-

It’s dark in here…

Darker than I was expecting…

Your spark isn’t as bright as the others..

So you’ve to fortify it. From invasion.

Fortify it from attack…

But, fortify it from everything?

Just in case…

—

Beep… Beep… Beep… Beep..

“Locke! Please, just wake up…” Gwen.

——

“Holy shit!” Tye screams as she laughs violently. Rolling away from Locke. “You’ve got to be kidding me!” Tye shouts as she runs around the room with her hair literally on fire but not. Hands upon her head. “Hahahahahaa”

Locke looks over to Corin who is blushing a fine red face and Brent even looks speechless. The filter of grogginess from a short sleep leaving Locke’s eyes.

“What?” Locke inquires. The voice hits first then the feeling and the spilling of her vision coasting down to her own body. Suddenly smaller, suddenly softer, ampler. “Holy shit!”

“Yeah, agreed.” Tye acknowledges and then continues to cackle. 

Locke finds herself on the floor from where her meditation posture held her. Raising her arms and hands and fingers. Each digit seems a little smaller and a little nicer. Well, a little nicer is a nice way of saying it.

“Holy shit you went from ugly to fucking gorgious.” Tye decries. “I mean whatever bad this magic shit is, maybe you finally won something…..” She manages through her cackles.

“Tye stop, she needs to get adjusted first.” Corin complains as she maneuvers herself towards Locke. Still female Corin. Still a peculiar sight but familiar enough to Locke. 

“...” Brent stares with dumbfounded curiosity. Eyes wide and trying to consume the moment for all its worth. They’ve been stuck in this room for what feels like hours now waiting on Nora’s call. It’s as if they’ve been put in a kennel. This guest room, a square box of wood with lit candles hanging upon the wooden beams that strategically hold it. A noticeable difference in architecture from the city they had previously wandered through. 

Where the city seemed to be carved out of the marble mountain and part of the monument this structure stood on its own built of wood and tile. Much similar to a Sukiya-zukuri style of architecture. It stood alone in the personal back court garden of the family estate house. It seemed more like a palatial place. Nora’s family were Noble’s after all. Their estate and compounds reflected that reality. 

“What am I?” Locke asks herself as she scans over her body as much as she is visually able. Her hands noticeably kept elevated and away. 

“You’re you. You’re okay. Don’t be afraid you must have dozed off while sitting there.” Corin replies as she moves to her side and places her hands on Locke’s shoulder’s in an attempt to stabilize her. Corin looks to Locke who seems distant as if not really recognizing the situation or comprehending it. 

Locke, as if suddenly dawning upon her, looks into Corin’s eyes and states, “I don’t think I was born like this?”

“I mean, what does that even mean?” Corin replies. Unable to gauge what direction Locke’s mind is going. She bites her lip awkwardly as she glances at Tye who seems to be getting more and more riled up beside them. 

“I know a psychology professor who’s got an idea on this back at home maybe?” Tye laughs out. She’s rolling along the floor then onto her feet and then smashing her hand against the wall in hearty laughter. Tears flowing from her eyes laughing. But also, the fire of the candle wicks seem to intensify on her. Draw power from her emotions. 

“Girl.” Brent states clearly pointing his finger at Locke. He’d been a stoic Goliath as always till this point but his spoken word catches everyone off guard and sends Tye into an even bigger display of reaction. Corin chuckles at the word but Locke seems distant still. As if she hasn’t finished processing the moment of her changing into a girl. Not quite registering what is now reality.

But then on time, she quips.. 

“Yeah, I think therefore I am a girl. Apparently.” Locke states as she adjusts her glasses and attempts a sixth time to generally inspect herself.

“What does it feel like?” Tye asks. She’s made her way to Locke having pushed herself now between her and Corin. She grabs at Locke aggressively. Shaking locke.

“Stop.” Locke demands

Tye ignores her and continues the shaking while laughing. The fire that holds to Tye is intensifying and beginning to create an uncomfortable heat within her proximity. “Like I mean, for real, how do you feel!?”

