Help, Part 3

Legs pounding, arms pumping, and teeth bared in a wide grin, Kyoko all but flew through the underbrush. The ground was uneven and there was an endless array of low-hanging branches in her way, to say nothing of the occasional fat-bodied spider sitting contently in a web the size of a bedsheet, but thanks to the readouts displayed in her helmet's vision and the reflexes built into the armor she was wearing, every obstacle was all but avoided before she even knew it was there. It was as if her steps were already chosen for her, and all she had to do was run.

Normally, Kyoko didn't think much of exercise when she didn't have to do it. She was naturally fit already, and fighting witches had kept her wind strong. As such, regular conditioning seemed a waste of time. And yet, when she had found out that all of the Persephone Protectorate's recruits began their day with an early morning job through the cleansed parts of the forest, she had shrugged her shoulders and figured what the hell. Lying around during her recovery had been nice, but restlessness was starting to eat her up. Besides, if they were going to pitch in when the it came time to shut down those leechers, they were probably going to have to do a lot of running through thick trees and rugged terrain. Might as well get used to it.

Good thing that she did, because Kyoko was having a blast. As it turned out, the Protectorate did their jogging in full armor for conditioning purposes, and until the battle was over, that included Kyoko, Mami, and Charlotte. At first they had been reluctant to go running while wearing a full-body suit of metal, but as it turned out, the Protectorate armor was surprisingly light and agile. What was more, it seemed to directly with the user's neural pathways and reflexes, increasing their already magically enhanced strength, speed, and stamina. When Kyoko had first made her contract, her new powers had made her feel like a superhero. But over time, as she had grown used to her physical enhancements, the thrills had faded, but this brought it all rushing back. She liked how it felt. She liked it a lot.

Next to her ran Charlotte, her long legs eating up the route in smooth, easy strides. The pink-haired witch had been the most hesitant about throwing in with the Persephone Protectorate, but once she had come around, she had committed to doing so in full, early hours and extra exercise and all. Glancing over to Kyoko, she tilted her head in such a manner that indicated that she was smirking. "Getting tired?" she asked, her voice sounding weird and artificial over her helmet's speakers.

"Yeah right," Kyoko responded. She ducked her head to avoid a branch and said, "Betcha I beat you back."

Charlotte laughed. "Yeah, no you won't."

Oh, now it was on. "Yeah? What makes you so sure?"

"Because my legs are longer, my wind is better, and I'm in better shape than you." Charlotte said smugly.

Oh, it was so on. "Tough crap right there. But I think you're talking out of your ass."

"Really? My job literally has me spend half the day swimming. Compared to what you do, yeah, I'm in better shape."

Kyoko almost made a disparaging remark about how she would have gotten more exercise if Charlotte's kind had put up more of a fight, but that sounded really tactless, even for her. See? She was learning. "All right, care to back that up? Because from where I'm standing, you're just full of-"

Without warning, Charlotte suddenly sped off like a prize racehorse released from the gate. Sputtering a curse, Kyoko took off after her.

The forest sped by in a blur, and it wasn't long before Kyoko realized that she had a problem. Charlotte was faster than her, and her lead was increasing by the second while Kyoko was starting to get winded. At this rate, she would be back at the base long before Kyoko even got close.

Faced with the horrible prospect of having to eat crow in front of everyone, Kyoko did the only thing she could. She cheated.

As Charlotte's leg came down, it found its path to the ground interrupted by a maroon, diamond-shaped shield. Having committed herself to taking the full step, Charlotte was knocked off balance and pitched forward. She tried to recover, but by the time she realized that she was falling, Kyoko had already caught up to her.

"Booya, bitch!" the redhead crowed as she leapfrogged over Charlotte's back and sprinted away, leaving Charlotte choking on her dust.

And then she heard the cry of pain.

Turning back, Kyoko saw that Charlotte was on her knees, clutching at her right arm. Tiny sparks were arcing around the metal fingers of her gauntlet.

Blinking, Kyoko spun around and bolted to Charlotte's side. "Hey," she said. "You all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Charlotte grunted. "I just…Uh, help me get this off, okay?"

Kyoko tried, but she couldn't figure out the locking mechanism. "Uh, either it's jammed or-"

"Charlotte? Charlotte, what's wrong?"

Looking up, they saw three other soldiers jogging into view, one of them possessing Mami's build and voice. Rushing over to her wife's side, she exclaimed, "Baby, are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Charlotte said. She sounded embarrassed. "Thing's just-ah!-glitching up."

"Here, let me see," one of the soldiers said. She pressed at a few pressure point, and the gauntlet unraveled, allowing them to slip it off of Charlotte's arms. As they did so, the other soldier tapped a couple of fingers to the side of her helmet. There was a beep, and she said, "Corporal, we've got a malfunctioning gauntlet over here."

"All right, on my way," said the corporal's voice. "Hold tight."

Mami winced when she saw the red burn marks on Charlotte's fingers. "Char, how did this happen?"

"Well, uh," Charlotte said evasively. "Kyoko was-"

Right about then was when three other soldiers reached them, coming the other way. The one in the middle bore a yellow star on her right shoulder, marking her as the corporal. Taking Charlotte's damaged gauntlet, she examined it for a bit and then turned to the slender witch. "So, maybe you'd like to explain how this happened."

"Crap," Charlotte muttered. "Well, Kyoko and I were racing-"

"Racing?" Mami said, a hint of disapproval in her voice. Behind her, another couple of soldiers jogged by, glancing only briefly at the gathering.

"I'll ask the questions," the corporal said, though she sounded somewhat amused. "Okay, so despite the fact we're out here running to improve ourselves and not try to one-up each other like a bunch of schoolchildren, y'all decided that being the fastest was more important." She jiggled the broken gauntlet in her hand. "That still doesn't explain what happened to this."

Charlotte sighed. "Well, I was winning, so Kyoko used her powers to cheat-"

"Only a little," Kyoko muttered.

"Speak when it's your turn, princess," the corporal snapped.

Charlotte cringed, but continued. "So I figured that meant I could cheat back. So I tried…"

"You tried what, princess?" the corporal prodded.

"I tried to wire up her leg," Charlotte admitted.

"Oh, Charlotte," Mami sighed, pacing a palm to her metal-encased forehead.

Kyoko, however, was just confused. "Excuse me? You tried to what now?"

In answer, Charlotte pointed at a small twig. Then, to Kyoko's surprise, a thin, golden wire shot out of the witch's fingertip to seize it and yank it back into her palm.

"That," Charlotte said. "Wire."

Kyoko gawked. "Since when could you do that?"

"Since always, I guess. I didn't find out about it until you and Oktavia got kidnapped."

"How?"

"Shut up, princess," the corporal said. To Charlotte, she said, "Okay, that's pretty and all, but those come right out of your fingertips, right?"

Charlotte sighed. "Yes."

"And you tried to shoot them off. While wearing a metal glove."

"I guess so…"

The other soldiers, who had been standing silently on guard until now, started snickering. The corporal shook her head in exasperation. "Well, mystery solved. You cut right into the circuitry and shorted it out."

Charlotte slumped. "Sorry."

"Damned right, you're sorry. Fooling around like a bunch of little girls. Racing? Using your powers on each other? I oughta tie you both down and leave you for the covens." That said, the corporal touched a glowing finger to Charlotte's gauntlet. The sparking stopped, and delicate silver filigree frosted over the fingers. "Here, put that back on," she said, tossing it to Charlotte. "That enchantment should hold until you get back. As soon as you do, make sure it gets taken to maintenance."

"Yes, ma'am," Charlotte mumbled as she slipped it back on. The metal glove closed and readjusted to the shape of her arm.

"And as soon as you do that, both of you take ten laps around the compound."

Kyoko felt indignation rise. "Hey, we're not-"

"You're volunteers. Yeah, I know," the corporal said. "Here until the big battle on Saturday. All fine and dandy, except to my mind, that makes you temps. And temps still got to follow the rules. Ten laps."

Suddenly, Lily's voice came through the network. "Belay that for now, corporal. I actually need all three back at the base immediately."

Kyoko frowned. "Wait, what?"

