Rachel walked toward the breakroom as she listened to her group.
Maëlle's soft hum caught her attention. "Maria, what you said before, can Rachel really hear us?"
"You saw her ears, didn't you?" Maria huffed, pulling a chair over to a table to sit.
Fiona interjected. "Yeah, Rachel's got some pretty good ears. Why? Did you have something to ask her? She might not hear you, depending on where she is."
They know I can hear miles, so Fiona's sidestep was decent.
"Oh, no, no," Maëlle giggled. "I just thought it was cool that she could hear so far away. I assume there's a lot of other sounds throughout this building; I wondered how far she could hear?"
"She hasn't told us an exact amount," Maria absently stated. "Yo, Scarlet, you've been so quiet. What's up?"
"Eh, huh?" Scarlet asked, clearly distracted. "I was just—just thinking about some things. So, umm, Kyle?"
Kyle cleared his throat while shifting in it, causing a creak. "Y-yeah?"
"What do you plan to do? After, you know, you're cleared to get out," she asked, trying to act casually.
"I—don't really know," he muttered, volume lowering. "I was here on a work-related vacation, and everything went crazy."
"A work vacation?" Maëlle butted in, moving closer to Scarlet and him to sit in the chair between them. "What kind of work are you in? I can hear the slight accent in your voice. Êtes-vous du Québec?"
[i.e., Are you from Quebec?]
"You could tell by the sound of my voice, huh?" Kyle chuckled. "Oui, le français est ma langue maternelle. I'm a tourist guide for a company based in La belle province. We were here to celebrate during the dry season."
[i.e., Yes, French is my mother tongue.]
"How magical," Maëlle chimed, "you call it the beautiful province. So, do you plan on going back to Canada after this? If so, maybe I'll join you."
"W-what?" Scarlet stammered. "W-why would you g-go back with him?"
"Yeah … why would you want to go back with me?" Kyle asked; he'd lost most of the nervous vibes in his voice.
"Silly, obviously to…" Rachel's ears stiffened as she heard both Maëlle and Kyle cry out in pain, collapsing to the floor. She slowed to a stop near the left wall to listen, lips curving into a frown.
"What happened?" Scarlet asked with concern, dropping to Kyle's side.
Maria shot to her feet with the others, rushing over to their sides. "The hell? It's like—there's some kind of chemical discharge firing through their bodies."
"They're in pain! Can you stop it?" Scarlet asked, voice turning frantic as she knelt beside Kyle. Rachel could hear both of them moaning as they hugged their bodies, but there was something odd in the tone of their voices.
That's not just pain … there's also pleasure mixed with it. What happened? It's a chemical discharge, so it must have something to do with their abilities. Did Maëlle try to use a skill on Kyle, and it backfired? He could have tried to use one of his abilities, as well; I can't just suspect Maëlle.
"I can't stop this kind of reaction," Maria growled. "It's some kind of natural condition, like Fiona's Addled State. It should pass shortly, though."
"What happened?" Mick asked.
Bree cut in. "Should we get a medical team here?"
Fiona's worried tone hovered around Maria. "I don't think that'll help if Maria said…"
"Yeah, no," Maria huffed. "Weren't you listening? There's nothing anyone can do, and it'll be over soon."
Scarlet was clearly lost. "She just touched his shoulder … I don't know, in like—like a playful way … they collapsed as soon as she touched him."
Rachel's eyes narrowed at the information.
Was it a natural chemical reaction to her touch. It could have been Maëlle experimenting with how her ability would work on an Incubus, but it could have also been a defensive response by Kyle. To affect both of them, though?
Another possibility is that it's linked to the pheromones they produce. If the cracks in their skin touch, they may exchange chemicals, which could have caused the reaction. Pleasure and pain as a consequence … it's an interesting effect. How do their bodies respond to it? Will long-term exposure to their energy hurt them physically or just cause a mental impact?
Rachel was debating whether to return or not when Maëlle and Kyle struggled to a sitting position.
"W-what … it's a natural … if we touch, then we'll," Kyle mumbled.
"Kyle, Maëlle, are you alright?" Scarlet asked. "You're trembling."
"W-why…" Maëlle whispered, clearing her throat. "It feels…" Her throat caught before she said, "o-one more time."