Corin tries to stop Tye from shaking Locke but pulls back as the heat radiating from Tye intensifies, threatening to burn her hand. For Locke all she can see is female Tye, beautiful perfection, on fire and burning brighter by the second with her hands on her shoulders. It’s actually starting to hurt, the heat is cackling. Like she’s going to burn Locke alive if this continues. This realization snaps Locke out of her shock. 

“Tye, get off me!” Locke screams. It’s an instinctive reaction. One of the defenses she doesn’t understand but does anyway. 

A purple hue lashes out in a circular fashion, orbital or globular, and everything it touches ages away. Turns to old and gray and then oozes into puss green nothingness… simply decays out of existing. Thankfully, it doesn’t seem to touch any of them. A purple barrier, hexagonal, materialized between them and this ability. A strange pulsing sound and then silence for a moment before what’s left of the building they were in gives way and collapses…

————

“Are we alive?” Tye cries out. Bursting out of rubble which trickles down onto a white floor.

“Thanks to me.” she says and everyone is instantly a paler shade. It is a very unpleasant and unwanted voice they recognize. 

“This one… has to be controlled a little better I think.” The blackness that is her states as she maneuvers between the group. “I’m not allowed to be here right now so don’t do this again. Naive. Small. Tiny. Squishy.” 

The demonic entity that had previously made her introduction to them now stands before them all. Their apparent savior. Once again in the white room of endless space. She grunts at them all before her attention is taken by something in the distance. 

“You do not belong here!” a voice screams, cracking through reality. Azeal, angelic form glistening in holy light flies towards the darkness that is her.

“”Gotta go, don’t kill your friends prematurely Locke, I’ll be right back.” she spits as she disappears from before all of them.

The angel flies through them all like a wave in pursuit of her and the rubble and everything else that made it to this negative space is displaced. 

“What the heck is going on!?” Tye groans as she picks herself up off the white floor and debri that is both burnt and decayed. What remains of it.

“This place again?” Corin groans out as she pulls herself from the pile of rubble she found herself buried in. 

“...” Brent lifts himself up from the debri as if the undertaker. He seems concerned with his immediate surroundings patting around looking for something.

“Was that the demon?!” Tye exclaims as she paces around the rubble and the crew. Locke sits at the center of the rubble atop it all. Still in shock of what has just happened. Something just came out of her. Dark and evil and it destroyed everything it touched. 

The darkness of her reappears again before Locke now with half her face bruised from combat. Blood oozing from her nose. Her lip is a bit fatter. Face to face before Locke specifically.

“You have to control it better or you’ll kill everyone.” She intones. Then she turns her head and disappears again as a screaming Azeal can be heard but not seen. His presence felt flowing through everything and everyone around them this empty white space they find themselves in. 

Loud explosions and ripples of power flow here and there from every direction every other second. Two portals open before Locke as she passes through them being chased by the angel. 

A chicken coupe apparently being pulled with them as a rooster caws and falls through again. Machine gun fire and aggressive German and maybe even some Russian language can be heard. 

“Was that a chicken?” Tye asks.

“It’s a rooster.” Corin corrects.

This continues for a brief moment before she returns again. Feathers flutter from unknown points along with hay and broken bits of farm equipment. Tye, Locke, Corin, and Brent now stand before the rubble brushing themselves off trying to avoid any larger object falling onto them. 

“You know this is getting ridiculous.” Corin complains. 

“Yeah, tell me about it. I thought my dad was bad.” Tye chips in. “Hey, did she say you tried to kill us?”

Locke seems to snap out of her silence and comes too. 

“Yeah, I mean. No. I just wanted you to stop shaking me.” Locke replies. “You were like on fire I thought you were about to burn me alive.”

“Huh, well...” Tye says then stands still got a moment of contemplation before finishing. “Oops.”

She finally emerges moments later before them all. Half her head is missing. Muscle, tissue, brain matter, and other gor-ish things are very visibly present. Very visibly rapidly regrowing. Replacing itself. Blood and organs splattering beneath her as random injuries from extremities pop back into sockets and placements. Even the blood that splattered seems to coalesce back to its source. Back to her. Black nothingness from. 