"Something's come up." Though still unearthly beautiful, Lily's voice sounded tired and haggard, as if she had been up all night. "I need to ask you some more questions."

Well, that sounded reasonable enough. "All right, we're on our way back."

"Good. And after we're done, you and Charlotte can do those ten laps."

"Oh, come on!" Kyoko exploded as the soldiers started laughing again. "How is that fair?"

"Rules are rules, Sakura. Besides, it'll be good for you. Lily out."

Chuckling, the corporal motioned to two of the soldiers. "Rollins. Ambrose. Make sure the princesses get back in one piece."

Kyoko scowled. "We can look after ourselves."

The corporal paused. Then, with slow deliberation, she reached up to undo the claps of her helmet. She pulled it off, letting Kyoko get a good look at her face.

For a second Kyoko thought that the other girl had tattooed a silver spiderweb over her left cheek. But then she saw the small crater in the web's center and the way the glimmering strands cut into her flesh and twisted her lips. It was a scar, she realized. Some kind of magical scar. In a world where people could recover from dismemberment, decapitation, and even total disintegration, something had managed to scar this girl.

Tapping a finger to her ruined cheek, the corporal smiled grimly. "Not here, you can't."

…

"You should have told me," Annabelle Lee growled.

She was standing (well, hovering) on a balcony on the Etherdale Wayhouse's top floor, overlooking the rest of the complex. Below, the wayhouse staff and the wild girls well enough to help out were keeping themselves busy, caring for the animals, tending to the vegetable garden inside the greenhouse, performing what odd bits of maintenance their dwindling resources would allow, or, in some cases, just playing. Mundy, the big vaskergoros, was letting three of the smaller girls ride on her neck and shoulders as she galloped on all six around the horse corral.

Standing next to Annabelle Lee was Demmi, the elusive head of the Etherdale Wayhouse. Demmi had turned out to be a hardfaced woman physically in her mid-twenties, with Hispanic features and long, dark hair that had been shaved away at the temples. Demmi had asked (i.e. ordered) that Annabelle Lee meet with her in person so as to learn more about her and her companions and what they were doing in Etherdale. Annabelle Lee, who was still rather upset about being kept in the dark about falling into leecher territory, had agreed. After all, she had questions of her own.

Grimacing, Demmi leaned with her elbows on the railing. "I know. I'm sorry about that. Your sister told us…over the course of many, many words…how you felt about leechers."

Annabelle Lee's nostrils flared. "Yeah, so don't you think that would be something I should know right up front? There's kind of a lot of people here, it's not like someone wasn't going to slip."

"I was dumb, yes, but-"

"I shouldn't have to get my information from a goddamned doll!" Annabelle Lee snarled.

"Mary Anne," Demmi sighed. "I hate that thing sometimes. Patricia really shouldn't have put you in the same room as her."

"Yeah, and what's the deal with that anyway? I figured Polly has some sort of split personality she was projecting into it. Eeriest damned thing I've seen…well, this week."

"You figure right," Demmi said. She nodded down to the courtyard. There, Annabelle Lee could see Polly going for a walk, or trying to anyway. One of the counselors was leading the unstable girl by the hand, speaking words of encouragement and gently urging her on as Polly took small, hesitant steps, her gaze twitching this way and that. Mary Anne was held in the crux of her arm, thankfully inert.

"Polly's one of our tougher cases," Demmi explained. "She kept switching between animalistic behavior and a catatonic state. Then she found that doll and seemed to like it, so we let her keep it, hoping it would help her find her humanity."

"Looks like it worked," Annabelle Lee remarked.

Demmi scowled. "Somewhat. She's at least responsive now, and can speak. But it seems that as soon as she found her sanity, she bundled most of it up and stuffed it into Mary Anne."

"Sounds like a step in the right direction, if you ask me."

"It is, but it has caused…complications, not the least being that the Mary Anne personality is rather…"

"Chatty?" Annabelle Lee suggested.

"Incredibly so," Demmi nodded. "Polly's opposite in every way. We have to be careful who she's around, because we never know when Mary Anne will emerge and start scaring one of the other patients." Her eyes darkened. "Which, incidentally, is part of the reason why I spent most of this morning having a very lengthy conversation with Patricia. Girl really should have known better."

"Yeah? Well, if someone hadn't told all her stooges to keep the new girl in the dark, none of that would've happened," Annabelle Lee growled.

"Yes," Demmi sighed. "Though you understand, this is a rather…awkward situation for us. We hadn't expected guests. Honestly, none of us really have any idea what to do with you."

"Ah," Annabelle Lee said, nodding. "I see. You don't trust us."

Demmi pursed her lips. "No. We don't."

"You don't got any empaths on staff? Truthseers? Someone that can check out our story?"

"You're talking to one," Demmi said, giving Annabelle Lee a hard look.

Ah, now more of the puzzle was being revealed. It at least explained why Demmi kept to herself, preferring to let others handle the actual care of the patients. While sensitivity to others' emotions would be greatly beneficial when it came to treating those with extreme PTSD, being surrounded by wild girls and their turbulent emotions would take its toll, possibly even endangering their own sanity. And with all the added stress and fear from the leecher situation, it was no wonder Demmi isolated herself in her office. It was probably warded to protect her from such things. Which, in turn, explained why they were talking on the balcony. Demmi wanted to get the truth, but being exposed was no doubt giving her quite the headache.

"I…see," she said.

Demmi nodded. "Your bounty hunter story…well, the events as you've described them check out, but there's a lot you're not telling us."

"Well, yes," Annabelle Lee admitted. "Client confidentiality."

"There's more to it than that."

Annabelle Lee turned to watch as Mundy took a great leap from one end of the corral to the other, making her passengers shriek with delight. She said nothing.

Demmi's eyes studied her emaciated face. "Are you in any way involved with the Persephone Protectorate?" she said.

"No," Annabelle Lee said without hesitation. "Never heard of them until now."

"Are you involved with Minister Arristan?"

Annabelle Lee frowned. "Who?"

"That would be a 'no.' Do you have anything to do with the soul harvesting business? At all?"

Annabelle Lee shook her head with a look of disgust. "No. I hate the whole fucking thing. I ain't spotless by anyone's definitions, but fuck, some things are just…wrong."

"Yes, they are," Demmi said, finally turning her gaze away. They watched in silence for a time, and then Demmi said, "Do you or your companions pose any sort of threat to us?"

Annabelle Lee mused carefully over her words before saying, "Demmi, I swear to you, we have jack squat to do with your enemies. Us being here is a total coincidence, and we want to be gone as soon as possible. We're not going to sell you out, we're not going to sabotage you, and unless you give us reason, we're not going to hurt any of your people. We just want to be gone as soon as possible to try to salvage our contract, because if we're not, some very bad things will happen to us." She turned to give Demmi a hard look of her own. "That's all I can promise you."

Demmi frowned. "And…these bounties of yours. What do your clients want them for?"

"Don't know," Annabelle Lee said honestly. "Not my job to ask. It isn't soul harvesting though."

"Oh? And what makes you so sure?"

"Government contract."

"Government contract, huh?" Demmi snorted. "For all that's worth."

That confused Annabelle Lee for a bit, but then she remembered Demmi's original question regarding some senator. "Ah," she said. "Take it these guys got some…legal backing?"

"It seems that way, though I seriously doubt it's official." Demmi shrugged. "Still, they have at least one minister in their pocket, possibly more."

"Huh. Maybe this Lily person said good morning to them or something."

The mention of the Persephone Protectorate's leader took Demmi by surprise. Her head jerked back, her eyes wide, but then she caught on. "Ah. Let me guess: Mary Anne?"

Annabelle Lee nodded. "Yeah, the doll mentioned her. Some kind of mind control power, siren voice and all that?"

"Essentially." Anger darkened the other woman's face. "Every person in their base is under her control. She's even got a handful of our people there. They all know what she's up to. Many of them started off opposing her. Now?" Demmi turned her head and spat. "Now they don't care. They can't care."

"Well, that's bloody terrifying. So pretty much all this lady needs to do is show up with a megaphone, and you're all screwed."

