[OP: "Bad Liar"-- Imagine Dragons]

"I'm not sure how to explain that part..." Morph glanced at Mystique, who just looked at him Iike she had no clue how to help.

"We kind of were just dropped on the street here," Morph then said. "No idea what we were supposed to do...but I guess...we just got an update what we have till the Idol Awards day to figure it out... I guess something big is happening that day."

"Yeah, the Idol Awards are a pretty important event on that day," Mira said emphatically. "So that's also just a coincidence?"

Morph wasn't sure what to say.

Mystique began to think of what the girls might buy.

She leaned on her hands. "What if, maybe, we're supposed to help you stop the Saja Boys? You said that they're trying to drain the life out of a bunch of people, right?"

"Our fans," Zoey supplied.

"Right," Mystique said. "Somehow that...makes sense in this world, I guess. So...if we ran into them, maybe they were our target. We just didn't know it... Our instructions can be kind of vague at times, but we know there is some threat, and that it's supernatural in some way, so that would make sense."

"You're not really teachers, are you?" Rumi said.

"Well, we are, but I don't think this is about our class, if you know what I mean," Morph said. "We're new to this job, but our...uh, spiritual master, I guess you'd call it, basically sent us here, or her boss did, really. She's trained us for a bit, but this is our first real test. That's why we're not sure how to explain it--we're figuring this out as we go. But we're thinking the Saja Boys are part of it, and since we ran into you also, we thought maybe we should help you out."

"You, help us?" Mira scoffed yet again.

Her skepticism was really starting to get on Mystique's nerves--mostly because it was exactly like her own.

"It sounds as if you need help," she said, more defiantly. "You admit that they've been winning over a lot of people, and it didn't look like your signing did much to change that. Also your voice isn't even working right now." Looking at Rumi.

"Wait...did we tell you that?" Rumi asked.

"I don't remember mentioning that part," Zoey said.

"We heard you say you needed to rest it," Morph said. "I mean, singers get that all the time. But it must be a real pain if your singing is magic."

"Well, we really don't usually get that, but I guess it's bound to happen sometimes." Mira seemed confused for a moment. "But how could you help us, even if we bought this story? You can't fight."

"Hey, you haven't seen us really try yet," Morph said. 

"Demons are not like normal people," Mira insisted. "You'd risk getting drained by them if you got close."

None of them seemed interested in that before, though, Mystique thought. Strange.

"I think what Raven was getting at was a little more sneaky." Morph held up his hands and did spirit fingers. "I mean...maybe the Saja Boys have a master plan or something. We're pretty good at infiltration."

"To hell?" Mira said. "Can you go there?"

"Uh...no..." Morph said. "I think we pretty much signed up for the lifelong hell-free package."

"Then how could you do infiltration?" Zoey said. "Besides, we could never let ordinary people take that kind of chance. It'd be like setting you up to die or something."

"Very literal, but she's not wrong," Mira said. "That idea is out... I'm still not sure you're not just spying on us."

"If you caught us that easily, we'd be pretty bad at it," Mystique said dryly. "But what good would it do us to spy on you? Even if we were working for that Gwi-Ma thing, now that you know, you'd just be more on your guard. And why would I have turned into my real form at all if I was more worried about that?"

"Why did you?" Mira pressed.

"It's tiring to hold the disguise for long periods of time." Mystique shrugged. "I was just resting."

"Well, I don't think demons get tired of it," Rumi said, fidgeting a little. "I mean, it's true, why show herself at all if we were in the house? But I don't see how you can help us still."

"So you think the Saja Boys, who don't know that we're shapeshifters, couldn't be maybe manipulated by two people who can look like demons but aren't ones?" Morph said.

You could see the idea sinking in slowly. The three girls looked at each other.

"Could that work...?" Zoey said.

"I don't  know... I mean, what would they find out? I think we know their plan already," Rumi said.

"They couldn't have any ulterior motives for it that you don't know?" Mystique said.

Pause again.

"It's possible..." Mira said, slowly now. "But, if you two really aren't demons, wouldn't they know?"

"You didn't know right off," Morph said. "They didn't seem to know before what we were... I mean, the worst that could happen is that it won't work and you're not any worse off than you are now. I mean, unless they kill us, but I think we'll be fine."

