Author's Note: This is a little bit of a complicated AU, at least in my head! Basically, on some unknown planet in a star system that's controlled by the empire of the Batterwitch, society is ruled by an iron fist and divided into classes. No one knows the original basis for this class system, but now, if you're born in a caste, you stay there. Many people are born with inherent magical gifts, but those with useful ones are usually taken from their homes and never seen again. Rumor has it they serve the Batterwitch's guard or army or personal service, depending on the ability-healers are usually sent to the battlefront, for example, as are seers, while conjurers can be kept in the castle to maintain an endless supply of anything she might want. The people under the Empress are desperate and miserable; they are ready for change.

Jane Crocker and Jake English both reside in the lower district of the city. They are both fortunate enough not to live in the dark districts, a place infamous for its extreme poverty, high crime rate, and higher fatality rate. If you go into the dark districts, chances are you won't come out. They are the most dangerous part of the city, and everyone who grows up there is hard and cruel. Even so, Jane and Jake have difficult lives, with long, wearying jobs from dawn til dusk every day. Jane has a strong magical talent for healing. Jake has some sort of magic, but no one really knows what it does-he has been able to do things from conjure lights to somehow inspire people to follow him.

Roxy Lalonde and Dirk Strider both live in the upper district. Dirk is a student of robotics and engineering with a fiery passion and gift for captivating audiences, while Roxy is a cunning student of law who often hides her intellect behind a bottle or three. Their lives are much easier than their companions', but that doesn't mean they support the rule of the Batterwitch. The law of the land is corrupt and unfair. Dirk, like Jake, has somewhat inscrutable magic. Roxy suspects his power has something to do with both influencing people and some sort of ability to get into their heads, but not quite-but no one has really seen it in action. Roxy's powers include conjuring little green cubes and vegetables, and did she somehow turn her hand invisible once?

Together, these four unlikely compatriots hope to be the spearhead of the movement heralding change in their society-and perhaps, while they're at it, the prophecy declaring the arrival of powerful mages to alter the fate of the world might come true. Amidst it all, whispers persist in the dark, rumors of a shadowy fear of the unfamiliar but terrifying figure of nightmares: Lord English, the demon prince, who returns to end the world...

Jane Crocker adjusted the hood covering her face, removing her glasses and slipping them into her pocket. The long brown robe and cloak were inconspicuous enough to hide her, so long as nothing else—like the sheen of glass in the street light, or the glint of jewelry—stood out. Satisfied with her appearance, she nodded at the girl in the mirror and stepped outside into the stone pavement, locking her apartment behind her. This was the lower district, which no one really saw fit to upgrade to the electronic suites, so she actually had to keep a physical key on her person, unlike the person she was going to meet.

But she wasn't heading to the upper districts; instead, Jane ducked into a winding alley, keeping her head down and tread light and fast. Left turn here, right here, next right past this one, down the steps, through the tunnel, left turn again, find the appropriate disguised wall panel... here! Fumbling around in the dark was annoying, but it was better than hanging a light out here, or even bringing one, that might attract attention.

A small section of wall slid inwards, though in the pitch black of the tunnels she couldn't tell anything save the little whoosh of air it made. Jane carefully walked into the newly revealed hallway and stood still. The section of wall seamlessly slid back into place, as if it had never moved to begin with. In the hidden room on the other side, a dim light appeared, beckoning her down some more stairs.

A minute or so of walking down the corridor later, Jane arrived at the room she was looking for. It was bright, spacious, and warm and welcoming, walls white with "windows" supplied by Roxy that showed images of beautiful places elsewhere, and piles of cushions dotted the floor between couches and tables. In one corner was a kitchenette, complete with a stove and several cabinets stocked with food.

Roxy herself sat sprawled on one of those piles of cushions. "Janey!" she exclaimed, sitting up as Jane entered with a friendly wave. "I was wondering when you would show up."

"Sorry," Jane came to sit on the floor too. "I left home a bit late. Lil' Seb was causing a mess!" Lil Sebastian was a present from one of their friends. He kept Jane's home secure, even if he was a bit of a headache at times. Silly little rabbit robot.

"Ohhhh," Roxy nodded understandingly. "Robots can be ridiculous, right?"

"Right," Jane sighed. "So, why did you call me over early?"

"I just missed you!" Suddenly she was pressed against her friend in a spontaneous embrace. "It's been so long since we just hung out, you know?"

Jane laughed. "Yes, you're right, it has. –Oh, Roxy, let go for a second! I put my glasses in my pocket."