"Yes," Demmi admitted. "Though I'd expect her to have…slightly more advanced means of amplification."

"Fuck," Annabelle Lee whispered. "What about earplugs? Earwax? Loud music? Reciting the alphabet backwards in your head? Any way to block it out?"

Demmi favored her with a thin smile. "If there was, you think I'd tell you?"

Annabelle Lee couldn't help but groan. Everywhere she went, it was always the same. "Wow, really?"

"What?"

"You just told me that you're an empath. You are literally a living lie-detector. And you're still worried that I'm going to sell you out?"

Demmi pondered for a few moments before saying, "I believe that you believe what you told me. I also think that this wayhouse is targeted by someone especially skilled at mind control." She nodded towards those milling about below. "I think that I'm responsible for the wellbeing of a seven hundred and forty-seven people, many of them not much older than they appear to be, and have already been victims of things that no one should experience."

"That right?" Annabelle Lee said, less than impressed. "Well, you wanna know what I think? I think that your security sucks." Demmi looked taken back by her criticism, but Annabelle Lee didn't give her the chance to cut in. "I think that if you were really so worried about spies, you would've left the four of us where you found us instead of bring us back to your home, or at the very least chained up in the basement. I think you should have denied your counter-measure's existence right off the bat, instead of painting me a big sign that says, 'I'M HIDING THIS FROM YOU!'" Annabelle pointed at the wooden barrier that surrounded the complex. "I think that wall is going to fall after their first barrage, that they're going to overrun your shitty defenses like they were nothing, because they pretty much are. I think that they're going to take who they want, smash apart everything you've worked so hard to build, turn you and everyone you've got working for you into dutiful little soul-sucking monsters, and drain everyone they can't use dry."

The color of Demmi's cheeks darkened. Her hand twitched, and it looked like she really wanted to strike it across Annabelle Lee's face. The former Void Walker considered preparing to counter the blow, but decided against it. Let Demmi hit her. It wouldn't change the truth of what Annabelle Lee had said.

However, she didn't lash out, which was somewhat disappointing. Nothing gave weight to an argument like the other party losing control. But that didn't mean the older woman wasn't close. "What gives," she growled, "you the right to say those things? Do you have any sort of idea of things we've gone through to get this place going, the horrors we had to overcome? Do you have any sort of idea the things those girls have gone through, that they're still going through? How dare you mock that?"

Annabelle Lee's smiles were always thin, but the one she wore was little more than a slash across her face. "Oh yeah, that's fantastic. Overcame the odds, you did. Did some good, helped those poor souls. Someone give you a fucking medal. Well, guess what sister?" She slowly rose up, towering over the Etherdale Wayhouse's administrator. "All that good karma ain't gonna matter for shit once the leechers come. And when they're done with you, you know what they'll turn your little land of love into? Go on, guess."

Demmi glowered back, but Annabelle Lee's words had struck home. Her stance was uneasy, her eyes troubled. Annabelle Lee had spent a lot of time around people who had been kicked around, had their leashes jerked, and lost everything. She knew fear when she saw it. "I don't need to," Demmi all but spat out. "It's in my dreams. Every night."

"Great," Annabelle Lee said with a dismissive shrug. "So, you want to keep those nightmares from being real? Then get rid of the touchy-feely crap and start taking this seriously."

"What in the world are you talking about?"

In answer, Annabelle Lee nodded to the people milling around below. "Seven hundred and forty-seven people, and most of them bugnuts. Even with you people trying to keep us in the dark, I could see that your guys are at their limits. You don't have the resources or the womanpower to take care of that many. You weren't supposed to."

Demmi took a deep breath. "Yes. We're overworked and understaffed. Yes, our supplies are running out. We know that. That's what happens when you're under siege. What's your point?"

"My point?" Annabelle Lee laughed. "You're a wayhouse. Your job is to get the crazies out of the damned forest, not build up a friggin' collection."

"We are," Demmi said slowly, accentuating every syllable, "cut off. From all help. We literally can't-"

Annabelle Lee settled back down. "Then why in the hell did you keep bringing them in, after it became real apparent that you couldn't ship them off to where they're supposed to go? You can't help them. Hell, you probably had problems taking care of the ones you already had when everything went black. Now the whole place is overcrowded, you're wide open for attack, and you still brought in four strangers and let them wander around as they pleased."

"Would you prefer it if we left you in the mud?" Demmi demanded. "Because you're making a pretty compelling case for not trusting you."

Annabelle Lee shrugged. "Don't think me ungrateful. But if you wanted half a chance of surviving through the month, you should've shut the gates and locked them tight the moment shit went down. The covens weren't going anywhere, and you're doing them no favors by trying to treat them when the scary people are just gonna snatch them up in a few days anyway." She leaned over the rail, arms folded and chin resting on them as she moodily gazed out over the wayhouse. "All you did was make the leechers' job easier, putting them in a nice little cage to be picked up. At least in the wild they would've had a chance of not being the prey of the day."

Demmi stood still, staring at her with troubled eyes. Then she sighed and slumped down to the ground, sitting with her back against the railposts. "I know," she admitted. "We all know. There's…there was a lot of talk of doing just that when all this started happening. Going into lockdown and everything. Survival mode." She slowly shook her head. "But…"

"But?" Annabelle Lee prompted, arching an eyebrow.

"But they've been coming to us. The wild girls. They show up at the gates and just follow us inside. It's like they know we're here to help them."

Blinking, Annabelle Lee asked, "Wait, they come to you? But…I thought covens were drawn to corruption. This place is pretty much cleansed up."

Demmi shrugged. "It happens a lot. We encountered a lot of resistance coming in and trying to get this place built, but after a while the attacks just stopped. I've worked at other wayhouses before starting this one, and it was the same thing." She drew her legs up and draped her arms loosely around her knees. "The older covens avoided us, and we'd have to go out and draw them in. But the girls that haven't been here long…Well, something in them pushes them to us. Sure, their minds were broken, but they still knew, still wanted someone to help them." She looked up at Annabelle Lee, her face pleading. "We came here to help them. Would you have turned them away?"

"Yes," Annabelle Lee said bluntly. "But then, my career choices have been a little different from yours."

"Hmmm." Demmi twisted her head to one side, making her neck pop. "I know. Which is why we're still having this conversation."

Annabelle Lee was confused for a moment, but then she got. "Ah," she said. "You want something from me."

"Yes, I do." Demmi rose to her feet and leaned her back against the rail, arms folded in front of her. "You're right, we don't know the first thing about protecting ourselves. We're trained to deal with feral girls, not armed invaders." She shook her head. "We're not ready for this. We're not soldiers. We don't know how to defend ourselves against something like this."

"And you think I do?"

Demmi shrugged. "You spotted our problems pretty quickly. And I'd be willing to bet you have some kind of military history."

"Doesn't mean I'm some kind of brilliant strategist," Annabelle Lee told her. "I've done grunt and patrols, yeah. And that was mostly just me and my sister. Never really been part of any sort of infantry or commanded any group bigger than the four of us. So if you're hoping for some hardass veteran to whip you maggots into shape, you're in for a world of disappointment." She sighed. "Hell, I can barely…" Realizing that she was about to let slip things that were better kept to herself, she quickly backpedaled. "Forget it. Point is, I don't have the skills you need."

As expected, Demmi did look disappointed. "That's…not what I wanted to hear," she said. She frowned. "Not to mention quite the admission. One would think someone in your position would want to make herself out to be useful."

Another mirthless smirk slashed its way across Annabelle Lee's face. "You don't know anything about my position."

"Do I not?" Demmi raised an eyebrow. "You mentioned earlier that if you do not bring in your bounty, something bad will happen to you. What is that, exactly?"

Well, credit where it was due: Demmi may be out of her league, but she wasn't an idiot. "I lose something very precious to me," Annabelle Lee muttered.

Demmi nodded. "Just you, or everyone on your team?"

"All of us." Annabelle Lee rolled her wrist around, watching her impressions of bone, tendons, and veins stand out against her skin. "Though I'd say I'll be taking it the most personally.

"And what will you lose?" Demmi pressed, her voice surprisingly gentle.