"I don't know about this." Mira wasn't so sure.

"Well...let's say...if you tried it," Rumi said, "could you find out if they're planning anything for the Idol Awards to sabotage us other than...just showing up?"

"Maybe," Morph said. "I mean, I can be pretty convincing."

He turned into Jinu. "Play Games with USSS!" he yelled.

"Yikes!" Zoey jumped. "That was creepy."

Rumi and Mira looked freaked out too.

"Stop doing that," Mira said.

Morph shifted into her. "Stop doing that," he echoed.

"Ew, stop it for real!" she cringed.

Morph shifted to his normal form. "See?"

"I think you got it a little wrong," Mystique said, her mischievous side coming out now. "She's more of this--" She assumed Mira's form and said, "I don't trust demons!"

"Stop..." Mira growled.

"Stop," Mystique echoed.

"Seriously, I mean it!" Mira started to walk towards her.

Rumi held her back. "Okay, you guys have made your point, but can you not act like us, please?"

Mystique resumed her natural form also. "Do you think anyone else would be able to tell the difference?"

"Not with that," Zoey said. "Crazy... Hey, we could use them. I mean, what if we need someone to cover for us to Bobby while we go slay demons? How do you feel about dance moves?"

"I like to boogie," Morph said.

"Ugh..." Mystique put her face in her hands. "No dancing. And no singing."

"But why? We could imitate their singing," Morph said.

"But you can't make the Honmoon glow, so that would just do more harm than good," Mira said.

"Well, I don't know, maybe we could," Morph said. "Give me a song... How about one by Billy Joel?"

"Who is that?" Zoey asked.

"You don't know who that is?" Morph said. "Kids these days. So uncultured. Next you'll tell me you don't know Johnny Cash."

Blank looks.

"Aretha Franklin?" Morph tried again. "The Beatles?"

"Oh, I think I've heard of them," Zoey said brightly. "Weren't they...Australian or something?"

"British," Mystique said.

"Wow...really?" Morph shifted into one of the Beatles. "That is just not right, man."

"Stop turning into people!" Mira cried. "That's creepy."

Morph returned to himself. "You just don't appreciate my sense of humor."

"Okay, I mean...we could use some help," Rumi said. "We've got a lot to do... Maybe people who could be dopplegangers would be useful. And there is a chance they could help us learn more...but I still don't think we can just ask you to find our arch nemeses like that. Maybe we could just...kind of have you as backup in case we need to go fight them, like Zoey said."

[You know, that would help explain how the girls can disappear constantly throughout the film without anyone noticing other than Bobby.]

Mira was still not on board.

"I don't think we should just let them do that," she said. "We still don't know this isn't some trick."

"I mean, how did you end up mutants?" Zoey asked. "Did aliens abduct you? Did Gwi-Ma mess with your DNA? Were you grown in a science lab?"

Morph saw that she had one of her notebooks and pens in her hand. When had she gotten those out?

"Are you..making theories about this?" Mystique noticed it also.

"Oh, yeah, so far I have...like, 10," Zoey said. "But I'm adding more... Was I right?"

"No, you were way off," Morph said. "Although the alien abduction thing is a fun theory. My dad used to think my brain was replaced by an alien's...you know...because I was so weird."

"Ha, my parents said the same thing about me," Zoey said. "Well, not really, but close."

Mira rubbed her forehead. "Are we just going to end up caving to this?"

"Mira, come on, it's worth a try. Don't we need to do whatever we can to win this year?" Rumi asked. "Especially with my...problem." She rubbed her throat.

Mira sighed. "Well...if you're going to do it, you do it the way we say."

"Sure?" Morph said. Though Mystique was not so sure about being bossed around by these three... How old were they? It was kind of hard to say.

"We have to keep working on the song," Rumi said. "We don't have a lot of public events... Just the Idol Awards."

She looked perturbed.

Mira glanced at her and then frowned at the floor.

Mystique thought something was up with the two of them.

"So, anything else we should know?" Morph asked.

"Not really..." Rumi said hesitantly. "I'd better get dressed."

Morph hadn't noticed till then that the girls were still in their pajamas.

