Chapter 7 - Spirit Photography
Siba
"Hey dad, it's us again. Negati and me. We finally made it."
The two looked around the indoor section of the transportation port they were in. Large glass walls revealed the sunny, ocean-side locale outside. Bathory turned again to face the screen.
"I'm sure you can see what it's like but I'll try and remember to call with some more updates. We're both pretty excited, so, uhh, we'll see how it goes. Bye."
The transmission ended and the projected screen defaulted to its generic background. In the room, it hovered in front of a bed where an older man sat, covered below the waist by the plain hospital sheets. Two others stood next to the bed, both still dressed in the blue uniforms of the TSAB Naval division. They were watching the screen while the older man slouched and glanced away from the projection instead.
On the side table next to the bed, a dark green gem flickered with light.
[SHALL I CONTINUE, MY MASTER]
"Yes, Aphelion," said Bathory.
[LOADING NEXT TRANSMISSION]
The next video call Bathory had sent his father appeared on the screen and began to play. It showed Bathory and Negati sitting outside, lit by several lights close to them but seated under a dark night sky.
"Ahh, hey dad, it's me again," Bathory said, happy but also loose like he was worn out or tired. "It's been a few days over here. Trip's going great. Ahh, time's already flying by. Can you believe it? But anyways, we've already had quite the adventure, I'd…I'd start on it but, like, it's late and we don't really want to go over every little detail now…I'll have to tell you later. Bye again."
The transmission ended and the same thing happened as before – the generic background of Aphelion's screen appeared and it otherwise hovered motionless.
Bathory glanced at his father. There was no change in him. No acknowledgement of anything from those messages recorded years ago.
On the stand, Aphelion pulsed again.
[SHALL I CONTINUE]
Bathory closed his eyes and let out a heavy sigh.
"No, Aphelion. That's enough."
Negati turned the lights on as Bathory slowly wound Aphelion's cord up around his lower right arm. The silence in the hospital room grew thick again and Bathory forced himself to break it.
"I'm glad to see you're okay. I heard from someone at the evacuation what happened there."
Negati took her place again next to Bathory, now both watching the quiet and unresponsive man. The resemblance to his son was obvious enough in his basic features. He was average height and skinny given the immobility outside of a wheelchair. Shorter, greying hair revealed his age along with the heavy creases and lines permanently etched on his expression through years of shame and sorrow. Still his eyes stayed cast down in front of him, avoiding the couple standing next to his bed.
"Sir, this is your son," said Negati. "He's been trying to have a normal conversation with you for years. How many messages has he sent hoping you would finally answer? And how many times did you ignore those and leave us in silence? Can you please humor him?"
The older man sighed lightly. His eyes drifted to the other side of the room to look out the window.
"Things have been different since your incident, Bathory," he said softly.
"I know," his son responded, "I can't imagine how tough it must have been without me. I'm sorry I couldn't be there."
"Bathory, don't apologize," said Negati.
"I thought your future would be bright on Siba," spoke the man. "You would be an excellent force on our planet's bureau. You would be better, smarter, and stronger than I could ever be. You were my son, after all."
"He still is," Negati interjected. "And I'm your daughter-in-law. It might be nice to get to know each other."
"I don't know how long we can be here," said Bathory. "On Siba, I mean - all these talks and discussions. But I'm not here forever. I have somewhere to go back to. Somewhere that isn't Siba. So if you want to talk, we need to get started."
The older man's focus drifted slowly to the rest of the room. It still never made its way over to his son.
"There is something you must understand," he said. "You and I can never go back to the way things were."
Negati grunted and crossed her arms.
"Doesn't mean you can't move forwards."
The man let that comment go as he did with all previous comments. Another slow sigh was all the younger couple got in return.
"Well…" said Bathory, "while we're out, I'm going to show Negati our home. The place I grew up. And if there's more free time in our visit, I'd love to return. It's…it's great seeing you again, dad."
The predictable answer came next. Nodding to himself, Bathory slowly left the room and Negati followed.
Bathory knew the streets of Siba Capital perfectly. Through the heart of the city to the highway that cut through it, he navigated with all the landmarks, signs, and intuitive knowledge he gained from growing up here. On certain streets or parts of the city, brief moments from patrols or battles from his late teens or even stretching back a decade or more popped into his mind again. The blanket of adolescence and development felt warm and the feeling only increased as the car made its way out of the main urban development and out to the housing area the man grew up in. It went down the off-ramp and paused at the bottom before turning onto a residential street.
