Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Silas Bay/"See des Drachen", May 26th, 2004

Back on the east beach, shortly after the waves hit, Brigitte's vision stops spinning as she comes back down to Earth. She found herself laying face first in the sand, and noticed how dark and quiet the bay had become.

She spends a moment trying to recall what she just witnessed, but everything just went black after that big wave hit. She figures she was out for a while now. It takes a bit of effort to push herself up, and after coughing a bit, she looks to the shoreline and gasps.

There lay Saran, Nancy, Rochelle, and Bonnie. They're quiet, unmoving and limp, absolutely dressed and covered in bud and wet sand.

"No!" Brigitte blurts out, getting to her feet and tripping as she scrambles to the girls.

Brigitte takes Nancy by the wrists first, dragging her several yards into the shore, before retrieving Sarah, followed by Bonnie and Rochelle.

She spends a moment trying to jolt or shake them away, putting most of her focus onto Nancy. She puts a hand over Nancy's stomach, like it was some sort of security.

"Pleasedon't, pleasedon't, pleasedon't..." Brigitte quietly chants to herself, putting her fingers on Nancy's neck, and her ear to her chest.

This can't be happening, she tells herself. Just when she thought things had a chance of going right, they can't just be snatched away like that.

She won't let it happen.

Brigitte isn't sure if she can feel a pulse, or Nancy breathing, and it agitates her worse. In the sand behind Brigitte, Sarah begins to stir, but is too sore to move or speak.

Brigitte pries Nancy's mouth open and tries breathing into it, while putting both hands on her chest. She tries to remember the beat you're supposed to do compressions too. She ends up mouthing/muttering the lyrics as she does so.

As this is happening, Sarah tries to sit up, but the most she can do is put her hand on her forehead. Everything else around her is muffled like it was underwater. Brigitte impatiently mutters the lyrics to "Stayin' Alive" as she begins pumping Nancy's chest.

Brigitte thinks she feels one or two of Nancy's ribs popping, causing the goth witch to groan and cough.

Behind them, Sarah's hearing becomes a lot more clearer, but it's still an effort to try to get up.

"Nancy ?" Brigitte looks down at her, just now noticing there were tears running down her face.

Nancy doesn't open her eyes, but continues to cough. She spits up some water, and Brigitte has her rolled onto her side. For a moment, Nancy continues to cough, before regurgitating the water on the sand around her.

"Are you with me Nancy ?"

The only response Nancy gives is this weak, whimpering groan.

"Please, Nancy! Please wake up!" Brigitte wipes her eyes "You're going to be a mom Nance; you're gonna have a baby!"

Sarah's eyes open and widen. She would have gasped out loud if her lungs were sore. Did she hear that right ?

"You said not to tell Sarah," Brigitte pleads, rubbing her hand up and down Nancy's forearm, "That's why you're going to tell her!"

Weakly, Sarah lifts her head and stares at Brigitte and Nancy. She finally reaches forward, before collapsing again into the sand.

Brigitte doesn't notice, because Nancy lets out a sharp cry and wince that holds her attention.

When Brigitte looks, she gasps at the sight that her hands were now clawed, and a noticeable scratch mark is now on Nancy's arm.

Brigitte covers her mouth at the sight, and notices fangs forming in her teeth. What she didn't notice was that she wiped Nancy's blood onto her mouth.

She closes her eyes and tries to focus; for the past two or three hours now, she was just getting a hand on mastering her transformation. She's not gonna lose control now.

But she wasn't really getting any control from this. On the contrary, she was too anxious to really focus on anything, that she worries more that it'll excellerate her transformation.

Behind them Brigitte hears Sarah mumbling something. She turns around and sees Sarah trying to get up, only to collapse into the sand.

"Sarah!" Brigitte trips trying to get to her, before pulling Sarah up by her waist "Sarah, can you hear me ?

Sarah slips again, this time resting her chin on Brigitte's shoulder. However, Sarah was able to utter a few words when she returned Brigitte's hug.

"I heard...baby..." Sarah mumbles into Brigitte's shoulder.

Brigitte blinks back tears, not knowing how to respond. She looks over Sarah's shoulder to see Bonnie and Rochelle.

"You can talk to Nancy about it," Brigitte tries to assure both Sarah and herself "When we're out of here..."

Brigitte gently ushers Sarah to the ground, and as she goes to check on Bonnie and Rochelle. In the meantime, Sarah gets enough strength to try to crawl towards

Nancy, whose eyes are still shut, and her mouth moving inaudibly.

Weakly, Sarah touches Nancy on her bleeding arm, before beginning to drift back into unconsciousness.

Brigitte takes a moment, looking over both Bonnie and Rochelle. They were barely, if at all conscious, but she could tell both were breathing. Bonnie's breath's were rapid and heavy, while Rochelle's eyes kept fluttering.

As Brigitte mulls over what to do with them, something from the west beach gets her attention.

There were four beams from flashlights emerging from the woods. As far as Brigitte could tell, they were the only other people on this beach, and so were her only shot.

Looking down at Rochelle and Bonnie, and back at Sarah and Nancy, she makes a decision.

"Wait here," She says to all of them, even if they couldn't hear "Please don't die on me..."

-----

As she reaches the west beach, Brigitte finds herself out of breath.

She doubles over, hands on her knees, and coughing profusely. She barely notices the flashlight carriers approaching her, until two beams shine on her.

Brigitte flinches at the light, but gets her bearings quickly as she shields herself with her arms.

"Brigitte Fitzgerald ?" One of them asks, clearly a young woman.

"Who else is with you ?" Brigitte plainly but desperately asks "Please, we need help!"

"You've been off your leash for a while now, haven't you ?"

Brigitte looks up, and sees she is standing before four D.E.B.S students/agents - Kate and Daisy, as well as Jemma and Yelena.

She's taken aback, but is more tired and desperate than nervous or frustrated.

"Please," Brigitte raises her hands, "There's people back there who got hit by a wave. We need your help!"

Kate narrows her eyes at Brigitte.

"What was that we heard today ?" Kate tilts her head, putting her "About a mad dog ? Looks like you really got your hands dirty."

Brigitte shakes her head in denial, before looking at her hands. She sees her claws are still out, and covered with blood. Nancy's blood.

With the light shining on her face, Brigitte notices the red smear on her mouth. She can feel her fangs are out, and she can imagine that her eyes are now canid.

Even so, Brigitte takes a step back.

"Please, I didn't-"

"We saw what you did back there!" Kate points out to the woods, "You killed someone today, didn't you, Fitz ?"

Daisy looks towards her sister, and reaches for her arm "Kate-"

"Cállate!" Kate snaps at her sister "We were sent here to make an arrest-"

Brigitte's eyes narrow, as she realizes what they're talking about.

"That woman ?" Brigitte points to the woods "She abducted that kid! I saved his fucking-"

"Just like you fought off a mad dog, didn't you ?" Kate uses her free hand to unholster her pistol, "Thing is, I only see one around here."

Brigitte grits her teeth in anxiety and frustration, and she isn't sure if she can hold back a transformation. She tries to keep herself cool. Tries being the key word.

The more she tries to breathe and take some control out of this, the more ragged and dog-like her heaving becomes. 

"Please..." Brigitte points to the east beach, "There's four girls back there that need-"

"Assuming they're still alive ?" Kate raises her gun at Brigitte "Best we can do for them is bring you in..."

Kate shoots at Brigitte's feet, causing her to jump back.

"Jesus Christ!"

Yelena forcefully grabs Kate by the shoulders "We don't have to escalate this; the head's are hiding something-"

"I told you we'll worry about that later!" Kate grits her teeth at her partner, "Right now, we have a mission to finish!"

Brigitte stares at Kate's gun, and she tries to think of a way out. But as she tries to think, that familiar feeling of one part of your brain shutting down...and the wolf waking up.

If she could just disarm them...if she could just strike.

As Kate and Yelena argue, Brigitte takes a staggering step forward, and with a canid growl, lunges/reaches forward. A scream and a shot rang out, as Brigitte felt something sharp and hot hit her wrist.

Brigitte collapses onto her knees. Her screams sound less human, and more like the mad snarls and whimper of a wounded dog. Bit by bit, she feels the lull of her brain shutting down, and for the other part to awake.

Rapidly losing her consciousness, Brigitte hears Kate arguing with her partners. She winces as flashlights beam into her increasingly sensitive eyes.

Brigitte feels two agents hesitant hands gripping her shoulders, and she feels cuffs cutting into her wrist. Brigitte cries/yelps out and winces as another flash hits her eyes as a picture is taken for the arresting agents.

Bit by bit, all sound became muffled like she was underwater.

All there was was the flashing lights...followed by black spots as she feels a taser in the back of her neck.

-----

Back in the Silas Hills, moments earlier

Janet Mills felt sore and itchy when she came too.

As she came back down to earth, she realized she was laying on the forest floor, and the sound of running water told her she wasn't far from a creek or river. She tries to push herself up, she couldn't shake the groggy feeling as she tries to open her eyes.

When she does, the first thing she sees is a pair of legs in dark pants, with bare feet. Looking up, she focuses on the pale grey eyes of Count Karnstein, as the vampire stared back with a flat smile.

"Wach auf, Dornröschen." The Count licks his fangs, and crouches down with a wry grin. As he touches Janet's cheeks, she flinches away causing him to scoff "Oh, come now! I didn't even do anything yet-"

The Count looks towards a creek, "Okay, maybe I did a few things. But I wanted you awake for this."

The Count looks to someone or something apparently behind her.

Janet's head spun and her stomach flopped as two grunts pulled her to her feet. It was here Janet looks down her body and gasped. She wasn't naked, but stripped down to a bright pink bra and panties. Already the worst is filling her head, which the Count quickly catches onto.

The vampire scoffs and shakes his head.

"Don't flatter yourself. My types are much much older. Besides, we can't have you spoiled for this."

The Count nods to two of the grunts, who lead Jent towards the bank of the creek. In this time, her eyes adjust better to the darkness. Not that the sight was any better.

Before them off the bank of the creek, were two statues, both roughly twelve feet tall and made with pale marble encrusted with bronze and gold in what had to have been their clothes.

Janet didn't know the make but someone who did would identify them as Summarian in origin. They were of two people, a man and a woman holding hands.

They looked to be of royalty of some kind, and in their clenched hands looked like some kind of fruit. An apple or pomegranate, Janet wasn't paying attention.

The man in the couple had what looked like a golden serpent coiled around his harm holding the fruit. And where the woman's eyes were silver, his was gold.

But Janet wasn't paying attention to all that.

Bound to the wide chest of the man, was Scud - he was stripped down to a pair of dark boxers, and only *slightly* clean from the bloodied and battered mess she last saw him as. But his face and torso were blemished with bruises, cuts and lacerations.

If Scud was still alive, she wasn't sure.

"Scud!" Janet sobs out. She tries to break away from the grunts holding her, but she staggers and trips into the muddy bank from how wobbly her legs are.

Even so, she tries to swim for it, but doesn't make it five feet before someone catches up to her, and takes her by the hair.

"Immer mit der Ruhe, kleines Mädchen!" Janet can barely hear the Count's voice over her gasp, as the vampire pulls her up and drags her back towards the shoreline.

"Fuck you!" Janet scream as that's all she can do or think at the moment "Fuck you! Fuck you!"

The Count forcefully sits her on the bank, and holds a finger to her as if to scold her, "I already told you, I prefer cougars!"

The vampire nods to the grunts on the shore. Janet counts eight of them, all carrying rifles.

Two of the goons acknowledge the Count's silent order, and air their rifles towards Scud, with two red lights/lasers shining from their scope. One marks Scud by the neck, while the other aims between his legs.

Scud begins turning his head, reacting to the light and opening his eyes. They quickly adjust and widen to the sight of Janet on the ground, with the Count crouching over and behind her.

"Jan-!" Scud tries to shout, begins to cough. A red mess spits out from his mouth and nose, and into the water below, as Janet's eyes water.

"Ah he's up." The Count stands up and away from Janet, putting his hands together "Just the audience we need."

"Scud I-" Janet tries to get up, but the Count forcibly sits her down.

"You're not a very attentive audience, are you ?"

"Don't you touch her!" Scud manages to wheeze out, his eyes red and runny "Don't you fuckin-"

"You seem to be under the impression that either of you hold any cards." The Count tilts his head one way, and then the other "Yet from where I'm standing, you don't have the clothes on your backs."

The Count looks down at Janet, who shifts uncomfortably, as her tearful eyes still locked with Scud's.

"You run, it goes in his head on his shoulders. You speak, it goes in the head between his legs." The Count looks towards Scud "And if you feel like getting any bright ideas, you speak...well, it won't be good for blondie."

Neither Janet or Scud say anything, but are left shaking and breathing as they register the Count's words.

"Good kids." The Count pats Janet's shoulder, and gets up. He walks around Janet, and stands knee deep in the water before her, "Now be a good audience."

The vampire looks back and forth between the two lovers and prepares himself. Nothing could be heard, save for the sound of light running water and what had to be a deer or something, running off in the nearby woods.

"Cards off the table, Miss Mills. I wanted to save our reunion for later, but your school needs a martyr." The Count turns towards Scud "And *Silas* needs a reminder of who it belongs too."
The Count gestures to his captives, and the statues.

"This is where you two come in. And these two."

In Scud's dazed out state, he thinks he sees something dark moving in the treeline, behind the mooks on the shore. He doesn't or couldn't draw attention to it, but he thinks whatever it is, is hiding.

"A long long time ago, in the far off years of fuck if I know BC." The Count begins "The world thought it knew it's true masters. The ones you'd call gods. And in the far far east before the times of the Olympians, there was Inanna."

Janet feels her eyes drawn to the statue of the woman. Her guess is, it's of this Inanna.

"Her dominion was over Heaven and all beneath it; succeeding where a certain cry baby angel failed. But there was one beneath her that she couldn't rule."

A few of the guards turn when they think they hear movement. They turn to see nothing in the trees. It was probably a bird.

"Enter her sister, Ereshkigal, whose domain was Kur, the House of Ashes." The Count croches down and puts his hand into the water and muck beneath him "Others call it Sheol or Hades, while the dead call it home. It was the one realm Inanna had no power over; and therefore was an object of her desire."

Janet feels cold from exposure and the river, but she tries to focus on Scud. But what really held her attention was the golden eyes of the statue he was bound to.

"I won't bore you with all the details, but the sister goddesses didn't see eye to eye. One sister had almost everything, but wanted what the other had." The Count stands up from the water, and snarls with his next words "I can tell from experience, when mine took everything from me..."

This time, the Count's eyes catch a faint movement in the brush behind his guards. He's quiet for a moment, narrowing his eyes before focusing back on Janet.

"Details, details, but when Inanna struck, Ereshkigal came out on top." The Count puts his hands together "Where the mortal children of Ereshkigal were slain, Inanna's remains were hanging naked from a hook."

The Count looks up to the sky.

"The other powers that be, didn't take kindly to sky mommy being a decoration, so a deal was soon made." The Count gestures to the statue of Inanna, "She would be free to return to her dominion and never again disrupt the balance with her sister. But not without a price."

In the tree line, something gradually circles the gunmen on the shore. It stays in the darkness, sure that she is unseen, and she hopes that the Count loves the sound of his own voice too much to pay attention.

The Count, in the meantime, wades towards the states, now waist deep in the water. He seems to notice Scud drifting in and out of consciousness, but as his voyeur anticipated, he's wrapped up in his own world.

"In return for Inanna's return, one had to take her place in the realm of the dead. She ended up picking her hubby," The Count turns towards Janet, but gestures to the statue behind him "Tammuz; Lord of Spring and rebirth!"

Janet looks up to the skies above them as he says this; it looked like dark clouds were forming, but it felt like something in the sky was looking back at her. She tries harder to ignore it as she faces the Count.

"Poor widower was caught in the arms of loving maidens in the wake of his wife's death. And so, she picked him to take her place." The Count circles the statue o Tammuz, putting a hand on Scud's leg as he does so, "Only reason we don't have an eternal winter is because Tammuz' little sister made her own offer."

The Count turned to Janet, and gave a nod two two of the guards to take her.

"And so for half the year, Tammuz would remain in the realm of the dead; for the other half, his sister Geshtinanna would take his place." The Count raises a finger, wagging it from side to side "It was as constant as winter and spring. Day and night. And for that time, Inanna knew her place."

Janet jolts and screams as two of these thugs take her by the shoulders. She tries to struggle for one, but when she sees the laser/lights targeting Scud, she stops herself.

She lets herself be dragged towards the Count - not like she had a choice, stopping just as the water reached her knees.

"That was until one spring where Tammuz's time in the void came to it's yearly end." The Count points back at the statue of Tammuz. When Janet looks, she becomes fixated on the golden eyes, and the serpent running down Tammuz's arm "Something else came from the void."

As Janet's eyes adjust, she seems to notice something about the golden serpents; it wasn't just one, but like three. Three which envelope Tammuz's wrist like an arm.

The Count continues, "It was one of the First Gods; the true masters of this world. He wore Tammuz like a mask, and played his part as Inanna's lover. And even when she saw what was behind it, the mask was enough to steal her heart."

The Count and Janet direct their gaze at the red fruit that Tammuz and Inanna hold together.

"And so, the two made a covenant."

As he says this, a light like a moon forms on the water shining down onto the statues. The gold surrounding Tammuz seems to shine in the light, but the fruit he and Inanna hold shines a bright red.

"And it is here, others have joined their covenant, and put their names on the Crimson List." The Count turns around, facing Janet with his arms behind his back "That is where you come in."

The Count steps and reaches forward, taking Janet by the chin, causing the young blonde to flinch away in revulsion. The Count is unbothered.

"Your school, well they're playing with fire but they were kind enough to offer a martyr." The Count circles Janet as the guards step away. He takes hold of her shoulders, and ushers her towards the statue of Inanna "And while they call on the power of the First Gods, we at Silas have a power of our own."

As they move forward, Scud opens his eyes weakly, locking with Janet's tearful ones. They don't say anything, but the looks they give eachother do all the talking.

Well, that and the Count.

"Luckily for you two, you came the closest to actually killing me in ten years. I think I should give you both a special reward."

"I told you, she-!" Scud tries to shout, but stops himself as the Count calmly looks him in the eye, and takes hold of Janet's throat.

"I'm sorry," The Count squeezes around a wincing Janet's esophagus with his forefinger and thumb "Were you saying something ?"

Scud says nothing, but lets his breathing come slow as he stares down the vampire.

"That's what I thought." The Count releases Janet's neck, causing the girl to sob out, "Now personally, I hoped Mills wouldn't wake up so soon but..."

The Count takes Janet's wrists and lifts them spreading her arms wide before playing around as a puppeteer would do.

