Author Note:
Song used-
Never gonna be alone
By: Nickelback
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Darlin?!” Dew calls out in alarm and Annie crumples to her knees, the terrified look still on her face as tears stream down over her cheeks.

“The fuck happened?” Swiss asks Mysti as Cumulus and Cirrus crouch next to Annie, pulling the now hysterical witch into their arms.

“I don’t know!” She says, reaching up to hold her head in her hands, her own eyes wide. “She saw someone in the crowd and froze up. Ace took off after them and I brought her here.”

Dew throws off his mask and takes off followed quickly by Swiss who tosses his mask aside as well. Aether calls after them but they’re already gone. He growls lowly and turns to Rain, pulling his own mask off.

“Get Copia!”

Rain nods and takes off in the other direction and Aether motions the girls aside, kneeling down in front of Annie. One hand rests on her shoulder, the other gently cupping her face as he crouches down to her level. Her eyes are unfocused and wide with tears freely flowing, her breath coming in short sharp pants mixed with soft whimpers, whole body trembling.

“Annie?” He says gently. “Focus on my voice, love. You’re safe now.”

“No…no…” She whispers, eyes still unfocused as the trembling worsens. She shakes her head slightly, lips moving like she wanted to say something but no other words would come.

“Yes Annie. You are safe. Breathe, now. In,” He inhales slowly through his nose before doing an equally as slow exhale through his mouth. “And out.”

It takes a few moments of him breathing slowly, thumb brushing lightly over her cheek before she attempts to follow his lead, her breaths still ragged and halted with her trembling. Off to the side Cirrus and Cumulus lean into each other, each with their arms wrapped tightly around themselves as they watch. Mysti sits back, head still in her hands as she focuses on Annie.

“Aether, what is-” Copia starts, walking into the area before he notices him crouched on the ground next to Annie who still stared with wide eyes and trembling breaths. His own eyes go wide and he’s at her side, kneeling next to her as Aether moves aside but he doesn't let go of Annie’s shoulder. Annie doesn’t even register that he's there.

“Che cazzo è successo?” He asks the ghoul, his eyes full of worry as he cups her cheek, feeling just how hard she was shaking.

“She saw someone from them,” Aether replies in Italian. “Sent her into a panic. Ace, Swiss and Dew took off after them.”

Copia shoots him a look before turning back to Annie. He shifts closer, pulling his hand away just long enough to rip his glove off before placing his now bare palm back on her cheek. “Annie? Amore, can you hear me?”

It takes a moment but her eyes slowly slide towards him, still unfocused, the movement jerky and in no way smooth. Even looking at him her eyes don't sit still, glancing all over his face as she blinks rapidly, tears still falling.

“Th-th.. h-h-here. I s-s-saw…” Her throat feels like it’s closing and it’s hard to get air in.

“Breathe.”

She takes a deep breath and feels light headed. Focusing on his mismatched eyes a sob tears itself from her throat and her face crumples as she lunges at him, wrapping her arms tightly around his middle as she breaks down further, crying harshly into his chest. His arms wrap tightly around her, his gloved hand stroking over her braided hair as he gently rocks her.

“I’ve got you. You’re safe, you’re safe,” he whispers, pressing his lips to the top of her head. Outwardly he was concerned, holding her tightly as she cried and trembled. Inwardly he was a seething mass of rage.

‘They dare show up here!’ He thinks to himself. True, this was a public festival, but the fact they would be so close to her, enough for her to see them and devolve into this? He almost hoped Dew got to them before they could escape through the crowd.

“Aether,” He says softly. The ghoul looks at him, his face a stoic mask. “Phaze us to the hotel. I want to get her away from here.”

Aether nods and rests a hand on each of their shoulders and they’re enveloped in a soft purple glow. Seconds later the festival fades and the hard ground is replaced by a soft bed. They had checked into the hotel earlier, their bags already brought over. It was in the next town they were to perform at, and normally they would just stay on a tour bus but with Annie they thought this was a better option, and it was proving to be true.