Negati sat in the passenger seat next to her husband.
"I hope I didn't make too rough an impression," she said.
"What, on dad? I'm glad you spoke up. He's not listening to me. And besides, in another version of this life he'd have loved you. A bureau mage too, a ground forces fighter…and Double-A as well."
"Double-A Minus," Negati corrected.
"Same range," Bathory said. "But still, far better you'd be on the Bureau in his eyes than someone who wasn't. The Bureau was everything to him – and once he got injured and I showed potential, it was now everything 'to me' as well. I don't mind that at all. Siba taught it well enough that I did believe it myself…"
As they were heading down the road, Aphelion suddenly began to pulse again.
[INCOMING TRANSMISSION]
"Go ahead, Aphelion."
From the device, another screen appeared in front of the two. On it was a man their age in the brown coat of the TSAB ground forces.
"This is the Siba Capital TSAB, ordering you to stop."
"What?" asked Negati. "Why?"
"You are heading into an unauthorized area."
"Unauthorized? How i-"
"By order of the Bureau, this district was evacuated and no unauthorized personnel is allowed to enter. Turn around and leave or we will have to respond."
"This is Second Lieutenant Bathory Kardenis of the TSAB," said Bathory. "I'm requesting to get authorized."
"And First Lieutenant Negati Kardenis if that's enough," the redhead added.
On the other end, the man seemed flustered.
"Just stop right now, okay, and I'll see what we can do."
Bathory quickly slowed the car and pulled off to the side of the road. He parked and the video feed on the screen was paused, showing the generic background once again. He and Negati sat in silence, waiting on the response and also looking out at the landscape around them. It looked like a perfectly normal, ordinary part of a modern city. Though it was only now that they noticed how ghostly quiet and empty it was. No other cars passed them from either direction for the several seconds they waited.
"How could it get like this?" asked Negati. She didn't sound angry, more somber and reflective, understanding now a magnified view of the effects the uprising had on the Capital.
"Taken from their homes…" said Bathory, "ordered around, pushed around… the Bureau tells them it knows what it's doing, but…"
"It's hard to feel safe when the Bureau can't stop this."
"They need us," said Bathory. "They need someone. Siba can't fix this on their own."
Eventually, the screen came back to life with the Bureau mage on the other end.
"Okay, you have thirty minutes," he said. "But no more. You need to be out of there after that."
Bathory smiled.
"Understood. That's fine, thank you."
The call ended as he started the car and began driving again. Heading down the road, he grunted.
"Thirty minutes - that's not fine. I shouldn't have settled."
"If you didn't, we wouldn't have gotten any time," said Negati.
"I guess you're right. It's not great, but it'll have to do."
A couple minutes into that time limit, the car pulled up the driveway of the basic single-story home that matched those all around it except for one obvious feature. Instead of the stairs leading to the front entrance, a longer ramp with handrails led from the yard elevation to the door. The two mages went up this path, then Bathory reached for the door and opened it.
He stepped inside, glancing around the interior he hadn't seen in years. Negati followed, checking the place out for the first time. Immediately she noticed that very little was higher up on the walls, or at least little that would need to be reached for. Most things were chest-height.
"Huh, this is interesting," she said.
"Oh, the setup? Yeah, it's because dad's in his chair, so-"
"Right, right, I see."
Bathory did a slow tour of the home, checking the main rooms to see how everything was doing and what was different than he remembered. Aside from the footsteps across the floor and the pair's light breathing, there was little noise. Nothing made a sound outside from the abandoned streets.
The house had been abandoned quickly. It must have been a sudden evacuation, unexpected and unprepared for. There was a mood that felt like something unfinished – interrupted. Whether it was the simple, immediate interruption on the day of the evacuation that caused it, or whether it was something deeper that stretched back years and involved Bathory himself, was unknown.
"I remember this house…" he said quietly, "like a half-forgotten song."
He took a step, emitting a creak from the floorboard and pausing once again. There in the silence, a demon of nostalgic echoes and regret dragged itself across the floor to watch the scene, finding its mark in the quiet moments and heavy thoughts as it had done for endless centuries. At the same time, every angel in the dust that dripped off the walls and floated through the air tumbled to the surface, resounding in the empty rooms and waiting for rot and gravity and time to give it the chance to seep its way into the earth.
