#pariah is the grandfather

[hypewinter]

After reforming Dan, Danny gets it into his head that he can reform Pariah Dark too. He takes a break from his kingly duties to go down to Earth. Both as a way to teach Pariah the wonders of humanity and to make sure Dan has actually changed his ways.

[puppetmaster13u]

Prompt 259

You know, going back in time, they thought it would be easy. Stop the end of the world by preventing the Being from well, coming into being. It should be easy to take them out, one death to prevent an untold amount of them. What could a child do?

Well. 

They really should have remembered that with a child usually comes their parent as well. And erm, said parent doesn’t seem to appreciate their logic. In fact, they are… getting their ass kicked. By a civilian. A feral civilian who apparently is very protective of said child-who-ends-up-destroying-the-world. 

They might need assistance…

[youcalledsworld]

Danny Phantom across the Multiverse

Vlad never learns and like always left his 17 year old nemesis to clean up his mess. So what did Vlad do? He opened the sarcophagus of forever sleep again.

At least he didn't do it for ultimate power again. No he did it because he was desperate, because the Observants finally wanted to lock him up for opening the sarcophagus the first time and releasing Vortex.

So Vlad ran but he didn't want to run forever so he thought he could gain favor from Pariah by releasing him. But that didn't work he just ended up swapping imprisonment for 3000 years for ceasing to exist.

This led to Danny fighting Pariah again, this time without the ecto-skeleton. It was a fierce battle that had the Infinite Realms shaking, the effects of it could be felt in every dimension.

Battered and bruised Danny stood infront Pariah Dark ready to finally end the fight. He crushed Parish's core, but while the old King was fading he didn't want Danny to feel victorious. So he opened up numerous portals behind the halfa that was beginning to suck him in.

While Danny was fighting against the portals with the last of Pariah strength he blasted Danny where his core was and it split into 10 pieces and Danny's energy and body was sucked into them when all but one piece was sucked into the portal.

Clockwork made sure to save one piece so that his grandson could make it back to him and his family.

Once the pieces were spat out the other end of the portals in different dimensions, 9 different Danny's emerged from the pieces.

One Danny found himself stumbling into a Camp that had the campers wearing orange coloured shirts and running around with swords and other kind of weapons. They welcomed him into the camp and helped him recover. He spent 2 years training, questing and trying to find his way back home. Sadly Danny lost his life in the war against the Titans to save his fellow campers.

When he died his core went back to the piece that was being held in Clockworks lair

Another found himself on an island that had dinosaurs and two giant Viking warrior friends fighting to prove who had caught the bigger fish. When they weren't fighting they were training Danny. Sadly he had to leave them in order to find a way home, so he left with a small pirate crew that was led by a man with a straw hat. They had many adventures, they laughed and cried, fought in many battles, fought against the world government and completed their dreams all except Danny who instead of making it home, made one for himself and had lived long enough to meet his great grand children.

Then he passed peacefully in his sleep and made his way back to his grandfather.

Another Danny found himself in a crime ridden city called Gotham instead of helping he decided to find a way home, he knows he should help but this wasn't his dimension he needed to get home. So he started stealing from tech companies in hope to build a portal home. After a few years when he was almost done with the portal the city gained its own vigilante called Batman and he was trying to catch Danny already. The rookie vigilante was well trained but Danny found out that Batman was actually Bruce Wayne (what's with billionaires and their secret life?). Sadly Danny found out that the veil was too thick to punch a hole into the infinite realms so he gave up and became a teacher at Gotham Academy. He eventually married one of his students mothers. A wonderful woman named Paula Crock, they met by accident and got along well. They told each other about their past and decided it didn't matter. Plus she loved it when he broke her ex husband's nose arms and legs. He even punched Bruce Wayne in the face for sending his step daughter on a mission that got her sent to the hospital. Sadly he was gunned down by a criminal while he was shielding his students. On his death bed he promised Paula he would come back for her.

Clockwork promised that he would help Danny reunite with the families he made.

When Max opened his eyes he couldn't remember who he was or how he ended up on the side of the road. Thankfully the Tennyson's gave him a name and adopted him. They even helped him pursue his dream of becoming an astronaut. But thanks to a certain incident he found out he could become something more if he joined the Plumbers. Joining the Plumbers gave him the best and worst times in his life. He made friends he couldn't have met if he didn't join but he also lost friends in this line of work. He also met his ex-wife Verdona who had given him his sons. Then he remembered his past but he couldn't leave his family he made so he didn't look for a way home. His grandson then became a hero like he was when he found the Omnitrix so he trained him. Hoping he didn't make the same mistakes he did, of course Ben made mistakes but at least he was around to help him. Until he wasn't, he was on a mission until he was discovered and had to ask Ben to step up and complete it for him and he did. He was so proud of his grandson, who became a better hero than he ever was. He still helped his grandson when he could even if he didn't want his help. Then one of his grandsons enemies accidentally made a portal to the Infinite Realms and it was going haywire, so he told his grandson and great grandsons to leave so he could shut it down. The only way he could make sure it didn't destroy the world was making it implode which would suck everything in a 10 mile radius into the Infinite Realms. He said good bye to his family and allowed himself to be sucked in.

Max met his Grandfather on the other side and gave him the biggest hug he could. He asked Clockwork if his family was still alive in his original dimension. Clockwork told him that what felt like decades to him over there was only hours here. Then he went on to tell Max that other fragments of him scattered across the Multiverse and would come back when they died or like him enter a realm portal. He also told him that now he had to put the core that was in him with the other core fragments in his lair.

[confessedlyfannish]

DPxDC Prompt

Danny has always been able to manage his obsession with the help of his human half & also because a variety of urges were running through him when he died - curiosity (the desire to explore), service (the desire to be of use, to fix), and his overall innate nature, protectiveness (to protect this new, loving family he's found, to protect his little brother, no matter the cost)

-and underneath it all, buried deep down and an admittance he will never speak is his desire for power, because with power comes the ability to accomplish all of the above.

Still, he has seen what power does to people, to his Grandfather, and then what power had done to him, in a future where no human half had tempered his urges and his desire for power was doubled when he combined with the ghost of his godfather, obsession meeting obsession.

So he keeps himself on a tight leash except for the day he embraces Power and Ends Pariah, which is fine because the power from the suit is temporary and he still has no idea the dark future that awaits him, believes that he can temper himself. But he is something wild and dark and feral when he goes after Pariah, calling upon lessons from a past life and not hesitating to go for the kill in a way that makes Vlad, the only true witness, hesitant around him forevermore, a sliver of fear in his eyes that he cannot mask.

If he had known defeating Pariah would mean inheriting the crown, he never would've done it. Because with the power of the Crown and the Ring comes again his inability to fight his urges - not for more power, he has plenty, but to protect.

For Clockwork, for the Ancients, a King that will Protect his Realm is the ideal. But the ramifications for Danny are clear to his family the moment he wrenches Ellie from the Earth and into a room in The Keep for a week until her cheeks are flush with ectoplasm but also tears and Jazz and Maddie have successfully talked him through how safety must also mean happiness. To this day they do not know if it was their words that eventually penetrated his mind or his power settling. But he still struggles to allow them their freedom, and it is apparent to all who love him.

And so they figure out ways to manage. Systems. None of his Beloved, his Fraid will ever willingly step into danger. They will give him consistent updates, they will provide tech that manages their vitals. They will visit and allow him trespass in turn. They will sleep in his bed (less necessary, but said with a wink and an errant hand that shows they are willing to make the sacrifice).

And deep within the Zone, on one of his routine checks with nary a soul in a sight, Danny allows himself to curl into a ball and cry. Wail. Because he knows he can never go in search of his brother, nor his father, the Batman. The one reunion he craved, because with power came the ability to protect, even from one as horrible as Ra's Al Ghul, is the same reason he must deny himself. Because Damian Wayne and Bruce Wayne will always put themselves in danger. And if he comes to them, he will never let them go.

[tanglepelt]

Dc x dp idea 93

Ra forces Talia to sacrifice her son to the ghost king. With his obvious re-awakening he most solidify the deal. It’s how he was gifted the Lazarus water in the first place.

Newley crowned 15 year old Danny did not want this child. Like at all. He’s already dealing with parents who want to tear him apart. That reveal didn’t go well at all.

Danny couldn’t take care of himself let alone a stabby 6 year old. The only good thing is he snatched the kid before he was killed by his scary mom and stinky grandfather.

By ancient law. This child belonged to him. Not only that, the child was bound to obey him. Found that part out on accident. He was tired of the murder attempts and promptly told him to knock that off be quiet and sit down. He’s ashamed to admit it took him at least two hours to realize Damian couldn’t talk or stand up.

Yea.

He’s taken to internal dialogue after that little hiccup. He later learned sign language had no effect. Apparently it had to be verbal. It’s not his say to order anyone around. He doesn’t care what the crown means. They were fine without pariah they’ll be fine without him.

At least while he’s still half alive. Despite what the council says he doesn’t need a legal guardian. He’s perfectly fine homeless.

So here he was with 9 year old child and on the run from the government, his parents, and the royal council.

Now when a man in a trench coat tries to expel the ecto-ghost to free the “boy” and the child. Well. He asked for help.

This leads to a dna test. Danny ignored how he had been told Batman by Damian it was of no help. Danny hadn’t even meant to ask, knowing Damian would be forced to answer. His mother must of lied to the poor thing.

With a shocking result, the father was Bruce Wayne. Bruce Wayne can reclaim his son, but Danny can’t simply hand him over. Something of equal or greater value has to be exchanged.

Obviously Bruce Wayne is happy to make a deal.

Danny just goes. Well either i need a legal guardian as the ghosts are on my butt about it and my parents want me dead. Or. A government organization taken down for trying to eradicate his species.

He gets both.

Damian and Danny refuse to tell anyone why Damian was sacrificed to him.

[minty364]

DPXDC Prompt #61 part 1

Danny didn’t like thinking about his old life. He was born to a family of assassins and as soon as he was out he never looked back. He had to fake his death and he changed his name, as far as anyone knew Damian Al Ghul had died on a mission to America. He was determined to keep this secret to the grave. Of course he knew who his dad was, Bruce Wayne was a prominent figure and he knew if we went there his secret would get out and he never wanted to be forced to be an assassin again. Once was enough. 

Danny knew he had a soft heart, his adoptive parents, the Fentons and Jazz had told him so. Jazz knew he didn’t have the greatest childhood or past but she never pried, she understood his business was his and wouldn’t let her own curiosity get the better of her. The only issue their family had was their parents obsession with ghosts. Damian never believed in ghosts, the entire thing sounded like a hoax. He probably never would have believed in them but then life happened. 

Danny believed, but it was kind of hard not too after everything that happened. When he had turned 14, his parents finished their biggest project yet. A portal to the ghost zone, of course it doesn’t work at first and his parents were very disappointed. Danny felt conflicted about the whole thing. On one hand he wanted his parents to succeed and he wanted them to be happy, on the other the portal was the reason he ate alone with his sister at night. He wanted a normal family life, something he was never allowed back at the league. 

He did something so stupid that night.

After his parents along with his sister were asleep, he crept down to the basement and stood in front of the empty hole in the wall. He looked around the outside of it first but nothing seemed to be out of place. Then he stepped into it and before he got too far into it something happened. He knew there were a lot of cords on the floor and thought he had avoided them all, but as he realized he was quickly being acquainted with the floor, he out of instinct held his hand out to catch himself on the wall. Right onto the ON button.

He didn’t remember much but pain after that.

A lot happened in the year after the portal was turned on but Danny thought he was taking things well. His sister found out about everything sooner than he liked but having someone to help him was something he didn’t realize he really needed until then. The ghost attacks were frequent and Danny was having trouble finding the time for school, friends, and fighting ghosts that the assistance helped a lot. 

Danny sat at as desk in Mr. Lancers class, who was going on about the play Hamlet. Danny was only half paying attention, he was preoccupied thinking about the latest conversation he had with Clockwork. Danny was recently crowned prince after his victory over Pariah Dark. He didn’t want the crown, ancients knew what Grandfather would do if he ever found out, but he had no other option but to accept. The conversation left him rather drained and it felt like every word his teacher spoke bled together. 

He eventually made his way to lunch and before he could make it to his destination a blue mist wafted out of his mouth. Sighing he ran out of the room to find a place to transform. Once he was Phantom he wasted no time finding the ghost. Of course it was Boxie. 

Before he had time to even fight though a portal opened up right besides Danny and he was kicked in by the Box Ghost. The world seemed to swirl around him until he landed harshly onto some pavement. The pavement was a roof and he appeared to be in a city. 

Not just any city he soon realized as he looked over to a bank that had the words ‘Gotham Bank’ brightly plastered on the front.

Shit… Danny wanted to avoid something like this, unfortunately the portal was already gone. 

After taking a moment to think about his predicament he decided the best course of action was to call Jazz.

He took a look around the rooftop he was on and when he didn’t see anyone he transformed back. 

Pulling out his cell from his pocket he pulled up his sister's contact on it and hit the call button. 

His sister took a bit longer than usual to answer but the hesitation in her voice caused him to pause, “H-hello?”

“Jazz, it’s Danny, we’ve got a code green,”  he knew setting up code colors with his sister would come in handy. Red meant he was gravely injured, yellow meant the ghost got away and he was in pursuit, blue meant he caught the ghost, and green meant he fell through a portal or something similar. 

There was silence on the other line for a moment and Danny was almost going to say something else but she spoke, “How do you know my name?”

Master Post:

Next:

[unadulteratedsoulsweets]

A DC X DP IDEA #5 His Choices and Regrets

Imagine dis…

 We all know how Bruce Wayne only wanted the best for his kids, a kind and loving father even though he doesn’t know how to show it a man who is willing to protect those he claims as his own. We also know that Batman thinks logically, prepares contingencies plans for himself and those around him, he installs fear into the criminals in Gotham.

But we mostly forget that both Bruce Wayne and Batman are the same people.

Dylan Wayne was born in the union of Bruce Wayne and a mysterious woman who stole and cared for the stone heart of both Bruce and Batman as well as the woman who died in childbirth. Dylan grew up around his older brothers, grandfather, and father.

Bruce could still see the sparkle he was sure that he had gotten it from his mother. Dylan was his treasure alongside Dick and Jason who wanted nothing more than to protect their newest and their little brother.

But all happiness comes to an end. Assassins and rogues both in and out of Gotham are out for the head of either Bruce Wayne or Batman sometimes both heads. While everyone in his family can defend themselves, it is Dylan's fear. His smart boy that found the cave at the mere age of 5 is a target both in and out of his suit.

Making a decision that both Bruce Wayne and his Batman persona agree upon filled an emergency yet temporary foster for his son in the claim that Bruce Wayne’s son is in danger seeing that the media has somehow got the news of Brucie Wayne having a new son barely reaching double digits.

Searching for a family that isn’t after his money as well as a good background is harder than filling out the criminals that escaped Arkham. He stumbled upon the Fenton’s a bit of a screw loose but a good family, after extensive research into their background he deemed them normal enough for a temporary foster for his son.

After a teary goodbye from both sides and promises that he will return and pick him back, Dylan alongside his social worker board the plane going straight to the Fenton family.

…

Dylan now Danny waited for more than a decade for his “family” to come and get him but no one came for his aide. No one bothered to check on him, after a few years with the Fenton it was clear that they value their machinery more than their biological daughter now sister than a parent to raise him. Looking like Jack Fenton that has the same height as Maddie Fenton looks like he was their child all along, the townspeople merely looked at him and didn’t question the additional Fenton.

A few years in waiting for his father both older Fenton’s gave him a paper that has the signature that allowed them to formally adopt him and only needed his signature to make it official, that paper was currently under his bed forgotten by all except by dust. He was sure that his father hadn’t forgotten him nor he will allow some adults to replace his father.