"N-no," Kyle shot back into Scarlet, making her release a sharp squeak. "That—that's just too…" He yelped as he dropped to the ground, Scarlet reappearing back in the closet she'd first teleported to.
"Yes, but … but it's—why would you not … I see," she took a deep relishing breath before letting it out. "I see," she giggled. "Okay—okay … where did Scarlet go?"
Fiona cleared her throat. "So, umm—what happened?"
"Just a natural reaction between Succubus and Incubus," Maëlle said with a bright tone. "It was … quite powerful."
"Hold up," Maria growled, dropping back into the couch. "You want to do that again? You do know that whatever that was, it was poisonous to your bodies? Keep flooding your system like that, and you'll die. I don't even know if I could keep you alive."
"Really … how fascinating," Maëlle mused. Her voice was too soft for the humans to hear, but Rachel suspected Fiona and Maria could. However, they turned their attention to Kyle as he shakily got to his feet, stumbling back to the wall.
"W-we're poisonous to each other?"
"Sweet poison," Maëlle replied, using her chair to help stabilize herself as she struggled to her feet.
Rachel's attention returned to Scarlet as she began chastising herself in her small sanctuary. "Stupid, stupid, stupid! What's wrong with me?" She cried. "I mess up every time … I'm so stupid…"
Taking a deep breath, Rachel walked a few feet to her right, sitting on a flat sofa, and gently beckoned toward Scarlet. Sure enough, after several seconds, Scarlet looked through the walls to view the situation she'd left behind, and in a few more seconds, her vision shifted to find her.
"Y-you want me—to come to you, Rachel?" Scarlet asked, sniffing a few times. She groaned at her nod. "I suck…"
Scarlet appeared beside her from shadows, causing a bit of a stir with a few FBI workers walking down the hall, but Rachel ignored them. Scarlet's bloody tears were slowly being absorbed back into her cheeks, and she was gripping her left wrist, twisting nervously.
"Did you hear—what am I asking … of course, you heard." She mumbled, refusing to look at her.
A soft smile lifted Rachel's lips as she gripped Scarlet's left knee, causing her to stiffen. "Yeah, and you're not stupid."
"Not that…"
"Yes, I heard it all, and if it wasn't for my changed mental state and some of my abilities, then I think I would have run too."
"You?" Scarlet's eyebrows creased. "No way … you're too cool."
Rachel chuckled as she shifted her hair over her left shoulder, scooting back to lean against the wall. "You don't think I've had a crush before?"
"I—umm," she bunched her cheeks to the side, looking troubled. "I guess you might have."
"Ouch," Rachel winced, "really? I come off that cold?"
"No, that's not that," Scarlet mumbled. "I mean, you're just kind of too cool … not in a cold way. I just don't know what kind of guy could catch your interest. That's all."
Her blue eyes rose, absently following different people walking down the halls; every person that noticed her gaze picked up their pace.
Rachel rubbed her left arm as she let go of a soft sigh. "I'm anything but cool … I've never asked anyone out; I was pretty nervous about boys growing up, and the one time a guy did ask me out, I froze up and said I couldn't because of studies … he was kind of handsome too."
"Really? I can't imagine you chickening out, and he just bought that excuse?"
"Would you?" Rachel grimaced as Lunar Pride struck at her chest. "Na, I don't think so. I think he just thought I didn't want to go on a date because I didn't like him. Sometimes I think about it, and I get a bit regretful. Who knows what might have happened?"
"That's crazy … I'm so bad, though. I mean, he bumps into me, and I panicked and teleported out. Lame…"
"I don't want to change the subject," Rachel hummed, shifting a little to look at her, "but how did you not pull him in with you?"
"Oh, that? My Shadow Movement does have a larger radius if I want, but I can also just teleport myself."
She sucked on her lower lip absently. "So, we didn't figure out everything when we were going through our abilities."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Scarlet turned to her side, brushing back her hair. "Was that information important? It just kind of slipped my mind when we were all asking so many questions."
"It's not your fault; don't worry about it. It's just a bit complicated. These abilities of ours have so many caveats and ways we can use them that it can get a little distracting. Anyway, with Kyle, I think you should just be yourself. That's what you're worried about, aren't you?"
