Sally narrowed her eyes at the dark woods to the side. There was nothing that overly gave away an imminent threat. With an eyebrow raised to the impassive dryad, she licked her lips. “Any more details you can provide?”

Fern nodded slowly. “The trees there are not happy.”

“Okay.” She blinked. “Are you communicating with them, or is it like a vibe check?”

“The trees are not able to speak or think like you and I,” the dryad hissed a dry laugh. “They produce signals in reaction to stimuli. At best, I can gather the forces drawing near are ten to fifteen minutes away, and number between four and twenty.”

Chuck grimaced. “That’s a wide range.”

Sally sighed as Fern just shrugged in response. She considered asking the druid to talk to the trees as well, but he would have already if that was something he was capable of. “Thanks, Fern.” She turned and rubbed at her eyes. Corrupt Players or Reds made the most sense, and they were timing their arrival for when the gang would be busy with the next Invasion. They had gotten here a lot quicker than expected.

“I know you’re going to say no, but…” Theo stood beside her and grinned.

She scowled at him. “You dare? How could you suggest that when you don’t know if it works?”

He pouted like a scolded puppy.

“Ugh, fine!” She grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him in for a kiss, then pulled a face as they parted. “Blegh, I forgot how disgusting that is. We’ll fix that in post.” Sighing, she let go of him. “If you die for real again, I’m not bringing your useless ass back.”

“You will.” He grinned. “This isn’t just me getting itchy feet. You’ll have to believe in the me that believes I’ll come back.”

“I don’t want to hear it.” She waved him off. “Died so many times and still full of hubris. Go now, before I change my mind.”

Theo nodded, and with hands in pockets, he turned to stroll toward the woods. The mood in the camp was closer to Sally’s thoughts, and Humphrey especially had his eye sockets narrowed at the vampire.

He stopped after passing Edward. Into his hand popped his Demonkiller sword, which he placed into the soft mud. “I know what you asked Sally,” Theo said in a hushed tone, before carrying on into the woods.

Edward blinked slowly, his blue eyes looking down at the placed blade, but otherwise remaining statuesque.

Sally clicked her fingers once Theo was out of view. “I’m actually just mad because I’m jealous. Standing around defending is boring as heck.”

Norah wiped some dirt from her hands. “You want us to go take the fight to those in the woods, hun?”

The zombie rolled her tongue around in her mouth. Tough question. She shook her head. “Let Theo have his fun. Either he kills them, or we get some better intel on who they are.”

“Or he dies again,” Humphrey said, shaking his head.

“Ah.” Sally grinned. “How likely do you think that really is?”

The Death Knight shrugged. “Fifty-fifty.”

While he was technically correct, she didn’t believe it was close to that dire. The times that the vampire had died were always oddities rather than him biting off more than his fangs could chew. Selecting an undead class while he was still human was an easy mistake to make and partly the System's fault. Being held somewhere outside the normal world by Archie was hardly a proper death, even if he did get reset. The fight with Humphrey only went that way because he allowed himself to be sloppy and not hurt the tin can.

It was mostly the question of how far he was willing to believe that the blood had taken effect. He certainly recovered health quicker than usual, even being outside the Party. Theo had even been convinced that he had set her as his respawn point… but did that meant the process would succeed? He wanted to find out, and she was sure they’d all know in short order.

With a shrug, she focused on what she could get stuck into. “Jackie, move the coach around so you have an angle on both the gates and that side of the woods.”

“Sure thing, boss.” The mobster crouched down at the edge of the roof. “Hey, Chucky, I need your plant magic up here once I’m all situated.”

Sally drummed her fingers on her staff. Something felt off. Maybe it was the next Invasion preparing to darken their already gloomy doorstep. The brains she ate might have not settled well. She cast an eye over to the handful of zombie barbarians. It could just be the fact that Theo was off having fun and she had to stay put.

She turned to see the vampire’s sword in the ground beside Edward. The demon was deep in thought, which she felt was an invitation for her to go and interrupt.

“Hey Ed,” she sauntered over to him, and he startled from whatever was on his mind. “Feeling bored guarding the back?”

“Ah, no.” He gave a sheepish smile. “In truth, I wouldn’t be here if I could help it. Theo is obviously a proper Outsider.”

“Nonsense, you paid your dues. You might not be part of the main team, but you’re still one of us. We couldn’t have defeated Ruben without you.” She grinned.

“Alright.” He rolled his eyes. “No need to butter me up. I’m not built for this sort of combat, however.”

Sally nodded. “I know. Did Theo leave his sword with you for a reason?”

“No.” The demon returned a blank gaze, which the zombie held for a few seconds.

Humphrey looked away from the pair talking and leaned past Norah to level a gaze at Lucius. “You told him, didn’t you?”

“What!” A sweat-drop ran beside his head. “Told who, what?”