"I think you'll find there's not much she can do without my say so." The Count chuckles, before looking back and forth between Scud and Janet "All that's required is the blood of the willing. And when Scott here saw you on the line, he was more than willing to give his."

The Count directs Janet to face Scuds arm. Now that she was closer, she notices a crimson stream coming from his wrist and down his forearm. Though one probably wouldn't have seen it with the cuts and bruises all over Scud's body.

But the ones on his arms followed that same pattern as the golden serpents on Tammuz's arm.

As this is happening, a faint growl is heard in the bushes circling the bank. This time three of the guards turn around, thinking they see something in the brush.

Reacting to the commotion, the guards who should have their guns on Scud take their sights off them. Only Scud seems to notice this.

"Scud...what did you do ?" Janet doesn't bother stopping the tears.

"I...had to-" Scud weakly before the Count interrupts.

"-open the passage..." The Count fakes a cough as he mockingly mimics the wheeze in the young man's voice "But we had another offer on the table."
The Count steps forward, shoving Janet aside. He speaks now in his normal voice.

"Silas has become a battlefield, not between it's University and our Academy. But between the First Gods in a war they fought for before Silas had it's name."

The Count stares into the sky, seeing the clouds shifting and darkening the stars and moon. Something like thunder is heard, and the air around them moistens like starting to drizzle.

"They're called upon by their power. One they can't control. We'll call upon ours." The Count licks his teeth "But you can't call upon the powers of this world without the spilling of blood."

Janet flinches at the flash of lightning. The Count continues unbothered.

"You're boyfriend, when I told him what I told you, he threw his name in on it. If it meant keeping you off." The Count turns to face Janet "But with you unconscious, we thought you should have a say, what with what Mr. Rudd here put on the line."

Janet turns around, thinking she heard something. As did the guards on the shore behind her. It sounded faintly like a growling purr, but with her heat racing, she isn't sure.

She puts her focus back onto Scud, the Count briefly stops and turns around. He's pretty sure he heard it too.

Something else was definitely out here...but he can't let it know he knows.

"Boyscout here tried to save you Mills." The Count licks his teeth, forcibly taking Janet's shoulder "I think it's fair we offer you the same choice. Especially with what's on the horizon. You're far from the only lives on the line here."

Out of the corner of Janet's eye, the blonde notices something. She turned to the east, where the river was flowing from; all the way to Silas Bay.

When she first looked, she saw nothing but darkness and the forest surrounding them. But that darkness quickly gave way to this blue shine in the distance.

It had to be, what, twenty or thirty miles out. Not in the Silas township or university, but certainly coming from the bay.

If Janet narrowed her eyes a little, she'd see the blue glow took the shape of a beam of light. Not just a beam but a pillar.

"Is that...the beach ?" Janet quietly asks.

As if to answer Janet's question, she heard it. Or felt it at least. It wasn't like a noise or echo, but more like a reverberation in the water. One that felt like a low rumbling growl.

"RREEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNGGG!!!"

It was powerful enough that the cold no longer bothered Janet, but something else, something otherworldly held her in place. It could be felt through just the water, but on the shore of the bank, putting the gunmen in a similar paralysis.

Maybe that's why they didn't notice the catlike growling building as their stalker slowly emerges from the trees.

The Count was quiet for a moment, apparently having "felt" the noise too. He stares out into that same distant blue light before it fades, "He is here." He turns to Janet "And the one thing that'll keep Silas from being reduced to ashes tomorrow is the power we call upon."

The Count puts his arm around Janet's shoulder, before gesturing to the barely conscious Scud.

"Mr. Rudd, he joined the Crimson List seeing you were on the line. But you know what else is on the line." The Count states, patting an uncomfortable Janey on her upper arm "D.E.B.S needs a martyr; Silas needs a hero. Which are you, Janet Mills ?"

Janet says nothing, still looking at Scud with watery eyes.

"You cannot save him or yourself, Miss Mills," The Count gently squeezes Janet's arms "But you can take solace in that your sacrifice may save thousands more."

With this, the Count turns around towards the tree line, looking past his guards.

"Does this sound fair, Matksa ?"

The guards perk up in surprise and confusion, and when they turn it was only then they saw the bluish grey blue change from the brush.

When Janet heard the roar of a tiger, it was all blur from there.

-----

During her ride on the plane, Amy had to guess she was somewhere above Italy at the time. But when she looks out the window, all she sees is stars, dark clouds and the night sky.

She wasn't really paying attention, but had her mind on a lot. Not the least of which was where she was going.

On the surface, this mission should be easy; go to the US embassy in Barcelona, turn over what they had on Bobby and let the FBI handle things from there. Sounds too easy, right ?

Well, that's why Amy didn't trust it. One thing she picked up in her time with the D.E.B.S was that if something looked too good to be true, it probably was.

What, with all the lies and betrayals she uncovered the past couple months alone, she wondered if she even had a shot. Using the government to take down a government agency ?

Who's to say this isn't some kind of trap to get her arrested ? She's the fugitive here. For all she knows, someone could be in the cockpit and pop her.

And that's not even getting into the matter that she left Lucy or Janet behind to do the dirty work. It didn't feel right. She couldn't have just left her to do the heavy lifting while she takes a trip to Spain.

But she was already this far, wasn't she ? And as the song quietly playing on the in-flight radio sang-

"Welcome to your life/There's no turning back/Even while we sleep/We will find you/Acting on your best behavior/Turn your back on Mother Nature-"

"-Everybody wants to rule the world..." Amy quietly lip syncs. She dribbles her fingers along the arm rest. Her eyes take a look at the tablet that was placed on the table/desk beside her.

She was told that logging in would help her reach Corvae's government contacts, including the agents at the embassy. It could very well be some kind of trap or lure, but if she was on the way anyways, she might as well look at what she's getting into.

Taking the tablet, and putting it on her knees, when Amy opens it she is greeted by a series of numbers, and a list of locations. Moving the cursor over "Barcelona Embassy", Amy clicks the number and has to wait through a loading screen.

After a moment, the screen blinks on, revealing a bedroom.

Adjusting the webcam was a twenty something year old black man with a short haircut and beard; he was physically fit and wore a white, skin tight t-shirt and dark slacks as he sat on the bed before the camera.

It took Amy a few seconds to recognize him, but he wasn't sure until he spoke.

"Hey, Amy- er I mean, Agent Bradshaw." The man waves and smiles professionally "Though, I'm guessing you've dropped the Agent part."

"Reggie ?" Amy narrows her eyes as she recognizes Reggie Kane, the CIA agent who was one of the Academy's collaborators "Holy shit, it's been-"

"Seven months ?" Reggie tilts his head "Try six and twenty eight days...sorry, I'm still bit of a math crusher."

Despite his attempts at a joke, he could tell by Amy's expression it didn't land.

"So...I heard about your-"

"You were supposed to have cut ties with the D.E.B.S." Amy says bluntly "What happened to that ?"

"No, no, no. I did. I did." Reggie insists "I saw opportunity and took it, never looked back until I heard what happened in Huston."

"So this is a trap ?"

"Oh, come on Amy! You're smarter than that! If this were a trap, you think they'd make it that obvious ?"

"We'll excuse me if I have trust issues!" Amy looks aside, out her window, "You can't trust anyone in the spy game, can you ?"

Sighing sympathetically, Reggie nods.

"Yeah well, looks like the game's about over." Reggie pinches the bridge of his nose, before composing himself "Might as well cut to the chase; the D.E.B.S aren't the only agency Corvae has dealt with; and these agencies are perceiving a threat here."

"And you just happen to part of one of those agencies ?" Amy raises a skeptical eyebrow "Small world."

"You look hard enough like Miss Belmonte, you find the connections you need." Reggie sits back on the bed before his webcam, and crosses one leg over the other

"But if it wasn't me, it'd be someone else with a bone to pick."

Amy's look softens, and she thinks back to Reggie's departure party, "You got a gripe with them ? That's why you left ?"

"Let's just say I had to turn a blind eye too many times under the D.E.B.S." Reggie shakes his head "All they had to do was not make a scene. And well, Bobby made a scene. If it wasn't for your personal cost, our agencies would have seen this as a blessing in disguise."

Amy doesn't say anything, but scoffs and shakes her head.

Continuing, Reggie raises one hand.

"Sad truth is, just about every other sees the D.E.B.S as a waste of money and resources. Phipps is about the only one left who believes in them, but Auntie Charlotte is having doubts. Almost no one believes in the threat of Lucy Diamond, and they've been lookin a reason to pull the plug. This mess just gave them a reason."

Reggie raises his other hand.

"And if what Corvae tells us is true, the D.E.B.S are no longer just an expensive annoyance." Reggie puts both hands together "Especially to the new agency I've signed onto. They're really interested in what the Academy is planning to use the Caller for."

Amy narrows her eyes with confusion.

"If Corvae is already leaking this, why-?"

Reggie raises a hand to interrupt her, "There's many things my people at Monarch wish to keep under wraps. The potential looming threat of Go-"

There's a bit of signal interference that blocks the name Reggie says. Probably having to do with turbulence or something, Amy guesses.

"-being one of them." Reggie finishes "But with the case you're building, they at least got something to tell the public."

Amy sighs in acceptance,  "And what happens to me ? After the Academy goes under, I mean."

"I don't want to be too optimistic, but with the publicity this case will get, it'll be a bad look if anyone tries to silence you, so I wouldn't worry." Reggie guesses

"Our concern at the moment is getting unwanted attention off ourselves; my guess they'll give you a place, throw money your way."

Amy thinks for a moment, mulling her options, before speaking again, "Can I ask you something, Reggie ?"

"You just did but go ahead."

"You ever feel like you're still...a pawn ? Like they're using you as a piece to move around the board ?"

"Always have. That's what the spy game is." Reggie nods "Being part of something bigger than yourself; part of a game so spanning that the world you walk on becomes a chess board."

Despite herself, Amy couldn't help but muster a smile, "For a second there, you sounded like Phipps."

"Well, he's always had a way with speeches. But when your family's from Nigeria, dramatics are genetic."

The two share another laugh, before Reggie composes himself.

"That being said, being a pawn is what we're meant to be. Being in the spotlight isn't something you should aspire for." Reggie explains "Michelle never got that, and Bobby never got that. All they're doing is broadcasting their downfall."

At the direct mention of Bobby's name, Amy's smile flattens and she looks out the window. Sensing her unease, Reggie continues.

"I know it wasn't my place but...I never really got what you saw in him."

Amy looks sheepishly back at the monitor "You were there remember ?"

-----

Camp Slayer, Baghdad, September 16th, 2003

When Amy opened her eyes, she was sure the past few days were just a dream. The past couple weeks even. First thing she noticed was she was in white tank tops, with a pair of dark grey cargo pants at the foot of her bed.

This being her team's second international mission, Amy felt like this was helluva way to her second year. Amy remembers their first mission out of the country was to arrest and dismantle a Yakuza ring which abducted a visiting Senator's teenage daughter.

At the time, Amy liked the feeling of being some knight in shining armor...even if Max was the one doing the heavy lifting. Even so, Amy wasn't exactly looking forward to getting back in the field so quickly.

But you don't always get what you want, especially as an agent. So when the D.E.B.S were called to help cleanup a mess overseas, Amy got a quick reminder that her vacation was over.

In May of that year, there was a military operation in the Zagros Mountains, where US Force Recon were looking to infiltrate a chemical facility under the mountains; but what they found was a group of drug dealers...and a temple beneath their "farms."

From what Amy and her team were told, what was thought to be an Iraqi army division, was actually a drug ring of sorts operating within the region, supposedly responsible for both military and civilian disappearances around their territory.

Apparently they called themselves "The Shepherds of Lilû" and if they were just a drug cartel and possibly involved in human trafficking, that would be one thing.

But it was what was beneath the mountains themselves is where things got hairy.

From what Amy's been told, the CIA and Homeland were interested in cleaning the mess up. Especially following the "sightings" that have reached Esfahan, Kermanshah, and Sulaymaniyah over the summer.

In the interests of keeping this from becoming an international incident, D.E.B.S teams from across the globe were called in to keep this under the books as possible.

Amy herself didn't see the word "Lilû" was thrown around. She and her team kept hearing "vampires" or "aliens" used to describe them by some of the other agents and soldiers.

And when they heard other words such as "infection" or "parasite" she had a feeling things would get scary. Though the worst they saw the past few days was Iraqi military forces interfering with the mission.

At the moment, Amy was sitting up on her bed, hand on her forehead, mulling over what occurred the last two days.

The plan was for those found "infected" to be kept at a CIA med center set up at Camp Slayer, with forty civilians taken in. This got unwanted attention from both the Iraqi military and The Shepherds of Lilû, leading to a four day fire-fight between all three.

By the time Amy and her team arrived, they were at the tail end of the siege, and were caught up in one of the last shoot outs.

Amy didn't remember much of the battle itself, but she was told a sniper nearly grazed her head - just missing her ear - putting her in the med center for fatigue.

Though she and her team were able to help rescue sixteen wounded combatants and twenty of the quarantined. So when the smoke cleared, Amy thought she earned her rest.

But her train of thought was interrupted when she finally notices someone standing at the doorway.

"Knock knock." The voice of Max Brewer gets her attention. Max weas in this yellowish brown tank top and a pair of dark cargo pants.

"Who's there ?" Amy wipes the sleep out of her eyes as Max makes her way to the bed.

"Who's there ? Amy, it's Max, let me in, I'm cold!" Max takes a seat beside Amy with a snarky smile, putting an arm around the blonde's shoulder "Sleep easy ? Stupid question, you were out like a light when we got you here."

"How long was I out ?"

"Nine hours. It's like 10:00."

This got Amy alert.

"Holy shit!"

"It's no big deal. We build ourselves up at our own pace." Max pats Amy on the back "I bet a lots going through your head right now, right ?"

Amy nods, trying to remember more of the night before.

"Was Janet here ? I think I remember hearing her."

"Yeah she checked in a few hours ago. Says she's taking a walk to think things over."

"Hmm. And Dom ?"

"Spending the morning with Tommy." Max rolls her eyes, to which Amy raises an eyebrow "Wanna bet it'll be over before we reach the plane ?"

"I dunno." Amy reaches for and puts on her shorts "He feels more like a two week guy. Three given the circumstances."

The boy they were talking about was a civilian American student whose mother was apparently part of the operation. She disappeared when the Lilû started appearing. He snuck into the country to investigate what he thought was a cover up, and got snowballed from there. Upon their arrival, Dominique took him as her "boy toy" of the week, being a "helpful" presence for his grief.

Amy and Max both made bets on how long this one will last.

But the mention of Dominique's love life quickly got them thinking about something else.

"Speaking of boys..." Max says teasingly.

"Really, boy talk ?" Amy smirks.

"When was the last time, we," Max pauses "You know just, chilled."

"Aren't you usually a mission first kind of girl ?"

"Ah, the missions are accomplished." Max gets off the bed "But...there's people talking-"

"About what ?" Amy follows after, and the look Max was giving her gets her to realize what she's insinuating "Oh...that. It's...it's nothing."

"Nothing ? You call saving wounded soldiers nothing." Max puts a hand on Amy's shoulder "You should learn to be proud of yourself. It's what being a D.E.B. is."

"Easy for you to say." Amy lightly punches Max on the arm "You're always the one saving people in these missions. Or off mission."

The night before was no exception. Amy didn't see the action, but she heard that the Lilû were on the move towards a caravan. Max ended up in an abandoned camp where she repaired and activated a radio signal, which she used to draw them to her.

Amy didn't get all the details, but clearly Max made it out alive, and now she probably won't hear "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" the same way again. Apparently it made for great background noise for blasting those "bat-things" out of the sky.

"Oh, that wasn't me," Max shrugs as she rubs her arm "That was the power of Whitney."

Max steps away from Amy, and does this sort of dance/strut (?) miming a microphone to her mouth.

"I need a man who'll take the chance/On a love that burns hot enough to last," Max theatrically sings into her non existent microphone "So when the night falls/My lonely heart calls-"

Amy looks away, trying to avoid laughing. It's not often she sees Max like this; she was always so work, school and mission focused. Seeing Max in this "off duty" mode, it always hit Amy with some whiplash. She'd like to see it more often.

"And you're the team leader ?" Amy rolls her eyes with a grin.

"Hey, the team leader won!" Max crosses her arms, patting Amy on the shoulder "Not to mention your heroics from yesterday."

"Oh my god, it's not that big a deal." Amy tries to play it off modestly "I got twelve people out of a battle zone. Anyone would have done the same."

"But not just anyone could." Max puts an arm around Amy's shoulder "But not just anyone is the perfect score. If that's not something to be proud of, you're too humble for your own good.

Blushing a little, Amy brushes some hair off her forehead.

"Okay, so...I guess I'm a little proud."

"Atta girl." Max takes Amy's, and leads her to the door "C'mon, let's get you something to eat before our photo-op."

"Do I have a choice ?"

"Not really, no."

-----

In the medical center at the compound, a young man lays sore in his bed.

The most he ate today was a few cups of applesauce and some pancakes this morning. At the time, Bobby Matthews was being treated for a stomach injury he received during the Lilû breakout.

Bobby was here as part of Homeland and the CIA's collaboration with the D.E.B.S but like the other agents didn't see any combat until the Shepherds decided to cause trouble.

For most of the stay here, Bobby was tasked with keeping an eye on the quarantined. It was easy-ish, he didn't have to talk to that many people, except the guys, and let the people at the Zagros worry about the Zagros.

Bobby thought there was no way he could screw things up...until the Shepherds and Saddam's boys decided to interfere.

The following was a fire fight, which Bobby thought they could handle...until one of the Lilû apparently found their way in the center and the infected started acting out. So Bobby did what instinct told him to do in a fight or flight situation.

If you were told the "official" story, you'd hear how Bobby made the "hard call" to try to leave behind the quarantined, and lead his brothers-in-arms to safety. Using a grenade launcher to try to clear the way.

But by the time they reached the vehicles, the place was swarmed by the Shepherds, before Bobby emptied the launcher in what the Academy will try to sell as a "defiant last stand". By the time rescue came, those who weren't dead were incapacitated.

Bobby himself was found sitting in the back seat of a jeep; fatigued and bleeding out from shrapnel in his stomach.

At the time, he thought that they would at least spin it to say he died fighting on the front line with his boys. Better that than being called a deserter.

What he didn't expect was the D.E.B girl entering the scene and pulling the wounded to safety.

A girl like that didn't belong there, but here she was; a cute little blonde in a cute little schoolgirl uniform, walking upon the aftermath of a firefight; checking, pulling and resuscitating three soldiers on death's door. Like some sort of angel.

It took Bobby a moment to recognize her as Amy Bradshaw. He remembered being there her first day of the Academy, but they only spoke one on one like seven times so far.