Annabelle Lee took a deep breath. "That is…literally none of your fucking business."

"I see." Demmi closed her eyes for a few seconds before making her next point. "But you've failed."

Annabelle Lee exhaled, her voice coming out as a low hiss.

"So, you have nothing to lose, is that what you're telling me? You don't care what happens to you now."

The former Void Walker didn't meet her eyes. "I…don't know," she said in a rough whisper. "I don't want to be caught by those leechers though. But staying here or taking my chances out in the forest…" She shook her head. "All the same. In the end, we'll all just end up in the same place. Throw us out if you want, it doesn't matter."

"I…see." Demmi turned away, her head bowed in thought. Annabelle Lee watched her out of the corner of her eye, wondering what was going on in the older woman's head.

It was weird, having some stranger she just so happened to run into in the middle of a coven-infested swamp put so much faith in her. Annabelle Lee wasn't really used to anyone relying on her, save for her sister, and Nikki was insane. When she had been given orders, it was expected that she would follow them, yes, but she had been just another gear in a clock that had thousands of spare parts. And the only time she had been given a job of any sort of importance, things had been bungled. She had failed, and failed badly.

But these people were desperate. Demmi was desperate. They hid it, yes, but they were on the verge of being wiped out, and they knew it. No doubt when Demmi had heard that some tough looking mercenary had literally dropped out of the sky, it had given her hope, hope that Annabelle Lee would be someone who could help them. A leader, a soldier, anyone that could tell them what to do. But she wasn't. She was a washed-up grunt that had slipped through a hole at the bottom of the barrel. She couldn't help these people, she couldn't even help herself.

And for some strange reason, that bothered her.

Annabelle Lee was sympathetic to their plight, as sloppy as they were. Anyone being victimized by leechers got a rare twinge from what passed for her heart. But that didn't mean she was going to stick her neck out for them. She hadn't done anything for that poor calliope imprisoned in the Madam's lounge, and she certainly wasn't going to risk being stuck into a bong herself. Her only focus was leaving this wretched excuse for an afterlife behind, and taking Nikki with her. Everyone else could handle their own problems.

But that didn't change the fact that her stomach was twisting up in an unfamiliar way.

"A question," Demmi said suddenly, startling Annabelle Lee out of her confused musings. "If you don't mind."

Annabelle Lee jerked. "Oh, huh?"

"Arzt Kochen. I have a question about her."

"What?" Annabelle Lee stared. "Arzt?"

"Yes." Demmi turned to face her. "Her witch remnants, those syringes she has for fingers."

"Uh…" Annabelle Lee scratched the back of her neck. This was not a direction she had been expecting. "What about them."

Demmi thoughtfully rubbed her chin. "Witches often come into the afterlife with some sort of innate talent relating to whatever gimmick their barriers were based around. Someone whose barrier had a food theme would find themselves being an excellent cook, or someone with a construction theme will suddenly have an eye for architecture, and so on."

"Yeah, I know. So?"

"So this Arzt Kochen. Tell me: does she know anything about chemistry?"

…

The "pigeons" didn't so much resemble their namesakes as they did flying golf balls ringed with red lights. There were three of them hovering in a sectioned-off area of the compound, about four by three meters. They flitted to and fro like hummingbirds, pausing less than a second each time before shooting off in a different direction.

Crouched behind a concrete barrier, Mami took aim and fired three times.

One of the pigeons was struck with a glancing blow and sent tumbling to the dirt-covered ground, but the other two nimbly darted out of the way, unharmed.

Frowning, Mami lowered the rifle she had been given and found herself missing her muskets. Though the weapon's design was sleek and light, it felt bulky and unwieldy in her hands, almost unnatural. The weight was wrong, the length was wrong, the kick was wrong, even the way it sounded was wrong. She disliked having to use it.

"I thought you were a better shot than that."

Glancing over her shoulder, Mami saw Oktavia sitting in her wheelchair behind her, watching her curiously. "I am," Mami said, standing up. "When I'm using my own guns and magic, anyway."

"Then why aren't you?"

Sighing, Mami feebly motioned with the weapon in her hand. "Because using magic drains you, wears you out. As awkward as this thing is, it does make sense to rely on it first and save magic for emergencies."

Oktavia's nose wrinkled. "I don't know. It just seems weird. I mean, this world is full of magic and stuff, but here you are sticking with boring old technology."

"I…can't help but to agree with you," Mami admitted. "It doesn't really feel right. But it's like what Lily said: magic is as much a tool as technology, and each situation calls for a different tool." She cast a reproachful glance at her rifle. "Even if this thing is rather ugly."

They shared a laugh at that. "Well, hey, if Lily says it's okay, then I guess it's okay," Oktavia said. "Though you're right about your guns being prettier. Cool if I give it a shot?"

Mami blinked in surprise. "You…want to try the shooting range?"

"Mami, I am bored out of my mind here," Oktavia complained. "There's nothing to do, I don't know any of these people, Lily's busy, Kyoko and Charlotte are still doing laps, and I can't really join in any of the training. They don't even have a pool!"

Though Oktavia's complaint was delivered lightheartedly, Mami still felt a stab of guilt. She really ought to have thought of that. "Oh. Of…of course! Let me just make sure it's okay."

After checking with the range's instructor (who was fine with it, so long as Mami directly supervised), Mami wheeled Oktavia's chair into position, engaged the brake, and handed her the rifle. "All right. Now, this is a training rifle, which means it doesn't actually fire a projectile," she said as she showed Oktavia how to hold it. "Instead, it sends out an electric signal that deactivates the pigeons, so don't worry about accidentally shooting someone."

"Cool. Got it." Oktavia hefted the weapon and took aim. Mami sighed.

"No, you're still holding it wrong," Mami said, reaching down to help her fix it. "You need to be able to see down the sight, like-"

Oktavia accidentally fired off a shot, and one of the pigeons switched off and fell.

Both girls stared at the inert white ball in shock. Then Mami glanced down at the mermaid, one eyebrow askew. Seeing the look she was getting, Oktavia blushed and grinned sheepishly. "Er, lucky shot?"

"Lucky shot. Yes." Mami cleared her throat. "Well, technically I was helping you fix your aim, so that one actually counts as-"

"Oh, shut it. That was mine, and you know it." Scowling, Oktavia took aim at the remaining pigeon. "Okay bub, your turn."

Amused, Mami watched as Oktavia tried in vain to shoot down the final target. And tried again. And again. The pigeon flitted lightly over the bodies of its fallen comrades, with none of Oktavia's shots coming close.

"Hey, Mami?" Oktavia said as she continued her futile war against the remaining pigeon. "After you guys get done stomping those leechers, are you guys going to strike out immediately, or head back to Cloudbreak first?"

The question took Mami by surprise. To be honest, she hadn't given it much thought, as most of her focus had been on preparing for the attack itself. "I…I'm not sure," she admitted. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, Charlotte wants to go back and stock up, while Kyoko's all for you taking off as soon as the blockade's down. So I guess you've got the swing vote."

Which was true enough, though Mami didn't much care for being the one to carry such a heavy decision. Which was a bit ironic, seeing how she had once been the mentor of both Kyoko and Oktavia's former self. But the horrific way both cases had turned out had soured her on taking leadership roles, at least outside of combat. Battle was fine. She didn't mind taking the lead in battle. But when it came to something with this much weight, she really rather not be the deciding vote, especially with such forceful personalities as Kyoko and Charlotte taking opposite sides.

And if Mami were to be honest, she hadn't been giving the matter as much thought as she probably should have. The current problem with the leechers had been occupying most of her attention as of late, as was preparing herself for the upcoming battle. But Oktavia was right in that it was something they were going to have to deal with.

"I don't know," Mami told her. "I'll have to think about it."

"Yeah, well, if you ask me, I think Kyoko's got a point," Oktavia muttered as she fired off three more unsuccessful shots. "I mean, people have got to be freaking out about that kidnapping, right? And you guys pretty much tore the crap out of the place, right? So when we get back, they're going to be all over us with the questions and the paranoia and the political mumb-jumbo. So good luck sneaking back out of the city after that. You're better off just going to Seagirt for all the stuff you need."