Suddenly he was kind of embarrassed--though that was nothing the kids at the Mansion might not have done, and all the girls were young enough to be his kids, for crying out loud, but still... Was that just okay in 2025?

[Honestly, hard to say if anyone has standards anymore.]

Rumi and Mira both left the room then.

Zoey was scribbling in her notebook still. "So...not aliens?" She looked up.

"You don't seem as bothered by this as the other two," Morph noted. "Is it because you're from California? Shine always acts like weird things are normal--it's kind of her specialty."

"I don't know if it's that or if I'm just weird." Zoey pointed her pen at herself. "But I think it's kind of intriguing. You two are a whole new thing. Too bad we're so busy right now--it would be majorly cool to look into how you're even possible."

"No thanks." Mystique frowned. "What was going on between Mira and Rumi? They were icy."

Zoey looked uneasy. "Oh...uh, they just had a talk last night after we went to bed, I think. I didn't really hear it, but I saw Mira come out of Rumi's hallway. I think the stress is just getting to them a little."

"Just how much has it been?" Morph said. "We just saw the one incident."

"It's been a lot of attacks," Zoey said. 

"Does that have anything to do with the red ripples we keep seeing?" Mystique asked.

Zoey dropped her pen yet again. "Wait...you...see that?" She looked shocked.

"Yeah, what is it?" Morph asked. "It looked like some sonic wave."

"That's...that's the Honmoon. When it tears...it looks reddish pink," Zoey said, astonished. "But only Hunters can see it. Or demons, I guess."

"But we saw it..." Morph said soberly. "Huh...well, no one told us we weren't allowed to. I guess if you don't tell, we won't." He winked.

But Zoey was not in the frame of mind to be amused by that. "I don't see how you two are possible, still."

"Maybe you don't know what's possible," Mystique suggested, rather rudely.

"Well, that's true..." Zoey blinked slightly. "Maybe it's just a mystery... It's kind of fun. So...about the Saja Boys, you really think you can find out more about them?"

"We can try. I mean, for personal reasons, I'd really like to know what their deal is," Morph said. "Maybe convince them to not kill us...'cause that's always nice too."

"Not much hope of that." Mystique leaned back and sighed. "Figures we'd make enemies almost immediately. That's my gift."

"Bright side, at least you won't have to worry about them after the Idol Awards," Zoey said.

"Are you sure that will work?" Mystique looked up. "What if it doesn't? This Golden Honmoon might be harder to make than you think... Doesn't the fact that it hasn't happened in hundreds of years mean something?"

"Well...but we're so close," Zoey said. "We saw gold before."

"Maybe you three are special then?" Morph said.

"I think it's more like Gwi-Ma has managed to thwart every other group of hunters before us," Zoey said. "I mean, there was that horrible thing with Rumi's mom..." She stopped short.

"What about her mom?" Mystique was interested now.

"Uh...I shouldn't have said anything about that..." Zoey said guiltily. "It's personal."

"Was her mom a hunter?" Morph asked.

"Oh, yeah, she was a Sunlight Sister," Zoey supplied. "That's why Rumi is pop star royalty. Didn't you hear our song 'Golden'? Oh, right, you're not fans of ours... That's so weird."

"Does everyone have to be your fan?" Mystique couldn't help but feel the girls might be just a little too big for their britches.

Perhaps they had some reason to be, but it was getting annoying for them to keep assuming that everyone had to know who they were and think they were the best.

Even if...well, they did have the world at stake over it.

"It would be better that way," Zoey said with a straight face.

Morph couldn't help but think it sounded funny also, but he choked back any show of it, since Zoey was completely serious.

"So what happened to her mom?" he pressed.

Zoey decided that not answering would only make them more curious.

"Well, she died..." she said. "Not sure how. But...early, for a hunter. Celine, one of the other ones, raised Rumi and mentored all of us. I'm not sure what happened to the other Sunlight Sister. I think they fell out of contact. Celine has never told us."

"That's a strange thing for her not to tell you," Morph noted. 

"Celine doesn't think we should dwell on the past," Zoey said. She put her pen back in the air. "'Our faults and fears must never be seen.'" She sounded like some uptight posh lady.