“Amore, we’re far away from them now,” He says softly. She just sniffles and nuzzles deeper into his chest, her hands clutching at his suit jacket. He sighs lightly and holds her tighter, looking over at Aether whose face has softened slightly.

“What do I do?” the Cardinal asks in Italian.

“Just hold her. Comfort her,” the ghoul replies in kind. “This was a bad panic attack. It may take some time for her to come back from it.”

“I know she is scared, but this seems extreme, no?” Copia sighs, smoothing his hand over her hair again. She was still shaking but not as bad.

“Depends on who she saw. We know… ‘he’ was her main tormentor but we don’t know how many others or who did what,” Aether sighs softly. He didn’t want to use Zachari’s name in case it triggered her again.

Copia closes his eyes and nods, holding her tighter as she shifts against him. “Go get the others. Make sure the buses are loaded properly before you all come back here.”

Aether nods and climbs off the bed before disappearing in a purple haze leaving the two alone. Copia looks down at Annie, his brow furrowing. He was truly at a loss.


He had seen her, from up on the stage. She was smiling, and so very happy. All her worries and fears forgotten at the time, engrossed in their performance. All the times he saw her blush, her eyes always following him. Oh, how he had wanted to go to her right away once their set was over but he knew he couldn’t. He had hoped to find her in the same blissful happiness when she finally made it backstage. It pained him to no end now seeing her like this, feeling her tremble like a leaf in a hurricane clinging to him like her life mattered on it, hearing her choked sobs and whimpers.


He would kill them all.

He blinks and shakes himself from his thoughts before they turn darker, his attention back to the goddess in his arms.

"Annie?"

His voice is soft as he pulls back. She whimpers and clings to him tighter.

"Amore, you are safe. No one can hurt you here. It's just you and me." He kisses the top of her head again. "Let's get you comfortable at least, si? Will you let me do that?"

He feels her grip loosen on his suit as she ever so slightly relaxes.

"I'm going to get you your clothes, okay? I'm still right here."

He carefully lets her go and she tenses before releasing her hold on him. She sits on the bed, legs curled under her as she stares blankly ahead. Keeping his eyes on her he goes to where their bags rest and digs through hers until he's pulling out a nightgown. He digs through his own bag for his makeup remover, grabbing a change of clothes. 

One more quick look at Annie and he ducks into the bathroom to quickly change and grab a washcloth. When he emerges she is still sitting where she was on the bed, eyes half closed and unfocused.

"Annie?"

She doesn't move. He sighs softly and lays her nightgown on the bed along with the makeup remover wipes before kneeling in front of her. He takes her hands slowly and looks up at her face, cheeks streaked with dark lines of her makeup from her now dried tears.

"Annie? I'm going to help you change now, okay?" He searches her face for any reaction, holding in a sigh when he sees none. "If you want me to stop, let me know. Okay?"

Bringing her hands up he kisses the back of her knuckles. Resting them back on her thighs he leans down and, after maneuvering her legs so they're no longer tucked under her, takes her left foot in his hands, untying the laces of the shoes before pulling it off. Setting it aside he repeats the action with the other shoe, looking back up at her.

"I'm going to help you with your shirt now. Is that okay?"

Still she doesn't respond other than a slight movement of her eyes towards the floor in the space next to him.  He leans forward and takes the hem of her shirt, slowly rising as he lifts it up. Her arms move willingly as he gently pulls the shirt off over her before tossing it aside. He rests his hands on her shoulders then and she flinches slightly under the contact before relaxing.

"I won't hurt you. You know that, amore. But I need you to stand now so I can take your pants off. Would that be okay?"

Still she doesn't respond, but when he gently takes her arms she rises to her feet with ease. Making sure she was steady he undoes the button and zipper of her jeans and hooks his thumbs in the waistband, slowly sliding them over her hips. He pauses when he sees her stiffen, glancing at her face. He tries to get a read on her, but all he sees are her brows furrowing as she looks away.