Mami gave her a look. "You and Kyoko have been discussing the matter at length, I see."

"Well, yeah. We're talkative."

"I also see that you're trying to avoid being sent to Pinespire again."

"What? Who, me?" Oktavia said, looking hurt. "Man, why you guys gotta be all suspicious? I'm just trying to make conversation here!"

Mami sighed. "Oktavia…"

"So anyway! Leechers, yeah. Real bad. What's going to happen once you've shut them down? Around here, I mean?"

Deciding to let the conversation change go its course, Mami said, "Well, I imagine once they've been overrun, the Protectorate will restrain them for the authorities to pick up, and any incriminating evidence they find will be used against whatever corrupt institutions that have been allowing these people to flourish. The girls they've taken will be rescued, and the Protectorate will be able to continue cleaning up the forest unhindered."

"Well, that's good," Oktavia said, though a frown twisted her features. "I just…" Sighing, she handed the rifle back up to Mami. "Here. Stupid thing's taunting me now."

Nodding, Mami took the weapon and went back to work trying to shoot the pigeon down. "You just what?"

"I…" Oktavia shook her head. "Why would anyone do that? The leechers, I mean. You…I mean we all got the same raw deal, right? And this is probably the only afterlife we're going to get. So why isn't everyone working together to make it into Heaven? What's with all the Hell?"

Finally Mami managed to shoot the stubborn target down. "People don't stop being people, Oktavia," she said as she pressed the button to reactivate the course. "Making a contract and dying doesn't change that. Unless someone figures out a way to completely rewrite human nature, there will always be bad people out there."

"I guess," Oktavia said as she watched the pigeons flicker to life and rise up again. "It just really sucks, you know?"

"I do," Mami said. She took aim. "But don't let all the ugly distract you from the beautiful parts. There are plenty of wonderful people here trying to make a difference."

"Like Lily and the Protectorate?"

"Exactly. And there are many more like them. Good people looking to take apart Hell wherever they find it, and help Heaven take root. It might not seem like much individually, but it adds up. And it really does matter, to those girls that might not have hope otherwise. Sometimes, that's all you can really do. Just do you best to help who you can and stand up to evil any way you can. Even the small things can make a difference, in ways we can't always see."

With that said, Mami proceeded to shoot down two of the pigeons in one go. She got the third after four shots.

…

Night had fallen on Etherdale, though that mattered little to the crazed children and bizarre beasts that wandered its paths. Many of the covens preferred to hunt at night, as the moonlight seemed to enhance the virulent energies forced upon it by hundreds of diseased souls, making those trapped inside quicker, stronger, and more aggressive. In some places the darkness had thickened until it was an almost tangible substance that enveloped and suffocated those unlucky to have wandered into its grasp.

Other parts had a bit more common sense. In the places where cleanser beacons had forced the madness away, the forest behaved more like a forest should, and saving those animals that were nocturnal by nature, bedtimes were when the sun went down.

The Etherdale Wayhouse was one such place. While the guards still patrolled the grounds and the night staff brewed cup after cup of tea (their coffee supplies had been exhausted over a week ago), most everyone had gone to bed. Some of them even slept.

Others, however, weren't afforded that luxury. Others had work to do. Others were up late disassembling, examining, cleaning, and repairing their recently recovered property because the backwater hicks who had "confiscated" (i.e. stolen) them didn't know the first thing about proper weapon storage, and had simply tossed them into some dark, damp closet without so much as making sure they were clean first, the barbarians.

Nie scowled down at the wooden box she was now using as a table. On it lay both of her pistols, one of them currently in pieces. Both guns had been present when she had first awoken years ago in some ugly spawning site that she had never bothered to learn the name of, which meant that they had been her signature weapons back when she had been a magical girl. As such, while some idiots overlooked the only relics from their former life that they were allowed and therefore lost them forever, Nie was at least a person of intelligence who understood the importance of holding on to such keepsakes, as well as the benefits of a ranged weapon that never had to be reloaded or recharged. As such, she had kept them with her ever since. They were a part of her, after all.

Finding them once she had returned to life following her rather abrupt entrance had taken some doing, but even through the lunacy that had swallowed this place they had still called to her. However, the hicks that ran things around here had taken them from her, claiming that the safety of the lunatics they had locked up here was of greater importance than The Twins' ability to protect herself, despite the fact that just about everyone had the power to call upon destructive magics and powerful weapons of their own, while Nie was next to helpless without her guns and at least one of the darling little angels had already tried to eat her.

It was possible that she was feeling a bit bitter about that.

Finding where they had been stashed had been easy enough though. Her intuitive link to the weapons had narrowed down their search considerably, and keeping an eye on the ingoing and outgoing patrols had led them the rest of the way. After all, those who ventured out into the swamp did so heavily armed, and it stood to reason that they would keep her pistols where they stored their own gear. Once the specific room had been identified, all it had taken was a pathetically miniscule bit of lockpicking, and there her pistols had been, lying in plain sight.

Unfortunately, despite the tumble they had taken, their so-called "hosts" hadn't bothered to make sure her weapons would be clean should she require them again. And so now Nie had the unpleasant task of stripping her pistols down and making sure that they could still reliably fire without being jammed by clods of dirt.

As it turned out, they couldn't.

At least Arzt was there to make the process bearable. That was further proof that they were destined to be together, though Nie frankly didn't really need any more. She recalled that rush of relief and euphoria when the two of them had come across one another in the woods, and in that moment, it didn't matter that they were lost, hurt, filthy, bedraggled, and completely without help. Everything was going to be all right, no matter what happened. Not even being captured, disarmed, and finding out that they would have to put up with Annabelle Lee's reproachful presence even longer could dampen their spirits. Much.

Nie's other half sat next to her on the short crate they were using as a chair, arms around her lover's waist and head resting against Nie's shoulder as she leaned into Nie's embrace. Nie worked around her, inspecting and cleaning the individual parts of her dissembled pistol. On the upside, its magic protected it from rust and corrosion. But it still had enough moving parts that some maintenance was required.

Finding another obstruction, Nie hissed, "Oh, not again."

"What's the matter, darling?" Arzt asked.

Nie sighed and showed her. "Some wretched insect actually laid eggs in the barrel. Can you believe that? They couldn't even bother to keep their storeroom free from vermin." Shaking her head at the incompetence, Nie set to work clearing out the nest. "Oh Arzt, love of my life, it really does pain me to admit it, but there are times when I truly envy you."

Smiling, Arzt stated nuzzling Nie's neck, planting small kisses. "And why is that, my sweet?"

Placing the gun's barrel down, Nie let her hand slide down the table to rest on the glass syringes that Arzt used for fingers. "Your hand. It never requires maintenance, and should it ever be lost, a new one will grow to replace it. It's so much more practical."

Letting out a throaty chuckle, Arzt untwined her fingers and held up the hand in question. "Oh, this ugly old thing. It's really not as convenient as you make it out to be." She waggled its fingers. "Honestly, it is really rather clumsy, and the points always get in the way. And I've lost track of the number of times I've pricked myself. Really, I can think of only one real advantage to being me."

Already knowing what Arzt was going to say but fully willing to play along, Nie abandoned her work to slide her fingers up and down Arzt's thigh. "And what's that, my love?"

Reaching up, Arzt's slowly caressed Nie's cheek with her fingertips, gently drawing her around until their lips brushed. "Having found someone as perfect as you," she murmured, and then there were no more words.

In short order, Arzt had slipped onto Nie's lap, facing her. Draping her arms around Nie's shoulders, she kissed her lover gently. She pressed in harder, and Nie's hands started to wander up her back.

"Wow, really?"

Startled, Arzt jerked around too quickly and smacked her thigh against the side of the box. Yelping, she fell backward onto the floor, clutching at her side. "Arzt!" Nie cried, instinctively grasping for her. However, that just caused her to lose her balance and tumble off the crate herself, landing on Arzt with a surprised oomph!

Distangling themselves, Nie and Arzt looked up to see that, unfortunately, the Ogre had indeed entered the room. Annabelle Lee hovered near the door, arms crossed and expression a mixture of incredulity and disgust.

