Disclaimer: Magnificent Seven (TV), Hellboy (2004 & 2008) and Terminator (1984), do not belong to me. This is fan fiction, not for profit. Any references to people, places, businesses, etc. are entirely fictitious. Modern AU

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Chapter 6: Amor Vincit Omnia

…I'm hit

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"You're hurt!"

The ghost of Maude Standish hovered over Josiah. Her worried blue eyes gazed upon him with concern. The big human looking cambion groaned. Josiah clutched his side. Red blood oozed out between his fingers.

"I've been…," his eyes stared at his wound in disbelief. "I've been shot."

Frighteningly loud gunshots sounded all around them. Josiah had been stepping into danger ever since Maude had first met him. And probably long before she'd ever met him.

"Why do you sound so surprised?"

Maude raised a graceful hand and gestured towards their surroundings.

"You're in the middle of another shoot out. The police station is under attack."

Around them, a battle raged. Shots continued from their unseen assailants. And some horribly loud noise that Maude couldn't identify seemed to come from the other side of the building. Despite the threat, the rear door to the station opened. Heedless of their own danger, three familiar figures stood framed in the doorway. Josiah blinked at the sight.

"What are they doing?"

"Coming to rescue you of course," huffed Maude in exasperation.

A laudable goal, but hardly necessary. Josiah and HB were nearly indestructible, and her darling boy was safely ensconced in his own special protection. And Maude… her lips curled up in a crafty smile. It's not like anyone could kill her again, she was already dead!

"I hope our rescuers don't get themselves killed!"

Chris stood tall, firing shots from a pistol as if he was invincible. Buck crouched at his side making himself a smaller target. Sharp blue eyes took special note of threats to his friend. Equally sharp shots sounded. Buck had kept Chris alive for a long time, and would continue to do so for as long as he drew breath. Maybe longer. Together the two men crept down the stairs to the parking lot. Maude's eyes widened in surprise at the last figure.

"What on earth is Mary doing?"

"What?" groaned Josiah.

Maude looked back at the love of her… death? Afterlife? She pursed her lips. Somehow, neither phrase had quite the same ring to it as the more oft repeated cliche.

"Where did Mary get that rifle?" asked Maude.

"How would I know?"

Maude shook her head in exasperation at Josiah's question. This Mary Travis, from Wyoming if Maude remembered what Josiah had said, was a good shot. The young blonde provided cover as first Chris, then Buck, reloaded their pistols. It seemed as if their attackers might be falling back. Shots sounded less frequently, but the roar of a heavy-duty machine was louder, closer. The two police officers split up at the bottom of the stairs. Buck moved towards Josiah.

"Hey big fella," greeted Buck. "Why don't we see about getting you out of the line of fire?"

Josiah blinked. His befuddled gaze more on Maude than Buck.

"Shouldn't you be with Ezra?" asked Josiah.

Maude pursed her lips. Sometimes it was as if just thinking about Ezra started Josiah talking about him. Maude wasn't just Ezra's mother. Did Josiah really think that Ezra was the only reason Maude stayed in Four Corners? Buck reached out and patted Josiah's cheek. The lawman couldn't see or hear Maude. In all the commotion, Buck had probably forgotten she was with Josiah.

"Josiah," called Buck. "You with me?"

For a moment, Josiah's eyes met Buck's, then the cambion returned his gaze to Maude.

"Ez…," began Josiah.

"Ezra's perfectly fine," assured Maude.

Her darling boy lay sprawled on the pavement near his car. She could hear the steady beat of his heart. Her son might have a headache when he woke up, but the bullet proof vest Lee had insisted Ezra wear under his sweater did its job. Maude wasn't quite sure what Kevlar was, but she was very glad to know the protective material existed. Buck thought Josiah was talking to him.

"Yeah, big guy," nodded Buck. "Let's get you over to Ezra."

Scooping one arm around Josiah's chest, Buck hauled Josiah up into a crouch. Together they stumbled towards the shelter of Ezra's car. Maude glanced around as she trailed after them. Chris reached Josiah's brother. The big red cambion groaned as Chris rolled him onto his back. The lean blond grabbed the collar of HB's trench coat and started to drag HB towards Buck, Josiah, Ezra, and Maude. An unearthly howl of protest sounded.