Dying at the age of 14, he could still remember crying out for his father’s name to whisper that everything will be okay, but no one came. He still remembers the electricity flowing through his body as the ectoplasm rearranges his very DNA, as the fact that he died and came back.

A few months into his persona as the only vigilante in his town his team of friends kept sending out SOS calls to the JL but after the umpteenth call, they were officially blocked from calling any direct or hotline to the JL.

He tried calling his father through the small phone that contained only their numbers and kept connecting to no one.

He couldn’t loathe the man, no, but the fact that he ignored both him as his child and also an entire town in need of help in his other persona he began to HATE the man. He began to refuse to acknowledge that he and Bruce ever share anything other than their last name on paper.

After defeating the Pariah Dark who was mind controlled by the Observants, whose very oaths prevent them to own nor control the Infinite Realms found a loophole by controlling their king a few thousand years ago. Controlling him through unethical ghostly means, spreading fear and turning him into a tyrant, and proceeding to lock him up in the pretense of saving the Realms from his oppressive rules and giving them a good reputation.

Tilting the balance to their favor thus making unnatural portals, forcing most of the Ancients to have an unbreakable vow to do their bidding, corrupting the ectoplasm that flows throughout the realms that began to leak to the mortal planes and more, are all ended and foiled a teen ghost.

Defeating the Pariah Dark not only ends the mind control but also sends a nasty backlash to all Observants. Clockwork timing out to give Danny a basic summary of what has just transpired and now every ancient in the Infinite Realms are now banding together to destroy the Observants for once and for all and expect a few days of ghost free.

After a week of no communication from Clockwork, both he and Pariah Dark alongside Fright Knight visited Danny while Clockwork paused time around them. Pariah Dark bowed and went to his knees to thank the young ghost boy for his deed of stopping him from destroying the balance and the Infinite Realms itself. As both the Realms and each mortal plane in existence are connected and one could not exist without the other.

Presenting the crown and ring he tried to give it to Danny as the right of succession of ghosts is through strength as the stronger king can protect the Realms more than the previous one as the Realms themselves agreed on the decision to transfer the rulership to Danny.

Danny visibly flinched at the sight of the two most powerful artifacts in the entire Realms and refused wholeheartedly the crown and ring as he feels that he has no right seeing that he had defeated him through a machinery that his fosters made.

A ping-pong argument between the two started between two while Fright began adding some tidbits of his own opinion that seemed to continue for another century Clockwork said to Danny that they can compromise seeing that he was just an infant.

All adult ghosts such as Pariah Dark and Fright Knight seemed to freeze at the notion, while Danny paused at the wording. Danny stated that he is officially almost 17, Clockwork countered that it has only been 3 years since his initial death.

Danny got defensive at the notion of his death but noticed that Fright Knight and Pariah Dark did a very mortal notion of dropping their respective jaws to the ground. Asked why on earth they are acting shocked especially Fright Knight since he fought him when he was 15 or 16 years old. Both ancient old ghosts explain why on earth he shouldn’t be allowed to fight in the first place as well ignoring the fact that both got defeated by him but they don’t talk about that for now.

Being a halfa who was just as rare as well that just recently died he was considered a ghost equivalent of a ghost baby. In the afterlife, it is the years after death that count for ghosts as the youngest one to die was Youngblood who died centuries before him, thus making him the former youngest throughout the realms. The fact he defeated thousand years and centuries-old ghosts makes him the most powerful yet youngest ghost to ever live in their afterlife as well as the fact that he keeps getting more powerful every year. Danny made an off-hand comment about he gets new powers every day and keeps forgetting on listing each new one. Fright Knight was paling at the notion that ghosts can pale. Pariah Dark only looked at him with contemplation. Compromising to the best of his abilities he became the newly crowned prince of the Infinite Realms.

In the following days, ghosts become nicer or more tolerable even Skulker as he hunted him twice a week now, instead of the ghost’s attacks that take up most of his sleep, now can finally rest and start bringing his grades up.

Pariah Dark kept visiting in terms of teaching him to be the next king of the Infinite Realms as who better teach the young ghost about ghost politics than the king himself? Fright Knight appeared once in a while to make sure that he is training to become a strong knight as well-being his supposed bodyguard to the crowned prince as there was never a prince throughout the history of the Infinite Realms. Slowly Danny and Pariah Dark form a bond as father teacher and son student.

Danny was both scared and hopeful, scared that one day he will be abandoned, left, replaced forgotten by Bruce (yes, he kept following the Waynes and lo and behold a blood son that replaced him) and hopeful that maybe one day he will have a father-figure that would be there just for him, and thinking at the thought he would never have.

On his 17th birthday, his fosters found out, in an attempt to save Danny from a lethal blast, Jazz threw herself in front of her son's brother to give him time to escape but alas it was futile as he was captured by the suspecting GIW agents outside his home that had arrested the entire town along with his friends as the entire people of the Amity park are infected in some ways.

As they were all dragged by the GIW agents they didn’t see Jazz’s spirit and ghost slowly forming by their side and silently going to the portal as she hit the destruction button to prevent any more victims.

Her entire appearance changed gone from her ginger hair and blue-eyed girl. Now a hulking 6’9 giant blue woman who looks wears iron armor that covers her entire body that resonates with her flaming hair.

Quickly flew towards Pariah Dark’s haunt to give him the grave news.

…

Back in the day, Pariah Dark was known to be fair towards his subjects, a ruler with a great sense of duty, justice, and purpose. But the moment he found himself a son, a son that his core ached for someone that he cares for. He knew how rare it is for ghosts to have children and rarer for a child ghost to form by the will of Infinite Realms close to none. Meeting Danny, and teaching him with all of his wisdom and knowledge he can’t help but think back fondly about the times they spent his time to know his heir and son.

As His heir is perfect to rule among the Infinite Realm as he kept the balance no matter how hard it is, he took his son to a hospital where a newly born child had just died, new reapers can't look at the scene of a wailing mother and a father holding their child dead in their arms but Danny didn’t blink an eye and took the child’s souls whispering some assurances and guided the soul to their next adventure.

As a son, his core ached and connected with the child immediately he wanted to keep him close to ensure he is safe to make sure he is spoilt and protected. He knew that wasn’t possible as his ghostly ward/ son made a home for himself on the mortal plane thus leaving him the option of him being present in his life as well making sure that his haunt is always welcome to him.

So, when his son’s adopted sister in her ghost form made her way toward his haunt, he knew that something had happened. Gathering up all of the ancients to prepare the meeting room as he saw the pure anger and desperation on her face without his son's ward, he knew it was serious.

In his immortal life had never met humans and mortals like these men. But the moment those pests ever thought of harming his son. They will learn the lesson of never going to war against the Infinite Realms, especially if that someone is who they have chosen and claimed personally.

That day each citizen both strong and not, young and old of the Infinite Realms all gather up to war for their prince, and Pariah Dark swore to himself that day that mortals will learn why he was called The Bloodied King.

Pariah Dark had announced alongside his army in the mortal realms that they have just started a war on their realm as they have not only started to destroy their homes but also dared to kidnap their young crowned PRINCE!

…

After three months of continuous attacks. The JL is getting suspicious of their government as they could not even disclose the reason why different glowing “meta’s” are after a specific branch of their government. The JLD members are in the dark even though Constantine has given them a brief explanation of who was wearing and leading the attacks. At the announcement that the king had made it was obvious that they are at wrong here, at the perspective of the lanterns they are quite distressed seeing that the human government decide to make an enemy of an interdimensional king as well as kidnapping their prince, the senators are trying to hide and wash their hands off luckily JL remained their neutrality as they are not the governments attack dogs. Batman was able to find the same branch that kept being destroyed to ashes and being killed off by the glowing “meta’s”, hidden deep within Alaska, he sent out Red Hood and the Young Justice covert team to look for the missing prince to appease the king so that they could also try diplomatic relations with them.

…

Red Hood only came because Nightwing was unavailable as his services are required in his daytime job. As the team went closer to the building something inside him began screaming at the injustice as well as the anger that reeked of the place. Shaking his head at the unneeded pit rage, he signaled the team to enter the premise in silence.

The deeper they get the more bodies and bloodier the scene they have to witness, a body cam strapped to each member recording live to the JL made the infamous Superman almost hurl at the sight of a five-year-old girl strapped down at a table, had her insides opened up like a frog on a dissection table, surrounded by her blood with some green flecks in it as well unaltered fear in her face as her mouth is open as if she died screaming.

At the end of the hall, they saw the front of the door which is quite different from the rest. Taking a peek Red Hood almost didn’t want to believe what he saw.

There lay his bloodied little brother chained with the heaviest metal, covered in scars both healed and not, bloodied from head to toe, as well wearing both muzzle and shock collar.

How could his brother be in there? Bruce assured him that Dylan is safe and protected away from all things, but no, there he saw the bloodied form and shallow breathing of his brother.

Immediately the pit rage took over breaking free his little brother and carrying him as if he was an infant. Killing the agents that tried to get in between him and his brother, running back to the space station to make sure that his brother survived.

..

Oracle, Nightwing, and Red Hood are all in a screaming match between Batman who remained silent throughout the match, taking in their screams while Red Robin, Robin, and the rest of them are at the side as they didn’t know what had just happened as Agent A quickly went to the east Zetta tube to look at the survivor with much care and love.

Batman made a face towards the mystery teen on the other side of the two-way mirror as the Leagues doctors try to save this teen from obvious human experimentation.

…

The moment the mystery teen woke up, he began screaming for his father and siblings. Red Hood immediately along with Nightwing went inside to comfort the said teen but kept fighting back, thrashing and screaming about his father. Batman tried to enter the med bay to comfort the teen to the best of his abilities seeing that his emotions are clearly on display. That is his son, what did he witness to gain such a reaction from his brothers and father? The teen didn’t calm down but kept screaming that kept upping the volume as the seconds tick by.

Batman looked like he swallowed glass, does his son doesn’t recognize him anymore? He swears he will personally burn the government down.

Suddenly a powerful gust of kind pushed all three of them away from Dylan.

In an instant they weren’t alone, the Pariah Dark hugging Dylan as he kept whispering reassurances to him, a tall blue-skinned flame-haired woman knelt and hugged him lastly a clocked individual with an hourglass staff in the corner looking at the hugging trio fondly.

Who are they?

…

PS: If someone out there wants to continue or make a fic about this you are free to do so don’t forget to tag me though:)

[problematic-faves-appreciation]

Rando: Minthe was turned into a plant! Whereas, Apollo got a slap on the wrist! She received the worst punish–

Persephone restored Minthe to her true form and the river nymph got to live a peaceful, free life in the Mortal Realm. No everlasting punishments from the author (Minthe's "number one hater", according to certain people 🙄): Minthe was given an opportunity to turn a new leaf. A happy ending for her.

Apollo: *Unending mental anguish and life as a pariah (torture for someone who craves people's attention and adoration)*

And his bodily autonomy was violated by Ouranous, who made him his vessel. He became purple goop. Apollo got better following the fight versus Ouranos, but the fact that he'd been working with his great-grandfather definitely bolstered his pariah status even more.

His first time ever feeling remorse. He did not want this. *World's smallest violin*

[wonderlandsakura]

DANI AND DAN'S PARENTS AND WHAT THEY CALL THEM

Danny: Dad, Father (mostly Dan)

Vlad: Papa, Папочка (Papachka) (Dad but Russian, originally to spite Vlad cause he wanted to be called father, became a softer heritage sharing thing)

Tucker: Baba, اب (Ab) (it's dad in Arabic)

Sam: Mom, Mama, אמא (Ema) (mom/mama in Hebrew)

---

Bonus Grandparents:

Jack: Gramps, Granddad

Maddie: Grandma, Grandmom

Sam's Father: Saba (grandfather in Hebrew)

Sam's Mother: Savta (grandmother in Hebrew)

Sam's Grandma: Great Grandma Ida

Tucker's Dad: Gramps, Grandpa

Tucker's Mom: Gran Gran, Nan

Clockwork: Clockpops, Grandpop, Pop Pop, Grandpappy

Pariah (Optional): Grandfather Dowager the Late Ex-King of the Infinite Realms (Grandfather for short), Grumpy

[samgirl98]

Forgotten Demon Twin 5/?

Prev | Next

“Are you going to tell mom and dad?” Danny asked, effectively killing the silence in the car.

“I should,” Jazz said while tightening her hold on the steering wheel. She sighed, “but I’m not.”

Some of the tension melted from Danny’s body.

“You are going to tell me everything, though, right? Or at least the cliff notes version? Just so I can have some peace of mind.”

“Smooth, Jazz.”

“I’m serious, Danny. You told these people your secret identity. Before telling mom and dad!”

“I didn’t mean to! Skulker attacked, and I had to have access to my full powers to protect them!”

“You were reckless. Why didn’t you wake me up before leaving the house?”

Jazz’s voice was starting to rise higher.

“You could’ve been kidnapped!”

Danny snorted.

“I’m serious, Danny.”

“I’m fine, Jazz. I can take care of myself.”

Silence reigned in the car again. They made it back to Fenton’s Work, but neither sibling made any moves to get out.

“What I’m about to tell you can kill you, Jazz, so this is your only chance to back down.”

Jazz said nothing and folded her hands over her lap. Danny sighed.

“I was born high in the Himalayan Mountains in a hidden city called Nanda Parbat. I wasn’t born normally. I was made in an artificial womb; I wasn’t supposed to exist. My mother is the daughter of the leader of a cult called the League of Assassins.”

Jazz took an audible deep breath but kept quiet.

“My brother was supposed to be the only one born. The perfect heir to the Demon’s Head, Ibn Al Xu’ffasch. The Son of the Bat. I was named the Spare,” Danny said bitterly, “I could never measure up to my perfect older brother. I cried after I killed. I wasn’t good at fighting; I was too soft, too weak.”

“Damian was perfect. Why would they need the runt of the litter? I was exiled at seven. My grandfather is, was over 500 years old. We think. He lost track of his actual age. He used something called the Lazarus Pits; now I know it is ectoplasm. He bathed in them to keep himself alive.

“You’re using the past tense.”

Danny nodded, “Damian told me he’s dead.”

Danny took a deep breath and continued.

“Since I was a waste of space, he sent me away to see how scientists interact with the Lazarus Waters outside the League. He ordered me to kill the first three people I ended up with. I don’t know why he didn’t with you guys, but I’m glad.”

“You, mom, dad, are the only true family I’ve ever known. I sent ‘reports’ that were the most basic of basic. They can be found online. Eventually, after being here for three years, they stopped writing back. I was so relieved that they seemed to have forgotten me. I understand if you think I’m a monster. I’m a killer, Jazz.”

Jazz hugged Danny.

“You’re not a monster, Danny, and you’re not a waste of space. You’re my baby brother, and I would kill for you,” she declared, meaning it.

She noticed how Danny talked about himself compared to Damian. He believed himself lesser. She didn’t believe it. Her little brother had taken up the mantle of protector of Amity and had become the Ghost King after protecting their small city from the threat of Pariah Dark. He was a hero; he deserved to be treated as such.

“Thanks, Jazz,” he hugged his sister back, enjoying the warmth.

He let go after a while.

“There’s more. There’s a reason Damian is known as the Son of the Bat. His, our birth father, Bruce Wayne, is Batman.”

____

Damian didn’t sleep that night. He wanted it to be morning as quickly as possible so his father would call the Fentons.

How did he go from forgetting his brother to being impatient to see him? It didn’t help that he felt…something when he saw how easily Danyal followed Jasmine.

(How would it have been if he had been close to his brother? Would Danyal have looked at Damian the same way he looked at Jasmine?)