Scarlet's hands knotted as she looked down at her lap. "Yeah … I know Fiona was telling me—oh, well, you probably heard us. I know it's stupid, but I just don't feel like I've got much of a chance. Yes, I know he's an Incubus, but—but I'm scary—no, more than that … I'm horrifying. The things I can do … I didn't ask for this."
Rachel didn't respond, leaning her head back against the glass to look up at the ceiling. Scarlet started to shift uncomfortably at her silence. "A-aren't you supposed to say I shouldn't worry about it or something?" She stammered with a forced chuckle.
She shook her head, vision tilting down to Scarlet's black fingernails atop her lap. "No, it's an honest concern, and I won't belittle it with that kind of response—I don't think so little of your judgment."
"Oh—thanks, I guess," Scarlet whispered, rubbing her thumbs together. "What should I do then?"
Clicking her tongue, Rachel shook her head. "I can't really say, but I can tell you my thoughts. Want to hear them?"
"Why not," Scarlet trailed off for a moment. "I mean, I think you're super smart. You helped us get out of a lot of bad situations with the FBI. It even looks like they kind of trust us now."
Rachel's lips curved into a sad smile as she released a soft breath of air through her nose. "I'm not … mmh," she groaned as Lunar Pride prevented her from fully forming her negative emotions. "We can always do better."
"I guess…"
"As far as my thoughts, yes, the way you acted when we were going through your abilities, especially the Achievements, I'm pretty nervous about that. Just the scale of power, what something like that might be able to do—hmm, is pretty terrifying. Look at what a base Proficiency Level skill like Lighthouse can do. Something like what you described … that really is something to be cautious of, and you can't honestly say you're in complete control, can you?" She whispered so that only Scarlet could hear.
Scarlet slowly shook her head, hand sliding up to rub her left forearm.
"I thought so, after what happened with Relica. You haven't told me everything that happened during that time, and Scarlet."
Her brow creased at her tone. She looked up at her with a questioning expression. "Hmm?"
Rachel smiled reassuringly. "You don't have to worry about me turning on you or hating you, okay? Even if your fears come true, then I'll help you back. That's what friends do, right? We look out for one another."
Scarlet's eyes grew big, and blood started leaking down her cheeks as her chest convulsed. "R-Rachel … but—but what if—what if I hurt you—or—or the others?"
Reaching around her, Rachel pulled her into an embrace. "Simple, Maria will curse you out and heal us up, and then we can all go get ice cream or something … a bloodsicle," she chuckled.
Her quakes began to increase as she hugged her back. "W-we're really—really f-friends? I—I don't have a-anyone … my p-parents … they—they…"
"I understand," Rachel soothed. "I know you're worried about The Reaper, and we'll figure it out together. We'll take everything one step at a time. There's so much to unpack in just our own lives, much less what everyone else wants, but I'll be here to help all of you. I'll figure out how to get our lives back to normal."
"Why?" Scarlet cried, causing several agents to rush past. "Why do you care so much? You don't owe—owe us anything. So why do you care?"
Rachel was quiet for a moment as the Vampire shook in her arms. "Why … honestly, I couldn't answer that with logic." She whispered. "I don't know…"
"What?" Scarlet pulled away, vision narrowed with her flushed face. "You don't know?"
She scratched her left ear as it twitched. "Not really. Logically, it would be for the deal Tom gave me. If I were honest … I only really saved Felix as an excuse to get back at Daran and Marcus. It was Lunar Pride that drove me to get all of us together to fight, and as that expanded … it felt good."
"Saving people?"
Rachel bit her left cheeks for a moment before shaking her head. "No … battle, the rush of the fight, conflict … winning. I had something I could throw in my brother's face. He saved a Police Station; I saved a city." Her vision dropped to the floor as she continued to whisper what was on her heart.
"I don't regret it in the least; in fact, I feel glad that we were even able to overcome the potential legal problems with Tom. To be noticed by such a high-ranked person in the Military—to be selected out of so many people to do something only I can do … a piece of me thinks, of course, he'd come to me. However, another piece of me hesitates at this development. I told you before; I'll likely dive toward more reckless situations."
Scarlet's face twisted into a scowl. "For your parents?"
