This is a work of fanfiction. All characters (except Emerald) belong to Aphmau / Jessica Bravura.

Cover Art belongs to Aphmau / Jessica Bravura.

Please don't sue me.

Emerald woke up slightly confused.

She was in her room, but she had absolutely no memory of how she'd ended up here. She felt safe in her bed, the heavy weight of her comforter pressing onto her from above as she lay on her left side and looked out her window. It was still fairly early: the sun was just barely peeking over the buildings. Hazy images from the day before flittered through her head as the veteran tried to recall what had happened.

Magic. Panic. Darkness.

Emerald sighed, closing her eyes and snuggling down further into her covers. It was confusing, but pieces were starting to come back. For whatever reason, Rhys had been angry with Asch and Noi, so much so he chased them into the Haunted House. He'd even been ready to attack them when she'd grabbed him from behind. Then...

She frowned, furrowing her brows as she tried to remember. Rhys had stopped, she knew that much...but what happened next? The veteran made a fist in frustration, inhaling sharply at the pain that shot through her hand and forced her eyes back open.

Slowly, she brought her right hand out from under the comforter and studied it, a bit surprised to see a few bandages wrapped around her palm. A few more pieces of yesterday came back, causing her to groan in frustration.

'Public panic attack. Fucking fantastic.'

A large hand came to softly rest on top of her head. "Emerald? Are you awake?"

The veteran froze, feeling her body tense instantly. Reflexively, her hands curled into fists again, bringing a soft cry of pain and a quiet curse.

"Emerald?" The voice grew a little louder. She felt movement behind her on the bed, realizing part of the heavy weight on her body was actually an arm slung across her waist. A hand reached up and took hers, gently working the thumb between her fingers and straightening them out. "Please be careful. You have not yet healed from yesterday."

"Pierce?" She let out the breath she didn't know she'd been holding, allowing herself to relax a bit as she forced her other hand open under the sheets. She idly rubbed her thumb over his, fingers curling back down a little. "Have you been here all night?"

The veteran felt him nod as he removed his other hand from her head and propped himself up. She rolled onto her back to see him looking down at her, studying her face with an expression of worry. "You have been asleep for quite a while, but Ava assured us it was normal. What do you recall?"

Emerald paused, trying to remember more of the previous day. "I...had a panic attack. In the Haunted House. Rhys was..." She let out a soft scoff. "He was pissed about something." Pierce nodded, encouraging her to continue. "I ran up and...grabbed him. Made him stop. Then..." she trailed off, frowning as more memories started coming into focus. "I couldn't breathe. It was dark, I couldn't see anything." She felt her chest tighten as she recalled the events. "I couldn't breathe -"

"Emerald." His tone of voice made her focus on his face again. He took the hand he was holding and held it against his chest. "Look at me. Do not think about anything else right now. Just breathe with me."

She did as he asked, focusing on his azure eyes as she took a deep breath and held it for a few seconds before letting it out. The longer she stared, the more it felt like she was sinking into water off the shore of some tropical island. After repeating it a few times, she sighed and closed her eyes.

"Are you calmer now?"

The veteran huffed out a tired laugh. "Yeah, actually." She looked at him again. "Sorry I made you stay here. I know you don't like how soft human furniture is."

Pierce gave her a small grin. "It's not so bad when I'm with you." He laid down next to her again, pausing for only a moment before wriggling his left arm under her pillow and pulling her close, rolling her onto her right side to face him. He rubbed her back as he rested his forehead against hers. "You should rest more," he whispered. "Let me know if you need anything."

In response, Emerald snuggled closer and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "Thank you."

Ava was surprised when she woke up around nine in the morning. Instead of getting up, she lay in bed, thoughts racing around her head as she went over everything that'd happened since the Daemos had shown up last month. Eventually, she came around to yesterday's incident at the Fall Festival.

'I should really check on Em,' she thought, but made no move to get up. After everything that had happened yesterday, she wouldn't be surprised if the veteran just wanted to hide in her room all day. It wasn't just so she could recover from the attack and medicine she'd been given, but she was also undoubtedly feeling a bit embarrassed about the whole incident...if she even remembered it.