He wasn’t jealous. He wasn’t!

Damian walked into the sitting room. Father was already there, drinking a cup of coffee. He sat before his father and started chewing on some fruit.

They had gotten rooms in a themed hotel. Three guesses as to what the theme was. The whole damned city seemed obsessed with ghosts.

There was a picture of Phantom smiling into the camera.

Damian had done some research instead of sleeping. Apparently, Phantom was the main hero of Amity, though there was another heroine called the Red Huntress. There were mixed reviews of his brother. The younger generation viewed him as a hero (as they should.), while the older generation saw him as a menace.

There had been an article when Phantom had done a string of burglaries. Because of his red eyes, Damian had concluded his brother had most likely been mind-controlled. It happened. Even Superman has been mind-controlled.

“So, father, when will we be calling the Fentons.”

His father sighed and put down his coffee.

“Soon, Damian, but we must consider how we will approach this. Danny has already expressed his wishes. He doesn’t want to come with us.”

“He doesn’t know what he’s talking about. I’ve read into the Fentons; they’re menaces. The father has news segments for when he’s on the road! The mother has gone on record stating that all ghosts should be studied and are evil. Their papers are heavily prejudiced, with no scientific evidence to back it up. It’s clear Danyal is in danger here.”

“Damian, he’s happy here. He has people who love him.”

Damian crossed his arms, “He’s being a hero without any adult backup. He’s here alone facing Justice League-level threats.”

Bruce sighed. Damian brought up good points, but Bruce knew his son wasn’t thinking about Danny. He was thinking about assuaging his guilt. A part of Bruce wanted to do the same thing.

He could take care of Danny; he had the money. He had years of experience in the vigilante/hero business and could get other heroes to mentor his youngest son (God, another son he had failed.), but he had to consider Danny’s needs.

Bruce took a deep breath, “I’ll get your siblings. It’s time to call the Fenton.”

____

Danny woke up with a twisted stomach. It was so bad he couldn’t even eat his cereal. But he couldn’t leave either. He wanted to be there when Bruce called. Jazz sat in front of him and gave him weak smiles. Her bags were almost as bad as Danny’s.

Both Fenton siblings jumped when the phone rang.

Neither elder Fenton noticed their children’s mood.

“Fenton household,” Maddie answered.

“Hello,” Bruce’s smooth voice came through the phone. Danny thanked his advanced hearing, “May I speak to either Madeline or Jack Fenton, please?”

“Maddie Fenton speaking,” his mom said, “to whom am I speaking?”

“My name is Bruce Wayne,” his mom cut Bruce off.

“Bruce Wayne, as in Wayne from Wayne Enterprises,” his mother asked excitedly. Jack Fenton got up and put his ear close to the phone. Danny’s stomach got heavier.

“Did you finally take a look at our inventions and want to have a meeting to sponsor us?”

Considering Danny had destroyed any message his parents had sent to Wayne Enterprises for the express purpose they would never meet, the answer was no.

“No,” Bruce said, “Well, it’s hard for me to say, but I recently learned from my youngest that he has a twin. I have another son.”

Maddie and Jack looked at each other, confused.

“Yes, what does that have to do with us?”

“I have reason to believe that Daniel Fenton is my biological son, and I wish to take a DNA test.”

Next up, the Fentons officially meet Bruce and Damian Wayne

[wolfjackle-creates]

Ghost!Robin Part 8

Look at you lucky ducks! Two WIP Wednesday excerpts today! I'm afraid you won't be able to get used to it. Going forward I may update each fic on alternating weeks. I have a busy few months coming up if everything goes to plan and could use the buffer in case I can't get much writing done. We'll see, though.

I'm going to start leaving a fic summary at the beginning of every excerpt in case people find this in the wild and want to know what they're getting into.

Summary: Danny is finally going to meet Jazz's boyfriend Jason. At Jason's family's mansion. He spent weeks making sure he could have an evening off of any Ghost King business. But when he meets Jason on the steps of the mansion, he can barely pay attention to the guy because his focus is on the ghost of the dead Robin hanging off his shoulders. Who is very happy to find someone who can actually see him.

Word Count: 1.4k

First, Previous

----------

“Right. Um… Well, I do just kinda do whatever is necessary or find someone who can. Because, um, well, I’m… kinda the High King of the Infinite Realms? There’s a bunch more titles after that but I refuse to memorize them because ugh.”

Danny looked down at his plate, not wanting to see everyone’s reactions. Jazz must’ve made sure he got a piece of pie because it sat in front of him. It looked so good. Did they even know about the Infinite Realms? Justice League Dark members did, but did Batman? Jazz reached over and took his hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

Tim and Barbara’s typing seemed to get faster. And then a pair of pixie boots and legs settled on the table next to his plate. He looked up and met Robin’s eyes.

Robin reached out an poked Danny on the nose. He gave a little trill of safe, friends drawing a smile out of Danny.

At the same time, Duke exclaimed, “That’s why you have a crown!”

And Steph said, “Okay, I may be out of the loop, but what the hell are the Infinite Realms?”

Damian snorted. “Aren’t you too young to be a king of anything?”

Danny half stood. “Look, do you want to go spar or something? Is that why you keep picking fights? Because we can do that. Fighting is good for young liminals. But I really don’t think this is the time or place.”

Jazz groaned and dragged him back into his seat. “Stop it, Danny. You’re on Earth right now.” Speaking over Danny’s protests, she explained to Damian, “We wish. Managed to get them to delay until he turned eighteen at least, but his grandfather wouldn’t let us wait any longer than that.”

Danny let the fight drop, but he did notice how Damian’s grip on his spoon tightened. Looked like they would be having that spar tonight if Damian had anything to say about it. Still, Jazz was right and he had to follow human customs on Earth so he bumped his sister’s shoulder and spoke to her instead. “You know as well as I do that he would’ve if it was possible. But thanks to Pariah, there are things that haven’t been done in a thousand years and it’s been causing so many problems.”

“Steph,” said Barbara. “The Infinite Realms are the spaces between universes according to Constantine. His documentation states that the Realm’s inhabitants are all incredibly overpowered and should not be approached under any circumstances. Just one being can evade all methods of capture with standard supplies.”

Jazz nodded. “And our parents dedicated their lives to building a portal to the Infinite Realms, or the Ghost Zone as they call it, and destroying all ghosts.”

“By ‘ghosts,’” asked Bruce, “Do you mean beings from these Infinite Realms?”

Jazz nodded. “Yes. Most beings from the Infinite Realms come into being when a living creature dies in a traumatic way, with a lot of emotion, or near a large source of ectoplasm. Usually some combination of all three.”

Both Tim and Bruce tried to ask further questions, but Jason’s voice cut in over theirs. “Jazz, when you say your parents wanted to ‘destroy all ghosts,’ did they stop after Danny’s accident?” Jason’s question did, at least, cause silence to fall as everyone stared at the two siblings.

Jazz looked down and gripped the tablecloth tightly, jaw clenched. Now it was Danny’s turn to lay a comforting hand over hers.

“No,” Danny said. “They didn’t. They didn’t know what happened for several years and when they found out�� Well, there’s a reason I can’t use their last name and Jazz won’t call them ‘Mom’ or ‘Dad’ anymore. But”—Danny clapped his hands—“this is a great segway into what is actually important. Does the Justice League know about the Guys in White? More formally known as the Ghost Investigation Ward? Or even just GIW?”

“That name is unfamiliar to me,” said Bruce.

Tim agreed. “Babs and I aren’t seeing anything in the JL databases.”

Even Robin just shrugged.

Danny didn’t expect the jolt of pain that sent through his chest and Jazz turned their hands around until they were gripping each other’s hands with more force than any baseline human would’ve been able to.

“I told you, Danny. They didn’t know. They didn’t know.” Her eyes were wet, but she forced a shaky smile. “You could’ve had help.”

Danny just shook his head. “Even if I had believed they didn’t know… Without meeting them, without knowing how many of their own were in danger, I would’ve never trusted them. Too many people rely on me for me to risk it.”

“Care to enlighten the rest of us?” asked Dick. His posture was relaxed, but his voice had an edge that hadn’t been there earlier.

Robin nodded from where he sat staring at Danny. He sent out a questioning Danger? pulse at Danny.

“Yeah, danger,” agreed Danny. “Barbara, Tim, if I give you a law code number, can you pull up the law I’m referring to?”

“Of course,” agreed Barbara. “Just a moment… And shoot.”

Danny gave them the code for the Anti-Ecto Acts. “The Guys in White are the government agency responsible for enforcing the Anti-Ecto Acts which classify all ‘ectoplasmic entities’”—he made the air quotes—“as non-sentient and non-sapient and excludes us from the metahuman protection acts.”

“What the fuck!” shouted Duke.

Next to Danny, Dick suddenly was sitting up tense. “That’s impossible.”

“The league would’ve noticed such an act being passed,” said Damian, though he didn’t look as sure as his words would seem.

Cass merely tilted her head and looked at him while Steph choked on her drink.

Bruce looked to Tim and Barbara. “Is this true?” he asked them.

Robin pointed to himself and mouthed the word ‘Me?’ at Danny.

“I’m afraid so. And Bruce, Cass, Steph, and Damian as well.”

Dick’s spluttering got louder. “How are they all in danger?” he demanded to know.

Before Danny could reply, Tim was speaking. “It’s all true. And far worse than Danny implied. Not only are ecto-entities not protected by the metahuman protection laws, but they are to be actively hunted and turned over to the GIW for experimentation and extermination and anyone who assists them is declared guilty of treason.”

“When did they pass?” asked Bruce.

“Four years ago,” said Barbara. “While Luthor was president. They were hidden in some laws about green energy.”

“Ghost are made of ectoplasm,” explained Jazz. “Ectoplasm is a fantastic energy source.”

“It happened a few months after I defeated the previous king but before my coronation,” added Danny.

“Why do you think myself, Damian, Cass, Stephanie, and Jason will be targeted by this Ghost Investigation Ward?”

“It’ll be easier to show you.” Danny reached down and pulled up his bag. The thing was made in Pandora’s realm and was bigger on the inside. Once open, it took him a moment to find what he was looking for. He could see Robin signing to the group next to him. “Here we are,” Danny said as he pulled out three devices. “These are all different ectoplasm detection devices. One is my own design, one is the Guys in White’s design, and one is my parent’s design. I’ll show you mine first because it’s the best.”

“Might be a dumb question,” started Dick, “but what the hell is ectoplasm?”

“So you know how all the elements in this universe came about from nuclear fusion of hydrogen in the cores of stars?” asked Danny. When most everyone nodded, he continued, “In the Infinite Realms, that base element is ectoplasm. But there’s no need for a star to transform it into anything else. It will mold to the shape any consciousness that interacts with it wants. When sentient creatures slip through, either by a portal or through death or any other means, they shape the part of the Realm they’re in to their will. The stronger the ghost, the larger the area they control.” Holding out his hands, Danny called forth a ball of ectoplasm, shaping it into a glowing-green ice duck. “Something like this,” he commented grinning around the table.

Only to be met with horrified looks as most of the table were staring at his hands with distrust. Damian had his knife out again. Jason, his gun with the other arm held protectively in front of Jazz. Bruce was standing and Cass tense.

“What’s wrong?” asked Danny. “It’s just an ice duck sculpture. Completely harmless.”

Jason’s voice was low and threatening. “It’s an ice duck made of Lazarus water.”

More alarming than his voice was the way his eyes glowed ecto-green and the fear-anger that filled the room.

----------

Next

Challenge: Stay on one topic for more than two sentences.

Outcome: Failed.

They keep getting side tracked with more questions. And Danny still hasn't had a bite of his pie. This evening will never be over.

Tag List Part 1

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Looks like 50 is the limit for active user tags in a post. Good to know

[peridot-tears]

Mind sharing some Ezio, Ziio, Shay and Edward Hcs?

Sofia and Claudia got along like sisters (idk I think this might actually be canon).

Ezio encouraged Flavia to be spirited and curious, and sees himself in her and the way she takes care of Marcello. If Ezio had lived to see her to adulthood, he would have been protective but let her choose her own husband.

Ezio wanted to keep his Assassin activities a secret from his children. After he died, Claudia took them in and trained them herself the way their Uncle Mario did for them.

Ziio and Oiá:ner's interactions became stilted after the birth of Ratohnhaké:ton. There was no doubt that the love was there, but Oiá:ner could not quite look at her the same again, and she had to busy herself with finding someone else to groom as successor. They were finally warming up to each other again just a year or so before Ziio died.

Oiá:ner put full trust into Ratohnhaké:ton and his decision-making going forward because she didn't want to drive a wedge between herself and her grandson the way she did with Ziio. And it was the hardest thing she ever had to do.

Modern-day Ziio would have been a leader in the stand-offs against the Canadian government and localities like the Kanehsatà:ke Resistance, which her voice actor Tiio Horn was actually in. My headcanon Ziio has a lot of Tiio Horn's traits, mostly because Tiio Horn's sass that I see in her social media comes through a lot in her voice acting for Ziio.

Ratohnhaké:ton's a BEAST at lacrosse. Man moves like WATER.

Shay died peacefully in a manner similar to Ezio's -- in a garden, watching his family.

Shay most definitely was the black sheep amongst the Templars -- not just because a traitor gets no trust from any side, but because he's Irish and many other Templars were Englishmen who were racist against him. Adéwalé called him Haytham's hunting dog, but the Templars thought the same of him.

Because of this, Shay was that high-achieving Templar the others resented, because they hated the idea of being outdone by someone they felt was lesser. They kept their distance from each other, and his friends in the Order were kept in a tight circle -- Jack Weeks, Gist, and Haytham.

That's also why Cudgel was so fiercely proud of his grandfather later on too -- despite the racism, he was more Templar than any of them.

Also, Lil Cudge seems to me like that kind of guy who in modern day would insist that the Irish were slaves. He seems to me like someone who's very loyal, but but blindly so, and someone who doesn't question tradition.

Edward wanted to raise Haytham as English as possible, but he'd occasionally slip up and curse in Welsh at times. Haytham would grow up with only vague memories of the Welsh part of his heritage.

Edward was a rambunctious lil youngster who didn't need any dogs to herd the sheep. The wolves were scared of HIM lol.

Edward's relationship with Jenny haunts my dreams. What happened in the years between her and Haytham's birth. The people need to know.

I wrote a whole other word vomit post expressing my guess that he didn't want her to get involved in the Assassin world because he wanted to protect his last memory of Caroline. He believed in being honest with your child, so she knew everything about his activities. But given that Caroline had already been disowned because of him and even now that he was a new money gentleman, he was a social pariah because of his pirate past, he wanted Jenny to live a noblewoman's life -- marry a man of good social standing and be a good wife. And although she protested, he always thought he knew what was best for her.

If Jenny knew about her brother's child and ever met him, she honestly would've adored him. Such a polite, well-loved young man. She would've been relieved that he was raised right by his mother's side, away from the Kenway drama. Thank God all he had in common with her side of the family was blood, but if she could have chosen to be blood with any remaining relative of hers, it would have been him.

[miriadalia]

Things I want to talk about rewatching part 2 trailer today calmly and slowly after the hype:

1. Tory probably being the karate pariah in the middle of the stupid dojo feud

I found this image on X and it broke my heart in many pieces T-T

Seems like everyone will be so caught up in rivalries that they won't even remember she's going through a freaking mourning phase (arrrrghhh)

2. Senseis Kim and Kreese having no lines during the trailer

Why did they decide to keep this two characters, who are known to talk shit every 2 seconds, quiet and kind of in the background?

Except from the scene where Daniel shoves Kreese into a wall, they are barely seen during the trailer. What are they up to?

They can be seen training Tory and Kwon, but they look at them thoughtfully, not angrily or disappointed....... Hum, it just seems interesting to me.