Eventually he made his way to the bedrooms, first checking his father's master room and scoping it out the same as his efforts so far but then looking into his own room. He paused in the doorway. It was the same as he remembered it – same as it was the day he left for his final hours on the Siban Bureau and the same way it was during his short and unexpected trip back during his attempted reintegration. His father has never destroyed or disassembled it in the years since the incident – only ignored it. It remained as a time capsule to the younger man's childhood.
Bathory walked in slowly, eyes darting around the room. Past the desk and drawers, his focus settled on the bed, covers still disturbed slightly from when he was here before. Hesitating, he turned and sat on the mattress, sinking slightly into the padding. Then, he paused again to bask in the feeling. Negati had been following along, humoring Bathory as he made his tour, and she sat down next to him. She smiled and bobbed lightly back and forth.
Bathory felt the covers underneath him and laid down, resting on top of the bed and staring up at the ceiling. Negati followed, laying down as well. She held Bathory's hand, interlocking their fingers. Her ring and his band tapped against each other softly.
"Well," she said, "how is it? Does it feel like it did before?"
Bathory shut his eyes, letting his mind fill in the details his eyes could not. Common sounds from the rest of the house that he could imagine perfectly soon came to mind. Quiet mornings and lazy days off, sounds and smells from the kitchen, the sound from the news as dad increased the volume, or even Arin's voice as he would come over early on some of the Breach Team's days off to hang out outside of work. Along with that, the hand currently clasping his brought different memories - him and another partner, the other mage on his and Arin's team and a girl who loved Bathory as much as he loved her. Kaisa – her name, her skin, her eyes and laugh, everything teenage hormones latched on to. His eyes still shut and the hand still in his, he traveled back to nights preparing the couch for her to stay over and then quietly tip-toeing away, closing the door and falling to the mattress, whispering and learning and touching until they were dizzy stupid. Then - hands held tight the same way, arms draped and bodies still for long enough to believe the sun moved around them rather than the other way around.
On the bed, Bathory grimaced. He took a breath, shuttering just enough to worry if Negati heard it and enough to know he had to return to the present. He opened his eyes and sat up slowly. He stared at the wall for a second or two.
"Uncomfortably so," he said, finally responding to his partner's question.
Negati sprang up as well, looking over at Bathory.
"Really?"
"Yeah."
Negati nodded and followed her partner's lead.
"It's before your incident and everything else that happened."
"But…that's all happened now and there's nothing I can do about it. I can't hide away and wish it could go back to the way it was because that's not possible."
He smiled lightly and glanced over at Negati.
"And hey, a lot of it turned out better and more beautiful than I could have ever imagined."
Negati smiled brightly and so did Bathory. He leaned over and the couple held each other happily.
Elsewhere in Siba Capital, Arin and Asana walked to their car. They had changed to civilian clothes and were exploring the city, Asana taking in its sights for the first time and Arin more methodically comparing the city's state to what he remembered of it. People were still out in public and doing what they set out to do, though the atmosphere did seem tense and Bureau patrols went through the area often.
"So Mister Arin," said his familiar, "you came here a lot?"
"I was assigned to this area throughout my time with the Bureau," he responded.
"Alright," she said. Her tail twitched about briefly as a light breeze went through. "Was it fun?"
"I believe I did enjoy it, yes. I had some experiences in this area with Bathory's team."
"Oh yeah?"
"It is one of those situations where I am affected in misinterpreting my memories. I cannot picture moments with Bathory in them though the logs prove otherwise."
Asana reached the car again and opened the passenger door.
"Oh…sorry to remind you…"
"That is no issue."
Arin opened the driver's side door and was about to step in when he saw something out of the corner of his eye. He saw a small group of people further down the road, peeking halfway around a wall and watching him. Though they were somewhat far away, Arin's focus quickly snapped to one woman's teal-green hair. Immediately he knew it was the same woman who he noticed at the Headquarters when being escorted away. Her outfit was the same, and the taller woman with brown hair who accompanied her then was also staring the man down currently. The moment didn't last long as the two women ducked around the wall after that. Perhaps they hoped Arin didn't notice them, but he had.
He got in and shut the door, starting the car again. He kept what he'd noticed to himself since he needed more evidence to be completely sure what was happening. As he drove off, he intentionally took his time, telegraphing any turns and lane changes enough for anyone to follow. Soon, he saw in the rear-view another car trying to speed up around the rest of the pack to close the gap, and when that car got a comfortable spot behind him, the occupants in the front looked very familiar.