"You DO NOT drag someone with a tail!" insisted HB.

"Your brother is fine too," added Maude.

The big red cambion sat up. HB growled as he plucked a bullet from his pectoral muscle. Maude turned away, not feeling the need to hear HB explain the finer points of cambion anatomy to Chris. Beside Josiah, Ezra moaned. Green eyes blinked open in pain and confusion.

"Wha… what happened?"

Their attackers had definitely fallen back. Perhaps even gone. There hadn't been a shot fired in several minutes. Maude's eyes narrowed.

"Something isn't right," muttered Maude.

"What's wrong?" asked Josiah.

Buck picked up on the change as well.

"This is too easy," answered Buck. "Where are they?"

"Easy?"

Ezra groaned again and rolled over onto his hands and knees. He tried to sit up, but found himself slouched against the tire. He rubbed his chest in a circular motion with one hand to ease the ache there. As Chris and HB reached Ezra's car, the machine roar ratcheted up even louder. Lightning bolts raced upwards into the sky on the other side of the building. The dazed witness raked his other hand through his curls. Green eyes blinked. Ezra tilted his head to one side watching the bright arcs.

"What kind of lightning bolts go up?" asked Ezra.

"Ground to cloud lightning…," began Josiah's sonorous voice.

Maude pressed her lips together in a bit of a smirk. Josiah must be feeling better if he was starting to lecture. Her beloved's voice was interrupted by a horrendous crash. The ground shook. The police station itself groaned as if in pain. Billowing clouds of dust rolled up and over the station, enveloping them all. Maude was the only one who didn't start coughing.

"Earthquake?" asked Buck a moment later when he caught his breath enough to speak.

"I don't think so," objected Chris. "Explosion maybe?"

HB rolled his massive shoulders. Before he could say anything, the sound of running footsteps had everyone turn to look back towards the hidden station. Mary stepped from the shadows of dust into their view. Her pretty face was streaked with dust and dirt. A shredded piece of shingle was caught in her collar. More pieces of shingle, siding, and splintered wood flittered down from the sky.

"Mary?" called Chris. "I thought I told you…"

"I couldn't stay in the doorway," interrupted Mary. She pointed back towards the building. "It's… it's gone."

"What's gone?"

"The doorway, the hall, your office, they're all gone…"

Maude had rarely seen Mary at a loss for words. A bent and mangled folding chair crashed down from the sky, hit the pavement between them. It bounced twice before stopping in front of Chris. Buck's horrified gaze turned back towards the police station. The dust clouds lingered in the chill evening air. A swath of rubble trailed across the parking lot. The damaged building looked as if it had been cut in two. Whatever had caused this destruction was gone.

"You could drive a truck through that gap," stated HB.

Maude sniffed. She had been thinking more along the lines of a coach and six, but HB's description would have to do.

"Watch out for falling debris," cautioned Ezra.

HB stepped to one side as a door fell to the ground beside him. The cambion eyed the darkened sky above them.

"Reckon most of the big stuff has already landed by now," observed HB.

"I would not bet on that," sniffed Ezra.

Buck still stared at the broken building.

"What did this?" Buck's shocked voice asked. "A tornado?"

"No," Mary answered.

The shaken woman swallowed before continuing.

"There was something big," Mary shuddered. "Some kind of a machine… it had rows of wheels taller than I am, with tread…"

"Caterpillar track, like on a tank?" asked Chris

Mary nodded before resuming her description.

"The tread was deep enough to put HB's fist in… it just crashed right through the building."

"Good thing most people would have already gone home for the evening," stated Chris.

Maude hoped so, but Mary shook her head.

"I know Berniece went home already, and I think Vincent was on stakeout," said Mary. "But Sophia was still talking with KC and JD when I brought my report to your office."

"They hadn't left?"

Chris's voice sounded grim.

"Who else is still inside?"

"Abe was in my office," answered Mary. "Marshall Vaughn and Nate were with the prisoner…"

"Lu," whispered Buck.

His voice sounded desolate.

"No, her shift ended at five," reminded Chris. "She's safe at home with John Robert."

Buck shook his head. Maude felt a shiver of dread at his forlorn look.

"No, she isn't," replied Buck. "I called her, told her we were staying late. She was going to bring us sandwiches, John Robert..."