Also Kim looking at Tory with no hatred, but... Vigilance? Concentration? Will she keep Tory as a protegée after learning that she decided to fight for her mother?

I mean, Kim keeps her family in high esteem even if her grandfather is an as*hole. Which is a very traditional Korean point of view. Maybe she kind of feels respect towards Tory after seeing her fighting for her family even in the middle of her mourning.

Or maybe she's just keeping an eye on her since she doesn't trust her still.

Side note: I love the Cobra Kai team aesthetic with all of them wearing entirely black, except from Tory (foreshadow that she still has some Miyagi Do inside her heart?).

3. Sam, Axel (?) and Kwon (?) fighting against Cobra Kai students

This 2-second-footage of the trailer is giving a lot to talk about. But the way I see it, it's impossible to know what's happening in this scene with just 2 seconds 😅

My first impression was Sam and Robby fighting against Kwon and the rest but... We can't see the tall guy's face so I assume people are right and that is really Axel.

Other thing that's not clear is: Kwon is fighting against them or with them? Or simply fighting but not because he wants to help them? Because we still know too little about him, it's difficult to say.

What got to my attention is that Axel isn't moving while Sam fights the Cobra Kai students. He's just observing, not even trying to fight Kwon or something. Weird......

Whatever happens, if Axel doesn't help Sam, then she's gonna end up very badly. She's so skilled but there's no way she could win that fight against THREE fighters that have been training their whole life and are much bigger than her. If that happens then they really are gonna pull the PLOT ARMOR for Sam and the rest of Miyagi Do.

4. Don't think Miguel is crying because Sam got hurt in this scene

I think it's too obvious. It's what they want to make you believe with the trailer, but we know that they like to mess a little bit with the plot so you won't know exactly what's going to happen until you watch the episodes.

Johnny's crying too, so maybe something bad happened with their family in the Valley... I hope not.

Anyways, I want to see them both happy and winning T-T we've followed this duo since season 1 episode 1, it's time for them to shine again as first sensei-first student of the new Cobra Kai!!

[aloneinthehellfire]

Chapter Four: Two Can Keep A Secret

The Pariahs That Saved The World [masterlist]

Word Count: 4.8k

Warnings: mentions of death, tiny bit of gore/horror in the beginning (flashback), a little bit of angst

[A/N: omg almost a week late but it's here!! i'm so sorry for the delay, i've just come down from covid and iona (aka bestie) isn't actually to blame at all i just wanted to annoy her. okay enjoy!]

Two Can Keep A Secret

October 1982

“Hello?”

You call out into the darkness, seeing nothing but an endless void surrounding you. Dreams like this weren’t unusual to you, exploring the black nothingness before you wake up, alarm blaring. But it was different this time.

Because you felt someone watching you.

You’ve never felt so uneasy inside your own mind, squeezing your eyes shut. There was never a time you couldn’t escape your dreams, suddenly becoming aware of your consciousness and forcing yourself awake before the nightmare can really start. Except this time, you couldn’t escape. The longer it took, the harder it became to realise this was… just…….a……….dream…………

Something scurries behind you and you spin around, gasping into the thin air. Your eyes settle on the horizon, something red, shiny, beckoning you closer. Barely a second passed before it was right in front of your face; an intricate symbol on the stained glass frame. You had never seen it before.

You reach your hand out, fingers brushing against the doorknob, some kind of melody beating behind the door. It opened slowly with an echoing creak, a vision of a family standing around in the foyer, smiling. They were faceless, merely blurry projections of what your mind was assuming to be human. You’d never met them, never seen them before… why were you here?

And then a horrifying scream sliced through the silence like a cry of death.

The door behind you slams shut, making you jolt forward at the sudden noise. You try the doorknob again, but it’s locked now. Everything is quiet. Too quiet.

Shifting your body, your head cranes to glance over your shoulder and your stomach plummets to the ground, mouth feeling very dry. The family were no longer in a happy memory.

Blood was smeared across the floors, a man stood menacingly with a knife. He was humming a tune, striking every nerve in your body with the instinct to run. A woman and her children were on the floor, mouths moving in rhythm to the music but never awakening, like some kind of chant.

“Stars shining bright above you...” The man starts to sing with a low voice, his head slowly turning towards you. “Night breezes seem to whisper ‘I love you’….”

Everything about him felt warped from reality, some kind of veil on his human face flickering in and out to a horrific nightmare. There were claw marks all down his face, a hollow space where his eyes should be, blood dripping from his chin. And then an image of something burnt, red, winding. Both flickering in and out. In and out as he was slowly approaching you, some radio-like distortion warping into his own voice, a deep tone with a twisted malice.

“Birds singing in the sycamore tree….”

Your hands are now desperately twisting at the door, putting all of your strength into opening it. But no matter how hard you drove your body into it, the wooden barrier wouldn’t budge.

You pull your hand away from the door and glance over your shoulder, the murderer blankly staring at you. Then, some sort of ticking sound in front you brought you back, making your breath hitch.

The door was no longer there. Instead, a tall grandfather clock was speeding up through time, ticking viciously in front of you. The glass was cracked and spiders were starting to pour out of it. You stumble back, feeling the ghost of tears streaming down your face.

There’s an air of hot breath on your neck. With wide eyes, you slowly turn around to find the distorted image of the man barely an inch from your face. You tried to scream, but no sound left your mouth.

His voice was still low, leaning in and raising his knife.

“Dream a little dream... of me.”

The knife is plunged into your chest and-

And you wake up, sweating and panting, the constant image of death and macabre burnt into your subconscious.

It didn’t take long until curiosity took you over. The dream felt a little too real, too perfected to be some silly sensory experience your brain projected. You spent 10 hours in the library that day, cycling through newspaper articles, police reports, until finally you stumbled across something of substance.

VICTOR CREEL CLAIMS: ANCIENT DEMON KILLED FAMILY The Murder That Shocked A Small Community

The Creel House was a 20 minute bike ride from your grandparent’s house and so, thankful they were out for a meal, you decided to pay it a little visit.

You hadn’t expected it to be as big as it was considering all you had seen in your dream was the door and a foyer. Paint had chipped off over time, moss covering the flooring. The porch creaked under your weight and your breath hitches when you find the entrance to be completely boarded up.

What now? You mentally, sigh, looking at where the windows were also blocked by nailed down planks. You didn’t come all this way to turn back.

Determined, you hop down from the porch steps and follow the overgrown bushes to the right, squinting through the thick leaves for some kind of hidden entrance. The sky above you was a different hue of purple and orange, indicating the setting sun as the night slowly starts to creep in. You didn’t have much time before you were plunged into darkness.

As you approached the rear of the house, your eye catches something in the swarming ivy. You cover your hands with your jacket and gently start to bat them away, breath hitching. Another door.

On your first try, it appeared locked, making you sigh in frustration. Then, with a shove, it was only stuck with age and gave way almost instantly, making you stumble and cough into a cloud of dust.

Everything was covered in cobwebs, left exactly as it was when the house belonged to the Creel family. You found the foyer, relying on the restricted light from the windows to guide you around. You looked to the ground where the bodies had laid, eyes sweeping around the room to where you had stood in your dream, where the man had stood. You frown. Something was missing.

You weren’t sure why it was so important to you, but you searched the entire house for what felt like an hour. You explored the bedrooms, climbing the staircase begging there to be a reason why it wasn’t here.

Was the grandfather clock just in your imagination?

And then you spotted another staircase, leading further up the house. You vaguely remember the windows from the outside. Must be an attic, right?

Your suspicions were confirmed as you push against the worn door, floorboards groaning with every footstep you took. The air was colder here, prickling at your skin like a thousand tiny icicles. You look around, frowning. It still wasn’t here.

Something creaked from behind you and you spin around, relying on the last trickle of orange light from the sunset to observe your surroundings. No one was there. But that didn’t settle your nerves.

You felt like someone was watching you.

And you were right.

“Y/n.”

The voice felt like it was shaking the room, weaving into your brain like a horrific nightmare. You almost scream, heart pounding erratically as you start running out of that room, spilling curses from your lips. You never should have come here alone.

Your boots were almost slipping at your haste down the staircase, arm reaching out to grab the spindles and direct yourself back to the hidden door.

Never once did you look back, grabbing your bike and pedalling until your legs were sore. It was a stupid idea to have gone there in the first place, relying on what? A dream?

You never told anyone what you did, or what you heard. And the very next day, you handed in your assignment for extra credit to Mrs Click, forcing yourself to end your own torture and forget it ever even happened.

Present Day

You told Robin everything.

At least, you assume you did. You panicked so much about the possibility of ruining what potential friendship you could have that you must have blacked out during your explanation because the next thing you know, Robin’s hand is on your shoulder, thanking you for trusting her.

Her reaction was utterly mind-bending to you. Here you were, admitting you were a liar, and Robin wasn’t holding it against you, or making you feel any guiltier than you already do. In fact, her blue eyes were steadily on yours, flickering between your pupils in small but noticeable movements and making your stomach flutter whenever her lips-

“So, uh…” You clear your throat, feeling ashamed in yourself for even thinking it. This wasn’t you. You weren’t the type of girl to obsess over another person just because they showed you affection. “Are you… are you going to tell the others?”

Robin presses her lips together, eyes already travelling to where the others were arguing through the window of Bradley’s Big Buy behind the curb you sat on. None of you have really slept since last night, haunted by too many unanswered questions, knowing Vecna was directly below their feet. This morning, you were all up bright and early to collect some supplies for Eddie, and Robin’s heart hasn’t felt this low in a while.

She never had many friends. Truthfully, she blamed it on her personality. There was always a hint of sarcasm whenever she spoke, her jokes were either too dorky or too dark to be appreciate by her peers, and she loved to talk with the hope that if she keeps the conversation running long enough, they won’t notice how different she was.

Eddie Munson wasn’t a bad guy. In fact, Robin liked him. They’ve exchanged conversation over the course of the last few years in high school and never once has he made her feel like a freak. So, to know how helpless he is, she can’t help but feel for him. Because if people can jump to conclusions, pin an innocent man as a murderer… what hope did that give her?

Robin takes a deep breath, turning her head back to where you sit patiently, wide eyes begging for her answer. Are you going to tell the others? It was a simple yes or no. And most of the time, she couldn’t keep her mouth shut long enough to even warn the person she would be blurting copious amounts of secrets to, well, Steve for one.

Yet in the short time she’s known you, you’ve never given her any reason to not trust you. Not really. You had warned them of the danger and still come along to help them fight it. You had real reasons to be far away from here and yet you stayed. If anything, she thought you were the most trustworthy of them all. Because you were sacrificing so much more than just your spring break from college.

“Your secret is safe with me.” She smiles, revelling in the way relief pours from you in the form of a grin, suddenly reaching out and squeezing her hand just as the bell above the door sounds behind you.

“Am I interrupting?” Steve cocks a brow, juggling a paper bag on his hip, a smirk lifting the corner of his lips. Robin presses her tongue against her cheek, restraining her urge to literally bite him.

“It would be more surprising to find you were invited into a conversation.” You retaliate instead, and his smirk drops, rolling his eyes.

“Just… get in the car, losers.” He huffs, moving past you to the wagon and popping open the trunk, dropping the bag inside.

Robin’s heart yearns for your touch once more when your fingers slip from hers, following Max and settling beside her in the back, smiles gracing both of your features. Robin was never one for physical contact, unforgettable flashbacks to her parents ‘affection’ when she was a child; always strict, never kind. But with you…

She’s still stood by the curb watching the way you broke into easy conversation with the younger girl beside you when someone clears their throat. Her cheeks are already burning red when she turns around.

“You wanna… ride in the front with me?” Nancy offers, clearly ignoring her embarrassed flush. “I would ask Steve but he’d probably keep complaining about our mission without him.”

Nancy offers a smile, nudging her shoulder, and Robin feels surprised she even wants to spend time with her.

“Uh… yeah. Yeah, sure.”

They were about five minutes into the car ride before the calm wore off and everyone started arguing over Vecna. Nancy had turned on some music and told everyone to calm down and, much to her delight, everyone shut their mouths. Well, most did.

“I just think we aren’t taking that whole clock thing seriously, you know?” Steve mumbles through the chips he was currently crunching through. “He could have been a clockmaker?”

“Jesus, this again?” Dustin groans, inspecting the ingredients of a beer can and raising his eyebrows. “Wow, this definitely isn’t good for you.”

“Do you have to chew right in my ear?” You turn in your seat, glaring at Steve. He grabs another chip and places it in his mouth only to lean forward and bite down as hard as he can, grinning. “I hate you.”

“Feeling’s mutual.” He grins again and you turn back slowly in your seat, sporting a death glare that made Max laugh.

“Not to be a wimp, but can I maybe sit in the car for this visit?” Robin turns to Nancy after mentally battling with the idea of telling Eddie he was probably going to be in hiding for the rest of his life. “‘Cause this is gonna totally and royally suck.”

“It’ll be fine.” Nancy dismisses, trying to keep a cheerful tone.

“I just can’t stand to see those doe eyes of Eddie’s break again. I really, really can’t.” Robin says and you frown.

“At least he can drink himself into feeling better.” Steve suggests, still munching away.

“That’s what my mom does.” Max offers and you look between them, shaking your head.

“Okay, no, that’s not the silver lining we’re looking for.”

“Well, considering how messed up the poor guy looked last time we saw him, I’d say alcohol is probably the only silver lining he’s looking for.” Steve says and you scoff. “What, you saying you know him better than that? You weren’t even there.”

“Maybe I do.” You shrug and he twists his face.

“What does that-”

“Dude, you’re in a losing battle, they literally dated.” Dustin holds his hand out, saving his friend from putting his foot in his mouth.

Robin can’t help spinning around in her seat to face you, hiding her disappointment behind a curious smile.

“You… you dated Eddie?” She asks and you simply shrug again, looking at everyone.

“I didn’t realise none of you knew but, uh, yeah. Freshman year.” You explain, avoiding her eyes.

“Huh.” She settles back into her seat, feeling a horrific sense of dread pooling in her chest. You dated Eddie. Because you like boys. Like every girl in this town would.

“Freshman year?” Steve repeats, but you notice his eyes are on the back of Robin’s head, a look of concern woven into the crease between his brows.

“Yes, Steve. Can we talk about something else?” You shift uncomfortably, Max’s sympathetic smile consoling you in silence.

“What are we gonna tell him, though?” Lucas looks around, shaking his head. “We should at least know what we’re gonna say so we don’t end up confusing him even more like last time.”

“Why don’t we just give it a trial run?” Robin suggests, anything to keep her mind focused on not thinking about the heartbreak steadily creeping up on her. “Hey, Eddie. Uh, good news first this time, we got you some Dustin-approved junk food and that six-pack that you requested. Oh yeah, and we found Vecna. Only the bad news is that he’s in that other, darker, much scarier dimension that we told you about and the gate’s closed, so we have no way of getting to him, like he’s entirely shut off to us, so basically you’re screwed. And, no, I know, you were already screwed, but now you’re like, doubly, triply screwed.”

“Okay, wait, wait.” Lucas leans forward, frowning. “Maybe we don’t put it like that.”

“We’re one step closer to finding Vecna.” Nancy nods, taking a deep breath. “That’s what we say. That’s what’s important.”

“See, Robin? A positive spin can make all the difference.” Steve announces from the back.

“Uh-huh.” Robin rolls her eyes.

“That’s if he doesn’t mind those words coming from his ex.” Dustin mutters and she clicks her tongue.

“Oh shit.” Nancy suddenly says and you all turn to look forward, breaths hitching.

“Um… didn’t you say Eddie was hiding out here?” You ask, mouth feeling dry.