"That's destructive thinking," Morph said. "Why would anyone tell you that?"

"What do you mean?" Zoey sounded as if no one had questioned that line before.

"Your faults and fears?" Mystique said. "Even if you could hide them, which you can't, what would it do for you? It never did anything for me."

"Or me," Morph said. "I had to admit I had fears before I could confront them. I did try not to show them for a while, but I'm done with that. And faults? Doesn't everyone know you have those?"

"I don't think you two understand the K-pop world very well," Zoey said.

She was right about that in more ways than one, they thought.

Mystique's thoughts were directed still at Rumi and Mira.

She didn't know that she wanted to get involved here, but if they were ever going to figure out why they'd been sent here, she'd have to learn more about the girls.

Mira seemed unlikely to open up any time soon--or to stop keeping her hand on her weapon whenever they were in the same room--but Rumi had seemed like she was much more open minded to them being...human.

After making some excuse to leave that neither of the others paid any attention to, she got up and headed out of the room.

After losing her robe and donning her ordinary clothes and resuming her human disguise, she found Rumi's room and knocked on it.

She heard shuffling inside before the door opened.

"Mira if--" Rumi stopped short. "Oh...hi...Raven."

"Mind if I come in?" Mystique asked her.

"Uh...sure...I guess." Rumi ushered her in.

The room was nice...though Rumi's decor was not what Mystique expected from a woman her age.

She noticed a plush cat the size of a horse sitting on the carpet though.

She saw Rumi look at it nervously and then look at her like she was wondering if she saw it--but then seemed to think there was no way she could see it and moved to her bed. "Did you need something else?"

"I noticed there was some tension between you and Mira." Mystique didn't bother to sugarcoat it. "Was it about us? Are we causing you a problem?"

Mystique herself didn't actually care that much if that was the reason. She was not nearly practiced enough in compassion yet to feel that sorry about it when the problem was entirely unintentional on her side, but she wanted to know where the landmines were.

"No, it was nothing about that," Rumi said, too quickly if she'd wanted to have plausible deniability that there was a problem.

"What was it about?" Mystique pressed. "I can tell she still doesn't trust us."

"Mira is just..stressed," Rumi excused her. "And she's not the most trusting person anyway. But you have to be on your guard a lot when...well, normal people end up being demons pretty often. Our plane crashed just the other day because of them, so.."

"And you survived?" Mystique was surprised.

"Oh sure, we've jumped out of planes a bunch of times. It's part of our act at this point." Rumi waved dismissively. "So this is nothing. I still don't understand how you have powers like that."

She shook her head. "It's...not that you're...part demon, is it?"

"How could I possibly be part demon?!" Mystique said, but then she thought it was an odd thing to come up with out of the blue. "Is that possible?"

"Oh, no, of course not!" Rumi said, but Mystique knew she was lying.

Or at least, that she was not sure.

"Why did you ask then?" she asked.

"I guess it's possible there is more to this than we thought," Rumi said, carefully, "maybe...but that's not it, so...you really are just humans with powers?"

"Yes, really...but you didn't answer my question. What did you and Mira fight about?"

"Not to be rude, but...I don't even know you. Why would I tell you that?" Rumi was on her guard again.

"Fair point," Mystique admitted, resignedly. "I didn't think you would tell me."

She moved toward the window aimlessly.

The giant cat plushie suddenly moved out of her way.

She jumped back. "That thing is alive!"

"What thing?" Rumi looked at the cat. "Wait...you see it?"

"Of course I see it. I thought it was just a stuffed animal." Mystique saw the cat was clearly moving now. It looked at her with a very odd expression...like a Cheshire cat out of an Alice In Wonderland movie perhaps.

"You have a pet spirit cat?" She looked at Rumi.

"It's not mine!" Rumi said, and then looked like she wanted to kick herself. "I mean...it just visits me... Don't worry, it's not a demon. I'm not sure what it is, but no patterns...and it's not hostile, so... Neither is the bird."

Mystique hadn't seen the bird on top of the cat till then.

It had three eyes and looked at her weirdly.

"Ah!" She jumped back. "How many of these things are there?"