"A bit," Rachel admitted, features passive. "That's not everything, though. I want to prove I'm strong." Her fingers closed into a fist. "Something pulls at my chest; I want to fight someone like Conner again … I want to show I'm better."
"Show you're better? Who are you showing that to?"
"Myself, my parents, my brother, my sister-in-law … all of you. I want to show everyone, yet at the same time, I don't. The funny thing is … I feel like over time, that resistance will fade. The ability I've gained to counter Lunar Pride can be used just as effectively with it."
"So," Scarlet sniffed, her blood returning to her skin, even the stains on Rachel's clothes detached to be absorbed back into her body. "You basically just want to be successful."
"I suppose," Rachel mumbled. "I've always had that desire in my heart, but this is … much more powerful. It feels good, really good … you know, David offered me a position at the FBI."
"What? I thought he hated us," Scarlet looked over at her with raised eyebrows. "You made that good of an impression on him?"
Rachel smiled. "Yup … and it felt amazing, but I wouldn't accept it unless I needed to or I gained something more out of it. Me winning David over to that extent was a victory in itself."
Scarlet fell silent. After a moment, she brushed her hair over her left shoulder, hunching over. "You're cool with being friends with us, even if you don't know why you want to. You really are amazing…"
"Based on what?"
"Focus—motivation … you had that even before becoming a Lunar Hare. I mean, you could even shock Maëlle. You just stepped right up and gave her that French kiss."
"Is that what I did?" Rachel smirked. "I French kissed her?"
Scarlet's cheeks flushed a bit as she looked up at her. "Hey, no—you know I didn't mean it like that," she grunted, shoving her with her shoulders as she rose.
"I know what you meant," Rachel chuckled. "Yeah, well, that was to determine how she'd react when shocked."
Scarlet glanced down at the floor with a deep frown on her lips. "She's so—so touchy, and—and how do I beat a girl like that?"
"I don't think you have to worry about Maëlle stealing Kyle," Rachel giggled.
"Wait … why not?"
"They're literally poison to each other."
"When they collapsed?"
"Mhm, they had a reaction that was killing them—the two poison each other if they touch."
A savage smile lit Scarlet's face. "Well, that's good. Still—I bet that wouldn't stop a girl like her, though."
"Kyle doesn't seem to like Maëlle, especially after poisoning him."
"Huh … thanks, Rachel. I'm still worried, though. I'm a ticking time bomb. How can I ever feel comfortable around people without blowing up and becoming some demon?"
"You don't, and you can't. All you can do is just move forward and live. If you worry about The Reaper all the time, then what's the point of even living; plus, that takes so much energy that could be used in other ways … like getting closer to Kyle," she teased.
"C'mon … I don't even know the first thing about him…"
"That's the point of talking to him."
Scarlet sighed, playing with a lock of hair in her fingers. "Sure, but—but what if he doesn't like me, or what if…"
"Didn't Fiona already talk to you a bit about that?" Rachel chuckled. "Okay, here's a thought, and just think about it for a moment. Can you do that?"
"I guess … what is it?" Scarlet asked suspiciously, shifting in her seat to look at her.
"Ask Maëlle to help you learn how to talk to boys."
"W-what? Are you crazy?" Scarlet choked. "You e-expect me to—to learn from that—that demon?"
"Mmh," Rachel pursed her lips to the side for a moment. "I don't think she's technically a demon … I think that's more of an Aberationkin thing."
"You know what I mean!" Scarlet hissed. "She's an animal…"
"Which is exactly why she'd be the best to learn from. She knows every trick there is about getting a guy's attention." Rachel countered. "Yes, I don't find it that appealing myself, but efficient … it would be the best route, I think. She feeds of sexual tension, too … I think she'll get a lot of good meals off you."
"That's terrible," Scarlet mumbled as her feet rubbed against each other. "I get the logic, though." Sighing, she moaned. "Fine—I guess, but—but what about the mission?"
"If she's still here when we get back, then ask her. We don't know what will be waiting for us on the other side, so we kind of have to play it by ear." She said while waving her ears back and forth.
Scarlet giggled. "I understand … could you maybe—aww, nevermind," she cut off with a low sigh.