Police cars, news vans, and a hefty crowd were gathered in front of the lake house, swarming it with police tape. You all slide out of the car, following Nancy’s lead around the back of a van to hear what the chief had to say.

Luckily, they hadn’t caught him. But that luck was entirely overshadowed by the fact that someone else fell victim to Vecna last night, and now Eddie’s name and photo were shown for everyone to see.

The man-hunt had begun.

“Why would he go to Skull Rock?” Lucas ponders as you all follow Dustin and Steve ahead, tired legs taking you through the thick expanse of the woods.

“Isn’t that the high school make-out spot?” Robin asks before it feels bitter on her tongue. Did he used to take you there?

“It’s also where kids go to smoke weed.” You say, eyes focused on the ground in front of you.

“Huh.” She responds and Nancy glances between you both before changing the subject.

“Uh, so, Y/n?” You whip your head up, meeting Nancy’s eyes. “How’s college? Stanford, right?”

“Yeah. Yeah, it’s… good.” You shrug, smiling.

“You’re taking journalism?”

“Right.” You breathe, reminding yourself she wasn’t your enemy. In fact, Nancy was one of the kindest people you knew. You shouldn’t be holding a grudge over something that was never her fault. “I, um… I also decided to take a creative writing course, test the waters a bit.”

She smiles, eyes lighting up when you don’t dismiss her. “That sounds-”

“So why did you and Eddie break up?” Robin interjects and you suddenly breathe in too quickly, coughing on literal air.

“Robin.” Nancy gapes at her.

“What? I don’t want it to be any more awkward than it already is. His heart’s already breaking, I’m just- I’m looking out for the guy, that’s all.”

“You don’t have to worry about that, Eddie and I are still friends. It was a long time ago.” You add, your heart skipping faster.

“Right.” She says, blinking. “Good, I mean. Good that you’re still friends. Because it would be weird. Not that it’s weird you guys dated. Although, I never would have paired you guys together. Not that it doesn’t mean you wouldn’t go for a guy- like Eddie! Like Eddie... Because, uh, like, opposites attract more often than not, right? Unless you like heavy metal and D&D and-”

“What Robin is trying to say is that we’re glad we’re not dragging you to someone you don’t want to see.” Nancy offers and Robin exhales deeply, nodding.

“Yep, what, uh, what she said.”

You don’t say anything after that and Robin scrunches up her face, falling just behind you and Nancy to mouth her frustrated screams at herself. Why can’t she just keep her mouth shut? Does she have to ruin every little thing and alienate every single good thing in her life until-

Lucas and Max are staring at her, a rush of blood adding pink to the tip of her ears. She awkwardly smiles and hurries back up to where you and Nancy walk in silence, looking amused at the arguing boys ahead of you.

“Dude, I’m telling you, you’re taking us the wrong way.” Steve stresses, looking at Dustin like he was a madman for thinking otherwise.

“It’s north. I’m positive.” Dustin says, waving the paper in his hands. “I checked the map.”

“You do realise that Skull Rock, it’s like a super popular make-out spot?”

“Yeah, so?”

“Yeah, well, it wasn’t popular until I made it popular.” Steve boasts, raising his brows. “Alright? I practically invented it.”

“I thought Dan Shelter made it popular?” You quip, already visualising the scowl on his face before he even turned around to aim it at you. “Right, okay, sorry.”

“An apology, wow.” He remarks, laughing. “The world really is upside down today.”

“Ha.” You roll your eyes, putting a hand on Dustin’s shoulder as you approach them. “But Steve’s right, we’re heading the wrong way.”

Robin frowns. So you have been there before. Her chest feels like it’s squeezing the life out of her and she takes a deep breath. She should have just stuck to small crushes like Vickie. At least then she wouldn’t have to deal with her aching heart until Friday night band practices.

“Finally something we can agree on.” Steve smirks at Dustin, breaking off the path much to Dustin’s objections.

A little further into the woods, Robin looks back to see Lucas and Max in deep conversation, somewhat happy but sad at the same time to see them so close. She jumps down from a tree root and groans.

“Oh my God, they’re so adorable, I just wanna squeeze ‘em, you know?” Robin says, making you and Nancy chuckle.

“Y/n?”

You all turn to see Max stood behind you, Lucas giving a shy smile before jogging ahead to find Dustin. Looking to the girls, you give them a small salute before slowly your footsteps to stand beside Max.

Robin can’t help but smile as you go, realising there and then, she was (for the first time in her life) in the need for girl talk. And Nancy was right there, ready to go. But she couldn’t just outright say it, right? She would need some way to talk about a relationship without talking about her relationship.

“If I’m permitted to see a silver lining in any of this end-of-the-world doom and gloom, it would be the rekindling of old flames that frankly never should’ve been snuffed out.” She points a smirk at Nancy who returns her implication with wide eyes. Robin’s face drops. “I didn’t mean that as a hint or anything.”

“Right.” Nancy turns her head and Robin thins her lips. Her first girl talk and she’s ruined it in the first 5 seconds.

“But if I did mean it as a hint, would that be so terrible?” She tries, suddenly a lot more interested in someone else’s relationship problems. “For me to wish for happiness for my friends?”

Nancy scoffs. “You think I’m not happy?”

“I… I’m sure you are. It’s just, the other day in the library, I mentioned Jonathan and you sort of flinched, or winced, or something like-”

“I didn’t flinch or... wince.” She defends herself, not well enough for it to escape Robin’s radar however. “Jonathan and I are fine.”

“Got it.”

“We’re good.”

“Right.”

Nancy stares at her for a little bit before a hint of conflict rushes over her face and Robin knows she’s finally hit ‘girl talk’.

“It’s just…” She starts, hugging the bag of groceries like a safety blanket. “He was supposed to be here for the break, and then he backed out at the last minute for some vague, mumbly Jonathan reason. And, to be honest, I’m not that surprised because I’ve been feeling him pulling away lately and- and I don’t know if it’s because we’re 2000 miles away or if he met someone new or what. And now I can’t find out why because apparently he’s blown up his family’s house phone or something. So, yeah, if… if the mention of his name caused a slight muscle spasm on my face, that’s… probably why.”

Robin offers a sympathetic smile. “Seems like a perfectly reasonable reason to flinch, wince, or something.”

“You said, the happiness of your friends.” Nancy recalls, smiling. “So… does that make us friends? As in, officially?”

“Uh, yeah.” Robin blinks. “I… I mean, right?”

“Right.” She chuckles, shaking her head. “Well, since we’re friends, is there anyone in… your life, that makes you happy?”

“Oh, uh…” Robin clears her throat, a breathy laugh showing her nerves. “Not really, no. No.”

“Really?” Nancy smiles in disbelief, “No one at all?”

Robin must have hesitated a second too long because Nancy is already tightening her lips, eyes light.

“Oh my- tell me.” She giggles and Robin can’t help but laugh, feeling somewhat bubbly inside at what could be her only female friend. “Please, I want to be obsessed with someone else’s love life for once.”

“Um, well, I don’t know what there is to say.” Robin blinks, unsure of how this could go.

“Just… tell me about him.”

Nancy smiles so innocently and it physically breaks Robin’s heart, cutting into a scarred wound only people like her ever could. Him. If only it were that simple.

“Well, uh, they- he, he…” Robin tries searching for the words, realising it was much harder to pretend she was crushing over a guy than it was to convince a director of an asylum that she was a prodigy in psychology. So, she spoke the truth as vaguely as she could. “He’s kind of new- in my life, I mean. I think I’ve seen him around school before but we never really crossed paths and that was fine because, well, I didn’t know what I was missing out on, you know? But, um, recently, I mean recently we got to spend a lot of time together, sometimes alone, and it- it… god, how do I put it?”

“It made you feel happier than you have in a long time?” She offers and Robin nods, scrunching her brows.

“Yeah.” She breathes, shaking her head. “I mean, it’s literally just… it’s weird, like, I haven’t even known him that long and yet I can’t stop thinking about him all the time until I’m literally sick of myself for not getting over it because we can’t work, it wouldn’t work, but also we could? Everything is mostly just a battle with myself because I can’t talk to Steve about him, like, what advice would he even offer me? Gel up my hair and say cheesy pick-up lines? No thank you. And I know I could probably just cut my losses and realise he probably doesn’t even like me back, but I can’t help just wanting him to be there like all the time, like on a- a personal level, so to speak. I wanna get to know him more, learn more about him but every time I try to I’m just babbling like a lunatic. I…”

She takes another deep breath, relaxing her shoulders. “It’s just a stupid little crush though, right? It’ll go away?”

She looks at Nancy like the girl will hold all the answers to the universe. There was a sly smirk on her face.

“Sounds like more than just a crush.” She says and Robin frowns.

“Wha- what? No, no it’s gonna… it’s just a crush.”

“A crush is like… like getting a little giddy when they come by but forgetting about them in moments that don’t have them in it.” Nancy tries to explain, tilting her head in thought. “But… but then there’s something more. Like... no matter how hard you try, you’re constantly thinking about them, about what it would be like to be with them. And then you’re noticing the little things about them, their likes or dislikes, if they smile with their teeth or have dimples. Mostly how they act around you and how scared but excited you feel when they’re sitting closer. And all this happens while your heart feels… sick, maybe.”

Robin is slowly nodding along, checking off all of her symptoms in a mental checklist.

“And when they’re not around you, you’re just waiting and waiting until you can see them again.” She smiles to herself and Robin bites her lip.

“Is that how you felt with Jonathan?”

“Yeah.” She says, adjusting the bag in her hands. “Before we started dating, I was feeling all of those things. And then…”

“And then?” Robin prompts, raising her eyebrows.

Nancy turns toward her with a knowing smile. “And then I figured out I was falling in love.”

Robin’s breath hitches in her throat, almost stumbling over another intruding tree root in the dirt. Nancy giggles a little, finding the humour in the situation. But Robin didn’t feel that. No, she felt sick. She’s crushed on girls in the past, loads of times even. So, when you came along being so nice and sweet and pretty, it was inevitable that she’d be turning a light shade of red whenever you batted your eyelashes at her, just like any other girl has. But she was wrong. Dear God, was she wrong. She didn’t have a crush on you.

She was falling in love with you.

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[darkdevasofdestruction]

Chapter 2 - Pariah

Waking up in the Raymond Manor isn't exactly the most eventful, or even cheerful activity one can do. Katrina, of all people, would know after all.  Her personal maid gets into her room, wakes her up, helps her dress - As though she's incapable of doing so herself! The audacity! - Then she is served breakfast, which consists of the same type of tea every damn day, and some bread and jam, or some scones. Nothing too much, of course, or her silhouette is going to get ruined.

Once the morning routine is over, and she's had her make up and hair done, she begins her classes. Not that she has the privilege of choosing what lessons she could do, otherwise, she'd have loved to pursue her love and passion for Science and Medicine. Ever since she's found her brother's hidden book stash, she's been obsessed with learning more. Alas, she was forced to study arts, languages and lady mannerism... 

Of course, she was of the impression that each and every skill, no matter how little or insignificant, should prove useful, in one way or another; Though her parents simply wish her to appear aesthetically pleasing for her future husband. She's never going to be allowed to get a job, she's just supposed to marry her fiance soon and start popping out an endless string of heirs. Exist simply for the sake of others. Being born in a noble family where only appearances and wealth matter - A privilege for the men, a curse for the women. Lo and behold the blood purity of the Raymond family!

All day, every day, the very same, maddening things. Violin class. German class. French class. Latin class. Painting class. Manners class. Dancing class.

Katrina was at her wit's end. Her parents being unnecessarily strict wasn't helping either - They were of the belief that the sole role of a woman was to bring heirs into this world and look pleasing to her Lord Husband's eye.  Katrina strongly disagrees. She had the mental capacity, the ambition and the strength to become someone worthy, someone relevant in society - And that can only be done if she manages to break free from the invisible bird cage she was locked in.

Eighteen years. It will be eighteen years in January that she's had to go through all this. Things had to stop, forever. Katrina was at her breaking point - She was dead set on escaping this endless purgatory loop and get the hell out of this place. Her mind was set. She was going to start living her life.

As the grandfather clock chimed midnight, Katrina hopped off her bed and kicked the luggage hidden behind the wardrobe; She threw inside a few comfortable dresses and all of her brother's secret science books. Once her bag was done, she took all the bed sheets and the rest of the dresses, tying them together, and to the edge of the bedpost and threw it off the window, climbing down, like in the story of Rapunzel.

The perk of living in London was that she knew exactly who she could go and ask for help - The notoriously strange Undertaker. After about two or three hours of walking though the dark, cobbled streets of this wretched city, and thankfully successfully avoiding all the strays, hobos and the drunks, she was able to find her way in front of the Undertaker's parlor. She firmly knocked on the door and trying the handle, she nonchalantly stepped inside, hearing the familiar eerie giggle echoing through the pitch black room.

Waking up in the Raymond Manor isn't exactly the most eventful, or even cheerful activity one can do. Katrina, of all people, would know after all.  Her personal maid gets into her room, wakes her up, helps her dress - As though she's incapable of doing so herself! The audacity! - Then she is served breakfast, which consists of the same type of tea every damn day, and some bread and jam, or some scones. Nothing too much, of course, or her silhouette is going to get ruined.

Once the morning routine is over, and she's had her make up and hair done, she begins her classes. Not that she has the privilege of choosing what lessons she could do, otherwise, she'd have loved to pursue her love and passion for Science and Medicine. Ever since she's found her brother's hidden book stash, she's been obsessed with learning more. Alas, she was forced to study arts, languages and lady mannerism... 

Of course, she was of the impression that each and every skill, no matter how little or insignificant, should prove useful, in one way or another; Though her parents simply wish her to appear aesthetically pleasing for her future husband. She's never going to be allowed to get a job, she's just supposed to marry her fiance soon and start popping out an endless string of heirs. Exist simply for the sake of others. Being born in a noble family where only appearances and wealth matter - A privilege for the men, a curse for the women. Lo and behold the blood purity of the Raymond family!

All day, every day, the very same, maddening things. Violin class. German class. French class. Latin class. Painting class. Manners class. Dancing class.

Katrina was at her wit's end. Her parents being unnecessarily strict wasn't helping either - They were of the belief that the sole role of a woman was to bring heirs into this world and look pleasing to her Lord Husband's eye.  Katrina strongly disagrees. She had the mental capacity, the ambition and the strength to become someone worthy, someone relevant in society - And that can only be done if she manages to break free from the invisible bird cage she was locked in.

Eighteen years. It will be eighteen years in January that she's had to go through all this. Things had to stop, forever. Katrina was at her breaking point - She was dead set on escaping this endless purgatory loop and get the hell out of this place. Her mind was set. She was going to start living her life.

As the grandfather clock chimed midnight, Katrina hopped off her bed and kicked the luggage hidden behind the wardrobe; She threw inside a few comfortable dresses and all of her brother's secret science books. Once her bag was done, she took all the bed sheets and the rest of the dresses, tying them together, and to the edge of the bedpost and threw it off the window, climbing down, like in the story of Rapunzel.

The perk of living in London was that she knew exactly who she could go and ask for help - The notoriously strange Undertaker. After about two or three hours of walking though the dark, cobbled streets of this wretched city, and thankfully successfully avoiding all the strays, hobos and the drunks, she was able to find her way in front of the Undertaker's parlor. She firmly knocked on the door and trying the handle, she nonchalantly stepped inside, hearing the familiar eerie giggle echoing through the pitch black room.