But because she was the "Perfect Score", he saw her more and more as the D.E.B.S poster girl than the tomboyish cutie he brought to the Academy. And right now, she was doing what a D.E.B. ought to do.

And she probably wouldn't have noticed him until Bobby threw a wrench he found from under the seat to get her attention.

By the time she got him out, the guns stopped shooting and the cameras took their place, as Amy walked Bobby out of the compound with his arm around her shoulders.

At the moment, Bobby was still coming down in his hospital bed, and was sure the painkillers were wearing off. Which wasn't good news considering the headache was coming back, and he finally noticed who was checking in on him the past half hour.

"Are you still here ?" Bobby pinches the bridge of his nose.

Standing at the doorway was Reggie Kane, wearing a leg brace, and walking on - wouldn't you know it - two canes. He was giving Bobby that boy scout smirk, with the "disappointed big bro" look in his eyes.

Apparently Kane was part of the "radio tower" rescue, and despite having a close call with the Lilû, the worst he suffered was falling down a flight of stairs, and landing on his knees.

"Ah no." Reggie shakes his head, walking/hopping into the room "Believe me when I say you were the last person I wanted to revisit. But it's good to say you're not tripping."

Despite the chair just beside the bed, Reggie settles for leaning against a wall beside Bobby.

"How you feelin' ?"

"Peachy." Bobby looks out into space "I spent the last like thirteen hours getting pieces of metal taken from my guts, and high as a kite."

"And it looks like the kite's goin' down."

"What, are you here to gloat ?"

Reggie shrugs "They're already talking about how you lead the charge to help your boys escape...but I doubt the official story's close to wha-"

"What was I supposed to do ?" Bobby raises his voice "We were under a lot of heat, and flight or fight is something primal."

Reggie sighs, hopping away from the wall and taking a seat at the foot of Bobby's bed.

"Look, I get it; human nature and all that but..." Reggie shakes his head "With a track record like yours, you gotta at least try to learn, you know ? I mean, when you make this many mistakes...they stop being mistakes."

Bobby looks away from Reggie, having heard this lecture before.

"I mean, when's it gonna click on you that you can't just keep riding your family's rep like that ?" Reggie asks, "Being a nepo is more of a blunder than a strength."

"Pot ? Meet Kettle." Bobby chuckles and rolls his eyes, "Your aunt tell you that ?"

"Actually Auntie Charlotte has been talking about getting me to leave all together."

"You're leaving ?

"Well, Katherine's due in a couple months, so after this," Kane glances down at his leg "Looks like I more than earned it."

"What break ?" Bobby chuckles more earnestly "The way I see it, Katherine might just kill you herself! What are you, some kind of daddy draft dodger ?"

Bobby laughs at his own joke, while Reggie isn't as amused.

"That sounded funnier in your head didn't it ?" Max's voice gets their attention, as she and Amy enter the room "But then again it's a Bobby joke."

Bobby doesn't reply or regard Max's comment, he's eyes focus on Amy, who smiles meekly when she notices.

"And there they are, heroes of the hour," Reggie greets with a playful clap of his hands "I will never again underestimate the power of Whitney!"

"You know, I told myself that the last three times, but eh." Max shrugs not so modestly "I can find a new hype tune."

"I like Christina myself," Amy crosses her arms "Aguilera I mean. Fighter gave me an earworm."

When Amy notices the others looking at her, she looks sheepish for a moment before glancing at Reggie.

"S-so you said you're leaving ?"

"More of a transfer." Reggie gets up from and hops/walks away from the bed, "Yesterday's battle scars earned me a leave of absence, but Aunt Charlotte think's I'll do better with her and Phipps old agency; trying to work up a transfer."

"Monarch, huh ?" Max snaps her fingers as she recalls "That's the endangered animals one, right ?"

"Uh yeah, something like that." Reggie glances aside, "Besides, got a wife worrying at home and getting myself killed with a kid on the way, not a good look."

"Well hopefully they won't have to worry about your new gig," Amy says optimistically, patting Reggie on the shoulder, before she notices Max pulling her collar.

"Don't jinx it!" Max says under a fake cough.

"Jinx it ?"

"Come on Amy, you know the cliché."  Max looks back and forth between Amy and Reggie "You never talk about family waiting for you back at home; that's practically waving a 'Shoot Me' sign!"

"That's usually before the mission." Reggie grins "So I think I'm in the clear."

"See that's what they always say, before the bad guy sits back up and shoots you in the back." Max mimes shooting herself in the head to mark her point.

Behind Reggie, Bobby tries to sit back up, but groans as he feels his stomach aching.

"And it's like- Oohhh-" Bobby groans in pain before laying back down "L-like Katherine told Reggie- you get yourself killed-"

"She'll kill him/me herself." Amy, Max and Reggie deadpan and answer at the same time. Though Amy winces when she notices how sore Bobby still looked.

"So I'm...hoping you're doing better."

"A lot now that you're here." Bobby tries to smile charmingly, but still winces as he feels around the stitches "Guess you're my good luck charm, Bradshaw."

"It was nothing, I did what anyone else would have-"

"Spare me the modesty," Bobby leans back down on his bed "You don't pull nearly a dozen bodies off Death's doorstep and call it nothing."

"Right ?" Max nods in agreement, nudging at Amy with her elbow "She's the Perfect Score, and she showed why yesterday!"

Amy still looks sheepish before trying to change the subject.

"You should be proud of yourself too." Amy looks at Bobby "The way they're telling it, you led your team on an escape attempt."

Bobby looks aside, while Reggie rolls his eyes.

"Something like that." Bobby murmurs "I just don't think failing is something to be proud of."

"Hey, if you failed at least you tried right ?" Amy softly smiles.

"Yeah no offense, you don't really get an A for effort in this field." Bobby looks down at his stomach, gritting his teeth  "With you ? You didn't even try, you just did it. That's what they expect from us."

Amy couldn't stop the blush if she tried, but takes a seat at the foot of Bobby's bed. "Despite my score, I'm not perfect. I mean 80% of my high school work was done at the last minute; I almost never graduated."

Amy leans down towards Bobby's ear to whisper.

"Between you and me, I was on autopilot yesterday. Nearly got shot in the head. Wasn't thinking right. It was more like a happy accident."

Despite himself, Bobby smiles, "It wasn't an accident, it was being a D.E.B. I mean if I was a chick, you're the kind of chick I wish I could be."

"Really ?" Amy couldn't help but smile.

"Oh sure! You're everything a D.E.B. should be," Bobby sits up a little without disturbing his stitches "You're brave, you're tough, you're hot, and not too push-"

With a flat smile, Amy holds up a hand to stop Bobby's rambling.

"I'm sorry," She says "You think I'm hot ?"

The realization on Bobby's face was priceless.

"I said that out loud, didn't I ?" He looks to Reggie and Max, who nod almost teasingly "Aw shit."

"Hey it's cool," Amy pats him on the knee, "I mean, I'm one the posters and...I hear the gawking. It's just a little different to hear it from one of your friends."

This gets Bobby to smirk "Friends ?"

"I mean, yeah. I mean that's what we are, aren't we ?" Amy tilts her head from side to side "You brought us in to the D.E.B.S, we hung out at parties-"

"It's just," Bobby rubs the back of his neck. "We never really talked or hung out *that* much. I think I see you more on the posters than in the school. I'd almost think you didn't recognize me."

"Are you kidding ?" Amy laughs "The second I saw you, you snapped me out of it."

"Oh come now!"

"No, no, it's true!" Amy insists "I've only been in a shoot out like two times; makes me forget who or what I am, you know ?"

"Uh, a little. That's like the default reaction to the first few shootouts." Bobby tilts his head "You'll get numb to it. Believe me, it's part of the job."

Amy still looks sheepish, getting this feeling of unusual charm from Bobby.

She didn't really get it before, but then again, she must have talked face to face with him like six times since she became a D.E.B. Apparently it was to the point Bobby didn't consider them friends.

And now that Amy thinks about it, she didn't really become close to others aside from the girls. There was Mr. P, but he was more like a mentor than anyone she'd consider a friend.

It kind of made Amy think that for being the Poster Girl of the Academy, she didn't really have that big of a social circle. Maybe she ought to change that, "You know, you had a point back there ?"

"Hmm ?"

"About us not really hanging out." Amy shrugs "Like you helped introduce me to being a D.E.B. but we didn't really get to know eachother. I mean, I almost missed you in the back of that jeep. That could've been it for you."

Bobby looks down at his stomach with a grin.

"Could've been wouldn't it ?" He looks back at Amy "But I guess someone up there likes me."

As Bobby says this, he takes Amy by the hand, and she feels this chilly jolt come over her. Many it was something carrying over from some "regrettable" relationships and flings she had in high school. Because of this, she tries to brush it off.

Not sure of how to respond, Amy blurts out "Well, maybe someone else down here likes you."

The two share a smile for a moment, before they finally look off the bed, to see Max and Reggie looking at them.

"Shit, were you still here ?"

-----

As Amy suggested they should, she and Bobby became increasingly closer the past few weeks.

At first it was bit of a publicity thing; the "Perfect Score" D.E.B. caring for and comforting a wounded agent throughout his recovery. And like when Amy dragged Bobby out of that garage, the cameras were all on them throughout.

They were front and center on the D.E.B.S website, and when Bobby was up and walking again after two and a half weeks, they started hanging out more socially when they returned to California.

Neither really knew when they started dating dating; Bobby thought they were a couple by the time of Halloween, when they kissed at Reggie's farewell party and the celebration for Reggie and Katherine having their daughter.

Amy considered them going steady by Christmas of that year, when she took him to meet her mother in Texas. Or maybe it was earlier when Bobby took her to see his brother and nephews during Thanksgiving in New Jersey.

Either way, come the new year, Amy and Bobby were seen the power couple of the Academy; Miss Perfect score of the D.E.B.S agency, and the celebrated "Wounded Hero" from Homeland security.

And as per that role, Amy really played up the whole act as the D.E.B.S poster girl, while Bobby felt like he was trying way too hard to play up the lovable jock and boy scout angle.

As a result, Amy couldn't help but things almost felt fake at times.

It didn't happen often, but when the cameras were off them in their relationship, there were moments Amy or Bobby would show a side to themselves the other didn't like. Which increased as time passed

For Amy, it was when she or her mother would talk about her troubled history as a delinquent high school student, or her father's death. When it was brought up, it felt like Bobby was paying half attention, like he didn't want to acknowledge that version of Amy.

The few times Bobby was forced to confront it, he'd always try to brush it off as "Yeah, but that's not the real you." or "That's not who you are, not anymore." or "You're not Amy Bradshaw the Disappointment. You're Amy Bradshaw, the D.E.B."

It gave Amy the suspicion that Bobby was more interested in the poster girl than the girl in the poster

As for Bobby's ugly side ? Well, beside some of his "dudebro" antics, Amy found Bobby was dodgy and defensive about his past missions and relationships. Never liked talking about the times he failed in a mission, like he did at Camp Slayer.

Amy heard around school about Bobby having two past girlfriends, and when she heard one was dead and the other hospitalized, she figured he just didn't like to talk or think about it. So she didn't push him.

That being said, Amy first got a good look of this ugly side during their trip to New Jersey, where they spent Thanksgiving weekend with Bobby's brother Eric and his family at their cottage.

While Amy got the impression Bobby was a black sheep, for the most part it was kept civil. That was until Bobby took his ten and thirteen year old nephews on a hike in the Pine Barrens.

While they were supposed to be back by sundown, it was night when they returned, and his younger nephew was crying his eyes out; something about uncle Bobby playing a Jersey Devil joke. This escalated into a fight between the Matthews' brothers, and Bobby and Amy having to leave that night.

During spring break, Amy and Bobby paid Liane another visit in Texas. When they were heading back from picking up groceries in Bobby's car, one of the neighbor kids riding a bike ended up slashing mud and water on the windshield.

Bobby got mad, and things almost escalated again, when the neighbor's collie got involved. The dog jumped on Bobby and tried to bite him, wherein Bobby blew off steam by kicking the dog until Amy got him to stop.

By then, Amy considered the honeymoon phase over.

Come April of that year, after a disagreement when they went to see EuroTrip, Bobby made Amy walk back to her dorm from the park. Despite his apologies, when Amy thought it through over the weekend, she decided what she and Bobby had wasn't real.

She broke things off with him that weekend, and the next school day was when Amy first met Lucy Diamond.

And the rest from there is history.

-----

Silas Hills, May 26th, 2004

For the past half hour, Lucy stared out a passenger window.

Normally she wouldn't mind being given a limo or taxi ride, but after spending much of her adult life being more "hands on", she felt it patronizing. Especially when her hostess described it as a "procession" for their champion.

All it did was remind Lucy that she was better heard of and not seen; someone you talk about, but see in the spotlight. Despite her reputation, she tried not to let her ego get the better of her.

She kept her eyes on the trees, wondering if she could see the dean's followers following behind or alongside the limo. One would think that Lucy would be enthralled that she's leading a charge of an army of vampires against her enemies.

But her heart just wasn't in it. It's been nearly a year since she really put her heart into the usual supervillainous schemes, and she remembers it being a really dark and mucky place to be. She wasn't looking forward to going back to it.

"You seem distracted." The dean's voice speaks from the other seat, at the far end of this space.

"You can tell ?" Lucy snarks back.

"You know, taking your mind off these things isn't gonna make it go away." The dean putting her hands on her knees "Better you face your destiny head on."

"Destin-" Lucy scoffs "Funny girl."

Lucy leans back in her seat, crossing her arms behind her head and giving the dean a wry grin.

"Next you'll tell me I'm some chosen slayer."

"Come now, what do you take me for, Reynolds ?" The dean tilts her head "We all have our own part to play on the board. You've had yours for nearly ten years."

"Yeah, about the chess analogies ?" Lucy raises an eyebrow "I was more of a tennis girl myself. Keeps you busy. Keeps your head in the game."

"All I'm saying is you had a part in this for years." The dean leans back "Do you remember why you came here ? As a student ?"

"I was given a scholarship ?"

"Because we had our eyes on you since you were a schoolgirl. As have the D.E.B.S. And for them, we had another eye. We told you your quarrel with them is but the echo of a greater war."

"Is that so ?"

"Surely you saw the pieces." The dean gets up "That information heist you pulled; you saw financial ties between the Academy and the Schaffer's didn't you ? You didn't think that was a coincidence ?"

"They had a crime family doing some dirty work." Lucy scoffs "Name a government agency that doesn't."

"There's more to it than that." The dean takes a seat beside Lucy, who flinches back a little "Do you really think it's a coincidence the D.E.B.S had an Academy here ? Or why my dear daughter kept an eye on you during your stay ?"

"Your daughter ?"

"Adopted but even so. She was born as Mircalla, but you knew her by a different name." The dean leans forward taking Lucy's hand into her own "You didn't think she kept you company because she loved you, didn't you ?"

Lucy looks skeptical, but when she doesn't respond, the dean takes the chance to compose herself and continue.

"Fact is, Silas was baked into the D.E.B.S very foundation. I won't bore you with all the details, but it all started in '89; as luck you have it, during another one of my daughter vacations."

The dean gets up from Lucy's seat, and returns to her own.

"Now in her long, long unlife, my daughter has made quite a bit of enemies. One of them, followed her to the states. And in the town of Hawkins, when the seeds of the Academy were planted, he watered them."

Lucy narrows her eyes, still unsure of what she's hearing "And ?"

"And one day, when Jeremiah Reynolds bought an art piece these investors sought."

Lucy perks her head up at the mention of her father's name

"These same investors made a deal with Francis Schaeffer."

"Bullshit." Lucy tries to brush off.

"Doesn't matter if you believe me. But the agency had a new enterprise doing some of their dirty work...until you cleaned them up."

The dean leans back putting her hands behind her head with a coy grin.
"And if you saw how deep things actually went, maybe you'd feel less like the queen on your board."

"Yeah, well it doesn't matter." Lucy looks out of her window "I'm taking myself off the board tomorrow."

"And yet the game will continue to play without you." The dean clicks her tongue, "And your family will go unaveng-"

"Even if I believed you," Lucy snaps, getting up from her seat "What has revenge gotten me ? The Schaffer's are out of the picture, but so's my family. All revenge's gotten me is a pit."

"So you say," The dean rolls her eyes, "I just didn't think the dreaded and ruthless Lucy Diamond would leave the game without crushing the last of her enemies."

As the dean says this, she theatrically wriggles her fingers.

"If they want me, they can find me." Lucy glares, "If they're even still around. Or exist at all."
"If you say so. Just didn't think you were one to tie loose ends.

"The D.E.B.S end tomorrow." Lucy insists, "And after that, Amy is never gonna look over her shoulder again."

"And you ?"

Lucy sits back in her seat, coming before looking back out her window.

"Whatever happens, happens."

-----

Back in Silas Bay/"See des Drachen", Nancy Downs lays with the rest of her coven on the shores of the east beach.

She's pretty sure she's the first one to open her eyes, but it takes a moment for her to come back down to earth. The first thing she registers is the familiar sensation of Sarah Bailey cuddling up to her.

When Nancy looks down, she sees Sarah is also awake but staring into space. The red head is laying her ear on Nancy's chest, listening to the heaving of lungs and the beating of her heart.

In the meantime Sarah is resting her hand over the goth witch's stomach.

"Sarah ?"

The red head blinks and looks up "Nancy..."

Both witches immediately sit up and pull each other into a kiss, before holding each other in a gripping hug.

"You're alright. You're alright." Sarah assures both Nancy and herself, as she rubs her hands up and down her girlfriend's back.

"I think I am." Nancy answered "Bon ? 'Chelle ?"

As if to answer Nancy, the other two witches could be heard groaning. When Sarah and Nancy look, they see Bonnie and Rochelle also coming too, several feet beside them.

Rochelle is already sitting up, and rubbing Bonnie's back as the latter rubs her temple.

"Holy shit, we made it." Rochelle remarks, looking around the now deserted beach "Or at least it feels the same."

Nancy looks aside and makes a soft breathing noise. Sarah wasn't sure if the goth was laughing or sobbing, but rubs Nancy's back and rests their foreheads together either way.

That was when a realization hit them.

"Brigitte ?"

The two witches look around the beach, seeing no sign of Brigitte. Sarah is the first to stand up, and call out into the dark and deserted beach.

"Brigitte ?!" Sarah shouts through her hands "Brigitte, can you hear us ?!"

Bonnie does the same through her hands "If you can hear us, shout back!"

"She probably went to get help." Rochelle points out a series of fresh bare footprints in the sand heading into the west beach.

As she says this, Rochelle narrows her eyes towards the west beach.

It was dark and quiet still, with only the moon and stars barely providing any light. They could see about thirty or forty feet around them before everything else's was consumed in total darkness.