"Asana," he said plainly to his passenger, "I believe we are being followed."
The foxgirl's eyes went wide and her fox ears stood up tall.
"Wh-what!?" she cried, staring to turn around to look behind her.
"Don't," barked Arin. "We should avoid cluing them in. Look quickly in the rearview."
Asana shot a glance at the mirror, seeing two young women in the front seats of the car behind them. Though the view was muddled through the many screens, she did notice the odd hair color of the passenger.
"Do you recognize them?" her master asked.
"Um…n…no…"
"They were present in the crowd outside the Capital's Headquarters."
"Oh…I didn't really look around. That was really scary," said Asana.
"I noticed they were not acting like their brethren. They were not reacting with the crowd. They were analyzing us."
Asana nodded weakly before lowering her head in worry.
"So they're following us…"
"I wonder what their intentions are. I believe there may be something more going on."
Arin turned onto the highway and the other car continued to follow. They accelerated and were soon traveling among the more densely packed cars on the highway. Again, Arin tested his pursuers, attempting to put distance between them and watching as the others responded in return. Asana glanced up at the mirror every so often, growing worried more and more as the pursuers kept up.
"Um, Mister Arin, should we call for help?"
Arin had been scoping out the cars on the highway around him, waiting for the perfect moment to do something sudden. Coincidentally, an excellent opportunity had just presented itself.
"I am interested in getting answers on my own. Brace yourself, Asana."
Before the familiar could respond, Arin suddenly slammed on the brakes and swerved into a tight spot in the lane next to him. Among the sudden jerking and the loud horns of the drivers around them, Asana shut her eyes and cried out in fear. Arin remained unfazed. He kept his foot on the pedals, braking with the other cars as he watched the car that was following him get stuck in the other lane and travel past him. Once the pack opened up a bit from the temporary near-jam, Arin snuck into the other lane and was now following behind the other car.
He glanced over and saw his familiar still shutting her eyes, gripping the seat with both hands.
"Asana, the moment has passed."
The foxgirl slowly opened her eyes. She looked around, ensuring that she was still alive.
"Sorry about that…" she mumbled.
She looked up and noticed the other car was now in front of them. The pieces came together in her head and she nodded.
"Okay, so we're following them now…"
"Indeed. The hunters are now being hunted."
In the heavy traffic, there was no opportunity for the other car to escape and finally it went onto an off-ramp and left the highway. Arin followed, reaching down for the standby form of his device.
"Be prepared for a battle, Asana."
The familiar nodded and tried to prepare. The car in front turned onto a side road and Arin maintained position. As the road went on, he watched for their followers' next action.
Suddenly, a teal-green Belkan triangle formed on the ground in front of Arin's car. When he drove over it, several thick strands of magic rushed up out of it and slammed into the bottom of Arin's vehicle. They tossed the car up and wrapped around the engine, violently tearing it out as the car began to roll and crumple. More magic triangles formed around on the walls nearby and more bindings shot out of them, wrapping around the vehicle and suspending it in the air while crushing and folding it inwards. The window next to Arin shattered and the mage quickly reached for his familiar.
"Asana, go!"
Through their own magic connection, he forced Asana to change into her animal form with a bright flash of light. The smaller fox fell through the open window and out of the car, dropping to the ground and then transforming again. This time she was in her barrier jacket and she readied her magic to fight.
The other car had stopped and the occupants got out. Along with the two women, there were two others with non-descript height, build, or outfit. They activated basic civilian-grade devices and fired several shots down the street in both directions to scatter any crowd.
Behind Asana, her master's arm reached through a small opening, holding a grey gem. Retrigal transformed into the long bladed staff and the grey glaives of energy began to spin. Arin swung it into the crushed shell, cutting apart enough to show his upper body. He was almost upside-down, suspended several feet in the air. Below the suspended car, more bindings shot out from the triangles and wrapped themselves around Retrigal. They tried to pull the device out of the man's hand, but he kept hold.
The green-haired woman and her female companion walked closer to the two. They remained in their street clothes which were all basic, unassuming, and slightly oversized. The sleeves on the brown-haired woman's jacket went down to cover her hands.
"Easy, girl," said the brown-haired woman. "You don't want anything to happen to him."