"Oh dear, who do we have here? Are you not aware of the time~?" one by one, small candles started lighting up, revealing the creepy man and his large grin, standing inside a vertical coffin. "I believe it is exactly 3:15am, sir." Katrina answered, straining her eyes to read the dark clock from the parlor. "Is it not quite late for a young lady, such as yourself, to be going into creepy shops?" the Undertaker hummed in amusement. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but being 3 IN THE MORNING, I believe it is too EARLY." she put emphasis on the words, cheekily letting the luggage fall to the ground. "And with what purpose have you come here, in my humble parlor, at this early hour, much before the opening time?" the man quickly corrected himself, not without the complimentary chuckle.

"I need your help and I think you are the sole person in this disgusting, God-forsaken city, that could help me." the girl replied, slowly prowling around.

"You think, or you hope?" the man ticked her off. "A bit of both, Undertaker. A bit of both. So will you hear me out?" she couldn't help but sigh in annoyance at his antics. "I am listening... With a condition." Undertaker said. "By all means, do take a seat, my coffins are quite comfortable. I believe we have quite the interesting conversation ahead. It would be rude of me to keep a lady standing." "Why, thank you for your hospitality." as instructed, she sat opposite of him - A small table positioned between them. "You want to know why am I here, correct?" the man's grin only widened. "I am not certain you remember, but when I was young, my elder brother died of a disease and my parents allowed me to choose his coffin. Nevertheless, the day I came here, I became fascinated with... Science." as she spoke, she found herself standing up and walking around the parlor again. She noticed a skull on a shelf, and she picked it in her palm, stroking it tenderly. "After his death, I started studying my brother's books that he kept hidden under his bed. He, much like myself, was also science-orientated." "A noble woman, with all the commodities in the world, except for her freedom, thus, having nothing really at all. What a sad life to live, little bird." the Undertaker's comment made her snap a glare his way. "We are at the end of the 19th century and the role of the female gender is null. Birth-giving is not a relevant role. Looking pleasing is not a relevant role. And this is not normal at all! If the true capacity of all women that have to suppress their intelligence would be developed, then the world would have been much, much farther than it is now." Katrina exclaimed, returning to her seat on the coffin. "And you came here so that you -" the man was cut off immediately by the girl speaking. "So that I could help you with autopsies and -" but she, too, had her sentence continued. "Be able to study science at your leisure." the man seemed incredibly delighted at the story he was told. "I would be glad to welcome you as my new apprentice, then, my lady." "Katrina. Just Katrina is fine. After all, I'm not exactly a noble lady anymore. I am a simple, runaway girl. A pariah, if you will." the red head scoffed, looking away with disdain. "Any girl is a lady, my dear." the Undertaker corrected her. "Suit yourself. Just let me tag along. I require no payment. I just need to survive somehow." she cleared her throat, only to see the man waltzing to her coffin and pull her into his chest, petting her hair as though she was some kind of animal. "Worry not, child, for I will take care of you, for as long as you need." though Kat hasn't felt this awkward and uncomfortable in a long time, she had to admit, it was not a bad feeling altogether. "You have my thanks. And now... Regarding the famous Jack the Ripper case... What do you know?" Kat could feel a low rumble erupting from his throat, hauntingly resounding through the place. "What do you want me to know, little songbird?" he asked, his long nails tilting her chin up to face him. "Everything." with a creepy laugh, he lead Katrina to a back room, where different corpses were laid, and despite the late hour, they started her first official lesson in anatomy and forensics. "How greedy you are, my little songbird - I might just confuse you with a magpie." the man laughed at her.

"Either way, you would be copiously wrong. After all, Undertaker, I am a fox, not some silly bird." she harshly corrected him, not without a hint of condescence.

"You may wish to reconsider some day, my dear. The Queen is known to often indulge in fox hunts, after all; She loves her fox-fur clothes." he taunted her. "And noblemen are especially fond of pretty birds who can sing pretty melodies on command."

"You better cease with your ideas, Undertaker, unless you want me to rip your throat out and take over your business." she gripped him by the neck of his robes, roughly pulling her down to her level.

"You are so full of life, my dear lady - I can only hope that you will have plenty of years ahead of you to remain just as lively." hearing his ominous implication, Katrina bruskly pushed him away, though she eyed him suspiciously before crouching down to the farther-most coffin, waiting for the first lecture.

Until the Sun rose up on the sky, Katrina listened intently to every word that the Undertaker was speaking - Those which regarded the medical topic, at least - Though she soon found her eyes closing against her will, and it was decided that she should rest for a while, before the parlor opens and she gets to be shown how to help him business-wise also.

During her sleep, however, Kat had a flashback she never thought she'd remember again. It featured her brother, in his bed, before the night of the funeral. That night, she sat in a chair, near his bed, holding his cold hand, and weeping. It was getting colder and colder, especially since the room window was open and the winter's harsh breeze was whipping her skin.

However, when she got up to close the window, a most peculiar individual in a suit, with a gardening tool in his grasp, was in front of her, looking sternly, with piercing, glowing green eyes, of a shade much brighter than her own. They looked mystical... Otherworldly.

"Ex-Excuse me, sir... But may I ask... Who are you?" the little child gulped, trying her best to stay brave in front of the intruder. "My name is William T. Spears and I am here to collect your brother's soul." the man spoke in an impersonal, firm voice. "What do you mean? Who are you? No... WHAT are you?" she asked, peering straight into those supernatural orbs. "A Shinigami." he replied simply, taking out a small red book and rapidly flipping the pages, until he reached a certain profile. "Katrina Raymond, seven years of age, born on January 3rd." he read from the book. "You are about to witness your brother's cinematic record. Have these last memories as a divine gift." William readied the branch snapper. "Now stand aside, young one."

Scuttering behind him, William collected her brother's soul by impaling his dead body and before her very eyes, Katrina could see her brother's memories - With herself, with their parents and dog, with his friends from Weston college... And some other scenes that she couldn't quite understand.

"Remember this moment, young one. Your brother was unable to escape the grips of fate... Perhaps you may." William went to leave through the window, but just before he left, Katrina rushed to grab his waistcoat and made him turn to her. "Mr. William? Tell me the truth of my brothers death - Please! What did he die of? They said it's a disease... B-But I'm not sure how true that is; He didn't have that illness's symptoms!! I suspect foul play!" the Shinigami looked down at her tearful eyes, and something about her naive innocence, associated with the truth of her brother's death, made his heart break. He hated to admit, but children have always been a weakness of his. He looked at Katrina with pity, a pondering look on his face and said a single word, before looking away and leaping out of the room. "Disease". and thus remained the finality of her brother's epilogue.

As Katrina woke up, recalling the dream she just had, her vision still blurry; She stretched her arms - Only to see a food tray being shoved in front of her, and a grinning Undertaker, awfully jovial. "Good afternoon, little ray of sunshine~" "I didn't expect this-... But uh... Good afternoon to you too?" the girl muttered, her voice still hoarse from her sleepiness, only to straighten immediately. "Afternoon?! Is it afternoon already? Undertaker, you should NOT have allowed me to sleep in so much! I'm going to become a slob!" "Sleep is most important for a young lady like yourself to gain her strength - Surely, you know that already, don't you?" his reply only made her glare at him. "I will get ready as fast as I can and we can start working." she snatched the tray from his hands and began eating. "So diligent~! Yes, yes, we will have a most interesting day ahead! I strongly believe so!" with a melodic hum, the man waltzed out of her room, allowing her the required time to enjoy her routine.

After she finished eating and prepared for the day, Katrina dressed up in a simple, comfortable green dress; She wished she had black dresses - Alas, she owned only colours to make her look pretty, but nothing practical. As she idly started working on an autopsy, she unconsciously found herself muttering, again and again "Cyno... Matrix..."  trying to relate it to something... Anything that makes sense... The memories she was shown that night...

The constant murmurs seemed to attract the man's attention, as he cocked his head to the side quizzically. "Are you saying something, dear?" "Oh, I apologise for disturbing you. I just remembered a past memory from my childhood and I'm trying to understand something that makes little sense... If, at all." she sighed softly, ruffling her hair, which was simply let down, for once. "And what would that be?" the Undertaker asked, propping his elbows on the counter and resting his chin on his hands. "Do you believe in Shinigami, Undertaker?" she abruptly turned to face him. "Like in those old stories?" he giggled lightly. "I know it sounds stupid, but I think I met one, when my brother died." Katrina sighed, annoyed with herself. "He somehow came in the room through the window... The third floor window, mind you... With a branch snapper or something... And he said he was there to collect my brother's soul." Undertaker's smirk seemed to grown "Are you sure you weren't dreaming, my dear? Might have been your young self's way of coping with the shock of losing your beloved brother~."  "I don't think that's the case. He told me to remember that moment... It couldn't have been a coping defense mechanism - I have always been a rational person!" Kat exclaimed with mild frustration. "That sounds fantastic~. Anything else about this individual?" his voice almost sounded teasing. "I can't remember much... But he wore glasses and had bright green eyes... They looked as if they were glowing... Nothing humanly... And when he impaled my brother, I saw his memories! Yes, that's right - I was in his memories too! It had to be right. He said it was a... Um... Cyno... Matrix record? Cynomatrix... Is that even a word?" she tried to explain, though the puzzle pieces weren't fitting together. "Or perhaps... A Cinematic record~?" Kat's eyes widened comically at the sound of the key word. "Cine... Matic... Cinematic re- YES! You are correct! It was a Cinematic Record! Now the word makes much more sense!" she exclaimed in shock. "The story sounds stunning, but how are you going to prove it is true?" the man giggled at her, waltzing from behind the bar, and to her spot. "I can only try and pursue it somehow, correct?" she spoke firmly. "Dreams do come true, if you pursue them and fight for them." he answered enigmatically. "Do you know what else I've been dreaming of; Though, I think that finding a Shinigami would be far easier to accomplish than this one..." she muttered softly, only to earn a hum to continue. "You must have heard of Weston College, haven't you? The best College in the country?" "Oh yes, I see where you're going with this. You wish to attend this College, which would help greatly with your career, am I correct?" her cheeks warmed up slightly, serving as a positive answer. "I will see what I can do, dearie~." before Kat could answer him, the sound of the door bell softly chiming was heard, indicating the arrival of customers. "Do join us, my dear! Let me make my entrance though - Follow right behind!" "... Of bloody course..." like a child, he hid in a coffin, his eccentric, creepy giggle resounding through the whole parlor.

Sighing, and with her hands soaked in blood, Katrina kicked the door to the front of the house open, glaring at her boss. "Glad you joined us, dearie~!" he chirped, only to see his little apprentice march up in front of him and use his grey robes to wipe away the blood. "You are a menace, Undertaker." she scoffed, leaning back on the counter, her arms crossed. "Manners, my dear. This is Earl Phantomhive, I believe you know him by now." Katrina immediately snapped her head to look at the young, frowning boy with an eyepatch. "Phantomhive? Are you, really? Queen's Chihuahua and all that?" she found herself asking. "It is EARL Phantomhive for you." the young boy snapped at her like a brat. "Undertaker, since when did you employ such uncouth workers?" "Little Earl, Little Earl, don't insult my little fox, she might bite your nose in your sleep!" the man cackled in amusement. "That's right, Ciel - Didn't you know, Noble Women are not allowed to work, therefore, I'm just a simple apprentice." Katrina smirked down at him. "Who in the world are you?" Ciel asked perplex. "Don't you remember Katrina, Ciel? Daughter of the High Court Judge, Duke Nicholas Raymond - You used to play together when she was courted by Edward, right?" the Earl's aunt hummed in amusement. "Angelina, you have no idea how great it is to be seeing you again." Kat offered her a smile before pulling her into a familial embrace. "I am surprised they let you out of the house. How did you manage?" Madame Red smirked down at the girl. "I ran away, of course. I wanted to pursue a medical career, much like you. There are only so many paintings one can do before they go crazy." she chuckled casually. Whenever they would all meet up, Angelina was always the one she loved spending time with - Her, Rachel and Vincent, of course. "You should have come over to stay at mine. A funeral parlor is no place for a beautiful young lady like yourself to be at." Angelina whined playfully. "It's quite alright - I actually think it's a great place for me. I'm enjoying my stay here." the girl smiled back. "No wonder the Queen's letter mentioned a certain fox. That was you. I had no idea you became one one Her Majesty's companions." Ciel grunted in response. "Actually, I'm quite sure I was a fox before you become a puppy." Kat smirked down at him. "Now, I believe you should be introducing your companions. I don't recall you parading yourself with a young butler - Unless Tanaka somehow found the Fountain of Youth."

"Tanaka is home, with the other servants. This is Sebastian." Ciel threw a dismissive hand towards the butler.

Sebastian bowed at the lady, holding her hand and placing a kiss on it. "It is an honor, my lady."

"Likewise." as the man rose his head, Katrina noticed the magenta flash of his cat-like eyes, glowing for just a split second. "Lovely eyes." she found herself sharply looking in his eyes - He, also, though there was this hidden glint of mischief that seemed to be taunting her.

"And this is Lau, of the KunLun trading company." Ciel pointed towards his Chinese companion.

"Nǐ hǎo, wǒ měilì de húdié." the man smiled enigmatically at her, bowing slightly at the waist, though with some hint of royal vibes.

"I'm not sure what you said, but I hope you called me beautiful." Kat chuckled lightly, doing a little courtesy for him, before addressing the whole group. "You are here because of the Ripper thing, right?"

"Precisely~. Everyone's been scared because of the disturbance. But this isn't the first time I've handled this kind of thing." Undertaker hummed, as though he was high on opium.

"Not the first time? And what do you mean by that?" Madame Red found herself inquiring.

"It happened before. A case where prostitutes were killed. In fact, the way they were killed was similar too." Undertaker allowed his words to linger like dripping poison.

"The police didn't fuss about it much. Quite ignorant, if you ask me. Speaks volumes about how safe we are, as a society." Katrina scoffed, rolling her eyes.

"But the murdered prostitutes had all something in common." the parlor owner continued speaking.

"Something in common...?" Ciel found himself repeating in a voice barely above a murmur.

"What is it?" the butler asked in his master's stead.

"Well now, I wonder what. I wonder what it is indeed. Is it bothering you?" as Undertaker dragged his sentences, Kat couldn't help but pinch the bridge of her nose, remembering that he also asked for a price for her staying over, and though it was seemingly paid, she wasn't sure how exactly she managed to entertain him. She was going to have a blast.

"I see, so that's how it is. You're very good at business, Undertaker. So? How much money do you want?" Lau was the first to hum, realising the hidden meaning behind those words.

"Oh, no, no money here, I assure you. This buffoon isn't shallow enough to beg for this capitalistic kind of currency." the master of the place found himself laughing, throwing his arms up into the sky before draping them around his little apprentice's petite body, forcefully pulling her into his chest and petting her hair as though she was some kind of house cat.

"You've only just arrived, and you know me so well! I might as well cry!" he giggled, swinging the poor, dizzy girl back and forth. "You see, young Earl, I have no interest in the Queen's money! Instead, there is something, a single requirement that I have -" the man threw Kat back towards the coffin; though he might have miscalculated how hazy her vision was, as she got the heel of her boot caught in the corner of the coffin they were sitting on, and the lady unceremoniously found herself falling to the ground with a little squeal. "A FIRST RATE LAUGH!" the Undertaker was absolutely flying with euphoria, whilst his poor apprentice was dexterously caught in the rescuing arms of her black butler knight.

"That is no way to treat a lady, Undertaker. I will have to ask you to be more attentive when it comes to Miss Raymond's well-being." Sebastian mildly scolded the parlor owner, though he was in a completely other world. Despite all this, Kat didn't quite mind being held by the butler - In fact, the way his baritone voice spoke so close to her ear almost sent a shiver down her spine.

"That is quite alright, I suppose I have to get used to his antics, sooner rather than later. Thank you for the rescue, Sebastian... And do call me by my name, if you will." with a little help, the red head was able to sit back on the coffin, though keeping the safe distance from the madman.