As this was happening, Nancy still sits in her spot, hand on forehead as she begins to recall what she heard Brigitte say earlier that night; "You're going to be a mom Nance! You're gonna have a baby!"

Nancy puts a hand on her stomach, but feels a slight sting on her arm. When she looks, she sees a mild scratch mark, as the other thing Brigitte said comes to her.

"You said not to tell Sarah. That's why you're going to tell her!"

With that thought, Nancy quietly looks up towards Sarah.

"You were the first one up, weren't you ?"

Sarah isn't quite sure at what her girlfriend's getting at.

"I was." Sarah answers, "Besides Brigitte, I mean."

"You had your hand on my stomach." Nancy notices the way Sarah tenses up as she says this "What did you hear her say ?"

As Rochelle and Bonnie get back up, they listen in. Sarah looks around, rubbing her arm, "Nance, we can talk about this later-"

"There might not be a later!" Nancy's hands starting to tremble.

"Nancy-"

"You know already, Sarah." Nancy tries to be cool, but trembles in her words "So why not say it ?"

"What is she talking about ?" Bonnie asks.

There's a pause before Sarah finally speaks.

"You're pregnant, Nancy." Sarah crosses her arms, "It was the first thing I heard Brigitte say when I got up."

There's another pause, before Rochelle interrupts "I-I'm sorry...what ?"
"How did this...?" Bonnie tries to ask before trailing off.

"How long did you know ?" Sarah insistently asks.

Nancy sheepishly rubs her arm and looking away.

"Last night...but I think Brigitte knew first."

Sarah raises a finger, thinking for a moment.

"It must have been when we first brought Brigitte to-" Sarah stops herself when she notices Bonnie and Rochelle looking at them. While she and Nancy fucked both before, so she wasn't too embarrassed, but still felt off now that she says it "When we-"

Nancy takes Sarah's hand and places it on her stomach, "When you poured your life into me."

Sarah is quiet for a moment, and the realization on her face got Nancy to muster a sad smile, "You mean I'm..."

Nancy presses her forehead to Sarah, her eyes becoming wet. Her soft smile became more of a beam.

Despite herself, Sarah chuckles, her eyes also starting to water "Holy shit..."

Sarah looks down, her hand still on Nancy's stomach, before looking back at her face.

"When were you going to tell me ?"

"When all this is over, but..." Nancy looks into the bay, shaking her head "Only now...I don't think thre-"

Sarah puts a hand on Nancy's cheek and directs the goth's gaze into her own.

"Hey...listen to me." Sarah rubs her hands up and down Nancy's arms "We're gonna get through this; we're gonna stop them from razing everything..."

Sarah brushes a strand of hair, leans in and kisses Nancy's forehead, And we'll take it from there."

Nancy couldn't stop her face from beaming if she tried, nor could she stop her eyes from watering. The two witches yet again put their foreheads together. For a moment, they almost forget and a soft but beaming smile takes hold of them.

That silent pause was interrupted by Bonnie's comment "Oh sweet Manon, I'm gonna be an auntie!"

Despite themselves, Sarah and Nancy couldn't help but laugh with Rochelle.

Looking back at each other, Sarah and Nancy wipe each other's tears, and the redhead cups the goth's cheek, "We're gonna get through this, alright ? We just gotta find Brigitte and-"

"You'll be looking for a long, long time." Another woman's voice speaks in the darkness.

The girls looked around, wondering where they heard it from. It sounded like it was someone far off from them, but where exactly, wasn't clear. Sarah and Nancy think it's coming from behind the latter.

"The pooch is on her way to the pound." The voice speaks again, this time coming from behind Bonnie and Rochelle, but when the two witches look, nothing is there as far as they can see "Which leaves you five to me."

As Nancy looks around, Sarah feels a chilly presence creeping up behind her, as someone leans in to whisper.

"Keep looking, you'll see me-" As Sarah turns to see nothing there, before Nancy feels/hears something on her shoulder "-when I want you too!"

Nancy flinches, turning around to see...a young woman with long orange red hair, and a bright blue bikini top. If the girl's were thinking at the moment, they'd probably think she was kind of cute.

But besides the startle, she wasn't exactly at the moment. She was covered in mud and possibly her own blood, as her body was covered in claw-like lacerations that were already in the process of repair. But the sharp teeth in her grin really didn't help.

In their startle, Sarah takes Nancy by the wrist, pulling her away from the stranger and standing between the two. Sarah didn't think before she acted, and by the time she realizes what she did her fist was already out and the stranger dropped to the sand.

Despite this, the stranger just chuckles, her hand clutched over her bleeding and broken noise as she looked up at the witches.

"There we go!" The woman gets onto her knees and raises both her hands "Just heard of the cub and already mommy bear's coming out! But when you call upon the power, it'll do you good not to bite the hand that feeds you..."

As the girls now stand beside each other, before anyone could get a word or action out, they are astonished to see the stranger's eyes glowing a bright blue.

Their attention was then drawn to cat-like claws forming at the end of her finger nails, along with sharp teeth and a pair of dark wings spreading from her back.

"What is this ?" Bonnie quietly mutters as the woman rises to her feet. Not once does her wings flap.

It wasn't like the stranger standing up either, but more like floating back up. And as if for dramatic effect, her feet didn't touch the ground. And when they looked at her feet, they noticed they too were claired like that of a dog.

"Come now." The stranger says "You call us powers. Some call us spirits or gods. But you surely heard my name, even if you didn't know it."

Sarah narrows her eyes and steps forward, putting a protective arm before Nancy.

"We didn't call upon you." She says, trying to put on a brave and confident face.

"No, but you'll need me. I was called to get the mut out of their hair, but a little birdie tells me you wish to speak to that which is to the world." The woman descends to the ground, stepping towards Sarah "And I am quite familiar with that which dwells in Kur."

Sarah tries to remain firm as her blue eyes lock on the stranger's.

"And when I heard you were in the picture, I just came to see how much you've grown." The stranger reaches forward, her clawed hand gently touching at Sarah's chin, before being slapped away.

"I don't know you at all!" Sarah raises her voice and her dander "Stop wasting our time or you'll really get to know me..."

"September 21st, 1978. Sound familiar ?" The woman licks her teeth, "Your mother felt me coming, and the doctor's told your daddy one of you was going to make it. And so, Lilian Mikaelson Bailey took your place."

As Sarah's bravado seemed to fade from her eyes, the stranger looks down her scared wrists.

"You used to wonder if you were worth it; and I too wonder if she made the right choi-"

The stranger is interrupted when Nancy budges her way past Sarah, and deals this devil woman a stinging slap, "Fuck you, and fuck off!"

"Temper, temper." The stranger rubs her cheek, "With what's coming tomorrow, you'll prefer me to a friend as an-"

Before the stranger can continue, she feels a tremer through her body. She tries to ignore it, but feels the air around her thinning out; the observing witches' terrified confusion shifts into something else as they see blood running down her nose and tear ducts.

They stagger back as this demoness drops to her knees, gasping and wheezing. And as the witches process what they are seeing/hearing,  they faintly pick up the sound of whistling.

When they turn to where the noise is coming from, they see a white shape approaching them from behind. When their eyes adjust, they see it is an approaching Dean Morgan, who looks on with crossed arms and an unamused expression as she whistles.

As she nears them, she puts lyrics to the tune.

"Whoa-oh, here she comes/Watch out, boy/She'll chew you up/Whoa-oh, here she comes/She's a man-eater..."

By the time she was there, the devil-woman's wings and claws retracted, and her eyes stopped glowing. The dean simply circles her with an annoyed glare.

"Well...this is an unwelcome development."

"You know her ?" Rochelle incredulously asks "I mean, who the hell is she ?"

"Oh-ho." The woman on the ground snickers, looking back up at the girls "Hell is-"

"-Some bitch who bites, and ends up in the pound." The dean scornfully looks down at the would-be tormenter "And would do better on a leash.

The dean looks towards the witches. Especially Sarah and Nancy, as she steps down the stranger's back.

"If two fo you could be a dears," The dean looks expectantly at the two, before crouching down "This'll make the night a big help

As a police officer would do, she takes the stranger's wrists and puts them behind her back, before looking back at Sarah and Nancy.

The goth and the redhead look at each other hesitantly, before following the dean's lead. Nancy takes one wrist, while Sarah takes the other.

The dean is muttering something, and looks to Sarah and Nancy to repeat her incantation. As they do, Bonnie and Rochelle, see someone catching up to them.

It was a dark shape, but they quickly recognize it as Lucy, apparently following the dean.

"-Hey...hey!" An out of breath Lucy comes to a stop, putting her hands on her knees as she catches her breath "What's got you so-?"

When Lucy looks to see the three binding this strange woman, and when she notices Rochelle giving her the shush gesture, she shuts her mouth.

After a moment, the stranger winces as she feels her wrists tightening. As the dean, Sarah and Nancy release their grip, the now bound woman is reduced to a frustrated seething noise.

Neither Sarah nor Nancy felt much safer though, immediately stepping away from their captive.

Getting her bearings, the dean stands back up and turns her attention to the coven. A flat smile forms on her face, as she looks towards the bay.

"It looks like we have quite a lot to go over."

-----

Back at the River

It happened so fast that as Janet tried to process what occurred, the world was still and quiet.

Charging from the foliage surrounding the river bank was this bluish grey blur that had at it with the armed thugs standing on the shoreline.

A few tried to shoot, while the others tried to scatter. It did nothing to save them, and in under a minute or two, they laid in a heap of torn flesh on the muddy bank beneath them.

Necks and shoulders were introduced to the fangs and claws of this cat thing. Throats and stomachs were clashed open; legs torn off at the knee, and arms from the elbow. The tamest injuries were the ones where the limbs were simply twisted.

Ten bodies - at least what was left of them - laid upon the mud and rocks. Janet heard a few groans, which told her that not all of them were dead (yet). It didn't matter, as there was probably nothing they could have done to stop this beast.

As the cat-thing stopped it's assault, it circled the shoreline, staring out at the three people in the river.

Now that Janet got a good look at the attacking animal, she saw it was a tiger.

Except where you'd normally see an orange or white fur color between black stripes, this specimen's fur color with this greyish-almost-blue color; like you'd expect from a Maltese cat.

As it paced about before them, it's growl and bellowing noises kept Janet still. She knew from a past encounter with a tiger in Siberia, that their roars had that effect on people.

Her focus was on the unusual pair of dark brown eyes you probably wouldn't see on such a big cat. She notices that it's gaze is locked on the Count, who she barely notices gradually circling the statues.

"You always got to the point, did you Matksa ?" The Count narrows his eyes at the tiger, before undoing his belt  "But you're here for me, aren't you ?"

As the Count says this, Janet hears his voice lowers into a guttural growl, like something you'd hear from a lion. She's unbothered by the fact that the vampire is now completely naked, as his eyes also become catlike, and his fangs become larger.

For a moment, it seems like both were unaware that Janet and Scud were still present, and the sound of the tiger's roar caused Janet to finally scream and flinch back as the beast lunged forward.

For a second, Janet was submerged, and her world spun as she sensed the impact of the status of Tammuz being hit; the statue that Scud was still bound to.

Janet manages to breach the surface, kicking and splashing as she tries to get her bearings. If she could see it, the water around her turned red as the tiger - Mattie apparently -  bit and clawed at the Count's neck and stomach.

But a helpless mauling victim the Count was not. He blocks one bite with one of his forearms and slashing his...hands(?)/claws(?) into the tiger's face.

What was keeping Janet's attention was they were just between an unconscious Scud's legs. She wasn't thinking with her head, but with a fight or flight response as she made her move towards the statue.

Mattie rears up on her hindlegs as a tiger and forces the Count against Tammuz's statue. The impact causes the statue to tremble and move a little. She bites down onto the Count's shoulder but leaves her own neck exposed to the Count's bite.

For a second, Janet thought his appearance looked less and less human, as his voice shifts into this lion-like growls, snarls and ever roars. Janet even though the Count's hair and beard was rapidly growing out...starting to resemble a mane.

Amidst the fighting, Mattie shakes her head and neck about, and tosses the Count several feet back towards the shoreline. There is a splash, and the tiger immediately lunges onto the vampire to continue her assault.

This gave Janet the opportunity to try to climb the statue, trying to pull the chain. If she were in the right mind, she'd know it was useless; but she wasn't thinking with her head, but her racing heart.

Even so, she got a reaction from Scud himself.

"J...Jan-" The man was barely able to mumble out.

"Shh!" Janet impatiently tries pulling the chains "I'm gonna get us out of here..."

"Jan- Don't-"

Before Janet could respond, her attention is caught by a splash and roar on the shoreline. Looking towards the river bank, she sees the tiger Mattie was tossed onto her back, and set upon by the Count.

Only in place of the somewhat human looking Count, a white furred Barbary lion. He pounces onto the tiger, biting down on her neck and shoulder.

Mattie roars out, and tries several times to bite back at the Count's neck. But the mane proved too thick, and her claws in his back had little effect.

Rearing up, the white lion tosses the maltese tiger onto the bank, and jumps upon her back still biting at her neck. The tiger gets up on her hind legs to try to shake the lion off.

Janet re-focuses her efforts on Scud. She was able to move the chains up and down his slick body, but it was the matter of untying them that was the problem. Even so, she tries to find a way to slip him out of his binding.

Mattie manages to toss the Count off her back and onto the muddy rocks below. But as the tiger turns to strike, the lion immediately rears up on his hindlegs.

From there, the two cats clawed and hit each other with their forelimbs, and threw their weight against each other. The tiger clearly had the size/weight advanged, but in a moment, the Count yet again got a grip on her neck, and thrashed Mattie about.

It took little effort but the lion was able to force the tiger onto the ground and keep hold of her neck. As the tiger thrashes about in the lion's grip, her roars sound less and less like that of a tiger, but the cries of pain and exteritoon of a young woman.

The Count rears up and shakes Mattie about like a rag doll, before tossing her towards the statue. Towards Scud and Janet.

Janet didn't have time to adjust or prepare. The statue of Tammuz breaks upon the impact, and when Janet opens her eyes, she is now several feet under the water.
She tries to kick and reach for the surface, but when she looks down, she sees Scud is now at the bottom of the river, held in place by the statue.

It laid under the currents, missing the left arm; the one that was holding the fruit with Inanna. Scud was still conscious, but as Janet tries to swim down after him, she can just register him shaking his head.

If the current didn't wash them away, Janet would have tears running down her face. But as she felt her chest tighten, she kicked to the surface, breaching up with a raspy inhale.

"Fuuuck!" Janet sobs/gaps. She coughs and sputters, and she moves against the current, soon reaching the shore.

Utterly exhausted and burned out, Janet just lies there when she reaches the bank, covering her eyes with her forearm. She takes a moment to come down and catch her breath.

She pays no mind to the fact she's lying among the tiger's kills and their discarded weapons. She pays little mind to the lion's chuffing/growling noise as it approaches her. As it does, the lion's noises shift to the heavy breathing of a man.

Opening her eyes, Janet sees the Count is now standing over her. He was stark naked and covered with tiger bite and claw marks along his arms, shoulder and torso.

While the wounds themselves were fading and healing out, he still smeared with mud and blood. Both Mattie's and his own. His expression was unreadable as he stares her down.

"So...what will you do now, little girl ?"

Janet says nothing but looks away.

"What's that ?" The vampire tilts his head "No bravado ? No defiant last words ? No desperate final stand agains-"

"Fuck you." Janet mumbles.

"Why do they always say that ?" The Count stares at the broken statues, "You know he joined their covenant to try to save you. You give up now, he dies for nothing."

"Why do you care ?" Janet sits up and glares at the vampire.

"I don't. I just thought you should know there's a price for being a hero." The Count circles the bank, staring out at the distance "The beast of Odo Island is here; come sunrise he will burn and brush Silas under his heel unless we call upon-"

"Then sacrifice me then!" Janet raises her voice "I had nothing before the D.E.B.S, and it's not like I'll have anything else to go back too!"

"You don't get it do you ?" The Count shakes his head "To join their covenant, you have to make a willing offer for the blood pact; you have to want it."

The Count points to the river, where Scud had sunk.

"He wanted to save you, so he made his sacrifice." The Count tilts his head "So what will you live for ?"

Janet takes these words in, and looks beside her. There was a severed arm not two feet away from her. In it's grip, was one of the rifles, "I can think of one thing."

The Count looks where she is. A knowing grin forms.

"Revenge ? What will it gain you ?" The Count crosses his arms "It's not like you have anything left."

"If it stops all this, it'll be something." Janet says dispassionately, getting up on shaky legs and reaching for the rifle.

Unbothered, the Count crosses his arms.

"Say you put me down - pretend for a moment I won't return." The Count raises a finger "Say you survive the battle to come; the Academy already marked you as a martyr. If not at my hand, they'll probably put you down in the hospital or something."

The Count advances, stopping as Janet aims the rifle and takes the safety off.

"You'll have nothing left to live for. No where else to run. And nothing that can stop the-"

"Bored now."

BLAM, BLAM, BLAM, BLAM, BLAM

Two shots hit the vampire in his stomach. Three in the chest.

The Count staggers back with a bloody cough, and he only grins and shakes his head.

"This won't-"

BLAM, BLAM, BLAM

One hits his upper chest, another hits him in his throat, and the other at the side of the face.

The vampire wordlessly drops to the mud with a pained wheeze. Even so, he manages to give Janet an unintimidated look as she stands over him and aims at his head.

"Y-"

BLAM, BLAM

The last two hit his forehead and the vampire dropped down quietly. If he was dead or unconscious, Janet didn't know, and wasn't sure she cared.

Janet stands there for a moment, shaking and trembling before she drops her rifle aside. She feels the tears running down her face as she drops to her knees.

Above them, the storm clouds continued to form, and bolts of lighting were seen as it began raining heavily. If one paid attention to the flashes of lighting, they'd probably see something like a dragon taking shape.

But Janet doesn't look up.
In the river itself, something breaches the surface. Janet pays it no mind as she looks down at her hands, heaving heavily as she feels her sobs boiling up.

It was only then someone or something emerges from the river banks; when she looks up, she see's Mattie Belmonde, completely naked and back in her human form. Like the Count, she had a few bite and claw marks on her body, but they too were fading fast.

Slung on her back, with his arm around her shoulders is Scud. As with the Count, Janet wasn't sure if he was dead or unconscious, but she wasn't in the mood to get her hopes up.

With an exhausted sigh, Mattie drops Scud onto the bank beside her. The vampire shows no self consciousness of her nudity, as she too sits down onto the bank to get her bearings.

"You saved him ?"

"Don't make a bigger deal than it is." Mattie shakes her head "This heroic spy game has proven a bad influence on me."