The green bindings pulled at the device harder and Arin fought to hold on. He tried to push out of the vehicle as well but he was tightly trapped at the chest.
"Retrigal," he ordered, "channel my energy. Break these bindings."
He focused his mana into his device and the staff began to glow as it received the mana. It condensed the energy and pulsed it out in one quick wave, intending to break the spell keeping a grip on it. However, the green binds remained strong. Arin grunted and looked up at the attackers.
"You are more capable than I was expecting."
The two others who were scattering the crowd kept their devices active but stood out of the way behind the women as if they were bodyguards. The green-haired one took a step forward, moving more loosely and aloof than her partner.
"I appreciate the compliment," she said with a somewhat light, airy tone of voice. "I'm Dreamer by the way, and she's Dancer."
Dancer stood firm, glaring at Asana.
"You, familiar!" she demanded. "Stand down."
"No way am I doing that!" Asana shouted. She bared her teeth and primed for an attack. In response, Dreamer reached her hand out casually and clenched her fingers too, tightening the binds that encircled the wrecked car. As they squeezed in, Arin grimaced from the pain and Asana quickly looked back.
"Mister Arin!"
"Stand down now if you want her to stop," Dancer said, raising her voice.
Asana was frightened. Not often had she been this helpless. Her eyes darted between the assailants and her master again.
"M…Mister Arin, do I…"
Arin took a deep breath, partly to push against the confining pain but also to respond. Even with the grimace, his tone of voice was monotone and no hint of emotion could be heard.
"It is evident you know who we are and I assume you have a message for us. If you will not escalate your attack further, then we will listen."
Dreamer smiled, nodding her head slowly.
"Very good."
She opened her hand and the bindings loosened. It wasn't enough for Arin to escape, but he could breathe again. Dancer came forward to stand evenly with Dreamer.
"On your knees, and stay there."
Defeated, Asana slouched forward and transformed out of her barrier jacket. She fell to her knees, feeling the rough, hard surface of the road below her. Dancer walked up and placed her hand on Asana's head. She watched the foxgirl's eyes dart further and further away.
"Stay calm, girl. Keep your head down," said Dancer.
Dreamer walked past Dancer and Asana, stopping in front of her captive. She flexed one of her fingers again and the bindings around the car pulled it higher up so Arin's eyes met hers head on. He pulled at his device some more, but it was still being held in place tightly.
"I recognized you from the assembly," said Arin. "That is how I knew you were following us."
"I knew you weren't like the rest of them," said Dreamer. "You saw us when no one else did. We could have followed the other two, but I chose you instead. I had to see more."
"So what is your message?" asked Arin.
"Midchilda needs to stay out of this!" yelled Dancer.
"Dancer, please," said Dreamer, glancing at her partner quickly, "let's work our way to that." She faced Arin again. "Midchilda doesn't truly know about Siba. They see the fires and come to put those out. You're just reactionary watchdogs trying to keep the Time Space Administration Bureau in charge like you are on every planet."
"I understand your challenges," answered Arin. "Siban philosophy operates differently in their goals and ethics than the governance set by Midchilda."
Dreamer laughed and pushed some hair from her face.
"Oh, what a soft answer. If you really understand our problems, then yell it out with some conviction! We've been kicked to the ground and stepped on more, all easy targets to the Bureau since we don't wear their uniforms. This – all our work – is just giving back to them."
"I sense your frustrations. I can report that Midchilda is not here only to restore the Siban Bureau. We will demand that the treatments demonstrated by them is-"
"Shut up," ordered Dreamer, not loud but still intense. "You're not gonna sell me anything. I don't care about your story."
"Then what is yours?"
Dreamer scoffed. She glanced at her partner briefly again.
"Wow, that not something anyone asks us. Since I want to get to the point before the blood goes to your head, I'll just tell you what Siba sees in me. A criminal record. A permanent mark. A deviant for life now that I'm in their records. And Dancer…you want to show him?"
The brunette took her hand off Asana's lowered head and let her sleeve fall. The robotic hands and arms turned and twisted.
"Cybernetics." said Arin.
"Yep," said Dancer. "I took back my life at the cost of throwing it away. Funny, right? Now I'm a walking target to every Bureau mage that sees it."
"Midchilda will give you the chance you are looking for," said Arin. "Both of you will receive fair treatment with us. Release me now, and I will escort you to our party where we can provide an opportunity off this planet."
The green-haired woman stuck her hands in her pockets and sighed.