"What?" Rachel nudged her leg. "Were you going to ask me to take dating lessons with you?"
"Umm—maybe," Scarlet mumbled. "I'd just feel a lot better having someone there with me … I don't want to be alone with that woman. To be honest, she intimidates me."
"Yeah," Rachel nodded, "she's got a fairly intimidating style. She can put you on-guard or off-guard in seconds … it's fairly impressive, actually."
Scarlet took a deep breath. "Okay, what's next for you?"
"Hmm," Rachel looked down the hall. "I would like to talk about a few more things, but we have all night for that, and my window of opportunity is closing on Anthony … at least in the place I'd like to confront him. Mind teleporting us to the breakroom?"
"Confront? Well, maybe I'm not the only girl with a crush." Scarlet giggled. "Yeah, no problem!" She chimed.
Rachel's smile fell. "Really … it's not like that."
"Sure," Scarlet winked as shadows swallowed them. When they exited, they were greeted by several stunned agents, all staring at them with wide eyes. There were a few items that dropped from people's hands to hit plates or the tiled floor.
"Hey," Rachel said with a bright smile, trying to bypass Scarlet's teasing remark. "Can anyone tell me if there's any pineapple juice or cups here?"
There were low murmurs that followed.
"Pineapple juice…"
"Cups?"
"Did they just … huh?"
A man set down a sandwich, scratching his nose as he rose. "Uh—you two are Mythickin, right? The Hare and the—Vampire?" He said, clearing his throat.
"That's right," Rachel's expression didn't falter. "We need to find some cups and pineapple juice. Would any of you know where we could find any of that?"
"Probably inventory?" A woman mumbled.
The man addressing them nodded, shooting a glance at the woman before his eyes returned to them. "Yeah, if you are going to find those, then they'll be on the first level—second building to our right … eh, well, that direction." He pointed at a wall.
"Got it, thank you." Rachel said as Scarlet turned.
"Ah, okay, I see it, Rachel. There are a lot of people moving things around … like half of them are Military."
"Oh? Let's go see if we can find someone that can point us in the right direction."
Scarlet nodded as her shadows enveloped them; they appeared behind a massive shelf, outside of anyone's view, but she noticed a few cameras in the area. They walked out from behind it to a flurry of activity. Finding someone that was directing things, they approached.
"Hey, we're here to pick up some pineapple juice and cups. Could you point us in the right direction?"
The man lifted an eyebrow as they approached. "Umm—what?" He turned to their left as a forklift passed. "Hey, hey! Donny, no, no, no! To the fifth shelf, down aisle C. Damn," he muttered, looking back at them. "Pineapple juice and cups … plastic cups?" He hummed as they nodded. "Alright, eh, just go back to—wait, how did you even get in here without going past the inventory desk?"
"So, there is a desk we can go to?" Rachel asked.
"Yeah, back that way…"
They both left the man gapping as Scarlet teleported them to the destination.
"This is so much faster," Rachel chuckled.
"Thanks…" Her tone died as a woman screamed behind the counter, ducking under it.
"Lordy! What in hell's name—demons poppin' outta the walls!"
"Woah," Rachel soothed, holding up her hands. "We're Mythickin, not demons. My name's Rachel, and this is Scarlet."
"The hell's a Mythickin?" The woman asked, still under the desk. "Some kind of special demon because that shit ain't natural!"
"Sorry for the scare," Rachel giggled. "We're actually just here to pick up some cups and pineapple juice."
"For real?" She asked, her brown hair poking up. "Demons want pineapple juice and cups? Well, Miami's the right place, that's for sure."
"Can you arrange that for us?" Scarlet asked as politely as she could.
"I—I guess … we do have some pineapple juice from the last party left … cups are a dime a dozen too."
"You can call Special Agent David if you want confirmation." Rachel offered.
"Head Supervisory Special Agent David? Very well might do that," the woman mumbled, picking up her phone.
After a short conversation, some phone calls, and some apologies, a few men walked through the door with their items. One was a box filled with jugs of juice and another plastic bag of red plastic cups.
Thanking the woman, Rachel had Scarlet teleport them to Serah's position. The woman jumped as they appeared in front of her; she was sitting on a flat couch overlooking a pond below with a paved path around it. There were more than a few people on the walkway.