Once they were on her face, the room was in much better focus. There were leaves on the trees in the pictures on the walls! Who would've thought.

"So, how was your day?" Jane asked, settling onto the cushions next to Roxy.

Roxy rolled her eyes, taking a delicate sip of the martini next to her. "Boring. We did nothing in classes, as usual. It's a good thing I'm here and not just in university, because how else would I ever get to use my mad skills?" she snorted. "How was your day, Janey?"

"Not that great. I worked at a soup kitchen today... I know I don't need to tell you this, but there are so many people miserable out there! No matter how much food I made there were always still more hungry in line. It's so sad!" she sighed. Roxy patted her hand sympathetically.

"It'll get better. We're making it better, remember?"

Jane nodded, still looking unsatisfied. "I know... I just wish it were faster or something!"

"So do I, so do I."

"I know, it can't be, I know. It's just so hard seeing people like that."

"Jane, your heart is just too big for this world," Roxy sighed, poking Jane's nose.

Jane giggled. "Don't tell me yours isn't!"

"Did I ever say that?" Roxy winked cheekily. "But really. You're too nice to everyone! It worries me sometimes."

Jane smiled sheepishly, biting her lip for just a second. There was something she wasn't telling her friend... it involved her being "too nice" and also how that might come back to haunt her. She just knew Roxy would disapprove and want to protect her, but it was something important enough that Jane felt it was quite necessary to do! Neither Roxy nor Dirk knew, for that matter; only Jake had any idea, and he didn't like it, either. But he didn't try to stop her, at least.

Roxy narrowed her eyes. "Janey," she said accusingly. "You're hiding something from me, aren't you?"

"What? Me? No, never!" Jane laughed nervously, shaking her head a little too enthusiastically.

"Jane."

"I'm not, seriously!"

"Janey, you are the worst liar I've ever met. What are you not telling me?"

"Nothing!" Jane tried again, giving Roxy a winning, innocent smile.

"Jane."

Jane fidgeted. "Ha, there is really nothing at all that you should be suspicious about! You're just... you're being overzealous, that's all!"

Roxy leveled a stern look at her. "Now, see here, missy!" she wagged a finger at Jane, then took a large sip from her martini. "You are an awful liar, and I am saddened," she dramatically cast her hand to her forehead, "that you thought I would fall for that! Not only do I need to give you lessons on how to more convincingly lie to people, but seriously, what are you hiding?"

Jane bit her lip again. "Um... nothing much, just... something... I... yeah."

Roxy had just opened her mouth to say something else when the screen by the door pinged to say that someone had just opened the outer door.

The regular meeting wasn't for an hour yet...

Jane felt her heart leap to her throat. On the one hand, this provided an excellent opportunity to hide her little secret from Roxy—but who was there?

Exchanging glances, they both quickly lowered the lights and stood on opposite sides of the door from the main hallway, the only apparent way into the room, each holding something that could possibly function as a weapon—Jane a little knife from her boot, and Roxy a wine bottle.

Footsteps approached.

Just as they were about to tackle the mystery intruder, he called out: "Dirk? Roxy? Jane? Are you here?"

Both girls breathed sighs of relief, melting away from the shadows to the main room again and turning the lights back on properly.

"Shucks, Jake!" Jane scolded. "You nearly gave us both a heart attack!"

Jake stood in the doorway, looking halfway between bemused and worried. "I do apologize," he said sheepishly. "But we are meeting today, are we not?"

"Yeah, but not for another hour. We weren't expecting you!"

"I was not expecting you either! I just knew something was up because I could have sworn the lights were on a moment back."

Jane and Roxy exchanged sheepish glances. "Oops. I guess we didn't act fast enough."

Jake shrugged, plopping down on the couch. "At least nothing did happen," he pointed out. "So are you ladies the only ones here, or is Dirk also?"

"Just us, having some nice lady time, you know, talking about girl things and hanging out in a female fashion," Roxy replied. Jake blushed.

"Sorry, I just didn't see the point of going home now, since I was already on this side of town, so..."

Jake's home was a longer walk from the hide-out, about twenty minutes. He and Jane lived near each other in the lower quarter, while Roxy and Dirk lived in the upper.

"It's okay, you can be a lady too, Jake," Roxy grinned. "Just put on a dress and some makeup. And smooch Dirk when he walks in."

Jane choked. Jake blushed deeper. Roxy's grin grew.

"Make sure you put on way too much lipstick first too, or even better let me do it for you," she continued loftily. "And we can put some on Janey as well and everyone smooches Dirk, so he can have three kisses from three lovely ladies!"