The Death Knight narrowed his eye sockets at the Shade.

“Something I should know?” Norah asked.

Humphrey deflated and looked back over at the zombie and demon staring at each other. “Sally let Lucius do the mind wipe thing, and the three of us got to ask her questions.”

Lucius nodded. “Oh, yeah.” His crimson eyes went up to Edward and the planted sword. “Oh, yeah.”

The Mummy tilted her head. “I’m not sure I want to know anymore, but I take it Edward asked something weird that has gotten Theo’s feathers rustled?”

Sally blinked. “Well… good chat… Edward.” The demon continued to look at her with a blank expression as she slowly turned and walked away.

Chuck grunted as he tightened the last vine. “It’s… not a permanent solution, of course.”

“Yeah,” Jackie took a drag of her cigarette and smiled. “I know, but ol’ Betty was feeling left out, and some of my skills don’t work with the coach ‘bows.” She ran her long fingers down the dark metal of her normal weapon, where it was now affixed between the two larger mounted ones atop the stagecoach.

The druid gave her a nod and hopped down, vines catching him and softening his fall to the ground where the vehicle now sat. “Everything okay, Lana?” He turned to see that she was sitting in the open doorway of the stagecoach.

“Mixed bag,” she said, a glum smile on her face. “I accept who I am. My peers accept me for who I am. There are friends around me who aren’t just evil versions of myself. But… I feel like I’m in over my head.”

Chuck grinned. “Welcome to the club.”

“Psh. You’re the leader of the ‘Blue faction’, have command over Guilds and Parties. Probably one of the most powerful Players going.”

The druid leaned on his staff. “I spent most of my time in the Forest area doing all the non-combat Quests after ditching Sally and her group.” He smiled softly. “It’s funny how different she is compared to the old world. The zombie part switched off her awkwardness and self-doubt. My excuse for leaving them was due to the violence and Player-killing.”

“Just an excuse?” Lana brushed some curled hair from her face.

“Well, that was an issue. I had an odd time getting placed in this world, too. Awoke in a pile of corpses a while after the first wave. Eating people aside, Sally is just very… full-on. Like she is overcompensating for being a Monster by trying to fix the System. But it’s all in earnest. A hero for some, and a villain to others.”

The clone smiled and looked over to where the zombie seemed to be browbeating the rest of her team about something. “You’re saying, with her there is a chance?”

“A chance.” Chuck followed her gaze back to Sally and the others as he repeated the phrase. “Perhaps the best and only one we’ll really get.”

“And third and finally,” Sally wagged her finger at the group. “No showboating. Absolutely none. Unless it would be super cool. Am I understood?”

They nodded.

It was tough being stern with the Outsiders. Despite the fact they’d gladly sass her or wind her up at any given chance normally, once she put her bossy voice to use, they all acted like children with their hands caught in the brain jar. Cookie jar.

She sighed and spun the staff around, inadvertently splattering some mud onto the Death Knight’s legs. Theo should have found the enemy by now and was either fighting or dying. Or just watching them. With a pout, she turned away from the Outsiders and walked back over to Fern. Lots of standing around and talking lately. The eye of the storm, no doubt.

“Hey Fern, you still got your feelers in the forest?”

“The intruders have stopped.” They looked up at the zombie with the blank slits that were probably the dryad’s eyes.

“Stopped dead, or paused… you can’t sense Theo?” She grimaced.

Fern tilted their head as if listening more intently. “I can give no further clarification. If it is any consolation, I did not sense the blood drinker when he entered the woods.”

Sally stretched out her back. That was a little better, she supposed. Somehow, he could move undetected - either soft footsteps or some other vampire ability. She knew better than to expect the best, even if she hoped for it.

“About five minutes,” Dent called out to them all. “Start getting into position!”

She yawned. What a day it had been already. There was the same kind of feeling she had when they had set off against Ruben. Unprepared, to a degree, but willing to put themselves through constant conflict to reach their goal.

And their goal today? Survive and ensure there was another day where the Outsiders lived, and the System was better.

Was it likely? She gave a nod to Fern and walked over to where Humphrey was positioning himself. Anything was possible. The odds were once again stacked against them. Getting through an unknown number of Invasions would be enough of a test, without having to worry about all the Players that might want to try their luck against her group.

The group in the woods was too small. With how powerful everyone was now, nothing short of a Raid of Players could threaten their position. It was something that gave her a little comfort, even though it meant more danger was headed their way.

She smiled at the Death Knight, before her eyes went back over to the woods.

Two small orbs of bright crimson bobbed amongst the gloom, slowly getting closer.

Appearing back into the graveyard, Theo was soaked through with blood. Hands in his pockets, he hopped over the fence, an impassive expression beneath the gore plastered around his mouth.

“Oh,” he said, as everyone turned toward him. “Did you miss me?”