"What—Scarlet, Rachel? What's going on? Did something happen with Maëlle?" She asked darkly, but it quickly turned to confusion as she saw their items. "What's … up with those?"
"Hmm," Rachel sighed as she sat down beside her, waving to Scarlet as she took their supplies back to the room. She heard Maria's cheers when she appeared.
"So that's where you went! You went to help Rachel. Nice!"
"Hey, get away from the bottle, Maria!" Fiona chided. "You'll purify the stuff."
Rachel pulled her hair over her right shoulder as she leaned back against the glass. "Hey, Serah, before I go talk to Anthony, I wanted to make sure you were alright."
"What's there to be worried about?" Serah huffed. "And Anthony? You're really going to go see that Legendkin? Is David cool with that?"
She nodded, features passive. "Yes, I talked with him. We're on fairly good terms now. He even offered me a place here at the FBI."
"W-what?" Serah's eyebrows shot up as she pulled her eyes away from the window. "You—huh? You're going to work here? Even with all the bad rumors?"
Rachel followed a few startled agents continuing down the hall, realizing there wasn't any danger. "Many of those rumors are slowly being dealt with. It isn't as bad as it was yesterday. Anyways, no, I haven't given him an answer yet."
She turned to stare at her, Rachel's ears hanging a bit lower than usual while her lips moved to the side. "I know you have some issues with Maëlle's way of life, but you can't let that get in the way of your job. It sets a bad image for you."
"Why are you worried about my image?" Serah grunted.
Rachel licked the inside of her teeth, picking between her canines. "Because I want you in the new department."
"You don't beat around the bush," Serah chuckled mirthlessly. "If it means dealing with that kind of … I don't want any part of it."
"I understand you're angry," Rachel replied, crossing her legs and folding her arms. "You can be angry all you want, but how will that solve anything? Will that hurt Maëlle in any way? You know she actually feeds off sexual tension. She enjoys pleasure as much as pain; perhaps she even enjoys pain more," she mused. "That's interesting."
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"Nevermind. I just think that you should at least afford her the same chances you gave us. From what I can tell, she's just candid about her feelings. I doubt she'll ever really have a solid relationship. If it's the energy she needs to live or the game itself, who knows, but at least she's honest about it. With Maria around, you don't have anything to worry about, too."
"That's the thing," Serah growled. "It's not like we can tie Maria to her. Once you guys leave, she'll have free reign. Who can stop her?"
Rachel clicked her tongue a few times before nodding. "You're not wrong. That's one of the issues that's plaguing the top administration. What to do with all these new and potentially dangerous powers? They're worse than guns … far worse, and we have restrictions on those, but how do you restrict something like this?"
Serah was silent for a moment as she leaned over, folding her fingers. "I—I didn't think you'd actually answer me seriously. Yeah … I don't know. I'm just worried—I mean, how much trouble that—woman," she said with difficulty, "can cause to relationships is—is just unfair."
"Yes, and that's pretty much the world we live in. Isn't it? Everyone's born unequal, and it's all unfair … it appears even The Oscillation gave an unequal advantage to different people. That's reality."
"Yeah, but—but it sucks being powerless."
"I don't know about being powerless," Rachel huffed. "Everyone can make a decision. Are there scary new abilities? Yes, but won't humanity adapt and move on? I mean, if we learned anything from the World Wars, it's that we can recover remarkably fast."
"That's—an interesting perspective," Serah mumbled.
Another several seconds of silence followed before Serah got to her feet, stretching her arms out. "Alright, Rachel—I don't have to like her, but I can tolerate it—for now. By the way," her eyes narrowed as she glared down at her, "why do you care?"
"This is purely strategic," Rachel shrugged. "I've developed a relationship with Bree and you, and I'd like to keep that relationship going forward, but that requires you to gain the right access to the new department. I want people there that know me as a person, not a face on paper."
"I can't tell if that's heartwarming or not," Serah sighed. "Alright, thanks for the talk, Rachel. I'll head back."
Rachel nodded and watched her leave before turning her eyes to the wall in front of her; Anthony was in the next building. Getting up, she walked that way.
Finally, let's see what this Legend of Diarmuid is like.