Shaking her head, Annabelle Lee said in a voice that dripped with contempt, "Christ. Really guys? Here? Now? Really?"

Scowling, The Twins pulled themselves to their feet. "If you don't like it, you're very welcome to leave." They looked Annabelle Lee up and down, and their noses wrinkled in disgust. "What are you doing here, anyway?"

Annabelle Lee shrugged. "Looking for you. And hey, little friendly advice: if you're gonna be breaking into locked rooms to take stuff, it's a good freaking idea to clear out the moment you've got the goods, instead of hanging around to make out and…" Her eyes fell upon the dissembled pistol. "Christ, are you really doing that here? Are you trying to get caught?"

Folding her arms over her chest, Arzt snapped, "The patrol isn't due back for another two hours. Until then, there isn't any reason for someone to use this room."

"Except for me, 'parently. And I could hear you two macking all the way down the hall." Annabelle Lee closed her eyes and let out an exasperated sigh, her shoulders slumping. "Whatever, I don't care. Just come with me."

Arzt's brow rose in a skeptical manner. "Go with you? So you can turn us in to your new friends? That's what you're doing here, isn't it? Trying to win some credit with them?"

"No, actually," Annabelle Lee said, rolling her eyes. "There's something of a problem going on, and we think you might be able to fix it."

Nie and Arzt hadn't meant to burst out into incredulous laughter, they honestly hadn't. Some things were just beyond their control. Though to be fair, if they had been given the chance to offer up a more restrained reaction, they probably would have opted to laugh in Annabelle Lee's face anyway. Her response certainly merited it. "Wh-wh-what?" Arzt sputtered. "You…Oh, honey." She wiped away an imaginary tear of mirth. "Annabelle Lee, you really must have inhaled more swamp water than they led you believe."

"No doubt," Nie agreed. "What makes you think we're going to stick our necks out for these strumpets?"

"Because you're not. You're sticking out your necks for you. These leechers have a special weapon that's guaranteed to take us all down without a fight. Then they'll be free to toss us onto a slab or ship us back to Reibey, depending on their mood." Her violet eyes bore into Arzt's golden ones. "And you're the only one that stands half a chance of defending us from it."

The laughter dried up. "Oh," Arzt said. "What…How would that be, exactly?"

Annabelle Lee turned toward the door. "Come with me and I'll show you." She started floating out into the hall, but when The Twins failed to immediately follow, she paused. Turning her ugly head to glower over her bony shoulder, she said, "Or I can tell Demmi that you refused to follow, and she can have Mundy carry you."

Muttering under her breath, Nie hastily reassembled her pistol, and she and Arzt followed, albeit unhappily. She couldn't fathom what sort of problem would cause these people to depend on them. She and Arzt were competent at their jobs, yes, but those jobs largely dealt with the arts of sabotage, espionage, and ambushing, and they were hardly unique in that regard. There were probably plenty already here that could do the same. So why would they require The Twins' services? Then again, given how shoddy their security was, maybe The Twins were the closest things to experts around here.

Though come to think of it, why was Annabelle Lee in so tight with these people anyway? If there was one decent thing Nie could admit about the ugly girl, it was that she was wholly driven to succeed in this hunt, regardless of whatever setbacks they encountered. Nie had half expected her and Nikki to have snuck out of the wayhouse already, leaving Nie and Arzt to their fate while they continued the hunt on their own. What she hadn't expected was for Annabelle Lee to buddy up to the people that had disarmed them and taken them captive, especially considering how pissed Annabelle Lee had been over the secrets that had been kept from them. The girl knew how to hold a grudge, and those whom she had reason to dislike tended to stay that way.

But then, there was that whole leecher business. Annabelle Lee's loathing of the soul harvesting business whatsoever form it took, legal or not, was a bit on the notorious side. And given how similar many of these runts were to that poor sister of hers, the wayhouse did seem tailor-made to elicit whatever bits of pity that were still festering away in that dried up walnut she called a heart.

Annabelle Lee led them to a room on the fourth floor. At first glance, it appeared to be another infirmary, with its sterile conditions, multiple cabinets, and collection of glass bottles and other medical instruments. However, there were no beds, no surgical tables, nothing intended for the care of patients. There were tables, yes, but more equipment covered them as well.

It was a laboratory, Nie realized. Which made sense. There were vaporical treatments known to be effective for those suffering from madness, though the uniqueness of each individual's soul meant that a measure of experimentation was at times necessary. Wayhouses often came equipped with the means to adjust said treatments when the time came. Though judging by how many of the bottles were empty, this lab had seen a great deal of adjusting.

Waiting for them was an unpleasant looking woman with a rather unflattering haircut who, physically at least, looked rather old, nearly thirty. Given how few Puella Magi made it out of their teens, that made her positively ancient by the afterlife's standards. Nie supposed that this must be Demmi, the Etherdale Wayhouse's mysterious leader. Accompanying her were two other girls that Nie recalled seeing in the cafeteria, one with long, frizzy brown hair and a smattering of freckles; and the others with a face that looked like it had been squeezed through a lemon and pale green hair

As soon as Annabelle Lee and The Twins entered, Demmi glanced at Nie's pistols and her frown deepened into a scowl. "Where'd she get those?" she asked Annabelle Lee.

Bristling at not being addressed directly, Nie said, "Excuse me. These guns are mine, and you had no right to take them."

"She broke into the place you were keeping them and took them back," Annabelle Lee answered. "So go ahead and add shitty locks to the list of things you're doing wrong. And oh yeah, before I forget, I want my wrist-blades back. Like, as soon as we're done talking here."

Demmi gave her a hard look. "You know, if you want me to trust you, this isn't helping."

"I don't want you to trust me. You want you to trust me." Turning to The Twins, Annabelle Lee stuck a thumb in the hag's direction and said, "So yo, this is Demmi. She's the boss around here. The one with the freckles is Alice, and the one with the mile-long squint is Kayla. They're the labrats around here."

"So we've collected," Arzt said icily, her human hand instinctively taking Nie's. "What is this all about?"

The mousy girl stepped forward. "Well, you see-"

"No, hold on a sec," Annabelle Lee said, holding up a palm. "Still need to get them caught up." To The Twins, she said, "So yeah, leechers. Turns out their leader can mind control people."

Nie and Arzt both blanched in unison. "What?" Arzt croaked.

"Her voice," Demmi said, her own dropping in tone. Hatred dripped from every syllable. "She can compel people by talking to them. It warps their minds, has them want to do whatever she says, and makes them feel good for doing so."

Nie let out a small whimper. Her grip on Arzt's hand tightened. "No matter what?"

"From what I hear, after a couple hours of conversation, she can convince the two of you to spit in each other's face," Annabelle Lee said, rather nastily at that. "Which, while hilarious, kind of illustrates the problem."

Demmi nodded. "She's already taken several of our people and made them hers. And if the reports on their movements are accurate, they're preparing to come and take the rest of us." While her composure was, to the untrained eye, perfectly calm, there was still a slight tremble in her fingers, not to mention a nearly indistinguishable quaver in her voice. "And believe me, all she needs to do is show up with some sort of sound amplification and start talking. By the end of the hour, everyone in this facility will come marching out to her with smiles on their faces."

Nie stared, first at Annabelle Lee's face and then at Demmi's. I, ah, what? You…you're serious about this?"

Annabelle Lee nodded. "Yeah. Got it verified by…" Her nose wrinkled. "…a third party. Eyewitness, former victim and all that."

The Twins exchanged glances. "And you expect us to just trust you on this?" Arzt demanded.

"You wanna go find out for yourselves, be my guest," Annabelle Lee said with a shrug.

Arzt slowly shook her head in disbelief. "Then what are we still doing here, Annabelle Lee?" she demanded. "We should have shaken the dust off our feet the moment we were able! You cannot seriously be expecting us to join up with the damned!" She shot a look over to Demmi and her labrats, who looked taken back by her outburst. "Yes, I said it, I don't care if you heard it. I'm not part of club."

Annabelle Lee cleared her throat. "Blockade. Anti-air."