She found herself smiling a bit as she thought back to everything that happened once they got home. 'I forgot how clingy she gets after one of these. Hope she didn't crush Pierce last night.' That thought made her actually laugh a little. 'Not like there's any risk of that actually happening. She picked the biggest one of the bunch.'

A sudden knock at the door startled Ava out of her thoughts. She looked over at her phone, surprised to find nearly an hour had already passed since she'd first woken up. 'Still, it's a little early for Em to be checking on me. Hope everything's okay.'

The short woman sighed, hauling herself out of bed. It was somewhat encouraging the Daemos were beginning to knock before just barging into her room, moreso that whoever was out there now was actually waiting for her to come open the door herself. 'Looks like those lessons are paying off after all.' She opened the door, unsurprised to see Rhys standing there. "Rhys?"

"Princess Ava." The spectacled Daemos gave her a courteous nod. "Dame Emerald requested I come get you. She said she would like to speak with you."

"Oh. Yeah, no problem. Thank you." As she walked down the hallway, she was a little surprised to see Pierce was only just now leaving the veteran's room. 'He actually stayed with her all night? I'm surprised Asch let him do that.' She nodded to him as they passed, receiving a similar acknowledgement back.

Ava stopped and knocked on the door. "Em? You wanted to talk?"

"Come on in."

She entered the room, closing the door softly behind her. The taller woman was sitting on the edge of her bed, facing the door. She was staring down at the bandages on her hands, absentmindedly rubbing her right hand.

"Hey, how you feeling?" Ava studied her a little closer, noting the taller woman had already gotten changed and brushed her hair.

"Tired. Hungry." Em let out a small chuckle. "Quietly dying of embarrassment inside over what happened yesterday." She indicated the space next to her. "Sit with me: this might take a while."

"Sure." Ava studied her face as she took her place at her side. Em did look pretty worn out, but that was only to be expected after the shenanigans from the day before. "I had a feeling something was up. You've been stressed out for days."

A sigh. "Yeah, you could say that." She sat up a little straighter, finally turning to face Ava directly. "We need to talk about this whole...living situation."

"You mean the Daemos? I -"

"No, not them. I mean, yeah, it's been weird having them here, but this is something that's been coming since before they showed up." Em took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "I'm moving out."

"Wait, what?!"

Em held up one hand. "Look, I know this seems like it's coming completely out of left field, but if you give me some time I can explain exactly what happened." When Ava didn't voice any objections, she continued. "Back at the beginning of October, about two weeks ago, I got an email from my work. They've been floating the idea of having me come into the office and work a regular, full-time job there for a few months now."

"Well, what's the problem with that?" Ava grinned at her. "It sounds like a really big opportunity!"

"The office is on the other side of the country."

The grin fell instantly. "Oh." She tried to bring it back up. "Well, I mean, at least you have some time to think it over and stuff, right?"

Em shook her head. "They want me out there by November 1st, or else I won't have a job anymore. They gave me all of October off so I could make the trip and get settled before getting back to work." She swallowed hard. "It...never seemed like there was a good time to talk about this with you, especially with everything that's been going on with the Daemos and your Dad's campaign."

The shorter woman stared down at her own hands, picking her nails nervously. Of all the things Em could've told her, this was the last thing she'd seen coming. Suddenly, her earlier fears of being left behind and alone reared up, threatening to make her cry. She squeezed her hands into fists as her vision blurred.

"Ava? Talk to me?" The veteran cautiously put her hand on her shoulder, but didn't make any further moves. "I know it's a lot to take in, and I know I can be a little blunt sometimes, so -"

Ava jumped up, startling her. "I need some time alone." Without waiting for her to respond, she ran to the door and threw it open. She heard Em standing up behind her, but was too upset to stop. Instead, she plowed past the Daemos as they stared at her in shock, almost diving back into her room and slamming the door shut behind her.

All she wanted was to be left alone.

As it turned out, being alone did absolutely nothing to improve Ava's mood.

She emerged from her room the next day, bringing the dirty dishes from the peace meals Em had left outside her door yesterday and putting them in the sink. As she passed by the living room, she observed all five Daemos gathered around the TV, seemingly oblivious to the fact she had finally come out.

The veteran herself was nowhere to be seen. 'Probably packing up stuff in her room,' Ava thought bitterly, feeling tears pricking at the corner of her eyes before she quickly scrubbed them away with her arm.

