”

Ace knew it wasn’t a joke, Invictus knew that he knew it wasn’t a joke but both decided to do nothing about it.

They laid there together, yes-men-ing each other until the lights turned on and Levi stormed in, furious and enraged. Ace was more upset about the sudden lights being turned on than Levi being angry because it was an often occurrence.

He grabbed Ace by the shoulders, and then he suddenly brought him in, confusing Ace once again if he was angry, happy, hungry, or flirting.

“Don’t do that again,” Levi whispered.

“I won’t,” Ace sighed.

He wrapped his arms around him, and Ace told Levi that he would no longer be seeing Sierra, which he did not try very hard to hide his enthusiasm about. He also hoped he wouldn’t be so close to Ronnie any longer but decided that they could argue another day.

Tonight they needed to survive.

“I canceled the party but we still need to find a way to leave. I need your help,” Levi said.

Levi expected Ace to put up another fight but he finally relented.

“I’ll help. I mean...lying here in the dark I felt pretty powerful but now with the lights on I feel like an idiot. I can’t win against the strongest person in the eighth realm,” Ace said.

“Duh,” Levi grunted.

Ace shot him a dirty look while Levi explained his ridiculous scheme.

As instructed, Ace teleported them to the mega-yacht Levi had borrowed, or more likely stolen since one of his uncles was too old to notice that someone else was regularly using it. A few lights were on in several parts of the deck and heat emanated from the ship and melted the snow that landed on the pier.

It was a massive boat and looked more akin to a sea liner than something one would use on the weekends.

“Are you really broke,” Ace asked.

“Yeah. It’s really hard for me.”

There was a platform that extended out from the deck where passengers could simply walk out from the dock, but it was dark and hard to see, so Ace kept slipping, Levi kept laughing, all caution was thrown to the wind.

Ace was late, as he always was, and it was already five minutes after midnight.

When they finally arrived inside, they easily became lost.

There were four decks above, and two decks below, and all Levi remembered was that they had to get to the dining room, but there were so many rooms, he kept turning in place, feeling a bit dizzy and overwhelmed.

The floor was hardwood, and when they walked through the halls, the little squeaks of Ace’s shoes could be heard, and it smelled like it was just polished. Soft music could be heard coming from the lower deck, and they descended downstairs, into the dining room.

Everyone grinned once they arrived, happy that he had arrived at his usual expected time, ten minutes between twenty late, and everything would go as planned.

They were disappointed to learn that Levi wasn’t joking when he said the party was canceled.

They all were covered up in sweaters, hoodies, and jackets, the unexpected cold a surprise to them all. Johnny, the hairy man, wore shorts and a t-shirt with flip-flops, the sort of person to do it all year because he was one of those people.

During the entire setup of the party, Johnny complained that it was not a good idea to have astrals on a boat, a closed space, during a dangerous event. Astrals were all quick to anger, sometimes hypersexual, and would make decisions without thinking rationally.

He sat between Harmonia and Tetsuya at one of the booths in the expansive dining room, and he once again asked a very important question.

“Am I the only one that takes my medication?”

“What medication,” Ace asked.

“The mood stabilizers! We’re supposed to take them because if there's too many of us together we get all weird,” Johnny replied. “Something about pheromones or something!?”

“I never take them, they make my powers weaker,” Amy grumbled.

“Same here,” Kyle agreed.

“I mean...they make it harder to stop getting bigger when I use my ability, but I like not acting crazy,” Johnny argued. “Don’t you find it hard to get anything done, always getting all weird?”

All of Team 57 disagreed, then they started to argue with each other, some of them more concerned about hooking up at the party and acted without thinking, proving him right.

Levi took the chance to execute his master plan . He quickly grabbed Ace, pulled him to the side, and said he had to talk to him in private.

While everyone was arguing over something that made no sense for the nth time, Levi brought Ace into a large closet, flipped the switch, and shut the door.

“I’m kind of into this quick stuff but don’t you think this is a little much,” Ace mumbled.

“I’m not here to make out,” Levi groaned.

“Oh,” Ace said, trying to hide his disappointment.