"As you wish, my lady." the raven haired man nodded at her with a simple smile.

"Well then, if entertainment is needed, let me handle this. The sleeping Tiger of the Shanghai's New Year party, also referred to as my soul! This should satisfy you! Do you like it?" all the people inside of the parlor blinked in complete confusion at his attempt at... Whatever he wanted to say. It failed tragically either way. "It looks like he still won't talk, Lau. It can't be helped then. I, Madam Red, a Beauty of High Society, shall make my appearance now! If I ask him, he'll be sure to tell us!" though Madame Red boasted about her social butterfly status and proceeded to spew around all the gossips and dirty jokes that she knew, for at least an hour... Her attempt ended also in complete failure, and Undertaker was compelled to plaster both their mouths shut. "That was tragic." Katrina sighed, shaking her head in disdain. "Honestly, you will have to do much better than that if you want to get a laugh out of a man who serenades every cadaver he meets" "Come on, Earl, I've helped you many times in the past, can't you be nice to me just this once?" Undertaker whined, his fingers wiggling as long nails almost scraped as his soft cheeks.  "It can't be helped." Sebastian spoke firmly, raising the sleeves of his coat. "S-Sebastian?!" gasped out his butler's name in shock. "It's the butler's turn now?" Undertaker hummed, a grin on his face. "Everyone, please step outside for a moment." the raven haired man instructed his companions. "You must absolutely NOT peek inside." "Entertain us, O, the saving grace of the little, helpless puppy." Katrina smirked provoking at him, crossing a leg over the other and leaning forward, unmoving from the coffin she was sitting on. The butler cleared his throat, and with a straight face, he spoke out his joke. "The strangest kind of table is the onion." said he, in that mild, alluring voice of his. "...The onion... A table? Are you high on opium, Mr. Butler? That simply cannot be." Katrina scoffed at him, rather amused at his attempted. "Oh, but yes it is, my lady. It is a vegetable." using the right emphasis to show off the validity of his previous claim, Undertaker found himself falling off the counter and laughing so hard that the whole parlor shook. Katrina, also, couldn't help but look away and hide her shocked laugh - How could a joke so bad make one laugh so good? "... I am appalled and impressed at the same time. You have my respect, Sebastian." the man bowed deeply in front of the lady, though she didn't miss the split second smirk and yet another flash of those bewitching eyes of his. "I am most honoured, My Lady." 

As Sebastian gracefully invited everyone back to the parlor, Katrina had to get up and attempt to calm down the mortician, albeit, with the use of some dog biscuits, as she started telling them the story of the Jack the Ripper victims.

"Based on that laughter, I can only assume Undertaker was satisfied with the payment, therefore, it is safe for me to disclose the research I've done." Kat cleared her throat, a somber serenity taking over her. "All of the victims were female prostitutes and all of them had a missing, representative organ. If you haven't guessed by now, it's the uterus. It's been carefully taken away. In fact, I would say, it was accurately, surgically removed." "That is correct, my dear. Recently, this kind of 'guests'  have been rapidly increasing. Their whole bodies dripping with blood, it's made me very busy. I am, however, thankful to my little apprentice." Undertaker hummed euphorically.

"The pleasure is all mine, by all means. If I may continue on this report and add up to the last fact of being 'carefully' taken away, one might conclude that, despite being few people on the streets at night, the culprit has at least the minimum anatomical knowledge, to perform such a clean and specific organ removal, in the pitch black of the back-alleys they were found in." the apprentice continued on.

"Very well, little fox, you did your homework well~. Young Earl, if he had to act on such a short time, he should slit the throat first and proceed to cut the stomach. It's easier to succeed this way. He will keep committing crimes, unless someone stops him. Can you stop him? The Notorious Noble - Earl of Phantomhive." the mortician taunted the little earl.

"The world of darkness has the world of darkness' rules. He wouldn't murder random people for no reason." Ciel concluded simply.

"A serial killer always follows a certain pattern. Should be easy enough to catch him." Kat nodded her head in solemn agreement.

"Then, want to join in the fun of one of the Queen's underground pet? I doubt you've done any legwork your entire life." the chihuahua smirked at the surprised little fox.

"Oh, you want me to join?" with the silent excitement and joy of a child, her sparkling green eyes shifted towards the Undertaker, awaiting for his approval.

"Take care of my little fox, Earl. Bring her home safe. I wouldn't want to see her becoming some ugly noble lady's fur scarf." the comment only made the girl glare at him and get to her feet, turning her back to the man.

"Foxes have rabies, Undertaker. We live together now - I would sleep with both eyes open from now on, if I were you." despite her threats, the man found himself laughing copiously once again.

"Sorry for intruding, Undertaker. Let's go."

With Ciel bidding farewell to the mortician, Katrina was guided to the carriage, where the group discussed the issue of the 'Season' that just barely begun, and how most people were perfectly arrived in the capital. Doctors, medical students, physicians and all kinds of aristocrats were included in the list. The butler affirmed he will be doing a report on all potential suspects. "Are you going to suspect me also, butler~?" the red head smirked challengingly at him. "If you do, I shall be awaiting for an alibi-search soon." Sebastian merely hummed, the corner of his mouth twitched upwards, and with a nod of acknowledgement, he... Jumped out of the carriage. Though everyone was concerned for the butler's life, Ciel simply smirked, shrugging him off. Clearly, this butler was nothing human - He couldn't be, could he?

And exactly as she suspected, by the time they arrived home, Sebastian had both prepared tea and managed to write out an endless list of all the suspects and had their alibis verified. Oh, Ciel, what have you gotten yourself into, Katrina wondered, raising a quizzical, suspicious eyebrow at the disconcerting eyebrow at the man. All the ignorant idiots were fooled by his charm - Yet none was taking into account that nothing he was doing fell into the realm of the human power. "I'm just one HELL of a butler." he said, alluding a rather bizarre emphasis. Hell. Demons were from Hell. Could he, also? Certainly, if her dream of Reapers had any kind of validity, perhaps, angels and demons existed also, and roamed their earth, disguised as humans. A true wolf in sheep's clothing.

Serving their afternoon tea and snacks, Sebastian pointed out the only possible suspect on the list, none other than the Viscount of Druitt. Hearing that familiar name, Katrina found herself choking on a piece of scone. "Now that you mention it, I do recall he's been into black magic recently." Madame Red recalled some rumours. "Black magic? People actually believe in that rubbish?" Kat seemed genuinely surprised. "Still, he is suspected of carrying out some sort of ceremony at that "Secret party" . And to use those prostitutes as altar sacrifices?" Lau asked. "Sacrifices don't require you to be careless with the body, do they?" the girl asked, before stealing a glance at the butler. "Is he trying to summon a demon or what? Don't they like virgins?" just as expected - Or, perhaps, it was intended - Sebastian stole a glance at her as soon as she mentioned the demons, yet he remained silent. "Don't be absurd." Ciel reproached her. "At the nineteenth hour today, Viscount Druitt will be hosting a party. The seasonal period will be ending soon. I believe tonight will be the best time to investigate." Sebastian explained to them. "And I know just how to get everyone inside." Katrina's mischievous smirk seemed to cheer everyone up.

Thanks to the resourcefulness of not only Ciel, but Madam Red also, Katrina was able to get dressed in a beautiful green dress of a similar shade as her eyes; Her make up was light and feminine, though the eyeshadow and red lips were enough to bring out the subtle sultriness of her graceful features.  In spite of all the uncomfortableness she had to endure, as she was never one for social gatherings and parties to begin with, there was little she could do to stop her laughter once she got to see Ciel being laced up in a corset by his butler and suffering the same agony women do daily. Not only that, but that  pretty pink dress was rather adorable on him, and that wig went perfect with his eyes also. The poor boy could only glare and snap at his once friend for her pointed comments, though he was unable to retaliate much.

It was rather unfortunate for him, really, and Katrina wouldn't have quite minded being the bait herself - Alas, the Viscount's own nephew was her fiance, so of course he knows her well enough as it is. By the time they reached Druitt's mansion, she could only let out an amused breath, as old memories, all of them good, resurfaced. Her fiance was a good man, and out of every possible suitor, she was glad he was chosen... Especially as Edward was rather boring and too shy for his own good.

Undertaker would have received a life-payment watching poor Ciel struggling with the dress though, and it would be just as fun once she returns home and narrates the whole ordeal.

With Katrina in the lead, informing the guard of who she was, and the retinue she brought along, there was little room for questioning. She flashed a mischievous smirk towards her companions before stepping inside the manor and subtly looking around for the fair haired noble man.

Alas, as Madame Red and Lau dispersed themselves to blend within the crowd, the trio was left to fend for themselves once they heard the familiar squeal of delight that Lizzie, Ciel's fiancee, let out as she was gazing in awe and gushing about everyone, and unfortunately, discovered them, getting excited about their pretty outfits.

Evidently, if she were to get too close to Ciel, she'd recognise him, disguise or not, thus, Kat had to stand behind and distract her.  With a nod acknowledgement towards the two, she sighed and walked towards the blonde girl, entertaining her a bit.

"Ah, Kat, your dress is so cute! And you look sooo pretty! I'm so glad to see you again!" Lizzie squealed, barely able to contain herself in one place. "Thank you, Lizzie, I'm happy to see you as well. It's been a while, hasn't it?" she hummed in agreement. "Too long!" the girl pouted adorably. "Soon, we should definitely meet again! I miss our short fencing spars!" she exclaimed happily. "And the tea parties!" the red head said. "Yes, definitely! It would be like old times!" Lizzie's sunshine happiness was contagious. "Certainly! If only Ciel and Edward would join us. Then again, neither can refuse a cute girl like you~." she winked at the blonde. "Oh, I'm looking forward to it! I'm sure my brother will be so happy to see you again, too!" Lizzie squealed in absolute delight. "So do I! Now, excuse me, dear, but I just saw someone I know and I'll go greet them. Enjoy the party~!" the two did their pretty courtesies to each other before taking off in different directions.

Picking up the pace, Katrina gracefully got behind the Viscount, tapped him on the shoulder and did a pretty courtesy to greet his relative by alliance. Once he turned to see what gorgeous lady was desperately seeking for his charming attention, he flashed a dazzling smile and did a courtesy back, picking her hand and placing a kiss on her fingers.

"Ah, young Kitten, you look gorgeous today! How lovely it is to see you!" Aleister's enigmatic smile was ever plastered on his face. "The pleasure is all mine, Viscount. You see, I came here with my dear friend who is not from around, and she really wanted to meet you. She is, if I might say, quite the lovely dove. I am sure you are going to love her company." Kat retorted a similar fake smile. "Oh~?" the blond smirked. "A young little bird, so eager to meet me? I am flattered! And where is she~?" his excitement sounded on the border of lechery. "Right there. The one dancing with her tutor." Kat purposely glued herself to the man, guiding his chin in the direction of Ciel, who was trying so hard to blend in and dance with Sebastian; Even potentially stop himself from puking from disgust. "Yes, quite lovely indeed, and so very graceful. Will you do me the honor of introducing us, my dear?" the low rumble of a satisfied hum generated the success of their mission. "Oh, of course, by all means." as if he could feel the boring eyes into the back of his head, Ciel turned his head, making contact with the red head, who gestured a wave for them to approach.

The Viscount, of course, being the charmer that he is, kissed Ciel's hand and complimented 'her'. "Quite fascinating. A lovely dancer, just like a robin." Katrina had to keep her smirk strongly out of control, and the tutor could see the way she was struggling to keep composed. It was quite endearing for one so supposedly sly to so easily break her vixen-like composure. "G-Good evening." Ciel tried his best impression of a girl's voice, though he found himself stuttering as he posed. "Please excuse her, she is quite shy." Kat placed her hand on the Viscount's shoulder. "Don't you mind it too much, though... I'm certain she's going to relax around you, once she gets to know you better." the emphasis on such well-chosen words were enough to make the Viscount smirk, dark plans already at the ready. "I shall thank you for bringing her along, you lovely Kitten." though there was something endearing about having such an adorable nickname based on her name, Katrina absolutely abhorred it when he was the one calling her so. "I believe you will both find each other's company quite... Intriguing. Adieu~!" with a giggle hidden behind the fan, the red head stepped away, allowing the two their much needed intimate, private moments, yet not without a wink addressed to the poor cross-dressing boy left behind in the hands of a lecherous pervert.

The plan was unfolding rather smoothly and Katrina watched, leaning back on the refreshments' table, as the Viscount dragged Ciel away to some other room, away from the banquet, all whilst she was savouring a rather expensive champagne. Alas, there was no water.

Like a silent phantasm, the butler made his way by her side, accompanying her. It would be rude manners to leave a lady unattended, and that went against his code of conduit. "Enjoying the evening, my lady?" "Hardly." Katrina scoffed at him. "Quite a pity, wouldn't you say?" the man slurred his words like a venomous snake. "At least someone is enjoying it." she found herself smirking. "Are you talking about the Young Master, or about his aunt?" Katrina had to shift her gaze to watch as Madame Red became to utmost center of attention and everyone was flocking around her like moths to the flame. "Both." she found herself chuckling. "Definitely both Young Mistresses." Seeing as there was little one could do at a formal ball, except for conversing and dancing, Sebastian bent his waist to courtesy her, extending a hand her way. "While we are waiting for the Young Mistress to return, shall we dance, my lady?"

Katrina looked down at his hand, them at his seducing visage, and she huffed in disdain. "How come a demon such as yourself finds the idea of mundane entertainment to be amusing?" "You make a valid point, my dear lady. However, it would, of course, prove most unfitting for someone of my dutiful position to appear to suggest, Heavens-forbid, any signs of disdain for what I believe is regarded as social etiquette on these fine occasions." the butler retorted immediately, yet not without using words that would combat her use of a devilish persona.

"Social etiquette? Surely you must be joking. Such repetitive displays are hardly 'social etiquette' so much as a dreary protocol. I, for one, tire greatly of it. No fool in his right mind could possibly consider this to be enjoyable." as to further prove her point, she unfolded her fan and flapped it lethargically, as though she was mocking Angelina herself.

The butler, however, couldn't help but smirk at the poison dripping from every word of dread she affiliated with the event. "Now now, I must advise that you pay attention to that sharp tone of yours. It's most unbecoming of a lady." "Says whom? This wretched social protocol again?" she let out a theatrically exaggerated sigh.

"Not at all. I simply fear that the Young Mistress may be expressing just enough surly, unladylike behaviour for the two of you. We are at a ball, after all." the man retorted with just as much content grace as before.

"As my current escort of sorts, I believe that the duty of keeping your lady happy  and entertained is all yours. Surely social protocol has to work at least somewhat in my benefit." Katrina shifted her gaze deep into his empty, void-like eyes; There was nothing that she could see, let alone a soul.

"Oh my, you're rather a tricky one, aren't you?" a cunning smile was plastered on his face, ever so charming.

"If you truly are the model butler you claim to be, I don't believe it should present a problem to you." she, too, retaliated with a similar kind of provoking expression.

"A problem? Oh, good heavens, no. A challenge, perhaps. And my, how I do like a challenge." Katrina couldn't help but let out an empty half-laugh.

"For a demon, you jump quickly at preaching about benevolence and heaven's grace, when you're nothing but an evil wretch. How very amusing of one of your dreary position, having to pretend to be a human, when you're anything but. A slave, doing every bidding of a child and his obnoxious whims." she chuckled, her words though sounding like honeyed mead, were frozen and cutting.

"I believe I have already warned you not to unleash that cheeky tongue of yours, my lady. One never knows what they are up against." the man's face leaned closer to her own, breathing in her bewitching scent, teasing himself with just the lingering caress of the ghost of her soul.