She refocused her attention on the Daemos. For some reason, seeing them so absorbed in their show that they didn't even notice her made her feel even worse. She stalked over, only growing more frustrated as they didn't even glance in her direction, even when she was standing right next to the screen.

"I don't need your love, Deku. I just need... EXPLOSIONS!"

Just as the explosion in question sounded, Ava smacked the top of the TV. It clicked off, shaking all of them from their stupor as they leapt to their feet and let out various cries of disappointment.

"Where did you come from, Prisoner?!" Asch stared at her in shock.

Noi let out a little squeak of panic. "She looks mad!"

"What happened?" Rhys looked confused at her anger.

"Is it Emerald? Is she all right?" Pierce looked at her, then back down the hallway towards the veteran's room.

"Uh, is this about the trash? We thought it was your day to take it out." Noi let out a little smirk, confident he'd discovered the truth.

Asch nodded slowly. "We... did agree on that."

"Hey! What happened to the TV?" Leif only just now seemed to be getting over his surprise that the show wasn't playing anymore.

Ava glared at them all stoically, arms crossed over her chest. "We need to talk."

"Oh no! That's what Courtney said to Ryan before she broke up with him after solving the murder!"

Asch did an almost-comical double-take at the former assassin. "Wait! You watched that episode without me?!"

"Uhh..."

"I don't really care about your TV shows at this point! It's obvious you guys are getting super addicted to TV: that's beside the point!" Ava took a deep breath. "We need to talk about what happened this past weekend."

Pierce studied her. "We went to the carnival."

"It was pretty fun." Leif grinned.

"...except when Emerald hurt herself."

Ignoring them, the short woman fixed her gaze on the spectacled Daemos. "Rhys: you know what I'm talking about."

"Uh... no idea!"

"No, we need to talk about it! You were using your magic, Rhys! Specifically when Em and I trusted you not to!"

"Um...y-yes...but I had a good reason to."

Ava glared at him, hands on her hips and eyebrows raised. "Look, I don't care what reason you had for using your magic. You were blatantly using magic in front of others! And do you know what the repercussions of doing that is?!"

Asch waved her off almost dismissively. "Why does it matter? Humans have magic. You use it all the time in front of us."

"I have to agree with Asch. Human magic isn't as flashy as Daemos magic, but it has power in its own." Leif laughed a little. "For as much fuss Emerald makes over not having any magic of her own, she sure knows how to wield the little she actually does have."

"It's truly not worth you getting upset over."

"I have to get upset over it!" The Daemos stared at her blankly, only making Ava feel more frustrated. She felt tears in her eyes as she continued. "They'd take you guys away from me if they found out!"

Noi shook his head and gave her a little smile. "Princess Ava, I think we're more than okay."

"Noi is correct. Nothing has happened to us here. We can safely say that Earth is a place where we don't have to worry about the, uh... hostility." Rhys swallowed hard. "Although, I will be the first to admit our presence here has caused both you and Emerald unnecessary stress."

Pierce met her gaze evenly. "Are you all right, Princess Ava?"

Instead of answering, she looked at each Daemos in turn. She shook her head, stepping off of the coffee table and storming off. However, instead of going to her own room, Ava stalked her way down the hallway to Emerald's room. She looked back at them one last time before disappearing inside, slamming the door behind her.

"What was that about?" Leif asked after a brief beat of silence.

Noi shook his head. "I don't see what the problem is. Nothing bad has truly happened since we got here."

"I agree. Regardless, we should respect Ava's wishes." Rhys started walking away from the couch.

Pierce watched him go, cocking his head in confusion. "Where are you going?"

"To apologize. Princess Ava and Dame Emerald have been nothing but hospitable to us since we arrived. The least I can do is apologize." Rhys turned to go, but paused and turned back to face Asch. "Your Highness, I truly believe we need to make plans to return to Daemos soon. We...truly have outlasted our stay." With a final nod, he turned and continued his way down the hallway.

After watching the spectacled Daemos go, Noi turned back to the others. "Um, well...?"

"We, um... we'll make plans after the show is over." Asch answered, sounding tired and oddly resigned.

Rhys paused outside Emerald's room. While he was worried about the two women (especially Ava), he knew they both appreciated when the Daemso showed some restraint and asked permission before entering. He knocked gently on the door. "May I come in?"