“Annie? Are you okay for me to continue?”

He sees her give a slight nod and he continues pulling her jeans down her legs, being careful when pulling them off over her burn scars. The area looks red and inflamed, no doubt from being constricted by the tight pants all day. He helps her step out of them before tossing them with her shirt and standing back up. Taking the nightgown next he slides it over her head, lifting her arms to slide them through the proper holes letting it fall and settle over her body.

“Thank you, Annie,” he says softly, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead.


Helping her sit back down he kneels in front of her again with the makeup wipes, pulling one from the package.

“I’m going to clean your face now, get all that makeup off.”

He smiles softly to her, beginning to gently clean away the streaks from her cheeks. His touch is soft as he rubs away her eyeshadow next with a new wipe. Her eyes remain closed when he finishes with them and he looks her over again.

“Mia bella Dea. So beautiful. That dark red is a beautiful shade on your lips. It matches your hair, but it’s best we take that off, yes?”

He’s about to wipe off the lipstick when he’s halted by her speaking.

“I’m sorry.”

It was so quiet, even less than a whisper he almost didn’t hear it.

“You have nothing to be sorry for, amore.”

She sniffles and leans forward blindly, her eyes still closed. He sits up and wraps his arm around her as he catches her, her forehead coming to rest on his shoulder. She’s trembling again but not as violently as before.

“I know I was safe with the ghouls, but I still…”

“Shh, amore. I understand. And it is okay.”

Somehow her voice is even softer. “I’m not okay, Vincenzo.”

His eyes closed and he’s glad she can’t see the pained expression that crosses his face at her words. If he was at a loss before, he is even more so now. He doesn’t know what to say to try and comfort her. Was there anything he could say?

“That is okay, amore. To not be okay. I am here with you, no matter what. For whatever you need.”

Annie takes a deep breath and slowly wraps her arms around him, her hands clutching the back of his shirt as she sniffles. After a quiet moment she pulls back and finally looks at him. Her eyes are still empty and tired looking, but don't look quite as dull as they did before. He gives her a soft smile, bringing a hand over to cup her cheek.

“Mia bella Dea.”

“I’m really not,” she sighs softly.

“It is true that every time I see you I am blinded by your radiance, but do you truly think my eyes have been lying to me? Your smile is brighter than the sun, your hair more vibrant than fire. Your eyes shine like a sky full of stars reflected on a calm ocean. You are my beautiful Goddess, and you always will be.”

He sees her cheeks tint with a slight pinkness as she raguards him before she turns her eyes away, chewing at her lip as she turns to her thoughts. Finally, her voice breaks through the silence and he focuses on her once more.

“When I saw them there…. I felt everything. All of my scars burned with the memory of them making me like this.” She sighs and turns back towards him, fresh tears rolling over her cheeks. “How can I still be beautiful when they made me the monster that I am now?”

“You are not a monster, Levanna. Nor will you ever be.” He gently takes her face between his hands, his thumb tracing down the scar on the right side of her face, trailing it with his eyes before meeting hers. “Your scars are just as beautiful as the rest of you. I love you, and I love every single scar and burn.”

"I love you too, Vincenzo. I'm sorry you have to keep dealing with a burden like me."

"You are no burden. Never will you be a burden."

She smiles then. It reflects sadness but he can also see a spark of something more shining in her eyes before they turn away. She worries her lip again, a soft flush returning to her cheeks as she pulls away from his hands. They go instead to rest on her hips as he looks at her.

“What are you thinking, amore?”

“I…” She bites harder at her lip and shifts slightly, her hands twisting in her nightgown on her lap.

“Yes?”

She sighs and shakes her head. “It’s nothing. You’ve done enough for me tonight.”

Smiling, he leans up to press a soft kiss to her lips. “Anything you desire, don’t be afraid to ask for it. If it is within my power, it shall be yours.”