"Jane," Jake said, "I do believe Roxy is slightly drunk again. Is she?"

"When is she not?" Jane asked in reply, shaking her head.

"That is a good point," Roxy interjected. "I'm only slightly drunk. I should get more drunk. Oh, but we have a meeting, so I can't! See, only tipsy for now."

Jane groaned. "You are ridiculous, Ro-Lal."

Roxy grinned again. "Thank you, thank you."

"That was not supposed to be a compliment..."

"It totally was!"

"No..."

"Was too!"

"No, not really."

"Yes it was!" Roxy sang. "Also, Jake! Jane has some sort of little secret that she's not telling me. Has something to do with her being too nice to everyone."

Jane froze, then smacked Roxy with a pillow. "Shush! Drop it already!"

"And suddenly," the taller girl noted, "you stop denying it in front of Jake. Could it be," she continued, her gaze sliding to Jake, "that you already know?"

"I said, drop it!" Jane complained. "It's not that big a deal, but you'd be mad at me."

"Is this about—oh. Oh my," Jake interrupted, looking at Jane with wide eyes. "You mean you didn't tell them? Jane, I think you really ought to, what if something happens and I can't get to you—"

"Shush!" Jane cried again. "I'll tell them when I feel like they won't get mad at me over it."

"If it's not a big deal, why can't you say?" Roxy prodded.

Jane's gaze flickered between both of her friends, then dropped to her hands. "I..."

"Jane," Jake said quietly. "I hope you realize we're only concerned for you."

"Later."

"Jane—"

"I said, I'll tell you later."

"When's later?" Roxy frowned, her hands on her hips now. The empty glass which had held the martini lay on the floor, discarded.

"Um... next week, after the big rally? When we're less stressed out?" Hopefully they'd have forgotten by next week.

Roxy narrowed her eyes, then made the 'I'll be watching you' gesture with two fingers. "Fine, but whatever it is, you be careful, understand?"

"I promise," she said with relief.

"Good! Now, back to doing lady things, right?"

Jane laughed. "Yes. Hey, did you restock the kitchen after last meeting? I could bake some cupcakes or something!"

Roxy squealed and tackled Jane for another spontaneous hug. "You are the absolute best, Janey! Let's have sugar. Jake, what do you say?"

"Boy howdy, yes, I would love some cupcakes! You wouldn't mind making them, Jane, would you?" he said eagerly, sitting up straighter.

Jane laughed. "Of course not! You know I love baking!" She lightly stepped past the sofa on which he sat, ruffling his hair playfully as she passed on her way to the kitchen. "Come on, Ro-Lal! You can help me measure ingredients. Jake, you look like you're dead on your feet! Take a nap or something?"

"Righty-ho, brilliant suggestion," he agreed.

Eventually poor Jake, bored of waiting and tired from a hard day's work, fell asleep on the sofa.

Upon seeing him there, Jane set down the tray of freshly baked chocolate cupcakes and considered him, then grinned deviously. "I'll be nice and get him a blanket," she decided. "But also... it's Crocker prank time!" she crowed. Roxy guffawed.

"Yes, yes, yes, go get him!"

A few minutes later, an elaborate hand-drawn mustache resided on Jake's face. Jane surveyed her work, then spread a wool blanket over her sleeping friend. Roxy also took it upon herself to paint his nails hot pink, then decided to paint Jane's too—sky blue for her.

"Perfect," Jane said in satisfaction as she put the marker back in the drawer from which it originated, being very careful not to smudge her nails.

"I can't wait to see his face when he wakes up," Roxy giggled, taking a bite of a cupcake.

Jane flopped onto the cushions next to Roxy. "So... what do we do now?"

Roxy eyed her, grinning with the same devious intent that moments before had shone in Jane's blue eyes.

Jane edged away suspiciously. "Oh no, what're you about to—hey!"

Roxy cackled, licking the excess frosting from her finger. She had swiped it through the layered frosting on the cupcake and then poked Jane's nose again, leaving a little dollop of pink cream there.

Jane laughed and reached up to wipe it off, but instead at the last second lunged forward to swipe some more cream and smeared it over Roxy's cheek.

A frosting war ensued after that and after a good twenty or thirty minutes went by in that fashion, they both finally went to clean up. Luckily, Jane baked lots of cupcakes and five remained untouched.

They slumped onto the couch together, clothes covered in water here and there from washing out frosting. "So," Jane said after a moment, starting to giggle again at the sheer absurdity of having a frosting battle with your good friend while trying to plan a revolution. "What now?"

Roxy shrugged. "We've gotta wait til Dirk gets here, so... Cards?"