GUN had been very quiet about moving their forces out of the base; but the Commander, having had a different base been destroyed thanks to the power of Corruption before, was adamant in her decision. With her refusing treatment, Natal the Bullfrog was currently a hazard to those around her, due to the wound of Corruption she currently bore.

Still, a few select forces had remained, just to keep things going; but it was the bare minimum, to say the least. Surprisingly, the Sergeant had volunteered to stay behind with those few forces; leaving a few to keep up communications, and a few to keep Natal's condition stable...

...then there was Cal.

He wouldn't leave Natal's side, no matter what the soldiers advised him to do…and besides, he was already infected with Corruption, so Natal was no harm to him whatsoever…he still felt guilty about that dirty trick that Bulk pulled, tricking him into hurting Natal…he was furious at the crocodile, but more so, he still cursed himself for falling for such a rookie mistake…

…he was really worried about her; there was no telling what the Corruption could do to her. It could either spread and infect her like it did him…or cause a very painful death…for Wiper, it would've killed him if Jill didn't heal the wound when it acted up…he still didn't know how that worked, but either way, it didn't mean good things for Natal…

He stayed up so late with those worries…until eventually it was just him and Natal in the room, and Cal dozed off in defeat.

What must have been hours later, still in the thick of the night... he'd hear a pained whimper.

It jolted him awake.

"Hm?" he blinked quickly.

As his gaze fell on the bed, he saw that Natal was tossing and turning in her bed; writhing in sheer agony, whimpering and moaning.

"N-Natal!" frantically, Cal rushed to her.

As he got closer, he saw that her wound was acting up; black goo frothing around it, and slowly spreading across her.

"Oh no!" Cal uttered.

He knew he couldn't heal it… but he could try to keep it from acting up at least.

He put it hand on it. "Stop it," he growled at the black goo. "Stop hurting her!"

However, it was as if the goo was actively ignoring Cal, as it kept spreading; with Natal's whimpers growing even louder.

Cal grit his teeth. "I said STOP IT!" he yelled at it.

Then he turned his head to the door. "Help! Someone HELP HER!" he screamed.

However, before he could say another word, a hand suddenly shot at his mouth to silence him.

Natal's hand.

"Mph?" was Cal's response.

While she was still asleep and whimpering, Natal was actively gripping his mouth; preventing him from speaking. All the while, the Corruption kept spreading across her body.

"Mph!" Cal tried to pull off her hand.

However, Natal's grip was powerful; preventing him from moving her hand away.

Then, as if that wasn't enough, her mouth opened enough so that her tongue could lash around Cal; knocking him on top of her.

"MPH?" Cal's eyes widened at that. Natal's arms slowly wrapped around Cal, and she kept moaning in pain.

If that wasn't enough, some of the black goop dripped from Natal's wound onto the floor... and the bed the two of them were lying on was slowly sinking into darkness that the goop that spilled onto the floor.

"MMMMPH!" Cal tried to struggle out of his hold; this got from bad to worse. However, still, Natal wasn't able to budge; as if she was actively keeping him pinned.

Not that it mattered, because in a matter of moments, the bed, along with Cal and Natal, had sunk below into darkness; surrounding the two of them in a black void.

The only thing left to do now was to try and pull her hand off his mouth again.

This time, he managed to do that, but the second he did that, Natal's eyes shot open, and she let out a loud scream...

...and the Corruption, in what must have been an instant, completely covered her entire body.

"NATAL!" Cal screamed out in terror, clawing at the goo to try and get it off of her. Sadly, his efforts were futile; for each little scrape of goo he managed to claw off, likely double that amount instantly covered it.

Eventually, though, Natal stirred, before collapsing fully; breathing heavily as the goo slowly stopped; being absorbed into her. In some ways, Cal was glad that the go wasn't going to kill her, but he was also terrified because now she had absorbed it all and was now infected with Corruption.

"Natal!" he took her shoulders and tried to shake her. "Natal! Please! Talk to me!"

Still, there was no reply...

...then... "...Cal..."

When the goo had been fully absorbed into her, Cal saw that her body had changed. She had grown longer and more slender, with her eyes having grown slimmer, her chest having noticeably grown, and her outfit changed into a much more revealing one.

Cal gawked at her. "…N…Natal…?" he croaked.

"...Cal..." Slowly, Natal rose up into a sitting position; inches away from Cal. "...what happened...?"

"…the Corruption in your wound…you got consumed by it," Cal uttered, still shocked at her transformation.

"...did it...?" Natal hummed, as she hummed. "...strange... I always thought it would hurt more..."

"…N-Natal, you're okay, right?" Cal asked worriedly, holding her by her shoulders.

"...yes..." Natal nodded. "...in fact... I feel better than ever..."

"…Natal…" Cal was still worried…and in a way, when Natal said she felt better than ever, it bothered him…

"...I didn't know that... it would feel this good..." Slowly, Natal wrapped her arms around Cal. "...doesn't it feel good for you, Cal...?"

"N-Natal, no!" Cal tried to push her away. "If you let yourself enjoy it, then it'll start consuming you even more!"

"...but... it feels so good..." Natal uttered, as she began crawling seductively towards Cal.

Cal shuddered, both out of fear…and out of arousal…his heart thudded against his chest hotly when he watched Natal crawl to him like that… "N-Natal, don't…"

"...what's wrong...?" Natal uttered, as she pushed Cal down against the bed; pressing her hands against his chest. "...don't you like this...?"

"…y-you can't…l-l-let yourself go to it…" although Cal was having trouble speaking right now, breaking into a nervous, hot sweat, breathing.

"...but... I want to let myself go..." Natal uttered, as she slowly leaned down to him.

"…Natal…" Cal uttered, putting his hand on her chest to push her away…only to discover to his embarrassment that he was groping one of her breasts. He gulped.

Moaning a bit, Natal actually smiled. "...so you do like me..." she whispered. "...good... now... let's both let ourselves go."

"…N..Natal…we shouldn't…" Cal knew he was slowly losing this battle of resistance.

"...please... fall into darkness with me..."

At that point, Natal thrust her lips onto Cal's. Cal laid there nervously with her lips against his, trembling. Stroking his cheek, Natal deepened the kiss. Cal's breath and heart rate sped up, and his hand slowly touched her back. With a light shiver, Natal stroked her hand along Cal's chest. Cal trembled in delight at her touch…ever since he touched her back, he knew he lost, but he lost entirely once he started kissing her back. Placing a hand on his cheek, Natal deepened the kiss even more; moaning a bit.

Cal wrapped his arms around Natal, stroking the parts of her where her skin was revealed. With another moan, Natal allowed her tongue to enter Cal's mouth. Cal twitched at that… he always felt goose bumps when he felt her elongated tongue in his mouth. It kept curling around his tongue, as she caressed his body; moving her hands lower down on him. Cal moaned very unsteadily.


*More Censored Content*


"…It's certainly interesting what Corruption can do…"

"...you said it; especially when it happens between two individuals like themselves." Situated atop a cliff over the GUN base, Bulk and Patricia were looking down at the headquarters, with Bulk having formed a window of Corruption in front of him. "...the two of them won't be getting in anyone's way ever again, that's for sure." he chuckled.

"…which leaves the base open to be taken over," Patricia added.

"Like it wasn't, already." Bulk chuckled. "I just figured twisting the knife in the wound some more would be amusing." Then, he glanced back at Patricia. "Nice work on enhancing the growth of Corruption around the bullfrog, by the way."

"…I appreciate the comment," Patricia answered. "…it was simply experimenting to see how far she could be driven over…and it seems like it did the job nicely."

She looked at her hands. "…it really is an interesting energy…"

"...it certainly is." Bulk chuckled. "Makes you wonder what else you could do with it, right?"

"…yes, it does," Patricia said, looking down at the base they were standing on top of.

"...well, since you had your fun with the two chumps..." Bulk hummed, as he slammed his hands together. "...I'll take the lead with this attack." Then, as he stretched his arms out widely, a thick, dark fog began enveloping the base.

Patricia simply watched with a hum.

Slowly, this fog began seeping towards the building itself, until it slowly dissipated; as if it never even was there to begin with...

...and then, the earth underneath it shook.

Patricia just kept watching curiously.

In that instant, a dark geyser erupted underneath the building; utterly consuming it in what could only be described as a tower of Corruption.

"…impressive," Patricia hummed again.

"...it gets better." With a chuckle, Bulk clenched his hands...

...and the geyser stopped with a violent quake; expanding rapidly into a massive fortress built from pure Corruption; dark, noxious fumes billowing from its top, and liquid darkness dripping off its walls into a moat filled with black goo.

Patricia raised her eyebrows.

"...a shame that most of the forces decided to bail; I'd love to see how this massive Corruption increase would've affected them." Bulk chuckled, before he glanced at Patricia. "Shall we pay them a visit?"

Patricia glanced back. "…why not? Lead the way…"

With a chuckle, Bulk leaped right off the cliff they stood on; landing in front of the fort's new entrance. "...now... open up, and let's see how the place looks on the inside..." he hummed, before tossing his arms to the side.

The doors flew open at that…

Inside, there was a dark red carpet on the ground, while the walls were made with a black kind of metal. There were torches lined up on the walls, burning with a black corrupted flame that somehow, lit up the place.

Patricia flew down next to him, folding her arms. "…it seems to like the medieval gothic look," she mused.

"...yeah..." Bulk hummed with a chuckle. "...shame that Rath and the others couldn't see this; I heard they ran off after things went sour with Metal Sonic."

Lined up against the walls, which seemed to have been formed from pure Corruption, were dark suits of armor clutching to various melee weapons. It was as if Bulk and Patricia had actually entered some medieval castle.

Uncle sure was particular about his sense of style… Patricia thought, looking around.

"...now... are there any soldiers who survived or didn't get corrupted around here?" Bulk chuckled, as he slowly walked forward.

Patricia followed him…

…they walked a little bit into the base before they found someone strapped to the wall. It turned out to be the Sergeant, and it was as if a tree grew from the ground because it's faded, dead branches were what pinned him against the wall, burrowing into the wall to keep him there.

"…well look at that," Patricia said.

"...someone who isn't dead." Bulk chuckled, as he approached the Sergeant with a sneer. "...so, how're you doing, Sergeant?"

The Sergeant glared at him with a hardened look.

"…not good I take it," Patricia remarked dryly.

"…you're not getting away with this…" the Sergeant growled.

"...oh, but we already have." Bulk chuckled. "The few soldiers you have here are probably either dead or slaves to Corruption... the way I see it, you're all on your own."

"And with the way you are, you're not really going to be able to call for back up," Patricia added.

The Sergeant grit his teeth, clenching his fists.

"...I suppose if you had some operatives that were skilled in stealth, you'd have a slight chance... but no; they're occupied at the moment." Bulk chuckled.

The Sergeant's eyes widened.

"Yeah, we got to them both before you could stop us," Patricia said. "So now they're spending quality time together in the darkness…"

"...if it makes you feel better, we could show you how they're doing." Bulk chuckled. "Or maybe you'd like to experience what they're feeling first-hand?"

The Sergeant snarled at them. "Just what the hell do you want with me?"

"…yeah, we could kill you right here and now," Patricia started. "…but we're keeping you alive in case you have important information that can be of any use to us. Seeing as how that little brat ran off on us, I'd still like to know just what my Uncle Deity's been up to since he supposedly died…but I doubt you'd know something like that."

The Sergeant fell silent.

…and judging by that silence, Patricia took another look at him. "…you do know, don't you?"

He remained silent, staring her straight in her demonic yellow eyes.

"...well... let's see if he'll talk." Bulk chuckled, before he folded his arms. "I reckon we'll use some serious force for this, right?"

"Certainly…but, my curiosity about my Uncle can wait," Patricia said. "You're a high ranking officer in GUN, so any military information is important…for instance…You wouldn't happen to know where the Commander is, would you?"

"I won't tell you anything…" the Sergeant growled. "…no matter how much you'll torture me…"

"Oh, but I don't think you have a very good idea about what Corruption feels like," Patricia said.

Chuckling, Bulk allowed some darkness to coat his fist. "...you want the honors, or should I?"

"You go on ahead," Patricia said.

Sergeant stared at that fist… after seeing what they were able to do earlier, not to mention what Jill did to his men the previous day…

...he couldn't help but be nervous…but being in the military, the Sergeant hid it well.

Smirking, Bulk reeled his fist back, before slamming it right into the Sergeant's gut. The Sergeant's eyes widened…

…and he cried out in agony. He could take a regular punch…but that one really hurt; burned even.

"...sounds like he enjoys it." Bulk sneered sarcastically, before he punched the Sergeant again. The Sergeant cringed, yelping pathetically again. He had no idea it would hurt so much.