Janet wipes her eyes as she looks over Scud. He was out, but only faintly breathing. He coughs a bit, as blood comes from his nose and mouth, but he still didn't seem that conscious.

"I wouldn't get your hopes up." Mattie warns "His name is on the Crimson List; he made himself part of their covenant."

Mattie reaches forward, and takes Janet by the cheek.

"Whatever life he lives now, in the end, it will belong to them." Mattie explains as Janet flinches away, "Elias says that he gave himself to them for you-"

"Is what he says true ?" Janet points out to the distance "About...calling in-"

Mattie holds up a hand to silence Janet.

"There are many things my mother keeps even from me. But what I picked up was that there are powers in Silas that linger in this world. Even those thought dead." Mattie gestures towards the same distance "To channel these powers, is to put yourself in their crosshairs."

"But it could work ?"

Mattie narrows her eyes.

"You don't want to do this." The vampire warns.

"You're right." Janet looks down at Scud, despondent, "But it's not about what I want."

Another flash of lighting is overhead, and the wind picks up. Janet thinks the breeze sounds like a man deeply exhaling.

Janet gets up, and stumbles a bit as she looks over the body's of the guards. She finds one with a knife sheathed in their belt and sighs in relief.

Mattie gets up, realizing what Janet was about to do. But before she could do or say anything to stop the blonde, Janet is already pulling the knife out, and cutting across her palm.

The wind stills, and thunder rumbles. Janet silently curses as the sting of the knife, and turns towards the still standing statue of Inanna.

With trembling steps, Janet wades into the water. Where the statue to Tammuz has mostly fallen, all that remains is his arm; still holding the fruit with Inanna, and still bound by three golden serpents.

As Janet reaches the statue, she isn't sure what to do. She looked at the fruit, and at her bloody hand; it was as if the storm was whispering to her as she placed her hand upon the fruit.

"I don't know what to say..." Janet hesitates "But if I can give mysel-"

Janet's is interrupted as she feels something coiling around her legs like a snake.

She yelps as she is pulled under.

-----

Back in Silas Bay/"See des Drachen", over the past several minutes, Lucy was getting caught up on what she missed at the beach. The dean, in the meantime, kept a knee on the back of the stranger.

"You mean to tell me...Brigitte's been taken..." Lucy asks in disbelief, pacing back and forth before the gathered witches "And that...thing is already here ?!"

"And you mean to tell me you didn't see those blue beams of light ?" Rochelle points out to the bay "I think they saw that from LA!"

"And you...actually spoke to it."

"It's more complicated than that." Bonnie tries to explain, "It's more like an empathetic and telepathic look into it's-"

"We communicated. Yes." Sarah bluntly answers "Whatever it is, it can't be controlled."

"But ?"

"But they're poking the bear." Sarah crosses her arms "And there's nothing we can do to stop it when it wakes."

"Unless we stop them." Nancy interjects.

Grinned wryly, the dean stands up off her sister.

"Well, it's a good thing we're here isn't it ?" The dean puts her hands together "And who better to lead our charge than renowned criminal mastermind, Lucy Diamond. Though it doesn't hurt to have a magic touch, wouldn't it girls."

Lucy looks down at the bound stranger, who locks eyes with her.

"And who the hell is she ?" Lucy put a hand on her hip.

The stranger gets up to her knees, "I take it you're the Lucy Diamond everyone's so scared of ?"

"I am, but I'm asking who you are ?"

"Does the name Lamashtu mean anything to you ?"

As the stranger says this, there's a stillness in the air. The coven's eyes widen with realization and horror, and Nancy puts a protective hand on her stomach.

Rochelle and Sarah look to the dean, silently asking what they have on their hands.

Lucy just shakes her head "Can't say that it does ?"

"Then you know nothing of evil."

Sarah turns towards the dean, looking accusatory "You...brought her here ?"

"Had I known she was here before I reached the beach, I would have bound her away already."

Lamashtu rolls her eyes "Always like my big sis; having all the fun for herself, but not letting me have a slice."

All other eyes were on the dean.

"Sister ?!" All four witches exclaim, before Rochelle steps forward towards "Just what are you ?"

"A shadow of what I once was." The dead replies, as Lamashtu rolls her eyes at her theatrics "But what I am now, is a Queen protecting her kingdom."
"My sister always thought being cryptic made her more important than-"

The dean ideally mutters an incantation, which causes Lamashtu's throat to tighten and for the demoness to cough out red on the sand beneath her. The girls' share a look, thinking it over for a moment before it clicks on Nancy.

"You're her aren't you ?"

"I am a her. Last I checked." The dean replies with a snarky grin.

"Ishtar," Nancy narrows her eyes, approaching the dean "The one whose name you and Sarah had us try to invoke."

Beside them, Lucy raises both hands "Okay, clearly I'm locked out of a lot-" before being interrupted as Sarah steps forward.

"And Hastur." Sarah stands besides Nancy "You had us call on your former power; that's most of our invocations didn't work. Isn't it ?"

"Until..." Nancy starts to say before trailing off.

"Until you invoked Ereshkigal."

"Because of course Resh would throw a wrench into-" Lamashtu tries to snark, before the dean holds out a hand, and an unseen force pushes the demon's face into the dirt.

"Yes," The dean steps towards Sarah and Nancy, crossing her arms "Try as I might; if even a glimmer of my former power, the one beneath us tries to snuff us out."

The dean looks at Nancy specifically.

"It is why I had you call upon other powers besides my own." The dean reaches towards Nancy; the goth witch flinches at the dean's touch but is unable to resist as the dean trails a finger down to her stomach "And how you were able to get her gift."

As the dean says this, she firmly puts her hand on Nancy's stomach.

"And in doing so, you carry her marked."

Lucy, watching from the sidelines, blinks a couple times, "I'm sorry what ?!"

"Nancy's pregnant." Rochelle adds, with Bonnie nodding beside her "With Sarah's baby."

Lucy looks back at Nancy, who nods at her and puts a hand on her stomach, while Sarah looks sheepish. Looking aside and shaking her head, Lucy puts her hands together, closes her eyes and inhales deeply.

"Okay...there's clearly a lot more I'm missing out on." Lucy opens her eyes "But we can worry about that later. We gotta deal with the D.E.B.S first."

"With what ?" Sarah gestures out to the bay "You know what that thing's capable of! Nothing on earth can stop it!"

"Nothing from earth you mean." The dean brushes her hair aside and reaching into her dress "But when you're calling upon the Ancient Ones to fight your battles, it'll do you good to have one on your side."

The dean presents a necklace, depicting the golden serpents circling the globe; which the girl's have seen many times the past year.

"Hastur." Sarah realizes "This is why you had us trying to invoke him."

"These are getting to be trying times." The dean shrugs "The way I see it, our occupiers are planning on setting an Ancient One loose on this world. All I'm suggesting is that we fight fire with fire."

In the sand beneath them, Lamashtu begins to laugh. It had an unsettling hyena-like cadence that caused a shiver to creep up the girls' bodies, as the demoness sits on her knees and looks up at them.

"Looks like we're way ahead of you then, sissy." Lamashtu licks her teeth, "Sounds to me like we're on the same side."

Unamused, the dean looks down at Lamashtu, "We ?"

"Elias says hello."

The dean blinks slowly, before shaking her head and looking away, "Of course he did."

Turning her attention to the witches, Lamashtu grins at them with stained teeth.

"Seeing as we're on the same side here, it'll do you good to know that you'll need to call upon another higher power to channel the Ancient Ones." Lamashtu turns towards an annoyed dean "And considering your luck with *her* name...maybe you'll do better with someone he'll actually listen too."

Nancy chuckled cynically, "You ? You act like we hadn't read about you. We saw your name come with enough warnings."

Lamashtu's grins flattens looking towards Nancy's stomach, "It's the baby you're worried about, isn't it ?"
Nancy doesn't reply, but covers her stomach.

"If it makes it easier, the child is marked by Ereshkigal." Lamashtu shakes her head "I can't take that which my sisters have marked as theirs..."

As she says this, Lamashtu slowly turns her head to the dean.

"Without the intervention of even higher power than them."

"Even if we're buying what you sell." Rochelle looks at Lamashtu, but also at the dean "They're setting him loose in five different cities. The way they say it, it'll show up after it's done here."

"And that's if he takes your bait!" Bonnie adds.

"Don't worry about those cities." Lucy raises a hand "I got a back door into Corvae's bombs. They won't go off until I make the call..."

"You mean you're disarming them, right ?" Sarah asks.

Lucy doesn't answer.

"Lucy ? You disarmed them, right ?" Sarah steps towards Lucy, who looks away "You're not planning to set them-"

"There's a whole lot that can go wrong here." Lucy says with a determined tone and expression "A lot of the time you need a plan B; they already want to put them on me, so what if I have my name on it ?"

"But...they're setting them up in the middle of cities," Sarah argues "You're not gonna-"

Lucy holds up a hand to silence Sarah.

"Sarah, I-" Lucy groans/sighs "I didn't get where I am by being a girl scout. And you don't come on top by playing nice. So no...they won't go off...so long as I hear back from Amy."

"She won't want you to do this." Nancy warns.

"It's not about what Amy wants," Lucy's dander raises, tries to keep her voice even "It's about what she needs me to be. And if things go south here, well, I have a backup in Silas too."

There girls all look at Lucy in disbelief, with these furrowed brows and gaped mouths.

"I am Lucy Diamond. Criminal mastermind and the greatest threat the D.E.B.S has faced. It's not who I want to be, but I need to be." Lucy says calmly and firmly, putting her hands behind her back "Tomorrow, she will lead Silas' forces against the D.E.B.S in a decisive battle."

Lucy walks to Sarah and Nancy, putting a hand on both their shoulders.

"And what you need to be, is Silas' magic hands, eyes and ears."

Sarah and Nancy look like they're about to object or argue, but when they open their mouths, the dean speaks.

"Need I remind you girls that this is what we've been preparing for ? That you're already on our side of the board ?" The dean stands besides Lucy, and gestures out to the bay "That the only thing that can best the leviathan can only be conjured by you ?"

The dean circles Sarah and Nancy, who flinch away, before the dean looks towards Bonnie and Rochelle.

"That you were part of this board before you set foot in Silas," The dean turns back to Sarah and Nancy, putting an arm on their shoulders "And from what I hear..."

The dean tails her hand over Nancy's stomach "You have everything to lose here. I wouldn't throw it away."

"I'd listen to her, girls." Lamashtu chuckles in the sand "Something's telling me you really don't want to say no. Besides, you want to get your bitch out of the pound, right ?"

The witches glare at Lamashtu, and back at Lucy.

"You're saying your explosives are a plan B ?" Sarah asks.

"It all depends." Lucy tries to look and sound nonchalant "You know, if things go south down here ?"

Sarah looks to her girls, and they all give an affirming nod.

"Then we'll make sure it doesn't come to that." Sarah looks at the dean "What do you need us to do ?"

Before the dean could reply, bolts of lighting caught their attention. When they look towards the Silas Hills, they form circular formations, with golden flashes of lighting brightening the sky.

If one looks hard enough, they'd probably see crude dragon or serpent heads forming from the bolts.

"It looks like Elias has already done step one." Lamashtu grins, before looking at Lucy "Have you heard from Scud by the way ?"

-----

When Janet opens her eyes, she is yet again submerged. But when she looks up, the light is so faint that she would have thought she was seventy to eighty feet beneath the surface.

On instinct, Janet tried kicking and swimming upwards, but something was holding her in place. She couldn't see it in the darkness, but she felt as if someone was holding both her hands and forcing them into her sides.

Following this was the coils. Janet Mills could safely say she never had a python or anaconda wrapping around her...but she imagines it being something like this.

She tries her best, but finds herself being forced downwards into the muddy river bank as these unseen serpents hold her in a vice grip. Her arms are held against her body and her legs are held together, keeping her from keeping.

Even so, she tries to struggle and worm her way out of their grip, when she feels something like an arm wrapping around her neck and muffling her mouth.

After a moment of this, Janet felt like her lungs were going to explode and a scream forced it's way out of her muffled mouth. But all she heard was the voice.

You run. Yet you offer yourself to me

Suddenly, whatever was holding Janet fades and she is released with a coughing gasp; like she was no longer trapped beneath the sea, in the grip of serpents.

Janet blinks several times and looks up. Everything around her was cloudy, and she realized she inhaled a mouth full of water and she was still submerged in it.

When Janet lurches up, she coughs and regurgitates some of the water. She is left spitting up for a moment, as she comes down to collect herself.

Janet's eyes soon adjust, and when she looks around, she see's she's in some kind of pool. She was no longer in her pink bathing suit, but was wearing only a white dress, which was drenched to the point where it did little for her modesty.

All around her there was about five inches of water, covering a dark stone or marble floor. Out of the water, there was vast but thick fog. When she looked up, there was no roof to speak off, only darkness that goes as high as the sky itself.

The water was ice cold. So much so, that Janet probably would have died in minutes had she been in her actual body. Yet the air around her was as hot as a blistering summer day.

This clash of temperature gave Janet a tingling "pins and needles" feeling one would get when their foot or hand fell asleep. Only this sensation all over her body.

Getting her bearings, Janet tries to stand up on staggering legs. Her hair was soaked and matted, which she wiped from her eyes as she looked about.

It took a moment, but her hearing adjusted. Her ears could pick up something, but she wasn't sure what it was at first but the more she listens...she thinks it's...music.

With a shaky step, Janet tries to follow the noise. Her legs wobble and she nearly trips a few times, but she can certainly make out a slow and relaxing tune being played on string.

But if it were a fiddle or guitar, she wasn't sure. The best she can describe it as if there were two players with both instruments playing the same beat at once.

After looking around for a bit, she sees a faded, golden light in the mist where the sound was coming from. There was certainly someone or something in there with her.

The tune was familiar, but when Janet put her finger on it...no, it can't be that song.

But her suspicions were confirmed when a voice put words to it. But they didn't come from a specific place or person, but this echo that sounded throughout this hall she's in.

Love is a burning thing. And it makes a fiery ring, it sings, Bound by wild desire, I fell into a ring of fire-

"H-hello ?" Janet calls out, seeming to make out a humanoid figure standing in the golden light. She wanders and staggers into the fogline following the intensity of the light.

I fell in to a burning ring of fire. I went down, down, down, and the flames went higher, it continues to sing, And it burns, burns, burns. The ring of fire. The ringer of fire...

As Janet makes her way through the fog, she sees what looks to be a bench or chair, with someone sitting in it, holding an instrument in their hands. But she didn't get a good look, as looking directly at this presence was blinding as looking directly into the sun.

It caused Janet to flinch with a wince, and cover her eyes. As they adjust and look through her fingers, she see's whoever this was was wearing some sort of golden robe or shroud. Her fingers obstructed his face, but she felt as if he were staring at her.

Her suspicions were confirmed when she spoke again.

Music always makes others more receptive. Do I have your attention ?

Janet hesitates to speak, feeling her body beginning to tense and shiver at the sound of his voice.

A nod will do.

Still shaking, Janet nods.

These deals are curious, he stands up from his bench, You people always seek us out and when we come, you run.

The light fades a little, allowing Janet to lower her hands. He stands before her, two heads taller than she was, but his face was still obscured by a large golden hood, and the mists surrounding him.

Even so, Janet get's a better look at his robes. They weren't just yellow in color, but there was a pattern in them; it was like pieces of gold were built into the clothing like a set of scales

He wore two golden shoulder pieces, both of them resemble the heads of horned serpents or dragons. Under his hood, Janet could faintly notice a crown of the same build, but before she could jet a good look at it, he speaks.

You call upon me, and I bring you here, he says, And yet you try to run. Why ?

"Wh-why what ?" Janet mumbles, managing to find her voice.

Why. Did. You. Call. Upon. Me ?

Janet shakes, manages to speak.

"Th-they called upon you!" Janet points out to the distance "The vampires I mean- they think you can stop the-"

The great Leviathan. He who is above you but beneath me.

Had I not been bound here, I'd wipe the land he walks on off the map. The King in Yellow gestures out around him, his voice seeming to reverb into a seething snarl, For you to ask for my salvation, you must be terrified.

"They think you can stop what's coming," Janet looks away as the glow comes back "Th-that you-"

The figure reaches forward, as a hand in a golden glove holds a finger to Janet's lips as if to shush her.

So they made an offering; a blood pact to rouse me. The King in Yellow looks around. Usually, Ishtar is the one to lead others to my covenant. But I do not smell her blood in the water.

Janet feels herself jolting as he traces his finger from her lips, down her neck, and towards her chest. He rests his hand over her heart, causing her to gasp and try to flinch away as he gently squeezes over her heart. But his grip is firm.

This beats for the one who offered himself in your place.

He chose to join my covenant and allow me this glimpse of the world, so that you wouldn't.

And yet, you offer yourself anyway.

Why ?

He releases her, and Janet feels herself gasp as she finally finds her voice.

"I-...I had to save him."

But he tried to save you.

"He's dying!" Janet argues.

And ?

"H-he shouldn't die because of me!" Janet feels her eyes water "I'm not- I'm not anything special!"

I cannot give back what he's willingly given. The King puts both hands behind his back And based on what you said, you don't have much to offer in his place.

"If I take his place," Janet taps herself on the chest "Would you still give your power to help ?"

This was a war I was fighting even in the grave. May as well ask for the sun to rise; for summer to turn to fall. You must offer something extra for me to accept such a deal.

The figure pauses as if thinking things through. He briefly turns around, and raises a finger as if he's recalling something.

I assume for you to come here, you were told the tale of Ishtar and Tammuz.

"Inanna." Janet corrects "And yes."

*Her name doesn't matter.*

But I assume you know of how Tammuz was picked to take his wife's place in the underworld. He turns to face Janet and begins to circle her Only he didn't offer himself. Not like the one your heart beats for.

Again, all Janet could do was weakly nod.

*And you would also know of Tammuz's sister. He takes her chin in his fingers, and directs her gaze to him. This time, she can see a little more of his face Of how Geshtinanna willingly offered herself in her brother's place in the underworld.

He leans down to Janet's ear.

Reminding you of someone ?

Janet flinches back from him, and shakes her head.

"I don't- I don't care what happens to me!" Janet argues "But Scud shouldn't die because of me!"

You wish to take his place in death, as he offered for you. He tilts his head from one side to the other, If I honor your deal, I'd be breaking his.

He yet again paces around, hand on his chin as he mulls his option.

Unless, he realizes, before shaking his head, Nah. You won't accept it.

"What is it ?!" Janet insistently yells.

If I told you, you wouldn't accept it.

"I don't care." Janet shakes her head with a sniff, "If he doesn't die because of me, I can live with it."

Of course you will. He looks at her But everyone says they're ready until it's time to pay-

"I don't care what the price is!" Janet grabs his arm "He doesn't die tonight...or tomorrow.. Or  the next few years! A decade at least!!"

