Chapter 2: Movement

"I told you to stop landing on my face, bitch!"

"You just happened to stand in the way of my landing! That was your own fault! You should be more aware of your surroundings, ape!"

Leo sighed as he watched the iconic duo Chain and Zapp perform their routine bickering in the middle of the office, one of them with shoe-marks imprinted on the side of his face and misshapen hair.

Off to the side, Zed simply shook his head in disappointment. "Miss Chain is correct. If you had not simply taken two steps to your left like I thought you were going to, then you would not have been on the receiving end of her shoes."

"Whose side are you on, motherfucker?! You wanna go at it?!" Zapp, having already exceeded the limits of his impressively short patience, scowled at Zed. "Want me to break that shit around your neck and watch you flop around?!"

"If you do that, you're paying for the damages," Leo commented nonchalantly, walking past the three arguing individuals and made his way to Klaus, who was still sitting at his desk as per usual. Leo bowed his head slightly, a sign of his usual deference and respect to the Head of the Office. "Mister Klaus, I'm sorry for being late. There was some traffic and we had to take the longer route."

"No need for apologies, Leo. I already saw the news report of the traffic jam over there." Klaus waved his hand dismissively. "I don't know what that fool who thought that riding a motorcycle off of a delivery truck to save time had going on in his mind. More importantly," Klaus gestured Steven, who was standing near one of the desks at the side of the office.

The Vice-Head took the cue, and he took a step forward. "Earlier this morning, there was a report from Abram indicating that there was an immensely powerful presence detected near the downtown area of Hellsalem's Lot." Steven walked behind the desk and pulled out a long folder, which had a few papers sandwiched inside. He casually tossed the folder over to Leo, who deftly caught it while allowing a few of them to slip out of the folder. "They reported that the presence definitely possessed power on the same level as an Elder Blood Breed and was willfully radiating it for anyone and everyone to sense. Abrams called me, K.K, and Chain in to observe more about the target."

The female sniper mentioned was sitting on the couch, ignoring Zapp's and Zed's argument in the background. "The entity was identified in the form of a young girl, definitely a teenager. She was walking around like she didn't have a care in the world. In fact, she looked so carefree and normal that if we weren't detecting the danger from her, she definitely would have passed for a normal human."

Chain, who had walked over to Leo and picked up the last paper that had fallen to the floor, was staring intently at the file. "That sensation gives me the creeps. I've never felt anything with that level and kind of power before."

Leo nodded, gulping nervously. "That means she's definitely an Elder Blood Breed."

"This is the odd part, and perhaps the most alarming piece of information yet," Steven said, drawing Leo's attention back to him. "While she was under observation, she suddenly stopped radiating her power entirely."

Leo's raised an eyebrow. "That's…what do you mean?"

It took a moment for him to realize that the entire office had gone silent.

"You don't get it, runt?" Zapp said, appearing from out of Leo's peripheral vision and drove a slightly forceful palm into his messy hair. "That means that whatever that chick is, she can hide away in the crowd. We won't be able to detect her if she can do something like that."

"Quite a nasty trick," Klaus muttered, his hand to his chin. "Of all the Blood Breeds we have fought thus far, none of them have ever displayed an ability even remotely similar to that."

"Which is where you come in, Leonardo," Steven said, pointing at the young man in mention. "We need you to identify just what she is and her true nature. Getting that information will bring us one step closer to being able to eliminate the threat she poses."

Leo scratched his head. "I understand…but…"

"Do you have second thoughts, Leo?" Zed asked. "I know you seem to have an issue with your self-confidence but I've already told you that you're quite the asset to our team. You don't need to feel insecure about your ability."

"No, it's not that. Thank you for that, though, Zed." Leo said, glancing down at the file in his hands. "Based on the information you guys gathered, though…she's incredibly passive. It's like she's doing nothing but sightseeing. Do we really need to eliminate her?"