"...I figure you'll start flapping your gums soon enough." Bulk chuckled, as he simply kept pummeling the Sergeant.

The Sergeant screamed out each time he was hit by Bulk, but he tried as best as he could to hold up.

"…Guess that doesn't change the fact you have a strong will, does it?" Patricia spoke.

Bulk hummed, as he eventually stopped punching the Sergeant. "...you know... something tells me that simply punching him won't do." At that point, he grabbed the Sergeant's skull; keeping a powerful grip on it as Corruption still flowed around his hand. "...we'll have to mix it up, to get you to talk."

The halls echoed with the Sergeants pained screams.

"...heh; he's not getting used to this any time soon." Bulk chuckled. "Say, Patricia, you wanna take a shot at this?"

"Sure," Patricia said, and right when she raised her hand.

"OKAY! OKAY!" The Sergeant screamed out. "I'LL TALK!"

"…well, that didn't take long," Patricia said.

"...feh." With a disappointed huff, Bulk let go of the Sergeant. "...alright; talk, then."

"…I won't tell you where the Commander is…" the Sergeant huffed. "…but I can indulge you about Deity Novagod….as a compromise…"

Bulk raised an eyebrow at that, before he glanced at Patricia to see what she thought of that.

"…I'll bite for now," Patricia said. "…but you won't be able to use that kind of deal forever…"

"...alright." With that, Bulk turned back to the Sergeant. "Now speak up."

"…He cheated death…"

Patricia raised her eyebrow. "Go on…"

"…when Dark Gaia was loose, years ago…one of his monsters tried to possess him," the Sergeant started. "…something happened…and your uncle was able to repress the beast inside of him, gaining powers…that's how Corruption was born… and since then, he's been immortal."

"...really, now?" Bulk hummed.

"…he was even the one…who killed Sonic the Hedgehog…"

Patricia's eyes widened at that.

"...so, he was the one...?" Bulk uttered.

The Sergeant nodded in defeat.

"…well what do you know…a Novagod killed the famous Sonic the Hedgehog…" Patricia couldn't help but smirk. "…can't wait to tell my family that one-!"

"—You will not tell your family ANYTHING!" the Sergeant roared. "This is all confidential information of the military!"

"...not anymore, it ain't." Bulk huffed, as he simply glared at the Sergeant. "Especially since you gave up that information to keep us from hurting you."

The Sergeant tried to hide a pained look at that, but failed from the torture he just took.

"...so, now what, Patricia?" Bulk hummed, as he shot the bat a look. "Do we keep pressing him for info, or what?"

"…we'll leave him alone for now," Patricia said. "…although I do get more curious, since that little girl knew all about him…"

"…I wouldn't be surprised…" the Sergeant spoke. "…her mother was involved with him."

Patricia tilted her head curiously. "And just who would her mother be?"

"…a woman named Jillian Condit."


"...so, where are we headed, again?"

"A party someone's having at their place," May replied, leading Hex along down the streets of the city that night.

"...a party?" Hex uttered in a slightly concerned tone. "...don't tell me... is it one of those parties?"

"Not that I know of," May replied with a shrug. "..but seriously Hex, you went from crazed sex maniac to "oh my god" afraid of it, and even with the things to told me, you just need to lighten up a bit…you're still young, and can still party a bit before you hit your expiration date."

"Hey, hey now!" Hex quickly protested. "I never said I was afraid of it!" Then, she glanced to the side with slight blush. "...I'm just afraid of falling back into that sex-crazed loop again. I don't know what could set it off, so..."

"Well, at least try and relax and have fun," May said.

"...right, right, I'll try..." Hex nodded.

May looked onto the road, where cars were lined up closely packed. "Sure glad we're walking…hate to be in that traffic," she remarked.

"...tell me about it..." Hex hummed as she looked at that manner of traffic.

While walking, they ended up passing a long limousine. In the middle of passing by it, the window rolled down. "You do can see right? How far does the traffic go on?"

May took a glance. "…pretty far," she said, and then looked at the one in the limo. "That's why we're walking."

The bat in the limo folded her arms with a grunt. "…I took hours to get ready for this party and I can't believe I'm going to be late because of the damn traffic."

Hex glanced at her with a tilted head. "...you're going to a party as well?"

The bat turned out to be Desire, and she looked back out at them. "Yes, that's right…the one at the Jenkins manor."

May blinked. "…really? That's where we're going too!"

Desire blinked and gave a…very friendly smile. "You don't say?"

For some reason, Hex felt a sense of deja vu upon seeing that sort of smile. "...yeah." she nodded.

Desire looked up and down at them. "Well, you certainly aren't dressed very much for the occasion."

May shrugged. "What can I say? Clothes don't really make you have fun at a party…"

"…true, I suppose," Desire hummed. "…say, how would you two like to hitch a ride with me in the limo?"

Hex blinked. "...a ride?" she uttered, before glancing up along the road. "...well... wouldn't that make us all late for the party, considering the traffic?"

"Perhaps…but to be fashionably late is better than walking up to the party with a…lack of entrance I should say," Desire chuckled. "You show up in my limo, and you'll be instant popularity at the party…"

Hex blinked, as she glanced at May to see what she thought of this.

May started to think about it, and in the midst of her thought, she glanced around.

…then she stopped.

Joy was limping down the street, and unfortunately most of the citizens around her paid the poor, injured girl no heed, walking around her busily. Her tear stained face simply stared down at the ground sorrowfully while she limped on, with arms wrapped around herself to try and keep warm. Ever since she warped away from the GUN base, she had been running, all up until she got to this city. She had no idea where she was, but it was enough as long as she was far away from Metal…

More tears rolled down her sad face and she wiped them away, trying to be strong.

May saw her though… and she tilted her head.

"…Hex…doesn't that little girl look familiar?" she pointed out finally.

Hex blinked, as she glanced to where May pointed... and her eyes widened. "...oh my god... Joy!"

Hearing her name, Joy stopped with a startled jump and looked around fearfully. Then her eyes found May and Hex ahead of her in shock.

"…THAT'S Joy?" May uttered.

"...there's no way I'd mistake her." Quickly, Hex walked towards Joy with a concerned look. "Joy, what in the world happened to you?"

Joy just stared up at her. Sure, she was surprised to see Hex, since she hadn't seen her in two years…but she just couldn't bring herself to say anything.

