After returning a still unconscious Tulip to the Pink Room, and getting out of my combat gear, I found Elizabeth again. In front of the school, paramedics looking her over. She was not happy about it.

"I'm fine the Magical Girl healed me!"

"Look, please stay still, there was a lot of blood where we found you, we need to find the wound."

"No, the Magical Girl saved my life already!"

"What the hell is happening over there?" Jeramy asked as he came up from behind.

"The poor paramedic lady is trying to do her job and Liz is give her a hard time."

"Right, makes sense, she never did like doctors." He let out a deep breath and faced me. "Where did you go?"

No point lying. "I went to go find her." I pointed toward Elizabeth. 

"So why couldn't I come too!?" He grabbed my shirt and pulled me in. "You're not her only friend you know!"

Ok, so I pissed him off. Didn't intend on that. "Look I don't know what to tell you, man. I'm sorry." Seriously what do I tell him?

"Sorry I just didn't want you getting shot!"

"Well, you could have been shot too!"

"Good point but... Well, you see I'm the Magical Girl!"

And then he hits me. "Are you making fun of me!?"

"Yeah, whatever." He let go of my shirt, and began walking toward the Ambulance and Elizabeth.

Not before Elizabeth got to us first. "You two are not going to believe what happened to me!"

"Wait! hold on we weren't done treating you!" Yelled the poor paramedic. Whom Elizabeth ignored.

Jeramy sighed. "Alright, I'll bite what happened?" 

"The Magical Girl saved me!" 

"Were you in trouble?"

She took a deep breath and began a breathless rant "Oh yeah! there was this bad guy and he was all like BANG BANG BANG BANG shooting up his buddies he had me by the throat and I was all like gagk cuz I couldn't breathe and..."

"Why are you excited about dying!?"

Despite Jeramy's interruption, she didn't pause. "Then she showed up and she was all like FREEZE EVIL DOER..."

I never said that! "I'm with him maybe you shouldn't dwell on it." Seriously please stop.

Elizabeth kept on talking. "And he was like NEVER and then they shot each other but the bad guy didn't die so he cut my throat and I was all like NO I'M GOING TO DIE but then the magical girl used her magic of love and friendship to heal me!" The hyper redhead was panting as if she had just sprinted a marathon. 

"What about any of that was amazing to you!" Jeramy shouted a look of horror on his face. "You realize you almost died right!"

"But I was saved! Isn't that so cool!" And here I thought she might be traumatized. Nope, just fangirly. Still should keep an eye on her though she went through a lot for someone her age.

"Hey, Lily back me up here! Being almost killed is not cool!" Jeramy broke me away from my train of thought. "Tell her!"

"No I was saved and it was cool! Tell him that it is cool! Very very very cool!"

I sided with Jeramy, to Elizabeth's disappointment. 

Time passed, little by little children were sent home with there parents. Jeramy's mother was contacted, she arrived to pick up both her son and Elizabeth.

"Hey!" A voice called out to me. I turned to see none other than Little Brother, beckoning me over. I didn't have anyone better to hang with so why not. Making my way to him passed other children who had yet to go home and cops still on the job. I found him on a bench just outside the demolished main entrance. "You doing ok?" He asked after I planted my butt down beside him.

I shrugged "As good as I can be." 

"They took you out with all those other kids. Right? What happened?"

"Hostage video."

"Oh, cool." Cool? Not very good at small talk is he?

"Yeah, it was the best! I'm gonna have talent scouts calling me up for weeks," I said with much sarcasm. 

"Alright sorry, I asked." He said defensively.

"Your big sister gets hauled off by goons and all you can say is. Oh, that's cool," 

"I said Sorry!" He paused as if a light had flicked on in his head. "And what do mean by "big sister." You're younger than me."

"Say's you." 

"Oh, really? So just how are you older than me?"

"If you must know, I am actually a 37-year-old man who was zapped by an overzealous pixie, and now to regain my man/adulthood I now must battle the forces of evil."

He looked at me how I expected. Like I had worms squirming out of my nose. "You are really weird you know that?"

"Well, if the truth isn't good enough for you. Then there is nothing I can do."

We sat in awkward silence for a moment. Inpatients made me break that silence. "Who's coming for us, do you know?"

"Dad is."

"Not Pinkzilla?"

"Pinkwhat?"

I facepalmed. "I can't believe I just said her nickname out loud."

"You seriously have been calling Mom Pinkzilla behind her back?"

"Yeah..." I answered nervously shifting my eyes away from him.

"That's hilarious."

"Please don't tell her."

"Oh, I won't."

"Thanks."

"Yep."

Awwww, we had a bonding moment. Back to awkward silence. 

Lethal Weapon showed up minutes later. Running toward us after getting out of the car. "Hey you two, I'm glad you're ok, also sorry I couldn't get here sooner."

"I get it, you were talking Mom out of coming right? Little Brother asked.

"Well yeah, you know you she drives when she gets emotional. I don't need you two dead after surviving this." So Pinkzilla gets road rage? Or something similar? Good to know. "I just want to let you both know how proud of you I am, but you." He pointed at me. "Are the talk of the precinct."

"What?" Me and Little brother said at once.

"They were live streaming that you know." No, I didn't know I even let him know this by slowly shaking my head. "Well, I admit when I saw you on the screen I was practically biting my nails off, but what you said and the way you said it, broke all tension in the office. Let me tell you it was hard to stop laughing so we could get back to work."

Little Brother was curious. "Wait, what she did say?" 

"Lethal Weapon scratched his head. "It's probably best to see the video your self. Seriously some things are very funnier that way."

Not satisfied with that answer he looked over at me. "What did you say?"

"I just said what they wanted to." 

He wasn't satisfied with that answer either and persisted all the way back the Dixon Home. Where a frantic and relieved Pinkzilla awaited. "Oh, my babies!" She pulled me and Little Brother into a group bear hug.

Oh god, why hugs? Why did it have to be hugs!? Of course, it was hugs her two pride and joys were just held at gunpoint and came back alive. I tolerated it as best I could.

Also, it might have been just my imagination, but I thought I heard little brother's spine make craking noises. 

"Mom I can't breathe." Little Brother pleaded with his mother.

Little Brother and I managed to pull our way out of it somehow and assured her again, and again that we were ok. 

Now that is finally over. Maybe Tulip is finally awake. I left her on my pillow so that's where I looked first. She was still there, awake and sitting up despite how tiered she still looked. "Don't say it, I know, I look like shit."

I put on my best innocent face. "I wasn't going to that."

"Hmm." I don't think she believed me.

To business. "What happened you said you were attacked?"

"Yeah," She held her head as she tried remembering the details. "I was following you then some black cloud came out of the vents."

"Black cloud?" 

"I'm not sure what it was." She paused. "I um, think I need to go home."

"Home? What do you mean home?"

"I sorry. I'm not leaving you. I need to talk to some of the elder's maybe source a few books." 

"Right, ok I get it."

"After I get some rest though." She then looked at me with a combination of desperation and embarrassment. "Can you help me get into my house? I don't have the strength to fly just yet."

"Right no problem." After Tulip was safe and sound in her home. I thought about today's events. From a guy answering a question that he should have thought was asked by someone else. To Tulip's gaseous assailant. Nothing made sense, and it gave me a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach.