I was at the bank when the Hounds of Darkness came crashing in. Grue, their leader gave some speech about how nobody would be hurt, while his second in command had her hounds growl at us. Not the most convincing performance, but I simply moved along with the others. I wonder why everything was so clear right now. There was no opportunity to grow a Thorn, so I took some time to examine the Hounds.

Grue, who could project darkness so deep it could take one of Purity's blasts, and unleash blasts of unadulterated terror. Hellhound who formed dogs into monstrosities with burning maws and bone armor. Regent who disrupted both man and machine. Tattletale was a mystery, but by all accounts not very pleasant. They were the core group of the Hounds.

Today, they had brought Railroad(who everyone knew had been Skidmark), Circus and Silver. Silver had beautiful butterfly wings, compound eyes and a hypnotic silver sheen, as well as minor Brute powers. There were rumours that she could command men with a word, but since she never spoke people weren't really sure about that.

Time passed. Money was fetched. I grew bored of clarity, and longed for the return of the Blurred Times where I didn't have all this input to sift through. The clarity became greater, almost painfully so. Then it became truly painful, and I hissed angrily. That drew the attention of Tattletale and Grue. Recognition flashed across their faces but then Tattletale said something to Grue who shrugged and turned his attention back to... The Wards. Quite a few of the Wards. Nowhere near enough to beat the Hounds, of course, but then not all the Hounds were here.

The Core Group and the Freak Show were, but the Wild Hunt and the Snake's Den were absent. I idly wondered why that might be when my eyes settled on the betrayer of my hopes. "Hello Panacea" I called, softly.

What would have been a fight wasn't when Grue dragged Panacea out of the building as a hostage. With a knife pressed to her throat, the Heroes couldn't make a move, and the Hounds left. It was known that Panacea would be returned in good health, much like it was known that she wasn't really in danger but having such an important target in a high risk fight would end badly for everyone. As the Hounds left, the clarity faded.

Then I was stuck waiting. The police and the PRT would want the witness statements, and nobody was allowed to leave. Clarity still haunted my senses, and to calm myself I fed the Ashen Thorn some more energy and began making small incisions in the wall. Panacea's face when I had called out to her, and the Hounds had realised she was there.

A soft giggle escaped my lips as I remembered the look of fear and shock on her was even more amusing because I had seen the look of triumph from a moment before when she realised her sisters were present. Glory Girl and Victoria(how that didn't get confusing at home, I couldn't fathom, even now that I could actually think.)

"Why did you draw attention to the presence of Panacea?" The PRT officer asked me. He seemed quite irritated that I had done that, and from the death glares I was getting from the Dallon Twins, they weren't at all happy with me either. I turned my attention back to the PRT officer and hmmed as I pondered my response.

"Revenge?" I offered lightly. He looked as if he'd been smacked in the face. "Revenge?" He asked flatly. "What kind of..." He shook his head. "I'm placing you under arrest for willfully endangering a national asset. You have the right to remain silent. You have the right to a lawyer. Now get up, and come along."

There was a brief blurring of moments, and then I was somewhere where everything was a little clear. Annoyed, I lay back on the cot in my cell, and tried the next best thing: sleep. Of course, my body while it was given to lethargy and stiffness, didn't obey my wishes and I sighed again. This was my twenty-fifth attempt at rest. I could leave, of course, but that would be even more annoying in the long term.

The cell door opened, some man came and I was dropped in an interrogation room across from another faceless trooper. There was an annoying amount of clarity. "Hello Ms. Hebert." She said. "Do you know why you are here?" I smiled. "Yes. Do you?" I thought I could detect the beginnings of a frown. "Ms. Hebert, this is a serious matter-"

"For you" I interrupted. "I, on the other hand, do not care. Can't care. Won't care." I gestured absently with my hand. "Do you have any other questions?" She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Ms. Hebert, you could be facing a prison term of up to-" I glowered at her and interrupted again. "I do not care. Just keep me away from all the... clear things." I shuddered and muttered "How can you even stand to talk so much. The thinking required..." Another shudder. I hated this clarity.

Then I was back in the cell. This time, I was tired enough to sleep.

The ocean spread out beneath me. If I cried, would it overflow the distant shores? Why must I be alone...