Hex stopped in front of Joy, and knelt by her. "...oh, you look terrible..." she uttered, before looking around. "...why are you all alone here?"

That brought out a few more tears out of Joy, and she bit her lip, letting her head hang while she tried to wipe away her tears.

Desire stuck her head out of the window, glancing at Hex and Joy with a dry look. "…is this going to take long?" Desire murmured.

May rushed to Joy too. "Joy, what's wrong?"

Joy didn't answer, sniffling. She was trying hard to hold back.

"...Joy..." Hex uttered... and then she sighed. "...oh... this won't do." Then, she looked at May. "...I'm sorry... I can't leave her all alone like this. You go to the party if you want, May; I'll take her back to our place."

May looked at Hex.

"…no, I don't wanna go to a party without you; wouldn't be fair," May said. "I'll come back home with you two."

Desire sighed, and rolled back up her window while her limo pulled up farther in the moving traffic.

Hex nodded a bit at that, before she stood up. "...alright... let's go..."

Nodding back, May looked at Joy. "…how about it Joy? You hungry?"

Joy managed to wipe away the rest of her tears, and nod quietly.

"Okay…we'll take you to our house, so don't worry about anything, okay?" May said, holding out her hand.

Joy just looked at it.

She was still afraid of what Malice could do to other people…and so she didn't want to be with anybody she knew…but her Mama taught her not to go with strangers, and there was nobody else that could offer her any food or a warm bed to sleep on.

So she took May's hand.

Hex nodded, before she began walking. "...it's not too far from here. I'm sure that Fae and Koopman are still at home..."

So they walked the whole way back home, May holding Joy's hand. After a few hours, they were finally back at their mansion, and May walked in through the front door.

She stopped when she heard something… it sounded like… giggling. Knowing her sister to be the giggly type, "Fae?" she called out, turning on the light.

Then her eyes widened.

"EEEP!" Two figures pushed away from each other; Fae being one of them, getting off from the wall and straightening herself. "M-May! Hex! I didn't expect the two of you to be back so soon!"

The other was Koopman, and he looked away from them uneasily.

Hex just blinked at this. "...gah... Koopman...?"

"…were you two just…" May was shocked by this. She pointed at them. "…were you two just…making out?"

"No!" Fae said quickly in embarrassment.

"...you... you were..." Hex uttered, before she looked at Koopman. "...you were just making out, weren't you?"

Koopman said nothing.

May couldn't get over the shock…she even got mad. "Alright, just what's the big idea here?" she said, setting her hands on her hips.

"M-May, please don't get mad!" Fae pleaded.

Hex looked at May in slight surprise; she hadn't expected her to get mad.

"Oh really?" May started. "I shouldn't be mad that my sis is off smooching some guy behind my back? Just how long has this been going on exactly?"

Fae twiddled her thumbs and spoke in a small voice, "…for…maybe three months?"

"Three months?" May blurted out in more shock.

"...three months?" Hex blinked, as she looked at Koopman. "...really?"

Koopman cleared his throat. "…yes Madame…it's true."

"Fae, how am I supposed to make sure you don't get yourself into trouble if you go off doing things when I don't know about it?" May started off.

"But May, I'm not getting into trouble! Mordecai is a really nice guy!" Fae protested.

And thus, the two sisters started bickering…

Joy stepped behind Hex a bit timidly, watching them. Koopman noticed her standing there, and he stopped with widened eyes. Hex simply rubbed her neck, as she looked at Koopman.

"Well…I'll talk to you about this later!" May said, finishing their bickering. "The reason we came back early is because we're gonna have someone spend the night."

"Hm?" And Fae finally noticed Joy.

"…Oh you are so adorable!" Fae giggled, pinching Joy's cheek.

Joy just winced nervously at that.

Hex simply chuckled a bit nervously. "...she needs some food. Do you think you could fix her something, Koopman?"

Koopman bowed his head. "Yes Madame," and walked off toward the kitchen.

"And you look cold you poor thing!" Fae continued. "I'm going to get you a nice, soft sweater!" and she headed off as well.

Joy just rubbed the cheek she had been pinching.

Hex just looked at Joy with a smile. "...you get used to it." she said in an assuring tone.

Joy looked up at Hex. "…was this where you went when you left Safe Haven?" she asked her.

"...well... yeah." Hex nodded, as she glanced to the side. "...I didn't have anywhere else to go, at first... and, to be honest, I was kinda afraid that I'd get turned down when I came to ask to live here..."

Joy looked at the living room. "…it was really nice of them to let you live here…"

"…you don't remember us Joy, probably because you were too little, but me and my sis were at Safe Haven one year," May said, "so we already knew Hex. Guess that's one of the reasons we decided to let her stay with us until she could pick herself back up on her feet…"

Then she frowned. "…but it's been two years since then…"

Hex just sighed, as she glanced to the side a bit awkwardly.

Joy looked back up at Hex. She certainly seemed a lot different now…Joy knew that she probably changed after all that happened to her two years ago, but it was a bit to get used to…considering the way she used to be.

Geez, even if she was living in a mansion, she was dirt poor all along? Malice spoke in Joy's head.

Apparently so…

"...I'll go wash up. You go and get yourself some food, Joy." And Hex walked off.

Joy watched Hex walk off. She still wasn't very comfortable being around people she knew with Malice inside of her…but at the moment there was really nothing else she could do about it.

"Here you are!" Next thing Joy knew, something was thrown on top of her, and Joy was momentarily disoriented until her head came out of a hole. There was a white fuzzy sweater on her now, which was too big on her and hung below her knees.

"Awwwww!" Fae giggled. "You look even cuter now!" Then she took Joy's hand. "How about some TV, huh little missy? You can watch some while you wait for Mordecai to finish making you some food!"

May shook her head at the way her sister acted. She's still frustrated that she had been hiding that kind of development between her and Koopman from them, but in the end her sister was amusing to watch.

Although Hex walked off pretty suddenly…so May went down where Hex disappeared to, making sure there wasn't anything wrong. As she quickly noticed, Hex had walked into her own room; not noticing anyone else following her at the moment. May stopped by the door to peek in and check on her.

Right now, she was just sitting on her bed and staring at the wall thoughtfully. "...hrm..."

May knocked on the door, tilting it open. "Something wrong?"

Hex glanced back at May, before looking back at the wall. "...I guess... I'm a bit bummed out..." she murmured.

"About?"

"...well... a few things." Hex sighed. "...like... I know that you've wanted to go to this party for some time, now, and I ended up botching those plans... and, well... Joy being here rekindled some bad memories..."