Steven shook his head. "Not necessarily. We just need to know more about her and understand what she is capable of before we can approach her. Not possessing information could lead to the destruction of Libra, Hellsalem's Lot, and ultimately the world. We have the responsibility to ensure our chances of success and survival as much as possible. If she truly intends on staying neutral and not causing any fuss, then we will not stand in her way."

"You're too nice, pube-head," Zapp muttered, driving his knuckles into Leo's head and digging them into his scalp. "If she turns out to be some messed-up chick, then we're as good as dead. Someone with that level of control over her powers could turn this entire city inside out and still be back home in time for dinner."

"And so that's that," Klaus said, standing up from his desk. "Leo, you will be accompanied by Chain, Zapp, Zed, K.K, and Steven to track down and observe this entity. The objective is simple: split it into smaller groups and when you spot her, lead Leo to her so that he can use his All-Seeing Eyes of the Gods on her. Do not engage or approach the target at all expenses, and do not allow her to realize that she's being observed."

"Yes, sir!"

"So…uh…"

"Yes, Black?"

Astie and Black were standing in the local abandoned church that was located a short distance from the hospital, the same one that White would sometimes visit on her impulse-driven trips when she was fed up with doing nothing but reading books in her room.

"What are we doing here?" Black asked, glancing around at the hedges, overgrown weeds, and the dying flowers that he was used to seeing; alongside the path that they were walking on was an array of brown, dead grass that outlined the way to the church, and that brown grass was flanked by what appeared to be roses of assorted colors. Mixed along with the dying roses were forget-me-nots, lavender plants, and sunflowers.

Astie kicked a stray stone off to the side, which made a sound as it struck one of the nearby headstones. The result was a small cloud of dust and stone that hung in the air for a few seconds before beginning to sink and drift to the left. "About time you asked, to be honest. You're too tongue-tied. Come on, relax. Deep breaths. One, two, three."

"I'd rather not breathe in the air of a graveyard if it's all the same to you."

Astie giggled at Black's curt reply. "So you can talk after all! Well, if you need to know, then I'm getting some of the things I need for the procedures that I'll be implementing to bring back your beloved sister."

"I-I see," Black said, unsure of how to reply to that. He glanced around, trying to ignore the atmosphere that was a mix of awkward and tense. "…what is it you need, exactly?"

"It's good that you asked, actually, because I can't do some of this without you," Astie replied. "See, there's actually something that only you can do that is necessary for making the procedure easier."

The two of them reached the front doors of the broken-down and abandoned church, one of them hanging loosely open on flimsy, rusted brass hinges. Astie raised her foot as if to kick the other door out, and then seemingly decided against it and instead just entered quietly. Black followed suit.

Astie stopped when she reached the center of the center aisle, tapped her toes twice on the floor, and then turned around to face Black. She extended a hand and gestured for him to approach her. "Come here for a second."

Black, not knowing what else to do in reply, did as she asked.

The moment that he entered arm's reach of Astie, he suddenly felt a wave of something he couldn't really identify hit his body. Shock led to a loss of balance, and Black felt himself wobble before dropping to his knees. "Wh-wha?!" He let out a gasp as he felt something unnatural assault his senses.

He felt like something inside of him was loosening and tearing but it wasn't any organ of his that was in disarray. It was an uncomfortable feeling, like a worm was squirming around inside the mud. Except that the mud was him.

"I need to prepare your body for the procedure by loosening the bond that your soul has with The King of Despair's. In order to do that, I need to have you visit the places where you switched consciousnesses with him and then play around with your mind a bit to get your soul to lose its hold." Astie said, crouching with her hands on her knees, and looked into Black's eyes. Unlike earlier, now both Astie's eyes were red and were actively glowing with a red light that was piercing to Black like an infrared laser.

"Y-y-you could have w-warned me earlier!" Black complained before feeling racked with another wave of discomfort, this time accompanied by some pain. Wobbling, he fell over to the ground, dazed, confused, and unable to control his body.