They spoke quickly, working out the minor details of their plan. It wasn’t a very good one, but Ace didn’t have one either. Levi also stressed the importance of getting the key before his father left, so time was of the essence.

“I don’t think this will work.”

“We don’t have a choice. It’s either we steal the key or we fortify this stupid yacht. We can’t bring the entire town onto this thing!”

Ace nodded glumly, but Levi gave him a giant bear hug, and after more assurances and telling each other that nothing can stop us, everyone was wrong, they were ready to go.

In the blink of an eye, they disappeared, without telling anyone where they were going.

Everyone saw them walk into the closet to have a quick conversation, but it was now roughly five minutes, and the unspoken words between everyone, and Amy’s accusation from earlier made it seem scandalous.

The next visitors didn’t help either.

People soon streamed onboard because Harmonia never told her followers that the party was canceled because she thought Levi was joking. They would all be crammed together, fighting amongst each other during the entire Night of Sin.

One of the first guests was Mary Jane, Annie, and Julia. They were all packed up and ready to go, wearing the thickest clothes they could find at the last minute, layering three t-shirts over their bikinis and putting on shorts.

The small blonde missile that was Mary Jane found her first target, Fenton, and honed in. He could see her, coming fast, his heart rate pacing, her heels clicking, announcing her arrival before she made a sound.

He told himself, he didn’t do anything, why should he be afraid?

Yet he was.

“Hey, where’s Levi? We have to go, like now. Everyone needs to get off this boat, now, ” Mary Jane said.

“He’s in the closet with Ace,” Fenton replied.

The moment the words came out of his mouth, he realized how bad it sounded. Amy, a few feet away, heard the words and started laughing loudly, holding onto the edge of her chair, enjoying every second of Fenton’s misery.

“This is serious. My father-in-law told me I have to leave! Where is he? ”

“He...is in the closet...with Ace…”

“Yeah, he is. I saw them go inside,” Kyle agreed.

Mary Jane pulled out a chair at the table where Fenton was sitting and decided right then and there to have a quarter-life crisis. She laid her head on the table and cried. Fenton didn’t know what to do, or what to say, he just looked at her and gently rubbed her hand until her friends arrived, able to handle the situation better than him.

Julia and Annie had heard about where Levi and Ace went, and now a misunderstanding had turned into something grotesque. The three women made various speculations about what they were doing, egging each other to open the door, none mentally prepared to see something that wasn’t happening.

Amy, completely vindictive, decided to join in, fanning the flames, and everyone was so caught up in the torrid affair that once again they were more interested in drama than doing their jobs, as always.

The yacht set sail from the dock, off into the upper part of Florentine beach, closest to the Union Base, because Levi knew there were several shields there, and planned the route to stop there accordingly so there would be some form of defense during the attack just in case .

By the time the yacht left the harbor, someone had set a timer, and it had been an entire hour inside the closet.

More and more people had already arrived at the party, teleporting in, flying in, jumping on at various stops. Word had spread about the moral downfall of Leviathan A. Slater from Amy, and the party was now a circus.

Bets were placed. Drinks were passed, theories were thrown back and forth, and soon, the rumors and truths became twisted again and again, until nothing made any sense.

Johnny, watching all of it, leaned in close to Tetsuya and whispered, I told you so.

Loud thumps could be heard from the closet, the crowd gasped, and Mary Jane made her way to the front, ready to make good on her promise of tearing Ace’s scalp off with her bare hands.

More loud noises could be heard, various closet items spilling to the ground, as Ace made a horrible return trip. Something hard hit Levi repeatedly, loud thumps echoing out, and the entire dining room went quiet.

“Oh my god,” Levi shouted. “That hurts!”

“Just rub the spot, that’s what I always do,” Ace replied.

No one dared to say anything, and the closet door thumped, as more objects were pushed aside, and everyone in the room gave each other furtive glances.

“It’s stuck,” Ace groaned.

“Just pull it out, it won’t hurt that bad,” Levi replied.

“Oh my god they’re so shameless,” Annie whispered.

They were referring to a broom handle that was wedged between several items, and Ace didn’t want to pull it out, afraid to cause another avalanche of items on their heads.