"Hey, don't worry about the party; there's always gonna be more," May said. "…but…I guess I can understand Joy bringing back some not so happy memories…"

"...right..." Hex sighed, as she rubbed her hands together. "...just the thought of what I did back then... honestly, I was afraid that I'd never be able to move on from that..."

May hummed. "…things like that just take time…"

"...but I went through something really horrific..." Hex murmured, before she lied down on the bed. "...and now I just can't stop thinking about it..."

May honestly didn't know what to tell Hex at that point. She didn't experience anything like what Hex told her and her sister this morning.

Holding her arm in an insecure manner, Hex glanced at May. "...hey... thanks for letting me stay here..." she said. "...I know you must've heard that countless times by now, but... just thinking about it makes me that much more grateful for it..."

"No problem," May said. "…and…I may joke about how you overstay your welcome and you need to get a job and all that stuff…but in reality I'm glad to help."

Hex smiled a bit. "...I just wish I could repay you somehow... I mean, Koopman's the one who does all the chores, so... I'd like to at least pay you back in some way..."

May shrugged. "I don't really think of that kind of stuff, and I don't really ask for anything in return…you don't have to worry about that."

"...still, though..." Hex slowly stood up, as she looked at May. "...there must be something. I may not have money, but I can do other things, too..."

May grew curious. "What other things?"

"...oh, you know... whatever strikes your fancy..." Hex glanced to the side as she fidgeted.

May blinked.

"…oh…Oh!" May finally caught her drift. "That!"

Hex quickly blushed at that. "...um..."

May blinked at her in astonishment. "…after everything you went through, you'd still offer that?"

Hex rubbed her arm. "...well... if it's alright with you..." Then, she looked at May. "...I'd be willing to do just that..."

May arched her brows. "I don't want to ask that from you…I mean, I don't want to put you through those bad memories…"

"...well..." Hex uttered, as she glanced down at the ground. "...I do have one good memory from back then... when I first met you..."

"…really?" May stared at Hex.

Hex simply nodded. May looked at her for a long time. While it was nice, and even quite a bit generous for Hex to offer herself like that, May wasn't really the type of person to ask for that. Sure, she explored a lot of things when she partied, and she remembered how crazy it was when she met Hex at Safe Haven, but when it came down to it, May just wasn't sure what to say. Hex simply looked back at her.

May walked up to her. "I just don't know Hex," she said.

"...well..." Hex began. "...obviously, we don't need to do it right now..." Then, she glanced at the ceiling. "...it's just... you know... something to consider for a later date..."

"…I still don't think you'd have to pay me back that way," May said. She put a hand on Hex's shoulder. "I don't want to ask so much of you like that."

Hex placed a hand on the hand that now rested on her shoulder. "...well... what other way could I repay you?"

"…I'm not sure, but if you really insist on paying me back, we could think of something," May replied.

"...right..." Hex uttered, as she glanced back at May's hand.

May couldn't help but look at her thoughtfully… she didn't know what else Hex could do to be honest…and despite what she told Hex about the party, she was still going to go wild. It really wouldn't mean anything different anyway…

…without really thinking about it, she moved toward Hex's neck.

Hex blinked. "...May?"

…and she kissed it softly. Hex gasped a little in surprise, though she didn't do anything to stop May. May started kissing her neck more and more, not really thinking. Closing her eyes, Hex kept gasping softly, as she slowly wrapped her arms around May. May touched her ribs, kissing her neck…

…and finally, a thought crossed her mind.

I just admitted that I was a lesbian, didn't I? And she mentally sighed. Oh well…I mind as well have been one anyway…


This


"...mmh..." With a slight hum, Hex carefully began touching May's ribs as well. May liked that touch… and her hands slowly moved up to her chest. Hex gasped a bit more, though more in a pleased manner than anything else. May grasped one of Hex's breasts, feeling her, and even through the dress, she could feel Hex's nipple harden.

A tiny moan escaped Hex's lips; to the point where one of her hands moved to grasp one of May's breasts in return. May gasped a little at that, and started getting into it…

…only for the door to suddenly swing open. "Hex! May! You have to some see—oh my…"

May jumped away from Hex. "Fae?"

Her sister stood there, blinking.

"F-Fae..." Hex uttered, as she looked away with a flustered look.

Fae then smirked at May. "…and you get mad at me for making out with Mordecai."

"What do you want?" May grumbled irritably.

Fae lost her smirk. "You two have to come see! There's a newsflash on the TV updating Metal's story!"

Instantly, Hex looked back at Fae. "...seriously?" Quickly, she ran out of the room, to head for the living room. So did May and Fae.

They saw a horrified Joy sitting on the couch, staring at the TV.

"...a shocking development! We have received news that the GUN Headquarters has been engulfed in... some unidentified, black mass... and has been transformed into a massive fortress!" And at that exact point, footage of the transformed base was shown on the television.

Hex instantly reeled back at seeing that horrific display. "...C-C-Co... Corruption..." she whispered fearfully.

Tears appeared in Joy's eyes and they rolled down her cheeks. "…Daddy…" she uttered in distraught.

"While our news reporters are incapable of approaching the fortress due to the foreign, likely hazardous nature of the substance, we have received reports that the majority of the forces stationed here have moved to a smaller base. The recently captured Metal Sonic is currently the prime suspect of this henious action; however, so far, no conclusive evidence can certainly point to this fact."

Joy got up from where she sat. "My Daddy's NOT the bad guy!" she yelled sorrowfully. "He didn't do that!"

May and Fae looked at Joy.

Hex looked at the television with a narrowed look. "...there's no way he'd ever do something like that..." she uttered. "...but... who else would...?"

Just hearing that struck Joy hard. She knew who did it. Malice…

…bursting into tears, she ran out of the living room.

"Joy?" May uttered.

Hex looked back at Joy in shock, but also understanding; after all, her father was being accused of doing something unspeakably evil... but right now, there wasn't really a whole lot that they could do about it...

"…Fae, see if you can talk to Joy and calm her down," May said, and getting a nod from Fae, her sister rushed off where Joy ran to.

Hex couldn't help but sigh, as she leaned a hand against the wall.

"…poor girl," May mumbled. "…I wonder what she's doing by herself all the way out here…"

"...my thoughts exactly..." Hex murmured. "...Metal being caught by GUN, Jill nowhere in sight... none of her friends around, either..." Then, she rubbed her temples. "...how did she get all the way out here by herself, anyway...?"