"That's nice, but I'm not going to let this planet win like that. For all it did to me, and her, and the rest of us, we're gonna make sure we burn it to the ground."
There were sirens roaring in the distance – sirens from Bureau vehicles that were drawing closer.
"Dreamer, we're on limited time," said Dancer. "How are you doing? Are you feeling faint?"
Her partner thought for a moment.
"No…I…I haven't felt the drain yet…"
She quickly re-focused her attention.
"Right. Okay, here's a message you're going to pass on. The Eye of Belka is watching and it knows the way things need to be. Your bureau, Siba's Bureau, none of you can stop this. We will sing this into being as if we were its choir. Now, I'm sorry, but I can't leave you with the capacity to keep following us. Dancer?"
Her partner nodded, balling one of her cybernetic hands into a fist. She started walking up to Arin and the man followed her gaze to see it was on his exposed hand and arm. He quickly tried releasing Retrigal and pull his arm away but another teal-green binding flew up from the ground, wrapping around his wrist and pulling down. When Arin lost his grip on Retrigal, it fell out of reach and it reverted into standby form.
Asana looked back with terror.
"No!"
She tried to spring up, but Dreamer flicked her wrist and summoned another magic triangle below the familiar. More bindings shot from the ground around Asana's arms and she was held tightly in place. She couldn't even get her legs under her.
"Please, don't hurt him!"
Dancer walked right up to Arin and eyed the man's arm. It was pulled taught and the man's elbow was pointed forwards. She moved her hand near it and Arin realized her plan. He struggled harder, grunting with exertion as he fought to prevent this.
Without saying anything, Dancer brought her arm back and thrust it forwards into the elbow, snapping his arm violently. Along with the sound of the breaking bone, Arin cried out in agony. He shut his eyes tightly and the pain jolted through him.
"No!" Asana screamed. She pulled with all her might to get free but she couldn't move.
Dancer pulled back. She nodded and Dreamer released the bindings around the trapped car. It dropped to the ground and re-positioned so Arin was basically sideways, laying just above the ground. The two backed away further then released Asana's bindings, watching as the familiar raced to her master and quit her focus on the attackers. Dancer and Dreamer motioned for the others and the whole group got in their car, driving off.
Asana knelt by her master. He stared at the sky, breathing heavily to try and deal with the pain.
"Mister Arin," she said, "we need to get you out!"
Weakly, Arin reached out with his other arm.
"R…Retrigal…Asana, please hand me my device."
The foxgirl reacted, reaching for the grey gem and giving it to Arin. Though distracted by the pain, he activated the staff again. With some help, he started cutting himself out of the car's wreckage. As the sirens got closer, he pushed himself out and laid on the road, trying to keep pressure on the broken arm.
"Mister Arin," Asana pleaded, "Please be okay."
"I…I am not in mortal danger, Asana," her master replied. "Please assist in getting me to safety as quickly as possible."
With the sirens racing up the road, Asana stood up and waved frantically to get their attention.
The tour had completed, and Bathory shut the door on the house. He and Negati needed to leave before their time ran out. They had a couple minutes though, and they shared a short moment on the porch, looking back at the home once again. Negati turned to leave and Bathory started to follow. However, his device began to pulse.
[INCOMING TRANSMISSION FROM – USER, HAYATE YAGAMI]
"Commander Hayate?" Bathory asked. "Answer, Aphelion."
He paused and Negati came back. They both looked at the screen formed in front of them. In front of them, the short brunette was on it.
"Bathory, Negati, I hope you enjoyed your trip well."
"We are," said Negati. "Thank you for letting us go."
Hayate smiled quickly then turned serious again.
"I'm afraid though you will have to cut it short. A new development has appeared for the situation – and it concerns your friend, Arin Vesceron."
"Arin?" asked Bathory. "What's going on?"
Hayate glanced down momentarily and sighed.
"He has been attacked and is being transported to the hospital as we speak."
The mage couple's eyes shot open wide.
"The hospital? Arin? I – we'll head straight there!"
"We will do the same," said Hayate.
She ended the transmission and the mages ran to the car. They jumped in quick and Bathory backed out into the street. They drove off, wasting no time.
Sick matriarch -
We are worlds apart
Your dysfunction rips
The roots from my heart.
I swear that I'm trying.
I swear that I'm trying, but
You don't know what my pain feels like.
Converge - I Can Tell You About Pain