After several more items falling, more grunts, the closet door items fell and several spilled out. Levi and Ace were greeted by several faces they knew and didn’t, many of them in disgust, curiosity, and a few arousal.

Ace’s shirt was missing, covered in dirt, and he smelled like mud. Levi himself had his hair a mess, was missing a shoe, and had a bruise on his cheek. Levi’s aunts did not take kindly to the attempted theft of their one-way ticket out.

Ace found it strange karma that two of Levi’s aunts had the same abilities as Mary Jane and worried that it was the universe playing a weird joke on him.

The music was still playing, yet there was still an awkward silence, and the longer the silence continued, the more the angry glares turned from Levi to Ace, their rainbow-colored eyes lighting up, a terrifying disco show.

“I got the key,” Ace said meekly, holding it up.

It glowed bright, shining a soft white and gold light, and everyone quickly looked at it, and then turned their attention back to him.

Someone threw a cup, but Invictus popped out of thin air, causing the entire room to momentarily light up in another flash of rainbow colors. His shield deflected it, and then another was thrown, and then another, and now a puddle of alcohol, soda, and fruit punch was at their feet.

“What is wrong with you people,” Levi asked.

“You’re disgusting,” yelled a woman from the crowd. “We all know what you did!”

Loud cheers of approval came from the crowd, and Ace was ready to tear his skin off, use it like a kite, and fly away.

“I heard everything in there,” Mary Jane screamed.

“We were in there for a few minutes,” Levi replied.

“Liar!”

“I’m not lying.”

He wasn’t, but no one believed, but that didn’t matter anymore. The mob mentality was in full view. The drunks were more than excited to do something, anything, and since the clock struck midnight, it meant that it was The Night of Sin.

Time to get sleazy.

Ace saw the writing on the wall and decided to be a martyr. He knew he could make it on his own but Levi couldn’t, from his obvious lack of knowledge of what a budget was.

He also wanted to prove that he was a good person.

Sacrificing yourself was what heroes do!

“It was all me. I did it. Don’t blame him,” Ace said.

Boos and jeers came from the crowd, and Ace nodded, taking the punishment.

“I deserve it. What we did was wrong. But that doesn’t mean you should be against us,” Ace shouted.

“Yes we should,” a man from the crowd shouted. “You two being together is unnatural!”

“You’re a homophobe!”

“No, we’re not! You’re a traitor to our kind ,” Julia screamed.

Mary Jane pursed her lips and suddenly she realized that it wasn’t about her and her marital issues, it never was. It was a springboard for them to voice whatever crazy idea from the mountaintops.

“What the hell are these people talking about,” Ace whispered to Levi.

“I have no idea.”

“Look at his ears! He’s one of those cannibals, ” a woman said.

Gasps came from the crowd, more boos and various insults were hurled now explicitly for another reason entirely.

“Hey. Hey, how about we hate them for the right reason,” Mary Jane said.

They ignored her.

 Upon another glance over at Levi and Ace, she saw that the two of them were bruised, covered in dirt, and looked exhausted. There could be no way possible they would be doing something-or-other in the closet if they came out looking like that. Her anger turned into confusion and mild concern.

“Everyone knows inter-species marriage leads to things like incest ,” said one man.

“Look at his eyes. You can tell he wants to tear us all apart,” another said, pointing at Ace.

Ace sneezed, his eyes flashed black, everyone screamed, and the panic was now comical.

“Imagine what children will look like if people like them are allowed to be with us, ” someone said.

People nodded their heads, all bobbleheads, agreeing with each other, clapping along, yes this was the natural order, it’s how things should be. They were too stupid, extremely stupid, forgetting that most  Earthian astrals were distant descendants of Ionadians, their racism denser than a rock.

“It’s time to teach people like him a lesson,” Julia shouted. “We killed all of them once, and we’ll do it again!”

Another person made their complaints known.

It was the key, Glitza.

PUT ME DOWN, YOU COCK-SUCKING BORN LIAR.

Ace pursed his lips, clutched the key tighter while he was verbally assaulted internally and externally.