“Locke. You have to control your powers or you’ll kill everyone before our deal is complete.” She stands before the group not 50 feet away. Then she’s forty feet. Then she’s thirty. Then twenty. Then ten. Then inches away from Locke. With seconds. Fully healed and back to normal save for a slight nose bleed. 

“If you kill my master I will devour your soul and my masters together forever.” She warns.

“Okay. I’ll try.” Locke gulps.

“No. You will do. I like the plan. I want to watch. I like having fun. I am having fun.” She states. Then she lifts her finger to Locke’s forehead and taps it. 

An explosion of symbols appear red, dripping, circular and intricate then funneling into Locke’s forehead. It takes a moment but the momentum it creates draws everyone and everything towards it if it can’t resist. 

“I will lock your powers for now. You will only be able to use them when you ask me permission.” She states. “I’m not typically allowed to do this without agreements and such but I don’t care. I’m doing it anyway. You will do it and I will have my fun. You will owe me and I will take from you at some point all eternity. This is not a deal this is something I have done. Ha ha”

The spell finished with a pop and she straightened herself out before Locke. Having leaned in to tap her finger to her forehead. 

“You must say intimate words to me to use your powers. They are perfect. I admit. Destroy. Decay. Destruction. Death. Speak to me those pleasure words and I will let loose your powers. Help you not kill allies.” She finishes. She then turns to Corin and bows curtly before disappearing again and the group falls to their bottoms as they return to Nora’s realm just outside the now collapsed guest room house. 

They find themselves amongst a crowd of surprised Olcan clan members. Unfamiliar residents trying to sort through the rubble looking for them no doubt. Their sudden appearance causes one of them the scream and a sigh of relief escapes many of their mouths. They looked panicked. But now the sight of the crews reappearance has calmed them. 

The building they were in lay smoldering in decay. A mixture of burnt and rot. An unnatural divot into the ground leaves the remains slightly lower than they stood prior to the event. What’s left of it. Most of the material simply does not exist anymore. What remains is smoldering as if a fire has just been extinguished.

A gap is made from the collective as Nora and her sister and the elders walk before them. Nora’s eyes falls upon Corin and Tye standing before Brent. 

“Oh my goodness” Nora cries out as she sees them appear amongst the crowd who’s gathered. “I thought you all were in there.”

“Yeah, uhm, we were. Sorry about that.” Corin says shifting a foot into the dirt. “We had an accident.”

“What happened?” Nora inquires. “We heard a strange sound and then the building both collapsed and aflame. Where is Locke? I feel him but…”

“I’m here.” Locke calls out emerging from behind Brent and squeezing between Corin and Tye. 

“We’re learning our abilities. I’m very sorry.” Locke squeaks out.

“Locke?!” Nora exclaims.

“Yeah, I guess I fell asleep. Ha ha” Locke replies meekly. 

“You are so beautiful!” Ella cries out from Nora’s side. Breaking through the crowd that’s gathered and embracing Locke into a hug. “I like you so much more like this!”

“Yeah me too.” Tye chides in snickering.

Locke eyes the captain of the guard who flares at her. He thumbs the hilt of his sword and huffs as he looks away disapprovingly. 

“Guys I don’t think I’m okay.” Locke shudders. Holding her arms shaking. 

“It’ll be okay man, we’ll figure this all out.” Corin assures her. 

“You coulda killed us all just like that this whole time?! That’s so fucking cool!” Tye screams as she hugs Locke. “We’ve got this!”

“…” stands the giant just behind them in constant overview. 

“Thank you but idk I don’t feel good. I…” Locke tries to continue but then turns a shade of green and begins to hurl. 

Corin grabs onto Locke shielding her with Brent as Tye steps between them and the Olcans. 

“Yeah, sorry, it alway happens the first time. Nothing to worry about.” Tye assures. The flame of the candle wick still slightly dancing between her fingers. She actively plays with it before the Olcans as she says those words. 

Intermission 1.1 Money