“That’s the thing, though. I’m not sure exactly what it is that I want because internally my mind is being pulled in too many different directions, and no matter what it is… I feel like I don’t deserve it.”

“You are deserving. Tell me, amore. What is it you want?”

“It… It always…” She sighs and looks away, cheeks glowing with color once more. “I.. I hate my scars, but when you… when you.. kiss them… It always makes me feel better. Helps me forget, because when you do it all I can feel is love. Can you do that for me? Help me to forget with your love?”

His eyes soften as he looks at her, his heart fluttering slightly at her words.

“I can do that for you. Would you like me to help you take your hair down first?”

She looks at him, eyes dancing over his face as she smiles softly, more emotion shining in her gaze. Nodding she reaches out to gently cup his cheek, brushing her thumb against the corner of his lips. “Can you give me a kiss before that?”

“I will give you all the kisses you want, Levanna.” He whispers leaning towards her. She meets him halfway, their lips pressing together in a warm kiss. Their lips move gently against each others and her head tilts back as he slowly stands up, his hands coming to cup her jaw, thumbs brushing over her cheeks. Finally they pull apart when their lungs beg for oxygen and he rests his forehead against hers.

“Thank you, Vincenzo,” she whispers as she closes her eyes and leans into him. “For everything. And don’t be like Aether and tell me not to thank you. Because I will, for so many things, because I am so very thankful.”

He laughs softly and nods, kissing the tip of her nose as he pulls back. “Alright, amore. I won’t tell you not to thank me. Let’s get those braids out of your hair now, si?”

Annie nods and smiles warmly to him, scooting down the bed and turning so her back is to him once he sits behind her, one leg up on the bed the other hanging off the edge. His fingers go to her hair, carefully pulling the pins and bands from the messy buns, unwinding them before working through the braids, gently pulling them loose and unweaving them. It takes some time, and more than once his brow furrows from how long it was taking, but eventually her hair is free of the braids and he gently runs his fingers through the long wavy locks. Each snarl he encounters he carefully works it loose until his fingers glide through the mass with ease.


“That feels quite nice, hun. You running your fingers through my hair like that,” Annie says with a wide yawn. She sniffs lightly and rubs at her eyes before leaning back against him. 

“Tired, amore?”

“No,” she says quickly. When he lets out a soft laugh she sighs and pouts. “Yeah, a bit. I’m sure you are too, especially after all the… wobbling your ass off you did.”

He laughs louder and wraps his arms around her, nuzzling into her hair as he places a kiss to the side of her head. “Si, si. I did indeed wobble my ass off. Did you enjoy the show, amore?”

Annie blushes deeply thinking about how he danced around the stage, the growling, the way he moved his hips and how tight his pants were. He feels her shoulders shake with silent laughter and he leans around to try and get a look at her face but she turns away, biting at her lip.

“Y-yeah. It was, uh. Certainly different. Swiss didn’t do you justice. You were way better.”

Copia chuckles lightly, holding her tighter before brushing the hair away from her shoulder, resting his chin on the now bare skin, head tilted to look at her face. “Wasn’t too much, was it? I saw you were quite flushed for a while there.”

She shakes her head and relaxes in his arms. “No, it was good. There was so much to watch I didn't know where to look half the time.”

“Yet every time I looked at you, you were focused on me,” he teases.

“Why wouldn't I? You’re my…” She trails off, frowning lightly. “What exactly are we?”

“Do we need a label? We’re each others, that’s all we need to know.”

Annie nods and turns to face him, her eyes holding some sadness. “But if you did label this? Label us. What would it be?”

Copia regards her for a moment before looking away, his eyes moving along the wall as he thinks.

"By traditional terms, you would be my girlfriend, and I would be your boyfriend, I suppose. But it's also more than that. My heart screams 'Mate" when I think about you, but that is not something one can casually say. Partner would be a general term, and while we've shared intimate moments, we aren't necessarily lovers."