"…that's a long way for a little girl like her…" May murmured. "…I think there's more going on than anyone's letting on…"

"...should we ask her about it?" Hex hummed.

May looked down where Joy ran. "…she seems pretty overwhelmed about the whole thing…I think we should cut her some slack. At least until the morning…maybe then we could ask her a few questions when she's calmed down."

"...yeah, I was thinking the same thing..." Hex nodded.


"…no way…" Striker croaked, staring at the TV.

Ani grit her teeth. "…things just got from bad to worse…"

"...you can't be serious..." Jack uttered; gawking at this with wide eyes.

"...apparently, they are." Proxy hummed with a narrow look.

Tails simply kept silent, as he looked at the TV with a frown.

Vanessa stared at this with a hardened look… "…so…it begins."

"...the race is on, it would seem." Omega hummed.

"...arr... things be goin' badly at this rate..." Whisker hummed.

"…I'm just glad that Metal and King and the others weren't in the building when it happened," Milo said, after listening to the news. "…but because of this report, everyone's going to treat them like fugitives…"

"…that's not going to be good for them, no…" Vanessa murmured. "…and just like I thought…I think Safe Haven's going to be under lockdown for a long time after this…"

"…I hope everyone on Safe Haven will be alright…" Snap muttered.

Jack glanced down at the floor with a worried look.

"...currently, there's not a lot we can do about it..." Proxy murmured. "...the only thing we can do, for now, is to keep looking for Joy..."

Milo looked at his friends. "…Striker, Ani, Jack…" the three of them he said looked at him. "…I think we need to stop by the Clubhouse and make sure we'll have everything we need."

"...right..." Jack nodded.

"...we will be waiting here for you." Omega hummed. "Take your time."

Snap stepped up. "…I'll come with you…"

Milo nodded, and the five of them went outside the front door.

Vanessa leaned against the wall with a tired sigh. Right now, Diablo and Kiri were asleep, which was good, because the two of them were the ones that needed rest the most. She wondered just how far the situation was going to escalate…

"...should we tell Oblivion 'n Charon about this?" Whisker hummed, as he glanced at the others.

"…yeah…but not at the moment," Vanessa said. "We'll wait until the boys and Ani get back…"

"...yes... that seems logical..." Tails nodded.


"…wow…gosh it's been so long since I was back here…" Ani spoke, looking up at the towering tree house before them.

"...it's really been a while, hasn't it?" Jack hummed, as he began walking towards the elevator. "We've kept your room ready for you, and everything."

"Wow. Really?" Ani asked.

"Yeah, c'mon! We'll show you!" Striker pulled her into the elevator, followed by Jack, Milo and Snap.

"Okay; going up!" Jack was quick to start the elevator up; letting it go upwards.

They stood in the elevator, waiting for it to head up. Ani just couldn't help but feel some nostalgia…it felt so long ago when she was running around playing tag and hide and seek with these boys…now that she was older and working at a pub at a warrior nation, she realized how much she really changed.

The elevator doors opened to the familiar hallway. Nothing changed about this place…everything was still where Ani remembered it to be.

The boys came out of the elevator, with her walking out last, still staring at the place.

"...looks pretty good, huh?" Jack hummed with a light chuckle.

"…yeah…" Ani walked in farther.

The boys led her around the tree house, and she only got many more memories out of it. "We let Kiri sleep in Jill's room, since, y'know, she probably won't really use it anymore," Striker told Ani. "But we still leave your room the way it is in case you ever come back for a sleep over or something."

And they opened the door to her room.

Sure enough, it had remained the exact same way as she left it. The only thing that was missing was her stuffed wolf, Cocoa, which was all the way back in her room at Safe Haven. In some ways, she really wished she had Cocoa with her right now; the room, despite having all her old stuff, seemed so empty without Cocoa.

"...see? Everything's here." Jack hummed with a grin.

Ani smiled at that.

"You guys feel free to hang here a bit," Milo said. "Me and Snap will see what kind of things we'll need," and the two of them walked off, leaving Jack, Striker and Ani in her room.

With a smile, Jack sat down, as he looked around. "...man, this brings back memories..."

"…gosh…I miss the old days," Ani spoke, sitting on her old bed. "…we weren't worried about anything back then…it'd just be you guys, and Jill and Brick and we'd all play together and we'd laugh when Brick got embarrassed around Jill…"

Striker laughed, "Haha…yeah…"

"...yeah..." Jack laughed as well.

Ani felt something trickle down her cheeks in surprise. She reached to touch what it was…finding out that they were tears.

Striker blinked. "…Ani?"

"I'm not crying!" Ani turned around and wiped her eyes, wondering where it came from.

Jack blinked. "...you okay, Ani?"

"Like I said, I'm not crying!" Ani uttered, wiping her eyes. She had no idea where the tears were coming from…

…until she took a minute to think, and realized well…all that was happening right now…it was a really tragic thing. Ani realized that it was finally starting to sink in on her…

"...Ani?" Jack uttered again.

"…guys…what happened to all of us?"

Striker's eyes widened when he saw Ani getting upset.

"I mean, what happened to the days where we'd stick together and be friends forever and not have to worry about anything bad?" Ani uttered, trying not to break down but she was pretty near to it. "And now…everything's going wrong!"

"...Ani..." Jack uttered.

Ani kept going, "I mean, Brick's gone, Jill's got a whole new life and never has much time for all of us, I'm so busy at the pub that I hardly get to come back here and visit you guys, and now that Malice has gone and messed everything up, King and my dad are out there somewhere to help Metal look for Joy and Jill's stuck at Safe Haven, not able to do anything and…and…!"

And right then and there, Ani broke down in sobs.

Jack couldn't say anything, as he just looked at Ani with a sad look. Striker looked at Ani with the same kind of sad look…maybe feeling even sadder that Ani was upset.

"…Ani, don't cry…" he muttered, sitting next to her. "Everything's going to be okay…"

But Ani didn't stop; she couldn't.

"...Ani... you don't have to be sad all on your own..." Jack uttered, as he kept looking at her and Striker.

Ani still didn't stop after that…so to try and get her to feel better, Striker hugged her. Ani hugged him back, burying her face in his shoulder. Jack, wanting to cheer Ani up a bit as well, moved to hug the both of them.

Milo came back around, and seeing this sight, he remained silent. Snap was handling things and Milo had come to check on them…to find that Ani was bawling her eyes out while being hugged by both Striker and Jack.