Buck stopped talking. A look of determination on his face. Buck started back towards the shattered building.

"I've got to find them…"

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"Buck, wait up," called Chris.

HB followed the long strides of the dark-haired lawman. They stopped at the shattered wall. Both Buck and HB turned to look back. Chris and Mary walked with Ezra supported between them. He couldn't put any weight on his foot. Maude hovered alongside a limping Josiah at the rear of their processional.

"We can't move as fast as you."

Maude pursed her lips. The recently removed boot cast on her darling boy's ankle might need to be put on again. Her blue eyes shot a sidelong glance at Josiah. He still clutched his bleeding side.

"Perhaps we should find Nathan," suggested Maude.

The healer could fix anyone, human or cambion. And probably anyone else that might show up.

"Nate," corrected Josiah. "He goes by Nate now…"

Their conversation was interrupted by the concerned voice of Josiah's brother.

"Hey big guy," called HB. "You still got that bullet in you?"

Josiah frowned; his voice took on a sour tone.

"And where else would it be?"

HB gestured to the nearly closed gash on his chest.

"You've been living like a human for too long. Bullets are poison," stated HB. "I pulled mine out. Why don't you…"

"I'm not going to…," began Josiah.

But Maude had heard enough. And seen enough. She put the force of her formidable will into moving that tiny, objectionable, missile. Josiah grunted as the small cylindrical piece of metal backed out of his body and fell to the pavement. It pinged once as it bounced away from his foot and rolled to a stop in front of the ghost. Josiah's shocked gaze looked at Maude. Josiah stuttered a protest.

"You… you… What did you do that for?"

Maude directed her gaze at his rapidly healing wound. The blood had already slowed to a trickle. Maude answered with the first words that came to mind, the truth.

"I don't like having anyone I love perforated."

"Love?"

Josiah repeated the one word that Maude had been careful not to use in all their time together. If she only stayed on this earth as a ghost because of some sort of unfinished business, Maude certainly didn't want to finish it. Not if Josiah remained here.

"Did you say love?" pressed the startled cambion.

"Did I?" Maude deflected the question. She fluttered her hand dismissively. Over a lifetime spent with people trying to take advantage of her, she had found it seldom useful to let one's true feelings show. Maude sounded almost bored when she added, "Perforations are so disagreeable."

She turned her gaze away from Josiah only to meet HB's twinkling eyes. Her shoulders slumped. Josiah's brother knew. Maude didn't know how HB knew, but he'd figured out her secret. Maude spun around only to find herself face to face with Josiah. His big craggy face seemed to glow.

"Say it again," insisted Josiah.

Apparently, Josiah had figured out her secret as well. Was that a good thing? Or not?

"I wouldn't want you to die of shock," protested Maude.

"There are only a couple of things that can kill me," objected Josiah. "I don't think your words would do it."

"I really can't…"

Josiah's face fell. His shoulders drooped. Maude looked away, trying to seem indifferent. Chris, Mary, and Ezra reached Buck and HB. They turned back in time to see the change in their friend.

"What's going on with Josiah?" asked Chris.

"Lover's quarrel between him and his ghost," grumbled HB. "Probably ought to leave them to it."

The red cambion frowned, then turned away to stare at the deep tire tracks leading from the path of destruction, over the Marshall's sedan, flattening the gate around the parking lot, crushing the edge of the asphalt as it climbed upon the street. The tread continued to leave a dusty trail for another block before disappearing. Whatever the vehicle had been, it was big. The tracks took up most of the two-lane road.

"His ghost?" spluttered Maude. "I am not his…"

"I wish you were," sighed Josiah. "If you aren't, I think I might die…"

Maude turned back at Josiah's voice. He sounded so morose.

"I thought you said there were only a couple things that could kill you," retorted Maude. "Words weren't one of them!"

Josiah slumped forward. Her voice had come out sharper than Maude had intended. Could a being really die of unrequited love?

"Elfin blades, beheading…," listed Josiah. "But the worst of all is feeling unloved…"

Maude had to stop that dreadful litany. All the force of her being reached out as her lips pressed against Josiah's mouth. Maude hadn't expected to feel Josiah's lips curl up against hers as they met her own. A warmth blossomed between them. Josiah wrapped his arms around her. Startled, she pulled back just a bit and found herself looking into Josiah's eyes.