'If I had my way, you would only be one thing,' he thinks to himself, that image of her walking down between the pews in a gorgeous dress holding a bouquet of dark flowers. 'Maybe someday.'


“Boyfriend,” Annie says, testing the word. “It doesn’t seem like enough, but I suppose that could work for now.”


She lays her head back against his shoulder, looking up towards the ceiling. Much like him, when she thought about it, her heart screamed ‘Mine’ when it came to him. Possessive, fierce. She could see herself, always at his side, tied to him. She caught a glimpse of them standing in a moonlit clearing, barefoot and wearing clothes similar to that from Beltaine with their hands bound in a cord as they pledged themselves to each other below the light of a full moon surrounded by their friends, her heart overflowing with love.

Her eyes refocused and she sat up, shaking her head lightly, unsure where that image came from even as her cheeks flared with a blush once more.

“Amore?”

“Hmm?” She turns her head back to him, smiling gently.

“You kind of zoned out for a minute there. I had asked if you wanted any food? Or would you prefer to lay down?”

“Oh.” She rests back against him, stifling another yawn. “I probably should eat, but I'm also very tired and can wait until morning.”

He nuzzles into her neck, placing a soft kiss to the curve of her shoulder, trailing his lips to the back of her neck where he finds the start of a scar, kissing along it until he reaches the neckline of her nightgown. She shivers lightly, giving a small smile feeling his lips kiss along another scar.

“Keep that up you might just put me to sleep,” she laughs softly. He pulls away and lets out his own soft laugh, kissing her cheek instead.

“Sleep then, amore, if you do not want food. I am not going anywhere and you look so very tired.”

“I…” She hesitates a moment. He looks at her waiting for her to continue. “I hate to ask, since i know you sang so much already today and have to do it all again tomorrow, but will you sing to me?”

“Amore, I will sing for you any time you wish me to. Did you have any requests?”

He reluctantly pulls himself from her, standing before pulling back the covers on the bed, offering her his hand so she can shift and lay down before he covers her with the sheet.

“No. I just want the extra comfort your voice gives me as I fall asleep.”

He leans over and kisses her gently, brushing loose hair away from her face before he rounds the bed and climbs in behind her, shifting until he’s laying close to her. She rolls over onto her side, laying her head on his chest with her arm around his middle as his arm snakes around her, holding her close. He thinks for a moment, leaning over to kiss her forehead before he starts to softly sing.

“Time is going by
so much faster than I
And I'm starting to regret not spending all of it with you.

Now I’m, wondering why I’ve kept this bottled inside
So I’m starting to regret not telling all of it to you
So if i haven’t yet, I’ve got to let you know…”

His arm tightens around her, his free hand coming up to hold her hand to his heart.

“You’re never gonna be alone
From this moment on
If you ever feel like letting go
I won’t let you fall
You’re never gonna be alone
I’ll hold you ‘til the hurt is gone.”

Annie feels tears prick in her dry eyes, her lip trembling as she listens to the lyrics of the song he chose, hearing the meaning behind the words and feeling her heart flutter.

“And now, as long as I can
I’m holding on with both hands
‘Cause forever i believe
That there’s nothing i could need but you
So if i haven’t yet
I’ve got to let you know…”

She tries to listen to the song, but his voice casts its spell over her and she feels her body begin to relax, her eyes fluttering closed as he sings. Exhaustion over the day followed by the drain from the panic attack, she couldn’t keep herself awake much longer and with a soft sigh she falls asleep curled tight into his side, his arm wrapped protectively around her while he holds her hand to his heart where its steady beat under her palm continues to soothe her.


“I’m gonna be there all the way
I won’t be missing one more day
I’m gonna be there all the way.
“I won’t be missing one more day…”

He lets the last note gently fade, his own eyes drooping shut with exhaustion. His head nods back against the pillows and one of the last thoughts he had before succumbing to sleep himself was that he had forgotten to take off his paints.

____________________________________
 

:::Meanwhile, back in Ohio:::

"I had him! Sly fucker was right fucking there!"