"Oh, shush. Just think of all of this as things you're doing for the sake of your sister and your good friend Leonardo." Astie pulled out a pair of glasses – or at least, what appeared to look like glasses. They sported two lenses and a frame, and that was where the resemblances ended. More like a pair of roided-up night vision goggles mixed with a steampunk spider-man visor crafted by Tony Stark, the eyewear's frame shone with a metallic glint like that of bronze and the lenses with the iridescent refraction of light one would normally associate with gemstones. Various other apparatuses such as extra lenses and a leather strap that Astie was already securing to the back of her head were visible. "Just give me a moment."

The instant she donned them, the light that was being emitted from her eyes went from being a focused infrared laser to a pinpoint, minuscule speck of red light that Black knew was boring into his eyes but could no longer see.

The discomfort factor increased tenfold, like someone was seeing inside him. Not just his body but his soul, his being, his everything. His memories, his experiences, his feelings, his likes, his dislikes, his history, his very nature. Like an open book, he could feel something reading into all of it and scanning it like one would look at an insect under a microscope. He began to attempt to get up, but he was unable to muster the strength and balance to do so.

"Hmm…hmm, hmm…" Astie raised her hands in the air, her palms at shoulder level, and then began moving her fingers separately of one another. Circles of soft, pink light began to emanate from the tips of her digits with every movement and every minute gesture. Whilst Black was writhing, trying to get up, Astie was simply humming a tune to herself and continuing her work. "Relax, Black. You're wasting energy doing that. Oh, and don't try running anywhere. I have your soul in the palm of my hands, so I could cripple any part of you or erase anything I please."

S-scary! Black thought, fear like permafrost running through his veins. He was already afraid of her, but only now he realized the true fearsomeness of what he was dealing with. Astie could literally break the spirit of whoever she chose. A tool far more powerful and effective than any nuclear bomb. If she didn't care about me at all, I would have been dead before I could even think about running away.

"Hey, how rude," Astie muttered, lightly swatting Black on the forehead. "I do care about some things. Like right now. I care about your soul. After all, if it gets destroyed, it does some irreparable damage to my brother's soul. So don't worry. I won't kill you. Actually, stop thinking that. It pisses me off."

Black didn't reply. Finally resigning to the fact that he couldn't escape even if he wanted to, he ceased to writhe and laid on the floor motionlessly save for the rise and fall of his chest.

"Oh, good boy. That reduces the time of this procedure by approximately 307.56 seconds." Astie said, delighted. "You'll be relieved to know, by the way, that I also need to do this to bring back your sister."

Black's ears perked up slightly at hearing that. "…it is?"

"Yeah," Astie said, still tapping away with light particles beginning to fill the air; they drifted slowly and aimlessly in whichever direction, filling the abandoned building with particulates of pink snow and causing the broken stained glass windows to bounce back and forth the gentle light that was being given off. "You don't know this, but because you used your sister's soul and life force to reestablish the barrier around Hellsalem's Lot, a portion of your soul and energy as of now is imbued with the soul of Mary Macbeth. Even more so because you're siblings."

"I…I have Mary inside of me?"

"Sorta." Astie nodded, and then reached inside one of Black's inner jacket pockets. She extracted the broken cross necklace that Black kept with him at all times as a memento of White, and then pocketed it. "This necklace also has some residue thanks to White having it all the time. It's in every single memory of her that's floating around in your mind, so it's bound to serve its purpose as a catalyst greatly."

"C-catalyst?"

Astie continued to perform her procedure, and light was beginning to emanate outward from Black's body. Yellow sparks began to appear like miniature explosions, over and over in the air around them. They exploded with minute force, making the building rumble and shake ever so slightly. Black could feel the vibrations from the explosions down to the very core of his being, and with each one he felt a little more anxious.