"I've only ever seen the two," Rumi said, trying to push the cat away, but it wasn't moving. "The tiger is...I think it's a guardian spirit, but I'm not sure for what. It's harmless though."

The cat opened its mouth as if it thought she was signalling it.

There was a note card on its tongue.

Rumi looked freaked out, but before she could hide it, Mystique had grabbed it.

Mystique moved a lot faster than Rumi expected, clearly, based on how she grabbed at it only a second after Mystique did.

"Hey, give that back!" she cried.

"Is it yours? Why was it in the cat?" Mystique opened the note. "This appears to be an invitation. Time and place..."

She glanced up at her. "Why would anyone use a spirit tiger to send an invite...? Do you do anything normally?"

"It's just a thing we do," Rumi fumbled. "Can I have my note back now?"

"And who would you be sending that too anyway? Your mentor?" Mystique pressed.

"Yeah, sure..." Rumi finally snatched the note out of her hand. She put it in the tiger's mouth. "Just shoo." She shoved it.

The tiger started to sink through the floor, which was weird to watch.

But she was so used to mutations like that that she hardly gave it a second glance.

"Rumi, you're hiding something, aren't you?" Mystique said, point blank. "You've acted off ever since we met you, and it's strange that you don't seem that off put by our appearance."

"Right now you don't even look like anything unnatural," Rumi countered. "So...why are you hiding it again?"

Mystique glanced at her, and then she changed to her blue form. "I thought it would be easier for you to pretend we're normal if we looked normal."

"Oh, that's fine. You don't need to do that around just me." Rumi waved her hand. "I've seen a lot uglier--" She stopped. "I mean, uh, less human."

Mystique recoiled. "Ugly...yes..."

She turned and looked out the window. "Most people find this form hideous...blue skin, scales...yellow eyes... I don't look human at all. I always hated it." She looked at her reflection.

Why was she telling Rumi this? Maybe the girl had angered her by using the word uglier.

"Did you?" Rumi didn't look like she was that surprised. "Yeah...I can imagine... Uh, not that... I mean, it's not that bad... I mean...it's just it looks different, that's all. So people would think it was...weird."

"You can say it's just uncanny. I've heard it before." Mystique frowned at herself again. "The truth is I've spent as little time as possible in this form as I could over most of my life. I was always so many other women... I only started to use it all the time in the last year."

"Really? Why?" Rumi sounded way more eager than a merely curious person would have been.

Mystique turned back to her with a perturbed look. "I lived with other mutants only for the first time, so I dropped the disguise. They didn't trust me anyway, but acting like a human around them only made it worse. Also, my best friend always treated me the same in either form, and she's human, not exactly a normal human though... She's a little eccentric."

"But she didn't care that you look like...I mean, kind of like a demon?"

"Shine? She would never care about what you looked like as long as you weren't one," Mystique sniffed. "She's crazy...but is still one of the only people I've ever trusted fully. She's just the type of person who never does anything to be ashamed of. Or if she did...it would never last long enough for anyone to care about it. Quick to apologize and quick to admit she's wrong and quick to forgive also. I doubt anyone else could have befriended me with the way I was last year. But you don't need to hear my story."

"No, seriously, I'd like to hear more of it," Rumi said. "I have time."

"I thought you were working on the song."

"I...am..." Rumi shoved a notebook aside. "But this might be a good inspiration, in a way. I have thought this song is...just so hateful."

She picked up the notebook. "I mean...well, what do you think?"

She sung some lines out:

"When your patterns start to show, it makes the hatred want to grow out of my veins..."

Mystique grimaced a little. "That's the song?"

"Doesn't it just sound too negative?" Rumi pressed.

"I think it sounds repulsive," Mystique said. "Hatred growing out of your veins? What would that even mean?"

"Oh, well, that's just Zoey's lyrical poetry. It's not literal."

"You have demons who have glowing tattoos, and that's not literal?" Mystique folded her arms. "It's hard to tell with the three of you."

"I'm just wondering if we can really defeat Gwi-Ma with such a negative song," Rumi mused. "It's not really our style. But we're trying to take down the Saja Boys with it."

"I don't understand what 'take down' means." Mystique paced a little. "But I do know that you don't seem nearly as committed to it as the other two."