Dew looks at his hands, his curled fingers and palms bloodied. Saliva collects in his mouth as he fumes and he spits the bitter copper tinged excess out onto the pavement before wiping the back of his hand across his lower face, smearing the blood that was around his lips over his pale skin. His eyes were blazing, blond hair a wild mess mostly pulled from its band that had it all collected at one point in a ponytail.

"Calm down Dewdrop," Swiss all but growls.  "Yeah they got away but at least the one is missing a good chunk of his arm now."

He hisses and swats Cumulus away, jerking back from the sting as she dabs at a wound on his left eyebrow.

"Tasted like shit! Normally blood is sweet and I savor the taste, but not his. It's bitter as fuck!"

"I want to know," Ace pipes up, talking over the ranting gremlin as they pull the ice pack from the swollen right side of their face. "How they were able to do this to us. We're fucking ghouls! We're tougher than this!"

Dew seethes, clenching his fists tightly at his sides. Swiss relaxes a bit and lets Cumulus finish cleaning the gash over his eyes.

"Did neither of you notice-" Swiss cuts himself off and pinches the bridge of his nose with a sigh. "No, you two hot heads wouldn't have noticed."

"Noticed what?" Dew growls, turning to face the multi ghoul.

"Hot head?" Ace mumbles. "But I'm an air ghoul."

"With a temperament that rivals a fire ghoul," Swiss shoots back at them before continuing. "Dew grabbed the one guy before he could strike but the others had silver rings with symbols and crosses on them. They must have been blessed in some way. It's the only explanation because humans are not that strong. Not enough to hurt us like this."

"Lilit gave Mounty that bloody nose," Dew reminds him while making a face. "She had no blessed rings and she's tiny!"

"And she's also a witch," Cumulus reminds him. "She sent Copia flying in the woods. She was able to bust Mountain's nose. And, in case you forgot, threw him like a ragdoll through a solid wood door and across the room."

The fire ghoul cocks his head to the side, letting out a laugh. "Yeah, that's right. Wish I could've seen that one!"

"The point is!" Cumulus huffs, standing and gathering the bloodied rags and tosses them in the closest trash bin. "A witch doesn't need to have something 'blessed' to hurt a ghoul. Don't compare her to them again."

Ace leans over towards Swiss and nudges his leg. "Did Lil Lady really send that Goliath of a ghoul flying through a door?"

Swiss laughs softly and nods. "Sure did. Not sure which is scarier, Annie or Lilit. Best not to piss either of them off."

Ace frowns and regards the ghoul before pulling away. "You forget I was there when Levy first lost control last week. I already know what Annie is capable of."

Swiss' smile falls as he turns towards them, giving his head a small shake. "No, you really don't."


Before Ace can ask what he meant Aether phazed in next to them, his face set in an almost unreadable mask of rage that made the three ghouls flinch back. He's silent as his deep lavender eyes slowly shift from Swiss to Ace, finally landing on Dew. All three sink in on themselves under his intense gaze, turning their eyes to anywhere but at him.

“Aeth..-”

“Don’t you even start.”

Dew flinches at his tone, Aether turning from him to Swiss.

“Did neither of you stop to think?” Aether turns to Ace next. “And you. You left her alone with Mysti. Mysti who was then forced to phaze to get away from the crowd as Annie spiraled into a panic attack.”

“But-”

“You fucking left her!” The broad ghoul roars and the blue haired ghoul flinches, squeezing their eyes shut. “One job, Ez. Guard her. And the first chance you got you take off, in the middle of a fucking festival, to do what? Did you even stop to think? With all of these humans around, did you not consider for one bleeding moment the dangers? The risk of being exposed? Did you stop to think about Annie? What if Mysti hadn’t been able to phaze her out of there and, Satan forbid, there were others who would go after them? Did you think about that?”

“I…” They sigh and hang their head. “No.”