…he could sense a lot of sadness in their spirits.

While silent, Jack patted both Striker's and Ani's backs, to try and cheer them up. Milo's brows arched…he was older and understood more than his two buddies so he and Ani were on terms with maturity…but when a situation like this happened, he was always the one that held together the best…mainly because he would find out about these things ahead of time and know how to react and what to do when the situation did happen…like with the events going on right now…

...still…it was hard on him to see all his friends seem so sad…and it might seem like a silly idea for Milo to do so…but he came over and hugged all of them too.

Still, no one said a single word; as they kept hugging each other in silence.

Ani, feeling all her old friends hugging her around her, started to calm down a bit. While she said that she didn't feel like they were all still together anymore…she couldn't help but feel comforted when the three of them were right there around her. It gave her a warm, fuzzy feeling.

"Ani…even if were spread apart, you know that we'll still be friends forever," Striker said, trying to smile. "…and a lot of bad things have happened for a while…but that still won't change anything about the four of us."

"...we're still gonna be the best of friends..." Jack hummed.

"…and no matter what happens, we can still be there for each other," Milo added.

Ani wiped her eyes, and that managed to get a smile out of her. Jack smiled as well; just seeing her cheer up made him cheer up a bit as well.

"…so don't worry Ani," Striker said, smiling more genuinely when he saw her smile. "…we're gonna go meet up with Metal and King's group so you can see your dad again, and we'll all work together to look for Joy…so we can make sure stuff like this won't happen anymore."

Milo wasn't really sure how true that could be. Everyone was pretty sure that none of this would happen again after Deity Novagod was gone for good, but they were proven wrong… there would always be a chance that something like this could happen again…

…but it's not like he was going to say that out loud and spoil trying to cheer Ani up.

"Right..." Jack nodded.

"…well…" Ani wiped her eyes entirely now. "…let's get everything we need then."

Milo nodded. "Snap and I collected a few things, so you guys have to look to see what you need."

"...alright; I'll go check in my room." Jack hummed. "You guys check your own rooms, alright?"

"Right," Striker said with a nod.

"C'mon Jack; I'll help you out!" Ani said, dashing out of the room.

"Alright!" Laughing, Jack ran after her.

Striker and Milo were left alone in the room. Milo looked over at Striker, who just looked out the door where Ani went. He took a glance at Striker's spirit…and stirred in a particular way that interested Milo.

"…Striker…do you still like Ani?"

Striker started blushing and quickly looked at Milo. "Wh-what?"

"You heard me," Milo replied.

Striker looked away with a sour look. "…no…girls have cooties…"

Milo rolled his eyes with a groan.

"…Striker…you're seventeen years old…"

Striker looked at Milo.

"…Jack may have an excuse to act like a kid because of how Vanessa raised him," Milo said. "…but…you don't. You have your mature moments, but for the most part, you still act like a kid… I mean, on Jill's birthday, you still freaked out when Joy asked where babies came from."

"Because I didn't want to know about that stuff!" Striker yelped.

"No, you asked the question in the first place; I would remember," Milo said. "…but what I mean to say, Striker, is that you're old enough that you gotta start acting your age… you shouldn't freak out about stuff like where babies come from; it's the natural part of life so that all of us can continue to live on and survive."

Striker looked away uneasily.

"…and it all eventually will have to do with the feelings that you have for Ani," Milo said.

Striker gave him a shocked look. "…are you saying that I'd… want to do those kinds of things…with Ani?"

"Not right now, I'm sure," Milo said. "…hell, can you imagine how mad Hunter would be if you and Ani ever did stuff like that?" Then he put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "…I'm just saying that as we grow, we'll change our opinions on things. Right now it seems awkward…but if you just stop acting so immature about it, it can turn into something good."

"…I…don't understand what you mean, Milo…" Striker muttered, sweating nervously a bit.

Milo sighed; Striker still had quite the short attention span. "…just, talk to Ani about these things; It's really a kind of subject meant for just you and her only…"

"…so…you're not telling me that I should do that stuff with Ani, right?" Striker asked nervously.

Milo huffed. "…I don't know Striker. You have to establish your guys feelings for each other first and discuss whether or not either of you want to do that stuff…"

Striker started panicking almost. "Well, wh-what if Ani ends up wanting to do that kind of stuff?"

Milo grumbled. "Striker, Ani's a tomboy. She's not the kind to want to get into that stuff…" At least not as far as Milo knew.

Striker breathed in relief.

"Look, we can talk about this later," Milo said. "Just go get your things…"

"Right!" And Striker was out of the room.

Milo pinched his brow tiredly.

...never thought that he'd have girl problems, a certain voice chuckled.

hey…it's better than trying to talk to Jack about that stuff… Milo thought.

It should be easier, now that big sis is around to keep him from freaking out whenever you try explaining how babies are made.

...I'm not sure Vanessa is the best for that, especially after what I've heard on how she got Jack… Milo thought nervously. …besides, who's the one that's using his nephew's body for those things? Huh?

Oh, relax; with things as they are, it's not like I can do more of those things. the voice huffed. ...though... to imagine that Jack was that kind of kid... honestly, I didn't think that'd ever be the case with her.

Milo sighed. …I'm getting too exhausted to talk about all these things…

...sheesh, sounds like you need to get a girlfriend, too.

"WHAT?" Milo yelped out in total surprise.

Yep; you really need a girlfriend. Johnny hummed. Fuck, you just need to get laid, period.

Who are YOU to tell me something like that? The mere suggestion of that made Milo blush wildly.

Someone who can tell you that getting a girlfriend would help you a lot with dealing with situations like this.

Milo just got a sour look; similar to the one that Striker had earlier. I'm ignoring you at this point, he thought, walking out of Ani's room.

Good luck with that; I'm not going anywhere.


"…there we go." Fae placed a nice, warm blanket over Joy, who was now fast asleep on the couch. "…she's still so cute," she cooed silently.

"...mhm..." Hex nodded, as she simply looked at Joy.

Then Fae sighed while she sat down. "…I hope May doesn't take too long in the shower…I need one too," she moaned.

"...right..." Hex hummed, as she looked up at the ceiling.

"…bathroom's free!" called a voice from the hall.

Fae jumped to her feet happily. "Yes!" and dashed into the hall toward the open bathroom.

Hex simply chuckled, as she began walking off towards her own room. With the night soon to come, and with everything that had been going on, she figured it was time to call it a day...