Rumi tensed. "What? No...I want to stop Gwi-Ma more than anyone else does. Trust me."

She sounded serious.

"Do you want to stop Jinu that much?" Mystique asked.

Rumi looked shell shocked.

"I...how...? What?" she stammered.

Mystique crossed her arms again and fixed her with a firm look. "I noticed how you acted surprised that he attacked us. You were talking a lot at the signing, too... Didn't look like it was all hostile. Didn't you also say 'let's hear it for Jinu' or something like that? Also, you're sending a mysterious message with a spirit tiger. It's not to your mentor. You have...those strange phones--you wouldn't need a tiger for that. But, a demon might not have a cell phone."

Rumi looked completely stunned.

"I'm guessing you didn't expect me to be smarter than your friends." Mystique interpreted the look. "But I've lived a long time around all kinds of deception... You're a very bad liar, I hate to break it to you. They must be very trusting not to have noticed by now."

"I'm...not lying." Rumi found her voice finally. "I was just...surprised that you got that idea."

"Really? You want to keep up this deception?" Incredulously. "Why else would you want us to spy on the Saja Boys? If you truly thought they would just...eat us, it would be irresponsible to let us do it...but if you thought they might be reasoned with. That would make more sense."

"Wow...you are good," Rumi lost her self control enough to admit. "I'm... Just the way you put that together, I never would have... I mean...but...if you thought that, why did you agree to it?"

"I have personal reasons to want to know what is going on with Jinu." Mystique put a finger to her lips thoughtfully. "He seems like a snake, but he's not like the other 4... At least he can talk. Not like a demon either, at least, not what I understand of them, but it's not like what I'm used to at all. Not that I've ever met one myself, but from what I've been told...he just seems too human."

"Right?" Rumi said, more calm sounding. "It doesn't quite line up with what we think, does it? I'm just...trying to get to the bottom of it."

"Enough to meet him alone? After the way he jumped us?" Mystique pointed at the window.

"It's not like that. It's just a business meeting, I swear...and he won't do that to me."

"And why would he not? Doesn't he want to destroy you?"

"Well...yes and no..." Rumi hedged. "But he has...I mean, there's something he wants, from me, so he won't attack me, not yet. And I can handle him. Besides, he had the chance before and he didn't."

"I see." Mystique knew this story. "And you think that means something?"

"Didn't you say yourself you don't think he seems like the others?" Rumi tried. "I just want to know... And please, don't tell Mira or Zoey. They would never understand why I'm doing this. But I'm trying to make sure we win. If my idea works, we will have the Idol Awards in the bag, no problem at all."

"If you were a different kind of girl I'd ask myself about what you offered him in return for that," Mystique said, with a look that even Rumi had to know how to interpret.

"What? No! I would never do that! I don't even know if that's a thing... Well, it must be, but not for me!"

"I'm not one to judge anyway." Mystique looked at the wall. "I've traded that kind of favor many times."

She got a shocked look from Rumi at that statement.

"I guess you're too innocent for that." Mystique almost was amused by it. "Still, I didn't think celebrities were that unaware of how things like that work."

"We would never stoop to that!" Rumi was indignant. "That's not how the Huntrix are. Maybe some groups are, but not us."

"Then you've never had to. Because when they're desperate, most people would compromise." Mystique waved her hand. "But that's besides the point. If that's not what you're offering him, then what are you?"

"I'm not sure I can discuss that with you," Rumi said. "Just...that there may be more nuance with Gwi-Ma's servants than we think, that's all. Will you promise me not to tell the other two?"

"I don't see how you could stop me from doing it," Mystique said. "If it was that easy for me to figure it out, how long do you expect to be able to hide this from them anyway?"

"I just need a few more days," Rumi said, "to know if my plan will work...and if it won't, I won't meet up with him anymore. I promise."

"It may be too late by then." Mystique rubbed her arm. "Whatever his reasons were for not doing it before, how can you be sure he won't just summon an army of demons and take care of the problem? He didn't hesitate to do that to us."

"I'm not sure why he did that. I think he must have thought you were trying to uncover the Saja Boys' secrets..." Rumi frowned to herself. "Did you shapeshift in front of them?"