She clicked her tongue, irritated. "Ugh. Your natural psychic energy is fighting back against me. It's trying to reject me tampering around with your soul even though I'm doing nothing harmful. Your gift is annoyingly powerful, Black."

Black said nothing, deigning to let Astie do her work.

"Oh, right." She snapped her fingers again; Black was beginning to figure out that it a habitual action that she probably did whenever something came to mind. "Your question. Right. Yeah, a catalyst. Something that strongly ties White to this world is required for the procedure; well at this point, it wouldn't be incorrect for you to call it a ritual." Continuing to work with her left hand, she raised her right hand up with her pointer finger aimed upwards like a teacher. "White's material body may be no more but her life energy is present within the barrier that surrounds Hellsalem's Lot. If I can gather enough of her energy in one place, I can attempt to restore her consciousness back to a state close enough to the original that she would be able to respond to the catalyst."

"And if she does?"

Astie grinned eagerly. "Once that happens, it will trigger an influx of memories that will begin to bring her back to the existence she once was. This point is crucial." Astie's right hand waves back and forth. "Once that happens, I can gather the rest of her soul to reconstruct her and bring her back to her former state. Well, not quite her "former" state but a state identical to what she would have been like in the present day if she had not been a specter of energy kept going by her parents' magic."

"Huh. I think I get it, sort of."

Astie tutted. "That's just what's gonna happen. What's going on beneath the surface is way more complicated, and I have to factor all of that in when performing the procedure. It's not as easy as it sounds. It's like performing physics calculations in real-time." She returned her right hand to doing some work, her brow creasing. The mini-explosions that were sending the pink particulates of residue energy every which way began to decrease in frequency and intensity.

"…hey, Astie?"

"What?"

Black looked up at her, inquisitively. After a few moments, he managed to sit up and rest his torso on his right knee. "…why are you even bothering to help me? If you really wanted to, you could have just ripped The King of Despair's soul out of my body. And even after I agreed to help you, you don't have to go out of your way to any of these things with Why are you going to all this trouble?"

"What, you don't want your sister back?" Astie asked, glancing at Black as if he had just suggested going downhill snowboarding in Saudi Arabia.

"No, that's not it. I do. But-"

"I know what you mean, relax." Astie raised one of her working hands to gesture for Black to quiet down, which he did. "…to me, this is just natural. I understand what it means to have and love a sibling. So if I'm doing this for you, it only feels normal for me to do the same for someone who knows the feeling."

Black stared at Astie, who just shifted around and refused to meet gazes with Black. "I know what you're thinking. You're probably wondering why one of the Thirteen Kings thinks this way, aren't you?" Astie's cheeks turn a little red, and she shifts her weight from one of her legs to the other. "…but to me, this is nothing. I'm not like the other Kings, who want to just cause mayhem and spread destruction. When this is over and I have my Brother back, I'm going to head back to the Alterworld and continue working on my experiments."

"Your experiments?"

Astie nods, her cheeks returning to their normal color slowly. "I'm part of a faction of Alterworld residents that want to stay within Hellsalem's Lot and make peace with the humans present. And, if possible, explore more of the human world outside of the borders of the city." Her smile returns, and her eyes begin to sparkle with the light of eagerness and excitement. "It's just a small group of academics and scholars who seek the educational benefit of venturing beyond our own world. But we desire peace and the pursuit of knowledge."

"…so even the Alterworld has people like you." Black couldn't help but comment; he immediately regretted the choice of words and winced, expecting for Astie to reply curtly.

But she didn't. Astie instead just sighed, her fingers picking up the pace. Black felt his discomfort slowly begin to dissipate. "…yeah. We're not very many, though. Not everyone shares our views, and many others only see humans as insignificant, powerless lifeforms whose purpose is to exist as a snack to the more powerful." She sighed again. "It's a shame, really."

This time, Black was the one who smiled. "You seem to really enjoy your work, don't you? That and being here, in this world."

Astie paused for a moment and stared at Black. "…Black, have you ever heard of Stockholm Syndrome?"

