"Is it illegal to move parrots across state lines?" Mya asked as she followed the parrot into the kitchen.

That morning (because no matter how much people didn't want to admit it, one o'clock at night was technically morning) was a morning like none would ever forget.

Writer's block.

Microwave dinners.

Half dug graves in the backyard.

Turtle trying to eat glass.

Oh and an internet friend showing up in her hallway with a parrot on one shoulder and a suspicious looking duffel bag on the other. Can't forget that, no sir.

Mya was half expecting Rissa and Cadence to be waiting on the roof at this point.

"Party! Get back here, we have to leave," Alli called and started messing with the turn knob in an attempt to turn on the lights. There was a loud clatter as the knob fell through her fingers and onto the floor. "I think it's broken."

Mya sighed and rolled her eyes before waving her hand over the outlet. The lights turned on.

"Magic?"

"Motion sensor."

"Party!?" Alli called out.

"Party?" Mya repeated.

"The parrot," she replied and walked deeper into the kitchen.

"Did you seriously name the parrot, Par -- "

"Is that a sword!?" Alli exclaimed and pointed to a tool belt hanging off the door of the cereal cabinet. Strung to one side was a sheath made of thick black canvas.

"This?" Mya asked and yanked at the hilt to reveal the long one-sided blade of a dull katana. "Yeah it is, there's a matching one downstairs somewhere -- like Deadpool's."

Mya slid the blade back into the sheath and flipped it around before grabbing a different hilt that was covered in duct tape.

Alli's eyes widened as she pulled out a heavy looking machete with delicate eyelets carved straight through the blade. "Why?"

Mya was halfway through a shrug when the front door swung open and in walked a darker skinned girl, who's neck jerked with some sort of nervous twitch. "Alli I thought you said you were gonna be fast. It's getting really creepy out there -- a hearse just drove down the -- " she froze when she saw the machete in Mya's hand.

"Llyn? I presume?" Mya asked and quickly hid the machete behind her back.

Llyn nodded slowly.

"What are you all doing in my house at one in the morning?"

"Well I don't know what Alli's doing, but I left Lani outside to deal with the hearse -- "

"It's not magic," a fourth voice chimed in as Lani walked in through the from door. "That is a for reals, funeral home, government cleared hearse. Mya, why is it parked in your neighbor's driveway -- and why are you holding a machete, Mya? There's three of us and one of you. "

Mya took a deep breath. "There's a hearse in his driveway because three of my neighbors own funeral homes and another drives the hearse. Okay?"

"Creepy," Lani muttered.

"You're all creepy."

There was a loud squawk followed by a flash of red as Party the Parrot flew in from the side room library, and perched on Alli's head with a Fiber One cheesecake clutched in his beak. "We should probably be going," Alli decided. "Grab your bag, Mya. C'mon. This is urgent."

"What are we doing?" Mya asked as she tied the machete to her belt before sprinting to her room.

"We need to kidnap Rachel, she's in trouble," Llyn said and kicked a pool noodle out of her way.

"She'll be in trouble if we kidnap her."

"She'll be in more trouble if we don't," Lani fumed. "Phogystic has been spotted in the UK."

Mya froze. "Phogystic is...there?"

"Yes and we need to get to her first." Alli pulled a few chargers out of their outlets and threw them into a backpack. "Pack diverse. I don't know what the weather's like in Scotland. "

Dr. Raci E. Phogystic had been the notorious rival of the Guild ever since their founding. He was skilled in the trade of mind control and knew how to warp the people to his bidding. Not many could see the acid blood in his veins over the charismatic personality and threatening vampire teeth, but the Guild members knew better.

He was smart, fast, and quick to cover up.

The eight of them had been relieved when he disappeared over the Mexican border.

But now he was back, and he was coming after them.

"Have you called the others?"

Alli shook her head. " Celin is moving ahead of us. I don't know where Nik is and we have to grab Sarah. "

"Nik is on the other side of the country," Mya murmured and pulled her phone up off the floor and started dialing a number. Lani appeared like she wanted to say something, but Mya brought her hand up for silence before bringing the phone up to her ear.

"Lilly -- yes I know what time it is. I need you to find someone for me and have her delivered to Carissa Gleason in California -- no not in a box!"

Alli, Llyn and Lani shared a round of looks and shrugs.

There was a pause as Mya listened in on the other end before giving her contact the name. "Yeah, Rissa will know what to do. Make it fast, please. This is a life and death sort of thing -- yes I'm serious this time. Want to meet for food next week? -- okay bye."

Mya hung up the phone before breathing heavily through her lips. "Do you guys have a half hour to spare? Nik will be here before then."