There was a brief, soft exchange of whispers before he heard the veteran call out her consent. Satisfied, he opened the door and went in...

...only to stop dead in his tracks in the doorway. The shelves in Emerald's room were already empty, the contents in several boxes scattered across the floor. Nothing remained on the walls, and the pieces of her computer were not where they usually were on the desk.

However, more concerning was the sight of Ava lying on Emerald's bed, her head on one of the taller woman's pillows. The latter was sitting next to her, gently stroking her hair while the small Johnny spirit curled up into his mistress's side. The veteran met his gaze evenly, seemingly daring him to make some sort of comment not related to why he'd entered the room.

He took the hint, instead clearing his throat and continuing on with his original purpose for coming inside. "Princess Ava, Dame Emerald. I wanted to express how sorry I am for what I did. I didn't mean to -"

"You guys are real...right?" Ava interrupted, her voice barely more than a whisper.

It caught him off guard. "Huh? I beg your pardon?"

"When you guys first showed up, I swore I was dreaming. I was certain that when I woke up, you guys would be gone. But you guys were still here. Every time I woke up, you guys were around. Believe it or not, you all gave me the confidence to go outside. It's not just you, Rhys: the others are guilty too of doing stupid things that would get you guys taken away. It's just...I don't want to lose you all."

"What?!"

"Nothing, nothing. I'm just...upset, that's all. Again, it's not just you, Rhys. I appreciate you more than anyone. I'm just...emotional, I guess."

Emerald looked up at the Daemos. "I...just got news I'm being...reassigned to a new duty. It's been a bit of an adjustment for both of us, since it's happening fairly soon." She sighed, returning her gaze to Ava. "It's why we've both been so on edge, especially the last few days."

Rhys furrowed his eyebrows in concern, his gaze flicking between them. "Is there anything I can do to help you two?"

"No thank you," Ava murmured, closing her eyes.

"I can, perhaps, cook you something? At least, something I know how to make."

"I'm not hungry."

"Thank you for the offer, but we're okay for now," Emerald added, even as both women's stomachs grumbled loudly. "I'll take care of it in a bit."

The spectacled Daemos shook his head. "Humans eat more than we do. I'll...make you something anyway." He turned and went back to the kitchen, leaving the door slightly ajar behind him.

A few minutes later, both women were seated at the kitchen island watching Rhys cook.

"When did you learn how to make pasta?" Ava asked, peering over the counter to watch what he was doing.

"It's called spas-ghetti," Rhys piped up, turning around with two bowls. He placed both on the counter in front of them with a small flourish.

Ava let out a laugh. "Yeah, that."

"It was one of the first things I taught him to cook." Em gave her a small smile. "I learned how to make it with my mom, and it doesn't require cutting anything, so I figured it was a safe place to start." She turned her smile to the Daemos. "He's an excellent student."

Rhys smiled back in appreciation. "Thank you."

"Hurry, Rhys! The show's about to start!" Leif called from the living room.

"Coming!" Almost as soon as he'd answered, he looked back to the two women. "Uh...do you mind?"

Ava shook her head. "Not at all."

"Go ahead," Em agreed, tossing her head back towards the others. "I'll clean up when we're done."

Nodding in gratitude, Rhys ran off to join the others.

Both women ate in silence for a few moments, before the veteran finally broke it. "So, I've been thinking about something..."

"What's on your mind?" Ava asked around a mouthful of pasta.

"Do you want to come with me? When I drive out there, I mean."

There was a brief moment of panic as the shorter woman almost choked on her food, but she managed to swallow it. "Wh-what?!"

"I'm sorry! I know this is sudden, but...hear me out? Please?" Em stared at her pleadingly. With a nod from the other woman, she continued. "Look, I know you've been really stressed out with everything going on with your Dad's campaign and making sure you don't do anything to jeopardize it and all that jazz."

Ava let out a short laugh. "You're not wrong there," she admitted.

"So, why not just...get away from it all for a while? Pack up some clothes, bring along Johnny, travel a bit? It might be just the thing you need to figure out what you want to do next." The veteran gave her a grin. "Plus, you wouldn't have to worry about anyone recognizing you or wondering if what you're doing would reflect badly on your Dad. And, who knows? Maybe you'll find out a new city is exactly the kind of fresh start you need."

