A/N: As usual, I would recommend putting the video on loop.

Once again, the door opened. That time, though, it wasn't just Deidre on the other side. (F/n) couldn't spot Nick from where she was sitting, but she saw Chris and Ren. Chris had no crutches, but there was a large compression boot on her right leg, and she was leaning on Ren for support. Coming into the room first, Deidre stood closest to the table, and Ether didn't mind. Ren helped Chris over to the bed. The auburn-haired male looked over to Ether, who made no motion to stop him. Since he took that as a sign that it was alright, Ren helped his fiancée sit on the bed and get comfortable before he joined her.

Smiling over to both of them, (f/n) tried to reassure them that they would be fine and not to worry about Ether. Ren nodded back, and Chris gave her a grin even if it did hold a slight bit of nervousness in it. Even if the Ren and Chris had been cooped up in a car with Ether before, they had no idea how he would react in the present moment. He was unpredictable, so they kept their distance and sat on the side of the bed closest to the door.

Ether's optics didn't stay on them long. Rather, they traveled over to the last individual entering the room: Nick. The bedroom door didn't close. Instead, Nick stood in the doorway and leaned against it. He didn't take another step into the room, and Ether smirked at his decision, which was a wise one. (F/n) gave Nick an apologetic look, but Nick pretended to ignore it, which didn't bother (f/n) since she knew that he was trying to keep Ether from getting pissed off.

"So in two weeks," (f/n) began, moving her gaze to each of the four other humans in the room, "Ether and I should head back to my parent's home. I don't want to leave them alone any longer, and my injuries will be fully recovered." Her eyes, momentarily, glanced to the remaining ginger cookies, but she decided to wait before she had another one. "But if we leave all of you here with the other creature still alive ..." She trailed off as a grim look consumed her expression. "... Well, you most likely all will die."

"Will your parents be alright with housing all of us?" Nick asked straightaway. His expression was unreadable currently, but it wasn't due to Ether. A grin painted Ether's lips. Nick hoped that (f/n) would give him a positive answer. Otherwise, he might very well panic. As much as Ether wouldn't mind seeing him in that state, he knew that if Nick didn't come, the others probably wouldn't either. Chris and Deidre, he didn't think that they deserved a slow, painful death at the hands of Callest. Ren ... he was neutral on, but he was engaged to Chris, so he was more fine with Ren being there than Nick.

Unfortunately if one could come, all of them would. It was like one of those sales humans had in stores where one could buy something and get it free. In the case of Nick tagging along, however, it was as though the store was giving the individual their trash as the free item. Annoyingly, he couldn't just dump the trash somewhere. A frustrated sigh parted from his lips. "They should be fine with it," Ether grumbled out while his right hand moved (f/n)'s chair closer to him. (F/n) almost shot him a glare, but she stopped when she saw the scowl on his face. A dreadful chill snaked up her spine, and she didn't say another word presently.

"It'll just be hard to hide all of you, so they'll have to come up with some reason for why you're all there." Ether lifted up his left index nail and pointed to Nick, who shivered at the gesture. "Especially you." A heavy frown coated the creature's lips. "People will wonder why one of the survivors of Cankerfell came back after he purposely left his home near to the town. They all know that you never wanted to step into the town again."

"I'm sure that he knows that, Ether." Very pale blue optics glanced over to Deidre with a sharp, quick motion, which caused her to wince slightly. Nick tightened his hands' hold on his upper arms, but he didn't move into the room. "Which is why we shouldn't stay there too long."

"But, we'll be going if (f/n)'s parents are fine with it. It may cause issues, but I don't want to leave my team here with that other creature still out there." Ether released an aggravated sigh; however, he didn't argue with Nick on that matter. "But, Deidre is right. Too long, and people will get really suspicious. Only a few days are ideal, but that might be impossible."

"But, there's another issue." Everyone glanced over to Chris. She didn't wince when Ether's gaze landed on her swiftly. Rather, she tried to sit up taller, but she also moved closer to Ren. "There will be even more of us in one spot. It's only two, but Ether can't watch all of us at all times. And, that other creature will attack after awhile. He won't keep being patient." A chill slithered through her body in a horrid fashion. "He'll come, and one of us probably will die if we just wait around."