"How can you be sure?"

"Remember that magic basement I told you about?"

Alli paled. "Okay I don't think I need to know any more."

"Why don't you guys go into the kitchen and have a microwave burrito or something," Mya sighed. "I'll catch up with you. "

"Yeah sure," Llyn nodded and moved out of the room. Alli and Lani followed close behind.

Mya watched them leave with a longing expression before heading over to her closet. For the first time in months, if had seemed like her life was getting back to normal. No quests, no missions, no death, no heartbreak, and even her disassociative identity (Aña) seemed to be under control.

Everything was back to stories, graphics, and writing, just like it was supposed to be. Yet history always seemed to repeat itself. First Lilly and Demi, then the revolution gang, and now this.

"Yet I always seem to stay the same," Mya murmured and she peered into the closet. A mess of black fabric hung from the hangers and all over the floor. She dug through the pile for a moment before finding what she was looking for in the back behind her color guard flags.

"Can't outrun your past," Mya murmured as she pulled the worn leather jacket over her arms. She glanced into the mirror, there was something missing. She glanced around her room before spotting the jewelry rack hanging on her bookshelf.

Mya stumbled across the mess until she found the old necklace. The old silver clarinet pendant hung snuggly at the base of her throat as if happy to be there once again.

She tied her dark hair back into a ponytail before sticking her tongue out at the mirror. "Just another writer in black, ready to go on an adventure."

"Mya!" Lani's voice called from across the house. "Nik is here!"

She quickly slung her bag over her shoulder and ran for the kitchen, the blade of the machete still bumping against her black jeans. Standing at the top of the stairs was Nik and an aburny-ish haired girl with a tired look on her face, like she hadn't slept in weeks.

"Hi, the others will fill you in. You can borrow some of my stuff if you need it," Mya nodded quickly and ushered the fifth Guild member off the stairs before turning to the tired one. "She catch you in the middle of homework, Rissa?"

Rissa nodded. "It's not like I only have two hours left to turn it in or anything."

"Sorry about that." Mya went to the freezer, pulled out an unopened tub of ice cream, and presented it to Rissa. "For your troubles -- and the cake I took last time."

Rissa nodded. "Right, I'd love to stay and -- " at that precise moment, Party the Parrot flew across the dining room with a kitchen knife clutched in his claws. "But I need to round up DB and Mark before they find out that I left the basement door unlocked. See you later."

She turned and ran back down the stairs with the ice cream hugged to her chest.

"Interesting friends you have," Nik noted as Alli chased Party down the hall.

"Right, we should really be going," Llyn said, glancing down at her phone screen. "We need to find Sarah, then get to Rachel, fast."

"Right. C'mon."

"I've sent her an email," Lani added before grabbing the katana, sheath and all. She looked at them sheepishly when they all stopped to stare. "What? If Mya gets to walk around with a machete on her belt, then I get the katana."

"Okay, just go."

Alli chased Party out the door. Everyone else followed her and Mya locked it tight. "Onward then, to wherever we're going..."

"Maine," Lani looked up from her phone in surprise. "Sarah is on the move."

Rachel was busy.

Between ambassador training, graphics, Wattpad, taking care of Pedro, her Jack Russell Terrier, and life, she barely had the time to do some of the things that really mattered.

Like binge watching.

She sat back on her bed with a nice cup of tea. Most people who saw her must have thought she was an early riser, when the truth was that she hadn't even gone to sleep.

Her laptop booped, causing her to look up. There was a little red circle on the corner of the Gmail icon, notifying her of yet another email. Her inbox was flooded with them nowadays. People asking for her to make covers, people asking for her to update, people asking for her opinion on how to season their tea. It was a never ending stream of emails and monotone replies.

Rachel was so caught up in her thoughts that it took her a moment to realize that she had put her laptop on 'Do Not Disturb' mode. There shouldn't have been any notifications coming in.

Unless....

She slowly set her tea down on the table before making her way to the computer. It wasn't from Slack.

The email was from Lani, one of her fellow Guild members.

Whenever you are, whatever you're doing. Get out of there and run. You're in danger.

We're coming.

Suddenly there was a loud bang from under her, like someone was kicking down the front door. Pedro looked up from where he was sleeping on the floor.

"Too late," Rachel murmured as heavy footsteps pounded up the stairs. She scooped a textbook she should have been reading off of her bed and turned to face the door. "Well, let's show them what happens when people mess with Scotland." She growled and braced herself for the worst.

The door slammed open.

N o t e:

First chapter yay. How do you like it? XD

Yes I gave Rachel a dog named Pedro. Don't judge me.