The short woman chewed thoughtfully on her pasta. "I mean...it's a very tempting offer." She glanced over her shoulder into the living room. "But what about them?"

Em stabbed at her bowl, furrowing her eyebrows. "I think they're getting ready to leave soon, based on the way they've been behaving and talking lately." She met Ava's eyes. "I don't want to leave you here alone, especially after that earlier confession you made to Rhys. It's more than just the promise I made to your parents: I consider you a friend."

Ava smiled back at her. "I'll...I'll think about it." She laughed. "I have to admit, it sounds scary. But, at the same time, kind of exciting."

"Well, that's all I can ask for at this point. But, for now..." The veteran pulled out her phone, opening up a rental app as she placed it in between them on the counter. "...care to give me your opinion on some of these apartments? I've got it narrowed down to about ten, but it'd be nice to get your input."

Both women soon got lost in conversation, opening more apartment listings and even a few house rentals on Ava's phone to compare prices, features, and locations. Before they knew it, the bowls were empty and almost an hour had passed. "Guess we were hungrier than we thought," Ava quipped.

Em looked up from her phone and grinned. "We'll have to make sure to thank Rhys after their shows are over." She tossed her head over towards the trash as she stood, sliding her phone into her back pocket. "Can you please take that out? I'll clean up the kitchen."

"I guess it is my turn to take out the garbage," she admitted, standing up and going over to the trash bag near the fridge. The shorter woman picked it up and started towards the front door, although she did pause to look back.

Em was already gathering up the dishes and loading them into the dishwasher. The Daemos were once again absorbed in the TV, oblivious to everything going on around them. The sight was ...comforting, somehow. It made Ava feel like she had something to fall back on, even if it was a bit hectic at times.

She smiled as she walked out. 'Maybe Em's on to something, after all. Maybe a fresh start is exactly what I need right now...'

Zex watched the two human males run off in their undergarments as he adjusted their clothes he'd taken on his own body. A nearby burned tree caught his attention, only for how out-of-place it seemed compared to the others nearby.

He squinted at it with his good eye, catching the faintest traces of magic coming from the burned-out husk. 'That tree was not felled by a human,' he thought, studying it closer. There was a barely-detectable smell, but it confirmed his suspicions.

'They definitely came this way, but I need to become assimilated before I can begin my search.'

As he surveyed the area, Zex was pleasantly surprised to see a small human female come running around the corner. She appeared not to notice him as she carried a bag towards a large container against the back of the nearby building. He summed her up quickly with a glance. 'She is small. She will do nicely.'

He made his way over to her side, holding back the urge to smile when she gasped in shock and fell over as he surprised her.

"Who...who are you?" the human female squeaked out, staring up at him in what he sensed was the slightest bit of fear.

"I'm lost," he answered simply, finding it harder to restrain himself at how easy of a target she was. "I do not know this place. Can you help me?"

As she stared back up at him, the wind changed direction and brought the smell of something very familiar to Zex's nose. 'That scent!' He studied her more closely, eye going wide as he considered his good fortune. 'This female doesn't seem a threat, but she stinks of Daemos magics. She must have been in contact with -'

"What's your name, again?" The human female still hadn't regained her footing, but now she was looking at him with suspicion.

"My name is Zex. I'm lost and don't know where I am." He calmed himself, taking a deep breath and recentering himself. It seemed impossible, but this human might be exactly what he needed to complete his mission.

"Where are you from?"

He didn't answer, choosing to remain silent. If he looked confused, she might take pity on him. 'A common weakness of humans,' he thought in disgust.

The small human female let out a soft chuckle as she stood. "You know, you remind me of some friends that I know."

"Really?" It took everything in him not to let his expression slip into a grin.

She nodded. "Yeah. Um, I can help you. After all, the last time I helped someone...or rather, someones, my life became happier." The human gave him a soft smile as she reached into her pocket -

- only to bring it back empty. "Oh shoot, I forgot my phone." She paused, as if debating something. "Well, I can let you borrow it. Just follow me." When he didn't move immediately, she paused and turned back to him. "Come on: this way," she motioned, giving him a trusting smile as she exposed her back to him.

Zex finally let the grin find its way onto his face. He couldn't believe the luck he was having so far. 'This is all too easy...'