Janet wipes her eyes.

"But if you can help stop this, that's all that matters. I don't care what I have to pay."

That's what they all say. Until they had to pay it. He crosses his arms, Except for Geshtinanna.

"I'll take whatever you throw at me." Janet clenches "I'm a D.E.B. It comes with the job."

If that is your final say.

"Final as the judgment of God!"

The King chuckles.

You. I like you. He says, Very well.

He lifts up his arm towards his mouth. The skin on his arm was either tanned or palish brown, but what gets Janet's attention is his mouth. They weren't the kind of fangs you'd expect to see on a vampire or werewolf, but were still too sharp to be human.

Even then, Janet is only able to get a brief glimpse of them before they sink into his wrist. He groans as a dark liquid pours out, and as Janet was still frozen and taken aback by what she's seeing, the King lunges at her with a snake-like hiss.

Janet only has time to gasp, before she feels his wrist press into her mouth, which becomes filled with a tangy and metallic taste.

As it begins to overwhelm her, Janet blacks out.
-----

When Janet came too, she was yet again coughing and spitting.

But when she looks around, she see's she's no longer in...that place, but was back on that muddy river bank. She was no longer in that white dress, but but was back in her pink bra and panties.

Janet wasn't really in the right headspace to take this in. Her head ached and her vision spun as she climbed onto the shore.

After a minute, her vision settles, and she makes out the sight of Scud still laying on the shore itself. In the background, Mattie was now wearing a shirt she took off one of the slain mooks, and was putting on a pair of pants from another.

"Scud!" Janet coughs, climbing onto the shore and getting up on sore legs. But the time she reaches Scud, she trips and continues to crawl, "Scud...baby, please-"

She rests Scud's head on her lap and looks over him. There was only the faintest breathing indicating he was still alive, but he only looked in slight better shape than when she rescued him.

The lacerations all over his body had either completely healed or faded to the point of barely being noticeable. His bruises were still there, and had taken a magenta color.
But as far as Janet could tell he was alive.

She feels a tingly sensation like her hand fell asleep. And when she looks, she sees a faded mark on her palm, and notices a taste in her mouth; it was that bitter coppery taste you get when you have blood in your mouth with...a shot of chocolate.

"That was a really dumb move, you know." Janet hears Mattie approaching, seeing the vampire giving her a disapproving glare "But the fact you're still breathing tells me you got something out of it; so it better be worth it."

"Stay away from us!" Janet shouts, and raises her hand at the vampire, who stares unamused at her.

As Janet raises her voice, she see's Scud start to open his eyes.

Mattie puts a hand on her hip, scoffing and rolling her eyes "Honey, if I wanted to have a slice of you, I would have done it already!"

"You've done enough!" Janet grits her teeth "You brought him into this, you almost got him killed! Got us killed!"

"Mmm, no sweetie." Mattie shakes her head "You were already pieces on the board; can't fault me for using them."

As Mattie walks past Janet and Scud, the blonde finally notices the Count still laying in the spot she shot him. So far the other vampire hasn't moved, but he was still breathing and wheezing.

But that wasn't Janet's concern. She was still too angry at Mattie to be scared of the Count.

"You-"

"Had a shot and took it. And it all paid off so far." Mattie turns back to face Janet "You should be thankful that you pulled through the way you did; most people would call it a bonus. I didn't *need* to save your boytoy."

"You almost got us killed!"

"Almost. Yes." Mattie puts her hands behind her back "But you're still breathing!"

"No thanks to you!"

"Did I not just wipe out an entire hit squad to reach you." An irate Mattie circles the two "Did I not fight Elias for you when you were in no position to best him ? Did I not pull Mr. Rudd out of a watery grave ? Had you just asked, I could have resuscitated him myself."

Mattie tilts her head down at the barely conscious Scud.

"But from where I'm standing, he's close enough to death that would have just turned him into one of us." Mattie looks back at Janet "But putting your name on their Crimson List ?"

Mattie points to the statues.

"You probably would prefer the alternative to a life belonging to them." Mattie clicks her tongue "I never found that life worth living."

Mattie stares out at the river a while longer, before shaking her head.
"But you two will have the rest of your lives to worry about that."

It was here Janet finally noticed Scud stirring.

"J-Jan-" Scud tries to say, but what comes out is a pained groan.

Janet says nothing, but wipes her eyes and kisses Scud on the forehead.

"Besides where you two go from here." Mattie looks back at the unconscious Count Karnstein "My concern is what to do about dear little Elias..."

-----

Barcelona, Catalonia.

Upon her arrival at Barcelona-El Prat, Amy didn't think this was how she'd end up in the city. And she didn't think of where her next stop would be.

Sure, she was instructed to go to the embassy and hand over the USB. But she's had long since learned by now that it couldn't be that easy. It felt too good to be true, and so it probably was.

For all she knew, Reggie could be fronting on a sting for her arrest. The chances of that were never zero. And it was like Max told her; if there was even a 1% chance of a threat to your mission, you treat it as 100%.

After her chat with Reggie, and mulling it over for the remainder of the fight, Amy made her decision by the time she landed.

When she first deboarded, she was quick to try to disappear into the crowds. She avoided anyone who looked like a driver expecting to pick someone up, and was able to blend in while on foot.

During her initial walk, there was only one moment where she paused as she passed a bench. Sitting there were two girls reading a magazine. She pretends not to notice them before continuing on her way.

When Amy was in the city, it took some looking but she was able to take a taxi to an Internet cafe, before taking another drive to the embassy. She didn't do much there, just made a few accounts and sent a few emails.

On the way, Amy made two more calls on Reggie's number, telling him she was behind in traffic. When she attempted to call him a third time, it didn't go through.

She didn't hear back from Reggie until she reached the embassy.

It was a simple message from her pager.

"Wait for me in 306. I'll be in 412."

-----

By the time Amy made it to the embassy, it had to have been near or past midnight.

As per her instructions she waited for Reggie in 306. In fact she waited for half an hour, but he didn't show. She tried calling and paging him three more times over the next hour, but he never responded.

By then, something started to occur to Amy. Part of her is kicking herself for not looking at all the signs; another part of her tells her that she should just keep playing along. Last thing they needed to know was that she knew.

After another half hour of waiting around and mulling over her options, she decided it was the best time to face the music. She soon stood before 412, and took a moment to prepare herself.

She wasn't sure what to expect when she was able to crack the lock. Before that, she knocked a few times, but could faintly hear music playing in the room.

"Reggie ?" Amy asks out loud, "Reggie are you in here ? I just got your last message, is everything alright ?"

Amy manages to get the door to unlock, but is slow and careful in opening the door. So far, no shouts or gunshots, but she lets the door open all the way before entering.

By then, she could hear it a lot more clearly, at the sound of a ringtone playing.

"I got two tickets to paradise/Won't you/Pack your bags and leave tonight/I got two tickets to paradise-" Amy heard the voice of Eddie Money playing quietly.

She kept her breathing even, though her heart was racing and goosebumps were forming across her body. The room was quiet as she entered, with the only sign of Reggie Kane's presence was the sound of his ringtone.

It was like ten seconds in real time felt like forever as she walked into the suite's bedroom. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the bathroom door was open and the lights were on.

But her focus was on the sound of the phone.

When she reaches the source of the noise, she finds Reggie's cell phone on the carpet beside the bed. On it as it rang, was a picture of Reggie, his wife Katherine and newborn daughter Nikki.

What holds Amy's attention is the impact mark on the wall beside the bed, and the three bloodstains on the carpet. For a second, Amy felt like her heart just stopped as she felt a shudder rush through her.

Despite herself, she tries to keep a cool head and closes her eyes. As she takes a few deep breaths, she hears a creaking noise come from the bathroom.

Amy opens and wipes her eyes, ideally looking towards the suite's window, overlooking the city. Collecting herself, Amy walks towards the window and crosses her arms as she looks over the skyline.

"You know," she quietly says, as she notices the dark silhouette in the reflection behind her "I never saw this as being how I got here...but a lot doesn't go the way we planned huh ?"

"What can I say, babe ?" The voice of Bobby Matthews replies "I deliver, don't I ?"

Amy feels her hands shake, but she stops herself from turning around.

"You...really had to be dramatic."

"Oh come now, weren't you the one who said you had a date with the devil ?" Bobby scoffs, as Amy hears him taking a seat on the bed behind her "I had to get my dramatics somewhere."

Sighing heavily, Amy finally turns around to face Bobby, the two sharing a cold glare.

"Reggie, he's...in the bathroom isn't he ?"

Bobby looks down at his hands; they were wet from the sink, but there were a few red droplets on it. In his hands, he's brandishing a bowie knife.

"He was in my way, and more than that he's a traitor to our cause."

"He was your friend."

"Was is right." Bobby nods, nonchalantly tossing/dropping the knife on the floor between them "He could have stayed at home and stayed out of this. Instead, he tried to throw us all under the bus. Now he'll go down as one of Lucy Diamond's collaboators."

"Bullshit. Even more of it." Amy shakes her head, feeling her eyes water and her chest tighten, giving it her all to not give in to the "fight or flight" feeling rushing through her "This whole D.E.B.S thing was bullshit. I just couldn't believe I didn't see it."

"And what does that make us, babe ?" Bobby gets up from the bed, and takes a menacing step toward Amy, who doesn't budge "Where *you and I* bullshit ? Were we not important ? Cuz let me tell you, it was important to me-"

"Important- you-" Amy grimaces "You made me walk home because I wouldn't put out! You blew up at my neighbor's kid over a mistake-"

"He splashed mud on my windshield!"

"He wiped out on a muddy road!" Amy argues "You getting in his face like that didn't help things!"

"Oh come on, you're not telling me that's why you dumped me!"

"No, no!" Amy shakes her head, her face turning red as her hands clench "I left you, because I saw time and again how you'd change like that and act like a boy scout like nothing happened!"

"Oh no, I was being a gentleman to my girl! How awful!" Bobby wrings his hand and rolls his eyes "I should have hit her like a real man-"

"YOU! ATTACKED!! MY!!! MOTHER!!!!"

Amy was holding that outburst in for a while, and when she finally let loose, it surprised her how it hurt. She didn't imagine her voice becoming this shrill, and she didn't know her throat would be as sore when he cut loose.

She didn't even notice or care that tears were running down her face. It got Bobby to shut up for a second, that's for sure.

"Y-you shot at her!" Amy says through her parched throat "You hit her! You tried to kill her!"

Trying and failing to keep herself reserved, Amy takes a step forward, glaring daggers at Bobby.

"That's the Bobby I kept seeing, whenever you dropped the boyscout act." Amy japs a finger into Bobby's chest "That's the side of you I ignored because I *hoped* it wasn't the real you! That's the side that made me realize the side of you I saw wasn't real!"

Bobby's quiet for a few seconds, staring Amy down. But rather than lash out, he steps aside and circles Amy towards the window.

"Again with the dramatics, babe! Jesus Christ!" Bobby shakes his head, before turning to face Amy "You really think Lucy Diamond was any better than me ? What happened to your mother is what happens when you side with Diamond! She's a poison, Amy."

"Fuck you! Everything they ever said about Lucy was a lie-"

"Do you really think it matters what side you see when no ones looking ?" Bobby interrupts, jabbing a finger at Amy "That's the side no one see's. What matters is how you're seen!"

As he says this, Bobby begins to circle Amy.

"You ? You were the Perfect Score! You were the D.E.B. You were everything the other girls aspired to be and you threw it all away; like you threw me away!"

"None of it was real-"

"IT WAS REAL TO ME!" Bobby lets out a shout of his own, one he's been holding in for weeks, which made Amy flinch for the first time since they started talking "You were everything I could have hoped for!"

As Bobby rants, he yet again heads to the bed, and angrily sits down.

"Before you came along, I was Bobby the loser! Bobby the failure! Bobby the loose cannon! Bobby the agent who got as far as he did because grandpa helped find the school!" Bobby rants, putting a hand on his forehead and rubbing his temples "But you ? Made me feel like I was more than that; that I wasn't some fucking loser!

"Oh boohoo!" Amy scoffs and looks aside 'You fell in love with a poster. Not the girl in it!"

"The girl in the poster was brave, hot, tough but never pushy." Bobby "calmy" stands back up "And she was a step up from Amy the failure-"

"Shut up-"

"Amy the tomboy! Amy the girl who'd get into fights, break curfew, got kicked out of school after school-"

"Bobby-"

"And spent the last seven years letting her dad down!" Bobby gets into Amy's face "So yeah, the girl in the poster was a step up. She made you worth something!"

Amy says nothing, but she was red in the face. She feels the shakes in her hands shaking again, as she and Bobby stare each other down. She looks aside for a few seconds, before Bobby realizes what she's looking at.

If Bobby wanted to see that "real" Amy, he was about too.

Amy made the first move, ducking and diving towards the knife on the floor, before Bobby made his move. Amy's world spun as she felt his knee collide with her nose, and she stumbled back towards the window.

Before Amy could get her bearings, Bobby threw a fist that hit Amy upside her head, and again in her stomach. Amy drops to her knees, spitting and sneezing out something red as Bobby circles above her.

"Why do you always have to do things the hard-?" Bobby starts to say before Amy shouts.

She jumps up at him, grabbing at his neck with a tight hold, and biting down onto Bobby's shoulder. Bobby staggers back, shouting and cursing as Amy forces him towards the bed.

Bobby hits her on the back of the neck. Once, twice but she wouldn't let go. Bobby had to grab at her neck and forcibly push her off onto the ground.

For a moment or two, Bobby is dazed while Amy tries to get up off the ground.

"Godammit Amy!" Bobby seethes "Look what you made me do!"

Ignoring him, Amy looks at the knife that was now in reach. She grabs hold, and when Bobby tries to kick her, she strikes first; swinging, and jabbing his shin as it lifts.

"GODFUCKINGDAMMIT!" Bobby cries, taking a stumbling step back as Amy gets up.

Now armed, Amy holds her knife in a striking position, and begins slashing towards Bobby. With each stroke, Bobby steps out of the way, until he's forced to climb up over the bed.

Amy circles after him, but when she gets close enough, Bobby kicks his still bleeding lag at her, impacting her on the mouth. This one forces Amy to hit the wall behind her.

The knife dropped from her hand, but was still in reach. As she grabs it, she notices Bobby picking up a pillow and lunging down at her. Before can do anything, Bobby brings his full weight down onto her, holding the pillow down over her head.

For a moment, her arm flails but she still has a grip on the knife. She brings it down, somewhere on Bobby's back causing the young man to scream and roll back off of her.

Amy tosses the pillow off her and looks around to see Bobby was now on his back, feeling around for the knife that was now sticking down the left side of his lower back. She gets up and wipes her eyes and brow.

On staggering legs, Amy walks up to Bobby and grabs his wrist. Whether she was trying to break it or pop it, enther were really sure, but Bobby struggles against her.

Taking hold of Bobby's hand, she grits her teeth and reaches it for her mouth. She bites down onto his pinky, ring and middle finger, causing Bobby to howl out.

But from where Amy was standing, it was easier for him to swing his other arm. His fist hit her between the legs, causing Amy to drop with a groan. In the process, she manages to pull the knife out.

With how sore and tiring this was getting, the two crouch on the floor to get their breath, still staring daggers at each other. They both manage to stand after a moment.

Amy readies her knife, furrowing her brow, while Bobby continues gritting his teeth. They stare each other down, before Bobby makes the next move.

He charges Amy, grabbing hold of her waist with both his arms, and before she could get the second wind to try to stab him, he hits the room's door with their combined weight. The impact caused the door to collapse, and the two to spill out over the hall.

Yet again, Bobby feels the wind get knocked out of him, and it mutters something as he tries to get his bearings. Amy is the first to get to her feet, and yet again manages to take hold of the knife.

Before Bobby can get up, Amy is already upon him. Before he can get a word out, Bobby feels his teeth bite down onto his tongue as Amy delivers blow after blow of her fists to his mouth and nose.

She didn't even notice the audience they were getting.

The commotion drew attention from some of the other rooms as well as nearby staff, many watching in horror at the scene unfolding. But sticking out from them were two young women in schoolgirl uniforms.

Max and Dominique had their eyes on Amy as far back as when she landed. They were supposed to intercept her before she left the airport, but "lost' her in the crowd.

When Petrie called them to be pushy about it, they were able to track Amy to an internet café. What she was doing there, they weren't sure, but they gave Amy her space until she finally reached the embassy.

Worse case scenario, they'd report that Amy got to Reggie before they got to her. But when they finally arrived, they found something...unexpected.

Something that made Max and Dominique look on in disbelief, and at each other in shock. They never saw Amy get this angry before, especially in a fight.

They were told about how vicious Amy could be in her tomboy days, but seeing it was something else. Not just anger, but something that'll make you do something you may regret when it's over.

For a moment, Amy was out of the hall and in the zone. It brought her back to when she tried working out, and blistered her knuckles against the punching bag.

She wasn't sure if it was twenty or even fifty times, but Amy just kept whaling on Bobby's face until he couldn't fight back any longer.

"You are nothing!" Amy says through gritted teeth, "You don't even exist to me!"

Bobby manages to spit, but all that could out is a red tooth.

"You are shit!" Amy says with another pound "I should have you die in that jeep!"

Bobby tries to fight back, but Amy introduces her knee to his balls, causing him to cry out. Still brandishing her knife, Amy holds it over Bobby's throat.

"Let me fix it!" Amy growls ready to slit him, when Max finally speaks up.

"Amy stop!"

Amy does stop, and when she turns to face Max and Dominique with their guns out, she can't stop the tear from running.

"You!" Amy points the knife at them "You brought him here, didn't you!"

"Amy please-" Max tries to reason with her, but Amy interrupts.

"How long were you on Petrie's side ?"

"It wasn't like that! Please!" Dominique insists.

"For God's sake!" Amy gets up and away from Bobby, stepping on shaky legs towards her friends "I thought you saw things for what they were! You who Lucy really was! You saw what Bobby really was!"

"We're not with him, I promise!" Max says insistently, even as Amy still points the knife.

"Ha! Like that means anything!"

"Amy, I know it's hard, but believe me; I do not blame you for wanting to put him down." Max cautiously holds up her hands like she wasn't the one making the arrest here "This won't make you feel better. You're just gonna put a mark on yourself."

"Why do you care ?!" Amy says, tears stinging in her eyes "H-he-he tries to kill my mom! I can't just let him-"

"Amy, give me the knife." Max says calmly.

"He killed cops. He killed Reggie." Amy wipes her eyes, and points her knife at Bobby "He helped kill Jillian Rhodes! We can't let him get away with that."

"It's not about what we want Amy," Max gets a little watery eyed herself "It's about what's best for you."