LIFE IS SHORT, AND SO IS YOUR PENIS.

Ace didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at the absurdity of it all.

STUPID SLATER TRAITOR.

FILTHY TRAITOR.

Ace became more visibly uncomfortable with all the insults, for some reason focused on male genitalia.

Loud cheers in unison came out, more flashes of rainbow eyes came about, and a fight was ready to break out. They were all emboldened, no one believed they could lose against two people, it was a numbers game and they already won.

All of Team 57 were frightened, sitting nearby, in shock, ignorant to how everyone around them was so... different in their world views. They knew  Ace was a foreigner but didn't think anything of it. Team 57 cared more about his actions than strange superstitions about where he was from. But that did not matter to the ignorant and angry.

A familiar face in the crowd, not one to lose an opportunity for his own revenge, said his piece.

Long ago, threatened by Levi and his violent threats, John had left for a different team when given the chance and never looked back. He came to the party to have a chance to see his old teammates.

He wouldn’t pass up a chance on roasting Levi in public.

“I’m not surprised that Levi is a traitor,” John said. “He threatened me, that’s why I switched teams. He’s worse than those blood drinkers. Let’s drink their blood.”

“It’s time to go,” Ace laughed nervously.

There would be nowhere to go because it was too late.

A bright flash went off and everyone looked out the windows towards the city. Ace started to shake, and he grabbed onto Levi’s shoulder, recognizing the flash from years ago.

“It's a bomb," he yelled.

Everyone screamed, and a stampede happened, and Levi wondered why it would be a good idea to put people in the middle of the ocean during an invasion.

It was a bad day when Johnny was right.

The light only got brighter and brighter as they watched in despair as half of the town evaporated. They covered their eyes from the blinding light as a loud boom echoed through the sky and a large cloud of smoke and ash went upwards.

They all screamed as a sudden force pushed them all into the walls of the ship, breaking the windows and tearing off parts of the deck. The ocean waves rippled and shook the boat as they all clung to various pieces of furniture and deck so they wouldn’t go flying into the sea.

Many were unlucky, shards of glass cut through their heads, lacerating their faces and arms. A few were blown right out the large windows, flown out into the sea, never to be seen again.

One person was twisted in the middle of his abdomen, his tongue hanging out of his mouth, legs twitching, everyone unsure if he was dead or if moving him would kill him.

Scared and uncertain, they all helped each other to their feet, waiting for the next one.

It never came.

After they stood around wondering what to do, all their phones went off with a loud, piercing tone. The screen flashed red, and the words Invasion Imminent, Seek Shelter, were in giant bold letters. Sirens filled the air and smoke billowed out over where the bomb had landed.

They ran up to the decks, pushing over each other, it was impossible to not leave fast enough. Once outside, no one wanted to leave.

They gazed up into the sky and Ace saw another familiar sight.

Ships soaring through the sky marred the beautiful skyline. Their black exterior and emblem were unmistakable to even the untrained eye. Bright lights coming out of the ships only seemed brighter against the night sky.

Long black beams pulsed onto the city, destroying whatever they could find. Screams could be heard in the distance as people watched the destruction unfold, and what little that was left of Atlaan after Nero’s rampage would not be spared.

An unfamiliar sight was seen as well.

A large orb, red, swirling, slowly fell into the sky out of the main ship, leading the others.

Made of liquid, slowly turning, mixing, hovering in place above the city, all the astrals in town knew what it was, because it made their mouths water, it was their favorite snack.

Iron-filled, plenty of nutrients.

It was blood.

The Regal Empire had come back, just as Kerkylas had predicted.

A ball of blood hovered, in the distance, over the skyline, slowly dripping over buildings, and they all watched, eyes twitching, noses flaring, pretending that they weren’t blood-drinkers themselves, that it was better because they only preferred eating meat.

“Ace, where’s the key,” Levi asked.

Ace looked at his empty hands.

He looked at Levi.

Levi looked at his hands.

“He said he didn’t want to work for...a filthy Slater traitor....”

Ace's vision went blurry and he slumped to the ground.

The last thing he saw was Levi shouting, but the sound never reaching him.