"That doesn't mean there isn't-" Nie started to say, but Annabelle Lee wasn't done.

"And covens," the skinny witch said. "Lots and lots of covens."

Nie paled. Oh yeah, that was right. Somehow that little detail had slipped her mind. "Covens. Right." Taking a deep breath, she slowly let it out and said, "So, what exactly do you expect us to do?"

Annabelle Lee nodded to Demmi. The Etherdale Wayhouse's administrator did not look at all enthused by the way things were going, but she said, "We…have a way to block out her influence, to render us immune to voice's affects."

"Oh," Nie said with a blink. "Well, that's good."

Alice, the mousy girl, cleared her throat. "It's…uh, it's a serum," she said, holding up a vial. Inside was a sickly looking greenish-grey sludge.

"Not long after the leechers set up shop, one of our patrols came across Lily leading a scouting party." Demmi continued. "Deciding to take the initiative, they ambushed her and tried to take her captive." Her voice caught, and she had to pause half a second before saying, "All but one of them now wears her colors."

Arzt shot her a look. "Oh. Well, if you don't mind me telling you, that was unquestionably stupid."

"It was how we found out what she was capable of," Demmi said evenly. "The one who escaped, however, was quicker on the uptake than the others."

"And she ran?" Nie guessed.

"She cut out her ears," Demmi said, her face without expression. "Then she attacked Lily directly. Then she ran."

Nie's brow rose, and Arzt let out a low whistle. Dumb or not, that had taken courage.

Seeing their reaction, Demmi smiled wryly. "Lily wasn't expecting that sort of initiative. She was taken off-balance, and the sole survivor managed to secure a measure of her soul vapors before escaping."

"Oh." Nie glanced over to the labrats. "Well, that's good, isn't it?"

Kayla cleared her throat. "We've been studying it ever since. It's how we learned so much of what she can do. Including, for what it's worth, how to counter her."

"For what it's worth," Demmi muttered.

Alice hesitated, and then explained, "We, uh, managed to synthesize this serum. It, uh, well it's sort of the antithesis of her compulsion." She flicked a fingernail against the vial's side. "Once, once injected…or ingested or whatever…it fortifies your vapors to resist her influence. And if someone already who's, uh, who's already taken takes some, it, it disrupts her influence over them."

Annabelle Lee tilted her head. "Hey, yeah, I forgot to ask earlier. What happens if we inject it into Lily herself?"

"Then I'd imagine she'd come down with quite the headache," Demmi told her, a small trace of smugness in her eyes. "Possibly even a seizure, if enough were used."

Nie frowned. Something wasn't adding up. "So…that sounds fantastic and all, but what does that have to do with us?"

Demmi growled in frustration. We don't have enough," she said. "The stuff is ungodly difficult to make, and we don't have enough resources to make more."

"This small amount will shield a human for about an hour," Kayla added. "It'll protect Mundy for about five minutes, and if anyone needs to take it…"

Arzt blinked. "Okay…that's bad. And useless." She shrugged. "Still not getting what this has to do with us."

Annabelle Lee smirked. "Well, the good news is that they have plenty of SolBlanc stocked up. Like, tons of it."

SolBlanc was shorthand for Soul Blanket, a popular brand of vapor renewal serum, so named for the feeling of warmth it gave those who used it. And by "popular," it was meant that it was the most effective and thus the most commonly used. That didn't mean people enjoyed using it, as it often left those that used it feeling nauseated and feverish during the regeneration process. As such, it was often saved for emergencies, as most people preferred to let their vapors recover naturally.

Demmi frowned at Annabelle Lee. "I still don't see why that's relevant. Every wayhouse does."

"Neither do I," Arzt added. She glowered at Annabelle Lee suspiciously. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Arzt," Annabelle Lee sighed. "We need more of this stuff. Like, a lot more. And they've got a bunch of SolBlanc stocked up."

Arzt stared at her, uncomprehending. Nie did as well. Where was she going with this?

Annabelle Lee rolled her eyes. "A lot of SolBlanc," she repeated slowly, as if she were speaking to a small child. "Stocked up."

Nie frowned. What in the world did that have to do with anything? She looked over to Arzt, who was likewise confused. So they had a bunch of SolBlanc. Big deal. That stuff only worked on the vapors contained within a living body. It wouldn't do much for a small amount contained within a vial, and when it came to a formula synthesized using someone's vapor code, it was downright useless.

And they still hadn't explained what this had to do with The Twins. They weren't chemists, and they had no way to gather more ingredients. So why would anyone expect them to be of any help?

Then her eyes fell upon Arzt's syringe-hand and she got it. Noticing the aghast look in her lover's eyes, Arzt looked down and she understood as well. Going white, her head snapped toward Annabelle Lee.

"You cannot be serious," she said.

Annabelle Lee shrugged. "You wanna go take your chances out there?"

"This is blackmail," Nie hissed.

"This is fact," Annabelle Lee retorted. "The covens will eat us up before we even reached the blockade, and there's a real good chance the leechers will be moving to crush this place soon. "We all want to get out of this, and this is our best chance."

Demmi cleared her throat. "Perhaps now would be a good time to explain how she can help us."

Annabelle Lee ignored her. "No pun intended, but tick-tock, ladies. Or you can let Lily and her goons show up and sell us back-" She shot a quick look to Demmi "-to our client empty-handed. I'm sure she would love to try to make a profit of us." Moving closer to Arzt, she lowered her voice to a sinister level. "Do you really want your honey-bunny to end up as a bag of crazy drops?"

Arzt's glare was downright venomous. "Words cannot describe how much I hate you."

Shrugging, Annabelle Lee floated in place, arms folded over her pathetic excuse for a chest as she waited for Arzt's answer.

Biting her lower lip, Arzt scanned the faces that watched her expectedly. Nie did the same. The wayhouse labrats looked apprehensive, scared, and yet pitifully hopeful, like beaten puppies at a pound whining at a stranger to please take them away. Demmi was frowning, clearly skeptical of the legitimacy of The Twins' ability to help them, but she was willing to try. She was desperate, after all, and in manner ways was probably even more scared than her cowering associates. She was just better at hiding it. As for Annabelle Lee, she was as infuriatingly smug as ever.

Arzt's brow furrowed angrily, and her lips curled back from her teeth. What she was being muscled into doing would weaken her greatly. Hurt her. Render her vulnerable. And Annabelle Lee knew it, the sadistic bitch. She was putting everything on Arzt: not just the protection of these backwater hicks, but their own safety and future. Nie's. Arzt's. Nikki's. And her own. She was making Arzt bear the burden while she smirked on the sidelines.

Nie found Annabelle Lee to be a whiny nuisance at the best of times, but sometimes she truly longed to stick the business end of both pistols down her skinny throat and mash the triggers.

"Arzt, you can't do this," she told her other half.

Arzt grimaced. "What choice do I have?"

"You have a choice! You always have a choice! We can leave. You and I. Right now." Clasping Nie's hands in her own, Nie drew her around as she urgently pleaded with her. "We don't owe these idiots anything. Please, let's just go."

Annabelle Lee stared incredulously at them. "Uh, hey. We're all still right here."

"Shut up, Annabelly," Nie and Arzt said together. Then, taking a deep breath, Arzt addressed her lover. "Nie, I need to do this."

"But…but why?"

"Because I can't let them get you," Arzt said. "The leechers. The covens. If this will protect you, then I'll bear whatever cost. For you."

Tears filled Nie's eyes, blurring her vision. "Arzt…"

Arzt held a syringe against Nie's lips. "Shhh, it's okay. I can deal with a little discomfort." Then, releasing Nie's hand, she turned to those waiting. "All right. I'm in."

Demmi was looking a little on the nauseated side, but when Arzt addressed her, she jolted out of it. "Oh. Fantastic. But I still would like to know how…"

Arzt marched over to where Kayla was standing, the vial still in her hands.

"…how you're going to…uh, what are you doing?"

In answer, Arzt swiped the vial out of the surprised girl's hands and gulped its contents down with one go.

Cacophony erupted.

"Hey, what?" Kayla cried. She snatched the vial back from Arzt, but it was too late. Arzt had drank it all.