Max gently holds out her hand, looking expectantly at Amy.

"Please don't make this harder than it should be."

Amy's eyes continue to water, but with a trembling wrist, she hands the knife to Max, who immediately pulls Amy into a hug.

Amy couldn't stop her tears if she tried. She instead returns the hug and buries her face into Max's neck and shoulder. She makes no attempt to stop her sobbing.

Max holds her for a moment, rubbing up and down Amy's back. She then wipes her own tears as she pulls out her cuffs.

Amy looks grimly at the cuffs as Max reveals them. She does nothing to run or fight, but just looks despondent at Max.

"Amy Bradshaw," Max tries to keep herself stoic and professional "You are under arrest for treason against the D.E.B.S, and the aiding and abetting of Lucy Diamond."

Max waits for Amy to say or do something, but the latter just holds out her wrists and lets Max cuff her.

Half heartedly going with the routine, Max begins to frisk Amy for the USB. Like she expected, it was nowhere to be found. Must have something to do with the Internet Café.

Wordlessly, Amy lets herself be led down the hall by Max, before a crowd of spectators. As Dominique looks on, she turns her attention towards Bobby and stands over him.

Bobby was still alive, and somewhat conscious. His left eye was now black and swollen; his nose bent, crooked and bleeding; as were his teeth when he grits them, topped with a split lip.

Despite all this, Bobby manages to grin and chuckle to himself.

"Ah, Dom, hey." He weakly tries to sit up at Dominique stares unamused at him "Think you could give me a hand."

"You have legs still, no ?" Dominique raises an eyebrow "Fucking use them."

With that, Dominique turns around to follow Max and Amy, all while Bobby continues to laugh on the floor.

-----

May 27th, 2004

Beep...beep...beep

After three years of this nonsense, Brigitte thought she'd get used to waking up like this. Sore, doped out of her mind, and attached to a heart monitor.

For almost every time she transformed, she'd always wake up in one of the D.E.B.S medical facilities until she came down. When she first came to Silas she was almost numb to it.
But after spending a few weeks waking up in her own bed, often with two beautiful girls beside her, she could do without another one of these headaches.

When she was sure she was waking, Brigitte's ears picked up a muffled woman's voice fading in and out.

"Wach auf, Dornröschen," She registers the voice of Mattie Belmont "Oder ist sie immer noch das biest ?"

When Brigitte's eyes finally open, the first thing she sees is black spots she did when she was tased. And with that memory, everything else comes to it.

Brigitte sits up, her eyes closed to the blinding lights as she rubs her temple. It comes back to her; rescuing that get. Her fight with that...devil-vampire-woman. Her, Sarah and Nancy in that tent.

When she especially remembers seeing the bright pillar of blue fire bursting from the bay...and the flood that came after.

Brigitte finally opens her eyes in realization. She's unphased of the room she's in or that she was yet again in a patient's gown. She doesn't pay attention to the fact that Mattie is sitting at the foot of her bed, wearing a black and white suit-dress, in a snow leopard pattern.

"Sarah! Nancy!" Brigitte gasps out, and tries to get out of bed, as Mattie stands up, and holds her by the shoulders.

"Easy sailor!" Mattie tries to force Brigitte back onto the bed "Last thing you want is to cause a r-"

"The fuck out of my way!" Brigitte blurts out, her voice sounding more like a growl as she laughs the vampire in the jaw.

As Mattie staggers back, Brigitte makes a bee-line towards the door, but is grabbed by the back of her dress, and tossed towards the bed.

When Brigitte looks up, she sees Mattie composing herself with an irate thud.

"Come now with the theatrics," Mattie puts a hand on her hips "Anyone tell you that you catch more flies with honey."

"Fuck off..."

"Why do they always say that ?"

Brigitte clutches her head. She doesn't know if this is a migraine or if she's concussion, but she feels a painful swelling beneath her skull. The ache reached her teeth and she was hoping they didn't turn back into fangs.

Looking up with tired eyes, Brigitte finally asks "Where are they ?"

"Be specific. We've been juggling with a lot of 'Theys'."

Mattie takes a seat at the edge of the bed, looking down at Brigitte, and begins counting her fingers.

"One Bobby Matthews is being looked over downstairs. Word is he made an arrest last night, but couldn't save a fellow agent by the time he got there."

Brigitte scoffs and shakes her head when she hears this. Mattie nods in agreement.

"Unbelievable, I know." Mattie counts her next finger, "Mr. Rudd and Miss Mills...well, they're the last two survivors of a massacre that occurred in the Hills. In the meantime, they're in our custody."

"Janet and Scud ?"

"Aw, first name basis." Mattie tilts her head "Not to worry. Silas has a vested interest in your friend's recovery. With what they brought to the table, we can't afford to lose them."

Brigitte furrows her brow, puzzled "What did they do ?"

"Something monumentally stupid!" Mattie says with an angry clap, almost jumping from the bed "Something that'll put them on our list for a long, long time."

Brigitte blinks, both in this worried confusion, but because she felt that soreness in her eyes. When blinks two or three times...she thinks she heard a clicking sound.

Noticing Brigitte' reactions, Mattie musters back a wry grin.

"As for you ? Well, you are one of two major arrests the night before." Mattie counts another finger, "The other being-"

"Amy," Brigitte realizes out loud "They got Amy."

"She's also being checked up on. Like you, we had to prepare her for questioning." Mattie begins to circle Brigitte "Unlike you, we need to give her a little something extra for the painkillers."

As Mattie says this, she rolls up her sleeve to reveal a fading bite mark on her wrist.

Brigitte looks at the bite mark, before looking back at Mattie.

"Painkillers ? For- What did you to me ?"

"I just told you, B." Mattie leans down, putting her fingers under her chin "They want to question you about-"

"About the horror and misery you inflicted on us since you first escaped." The voice of Cornelius Vodernberg gets their attention, as the elderly Baron enters the room with two Corvae officers in SWAT-like garb "It is the most you deserve and the least we can do."

Brigitte takes a moment to stare up at the Baron. Her eyes fixate on the silver wolf's head on the cane, before the words come to her.

"You tried-"

"To take you back into the custody of those who wished to rehabilitate you." Vordenberg shakes his head almost sorrowfully "And in return, you run from us, steal valuable information and threaten the life of Fräulein Belmonte here."

Mattie rolls her eyes, muffle things cross between a scoff and sarcastic chuckle.

"And in the throes of your transformation, you slaughter a bystander." Vordenberg walks up to Brigitte and crouches down to her eye level "In a beach full of children no less. To say nothing of the girl's we found in Diamonds' home. It is very gracious of us to even give you a chance to justify yourself."

Brigitte narrows her eyes, staring the old man down for a moment.

"Fuck you." Brigitte mutters "We all know what you're trying to pull."

"Hmm, profanity. Very unbecoming." Vordenberg crosses his arms and shakes his head in disappointment "I'd say we could fix that, Fräulein Fitzgerald, but it is plain as day someone like you is beyond fixing."

Vordenberg reaches down to cup Brigitte's cheek, but she slaps his hand away. The older man is unbothered, stands back up.

"Despite everything, I believe there's humanity in you, Brigitte Fitzgerald. I hope you give us a glimmer of what's left of it, before..." Vordenberg trails off before shrugging "Well, I'm sure even in the Great White North, you know what happens when a mad dog tastes human blood."

Brigitte's expression becomes more grim. There's no shock or despair in her face, or even much anger. Just the furrow-browned glare she was long accustomed to.

As she looks at him, she almost thinks she hears that clicking sound echoing his voice.

Brigitte is quiet for a moment, before looking at Matte, "Just tell me one thing. Sarah and Nancy. What happened to-?"

"Corvae swept the shores all morning. We saw no sign of them." Mattie answers before the Baron could come up with another lie.

"Whether they're lost to your claws, the Leviathan's fury, we can't say for certain." Vordenberg begins to walk away before turning around "But even if the dean got to them before we did, I can't say it bodes well for them either way."

Vordenberg turns his back towards the door.

"And while you still have the time to do so, I hope you're able to reflect on what brought you here." He says without turning around "At least then, you may understand where you've gone wrong."

When he finally leaves, Brigitte hears that clicking sound yet again. Mattie takes Brigitte by the shoulders and lifts her up.

"Come, if I'm preparing you still, you might as well prepare yourself."

"What are you doing to me ?" Brigitte finally asks, not sure how she's feeling; irritated, scared. Certainly anxious.

Mattie takes Brigitte by the shoulder, and while the younger woman flinches, she doesn't fight her. The vampire leans in and says quietly.

"They mean for you to turn...and kill the wolf."

Brigitte's brow unfurrows, and she feels her racing heart stop with Mattie's next words.

"The operation gave us access to your system. We choose when you turn."

"What ?" Brigitte blurts out, but Mattie takes her by the mouth.

"You're going to have to trust me..."

Brigitte wanted to scoff, but her mouth was covered, so a glare would have to do.

"Now that I have your attention," Mattie leans in and begins to whisper "There's much to go over in so little time."

-----

It was about an hour later, when Brigitte was being led through the halls. She was wearing cuffs, and a red jumpsuit. Her face was unreadable, but she locks eyes with Mattie as she's led out of the room by four Corvae guards.

At that time, Brigitte learned that they were in the ruins of the Silas campus of the D.E.B.S Academy. After the excavation, Corvae has spent the past few days renovating the place.

It's not at full use yet, but they have at least functioning electricity, internet access, and had a medical camp set up outside. And it was here, the higher ups decide the D.E.B.S will hold their final stand against forces of Silas.

Up and down the halls Brigitte was led, she saw about a hundred or so D.E.B.S agents and students standing in formation, with armed Corvae guards at every corner. All of the D.E.B.S looking at Brigitte with disdain, fear, uncertainty.

Some of them even curse at her. With everything they heard of Brigitte, all they'd see of her was a beast.

But over the past three years, Brigitte managed to tune it out.

It wasn't long before they were met by another pair of guards, leading Amy Bradshaw down another the opposite hall. She also wore a red jumpsuit, and was met with similar looks to Brigitte by her former peers as she passed them.

Some of them looked at Amy with scorn and betrayal, others pity and remorse.

Considering the fight Amy was in the night before, she looked in decent shape, but Brigitte guesses it was probably from Mattie's blood during her "surgery."

When they met, Brigitte and Amy locked eyes, but only exchanged these words.

"You know, after yesterday, I was hoping I wouldn't see you."

"Same."

With that, Brigitte and Amy are led down a final hall towards a room. And at the very end of the hall, they saw familiar faces.

There stood Max and Dominique, who were looking away with these guilty expressions. There was Mr. Phipps who had a look of shame and disappointment.

There was Vordenberg, standing beside them, looking pretty pleased with himself.

And finally, beside the door to the room, stood Bobby Matthews, who looked only slightly bruised from the day before. All day, he had multiple girls surrounding and fawning over him for the arrest he made with Max and Dom.

They were giving him so many sympathies and well wishes, Bobby almost considered backing out on his plans for Amy. But as he looked at her like a bride to the altar, a boyish grin forms on her face.

"Don't worry Amy." He says in a tone that sounds like he's trying to plead "I can fix this. I can fix you!"

Amy stops and slowly turns towards Bobby. Her expression is blank and almost hollow.

"You're going to be running...for the rest of your goddamn life."

With a subdued laugh, Bobby steps towards Amy, patting her on the shoulder.

"We'll be together soon. It'll all be alright." Bobby leans in and kisses her on the forehead "I'll never let you go again."

Bobby nods towards the guards, who usher Brigitte and Amy past the door as he opens it, leading them to the interrogation chambers.

There, Amy and Brigitte would wait for nearly an hour before someone came.

-----

The two are silent, and trying to look away from each other. The few glances they give each other say that neither of them really want to be here, but will have to hold out for this for now.

Brigitte leans back in her chair, almost bored to be in this situation again.

After everything she went through all the way back to October of 2000, very little can surprise her.

There is a radio playing over the speakers, Tears for Fears, Everybody Wants To Rule the World. Brigitte isn't sure if these people are aware of the irony of this song and are playing it intentionally, or if they are unaware, which she would have found hilarious on a better day.

They don't come as often.

Despite herself, Brigitte finds herself mouthing the words "Welcome to your life/There's no turning back/Even while we sleep/We will find you/Acting on your best behavior/Turn your back on mother nature/Everybody-"

"-Wants to rule the world." Amy adds with a quiet voice.

They both glance at eachother, not exchanging any other words.

Their train of thought pulls to a stop when the door opens and in steps Petrie, wearing a bright blue suit. Both Brigitte and Amy give the same disdainful glare at the woman. One she shared with them.

"Bradshaw. Fitzgerald." The older woman addresses, taking a seat at the opposite end of the table.

"Petrie." Amy answers.

"Michelle." Brigitte says dryly.

The older woman stifles a bit, and rolls her eyes.

"Oh the arrogance of youth, you've been an adult for how long now ?"

"Gee, I don't know." Brigitte rolls her eyes "I spent my time either cooped up or on the run. Never really had the time to stretch my legs."

"It's been three years, girl." Petrie sneers "Three years and the dog has yet to be disciplined."

Brigitte grits her teeth when she hears this, but let's Petrie continue.

"The least you can do for us is let us know what you found out of Silas." Petrie says "Unless you prefer the leash."

Petrie has this folder on her person, which she opens. Out of it spills four pictures; one of Lucy, and the other three of Max, Janet, Dominique.

"It sounds to me like you two have some explaining to do."

-----

In the hills, a ways from the former D.E.B.S Academy, a cliff formation looms over the bay.

From the bay, another stream flows, leading to a small bank. The grass around the bank is ash grey, and the bark on the trees had decayed black, with no leaves in sight.

On each tree, a face is carved. And before them, hundreds of worshipers are gathered in red and black robes. As Lucy Diamond paced towards a clearing, the chanting and incantations of the dean's followers were becoming background noise more and more.

Besides the presence of robed vampire cultists, making these prayers and incantations to the trees, there was *also* a Corva presence. In the skies above them, storm clouds are forming.

As it was at the Academy, there are dozens of what looks like Corvae SWAT officers on standby, numbering in the dozens. However, unlike the ones on Vordenberg's payroll, they all have a golden serpent sigil on their arm brands.

Tables were set up presenting automatic weapons, and there were about a dozen Corvae designed rhino cars. Just enough firepower to lead a siege on the Academy. But Lucy's mind was on other things.

She had just gotten off her phone with a contact; speaking through a voice changer, they told her about what happened in Barcelona the night before. To those who noticed, somehow a "calm" angry Lucy was scarier than when she snapped.

At that moment, Lucy reached the bank; there was some kind of carving or markings into the earth itself, forming a circle in the dirt from which the stream's water flowed into.

If one were to look at it from a skyward view, one would see that it formed the image of the yellow sign; a circle representing the world, and the three serpents surrounding it.

At the edge of the bank, stands the dean. Well, she's not exactly standing but coughing with her hand in the water. As she did days before she wore a golden dress and veil that was almost transparent and left little to the imagination

"They're still here...and they're waiting." The dean muses to herself.

Behind her stood Lamashtu, who looked on dispassionately. Her wrists bound with golden cuffs, and dressed similarly in a black garb and veil.

Around her neck is something like a necklace or leash, attached to a golden chain which the dan holds in one of her hands.

"I wouldn't get your hopes up. He was never keen on answering to you."

"Hmm," The dean smirks back up at her sister "Look at you; defanged...declawed...nothing bite with, leaving you with just bark."

The dean stands up from the water, facing her fallen sister, and pulling her chain.

"Bark, bark, bark." The dean mockingly steps towards Lamashtu "A mad dog kept on the family's chain, reduced to making nothing but noise..."

When the dean is close enough, she leans in sneeringly toward her sister.

"Because you can't bite with noise, nor words."

Completely deadpan, Lamashtu grits her teeth and exhales a rumbling growl; like that of a tiger. It causes the dean to stagger back a little and clutch her head.

"Words may not hurt, but the truth does, Ishtar." Lamashtu cracks her neck as her sister gets her bearings, "He won't come to you, because I am the one who sees beyond his mask. Where all you love is the mask."

The dean furrows her brow in annoyance "Even now, when you have nothing to bite with, your only weapon is lies."

Unmoved, Lamashtu tilts her head "If you really believed that, you'd unbind me and see if he answers to you."

The dean says nothing, just rolls her eyes and goes back towards the water, still holding Lamashtu's bindings.

The demoness was about to say something to the effect of "That's what I thought." But her attention is drawn to the approaching Lucy.

"Ah, here she comes. Disposable pawn number-"

"Cut it, wannabe Lilith!" Lucy holds a hand to Lamashtu, who glares in annoyance as she addresses the dean "They have Amy."

"And ?"

"It means we can't just wait around any longer." Lucy says insistently "We have to strike now!"

"No one appreciates your passion more than I." The dean remarks "But we don't move on your time, we move on his..."

As the dean says this, Sarah's voice gets their attention "I'm sorry, where is Amy ?"

When they look, they see Sarah, Nancy, Bonnie and Rochelle approaching. As with the dean, the four were dressed in colorful transparent robes and veils that left little to the imagination.

Sarah's were in green. Nancy's were in white. Rochelle was in blue. Bonnie's were red.

"They have Amy, those fuckers at the Academy." Lucy grits her teeth, gesturing towards thee Academy in the distance "They're also saying they have Scud and Janet-"

"Human shields." The dean interrupts, staring out into the bay "Best case scenario, they're bargaining chips. Something to deter you."

The dean turns back to face them.

"But if you are what they claim you to be, you wouldn't let a pesky thing like a human shield bother you. In fact, it'll do you better to use her against *them.*"

The girls look at the dean skeptically, and Lucy speaks, "That's easy for you to say! You're this vampire...god...thing."

"And this vampire-god-thing has witnessed a number of loved ones being used against her." The dean puts her hands behind her back "And with each one I became not a threat to be bargained with, but a heroic romantic who'd burn the world for them."

Lucy thinks for a second but shakes her head.

"I'm not sure of what you know about me, but I was never the good guy."

As Lucy shares this, Sarah and Nancy share this sympathetic glance.

"It's not about being the guy. It's about being who she needs you to be." The Dean replies, while Lamashtu does the "blah blah: motion behind her back, "And it's not like this wasn't something you weren't prepared for. Is that not why you have your contingency plans ?"

Hearing this, Lucy looks down to her phone. All she has to do is dial the right number, and everything can go up in smoke...and leave the D.E.B.S nothing but a scorched earth.

Seeing this, Sarah steps forward, "It's not gonna come to that; because we're not gonna let it."

Sarah walks up to putting a soft but firm grip on Lucy's shoulders, looking her in the eye.

"What you gotta be is the hero who sieges the palace." Sarah steps back "What we gotta be-"

"The witches who wrangle the serpent." Nancy interjects.