"No." Mystique shook her head. "And aren't they behind a lot of deaths? That's what your friends have been saying... You think you can trust someone like that?"

"It's complicated," Rumi said. "I don't trust him...but, if there's an easier way to win this fight, I want to take it. It's worth a try, right?"

"Since I don't know what it is, I'm not sure."

"What if it's possible to free demons from Gwi-Ma's control?" Rumi ventured. "Would it be worth a try?"

"Free them?" Mystique looked up and then shook her head. "Not if they were true demons, not possible. Demons cannot repent. They are what they are."

"You're...so sure..." Rumi looked crestfallen. "There's no hope."

"I don't know. If he's not a true one, maybe there is..." Mystique couldn't shake the feeling that Jinu just didn't give her the right sense for being a demon. But he didn't seem quite right either. 

"That's just it..." Rumi said. "What if we're wrong? What if demons aren't all doomed to be that way forever? There could be hope."

Mystique pursed her lips. "I've never been big on hope. Survival has been my game...my only ambition, really, for  most of my life."

Rumi looked sad. "I see."

"But lately, I've been trying to have hope," Mystique went on. "If you have some sign that this is possible, I'd like to hear what it is."

Rumi hesitated. "I don't have a direct sign...but we have been wrong about demons... We thought they didn't feel anything, but Jinu said they do...all the time. He said that Gwi-Ma's voice controls them...with shame and misery... I've never heard that before."

"Really, that's something you should know if you're going to fight them... Shame? I didn't think demons felt shame..." She frowned to herself again. "Misery, I could believe. They also feel fear, from the stories I've heard. Fear, hatred, jealousy...but shame? That would imply they could realize they were in the wrong."

"Jinu doesn't seem to feel any hatred other than towards Gwi-Ma, but fear...yeah," Rumi said soberly. "I mean, he is selfish...but it would be hard not to be...wouldn't it? After 400 years..."

"Four hundred years?!" Mystique repeated. "He's been like that for that long?"

"Yes, since he was human once," Rumi said hastily. "That's how it started... He made a deal with Gwi-Ma. I'm not sure I should be telling you this, but you said to give you a reason to hope...so, you see, it might be possible that he's not the same as the others. I spoke to one the other day, but it didn't seem to feel any shame at all. It just tried to eat me... Mira had to step in and save me."

"Is that why she's upset at you?" Mystique could see why that might piss Mira off a little.

"Uh...that and other things..." Rumi said. She suddenly remembered she was not supposed to be telling Mystique their secrets. "But please, let me at least try."

"If this is really what you think, then would it be right to assume that the real reason you're letting us off on the hook is because you're hoping this is true?" Mystique said warily. "You're attempting to justify your actions by giving us a chance prove we are not demons."

Rumi looked upset. "That's...I mean, I did actually think you were telling the truth...at least, maybe."

"Maybe is not a very good position if you're trying to protect the world..." Mystique shook her head. "We are telling the truth, but when did we ever try to attack you? Jinu is different. If he is as you say, a former human, he can't be a demon...but he's definitely not normal."

"What do you mean by that?" Rumi asked. "I mean, why can't humans be demons...?"

"Well, in our tradition, humans and demons are not born from the same thing." Mystique reflected on Shine's teachings about this. "Demons are pure spirits...fallen ones, we call them. Humans are spirit, soul, and body all together. A hybrid of three things. Our spirit and soul are stronger, but we are often the least aware of them."

"A hybrid," Rumi reasoned. "So you think a human couldn't become a demon, then?"

"They aren't the same kind of spirit to begin with," Mystique said. "A human could be controlled by a demon, though. It's called possession. They might act like one, even look like one, perhaps, but that can be reversed... They can be set free from it. My mentor would know more about it than I would. I should ask her for help again... I've never actually seen it myself, but she has. Many times."

"That's great!" Rumi looked overjoyed. "Then it may be possible."

"But that was not the same thing either. And there was no deal with Gwi-Ma, no patterns, and no...disappearing into smoke. It's possible Jinu's lying about being human once."

"No, I believe it's true."

"And how would you know?" Mystique pressed.

A tense silence followed that question.