"I do love you," insisted Maude in a whisper meant only for Josiah's ears. "I do!"

"And I love you," Josiah's voice answered back.

"But I'm not your ghost!" insisted Maude.

She pulled back further. His gentle arms didn't hold her, she was free to move as she wished.

"I don't belong to you or anyone but myself!"

"Wouldn't have it any other way."

A smile spread across Josiah's face. Maude almost recanted. She would do just about anything for that smile.

"Could I be your cambion then?" coaxed Josiah.

An answering smile spread across Maude's lips. This time, it was her arms that reached out and pulled Josiah closer for another lingering kiss. Beyond their embrace, HB's voice called out.

"The entryway, Chris and Buck's offices, and this part of this corridor are destroyed. Further on down the rest of the police station looks intact."

There was a momentary pause.

"Mostly anyways," continued HB. "Buck said he can hear voices, seems like they're coming from the jail block."

Maude felt HB's gaze upon them.

"When you two come up for air, catch up with us," directed HB. "Might need some help lifting beams…"

"Mother," interrupted Ezra. "Josiah's assistance may be needed."

Maude and Josiah both turned in surprise at the sound of Ezra's voice. The witness leaned against the crumpled corner of the building. Ezra's gaze was on the remnants of the building littering their path. The mountainous obstacle course included chunks of broken drywall, snapped two by fours, broken bricks, wads of dirty pink insulation, and more. Wires and cables sparked. Cell bars, now spears of iron, stabbed the ground and sprouted upwards in ungainly twisted shapes. Beside him, Mary panted from exertion. They'd been clearing what remained of the steps realized Maude. Making it easier to climb.

"You can see her?" asked Josiah.

Further down the ruined corridor, Maude could see Buck. A lone light flickered on the intact ceiling of the corridor just beyond him. It lit up Buck and the narrow opening that had been the hallway to the old cell block. The roof was gone on this side of the station, leaving the building open to the sky. Smoke dissipated to reveal bright, twinkling stars. Chris looked up as he tossed a chunk of wood over the twisted handrail to the pavement outside. Ezra didn't answer Josiah, but Chris did.

"Looked like you were kissing thin air," chuckled Chris.

Maude wondered, had her darling boy seen her? Or had Mary told him she was kissing Josiah? Chris gestured after Buck.

"Come on," beckoned Chris. "We're going to find them."

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"This way," called Buck.

The dark-haired man disappeared into the narrow opening of what had once been the hallway. HB followed. Navigating this once familiar space was somewhat easier than trying to scale the rubble pile. While Buck clambered over chunks of rubble and beams, HB just tossed them out of the way. Chris and Mary supported Ezra's ungainly limping gait. Josiah and Maude followed at the rear. More destruction was evident as they moved closer to the cell block. Less of the building was still standing. Walking became easier as they followed a tread-like path. They were within sight of the cell block door hanging off its hinges when the light went out.

"That can't be good," drawled Ezra.

"Wires aren't sparking anymore," objected Chris. "Might just be someone cut the power."

"Moon's starting to come up," pointed out Buck. "We still got light."

The lawman continued towards his goal. Buck stopped at the sound of Sophia's voice.

"Who goes there?" demanded the HR administrator.

The barrel of a riot gun poked out from the opening. The weapon was followed by Sophia's face, then Abe's.

"You're alive?"

The disbelief in Sophia's voice countered the amphibious humanoids more casual response.

"Oh, there you are," greeted Abe. "It's about time you got here."

Sophia lowered the barrel of the weapon and beckoned them forward. She turned her gaze to Buck.

"Get over here quick!" ordered Sophia.

"I got to find Lu," objected Buck.

"She's here," smiled Abe.

"Lu's here?" exclaimed Buck, his face brightening with relief.

"Lu was out front, led the paramedic team to Nate," explained Sophia. She raised the riot gun in her hands. "I went to get this first, so I got here after them."

Buck looked back at the way they'd come in disbelief. Maude had to wonder as well. Without Buck's determination, or HB and Josiah's strength, she didn't know how any human could make it through the destruction.

"How did you manage to come through that?"

"The walls were still standing when Nate radioed for help," replied Sophia.