"…whoops!" and someone ended up bumping into her. "Sorry about that Hex!"

"Ah..." Hex uttered, as she looked at May. "Oh, don't worry about it, May."

"Yeah, I had a towel over my head," she said, pulling the towel off from drying her head.

"...I see." Hex hummed, before she chuckled. "...so, where are you headed?"

"…probably to bed; it's pretty late after all…" May muttered with a shrug. "Although I think I'll stay up a bit longer…"

"...yeah; me too..." Hex hummed, as she rubbed her neck.

"You don't mind if I stayed up and chat with you, do you?" May asked. "Since I'm not going to bed right away…"

"...oh, of course I don't mind." Hex hummed.

"Okay," May replied.

The two of them ended up heading off in Hex's room, May sighing when she sat, and then looked out the window. "…this is crazy."

"...it certainly is..." Hex nodded in agreement.

"…I'm still trying to get over everything you told me this morning," May muttered. "…and then Joy shows up…"

"...if it isn't one thing, it's the other..." Hex murmured.

May still stared out the window. "…is being possessed by Corruption…really that scary?"

Hex looked away. "...it is..." she nodded. "...it's... I don't even know how to describe it..."

May was silent after that.

Hex simply rubbed her hands together. "...just the thought of... having that stuff seep into your mind... it makes you think that you enjoy it, when... when you're actually in constant misery..."

"…really?" May asked, actually looking back at her this time.

Hex nodded. "...only when I was being cleansed did I realize... I was being tortured by that dark magic... if I hadn't been saved, it could have done horrible things to me..."

May looked at the ground.

Hex shuddered. "...if it had kept eating at me... I... I don't even..." She grit her teeth; not exactly wanting to remember more of that.

Seeing her distressed like that, May stood up and set a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, you don't have to think about that anymore," she said.

Hex slowly looked up at May.

"…it just sounds… pretty bad and I don't want to have to make you think about those things again," May said, taking her hand of Hex's shoulder.

At that point, Hex hugged May. "...thank you..."

May was surprised that Hex hugged her. "…you're welcome," she finally said, hugging her back.

Hex simply kept hugging her in silence. May hugged back, not entirely sure how long the hug would last.

"...May..." Without breaking from the hug, Hex slowly began stroking May's arm. That sent a few goose bumps up May's arm and down her spine. She had a feeling where this might be going…


And I'm sure the ready does too, so lets be kind and censor all that


There I was…running away from those monsters again. We were in the same broken city with nobody else but me…and those monsters too, but I didn't want them to be there.

I didn't want to run away anymore…but I didn't know what else to do. If Malice caught me again, then she'll take over me again and start hurting Hex and the other people…

"Come out come out wherever you are!" cackled her voice in the skies.

This was not a hide and seek game I liked…I was still scared, and I felt really sad for everything that was happening… I felt even more sad when Daddy was trying to help me, and I had to run away to protect him… I wish I didn't have to run away, but I have to… Malice was really strong, and the only way I can stop her is to keep her from taking over me.

I ran into a building that was still standing so I could hide. Behind the wall, I looked around, still scared. Some of the monsters that were chasing after me ran past the building, going away and leaving me alone… other monsters stayed around, trying to look for me.

So I tried to keep quiet so hard that I covered my mouth.

I wished a lot of things…I wished that Tails Doll would scare them away, or that Daddy or Mama would fight them away… I wished I didn't have to run away, and I wished that Malice didn't want to hurt my Mama and Daddy…I wished that I was strong enough to fight her and tell her to leave everybody alone...

"Boo."

I screamed and turned around, falling on my back. There was Malice again, laughing at me in a mean way because she had scared me. "Nowhere to run this time!" she told me, giving me a scary, evil smile.

That's when I remembered a trick that Daddy told me if I had a bad dream, and he said that it doesn't work all the time, but sometimes it does. He said that I have to pinch myself.

So I did.

Joy let out a pained whimper, jolting awake. Then she sat up from where she was sleeping on the couch in a dark, quiet, empty living room. She rubbed her eyes tiredly, to make sure she was awake…

…and she realized that pinching herself worked…her arm hurt from where she pinched herself in the dream, and she rubbed it sorely. In the end though, it worked…and Malice didn't catch her.

She got down from the couch… Joy didn't know if she should even stay here anymore…she was so scared that Malice could take over her still and hurt them that she felt like she had to get out of here. She walked down the hall deeper into the apartment…

…and at Hex's door, she heard some noises…Joy actually stopped to listen to them. It sounded like…two people in there, moaning and doing…something. Joy couldn't tell what, but she heard movement on a mattress.

Joy heard snickering in her head.

Hey Joy…do you want to know what they're doing in there?

Just then, Joy started hearing them moan louder and breathe harder. It started to scare her…

what? Joy asked back, shuddering.

Malice chuckled. Are you suuuuure you want to know? Your 'Mama' didn't really want you to find out about it yet… and Sage said that you'd have to be prepared to find out about it.

The moaning got louder and louder. It scared Joy even more. It sounded like they were hurt. "Oh Hex...!" moaned a voice, sounding like May.

"Aaahh... May!" a second voice moaned, sounding like Hex.

Joy stepped away from the door, remembering her mother's birthday when she asked a question and everyone looked nervous when she asked a particular question…

you mean…THAT'S…where babies come from?

Oh yes…that's where babies come from, Joy…two naked girls rubbing their bodies against each other in hot, lesbian sex. Malice sneered.

Joy didn't know what words like "lesbian" or even "sex" meant, but her Mama told her that being naked in front of another person was a no-no, and along with all those scary sounds they were making…she was just horrified, frightened and confused all at the same time…

…enough that she just spun around, and ran right when the screaming got it's loudest; she just wanted to get out of here, and quickly, before she found out anything else…

The front door was unlocked, and Joy glanced out into the hallways, seeing that the coast was clear. She walked out the door, closed it as quietly as possible…

…and she ran to the nearest elevator, clicking it. The elevator took her down to the first floor, where the clerk at the desk was half asleep and didn't care whether or not it was safe for a five year old to walk out of the place by herself. Joy got out onto the streets of the night, and from there she started walking again.

Thankfully, she still was wearing the sweater that Fae put on her, and after being full from the delicious meal Koopman made her and getting at least a little sleep… Joy felt like she could get somewhere…

…and once she left the city, she disappeared into the night.


...okay, even for Malice, that was very harsh...