"Yes, I know, but I can't leave the funeral home either." Ether leaned his face against his left knuckles, avoiding his nails in the process. "I want to search for him and kill him, but I can't leave all of you behind. Or, he could kill all of you within a matter of seconds or less."

Furrowing his brows, Ren squeezed Chris's right hand lightly for comfort for both of them. "Something has to be done, though. I know that's obvious, but," he looked to everyone, including Ether, "we can't give him too much time to think on what he can do to get back at us. He's already had so much time."

"And, we can't booby-trap the house since it's a business. Even if we could, people would get suspicious." Chris let out a huff of air in irritation. Her cheeks puffed out a little, and the expression would've been cute if the discussion wasn't covering such a serious topic. "Ether," she locked her light blue gaze with his very pale blue one. The female's heartbeat picked up a little at her slightly demanding tone. She hadn't meant it to sound so authoritative, but her worry about the future made it so since she wanted a decent solution to their predicament. "Can you think of anything that might let us defeat him from the house?"

"Light's out of the question." Ether leaned back on the chair and crossed his arms. "But, it'll help to have the lights on. Just we can't rely on them completely."

"Will ..."

Cutting Nick off, Ether answered, "I'll wear my sunglasses. Besides that, though ..." He trailed off and tried to think of something, but nothing sounded like a good idea. "Ultimately, none of you can do anything against him if he's attacking directly. He also won't be playing a game. He'll be serious and want to correct the situation." Ether averted his eyes over to (f/n). "She only has made it so far because both he and I haven't wanted to kill her." (F/n) visibly tensed, and he patted her head with his right hand as if telling her not to worry about it. That was easier said than done, however. "As for Cankerfell, I was still sensitive to light back then. As was he presumably, but, again, that's no longer the case."

Deflating, Chris nearly fell back onto the bed, but Ren caught her and leaned her against him. "So, it's hopeless, then?"

"It's not," Deidre argued back, though; her voice was quiet. She sounded unsure of her words, but she didn't take them back. "If we can't fight, we just have to create a situation so that Ether can without worrying about (f/n) or us." Everyone looked to her with interest, even Ether. "Ether is the only one who realistically can survive fighting him, so all of us should be behind Ether."

Brown eyes diverting over to (e/c) optics, Deidre stared to (f/n). "Does your house have any walk-in closets? Or, very small rooms without windows would work too."

Understanding what she was getting at, Ether mentioned, "That might work. And, her house does have a few of those." He kept his focus on Deidre. "So you're saying that if all of you stay in there and I stand in front of the door, the other creature can't go around me without fighting and killing me. None of you will be in direct harm's way either."

"Would that really work?" Nick questioned, remembering the tight spaces of Cankerfell at times. They only seemed to be more terrifying, especially when there was the prospect of being stuck in one of those areas with Ether.

"It would as long as he can't get to the door. If he gets to it before I can reach him, he could rip it off of its hinges. Then, all of you would be ..." Ether furrowed his brows before he snapped his middle finger and thumb. "Would be like sitting ducks." His expression remained serious. "In other words, it would be a very risky gamble."

"Then, you couldn't protect the door that well?" Ren questioned, but it wasn't out of mocking Ether. No, he knew better than that. Rather, it was out of pure concern. He didn't want to be cramped up in a small room if it only meant that all of them would be more easily butchered.

"I'm not sure. I've only fought him for a few moments before. I don't know what he's like when he's serious." Ether glanced over to (f/n) when he noticed how tense she was becoming. It almost was like she had turned into a statue. No doubt, terrible images were forming in her mind. He rested his right hand on her left shoulder and gave it a light squeeze. She glanced up to him. "We'll figure it out. I won't let you die."

No response left her, and his rage at Callest increased all the more. Memories of what Callest did to her probably were filling her mind, and he hated that he couldn't make them disappear from her mind. Looking to the rest of them, he remarked, "Let's take these next two weeks to come up with a plan. We still have time." All of them nodded, but he soon focused on (f/n).