Sophia shuddered and stepped back to allow them into the remnants of the cell block. There were no walls remaining here at all. Wind blew through the space fluttering tendrils of Sophia's disheveled hair. A tread marked path led to the station. Nate and his team weren't the only rescue crew present. Outside the station, the red fire engine from Four Corners Fire Department flashed bright lights. Nate's call and more had brought them here.

"Looks like whoever did this came from the state highway," observed Chris.

Electric lines and water mains were being shut down. Another rescue squad truck emblazoned with the logo from the nearby town of Bitter Creek was also there. First responders searched the disaster site.

"That thing…"

Maude recognized the bitterness in Sophia's tone. Had felt the same mixture of rage and despair losing a home of her own more than once.

"It couldn't just back up and leave," Sophia shook her head. "No, it had to keep on rolling forward."

"The U. S. Highway is that way. It's wider, won't show tread marks as much, better for a getaway…," began Buck.

The normally composed HR administrator reached out and grabbed Buck's wrist. Sophia tugged Buck forward and pointed to a cluster of medical personnel. Nate held Lu's hand. The redhead lay on a gurney, her feel elevated, the little mound of her rounded abdomen declared her pregnancy. Maude could see KC with a high-powered rifle slung over one shoulder. She stood back from Nate and his team. The petite blonde held Buck and Lu's young son.

"Lu started hyperventilating when she saw your office destroyed," continued Sophia. "Lu thought, we all thought…, none of you could have survived."

"What's wrong with Lu?"

"Nate's worried about her breathing…," answered Abe with a helpful smile. "And her blood pressure, he thinks it's quite…"

Sophia's elbow to Abe's ribs cut off whatever else he was going to say. At this distance, no one could hear Nate's soft words. But they recognized the comforting tone Nate used when trying to calm a patient. Sophia directed her next words to Buck.

"Foolish man!" huffed Sophia. "Don't you understand? Lu needs to see you! To know you're alive!"

Maude watched the determined woman shove Buck forward. For a moment, Sophia reminded Maude of her dear friend Inez. In her time, the dark-haired beauty had loved Buck too, but to Maude's knowledge, had never acted on it. Abe caught his breath and resumed speaking.

"Yes, we are all very gratified to see you alive…"

Abe's voice spoke to all of them, but his eyes were only on Mary. The communications officer stepped closer to her aquatic friend.

"Perhaps we could find a chair for Ezra," suggested Mary. "He's hurt his ankle again…"

"I doubt there are any intact chairs here…," began Abe.

As if to emphasize Mary's request, Ezra sank down on a pile of rubble. Maude watched her darling boy rub his ankle; he even began to take off his shoe. Abruptly Abe shut his mouth. His goggled eyes lit up with a shy hope. He reached out and took Mary's hand.

"For safety's sake, perhaps I might escort you in your search for a chair."

At Abe and Mary's departure, Chris, Josiah, HB, and Maude turned to survey the wreckage of what had once been the cell block. Cells, an interrogation room, a storage closet, were obliterated now.

"I know I saw Lu, KC and Nate," muttered Chris.

The lean man fisted his hands against his hips and slowly turned again peering into the shadows.

"JD you better not be dead," grumbled Chris. "Buck will never forgive me…"

A squawk sounded as a fire truck from Eagle Bend joined the others. More lights shone down on the disaster area.

"And where is Vaughn?" demanded Chris.

"Where's the cell?" asked HB. "He was sitting right in front of it."

"And might I ask where is the prisoner?" drawled Ezra.

"You're sitting on what's left of her," grumbled a steely voice from behind them.

Maude turned to see Marshall Vaughn limp towards them. The older man had a gray wool blanket draped over his shoulders. Steri-strips closed a gash on Vaughn's forehead. JD followed. The warlock kept flexing his wrists, moving his hands like an old man with rheumatism as if they ached.

"What?"

Ezra's affronted squawk was accompanied by a decidedly unsteady movement as he hurriedly tried to get off the pile of rubble. Maude pursed her lips. Maybe Ezra sitting down hadn't just been a performance to aid Mary.

"Did you see that thing?" demanded JD.

Chris shook his head.

"Not really, too much smoke."

Chris gestured in the direction that Mary and Abe had gone.