“If it were up to me, you’d be gone. Annie and her wellbeing take priority over everything. Everything! And you failed.” Aether was shaking now, his lips pulled back to reveal sharpened teeth and the pressure in the room seemed to increase. Cumulus moves slowly, stepping around Swiss until she’s in front of the raging ghoul, resting her hand on his chest as she looks up into his eyes. The glowing purple orbs dart down to meet her green-blue ones and he takes a deep breath, the pressure around them lessening.

“While I am beyond pissed with all of you, I ask you to forgive me. Not all of this rage is directed towards you.” He says in a softer tone as he calms himself, focusing on the weight of her palm on his chest, using it to anchor himself. “I too want to see those bastards pay for what they did to her. But now is not the time. You three could have exposed us to the masses.”

“To be fair, I only followed Dew to try and keep him contained,” Swiss whispers, his eyes glued to the floor.

“Based on the blood, I doubt you were successful.” Aether turns to him, but his gaze isn’t as intense. “Tell me everything.”

Ace shifts where they are seated, taking a breath as they begin to speak. “Everything was fine. Annie was happy, smiling. Flushed and being adorable. I knew seeing Boss on the stage like that got her all flustered and we were teasing her about it. Then she suddenly stiffened and went pale and she looked behind us. She started shaking, muttering something about how they can't be here. I followed her gaze and saw two men with these smirks, their eyes were dark and it just made me sick. I didn’t think, then. I just acted and took off after them.

“I followed them through the crowd, out towards the parking lot. I was just about to grab the one with long black hair when another came from the side. Landed a blow,” Ace says, adjusting the icepack on their face. “Knocked me down. Dew was on him, then, before he could do more.”

“Had my claws in him real good.”

“Yeah, but he shook you off-”

“Yeah but I got him again. Bit a big chunk out of his arm when he tried swinging at me. He screamed like a girl!” Dew laughs, a smile on his face. “Too bad he tasted like shit.”

“Now you know what vile trash tastes like, Dewy,” The multi ghoul laughs before continuing.

“That’s when one of the first two came running over. The third guy with black hair… He looked familiar, reminded me of someone I know, but I didn’t get a good look. He ran away leaving us with the other two. I tried to intercept but he swung and,” Swiss points up to the gash in his eyebrow.

“Next thing I know, all three of us got shoved back by something, and when we got up they were gone, so we phazed back here,” Ace concludes.

It’s quiet a moment as Aether processes their retelling of events. His brow furrows as he thinks about something Ace said.

“You said one had black hair? How’d it look?”

“What do you mean?”

“You said it was black. How long was it? What did it look like? Coarse? Smooth? What else can you tell me about that man?”

Ace’s brows are the next to furrow as they think about it. “Pale. I’d wager about six feet tall or so. Hair was down to his shoulders. Looked kinda stringy and dry. I heard him laugh. It was not a good laugh.”

“And his eyes?”

“Black and cold. Nothing but evil.”

Swiss pales, as does Cumulus and Aether goes rigid, his jaw locking as his knuckles pop from the tight clench they fist into.

“Y-you think that was…?” Swiss stammers. Aether gives a curt nod.

Before he can say anything else, Rain jogs over, looking at the plants clutched in his hand.

“Alright I found some yarrow and….and…” He finally looks up, his steps faltering seeing his bandmates standing with a mixed range of shock and rage. “What is it?”

“Rain, take care of Swiss’ wound,” Aether says swiftly, grabbing his mask from the pile on the equipment case closest to them. “Ace, go find Mysti. You’ll resume your duties with Annie tomorrow. Dew. Just.. Stay. Do whatever Cumulus tells you to. And for Lucifer's sake clean yourself up. You look a right mess with all that blood. Cumulus, please manage the loading. When that’s done I want all of you at the hotel where you will stay put for the night until I get you in the morning.”

Without another word he vanishes in a purple haze, leaving the others staring at an empty spot.

Swiss was the first to break the uneasy silence, looking from the ghouls to Cumulus. “Things just got real, didn’t it, mamacita?”