"No, it doesn't ring a bell. Why do you ask? What is it?"

"Never mind. Just felt like asking."

"To think that we searched all of downtown without coming across her once…" Leo sighed, tumbling off of the motorcycle and letting out a sigh loud enough to scare away eagles. "Don't we have any more information on her? Like a picture or something? Something that will give us a better clue?"

Zed O' Brien simply shook his head, getting off of the motorcycle and helping Leo to his feet. "Unfortunately, it seems as though that K.K and Chain could not procure one when observing her. I don't think that they didn't think to take one, though perhaps they simply were too focused on observing her to do anything else."

Zapp just spat on the sidewalk and parked his motorcycle, grinding his teeth in frustration. He removed the motorcycle helmet from his head and hung it on his vehicle, still looking sour. "Can't believe this bitch is making me waste money on gas when I could be spending it on Angelica…fucking hell…"

"Um, Zapp, your heart's not exactly in the right place."

"Shut it, pube-head."

Leo just sighed and returned his attention to the folder that he had placed inside a small messenger bag that he carried around inside his jacket to conceal his belongings and reduce the chances of getting pickpocketed. Extracting the papers from the folder, he went over the report again. The light of the setting sun that was reflecting off of the windows of the surrounding buildings struck the papers in his hand, and Leo shifted to the side to evade the rays of dandelion.

The report was summed up in words and descriptions that had been given at timestamps, with no pictures and detailed descriptions of the target at all. Various paragraphs that detailed the location and her actions at said locations were splayed out in front of him, none of them providing a clear image of who their target was and what her intent was.

Leo scratched his head, going over it twice and then thrice to make sure that he wasn't missing out on anything. It took a fifth try before he gave up and let out a groan. "This is hopeless. We won't be able to find her without a trace or more information." Leo sighed and looked up from the file, towards the sky past the buildings with no clear intent.

Without expecting anything in particular, Leo activated his eyes.

What he saw nearly floored him.

In the distance was a white-pink pillar of light that seemed to erupt from the ground and reach into the sky, disappearing into the mist and clouds that topped Hellsalem's Lot like icing that would never melt. It was unlike anything Leo had ever seen; it seemed to glow with a gentle light that pulsed like an erratic heartbeat, and smaller tendrils of similarly colored energy were meeting the bigger column at different junctions, some already out of sight from being hidden by the buildings surrounding Leo.

"U-um, guys?" Leo immediately activated one of his eyes' other powers, Shared Vision, allowing Zapp and Zed to see what he was seeing. "I don't know if that's related to what we're dealing with, but that looks like a problem. Right?"

"Whoa, holy shit!" Zapp stared up at the column, freaking out audibly. "What the hell is that?!"

"I just notified Steven, Leo," Zed said, placing his phone back in his pocket. "He said that we should check it out ahead of time and confirm the location and the nature of the energy before the others arrive."

The location is… Leo took one moment to get his bearings and then looked in the direction of the pillar of light once again. That direction is…

The lights of the setting sun bathed the abandoned church in orange like a fresh coat of irregularly applied paint, creating long, jagged shadows that stretched across the rotting wooden floor. Empty pews still filled it as if waiting for prayerful people that would never come, the wooden armrests in shambles.

Astie, wincing at the sunlight that was beginning to peer through the stained glass windows and into her eyes, muttered under her breath and raised a hand to block the rays of the sun. "I didn't realize it was already this late." She was sitting on one of the long benches, leaning her arms on the backrest.

"Oh, yeah," Black said in agreement, glancing in the direction of the still-open front doors. He The orange rays poured through like a waterfall, and he smiled a little. "We should probably go. This place gets scarier at night."

"What, you afraid of ghosts?" Astie scoffed. "There are things in Hellsalem's Lot that are way scarier and more dangerous than an invisible spirit, you know."