"Mary said something about a big machine…"

Maude wasn't interested in machinery. The ghost glanced back to where Buck now sat beside Lu. The big man held his wife's hand. Lu smiled and seemed calmer. Even the usually stern Nate smiled. The rescue personnel surrounding the family backed up to give them some space. KC handed little John Robert to Buck before joining Nate. The boy snuggled against his father's chest. KC and Nate started towards them. Maude turned her attention back to the men and their talk of trucks.

"More like a combination of a tank with an excavator," suggested Vaughn. He shook his head. "A bucket arm, just reached in, scooped Elle and the floor up."

The Marshall glanced appreciatively at JD.

"If it hadn't been for you and those well aimed lightning bolts, I don't know if Nate or I would still be here."

"Lightning bolts?" prodded HB.

"Elemental magic is my specialty," shrugged JD.

The Marshall sighed as he looked past JD towards the pile of rubble that Ezra had just been sitting on. Looked at the hole just beyond it. The spot where Elle had been rooted to the ground just a short while ago. Vaughn swallowed.

"I know I said it would take an earthquake to move her," added JD in a hurried rush, "But this… this…"

"Is pretty much the equivalent of a manmade earthquake," offered Josiah.

"JD, this is not your fault."

JD looked up hopefully at Chris's words of absolution.

"You couldn't have known someone would try to rescue her, to break her out."

"This wasn't a rescue," objected Vaughn. "I don't know who took her, or why, but Elle didn't go willingly."

At a sharp intake of breath, Maude's attention snapped back to her son.

"She's not… entirely gone."

"What do you mean?" demanded Chris.

Ezra merely pointed at the ground near the edge of the hole. Maude tilted her head to one side. Behind the rubble, she could see a clawed appendage on the floor where Elle had been. The hand, if that's what it was, had bright red polish on the tips of the talons, and a pincer claw in the place of a thumb.

"It looks like she was trying to hold on," added Ezra.

A substance dripped from what looked like a very human forearm. The smeared puddle it formed glowed a peculiar shade of blue-green. Maude fought down an unexpected urge to throw up. Ghosts didn't throw up! She almost felt sorry for that dreadful creature. Maude turned to Josiah.

"Your blood is red, what is that blue green liquid?"

"I've got my mother's human blood," reminded Josiah.

Chris, JD, Ezra, and Vaughn looked a bit confused only hearing part of the conversation.

"Josiah looks human because his mother's chromosomes dominate," explained HB. "Elle is all demon."

HB held up his fingers to show the purple tips where he'd dug out the bullet from his chest.

"My mother was human too," added HB.

HB grinned, almost preening as he gestured to his own red horned and tailed form.

"A slightly different mix resulted in this gorgeous body."

"Red and blue mix to make purple, but what's the green?" asked JD.

"Part of what makes Elle a succubus," answered HB.

The world's greatest paranormal investigator moved closer to the arm. HB squatted down, his tail bobbing up behind him. He sniffed.

"It's Auntie's alright, good thing she can regrow the limb," declared HB.

"Regrow?"

"Yeah, some paranormal creatures have the ability to regenerate parts," replied HB.

"Like a crab regrowing a claw?" asked Chris.

"Not the best analogy," shrugged HB. "But it will do."

HB sniffed again, looking closer at the blue-green substance.

"This is ectoplasm with a touch of bioluminescence thrown in for good measure."

"But who…" protested Maude.

HB and Ezra both spoke at the same time.

"BPRD."

"Heath," declared Ezra. "This looks like his work."

Maude glanced at Ezra. His green eyes were on HB, not her. Had he heard Maude's question? HB turned to look at Ezra.

"You think they might be working together?"

"Possibly," nodded Ezra. "That communications company of Heath's has been trying to buy up all known sources of bioluminescence, including taking over BPRD."

HB shook his massive head ruefully and stood up.

"Reckon to them, Auntie's ectoplasm is just another good source of bioluminescence…"

"No," growled Josiah. His fury evident. "Elle is something more."

HB turned slowly to face Josiah.

"What do you mean?"

"How hard is it to kill a demonic entity?" prodded Josiah.

HB pursed his lips.

"Usually you can't kill 'em," began HB. "We just send 'em back to the Hell 'Verse…"

The rage in HB's eyes as he realized what Josiah meant made Maude shiver even if his anger wasn't directed at her.

"Elle's a source of sentient bioluminescence."

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