"Oh, God," Alice whispered, holding her hand to her mouth. She looked like she was about to faint.

"Are you insane?" Demmi sputtered. Light flashed, tiny stars flew, and a weighted trident appeared in her hands. She advanced upon Arzt, holding her weapon in an aggressive manner. "That was our only supply!"

Annabelle Lee positioned herself between the furious Demmi and Arzt. "Hold up," she said, holding up a palm.

Staring at her in disbelief, Demmi demanded, "What is this? You were supposed to help us, not throw away our only chance!"

Smiling, Annabelle Lee merely indicated Arzt with a dramatic flourish. "Wait for it…"

Grimacing, Arzt's body shook as she forced the serum down. She coughed and gagged in revulsion. "Oh God, that stuff was vile."

Nie was immediately at her side. "Are you all right?" she said anxiously.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. Now then." Arzt took a deep breath, steadied herself, and held up her right hand, displaying the syringes she had in place of fingers. Closing her eyes, her face scrunched up as she concentrated.

Then, with a small hiss as air was forced out, each syringe filled with the same greenish-grey sludge she had just gulped down.

Smiling with satisfaction, Arzt turned to her dumbstruck audience. "All right," she said. "Anyone got a bottle?"

…

While coming up with an exact number was probably on the tougher side of impossible, the Persephone Protectorate at least tried to keep track of how many wild girls were wandering around Etherdale and their general locations. That way, they avoided such common pitfalls as overharvesting, targeting the newly dead that have not yet ripened, losing their prey to possible competitors, and so on and so forth.

Unfortunately, installing cameras in the woods was something of a lesson in futility. The covens tended to avoid the parts of the forest that the Protectorate had cleansed away for their own use, and the negative energies swirling around the corrupted areas liked to play merry havoc with electronics, to say nothing of the damage the madwomen would inflict when they found them. There was specialized shielding for such things, but as deep as the Protectorate's pockets were, it was still ungodly expensive, and having enough cameras ordered and installed was proving to be a slow and costly process.

Still, they had a few up and running. Both of the spawning sites got top priority, so all city exits and the surrounding the area were well monitored. This was especially useful, as it allowed them to "tag" those who had recently died and entered the forest, and let them avoid those who were still raw if encountered during a harvest. They were working on a way to reliably monitor the cities' interiors, but that was still a work in progress.

While the Protectorate had an entire staff dedicated to monitoring what was happening in the forest, Lily still had her own access to the feeds in her private office. When Janelle answered a summons in the mid-afternoon, she found her boss watching one of the feeds in rapt attention.

"Hey, boss," she said, coming in. "You called?"

"Shhh," Lily said, not taking her eyes from the floating three-dimensional image above her desk. "Look."

The image was that of Widow Hills. The city had manifested in the form of a giant spiral, with everything from the skyscrapers to the sidewalks to the street signs to the sky itself curving around a central vortex. It was an odd sight, seeing all those buildings leaning at impossible angles in a uniform pattern, but spawn sites were not known to adhere to any laws of physics or good taste.

However, of greater interest was the pair of figures fleeing the insane city. Two black girls, one with short hair wearing a pair of jeans and a green shirt and the other with long hair and dressed in nothing more than a long, brown leather coat, determinedly made their way toward the forest. The short-haired one was leading the other by hand while clutching a golden warhammer in the other, while the long-haired one was struggling to keep up. Her leg seemed to be hurt, and she was clutching the coat shut with her other hand.

Janelle raised an eyebrow. "Looks like a double-KO. Puella Magi and her witch."

"Seems to be," Lily agreed, steepling her fingers in front of her face. "I wonder how she got that limp though."

"That's obvious. First meeting didn't quite go smooth, and they ended up disagreeing."

"More than likely," Lily agreed. "Though they seem to have worked out their differences. Tell me something, Janelle: do you believe in soul resonance?"

Soul resonance referred to the popular theory that anyone that fell within the same witch's labyrinth was henceforth bound on a spiritual level, and if a Puella Magi and a witch were to kill one another, it would only increase the bond. No actual evidence had been found of its existence, no magical ties observed between those said to be affected, but it happened often enough to fuel its telling. In answer to Lily's question, Janelle only shrugged. "Eh, old wife's tale," she said. "Could be true, I guess. But even if it was, so what?"

Lily tsked. "You have no romance in your heart, Janelle."

"Yeah, and good thing too," Janelle grinned. "Give me gas, it would."

The two of them watched as the hapless pair ventured into the cold embrace of Etherdale. "And there they go," Lily observed. "Taking their first steps into vast new world."

"I wish them well," Janelle said solemnly.

Lily checked some of the incoming data. "There's a coven less than a mile away from their position. It's on the hunt."

"Oh. Well, I guess it's opposite day then."

"Mmmm-hmmm." Lily switched off the feed. "Or maybe your well wishes are cursed. Remind me never to let you bless any of our operations."

"I'll be sure to hold my tongue then," Janelle promised. "You wanted to see me?"

Lily nodded. "Yes, I did. It's about our new recruits."

Janelle nodded in return. She had expected as much. "Take it you've heard back from the Brothel?"

"I have, and they're none too happy about what happened. Doesn't seem to be directed our way, though. I managed to negotiate a mutually satisfactory compromise."

"You do have a way with words," Janelle said with a small smirk. "Okay, what's the deal?"

"They don't give two rips about the Alliance girls, but we're giving them Kyoko Sakura and Oktavia von Seckendorff," her leader replied. "They'll be sending someone by to pick them up on Friday."

Janelle's face twisted up in a frown. "Cutting it a little close, aren't they? I mean, we're raiding the wayhouse on Saturday. Won't that disrupt things?"

"Shouldn't be. They'll be here for less than fifteen minutes, just long enough to load those two up and take off." Despite her reassurances, Lily still looked ill at ease. Noting this, Janelle tilted her head to one side. Her frown deepened.

"You think they're playing us false?" she asked. "Going to try to silence us for the Voidies?"

Lily shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "No. Too many webs, too many long-reaching repercussions. But I'd say it's safe to say this will be hanging over our heads for some time. Best to mind our manners."

Janelle didn't like the sound of that one bit. "Hey, uh, boss? Not to be rude or anything, but…"

"Why put this noose around our necks?" Lily sighed. "Because sooner or later, they would've found out where that ship crashed and investigated."

"Ah," Janelle said, nodding. "Would've found out anyway, yeah?"

"Exactly. Coming to them with the information buys us some good grace. Hiding it…would not." Lily picked up a datapad from her desk and gave it a brief look-over. "Plus, this way we get seventy-five thousand talents per acquisition. Not terribly high as such things go, but a profit is a profit."

Janelle let out a low whistle. "Well, damn. How badly do the Voidies want these girls?"

"Not terribly much, from what I understand. Low priority targets. The Brothel's just doing damage control for PR reasons. The Void Walkers are one client they want to stay on the good side of." Then Lily's constantly changing eyes widened, as if she were struck with a sudden thought. "Oh, by-the-by, any word on the Void Walkers' people, the ones that bungled the kidnapping?"

Janelle shook her head. "'Fraid not, boss. We've searched just about everywhere we could, but they've not turned up. By this point, either they're with the wayhouse or the covens got them."

"I see. Well, either situation is acceptable. The covens aren't going to talk, and by Saturday…" Lily chuckled. "Well, if we find them, we'll be sure to return them too. Keep an eye on those girls, and make sure they don't wander off before their ride gets here. By Friday, I should have convinced them to go without a fuss, and we can put this all behind us."

Janelle snapped off a smart salute. "Aye-aye, captain. No fuss, no muss. Company motto, right there."

…

You know, I expected this chapter to be the shortest of the current episode, but it ended up being the longest so far. Go figure.

And hey, if anyone's interested, I started posting a little slice-of-life AU spinoff on my tumblr, themed around all the PMMM girls becoming witches and living at Freehaven together. Yes, that includes Homura and Madoka. First chapter's up, and second one should be done soon. And yes, it is going to be exclusive to tumblr.

What? I gotta give people some kind of incentive to follow.

Until next time, everyone!