"You may think you're not a hero, Lucy." Sarah continues, "But everything you're doing here is to save Amy - the world even."

Lucy looks aside with a blush, "It's kinda corny when you say it out loud."

"Fuck being corny. It's what we are." Sarah says firmly "But we're getting them out of this; and you won't have to dial those numbers."

As Sarah says this, thunder is heard in the sky, as rain begins to pour. As she stands in the water, the dean feels a rumbling vibration of growl, and the wind begins to pick up.

"He's stirring." The dean looks back towards the shore "It's now or never girls."

Lucy had this deer in a headlights look on her face. Her heart is racing and she thought she was prepared. She spent the last couple days preparing for this, and now that it was on her doorstep, she felt something ever had.

She felt her resolve beginning to waver.

Sensing this, Sarah takes Lucy's hands and nudges her head towards the robed vampires and Corvae goons.

"Go." Sarah says, giving Lucy a kiss on the forehead "You have your part of the board, we have ours."

Lucy looks towards the dean's assembled foot soldier, waiting for her expectantly. She then looks to Nancy, Bonnie and Rochelle, who give her this encouraging nod.

With a scoff, Lamashtu speaks up.

"Yes, yes. We're all in this together!" She wrings her cuffed hands with sarcastic enthusiasm "Now are we actually gonna crush the Ancient One or are we standing here all day with our dicks in our hands ?"

In response, the dean pulls Lamashtu's chain, causing her sister to gag and be brought to her knees.

"What my cunt sister means to say is, time is of the essence."

"I know what I meant to say." A frustrated Lamashtu rubs her neck with a scowl.

Lightning flashes in the sky and the wind continues to build. The dean gestures towards the carved sigil on the shore, nodding to the circles expectantly.
Sarah looks back at Lucy.

"Go. We'll make sure you won't have to call it in."

-----

In no short time Sarah, Nancy, Bonnie and Rochelle, all stood hand in hand in the carved circle. Circling them was the dean, who was in the process of drawing another, smaller circle into the ground around them.

This one being of a serpent seeming to bite it's own tail.

Looking within the ecircle, was Lamashtu, sitting on her knees in the increasing mud, with an unreadable expression.

Standing outside the larger circles was a dozen of the dean's robed followers, who'd stay behind for this ceremony while the rest were to follow Lucy into battle.

On the sidelines, Lucy was watching, and looked up as thunder erupts. Standing beside Lucy, was Will, who gently took her by the arm.

"Come, you don't want to be here to see this."

Lucy doesn't budge at first. She notices the wind picking up, but despite the rain, the air was hot. And because of that, she notices how warm the rainfall is.

Just over the wind, Lucy looks towards the coven as they are being led through the incantation, in tandem with the surrounding cultists. She picks up specific words.

"...Hasturagl zhroog hai..."

In the skies above them, there are flashes of lighting. Bright golden lights shine through the growing clouds, and briegteen the dark gray around them.

The rainfall increases, and as it does the water begins to turn to mist before it hits the ground. As Lucy looks one, she thinks she sees a shape in the lighting circling around them.

Will pulls Lucy's arm more forcibly, and she finally begins to budge. She had an increasingly feeling the charge was now or never.

Within the circle, the dean stares up, into the sky.

"It was here," The dean begins her sermon "It was here the blood of the old gods have spilled; when the true masters of their world clashed claws and fang like swords! When they set each other afire, but the world around them burned."

As Lucy is about to leave with her "army," she pays one last look into the bay. In the distance, there was a blue light glowing beneath the surface.

"Twas here," The dean continues "That hundred of innocence have spilled in an offering to Ithaqua, son and mediator of the King Below! We know they still stir, and we call upon them!"

In the circle itself the girls open their eyes. They see into the bay, and see that blue glow in the distance.

"Holy shit...it's him." Nancy mutters, almost breaking their concentration, as that "voice" fills their heads again.

T H E

A D V E R S A R Y

"It is here we appeal to those buried!" The dean calls into the sky "We call upon the powers of the King Below, to finish what was started ten years ago; and finish what they started thousands before!"

The dean looks at the girls and holds her hand out. The witches felt a rush through their bodies, not...quite sure what it was. It was this sort of high that would have lulled one to sleep.

It felt to them like a pair of cold hands were on their shoulders, with Sarah feeling something breathing down her neck.

The dean's eyes are on Sarah's. The redhead wasn't sure what came over her, but she found herself walking from the other four towards the deans.

Looking down at Lamashtu, the dean pulls her chain, forcing her sister to crawl to her. She and Sarah stand with a small branch of the stream between them.

"For your audience we offer the blood of two." The dean looks into the sky, gesturing to Sarah "The blood of the natural witch, through whom your power will vessel."

She then gestures to Lamashtu.

"And the blood of the fallen."

As they look on, Nancy seems to be the first to shake off her high. For a moment, her vision spins and her head is clouded. But she can just make out the image of Sarah standing before the bound Lamashtu.

"Sarah-!" Nancy tries to run to her, but finds herself pulled back by a pair of hold hands. When she turns, she sees Bonnie and Rochelle, holding her by the shoulders. Their eyes were cloudy, and it looked as if they weren't quite themselves.

The Dean continues, "Who's mystic blood requests will channel the King Below?"

"Sarah Bailey," the redhead answers, almost without meaning to as her head becomes increasingly cloudy, "Daughter of Lilian of the Mikaelson line."
The dean turns to her sister.
"And whose is the fallen one, who's blood calls upon-?"

Lamashtu," She answers, looking at Sarah "Mother of pain."

The demoness turns her attention to Nancy.

"And the pain of mothers."

In the sky, lightning flashes. Bonnie and Rochelle snap "awake" from whatever is holding them, and release Nancy. When they look up, they see a dragon-like shake in the bolts.

Collectively, they quietly ask themselves; "What did we awake ?"

"It is through them, we beseech you." The dean pulls something out of her sleeve; a thin but jagged dagger "Hasturagl zhroog hai!!"

The wind increases and the skies from the clouds. More and more lighting strikes, and in these flashes the heads of three serpents can be seen.

Sarah cries out as Lamashtu reaches forearm with a fang filled grin. Pairs of cat-like claws sink into Sarah's wrists, right over her scars, before clawing their way down her forearm.

With another blast of lighting, something in the wind was calling. To the untrained ear, it would sound like a chorus of singing frogs or crickets.

Despite herself, Lamashu begins to laugh. In Sarah's fading vision, she notices the demon's nose is starting to bleed; then her tear ducts, her ears and mouth.

Black and smokey, Lamashtu's blood pours from her orifices and into the stream beneath them. Sarah's blood flows from her wrists, and mixes with Lamashtu's as they pour down into the stream.

In under a moment, the water that flowed into the carvings became as black and smokey as Lamashtu's blood.

Around them, the wind and rain increased and the temperature grew hotter and hotter. So much so that the rain around them rapidly became mist. When Nancy, Bonnie and Rochelle look, they notice the water in the bay itself is beginning to boil.

Though that may have to do with the blue light increasingly approaching the shore. So strong was the mist around them, that the blue light was all they could see.

In the dark clouds above, golden bolts of lighting increase, before striking down onto the hooded cultists surrounding the circle. It was almost enough to get Sarah to pull from her delirium. She can hear her friends screaming out in the background.

One by one, the lighting hits each of the gathered vampires, dropping them all. Throats are slit. Ankles are slashed. Stomachs are cut open. Sometimes a head would fall

"HASTUR! ARRAMU!! TITAAN!!!" The dean incants, as Lamashtu laughs and Sarah cries out as the blood flow increases.

And with that, a final bolt of lighting comes down onto Sarah and Lamashtu, engulfing them both. The blinding golden color causes Nancy, Bonnie and Rochelle to hit the dirt.

It was almost as if the sun itself hit the earth with how bright it was. Even the dean looked like she collapsed from the blast.

Of them, Nancy was the first to sit up and try to get her bearings. As her eyes adjust, she notices the black smoking substance that tainted the streams were...changing color.

It went from black to red. From red to a more orange color, like molten metal. And from that orange, it turned gold.

Anyone looking up into the storm clouds would notice a massive shape or shadow within them. If Nancy had to describe it, it was like a giant "Zmei" dragon of Slavic Mythology.

But that wasn't what Nancy's focus was on.

Standing before them was Sarah. The blood pouring from her eyes, nose and ears had rapidly dried, and she was staring down at her wrists; the fresh cuts thaat were inflicted on them began to heal back into the scars that marked them moments ago.

But Sarah herself looked...unbothered.

Shaken from this Nancy, manages to start up and wipe her eyes.

"Sarah ?"

Sarah doesn't answer, but instead covers her eyes with her hands, muttering something to herself. Nancy begins to walk to her with staggering legs.

"Sarah, please talk to-" Nancy stops when Sarah turns to face her. Behind them, Bonnie and Rochelle get their bearings.

Sarah uncovers her eyes in a "ta da" motion. Nancy focuses on Sarah's eyes.

They were usually green...but now they are yellow.

"Sarah ? Baby ?"

With a flat smile, Sarah walks towards the goth.

When she was close enough, in kissing distance, Sarah reaches forward and touches Nancy's agape lips. Nancy isn't sure how to react or respond as the redhead moves her hand downwards, along her neck, chest and stomach.

Sarah stops, resting her hand over Nancy's womb. Over their baby. "She...is hers ?"

It's a girl, Nancy realizes. I'm carrying a girl.

"She's yours. She's yours, Sarah." Nancy wipes her eyes "She's our baby."

Sarah's flat smile widens, as her yellow eyes meet Nancy's tearful ones.

"Blessed." Sarah says in a monotone voice "Is the fruit of your womb..."

Sarah then turns, as if addressing someone that Nancy or the others couldn't see.

"And yours ? Yours will-"

"REEEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNGGG!!!"

Their attention is caught by something by breathing the surface with a roar.

With the storm and mist around them, what exactly it was is obstructed. They register that it's bipedal, and quite bottom-heavy, with considerably shorter forelegs/arms. About the only thing they saw for sure was the blue glow he was emitting.

A glare forms on Sarah's face, as she makes her way to the shore line. Yet again, the leviathan's "voice" could be felt in their heads.

H E

I S

H E R E

Sarah replies, in a voice that wasn't quite her own; I never left, lizard.

-----

D.E.B.S Silas Campus, Interrogation Room

"I knew you were a mad dog, Fitz. But I thought you could be tamed - domesticated." Petrie puts both pictures on the table before Brigitte "I thought we could fix what was broken in you, but there's no fixing that."

Now beside Brigitte, Petrie leans down towards her, and all but shoves the picture into Brigitte's face.

"Look what you've done."

"I'd do it again." Brigitte finally replies, her boiling rage subdued and her tone flat, "To everything else you throw at me."

"Still no repentance on your part. Why did I think there was something worth salvaging ?" Petrie rolls her eyes, heading back to her chair, "You know that child they found you with ? If he pulls through, you might have just scarred him for life!"

Brigitte's eyes flare, and her breathing increases. The look in her eyes says, It will take a snap of these cuffs before I really let you have it.

Petrie's grin turns into a scowl of exaggerated disgust. "And those girls ? Bailey ? Downs ? The way you just left them-"

Petrie covers her mouth in faux disbelief, before inhaling deeply.

"I can't be too surprised; the way you hurt your sister ? Your family ? The people you claim to love really get put through hell for knowing you." Petrie shakes her head "You really were just lost from the beginning.

Petrie thinks she hears a clicking sound, but quickly brushes it off as nothing. Still, the older woman turns her attention to Amy, continue her lecture.

"Back to you, Bradshaw. As disappointed as I am, I promise we'll do what we can to fix you." Petrie makes her way to the edge of the table near Amy, and takes a seat "I mean you were the perfect score! The thing our girls should aspire to be!"

Almost irate but still visibly cool, Petrie reaches down and takes Amy's shoulder in an almost iron grip, making Amy flinch and grit her teeth.

"You had nothing to be proud of before us, and didn't have a future without us! What sort of life did you expect if you just left it all behind ?" Petrie says with a slight seethe, "I would have and had killed for the chances we gave you, so why would you want to throw it all away ?"

Amy closes her eyes, and takes a breath. When she opens them, her eyes are a firm glare.

"There's no life your agency could offer me that would be worth anything." Amy says with a shake in her voice, "Just another doll soldier for you to throw away ? How inspiring."

Petrie narrows her eyes, and gets up from the table, shaking her head.

"Do you really think so low of us ? Of those you called friends ?" Petrie asks with a sorrow she probably rehearsed "Of Brewer ? Of Park ? Of Mills ?"

Petrie picks up the folder, taking out a third picture.

"You're really gonna look me in the eye, and tell me this meant nothing to you ?"

Petrie places this third photo before Amy.

It was taken as the San Francisco campus; of Amy, Max, Janet and Dominique, taken with Petrie herself in the latter's office.

On the day Amy was first brought to the Academy.

Amy looks quietly at the picture for a moment, before looking back at Petrie.

"None of it. Meant anything. To you." Amy answers bluntly "All of this ? It was just fucking game to you. A farce. A circus."

"But you also got to play hero." Petrie circles the table, back towards Brigitte "We gave you the opportunity to make something of your life, and you gave *us* something to be proud of. If we didn't take you in, you'd be as much a lost cause as Fitzgerald."

Petrie now stands behind Brigitte's chair, unbothered as she puts her hands on the younger woman's shoulders. She's unbothered when Brigitte tries to flinch from her.

"As for you ? I just can't believe we wasted three years trying to rehabilitate you. Without us, you would have been another mad dog needing putting down, but with us, you at least had use."

"When I was with you, you used students as chew toys as a test." Brigitte glares up at her "A dog is only as mad as the owner who beats."

"It builds character," Petrie shrugs, taking a seat at the table's edge beside Brigitte "Curse or no, you had your uses. And if they failed ? Well, you know how we love our martyrs. They serve us better that way."

As Petrie says this, she once again thinks she hears a clicking sound. After a pause, she turns back to Brigitte.

"I'm gonna let you girls in on a final secret." Petrie leans down towards Brigitte "Dying in the field is the best thing we can ask for; you become whatever we say you are. It's easier to push a story when the so-called hero isn't alive to say otherwise. Just like we did with Jilian Rhodes."

Click, click, click

"Just like we did with her team."

Click, click, click

Petrie turns towards Amy "Just like you will..."

With a humorless chuckle, Amy rolls her eyes.

"Bullshit." Amy shakes her head "You would have done so already."

Petrie shrugs and crosses her arms, smirking at the blonde.

"Well, Agent Matthews came up with a very persuasive cover." Petrie clicks her tongue "See, the story we're going to tell, is how we were about to reach you...when Fitz here had a sudden change. And suddenly, Bradshaw gives her life for her beloved Director. A final act of redemption in the life Lucy Diamond poisoned."

Click, click, click, click

"And Matthews ? Oh, he did his damndest to save you, but alas you bled out in his arms." Petrie turns back to Brigitte "And finally, he put you down. Now the Baron, he tells us Corvae is working on ways to keep you as the wolf."

Petrie gets up from the table, and walks before the dark window at the corner of the room.

"When we're done, you'll serve us better." Petrie threatically holds out both hands "Brigitte Fitzgerald! The Bitch of Bailey Downs! A taxidermied reminder of the girl we tried to tame but failed! A fitting but tragic end for a girl whose humanity was questionable to begin with."

Brigitte inhales deeply, and seethes. The growl doesn't escape Petrie's notice.

A projector screen lights up the window, revealing security footage of D.E.B.S agents in different cities; Torono, Sudbury, Sault Ste Marie, Huston and Barcelona. All of them set up the collected explosive devices in different rooms.

"As for Diamond. Well, the teams we set up in her targeted cities failed to stop the leviathan's rampage. But the monuments we'll build in the name of their sacrifices and the loss of these cities will be an eternal reminder of what the D.E.B.S fight for. Other agencies will beg to follow us!"

Click, click, click, click, click

"My guess, over the next century, the world will remember us for our valiant stand and will follow us against other threats to come." Petrie makes her way back to the table, "But you ? We'll make sure you're remembered forever."

Click, click, click

Brigitte and Amy are quiet for a moment. Their faces were unreadable, as they shared a glance.

"There's one part you're missing." Amy replies.

"And what's that ?"

Brigitte motions Petrie to come to her. When the older woman does so, Brigitte leans in to whisper something.

"I've been waiting to do this for three years, you old bag."

It was here, Petrie noticed Brigitte's eyes were now wolf-like and her fangs were showing.

"What is thi-?" Petrie begins to realize, but with a pull of her wrists, Brigitte's cuffs break from the table.

Before Petire could register what happened, Brigitte's elbow impacts her nose. Petrie feels as Brigitte takes hold of her hair with one hand, and the scruff of her neck with the other, before slamming her head into the table.

As Petrie is still dazed, Brigitte takes her by the wrist and shoulder, and tosses her over the table and into the window. It cracks but doesn't completely shatter.

In the process, Petrie's handgun falls from under her jacket, as Petrie herself hits the floor with a groan.

"Did you get all that Mattie ?" Brigitte asks out loud, to someone not in the room.

Click, click, click.

"Every word." Brigitte hears Mattie reply from the speakers put in her during surgery "She loves the sound of own voice, doesn't she ?"

"Right ?" Amy nods in agreement.

"Oh, motherfucker!" A seething Petrie curses as she gets up to her feet. Her nose is broken and bleeding and she has a noticeable cut on her forehead.

As Petrie gets her bearings, Brigitte walks up to Amy, and breaks her cuffs, before handing her Petrie's gun.

"You...you persistent bitches." Petrie half laughs, half spits, glaring at them with bloodshot eyes "You're not getting out of this alive..."

"Yeah ? Well, your odds aren't looking favorable either." Amy takes the safety off Petrie's gun, before taking aim at the director.

Amy has her finger on the trigger, and Petrie begins to flinch when the door is busted open, as a red light begins flashing in the room. In steps three Corvae officers, who aim their rifles.

Before a shot can be fired, Brigitte takes one of the chairs and tosses it at the Corvae goons. As they scatter, Amy shoots two of them in the head, while Brigitte slashes her claws across the third's throat.

Watching this, they see Petire is already making a run for the door.

"RED ALERT! RED ALERT!" Petrie says into her earpiece "ANY EYES ON FITZGERALD AND BRADSHAW, SHOOT TO KILL!! I REPEAT - SHOOT TO FUCKING KILL!!!"

Before Petrie reaches the door, she is suddenly stopped as a noise is heard in the distance.

"REEEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNGGG!!!"

They pause for a second, which Petrie takes as her cue to make a run for it.

Brigitte and Amy share a determined look. Brigitte readies her claws, Amy readies her gun.

Looks like things are gonna be settled once and for all.