"No, it's just…the vibe I get from this place." Black replied, not bothering to feel nor appear offended at Astie's half-joking tone. Shifting in his place, he glanced over to one of the pews on the left side of the church. His gaze rested on one particular place, and his eyes softened; to Astie, they appeared to melt like ice in a fire.

That was the seat where White had deceived Leo for the sake of her brother, allowing the King of Despair to achieve his goal of the second Great Collapse.

Astie glanced back at the place where he was looking and then sighed exasperatedly. "…you already know it's not your fault, yet you feel guilty about it. That's what's strange about you humans; you're feelings are like an open book yet I can't understand you at all."

Black's smile changed, now carrying a slight trace of bitterness. "…that's us, after all. Sometimes, we don't even understand ourselves. Let alone the feelings of other people…but we learn to live with one another despite that."

"Can you really do that? Live alongside people who can't understand you?"

Black nodded, his gaze never leaving the seat. In his eyes, he could see White sitting there with the same smile she'd always been wearing whenever she was talking with Leo. "Sure can. I did it with Mary for years."

Astie just sighed loudly and got to her feet. "Yes, yes, I get it. You want your sister back. I want my brother back, so we're in the same boat. Come on, let's go. I need to pick up something else before we start the ritual."

"Something else?"

"Actually…" Astie blinked quickly twice, her eyes becoming red once again. She glanced in the direction of the front doors but Black felt that from where he stood, she wasn't looking at the doors. A few moments of silence passed by before her eyes reverted to their brown color and she walked over to Black. "We can proceed with the next step; we need to gather as much of White's soul in one location before I extract the part of her that lies within you and within this." She then holds out the broken cross necklace that she had taken from Black.

Black just nodded in agreement with everything she said.

"Now, this is where we split up," Astie said, much to Black's surprise. "I'm going to go find a suitable location to perform the procedure. You, in the meantime, need to do me a favor."

"A favor?"

Astie nodded. "I need daffodils."

"…" Black, unsure of how to reply that, gave Astie a bewildered look.

"I need them. They're important. They're a part of the procedure. Find as many as you can and bring them to me when I contact you."

"How will you contact me?"

Astie shrugged. "I can read minds. Telepathy's not a big deal for me, and it's easier for me to communicate with psychics like you. I'll let you know." Without waiting for another reply, she began walking for the front door. "Be quick about it!"

Black opened his mouth to say something, but she vanished through the door before anything could come out. He remained frozen in that position for a moment, arm outstretched in her direction, before he sighed and lowered his arm. "…I don't have enough money to buy those, though."

He turned around and began slowly walking down the aisle quietly, stopping when he reached the pulpit. His hands in his pockets, he stared up at the altar silently.

"Oh! Black!"

Hearing his name called out by a familiar voice, the blonde turned around to be confronted by Leo. "O-oh, Leo. You scared me. Don't do that without warning." He said, sighing before offering his friend a tired smile.

"U-um…" Leo glanced around the church nervously. "…did something happen here? How long were you here?"

"Just for a bit. Nothing much happened, just me."

Black didn't feel good about lying through his teeth. Seeing Leo sigh in relief only compounded that feeling. "That's good. But that's weird…did you see anything happening here earlier? Like, maybe there were some suspicious people around?"

Black stiffened for too short a moment to call it hesitation, managing to keep the truth from leaving his lips. "N-not really. It's been quiet here." He spoke half-truths, trying to alleviate his conscience from lying by just keeping the important tidbits unsaid. To no effect, he felt crappy all the same.

"Huh. That's weird…" Leo muttered to himself. "…well, no use thinking about it. I'll have to start over."

In his mind, Black decided that he needed to leave as quickly as possible before he made a mistake. He started for the entrance. "Well, Leo, I kinda need to go. I have to get back and help Miss Vivian with the evening shift."

"Alright. See ya around."

Black nearly stopped in his tracks when he heard that.

But he kept walking.

"…see ya around, Leo."