"And if I do? Are you going to punish me, Sebastian? Bite my tongue and make me cry?" she approached him boldly, to the point that, if only she knew, she could sense the sweet perfume of death surrounding him. If only she knew how close to the truth she was, as her lips were brushing his own at almost an atomic level, so close, yet so far away, teasingly far away. "My, how I do like a challenge." and mimicking his own words, Katrina abruptly turned on her heel and walked out of the mansion, missing the way his magenta eyes flashed demonically, or that lascivious, thirsty smile that played on those tempting lips.

"Little kitten wants to play, how very endearing." he found himself musing. "As my lady wishes."

Katrina left the party before finding out the epilogue of the mighty quest they had embarked on, yet the journey back home was silent, save for the sound of hooves against the cobbled stone streets of London, and the wheels turnings painfully harsh, all the way back to Undertaker's parlor, where she was greeted with the usual grin.  She hasn't even greeted him with words, save for a simple nod of acknowledgement, as she rushed up the stairs to change into something practical and wash away the make up that no doubt was going to cake soon on her skin. There was one thing alone that she loved more than anything, and that was the practical work she was doing with the mortician, alongside studying her science books. It was, by far, the only thing that could still get her excited... Although, the additional arrival of a certain enigmatic butler that may or may not fall in the realm of the supernatural was, without a doubt, receiving an honorable mention, if he was capable of getting her pulse rise and entertain her as well as he performed at the ball.

Once she was finally dressed in her comfortable nightgown, she returned to the autopsy room, only to notice a new victim on the table. "Enjoyed the night, dear?" She could only glare at him. "Hardly... Parties are just dull. Here is where I truly belong. True bliss comes from learning, not from exchanging sugar coated words behind a fan, wearing a corset so tight that you risk fainting." "The night is still young, my dear~." the Undertaker giggled at her, informing her that this, indeed, was another victim of Jack the Ripper, and they had a lot of work to do.

That night, as they did the autopsy on the new victim, discussed different theories and discovered her new passion for Astronomy and Ophthalmology - She told him about the newest discovery, from a Parisian scientist who created glass membranes that were placed on the eyes, serving not only an aesthetic role, but replacing the ugly glasses that people had to wear. Still, it couldn't be comfortable, wearing such large glass contacts on your eyes, and Katrina wanted to revolutionise this idea and create contact lenses from a softer material, perhaps more watery, like silicone; something that wouldn't inconvenience or hurt people, but also aid their sight. It was, however, in the middle of the autopsy, when Katrina looked up at the mortician and voiced a rather disconcerting truth. "This victim only proves my theory that the Viscount wasn't the real culprit. I warned Ciel before we left, but there was none better fitting - Or so they said. Surely, nobody wants the prime suspect to be their own aunt and last living relative, would they?"

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[five-rivers]

Ancestral Chapter 21

Probably the last one for this month, if not this year. Written for ectober day 27: circus gothica (yes, I am behind).

.

Somehow, Danny wasn’t even surprised at this point.  

"Yeah, I, um.  I met the guy, once?"

"Sorry?" said Gwensyvyr.

At the same time, Jazz asked, "Who?"

"Pariah Dark," said Danny.

"He is supposed to be sealed."  Gwensyvyr's form briefly flickered back to her battle regalia.  This close, Danny could see that each of her braids had a spiked chain woven into it, starting low enough down that the spikes would bounce off the back of her armor, not the back of her head.  

"He was," Danny hastened to reassure her.  "He is.  He just.  Got out for a little bit.  Last year."

Gwensyvyr leaned back, her elbow phasing slightly through the chair.  She covered her mouth with her opposite hand.  "It seems my suspicions might not be as far-fetched as I thought before.  If he was out at all, they might have–" She stopped.  "You still need to know the whole story."

Matthew's phone began to tweedle.  He snatched it up with a look of panic on his face.  "Sorry!  I need to take–" The panic transformed into a kind of exhausted horror as he stared at the phone.  "Does our honored ancestor know about phones?  I mean…"  He looked back and forth between Danny and the phone, which was still ringing.  

"She knows about phones," said Danny, unsure whether to be amused or not.  

Matthew seemed to take this as permission, because he answered the phone.  “Yes, did you find it?”  He was silent for a moment.  “No?  Do you know what happened?  Could he have moved it to some other spot?  No, no, I understand.  If possible, please keep looking.  It’s very important.  Goodbye.”  He put down the phone.  “That was Aldryk Wylfred, his father was one of grandfather’s close friends.  He’d been named a Knight of the Key, and given one of the Great Gate Keys to safeguard…  His key is missing.  I’m waiting on the other Knights of the Keys.”

“I had hoped it was not so.”

“Is… no one going to ask why Danny knows someone that Queen Gwensyvyr fought?” asked Leo.  “Or how?”

“Well, he was a ghost at the time,” said Danny.  “But we really ought to…”  He waved at Gwensyvyr.  “Listen.  And stuff.”

Yeah, he wasn’t going to be able to get away with that for much longer.  

“Thank you,” said Gwensyvyr.  "But if you met Pariah Dark, you know what he became."

"King of Ghosts."

"He thought of himself that way, yes," said Gwensyvyr.  "It is not something Artyr and I considered, when we killed him.  Nor did any of the ghosts and spirits who haunted him and wanted him dead as badly as we did."

“His name really was Arthur, then,” said Lewis, who had taken out a notebook at some point.  "Your husband."

“In his birthplace, perhaps.  He was named after a famed king of that land, long dead, as I understand it, then and now.  It has made our respective legends rather confused, at times.  

"With me, he was always Artyr.  He was trained as a blacksmith, which was why they kept him.  Such skills are valuable still, as you well know.”  She nodded to the ritual knives many of them had set on the table, and then again to the knives Irene had set the table with.  "He made the very first of those.  To kill Pariah."

"Why?" asked Danny.  "Why did you need that?  Wasn't he human, then?"

Gwensyvyr shook her head.  "Not entirely," she said.  "Not anymore.  He had his men desecrate the pool.  Mine was not the only blood spilled in it that day, and they did more than that.  They threw trash into it.  They blocked off the spring.  They did things in it too foul to speak of.  They cut down the tree and burned it.  But not before Pariah and his sons ate every single apple that grew on it that year."

"They were syvyrys," said Danny.  "That's why you needed a knife that could cut a ghost."

"Not like I was and not like you are, but, yes.  They had already had some measure of magic to them - that is how they cut down the nine of us priestesses.  Numbers alone did not do that.  But the apples gave them terrible power.  

"They took me and the others they had chosen as slaves - beautiful girls and men with valuable skills, for the most part - back to their homeland.  The islands were not the only place he had taken slaves from, though they were always quite careful not to ever take so many as to be outnumbered.  So, there, I met Artyr.  There, we plotted.  There, I came into my powers.  There, I killed Pariah Dark.

"But to my continuing regret, I did not kill his sons."

"You think they have something to do with all this," said Matthew.

"Or their descendants," said Gwensyvyr.  "They are the only syvyrys I ever knew of who could use blood blossoms like that.  They were always doing some new, terrible thing.  We had more spirits on our side than they did, even with their ridiculous cult, so they spent much of their time making new weapons against them.  They had ways to keep themselves and their spirits safe from blood blossoms that we never learned.  They had ways to imbue objects with their powers.  At one point, they used some alchemy to make this sphere of red glass that could control most ghosts and even tugged on my mind…"  She trailed off.  "You've encountered that, too, haven't you?"

Danny squirmed.  "Maybe."

"How?" asked Gwensyvyr.  "Why?"

"It was–" He looked at the rest of his family.  "It was– This crazy circus ringmaster had it and was using it to make ghosts rob banks and jewelry stores for him."

"Are you talking about Freakshow?" asked Jazz.

"Freakshow?"

"His real name was Frederick Isaac Showenhower," offered Jazz.  "At least, that was his pen name."

"Amazing," said Gwensyvyr.  “We ought to sit down and talk about all of the history you managed to run into despite living an ocean away and under a different name.  But– Showenhower.  That has a German root, doesn’t it?  There was some suspicion that the younger son had fled to that area after betraying his brothers…  I’m getting ahead of myself.  

“While Artyr and I worked at cleansing the sacred pool, reviving the tree, and healing the other damage done by Pariah’s attack, Pariah’s sons built up a cult around their father’s ghost.  A group of fanatics that stayed loyal even in death.  

“They attacked Avlynys again when I was pregnant with my second daughter, seeking revenge and the power of the sacred pool.  Imagine for a moment, such a battle between syvyrys and spirits.  The sky was shattered with lightning, the air green with power.  Trees uprooted themselves to take part in the fighting.  The dead sacrificed themselves to take up their buried corpses.  I myself fought Pariah in his glory, bolstered by prayers and sacrifice, wearing a crown of fire and a ring forged from the souls of a hundred berserkers.  I banished him through the pond, whose door had been stuck open since it drank of my blood.  

“It broke the ground beneath the pond and spring, and the spring sank deep underground where, to the best of my knowledge, it still rests.”

“That’s the portal in Andyr?” asked Danny.  “Just checking to make sure.”

“The pond, yes,” said Gwensyvyr.  “Kyr Argyn was built on the rift - we also used it as a silver mine for a while.  Very useful, for a newly-formed country.”  Her lips twitched up.  “Artyr also enjoyed the chance to learn silversmithing.  I do appreciate your attempts to get back the Kyp Styrryse, Lwys.  It took him a hundred years to get that good.”  She made a face.  “It was also a great aid when maintaining the pool.  Having it again would be very good.”

“Oh,” said Lewis.  “I, well, I’m working on it.  But– A hundred years?”

“Artyr died in that battle, but he did not leave.  We had three more children, after, though they were… strange.  Even now, he has not left, though he sleeps with many of the other spirits of this land.

“After we had driven off Pariah’s sons, we found the pool again.  It took time and a great deal of effort even with magic, and once we did, we were determined that no one should use it for evil ever again, and that even if all of us should die - me, and my children, who numbered three, only, at the time, and my closest friends - it should be safe.  But we could not simply bury it and leave it.  It was not yet clean and still too powerful.  So, we made nine Great Gates and nine Great Gate Keys, to guard all the paths that could reach it.  We pledged our family to the cause of safeguarding it and tending it, and we named ourselves after those gates, those doors, so we would not forget.”

Gwensyvyr paused significantly.  

“We’ve done that, haven’t we?” asked Matthew.  “Even before Uncle Leon died.”

“It was a good while before that, too, to be fair,” said Gwensyvyr.  “In truth, I think it started as early as my great-grandchildren’s time.  A hundred years of fighting with the sons and grandsons of Pariah…”  She trailed off and shook her head.  “Alys wanted peace, and thought that both sides were worn down enough that she could get it.  She married her daughter, her only child, to one of Pariah’s scions.  But Kythrin chose never to have access to the sacred pool, or take up her duties to it, and so never to become queen herself.  The throne and its duties went to her cousin, and her husband killed her and took their children to Britain, where he made a pest of himself for the rest of his natural life, despite efforts to end it prematurely.  

“One of the children came back.  We were overjoyed, but…”  Gwensyvyr’s face soured.  “Once welcomed, they used the pool to try and call up Pariah once more.

“That is when the pool and the journey andyr Kyr Argyn became so entwined with the succession.  Before that, we had helpers, who came freely.  They were not the priestesses of old, but they had some knowledge, and it made the burden easier for the family.  After… we did not trust so easily.  

“Later, many years on, Queen Arynryd saw the danger in this and founded the School of Heroes in an attempt to gather those that could be trusted.  That was the original point of it - not to be a pre-approved pool of heroic suitors to pick from to prevent inbreeding in the royal line.”  She rolled her eyes as a faint susurrus of ohs rose up around the table.  “Although, I will grant that it has been useful for that, on occasion.”

Gwensyvyr shook her head.  “After that incident, though, many of us were worried that Pariah might return, so I and some others went through the pool, and directly into a war.  I am not sure how long it lasted.  Time was strange, there, in the otherworld.  But it was Pariah and his fanatics against all other spirits, and we felt that, as his old enemies, we must join in.

“When Pariah was sealed, we returned, but we found that more than a generation had passed, and Pariah’s brood had made war on us again, and that they had even roused the Normans to do the same.  A whole…”  She paused, looking away.  “While we were gone, a whole branch of the family had been wiped out.  Only the youngest, one too young to go to war, survived.  And though King Ydmynd completed the trials, and as an adult, with a child just born, he decreed restrictions, and that no one should go into Andyr or to the pools except for the Trials.”

Gwensyvyr stared at the table.  “I did not intervene.  I thought it would be enough, as people had children, and those children wanted to take up the family task.  I thought the pool healed enough, and the gates strong enough.  It was not Ydmynd’s fault, mind.  He was young, and he’d had a harrowing time of the trials, with so many of us gone to fight Pariah in the beyond, and all his family dead.”

She paused again, giving Danny time to catch up and think about what that must have felt like, for Edmund.  To think about how every day they seemed to be getting closer to that point themselves.

“There were some benefits to the developments as well.  The decrees were not because of fear, only,” said Gwensyvyr, softly.  “Athlyng Elysyvyt was kidnapped young and educated by the Danes, who wanted to put her on the throne, but without the Trials, she had no claim to it.  We avoided long periods of regency, and the crises that come with child monarchs.  A few times, Pariah’s living fanatics were caught trying to get into Andyr.

“Then, too, not everyone followed King Ydmynd’s decrees, especially after he, in turn, died.  There were strong syvyrys in those years, too.  Even so… even so, we thought it might be best to let the living find their own way, in most cases.  There is a reason I did not stay queen after my death, though I was, clearly, still there and still visible, as magic had suffused Avlynys through the sacred pool far more in those days than it does now.  

“There were things to do, regardless.  Even in death, even with the pool behind the Great Gates, we still had to protect the island and the pool from enemies.  And…”  She sighed.  “When there were no more enemies, and we found ourselves growing weary, many of us chose to rest.  Even I cannot be everywhere at once.  I often chose to shadow my family, rather than any greater purpose and as time passed, and the pool wasn’t tended to, its power faded.  I thought that a good thing, that it was finally returning to how it used to be before my first death, but lately we find we cannot even go there, and…  Now we are here.  A thousand years of attrition and inattention later, we are here.”

“And… that’s it?” asked Danny.

Gwensyvyr spread her hands out.  “I am not going to attempt to recount the entire millennia, much less the portions of it that are in living memory.  Although maybe I should.  I always thought the nationalist movement had a little too much in common with some of the things Pariah’s fanatics got up to.”  She tapped her lips.  “And the Germans sent us a remarkable number of curses during the second of the Great Wars, despite how terrible they were at it, and despite hardly anyone being able to do that at all in the twentieth century.”

“We expelled the nationalist movement.  Their whole organization was outlawed, after the Brygytyn attacks.”

“Matthew, you know as well as I that you never entirely get rid of people like that.”

Iris raised a hand.  “So, our consensus here is that our premier pharmaceutical institution is run by deranged cultists who specifically hate our family for killing their, what, their god?  And they might be Nazis on top of that?”

“Not Nazis,” said George.  “Those were specifically German nationalists.”

“There are American Nazis, too,” pointed out Iris.

“I wouldn’t call it a consensus,” said Gwensyvyr.  “But they must, at least, be involved, and I find the timing suspicious, if he was out of that sarcophagus for any length of time.  I would say that the spirit who attacked just now was one of them, likely being punished for failing to kill you earlier, Matthew.”

“So, what do we do?” asked Danny.  He was, personally, all for going out and beating up whoever was behind all this, but he didn’t know who was behind all this.

“The Trials,” said Matthew.  “If we did them, if we got rid of whatever was blocking you, could you…  How many of our ancestors are here, awake?  Could you help?”

Gwensyvyr smiled, teeth sharp, ghostly fangs.  “We would like nothing better.”